Ōtaki Today December 2019

A ‘bright and beautiful’ farewell p13

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French country house (7) Vacillating; irresolute (10) Assortment (7) Tale (4) Sheep’s wool (6) Weaken (6) Rues (7) Reproduce threefold (10) Balderdash (8) Competitor (5) Shines (6) Two-piece beach suit (6) Landslide (9) Paper size (8) Sherried dessert (6) Bird of prey (7) Sick headache (8) Reseller’s profit (6) Slightly open (4) Indian instrument (5) Fortune-telling cards (5) Dread of confinement (14) Nuisances (5) Artefact (5) Metal (4) Film theatre (6) Financial records (8) Synopsis (7) Gracefully slender (6) Ribbed fabric (8) Short-lived (9) Prolonged embrace (6) Three-legged stand (6) Viral disease (5) Trader (8) Consider bad or wrong (10) Discipline (7) Char (6) Anxious (6) Carte du jour (4) Three-pronged spear (7) Cut off (10)

By editor Ian Carson

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Continuous (3-4) Sloping path (4) Vigour (6) Injured party (6) Chelsea (anag) (7) Crossbred (10) Glassy volcanic rock (8) Singing voice (5) Buff (6) Provisions (6) Dancer’s spin (9) Sharply defined (5-3) Impudent (6) Hospital attendant (7) Lineage (8) Cream-filled pastry (6) Eye part (4) Examine (5) Pay (5) Arduous, discouraging undertaking (6,8) Sword (5) Climb (5) Grain store (4) Farce (6) Intrepid (8) Flight attendant (7) Divide into two (6) German white wine (8) Frank in opinions (9) Punctual (6) Dress (6) Rot (5) Borough of New York (8) Blot out (10) Weird, freakish (7) Bitter-tasting (6) Rubbed out (6) Male deer (4) Claimed (7) Intruded illegally (10) Picks (7)

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Ōtaki Today is pleased to retain the district’s top political decision-makers as regular columnists.

Writing exclusively in Ōtaki (see page 12) are Mayor K Gurunathan and community board chair Chris Papps (both Ōtaki residents) and Ōtaki Ward Councillor James Cootes (Te Horo Beach). Their insights into local politics and their communities – as well as their personal perspectives – help to make Ōtaki Today the local news leader.

All three retained their positions after the October local body elections.

They add value to the already stellar lineup of other contributors, who cover topical issues as diverse as media, farming and fitness.

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DOWN: 1 Crypt, 2 Airliner, 3 Unlock, 4 Inept, 5 Duet, 6 Chianti, 7 Supine, 8 Voice, 10 Item, 11 Tarnish, 12 Ritual, 17 Flamboyant, 18 Psalm, 22 Displays, 23 Knead, 24 Gourmet, 26 Itch, 28 Volcano, 29 Clinic, 30 Kidnap, 31 Repast, 33 Tiger, 35 Raise, 36 Agar, 37 Taxi, 43 Avenue, 44 Opium, 46 Lair, 47 Unclear, 48 Tickle, 49 Ounce, 50 Homicide, 51 Accrue, 52 Photograph, 53 Song, 54 Suspend, 59 Erupt, 60 Oral, 64 Greet, 65 Opponent, 67 Exposed, 68 Catch on, 70 Author, 71 Fabric, 72 Parson, 75 Cacti, 77 Inept, 78 Equip, 79 Neon, 80 Pure, 85 Torch, 86 Immobile, 87 Tennis, 88 Dirge, 89 Styx, 90 Obvious, 91 Nicest, 92 Child, 94 Owed, 95 Sickest, 96 Oregon, 101 First light, 102 Carob, 106 Critical, 107 Ferry, 108 Prosper, 110 Tack, 112 Inkling, 113 Gateau, 114 Terror, 115 Glider, 117 Crass, 119 Extra, 120 Edam, 121 Mill, 127 Excite, 128 In-law, 130 Pail, 131 Idolise, 132 Locket, 133 Tempt, 134 Underdog, 135 Evenly, 136 Strengthen, 137 Brew, 138 Essence, 143 Brass, 144 Keep, 148 Worry, 149 Gigantic, 151 Unaware, 152 Panacea, 154 Serial, 155 Eludes, 156 Biceps, 159 Occur, 161 Bland, 162 Edges, 163 True, 164 Lens.

Wānanga graduation day p3

Holiday Crossword

Brian andd Marlene Hancock met at the Jubilee – Brian’s mother was the cook. Marlene’s parents, Charlie and Marge Honeybone, were publicans during the 1950s. Read about her memories in the story below.

The old Jubilee Hotel is being demolished to make way for new housing.

The land on which the old hotel and the adjoining Body & Soul fitness centre stand will accommodate 14 new houses.

The property’s Wellington owner, Lloyd Cudby of Jubilee Hotel Developments Ltd, was not prepared to talk much about the project with Ōtaki Today.

“We’re awaiting resource consent with the Kāpiti council, so there’s not much I can tell you” he said.

However, he did say that there would be 14 two-bedroom, single-level houses and that after demolition, work should begin about March or April. The development should be completed by the end of the year. The developer already has consent to demolish the current buildings.

Asked about the historic value of the hotel, Lloyd said extensive modifications had been made over

Hotel to go after 130 years the years and little remained of the original hotel.

The hotel – known simply as The Jube – was built in 1890 for James and Emily Thomas. It had 15 bedrooms, six sitting rooms, a commercial room and dining room that could seat 30 guests.

A gentleman’s club occupied the western part of the building. Two paddocks at the back of the fiveacre site accommodated horses and there were four stables. The road on which it was built was named after the hotel – Jubilee Road later being renamed Waerenga Road.

The hotel was where a banquet was held to farewell local troopers bound for the Boer War, and when a chimney caught fire in 1918, it was the first callout for the new Ōtaki Volunteer Fire Brigade.

In 1925, Ben Ling, who occupied an upstairs

suite, was watching an auction of the hotel when he leaned on a balcony that collapsed and fell to his death. Ben was an early president and secretary of the Ōtaki-Māori Racing Club.

In the 1970s, the Jubilee boasted Ōtaki’s first nightclub, the Golden Towers. Many local musicians had their first opportunity to play there and it attracted artists such as Eddie Lowe.

After the Central Hotel (where Sunlong is now) burnt down in 1961, the Jubilee was one of the town’s four bustling hotels – the others being the Telegraph, the Family and the Railway.

During the 1950s, Charlie and Marge Honeybone were the publicans. It was home to their daughter, Marlene, from 1953-1957.

Continues page 2

PITOPITO KŌRERO: NEWS I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

LOCAL EVENTS

whika/page 2

CARTOON OF THE MONTH

By Jared Carson

THE GREAT SKATE, 1-5pm on Friday, December 13 at Ōtaki skate park on Riverbank Road. Free food, live music, skate competitions, BMX competitions, spot prizes. Ages 12-24 can compete.

TE HORO CHRISTMAS IN THE PARK, 11am-1pm Sunday, December 22 in Dixie Street Park, Te Horo Beach. ŌTAKI KITE FESTIVAL Ōtaki Beach, February 8-9, 2020. FREE EVENT.

MANAKAU BOWLING AND SPORTS CLUB 10 Mokena Kohere Street, Manakau. Social roll up. Wednesday evenings 5.30pm on. All welcome.

Contact Roger 027 733 1012 for details.

From Ōtaki Today staff and contributors.

ŌTAKI MUSEUM: RSA exhibition: 100 Years Remembrance. An exhibition to celebrate 100 years since the formation of the Ōtaki RSA. Open ThursdaySaturday 10am-2pm.

ŌTAKI TENNIS CLUB: Club day every Sunday afternoon from 3-5pm. Enquiries to Gary Quigan 364 6321 or 027 256 0121.

ŌTAKI GARAGE SALE third Saturday of the month, 9-11.30am, rain or shine, Presbyterian Church, 249 Mill Rd. 364-6449. ŌTAKI LIBRARY

Books and Bickies: An informal book group meets on the second Friday of the month, 10.30-11.30am. Talk over morning tea about books read.

End of an era as Jubilee Hotel demolished

Skills Café: Guests share a different craft or skill on the fourth Friday of the month. Mostly hands-on workshops.

Other services: A JP at the library every Monday 10.30am-12.30pm.

Age Concern every second Thursday 10am-midday. Greypower every first and third Thursday, 10.30am-1.30pm.

All library sessions are free.

ŌTAKI WOMEN’S COMMUNITY CLUB CRAFT MARKET: opposite New World, Every Sunday of the month during daylight saving. Georgie 027 234 1090. ŌTAKI COMMUNITY RECOVERY CENTRE: Meets every Friday morning 9.30-11.30 am. A mixed group offering mind games, sit and be fit. $5pp includes morning tea – first visit free.

Open to anyone looking for exercise, fun and friendship. Next to Body & Soul, Waerenga Road. Contact Myrtle Buckley 364 5075 or Glenys Lowe 364 5572.

To list your community event, contact debbi@idmedia.co.nz or 06 364-6543.

from page 1 Marlene, who now lives in Paihia, says her parents took it over in early 1953 from Tori McFetridge, who still had horses in paddocks out the back, and in the stables.

“It was where I met my future husband, Brian Hancock, as his mother was the cook at the hotel,” she says. “It’s where we got engaged and married.”

Marlene says she once saw “the books” of the hotel that showed the takings were modest from Monday to Saturday, but on Sundays, when it was officially closed, the takings were as much as all the other days of the week put together.

“Folk came up for the day from Wellington on the train, Fields train I think it was called, so they could have a drink or two, and then

pour themselves on the train to go back to Wellington that night.

“There was a lot of ‘after-hours’ trading and when the police ‘flying squad’ from Palmerston North were coming for a raid, each publican rang the next hotel down the line, from Shannon, to Levin, to Manakau and to all five Ōtaki hotels, with warnings that they were coming.

“Then everyone scattered – into the horse stables, upstairs and all around the hotel.

Afterwards, everyone came out and carried on as before, till all hours.”

Some of the people she recalls were Bob Rogers the barman, a Mr Lambeth who was a permanent boarder and then about 90 years old and quite frail. Barry Walker sometimes played

the piano on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

Bob McGuigan, after arriving on his tractor, always sat on the same seat in the corner and no one else could sit there . . . ever. Bob’s daughter, Sue Brock, also remembers her father’s favoured bar stool in the corner.

“We had our wedding at the Jubilee, then on to the Old Folks Hall for the dance.”

Neil and Judy Uren took over the Jubilee when the Honeybones moved on about 1958-59.

On hearing about the Jubilee’s demise, Helen MacDonald said on Facebook: “When I was little they used to have monkeys out the back and we had raspberry lemonade out the front in the Morris Oxford.

“Good times.”

CORRECTION: Our arts trail photo caption last issue referred to artist Kevin Hastie – it’s Kevin Haste.

COMBINED CHURCHES CAROLS IN THE PARK brought to you by Ōtaki Churches

Sunday 15 December 2019, 3-4pm Haruātai Park, Mill Road, Ōtaki Christmas Carols Singing in the Park is back again this year.

If raining, Carols in the Park will be held at the Presbyterian Church, Mill Rd, Ōtaki.

MUSIC MATTERS: Connecting through Accessible and Affordable Music • Ann-Marie Stapp, Community Singing, Choir Director, Musician • Member: Song Leaders Network Aotearoa; NZCF Assoc of Choral Directors 161365

Ōtaki Today is published monthly by ID Media Ltd, 13 Te Manuao Rd, Ōtaki.

For editorial enquiries or news tips, please contact editor Ian Carson 06 364-6543 or ian@idmedia.co.nz For advertising enquiries, please contact general manager Debbi Carson 06 364-6543 or debbi@idmedia.co.nz

NEW BOARD: The Ōtaki Community Board (OCB) for the triennium 2019-2022, with Mayor K Gurunathan at their first meeting on November 12. Back row next to Mayor Guru is new board member Steve Carkeek, with Ōtaki Ward Councillor and OCB member James Cootes. Front row from left, Shelly Warwick, chair Chris Papps and deputy chair Marilyn Stevens.

CARTOONS: Jared Carson CONTRIBUTORS: Pera Barrett (Good Thinking) • Fraser Carson (Media & Community) • Daniel Duxfield (Fitness) • Dr Ken Geenty (Farming) • Dr Steve Humphries (Food Science) • Miraz Jordan (Waikawa Way) • Kath Irvine (Edible Backyards) • Rex Kerr (History) • Michael Moore (News) Design by ID Media Ltd. Printed by Beacon Print, Whakatane.

Ōtaki Today online: otakitoday.com ISSN 2624-3067 Next copy and advertising deadline: Tuesday January 7.

Publication date: Wednesday January 15. Ōtaki Today is a member of the NZ Community Newspapers Association.

TE RĀ WHAKAPŪMAU: GRADUATION I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

whika/page 3

Toiora Whānau diploma graduate

PACKED: Ngā Purapura was packed for Te Wānanga o Raukawa’s graduation day on Saturday (December 7).

Full house for Wānanga graduation day 2019 It was a day to remember for students young and old at Ngā Purapura as they received their tohu mātauranga (academic qualifications) on Saturday, December 7.

The programme booklet listed more than 1100 students of Te Wānanga o Raukawa who qualified.

Wearing korowai (woven cloaks) of special significance because of their whānau or iwi connections, feathers in their hair, or just “best dress”, the students strode proudly onto the stage to receive their diplomas and degrees.

The programme continued through from mid-morning until late in the day, such was the number. Many recipients

were also honoured with a haka tautoko or pao acknowledging their hard work and the Wānanga for giving them the learning opportunity.

Fortunately, the forecast rain stayed away, holding its worst for the night and the following day when New Zealand was belted with storms and torrential rain. The balmy conditions meant the thousands of visitors to the Wānanga were able to mingle among the tents set up in the grounds of Ngā Purapura and the kura, Whakatupuranga Rua Mano.

Across the road, an army of volunteers and Wānanga staff were kept busy catering for an estimated 1700 guests. It was a good day for the Wānanga, students and visitors – and for Ōtaki.

See more photos on page 17.

Kukura Turner of Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Toa Rangatira and Ngā Puhi graduated on Saturday with a diploma completing her first year of studies in a four-year bachelors degree in social work.

She is the great-grandaughter of Rikihana Carkeek, the direct descendant of the Ngāti Raukawa chief Wi Te Manewha, and Pareraukawa Akenihi, the direct descendant of the chieftainess Waitohi, the older sister of the great Ngāti Toa Rangatira chief Te Rauparaha.

Iwi, hapū and te reo Māori studies are a compulsory component to the course at Te Wānanga o Raukawa. Kukura, who was born and raised in Ōtaki, has been able to strengthen her reo, deepening her existing knowledge of iwi and hapū. Her grandmother, Pareraukawa Carkeek, has been an inspiration throughout her life and driving force behind her studies.

“My grandmother taught me and my brother, Wiremu Te Manewha, the importance of whānau and whakapapa,” Kukura says. “She instilled us with knowledge of taonga tuku iho [inherited tupuna values], that the Wānanga embodies. She has been a pillar of strength for me my whole life.

“She always reminds us that our tupuna are with us in everything we do in life.”

The unique programme offered by Te Wānanga o Raukawa that Kukura is studying is Toiora Whānau, a four-year degree accredited by the Social Workers Registration Board. It provides a uniquely Māori perspective on whānau wellness.

Drawing on kaupapa tuku iho, Toiora Whānau practitioners will be able to plan and implement measures that contribute to the well-being of whānau, hapū and iwi. Kukura was honoured by her elders to wear a unique korowai to her graduation. She says the korowai has been a treasured garment in the Rikihana/ Carkeek whanau for more than 100 years.

“It carries the mana of those who have worn it before me,” she says.

CLOAKED: Kukura Turner on graduation day.

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PITOPITO KŌRERO: NEWS I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

whika/page 5

Local schools get $1m funding boost Ōtaki area state schools and kura are to get just over a million dollars in government funding to spend on infrastructure.

The money in a nationwide handout totalling $400 million will help schools with things such as upgrading and fixing classrooms, replacing roofing and guttering, and resurfacing paved areas.

Schools will not be the only beneficiaries. In announcing the funding, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the spend would be great for local tradespeople – “this is an opportunity for work at a local level in every town and city in the country”.

The package works out to be about $700 per student. Ōtaki schools receive a total of $1,040,886, which will need to be spent within the next two years. Ōtaki College receives the lion’s share, with $313,236.

Principal Andy Fraser says the funding is “fantastic news”.

“It means we can update and maintain our buildings in a more timely manner.”

He says the college already has budget provisions for ongoing cyclical work, which includes painting and floor maintenance. During the past four years the college has increased its budget to allow for painting to be kept to a higher standard.

Ōtaki College opened in 1959 and has a roll of 452. Ōtaki School principal Chris Derbridge says the $113,652 funding for his school was an unexpected windfall.

“It’s very exciting news for our school. And I know we will have no trouble spending the money,” he says.

“I think our first priority will be to provide toilets in Whare Manaaki (the school hall). These are really needed because when we hold events there are no facilities available.”

He says the school will take a good look at its areas of need, in terms of infrastructure, priority and price, and

then use the money wisely to get as much done as possible. Ōtaki School first opened in 1880, though not on its current site. It has a roll of 164.

Waitohu School principal Maine Curtis says he’s delighted with the funding of $186,417 for his 269 students.

“Our spending priorities are developing junior classroom spaces and upgrading our toilet blocks,” he says. “The funding means we can continue our property development plans sooner than we’d anticipated.

“It will make a genuine difference at the school.”

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PITOPITO KŌRERO: NEWS I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

whika/page 6

‘Ideal investment’ for Raukawa ki te Tonga Waste Transformation Limited (WTL), a company with Ōtaki connections and Raukawa ki te Tonga AHC as a cornerstone shareholder, has developed a global leading waste diversion system using a proven technology that turns waste wood into valuable by-products.

Over the past five years, WTL has moved from proof of concept to full commercialisation with a new plant capable of processing 200 tonnes of waste timber a month and producing, when fully operational, up to 80 tonnes of commercial charcoal. The company’s operations are currently based at Timaru District Council’s Redruth Resource Recovery Park, where its new plant is diverting all recoverable untreated waste timber from the landfill.

WTL is largely Māori-owned, with Ōtakibased Raukawa ki te Tonga AHC having a cornerstone shareholding of about 38 percent.

Other shareholders are Spectionz, predominantly Ngāti Hine and close associates with 25 percent; and Kilnz Bio Energy and close associates, predominantly Ngāti Raukawa, holding 37 percent.

Raukawa ki te Tonga AHC was established as the commercial organisation to manage the settlement assets and investments of Raukawa ki te Tonga Trust.

Jack Morris, Raukawa ki te Tonga AHC’s chief executive, says WTL is an ideal investment for his company.

“We are a longer-term investor committed to socially responsible investing,” he says. “WTL ticks the environmental box, transforming waste to an environmentally friendly fuel source, creates employment in regional centres, is

ADDED VALUE: Waste Transformation’s Timaru plant, where waste wood is turned into valuable by-products.

innovative and Māori-owned and managed.

“We also have good reason to believe that it will be a commercial success given that it addresses the need for territorial authorities to better manage their waste streams.”

The WTL technology has significant environmental benefits. The Ministry for the Environment estimates that each year about 400,000 tonnes of timber are consigned to the country’s landfills, constituting about 15 percent of the national waste stream. Waste wood is particularly challenging in that it’s bulky, difficult to compact and produces greenhouse gases (GHG) as it decomposes.

Landfills are a huge problem in that the land use is permanently lost from agricultural, housing or business use. It’s also expensive and becoming more so, given the cost of land and the associated

Historical journal 41 launched The Otaki Historical Journal went into its fifth decade of publishing with the 41st volume launched on December 3.

The launch was at the Otaki Historical Society’s public meeting at the Rotary Hall.

Journals were on sale at the meeting, and are now available at other local outlets (see at end).

The journal was launched with a talk by editor Sarah Maclean, then the 50 or so attending were invited to talk to journal contributors who had set up discussion tables around the hall.

The journal contains many examples of detailed research, shown this year in stories such as the Moonshine Mill and Māori artefacts in the Tararua Ranges. There are also article on the Rāhui dairy factory and retailing, as well as reminiscences of school days.

The journal looks at two centenaries

celebrated this year – the museum building and the Ōtaki and District Returned and Services Association.

Both featured in exhibitions at the Ōtaki Museum during the year.

The stories of local campaigns to save historical buildings and native fauna all show how the preservation of the past has value for people’s lives today.

The Otaki Historical Society says that with history becoming a compulsory subject at school, the journal will become an important resource to develop a local history curriculum.

engineering safeguards required to prevent toxic leachate from reaching groundwater or streams.

Hence the need to minimise hazardous waste and encourage the re-use and repurposing of building site and demolition materials.

Charcoal, produced from waste wood, also has the potential to replace coal as an industrial fuel source. Compared with coal, charcoal has a higher energy value, zero sulphur oxides and lower nitrous oxide emissions. Charcoal is also smokeless.

WTL has taken a proven technology – pyrolysis – and built an economic unit that is scaled to New Zealand conditions and environmentally compliant. Overseas pyrolysis plants require huge waste volumes to be economic.

“There’s no other comparable plant in New

Zealand,” says WTL chief executive Mike Henare. “What we’ve been able to do is to develop a unit that is economic and matches the waste disposal requirements of New Zealand’s regions. The plant is transportable, designed to go to the waste stream and not require the waste streams to be transported to a significantly larger centralised plant.

“This sized unit also provides better control, especially when dealing with problematic waste steams such as treated timber and tyres. While the proof of concept has been based around waste timber (excluding CCA-treated timber) the company has its sights on solutions for these other problematic waste streams.

“Our new kiln is fully automated, PLC1 and tablet-driven and meets the Australian Standard AS1375. There’s no New Zealand standard for this type of equipment.”

