Kerry Revell is the volunteer caretaker for Edmonds Ruins in Kerikeri. Photo / John O’Hare
Edmonds Ruins in Kerikeri are the remains of a homestead and farm built by the first European settler, John Edmonds and his sons, on Inlet Rd between 1840 and 1858, about the same time as the Stone Store.
The first part of the house was a gabled shingle roof over two rooms. Two other rooms were added, with a separate shingle gable roof and two dormer windows, and an annex was built separately to the west of the house.
The house burned down in 1885 but descendants continued to live on the property until the 1950s. The house is no longer visible but the drystone walls and other structures that surround the paddocks have lasted till the present day as an example of an early farm settlement.
It is an Historic Place Category 2 listed site administered by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. Lately, Kerry Revell from Kerikeri has been doing some voluntary remedial work on the property. He has a familial connection with the ruins on his mother’s side.
“My mother and grandmother lived in Inlet Rd and are connected to the Edmonds through the Strongman family and I am related to Kerry Strongman, the late master carver.”
Revell decided to become a caretaker, a role Heritage New Zealand welcomes. His wife died six months ago and he said he needed a project.
“It was so overgrown but I found the well and have cleared some of the graveyard where the Strongmans are buried.”
Revell has posted his endeavours on Facebook and several people have come out of the woodwork to lay claim to Edmonds kinship. One said his grandmother was an Edmonds who was born in Kerikeri in 1917 and “if the house was still standing then she would have spent some time there”.
Revell will continue his clean-up until there’s nothing more to do, and that may take some time.
The town of Kerikeri, as we know it today, evolved in the early 1930s as part of the Alderton Group Settlement Scheme. George Alderton was the founder of the Northern Advocate, turned real estate magnate.
An emerging market for Alderton’s land packages included British civil servants and other expats from China, India and wider Asia looking to settle and retire somewhere. Alderton’s agent in China was tasked with getting people interested in making the move to Kerikeri.
A lack of servants and a lack of electricity were identified by one China-based would-be immigrant as a potential deal-breaker, and so the Alderton Utility Co was born.
“A rudimentary electricity grid was developed providing sufficient power to settle the nerves of potential immigrants disturbed by the prospect of having to chop wood, cook and fetch water without the back-up of a team of domestics,” said Bill Edwards, New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Northland manager.
Perrin Williams was Alderton Utility Company’s sole employee and one of the only electricians living locally. He did all the wiring in the homes, supervised the erection of all the lines and was responsible for maintaining the generator down at the power station.
In the late 1930s, the Bay of Islands Electrical Power Board (BOIEPB) was formed and began supplying reticulated power to Kerikeri. The Alderton Utility Company was taken over and all the power it had produced was fed into the grid system. The Power Board also took the opportunity to move all the power lines on to the roadsides for ease of maintenance.
The infrastructure associated with Kerikeri’s earliest attempt at electrification can still be seen today as part of the track that runs from the historic Kerikeri Basin through to the Rainbow Falls.
Bill Edwards says it’s the perfect shady walk for a hot day “and a reminder that bringing power to the people isn’t always simple”.
Mark Mazengarb is a New Zealand-born guitarist who completed a degree in classical guitar performance before embarking on a seven-year stint touring the US with guitarist and singer Loren Barrigar.
He is versed in multiple styles, from bluegrass to Celtic and to gypsy jazz, and has performed with many other world-class musicians including Tommy Emmanuel. He can now add tour promoter to his impressive CV.
Mazengarb is performing at both the Turner Centre in Kerikeri and The Old Library in Whangārei with American singer Katie Martucci, who grew up singing and playing fiddle and guitar, calling on the rich musical history of the Catskill Mountains in New York State.
“I first saw Katie perform at a festival in the US and was so blown away by her voice and guitar playing that I convinced her to come to NZ in 2019,” Mazengarb said.
“The tour was a hit, and I am stoked to be able to bring her back to New Zealand to do it again.”
Martucci is the daughter of a jazz pianist and she began performing with her father at a young age. By first grade she was writing her own material and playing for tips.
Her musical journeys led her to a “fiddle and dance” camp, vocal lessons with Lauren Masse of Manhattan Transfer, a brief stint of collegiate acapella at Skidmore College and to the New England Conservatory. While at NEC she studied voice, fiddle and songwriting in the Contemporary Improvisation Department,
They will be joined for the Whangārei concert on Saturday, February 10 at 7.30pm by Jessica Hindin, a sought-after violinist from New Zealand. She is classically trained and has performed with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.
Mattucci and Mazengarb will perform together at the Turner Centre on Sunday, February 11, at 7pm.
There was a naval presence at Waitangi when the Treaty was first signed in 1840. Captain William Hobson was there as consul for the British Crown.
Aside from the years interrupted by war, pandemic and weather, the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) has participated in varying strengths at the Treaty Grounds for many years since then.
In 1990, that presence was reinforced when the RNZN was granted a Charter recognising the strength of the relationship between the Navy and the community, a charter that allows the Navy to parade on Te Tai Tokerau land and the Treaty Grounds.
When Navy personnel march onto the Upper Treaty Ground, the flag is carried in the middle of the contingent and not at the front as is usual. It’s a symbolic gesture representing the defence of the nation.
There have been some exceptions to a continuous naval presence at Waitangi. In 1995 there was a small representation because the naval role was reduced on orders from the National Government. The year before Prince Charles was present and the Navy was in full force with a complete honour guard and ceremonial party.
The was a four-year absence by the Navy at Waitangi until a low-key return in 2002, which coincided with that of Prime Minister Helen Clark also after a four-year absence. She had refused to attend after being reduced to tears by activist Titewhai Harawira, who challenged her right to speak ahead of Māori women.
The other two branches of the military can only attend Waitangi Day tributes by specific invitation. That happened in 2020 when more than 200 personnel from the Navy, NZ Army and the Royal NZ Air Force combined for the first time to participate in a special programme of celebration.
Traditionally a flag-raising ceremony is conducted at dawn, accompanied by a piper. Close to noon the Defence Force kapa haka party performs, then naval personnel march onto the Upper Treaty Grounds.
At noon a 21-gun salute is fired from a naval ship in the bay, this year it was the HMNZS Manawanui. By 5pm the RNZN band beat the retreat and perform the ceremonial sunset concert, followed by the lowering of the flag. It means another Waitangi Day has passed.
A rāhui has been placed on Bland Bay and will be lifted at 12pm on Thursday.