Ōtaki and Porirua Trusts Board

2023 Scholarship Applications are now closed

2022 Scholarships

The Board is pleased to announce that 85 secondary school scholarships have been awarded to rangatahi from the three OPTB iwi: Raukawa ki te Tonga, Te Āti Awa ki Whakarongotai and Ngāti Toarangatira. All applications were applied for through the Māori Education Trust (MET) website and completed on-line. This new partnership has benefitted scholars as the MET has made a contribution to the value of the scholarship of more than $180. Each student will receive $655 towards their education.

The OPTB was pleased to reinstate the scholarships for 2022 and anticipate continuing with scholarships in 2023.

Scholars Dinner

The Board hosted more than 30 former scholars in February 2022 to an event to present the Annual Report and to seek views from former scholars about future developments for the Board. General Manager, Troy Hobson,  presented the changes the Board has made to the farming operations and key areas of the Strategic Plan. Scholars were then able to provide feedback on the potential of the Board’s land in Ōtaki and discuss aspirations they have for the future. Those present asked for further opportunities to engage with the Board.

Ōtaki & Porirua Trusts Board 2021

The Ōtaki & Porirua Trusts Board manages almost 500 hectares of land in Ōtaki and Manakau. The largest package is a dairy farm at Manakau and two former dairy farms on Tasman Road in Ōtaki. The Board also leases land in Ōtaki to the Ministry of Education for kura and to Te Wananga o Raukawa for educational purposes.

At the beginning of 2021, the Board made a strategic decision to cease supplying milk to Fonterra from the Tasman Road Farms at the end of the 2021 season, 31 May. This decision came after a review of the Farming operations and an increasing concern that we need to actively commit to exercising Kaitiakitanga responsibly, protecting the land for now and for future generations. There was a strong commitment to protect and not harm the environment. The Board has taken meaningful steps to restore the environment for future generations.

Over the next two years, the Board will ensure that opportunities for restoration will be explored, restoration of the land, the waterways and the wider environment.

The beneficiaries of the Board are the children of Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Toarangatira and Te Āti Awa. In the past decade the Board has allocated more than one million dollars in scholarships to rangatahi under 20 years old. While the Board has paused scholarships for the past two years, it is expected that the scholarships will be available in this financial year.