Tamaki Makaurau's Mangere Maunga is offering members of the community the chance to book hangi pits in their new recreation space near the base of the mountain.
Rewi Spraggon, a hangi master, worked alongside Tupuna Maunga Authority and urban design company Boffa Miskell to create the whanau atea.
A key inspiration for bringing it to life was to keep Maori traditions alive, with the hangi pits being crafted from the same materials as traditional hangis.
"I've always been an advocate for hangi tuturu and making sure that this art form of this style of living doesn't get lost," Spraggon told Te Ao Maori News. "By giving the community opportunity and teaching the how to hangi properly then that obviously will help the interest."
"It's important if we do a hangi we do it properly," Spraggon said, adding that food and training will be provided to anyone who needs it.
There are enough hangi pits to provide for 400 plus people at any one time, and they'll be able to be booked for community events, as well as privately.
The hangi pits will open in March of this year, but the new spot also contains two basketball half-courts, a Maori playground, and a skate park. Manu whenua stories have been painted on the basketball courts, and the Maori playground, designed by traditional Maori play expert Harko Brown, includes traditional Maori play elements, such as tupekepeke, whirinaki, and wiwi wawa.
Alf Filipaina, the deputy chair and Mangere-Otahuhu ward councillor, is super excited for those living in the area to have access to the space, and believes it will become a popular spot.
"We are thrilled to make the whanau atea available to the Mangere Bridge community," she told Te Ao Maori News. "We anticipate the whanau atea at Te Pane o Mataoho will fast become a destination for families in Tamaki Makaurau."
Over the year, the space will be decorated by manu whenua artists and local schools.
