Following the devastating Canterbury earthquakes, the Māori community sawthe opportunity to rekindle Māori trades training in Ōtautahi. With the legacyof the Māori trade’s hostels firmly in mind, He Toki was created to affirm the contributions and the social and cultural context of Māori life in Ōtautahi.

The Māori Trade Training scheme was the first of its kind in New Zealand, and specifically in Christchurch, was an acknowledgement of the already longstanding relationship Ngāi Tahu and the Christchurch Polytechnic.

Rehua Marae, Te Kaihanga and Roseneath Māori Apprentice Hostels provided the young men and women who came to Christchurch to learn to be painters, mechanics, carpenters, joiners, chefs, and hairdressers with accommodation in a community based, atmosphere.

He Toki represents a new era of Māori trade training in Christchurch. He Toki was launched by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, CPIT now Ara Institute of Canterbury and industry partners in 2011 to train Māori for industry roles in the city’s recovery.