Ōtaki
WINTER 2022
STREET SCENE
PROFILE: The bagpiping, beekeeping biologist p8
EVENTS
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
What’s on TOTE MODERN: June 23-26: Star Glaze Mid-Winter Ceramics Festival. Ōtaki-Māori Racing Club, Te Roto Road, Ōtaki. See otakipotteryclub.org MĀORILAND FILM FESTIVAL: runs during Matariki from June 29 -July 3. See maorilandfilm.co.nz for details and regular updates. See also p7. MATARIKI RAMAROA June 24-July 16. See page 6 for details. ŌTAKI YARD, SH 1, Ōtaki. Market open every second Saturday of the month (June 11, July 9, August 13) 9am-2pm. MAHARA GALLERY: Mahara iti, the pop-up space while the new gallery is being built, presents Safe Space from environmental artist Birgit Moffatt until 15 July 2022. Free entry. Open 10am-4pm Monday-Friday. See page 14. ŌTAKI MUSEUM: 49 Main Street, Ōtaki Village. Open Friday-Saturday 10am2pm (check website for other opening hours). Current exhibition The way we were, glimpses of days gone by.”. See Otaki Muse on Facebook or visit otakimuseum.co.nz
ŌTAKI WOMEN’S COMMUNITY CLUB CRAFT MARKET: Opposite New World SH1, every second Sunday. Contact Georgie 027 234 1090. TE HORO COUNTRY MARKET: Te Horo Community Hall, School Road. First Sunday of the month, 10am-12.30pm. ŌTAKI GARAGE SALE: third Saturday of the month, 9-11.30am, rain or shine, Presbyterian Church, 249 Mill Rd, Ōtaki. Contact 06 364-6449.
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ARTISAN CRAFT MARKET Waikanae Memorial Hall, 7 Pehi Kupa St. 10am Sunday September 11. Stallholder enquiries: artisancraftmarket@gmail.com
OTAKI MUSEUM ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMEN
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49 Main Street • Ōtaki taki • 06 364 6886 Discover the heritage of our town and its people, through a changing programme of exhibitions.
CURRENT EXHIBITION
“The way we were, glimpses of days gone by.”
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We couldn’t do it without you It’s great to have our famous events back. After a couple of tough years with Covid-19 dominating our lives, the events that are iconically Ōtaki are returning. And remarkably, some, such as the new Kāpiti-wide Matariki Ramaroa, have emerged only recently, a testament to local positivity. While this has been happening, we at Ōtaki Street Scene have had to look hard at how we as a publication could remain relevant, given we rely to a large degree on publicising events that are a part of what makes Ōtaki great. However, we’ve redirected our focus on what has still been happening, even if these things have been on a much smaller scale, and promoting some of the people and businesses that have kept the town and district ticking. But now, with restrictions on everyday life easing considerably, we seem to be past the worst of it. The Māoriland Film Festival is back with a vengeance, the Ōtaki Kite Festival and Festival of Pots and Garden Art are all go for early next year, and a plethora of smaller events are filling the calendar. At last Ōtaki Street Scene can get back to promoting them, and telling some of the stories behind the events. We couldn’t have kept going without our advertisers, who we know have also had to rethink how they operate, often keeping their fingers crossed that they will survive and emerge on top, stronger than ever. So to our advertisers, supporters and the people of Ōtaki, thank you. We love bringing you the stories of Ōtaki – we couldn’t do it without you.
EDITORIAL
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
Debbi Carson, editor INSIDE: Film festival 2022 celebrates potential of life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Beacons light for Matariki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 PROFILE: Phil Cowan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Cheap, warming winter soups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Arts roundup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 ATB team makes tattoos fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Environmental artist at Mahara iti. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 The remarkable life of Jody Higgott. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Ōtaki map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 The big flood of 1931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
NT NTPROOF PROOFSHEET SHEET
al al News News
Ōtaki Street Scene is published quarterly by ID Media Ltd, 13 Te Manuao Rd, Ōtaki, 5512 • 06 364-6543 • debbi@idmedia.co.nz Editor, general manager and sales: Debbi Carson. Writer: Ian Carson Design: ID Media Ltd • Print: Graphic Press & Packaging, Levin Issue 56: Winter 2022 • ISSN: 1172-7748 No part of this publication may be reproduced without the publisher’s permission.
