Swan Poo and Sharks' teeth.

22 hours ago
3 min read

Write On on Rēkohu (Part 1)

As March drew to an end, two of our tutors (Kate Preece and Heather McQuillan) collaborated with the three tiny schools on Rēkohu | Wharekauri |The Chatham Islands. We worked with 23 young writers over three days at the stunning Kōpinga Marae — the only Moriori marae in existence.

Here are some of Heather's notes:

Getting together!

The Chatham Islands (Rēkohu |Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about 800 km east of Ōtautahi |Christchurch. There are three schools on the islands. Pitt Island School students need to travel by boat or plane to meet up with their peers on the main island. Kaingaroa School is on the far northeast tip, about an hour's drive over potted gravel roads from Te One School. One of our fabulous tutors, Kate lives at Owenga (at the South East tip), and I travelled by plane from Christchurch (a 2-hour flight). Just getting there was a mission.

A map for reference
Air Chatham's is ready to leave Christchurch
Arriving at Tuuta airport, on a peninsula in the middle of the lagoon.

Kōpinga

To make it all worth the effort, the three school principals, Haylee, Mel and Nic, arranged for a week-long programme for their tamariki, combining full-on days of swimming sports, leadership training and writing workshops. The tamariki from Pitt Island and Kaingaroa stayed at Kōpinga Marae in the centre of the island, so this became our writing base too.

This was a huge highlight and a perfect place to write. The marae features artworks and photos telling the history of the Moriori people. Many of the tamariki have Moriori ancestry, and there are ta rē Moriori words on posters in the dining hall where we were based.

Check out Kate's trilingual book here: Ten Nosy Weka

1 and 2 Kōpinga marae photos from https://chathamislands.co.nz/our-islands/culture-history/kopinga-marae/

Writing workshop in the dining hall

Imaginations Let Loose

We were all together for the first session — 23 tamariki and two writers. It was fast-paced as we wrote weird and wacky stories to warm up. Imaginations fired as nouns and verbs were switched out, and there was plenty of laughter with spoons teetering on the brink of a volcano, toothpaste stranded on a meteorite, and a red Ferrari seeking revenge.

our view of Petre Bay and Lake Huro.
our view of Te Whanga lagoon
Waitangi beach

The Three Waters Writing

With a stunning view from the marae across three water bodies — Petre Bay, Lake Huro and Te Whanga Lagoon — this became a great opportunity to share observations, knowledge, experiences and sensations. Swan poo and shark's teeth generated lots of talk and writing!

While the Year 5&6 children wrote about all three water bodies that we could see on a glorious morning, by the time we worked on this with the Year 7 & 8s a couple of days later, the view was obscured. They selected a water body they knew well from memory and explored it at different times and seasons.

Here are some snippets from the fabulous poems that were written. You'll be able to find some of these in Write On Issue 66 coming soon, or on Write On Speak Out (maybe coming sooner!)

The lagoon is deep.

The swan poo makes it deeper.

As I step on it

squidgy

between my toes

Douglas, Year 5

Glimmering blue

Bean-shaped

A fence sinks down and up again

Lainey Year 5

Gale force winds tear at the lake

water is spraying everywhere

it is not a time to go outside.

Billy, Year 7

Dark blue, oval like a jellybean, shining like a diamond,

But do not drink the water.

Swamp poop!

Jade, Year 6

Around the little bay of Owenga,

boats upset the smooth water with their blasting motors

Matai, Year 8

the water is glistening for the rising sun,

I see all the white bait in the shallow.

Zion, Year 7

Shark's teeth wash up.

The lagoon waits for someone

to pick them up.

Saylor Year 5

After class, Kate drove me to a place called Blind Jim's to hunt for the fossilised sharks' teeth I had just learned about. I also encountered the swan poo!