Te Rina Joe

2026 Finalists

Te Rina Joe

Ngāti Pāhauwera, Ngāti Kahungunu

I am 27 years old and grew up in Napier Hawke’s Bay. I spent a lot of my youth in Mohaka and Otane as my whānau are from there. I am a Supervisor/Orchard Hand on Pakuratahi Orchard for Ngāti Pāhauwera Commercial Development Ltd. I have worked here since June 2022 to the present day.

My orchard is located in Tangoio Hawke’s Bay. The total area of Pakuratahi Orchard is 55 hectares of apples in production plus 6 hectares of nursery trees and 4 hectares of oranges. NPCDL has another orchard in Raupunga with a land coverage of 60 hectares with 30 of those hectares currently under redevelopment.

I am an overall Orchard Hand from spray operating to machine operations to various tree work. I have also assisted alongside my manager with coordinating during our recent spray season, but my job also consists of supervising through the pruning, thinning and currently picking season.

When I was put in the position to oversee between 40-60 workers it was quite daunting but also a huge learning curb for me going from getting told what to do and just doing the task to being amongst my co-workers essentially helping and guiding them to achieve our goals/targets.

I have learnt a lot about the importance of clear communication and overall work morale but also my relationships with my workers have strengthened over the last year due to working alongside them getting the job done.

Prior to working here, I worked in Central Hawke’s Bay seasonally between orchards and packhouses since the age of 15 with my siblings, cousins and other members of my whānau. I then decided to stay in Central Hawke’s Bay at Rangihau Orchard specifically because of my aunty who was a foreman there.

Working alongside her as well as old colleagues provided me with the opportunity to learn a wide range of skills and gain valuable hands-on experience enriching my passion for orcharding in general, I was then made permanent at Rangihau Orchard furthering my skills in horticulture. Two years later an opportunity arose for me to work for my iwi, I felt honoured and proud knowing I would be working for my people and for the future generations of my whānau.

With the encouragement from my whānau, friends and peers, it has accelerated my career with being the reason behind my motivation to advance in my job and learning.

My qualifications are Level 3 Fruit Production, and I am currently doing my Level 4 and also planning to do my Level 5 in the future.

Outside of work I enjoy spending quality time with my whanau whether it be concerts, various events, strolls through town or a pop in for a cuppa, and also travelling the world with my husband.

My goals for the future is to one day manage the orchard I work on and to create opportunities for my friends and whānau within the workplace and inspire them to pursue careers here as well.