Nicky Rennie: The secret life of the Whanganui region

Hunterville's Shepherds' Shemozzle is rural New Zealand at its best, writes Nicky Rennie. Photo / Bevan Conley

I moved back to Whanganui after being away for 30 years. It's the best decision I ever made and I simply can't see myself living anywhere else now.

This region has been a secret to most of New Zealand for quite some time, but there is a feeling like, finally, the cat is out of the bag. I'm not sure how I feel about that because there is a special quality to Whanganui and our region that still feels the same as it did when I left in 1988.

However, on the other hand, we are now home to an incredible arts scene and a lot of hugely successful people who call Whanganui home and have added a more cosmopolitan feel.

I have lived this dichotomy over the last two weeks. As a broadcaster, it was drummed into me to have a life otherwise I would have nothing interesting to talk about, so I shall share with you just a few things I have done over the last two weeks that will give you an idea of just some of the events we offer here and how, at the end of it all, is community.

If you have never been to the Hunterville Shemozzle, you really can't call yourself someone who is from this region (or in fact New Zealand).

If you missed it on Seven Sharp, I can tell you it is rural New Zealand at its absolute authentic best. Two hundred huntaway dogs and their owners running over the Hunterville hills, eating unmentionable animal body parts, running through sheep dip and proving that New Zealand rural men and women are bloody tough.

So are the kids, they start 'em young and I was completely blown away by how well organised it was, how ingrained it is in our region and (just quietly) how pleased I was I left before the party started. I know, I know, I could potentially have found my Prince Farming; now I'll never know.

I helped the Whanganui Collegiate students collect for the City Mission Foodbank drive and was blown away by how generous everyone was with their time to help but also, in these tough times, by how much food was donated for those who needed it more.

Whanganui people looking after Whanganui people. It warmed my heart, mostly because earlier in the year when things were particularly tough, I was referred to City Mission so I could feed my daughter and myself. It had come full circle and I was glad to be able to give back.

Then I was the MC for the 50th birthday celebrations for the jewel in the Whanganui fashion retail crown - Just Looking.

London, Paris and New York had nothing on us last Wednesday night, just to prove we can be metropolitan with the best of them. Belmont Golf Course looked resplendent. I know this because Dame Trelise Cooper was the guest of honour and she said so.

The night was a triumph for owners Deb and Tony Guthrie and Mel and Jimmy Forrest. To put it in context, Just Looking started the same year Play School started. Big Ted, Little Ted and Jemima may be long gone, but Just Looking is thriving and operates with a scale of professionalism up with the best in Australasia. Dressing women in this community and making them feel good for 50 years is nothing short of incredible.

Then to top off my adventures in Whanganui, I went the following morning to see Breakfast in Schools operating at Tawhero Primary. Penny De Jongh runs this initiative with support from both KidsCan and local businesses and it means our children have full bellies and can learn. Another selfless Whanganui person, quietly doing their bit.

People talk a lot about the changing face of community spirit, or that everything has become about money. While that may be true for some centres, it certainly isn't here.

My own opinion is that a wonderful balance has been struck here with old-fashioned community values and support of those who need it, combined with understanding the need to step it up to compete with the marketing dollar. Maybe it's the awa that grounds us, I'm not sure, but whatever it is, I'm Nui-Proud.