Whaingaroa writer looks to lone island lifestyle for inspiration The prospect of eight weeks of isolation on brooding, bush-clad Kapiti Island with only the kaka for c o m p a n y Antonio Te Maioha doesnโt faze Raglan actor and writer Antonio Te Maioha. Truth is heโs actually looking forward to the โsolitarinessโ of it all โ โif there is such a wordโ, he adds.
And once ensconced on the northern end of the nature reserve, where Antonioโs headed early next month as Kapiti writer in residence, heโs been told heโll scarcely hear the distant hum of traffic from Paraparaumu Beach five kilometres across on the mainland. โI will really be able to get to know the place โฆ to listen to the island,โ says Antonio whoโs hoping the solitude will inspire him to create an as yet unplanned work. But heโs also got some projects on the go including a series of stories for children featuring two adventurous characters, Pango and Puki. Antonioโs keen to explore and โtake
inโ the island โ a world renowned, DOCadministered bird sanctuary โ to get the most out of his experience as the fourth Kapiti writer in residence.
It is the only residency in the country created and run by Maori โ the Tau mai e Kapiti โ for Maori writers. Recipients are funded by Creative New Zealand and hosted by Kaitiaki o Kapiti Trust which upholds the โspiritual powerโ of the island. As an emerging writer Antonio has been composing and performing poems, stories and waiata at events throughout the North Island. Just last week he was in Wellington as one of a number of poets and writers invited to Te Papa Museum for the opening of the Oceania exhibition. But the 41-year-old bilingual writer and performer is probably still best known as an actor thanks to his high-profile role recently as the gladiator Barca in US television series โSpartacusโ, and before that his appearances as Uncle Buddy in popular Kiwi soap โShortland Streetโ. He is also a familiar face as a copresenter on the Maori Television series โKiwi Maaraโ, a show which aims to revitalise Maori gardening practices. Antonio โ who has whakapapa and genealogical links in Raglan โ is excited at the prospect of this latest venture, although admits things are โa bit madโ
at the moment as he tries to organise his young family back here before taking up the residency. โBut what an amazing reward at the end of it,โ he says. He hopes something to be published might come out of the experience and, ideally, something self-perpetuating that can be โcrossed overโ into his performance work through the sustainability programme Enviroschools.
Meantime Whale Bay artist Jane Caird is about to take up an artistโs residency for six weeks in Fairlie near Canterburyโs Lake Tekapo, where she hopes to experience the southern mountains so often a feature of her work. The residency comes courtesy of the Dawson and Hall Gallery โ now in the process of being relocated nearby and renamed The Kimbell Garage Gallery โ which is run by Mackenzie Community Arts Council chairman Caley Hall. Jane, better known in Raglan as Miranda, is one of the galleryโs top-selling artists and will be selling her work from there fulltime come summer. She hopes to take lots of โresearch shotsโ to work from while snowboarding and living in the alpine environment which inspires her, she says.
โLyrical Land For Janisโ by Jane Caird
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Edith Symes
Community mourns for Noni Raglan Town Hall overflowed with mourners on Monday afternoon in a commemoration service for Noni Balinska who died last week after a year-long battle with illness.
College of Fashion โamong clothes,
โShe was a socialite and she loved to
favourite
The 42-year-old mother of two whoโd
dance and meet people,โ Charlie said. And
songs โ was
she had an โamazingโ smile.
sung by Martin
come from London with partner Dave
paintings, pastels and great artโ which led to a career in styling and the chance to travel abroad โ from the Maldives to the US.
illness struck. A poignant โHallelujahโ โ one of Noniโs
ten Broek and
Smith to make a home for their family in
Noni nursed Dave, or โSmithyโ as heโs
Raglan was a โtrue friendโ to many in the
called, back to life after a close shave with
community, said longtime local and former
death when a parapenting accident from
community worker Charlie Watson who
Wainui Reserve, close to five years ago,
delivered the eulogy in which he confessed
saw him plummet to the ground, leaving
hall decorated with flaxes and flowers, a
it โimpossibleโ to truly capture her spirit.
him with a serious head injury.
simple shrine surrounded by candlelight in
She was named Veronique by her Polish father and French mother, Charlie
The couple then rallied and built their rammed earth home in the country.
told the gathering, but shortened it to Noni
Despite the discovery of a brain tumour
herself as a child having difficulty getting
soon after, Noni fought on gallantly โand
her tongue round the full name. And as
showed a lot of people how to live in the
a young teenager, he said, she was her
momentโ.
motherโs greatest worry โ sneaking out her bedroom window to hit the London nightclubs. But by 17 Noni was at the London
The service was the second of its kind
a community choir.
Noni Balinska
The town
honour of her memory the focal point. Kaumatua Sean Ellison opened the ceremony while Catholic priest Father Aherne closed it. A stirring rendition of โAmazing Graceโ by piper Deirdre Bourne led mourners from the service. Edith Symes
in the town hall for Noni โ the first an informal community gathering offering comfort and prayers a year ago when
RAGLAN Chronicle 5