Hawera High School principal Paul Ryan has announced his resignation.
In a shock announcement at the Taranaki Secondary School Association's annual dinner this week Mr Ryan said this year would be his last. He will be the fourth Taranaki principal to leave in 14 months but while the other three will be working overseas, Mr Ryan is going to travel. Quite simply, it's time to see the world with his wife – again – but this time in style. "It's been 20 years since Christine and I have done any decent travelling," he said.
The pair are off on an overseas adventure to visit family and friends and return to places they have wanted to go for years.
It'll be their third overseas experience but with a bit more comfort – there'll be no backpacks and shoe-string budgets.
"I've made a promise to Christine that we'd stay at the Victoria Falls Hotel when we're in Zimbabwe because last time we were in a motor camp."
South America and China are also on the travel plans they never visited the first and second time around. There are no other plans beyond the travelling yet.
When Mr Ryan leaves it will be three years and three terms since he first set foot in the door of Hawera's secondary school and he thinks he's made his mark.
Classrooms have been refurbished, there are plans under way for further improvements to the property and the school is in a financially strong position. "I've been hearing from a few people the school is in better shape now than before I arrived which is nice to hear," he said.
He's also proud the school has improved academically. "The students continue to make positive decisions in relation to their schooling and in setting up the best possible future for the themselves."
Staff had also been amazing to work with. "They are a fantastic group who really focus on the students and have a genuine desire for them to achieve."
Friday, October 23
Tuesday, October 6
The sale of Manaia and Opunake townships 1880
e original list of names was from Papers Past
From the HAWERA & NORMANBY STAR, dated 22nd December 1880
SALE OF MANAIA
The sale of Manaia and Opounake townships was advertised for Friday and there must have been at least 300 persons present when the sale commenced.
The townships of Manaia was first offered for sale and a large number of sections were sold, some at very high prices, those at the octagon bringing in over £80 ($11,442 in 2008)
The competition was very spirited throughout the day and the Commissioner went through the various sections at a pretty rapid rate.
When the suburban sections around Manaia were disposed of, an adjournment took place and the sale of Opunake commence after lunch.
The area of nearly all the sections was about a quarter of an acre each (unless otherwise stated)
The following are the details:-
(the number of the section then price paid at auction)
* A.C. FORCE was a member of the NZ Armed Constabulary 1846-1885)
BLOCK II
#10 - £15 .. AND ..
#11 - £12 - J. Davidson, storekeeper, Hawera
#22 - £10 - F. McGuire
BLOCK III
#1 - £15 .. AND ..
#10 - £15
#11 - £12 - William Hackett, A.C. Force, Manaia
BLOCK VI
#6 - £10 - John Meikle, carpenter, Hawera
#10 - £15 - C.A. Wray (for Church of England)
#11 - £12 - J. Linton
#20 - £12 - Timothy O`Brien, A.C. Force, Manaia
#22 - £18 - M. Byrne, Manutahi
BLOCK VII
#1 - £15 - P. B. Cahill
#4 - £10 - Right Rev Dr. Redwood (for Roman Catholic Church)
#12 - £12 - M.D. King (for Wesleyan Church)
#13 - £18 - Charles O. Hawke, A.C. Force, Waihi
BLOCK X
#10 - £21 - Charles Days
#11 - £15 - P.B. Cahill
#12 - £15 - J. Livingston (for Presbyterian Church)
#20 - £16 .. AND ..
#21 - £17 - R.E. McRae, farmer, Kakaramea
#22 - £28 - Charles Days
BLOCK XI
#1 - £21 - George Parmenter, laborer, Hawera
#3 - £15 - James Thomson, Waihi
#10 - £12 - R.A. Adams
#12 - £21 - James Nicoll, tinsmith, New Plymouth
#13 - £31 - George Newsham Curtis, storekeeper, Stratford
#14 - £25 - George McLean, farmer, Hawera
#15 - £18 - John Gilmour, storekeeper, New Plymouth
#16 - £14 - Benjamin Vickery, labourer, Wanganui
#17 - £16 - Henry Sinclair, carpenter, Hawera
#20 - £13 - Benjamin Vickery
#21 - £15 - R.A. Adams, draper, Carlyle (now Patea)
#22 - £18 - John Gilmour
BLOCK XIII
#2 - £10 - Hearn & Kennedy, Kakaramea
#9 - £13 - Patrick Tarrant, ploughman, Hawera
#10 - £17 - P.B. Cahill, Hawera
#11 - £17 - James Linton, Mayor of Palmerston North
#12 - £15 .. AND ..
