It is forty years since Poi E was produced in 1982 by the Patea Maori Club, topping the charts and sending the club to the UK for a Royal Command Performance. An extraordinary achievement! It was composed as a response, a symbol of hope to cheer up locals who would not survive the closure of their local meat works. How often does desperation bring out the best talent. The tune is still a smash hit in Turangi as it was the first widely successful songs sung in Te Reo Māori in mainstream music, and had a great impact on the promotion of Te Reo and Māori culture in New Zealand. TRM’s pre-covid blog is five years old and some content is obsolete…