Matariki is a time for remembrance, honouring those we have lost in the past year, celebrating the present by coming together to give thanks for what we have, and looking to the future and the promise of a new year.

Each star represents different elements, these are:

Matariki: Signifying reflection, hope, connection to the environment, our health and wellbeing and the gathering of people.

Pōhutukawa: Connection to those who have passed on.

Tupuārangi: Connection to everything that grows up in the trees.

Tupuānuku: Connection to everything that grows within the soil to be harvested/gathered for food.

Waitī: Connection to freshwater bodies and the food sources sustained by those waters.

Waitā: Connection to the ocean and the food sources within it.

Waipuna-ā-Rangi: Connection with the rain, Ururangi: Connection with the wind.

Hiwaiterangi: Grants our wishes and realises our aspirations for the coming year.