The company’s technology development has been supported since inception by an independent science and technology panel. A Massey University study presented to the 2016 Chemeca Conference established that when taking all the greenhouse gas contributions into account, wood pyrolysis has about zero greenhouse gas emissions compared with about 1760 kgCO2/tonne for clean-burning wood. .

“The operation has been carefully developed with full consideration given to health and safety of the operation and equipment, and the processing is carried out under a consent with Environment Canterbury,” Mike says.

1

PLC (a Programmable Logic Controller) is an industrial computer control system that continuously monitors the state of input devices and makes decisions based on a custom program to control the state of output devices.

URNAL JO L A IC R O T IS H I K A OT Vol 41: 201 9 Ota ki His tor ica l Soc iety

PEKA PEKA TO OTAKI ION: EXPRESSWAY DEMOLIT An Otaki landmark bites the dust page 30

n Copies of the Otaki Historical Journal are available at Ōtaki Museum, Ōtaki PostShop, Railway Bookshop, The Tele Hotel, RiverStone Cafe, the Beacon Bookshop in Levin, and online at otakihistoricalsociety.org.nz Past issues are also available at varying prices from $5.

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PITOPITO KŌRERO: NEWS I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

whika/page 7

Te Horo loses $82k from community coffers

By Michael Moore

A seven-year battle to build a contentious community tennis court on council reserve at Te Horo Beach has ended in the budgeted funds being returned into Kapiti Coast District Council’s consolidated reserve fund.

In August 2012, resident Billie Taylor gathered 120 signatures in support of a tennis court at the Gawler Street Reserve.

In a September 2013 council survey of 232 residents, 80 percent of whom were permanent residents or owned a property, the community was divided in its support for a tennis court, with 58 percent for and 41 percent against.

Some dissenters cited the disturbance to neighbours and the existing courts in School Road.

Others said funding should support other infrastructure such as a residents’ meeting building, boat ramp or upgrade to the beach toilets.

A November 2013 report by the Ōtaki Community Board (OCB) asked the council to undertake consultation to understand what the majority of the community preferred, given that the funding was granted for the purpose of building a tennis court.

The OCB report noted that the Friends of

Te Horo Beach residents group was told of the process and invited to comment, but did not respond.

Three public reserves set aside in the beachside community were considered for development of a tennis court: Dixie Street park, the south end of Rodney Avenue, and 38 Gawler Street, which was the recommended site. The Gawler Street site has remained unused since it was acquired as public property when the Gawler family subdivided several hectares of its land close to the beach in the late 1940s. Ōtaki Ward Councillor James Cootes says two or three years after the money was allocated, the Ōtaki Community Board told the residents group to “use it, or lose it”, because it had dragged on for too long.

In the past year, Friends of Te Horo Beach, an incorporated society, has asked James about access to the funds and if it could be used for other purposes.

“I have been told by the council it is no longer available to the community,” James says. “It hasn’t been carried over to subsequent financial years.

“These are governance decisions, as opposed to operational or management. At the time, the community group wanted to ring-fence the

SITTING EMPTY: The Gawler Street reserve at Te Horo Beach.

funding. However, as council staff changed over the years, that institutional knowledge was lost, and as the new budget and annual plan was done, this funding just slipped off the radar.”

James says the council has acknowledged that the funds were “unintentionally removed” and he has been advocating to get the allocation returned for use by the Te Horo community.

“I have a responsibility to my community and have been told that a new proposal needs to come to council. However, I feel this is not cool.

We now have a new council that would consider current priorities and this may say that they’re not going to fund it as they did some years ago.”

James is adamant that the original funding amount should be kept aside for Te Horo.

“I hope that a new request would reinstate the

original funding and be done in good faith.”

The challenge is for Te Horo to come up with a workable plan that the community can support. A community meeting space could be explored, but this might not meet the conditions of a reserve.

Meanwhile, over the past two years, the Friends of Te Horo Beach group has been unsuccessful in gaining permission to install a simple community noticeboard after multiple interactions with the council. James, who is also a Te Horo Beach resident, says he is happy to discuss the issue with the Friends but did not receive an invitation to the group’s annual meeting on October 29.

Friends president Richard Goode couldn’t be reached for comment.

Garden tour raises cash to strengthen hall

By Michael Moore

The fifth annual Te Horo country garden tour on the weekend of November 16-17 attracted nearly 900 garden aficionados from throughout Kāpiti, Wellington, Manawatu and Taranaki.

“This was the biggest and most successful to date,” says organiser Barbara Chatters. “It was beyond all our expectations.”

It was the first time the event was run over two days. Despite damp weather on the Sunday, $20,000 was raised to help earthquake strengthen Te Horo’s historic community hall.

The old wooden building, built in 1914 and owned by the community, meets only 22 percent of the Building Code.

“As the hall is open for community events, it needs to be compliant,” says hall committee member Sharon Hurst. “We’ve had an engineering report done and the ballpark is around $100,000 to bring it up to code. We hope skilled people in our community might support and help towards the remedial work.”

The garden tour was a volunteer labour of love by a small dedicated team.

“It was hugely ambitious to run such a large event over two days, and we were overwhelmed by the response from everyone: those who opened up their homes, the businesses and all those who came along,” Sharon says.

Thirteen private gardens opened to the public. About 500 people visited Gene Saunders and Art Daniel’s Harper Road garden, which features colourful island beds with “rooms” of

established natives and ornamental trees. They enjoyed opening up their home.

“This was the first time we participated, and it was really lovely to share our garden,” Art says. “It turns what is really our self-centred hobby into something that we can share with the community. People were really comfortable here and found it peaceful.”

The event was started by Debbie Laing in 2008. It has raised funds for St Margaret’s Church, an emergency generator for the hall, money for the fire station and for Huha.

“So many locals and businesses have supported this, and we’re indebted,” Sharon says.

Thirty volunteers helped at gardens and in the hall café. A raffle of prizes from local businesses also helped the fundraising total. n Raffle winners were: Jan Check, Harriet Tobes, Moreen Courtney, Sarah Martin, Kaye Calder, Lisa Bell, Elizabeth Sanford, Sally Mundell, Neil Greenwood, Marie Knewstubb and Charlie Stevens.

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ORGANISERS: The Te Horo Country Garden Tour organising team, from left, Barbara Chatters, Debbie Laing, Neil MacInnes and Sharon Hurst.

Photo Michael Moore

GOT A GOOD NEWS STORY? Call us on 06 364-6543 Email ian@idmedia.co.nz Go to otakitoday.com and click the Contact link

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PITOPITO KŌRERO: NEWS I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

whika/page 8

Rāhui bridge brings ice-creams closer

IN BRIEF

The new Rāhui Road bridge spanning the railway track and eventually the new Peka Peka to Ōtaki expressway, opened to traffic on Saturday, November 30.

The opening was without fanfare, but on the previous Sunday the public was treated to a walkover hosted by the expressway construction team.

Several hundred people walked over the new bridge, grabbed a bite from the free sausage sizzle and marvelled at the views from the summit.

To the north, the path of the expressway could be clearly seen as it heads under the new Bridge 2, which along with Bridge 3 replaces the old Ramp that carried State Highway 1 traffic from 1936.

Previous to that, SH1 traffic travelled from where BP is now along Rāhui Road and up County Road.

A big crane on the northern horizon indicates the location of Bridge 1, which is being built over the Waitohu Stream.

To the south, the expressway path is more consistent past the railway station and beyond, with the massive underconstruction Ōtaki River bridge just visible past the highway shopping area.

Site superintendent Simon Fifield was pleased with the bridge construction, which was completed within the seven months residents had been promised by the expressway team.

Residents living east of the bridge on Rāhui Road have been unable to drive

Medical kōrero

Ōtaki Medical Centre and whānau well-being organisation Te Puna Oranga o Ōtaki are hosting community kōrero about what can be done to facilitate better GP services in Ōtaki.

There will be two meetings at Taringa Roa (opposite Countdown) – the first at 12.30pm and then again at 6pm on Monday, December 16.

New OPG chair

Cam Butler is the new chair of the Ōtaki Promotions Group.

Cam operates Polo Mania, a canoe polo equipment company.

He lives in Te Horo. Cam took over in November from Ian Carson, who has led the OPG since it was established in 2012.

The OPG recently won the Arts & Culture category at the Wellington Airport regional community awards.

Busy fire month

The Ōtaki Volunteer Fire Brigade attended 19 calls in November.

There were five motor vehicle accidents, one medical, three vehicle fires (including a digger), five rubbish/grass/scrub etc fires, two property (one pot on the stove, one electrical), and three commercial or private fire alarms.

TOP OF THE BRIDGE: Rāhui Road resident Allan Johns enjoys an ice-cream at the top of the newly opened Rāhui Road bridge with daughters Keira, left, and Bailey-Rose. Allan says the girls want ice-creams more often now it’s quicker to get to BP.

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or walk directly west to the highway – they’ve had to drive east along Rāhui Road, up Freemans Road and onto Te Manuao Road, or walk up County Road, to get to the highway.

“The team did a great job getting it all done through the winter,” Simon said at the walkover.

“It wasn’t all easy – the east side earthworks were particularly tricky because of the different types of terrain we encountered. But all in all we’re really pleased.”

Allan Johns, who lives just a few doors east of the bridge on-ramp, says he’s been impressed with how the expressway team has worked with residents, and the efforts of the workers.

“Everybody involved in building the Rāhui Road overbridge deserves thanks,” he says. “They’ve been really considerate of us locals living nearby.

We’ve been kept well informed the entire time.”

In the past seven months, Allan and his family have had to make the diversion to get to the highway. It’s been inconvenient, but Allan says he’s been happy to live with it while the bridge gets built.

“It is what it is. You don’t get progress without some disruption.”

He quips that the only downside of the new bridge is that it’s much quicker for his young daughters to walk directly over the bridge to BP for ice-creams – “They want them more often now!”

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PITOPITO KŌRERO: NEWS I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

whika/page 9

RESCUER: Pete Housiaux at Ōtaki Beach, where he rescued two youngsters on November 29.

Dog-walker Pete saves two in beach rescue The rip came up really fast.

“They would have been lucky to It was fortunate for one family at Ōtaki Beach on Friday, November 29, that local Pete Housiaux was out walking his dog.

If not for Pete’s surf-lifesaving skills, the family could have been mourning the loss of at least two boys this Christmas.

Pete was at the beach about 4pm when he noticed three girls drifting in a rip. They managed to get themselves out, but 10 minutes later the rip got stronger and it pulled three boys across.

As a volunteer lifeguard and long-time member of the Ōtaki Surf Life Saving Club, Pete was well aware of the risk and spoke to the father of one of the boys on the beach who was trying to wave them in. The boys were in trouble.

Pete gave the man the keys to the clubhouse so he could go in and set the alarm off alerting other volunteer lifeguards.

Meanwhile, Pete got in the water and headed for the boys, who he thinks were aged about 10 and 13.

One of the three got back to shore by himself, but the other two, who had a boogie board with them, needed help. The younger of the two was exhausted.

Pete got them on the board and they helped each other to get back in.

“The rip came up really fast,” he says. “They would have been lucky to get in without some help. They were glad to see me that’s for sure. Their parents were pretty thankful.” Ōtaki Surf Life Saving Club captain Kirsty Doyle says all beach users need to be mindful of their surroundings. Water conditions are ever changing and require vigilance at all times. Ōtaki SLSC recommend that beach goers always swim between the flags.

“Our lifeguards are well trained and best equipped to position our flagged area in the safest place.”

The club’s voluntary patrols run every weekend from 1-6pm (depending on conditions) until Sunday, March 8. The regional

get in without some help.

They were glad to see me that’s for sure.

”

Off-duty volunteer lifeguard Pete Housiaux

guard service starts on Monday, December 16, and runs through to the end of January.

Surf Life Saving NZ says Pete’s rescue – and another by a volunteer off-duty lifeguard just a few hours later north of Ōtaki at Himitangi Beach – serves to remind beach-goers of the risks.

There have already been 25 drownings from January 1 to October 31 this year, compared to 23 in the whole of 2018.

SLSNZ central region manager Charlie Cordwell says beachgoers should remember the importance of the 3Rs. “If you get caught in a rip, remember to Relax and float, Raise your hand to signal help, and Ride the rip until it stops so you can swim safely back to shore.”

He says people should also choose a lifeguarded beach and always swim between the flags. Lifeguarded beaches have the safest spots to swim mapped out with red and yellow flags. People who do swim at a beach that isn’t patrolled need to be “incredibly careful” and they should never swim or surf alone.

If anyone does spot an emergency, call 111 and ask for police – they have a direct line to Surf Life Saving NZ. See also ‘Stay safe in the water this summer’, page 21

WINNERS: At top, the OPG’s Kirsty Doyle and Lynne Corkin, and above, Māoriland’s Tania Hakaraia, Kaea Hakaraia-Hosking and Pat Hakaraia at the awards ceremony in Wellington.

OPG, Māoriland win big

Ōtaki organisations took two of the six category prizes at the Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards at Te Papa on November 21.

The Ōtaki Promotions Group won the Arts & Culture category and MATCH (Māoriland Tech Creative Hub) won the Rising Star category. Both previously won their category in the Kāpiti section of the awards.

The OPG organises events such as the Ōtaki Kite Festival and Ōtaki Community Expo, and MATCH is part of Māoriland’s activities that include the Māoriland Film Festival.

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Council services over Christmas and New Year

We wish everyone a happy and safe festive season! Some of our hours are a little different during this time. Check below or visit www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/holiday-hours to see when our Council and community services are operating over the break.

Paraparaumu Service Centre Closes 3pm, Tuesday 24 December 2019 Re-opens 8am, Friday 3 January 2020 Ōtaki and Waikanae Service Centres Close 3pm, Tuesday 24 December 2019 Re-open 9am, Friday 3 January 2020

EnviroWaste /Low Cost Bins/Waste Management: Collections due on Wednesday 25 December will be collected on Saturday 21 December.

Collections due on Wednesday 1 January will be collected on Saturday 28 December.

Lucy’s Bins: Collections due on Wednesday 25 December will be collected on Tuesday 24 December. Collections due on Wednesday 1 January will be collected on Tuesday 31 December.

Waikanae and Otaki Transfer Stations

Our offices are closed between Christmas and New Year. Building inspections are also not available over this period. Building inspections and processing of building consents, resource consents and LIMs will resume on 3 January.

Note that the days from 20 December to 10 January are not counted as working days in the related legislation.

All libraries are closed 25 & 26 December 2019 and 1 & 2 January 2020, and will be closing at 3pm on the 24 and 31 December 2019.

Open regular hours all other days.

25 December – Closed Boxing Day – Open 1 January – Closed 2 January – Open Otaihanga Resource Recovery Facility 25 December – Closed Boxing Day – Open 9am - 5pm 1 January – Closed 2 January – Open 9am - 5pm Composting NZ – Greenwaste Facility 25 December – Closed Boxing Day – Closed 1 January – Closed 2 January – Closed

A reminder that alcohol-free zones are in place for: • all beaches - 9pm to 6am every day • all public places in urban areas from Paekākāriki to Te Horo: 9pm to 6am every day • all skateboard parks and reserves - 24 hours/7 days • specified areas in Ōtaki - 24 hours/7 days Please visit www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/alcohol-free-zones for more information and FAQs about the how the zones work.

Coastlands Aquatic Centre, Waikanae Pool and Ōtaki Pool are closed Christmas Day only.

All three facilities will have slightly different hours between 23 December and 3 January, with usual hours resuming 4 January. For all opening hours over this period please visit www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/holiday-hours, or look for the holiday hours sign at your local swimming pool.

PITOPITO KŌRERO: NEWS I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

whika/page 11

Two new fire trucks make for modern brigade When the Ōtaki Volunteer Fire Brigade took possession of a new fire appliance at the end of November, it must have had the most modern fleet in New Zealand.

Just a month before, Ōtaki received the first of its two new fire engines, giving it the most up-to-date equipment available.

Volunteer firefighters got to commission the new trucks at their Monday evening training sessions, transfering all the equipment across from the old trucks.

“This must surely give the Ōtaki station for now the most modern fleet within all the 652 stations of Fire and Emergency New Zealand,” says Ōtaki fire chief Ian King. “It’s quite an honour for a small-town brigade.”

Both appliances are 2019 Iveco model EC1225s made in Italy. They feature United States-made Darley 2000 litres a minute pumps, and each carry 2100 litres of water. Bodies, pumps and other gear were built and fitted in New Zealand by Fraser Fire of Lower Hutt.

There are now more than 310 of these type of Iveco fire appliances used at volunteer fire stations throughout New Zealand.

The two new trucks are named Ōtaki 411 and 417.

The 411 truck is the first turnout appliance to all fires. It has its pump mid-mounted with a single hose reel at the rear, and looks slightly smaller and lower than 417. Ōtaki 417 is the first out the door

TOP TRUCKS: Ōtaki fire chief Ian King with the two new fire trucks that give the brigade the most modern response vehicles in New Zealand.

Photo Ian Carson

to all motor vehicle accidents, medical emergencies and special incidents. It’s the backup for fires (both appliances automatically attend house fires), has its pump at the rear and a hose reel

each side. The truck carries the vehicle crash extrication equipment, including Ōtaki’s exclusive Karrak gear that was invented by late firefighter Warren Lauder.

Ōtaki’s two older vehicles, both 2009 models, are to be given to other quieter stations within the region – Te Upoko, Region 3 – of which Ōtaki is part.

Stamp man Mowbray happy to stay in Ōtaki John Mowbray’s entry into the Business Kāpiti-Horowhenua Hall of Fame is recognition of his business acumen, and many years of service to his communities of interest.

John was inducted at the 2019 Electra KāpitiHorowhenua Business Awards in October.

Even before he left college in the mid-1960s, he has operated postage stamp company Mowbray Collectables, firstly in his home town of Wellington and since 1974 in Ōtaki.

It was not easy sailing in the early days.

“I’d visited a company in Dubbo, Australia, that was doing really well selling stamp packages,” John told Ōtaki Today. “We got the opportunity in 1974 to buy Dan Pacey’s old engineering workshops in Dunstan Street [now the site of the Ideas workshop]. We started the package idea but it didn’t really take off.

“But we were a stamp dealer in a small town and there were no other dealers in the area so we developed a mail bid auction. We grew the business and started shipping huge amounts of mail every day.

“Then in 1985 we bought our current building [once the site of the Moutere private hospital] on the highway from Elders, who used to be Dalgety’s. At the same time, the Railway post office on the highway closed. The post office in town couldn’t handle our volume, so shortly after, they said we could cancel our own mail using the old Otaki Railway post mark [see above right] and they would pick up the mail.

That continues today.

“Collectors have loved getting our mail with its post mark. It makes us unique.”

It’s just one of the reasons John has kept the

STAMP MAN: John Mowbray at his Ōtaki-based Mowbray Collectables.

business in Ōtaki, rather than moving to a much bigger centre, or even overseas. His 15 local staff are another important factor.

“Most of the staff are older people, probably starting here in their mid-40s,’” he says. “I suppose it’s the type of business that attracts them, but they’re also more settled than younger people and many still here are past what would be the traditional retirement age. I couldn’t do without them.”

Since the early days where every penny counted, the business has grown into one with turnover of about $3 million and having an international reputation. It has traded more than

$100 million in stamps since 1974, including $40 million worth of exports.

John is a founding member of the New Zealand Stamp Dealers Association and has been president from 1985-87 and again from 1990-92. He has been a director of Sotheby’s Australia, Stanley Gibbons of London, and Webbs Fine Arts, and a board member of the New Zealand Auctioneers Association. only $20/ copy

He has played a significant role in securing significant philatelic items from overseas for the National Museum.

His knowledge and professionalism were acknowledged in 2018 when he became the first New Zealand dealer to be admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society in London. In 1990 he became the first person outside of Europe to be world president of the International Federation of Stamp Dealers. In 1981 he was named the Wellington regional winner in the Air New Zealand Enterprise Awards.

John has been a strong supporter of college education and the arts, but it’s a passion for rugby for which he has been most well known.

He has been a member of the management committee at the Waikanae Rugby Club for the past 34 years, and has been patron since 1998.

He is a life member of the club.

He has been chairman of the HorowhenuaKāpiti Rugby Football Union for the past 15 years, the longest serving for that union and the seventh longest in New Zealand rugby history.

He was a director of the Hurricanes from 20072011 and has served on various committees and panels of the NZRFU. John has been on the board of governors at Scots College, on the board of trustees at Whanganui Collegiate, a licensee and trustee of the Waikanae Montessori Trust Board, and chairman of the Mahara Gallery for eight years.

“What makes him truly stand out is his unassuming professionalism and courtesy in all he has tackled, and the respect his community has for him,” his Hall of Fame citation noted.

ORDER YOUR COPIES FOR CHRISTMAS NOW 027 698 7529 or jrodeo@gmail.com or www.jaredcarson.co.nz

PITOPITO KŌRERO: NEWS I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

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Robertson new ABs coach – yeah, nah!

Finance Minister Grant Robertson had a glorious day in Ōtaki on November 21 to tell a Labour Party fundraising audience that while he loves his job, he hankers for the All Blacks coaching role.

“I see the headlines saying ‘Robertson tipped as new All Blacks coach’, and my heart jumps a beat,” he quipped. “Then I realise they’re talking about the Crusaders coach, Scott Robertson.”

Grant is also Minister for Sport and Recreation, so it’s no surprise that Labour’s No 3-ranked minister takes a keen interest in New Zealand’s national pastime. His sport portfolio came about only after convincing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern he should have the role.

“Jacinda said others had asked her if they could have the job, and I said, ‘but how many of them have you asked to be finance minister?’ I got the job.”

Grant Robertson’s off-the-cuff speech was serious, too, and as wideranging as the questions from his sunsoaked audience in the idyllic gardens of Ōtaki local Di Buchan.

He talked about his finance portfolio and the sleepless nights thinking about how to fulfill the hopes and expectations of other ministers whose needs for funding were “all worthy”.