#13 - £15 - A. Young, farmer, Manutahi
#14 - £15 - E. Pulford, storekeeper, Hawera
#15 - £15 - William Shearer, settler, Hawera
- (if you have ANY further information on William, at the above link, please leave a comment)
#17 - £16 - George Parmenter
#18 - £15 - E. Pulford
#19 - £17 - Michael Bourke, cooper, Carlyle
#20 - £31 - Charles Days
BLOCK XIV
#1 - £15
#2 - £13 - George Lgenn, Greymouth
#4 - £14 - G.T. Potto, saddler, Carlyle
#5 - £13 - A. Young
#6 - £14 - John Gilmour
#7 - £15 - H. Honeyfield, settler, New Plymouth
#8 - £16 - James Nicoll
#13 - £21 - G.N. Curtis
#15 - £24 - John Manson, draper, Hokitika
#16 - £27 - A. Young
#17 - £34 - John Gilmour
#18 - £36 - H. Honeyfield
#19 - £37 - James Nicoll
BLOCK XV
#1 - £33 .. AND ..
#2 - £36 - J. Milroy, settler, Carlyle
#3 - £18 - George McLean
#4 - £14 - J. Barleyman, solicitor, Hawera
#5 - £15 - John E.W. Honeywill
#7 - £15 .. AND ..
#8 - £16 - Daniel Leitch, settler, Hawera
#9 - £16 .. AND ..
#10 - £18 .. AND ..
#11 - £20 - John Patterson, settler, Hawera
#12 - £81 .. AND ..
#13 - £86 - J. Milroy, Carlyle
#14 - £47 - Jacob Meuli, saddler, Hawera
#15 - £41 - J. Barleyman
#16 - £40 - R.A. Adams
#17 - £37 - G.T. Potto
#18 - £85 - T.M.J. Sheahy, spinster, Palmerston North
#19 - £80 ($11,442 in 2008) - William Shearer
#20 - £80 - Daniel Leitch
#21 - £85 - John Henderson, saddler, Hawera
BLOCK XVI
#1 - £15 - Benjamin Vickery
#3 - £12 - Charles Jamieson, A.C. Force, Manaia
#12 - £29 - H. Owen, commercial traveller
#13 - £24 - Thomas Broadrick, settler, New Plymouth
#14 - £21 - Frank McGovern, laborer, Carlyle
#15 - £17 - Jeremiah Sheshan, farmer, Whenuakura
#17 - £13 - Martin Power, settler, Hawera
#18 - £18 - J. Mouri
#19 - £18 - P. McLoughlin, Carlyle
#20 - £14 - E.H. Thompson, A.C. Force, Manaia
#21 - £17 - P.B. Cahill
#22 - £80 - Thomas Broadrick
BLOCK XVII
#2 - £12 - Arthur J. Knyvett, Maxwelltown
#4 = £12 - W. Cowern
#5 - £12 - George Glenn
#6 - £15 - J. Tingey, painter, Hawera
#8 - £15 - George Norgate, A.C. Force, Waihi
#9 - £15 - A. Young
#10 - £25 - Kenneth Fraser
#19 - £12 - A. Young
BLOCK XVIII
#1 - £ 28 - Robert F. Holden, contractor, Stratford
#2 - £25 - George McLean
#3 - £20 - G.V. Bate, Hawera
#4 - £23 - F. Searling, carpenter, Carlyle
#6 - £28 - C.S.Curtis, storekeeper, Stratford
#7 - £30 .. AND ..
#8 - £41 - W.H.E. Wanklyn, Hawera
#9 - £59 - Albert R. Langley, settler, Normanby
#10 - £85 .. AND ..
#11 - £65 - Thomas Lloyd, Hawera
#12 - £16 - Joseph F. Pease, Hawera
#18 - £12 - H.R. Parrington, solicitor, Hawera
#14 - £13 - George McLean
#15 - £13 - F. Searling
#16 - £14 - Martin Bolger, settler, Manaia
#17 - £15 - C.S. Curtis
#18 - £13 - Thomas Whelan
#20 - £17 - A.R. Langley
#21 - £33 .. AND ..
#22 - £32 - ?. Taylor
BLOCK XIX
#1 - £75 - Patrick Healy, hotelkeeper, Ross, Westland
#2 - £51 - John Gilmour
#3 - £41 - Patrick Healy
#4 - £38 - Newton King, Auctioneer, New Plymouth
#5 - £36 - E. Pulford
#6 - £31 - William Shearer
#8 - £29 - John Manson
#9 - £27 - Henry Sinclair, carpenter, Hawera
#10 - £27 - John Patterson
#11 - £31 .. AND ..
#12 - £31 - James Linton
#14 - £ 12 - R. Dingle, Hawera
#15 - £12 - Newton King
#16 - £17 - E. Pulford
#17 - £15 - C.W. Broadbent, Hawera
#18 - £12 - R.H. Wilson, storeman, New Plymouth
#19 - £13 - Cornelius Casey, settler, Normanby
#20 - £14 .. AND ..
