Historian and author Greg Philpott at the launch of his first book, the Artworks of Opua. Photo / Sandy Myhre
According to author Greg Philpott, his new book was definitely a labour of love. It was launched last week at the Opua Cruising Club.
Artworks of Opua includes a short history of the area and features 45 artworks, all depicting various aspects of the small seaside town throughout the ages going back to the early 1800s.
Philpott believes Opua is under-recognised, often only thought of as the place from which to catch the car ferry to Russell. But with an award-winning marina facility, a Customs and Immigration office and a burgeoning marine service centre, the drive-through tag is rapidly disappearing.
"Other emerging Opua gems include being the eastern end of Pou Herenga Tai, the Twin Coast Cycle Trail, and the development of the new Opua terminus for the Bay of Islands railway," he said.
The front cover features the artwork sited at the confluence of Franklin, Paihia and English Bay Rds which is the junction leading to the car ferry and the marina. The back cover is a detailed painting by the late Doug Horman, an Australian who became heavily involved in the local community, particularly with the vintage railway.
Philpott originally thought he would have to get the book designed and printed in China or Korea but in the end, he opted to buy local.
Artworks of Opua was edited by Marla Fergusson, who is the daughter-in-law of Adele Earnshaw, one of the featured local artists. Production and pre-press are by Benefitz from Auckland and the designer was Stephen Horsley from Outline Design.
Artworks of Opua can be purchased through gregphilpott@xtra.co.nz.
The Springbank School market day that was held on October 18 forms part of the region's Young Enterprise Scheme (YES).
It's designed to test students' business knowledge and entrepreneurial skills as a business model and to give students the chance to make a palpable profit. There were 58 stalls this year and more than $6000 was raised in total, 25 per cent of which went to the local community.
Year 9 students used the day to raise money for community projects that included building a vegetable garden for the Kerikeri Retirement Village, building a drop jump at the Waitangi Mountain Bike Park, buying traps for Puketotara Trapping and making dog soaps for NZ Guide Dogs.
The annual Market Day at Springbank School has been running for more than 15 years. Gary Larkan, Northland's YES regional co-ordinator, was this year's judge.
The annual show run by the Russell Gardening Club is celebrating its 73rd anniversary this year arguably making it one of the oldest in the Bay of Islands, if not the Far North.
The show is well supported by the local community. Last year there were 400 entries in a massive 99 different categories and organisers expect the same number this year.
Russell School's traditional involvement takes the total number of entries up to nearly 1000.
The Russell Flower Show is held in the town hall and the village green on the waterfront on Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7. Public admission is free and koha is welcomed.
Club member Margaret Pasco said between $2000 and $3000 is raised each year and donated to Russell Pre-school, Russell School and various charities in the historic town.
Spring has sprung and a well-established hardy annual is the Kerikeri Garden Safari, which this year celebrates 33 years of locals opening their gardens to horticultural excursionists.
The two-day event takes place on Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1. It is organised and run by Kerikeri Rotary Club members, supported by Friends of the Rotary Club and raises funds for the local community and youth development projects.
One Pakaraka woman who opened her garden to visitors said she was "astonished" at the number of people who came.
"About 100 people arrived over two days which was satisfying and a bit scary at the same time, but one really neat thing was the number of children asking questions about plants and being genuinely interested," she said.
Tickets are $30, which covers entry to all 17 addresses. Oakridge Villas, a retirement complex, has 40 small gardens on show. A brochure gives full details of all gardens and with a chance to go into a prize draw.
Fore more information: gardensafari.co.nz
The Kerikeri office of New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) has closed. There will no longer be a physical office representing the Advocate, the Northland Age and NZME. It's the end of an era.
For many years the newspaper office (APN News & Media) was in the Hub Mall and at its peak had six staff - three journalists, two Far North advertising sales representatives - occasionally supplemented by representatives from Whangārei - and a receptionist who doubled as a graphic designer.
In 2013 the office was moved to the first floor above the Scullery in Fairway Dr. One journalist was relinquished when Focus magazine ceased publication in 2016.
Longtime Kerikeri journalist Peter de Graaf has remained the sole writer in the office since then.
The last Kerikeri-based sales representative at that office left in 2019. Advertising is handled by representatives from the Whangārei office.
To contact writers based in the Bay of Islands:
Peter de Graaf (News): Peter.deGraaf@nzme.co.nz 021 516 468
Jenny Ling (Features): jenny.ling@nzme.co.nz 027 272 0801
Sandy Myhre (Bay News) mywordmedia@yahoo.com 027 667 8591
David Fisher (NZ Herald) david.fisher@nzherald.co.nz .
For advertising inquiries:
Jan Hewitt for display advertising – 021 355 246
Sarita Parker for classified – 021 434 881
Nature's Lens
An exhibition of Heather Randerson's digital work in Milford Sound will be accompanied by 3D work by Lindsay Antrobus Evans and new photography by Marg Morrow.
The exhibition opens on Saturday, October 31 at 11am, Village Arts Gallery, Kohukohu, Hokianga. Email gallery@villagearts.co.nz for more information.
Kayak workshop
A free kayak safety workshop will be held at Waitangi on Saturday, November 7. Run by the Kiwi Association of Sea Kayakers, it is designed for all kayaks and paddle craft and caters to all ages.
Similar workshops are being held throughout the country and the initiative is supported by the Safer Boating Forum. Bookings are essential. Contact Lynnis Burson, ph 021 041 5753 or email lynnisburson@hotmail.com.
• Email Sandy Myhre at mywordmedia@yahoo.com if you have any news you'd like to see in Bay News.
One person died at the scene of a vehicle crash at Horeke, on Saturday morning.