“I wish I could find the money for

Green MP visits on tour Green Party MP Jan Logie will be in Ōtaki on Sunday (December 15) as part of a nation-wide tour.

“The Green Party have the vision, the policies, and now the track record to deal with the big challenges ahead,” she says. “We’re finally seeing a new approach to politics that focuses on the future, addresses the climate emergency and recognises the dangers of rising inequality.

“We’ll be discussing with the community about how we got to where we are, and what’s next as we head into 2020. n Jan will be at Pohutukawa Eatery, 84 Moana St, Ōtaki Beach, at 4pm on December 15.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson addresses a relaxed crowd in the gardens of Di Buchan.

all of them, but of course I can’t.”

And he worried about the diminishing role of conventional media in a world where people were getting their “news” from the internet and social media. He was particularly concerned about the possibility of New Zealand’s electoral process being subverted by unsrupulous social media posts and websites. He said people who had deliberately

disseminated misinformation before this year’s Australian elections were now active in Auckland.

They had a strong conservative bias and knew that what they were saying was not true, but it was enough to sway public opinion.

“We’ve sought an agreement among political parties to have a code of conduct, but not everyone’s got on board,” Grant said.

Photo Ian Carson

He also spoke about the reality of the MMP voting system, which has meant governments since the system was introduced in 1994 have had to work alongside minor parties, with varying degrees of success.

However, after having a lifelong commitment to Labour it’s not surprising that he urged his audience to vote for the party.

“That’s your most important vote.”

Grant grew up not far away from Ōtaki, in Palmerston North, before the family moved to South Dunedin.

It was a politically aware family in which his idealism prospered.

He recalls the hardship for many local families when the fourth Labour government, under David Lange, tore away the controls imposed by the previous National government of Robert Muldoon.

The speed and extent of the change was devastating for many communities.

“Twenty percent of parents at my high school lost their jobs,” Grant said. “The things that were happening then got me interested in politics.”

It took three tough terms in Opposition – from 2008 to 2017 – before he got his big opportunity to be able to influence change with the sixth Labour government.

As Wellington Central’s MP, he’s also close enough to Ōtaki to make a trip to talk to locals, all the more important with a general election coming in 2020.

So what does Labour think is important for towns and districts such as Ōtaki?

Grant says for small communities it still comes down to the key issues of affordable housing, accessible health care, good quality education, and maintaining and building infrastructure.

National candidate pushes expressway Local National Party members have chosen Tim Costley (right) as their Ōtaki electorate candidate for the 2020 General Election.

Tim replaces retiring MP Nathan Guy, who is standing down after five terms.

He says one of his top priorities is building the Horowhenua expressway.

“This expressway is critical to our local economy, and to the safety of our people travelling on these roads every day,” he says.

Alongside Hutt South MP Chris Bishop and Nathan Guy, Tim has

launched a petition seeking support to build the expressway. The petition is in several Levin and Ōtaki shops and businesses, and online at timcostley.national.org.nz.

Tim says he’ll also be working to bring better healthcare services to the region, and to make sure those who need to travel further for health services have an easy means of doing so.

“I also believe in safe communities.

As a father of three girls, I want to make sure our kids have a safe community to grow up in, and I can’t think of a a better region in New

Zealand than right here.”

He says the Ōtaki electorate is a snapshot of provincial New Zealand, spanning from Paraparaumu in the south to Foxton in the north.

“We have some critical challenges here, but we also have some great opportunities.”

The National candidate is currently the wing commander overseeing operational airworthiness at the Ohakea Air Force base. He has a masters degree in international defence and security, a bachelors degree in mathematical physics and a diploma in business.

Nau mai, haere mai, welcome to

OTAKI MONTESSORI PRE-SCHOOL Haruatai Park, 200 Mill Rd, Otaki. 06 364 7500 • www.otakimontessori.co.nz It has been another busy few months for Otaki Montessori! The Tui class continue their hard work on the regeneration of their adopted bush area and Otaki Montessori teachers attended a really informative workshop on how to use this great new outdoor teaching space.

We are starting to reap the rewards of the vegetable planting we have done and the tamariki get to taste the results.

Teachers have been busy beautifying the playground as well, with the greenthumbed among the staff working to create more natural hidey-hole spaces for the tamariki.

Our big slide is finally back up in our playground and the kids are really happy to have it! The teachers have some suspicions that there will be an amazingly muddy mud puddle at the bottom come winter time but we suspect the children won’t mind one bit.

Our Christmas concert is next week and everyone is busy practising their songs and plays. There will be Christmas classics and a few surprise additions too.

We are looking forward to catching up with our Centre whanau and sharing some food

and good times in preparation for the Christmas season.

We are looking forward to a busy 2020, the roll is full for the start of the year.

Lots of new faces will be joining Kereru room in January/February.

If you are considering Montessori please give us a call or drop an email to: om_admin@otakimontessori.co.nz for more information.

Until next time! Enjoy the warm weather everyone. Ōtaki Montessori offers a unique choice of preschool in Ōtaki.

If you would like to know more please contact us, or check out our Facebook page.

Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

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KUPU POROPOROAKI: OBITUARIES ‘Bright and beautiful’ farewell for Louise Louise Carkeek 3.8.1922 – 28.11.2019

By Ian Carson

“Wear all things bright and beautiful, a fancy hat or flowers in your hair.”

It was final request from Louise Carkeek – Aunty Louise to many in Ōtaki – for mourners at her funeral. Not one for frivolity, and known to speak her mind, the request reminded us of a woman who never took life too seriously.

Even though she had reached the age of 97 in August, Louise was still able to move freely around the Ocean View Rest Home at Ōtaki Beach, where she had been resident for the past seven years.

Much more sprightly was her mind and memory.

On occasions when I was visiting my own elderly mother, Louise would tell me of some news item she thought might be of interest. Mostly, rather than sitting idly in front of a television, she’d be absorbed in a newspaper, magazine or book.

She told me that counting backwards from 100 kept her mind active.

A hundred was almost the figure she reached in age, but she never had any trouble counting back to her early years in Hawke’s Bay, where she grew up as Louise Heffer. Or to her time at Wellington Hospital during the Second World War, where she initially trained as a nurse.

“It was hard work nursing in those days,” she said recently. “I actually resigned once. I remember one of the nursing sisters who was a real battle axe. I dropped some phials of oil on the floor and she made me spend three hours cleaning up, even though it was done in five minutes.

“Then she made me clean the toilets that were already clean.

“I was furious, so I went to the matron and said I didn’t have to put up with that and resigned. The

matron said I had a good future in nursing and convinced me to stay.”

Louise was posted to the Ōtaki Children’s Health camp in 1943, when the camp was used to accommodate Wellington Hospital pediatric and geriatric patients with Wellington was under the threat of Japanese bombing.

Reminiscing recently at an Ōtaki Library talk about early Ōtaki, she talked of the many invitations she would get from the American Marines based at Mackays Crossing. She turned them down because she said “I wasn’t much of a dancer”.

However, she was soon to met up with future husband Tahiwi (Buster) Carkeek. She had nursed him in Wellington and bumped into him in Ōtaki.

After the war they moved to the Hutt Valley, where they had four children: Judy, Lynette, Roberta and Laurie. She was proud of them all, but felt keenly the death from cancer in 2015 of Roberta, who had followed Louise into a successful nursing career.

In 1975, with the children on their own path, the couple moved back to Ōtaki. Louise immediately became involved in community affairs, starting popular exercise classes for the disabled at the surf club and supporting the installation of the Gertrude Atmore memorial clock outside the Memorial Hall.

But she is perhaps best known for her work after Rangiātea Church burnt down in 1995. Along with restoration of the building, efforts were made to restock the church with as many artefacts as possible matching the originals. Sadly, in 2003, the same year the church reopened, Buster died.

Louise led the charge at Rangiātea, along with Marie Hakaraia, to replace the intricate tapestry

kneelers, sewing many of them herself. The Rangiātea Embroidery Guild they formed sought kneelers from embroiders around New Zealand, and the response was overwhelming. One even came from former Governor-General Dame Sylvia Cartwright. The only stipulation was that the kneelers should follow the theme “All things bright and beautiful”.

It was perhaps appropriate then, that Louise Carkeek’s funeral on December 2 was at Rangiātea Church, where her request for mourners’ attire and the kneelers she so passionately sought merged to farewell one of Ōtaki’s most enduring identities.

RIGHT AND ABOVE: Louise Carkeek just after her 97th birthday at Ocean View.

Photos Ian Carson

Ōtaki held special place in Nancy’s heart Nancy Grace Brunning 1971 – 16.11.2019

Nancy Brunning wanted her tangi to be in Ōtaki.

It was important to her because she wanted her whānau to gather at Raukawa Marae, a place where they could appreciate their whakapapa to Ngāti Raukawa.

Although born and growing up in Taupō and then living most of her life in Wellington, the renowned actor, director and writer of stage and screen always had a special place in her heart for Ōtaki.

Colleague, film director and Māoriland Film Festival founder Libby Hakaraia says Nancy’s ancestral connections to Ōtaki was something they spoke about often.

“She was determined that her whānau all gather here to farewell her and meet their whānau, and get the chance to connect with Raukawa Marae,” Libby says.

Libby was 22 and creating work for Radio New Zealand when she first interviewed Nancy.

“I could see that even as a young woman she had serious intentions, and was passionate and intense. That impression of Nancy, of a sense of purpose, never left me.”

COLLEAGUES: Nancy Brunning, right, speaks at the 2016 Māoriland Film Festival in Ōtaki, along with Māoriland founder and film colleague Libby Hakaraia.

Her passion was to see more Māori on stage telling their stories, and she was unafraid of telling those stories, warts and all. “It’s who we are”, she would say to Libby.

“She wanted to get Māori faces in front of audiences, especially telling the stories from a Māori woman’s perspective. As I got to know her

and work with her over the years, I saw that she never compromised on excellence. She was committed to her craft. It’s not to say she didn’t enjoy life – she could be lots of fun as well.”

Many in Ōtaki will recall her attendance at the 2016 Māoriland Film Festival for the screening of Lee Tamahori’s feature film Mahana, in

which she starred and received a well deserved best actor award.

“She talked about how special it was for her to present Mahana at Ngā Purapura in Ōtaki,” Libby says. “She wanted to bring her work to Ngāti Raukawa.”

Libby’s partner and television producer, director and presenter

Tainui Stephens says he recalls being told by a great New Zealand actor that actors pretended for a living.

“But great actors like Nancy never pretend,” Tainui says. “She was always genuine. In her roles she was the strong Māori woman. That was her true self.”

Tainui says Nancy made conscious decisions to play those characters, and she sometimes turned down roles, which would have meant some sacrifice for her.

“While she was often outspoken on issues of integrity, she was softspoken as well. And people listened to her.”

Best known as nurse Jaki Manu in the long-running television soap opera Shortland Street, Nancy also appeared in several films, including Mahana and What Becomes of the Broken Hearted.

She was a driving force for Māori actors, notably co-founding Hāpai Productions to create work that celebrated Māori integrity and directing te reo shows for national theatre company Taki Rua in Wellington.

Nancy died at Mary Potter Hospice in Wellington aged 48 after a long illness.

Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

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HUATAU: COMMENT GURU’S VIEW: K GURUNATHAN

A can of Pams sardines delivers a multimillion-dollar message The humble Pams budget 106g aluminium can of sardines has been chosen to deliver a $415 million investment message to the Government.

It’s election year and some bright fish in the joint comms team, put together by the Wellington and Horizons regional councils, are using this image. They have submitted a business case to improve the commuter rail servicing the Wellington to Palmerston and the Wellington to Masterton lines. If the requested $415 million funding is not secured by 2020, their joint press release warns that by 2025 the trains would by jam-packed like sardines.

The image of this sardine can was included in a statement and

copy of the business case sent to 19 MPs (including ministers) and 13 mayors. It was sent jointly by Daran Ponter, chair of GWRC, and Rachel Keedwell, chair of Horizons.

The business case points out that population growth patterns have seen the projected growth fall in Wellington City because of increased housing prices, resulting in people being pushed into the outer regions. Wellington’s projected

PLAIN SPEAKING: IAN CARSON

Language learning is not easy

I had the pleasure recently to attend a unique prizegiving ceremony.

It wasn’t an event with any particular fanfare and there were only about 20 people in attendance. But it was important to these people because they were celebrating their achievements in learning English as their new language.

It’s not obvious that some of our citizens in Ōtaki are struggling with English.

However, having arrived in New Zealand only recently, they’re vulnerable if they don’t learn the language. Without it they can become isolated from other Kiwis and risk seeming to be aloof.

I recognised some of those attending. They work in some of our local businesses, but the language barrier has impeded any meaningful conversation. Like many others, I’ve sometimes thought they just don’t want to talk.

Judi Yung, the local tutor for English Language Partners NZ, was clearly proud of her students as she handed out certificates of achievement. It was especially so when she asked each of them to step to the front and give a short speech – in English, of course.

As each of them nervously made their speech, there were smiles and applause recognising how difficult it was for them. Tellingly, Judi also interspersed her prize-giving with a few words of Māori. If you’re going to learn a new language, it seems the ideal opportunity to incorporate words that are equally as common in our town.

Having attended this prize-giving, I think I’ll make an effort to converse just a little more next time I meet one of these people, who are putting so much effort into becoming as much a part of Kiwi life as you or me.

LETTERS A GREAT PAPER Dear editor.

I picked up a copy of the November Ōtaki Today on my way home to Wellington. A great paper. I especially enjoyed Rex Kerr’s history article. I note it is Part 11 of a series. I’m keen to read the whole series. Is there any chance you could email me the series or else put me in touch with Rex? Brett Crombie, Wellington Recent contributor articles are online at otakitoday.com and we are in the process of adding all early articles. We hope to have online soon everything we’ve published since our first issue in September 2018. – Editor

increase fell by 10,000 while the outer regions increased by 23,000. Rail patronage increased by 800,000 in 2019 compared to the previous year.

Patronage on the Kāpiti and Hutt lines have been increasing 12 percent year on year. Since electrification of the Kāpiti line, between mid 2009 to 2019, the patronage is up 29 percent.

For Ōtaki, the business case links the importance of the Manawatū line’s link to Palmerston North and south to the Kāpiti Line. It highlights the increasing patronage of the single peak-time return service that the Capital Connection provides between Palmerston North and Wellington. The weekdays-only patronage for 2019 was 134,000 passengers. The business case points

out the end-of-life age of the current rolling stock and the inefficiency of locomotive-drawn carriages.

It also highlights the inflexibility and inefficiency of running the Manawatū and Wairarapa lines as separate operations using three different and incompatible rolling stock. The two regional councils are proposing the purchase of dual-mode units capable of running on overhead electric lines to Waikanae and Upper Hutt and switching to onboard alternate power to go further beyond. Ōtaki will gain from this business case as it will mean better and safer public transport to the south to Waikanae, Paraparaumu, Paekākāriki and beyond and also north to Levin and Palmerston North.

The regional councils, which submitted the business case to Treasury earlier this year, are advocating a funding basket comprised of National Land Transport Fund, Provincial Growth Fund, Budget 2020/21, and the respective regional councils’ LTP. The Government has signalled a willingness to take advantage of its low debt fiscal position to loosen its purse strings to debt fund the national infrastructure deficit.

No doubt there will be numerous demands from across the country. All the more reason why Ōtaki and the rest of Kāpiti need to support the the the regional councils’ business case. n K Gurunathan is the Mayor of Kāpiti Coast and is an Ōtaki resident.

LOCAL LENS: JAMES COOTES

Yes, so much can happen in just a year Well this is my last article for 2019 and so much can happen in a year!

On a sad note we had the passing of David Pritchard recently. Dave was what I’d call a mover and shaker in the community.

He was responsible for a lot of the property development over the years and someone who was always supportive and encouraging to me.

As a young businessman opening my second shop on State Highway 1, I recall running into issues with KCDC. It was Dave who stepped in, offering me assistance and helping to get things through. He was that kind of guy, always offering help and someone I always respected. My thoughts go out to his whānau as they spend their first Christmas without him.

Also, over the last year we’ve seen the whole landscape of our community change considerably with the expressway starting to take shape. The bridges up to the plateau were finished, the bridge on Rahui Road recently

opened and soon the two new roads in the Te Horo section will be finished.

Among all this we had an election and your new Ōtaki Community Board was sworn in. We’ve got a great team there, all committed to working together to achieve as much as we can for our community.

In my last article I referred to some ideas I had to better inform and engage with my community.

Moving forward you’ll notice I’m writing only for Ōtaki Today as I’ve looked at the time I have and how that’s best used. I’ll continue this monthly contribution and in addition to this I’ve started an Ōtaki Ward

Councillor Facebook page where I’ll be posting every week to keep the community informed about what I’m doing and what’s happening in council.

I’m also going to have drop-in sessions hopefully at the Ōtaki Library (to be confirmed) where residents can have a chat over matters or raise an issue. I’ll confirm the details of this early in the new year.

Christmas is only days away and I encourage you to support local businesses by buying your gifts locally where possible.

With great shops such as McAndrews, Cream Design, Black and Co, Bendon, Sheepskin Sales, Artel, Hunting & Fishing, Ballentynes and many others there’s plenty of options in Ōtaki.

That’s all from me for 2019. Wishing you all a safe and meri Kirihimete. Be careful out there and enjoy the holidays with friends and whānau. n James is Ōtaki Ward Councillor and lives at Te Horo Beach

ŌTAKI OUTLOOK: CHRIS PAPPS

Time moves faster as age creeps up on us One of the comments we make as we get older is that time seems to move faster.

It seems only yesterday when we were clearing away the Christmas dishes and here we are again making Christmas cakes, getting ready to glaze the hams and considering whether to have pavlova or something more trendy for dessert!

Christmas puts huge stress on many families. The pressure to spend money we haven’t got on presents and celebrations is considerable. We don’t want the kiddies to miss out.

Recently Mayor Guru and I met with the organisers of the Ōtaki Toy Library, which operates out of the Ōtaki Memorial Hall. For many years they have been doing amazing work making it possible for parents finding it tough to make ends meet, to give their children some wider play experiences and opportunities.

The challenge for the toy library and the

parents who use their services is to provide the kids with play opportunities while limiting their own stress.

At the first Ōtaki Community Board meeting of the new triennium in midNovember, I was pleased to be re-elected as chair of the board. Our next board meeting will be in January when we will finalise the portfolios and the groups and issues we will concentrate on this triennium.

Some huge challenges face Ōtaki and Kāpiti in the next three years.

Working to maximise the benefits to Ōtaki and its people of the PP2Ō expressway covers

several of them. Thanks largely to the work put in by our Ōtaki Ward Councillor, James Cootes, when the Board of Enquiry set the consents and ground rules for the expressway, we have more opportunities to make gains than were available to our Waikanae and Paraparaumu neighbours.

We need to explore how we can work with the mayor and council on ways to empower community boards throughout the district.

This was a key issue during the election. How this can work and on what types of projects is a challenge in itself.

And we need to continue working on improving public transport for the people of Ōtaki.

I would also like to see us supporting the people of Horowhenua in their quest for a four-lane expressway. Moving the weekend and holiday road blockages a few kilometres north benefits no one in the long run. n Chris Paaps is chair of the Ōtaki Community Board.

LETTERS: If you have something to say, write to us. Please include your full name, address and contact phone number. Only letters that include these details will be published, unless there is good reason to withhold a name. Maximum 200 words. Note your letter may be edited for grammar and accuracy. Not all letters received will be published and the publisher reserves the right to reject any letter. Write to Ōtaki Today, 13 Te Manuao Rd, Ōtaki or email letters@idmedia.co.nz

GUEST COLUMN I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

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Gentle whispers, old stories and te reo on the street WHY I LOVE ŌTAKI SARA VALESQUEZ I love the dark contrast of the saddleback of the mountains against the blue of the sky.

I love the blanket of snow in the distance, and the crisp chill in the air.

I love the moon rising over the hills.

The flow of te awa – the parts that slow down and swirl to give respite.

The heat of the sun, and the cool of the wind that picks up from the sea.

The way the leaves move along the trees, and their gentle whispers.

I love the old stories, and the new.

I love the characters and the kindness, the families, the traditions.

I love the learning, and the sharing.

I love hearing te reo on the street and in the shops and schools.

I love seeing the familiar faces I know, and also those I don’t.

I love seeing my children grow and thrive in Ōtaki.

The friends they make, the stories they share.

The waiata and stories that they celebrate and bring into our home.

The knowledge they are gaining through sharing.

I love learning new kupu/words and integrating it into our daily lives.

I enjoy the challenge of thinking about a word, and how it relates to Spanish or English,

COOL WIND: Sara Valesquez at Ōtaki Beach, where she loves “the heat of the sun, and the cool of the wind that picks up from the sea.”

Photo Ian Carson

and on rare occasions when I am able to, I will relate it to German.

Living in Ōtaki makes me think about my own whakapapa / genealogy.

I am not from New Zealand, but I have been generously embraced by New Zealand.

I wonder how my mother’s mother’s family found life when they emigrated from Hungary to New York.

I wonder how my mother’s father’s family found life

when they emigrated from Ireland to New York.

I wonder how my father’s mother’s family found life when they emigrated from England to “the colonies”.

I wonder how my father’s father’s family found life when they were from the West Coast of North America – but then laws changed and they were no longer welcome in their own place.

I was living in New York City, in my last year of study at Columbia University when 9/11 happened.

My once bustling and vibrant city, was a ghost town.

There was a lot of fear and hatred unleashed from Pandora’s box after September 2001.

I moved to New Zealand to get out of that environment, and I chose to live in Ōtaki in 2003.

I love that we have clean water that we can drink from the tap.

When I lived in Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines, we couldn’t drink tap water.

When I wanted to eat, I had to make sure that I didn’t wash my hands and then inadvertently get water into my mouth, because if I did, I would get sick.

