On the evening of June 5th, 2024, our second Mauri of the Maunga Gala Dinner and Art Auction was held at the Sir Don Rowland's centre, set in the stunning surrounds of the Waikato's Mighty River Domain at Lake Karāpiro.
Alongside our presenting partner BiteLAB and with thanks to the incredible support from our community, $75,000 was raised through ticket sales, art purchases, and donations. These funds went directly towards supporting the conservation work of Sanctuary Mountain® Maungatautari, protecting the unique wildlife that live on the maunga, including kākāpō.
This special evening was a celebration of conservation and art, through fine dining, entertainment and stories shared of the learnings from 12 months of monitoring kākāpō in the fenced habitat on Maungatautari. The incredible milestone of the reintroduction of kākāpō to the mainland after 40 years, was made possible by funds raised at our inaugural Gala Dinner enabling us to modify the fence to be kākāpō-proof ahead of their arrival.
The Sanctuary Mountain® Maungatautari team felt the incredible support from our community in the room. This evening was made possible by many individuals, and organisations.
A special thank you to our presenting partner, BiteLAB (Montana Food & Events Waikato) for providing an exquisite three-course menu and extremely professional staff team who provided a excellent table service for the evening.
We also thank and acknowledge art curator Kate Darrow who brought together an incredible group of artists for the auction and the generous contributing artists donating for their support of our sanctuary. The generous artworks provided by contributing artists are not only providing great joy to the successful winners of the auction but they are also providing safe sanctuary to the endangered species in our care, supporting the conservation of local wildlife, including kiwi, takahē, hihi, and supporting the habitat trial at Sanctuary Mountain® Maungatautari for critically endangered kākāpō.
This evening would not have been possible without the event management expertise from the team at PomPom Events & Marketing, or without considerable contributions from Mighty River Domain, Art & Object, Vidcom New Zealand, Takapoto Conservation Project, and Love Club Hire. The Kākāpō Distillery, and the Bush Boardroom also added their own special flavour of support to the evening.
Sanctuary Mountain® Maungatautari, mana whenua, the Kākāpō Recovery Programme, and Ngāi Tahu continue to work together to continue to learn from the fenced habitat trial.
