The original mural by Helen Pick will be returned to the outside of the R Tucker Thompson whare where it will be seen by arriving sailors. Photo / Denis Orme
The original mural by Helen Pick will be returned to the outside of the R Tucker Thompson whare where it will be seen by arriving sailors. Photo / Denis Orme
A weekly round-up of news snippets, events and oddities from the Bay of Islands and around the Mid North
New home for R Tucker Thompson
Northland's youth sail training trust has a proper home for the first time in its 33-year history.
Since 1985 the R Tucker Thompson Sail Training Trust, which runs youth training voyages on the tall ship of the same name, has been based out of a storage shed at the end of Opua Wharf.
The shed, which originally housed a MAF incinerator, had no windows and measured just 70sq m. It had no office or meeting space and wasn't even big enough to carry out basic maintenance like varnishing the yards (the wooden spars at the bottom of the sails) indoors.
On September 23, however, the trust formally opened a replacement shed more than twice the size. It includes a workshop big enough for the longest spars, storage spaces, a laundry and provisioning area, a small galley, and an office space which can also be used for crew briefings.
The R Tucker Thompson tied up alongside the new shed. Photo / Denis Orme
Trust chair Jane Hindle said the new shed also offered a sheltered area to "meet, greet and manaaki [support]" families as they dropped off their children ahead of sailing voyages, instead of having to stand around in the rain.
The trust will lease the building from council-owned company Far North Holdings. The trust contributed $60,000 towards the $260,000 cost of the shed.
Hindle said Far North Holdings and builder John Patterson had done a great job of creating a building that was affordable for the trust.
"We've been trying to run 16 youth voyages a year out of a grotty little shed. This is the first decent home we've had in more than 30 years. It just feels amazing, we've actually got a home.''
A three-piece mural by artist Helen Pick, which was on the outside of the old shed, has been restored and will be returned to its original location where it will be the first thing sailors see as they arrive at Opua.
Kaumatua Wiremu Wiremu, Minister Chris Swannell and partner Michael Hooper, kaumatua William Cash and Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis during the opening ceremony. Photo / Denis Orme
The official opening was attended by about 100 people and led by Ngāti Manu kaumatua Arapeta Hamilton, whose association with the ship goes back 25 years. Recently ordained priest Chris Swannell and kaumatua William Cash blessed the new whare in English and Māori.
Tai Tokerau MP and Minister of Tourism Kelvin Davis spoke about the ship's role in developing the leadership skills of Northland youth while Russell Harris, who completed the traditional gaff-rigged schooner started by R Tucker Thompson, acknowledged those who had looked after the ship over the years, noting that about 40 skippers had started their careers on board.
Other speakers included Deputy Mayor Tania McInnes and retired Bishop Ben Te Haara.
Euthanasia debate in Kerikeri
The End of Life Choice Bill – a private member's bill put forward by Act Party leader David Seymour which would legalise voluntary euthanasia – will be debated at a public meeting in Kerikeri next Monday.
The debate will feature David Seymour arguing for the bill and Bay of Islands GP Chris Reid against. The event will be hosted by Northland MP Matt King and take place at the Turner Centre from 5.30pm on October 8.
Orchid and bromeliad show
The Bay of Islands Orchid Society and the Far North Bromeliad Group are banding together to host a Spring Show in Kerikeri this Friday and Saturday.
Lesley Rockell of Kerikeri with last year's champion orchid, a Paphiopedilum Debbie Robinson. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The show will feature plants grown for display and sale by enthusiasts from the Far North, Whangarei and Auckland. Many of the blooms are rare both in nature and cultivation. The doors at the Turner Centre Plaza will be open from 9.30am-4.30pm on Friday 5 and 9.30am-3.30pm on Saturday. Admission $4 for adults, free for children under 12 if accompanied by an adult.
Treaty Grounds holiday programme
A kids' programme in the second week of the school holidays will be themed around the latest exhibition at the Museum of Waitangi, called X-Marks: Conversations in Cloth. The show is an examination of historical and contemporary New Zealand textiles.
All sessions run from 10am-1pm and are held in Te Kongahu Museum of Waitangi Learning Centre. The themes are:
■ October 8: Flag it! Choose a New Zealand flag to re-create or create your own. ■ October 9: Stitch it up! Make your own cross-stitch creation. ■ October 10: Re-create it! Create your own mini tukutuku panel. ■ October 11: Piece it together! Create a fabric collage masterpiece. ■ October 12: Give it a go! Old-school French knitting.
Kerikeri's Jazz Club returns this Friday with a performance by Jazz Attack 4, a slimmed-down version of the Jazz Attack sextet founded in 2016 by Auckland bass player, composer and university music lecturer Olivier Holland. The Turner Centre Theatre Bar will open at 5pm; the music starts at 6pm. Entry $5 at the door.
This art is rubbish
The latest show at Village Arts Gallery in Kohukohu is quite literally a load of rubbish. Rubbish 2, which is described as "the transformation of used and waste materials into contemporary art", opens at 11am this Saturday and runs until November 3. The gallery is open daily from 10am-3pm.
Mixed-media at Kings Creative
The latest show at Kings Theatre Creative in Kawakawa features Northland mixed-media artists Carolyn Lye, Tui Slater and Helen Beech. Called 80:20 Open to Interpretation, the show opens at 6pm this Friday and runs until November 4. The gallery hours are 10am-4pm, Wednesday to Sunday.
This year's Kerikeri Quilters' exhibition will take place in the Kerikeri Primary School hall from tomorrow, October 4, until Saturday. The show will be open from 10am-4pm each day and will include displays of members' work, challenges and stalls.
Fly My Pretties in Paihia
Don't forget Fly My Pretties is headlining this Saturday's It! Bay of Islands Food and Wine Festival on Paihia's Village Green, along with award-winning Kerikeri singer-songwriter Troy Kingi and covers bands JPG and Automatic 80s.
If you're lucky there might still be tickets on eventfinda.co.nz or at the gate. The fun starts at 11am.
■ Do you have news or an upcoming event you'd like to see in this column? Send it to us, including your full contact details, to baynews@northernadvocate.co.nz
