The St John Kerikeri jubilee committee. Bob Trautz (left), Kathryn Starr, Ros Smith, Dale Bell, Nick Scott, Margaret Suckling, Alison Parr and Mike Isle.
The St John Kerikeri jubilee committee. Bob Trautz (left), Kathryn Starr, Ros Smith, Dale Bell, Nick Scott, Margaret Suckling, Alison Parr and Mike Isle.
Hato Hone St John in Kerikeri celebrates 50 years
It is 1974 and small group of citizens “mulled over a couple of bevies” that an emergency response team should be formed in Kerikeri.
They badgered everyone who could help get it off the ground, they did some first aidtraining, raised money with the help of local service clubs, bought an old ambulance which they housed at the local petrol station and were in business. The St John ambulance service (now Hato Hone St John) was formed.
The call-out system was operated by the manual telephone exchange and the operator would phone crew to dispatch them. It wasn’t unusual for a message for at least one of them to pop up on the screen at the movie theatre.
By 1995, it was time to look for a new site for an ambulance station. The Far North District Council vetoed most of the 22 suggestions put forward and in the end, the crew of the day designed the current building which has been fit-for-purpose ever since.
The station now runs two front-line ambulances mainly crewed by paid staff and the service is supported by the St John Opportunity Store. Crew numbers vary but job numbers continue to rise as the population of Kerikeri grows.
The original ambulance of Kerikeri St John 50 years ago. It was housed in the local petrol station.
Station manager Nick Scott has been there for 32 years. He started off as a “baby-faced seventh form volunteer” at Kerikeri High School.
“I was keen but my Achilles heel was I hated the sight of blood and needles. The instructor, Bunny Honiss, talked me into coming along to training on a Tuesday night and I’m kind of glad he did.”
The first road fatality he attended remains vividly with him. They covered the deceased with a sheet and loaded him into the back of the ambulance.
“I remember looking at his shoes and thinking this poor bugger put these shoes on this morning and didn’t have a clue it would be the last time he ever tied those laces and it was the first lesson on the fragility of life.”
He acknowledges the thousands of volunteers over the past 50 years who have helped make the service the success it is, the generous community involvement and the families who support them even during birthday or Christmas or other celebrations when the pager goes off during the middle of proceedings and they must depart in a hurry.
Far North shines at excellence awards
The Graeme Dingle Foundation is a youth development charity with a 30-year history of empowering young New Zealanders.
The Foundation recently celebrated its annual National Excellence Awards on October 17. The event shone a spotlight on the achievements of tamariki, rangatahi, staff and volunteers. Kiwi Can is the Foundation’s largest programme reaching over 22,000 tamariki and this year Jeremy Birchall was awarded the Kiwi Can Outstanding Leader Award.
His commitment to the Kiwi Can programme, which is run in 11 schools in the Far North, is demonstrated by a three-hour drive to schools in Te Hapua. The Best Community Project Award went to Bay of Islands College for their Matariki Gala earlier this year. Accepting this award was principal Edith Painting-Davis and student Jocelyn Henry-Salu.
All the Graeme Dingle Foundation award winners pictured at the presentation on October 17.
They gave special thanks to “Bro” Joe Henare for bringing the programme to the kura, George Fa’alogo (Graeme Dingle Foundation regional manager) for his continuous guidance and Roger Dephoff, a respected community member.
Reflecting on the event, Foundation CEO Jo Malcolm-Black says the event is a reminder of what is possible when young people are given the tools to realise their potential.
“Tamariki and rangatahi are the changemakers of tomorrow and their journeys inspire us all to continue working towards a brighter future.”
The Little Black Gallery
It could sound like the start of a children’s story - The Little Black Gallery.
It is, in fact, a Kerikeri art gallery that celebrates original jewellery, design, art and objects.
Owner Anna Hamilton opened the gallery in 2015 and says local artists are featured with their art, prints, art blocks, ceramics and gifts and it’s a working studio.
The gallery recently featured the work of ex-UK and now local artist Paul Samson who draws his inspiration from masters such as Picasso, Cezanne and Vermeer.
“I was trained to paint the works of the masters and today their influence comes through particularly in my backgrounds and attention to the use of light. I share the masters’ fascination with faces that show the merest hint of expression that can convey much.”
Paul Samson artist, from UK and lately New Zealand. His work is displayed at the Little Black Gallery in Kerikeri.
He has a background in teaching and creating, which has taken him from London to New Zealand where he continues to evolve his artistic expression.
He says the recent work explores the power of relationships, particularly between women, and he was drawn to the subject because he is surrounded by women in his family.
“They share all sorts of kinship, bound by both blood and blended family ties, but seem to make their differences work in a way that feels foreign to my masculine nature,” he says.
“Looking from the outside in, I am also interested in the impact of aeons of a patriarchal system on the relationship and choices that women make.”
It hasn’t always been easy. Back in New Zealand, he was asked by a woman to paint her portrait which he was happy to do.
“Her husband refused to allow it and told me to buy a chainsaw and get a proper job!”