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EVENTS 4
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
Film festival 2022 celebrates potential of life
Māoriland Film Festival celebrates the return to Ōtaki of international film-makers to present their work at what is now the largest international indigenous film festival in the world. The ninth annual film festival will present 106 films from 132 indigenous nations over five days during Matariki (June 29-July 3) with more than 60 film screenings, industry and arts events. The theme for this year’s festival is “He pitomata he pito ora” – the potential of life. “We have all felt the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and for film-makers, it has been a hugely disruptive time,” says festival director Libby Hakaraia. “Working through lockdowns, the creative output from indigenous film-makers has resulted in the strongest MFF programme we’ve ever had. “The potential has been released.” During lockdowns, film-makers across the indigenous world harnessed technology to continue creating and innovating. MFF2022 celebrates films created during the extraordinary circumstances of Covid-19, including in Aotearoa. MFF2022 includes festival premieres of several feature and short films, starting with the celebration of the reo Māori version of one of the most successful of all Disney films, The Lion King. The Lion King Reo Māori is the second Disney feature to be reversioned in te reo Māori by Oscar-nominated film-maker Chelsea Winstanley (Merata, Jo Jo Rabbit) and Tweedie Waititi (Moana Reo Māori, Rūrangi) of Matewa Media. In a world-first, MFF2022 will feature a second te reo Māori animated feature film with the premiere of hit film Astro Kid, or Tama Kaiātea. This film has been translated and voiced by the talent
inART Ōtaki and produced ROUNDUP at Māoriland. It also features the voice of one of the stars of the hugely popular podcast Taringa, Te Puaheiri Snowden. Both reo Māori feature films will be screened on the grounds of the first Māori university in Aotearoa, Te Wānanga o Raukawa (TWoR) in Ōtaki. The screenings will enable students of the four kōhanga reo, two kura kaupapa and TWOR to attend, along with the bi-lingual units of two other Ōtaki schools. “We also expect many of our festival audience to attend these reo Māori feature film screenings and to be able to enjoy them regardless of whether they have much reo Māori understanding,” Libby says. “They will still be able to follow the films. Māoriland is known as a way for the curious to explore indigenous cultures and languages and feel safe doing so. Te reo Māori is also becoming increasingly important in the lives of all New Zealanders.” The multi-award feature film The Drover’s Wife is written, directed, produced and stars Leah Purcell (top) a proudly Goa-GunggariWakka Wakka Murri woman from Queensland. Leah will lead out the feature drama films in MFF2022. The directors of many of the films at Māoriland are directed or produced by women, including Millie Lies Low (Aotearoa), Night Raiders (Canada/Aotearoa) and Whina (above, co-directed, Aotearoa). In keeping with this year’s theme of He pitomata he pito ora, the next generation of rangatahi Māori film-makers will be celebrated in a special showcase event on Thursday, June 30. It is He Waiora – the world premiere of the Ngā Pakiaka Incubator Programme. Conceived during the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 with support from the Sundance Institute and New Zealand Film Commission, the Ngā Pakiaka Incubator Programme worked with eight young film-makers from Te Kao in the Far North to Ōtaki to produce their first professional short films. The event showcases emerging and established talent including Tioreore Ngatai Melbourne (Hunt For The Wilderpeople, Cousins, Whina), Richard Te Are (The Luminaries, Beyond the Veil), Max Crean (Mystic), and music by Marlon Williams and Nikau Wi Neera. continues over page
Above, young voice actor William Lockwood in the audio booth behind the scenes of Astro Kid/Tama Kaiātea (above right).
EVENTS
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
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EVENTS 6
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
from page 5 Whina is the highly anticipated biopic of Dame Whina Cooper. It’s directed by Paula Whetu Jones (Waru) and James Napier Roberston (The Dark Horse). Miriama McDowell (Coming Home In The Dark) and Rena Owen (Once Were Warriors) turn in riveting performances as the woman who would become known as Te Whaea o te Motu/ The Mother of the Nation. Whina has been described as an astonishingly strong film of an amazing life. Ōtaki producer Tainui Stephens will host a Native Minds panel on the making of the film on Sunday, July 3. Other films screening at the festival include Tote Abuelo (Grandfather), a stunning and profound picture of Mexican life across generations; Portraits From a Fire, the best emerging film at Vancouver International Film Festival 2021; Canadian Screen Award winner for best feature film Beans; and multi-award-winning Hawaiian feature films Waikiki and Every Day In Kaimuki (Sundance 2022). These screen alongside 10 short film programmes. New Zealand films represent more than a third of the programme, with Millie Lies Low starring Ana Scotney (Cousins); psychological thriller Coming Home In The Dark with Miriama McDowell, Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson and Matthias Luafutu; Canada-New Zealand co-production Night Raiders; and closing night film Whetū Marama: Bright Star. Whetū Marama: Bright Star celebrates the life and work of Sir Hekenukumai Busby in reclaiming the lost art of traditional Māori voyaging, sailing the vast Pacific and navigating by the stars. The Māoriland keynote at the historic Rangiātea Church will be on Sunday afternoon by Te Waihoroi Shortland (above) film actor, writer, broadcaster, reo Māori expert and master orator. Tainui Stephens, who has spent more than 40 years working with Waihoroi, describes him as a man who has used his expertise in te reo Māori to make a profound mark in Māori broadcasting. “He dispenses forthright opinion, wisdom and gut-bustingly funny humour in equal measure," Tainui says. n More information at.maorilandfilm.co.nz
Top Kiwi actor’s direction
From left, Disrupt writer Aroha Awarau, director Jennifer Ward-Lealand and producer Peata Melbourne. Photo supplied
EVENTS
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
Beacons light for Matariki
