Pepeha

Ka tangi te tītī
Ka tangi te kākā
Ka tangi hoki ahau
(As the sooty shearwater announces its presence,
As the parrot voices its presence,
So too do I)
Nga mihi nui ki a koutou katoa
Ko Maungakiekie te māunga
Ko te Moananui a Kiwa te moana
Ko Ngāti Pākehā tōku iwi
Ko takatāpui tōku hapū
Ko whakawahine tōku whānau
Ko Ngā Wai o Horotiu tōku marae
Nō Ōtautahi ahau
Ko Jack Matheson rāua ko Annie Charlotte Rule ōku mātua
Ko Lexie Matheson tōku ingoa
Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa

TRANSLATION:
Hello everyone, I am Lexie Matheson ONZM.
I am from Otautahi Christchurch but Tāmaki Makaurau is now my home. I feel close to
Mangakiekie (One Tree Hill) where I spend a lot of time.
I have surfed, swum, and playing in the sea around our coasts, hence my awa being
Moananui a Kiwa, the great Pacific Ocean.
I love our whenua, acknowledge Papatūānuku as our Earth Mother, and recognise my role
as one of many kaitiake of this place.
I am a Pākehā New Zealander. My parents are Jack and Annie.
My DNA says I’m from Ireland and Scandinavia but there’s a lot of cultural Scot in there too,
from my father.
Kei konei au, ko au tēnei.