Te Koha o Whaea Irihapeti also known as Sister Elizabeth’s Gift was the first documentary that ProductionShed.TV produced for Maori Television.
‘They stand, not for their own strength, but of the strength of many’
Sister Elizabeth is the last in a line of Bishop Pompallier Sisters of Mercy. As a gift to her hometown of Pawarenga in the northern Hokianga, she is organising an Easter celebration which she hopes will bring together past and present generations of the town – thereby reacquainting the town with its history and identity.
This 56 minute, documentary shows Sister Elizabeth’s gift: not only the Easter celebration, but her work with local troubled youth, as well. It will trace Pawarenga’s history back to the original arrival of the nuns, and how their influence – tracing up to Sister Elizabeth and on to the children she is helping – gave the community of Pawarenga its heart and history: a town struggling through the hardships of time by the strength of many.