Matariki will again be celebrated in Ōtaki and on the Kāpiti Coast with the Lighting the Beacons Festival, a month-long multi-disciplinary arts festival from late June to mid July. It coincides with the Māoriland Film Festival, which due to Covid disruptions moved from its usual late March date to the days June 29 to July 3. Matariki, Lighting the Beacons begins on June 24, the first time Matariki is to be celebrated in Aotearoa as a public holiday. The celebrations in Kāpiti begin with two nights across June 24-25, when Maclean Park at Paraparaumu Beach will light up with art sculptures, live music and performance, food stalls, and more. Celebrations end on the weekend of July 16-17 with festivities at Ōtaki Beach – a local mid-winter event that was a highlight in 2021. The festival includes music, arts and theatre, as well as multiple community events, for all Kāpiti whānau to enjoy. With the Māoriland Film Festival incorporated into the lights festival, it’s a double celebration for the Kāpiti region. The two festivals combined will provide a month of unique arts experiences for locals and visitors to the Coast. Matariki is the Māori tradition that marks the rising of the star cluster also known as Pleiades. It signals the beginning of Te Tau Hou Māori, the new year, and is a time for commemorating the passing of loved ways as well as making plans for the coming year. It is also a time for celebration. Matariki, Lighting the Beacons is produced by Māoriland Charitable Trust, which is responsible for the Māoriland Film Festival. n More information at matariki.maorilandfilm.co.nz
debut coming to Ōtaki A short film directed by Kiwi acting legend Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand is coming to the 2022 Māoriland Film Festival. The 13-minute film, called Disrupt, is about the devastation of methamphetamine (P) addiction. It’s the first film Jennifer has directed and is a short fil finalist at the prestigious Whānau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival in October. Disrupt delves into meth addiction told through the eyes of a kuia (grandmother) experiencing first-hand the tight grip the drug has on her moko (grandson). “To look at a kaupapa such is the P epidemic through the lens of one family is to see at a personal level the complexity of feelings experienced by all those affected,” Jennifer says. “There is barely a small town in Aotearoa that hasn’t had its community severely impacted by the scourge of P. In Disrupt, I wanted to show the personal cost of this addiction.” Disrupt is written by journalist and playwright Aroha Awarau and produced by MāorI Television newsreader Peata Melbourne. n To view the trailer, visit facebook.com/TeKoruMedia/videos
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OUR PEOPLE PEOPLE 8
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
PROFILE: PHIL COWAN
Bagpipes, bees and biology He’s a beekeeper, a bagpiper, and a scientist. And he runs a gardening contract business. It’s no wonder Phil Cowan is a busy man. Work and play – admittedly too little of the latter for his liking – keeps him flat out for most hours of most days. Other than the love for his wife Bex (granddaughter of Ōtaki’s Wehi and Hira Royal) and his family, the former Aussie and now New Zealand citizen has a passion for his music, specifically the bagpipes. He started playing aged only 7, recalling going to an Anzac Day commemoration as a 4-year-old, hearing the bagpipes and telling his father that’s what he wanted to play. To Ōtaki locals, he’s usually seen – and heard – in full kit at Memorial Park on Anzac Day and is often asked to play the pipes at other official functions. He also plays electric bagpipes in folk band Uzblokes (uzblokes.bandcamp.com). At one point he played full-time for the Queensland Police Pipes and Drums band. He performed throughout Queensland, in Adelaide and Sydney, and at the Singapore Police Academy. The highlight of his career was playing in 28 shows at the 2006 Edinburgh Military Tattoo. “I’ve been lucky enough to also perform on stage with John Farnham, Olivia Newton-John, William Barton and a whole bunch of other talented musicians,” he says. Before his musical career, Phil completed a science degree in biomolecular biology and worked in a variety of jobs, including with the Department of Primary Industries on the Queensland Fire Ant Eradication Programme. Phil was born in South Brisbane. He knew Bex’s aunt, Trish Willing, who had already lived in Brisbane for many years, and was good friends with Trish’s son, Joel. The attachment with Bex began when Phil met her as she was visiting Trish while on school holiday in 1998. Bex then moved to Queensland in 2001. They married soon after and they have two children, Bailey, 16, and Matthew, 9. In 2009, he and Bex bought a house in Ōtaki while on holiday visiting Bex’s family. A few months later they moved here. Phil worked for a while as a pharmacy technician, and soon after started the Word of Mouth Services Limited – Outdoor Services business with Bex. “We were mowing lawns to start with, but the business grew rapidly from there,” he says. “We looked after gardens at a retirement village, picked up tree planting contracts, then seasonal contracts with Greater Wellington Regional Council, which we’re still doing.” The business was based on the philosophy of “do a good job and the rest is word of mouth”! In 2017 the couple incorporated beekeeping into their business. Back then they were also doing contract work for Kāpiti Coast District Council managing weeds at parks and reserves, on paths, tracks, and bridle ways, and around Kāpiti’s wastewater services. “We knew that no matter how careful we were with spraying, there was always some damage to bees so we sold off a portion of
WINTER 2022
SHOES AND OTHER LOVELY THINGS • LEVIN • PARAPARAUMU BEACH • GREYTOWN superminx.co.nz
PIPER: Phil Cowan at the 2022 Anzac Day commemoration in Ōtaki. Photo Ian Carson
the business in 2018, I took on a fixed term role with KCDC Parks and Reserves and studied part time at Taratahi Agricultural College and gained a formal beekeeping qualification.” Phil manages an apiary used by Land Based Training students in Ashhurst, manages hives at the Ōtaki College gardens and goes as far as Ōwhango, Erua and Greytown during the honey flow. He breeds and sells queen bees and nucleus beehives, collects wild bee swarms, and inspects beehives for American Foul Brood as a certified inspector. He recently completed studying queen-rearing apiculture with Otago Polytechnic. Phil and Bex’s local honey brand is Ōtaki Bush to Shore Blend, which is sold at Hamish Barham Pharmacy, seasonally at local markets and by “word of mouth”. After completing his beekeeping studies, Phil returned to seasonal contracting for KCDC and the regional council and worked night shift at Matta Products in Ōtaki making safety matting and wheelchair ramps for playgrounds. In 2020 he moved to another innovative Ōtaki company, The Soap Box. It was just as Covid was having an effect – he made tank-loads of hand sanitiser until recently taking on a contract with the regional council. That work takes him regularly to the banks of the Ōtaki and Waikanae rivers, often in remote areas not usually frequented by others. Most of his work involves management of the 100,000 trees and shrubs so far planted by the Friends of the Ōtaki River. The work gives Phil an opportunity to be in the best of New Zealand’s natural environment – near the rivers, the hills, and the sea. He asks with an element of irony: “Unless you’ve spent a day in the bush with a brush cutter in the pouring rain, cutting out blackberry, falling into caved-in rabbit holes, slashing wet grass, and getting showered in a combination of water, grass and three types of dog shit, getting 10 mm to 12 mm long splinters under your skin . . . are you really living the dream?” He clearly loves the work. “It’s about getting the balance right with the environment not only for today but also for generations to come.”
