Doing things differently has become the norm and people in the Whanganui community are carving out their own path ahead. Photo / Bevan Conley
Doing things differently has become the norm and people in the Whanganui community are carving out their own path ahead. Photo / Bevan Conley
What a year it’s been. Whether it was RAT tests, Wordle, working from home or petrol prices that defined our daily lives – together, we resigned ourselves to living with Covid-19 in the community and the myriad ways this would change how we go about our day-to-day.
Worldwide in the last 12 months we’ve witnessed the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, Russia invading Ukraine and the women of Iran fighting for freedom. Nationally we’ve celebrated the Black Ferns winning the World Cup, and the first official Matariki public holiday, marking the Māori new year, an opportunity to reflect and set intentions for the seasons ahead.
Doing things differently has become the norm and these voices from across the community are carving out their own path ahead. From empowering whānau to grow their own businesses, to finding a new home in the heart of the creative arts community. From nurturing the next generation of first language speakers of te reo Māori to building more houses that are desperately needed in the middle of a supply chain nightmare.
Despite the ups and downs of 2022, it’s also been a year of constants as we begin to implement new routines that work better in these new times because the future is already upon us. The first hoverbike came out this year, we’ve been to the moon and back and the James Webb Space Telescope is holding up a huge mirror to the universe, peering into the past in order to inform our way into the future.
Whitney Nicholls-Potts discovers how five Whanganui residents navigated their way through 2022 and what they’re hoping for in 2023.
Moving to Whanganui was the biggest thing that happened for us this year.
During lockdown we decided that because we worked from home, we wanted to be part of a creative community. Wellington was driving itself out of the market financially so we came here for the arts community, we knew it was strong and had a reputation already. We always liked visiting here over the years and then we drove through because we had to do a Trade Me pick up and we were like, that’s right, Whanganui is amazing.
I love the geography, the awa and the funny hills all around. It’s got a presence that I love and you can feel the energy when you’re driving around. Particularly the Drews Ave precinct nailed it for us with Article and what Jack Mitchell-Anyon does, it’s amazing the way he brings people together.
I can see here that Covid has shifted something for people to come together more and support each other more.
For the year ahead I want to be able to find ways to give back to the community and settle in – make my home more my home.
Adriano Nicolini
Director, Nico Construction
Adriano Nicolini. Photo / Bevan Conley
This year was difficult as the second year running my own company.
We saw delivery delays and material prices going up too much. It was six to eight weeks waiting for gib to arrive then two weeks to get it on site. When you’re working in our industry, two weeks is too much, especially if you only have one job on. Although I have been lucky to have a big company behind me so I managed to keep busy.
But I’m thinking next year is going to be more difficult because the price has gone up and the bank is charging more for borrowing money. So I think it will slow down a little bit more. But I think we will be okay. I am always looking for other ways I can fill those gaps where work is slowing down. I will do a fence, a shower and other little jobs on the side.
Overall I am very happy with my business because I have flexible time which means more time with my children in the morning. It’s important to enjoy what you are doing every day. It makes me happy to do new things and challenging jobs. On site, we have a popcorn machine, we have a coffee machine and we stop for one hour, instead of the half an hour and two 15-minute breaks as usual. We sit down and enjoy the moment.
My focus for the year ahead is to keep it simple, keep costs low, no big events, no big trucks, and keep it going and enjoy the now because I can’t take time back and I want to enjoy my girls growing up. I come from a Third World country so, for me, living in Whanganui is easy. People are still friendly and polite, just little things make a big difference.
Petrina Clark
Impact specialist, Thrive Whanganui & founder of Awhi Mai Creations
Petrina Clark. Photo / Supplied
Most pakihi (businesses) are starting out at the markets, as we do to build up that profile, but they couldn’t be at the markets during lockdowns and other Covid restrictions. So this year allowed a lot of our clients to start getting out there.
For Awhi Mai Creations, the big thing for us this year was going to the Home and Giftware Show in Tāmaki Makaurau. We won a grant through the Business Boost programme, through Whanganui & Partners, which enabled us to buy a stall. It allowed us to interact directly with retailers and see if our mahi (products) resonated with them. We were really excited that a lot of people loved our mahi. We started with nine businesses in our pocket and by the time we left we had about 25.
For my work with Thrive Whanganui, the big thing this year was getting some Tindall funding so that we can keep supporting our community and building their business aspirations.
My hope for the year ahead is for all our pakihi to feel supported and to start feeling confident in that space and to remind ourselves it is in our DNA to be entrepreneurs. Hopefully, we can keep building this up so we can see more pakihi Māori in Whanganui, in Aotearoa, and globally.
Jerram Gudsell
Dairy farmer
Jerram Gudsell with his daughters. Photo / Supplied
It’s been quite a year of constants for us and it has felt a bit more normal this year. Once Covid arrived in Whanganui and people we knew were getting it, there wasn’t as much fear compared to 2020 when Covid was unknown and it was quite scary.
Not a lot changed in reality on the farm, we just carried on. We are outdoors and not in real close proximity to each other a lot of the time so even in the cow shed it’s pretty open in terms of social distance. We did discuss what would happen if we were short on staff, but we didn’t have any major issues and we ended up getting Covid at those times when we could manage and weren’t too busy.
I guess socially it was the same as everyone, you just missed your friends a bit more than usual and it was a bit harder to do things.
Looking to the year ahead we just want to continue the work we do and work on a business that is financially viable and will support the family. Family-wise we are ticking along. Saoirse is at school doing really well, we’re keeping up with the kids with their extra activities like swimming and ballet. Jane’s very busy with them. Six days a week I’m gone when they wake up. So I try to be as helpful and as fun and happy when I come home from work and I do a lot of the cooking in the evenings.
Rongomai Hammond
Kaiako, Kōhanga Reo
Rongomai Hammond. Photo / Supplied
Working at a factory was very different from working at a kōhanga reo, that was the biggest change for me this year. Our kōhanga reo saying - Putikitia te aroha - is about being generous, being ngakaunui. So we made sure we worked on whakawhanaungatanga (strengthening relationships) and stuck to our tikanga (correct procedures) and protocols. There’re so many protocols we need to continue flowing with, because now and forever on, Covid will be around.
Since working at a kōhanga reo, I’ve noticed Covid babies are a different breed. They are way more curious than what I ever was as a child; a few of them are more closed off just because all they’ve known is their whānau and online interactions. But once they break through that wall they flourish like a flower. I can’t get over how imaginative they are, and just the way that they carry themselves with other people.
We also celebrated 40 years of the kōhanga reo movement this year. We’ve made it, we’ve got our voice and we are slowly getting to the place where we need to be. I’m very proud of all kōhanga reo around the motu (country) because we’ve all started somewhere at the grassroots and we’ve made something of ourselves. At the end of the day, the important thing is kotahitanga (unity, togetherness, collective action) and that we give our tamariki, our future, our next generation the reo, the tikanga and the mauri and mana that comes with it.
For the year ahead in my job, I’d love to see more tamariki coming through our kōhanga reo, getting nurtured by us. For my life, I’d love to do some study and learn more reo because I love learning. I have a lot of passion for my job, so I hope that I can hoe my waka to its destination. And for my whānau, I just hope my baby girl loves kura (school).
