Wairarapa Maori go hi-tech | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

Finding out what is happening in the world of Wairarapa Maori is now easier than ever before.

A new website, www.wairarapamaori.com, aiming to keep people up to date with what's going on around the region by holding a "hui in cyberspace", is up and running and looking for feedback.

The site is the initiative of the He Kahui Wairarapa group, supported by REAP, and has been online since March.

Website developer and He Kahui Wairarapa member Makuini Kerehi said keeping people linked was the prime motivator for establishing such a site.

"It was for lots of reasons, mainly to keep everybody in touch with what's happening, especially the people who don't live here. They can check out what's going on."

She said the site was still in its early stages of development but that big plans are afoot for it.

"Eventually we want people to be able to go on there and find a local waiata to learn, and put short clips of movies of things that might have been happening around Wairarapa. It's a way to promote what Maori people are doing in the area."

She said the idea was to get people around the area submitting information that could then be posted on the site.

"People can contact us and say 'can you put this on'. It could be photos from a reunion, a hui you've got coming up or a birth even.

"It will be too much for us to manage if we have to come up with all the information."

At the moment the website has information about upcoming events, like festivals and kapa haka competitions, photos of some local kaumatua (elders) and rangitahi (youngsters), and information about the various Wairarapa marae, iwi and hapu.

She said making the information easily digestible and of interest to locals is at the front of the minds of the developers.

"We've got a lot of photos. We don't want it to get bogged down in heavy text. We want to find a happy medium."