History
Introduction
This historical and traditional marae on 8 acres in Glenbervie, Whangarei, has identifiable features that go back to the mid 1800's with a whare karakia (church) built in 1886, a church vicarage, an urupa (cemetery), and distinctive oak trees from that era.
In 1885 the whanau gifted the 8 acres of the present site to the Church of England to hold in trust for use as a church, vicarage and burial ground.
In 1980 the church land was returned to the whanau, following a Private Members Bill, and a major fundraising and building programme has occurred over the last 25 years, Funds have been generated from whanau, fundraising and grants locally and nationally in excess of $300,000 since 1980.
This has allowed the building of a Whare Nui,"Te Reo O Te Iwi, a Whare Kai, "Te Reo O Te Ora, and an ablutions block. Minor maintenance has occured on the church and the vicarage during the last 25 years. A planting programme with DOC has accurred over the last 15 years.
Present Status
The marae has enjoyed high usage by whanau and the wider Whangarei and Northland community over the last 25 years. Currently in excess of 10,000 use the marae each year and Pehiaweri has gained an enviable reputation for its hospitality, spirit, and inclusiveness of all peoples.
It has a diverse range of support and use. Pehiaweri has won awards for its health projects and is seen as a progressive organisation throughout the region, able to support a range of cultural, social, health, sport, and local needs.
A further stage of completion of the whare kai occurred in 2000 with the support of grant money and art work from local schools. This upgrade has further enhanced the use of the facility.
The vicarage, previously used as a whare nui, for accommodation and as a Te Kohanga Reo, has been unusable for the last 10 years and requires a lot of expenditure to make it habitable.
Similarly the church has been closed for health and safety reasons since early 2001. A church restoration committee has been formed and has been working towards the buildings upgrades needed and identifity options for funding the restoration.
Page last updated 24 Mar 2011
