The new Living Pā building will be ceremonially opened on 6 December 2024. Following this, Te Hui Whakapūmau (the marae graduation) will be hosted on 13 December, the building’s occupants will be moved back to the marae from 16 December, and the University closes for the summer break on 20 December.

From Tuesday 21 January 2025, the booking tools for the marae hub will be open, hosted on the marae’s redesigned website.

Options to book marae space for one-off meetings and courses will be as follows:

Te Tumu Herenga Waka (the whare whakairo):

• Capacity: 150 comfortably, 220 using forms.
• A pōwhiri is normally required for first-time users, including classes, and for one-off visiting groups.
• The tikanga expectations and requirements can be discussed with the marae staff. This includes catering, technology, booking, and service fees.
• Noho marae—use of the wharenui, wharekai, and possibly additional Living Pā spaces can be discussed with marae staff.

In the Living Pā:

• Level 1, open plan, informal amphitheatre-type seating (like The Hub, only smaller).
  • Suitable for informal lectures, presentations, or seminars.
  • Capacity: 60
• Level 2, open plan, flat floor space.
  • Suitable for teaching and seminars.
  • Capacity: 60 for a didactic layout or 80 for a project layout.
• Level 2 and 3, seminar and meeting spaces.
  • Suitable for meetings, teaching, and seminars.
  • Capacity: 10-25.

Tours:

• Options to tour the new building will also open on Tuesday 21 January 2025.

The authenticity of marae space is one of the things that we want to protect and nurture. Like most marae, interactions and bookings at Te Herenga Waka marae are based on relationships, kaupapa, and the willingness and capability for guests to operate under tikanga Māori, with less emphasis on ‘hiring out’ and transactional approaches.

As a community, the marae will be working through how we authentically stay true to our values, be recognised for our principles, and be a gathering place and educational facility for our students, staff, and wider communities and groups coming into our spaces.

We encourage people who want to book any of the spaces at the marae facilities not to see them as just another space. It is everybody’s responsibility to uphold the values, kawa, and tikanga of our marae.

The marae looks forward to considering booking requests from 21 January 2025.