#21 £16 - John Patterson
#22 - £30 - Charles Days, boatbuilder, Oamaru
BLOCK XX
#1 - £27 - James Linton
#2 - £19 - J.C. Yorke, settler, Hawera
#3 - £16 - H.R. Parrington
#4 - £16 - R.A. Aams
#5 - £16 - H.B. Cockburn, blacksmith, Hawera
#6 - £13 - J. Davison, storekeeper, Hawera
#7 - £13 - T. Twigg, settler, Hawera
#8 - £15 - George Glenn
#10 - £16 - E.H. Thompson
#11 - £29 - Charles Days
#13 - £12 - J.C. Yorke
#14 - £14 - H.R. Parrington
#15 - £14 - R.A. Adams
#16 - £12 - W.M. Thomson, auctioneer, Hawera
#18 - £10 - Thomas Twigg
#19 - £12 .. AND ..
#20 - £10 .. AND ..
#21 - £10 .. AND ..
#22 - £12 - George Glenn
MANAIA SUBURBAN SECTIONS - price PER ACRE
each person bought around 5 acres, give or take 2 roods
#57 - £12 4s - T. Mann
#58 - £12 4s - Freeman R. Jackson, auctioneer, Wanganui
#72 - £19 5s - William Box, Rosy Creek, Waimote Plains
#73 - £12 5s - Alexander Sutherland, Wellington
#79 - £15 - J. Burton, brewer, Hawera
#80 - £13 - P. Healy, hotelkeeper, Ross, Westland
#81 - £12 - Frank McGovern
#85 - £11 - Martin Power, Hawera
#86 - £10 10s - George Glenn
#87 - £12 - John Patterson
#88 - £11 15s - John Vincent Riddle, Waihi
#89 - £15 5s - C.A. Wray, R.M., Carlyle
#90 - £12 10s - George Glenn
#99 - £12 10s - R.E. McRae, Kakaramea
#100 - £14 10s - John V. Riddle
From the HAWERA & NORMANBY STAR, dated 22nd December 1880
SALE OF MANAIA
The sale of Manaia and Opounake townships was advertised for Friday and there must have been at least 300 persons present when the sale commenced.
The townships of Manaia was first offered for sale and a large number of sections were sold, some at very high prices, those at the octagon bringing in over £80 ($11,442 in 2008)
The competition was very spirited throughout the day and the Commissioner went through the various sections at a pretty rapid rate.
When the suburban sections around Manaia were disposed of, an adjournment took place and the sale of Opunake commence after lunch.
The area of nearly all the sections was about a quarter of an acre each (unless otherwise stated)
The following are the details:-
(the number of the section then price paid at auction)
* A.C. FORCE was a member of the NZ Armed Constabulary 1846-1885)
BLOCK II
#10 - £15 .. AND ..
#11 - £12 - J. Davidson, storekeeper, Hawera
#22 - £10 - F. McGuire
BLOCK III
#1 - £15 .. AND ..
#10 - £15
#11 - £12 - William Hackett, A.C. Force, Manaia
BLOCK VI
#6 - £10 - John Meikle, carpenter, Hawera
#10 - £15 - C.A. Wray (for Church of England)
#11 - £12 - J. Linton
#20 - £12 - Timothy O`Brien, A.C. Force, Manaia
#22 - £18 - M. Byrne, Manutahi
BLOCK VII
#1 - £15 - P. B. Cahill
#4 - £10 - Right Rev Dr. Redwood (for Roman Catholic Church)
#12 - £12 - M.D. King (for Wesleyan Church)
#13 - £18 - Charles O. Hawke, A.C. Force, Waihi
BLOCK X
#10 - £21 - Charles Days
#11 - £15 - P.B. Cahill
#12 - £15 - J. Livingston (for Presbyterian Church)
#20 - £16 .. AND ..
#21 - £17 - R.E. McRae, farmer, Kakaramea
#22 - £28 - Charles Days
BLOCK XI
#1 - £21 - George Parmenter, laborer, Hawera
#3 - £15 - James Thomson, Waihi
#10 - £12 - R.A. Adams
#12 - £21 - James Nicoll, tinsmith, New Plymouth
#13 - £31 - George Newsham Curtis, storekeeper, Stratford
#14 - £25 - George McLean, farmer, Hawera
#15 - £18 - John Gilmour, storekeeper, New Plymouth
#16 - £14 - Benjamin Vickery, labourer, Wanganui
#17 - £16 - Henry Sinclair, carpenter, Hawera
#20 - £13 - Benjamin Vickery
#21 - £15 - R.A. Adams, draper, Carlyle (now Patea)
#22 - £18 - John Gilmour
BLOCK XIII
#2 - £10 - Hearn & Kennedy, Kakaramea
#9 - £13 - Patrick Tarrant, ploughman, Hawera
#10 - £17 - P.B. Cahill, Hawera
#11 - £17 - James Linton, Mayor of Palmerston North
#12 - £15 .. AND ..
