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Supporting the health & wellbeing of whānau for 30 years
1996-2026
1996 - 2026.
Thirty years of showing up for whānau.
It started with one man, a fax machine, and a belief that his people deserved better. Three decades later, the waka is still moving.
In the early 1990s, Daryl Gregory began what would become He Waka Tapu from his home in Ōtautahi, knocking on doors, running groups, writing funding proposals by hand, and holding the whole thing together on heart alone. There were no offices. No budget. Just a calling.
Thirty years on, He Waka Tapu has grown from a one-person trust into a kaupapa Māori powerhouse of over 160 kaimahi, serving whānau across Ōtautahi through addiction support, counselling, anger management, youth work, suicide prevention, transitional housing, and more. The faces have changed. The kaupapa hasn't.
"Our point of difference has always been wairua. That's what's carried us. That's what makes us who we are."
Daryl Gregory, Founder
This year, we mark 30 years of mahi. Of showing up. Of holding hope for whānau who couldn't always hold it themselves. Of paddling through earthquakes, a pandemic, political tides, and the quiet, relentless weight of intergenerational trauma, and keeping the waka moving forward.
Three decades of kaupapa.
The waka has paddled through a lot. Here is a little of what shaped us.
He Waka Tapu didn't begin with a strategic plan or a boardroom. It began with Daryl Gregory knocking on doors, taking referrals by fax, and running groups from his home. A small, tight-knit team slowly gathered around the kaupapa, learning on their feet, pitching in wherever they were needed, and caring deeply for the people who walked through the door.
Over thirty years, that waka has carried a lot. The Canterbury earthquakes. The mosque attacks. A global pandemic. The relentless, quiet weight of poverty, trauma, and systems that too often fail our people. Through all of it, He Waka Tapu kept paddling, rebuilding programmes, adapting services, and showing up, because the need never stopped.
From a team of 8 to over 160 kaimahi. From one programme to a full suite of services spanning addiction, counselling, anger management, youth work, suicide prevention, and transitional housing. The organisation has grown, professionalised, and evolved. But the heartbeat has never changed.
The kaupapa is still the kaupapa.
The people are still the point.