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OUR PEOPLE
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
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OTAKI STREET SCENE
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
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06 364-6743
Jeanine and her team welcome you out of the cold this winter, with delicious food and coffee at Riverstone’s warm and cosy cafe.
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Your local café EVERYONE is talking about!
MY ŌTAKI KAI . . . Debbi
Cheap, warming winter soups With food prices soaring, and winter upon us, making homemade soup is one of the cheapest and quickest ways to add warmth and cheer to your whānau’s diet. With so many variations in ingredients, and local Ōtaki vegetables, you could have soup every day of the week and not get bored. Soup is a one-stop pot of goodness and can be an economical and easy way to make up your week's work or school lunches in one hit. Here are a few of our favourite family-friendly soup recipes for you to feel warm and full in no time.
LEEK AND POTATO SOUP 2 tbsp olive oil 50g butter 1 leek, trimmed, thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 500g potatoes, peeled, chopped 1 spring onion, thinly sliced Sour cream or olive oil, to serve. Toasted crusty bread, to serve (optional). Heat oil and butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add leek and garlic, cook, stirring for five mins or until leek is softened. Add potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally for a further five mins. Add a litre of water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low-medium and simmer, stirring occasionally for 25 mins or until potatoes are tender. Using a stick blender, blend until smooth. Season to taste. Sprinkle
spring onions over soup, top with a swirl of sour cream and serve with toasted crusty bread. BROCCOLI & CHEESE SOUP 1 medium onion, diced 3 garlic cloves, crushed Olive oil 2 heads broccoli 3 cups chicken stock 300ml cream or milk Feta, blue cheese, or cheddar. Fry onion in oil, add broccoli and cook for five mins. Add chicken stock, and simmer until broccoli is cooked. Puree. Add cream and cheese to blender. Season.
FOOD & DINING
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
We eat this without cream, or a drop of cream according to each taste. BACON HOCK (shown above) OR CHICKEN SOUP Cover a whole chicken or bacon hock with water, bring to the boil. Add chicken or vegie stock, and chopped onions, carrot, celery and root vegies of your choice (parsnip, swede, potato, kumara, pumpkin). When meat is cooked, remove from the pot, chop flesh and return to soup. Add soup mix (split peas, pearl barley, lentils, etc) and greens of your choice (spinach, grated zucchini, silverbeat, cabbage, broccoli etc). Season to taste. Add more water if soup is too thick. Makes a large number of serves.
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Talisman Nursery
Specialists in New Zealand native plants Open Friday & Saturday 10am-4pm or by appointment.
135 Ringawhati Rd, Ōtaki 021 0246 4474 www.talismanplants.weebly.com
THE STABLES @ TALISMAN Self-catering accommodation set at the back of Talisman Nursery. Ideal for a nice cosy retreat. www.bookabach.co.nz/p20017341
ARTS
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
Heading to Ōtaki for a day trip, weekend or holiday?
The Kāpiti Arts Trail is not on until November, but you don’t have to wait to visit our local artists. There are plenty of galleries to go to on your own arts trail. Pieces of art not only make great presents, but also the best reminders of a fabulous trip. And don’t forget to stop in for a coffee break at the many options the Ōtaki district has to offer. If you’re visiting artists at home, please remember to call first as many are open by appointment only.
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• Brent Craig Awatea Pottery, 19 Hadfield Rd, Peka Peka. 027 242 7572 • The Hori Gallery, 84 Moana Street, Ōtaki Beach • Jennifer Turnbull, Jailhouse Studio and Garden, 3 Iti Street, Ōtaki. 021 295 7473 • Jos Smith Art Studio, 7a Lemon Street, Ōtaki. 027 614 4145. • Lorna Tawhiti, lorna@may15tattoo.com. www.may15tattoo.com • Margaret Hunt, 173b Waerenga Road, Ōtaki. 06 364 8053 or 027 450 2726 • Lindsay Hey, Artist and Printmaker, 6 Kingi te Ahoaho Place, Ōtaki, 027 454 2374 • Neil Hey Studio Pottery, 6 Kingi te Ahoaho Place, Ōtaki. 027 443 9796
• Rod Graham Clayworks, 35 Ngaio • • • • • •
Street, Ōtaki Beach. 027 445 7545 Sonia Savage Savageart, 35 Ngaio Street, Ōtaki Beach. 027 244 7322 Studio Reset, 239 Hautere Cross Road, Te Horo. 021 179 3201 Toi Matarau, Māoriland Hub, Main Street, Ōtaki Village. Open MonSat 11-4pm, and by appointment Tote Modern Art Gallery, Ōtaki Racecourse, Te Roto Rd. Open Fri-Sun 10am-3pm. Wallace Trickett, 128 Rahui Road, Ōtaki. 06 364 6069. Yvonne de Mille, Mahi Toi, 50 Kirk Street, Ōtaki. 027 442 3106.