I love that in Ōtaki, I am able to contribute to and nurture the things that I believe in.

I was raised in a household that values bilingual education. My daughter is in the bi-lingual pathway at Ōtaki Primary.

I am involved with the Ōtaki Toy Library, I love that for 26 years, Ōtaki families have been sharing toys and experiences with one another.

I am involved with the Dreamcatcher Co-operative, this past year we received support from KCDC to get a flour mill, and we can freshly mill flour and bake bread – and I can give those experiences to my kids.

I love meeting up with my friends for a bike ride, or a swim at the river or the beach.

Meeting up at the skate park, a café, or up at the pools.

Thank you Ōtaki, I feel really fortunate and blessed to be here.

Language tuition available for new speakers of English For new Kiwis needing to learn English for work and everyday life, help is now available in Ōtaki.

An Ōtaki class run by English Language Partners New Zealand (ELPNZ) operates for two hours on Monday mornings at The Hub Church.

Teacher Judi Yung (at left), an Ōtaki resident, was crucial in establishing the class in April and students are keen to continue with it in 2020. Currently it’s a mix of Chinese and Indian-born people who have varying levels of English.

The focus of the class is mainly on speaking and

listening skills. Students learn questions and answers about common topics such as food, health and shopping. They learn about the Kiwi ways of doing things and understand more of the country that has become their home.

The Horowhenua Kapiti centre of ELPNZ also offers weekly classes at different levels in Paraparaumu and Levin.

At various times specialised courses are offered, such as Work Talk, to prepare new arrivals for working here, and English for Employees, for those already in work to

enhance workplace communication.

The centre also offers individualised weekly tuition by trained volunteers in Ōtaki and other towns in the district. One Ōtaki business arranged lessons for an employee recently arrived from Samoa. He now meets a tutor after work at the library and his workmates are noticing the improvement in his English.

ELPNZ operates in 22 centres around the country. n For information, contact centre manager David Harris on 06 3686062, email horowhenuakapiti@englishlanguage.org.nz or go to https://www.englishlanguage.org.nz/hub/about-us/vision-purpose-values/

RiverStone Café OPEN EVERY DAY EXCEPT CHRISTMAS from 6.30am

RiverStone Café

STATE HIGHWAY 1 NEXT TO KATHMANDU

06 364-6742

Jeanine and Brent thank their customers for their support, and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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HUATAU: COMMENT I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

whika/page 16

Shout-out media, easily digestible tweets lead to chaos Christmas should remind us of goodwill towards our fellow citizens. So perhaps it’s timely to ponder what seems to be a global erosion of goodwill, replaced by a negativity and hatred promulgated by too many citizens of the world.

Some years back, before the arrival of social media, I spoke with the producer of a hugely popular talkback radio programme. I commented on the amount of ill-informed (and misinformed) discussion his show seemed to generate and how much of it simply came across as lame and even hateful towards sections of society.

Was this any way to promote better understandings and constructive dialogue?

Surprisingly he didn’t attempt to defend my outtake of his radio show, but explained that successful commercial radio depended on audience attraction that generated advertising dollars. In his words, an “opinionated bigot host generates more audience than would, say, an academic discussing the intricacies of a particular topic”.

Phew, argument over.

If you have a view, no matter how ill-informed, and can express it in simple and forceful terms, the advertising dollars will flow and all’s good.

In the digital world now inhabited

MEDIA & COMMUNITY

FRASER CARSON

by most people, this phenomenon has accelerated massively.

The easy answers come from short and easy-to-digest tweets and 5-second memes that are mindnumbingly relentless.

As anyone should know, if they went to a decent school as a child, life’s problems and issues are not always so easily explained with a short and simple answer, such as “stick your head in a plastic bag to cure a headache”, or “left-handed immigrants and teachers driving Rav4s are to blame for anything I don’t like”.

Yes, social media and talkback radio have their place and value, but a fairly hefty minority of people is obviously intent on shouting slogans at each other to the detriment of a more truthful and dignified debate on issues.

Now, it seems, even the simple

answer is getting the bums-rush.

Researchers in the United States and Denmark are reporting on the emergence of a new “psychological syndrome” called “Need for Chaos”.

It’s apparently common among disaffected young men who might harbour violent thoughts and is having a disruptive impact on politics and society, not only in the United States but also in other democracies.

How did the researchers come to these conclusions? They examined the spread of “hostile and false political rumours” in social media and discovered that people who share

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these things don’t really care if they’re true.

Why would people do that?

It seems they do it because they can. It’s indiscriminate and they don’t necessarily care which political party is impacted or advantaged. Posting is an act of political defiance towards people perceived to have power over them. The motivation is apparently not to illuminate the masses but to damage the elites.

Here are three statements, from a longer list, the researchers asked social media users to see if they agreed.

“I need chaos around me – it is too boring if nothing is going on.”

“There is no right and wrong in the world.”

“When I think about our political and social institutions, I cannot help thinking ‘just let them all burn’.”

The researchers discovered that endorsement for these ideas was closely associated with sharing hostile political rumours on social media – the so-called lunatic fringe.

But how fringe?

According to the findings, at least 40 percent of Americans are sympathetic to expressions about letting political institutions “all burn” and to “tear them down and start over”.

At a time when fascist street gangs are making a presence felt in the United States and Europe, we should not be so complacent to say it’ll never happen in New Zealand.

We are, after all, bundled up with the rest of the world-wide-web and there will inevitably be elements of this kind behaviour in our own neighbourhoods. n Fraser Carson is a member of the XŌtaki

College Alumni Trust and the founding partner of Flightdec.com. Flightdec’s kaupapa is to challenge the status quo of the internet to give access to more reliable and valuable citizen generated content, and to improve connectivity and collaboration. He can be contacted at fraser@flightdec.com. Disclaimer: Fraser is the brother of Ōtaki Today editor Ian Carson

TE RĀ WHAKAPŪMAU: GRADUATION I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

whika/page 17

ABOVE: All hands-on in the kitchen at Te Wānanga o Raukawa to feed the many hundred graduands and their whānau on December 7.

RIGHT: Kukura Turner catches up with uncles, from left, Graham Rikihana, Hoani Carkeek and Rupene Waaka outside the Wānanga whare kai on graduation day.

Photos Ian Carson Aimee Porteners (Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Kai Tahu, Ngāti Ranginui) was celebrating her graduation in Pouturongo Reo Māori with husband Mike, daughter Lila and son Gustav.

Community Representatives for Grants Allocation Subcommittee

NEW WORLD ŌTAKI

Steven and Janine wish you, our customers, Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year and thank you for your support.

Christmas trading hours will be as normal 7am till 10pm which includes the statutory days.

CLOSED on Christmas Day.

LOCAL ARTERIAL ROAD – TRAFFIC SWITCH The PP2Ō team have been hard at work in the Marycrest area, building the new Local Arterial Road (LAR). Part of the road will become a permanent part of the local road network but in the meantime, traffic will be switched off State Highway 1 on to the LAR to allow us to build the expressway.

Traffic was planned to be switched before Christmas and though the road will be completed, switching traffic to the new segment before the holdiay season could be disruptive. Instead traffic will switch to the new route early in the New Year.

The map shows the new layout to help you familiarise yourself with the design before the traffic switch occurs.

Expressway

Keep Safe and Have a Happy Christmas You might not see many of us around the PP2Ō site over the Christmas / New Year Period but that doesn’t make your safety any less important to us. And we will be checking in from time to time to make sure everything is alright.

But there’s good reasons for the reduced speed limits and cones to help you navigate your way around the roads which run through the PP2Ō construction area.

Not only are the roads narrowed in places and vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians need to feel and be safe using them, but during the Christmas period road use increases. Last year, around 18,000 vehicles per day passed through Ōtaki. We expect at least that many each day this year.

That’s a lot of traffic and such high levels can cause unexpected problems to occur for road surfaces, especially when the weather’s hot and car engines are hotter.

So slow down, obey the signs, share the road and let us help you give your family the best Christmas present ever – you, home safely, enjoying the festive season together.

Have a happy, safe holiday

Caption: TMP Planner & Operations Supervisor Traffic - Rhys McBreen - is passionate about your safety

From everyone at PP2Ō

PITOPITO KŌRERO: NEWS I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

whika/page 19

A monkey, a crashed car and Ōtaki kindness

By Ian Carson

Sometimes the best laid plans come unstuck in a big way and luck just appears to be not on your side.

That was how it seemed on a Friday afternoon recently when Jolene Butson-Leggett was heading to New Plymouth with two-year-old daughter Fleur for a weekend break. Husband Richard was travelling separately in his race car, which was to compete at a weekend meeting.

Leaving their Whitby home and with the prospect of a relaxing weekend coming up, Jolene was driving through the roundabout at Ōtaki about 4pm when they were rearended by another driver. Fortunately no one was hurt, but the family car was no longer driveable.

“We couldn’t go anywhere so we spent the next four and a half hours sitting on the grass in front of the Hine accounting firm on the corner of Mill Road and the highway,” Jolene says. “We had to wait for Mum to come up from Wellington to pick us up and take us home because Richard’s car can’t take a child’s seat.

“We couldn’t carry on with our weekend away in New Plymouth and had to forfeit our accommodation costs.

We’ve learnt the lesson the hard way to pay the alternative transport add-on for our car insurance policy.”

Jolene says Richard had promised her a pamper birthday weekend – nice accommodation, hot pools and a massage.

“Unfortunately, that never happened. And then Richard’s car broke down just before we got home, so he couldn’t go up to his races on the Saturday. When it rains it pours.”

Meantime, Royce Bowler of Bowler Motors picked up the car and took it to his secure lock-up to await an insurance assessment.

“He was very friendly and helpful.”

Royce told Ōtaki Today he felt sorry for the family and tried to get the insurance company to give them a loan car to get home.

“When that didn’t work I pulled out all the stops to see if we could find another way to get them home, but nothing worked out.”

While the family was waiting for their own pick-up, Emma Henderson stopped to see if she could help.

“Emma offered us a cup of tea and refuge in her house while we waited for our ride,” Jolene says. “Another local named Amanda also stopped and offered to drive us to the RSA where she was headed to get a cooked meal, or anywhere else we would like to go.”

It was dark when the family finally got picked up, but in their rush, they forgot Fleur’s most loved toy, a brown monkey call George.

“We left him behind. We were pretty sad and annoyed at ourselves for losing track of George. Fleur was devastated..”

Taking to social media, Jolene asked on an Ōtaki Facebook site whether anyone could help them track down the monkey.

“We’d love to know he’s in safe hands till we can collect him,” she said.

George was a gift from Fleur’s cousins, Lucas and Zoe. “Fleur is always saying, ‘George, come’, when we go out.

He’s lasted well as she like to give his nose bites for kisses.”

Seeing the post, Emma went back to the accountants and found George waiting on the letterbox.

“Someone must have put him there hoping his owners would turn up,” she says.

She immediately got in touch with Jolene and offered to send George back in the next mail.

“Emma wouldn’t even let us pay the postage,” Jolene says. “So kind hearted!”

REUNITED: Fleur Leggett,2, after her beloved George was returned to her.

Community Representatives for Grants Allocation Subcommittee

The Kapiti Coast District Council invites applications from interested and qualified persons for the roles of community representatives for the Grants Allocation Subcommittee. Community representatives are required for the: • Creative Communities NZ Scheme – three community representatives • Community Grants Scheme – two community representatives The principal aims of the Creative Communities Scheme are to: • Provide creative opportunities for local communities to engage with and participate in local arts activities; • Support the diverse artistic cultural traditions of local communities; and • Enable young people under 18 to engage with and actively participate in the arts.

Applications for this Scheme are considered twiceyearly; the first meeting is in April 2020.

The Community Grants Scheme aims to strengthen local communities by providing financial support.

Funding is provided to not-for-profit organisations to assist in the achievement of a social environment that makes the Kapiti Coast District a good place to live.

Community grants may be allocated to proposals that seek to achieve one or more of the following outcomes: • Building resilient sustainable communities • Encouraging greater community participation • Improving the quality of life of the participants • Working in partnership with a range of community groups, including iwi.

The Subcommittee meets annually in October to consider grant applications.

Membership is for three years until October 2022.

The preferred applicants, once appointed by Council, will be inducted into their roles and remunerated for attendance at meetings.

Applicants should provide a statement of claims, outlining their knowledge, skills and expertise relating to the local community, including local events, commmunity activities and arts activities, together with two letters of endorsement.

For further information please contact Vyvien Starbuck-Maffey on (04) 296 4700.

Post applications to: Grayson Rowse Democracy Services Advisor People and Partnerships Group Kāpiti Coast District Council Private Bag 60601 PARAPARAUMU 5254 Or email applications to: Grayson.rowse@kapiticoast.govt.nz The deadline for applications is 12 noon Friday 10 January 2020.

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CHRISTMAS CAROLS I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

COMBINED CHURCHES CAROLS IN THE PARK Sunday 15 December, 3-4pm • Haruātai Park, Mill Rd, Ōtaki If raining, Carols in the Park will be at the Presbyterian Church, Mill Rd, Ōtaki.

1. GABRIEL’S MESSAGE The angel Gabriel from heaven came His wings as drifted snow His eyes as flame "All hail" said he "thou lowly maiden Mary Most highly favored lady, " Gloria "For known a blessed mother thou shalt be All generations laud and honor thee Thy Son shall be Emanuel By seers foretold Most highly favored maid, " Gloria Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head "To me be as it pleaseth God," she said, "My soul shall laud and magnify His holy name."

Most highly favored lady, Gloria

2. O COME, O COME EMMANUEL O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel O come, O come, Thou Lord of might Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height In ancient times did’st give the Law In cloud, and majesty and awe Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel Shall come to thee, o Israel O come, Thou Day-Spring Come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death's dark shadows put to flight Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel Shall come to thee, o Israel

3. MY SOUL DOES MAGNIFY THE LORD My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour For He that is mighty has done great things And holy is his name My soul doth magnify the Lord My soul doth magnify the Lord And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour For He that is mighty hath done great things And holy is His name.

4. AS JOSEPH WAS A-WALKING As Joseph was a-walking he heard an Angel sing This night shall be the birthday of Christ the heavenly king He neither shall be bornen in housen nor in hall Nor in the place of paradise but in an ox's stall He neither shall be clothed in purple nor in pall But in fair white linen that use babies all He neither shall be rocked in silver nor in gold But in a wooden manger that rocks upon the mould He neither shall be christen'd in white wine nor in red But in the fair spring water with which we were christened As Joseph was a-walking there did an angel sing And Mary’s child at midnight was born to be our king.

5. O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM O little town of Bethlehem How still we see thee lie Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting Light The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight O morning stars, together Proclaim the holy birth!

And praises sing to God the King, And peace to men on earth.

For Christ is born of Mary And gathered all above, While mortals sleep the Angels keep Their watch of wondering love.

How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is given So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heaven No ear may hear His coming But in this world of sin Where meek souls will receive him still The dear Christ enters in

6. AWAY IN A MANGER Away in a manger no crib for a bed The little lord Jesus laid down his sweet head The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay The little lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing the baby awakes But little lord Jesus no crying he makes.

I love thee lord Jesus; look down from the sky And stay by my side until morning is nigh.

Be near me lord Jesus I ask you to stay Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.

Bless all the dear children in thy tender care, And fit us for heaven, to live with thee there.

7. SILENT NIGHT Silent night, holy night!

All is calm, all is bright.

Round the Virgin, Mother and Child.

Holy infant so tender and mild, Sleeps in heavenly peace, Sleeps in heavenly peace Silent night, holy night!

Guiding star, lend thy light See, the eastern wise men bring Gifts and homage to our King Jesus Christ is here Jesus Christ is here Silent night, holy night!

Wondrous star, lend thy light With the angels let us sing Hallelujahs to our King Jesus Christ is here Jesus Christ is here

8. WHEN A CHILD IS BORN A ray of hope flickers in the sky A tiny star lights up way up high All across the land, dawns a brand new morn This comes to pass when a child is born A silent wish sails the seven seas The winds of change whisper in the trees And the walls of doubt crumble, tossed and torn This comes to pass when a child is

born A rosy dawn settles all around You've got the feel you're on solid ground For a spell or two, no one seems forlorn This comes to pass when a child is born It's all a dream, an illusion now It must come true, sometime soon somehow All across the land, dawns a brandnew morn This comes to pass when a child is born

9. ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH Angels we have heard on high Sweetly, sweetly through the night And the mountains in reply Echoing their brief delight Gloria, in excelsis Deo Gloria, in excelsis Deo Shepherds, why this jubilee?

Why your joyous strains prolong?

What the gladsome tidings be Which inspire your heavenly song?

Gloria, in excelsis Deo Gloria, in excelsis Deo Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing, Come, adore on bended knee, Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

Gloria, in excelsis Deo Gloria, in excelsis Deo

10. MARY’S BOY CHILD Long time ago in Bethlehem So the Holy Bible say Mary's boy child, Jesus Christ Was born on Christmas Day. Hark now hear the angels sing A new king born today And man will live for evermore Because of Christmas Day. While shepherds watched their flock by night, They saw a bright new shining star they hear a choir of angels sing The music seemed to come from afar.

Hark, now hear the angels sing, A new king born today And man will live forevermore Because of Christmas Day. Joseph and his wife, Mary, Came to Bethlehem that night, They found no place to bear her child, Not a single room was in sight.

Hark now hear the angels sing, A new king born today And man will live forevermore Because of Christmas Day By and by they find a little nook In a stable all forlorn, And in a manger cold and dark, Mary's little boy was born.

Hark now hear the angels sing, A new king born today And man will live forevermore Because of Christmas Day

11. WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCHED While shepherds watched their flocks by night, All seated on the ground, The angel of the Lord came down, And glory shone around.

“Fear not!” said he, for mighty dread

Had seized their troubled mind; “Glad tidings of great joy I bring To you and all mankind.

“To you, in David’s town, this day Is born of David’s line A Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, And this shall be the sign: “The heav’nly Babe you there shall find To human view displayed, All meanly wrapped in swathing bands, And in a manger laid.”

12. MARY DID YOU KNOW? Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?

Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?

This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary did you know that your baby boy would calm a storm with his hand?

Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God Oh, Mary did you know?

Oh, Mary did you know? the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again the lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect lamb?

And the sleeping child you’re holding Is the great - I - Am.

13. WE THREE KINGS We three kings of Orient are, Bearing gifts we traverse afar Field and fountain, moor and mountain, Following yonder star.

Oh, star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright.

Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide with thy perfect light.

Born a King on Bethlehem's plain, Gold I bring to crown him again King for ever, ceasing never Over us all to reign.

Oh, star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright.

Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide with thy perfect light.

Frankincense to offer have I, incense owns a Deity nigh Pray'r and praising, all men raising, Worship him, God most high, oh Oh, star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright.

Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide with thy perfect light.

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume

Breathes a life of gathering gloom; Sorr’wing, sighing, bleeding, dying, Sealed in a stone-cold tomb.

Oh, star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright.

Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide with thy perfect light.

14. O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL Adeste fideles Laeti triumphantes, Venite, venite in Bethlehem; Natum videte, Regem Angelorum.

Venite adoremus, Venite adoremus, Venite adoremus Dominum.

O come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant; O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; Come and behold Him, Born the King of Angels.

O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord God of God, Light of light Lo, he abhors not the Virgin’s womb; Very God, begotten not created O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

Sing, choirs of angels, Sing in exultation, Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above; Glory to God in the highest: O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

15. JOY TO THE WORLD Joy to the world, the Lord is come Let earth receive her King Let every heart prepare Him room And Heaven and nature sing And Heaven and nature sing And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy Repeat the sounding joy Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy He rules the world with truth and grace And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness And wonders of His love And wonders of His love And wonders, wonders, of His love

16. MĀRIE TE PŌ Mārie te pō, tapu te pō, Marino, marama, Ko te Whāea, me te Tama, Tama tino, tapu rā, Moe mai i te aio, Moe mai i te aio.

Mārie te pō, tapu te pō, Ka kite ngā hēpara, Te korōria o te rangi, Mē ngā ahera Hareruia, Kua whānau te karaiti, Kua whānau te karaiti

MAHI MĀRA/GARDENINGI Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

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For less disease and better vegies, water like a pro

The way we water has a huge effect on the health of our food gardens.

Over-watering creates fungus In this barely moist THE EDIBLE GARDEN and encourages sappy, pestenvironment, soil life explodes prone foliage. Under-watering and the reduction in disease is and dusty soil means no stunning. mineral conversion and plant For established plants: push stress. Either way, soil life – the your finger into the soil. If it’s key to our whole operation – moist at your fingertip let it be. disappears.

Yes, really! All the way down Start the summer season with there. I know gardeners who a new intention. Test before you push it out further than this to KATH IRVINE water. two fingers deep.

Tag-team this with keeping For seed and new seedlings: the soil covered and steadily building gutsy, squeeze a handful of soil together. Open your hummus-rich soil, and success comes hand out giving it a small shake as you do. If knocking. the soil falls into various sized crumbs then it’s Keep your soil covered perfectly moist. If it holds its shape, it’s too wet.

Keeping the soil covered with mulch or If there’s no crumb, it’s too dry. plants holds moisture and drip feeds soil life.

Water like a pro With hearty soil and mulch at play you’ll Here’s a snapshot of different watering needs be amazed at how long you can go between at different times. watering.

Baby phase (direct sown seed/new transplants Soil moisture test /newly emerged seedlings): begin on a win Turn the health of your garden around by: with a soak at planting/sowing. Keep soil moist • testing before watering at this vulnerable stage. A thin layer of mulch is • watering to that 50 percent (just moist) really effective at making moisture last. point.

Teenage phase: Make ’em work for it! Create

Do the soil moisture test.

Hand watering.

robust and resilient plants by rolling out a bit of tough love once they have a bit of canopy.

Load on the mulch and push the gap between waterings as far as you dare to force their roots deep.

