Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro Visits Te Kura o Otangarei and I Have a Dream

Her Excellency Dame Cindy Kiro (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu) Governor General of New Zealand is a passionate advocate for supporting and empowering youth and has dedicated her career spanning the education, public health and welfare sectors to improving wellbeing outcomes for young people. During her recent visit to meet the students and staff at Te Kura o Otangarei (TKO) and to view the I Have a Dream (IHAD) programme operating in partnership with the school, her passion for children, along with her curiosity and engaging, down to earth warmth, were obvious.

After being welcomed into TKO with a beautiful mihi whakatau led by the students, Her Excellency commended the tamariki for their bravery in leading the welcome and waiata and shared that she, just like them was a proud Northlander and the first person from Te Tai Tokerau to become the Governor General. Perhaps a future one was in this very room today she wondered aloud. Dame Cindy is also the first wahine Māori to hold the position, and the first person in her family to achieve tertiary qualifications.

In planning her 2025 visit to Northland, Her Excellency was recommended to visit Te Kura o Otangarei and the IHAD programme through one of her local advisors, Pauline Hopa. The partnership between the school and IHAD as well as the Otangarei Garden Oasis were of great interest to Dame Cindy as a previous patron of Garden to Table.

Accompanied by her husband, Dr Richard Davies, and her official party, Dame Cindy was guided around the gardens by Danelle Unuwai, Principal of TKO, and IHAD CEO, Shane Gorst.

The flourishing garden oasis includes vegetable garden beds, fruit trees, beehives, and natural playgrounds, offering tamariki a hands-on learning experience where they can plant, harvest, cook, and pickle fresh produce. Teachers at the school have also noticed that the tamariki are calmer and more relaxed when they are in these natural, outdoor spaces.

Watch video

Mihi whakatau by students and highlights from the visit.

Since being established, the Otangarei Garden Oasis project has helped unify the community over a shared purpose. Parents and grandparents have shared their gardening expertise, while local businesses Sudburys and Tahi have contributed by assisting with planting and sharing their knowledge to help the garden thrive.

While outside in the garden setting, Dame Cindy observed groups of Navigators working closely with Dreamers (IHAD programme participants). One group engaged in a fun te reo Māori counting game, learnt about the story behind Ki o Rahi, a traditional Māori ball game, by reading a book written by IHAD, before kicking off an energetic round of Ki o Rahi, testing their agility and teamwork skills.

Another group of Dreamers put their Garden to Table programme skills into action, cooking frittatas and preparing fresh juice using ingredients from the garden.

To mark the occasion, Dreamers presented Dame Cindy and Dr Davies with personalised Red Band gumboots, beautifully decorated with their own artwork, which they loved.

In return, Dame Cindy gifted TKO a native tree for the garden, gave a Rippa Rugby set to IHAD, and finally special commemorative badges for all the Dreamers who took part in the visit. The visit was featured in an article by the Northern Advocate much to the delight of the community.

Having Her Excellency recognise and acknowledge Te Kura o Otangarei and I Have a Dream by including us in her busy schedule was a tremendous honour.

Watch video – Whaea Nix from Te Kura o Otangarei shares how the Otangarei Garden Oasis came to life, and the future vision for the project.

Explore more milestones, stories, and impact highlights from the past year in our 2024 Annual Report.