Kia ora, George!

This week is Māori Language Week – and amid events organised by Police staff this week to celebrate Aotearoa’s first language, one project has led a senior officer on a trip down memory lane.

As a child, Inspector Hirone Waretini – Canterbury District Māori Responsiveness Manager -  was an aspiring actor. At the age of 11 he trod the boards at Auckland’s Mercury Theatre in The King and I, alongside famed Māori actor George Henare.

“George played the role of the King and I played his son, the Crown Prince,” says Hirone. “For three months or so, George was essentially my other dad.”

Fast forward to 2016 and Hirone was thinking about producing a series of short videos for social media to mark Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.

“As luck would have it, George happened to be in Christchurch, performing in Educating Rita at the Court Theatre,” says Hirone.

“I thought there was a tremendous opportunity to create a lasting relationship with the theatre, to obtain some footage to support the week and to reconnect after 33 years with George.”

Hirone did indeed catch up with his former stage father and recorded a brief Te Reo message on his Police iPhone before George flew out to take a role in Aladdin in Sydney.

“This very small idea has achieved a lot already,” says Hirone.

“There are some really exciting opportunities to connect the theatre to our Māori, Pacific and ethnic communities and vice versa and to discover potential avenues of employment and education for our young people.

“The arts are a great way for communities to express what’s important to them.

“It just shows how amazing New Zealand Police is that we can do this type of thing to benefit our organisation, our communities and to give life to our value of Commitment to Māori and the Treaty.”

The videos will be posted on the Canterbury Police Facebook page throughout this week - starting today with George Henare.