MEDIA ADVISORY

27 September 2016

Wellington City Taiaha to be presented tomorrow in lead-up to the DHL NZ British & Irish Lions Series

At the full Wellington City Council meeting tomorrow (Wednesday 28 September, 5.30pm) the city will be presented with a specially designed Taiaha as part of the lead up to the DHL NZ British & Irish Lions Series matches in Wellington next year.

New Zealand Rugby has commissioned seven hand-carved Taiaha to be presented to the New Zealand cities hosting the ten-match British & Irish Lions series. Wellington is hosting two games in June and July 2017.

A Taiaha is a traditional Maori weapon. The gifting of these to NZ host cities is a key feature of the DHL Lions Series. The host cities safeguard their Taiaha until the games are played, then they’ll be given to the winning teams in acknowledgement of their victory.

Wellington’s Taiaha will be held in the Mayor’s Office until the British & Irish Lions versus Hurricanes game in Wellington on 27 June 2017.

Wellington’s Taiaha will be presented to Mayor Celia Wade-Brown by representatives from New Zealand Rugby at the full Council meeting on Wednesday. Be there at 5.30pm to catch a special glimpse of this Taiaha.

This is the last Council meeting of triennium and, as such, the Taiaha presentation is not the only excitement in store. There will also be valedictory speeches and an update on Wellington City’s draft Resilience Strategy.

All this is going down at the full Council meeting on Wednesday 28 September at 5.30pm in Wellington City Council’s Committee Room One. Media are welcome to attend.

The DHL New Zealand Lions Series features rugby players from the UK and Ireland taking on the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians, the Māori All Blacks and the five Investec Super Rugby teams. For more information about the games and teams, please visit http://www.nzlionsseries17.com/

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