Unesco honour for Clendon clan legacy

Descendants of James Reddy Clendon gathered at Clendon House in Rawene recently to include the addition of the Clendon Papers to the Unesco Memory of the World Aotearoa
New Zealand Register.

The papers are 3000-strong and the register entry officially identifies the collection as an assemblage of recorded heritage of national significance.

Clendon was an early Northland trader, merchant, settler, farmer, government official and the first US consul in New Zealand. He was also a signatory to He Whakaputanga (the Declaration of Independence) in 1835 and Te Tiriti o Waitangi on February 6, 1840, thus making history as one of the few Europeans to have his signature on both documents.

“The lives of missionaries in 1800s New Zealand are well documented but the lives of traders and merchants less so,” says Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga chief executive Andrew Coleman.

“The wide range of material in the Clendon collection, and the fact the items relate to the life of a trading family prominent in the Bay of Islands and the Hokianga for over 140 years, makes this collection unique.”

Clendon’s second wife, Jane Takotowi Cochrane, was the daughter of Irish settler Dennis Brown Cochrane and his wife Taokotowi Te Whata who was a woman of considerable influence and mana. She has a significant presence in the papers, some of which provide evidence of her determination to clear the near-impossible debt left by Clendon after his death in 1872.

The papers reflect the family’s life in the developing bilingual, biracial society of the Hokianga, extending to 1972 when Clendon House in Rawene was purchased by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, the predecessor of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

The fact the collection exists at all is largely due to the care with which generations of Clendon descendants have ensured the items be kept and documented. The collection is held jointly by Auckland Libraries Ngā Pātaka Kōrero o Tāmaki Makaurau and Clendon House in Rawene, a historic property cared for by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

The Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Willow-Jean Prime, presented framed certificates of the Inscription to representatives of the Clendon family.

Dance group celebrates first year

The Kerikeri Primary School hall in Hone Heke Rd will shake, rattle and roll on June 10 as the local Social Dance Group celebrates its first year.

It is one of two major celebratory dances the group holds each year. Run by Bob Turner, with help from Sandy, the group started at their regular meeting place of Kingston House in Hone Heke Rd in May last year with 19 students.

They now have 25-32 people who regularly attend, although Bob says there are “probably 45 solid members in the group”.

They cover rock ‘n’ roll, ballroom dancing, line dancing and sequence dancing and, as usually happens, there are more women than men.

Classes start at 7pm for two hours on Tuesday nights. When there are five Tuesdays in the month, they don’t have lessons as such but dance, and there’s an open invitation for anyone to attend on those nights.

The first Friday of the month is known as Freestyle Friday when they combine with the local Modern Jive group. Dancing is from 6.30pm until 10pm. The celebratory get-together on June 10 will feature Auckland band Blame the Cats.

Bob says over the past year many new friendships have been formed through the group.

“We have a lot of fun and everyone enjoys themselves,” he said.

Donation buoys Paihia waterfront

Focus Paihia coffers were recently increased by a generous (and anonymous) donation that bequeathed $100,000 to the organisation.

The money will be used to create specific spaces along the waterfront and revitalise the areas opposite the Anchorage Motel, in front of the public toilets and up to the walking track that leads to a lookout on the ridgeline.

Work will commence on May 22 and will include two community barbecues (covered for weather protection), seating and tables, a new access ramp to the waterfront, a nature play area, slides and rope climbs on the side of the hill, and a fence along the roadside, among other amenities.

They will also extend the grass area by the drainage pipe, remove all the weeds and renovate both the internal and external areas of the toilets.

Focus Paihia is calling for volunteers to make the morning and afternoon tea and lunch for those working on the project, to move topsoil, to plant trees and to move mulch during the second half of the project.

It is also looking for donations of topsoil, grass seed, native plants and driftwood. It may not, however, require the driftwood given the recent weather. If you can help email: info@focuspaihia.org.nz or go to the event on Facebook.

Local stores win grocery awards

The owners of the Russell Four Square store in York St have come away from the Foodstuffs North Island conference held last week with two awards.

Andrew and Wendy Porter won the Fresh Store of the Year Award. It’s initiated by Foodstuffs North Island and is based on the amount of produce sold from each department in the store such as butchery, seafood, bakery and so on.

They were presented with the award citation by Lindsay Rowles, the general manager for membership and property at Foodstuffs North Island.

The second award was a Member of the Year Award. Nominations come from Four Square store owners and staff of various stores around the North Island. There is a list of criteria to be gone through before the winner is chosen by a committee of Foodstuffs North Island.

Five stores made the final and the Porters were presented with that award by Foodstuffs North Island CEO Chris Quin.

The Porters have been with Four Square for 20 years. Their store in Russell is known locally as the “Back Four Square”. It was closed for six months in 2019 to be totally refurbished and opened in December that year, three months before the pandemic hit.

“We were the only grocery store allowed to operate which was a privilege, but it was really stressful at the same time,” said Wendy.

She said it means a lot to be given the two awards.

“To be nominated by your peers is significant and it’s a reflection on the whole team here and we couldn’t do it without them.”

The Four Square store in Waipapa also won an award, the Growth Store of the Year.