#13 - £15 - A. Young, farmer, Manutahi
#14 - £15 - E. Pulford, storekeeper, Hawera
#15 - £15 - William Shearer, settler, Hawera
- (if you have ANY further information on William, at the above link, please leave a comment)
#17 - £16 - George Parmenter
#18 - £15 - E. Pulford
#19 - £17 - Michael Bourke, cooper, Carlyle
#20 - £31 - Charles Days
BLOCK XIV
#1 - £15
#2 - £13 - George Lgenn, Greymouth
#4 - £14 - G.T. Potto, saddler, Carlyle
#5 - £13 - A. Young
#6 - £14 - John Gilmour
#7 - £15 - H. Honeyfield, settler, New Plymouth
#8 - £16 - James Nicoll
#13 - £21 - G.N. Curtis
#15 - £24 - John Manson, draper, Hokitika
#16 - £27 - A. Young
#17 - £34 - John Gilmour
#18 - £36 - H. Honeyfield
#19 - £37 - James Nicoll
BLOCK XV
#1 - £33 .. AND ..
#2 - £36 - J. Milroy, settler, Carlyle
#3 - £18 - George McLean
#4 - £14 - J. Barleyman, solicitor, Hawera
#5 - £15 - John E.W. Honeywill
#7 - £15 .. AND ..
#8 - £16 - Daniel Leitch, settler, Hawera
#9 - £16 .. AND ..
#10 - £18 .. AND ..
#11 - £20 - John Patterson, settler, Hawera
#12 - £81 .. AND ..
#13 - £86 - J. Milroy, Carlyle
#14 - £47 - Jacob Meuli, saddler, Hawera
#15 - £41 - J. Barleyman
#16 - £40 - R.A. Adams
#17 - £37 - G.T. Potto
#18 - £85 - T.M.J. Sheahy, spinster, Palmerston North
#19 - £80 ($11,442 in 2008) - William Shearer
#20 - £80 - Daniel Leitch
#21 - £85 - John Henderson, saddler, Hawera
BLOCK XVI
#1 - £15 - Benjamin Vickery
#3 - £12 - Charles Jamieson, A.C. Force, Manaia
#12 - £29 - H. Owen, commercial traveller
#13 - £24 - Thomas Broadrick, settler, New Plymouth
#14 - £21 - Frank McGovern, laborer, Carlyle
#15 - £17 - Jeremiah Sheshan, farmer, Whenuakura
#17 - £13 - Martin Power, settler, Hawera
#18 - £18 - J. Mouri
#19 - £18 - P. McLoughlin, Carlyle
#20 - £14 - E.H. Thompson, A.C. Force, Manaia
#21 - £17 - P.B. Cahill
#22 - £80 - Thomas Broadrick
BLOCK XVII
#2 - £12 - Arthur J. Knyvett, Maxwelltown
#4 = £12 - W. Cowern
#5 - £12 - George Glenn
#6 - £15 - J. Tingey, painter, Hawera
#8 - £15 - George Norgate, A.C. Force, Waihi
#9 - £15 - A. Young
#10 - £25 - Kenneth Fraser
#19 - £12 - A. Young
BLOCK XVIII
#1 - £ 28 - Robert F. Holden, contractor, Stratford
#2 - £25 - George McLean
#3 - £20 - G.V. Bate, Hawera
#4 - £23 - F. Searling, carpenter, Carlyle
#6 - £28 - C.S.Curtis, storekeeper, Stratford
#7 - £30 .. AND ..
#8 - £41 - W.H.E. Wanklyn, Hawera
#9 - £59 - Albert R. Langley, settler, Normanby
#10 - £85 .. AND ..
#11 - £65 - Thomas Lloyd, Hawera
#12 - £16 - Joseph F. Pease, Hawera
#18 - £12 - H.R. Parrington, solicitor, Hawera
#14 - £13 - George McLean
#15 - £13 - F. Searling
#16 - £14 - Martin Bolger, settler, Manaia
#17 - £15 - C.S. Curtis
#18 - £13 - Thomas Whelan
#20 - £17 - A.R. Langley
#21 - £33 .. AND ..
#22 - £32 - ?. Taylor
BLOCK XIX
#1 - £75 - Patrick Healy, hotelkeeper, Ross, Westland
#2 - £51 - John Gilmour
#3 - £41 - Patrick Healy
#4 - £38 - Newton King, Auctioneer, New Plymouth
#5 - £36 - E. Pulford
#6 - £31 - William Shearer
#8 - £29 - John Manson
#9 - £27 - Henry Sinclair, carpenter, Hawera
#10 - £27 - John Patterson
#11 - £31 .. AND ..
#12 - £31 - James Linton
#14 - £ 12 - R. Dingle, Hawera
#15 - £12 - Newton King
#16 - £17 - E. Pulford
#17 - £15 - C.W. Broadbent, Hawera
#18 - £12 - R.H. Wilson, storeman, New Plymouth
#19 - £13 - Cornelius Casey, settler, Normanby
#20 - £14 .. AND ..
