DIY Marae work a winner for Sappers

Marae throughout the country have been spruced up thanks to the efforts of Sappers from 2 Engineer Regiment who teamed up with locals to get the work done.

The projects were filmed by Screentime for the television series DIY Marae. The carpenters and plumbers worked long hours but all described the experience as “memorable”, says School of Military Engineering Troop Commander Lieutenant Sean Kinsella. Each day began with a powhiri and karakia, and the soldiers were fed by members of the local iwi. LT Kinsella, who also acted as safety supervisor throughout the projects, said one of the highlights for him was the exposure to the wild coast in Ruatoria, and seeing the very strong ties that the whanau there had with Army. “There were many links to 28th Maori Bn, and several who had served until recently. Also Ngarimu VC was of the local iwi of Ngati Porou. Likewise the exposure to Maori culture in a purely authentic context was amazing. Hearing casual conversations flowing all over the build site in Te Reo was pretty neat.

“The family aspect was awesome — people from all over the country, even from the South Island had come to help out. The food was great and abundant; the environment was very wild and quite beautiful. Most of all it was probably the people — both the DIY crew and the whanau that made it just a really fun experience. “By the end of it they really made us feel part of their community and they seemed genuinely happy and proud that we had worked alongside them — as was our team for the opportunity to do so. Especially in such a remote, hidden and stunning part of the country that we probably otherwise wouldn’t get to see.”

School of Military Engineering Warrant Officer Class Two Murray Reid said the DIY Marae tasks provided quality training for the Army’s trades. “They also improved our ability to deploy in a civil response type scenario to remote parts of the country. We were able to work alongside and interact with a lot of the people and communities that have provided many Service people over the years to the NZDF. The project enhanced the NZDF profile in the local communities and gave us some meaningful training.”