“If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it.” The adage certainly applies to local musical artist, trustee, compere, volunteer extraordinaire and man-about-town Paul Tamati.

If you haven’t yet met Paul - you will - he pops up in the most unusual places volunteering to organise this, arrange that, extend cultural understanding, coordinate security; and from events and locations as varied as the Upper Clutha A&P Show, school boards and Stars In Your Eyes.

By day he manages the team at Guthrie Bowron Wanaka - by night, or any other spare moment he has, he dons his volunteer wonder-suit.

It all began 13 years ago, he said, when his daughter Erina turned five and started school. “That same year they were calling for nominations for the [Wanaka Primary School’s] board of trustees. I thought this would be a good way to track how my daughter progressed through school.”

And, as Erina got older and moved on to high school, so did Paul, switching to the Mount Aspiring College (MAC) board where he still remains as his youngest, Hadley (14), progresses through school.

Paul and the team at Matariki. PHOTO: Supplied

For 12 years now he’s been the brains behind the Upper Clutha A&P Show’s trades’ display. Hundreds of individuals, businesses and companies pay for a prized section of turf on the showgrounds or Pembroke Park and it’s Paul’s job to coordinate all their demands and lay out the acres of display lines.

It’s a mammoth task and one for which he was “willing to take an unpaid week off work. I decided the show would be my one thing I give back to the community”, he said. As it turned out his employers for the last five years, originally Mitre 10 and now Guthrie Bowron, both supported Paul’s commitment to the A&P Show and have continued to pay him. 

His coordination of the food stalls, entertainment and trades displays at the annual Wanaka Rodeo was also by chance - a spin off from his A&P Show experience.

“Often one thing leads to another,” Paul said, and that seems to be the origin of one of Paul’s successful ideas for children’s music which resulted in the creation of Aspiring Young Musicians (AYM).

Paul helps Marianne Roulston in the Wanaka Preschool’s kitchen during Maori language week. PHOTO: Supplied

Being a talented singer, Paul has worked and performed with Wanaka’s musical stage production ‘Stars In Your Eyes’ for more than 20 years. SIYE was looking at ways to diversify which organisations it funded and that coincided with Paul’s desire to establish “a fantastic and fabulous kid’s orchestra”, he said. 

“I loved the idea but I realised most kids couldn’t afford expensive brass instruments, not to mention the cost of tuition,” he said. But, three years later and after much encouragement from both the Wanaka Primary and Hawea Flat Schools, AYM is thriving. Seventy students, aged between five to 10-years-old, learn to play brass instruments, purchased from funds donated by SIYE. Paul is the chair of the committee which supports AYM.

Paul’s also involved in the YAMI - Youth and Adults in the Music Industry - weekend event of workshops, panels and showcases last year. YAMI shares knowledge about the NZ music industry and how to get a foot in the door.

Paul’s role, however, was to share his Maori heritage as he was asked to set out the powhiri - “which is a true privilege”.

He said he is honoured to share his cultural heritage, which is also part of the reason he’s involved in the annual Matariki celebrations as master of ceremonies and he applies his experience as a chef in preparing the hangi.

Paul grew up in Cromwell and when he graduated high school he trained to be a chef. Four years into the career he discovered he hated being stuck in a kitchen.

Instead, he returned to Central Otago and ended up at Edgewater Resort working as a day porter and “talking to people - my favourite thing”.

His experience working with the Kahu Youth team on Matariki led him to establish the Matariki Tupu Hau kapa haka group, which has 12-25 members. “I find kapa haka a way of maintaining and promoting te reo Maori by way of waiata ringa (action songs),” Paul said.

Paul also recently joined the Freemasons in Wanaka. “When I was a chef I used to work at a rest home that was run by the Freemasons in Rotorua and I was always curious about how they operated and the lavish things that they used to do.”

And next week he’ll turn his hand to providing security on the shores of Lake Hawea at the Relish festival - a four-day, family run festival. “They wanted a happy person, a friendly face, working security, not a grumpy old thing so I got asked,” he said, beaming from ear to ear.

Paul said his “volunteering” doesn’t spring from some self-fulfilling need to be wanted. He’s just someone who likes to get involved and it’s a way of keeping abreast of what goes on in his town.

His parents contributed to their community in their way and his daughter, Erina (18) will be joining him in a couple of weeks to sing at the annual lighting of the Wanaka Christmas tree on the lawn adjacent to the Wanaka Hotel.

Paul said if there was one thing he’d like to change about this community it’s to improve communication and engagement, particularly between the long-standing residents and the new arrivals. He’s lived in Wanaka since 1992 and said “there seems to be a resistance to sharing ideas between the old and the new”.

He believes the solution is to participate. “You want to be a part of this community then be a part, get involved. Don’t just go home at 5:00 after work and think your job is done, get involved.”