We were delighted to receive the below letter from a group who recently visited the Lost in our own Land Maori heritage experience:

Kia Ora to everyone!

After returning home to Newcastle from our visit to New Zealand I felt I had to contact you to let you know how much the Golden Girls masters marching team enjoyed your show and dinner last Saturday night.

Firstly, I would like to thank you for thinking of phoning me with regards to visiting on a different night due to the large number of Japanese students who were booked on the same night as us. The smaller group of English speaking visitors was much preferable to all those students, who we actually crossed paths with the following day in the city.

Secondly, I wanted to thank all your staff for a wonderful night. From the friendly greeting on our arrival right through to our departure we were thoroughly entertained but also educated. The actors were marvellous and the way they interacted with the audience really gave us an insight into part of your history. The provision of blankets for use in the park is a fantastic idea and was really appreciated by us and I’m sure others.

Thirdly, you should be congratulated on such a delicious dinner. We were hoping to see how a hungi is cooked and were a little disappointed that it was served before we got there. However everything was cooked and served so nicely that in the end it didn’t really matter that much. It was also great to have the actors come and talk with us and join in the fun after our meal. Please find attached one of our group photos.

As a school teacher I can see the educational benefits of your program and I wish there was something here of similar quality that I could take my class to visit to help them better understand the impact of colonization on our indigenous people.

You and all your staff should be very proud of your efforts in putting together and presenting such an amazing night. It really brings history to life and makes learning enjoyable.

Thanks again

Toni Wallace