Te Hoe Ki Mātangireia, a pan-tribal group from Australia, are set to take to the stage at the kapa haka senior regional competitions in the Gold Coast this weekend. Photo: Supplied / Te Matatini
Kapa haka groups from across Australia will gather on the Gold Coast this weekend for the regional competitions to find the groups who will qualify for Te Matatini 2025.
Te Matatini Te Whenua Moemoeā delegate, Ihaka Cotter. Photo: Supplied / Te Matatini
Te Matatini Te Whenua Moemoeā (Australia) delegate Ihaka Cotter said kapa haka teams from Australia had always looked forward to competing at the bi-annual Te Matatini competition in New Zealand because kapa haka provides the 180,000 Māori who work and live across the ditch a connection to Aotearoa.
"As Māori living away from home, it's important that we are represented at Te Matatini. We also have a longing for home and so it always gives us that grounding and connection."
Nine kapa haka teams from across Australia will perform at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre in Carrara on the Gold Coast on Saturday - one from Western Australia, two from Victoria, four from New South Wales and two from Queensland, with five new groups set to make their debut.
Three teams will qualify to compete at Te Matatini, which will be held in Ngāmotu New Plymouth in February 2025.
"This is a showcase of the best kapa haka on offer in Australia, promoting and displaying the Māori culture on a national level," Cotter said.
Te Pāti Maori co-leader Rawiri Waititi and Tāmaki-Makaurau MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp will attend the competition during an Australian visit aiming to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia and local indigenous communities.
"As manuhiri to this sacred whenua, it is important that Māori understand their responsibilities as manuhiri but also their accountability to the whenua and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples of Australia," Waititi told Whakaata Māori.
