Matariki brings hopes of fresh start for Wiri inmates

Just before dawn on Friday, the Matariki star cluster will appear over the horizon signalling the start of the Māori new year.

It is a time of remembrance, joy and peace, a time for communities to come together and celebrate.

For several months, wāhine at the Auckland Region Women's Corrections Facility have been learning about and preparing for Matariki as part of their sewing, quilts, and crafts group.

When RNZ visits the South Auckland facility in Wiri, about a dozen prisoners and volunteers are busy behind sewing machines and hand stitching shiny intricate detail onto different fabrics.

The sewing, quilts and crafts group started up 16 years ago and meets every fortnight.

This year, they are completing a group project, making Matariki-themed cushion covers and quilt squares.

Each square represents one of the nine stars in the Matariki cluster: Ururangi, Waipuna-ā-rangi, Waitā, Waitī, Matariki, Tupu-ā-rangi, Tupu-ā-nuku, Hiwa-i-te-rangi, and Pōhutukawa.

One of the prisoners taking part, Mei*, proudly holds up one of the squares she has made.

"This one is for the Earth mother, there is a Matariki star there and there is mountains, lands, and ocean and this is a little bit of connection with the Earth mother and the sky."

The quilt squares are being sewn together to create a wall hanging.

The cushion covers are decorated with autumnal colours, stars, birds, and symbols to represent Papatūānuku, Rangi-nui and the moana.

They will be donated to Woven Earth, a charity that furnishes accommodation for people who have fled abusive situations.

• Matariki public holiday: What's open, what's not, and when you have to pay a surcharge
• What's happening around the motu for Matariki?
• Māori astronomer guiding crowds into the New Year

Jess* said making something for someone else gave her great pleasure.

"It's really good, it's great, I love it.

"It sort of makes you feel like you're doing something worthwhile, yeah, and not just sitting around doing nothing in here."

She has taken on the role of managing the storeroom, where huge piles of donated fabric are waiting to be sorted, and comes in whenever she gets the chance.

Jess said she tried to keep busy to make "the time go quicker".

Volunteer Heather Gerbic, who is leading the Matariki project, said the meaning of Matariki, celebrating a new year and those that had passed, had a wider meaning for the group.

"Really respecting that the old story of what brought the wāhine into the prison isn't the story that they're going forward with... we kind of see this as a new year, a new beginning, a new possibility, a new opportunity."

Gerbic said the class provided possibility but required commitment.

"Learning that you'll get out of it what you put in, has meant that some have made three cushion covers, four patches and others are still finishing."

Mei said before prison she had never touched a needle and thread.

But now she has been asked to make 80 of her dog treat bags she created from scratch.

"I said yes, I said okay, I can do it."

Mei has become inspired to pursue a career in the creative industry and spend some time volunteering in the future.

Robyn Bickers, who runs the group, said while it had taken time to get here, the group's confidence had skyrocketed.

"Once they realise that we're not going to be denigrating their talents or making fun of them or anything like that, and that they actually can do something positive, it's actually a joy to see them blossom."

There is significant demand from other prisoners to join the group, and they are hoping to increase it to once a week.

"It is important for everybody to have some sort of creative substance in their lives, and I think that's what we attempt to provide," Bickers said.

Mei said sewing provided a sense of calm. "It keeps me kind... calms me down sometimes, I just concentrate on one thing, so it's like a mindfulness for me."

Jess said the biggest benefit the group provided was a safe space to create and connect and where everyone was treated equally.

"It brings the girls together, it's a day where we all just sit around like this, and we're happy, and yeah, it sort of takes your mind off everything."

After six months of working on the project, the Matariki wall hanging, which will go on display inside the prison, was unveiled on Thursday morning.

Dulcet tones and the strumming of a guitar filled the space as the group performed an original waiata Matariki Te Matariki Ō Te Tau.

*The names of the prisoners used in this story have been changed to protect their privacy.