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Story: East Coast region

'Tu mai' waiata by Meng Foon

Meng Foon, mayor of Gisborne from 2001 to 2019, is a fluent Māori speaker. In this clip, students of Hiruharama School, 10 km south of Ruatōria, perform and sing a waiata, 'Tu mai', composed by Foon.

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Youtube: Mayormeng's Channel

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How to cite this page

Monty Soutar, East Coast region – Overview, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/33266/tu-mai-waiata-by-meng-foon (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Monty Soutar, published 23 August 2011, updated 1 March 2015.

Comments

Heni Johnson
26 April 2017
Kia ora koutou, Thank you for the articles on the East Coast region and waiata-a-ringa composition by Mayor Meng Foon, I found it very interesting and nice to re-cap on some of our own historic stories that connect to some of our whakapapa. Thank you, again. Nga mihi