Waiata in the Woolshed: In Conversation with Emma Maurice and Guests - An Afternoon of Connection

Waiata in the Woolshed brought together everything I value: intimate conversation, cultural connection, and learning grounded in relationship rather than institution.

In a historic working woolshed at Peel Forest, I shared my journey from my RNZ interview - discussing how I’ve navigated identity and academia after not being raised in te ao Māori but deliberately choosing to reconnect with my whakapapa. The afternoon explored how we locate ourselves in historical narratives, how Ngāi Tahu letter writers asserted Indigenous agency, and how these stories shape our understanding of who we are today.

Joined by incredible artists and storytellers - author Jeffrey Paparoa Holman, countertenor Austin Haynes, emerging writer Pounamu Jade Aikman, and waiata ensemble Wāhine on Toa - we created space for audience members to share their own stories and songs. With MC Anah Aikman guiding us, we wove together waiata, narrative, and shared kai in a setting that honored both tradition and innovation.

This is the kind of educational space I want to create more of: not extractive, but generative. Not performance, but participation. Not individual, but collective. Learning that happens in relationship, in place, with kai and waiata alongside words.

Special thanks to Belinda and Joe from The Page and Prose Bookshop in Geraldine for making this event happen.