#21 £16 - John Patterson
#22 - £30 - Charles Days, boatbuilder, Oamaru
BLOCK XX
#1 - £27 - James Linton
#2 - £19 - J.C. Yorke, settler, Hawera
#3 - £16 - H.R. Parrington
#4 - £16 - R.A. Aams
#5 - £16 - H.B. Cockburn, blacksmith, Hawera
#6 - £13 - J. Davison, storekeeper, Hawera
#7 - £13 - T. Twigg, settler, Hawera
#8 - £15 - George Glenn
#10 - £16 - E.H. Thompson
#11 - £29 - Charles Days
#13 - £12 - J.C. Yorke
#14 - £14 - H.R. Parrington
#15 - £14 - R.A. Adams
#16 - £12 - W.M. Thomson, auctioneer, Hawera
#18 - £10 - Thomas Twigg
#19 - £12 .. AND ..
#20 - £10 .. AND ..
#21 - £10 .. AND ..
#22 - £12 - George Glenn
MANAIA SUBURBAN SECTIONS - price PER ACRE
each person bought around 5 acres, give or take 2 roods
#57 - £12 4s - T. Mann
#58 - £12 4s - Freeman R. Jackson, auctioneer, Wanganui
#72 - £19 5s - William Box, Rosy Creek, Waimote Plains
#73 - £12 5s - Alexander Sutherland, Wellington
#79 - £15 - J. Burton, brewer, Hawera
#80 - £13 - P. Healy, hotelkeeper, Ross, Westland
#81 - £12 - Frank McGovern
#85 - £11 - Martin Power, Hawera
#86 - £10 10s - George Glenn
#87 - £12 - John Patterson
#88 - £11 15s - John Vincent Riddle, Waihi
#89 - £15 5s - C.A. Wray, R.M., Carlyle
#90 - £12 10s - George Glenn
#99 - £12 10s - R.E. McRae, Kakaramea
#100 - £14 10s - John V. Riddle
Saturday, August 29
Saturday, August 15
Whitebait in decline
Whitebait stand prices remain high even as the numbers of the little fish seem to decline and the Department of Conservation wants catches limited.
The whitebait season opens today with a conservation request from the department. DOC staff monitoring streams and rivers with historical records of adult whitebait had found the tasty fish were no longer present in many of those waterways.
DOC freshwater fish expert Jane Goodman said water removal, pollution, wetland drainage, introduced pests and destruction of stream-side vegetation all threatened the long-term survival of whitebait species.
"Inanga are the most common species, but whitebaiters may also capture the young of giant kokopu, shortjaw kokopu, koaro and banded kokopu depending on which river they are fishing in. Giant kokopu and shortjaw kokopu are threatened species," she said.
Earlier this month whitebait stands on the Mokau and Awakino rivers were advertised for prices ranging between $4000-$10,000.
Stands cost, on average, about $500 to build and had been available for $1000 just a few years ago.
By MATT RILKOFF - Taranaki Daily News
Last updated 05:00 15/08/2009
The whitebait season opens today with a conservation request from the department. DOC staff monitoring streams and rivers with historical records of adult whitebait had found the tasty fish were no longer present in many of those waterways.
DOC freshwater fish expert Jane Goodman said water removal, pollution, wetland drainage, introduced pests and destruction of stream-side vegetation all threatened the long-term survival of whitebait species.
"Inanga are the most common species, but whitebaiters may also capture the young of giant kokopu, shortjaw kokopu, koaro and banded kokopu depending on which river they are fishing in. Giant kokopu and shortjaw kokopu are threatened species," she said.
Earlier this month whitebait stands on the Mokau and Awakino rivers were advertised for prices ranging between $4000-$10,000.
Stands cost, on average, about $500 to build and had been available for $1000 just a few years ago.
By MATT RILKOFF - Taranaki Daily News
Last updated 05:00 15/08/2009
Movie not so magic for cafe
One of the great ironies of Hawera's honeymoon with the Predicament movie makers is that the town's only business to have adopted the Ron Morrieson name is not benefiting from the association.
Owners Tina-Marie and Adrian Kahupukoro put the Morrieson's Cafe and Bar lease on the market only a few months before the movie company arrived. After two tough years they are disillusioned and want out.
News of the movie being filmed in South Taranaki was viewed with relief by the owners of the Victoria St premises, which has the only exhibition of Morrieson artefacts.
But Mrs Kahupukoro says she is "quite disappointed that there is no obvious spinoff coming in the door.
"When they first arrived in town a few movie people came in, but I think more out of curiosity to see what was inside. Maybe they'd heard something.
"They are very busy people and I think they tend to patronise the bars and cafes closer to the production centre.
"Morrieson's might as well have a different name for all it's doing for us; it might even be the wrong name."
The couple did not buy it because of the name, more for its location and British pub-style decor and atmosphere.
