A photo from a new book being launched in Kerikeri today shows a wānanga participant preparing a dead kiwi for pelting. Photo / Jenny Gillam
A book due to be launched in Kerikeri today traces the relationship between an iwi and the Department of Conservation built on the use of kiwi feathers in traditional cloak making.
Northland, and the Bay of Islands in particular, has one of the highest kiwi populations in the country.
Sadly, it also has a high number of kiwi deaths due to dog attacks and vehicles.
Six kiwi were killed by dogs on Hansen Rd, Purerua Peninsula, in February 2018 and eight on Wharau Rd in Kerikeri in mid-2015. In the Rangitane-Opito Bay area of Kerikeri seven kiwi were killed by cars in 2019 alone.
Dead kiwi handed in by members of the public are held in DoC's freezers, which is where they stayed until Hugh Rihari of the hapū Ngāti Torehina ki Matakā got involved.
Now the birds are passed on to the hapū's wāhine, who carry out the customary practice of pelting and use their feathers for weaving.
Pelting expert Raewyn Ormsby-Rihari said this form of Māori women's cultural expression was in serious decline until the 1950s when a concerted effort was made to preserve it.
''We teach wāhine so that they can take the mātauranga (knowledge) back to their marae and teach their wāhine, ensuring the mātauranga is not lost,'' she said.
''Teaching wāhine is a form of empowerment. It can contribute to the empowerment of the whole hapū. Becoming involved in this kaupapa has been a way of giving back, passing on the knowledge we feel lucky to have been taught.''
While the women were saddened by the birds' deaths they knew their beauty would live on in cloaks which would enhance the mana of those privileged enough to wear them, she said.
A photographer with family connections to Ngāti Torehina, Jenny Gillam, was invited to document a wānanga (workshop) in which women learnt the art of pelting kiwi.
The Massey University art lecturer's images have now been published in a new book, 'Te Manu Huna a Tāne (The Hidden Bird of Tāne)', which captures the bird's beauty and the respect shown throughout the pelting process.
The book is published by Massey University Press and includes essays by Ormsby-Rihari, Hugh and Raewyn Rihari, senior DoC ranger Rolien Elliot, and weaver Toi Te Rito Maihi. It will be launched at Woodlands Motel in Kerikeri from 5.30pm today.
The Covid-19 pandemic which has stranded travellers all over the world also forced a travelling circus to drop anchor off Russell during the lockdown.
The 21-metre ketch Rosalie Clare usually sails the Pacific under the banner of the not-for-profit group Sea StewardShip. The charity offers workshops at remote island locations in sustainable living and ''coral gardening'', which aims to protect reefs from the effects of climate change.
With closed borders putting a stop to the vessel's international travels, the 10-member crew have reinvented themselves as a sailing circus called Cirque Lemuria, performing aerial silks, chair stacking, balancing acts, juggling, fire spinning, bubble mastery, acrobatics and more.
Their shows weave a tale about a group of visitors from Lemuria who warn humans about being careless with their planet and the consequences that may follow.
While the crew could have been stranded in much worse places than Russell, even a 21m vessel didn't offer a lot of space for practising circus tricks when the crew found themselves with unexpected time on their hands.
That's where Lucy Best, owner of the Duke Tavern in Russell, came in. Best offered the troupe her currently disused garden bar as a practice venue and in return they put on a show at the tavern on Sunday afternoon for koha entry.
The ketch, and its on-board circus, are now on their way to Whangārei. The performers hail from New Zealand, Australia, Spain, France, the Netherlands and Lithuania.
Kerikeri's David Crewe has been appointed the new executive chairman of the Turner Centre.
The ex-journalist, business owner and playwright has been a director of the performing arts centre for the past two years, and also knows the venue well from his role as artistic director of The Stage Door theatre company.
Crewe has stepped down from his role as a director of regional economic development agency Northland Inc to focus on his new appointment.
He replaces John Law, who has chaired the Turner Centre board for the past five years.
"The Turner Centre is an important asset that contributes in many ways to the well-being of the community," Law said.
"I am delighted that David accepted our proposal for him to take the chair with a more hands-on role. The Centre faces many challenges both financial and physical, and I know David will have the full support of the Board in taking on this task."
Financial difficulties caused by the Covid-19 crisis earlier forced the board to end the employment of general manager Melanie Chandler-Winters, who has served the Turner Centre since 2015.
Kerikeri dairy farmer turned rocker Merv Pinny has released a new single about the joy of reconnection after lockdown.
Simply called 'I', the upbeat track was released on May 29 via the usual online channels.
The quirky video was shot in Kerikeri with lots of restrictions, no money but plenty of time and the help of actors from The Stage Door theatre company.
Pinny has also released an acoustic version of his 2018 single 'I Feel Like a Prisoner;.
The track seemed strangely appropriate during the Covid-19 lockdown so he recorded a solo version from his lounge room during level 4 and posted it up on Facebook.
The new version proved so popular with fans he released it as a single on June 5.
Although not well known in New Zealand beyond Kerikeri, Pinny is big on college radio in the US and has had a number one single in South Africa.
Kerikeri author Graham Bathgate is collecting wine stories for a book due to be published later this year.
Wine-related submissions must be previously unpublished and up to 2500 words in any style or form, including essays, fiction, creative non-fiction, humour, real-life stories, even poems or vignettes.
Go to www.finelinepress.co.nz for more information about Fine Line Press; email wine stories to g.bathgate26@gmail.com by August 30.
Former Springbank student Bridget Thackwray, of Mahinepua, returned to her old school late last month to talk about her adventures travelling the world in a Jeep named Gunther.
Years 7-13 students heard now Thackwray, 25, and her partner, Topher Richwhite, 33, plan to visit all seven continents and drive 350,000km.
The pair were just beginning the third leg of their journey, which will take them through Scandinavia, Russia, Central Asia, China, India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Australia back to New Zealand, when the Covid-19 pandemic forced them to retreat home.
They spoke to students about what they'd seen and who they'd met so far, and gave enterprise students insights into the world of being a social influencer and how to run a business, create a brand, and use various media platforms and contacts to bring exposure.
Go to www.expeditionearth.live or search expeditionearth.live on Instagram to follow their journey.
Entries are now open for New Zealand's biggest yacht race, the 38th PIC Coastal Classic from Auckland to Russell.
The 119-nautical-mile race will start at Devonport wharf on the morning of October 23, the Friday of Labour Weekend, with the first boats usually arriving in the Bay of Islands by late afternoon.
Last year Beau Geste, a Hong Kong-owned mod 70 trimaran, led the fleet of 175 yachts to set a new race record of 5h 0m 37s. Thanks to favourable conditions all boats finished in less than 20 hours.
Go to www.coastalclassic.co.nz for more information.
■ Email peter.degraaf@nzme.co.nz if you have a news item for Bay News.
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