Ag 22 october, 2014

Page 4

News 4

Ashburton Guardian

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

www.guardianonline.co.nz

■ ASHBURTON DOMAIN 150TH BIRTHDAY

Big plans for celebrations BY SUE NEWMAN

SUE.N@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ

Ashburton Domain today is a tranquil place, filled with towering trees, sun-filled grassy spaces and row upon row of flowers. Step back in time 150 years and our domain was a tussock filled open space. But thanks to the foresight of Ashburton’s early settlers who were determined to recreate the gardens of their homeland, the frontier town was planned with the inclusion of a park. And it was in that park they planted seeds and seedlings they’d carried carefully on board ships as they moved a

world away from England to their new homes. From Sunday the Ashburton Domain will be celebrating its 150th birthday. Those celebrations will start with a tree planting and the commissioning of a sculpture symposium and they’ll wrap up on November 30 when the sculptures are auctioned. Along the way the birthday celebrations will include sporting fixtures, vintage car displays, a family day, special church service, market stalls, a concert and guided tours. The sculpture symposium has attracted 12 artists who will start work on Sunday. Eleven

will be working in Mt Somers stone while the 12th will use Timaru Bluestone. The symposium will run for several weeks with carvers based at the large grass area beyond the paddling pool at the corner of Walnut Ave/West Street. For the Ashburton District Council, the event is being organised by open spaces manager David Askin who said the anniversary programme would also pay tribute to the Grigg family who are celebrating 150 years from when their descendants first arrived in the Ashburton District. John Grigg was one of the first committee members of the

Ashburton Domain Board and this will be highlighted with the unveiling of a plaque on the John Grigg statue in Baring Square over Labour Weekend. A number of the original trees in the domain came from John Grigg’s Longbeach estate and the black wrought iron gates at the entrance to the Domain on West Street were built in the Longbeach foundry, Mr Askin said. A service of thanksgiving will be held at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on November 23 and a number of sporting activities will be held to mark the anniversary. “It’s going to be a busy and

fun anniversary that’s going to have appeal to people of all ages,” Mr Askin said. The five weeks of celebrations will wrap up on November 30th with a family day in the domain where there will be a concert from the Ashburton Civic Music Council, food and craft stalls, 20/20 cricket matches, a teddy bears picnic, guided tours around the Domain and many other activities. More information about the Domain’s 150th anniversary celebrations and a programme of events can be found on the council’s website, www.ashburtondc.govt. nz

Grigg descendants to gather for family reunion BY MICHELLE NELSON MICHELLE.N@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ

It has been 150 years since the first John Grigg came to Longbeach, and took up land described as a “valueless bog”. This weekend his descendants will gather at the historic farm to celebrate and reminisce. The original property, now downsized considerably from the 32,000 of its heyday, has remained in the hands of the Grigg family. It is now farmed by Mr Grigg’s great great grandson Bill Thomas and his wife Penny. Their son James is home from Melbourne for the reunion, but has plans to become the sixth generation of his family to make his home at Longbeach. About 170 people, all immediate descendants will take part in the celebrations, which have taken five years to plan. The original cookhouse, converted into a function centre about 10 years ago, will be used

to cater for the crowd. Tours of the homestead garden, the farm and the historic buildings still standing will also be a feature on Saturday’s programme. On Sunday a service will be held at the family chapel in which was brought down from Christchurch in 1873. Later in the day a memorial plaque will be laid to commemorate the occasion. Mr Thomas said a huge amount of work had gone into the preparations, and thanked the farm staff for their part in getting the reunion off the ground. “We couldn’t have done it without Richard, Bayden, Geoff and especially Gordon,” he said. PG Steven’s biography titled John Grigg of Longbeach has been updated and reprinted for the occasion. See Saturday’s Guardian for more on the history of Longbeach.

Descendants of John Grigg, Bill and James Thomas will join with family to celebrate 150 years at the family seat, Longbeach this weekend. PHOTO TETSURO MITOMO 211014-TM-074

Taking my art seriously A broken down piano, ties, and a whole lot of talent has won Aoraki Polytechnic graduate Christeena Macdonald Paea a prize at WOW.

Her Roman-armour inspired creation called Battle Suite was runnerup in the Sustainability Award section of the World of Wearable Arts (WOW) competition, held in Wellington recently. The design was made from 80 per cent recycled material. Christeena was at the show and was elated and humbled by her achievement. “It was a real thrill for me to be placed second in a section I am passionate about. I love making things from recycled material so there was no better prize for me to win.’’ The Timaru mum is an established artist, who honed her skills while studying at Aoraki Polytechnic. She spent six years studying painting and fine art at the Timaru campus. “I had always painted, but studying at Aoraki was when I started to take my art seriously.’’

Christeena was encouraged by supportive tutors who urged her to follow her passion to become a full-time artist. “I really enjoyed looking at artists and how they fit in history with (tutor) Gail Tatham in art history at the polytechnic. It helped me to work out what I want to develop in my own work. “Michael Armstrong and Paul van den Bergh were the right teachers for me. They helped me stretch myself as an artist more than I would ever have been able to on my own.’’ Christeena has since gone on to establish a successful career in art. Her WOW creation saw her use the guts of a piano and a whole lot of men’s ties to create her suite of armour. “The inside of a piano is quite beautiful and it’s nice to repurpose something that would otherwise have been trashed.’’ Christeena also credits her father – a hoarder – for sparking her interest in recycled materials. This year WOW saw 167 national and international designers chosen as part of the show.

Teaching skills that transfer between art, culture, life and industries 0800 426 725 | www.aoraki.ac.nz

Christeena Macdonald Paea’s prize creation winning Roman-armour inspired Lindsay. Ron by to Pho e. called Battle Suit


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Ag 22 october, 2014 by Ashburton Guardian - Issuu