"Although we have our regulars and curious out-of-towners, we don't really get the support from the locals and maybe they won't appreciate it until it's gone. Because that could easily happen if it sells."
She says she was heartened "by a wise old man telling me: `People always come back to what they know'.
"I don't want to come out as a negative person but being realistic, I don't think the locals give a rat's arse about the Morrieson thing," she said.
"And this is the only place you can see what's left of him."
She has her own predicament: "I've thought about changing the name and theme, but then I think maybe it does help bring people in. You can't easily measure it."
What's in there is essentially everything that was salvaged from the 1993 demolition of the Morrieson house at 1 Regent St (apart from the attic that was taken off by crane and relocated to retired builder Robert Surgenor's paddock): Doors, the staircase, the fireplace, the matched lining on the bar front, the bookshelves and books, and a hand-painted montage by Tim Chadwick.
There's also a Morrieson's author board for signatures, with a lot of empty space.
Round the walls are snaps of Ron, bits of his dance band sheet music (Heart of My Heart; Abba Dabba Honeymoon, Brush Those Tears), and big original paintings by local sign-writer Rongo Kira of the covers of Predicament and The Scarecrow.
"I think locals take what we've got for granted," Mrs Kahupukoro said.
"That's how we lost Morrieson's house to a KFC." Tough times for Morrieson's owners
By RICHARD WOODD - Taranaki
Owners Tina-Marie and Adrian Kahupukoro put the Morrieson's Cafe and Bar lease on the market only a few months before the movie company arrived. After two tough years they are disillusioned and want out.
News of the movie being filmed in South Taranaki was viewed with relief by the owners of the Victoria St premises, which has the only exhibition of Morrieson artefacts.
But Mrs Kahupukoro says she is "quite disappointed that there is no obvious spinoff coming in the door.
"When they first arrived in town a few movie people came in, but I think more out of curiosity to see what was inside. Maybe they'd heard something.
"They are very busy people and I think they tend to patronise the bars and cafes closer to the production centre.
"Morrieson's might as well have a different name for all it's doing for us; it might even be the wrong name."
The couple did not buy it because of the name, more for its location and British pub-style decor and atmosphere.
"Although we have our regulars and curious out-of-towners, we don't really get the support from the locals and maybe they won't appreciate it until it's gone. Because that could easily happen if it sells."
She says she was heartened "by a wise old man telling me: `People always come back to what they know'.
"I don't want to come out as a negative person but being realistic, I don't think the locals give a rat's arse about the Morrieson thing," she said.
"And this is the only place you can see what's left of him."
She has her own predicament: "I've thought about changing the name and theme, but then I think maybe it does help bring people in. You can't easily measure it."
What's in there is essentially everything that was salvaged from the 1993 demolition of the Morrieson house at 1 Regent St (apart from the attic that was taken off by crane and relocated to retired builder Robert Surgenor's paddock): Doors, the staircase, the fireplace, the matched lining on the bar front, the bookshelves and books, and a hand-painted montage by Tim Chadwick.
There's also a Morrieson's author board for signatures, with a lot of empty space.
Round the walls are snaps of Ron, bits of his dance band sheet music (Heart of My Heart; Abba Dabba Honeymoon, Brush Those Tears), and big original paintings by local sign-writer Rongo Kira of the covers of Predicament and The Scarecrow.
"I think locals take what we've got for granted," Mrs Kahupukoro said.
"That's how we lost Morrieson's house to a KFC." Tough times for Morrieson's owners
By RICHARD WOODD - Taranaki
Tuesday, August 11
Kai with soul
In Spotswood College's food and nutrition classes, Katy Power teaches her students that the key to cooking great-tasting, nutritious meals day after day is to keep it simple. In Kai with Soul, Katy and her students let you in on how easy cooking for a family can be.
Taranaki Daily News
Last updated 12:17 04/08/2009
MARK DWYER
Sam Askew, 17, and Lauren Yule, 17, cook up Surfcaster Fish Pie.
KAI2
MARK DWYER
Surfcaster Fish Pie.
KAI3
MARK DWYER
Lunchbox Lemon Muffins
KAI4
MARK DWYER
Home-Made Lemon Juice
Relevant offers
Food & Drink
Learn to make sausage Southern star shines bright Inseason Fresh idea: Onions Kai with Soul How dare they dis our wine Inseason: Lemons Kai with Soul Balancing act A cool afternoon coffee
The talk in the food industry last week was about pies, after the annual national pie contest was fiercely contested. We decided to take on the challenge of making the perfect fish pie. This one has no pastry or red meat, but has survived the test of time to become an ever-popular family lunch or dinner dish.
A base of mashed potato and cheesy breadcrumb topping replaces the pastry, while the filling is a mixture of fish, boiled eggs and white sauce.
