The winner! JT on the podium in the Ebisu Series, based near Fukushima, Japan. He will contest the series again this year and if he wins it, will progress to the professional class.
The winner! JT on the podium in the Ebisu Series, based near Fukushima, Japan. He will contest the series again this year and if he wins it, will progress to the professional class.
JT drifting towards a world crown
He was christened Jairus Tamati Wharerau, but it's simpler to call him what everyone else does - JT.
He's from Moerewa and now he is going to Japan with the ambition to be a world champion in drifting. Going sideways around a track involvesa lot of skill, and drifting has evolved into a serious and competitive on-track sport worldwide.
JT is campaigning for the Ebisu Series, based near Fukushima. There's a short and a long course and it's mountainous, which creates elevation.
"You make a mistake and it can cost you and the car," he says.
His grandfather taught him to drive in a Toyota Starlet around the paddocks next to their house when he was about 10, and a year or two later he would sneak out onto the road to practise. On his 16th birthday, he got his licence and truncated the timeframe to get his full driver's licence at 17.
He got into unregistered drifting in Whangarei and then progressed to the official D1NZ Series, in which he travelled nationwide competing at various tracks. He won that series and at the same time became involved in covering the sport for television and other forms of media, whereby his profile skyrocketed.
JT outpacing the opposition on the track and setting himself up for the corner.
He self-funded trips to Australia and the United States where he met Reece Millen, the son of legendary motorsport racer Rod Millen. Millen jnr told him there were opportunities for him in the US that he didn't take up at the time, but he got the opportunity to go to Japan and things have grown from there.
He is working for Power Drive, one of the few businesses in Japan owned by foreigners. Andrew and Emily Gray are Scottish, their business is successful and they walk the talk. They prepare cars for local sale and export and for clients, and Andrew is a four-time Japanese drifting champion.
As he prepares to head to Japan in mid-April, JT says his emphasis this time is different.
"I never understood what it meant to do anything outside of New Zealand before, but now I realise I am representing my country.
"I intend to win the series and that means I can progress to the professional ranks and from there, my focus is to be world champion."
He's campaigning in a 1989 S13 Nissan Sylvia, which he says is very basic. But with a championship win accomplished, he will no longer have to self-fund the car and the trip, everything is supplied with a move to the professional ranks.
FIXation opens in Russell
Christine Angell (left) and Kat Lavender, two of the driving force behind Russell's repair, rejuvenate and repurpose shop FIXation. Photo/Sandy Myhre
It began as an idea that grew out of the Far North Go Green Awards and has morphed into a shop that's selling recycled, repaired and rejuvenated materials, fabrics, clothing and bags.
Called FIXation, the store opened its doors last Thursday and already it is bulging at the seams with goods donated from the Op Shop and from the Russell community.
Principal organiser Christine Angell said there were four people involved in the initial stages - Christine, Kat Lavender, Paula Franklin and Rebecca Harper.
"We talked about it on the beach and John Maxwell, chairman of Resilient Russell Charitable Trust, got us going.
"Now there are so many others who are involved as regulars and there is a core of people who can repurpose and fix things, remake and refresh and they all do it for love," she said.
They began making things for the shop in late January, and just two months later were set to go. Normally, these items would go into landfill but now there is an outlet for the repurposed.
In addition, they are offering a mending service to prolong the life of a garment and are holding workshops for anyone who wants to learn any of the fabric crafts. It might be sewing, knitting, crochet, weaving or rag rug making. After-school and holiday classes will be offered as well.
Anything they can't remake, repair or extend the life of will be donated to the likes of Women's Refuge or the animal shelters.
The shop is in York St, Russell. They have been given a rent holiday until they start making money and are hoping to be self-sufficient within a month. After that, any proceeds will go to Russell charities.
Celebrating Kemp House legacy
The set of commemorative pencils acknowledging the names of those involved in the construction of New Zealand's oldest building.
As New Zealand's oldest building, Kemp House, next to the Stone Store in Kerikeri, is celebrating its 200th anniversary. As part of the celebration, a special five-pack of commemorative carpenter's pencils has been produced.
"We wanted to celebrate the memory of the key people behind the construction of the house – all of whom were called William, which must have made for some interesting communication issues on the construction site," says Kerikeri Mission Station property lead Liz Bigwood.
The pencils will be available for purchase. The names of the Williams who lived there – Bean, Franklin, Puckey and Hall – have been etched into the pack. The fifth pencil in the pack has been named Wiremu to acknowledge the Māori sawyers and builders who worked with the missionaries and whose names have been lost to time.
After the mission folded in 1848, the Kemps continued to live in the house, operating a kauri gum business from the neighbouring Stone Store. The house and gardens were passed down through the family until Ernest Kemp – great-grandson of James and Charlotte – gifted the house to the nation in 1974 through the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, now Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.
Kemp House has been open to the public since the mid-1970s and has survived the Musket Wars, the dregs of British soldiery being billeted there, the threat of fire and several major flood events over the past 200 years, most notably the near-disastrous flood of 1981 that almost claimed the house.
Searching for NZ's Silent Army
Group of Women's Auxiliary Air Force drivers sitting on top of a fuel tanker. Royal New Zealand Air Force Station, Hobsonville.
Nelson historian and author Renée Hollis is searching for stories from New Zealand's "Silent Army" during World War II.
The silent sacrifice of New Zealand women during World War II and their service in New Zealand and overseas is often overshadowed by that of our war heroes. The New Zealand president of the RSA, BJ Clark, says they were the Silent Army who kept the home fires burning, working in roles traditionally dominated by men.
"From manufacturing uniforms, equipment, weaponry, to working in factories, on farms, trams and the railways, they wrote letters and packed parcels for those serving overseas."
After the success of her book Voices of World War II: New Zealanders share their stories, Renée Hollis is now working on a social history project focusing on the experiences of New Zealand women during World War II. She is immersing herself in letters and diaries from women who helped keep the home fires burning or served overseas.
"I am looking for stories that have never been shared before that will give the reader a real insight into what women's lives were really like during World War II," she said.
Sources could include those who can recall childhood memories of wartime, mothers raising children while their husbands were fighting overseas, volunteers, land girls, women who worked in the factories as well as the Red Cross, the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAACs), the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAFs), the Women's Royal Naval Service (Wrens) and so on.
She is also interested to hear about the experiences of New Zealand women who served overseas as nurses, pilots, ambulance drivers or entertainers. Material can be emailed to Renée at: newzealandsilentarmy@gmail.com
Letters, diaries and photographs can be posted by June 19 to Renée Hollis P.O. Box 85, Nelson 7040.