Mumma phase: Flowering and fruiting is a key time. Pull back on the tough love and keep the soil nicely moist. Let the topsoil dry out a bit for fungus-prone plants like zucchini, basil and tomato.

Exceptions to the rule Different crops have different water needs, and understanding this is the journey to a food gardener.

Chillies develop more spice with less water and tomatoes are tastier by far.

Squash and cucumbers need more water than tomatoes and potatoes.

Bean and pea seeds rot easily and need to be barely moist until germinated, but need consistent moisture from flowering.

Have a play, watch and learn!

Three best times to water 1. Cloudy 2. Drizzling 3. Always in the morning.

Oscillating sprinkler.

Water is precious. Make this summer the summer of testing first and less is more.

Look about the world and be inspired by all the food grown without pumps and hoses and on a water budget far tighter than ours. n Kath Irvine has been growing all the vegetables to feed her family of six for 21 good years. Spray-free, natural, low-input food gardens are her thing. She believes in smart design – it saves time, and money, and the planet, and makes a garden hum. She recycles, reuses and forages, and uses as little plastic as possible. Kath believes in a daily serve of freshly picked organic greens for a happy mind and strong body, and it’s her dream that every New Zealander has this. She aims to provide the best organic gardening advice through her articles, books, workshops and garden consultations.

Yarrow, fennel and parsley mulch.

Stay safe with 3Rs at the beach this summer

By Jonty Mills CEO, Water Safety New Zealand

The rescues at Ōtaki (see page 9) and Himatangi recently are a timely reminder as we head in to summer that we need to respect the water.

While we all get excited at this time of year as the weather and water warms up, holiday season approaches and it’s time to hit the beach, it’s also critical that families think about water safety. The outcomes of these rescues could have been very different. In both instances it was lucky that an off-duty lifeguard was in the vicinity.

While the evenings get longer, swimming at the beach outside patrol hours is simply not worth the risk, especially when it comes to children. Rips can develop and it is also often in these situations when an adult goes in to help and drowns themselves.

The key takeout from these lucky escapes is: always swim at a patrolled beach during patrol hours. It’s also critical families talk about what to do if you should get caught in a rip. This is a major focus of Surf Life Saving New Zealand this summer with its 3Rs campaign.

The key message is if you get caught in a rip, remember to Relax and float, Raise your hand to signal help and Ride the rip until it stops so you can swim safely back to shore.

Panic and swimming against the rip are what

cause people to drown, and what the rescue at Himatangi shows is that being able to calmly float on your back is a skill that can save your life.

Parents can take their children to the pool and practise this simple skill and talk about it around the dinner table.

Six under-5s have also drowned this year. That’s six too many. The only way to keep babies and toddlers safe around water is constant active adult supervision at all times. Don’t leave children supervising children. Check holiday properties

for water hazards and accessways to water, put away your mobile phone and supervise them.

Too many people continue to drown in New Zealand waters in preventable incidents.

Drowning is the leading cause of recreational death and the third highest cause of accidental death in New Zealand.

While last year was the second lowest toll on record with 66 preventable fatalities, as of December 4 this year there have been 71 – and summer has only just begun.

While we can advocate for more resources to tackle New Zealand’s drowning problem it also comes down to personal responsibility.

Educating yourself and your family about water safety, following the fundamentals such as swimming between the flags, learning water safety skills, wearing your lifejacket and knowing when to pull back when there are risks present will keep you and your family safe.

All too often people think “she’ll be right” and take risks that cost them their lives. We see it time and time again in our drowning statistics.

Learning how to float on your back, what to do in a rip and assess risk are all taught as part of Water Skills for Life.

This is Water Safety New Zealand’s comprehensive education intiative for years 1 to 8 which we are trying to get into every New Zealand primary school.

WSNZ believes this is the best way to tackle New Zealand’s drowning problem, through investment in grassroots education.

To find out more, see waterskills.org.nz.

Encourage your children’s primary school to get involved. Increased levels of water safety education among our tamariki will help us bring down our high drowning toll. n To learn more about water safety go to the Water Safety NZ website: watersafety.org.nz

Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

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HAUORA: HEALTH It’s Christmas time, time to eat Yay, it’s Christmas time and we all or carbohydrates at certain times of know what that means: Christmas the year. food!

So we should definitely enjoy this I love the food at this time of special time of the year with family, the year. Roast chicken, ham on friends and excellent food, and not the bone and big roasted hunks of have to feel guilty about enjoying lamb, roasted potatoes, pavlova too much.

GETTING FIT green salads, prawns and If you feel you must sausages on the barbecue. be super strict with your You might be diet, the Christmas season thinking “you can’t still offers many healthy eat all that, you’re an choices. I tell my dietexercise professional, conscious clients that you should be setting the summer Christmas an example”. And to an seasonal food is easy to extent you might be right. manage.

Moderation is the key.

Every barbecue you DANIEL DUXFIELD go to this summer will However, because I exercise regularly as you have your basics on will be too, we can eat whatever we offer: protein and carbohydrates, but like – on occasion – without any of protein in the form of lean meats and the guilt of “falling off the diet wagon.” carbohydrates in the form of salads Being healthy, fit and strong with and fibrous vegetables. good strong hearts means we don’t Protein: meats such as lamb, have to worry about a little extra fat beef, pork, chicken and fish.

Carbohydrates: there are obvious ones easily avoided such as bread rolls, sliced bread, pasta salads, potatoes in salads or roasted or mashed – choose to have alternatives such as green salads, steamed broccoli, cauliflower, courgettes, asparagus and of course fruits low in sugars such as berries.

So, as you can see, you can have your cake and eat it too. Speaking of cake, if you’re going to have some, don’t punish yourself about it. I know there will be pavlovas, Christmas cakes, custard, trifles and all the rest with lashings of ice-cream. Have some – not all of it –and enjoy yourself.

One yummy dessert is not going to make your waistline explode. You can always do some exercise the next day or the day after, or even the days leading up to the big feast day.

As for exercise, try a walk after the big Christmas dinner. It will aid with your digestion and force your

Duxfit owner Daniel Duxfield, left, and his self-defence instructor, James Bennett, grapple as they demonstrate their simple self-defence system.

They'll be putting on another self-defence class in late January.

For more information, call Daniel on 022 1099 442.

metabolism to turn on after eating.

Then you can have your nap!

Any exercise that is high intensity will burn lots of calories, so get some in around this time. It will also help with any holiday stress, which we all know comes up.

I’m looking forward to what my Mum has planned for Christmas

and helping her cook it too. Merry Christmas to you all and be excellent to each other. n Daniel Duxfield is an exercise professional who operates DuxFit Functional Fitness from a private studio in Ōtaki. Contact 022 1099 442 or danielduxfield@gmail. com and see https://www.facebook.com/ duxfitfunctionalfitness/

Activity trackers in Santa’s stockings, but are they good for kids?

By Dr Justin Coulson

Wearable trackers like the Fitbit, Garmin, Moove, or even smartwatches are gaining popularity with children – and it’s likely that they’ll be in plenty of Santa stockings.

Market research shows that sales will have grown by 26 percent in 2019 alone, and children’s versions are a key segment of that market. Our children love them. They’re brightly coloured beeping watches that reward them with points for movement.

They’re compelling technology!

But are activity trackers good for our children?

We live in countries where obesity is a Dr Justin Coulson tremendous challenge.

Our children are increasingly inactive, globally.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the number of overweight and obese

ŌTAKI COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE 186 Mill Road Ōtaki

06 364 6367 Monday – Friday

children aged 0-5 increased from 32 million globally in 1990 to 41 million in 2016. Statistics also show about 81 percent of adolescents are insufficiently physically active. And, WHO reports, insufficient physical activity is one of the leading risk factors for death across the planet.

This is a serious problem. Companies producing activity trackers know it and are capitalising on it.

But, for children at least, (and maybe for adults), activity trackers may be doing more harm than good. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of activity trackers.

Positives Early research has shown that wearable activity trackers can increase activity levels in the short term. While there has been no research on the long-term effect, I think it’s pretty safe to say that those positives won’t continue for most children.

Anecdotally, most adults I know have left their Fitbit in the junk drawer after the initial buzz of hitting 10,000 steps a day wore off. Just like all reward systems, the value of the reward has to

Ōtaki Women’s Health Centre • Cervical screening clinics • Counselling • Health information n Yoga: Tuesday nights, Thurday mornings n Bloom Hearing n Ann-Marie Stapp, Social Work Practioner n Dr Olivia Notter, Registered Psychologist

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Large room available for casual hourly/daily hire For information on services phone Janet or Michelle on 364 6367

HELPLINES AND LOCAL MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES It’s OK to reach out for help – never hesitate if you are concerned about yourself or someone else.

IN A CRISIS OR EMERGENCY If someone has attempted suicide or you’re worried about their immediate safety, do the following: • Call your local mental health crisis assessment team 0800 745 477 or go with them to the emergency

department (ED) of your nearest hospital • If they are in immediate physical danger to themselves or others, call 111 • Stay with them until support arrives • Remove any obvious means of suicide they might use (eg ropes, pills, guns, car keys, knives) • Try to stay calm, take some deep breaths • Let them know you care • Keep them talking: listen and ask questions without judging • Make sure you are safe.

For more information and support, talk to your local

increase over time or interest in the task is lost.

Some adults do make behavioural changes. But the big (BIG) difference here is that for those adults, the behaviour change was their reward. They weren’t getting an external reward. With kids’ activity trackers, however, an external reward is tied to every activity they do.

Negatives I have some pretty substantial concerns with the use of activity trackers for children.

Trackers increase the “value” of screens. There’s something inherently wrong with rewarding activity with screen time. Not only are we trading a period of activity with a period of inactivity, but we’re also increasing the perceived “value” of the screen. Just like money is of value to us because we have to earn it, screens gain value when our kids have to earn them.

Our kids need to develop self-motivation for all things in life, including exercise, to have resilience and lifelong well-being. Activity trackers, with their immediate screen time reward, undermine that self-motivation and create an idea that the screen is the valuable thing, while the activity was the task best avoided.

Trackers create an unhealthy relationship with food and exercise. Dr Carolyn Plateau of Loughborough University, who has been studying the effect of fitness trackers on eating disorders, recently completed a study with 352

doctor, medical centre, hauora, community mental health team, school counsellor or counselling service. If you don’t get the help you need the first time, keep trying.

Services offering support and information: • Lifeline 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) • Samaritans 0800 726 666 - for confidential support for anyone who is lonely or in emotional distress • Depression Helpline 0800 111 757 or free text 4202 - to talk to a trained counsellor about how you are feeling or to ask any questions • Healthline 0800 611 116 - for advice from trained registered nurses

young adult participants. A total of 229 of them used a fitness tracker and 123 didn’t. The 229 who did use a tracker showed higher levels of both disordered eating and exercise than the other 123 young adults.

Tracking can suck the fun out of physical activity. Our kids (yes, even our teens) are naturally active. The younger ones roll around on the floor or run back and forth across the lawn chasing their older siblings. Our older kids climb trees and jump on the trampoline. Our teens ride their bikes to their friends’ houses on the weekends, or wrestle around the swimming pool.

Kids love to do stuff. But trackers, while fun and exciting at first, eventually become just another chore. Activity itself becomes a chore.

Trackers can be addictive. Rather than discarding the tracker, some teens may become over the top about it. Different trackers are more or less addictive. The basic versions that simply track steps and reward activity with moves in a game are pretty low. On the other hand, a smart watch is really high. Regardless of the type, any kids’ wearable activity tracker is another device for them to focus on, use and want every day.

They can promote anxiety in some children.

They can become fixated on the numbers and panic if they don’t meet their “goals”. For these children, trackers create anxiety and worry and can undermine their health and well-being.

So, should you get your children an activity tracker? No. Children don’t need them to be active.

The negatives far, far outweigh the positives.

If you must get them a wearable device, consider a compass (and a map)! Or maybe just a ball or a bike.

Outside for kids is for fun, not measurement.

• www.depression.org.nz – includes The Journal free online self-help.

For children and young people • Youthline 0800 376 633, free text 234, email talk@ youthline.co.nz or webchat at www.youthline.co.nz (webchat available 7-11pm) – for young people and their parents, whānau and friends • What’s Up 0800 942 8787 (0800 WHATSUP) or webchat at www.whatsup.co.nz from 5-10pm for ages 5-18.

• Kidsline 0800 543 754 (0800 KIDSLINE) – up to 18 yrs.

More options: www.mentalhealth.org.nz

HAUORA: HEALTH I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

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Nothing like a summertime gin and tonic Summer is upon us, which means for some of craze”. In London alone there were more than us, it’s G&T time again. Time to get out the 7000 gin shops producing 10 million gallons of still and make a new batch of gin. gin a year!

We are one of the few countries in the world The quality was typically dreadful, with where it’s legal to distil your own alcohol. turpentine often replacing the juniper. But This is not so much because we are a liberal the drink was cheap and therefore immensely country that prizes individual freedom and popular. personal responsibility, but more because of a Unlike the beer taverns, in the gin joints peculiar legislative misstep. women were able to drink with men. Gin Up until the 1980s all alcohol stills in New became “mother’s ruin”: partly the truth, partly Zealand had to be licensed. But as a cost-cutting propaganda by the prohibitionists of the day, measure the government of the day decided and partly a concept promoted by the beer to no longer license, monitor and industry to win patrons back to HEALTH SCIENCE regulate inactive stills. What could their taverns. go wrong?

Things got so out of control the Well, if an inactive still is not Government passed the 1751 Gin regulated then it’s legal to own one.

Act to regulate manufacture. With And if a still is legal to own then regulation came improved quality. surely they are legal to sell and Gin’s star was rising, cheap gin buy. Hundreds of New Zealanders joints became opulent gin palaces. bought a home still – purely as an British troops in India found ornament or piece of art, of course. that the bitter antimalarial quinine What was the Government was far more palatable if mixed to do? Confiscate stills they had DR STEVE HUMPHRIES with soda water, sugar and gin. The effectively approved, spend a G&T (gin & tonic)was born. fortune prosecuting people for making a bottle Gin is an incredibly versatile drink and many of whiskey? famous cocktails are based on it, including After turning a blind eye for several years, in Singapore Sling and Gimlet. Even James Bond 1996 the Government – in a stunning act of is partial to a gin (Gordons) martini – shaken, pragmatism and avoidance of egg on the face not stirred.

– simply legalised the distillation of alcohol for Gin suffered a temporary setback during the personal consumption (no selling or gifting).

American prohibition of the 1920s. The results Before looking at gin, maybe it’s worth of prohibition were predictable: the criminals reviewing gin’s chequered history. got rich, the Government lost billions in tax In the 16th century the Dutch combined revenue and the people got unregulated poor juniper with malt wine to make a medicinal quality “bathtub” gin. alcohol called genever. Both Dutch and British Today gin has never been more cool or more troops fortified themselves with it before battle popular. We can thank (or curse) millennials for for a bit of what was called “Dutch courage”. softer fruit and berry flavours, and pink gin.

The British then replaced the malt wine with The hobby of making gin is a lengthy, grain spirit, and genever became gin. This was complex process and not for the faint-hearted – partly a political move to increase local grain but it does keep you off the streets. production and decrease the importation of First you have to make your alcohol. I ferment French brandy. organic sugar with a spirit yeast that is designed Anyone was allowed to make gin and pretty to produce a high (about 16 percent) yield of well everyone did, leading to a national “gin alcohol.

New Better Later Life strategy A new strategy for an ageing population, Better Later Life – He Oranga Kaumātua 2019 to 2034, is now available.

Like most of the world, New Zealand has an ageing population. This means there are some things we must consider and prepare for as a country. Better Later Life takes a fresh look at what is required to ensure New Zealand is a great place to age and achieve the vision of making sure older people lead fulfilling lives.

It includes five key areas for action: • Achieving financial security and economic participation • Promoting healthy ageing and improving access to services • Creating diverse housing choices and options • Enhancing opportunities for participation and social connection • Making environments accessible n Visit www.superseniors.msd.govt.nz to read the strategy.

The fermented liquid, the “wash”, is then distilled through a fractionating column. Here the ascending alcohol vapours repeatedly condense and re-evaporate, with each cycle increasing the strength and purity of the alcohol.

With much care and patience the result is “neutral spirit” – pure alcohol with no taste or smell. This is the blank canvas from which to make your gin.

At this stage you can just add gin flavouring, a compound gin. Compound gins can taste OK, but I think the real creativity in making a superior gin is in selecting your own botanicals.

The predominant and defining component is juniper berries. After that you can choose whatever botanicals you think will improve the flavour.

This year I will be using a touch of cardamon, angelica root, cubeb pepper and coriander with a bit of lime zest. This freedom to experiment in your own kitchen has been the starting point of a several successful New Zealand gin companies.

I steep all the botanicals in alcohol for 24 hours before the final pot distillation – a simple distillation that carries over all the smell and flavour of your botanicals. The first part of the distillation (the heads) and the final part of the distillation (the tails) are discarded. Only the middle cut (the heart) is retained for premium flavour.

This is a London Dry Gin – “dry” signifying that no sweeteners are added, and “London” meaning it’s made from distilled botanicals with no artificial additives. London gins are made all over the world.

A good G&T is all about summer drinking, cool freshness and maximum tonic bubbles.

Use a bowl glass with stem so your hand doesn’t warm the drink (and you don’t get a cold hand).

Everything should be as cold as possible: the gin, the tonic and plenty of ice straight from the freezer.

Home-made gin has no excise tax, but commercial gin is taxed at $53 for every litre of alcohol.

This tax serves two purposes. First it increases the retail price of gin – it’s estimated that a 10 percent increase in price reduces overall alcohol consumption by 5 percent.

Second, the revenue is used in health and education programmes to help cover the harm alcohol causes.

More than a billion dollars is collected every year from alcohol excise tax. That’s a lot of money, but it doesn’t cover the $5 billion in harm done by alcohol every year through domestic violence, accidents, alcohol-related illness and lost workdays.

Excise tax makes the Government the country’s biggest drug dealer. We need to be vigilant that the relationship between government and the liquor industry isn’t too cosy.

Should there be alcohol promotion on TV? Should there be so many liquor outlets in poor areas?

Enjoy summer.

Drink responsibly. n Dr Steve Humphries is a director at Hebe Botanicals in Ōtaki, and was previously a lecturer at Massey University and director of the Health Science Programme.

MSD Ōtaki Service Centre relocation The Ministry of Social Development’s Ōtaki Service Centre is moving to 21 Main Street, Ōtaki, on Monday 16 December. We’ll be open from 11.30am that day. We will continue to have appointments at 84 Mill Road, Ōtaki, until Friday 13 December.

Our new office will have a much more welcoming feel, and people will have a lot more privacy when they meet with us.

We look forward to welcoming everyone to our new service centre.

ARE YOUR HEALTH AND FITNESS GOALS BEING MET? DuxFit offers you:

• A private studio • Supervised exercise sessions • Session fees to suit your budget • Tailored workout programs to suit your needs • Times to suit your schedule

Get in touch for a chat about what DuxFit can do for you:

Daniel Duxfield 022 1099 442 Te Harawira Street, Otaki www.facebook.com/duxfitfunctionalfitness/

Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

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MAHI TOI: ARTS Sonia recognised with national arts award Ōtaki weaver Sonia Snowden (Ngāpuhi) was recognised for her contribution to the arts at the Creative NZ Te Waka Toi Awards on November 30.

Sonia received a Ngā Tohu ā Tā Kingi Ihaka/Sir Kingi Ihaka award recognising her lifetime contribution to weaving (raranga, whatu and tukutuku). The awards ceremony was held in Rotorua.

Sonia is an accomplished weaver and renowned nationally for her skills and knowledge of her craft.

Creative NZ said when honouring Sonia that she was well respected within the ranks of equally accomplished senior weavers.

“She is widely admired for her fine weaving, especially her whāriki, kākahu, kete whaikairo, and tukutuku.”

Sonia is part of Ngā Kāhui Whiritoi, established in 2006 to recognise individuals who have contributed at a national level to the retention and promotion of Māori weaving arts.

She has also been a teacher of younger weavers and a longtime participant in Te Roopu

Rāranga Whatu o Aotearoa (New Zealand National Māori Weavers’ Collective).

For many years, Sonia has been a tutor in weaving at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Ōtaki.

She was instrumental in organising the replacement of tukutuku panels for Rangiåtea Church after the original church was burnt down by an arsonist in 1995.

Twenty-three fulltime weavers re-created 76 purapurawhetu tukutuku panels in time for the church reopening in 2003.

ICONIC ŌTAKI

PICS OF THE MONTH: Do you have a great photo at or around Ōtaki? Email us your pics for possible publication to: otakiphotos@idmedia.co.nz

HONOURED: Sonia Snowden, above, and one of her many pieces of kete weaving below.

Ah summer! Nothing says summer more than strawberries. PYO strawberries at Penray Gardens, SH1.

PHOTOS: Penray Gardens

Children’s book launched

Waitohu fireworks spectacular again The decision to postpone the big annual Waitohu School fireworks display from November 8 to November 22 because of weather concerns paid off.

The weather was dodgy for the first date, but ideal on the second date, giving thousands of locals and visitors the opportunity to pack Haruātai Park.

They enjoyed the food stalls and stage entertainment, watch the spectacular

bonfire and, of course, the fireworks to end the evening.

The school has been running the fireworks event for more than 30 years.

It’s not only an opportunity to give locals a community event, but also helps to fund school projects.

Principal Maine Curtis says it pays for improvements at the school including classroom upgrades, TVs in classrooms,

artwork around the school, and swimming pool upgrades.

“It also helps us offer great experiences for our students, such as paying for buses to take students to Wellington each year, and our Kāpiti Island visit for Year 5 students,” he says.

“The fireworks is a fantastic community event much looked forward to by many within and beyond our community.”