PAULA ARCHIBALD STUDIO
Ceramics
OLD COURTHOUSE GALLERY
027 247 7488
SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS Visit Ōtaki’s historic courthouse, situated in Centennial Park on Ōtaki’s Main Highway, where you will find a unique collection of art and crafts. Paintings, woodturning, pottery and much more. Art by Paula Archibald
OPEN: Thur-Sun 10am-4pm
ART ROUNDUP
ARTS
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
ARTEL GALLERY + STORE
How’s your taonga looking? The piece you wear around your neck or wrist. Unravelled string, binding coming apart? Pounamu a little chipped? It’s been sitting in a drawer for years and you’ve always meant to get it fixed so you can pass it down to the mokopuna. Ōtaki’s Artel Gallery specialises in repairs and rebinding. Your precious pounamu is couriered to Hokitika where it’s lovingly restored by artisan Hene. Or if you want to replace it, Artel stocks the widest range of carvings on the Kāpiti Coast.
Artel Galley + Store, 180 Main Highway, Ōtaki. ph: 06 210-2517 artelgallery.net
ABANDON THE BOX
The Abandon the Box team is made up of five local tattoo artists with 50 years of combined experience. Clients are from all walks of life, traveling from all corners of Aotearoa, New Zealand. The tattooists can tell you some stories while creating art that will help reflect your own story. For anyone considering a new tattoo or wishing to add to or fix up an old one, the studio is happy to respond to an email. Shop 4, 3 Arthur St, Ōtaki. e: info@abandonthebox.co.nz
PAULA ARCHIBALD STUDIO
Walk up the drive to Paula’s studio gallery and garden to view spectacular and original, one-off ceramics to enhance indoor and outdoor spaces. Paula creates figurines and marionettes with sculptured facial planes that reflect beautifully in interior lighting, hand-built candlesticks for indoor/ outdoor use, and fountains and totem poles that sparkle in sun or rain in the garden. She regularly gives classes to up-and-coming potters at the Ōtaki Pottery Club. 3 Bell Street, Ōtaki. Ph: 027 2477 488. e: Paula.clayartceramics@gmail.com f: Art by Paula Archibald
JARED CARSON ILLUSTRATIONS
Since writing and illustrating his first book, Animals in Vehicles, Jared has not only produced a sequel, More Animals in Vehicles, and Fish Musicians, but also illustrated several other children’s books for other writers. His background as a cartoonist, which began as a 10-year-old with his own cartoon strip in Wellington’s Evening Post newspaper, helps him create unique characters that draw young readers into the wonderful world of books. Contact Jared at 027 698 7529 or email jayrodeo@gmail.com
180 Main Highway • Ōtaki • 06 210 2517 7 DAYS 10am-5pm • artelgallery.net
Star Relations
Maungarongo Ron Te Kawa
18 July – 9 September, 2022 Image: In the dance of life, be the rainbow, follow the branch with the most bird song. Courtesy Kaia Hawkins
Te Aio o Te Atiawa, Here-turi-kōkā Image: Hoauanui Parata
Mahara Place, Waikanae (near old SH1) www.maharagallery.org.nz Gallery hours: Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm
13
BUSINESS 14
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
ATB team enjoying the tattoo experience Tucked into the north-west corner of the retail complex on Arthur Street, this studio has none of the dark, brooding persona of tattoo parlours of the past. No dark alleys and shady characters wielding implements of torture. The ambience of ATB Tattoo Studio is entirely down to the attitude of owners Mikey and Amy Hurman, and their team of experienced tattoo artists who seem to not only enjoy their work, but also each other as colleagues. “We’re serious about not taking life too seriously,” Mikey says. “Getting a tattoo is something you’ll never forget and we try to make it a memorable experience for everyone.” Images on the walls throughout the studio are testament to the professionalism of the team of six, who have a diverse range of tattoo styles. Lauren de Vincentis, is an expert in fineline artwork; John Roberts specialises in traditional Japanese imagery; brothers Kyle and Shane Bishop both enjoy blackwork and neo-traditional styles. Mikey enjoys everything from large-scale realism tattoo work to full colour illustrative designs, and has produced life-like portraits of people significant to the client. Amy is a 15-year beauty therapist who has managed salons around the world, and recently trained in cosmetic tattooing – she looks after clients mainly looking for eyebrow tattoos, as well as being the company’s administrator and handling the accounts. There’s clearly plenty of experience in the team, who Mikey and Amy have gathered around them in the relatively short life of ATB Tattoo Studio. The business began in Wallace Street, in the Wellington suburb of Mount Cook, 51/2 years ago. The ATB name is a bit of an enigma. Wallace Street was the couple’s business address with the number 80B, and Mikey noted it was the same street number as the house in which he grew up as a young boy. A friend, knowing they were keen to start their own business, told them about the Wallace Street shop and when Mikey saw the address, he was sold. “I had just read the book called The Alchemist and we took the street address as a bit of an omen that we were ready to start our own thing.” So with letters replacing the numbers, ATB became the official name of their new tattoo studio. It appeals to their sense of humour and dislike of convention. “We’ve left it up to our clients to make up their own mind about what ATB could stand for,” Mikey says. “We’ve had literally hundreds of ideas from people including Art Tattoos and Bullshit or Arty Tattooed Bogans!” Unofficially, ATB is Abandon the Box, which Mikey likes for its
OPEN 7 DAYS
FREE local delivery Phone: 06 364 8389 Titoki Street, Ōtaki 5512
BUSINESS
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
The team at ATB Tattoo Studio in Arthur Street: From left, John Roberts, Lauren De Vincentis, Kyle Bishop, Shane Bishop (framed on the wall), Mikey Hurman and Amy Hurman.
