New citizens welcomed to the Hurunui with resounding performance

Amberley School’s Kapa Haka group welcomed Hurunui’s new citizens to the district this week with a resounding performance, as applause shook the rafters of the St John Training Hall in Amberley.

Seventeen new citizens affirmed their allegiance to New Zealand at Hurunui District Council’s Citizenship ceremony on Tuesday afternoon, with Lieutenant Kiel Wakeham of the Royal New Zealand Navy representing the Crown.

Mayor Marie Black said the waiata and kapa haka performance were a perfect way to welcome the new citizens, who have come all the way from Germany, South Africa, the United Kingdom, India, the Philippines, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the United States, to call Hurunui home.

Mayor Black said it was rewarding to witness in the Hurunui how culture is generously shared, with the new citizens welcomed into their new communities, and also sharing their own culture with the district’s other residents.