Arai Te Uru Marae’s 40th birthday celebration ‘a blessing of a day’

After rising from the ashes of a devastating fire, the Arai Te Uru Marae celebrated a major milestone at the weekend.

Hundreds of people turned out to enjoy kai, music, bouncy castles, and plenty of other fun activities to mark the marae’s 40th birthday on Saturday.

Marae chairwoman Tania Williams said it was "a blessing of a day".

It began with a ceremony involving the raising of a new flag, as a sign of a new era for the marae, while acknowleding those who had come before.

"Today is a little taster of the way that we’re going to thrive in the future."

It was not the first fresh start for the marae.

The original marae was built on the Maori Hill site in 1980, but it was burned down by an arsonist in 1997.

"I like to say that this whare here is the phoenix, we’ve risen back from the ashes bigger and better than before, and we’re just moving positively forward on our waka in this community."

The marae’s doors were open to anyone who wanted to come in, and they would find a home there, she said.

"It doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter where you come from, it’s about heart and we talk the language of love here."

Photographs of loved ones who had died were also being sought, to put up on the walls of the wharenui.

"Especially in this last eight weeks, we’ve lost a lot of our elders from the marae, so it’s hit us quite hard.

"The purpose of the photos is to bring those elders back into the house."