About Tūwhana

Tūwhana is our Māori project name, gifted to us by the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori of Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington.

In a literal sense, a tūwhana is a river-crossing pole. In traditional Māori culture, if a group wanted to cross a treacherous river they would source a long pole. The strongest person in the group would hold the pole on one side of the river and then another strong person would cross the river and be positioned at the other end of the pole. The remaining people in the group would then cross the river by linking up, in a human chain, in order to prevent smaller or weaker members from being washed off their feet.

Tūwhana is about arriving safely at a destination or outcome and working together, literally forming a chain, to make a journey more effective and successful.