Revellers ham it up at last year’s Kerikeri Street Party.
On September 19, 1893, New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to grant women the right to vote. The occasion, 130 years later, was celebrated in Kerikeri last month.
About 20 women were present at a lunch organised by self-confessed feminist Anne-Maree Mills, who said she “just wanted to make the day an occasion to remember”.
Three women spoke to the brief “A woman in a man’s world”. They were Far North district councillor Felicity Foy, photographer Claire Gordon, and honorary president of Women’s World Car of the Year, Sandy Myhre.
Claire Gordon told of working within the male-oriented stockbroking profession in Britain. She had broken the glass ceiling and had made it into management.
“I got the contract and in it were the rules for what women should wear; jackets, nothing sleeveless, skirt, no trousers, so I got an Amani trouser suit and wore that the first day and several days thereafter,” she said.
Neither the Northland Regional Council nor the Far North District Council mentioned the day despite one of the five women depicted on the Kate Sheppard National Memorial in Christchurch being from Northland.
Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia (Te Rarawa) from the Hokianga was the first woman to speak in the Māori parliament. She advocated not only that women needed to vote, but to sit in the parliament as members.
The Ministry for Women acknowledged the occasion (perhaps predictably) with “korero and kai” in Wellington and it commissioned artist Vanessa Smith to develop a symbol that represented the milestone.
She hand-drew a camellia with 130 petals, one for each year. Suffragists gave white camellias to their supporters in 1893 to wear in parliament during the passing of the Electoral Act.
The United States celebrates Suffrage Day26 August 26. It’s sometimes called Women’s Equality Day and women there received the right to vote in 1920.
In a post to the White House website, President Joe Biden recognised the “pioneering suffragists who persisted through decades of struggle to finally win American women the right to vote”. He didn’t mention that New Zealand women were enfranchised a full 27 years earlier.
Entries for the PIC 2023 Coastal Classic yacht race closed last week and 146 boats and crews have committed so far with some dawdlers still trickling in.
The race is organised by the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club and is designed for speed. The exception is the beginning and the end of the race, but during the event there are few opportunities to use tactics to overtake. Success can often depend on getting a good tactical start for the gruelling 119 nautical mile (220km) race.
New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club spokesman Adrian Percival said with El Nino weather patterns in place, there is a “better-than-normal chance of fast downwind conditions”.
The Coastal Classic is the largest coastal yacht race in New Zealand and one of the biggest in the world. It started life 41 years ago as a drag race between Auckland and Russell for just a few boats, and over the years has attracted a bigger and more diverse fleet, ranging from grand prix racers to smaller family cruisers.
The race starts from off Devonport Wharf in Auckland on the morning of Friday, October 20, and finishes off Russell Wharf in the Bay of Islands. The sail up the coast is spectacular for the fleet, but wind and conditions can be changeable, which means fortunes can alter quickly.
In 2019, the giant trimaran Beau Geste completed the course in five hours, with Apache skippered by Russell’s Erle Williams just over two hours behind. The smallest boats took 24 hours and longer to finish.
In the past 14 years only two monohulls have taken line honours and last year’s winner, the monohull V5 skippered by Brian Petersen, is entered again for this year.
For those watching the race start from ashore, prime vantage points are Devonport Wharf, North Head, Ōrākei Wharf and the Russell foreshore for the finish, or online from the website, www.coastalclassic.co.nz
The popular Bay of Islands annual street party returns to Kerikeri town centre on Saturday, November 18.
Traditionally, it is held after the Kerikeri Half Marathon and the central shopping precinct is closed to traffic to accommodate the vineyards, breweries, food stalls and entertainment on show. Plus there are cafe owners, restaurateurs and artisan food trucks.
It is arguably the largest street party in New Zealand with over 4000 people attending.
This year, six Northland vineyards and three breweries are setting up shop at the street venue. A new addition is the Optimise Life Chiropractic Cocktail Bar featuring award-winning Black Collar Distillery products.
Entertainment includes top local cover bands, one of which is The Legacy Band that includes the antics of Dogfather who were a hit at last year’s event.
The Soundloungers will perform on the jazz-and-blues stage.
DJ VanDeBelle will bring his popular French house Eureogroove and funk mixes to what has been described as the “outrageously fun” Holy Roller DJ Zone.
Tickets to the event are $10 for 14 years and over (under-14s are free) if booked in advance from Eventfinda or the Sound Lounge. This includes the booking fee and a donation to local charities. Last year the event raised over $5000 for community projects.
Russell Gardening Club celebrates 75 years
One of Russell’s longest-standing community groups, Russell Gardening Club, celebrates its 75th jubilee this year.
It all began in 1948. Elsie Lindauer, wife of the local headmaster, convened a meeting of like-minded people interested in gardening. The local doctor, Vincent Tothill, was elected president, Marion King secretary and Elsie herself became treasurer.
The records of the club’s first 20 years are presumed lost in a fire at the home of the secretary at the time, Enid Mills. The surviving records from 1968 show a club that met monthly, initially at the school but later at the hall of Christ Church, the oldest working church in New Zealand.
A Garden Club Show was held for members that has morphed into the popular Russell Traditional Annual Flower Show held on the first weekend of November in the town hall.
Since 1974, there has been a strong emphasis on involving the local children with their art, baking and vegetable creations.
From humble beginnings, there are now 108 categories within the show including floral arrangements, cut flowers, trees, shrubs and climbers, roses, vegetables, fruit, pot plants, home-style preserves, baking, and crafts.
Trophies are awarded for each section and some of those date back many years. Proceeds from plant sales, koha, raffles and show entries are distributed to local charities just as they were 75 years ago.
The club still meets monthly, with the format basically unchanged since its inception. Speakers are invited to impart gardening expertise and members bring their best specimens of flowers, fruit and vegetables for other members to admire. Those keen to create floral arrangements follow the theme of the month.
What started as occasional trips out of Russell to visit other gardens has become a regular and popular feature of the club’s contemporary calendar.
The latest news bites from around the region.