connotations of thinking outside the square – “We encourage our clients to use their imagination, and we love working with that. We like to think outside the square, too, trying to offer our clients something no one else does. “It might be coming up with an innovative design from just an idea, or simply going over and above to make sure our clients are happy. We have a saying here: ‘Arrive a stranger, leave a friend’. And it often happens just like that. It’s always quite personal having a tattoo on your body, so we try to make everyone comfortable and trust us to be professional in what we do.” Mikey has always had a passion for art. He started drawing when he was 5, and spent most of his childhood growing up in Te Horo, where he went to school. “I just love it here. It was my favourite place growing up. I’ve still got lots of friends up this way and we thought Ōtaki would be a great place to bring up our three boys.” After dropping out of college he channelled his creativity into chef work, which he did for 10 years. During that time he started tattooing his friends from home and met the love of his life, Amy. Together they travelled to the UK, where Mikey got a job in a tattoo studio as the shop “gopher” and later moved to Bristol doing screen-printing. Amy managed a couple of high-end salons and learned the ins and outs of running a successful business. “Bristol was our turning point, it’s where we both found our calling. It’s where I started painting graffiti and murals. Seeing the calibre of artists over there was mind blowing and lit a fire under my arse.” Four years later, back in New Zealand, Mikey began tattooing full time at Jackson Street Tattoo in Petone, and then Ninja Flower in Dixon Street, Wellington. It seemed inevitable, however, that an ambitious couple with the right skills should start their own business – even with a young child already part of the family. continues over page
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OTAKI STREET SCENE
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
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from page 15 They worked on their own for a year before Shane joined them, and later Kyle, John and Lauren. With Mikey’s Te Horo connection and much of their family living in Waikanae, a move up the coast was on the cards. When they first moved the plan was for Mikey to commute to the Wellington studio every day. Amy laughs at the memory of Mikey doing it only once. “On that same day we saw this shop [in Arthur Street] was for lease or sale,” Amy says. “Although it was just an empty shell, it was perfect, so we leased it for six months and then bought it.” They’re pleased with their business, which they say is doing well and growing fast with the addition of art prints and apparel coming soon.“ What we do is unique in New Zealand,” Mikey says. “We’re creating a space where our artists and guest artists can produce not only great tattoos but their own digital/screen printed art prints and apparel lines to sell online and in store. “I like to think we go above and beyond for each client. I’ll be honest about it. If a client brings us an idea and we think we can make it better, we’ll put in our two cents worth. We spend a lot of hours studying and attending seminars so we can keep up with trends and work out how to do things better all the time.” Amy also says what attracts clients is the vibe of the shop. “It’s always welcoming. Everyone has fun here. We’re often laughing about something.” Even though ATB Tattoo Studio boasts extensive experience, Mikey says there’s still one thing missing: an experienced ta moko tattoo artist. “It would be great to get someone who could do that.” Watch this space. n ATB Tattoo Studio, 4/3 Arthur St Ōtaki. 04 212-5520. www.abandonthebox.co.nz
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BUSINESS
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
17
ARTS 18
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
Environmental artist brings forest tranquility
Environmental artist Birgit Moffatt has captured the tranquility of the forest using leaves and natural materials to create an installation of eco-dyed papers in her exhibition, Safe Space, which has opened at Mahara iti in Waikanae. “In Safe Space, Birgit invites the viewer to pause and experience a sense of calmness and peace, which contrasts with the uncertain and stressful world in which we live,’ says Mahara Gallery director Janet Bayly. “She has a considerable following for her thoughtful and meditative workshops in eco-dying, weaving and experiencing the natural world from a creative perspective.” Safe Space was originally shown at Whirinaki Whare Taonga. But because of Covid, Janet thought Kāpiti people who follow textile arts would appreciate the opportunity to view it in Mahara’s new temporary gallery, Mahara iti. Janet says that since Birgit moved to New Zealand in 2011, she had become immersed in te ao Māori and closely connected to te taiao (the interconnection between people and nature). Born in East Berlin, she now lives in rural Ōtaki, high above Ōtaki Gorge. Birgit graduated from Whitireia with a bachelor of applied arts majoring in textiles in 2017. Since then her art practice has extended into creating larger sculptural forms, while mostly working with natural materials. She has received several awards recently for her work in national exhibitions, including the Molly Morpeth Canaday Award, Changing Threads Awards and the upcoming RT Nelson Sculpture Award. “My rural surroundings reflect in my work through earthy colour
BACKYARD BUILDING SOLUTION Ōtaki’s Gardner Homes has an answer for the housing crisis – put one of their off-the-plan transportable houses on the back yard. Many properties in Ōtaki have room for more accommodation on the back (or front) yard. For some owners the section is now too much for them to look after, but they have whānau or friends who desperately need a home. Some of these people are living in cars, garages and cabins. Gardner’s Marika Home (pictured above) is a generous 89 square metres with two bedrooms and an office, two bathrooms and laundry, dining/living and kitchen. It can be built on-site or by arrangement. The cost of the new home is $227,000 + GST. Site-specific costs – such as piles, consents, and electricity/plumbing – are additional. • For information about the Marika, email office@gardnerhomes.net.nz
GARDNER HOMES 14 Titoki St, Ōtaki 06 364-8493 I Mon-Thu 10am-4pm, other days by appointment E: office@gardnerhomes.net.nz I W: gardnerhomes.net.nz
ARTS
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
Birgit Moffatt with some of the works that make up her Safe Space exhibition at Mahara iti. Photo supplied
palettes, rich textures and the use of natural components,” Birgit says. “As far as possible, I prefer to create my own materials in their purest form. “I am a keen explorer of natural dyes, using plant parts and other natural elements to achieve sophisticated results that are often unexpected and serendipitous.” Her work process involves experimental combinations of various elements to test how they might express ideas around belonging and cultural identity. Safe Space is on at Mahara iti until July 15. The gallery is open 10am-4pm Monday to Friday.
