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"I have lived the whole Waipareira journey" - Te Whānau o Waipareira Chair, Ray Hall #Wai40

Raymond Hall | Ngāti Whatua | Te Rarawa

Ray Hall has been the Chair of Te Whānau o Waipareira for over a decade, a role he was prepared for after being raised amongst Waipareira kaumātua with whanaungatanga and aroha, traits permanently wired into his DNA.

Being one of nine children Ray has fond memories growing up in West Auckland.

“If you know the layout of Te Atatu there were different types of families who were spread out across the Peninsula, all of their own influences. Our family home was down on the Taiparei Strand which is Waipareira Creek. I went to Matipo Primary School and I was first introduced to this whole movement through my mum as Mr and Mrs Sharples were our kapa haka teachers. We used to practice at their whare, the Te Atatu Community Centre on Tuesdays and Hoani Waititi on Thursdays. Back then the wharenui wasn’t completed and so we practiced in the wharekai”.

Reflecting on those times growing up, Ray always felt supported by the leaders.

“I have fond memories of that. And the main thing is I have lived the whole Waipareira journey. We were related to Uncle Tuck Nathan who was from the same place as me, up in Kaihu. I remember being over there with mum at a really young age, must have been mid to late 70’s, sitting in his garage with cups of tea, bread and butter and he would start to manaaki. With a pen and paper Uncle Tuck would find out which families needed support, who needed vegetables, who needed firewood, who needed coal; where would all of that come from and how it would get to them".

The importance of that support was increasing with many Māori struggling to adjust to the urban settings and some even penalised for it.

“I was socialised into it through school by seeing the whanaungatanga growing. I knew that Tuini Hakaraia was my 'Aunty', Don Rameka was an uncle, the Sharples, Fraser Delamere and all of those guys. This was socialisation of a concept like Te Whānau o Waipareira that was gradually being created. That’s why it’s important for me as the Chair to have lived it and know what Waipareiratanga actually is”.

As a young adult Ray was introduced to Te Whānau o Waipareira again when local policeman Alf Pukepuke arrived at his house.

“Alf told me to get in the car and he took me down to Waipareira. We pulled up and there’s Uncle Jack Wihongi sitting on the deck in the sun. Alf walked me up to Uncle Jack and he goes, ‘This is young Raymond Hall, he comes from Te Atatu, he’s got a good family over there, we all grew up together. But right now, he’s hanging around with the wrong crew and we don’t know what to do with him’. Meanwhile Uncle Jack is looking at me down his glasses and he says, ‘Take him to the police station’. And that’s what Alf did”.

Following a couple of meetings with some highly ranked staff, Ray accepted a place in the new six-month Māori/Pacific Island police training programme while continuing his other passion of playing rugby league. After completing the course his police career took a backseat when the coach of the Canberra Raiders, Tim Sheens, personally asked him to play for them in the Australian NRL competition. Ray moved his young family to Australia to play for a few seasons before retiring to take on coaching. After several years Ray eventually returned to Aotearoa with his whānau, attending university before moving into the Mental Health space.

“Then I became the Deputy Chair at Waipareira to Josie Smith. I remember John ringing me saying we were flying to Wellington the next day to sign the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency contract. It was a big deal and I was a novice. Michelle Hippolite from Te Puni Kokiri asked if I knew this was the biggest contract to ever go from a Crown Agency to an NGO".

That was 2014, the same year Ray became the Chair of Te Whānau o Waipareira.

“It’s all been a great experience. My own knowledge and life journey prepared me well and that continues to grow with me every day. I don’t see myself as a leader of Waipareira, because my leadership is for my family. This role is about tika pono and aroha. I’ve seen a lot of changes and I’ve seen a lot of development in people and that was instilled in me by my parents and leaders like Aunty Mae, Whaea June, Ma and Pa Pukepuke and Sir Pita Sharples. Our amazing leaders were always telling us that we are a community that knows no bounds and we keep moving forward. Whanaungatanga, kotahitanga, that’s what it’s about”.

For the past 40 years, Waipareira have provided free services and support for whānau of all ages in West Auckland – health, legal, housing and education.

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