Anna Clarke (left) with the painting she has done of the Milky Way and presented to Samantha Moore (right) from Kerikeri. Photo/Supplied
Anna Clarke (left) with the painting she has done of the Milky Way and presented to Samantha Moore (right) from Kerikeri. Photo/Supplied
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Dark akies as art form
Kerikeri's Anna Clarke has been at several locations as she works on painting the celestial Milky Way.
She has also generated a petition to the Far North District Council that calls on it to investigate setting up a dark-sky sanctuary in the Far Northand what council can do to limit light pollution.
She has painted outside Rock Salt Bar and the Farmers' Market in Kerikeri, the Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whangarei and in Opononi and Rawene on the Hokianga.
"If I don't reach my target number of signatures I will slowly start destroying the artwork by painting streetlights over it," she says.
In the end, she didn't have to do that. She said the painting was "saved from the ravages of light pollution by my brush" when she drew out a winner from the 517 signatories she received on the petition. The painting has been gifted to Samantha Moore, of Kerikeri.
Among the signatories on the petition were several local council representatives including John Vujcich (Far North District Council), Louis Toorenburg (Hokianga Community Board), Marty Robinson (Northland Regional Council) and Ken Cooper (Whangarei District Council).
She also connected with Steve Butler who is the leader of the Royal Astrological Society of New Zealand. He recently received the Hoag-Robinson Award from the International Dark Sky Association.
"He was extremely supportive and fully endorsed my efforts towards dark-sky conservation in Northland. He was also able to fact-check my claims about the benefits of preserving dark skies."
She said it was good to see the council intends to note light pollution as an issue in the latest iteration of the district plan. She believes it was not accounted for in all the previous district plans.
She says her painting may be the first in a series. She is thinking of calling them #paintingforprogress because there are other environmental and health-related issues she takes an active interest in.
Interactive theatre coming to town
It is billed as "theatre with a heart, soul and humour" and is a product of Hobson Street Theatre Company (HSTC), which works in partnership with Auckland City Mission.
It's the only theatre company in New Zealand that works with people from the street community and it's coming to Northland, touring with a new interactive work called The Dilemma.
Cast members of Dilemma Theatre discuss the question "how are decisions made and who gets a say?" Photo/Supplied
The show, which lasts an hour, has been created collaboratively with cast members with the aim of initiating kōrero around the democratic process within our communities. The key question asked is "how are decisions made and who gets a say?"
The Dilemma invites audiences to be part of a meeting that discusses, in this case, what the name of our country should be.
The cast will present two shows to prisoners and staff at the Northland Region Corrections Facility at Ngawha. It is touring to Rotorua and Hamilton in early December and comes north on December 13 at the Turner Centre where they will also present a theatre-making workshop. It heads to Whangarei on December 15 before returning to Auckland.
The Dilemma is produced by Flock Charitable Trust in partnership with the Auckland City Mission and is funded by Wave and Create New Zealand and presented in partnership with Visions. The executive producer is Sally Barnett. www.hobsonstreettheatre.nz
Birthday bash surprise for Russell stalwart
A surprise 80th-birthday party was held at the end of October for Russell community stalwart the Rev Heather Lindauer.
The long-time resident has been a teacher who taught at Russell school, and subsequently, she has taught the children of the children she taught.
She later became an Anglican priest and has conducted services, weddings, funerals, baptisms and other special occasions at Christ Church, the oldest working church in New Zealand.
Heather Lindauer, of Russell, cuts the cake given for her by several community volunteers at her surprise birthday party at the end of October. Photo / Dame Jenny Shipley
But it was her multifarious roles as a community volunteer that brought people together for her party. The church, the Garden Club, the St John Op Shop, the RSA, the Medical Centre and the Kororāreka Marae were all represented.
Maria Moppet was overall in charge as she phoned everyone she thought should be involved. Her advice was to tell their group to "bring a plate and to keep it a surprise from Heather".
It was held in the Parish Hall because that was considered the best, or indeed the only, way to get her there and about 100 people attended. Diane Smith, who heads up the St John organisation in Russell, said it was a special event.
Russell priest and community stalwart Heather Lindauer at her surprise birthday party held in the church hall. Photo / Dame Jenny Shipley
"There were lots of people singing, with the highlight being the beautiful harmonies from the Taumarere Church group."
For someone who is normally in the know about what's going on in the community, the gathering came as a shock.
"It was a total surprise," she said. "It was a very-well-kept secret and I normally know what's in the wind."
She summed up the day as "my memory is the aroha of this community of which I am a part and no wonder I am not moving to a retirement village, that's what Russell is".
Luxon to visit Russell
The leader of the National Party, Christopher Luxon, is visiting Russell on November 24 for a gala dinner at The Duke of Marlborough Hotel. Tickets are $200 and include a three-course meal, drinks and a donation to the party.
The Luxon gala dinner includes a welcome by Dame Jenny Shipley, who lives in Russell, followed by a speech from Christopher Luxon. The Honourable John Carter, former mayor of the Far North and a former Crown minister under National, is holding an auction to raise funds for the party.
The item above has been edited. It previously stated that Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis and Northland MP WIllow-Jean Prime had not been to Russell since 2020. This is incorrect, they have both visited the area since then on a few occasions. We apologise for the error.
