The Ōhiwa Oyster Farm is renowned in the eastern Bay of Plenty for their range of seafood, hot foods and delicious fresh oysters.

Ngāti Hokopu hapū of Ngāti Awa are delighted to have gathered on Friday morning to support the Geddes whānau who have just purchased the Ōhiwa Oyster Farm and business.

Mac Kingi of Ngāti Hokopu says he is proud of the Geddes whānau and looks forward to seeing the Tio Ōhiwa farm thrive in Māori hands.

“This pākihi, recently bought by Wini and Simoni Geddes, is just amazing and I hope all of our whānau will come and support them, not by coming to eat for free but by purchasing and sharing their mahi everywhere and anywhere. This is their small business and I hope we all support them as a iwi."

Proud new owner Wini Geddes says one of the main reasons she purchased the farm was to re-live some of her childhood memories with her whānau.

She says at an early age her whānau and hapū treasured Ōhiwa harbour as a pātaka kai (a food basket) and says now she is excited to have purchased the farm, more importantly, to continue to create similar memories for her iwi and the whānau she has.

“When I was young, we all used to come and gather kai here every summer and, although this farm and shop was here, we traditionally gathered kai in the Ōhiwa harbour. So when we saw the farm ready to be sold, we saw it as an opportunity to get our people back to kaimoana inside Ōhiwa harbour.”

Ngamotu Hartley is a proud son of Wini and Simon Geddes and is excited to be able to move home to Ōhiwa and manage the new Tio Ōhiwa farm. 

“I have been away from home for about 30 years and this has actually reconnected me and my whānau and my kids back to my roots. And I am happy and proud now that we made the move home to support my parents with this mahi and start a new career as an Oyster farmer for my kids."

The Geddes family intends to set up a cadetship in the coming months to instruct Ngāti Awa rangatahi in agricultural skills.

Credit: www.teaomaori.news