The fish can be fresh, smoked or canned and all are suitable. Since we used smoked cod, which has a strong flavour, only 300g was needed. The selection and availability of fish is varied and plentiful from local supermarkets and fish suppliers, so choose a variety that looks and smells fresh and suits your taste and budget. A 425-gram can of tuna from the pantry is also great to make into a pie when unexpected visitors turn up at mealtimes.
A pie with fresh fish will need to bake for 10 minutes longer than smoked or canned fish and some will need to have skin and bones removed first. Fresh fish needs to be cut into bite-size chunks while smoked fish needs to be flaked because of its strong flavour.
Fish pie is great for using leftover vegetables and mashed potatoes sitting in the fridge.
We mashed our potatoes with olive oil and some potato stock water (the water that the potatoes were cooked in). This adds extra vitamin C to the mash and the olive oil is an unsaturated fat and better for you than the saturated fat found in butter and other dairy products.
Layer the base of the oven dish with mashed potato, then the pre-cooked peas and chopped, hard-boiled eggs. Pour the white sauce and flaked fish over and lastly the cheese and breadcrumb topping.
Serve the fish pie for lunch or dinner and with salad or extra vegetables, such as pumpkin and broccoli. For hungry teenagers, you may wish to include a fresh bread bun or slice of wholemeal bread to soak up the tasty sauce.
Next on our list are Lunchbox Lemon Muffins and Homemade Lemon Juice. Both are great recipes to boost vitamin C in the diet the natural way - through food and drink. They are simple and quick to prepare and make excellent use of backyard lemon trees that are loaded at this time of the year. Make the muffins in paper cases so they can be easily packed in lunchboxes and look appealing to hungry students.
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The lemon drink can be served both hot or cold. Add more or less lemon juice and sugar to suit your family's tastebuds. No additives or preservatives have been added to this drink, so it needs to be refrigerated if not consumed on the day. Keep in a covered jug to prevent fridge odours from tainting the juice.
Enjoy these recipes and remember that fish is a valuable source of protein, vitamins, minerals and omega 3 fats. If the weather is fine and calm this weekend, teach your children and teenagers how to fish. Take a stroll along the port and observe the experts (some are very young). It is a peaceful and rewarding family activity.
Breathe in the fresh air, take in the vitamin D from the sun and maybe catch a fish. Life is great in the 'Naki!
* By Katy Power and the Year 13 Food and Nutrition class.
Surfcaster Fish Pie
Serves 4-6
3 cups mashed potato
40g butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups milk
pinch of salt
shake of black pepper
1-2 Tbsp parsley - finely chopped
3 hard-boiled eggs - chopped
400-500g smoked fish, flaked into small pieces, or 400g fresh fish, cut into small chunks, or a 425g can of fish, drained and flaked
1 cup peas precooked in microwave or a saucepan
2 Tbsp breadcrumbs
1/2 cup cheese - grated
1/ Prepare approximately 3 cups of mashed potato (see separate recipe).
2/ Place the eggs into a small saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain, cool slightly, peel and chop into pieces.
4/ Melt the butter on low heat in a medium-size saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes on low heat until the mixture becomes frothy.
5/ Remove from the heat and add the milk slowly while stirring. Keep stirring until the sauce thickens.
6/ Remove the white sauce from the heat and stir in the flaked fish and chopped parsley. Season with a pinch of salt and shake of black pepper.
7/ Line the bottom of a 20cm oven dish with the mashed potato.
8/ Place the chopped boiled eggs and pre-cooked peas over the potato layer.
9/ Pour the fish sauce evenly over the top.
10/ Mix the breadcrumbs and grated cheese together in a small bowl or measuring cup. Sprinkle over the fish sauce.
11/ Place into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until cooked and the topping is lightly golden.
12/ Remove from the oven and serve with vegetables or salad and a few wedges of tomato.
Healthy Mashed Potatoes
Makes 3 cups
1kg potatoes (4-5)
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp - 1/4 cup milk
1/ Scrub or peel the potatoes. Cut into 2cm chunks and add to a large saucepan of boiling water. Bring back to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 12 minutes until the potatoes are soft. (Check with a paring knife.)
2/ Drain most of the liquid from the potatoes. Add the olive oil and a pinch of salt and shake of pepper.
3/ Mash until smooth and creamy. Add a little extra milk if the potato mash is too dry.
Lunchbox Lemon Muffins
Makes 12
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
lemon rind - grated - from 1 large or 2 medium-sized lemons
75g butter - melted
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/ Preheat the oven to 200[Degree] bake function.
2/ Place 12 medium-size paper cases into a muffin tray and lightly spray each one or spray the muffin tray if not using paper cases.
3/ Sift the flour, baking powder and first measure of sugar into a large bowl.
4/ Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave or in a small saucepan over low heat.
5/ Whisk the egg and milk together in a small bowl.
6/ Wash the lemon and grate the rind (outer skin) using the fine side on the grater. Stir into the flour mixture.
7/ Add the melted butter and egg/ milk mixture to the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Don't over mix.