Ōtaki author Josephine Van den Berg’s is launching a new children’s book, Mariska and the Incredible Island, at Ōtaki Library from 11am-noon on Saturday (December 14).

The story is about Mariska, who lives on an island with her father and six sisters. She wants to become a circus artist. Even though she knows this seems impossible, she stubbornly holds on to her dream.

One day, life on the island changes in the most incredible way as it mysteriously seems to merge one ridiculous adventure into another.

This leaves Mariska with unexpected, exotic and sometimes dangerous characters and situations to deal with. Realising what is happening she wonders if fate is against her, or perhaps, for her?

The adventure takes readers on a hilarious and exciting roller coaster reading ride. It’s no doubt great reading for the summer holidays.

Josephine is from the Netherlands and emigrated with her husband and young children to Aotearoa, New Zealand in 1990. She has worked as a teacher aide, done story telling and holiday programmes, and worked at Forest Lakes Camp, where her husband was the horse instructor and maintenance man for 25 years. He also is a farrier.

Josephine has written three other books: Don’t Give Up, Shaken, and In Your Dreams. She is also an artist and illustrates her own stories.

The stories are a mixture of reality and fantasy.

They usually address various social and cultural issues youth have to deal with, in a positive and engaging way. The plots unfold in an unconventional and surprising way. n Josephine’s books are $20. They can be ordered by email: hvandenberg@xtra.co.nz

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HUATAU: COMMENT I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

A touch on Grandad’s hand and the world seems brighter KUAKA RETURN: The first of the season’s kuaka (godwits) arrive at Waikawa Beach. Every southern spring the kuaka depart from their breeding nests in the great Siberian and Alaskan tundra and return to the rich feeding grounds of New Zealand’s tidal flats and coastal marshes.

RIGHT: Wendy and Peter Clarke’s festive lights in James Street are always a Christmas attraction at Waikawa Beach.

Photos Miraz Jordan

Let the fun times begin

People don’t come to Waikawa are always well appreciated.

WAIKAWA WAYS Beach for the shopping, the Sand sculpture day gets coffee, or the nightlife. We families digging in the sand, are blessed to be free of all of creating fabulous scenes, large those things. and small. Dragons, dogs and Instead, visitors take the dogs dinosaurs, ships, volcanoes or the kids for a walk on the and robots – you never know beach, do a bit of fishing from what creators might bring shore or boat, wander by the to life out of previously river, or just enjoy being out in featureless sand flats. the fresh sea air.

The Christmas holiday The godwits and gulls, the brings visitors from near and MIRAZ JORDAN terns, oystercatchers, shags, far to enjoy the beach (though stilts, royal spoonbills, white-faced herons, it’s hard to beat the 12,000km non-stop flight dotterels and ducks all provide excellent of the kuaka). opportunities for keen photographers, and One highlight of the summer break are the those who just like to sit quietly and observe.

Christmas lights at the corner of James Street.

Over the Christmas break the Waikawa Santa climbs towers, reindeer haul gifts, a Beach Ratepayers Association puts on family helicopter arrives, a UFO launches. Each year activities for anyone at the beach, especially for brings a new scene. It’s a very much-loved the kids. There’s a sports day with its egg-andfeature of the holidays. spoon, sack and wheelbarrow races, and a boat At this time of year Waikawa Beach really day when people can race their kayaks or build wakes up. Let the fun times begin. something that’s supposed to float (but often n Miraz Jordan is a Waikawa Beach resident and blogger.

See www.miraz.me and lovewaikawabeach.nz doesn’t really). The BBQ and drinks afterwards

Today when we visited my Grandad, he was having a bad day. He GOOD THINKING was flicking his red-rimmed eyes from side to side, as he flipped from sad to frustrated and back. The nurses told us to take him somewhere quiet.

We tried, but even the antics of our 5 and 2-year-olds didn’t cheer him up. So we just sat there, him in his wheelchair, me on the foot of the bed holding his hand, and our tamariki milling around at his side. My son, Kāhu, tapped away at the rubber on his wheels like the mechanic in the making he seems to be right now.

Granddad’s knuckles are like knobbled tree roots dried hard. The skin on his hands, dry and thin. But his grip still squeezes like the vice PERA BARRETT in his workshop. Maker’s hands. Mum’s. Mine.

He doesn’t say anything, just sits there holding my hand.

His eyes search the world outside his window obviously still unsure where he is. He frowns and squeezes my fingers stronger, sighs, lets go, then squeezes again like he’s trying to figure something out.

I want to say, “You’re nearly 100, Grandad, don’t be too hard on yourself.” Something comforting. Something nice. But I don’t. What do I know about all that? I just sit and squeeze his hand back in return.

Then Kāhu sways up to the side of his wheelchair and reaches his hand out. He places four little fingers on that leathery skin of Grandad’s, pads on the back of his hand. Just touching, not really holding, his fingers are too small for much more.

And Grandad’s eyes move to his 2-year-old great grandson, and the edges of his mouth lift. I don’t think he remembers him, but I don’t think he needs to. He remembers aroha, remembers love. He knows the feeling of a 2-year-old grasping at a grown-up. He held my Mum, my uncles and my aunty when they were as small as my son, then my sisters, my brother and me, too.

Sitting there, I like to think he remembers that act, and everything that holding hands means.

I like to think he recognises even then, when nothing else makes sense, that Kāhu’s reaching out, making human contact says “I love you, and that’s the most important thing”. Such a small act for Kāhu, placing his hand on Grandad’s, might have been the most happy moment of his day.

And that’s what we were there for. Grandad was having a bad time. And Kāhu reaching out helped him smile. I hope my son remembers the grin that little act lifted, and I hope he knows we can all do the same whenever we choose.

Because that’s what we’re here for.

One small act, the tiny effort of reaching out, can sometimes be all it takes to make someone else’s day. That message of love can be the touch that brings their eyes back from the window, to focus again on life – to smile again and remember. You might be surprised who needs that right now. Reach out first, don’t wait until you see the tears in their eyes.

Someone said we’re all just walking each other home and I think they were right. Some of us are closer to home than others, but we’re all on the same hīkoi together. We might as well hold hands and make it nice.

From farmer to high performance sports coach Many farmers have off-farm FARM FOCUS sporting, business or leisure interests as part of their life balance. But few exit farming altogether in pursuit of wider challenges, which often leads to a new career.

A great example is former Paraparaumu farmer David Hadfield, who took over the 550 hectare family property in 1976.

Originally leased by his grandfather, DR KEN GEENTY Gordon, in 1922 the scrub-covered farm was developed further by hard-working father Barry, who became the first Kāpiti Borough mayor in the early 60s.

David followed the path of many farmers’ sons, first attending Whanganui Collegiate then completing a farming diploma at Massey University. Overseas experience and farming work in Central Otago followed before returning to the family farm in the early 70s.

Father Barry was an enlightened “people” person, having the foresight to develop the original Lindale complex on their farm in 1985, primarily to connect townspeople with farming. Included were sheep, beef and dairy and the highly successful Kāpiti Cheese venture.

Soon after returning home, David went back to Massey, completing an arts and psychology masters degree then staying on teaching for five years. The natural people skills from his forefathers shone through, leading David to consultancy, mostly with sport.

Even though he loved hard farm work such as fencing and shearing, and marvelled at the magic of working dogs, an exit from farming for more people-related work beckoned.

The family farm was reluctantly sold up in 1987.

David’s burgeoning sports consultancy took him around New Zealand working with NZ Schools and under-20 rugby teams and all the Super Rugby franchises. Overseas gigs were with UK and European rugby teams and the Bluejays baseball team out of Toronto. Some farm-related work has endured, with corporate farming stints and guest speaker slots at vet clubs and the like.

Some of David’s golden rules include “character first, talent and experience second” and a good working culture comes from “a critical mass of good buggers” – the latter underpinning the formidable performance of the Canterbury Crusaders rugby team over several seasons.

These pointers apply equally to high performance in farming, with trust a key element. Other catch phrases in the quest for high performance include an achievable vision, clear communication, developing workable systems and processes, sticking to clear values and developing a checklist and feedback system.

David Hadfield’s Paraparaumu-based firm, MindPlus Limited, puts out brief and punchy factsheets entitled “People, Relationships & Performance”. One of these covers the already mentioned maxim “Character First”, giving an example of farm employment. The chosen applicant was smart, with all the required skills but something lacked with character. It turned to custard within a few weeks.

Another factsheet headed “What and How, Why and Want – a top teaching and problem-solving model”, is a powerful tool to initiate change in farming, on the sports field or in everyday life.

Multi-talented David Hadfield has also dabbled in music, having released a successful 45 record romancing farming and shearing. n Dr Ken Geenty has had a 30-year research and development career in the New Zealand sheep and beef cattle industry, including pioneering research in sheep dairy production. He now lives in Ōtaki.

IRISH CONNECTION: David Hadfield, right, with recently retired Ireland rugby coach Joe Schmidt.

Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

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HITŌRIA: HISTORY Tararua Ranges a dangerous playground

By David Klein Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

The Ōtaki region has long been a gateway to the Tararua Ranges.

Dramatically flanking the eastern edge of the province, the mountains rise from the plains of the Horowhenua and form a spine through the middle of the lower North Island.

The Ngā Taonga archive has a collection of items showing people enjoying the area, but also highlighting the dangers involved.

As spring and summer arrive, increasing numbers of people head to the hills for tramping and outdoor activities. The Ōtaki Forks campsite is a great, convenient starting point for this. We have recordings detailing fun and successful adventures in the bush.

Footage from the Tararua Tramping Club (TTC) shows huts being built and the way people tramped in the 1930s.

There are also a number of personal recordings with cataloguing notes of “sunset over the ranges”, “tent and campsite; billy boiling on campfire” and “trampers taking a refreshment break before continuing to climb hillside”.

Footage from 1968 captures the first National Mountain Safety Council course for youth leaders.

Members of the TTC instruct and show members how to cross a swift flowing river. Practice and education from those with experience can greatly increase your skill and enjoyment of the outdoors.

More somberly, a Radio Digest recording tells the story of a cross memorialising trampers who died in the two world wars. Erected on Mt Hector in 1950, all material was carried in by hand over two weekends and the cross still stands today.

Unfortunately, even in fine weather the ranges can be dangerous.

Searching through the collections uncovers an alarming number of news stories about trampers becoming lost or stuck. There is usually a follow up item with an outcome – a few extra nights in the bush before rescue is not such a bad result.

All too often though, people lose their lives.

FORKS: Ōtaki Forks in the Tararua Ranges.

Archives provide valuable opportunities to look to the past and learn from it. It can be sobering to follow the misfortunes of people whose time in the outdoors turned bad. Released in 1971, Such a Stupid

An opportunity to support vibrant public art What ideas and expertise could you offer to make our district shine with public art?

Kāpiti Coast District Council has a strong commitment to encouraging the arts in the community, both visual and performing arts. The Council recognises that supporting and encouraging a culture of creativity and innovation promotes the District’s social, cultural, and economic well-being through: • increasing a sense of community, civic pride, and distinctive identity; and • celebrating the whakapapa and history of tangata whenua and cultural identity through Toi Māori.

An important way to enhance the cultural identity of the District is through public art. The Public Art Panel is appointed by the Council to provide expert advice on public art, commission major public artworks, and assist in developing the Council’s Public Art Programme.

Kāpiti Coast District Council is seeking to fill two positions on the Public Art Panel. We are looking for two arts professionals, one with current or former experience in urban design, for their expertise in integrating artistic elements into Council developments and community-led projects such as murals or temporary installations. Both arts professionals should have: • experience in the commissioning of public art; • knowledge of local, national, and international public art history; • a globally informed perspective of the role creativity plays in placemaking and transformation; and • commitment to understanding the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

If you are interested, please contact Rosie.Salas@kapiticoast.govt.nz for further information. You can also visit www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/publicart for more detailed information about the Panel and the Council’s Public Art Programme.

Applications close 5pm, COB 6th January 2020.

MORE COPIES?

Readers can pick up extra copies of Ōtaki Today at our news stands: • RiverStone Café • Café SixtySix • Gorge Café • Te Horo Café • Ōtaki Beach Dairy • Brown Acres, Manakau • Sponge Kitchen, Levin

Photo Michal Klajban

Way to Die might be familiar to children of the 70s and 80s. It tells the story of a group of five who go tramping for the weekend. Due to a series of poor decisions, one person dies from exposure and hypothermia.

Produced by the National Film Unit, the short film is illustrative of several issues that can lead to fatal outcomes.

The character, Thomas, skips breakfast, doesn’t have the correct outdoor gear and becomes tired and cold.

As presenter Ray Henwood intones, “the best way to beat exposure is to stop it ever starting.

This begins at the planning stage.”

The modern Outdoor Safety Code has five elements: plan your trip, tell someone your plan, be aware of the weather, know your limits, and take sufficient supplies. These points are important year-round and can save

“

Searching through the collections uncovers an alarming number of news stories about trampers becoming lost or stuck.

”

the life of you or someone you care about.

So if you’re heading out this summer, remember to stay safe and plan ahead. If the weather is bad you can always experience the bush from your home via the online catalogue at ngataonga.org.nz n Ngā Taonga cares for an enormous number of recordings that captured New Zealand life.

They can be explored in the online catalogue at ngataonga.org.nz and you can sign up for the Ngā Taonga newsletter at www.bit.

Exhibition features history The Ōtaki Museum’s latest exhibition, Health on the Hill, features the history of two prominent Ōtaki hospitals.

The Cottage Hospital and the Sanatorium were located close to each other on the hill just north of the Mill Road/Domain Road intersection.

The Cottage Hospital was opened in 1899 and became the Ōtaki Maternity Home in 1945. It was where many local babies were born until the hospital closed in 1992.

Similar arguments to today were put forward in the late 1890s urging a hospital for the town.

Local physician James Mason said Ōtaki – and Levinly/2NwsLttr – people requiring hospital care had to travel by train to either Palmerston North or Wellington. A local hospital committee, chaired

by William Simcox, was formed in 1896 to further the cause.

While Levin was included in the committee’s

plea to the Wellington Hospital Board, Ōtaki got the nod, not for a full hospital, but a “cottage” hospital.

As often happened in those days, the proposal hinged on not only government funding, but also funding from local sources. Ōtaki people rallied to the cause with money coming from fairs, gymkhanas and concerts.

The Ōtaki Cottage Hospital was opened on August 7, 1899, by the New Zealand Governor, Lord Ranfurly. It was a big deal for the town, with other dignitaries including New Zealand Premier Richard Seddon and several MPs, and the Bishop of Wellington Frederic Wallis.

They were met by the Ōtaki Brass Band, visited Rangiātea Church and were led by the band down Main Street to Raukawa Marae, where they were addressed by MP Wi Parata.

They had lunch at the Jubilee Hotel before the official opening by the Governor.

HĪTŌRIA: HISTORY I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

whika/page 27

The 21st century brings more change Historian REX KERR continues his series plotting the history of Ōtaki and its people.

This is part 12.

Ōtaki entered the 21st One of the biggest losses DESTINATION OTAKI century with a population about this time was the closure of 5643, no longer as an of HB Edhouse Ltd, an iconic independent entity but a Ōtaki business for 91 years border community just in 2014. This feeling of loss inside the boundary of two was increased when the Ōtaki much larger local bodies Children’s Health Camp closed – the Kāpiti Coast District in 2018 with the loss of about Council domiciled in 40 jobs.

Paraparaumu and the Meanwhile, the Railway Greater Wellington Regional retail area started to prosper, Council with whom its future the catalyst being the arrival of REX KERR now lay.

Bendon’s outlet store in 1998.

As Ōtaki advanced into The success of this enterprise the new century, deregulation and outside saw others follow in its wake. Old buildings competition continued to have a derogatory were pulled down and replaced by modern retail impact on the town and its people. In 1997 the units. The Railway became a destination for city long established local bus company, Ōtakidwellers not only hoping to get some bargains Levin Bus Services, lost the Ōtaki College bus but also to enjoy a trip to a small country town contract to a large outside company. Unable to and its other attractions. gain further contracts it was forced to close in The Railway became a stopping place for a 2007. coffee, petrol and a toilet break for travellers More than 100 years of locally owned bus coming north hoping to get a bargain. Ōtaki services came to an end. Ōtaki no longer had a became a destination once again. local bus service, nor one to Levin despite having Te Horo and Ōtaki Gorge, with the splitting to access most of its services from the north. up of dairy farms, became an attractive The loss of businesses continued apace. option for city folk, particularly those nearing Competition from large nationally and retirement and those taking up lifestyle blocks, internationally owned stores and franchises looking for a more relaxed, healthy family life. in larger nearby centres saw the loss of the The 2013 Census revealed the degree of bookshop, shoe shop, furniture store, jeweller, social and economic change taking place in electrical outlets, sports retailer and other small the community. The population had grown retail enterprises. modestly to 5775 (Ōtaki 4158 and Ōtaki Beach However, the biggest economic blow to the 1617), 1488 were living at Ōtaki Forks and a town was the closure of Gold Coast Poultry further 807 at Te Horo, making a grand total of in Te Horo (1999), Richmond’s Meat Plant 8070 in the greater Ōtaki district.

(2000) and Allenson’s Doors (c2000) with There developed a socio-economic gap and the loss of well over 100 jobs. Unemployment an ethnicity difference between Ōtaki Township became a new problem. Empty shops appeared and the rural district south of the river as in Main Street to join those at the Railway. recorded in the 2013 Census.

By 2006 the population had dropped to 5466. • Income: aged 15 plus earning under $20,000: Ōtaki was no longer a destination. Ōtaki 46%, Ōtaki Forks 37%, Te Horo 37%.

The loss of young working-age people and • Income: aged 15 plus earning over $50,000: families, accompanied by the low cost of Ōtaki 15%. Ōtaki Forks 31%. Te Horo 29% housing and living compared to areas to the These figures when aligned with the high south, made Ōtaki attractive to people on number of single parent families (25%), those benefits and low incomes. With this came a on benefits, with no formal qualification(22%) change in the retail structure of Main Street. and unemployed (12%) place Ōtaki Township Some of the empty premises were taken up by as one of the most deprived localities in the cafés, fast-food outlets and op shops. country, being designated decile 9 out of 10 on 1 2

Te Ara a Tāwhaki, Te Wānanga o Raukawa’s library and lecture hall. the deprivation scale.

Ethnically there were strong differences between the Ōtaki District communities again according to the 2013 Census.

• Europeans: Ōtaki 72%, Ōtaki Forks 90%, Te Horo 93% • Maori: Ōtaki 33%, Ōtaki Forks 10%, Te Horo 9% • Asian: Ōtaki 5%, Ōtaki Forks 2%, Te Horo 1% • Other: Ōtaki 8%, Ōtaki Forks 7%, Te Horo 7%.

In Ōtaki Township, the numbers of people identifying as Māori had been growing steadily, partly due to improvements in education, employment and health, but also due to the revival of interest in Te Mautaranga Māori, te reo, whakapapa, and hapū and iwi affairs.

The catalyst for this revival was the setting up in 1981 of Te Wānanga o Raukawa at the old Māori Boys’ College in Tasman Road, initially as a small tribal tertiary institution to meet the needs of Te Ati Awa, Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Toa Rangatira, collectively known as (ART) a confederation of the three iwi.

Te Wānanga o Raukawa met an obvious need, and prospered and grew providing Mātauranga Māori to other iwi throughout New Zealand. It’s now the largest employer in Ōtaki.

Associated with and contributing to the growth in Mātauranga Māori was the development of kōhanga reo and kura as learning

institutions for children. Ōtaki Township as a consequence is developing a distinctive bicultural flavour in which te reo is spoken by 17 percent of the population, one of the highest in New Zealand communities.

Other forces were coming into play as Ōtaki changed: nearness to Wellington, relatively cheap land and housing, and a relaxed friendly lifestyle made Ōtaki attractive to small companies and people on modest incomes looking for somewhere to retire.

While new residents were welcome, this new interest had a downside. House prices and rentals (going rapidly from $220 to $440 a week) were pushed up and housing, social and health services were put under pressure. This had the effect of forcing families on low incomes to leave town away from their support systems in search of cheaper accommodation, or to become more dependent on social benefits to survive.

With the proposed completion of the expressway in mid-2021, what does the future hold for Ōtaki?

Part 13. The expressway: a look into the future. n References: 2013 Census. Quick Stats about Otaki. Dept of Statistics.

Wellington. 2013.

2013 Census. Quick Stats about Otaki Forks. Dept of Statistics. Wellington. 2013.

2013 Census. Quick Stats about Te Horo. Dept of Statistics.

Wellington. 2013.

The figures don’t add up to 100 but are the figures given in the 2013 Census rounded up or down to the nearest whole number. No explanation is given.

The figures don’t total 100% but the Department of Statistics says the figures include all people who stated each ethnic group, whether as their only ethnic group or as one of several. As a result, percentages do not add up to 100.

of Ōtaki’s cottage hospital and sanatorium The original hospital, however, soon proved to be inadequate and an extension was added in 1904. In 1929, the Palmerston North Hospital Board took over the administration of the hospital after convincing the Government to refurbish it.

Reopening after the refurbishment on June 12, 1929, it now had a small maternity ward.

This service was to become the sole purpose of the hospital from 1933 until it closed for good in the 1990s.

On January 14, 1945, a fire ripped through the hospital. While there was damage, it offered an opportunity to restore and modernise the facilities. It reopened on August 8, renamed as the Ōtaki Maternity Hospital.

In the 1960s the hospital was closed briefly because of difficulty recruiting trained nurses.

A review in 1977 heightened fears of closure, and the rapid change to privatisation of

government services brought about by the Labour Government after 1984 did little to allay the fears.

Despite strong and concerted local lobbying, the hospital was closed in August 1992, although later in the year a 48-hour birthing service operated from the building.

Within two years the MidCentral District Health Board, having taken over from the Palmerston North Hospital Board, announced it would close the building altogether from July 1995.

