The core cast hamming it up for the theatrical production of Dakota of the White Flats. Photo / Andi Crown Photography
Red Leap Theatre is following up its successful adaptation of Owls Do Cry and will be touring the North Island with what it describes as an “in yer face” production.
Dakota Pink is 13, and apparently afraid of nothing. She lives in a bleak housing complex on the edge of a polluted canal, where abandoned supermarket trolleys litter the streets and the oil-slick water is filled with monstrous mutant eels.
Her best friend is Treacle and together they discover a secret that propels them across the water to the Broken Glass Fortress on Dog Island.
On the surface it appears a leap to get to Dakota of the White Flats but the title of the play is adapted from UK author Philip Ridley’s novel of the same name. He has written books for children and adults and is a playwright and director.
Red Leap artistic director Ella Becroft says Dakota of the White Flats takes the classic high-action adventure story, so often the dominion of a group of boys on bikes in the 1980s, and places it firmly in the capable hands of Dakota and Treacle.
“They hurl their way through life, they are ambitious, mean, loud little punks and while the story references the breakdown of community and the environment, it places hope in the courageous adventuring of young people.”
Taking the lead role of Dakota is Batanai Mashingaidze alongside Ariana Osborne, Lutz Hamm, Logan Cole and Amelia Rose Reynolds.
Four of the core cast went together to Toi Whakaari-New Zealand Drama School in Wellington. They all learned to play instruments for roles and formed a band during lockdown that led to an EP recording.
The set is designed by John Verryt, lighting is by Rachel Marlow and sound composition is from Eden Mulholland. Bookings: redleaptheatre.co.nz.
Whangarei: OneOneSix, May 18-20 May, 7.30pm daily with noon matinee May 18.
Kerikeri: May 24, Turner Centre, one show, 7.30pm.
First came the Williams family reunion in Paihia that is being held on the weekend. Next there will be a Davis family reunion, to be held in August 2024, again in Paihia.
Alex Rogers, one of the organisers, is keen to get as many Davis family descendants as possible to attend.
He is uncertain whether a prominent Davis family from the area that includes MP Kelvin Davis is a member of the whanau.
“I met Kelvin last year and asked him although neither of us were sure his family belonged to the Richard Davis family.”
The Rev Richard Davis and his wife, Mary Ann Davis, and their six children left Dorset, England, and arrived in Paihia on April 15, 1824. He was assigned to the New Zealand Christian Missionary Service and would go on to be one of the founding members of the Mission Station at Waimate North but with stints in Kaitaia and Kaikohe.
He attended to the dead at many of the early battles, he was present at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 and would later be recognised as one of our earliest meteorologists and botanists.
In 2016, Niwa climate scientist Dr Drew Lowrey discovered Richard Davis’ diaries, which contained two volumes of meticulous meteorological records. Davis is now generally credited with being New Zealand’s first meteorologist.
He was also an author. He wrote a memoir in 1865 subtitled For Thirty-Nine Years a Missionary in New Zealand, published by James Nisbet and Co, London.
Eight generations later there are now thousands of descendants of the Davis family around the country but particularly in Northland. Other prominent family names intersecting with the Davis family tree include Butt, Bedggood, Coney, Mathews, Rogers and Williams.
Another of the organisers is Sherilyn Coney. She and Alex Rogers are organising the Davis family gathering to be held on August 15-28, 2024, for all those with links to the family. Events include a reunion at Waitangi, services at the Mission Station at Waimate North and an exhibition of family artefacts.
For more information: facebook.com/Davis200th
A programme of events, exhibitions and legacy projects to commemorate 200 years since Henry and Marianne Williams arrived in Paihia gets underway on April 14.
There will be a dramatisation of the arrival featuring the R. Tucker Thompson, the gaff-rigged schooner that makes her home in Opua. She will be joined by waka from Te Tii Beach from about 1pm.
Descendants of the Williamses will join with mana whenua and the wider Paihia community to mark the bicentenary.
A free community event, called the Paihia 200 Festival, will take place on the Paihia Village Green from noon to 7pm. Featured will be music, arts and crafts, kapa haka, food stalls and the official launch of Ātea Nuku, or Timewalk Paihia.
Ātea Nuku is an experiential walk through Paihia’s history with interpretative signage, audio, video, animation and augmented reality. The historic journey brings you through time and place starting from the original Paihia Church Mission village and ending at Te Tii Marae, Waitangi.
The Friends of Williams House will present a new visitor experience during the bicentenary celebrations. The display tells the stories of the missionary (Henry Williams) and subsequent generations including their grandson, Canon Percy Williams, who built the house.
The Stone Shed, situated in the Williams House garden, is also open. It has been on the property since the 1850s and possibly as early as 1834. It is the oldest surviving building in Paihia.
The Paihia Business Association is encouraging shop owners to wear 1800s mission-style or Māori clothing, to offer special meals in restaurants, to serve specific beverages and to offer visitor discounts to guests who complete the Atea Nuku Timewalk or the coded digital history tour.
The Paihia 200 Festival continues throughout the year and includes a celebration of Matariki on July 14.
A small but hazardous sinkhole that emerged near Russell’s Tamati Waka Nene Reserve recently may not be archaeologically significant but it still represents part of the town’s rich history.
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Northland manager Bill Edwards recently investigated the unusual phenomenon after receiving notification that a hole in the ground had emerged near the entrance to the reserve.
“Initially, I thought the sinkhole might relate to recent heavy rain from Cyclone Gabrielle but given this is an archaeologically sensitive part of Russell, I wondered whether material buried decades ago might have become disturbed.”
He also wanted to check whether an old well had suddenly opened up as a result of the heavy rain. In the end, the cause of the 1.2m deep cavity was far more prosaic.
It was an old septic tank that had collasped causing the hole to open up, creating a major hazard for the unwary pedestrian.
“The septic tank was quite old and had been constructed from local beach gravel. There were also old bolts and other metal odds and ends that had been thrown into the mix in order to provide a bit of simple reinforcing for the tank,” he says.
“It’s likely that the tank had been built by a landowner for a seaside bach — possibly in the early 20th century.”
He says if you draw a longish bow, the cracked septic tank could be regarded as an under-appreciated example of Kiwiana. Heritage New Zealand has recommended the concrete tank be broken up and used, along with beach gravel, to fill the hole.
