A_PD051019NADIT14.jpg Covers band extraordinaire White Chapel Jak is set to make a long-delayed return to Paihia on Guy Fawkes night. Photo / Peter de Graaf

By Sandy Myhre

Planting Purerua Peninsula

Bay of Islands International
Academy, Te Tii, went on an outdoor classroom excursion last month to gain practical experience in tree planting, nursery practice, pest control and ecology.

Coastal maire trees, grown in the nursery of Brett McKay of Hihi, were planted by 10 students together with the principal, Matua Chris Bell.

Tim Robinson and Caleb Scott of The Landing gave a tour through the property, including the nursery, before heading to the planting area.

Kiwi Coast Co-ordinator Andrew Mentor and Pest Free Purerua trappers Mike Cadogan and Zane Wright were on hand to assist with the planting.

“Coastal maire are not common trees on the peninsula because they have been decimated by possums and goats around Purerua and the Bay of Islands,” said Mentor.

“These trees will be part of re-establishing bird food and health to the forest canopy.”

The Landing, Kiwi Coast and Bay of Islands International Academy hope to continue co-operating in planting, pest control and environmental care in the future.

Appropriate writer in residence in Rawene

His great-great-grandfather was James Reddy Clendon, whose name is embedded in Bay of Islands history and in particular Clendon House in Clendon Esplanade, Rawene.

Who better than Geoffrey Clendon to become the first writer-in-residence at The Church, the former Rawene Methodist Church that is listed as a category two historic place by Heritage New Zealand.

And who better to be writing about the town that was the epicentre of a series of events that almost resulted in open conflict.

During his tenure, Clendon will research and begin writing his play, Te Whawhai Taake Kuri – The Dog Tax War, in Rawene.

“The name Dog Tax War describes an armed uprising of Māori against the government in the Hokianga in 1898,” he said.

“Although there were comical aspects of the uprising, it was in reality a very near tragedy.

“The outcome of smouldering resentment against bad laws, broken promises, and the steady undermining of Māori mana.”

“Dog ownership was an essential part of te ao Māori and the number of kuri owned was in accordance with a person’s mana. Dog flesh was a rare luxury eaten ceremonially and dog skins were made into korowai for rangatira,” Clendon said.

“Dogs were also used for hunting pigs, an essential part of the diet. Led by the charismatic tohunga Hone Toia, the impoverished hapū Te Mahurehure o Waima Hokianga resolved to take up armed resistance against the Dog Tax.”

Clendon’s Māori and Pākehā tupuna were involved in the stand-off “in a complex set of relationships which resist simple explanation”.

Clendon has carried out extensive research into the Dog Tax War and is looking forward to learning more during his four-week stay in Rawene in The Church, which was recently restored with funding from the National Heritage Preservation Incentive Fund.

“I feel extremely fortunate to be the first creative in residence. It’s a wonderful facility that owners Lynn Lawton and Linda Blincko have made available, not only as a place of work but to be doing so in such a beautiful historic building that has been so authentically restored,” he said.

Russell resurrects business association

After being missing in action for almost three years, the Russell Business Association has been revived. A new committee has been appointed and it is on a mission.

Chairwoman Karen Poole from Wood2Water said the reason the former business association atrophied was that businesses changed hands, people moved on and then Covid struck.

She said the response to the revitalised association had been positive.

“There had been a lack of communication before. For the Paihia-to-Russell swim earlier in the year, for instance, most businesses only knew about it the day before and as a result, some of the cafes ran out of food.

“That will change and it’s our mission to get the calendar working with better communication.”

The committee will work closely with Focus Paihia, the trust that herded all the disparate groups in Paihia together to act as an umbrella organisation.

“They are obviously ahead of us in terms of organisation, but we will see what worked for them and move on from there,” Poole said.

One of the first tasks is to redesign the town map that member organisations give away to thousands of visitors to Russell each year and to create the all-important events calendar.

They are also working through initial key tasks, which include organising up-to-date paperwork, finances, social media, and bank accounts and looking at updates to the constitution.

The secretary of the association is Sue Fitzmaurice, of Russell Lights, and the treasurer is Fiona Mohr, of the Russell Museum.

Poole said there was no requirement to be a bricks-and-mortar business to join. If you live in Russell and run a business, you can become part of the RBA.

The committee acknowledged the previous chairman, Janet Planet, of South Sea Art, saying she held the fort through the past difficult years and is a “true Russell legend”.

Common Ground in Kohukohu

A retrospective photographic exhibition called Common Ground is opening at Village Arts in Kohukohu on October 22, and features Marg Morrow’s photographs.

It began as a six-month PEP scheme (Project Employment Programme) and was offered to Marg in 1984 by the Hokianga Country Council.

Her job was to photograph the people of North Hokianga in a variety of situations and community occasions that she chose. The PEP scheme generated scores of images and thereafter she continued documenting on her own initiative using a 35mm camera and black-and-white film.

The 200 images distilled for Common Ground are now digitised, but were all originally hand-printed in Marg’s darkroom. They focus on the period from 1984 to 1994.

Common Ground depicts the diversity of relationships in North Hokianga and the strength and fortitude of its people. Every picture literally tells a story of whanau and community and a shared history. It records people separately and together at festive and solemn events and includes social and economic development amidst a decade of significant change.

It also represents the spirit of the people and their relationship to whenua and acknowledges the long-standing relationship between Māori and Pakeha.

GIVEAWAY: Win double passes to see top Kiwi covers band White Chapel Jak

Northlanders disappointed to have missed White Chapel Jak when Paihia’s It! Bay of Islands Food and Wine Festival was cancelled earlier this month have another chance to catch the acclaimed acoustic band live.

White Chapel Jak’s high-energy, distinctly Kiwi style stole the show when they first played the It! Festival in 2019.

Plans to return to the Bay of Islands were thwarted first by Covid-19 and more recently by bad weather, but now the band is booked to play Paihia on Guy Fawkes Night, November 5.

The doors at Zane Grey’s, on the waterfront next to the wharf, open at 5pm. The show includes two local support bands and will run until 10pm.

Tickets are available at undertheradar.co.nz but we also have two double tickets to give away.

To be in to win all you have to do is email baynews@northernadvocate.co.nz with your name, address and a contact phone number by 5pm on Monday, October 17. Winners’ names may be published.

The trio’s accolades include winning RNZ’s Battle of the Covers Band, and the outstanding entertainment category of the Wedding Industry Awards.