Gardening enthusiasts inspect Whangaroa Community Garden in Kaeo, which is about to be brought back to life. Photo / supplied
Kaeo residents are hoping to breathe new life into a defunct community garden in a bid to promote horticulture and improve food security.
A dozen green-thumbed locals gathered at the century-old, 1000sq m garden last Thursday to find out about the plans.
The garden is located on Whangaroa Health Services grounds, off Omaunu Rd, and will be open to the public in mid-August.
The project to reinvigorate the garden has already attracted funding from Mahitahi Hauora Kai Ora as well as interest from NorthTec and Te Rūnanga o Whaingaroa community initiative Tupu Tahi.
Tupu Tahi was seeded from insights gathered by Healthy Families Far North which highlighted problems with existing food supply networks and getting food to the Far North families during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Paul Condron, of Healthy Families Far North, said he was excited by the garden's potential.
"The Tupu Tahi initiative aims to grow knowledge and enthusiasm for food horticulture among Far North communities by utilising western and Māori gardening systems such as the maramataka [the Māori lunar calendar] and to direct quality calories from the existing food supply chain towards the tables and kitchens of priority families."
Healthy Families Far North is part of a Ministry of Health initiative which seeks locally driven solutions and uses a te ao Māori lens.
Community gardens such as the one at Whangaroa Health Services, and the promotion of home-based food production, is only a part of Healthy Families Far North's work.
If you want to get involved with the Whangaroa Community Garden email Rachel Palmer at rachel@whst.org.nz or Paul Condron on paul@whaingaroa.iwi.nz.
High demand for tickets to Kerikeri's first classical concert since the Covid-19 lockdown has prompted organisers to shift the event into the Turner Centre's main auditorium.
That means anyone who previously missed out has a second chance to get tickets for tomorrow night's concert by Vesa and Friends, six principal members of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra who will play the music of Beethoven and Mozart.
The group is led by Finnish-born Vesa-Matti Leppanen (violin), the orchestra's concertmaster since 2008.
Tickets are available from www.turnercentre.co.nz or at the door; the show starts at 7pm. The concert is organised by Kerikeri's Aroha Music Society.
Former Far North Mayor Wayne Brown is holding a public meeting in Kerikeri next week about a proposal to shift Auckland's port to Northland.
Brown, who chaired the Upper North Island Supply Chain Study that recommended the move, said people kept asking him about the proposal so he decided to hold the meeting to share what he knew.
"It's the biggest thing that could happen to Northland."
The event will take place on July 22 from 5.30pm at the Cornerstone Church, on the corner of Kerikeri Rd and the Heritage Bypass.
It was originally scheduled to take place on July 21 but has been shifted due to clash of bookings.
The meeting has gained even more relevance since the Government released a second report last week calling for the port to be shifted to the barely navigable Manukau Harbour instead.
A chance find on a Bay of Islands beach has shed light on colonial New Zealand's economy.
A tradesman's token — an unofficial coin minted for an Auckland ironmonger and trader — was found by William Edwards, 11, of Kerikeri, while out on a post-lockdown stroll at Whangaruru with his dad Bill.
Bill Edwards, who happens to be the Northland manager for Heritage New Zealand, immediately identified the mysterious coin as a relic from New Zealand's early trading past.
"The token has a value of one penny stamped on it, and bears the inscription S.Hague Smith Merchant Auckland Ironmonger on one side, with a likeness of Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, on the other," he said.
"We know Samuel Smith arrived in Auckland in 1859 and established himself as an ironmonger and ship owner there, so the coin must date from around that time. We also know that a small trading post operated nearby, so it makes sense to assume that the token was connected with that."
British coinage was made legal tender in New Zealand 1858 and New Zealand's Colonial Government did not have the authority to strike its own coins. However, low denomination coins were in short supply so an alternative was needed.
"Some business owners kept accounts for their customers and tried to get around the shortage of loose change by offering credit while others gave change in the form of postage stamps and matches," he says.
"Other entrepreneurs, like Hague Smith for example, developed their own 'currency', tokens usually valued in penny or half penny denominations that could be redeemed at their outlets."
The tokens encouraged people to return to the store. Customers, however, were frustrated by the fact that they couldn't use them in other stores. And if the business failed, the token became worthless.
"Although tokens were never legal tender, they were an important part of the economy. According to Te Papa, in 1874 half of the copper coins circulating in New Zealand were tradesmen's tokens," Edwards said.
Almost 60 traders in New Zealand issued their own tokens between 1857 and 1881 but use of tradesmen's tokens declined after 1876 when a large supply of imperial coinage became available. Tokens were phased out in the 1880s.
The token was literally lying on the sand waiting for someone to pick it up.
"We didn't dig for it, which is important to note, as under the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act it is illegal to undertake earthworks which could destroy an archaeological site without an archaeological authority."
"As an archaeologist, I know the importance of context when an artefact is found — understanding how it sits within an archaeological site can provide us with all sorts of information. The coin was a one-off find, however, with no archaeological context at all, so in this case it was fine for us to pick it up."
Given the local connection to Whangaruru, William was happy to offer his find to Russell Museum for their collection.
■ Anyone who finds taonga tuturu (Māori cultural objects) on private or public land should take the object to their local museum, which will notify the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Go to mch.govt.nz/nz-identity-heritage/protected-objects/taongatuturu for more information.
Community group Love Ōpua is holding a working bee at the Top of the Hill picnic area and reserve from 9-11am this Saturday.
Volunteers are asked to bring secateurs, loppers, wheelbarrows, rakes and any other useful garden tools, as well as kai for a shared morning tea.
The picnic area is as the intersection of State Highway 11, Franklin St and English Bay Rd.
A hip-hop dance school which started in Kaikohe then Kerikeri is holding an open day at its new premises in Whangarei this weekend.
Demonstr8 Da Flow Dance Studio, at 31 Vine St, will offer free workshops with founder Alannah Curtis from 10.30am-5pm this Saturday along with guest performances by Tihema Riwai of 1814, Sharmel Cook and DDF's own Diva Crew. Free workshops will also be led by Josh Ceasan (at noon) and Indigo (2.30pm) of Identity Dance Company.
Go to facebook.com/ddfdance or www.ddfdance.com for more information.
• Email peter.degraaf@nzme.co.nz if you have any news you'd like to see in Bay News.
The latest news bites from around the region.