Fernworth Primary School students became teachers telling the tales of Esk St’s mahi toi (Māori artwork) as they hosted more than 100 families on a CBD tour on Thursday evening.

Principal Alison Cook said the school teamed up with the Waihōpai Rūnaka to combine local history with Māori, storytelling and oral-language learning, and the stories of mahika kai (traditional food gathering) and the significance of the Esk St, Stead St and Invercargill Airport art installations.

“We were lucky enough to get a project going with the local marae — with the local Waihōpai Rūnaka, to learn all about the mahi toi that were in Invercargill that tell our kids about the history of the area.

“You’ve got to be quite brave to tell adults stuff when you’re a little person… and the adults have got to shush and let them do it.

“It’s a really good oral language practice for our kids too.

“They’ve made tour guide badges and they are touring their whānau down and telling them all the stories and what it all means as they go down Esk St,” Mrs Cook said.

Preparation for the event included learning the background of the Esk St artwork installations that tell the story of traditional Ngāi Tahu food gathering and the history of the area that preceded the town’s buildings.

The evening’s tour package included tour guide badges, barbecued sausages, a printed tour information brochure, post-event Marvellous Guide Medals for the children and guide performance feedback forms.

The ancestral pathways stories are embedded into the stone with weka footprints guiding visitors past cast bronze of pātiki (flounder), weka, tuna (eels), kina (sea urchins), pāua and weka eggs.

Mrs Cook was thrilled with the turnout of more than 100 families who toured the area, especially after the area had been slammed with heavy rain. 

Many families were unaware of some of the installations or their significance before the tour, she said.

Rosie Taakuukuu said the children told her quirky information about the brass pātiki (flounder) found at the head of Esk St, how the animal’s  eyes would start off on each side of the fish’s central line, only to migrate to one side of its head as it matured.

Mrs Cook said she hoped the future would have QR codes linked to audio links that provided the story about each of the installations.

Students would be hosting public tours in the Invercargill Central mall for the following two weeks during 11.30am and 1.30pm Tuesdays to Thursdays.

“We’re hoping people will come in their lunchtime and want a quick wee tour and the kids will take them.”