Designer Concrete
by the Concrete Doctors
Specialists in concrete: • Bench tops
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Concrete Doctors • 10 Rimu St, Ōtaki • 06 364-8634 • fax: 06 364-8638 • www.concretedoctors.co.nz
19
OUR PEOPLE PEOPLE 20
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
The remarkable life of Jody Higgott From Ōtaki to the world, the short life of Jody Rongopamamao Ricci (nee Higgott) could have come out of a novel. She lived in many places, met famous people, and lived a life most of us might only read about. Born in Ōtaki in 1962, Jody was the daughter of Rawhiti Higgott – known universally as Lumpty – and Beverley Ann Johnson. Her brothers were Ross and Grant, but she also had half siblings from her father’s previous two marriages, Lloyd George Rikihana, June, Rawhiti, and May. Jody’s grandfather, Frank Gilbert Higgott, married Annie Cecilia Butler at Wellington in 1909. Frank was a hotel proprietor, at that time operating the Railway Hotel in Lower Hutt. He was also a horse trainer in Ōtaki and Trentham. Frank and Annie had a son, Huia Francis Higgott, who was born in Ōtaki. Huia died at the age of 103 in Karori. Annie and Frank were divorced in 1920 after she petitioned the court on the grounds of adultery. She was the licensee of the Jubilee Hotel in Ōtaki at the time. Frank remarried to May Carkeek in 1922, and they had a son, Rawhiti (Lumpty), Jody’s father. Like his own father and grandfather before him, Lumpty was a horse trainer. But he was also an entrepreneur, establishing Ōtaki Transport with Pataka (Pat) Webster, Waikanae Asphalts with Bruce Howell, and Shannon Transport with Jack Ritchie. Jody’s grandmother, May Carkeek, was the daughter of Morgan James Cooper Carkeek and Rongopamamao Piripi Kohe, and half brother to Rikihana Carkeek. Jody was named after her great-grandmother, Rongopamamao (Rongo) Carkeek. Rongo herself was named after the chief Te Rangihaeta’s wife, who was shot at the Wairau Massacre, and was the granddaughter of Matiaha te Raukarito, who came to the Ōtaki area in the Ngati Toa heke (migration) of Te Rauparaha’s people from the north. Jody grew up in Ōtaki, attending Waitohu School and Ōtaki College. Her family lived over the railway line on Rahui Road. When she went overseas she met and befriended many famous people, including in Australia the brothers Todd and Marc Hunter of the hugely successful New Zealand band Dragon, and while living in Canada, Xaviera Hollander, who became famous with her book The Happy Hooker. Jody was a prolific artist. Her work is in homes throughout the world. She was kind-hearted and jovial. She painted for the love of it, and many of her paintings were simply gifted to the recipients, especially friends and whānau. She never forgot her roots in Ōtaki, though her creativity covered
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200 Main Highway, Ōtaki
OUR PEOPLE
Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
ABOVE: Jody’s painting Whitebaiters at Ōtaki River Mouth. LEFT: Jody in Australia.
a wide variety of subjects. The themes from home resurfaced time and again – especially Ōtaki and Kāpiti Island scenes. Her pride in her ancestry was evident. Jody died of cancer in Australia in October 2013 as she was about to embark on another overseas trip. n Read the full story about Jody’s life and view many of her paintings in the 2021 issue of Ōtaki Yesterday. • Ōtaki Yesterday is available from ID Media Ltd, 027 285 4720, debbi@idmedia.co.nz or RiverStone Cafe, Ōtaki Museum, Māoriland Hub, Koha Hair Design and Books & Co.
ŌTAKI
Ōtaki Yesterday , 2021
YESTERDAY ISSUE 2
The 2020 issue of Ōtaki Yesterday featuring Queenie Rikihana on the cover (left), and the 2021 issue with Jody’s story and featuring the band Summer Breeze on the cover.
December 2021
Summer Breeze looks back 46 page 7
years
1
OZ’S BAKERY • freshly baked pies daily • filled rolls, sandwiches • cream doughnuts • great variety of cakes • bread and pizza bread
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200 Main Highway, Ōtaki
OZ’s: 06 364-5468
21
ADVERTISER BUSINESS DIRECTORY ACCOMMODATION The Stables @ Talisman, 135 Ringawhati Rd, Ōtaki. 06 364-5893. talisman.otaki@hotmail.com ARTS & HISTORY Artel Gallery & Store. 180 Main Highway, Ōtaki. 06 210 2517. artelgallery.net ATB Studios, 3 Arthur St, Ōtaki. 04 212 5520. abandonthebox.co.nz Jared Carson Illustrations & Cartoons, 027 698 7529. jrodeo@gmail.com Mahara iti, 20 Mahara Place, Waikanae. 04 902-6242. maharagallery.org.nz Māoriland Film Festival, Māoriland Hub, 68 Main Street, Ōtaki. maorilandfilm.co.nz Old Courthouse Gallery, Centennial Park, Main Highway. Open Thu-Sun 10am-4pm Ōtaki Museum, 49 Main Street, Ōtaki Village. 06 364-6886. otakimuseum.co.nz Ōtaki Yesterday, ID Media Ltd, 13 Te Manuao Rd, Ōtaki. 06 364 6543 or 027 285 4720. Paula Archibald Studio, 027 247 7488, Ōtaki. Toi Matarau Gallery, Māoriland Hub, 68 Main Street, Ōtaki. toi.maorilandfilm.co.nz DINING & FOOD Curry Town, 57 Main St, Ōtaki Village. 06 364-8898. Authentic Indian & Malaysian cuisine. Dice, 200 SH1, Ōtaki. 06 364-5472. Fair trade Emporio organic coffee, real fruit icecreams. Oz’s Bakery, 200 SH1, Ōtaki. 06 364-5468. Freshly baked pies daily, cakes, sandwiches. RiverStone Café & coffee cart, south end of highway shops, 170 SH1, Ōtaki. 