Families of the centre donated the vegetables and meat and although the latter emerged from the ground slightly underdone, the preschool ovens were quickly fired up and the hungry guests were eventually treated to a perfectlycooked feast of impressive proportions.
Earlier in the day, former preschool parent Paul Tamati had officially opened and blessed the preschool's newly-constructed ‘‘whare iti'', or small meeting house.
Based on the concept of a wharenui, which is the main building on a marae, the whare iti comes complete with traditional artwork and its own little pa in the preschool playground.
Teacher Kate Whitehead said throughout the month of June, the children had been celebrating and learning about Matariki.
‘‘We've been working on bringing a bit more biculturalism into the centre,'' Ms Whitehead said.
The whare iti was a fun place for the children to play, as well as an effective learning tool to ‘‘teach them about customs and protocol'', including removing their shoes before entering.
The preschool holds its annual art auction fundraiser on August 8 this year, a highlight of which is the auctioning of the children's artwork.
This year, the piece created by the children in the Kereru room at the centre is based on the theme of Matariki.