The town was having none of it. The DHB was barraged with letters and phone calls from irate locals, forcing it to reconsider. It finally relented, allowing the newly formed Ōtaki Health Trust to lease the building.

It is now leased by the Ōtaki Women’s Health Group, which runs the Ōtaki Community Health Centre from the premises.

Other compatible groups and busineses sublet spaces within the building. It is now fully tenanted and continues to provide a space for meetings for other community groups, such as Narcotics Anonymous, Dances of Universal Peace, yoga and at times Barnardos and Oranga Tamariki family group conferences.

In 2014, MenzShed moved into the old cottage on the property.

The Sanatorium was opened in 1907 and operated for 57 years as a hospital for tuberculosis patients.

After a 15-month closure from 1964, it became an annexe to the Levin Hospital and Training School, later the Kimberley Hospital and Training School. In 1974 the annexe was named Koha Ora. Known locally as the San, the facility closed for good in 1985 when residents were moved to Kimberley south of Levin, where the new

Speldhurst Country Estate retirement village is now.

The buildings that once overlooked bowling greens and pristine lawns – now remote and uninhabited – became the target for thieves and vandals. Everything of value was broken or pillaged, including stairways, doors and windows.

The buildings were finally demolished in 1997.

The Ōtaki Museum exhibition includes profiles of notable staff, medical and nursing memorabilia and recollections from some users of the services.

An exhibition opening was scheduled for Thursday, December 12, opening to the public on Friday, December 13.

The museum in Main Street is open three days a week from Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 2pm. Admission is free.

TAMARIKI CHILDREN’S FUN PAGE I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

Kyuss’ XMAS Quiz

TAMARIKI FUN PAGE

ŌT KIDS’ NEWS

Meri Kirihimete tamariki

A day on Otaki Beach

1. What is the name of the big red man (BRM) who delivers your presents?

2. Where does the BRM usually live?

3. What are the words after Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way ...?

4. Does the BRM have a naughty and nice list?

5. What day does Christmas fall on this year?

6. What are some other names for Father Christmas?

7. Name the reindeer with the shiny red nose.

8. Name the other reindeer he flys with.

9. What do you put up to celebrate Christmas?

10. Name three Christmas foods we eat in New Zealand.

Directions: Fill in the puzzle, using the pictures as clues.

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Greta wins Author of the Year prize 2

Greta Thunberg (above) has been awarded the Author of the Year prize from UK bookshop, Waterstones. The 16-year-old Swedish climatechange activist has written a book called No One is Too Small To Make A Difference. It is a collection of speeches she has delivered over the last few years. A speech she made to EU leaders called ‘You’re Acting Like Spoiled Irresponsible Children’ is included in the book.

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If you don’t know the answers, Google them, or look in a book, just like Kyuss did!

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Unicorn pup becomes an internet star PET LOVERS

Send us a pic of you and your pet to be in to win a $20 book voucher or your choice of Jared’s Animals in Vehicles.

Drop your coloured cartoon into RiverStone Cafe on SH1

by Sunday 10 Janu ary, to win a $40 cafe vouc her.

November’s winn er is: Kaia Richter, 9.

Include your name, age and phone number.

FUNNIES ANSWERS. 1. Stairs 2. A rubbish truck 3. Because 7 8 9 4. A towel.

BIRD QUIZ ANSWERS NOV 2019 ISSUE 1. The ostrich. 2. Bee hummingbird 3. The cassowary.

4. About 10,000. 5. A hummingbird. 6. The chicken.

7. Around 20%. 8. The kiwi.

9. Crows. 10. The ostrich.

HOW DID YOU DO?

FUNNIES

1. What goes up and down but never moves?

2. What has four wheels and flies?

3. Why was 6 afraid of 7?

4.What gets wetter the more it dries?

COLOUR TEST

Look at the words below and say the colour not the word

BLUE RED YELLOW ORANGE BLACK GREEN PURPLE YELLOW BLUE GREEN ORANGE BROWN Your right brain tries to say the colour but your left brain insists on reading the word!

A puppy with a “unicorn tail” on its face has become an internet star. An image of the pup was put on the internet after being rescued from the “freezing cold” streets by Missouribased non-profit Mac’s Mission in the USA. Narwhal the puppy was found with another older dog and rescuers quickly noticed the extra tail on his face and sent him in for tests.

They found the tail was not connected to anything else. However, it can not wag. The unicorn face tail does not bother Narwhal and he is happy and active like any normal puppy.

A DAY ON ŌTAKI BEACH. ACROSS: 1. Sea 2. Kites 4. Hat 5. Pipi 9. Spade 10.

Crab 11. Sunglasses 13. Beachball 17. Sandcastle 18. Boat DOWN: 1. Skis 3.

Shells 6. Icecream 7. Water 8. Sun 11. Sunblock 14. Bucket 15. Towel 16. Fish

XM AS QUIZ

Email your answers to KyussOT@idmedia.co.nz and the first winner with the correct answers drawn r, will win a $20 book vouche ls ima An s ed’ or one of Jar in Vehicles books – your choice.

whika/page 28

Bird of the Year is a Hoiho The Hoiho or Yellow Eyed Penguin has been named the winner of Bird of the Year 2019. The Hoiho received more than 12,000 votes, and is the competition’s first seabird winner in its 14year history. This is the first time voters have been able to rank their preferences for the birds, instead of the first-past-the-post system used previously. Hoiho are an endangered species and the world’s rarest penguin. there are only 225 pairs remaining on mainland New Zealand in 2018/19. They face numerous environmental threats as well as the risk of being caught in fishing nets.

Hey kids, stay safe by swimming within the surf club flags.

See that rip north of the right flag?

It’s not safe to swim there.

Have fun swimming where the lifeguards can see you.

New Zealand’s largest waterslide opens

NAME:

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The Conical Thrill is New Zealand’s largest waterslide and has opened in Hanmer Springs in North Canterbury. The slide is 13.5 metres high and includes a twisting hydroslide before a steep drop that propels people up a vertical wall for a moment of weightlessness. Five new thermal pools connected by waterfalls were also opened. The slide cost $4.5 million and took three years of planning and construction.

HAPORI: COMMUNITY I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

whika/page 29 To list your group, or update contact details, email debbi@idmedia.co.nz

COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS

STOCKED UP: Some of the donated food from Saturday’s collection ready to be sorted onto the shelves at Ōtaki Food Bank.

Local generosity fills food bank The Ōtaki Lions Club decided “no plastic bags” for the its annual food

bank collection on Saturday, November 30, but donations still poured in.

CHURCHES Rangiātea 33 Te Rauparaha St, ŌTAKI • 364 6838 Sunday Eucharist: 9am • Church viewing hours, school terms: Mon-Fri 9.30am- 1.30pm St Mary’s Pukekaraka 4 Convent Rd, ŌTAKI Fr Alan Robert 364 8543 or 021 0822 8926. Sunday mass: 10am.

Miha Māori Mass, first Sunday. For other masses: otakiandlevincatholic parish.nz.

Anglican Methodist Parish of Ōtaki 364 7099 otakianglican.xtra.co.nz. 1st and 3rd Sundays 9.30am, All Saints’, 47 Te Rauparaha St, Ōtaki; Note change of time for Sunday 7 July is 10.30am followed by Parish mid-Winter lunch. 2nd and 4th Sundays 9.30am, St Margaret’s, 38 School Rd. Te Horo; 5th Sunday 9.30am, St Andrew’s 23 Mokena Kohere St, Manakau. Ōtaki Baptist cnr SH1 & Te Manuao Rd, ŌTAKI Pastor Roger Blakemore • 364 8540 or 027 672 7865 • otakibaptist.weebly.com • Sunday service: 10am The Hub 157 Tasman Rd, ŌTAKI • Leader Richard Brons • 364-6911 • www.actschurches.com/ church-directory/horowhenua/hub-church/ • Sunday service and Big Wednesday service: 10.15am Ōtaki Presbyterian 249 Mill Rd, ŌTAKI • Rev Peter Jackson 364 8759 or 021 207 9455 • www.otakiwaikanaechurch.nz Sunday service: 11am Jehovah’s Witness 265 Mill Road, ŌTAKI 364 6419 • www.jw.org • Sunday meeting: 10am

It was the first year that Ōtaki Lions didn’t supply plastic bags in advance, but instead delivered a yellow flyer to letterboxes around Ōtaki asking for donations to be put into re-used boxes or bags.

“It was great to see the people of Ōtaki respond to the new way of doing our collection,” says Lions club president Jenny Askwith. “When the flyer was attached to the bag or box, it was quite easy for us to locate the donation.” Ōtaki Food Bank manager Lucy Tahere appreciated the generosity of Ōtaki people and was delighted with the contributions.

“The shelves are full for Christmas,” she says. “Thank you, Ōtaki, for your kind donations.”

Anyone’s donation that was not collected can be dropped at the food bank in Main Street on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 9am until 12 noon.

MEDICAL CARE Ōtaki Medical Centre 2 Aotaki Street, Ōtaki 06 364 8555 Monday-Friday: 8.15am-5pm • Saturday: 9am-noon. After hours, including weekend and public holidays.

Emergencies: 111 Team Medical, Paraparaumu: After hours: 04 297 3000 Coastlands Shopping Mall. 8am-10pm every day.

Palmerston North Hospital emergency department, 50 Ruahine St, Palmerston North • 06 356 9169 Healthline for free 24-hour health advice 0800 611 116.

St John Health Shuttle 06 368 6369 Ōtaki Women’s Health Group 186 Mill Road, 364 6367 P-pull walk-in Drug advice and support, Birthright Centre, every 2nd Thursday 6-8pm.

COMMUNITY ŌTAKI POLICE 06 364 7366, cnr Iti and Matene Sts. CITIZEN’S ADVICE BUREAU ŌTAKI 06 364 8664, 0800 367 222. 65a Main Street, Ōtaki. otaki@cab.org.nz AROHANUI HOSPICE SHOP 11 Main St. 06 929 6603

BIRTHRIGHT OTAKI OPPORTUNITY SHOP 23 Matene Street, Ōtaki. 06 364 5558

COBWEBS OPPORTUNITY SHOP TRUST Main St. HUHA OP SHOP 208 SH 1, Ōtaki. 06 364 7062.

OCEAN VIEW RESIDENTIAL CARE 06 364 7399 THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ANIMALS OP SHOP 236 SH1. 06 364 2241

AMICUS CLUB OF ŌTAKI 364 6464 COBBLERS LUNCH CLUB Thursdays 11.15am-1.30pm Gertrude Atmore Lounge. Free soup.

FOREST & BIRD PROTECTION SOCIETY Joan Leckie 368 1277 FRIENDS OF THE ŌTAKI RIVER (Fotor) Trevor Wylie 364 8918 FRIENDS OF THE ŌTAKI ROTUNDA Di Buchan 364 0180/027 683 0213 GENEALOGY SOCIETY Len Nicholls 364 7638 KĀPITI COAST GREY POWER June Simpson 021 109 2583 KĀPITI HOROWHENUA VEGANS: Alastair 364 3392 Eric 367 2512 KEEP ŌTAKI BEAUTIFUL Margaret Bayston/Lloyd Chapman LIONS CLUB OF ŌTAKI Peter 021 267 3929 MORRIS CAR CLUB Chris Torr 323 7753 ŌTAKI BRIDGE CLUB Tim Horner 364-5240 ŌTAKI COMMUNITY PATROL Errol Maffey 027 230 8836 ŌTAKI & DISTRICT SENIOR CITIZENS’ ASSN Vaevae 027 447 7864 ŌTAKI FLORAL ART & GARDEN CLUB Maureen Jensen 364 8614 ŌTAKI FOODBANK 43 Main St, Lucy Tahere 364 0051 ŌTAKI HERITAGE BANK MUSEUM TRUST 364 6886 ŌTAKI HISTORICAL SOCIETY Sarah Maclean 364 2497 ŌTAKI PLAYERS SOCIETY Roger Thorpe 364 8848 or 021 259 2683 ŌTAKI POTTERY CLUB Rod Graham 027 445 7545 ŌTAKI PROMOTIONS GROUP Ian Carson 364 6543 ŌTAKI RAILWAY BOWLING CLUB Maureen Beaver 364 0640 ŌTAKI SPINNERS & KNITTERS’ GROUP, Barbara Austin 364 8381 ŌTAKI WOMEN’S NETWORK GROUP Carol Ward 06 364 7732 ŌTAKI WOMEN’S COMMUNITY CLUB/SUNDAY MARKETS Kerrie Fox 027 340 0305 ŌTAKI WOMEN’S INSTITUTE Rema Clark remaclark@xtra.co.nz RESOURCE RECOVERY CENTRE Jamie 027 444 9995/Drew 021 288 7021 ROTARY CLUB OF OTAKI Michael 021 294 3039 TIMEBANK Suzanne Fahey 021 1275 074 TOASTMASTERS OF WAIKANAE – phone Graham on 04 905 6236 TRANSITION TOWN OTAKI Jamie Bull 364 0550 WAITOHU STREAM CARE GROUP Lyndsay Knowles 364 6283

CHILDREN ŌTAKI TOY LIBRARY 027 621 8855 every Saturday 10.30am-12noon at the Memorial Hall, Main St. KIDZOWN O.S.C.A.R. 0800 543 9696 LITTLE GIGGLERS PLAYGROUP Baptist Church Hall, Te Manuao Rd. 10am-12noon Friday each fortnight. Denise 027 276 0983 MAINLY MUSIC Hadfield Hall, Te Rauparaha St. 021 189 6510 ŌTAKI KINDERGARTEN 68a Waerenga Rd. 364 8553. ŌTAKI MONTESSORI PRESCHOOL Haruatai Park, 200 Mill Rd, Roselle 364 7500. ŌTAKI PLAYCENTRE Mill Rd. 364 5787. M, T, TH Open 9.30am-12 noon ŌTAKI PLAYGROUP Fiona Bowler otakiplaygroup@hotmail.com ŌTAKI SCOUTS, CUBS AND KEAS Brent Bythell 364 8949.

PLUNKET MANAKAU PLAYGROUP Honi Taipua St, T & Th 9.30am-12pm.

SKIDS ŌTAKI out of school care, St Peter Chanel School. Sonia: 027 739 1986.

TE KŌHANGA REO O TE KĀKANO O TE KURA Te Rauparaha St, 06 364 5599 TE KŌHANGA REO O RAUKAWA 5 Convent Rd, 06 364 5364

SPORTS CLUBS EASY-CISE/WALKING GROUP (BODY & SOUL) Joseph 364 6191 EQUESTRIAN HORSE CLUB 364 6181, Horse Trekking club Debbie 364 6571, Ōtaki Pony Club Paul Pettengell 364 5781 GAZBOS GOLDEN OLDIES Doug Garrity 364 5886 HAWAIKINUI TUA RUA KI OTAKI (WAKA AMA) DeNeen Baker-Underhill 027 404 4697 ŌTAKI ATHLETIC CLUB Kerry Bevan 027 405 6635 ŌTAKI BOATING CLUB Trevor Hosking 364 8424 ŌTAKI BOWLING CLUB Paul Selby 927 9015 ŌTAKI CANOE CLUB Jane Bertelsen 364 5302 ŌTAKI DANCE GROUP Barbara Francis 364 7383 ŌTAKI GOLF CLUB 364 8260 ŌTAKI GYMNASTICS CLUB Nancy 027 778 6902 ŌTAKI INDOOR BOWLING Jane Selby-Paterson 927 9015 ŌTAKI MASTERS SWIMMING CLUB Sonia Coom 04 292 7676 ŌTAKI PETANQUE CLUB Val Clarke 364 5213 ŌTAKI SPORTS CLUB: TENNIS, SQUASH & SOCCER Hannah 027 327 1179 ŌTAKI SURF LIFE SAVING CLUB Kirsty Doyle 021 102 0058 RĀHUI FOOTBALL AND SPORTS CLUB Slade Sturmey 021 191 4780.

Rahui Netball Kylie Gardner 0275 490 985. Junior Rugby Megan Qaranivalu 022 165 7649 TAE KWON DO Jim Babbington 027 530 0443 TAI CHI Gillian Sutherland 04 904 8190 WHITI TE RA LEAGUE CLUB Kelly Anne Ngatai 027 256 7391 WILD GOOSE QIGONG & CHUN YUEN (SHAOLIN) QUAN Sifu Cynthia Shaw 021 613 081.

RAUMATI RUNARUNA: SUMMER LEISURE I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

Burialchamber chamber(5) (5) 11 Burial Passengerplane plane(8) (8) 22 Passenger Openwith withkey key(6) (6) 33 Open Bungling(5) (5) 44 Bungling Performanceby bytwo two(4) (4) 55 Performance Italianred redwine wine(7) (7) 66 Italian Lyingface faceupwards upwards(6) (6) 77 Lying Putinto intowords words(5) (5) 88 Put 10 Article Article(4) (4) 10 11 Lose Loselustre lustre(7) (7) 11 12 Ceremony Ceremony(6) (6) 12 17 Showy, Showy,ostentatious ostentatious(10) (10) 17 18 Sacred Sacredsong song(5) (5) 18 22 Exhibits Exhibits(8) (8) 22 23 Mix Mixby bypressing pressing(5) (5) 23 24 Connoisseur Connoisseurofofgood goodfood food 24 (7) (7) 26 Hankering Hankering(4) (4) 26 28 Active Activemountain mountain(7) (7) 28 29 Health Healthfacility facility(6) (6) 29 30 Abduct Abduct(6) (6) 30 31 Meal Meal(6) (6) 31 33 Large Largestriped stripedcat cat(5) (5) 33 35 Bring Bringup up(5) (5) 35 36 Laboratory Laboratorygel gel(4) (4) 36 37 Cab Cab(4) (4) 37 43 Tree-lined Tree-linedstreet street(6) (6) 43 44 Poppy Poppydrug drug(5) (5) 44 46 Den Den(4) (4) 46 47 Reveal Reveal(7) (7) 47 48 Amuse Amuse(6) (6) 48 49 Unit Unitofofweight weight(5) (5) 49 50 Murder Murder(8) (8) 50 51 Gather Gather(6) (6) 51 52 Snapshot Snapshot(10) (10) 52 53 Ballad Ballad(4) (4) 53 54 Bar Bartemporarily temporarily(7) (7) 54 59 Burst Burst(5) (5) 59 60 Of Ofthe themouth mouth(4) (4) 60 64 Welcome Welcome(5) (5) 64 65 Adversary Adversary(8) (8) 65 67 Open Opentotoattack attack(7) (7) 67 68 Comprehend Comprehend(5,2) (5,2) 68 70 Writer Writer(6) (6) 70

93 Continuous Continuous(3-4) (3-4) 93 97 Sloping path (4) 97 Sloping path (4) 98 Vigour Vigour(6) (6) 98 99 Injured Injuredparty party(6) (6) 99 100 Chelsea Chelsea(anag) (anag)(7) (7) 100 103 Crossbred (10) 103 Crossbred (10) 104 Glassy Glassyvolcanic volcanicrock rock(8) (8) 104 105 Singing Singingvoice voice(5) (5) 105 108 Buff Buff(6) (6) 108 109 Provisions (6) 109 Provisions (6) 111 Dancer’s Dancer’sspin spin(9) (9) 111 116 Sharply Sharplydefined defined(5-3) (5-3) 116 117 Impudent Impudent(6) (6) 117 118 Hospital Hospitalattendant attendant(7) (7) 118 122 Lineage Lineage(8) (8) 122 123 Cream-filled Cream-filledpastry pastry(6) (6) 123 124 Eye Eyepart part(4) (4) 124 125 Examine Examine(5) (5) 125 126 Pay Pay(5) (5) 126 129 Arduous, Arduous,discouraging discouraging 129 undertaking (6,8) undertaking (6,8) 136 Sword Sword(5) (5) 136 139 Climb Climb(5) (5) 139 140 Grain Grainstore store(4) (4) 140 141 Farce (6) 141 Farce (6) 142 Intrepid Intrepid(8) (8) 142 145 Flight Flightattendant attendant(7) (7) 145 146 Divide Divideinto intotwo two(6) (6) 146 147 German Germanwhite whitewine wine(8) (8) 147 150 Frank Frankininopinions opinions(9) (9) 150 152 Punctual Punctual(6) (6) 152 153 Dress Dress(6) (6) 153 157 Rot Rot(5) (5) 157 158 Borough BoroughofofNew NewYork York (8) (8) 158 160 Blot Blotout out(10) (10) 160 165 Weird, Weird,freakish freakish(7) (7) 165 166 Bitter-tasting Bitter-tasting(6) (6) 166 167 Rubbed Rubbedout out(6) (6) 167 168 Male Maledeer deer(4) (4) 168 169 Claimed Claimed(7) (7) 169 170 Intruded Intrudedillegally illegally(10) (10) 170 171 Picks Picks(7) (7) 171

