Kōtuitanga signing, a significant milestone in our partnership with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei

Today we welcomed Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to Ngā Ana Wai – Eden Park for the signing of a kōtuitanga, a shared agreement between Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and Ngā Ana Wai which builds on the foundations of a strong, strategic relationship and fosters mahi tahi and reciprocity.

Ngā Ana Wai – Eden Park CEO, Nick Sautner said “On behalf of the Eden Park Trust Board, management, and staff, we are delighted to be deepening our relationship with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.

“The Kōtuitanga is the platform upon which we can establish shared purposes, while actively supporting each other’s future aspirations.

“It reflects our joint commitment to education, community and relationship and I am confident that we will continue to learn from and contribute to each other’s success as we focus on delivering a diverse range of sporting, entertainment, cultural and community events that benefit Tāmaki Makaurau and Aotearoa New Zealand.

“From the recent hosting of Te Matatini kapa haka festival at the stadium, to sending our Turf team to help floodwaters on the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei land, to the blessing of our new turf – there have been many opportunities over the past several years to collaborate together towards shared purposes.

“Moving forward we have identified a number of areas of collaboration, including uplifting our teams’ confidence in te reo Māori, tikanga and kawa o Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei way of being, event development, venue sharing, governance knowledge and best practice sharing including business knowledge, strategy and philosophy, and educational and training opportunities such as iwi internships,” said Mr Sautner.

Kōtuitanga is the name endorsed by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei for strategic agreements and partnerships working primarily with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.

The word kōtuitanga can be translated as lashing or joining. It references Te Kōtuitanga on the western border of the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei lands of interest where waka were carved and lashed with rākau from Waitākere and then floated on Te Whau.