06 364-6742. Text your order to the coffee cart at 022 476 8613. HEALTH & BEAUTY Hebe Botanicals, 34 Riverbank Road, Ōtaki. 06 364 6690. hebebotanicals.co.nz Old School Beauty & Electrolysis, Deb Shannon. 06 364 7075. oldschoolbeauty.co.nz Ōtaki Medical Centre, 2 Aotaki Street, Ōtaki Village. 06 364-8555. PROFESSIONAL & SERVICES Inpro Group Ltd, insurance and mortgage brokers. 06 364-6123. inprogroup.co.nz RETAIL Hammer Hardware, Titoki St, Ōtaki. 06 364-8389. hammerhardware.co.nz Penray Gardens, SH 1, Ōtaki South. 06 364-5302. penray@xtra.co.nz Talisman Nursery, 135 Ringawhati Rd, Ōtaki, 06 364-5893, talisman.otaki@hotmail.com Watson’s Garden, 17 Bell St, Ōtaki. 06 364-8758. Creating simply beautiful gardens. REAL ESTATE Gardner Homes, 10 Gardner Place, Ōtaki. 06 364-8493. gardnerhomes.net.nz Pete Heald, Professionals Ōtaki, 207 SH 1, Ōtaki. 027 536 5616. e: peter@dwre.co.nz Professionals Property Management, 207 SH 1, Ōtaki. 0800 004 397 Tall Poppy Ōtaki, Brendan Heenan, 027 479 2772. tallpoppy.co.nz TRADE SERVICES Concrete Doctors, 10 Rimu St, Ōtaki. 06 364-8634. concretedoctors.co.nz LEVIN Superminx, 194 Oxford St, Levin. 06 368-5750. www.superminx.co.nz To advertise in Ōtaki Street Scene and be listed in this directory, call Debbi 06 364-6543.
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Ōtaki Street Scene • Winter 2022
Email: debbi@idmedia.co.nz Phone: 06 364-6543 Text: 027 285-4720
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Ōtaki Cemetery
Jim Spiers Ln Anzac Rd Ōtaki Domain
aR
Addin
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To Ōtaki Golf Club
Te Hara
School Alexander Pl
d
Akeak e Pl
ore
Raukawa Marae
Ōtaki
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Atm
Pl
4. St Mary’s at Pukekaraka Tainui Marae
St
MILL RD
ta
ia Win
McLaren Pl
St
Lemo
Kirk
St Katea
Iti St
Patterson Ct
St
MAIN STREET
St Temuera
Kauri
Hinau St
Rimu St
cycleway
Aotaki St Gardner Pl
ll S
RIVERBANK RD
Matene
Te Wiremu Ln
River walk\
St
Be
S
Rangiātea Church 3. 2. Te Rauparaha St
St Matai
Lup
RD RIVERBANK
RD
St
Te Wānanga-O-Raukawa
nix oe Ph Ct 5.
U
ki
Miro
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Tit o ro
Ngā Purapura
NG
Skate park
Mi
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gP
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Ch
RA
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Main Highway
To Talisman Nurseries
Looking from the highway along Arthur Street to Ōtaki Railway Station, with the Railway Hotel on the left, on Saturday morning, April 5, 1931. The Ōtaki River had burst its banks the night before, causing serious flooding in the Railway shopping area. Photo NZ Herald, April 7, 1931.
The big flood of 1931
One of Ōtaki’s biggest recorded floods was on the Friday night of April 4, 1931, when Ōtaki River rose nearly three metres in about an hour and a half. The Waitohu Stream also burst its banks, so the flooding hit the Railway area from both north and south. The flood was described by newspapers at the time as the most severe flood in the town’s history. It cost the life of Ann Falder, who had attempted to escape the flooding at a farm on Rāhui Road. She was crossing a footbridge when it gave way. Her body was found later near the racecourse. The waters tore through every shop at the Railway and many houses to a depth of about a metre. Even along Mill Road and towards the township, most houses were invaded by water. Land at the back of the stands at the racecourse was flooded and several outbuildings ended up in the river. A Bible class camp there was forced to seek refuge in the grandstand. The waters ran along the edge of Doug Webster’s training stables nearby and swept on towards the Railway. A length of railway track between the station and the Ōtaki River bridge became impassable. Train services were badly disrupted when the tracks were washed out. Wellington to Auckland express trains were diverted to the Wairarapa line, then through Woodville to Palmerston North. One train was nearly five hours late. Leaping the road, which was at the peak of the flooding a metre under water, the flood swept on, inundating business premises and residences. It then ran level with the platform of the railway station. When the waters finally receded, Ōtaki River was found to have washed away about 400 metres of its northern bank at Rāhui. It thus found a new course, 300 metres wide, for about two kilometres. “It now makes a northerly sweep to the racecourse, and then flows due west, until checked by the railway embankment, which turns it south again to join its original course,” the Auckland Star reported. “The prevention of erosion of the railway bank and protection against another flood presents an engineering task of considerable magnitude. It is feared that with another flood the river will deviate through the racecourse and by the Rāhui Dairy Factory, then descend on the town by way of Mill Road.” Unfortunately, Ōtaki River did flood again, only a bit over a month later, on May 25, 1931. Shops at the Railway were flooded yet again, though not to the depth of the April floods. It was to be decades later before Chrystalls Bend was straightened and the flood risks greatly reduced.