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71 Cloth Cloth(6) (6) 71 72 Cleric Cleric(6) (6) 72 75 Spiny Spinyplants plants(5) (5) 75 77 Bungling Bungling(5) (5) 77 78 Kit Kitout out(5) (5) 78 79 Inert Inertgas gas(4) (4) 79 80 Unpolluted Unpolluted(4) (4) 80 85 Set Setfire firetoto(5) (5) 85 86 Stationary Stationary(8) (8) 86 87 Court Courtgame game(6) (6) 87 88 Mournful Mournfulsong song(5) (5) 88 89 River RiverininHades Hades(4) (4) 89 90 Self-evident Self-evident(7) (7) 90 91 Most Mostpleasant pleasant(6) (6) 91 92 Toddler Toddler(5) (5) 92 94 Outstanding Outstanding(4) (4) 94 95 Least Leasthealthy healthy(7) (7) 95 96 US USstate state(6) (6) 96 101 Break Breakofofday day(5,5) (5,5) 101 102 Chocolate Chocolatesubstitute substitute(5) (5) 102 106 Fault-finding Fault-finding(8) (8) 106 107 Passenger Passengerboat boat(5) (5) 107 108 Thrive Thrive(7) (7) 108 110 Small Smallnail nail(4) (4) 110 112 Clue Clue(7) (7) 112 113 Elaborate Elaboratecake cake(6) (6) 113 114 Extreme Extremefear fear(6) (6) 114 115 Unpowered Unpoweredaeroplane aeroplane(6) (6) 115 117 Vulgar Vulgar(5) (5) 117 119 Crowd Crowdscene sceneactor actor(5) (5) 119 120 Cheese Cheese(4) (4) 120 121 Grind Grind(4) (4) 121 127 Arouse Arouse(6) (6) 127 128 Relation Relation(2-3) (2-3) 128 130 Bucket Bucket(4) (4) 130 131 Revere Revere(7) (7) 131 132 Small Smallcase caseworn wornon onaachain chain 132 (6) (6) 133 Entice Entice(5) (5) 133 134 Grounded Grounded(anag) (anag)(8) (8) 134 135 Uniformly Uniformly(6) (6) 135 136 Reinforce Reinforce(10) (10) 136 137 Concoction Concoction(4) (4) 137 138 Crux Crux(7) (7) 138

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THEPUZZLE PUZZLECOMPANY COMPANY ©©THE

SOLUTION SOLUTION

MEDIUM #8

DOWN DOWN

13 13

EASY #7

Frenchcountry countryhouse house(7) (7) 11 French 4 Vacillating; irresolute (10) 4 Vacillating; irresolute (10) Assortment(7) (7) 99 Assortment 13 Tale Tale(4) (4) 13 14 Sheep’s Sheep’swool wool(6) (6) 14 15 Weaken (6) 15 Weaken (6) 16 Rues Rues(7) (7) 16 19 Reproduce Reproducethreefold threefold(10) (10) 19 20 Balderdash Balderdash(8) (8) 20 21 Competitor Competitor(5) (5) 21 24 Shines Shines(6) (6) 24 25 Two-piece Two-piecebeach beachsuit suit(6) (6) 25 27 Landslide Landslide(9) (9) 27 32 Paper Papersize size(8) (8) 32 33 Sherried Sherrieddessert dessert(6) (6) 33 34 Bird Birdofofprey prey(7) (7) 34 38 Sick Sickheadache headache(8) (8) 38 39 Reseller’s Reseller’sprofit profit(6) (6) 39 40 Slightly Slightlyopen open(4) (4) 40 41 Indian Indianinstrument instrument(5) (5) 41 42 Fortune-telling cards (5) 42 Fortune-telling cards (5) 45 Dread Dreadofofconfinement confinement(14) (14) 45 52 Nuisances Nuisances(5) (5) 52 55 Artefact Artefact(5) (5) 55 56 Metal (4) 56 Metal (4) 57 Film Filmtheatre theatre(6) (6) 57 58 Financial Financialrecords records(8) (8) 58 61 Synopsis Synopsis(7) (7) 61 62 Gracefully Gracefullyslender slender(6) (6) 62 63 Ribbed Ribbedfabric fabric(8) (8) 63 66 Short-lived Short-lived(9) (9) 66 68 Prolonged Prolongedembrace embrace(6) (6) 68 69 Three-legged Three-leggedstand stand(6) (6) 69 73 Viral Viraldisease disease(5) (5) 73 74 Trader Trader(8) (8) 74 76 Consider Considerbad badororwrong wrong(10) (10) 76 81 Discipline Discipline(7) (7) 81 82 Char Char(6) (6) 82 83 Anxious Anxious(6) (6) 83 84 Carte Cartedu dujour jour(4) (4) 84 85 Three-pronged Three-prongedspear spear(7) (7) 85 88 Cut Cutoff off(10) (10) 88

33

SUDOKU ANSWERS

ACROSS ACROSS

22

ACROSS:1 1Chateau, Chateau,4 4Indecisive, Indecisive,9 9Mixture, Mixture,1313Yarn, Yarn,1414Fleece, Fleece,1515Impair, Impair,1616Regrets, Regrets,1919Triplicate, Triplicate,2020Nonsense, Nonsense,2121 ACROSS: Rival,2424Gleams, Gleams,2525Bikini, Bikini,2727Avalanche, Avalanche,3232Foolscap, Foolscap,3333Trifle, Trifle,3434Harrier, Harrier,3838Migraine, Migraine,3939Margin, Margin,4040Ajar, Ajar,4141Sitar, Sitar,4242 Rival, Tarot,4545Claustrophobia, Claustrophobia,5252Pests, Pests,5555Relic, Relic,5656Zinc, Zinc,5757Cinema, Cinema,5858Accounts, Accounts,6161Summary, Summary,6262Svelte, Svelte,6363Corduroy, Corduroy,6666 Tarot, Temporary,6868Cuddle, Cuddle,6969Tripod, Tripod,7373Mumps, Mumps,7474Merchant, Merchant,7676Disapprove, Disapprove,8181Chasten, Chasten,8282Scorch, Scorch,8383Uneasy, Uneasy,8484Menu, Menu, Temporary, Trident,8888Disconnect, Disconnect,9393Non-stop, Non-stop,9797Ramp, Ramp,9898Energy, Energy,9999Victim, Victim,100 100Leaches, Leaches,103 103Hybridised, Hybridised,104 104Obsidian, Obsidian,105 105 8585Trident, Tenor,108 108Polish, Polish,109 109Stores, Stores,111 111Pirouette, Pirouette,116 116Clear-cut, Clear-cut,117 117Cheeky, Cheeky,118 118Orderly, Orderly,122 122Pedigree, Pedigree,123 123Eclair, Eclair,124 124Iris, Iris, Tenor, 125Study, Study,126 126Remit, Remit,129 129Uphill Uphillstruggle, struggle,136 136Sabre, Sabre,139 139Scale, Scale,140 140Silo, Silo,141 141Comedy, Comedy,142 142Fearless, Fearless,145 145Steward, Steward,146 146 125 Bisect,147 147Riesling, Riesling,150 150Outspoken, Outspoken,152 152Prompt, Prompt,153 153Attire, Attire,157 157Decay, Decay,158 158Brooklyn, Brooklyn,160 160Obliterate, Obliterate,165 165Bizarre, Bizarre,166 166 Bisect, Acidic,167 167Erased, Erased,168 168Stag, Stag,169 169Alleged, Alleged,170 170Trespassed, Trespassed,171 171Selects.

Selects.

Acidic, DOWN:1 1Crypt, Crypt,2 2Airliner, Airliner,3 3Unlock, Unlock,4 4Inept, Inept,5 5Duet, Duet,6 6Chianti, Chianti,7 7Supine, Supine,8 8Voice, Voice,1010Item, Item,1111Tarnish, Tarnish,1212Ritual, Ritual,1717 DOWN: Flamboyant,1818Psalm, Psalm,2222Displays, Displays,2323Knead, Knead,2424Gourmet, Gourmet,2626Itch, Itch,2828Volcano, Volcano,2929Clinic, Clinic,3030Kidnap, Kidnap,3131Repast, Repast,3333Tiger, Tiger, Flamboyant, Raise,3636Agar, Agar,3737Taxi, Taxi,4343Avenue, Avenue,4444Opium, Opium,4646Lair, Lair,4747Unclear, Unclear,4848Tickle, Tickle,4949Ounce, Ounce,5050Homicide, Homicide,5151Accrue, Accrue,5252 3535Raise, Photograph,5353Song, Song,5454Suspend, Suspend,5959Erupt, Erupt,6060Oral, Oral,6464Greet, Greet,6565Opponent, Opponent,6767Exposed, Exposed,6868Catch Catchon, on,7070Author, Author,7171 Photograph, Fabric,7272Parson, Parson,7575Cacti, Cacti,7777Inept, Inept,7878Equip, Equip,7979Neon, Neon,8080Pure, Pure,8585Torch, Torch,8686Immobile, Immobile,8787Tennis, Tennis,8888Dirge, Dirge,8989Styx, Styx, Fabric, Obvious,9191Nicest, Nicest,9292Child, Child,9494Owed, Owed,9595Sickest, Sickest,9696Oregon, Oregon,101 101First Firstlight, light,102 102Carob, Carob,106 106Critical, Critical,107 107Ferry, Ferry,108 108 9090Obvious, Prosper,110 110Tack, Tack,112 112Inkling, Inkling,113 113Gateau, Gateau,114 114Terror, Terror,115 115Glider, Glider,117 117Crass, Crass,119 119Extra, Extra,120 120Edam, Edam,121 121Mill, Mill,127 127Excite, Excite, Prosper, 128In-law, In-law,130 130Pail, Pail,131 131Idolise, Idolise,132 132Locket, Locket,133 133Tempt, Tempt,134 134Underdog, Underdog,135 135Evenly, Evenly,136 136Strengthen, Strengthen,137 137Brew, Brew,138 138 128 Essence,143 143Brass, Brass,144 144Keep, Keep,148 148Worry, Worry,149 149Gigantic, Gigantic,151 151Unaware, Unaware,152 152Panacea, Panacea,154 154Serial, Serial,155 155Eludes, Eludes,156 156Biceps, Biceps, Essence, 159Occur, Occur,161 161Bland, Bland,162 162Edges, Edges,163 163True, True,164 164Lens.

Lens.

159

Holiday Crossword Crossword Holiday

11

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RAUMATI RUNARUNA: SUMMER LEISURE I Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019 98

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9. Seen on all sunscreen bottles, what does the term SPF stand for?

142duo had a hit in 1978 with 10. Which “Summer Nights?”

144 11. What is unique about the summer solstice?

149 12. Complete the song title: “Summer _________” by Seals and Crofts.

153 13. What is an “Indian Summer”?

156 the filling in a Summer 14. What forms Pudding?

160 161 162

167

CLASSIFIEDS

15. What are referred to as “The Dog Days of Summer”?

16. What year was officially New Zealand’s hottest summer on record?

17. What are the main summer attractions for both tourists and locals in NZ? 18. When does Wellington’s Summer City kick off, and how long does it run for?

19. What dates is the Otaki Kite Festival on in 2020?

20. When does daylight saving end in 2020?

21. It’s the Summer Concert Tours 10th anniversary in January 2020. Who are two of the five internationals artists lined up to entertain?

22. What is the Māori name for summer?

171

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Ōtaki River entrance tides December 12, 2019 - January 15, 2020 metservice.com/marine-surf/tides/otaki-river-entrance

THU 12 DEC FRI 13 DEC SAT 14 DEC SUN 15 DEC MON 16 DEC TUE 17 DEC WED 18 DEC THU 19 DEC FRI 20 DEC SAT 21 DEC SUN 22 DEC MON 23 DEC

HIGH - - - - 00:45 01:35 02:30 03:30 04:34 05:42 - -

LOW 04:09 04:49 05:30 06:13 06:58 07:47 08:41 09:41 10:48 11:58 00:33 01:34

HIGH 10:20 10:59 11:40 12:23 13:10 14:02 14:59 16:02 17:08 18:13 06:50 07:53

LOW 16:31 17:12 17:55 18:42 19:32 20:25 21:23 22:24 23:28 - 13:05 14:06

HIGH 22:31 23:13 23:57 19:16 20:14

TUE 24 DEC WED 25 DEC THU 26 DEC FRI 27 DEC SAT 28 DEC SUN 29 DEC MON 30 DEC TUE 31 DEC WED 01 JAN THU 02 JAN FRI 03 JAN SAT 04 JAN

HIGH - - - - - 00:05 00:45 01:24 02:06 02:51 03:40 04:36

LOW 02:31 03:22 04:10 04:53 05:35 06:14 06:53 07:32 08:13 08:57 09:49 10:47

HIGH 08:48 09:37 10:22 11:04 11:43 12:22 13:00 13:40 14:23 15:11 16:03 17:00

LOW 15:00 15:49 16:35 17:18 18:00 18:41 19:21 20:02 20:46 21:33 22:25 23:21

HIGH 21:07 21:55 22:41 23:24 -

SUN 05 JAN MON 06 JAN TUE 07 JAN WED 08 JAN THU 09 JAN FRI 10 JAN SAT 11 JAN SUN 12 JAN MON 13 JAN TUE 14 JAN WED 15 JAN

HIGH 05:38 - - - - - - - - 00:35 01:24

LOW 11:51 00:20 01:19 02:13 03:02 03:48 04:32 05:16 06:01 06:46 07:34

HIGH 17:58 06:41 07:40 08:31 09:17 10:01 10:44 11:27 12:12 12:59 13:48

LOW - 12:54 13:50 14:41 15:27 16:13 16:58 17:43 18:30 19:18 20:09

HIGH 18:55 19:50 20:40 21:28 22:15 23:02 23:48 -

Please note: The actual timing of high and low tide may differ from that provided here by LINZ. Times are extrapolated from the nearest primary port for this location, so please take care.

Car C

9 Rimu Street Otaki R Car Care R Collision Repair R Paint Work 3 Collis

ANTI ANTS

168

SOLUTION

GIANT CROSSWORD ANSWERS

s (4)

112

170

story (6) ip (6) s (6)

(5)

107

164 166

y (5)

(7)

105

ACROSS: 1 Chateau, 4 Indecisive, 9 Mixture, 13 Yarn, 14 Fleece, 15 Impair, 16 Regrets, 19 Triplicate, 20 Nonsense, 21 Rival, 24 Gleams, 25 Bikini, 27 Avalanche, 32 Foolscap, 33 Trifle, 34 Harrier, 38 Migraine, 39 Margin, 40 Ajar, 41 Sitar, 42 Tarot, 45 Claustrophobia, 52 Pests, 55 Relic, 56 Zinc, 57 Cinema, 58 Accounts, 61 Summary, 62 Svelte, 63 Corduroy, 66 Temporary, 68 Cuddle, 69 Tripod, 73 Mumps, 74 Merchant, 76 Disapprove, 81 Chasten, 82 Scorch, 83 Uneasy, 84 Menu, 85 Trident, 88 Disconnect, 93 Non-stop, 97 Ramp, 98 Energy, 99 Victim, 100 Leaches, 103 Hybridised, 104 Obsidian, 105 Tenor, 108 Polish, 109 Stores, 111 Pirouette, 116 Clear-cut, 117 Cheeky, 118 Orderly, 122 Pedigree, 123 Eclair, 124 Iris, 125 Study, 126 Remit, 129 Uphill struggle, 136 Sabre, 139 Scale, 140 Silo, 141 Comedy, 142 Fearless, 145 Steward, 146 Bisect, 147 Riesling, 150 Outspoken, 152 Prompt, 153 Attire, 157 Decay, 158 Brooklyn, 160 Obliterate, 165 Bizarre, 166 Acidic, 167 Erased, 168 Stag, 169 Alleged, 170 Trespassed, 171 Selects.

DOWN: 1 Crypt, 2 Airliner, 3 Unlock, 4 Inept, 5 Duet, 6 Chianti, 7 Supine, 8 Voice, 10 Item, 11 Tarnish, 12 Ritual, 17 Flamboyant, 18 Psalm, 22 Displays, 23 Knead, 24 Gourmet, 26 Itch, 28 Volcano, 29 Clinic, 30 Kidnap, 31 Repast, 33 Tiger, 35 Raise, 36 Agar, 37 Taxi, 43 Avenue, 44 Opium, 46 Lair, 47 Unclear, 48 Tickle, 49 Ounce, 50 Homicide, 51 Accrue, 52 Photograph, 53 Song, 54 Suspend, 59 Erupt, 60 Oral, 64 Greet, 65 Opponent, 67 Exposed, 68 Catch on, 70 Author, 71 Fabric, 72 Parson, 75 Cacti, 77 Inept, 78 Equip, 79 Neon, 80 Pure, 85 Torch, 86 Immobile, 87 Tennis, 88 Dirge, 89 Styx, 90 Obvious, 91 Nicest, 92 Child, 94 Owed, 95 Sickest, 96 Oregon, 101 First light, 102 Carob, 106 Critical, 107 Ferry, 108 Prosper, 110 Tack, 112 Inkling, 113 Gateau, 114 Terror, 115 Glider, 117 Crass, 119 Extra, 120 Edam, 121 Mill, 127 Excite, 128 In-law, 130 Pail, 131 Idolise, 132 Locket, 133 Tempt, 134 Underdog, 135 Evenly, 136 Strengthen, 137 Brew, 138 Essence, 143 Brass, 144 Keep, 148 Worry, 149 Gigantic, 151 Unaware, 152 Panacea, 154 Serial, 155 Eludes, 156 Biceps, 159 Occur, 161 Bland, 162 Edges, 163 True, 164 Lens.

1

104 1. Of these “summer-time” smells which one do social106 researchers say is most 109 often found to stimulate pleasant 111 110 memories in human beings? a.113 coconut b. cut grass c. chlorine d. 114 charred hamburger 117 2. The summer solstice occurs in the Southern Hemisphere during which 123 month?

3. What was the first name of Clegg in the sitcom Last of the Summer Wine?

130I compare 131 thee132 133 134 4.129 ‘Shall to a summer’s day’ is the first line of which William Shakespeare sonnet?

141 5.140 Who met and fell in love with Marge 143 Bouvier in a 1974 summer camp?

6. Which singer was known as the ‘Queen147 146 of Disco’?

7. ‘In 148 the Summertime’ was a debut single and big hit for which British rock152 band?

8. In the famous nursery rhyme what did the Queen of Hearts155 make ‘all on a summer’s day’?

158 159

QUIZ ANSWERS 1. cut grass 2. October 3. Norman 4. Sonnet 18 5. Homer Simpson 6. Donna Summer 7. Mungo Jerry 8. Some tarts 9. Sun protection factor 10. John Travolta and Olivia Newton John 11. It is the longest day. 12. Breeze 13. A period of above normal temperatures in the autumn usually after there has been a frost. 14. Fresh fruit, usually summer berries. 15. The hottest, most sultry days of the summer 16. The summer of 2017-18 17. Hiking trails, beaches, lakes, or anything else that has to do with water 18. At New Year, and runs for three months. 19. February 8-9. 20. April 4, 2020. 21. Billy Idol, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Anastacia, Creedence Clearwater Revisited And Smash Mouth. 22. Raumati.

8

100

102 HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW SUMMER? FIND OUT WITH OUR FUN QUIZ.

101

6

whika/page 31

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Ōtaki Today, Tihema/December 2019

whika/page 32

TĀKARO: SPORT

Cheers to local kids winning it all

Paige Housiaux, who’s in the Central Development squad.

Photos supplied

Déjà and Kaylah McGee, who are part of the Kåpiti-based Kittyhawks that has won every competition this year.

Swim club Titans proving popular Kāpiti Swimming Club has renamed and rebranded to create the Ōtaki Titans club for children wanting to learn to swim.

The club is already proving popular after some promising competition results.

The Titans, under coach Seuga Frost, won the highest personal best section at a recent swimming competition at the Coastlands Aquatic Centre in Paraparaumu.

The club has new members that bring new parents willing to put

their hand up to support the coaches and children who swim for both fun and competition.

The club caters for children at all levels of capability, with training under various age groups on different evenings of the week at the Haruātai pool in Ōtaki.

Parent and committee member Kylie Gardner says the membership numbers are encouraging.

“We’ve got good numbers already, but if anyone is interested in enrolling their children, they should

Order your ŌtakiT

get in touch with Seuga,” Kylie says.

“The kids are enjoying it and we’re always looking for new members.”

Kylie says the club’s competitive swimmers have been training “extra hard” in the past few weeks as they prepare for the Wellington junior championships for ages 12 and under.

“This is a big competition that the kids have worked hard for all year to get the competitive times that enables them to enter the Wellington meet.”

Ōtaki girls Déjà and Kaylah McGee have a great future as cheerleaders if their recent success is anything to go by.

The sisters, aged 9 and 7 respectively, are in the level 1 Kittyhawks team, part of the Kāpiti-based All Star Victory. In competitions this year, the team has been unbeaten.

Their first placings include: Battle in the Bay championship at Tauranga on August 4; Olympia (Auckland) championship on August 17-18; Ministry of Cheer (Wellington) on August 25; Spring Carnival (Auckland) on September14; and the National Championships in Auckland) on September 16-17.

At the Nationals, the Kittyhawks not only won their division, but were placed second overall after the scores were tallied for all teams in all age groups.

Deja and Kaylah’s mother, Bronwyn Doar, says the girls have been doing cheerleading for two years.

“The championships are usually from August to November, but they train all year,” Bronwyn says. “They put a lot into it, with two-hour training sessions at Paraparaumu twice a week.”

Like many aspiring athletes, the girls are aiming for the World Cheerleading Championships.

The sport runs in the family, with Bronwyn having coached and cheered for 10 years. She was in the original Team NZ team and competed at the World Champs in the United States (twice) and Australia (three times).

Meanwhile, another local girl, Paige Housiaux, 13, has been named in the New Zealand Central Development cheerleading squad.

Paige was recently elevated to the top level 4 elite team, the Blackhawks, up from the level 2 Spitfires team. She has been cheerleading for the past seven years.

Cheerleading is a sport that builds strength, co-ordination and flexibility in a team environment. While cheerleaders in some other countries, particularly the United States, cheer for a sports team to motivate them to provide crowd entertainment, in New Zealand it’s become a highly competitive sport, with hundreds of participants and competitions being held regularly throughout the country.

Often complex and aerobatic routines typically range anywhere from one to three minutes, and contain components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers and stunts.

“It’s probably easiest to describe it as incorporating both dance and gymnastics,” Bronwyn says.

Cheerleading originated in the United States, and remains predominantly in America, with an estimated 1.5 million participants in all-star cheerleading.

Wikipedia says the global presentation of cheerleading was led by the 1997 broadcast of ESPN’s international cheerleading competition, and the worldwide release of the 2000 film Bring It On. Due in part to this exposure, an estimated 100,000 participants are scattered throughout the world in Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

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