Our History
Anamata Private Training Establishment started way back in the early 1980’s as part of the Department of Labour’s, work skills development programme. Tāmati Kruger was brought in to manage this new venture, located in the Rūātoki School grounds. The courses taught were music, motor repairs and vehicle rebuilds, bone carving and screen printing. This initiative then incorporated classes in business advice and training programmes, carpentry courses and financial business skills. In 1989 NZQA was introduced and this required all community-based organisations delivering education programmes to be registered and accredited.
In 1993, this brought about a new name for a new direction and Te Pū Wānanga ō Anamata was born as an entirely new educational enterprise within the Eastern Bay of Plenty. Its aim was not only to advance students’ knowledge but also to develop iwi, hapū and whānau. This was when Te Reo Maōri, farming skills and computing courses were put into the mix. Qualifications were developed with the Tūhoe and surrounding community in mind; to help our young people gain employment and achieve goals in their careers. Anamata is serious about developing a healthy Iwi through teaching and learning situations to positively develop the interaction between whānau and their environment.
For the last 30 years, Anamata has been the vehicle for creating and influencing change in the community by producing well rounded, capable graduates through responsive and innovative education and training. We aim to achieve improvement in student achievement with our focus on increasing provision at higher levels and increasing the participation of second-chance learners.
In June, 2022 Anamata made its’ journey ‘home’, and relocated back into the Ruatoki Valley where it all began.
What makes Anamata unique? We provide teaching and learning from a Tūhoe perspective using Tūhoe tikanga and reo as the basis of our worldview. For students who are not Tūhoe, we give them the basis from which they can view their own culture, language and identity. Being secure in their own place in the world has long been recognized as the best place for embarking on new learning.
Our Aspirations
Te Pū Wānanga o Anamata was created to serve the language, cultural and whakapapa aspirations of Tūhoe both nationally and internationally by producing practitioners of te reo: cultural leaders who will determine their tribal future and who are conscious of their responsibility for representing their iwi.
Anamata is a provider of tertiary education, providing a framework to actively promote high-quality education, employment opportunities and safe working conditions to improve the well-being of Iwi/Māori.
The ultimate purpose is to generate Tūhoe culturally literate people, bringing about their continual prosperity and value to the community. Our commitment is to deliver recognised qualifications and always reach a high standard to contribute to Tūhoe economic development.
We develop and strengthen core programmes such as te reo, and social well-being to protect the language and nurture the health of our whānau. Our students, no matter if they are first-time tertiary students or returning to further their education, are encouraged to be independent thinkers and achievers, who are encouraged to maximise their potential through culturally appropriate support.
Our aspirations and commitments include:
- To deliver qualifications through an iwi paradigm to meet stakeholder needs and provide nationally-recognized qualifications
- To attract Māori learners who are first-time tertiary students and provide culturally-appropriate support to enable them to maximize their potential
- To provide pathways to further education and employment as a result of gaining qualifications
- To contribute to the well-being of Iwi/Māori
- To protect and nurture Te Reo o Ngāi Tūhoe/Te Reo Māori
- To focus research on creating new Māori knowledge that contributes to whānau, hapū, Iwi prosperity
- To contribute to Tūhoe economic development
Te Kaitohu / The Anamata Spiral
Te Kaitohu / Anamata spiral represents the inter-connectedness and purpose of toiora in education.
The conceptual framework Mauri Ora is depicted in the six spirals representing the six woven cultural constructs of whakapapa, tikanga, wairua, tapu, mauri and mana all of which are dependent upon the balance between the hinengaro; ngākau; tinana and wairua. Underpinning this is the relationship that exists between one’s experience of ihi, wehi and wana.
Likewise, the central element of the spiral represents the notion of reflection or the ability to retrace, review and revise a way of thinking and re-thinking one’s experience of learning. Placed alongside other concepts of education, reflection leads to comprehension of the way in which theory is applied. This knowledge is consolidated so that the practitioner may apply the learning in the field.