8/ Spoon the mixture evenly into the 12 muffin cases.
9/ Bake at 200[Degree] for 10-12 minutes until they are lightly golden and cooked. Test by pressing lightly down on a muffin and it should spring back up.
10/ While the muffins are baking, mix the lemon juice and second measure of sugar together in a cup.
11/ Remove muffins from the oven when done and immediately spoon the syrup over the hot muffins. Leave to cool.
Home- Made Lemon Juice
Makes about 1 1/2 litres
3-4 medium size lemons
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 litres water
1/ Dissolve the sugar in 2 cups of warm water in a large jug. Replace some of the sugar with honey if preferred.
2/ Cut the lemons in half and use a lemon juicer to squeeze the juice from the lemons.
3/ Pour juice into the jug, straining out any seeds, and add remainder of water (hot or cold).
4/ Stir for 1 minute to combine flavours.
5/ Drink warm or chill juice in the fridge before serving.
Taranaki Daily News
Last updated 12:17 04/08/2009
MARK DWYER
Sam Askew, 17, and Lauren Yule, 17, cook up Surfcaster Fish Pie.
KAI2
MARK DWYER
Surfcaster Fish Pie.
KAI3
MARK DWYER
Lunchbox Lemon Muffins
KAI4
MARK DWYER
Home-Made Lemon Juice
Relevant offers
Food & Drink
Learn to make sausage Southern star shines bright Inseason Fresh idea: Onions Kai with Soul How dare they dis our wine Inseason: Lemons Kai with Soul Balancing act A cool afternoon coffee
The talk in the food industry last week was about pies, after the annual national pie contest was fiercely contested. We decided to take on the challenge of making the perfect fish pie. This one has no pastry or red meat, but has survived the test of time to become an ever-popular family lunch or dinner dish.
A base of mashed potato and cheesy breadcrumb topping replaces the pastry, while the filling is a mixture of fish, boiled eggs and white sauce.
The fish can be fresh, smoked or canned and all are suitable. Since we used smoked cod, which has a strong flavour, only 300g was needed. The selection and availability of fish is varied and plentiful from local supermarkets and fish suppliers, so choose a variety that looks and smells fresh and suits your taste and budget. A 425-gram can of tuna from the pantry is also great to make into a pie when unexpected visitors turn up at mealtimes.
A pie with fresh fish will need to bake for 10 minutes longer than smoked or canned fish and some will need to have skin and bones removed first. Fresh fish needs to be cut into bite-size chunks while smoked fish needs to be flaked because of its strong flavour.
Fish pie is great for using leftover vegetables and mashed potatoes sitting in the fridge.
We mashed our potatoes with olive oil and some potato stock water (the water that the potatoes were cooked in). This adds extra vitamin C to the mash and the olive oil is an unsaturated fat and better for you than the saturated fat found in butter and other dairy products.
Layer the base of the oven dish with mashed potato, then the pre-cooked peas and chopped, hard-boiled eggs. Pour the white sauce and flaked fish over and lastly the cheese and breadcrumb topping.
Serve the fish pie for lunch or dinner and with salad or extra vegetables, such as pumpkin and broccoli. For hungry teenagers, you may wish to include a fresh bread bun or slice of wholemeal bread to soak up the tasty sauce.
Next on our list are Lunchbox Lemon Muffins and Homemade Lemon Juice. Both are great recipes to boost vitamin C in the diet the natural way - through food and drink. They are simple and quick to prepare and make excellent use of backyard lemon trees that are loaded at this time of the year. Make the muffins in paper cases so they can be easily packed in lunchboxes and look appealing to hungry students.
Ad Feedback
The lemon drink can be served both hot or cold. Add more or less lemon juice and sugar to suit your family's tastebuds. No additives or preservatives have been added to this drink, so it needs to be refrigerated if not consumed on the day. Keep in a covered jug to prevent fridge odours from tainting the juice.
Enjoy these recipes and remember that fish is a valuable source of protein, vitamins, minerals and omega 3 fats. If the weather is fine and calm this weekend, teach your children and teenagers how to fish. Take a stroll along the port and observe the experts (some are very young). It is a peaceful and rewarding family activity.
Breathe in the fresh air, take in the vitamin D from the sun and maybe catch a fish. Life is great in the 'Naki!
* By Katy Power and the Year 13 Food and Nutrition class.
Surfcaster Fish Pie
Serves 4-6
3 cups mashed potato
40g butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups milk
pinch of salt
shake of black pepper
1-2 Tbsp parsley - finely chopped
3 hard-boiled eggs - chopped
400-500g smoked fish, flaked into small pieces, or 400g fresh fish, cut into small chunks, or a 425g can of fish, drained and flaked
1 cup peas precooked in microwave or a saucepan
2 Tbsp breadcrumbs
1/2 cup cheese - grated
1/ Prepare approximately 3 cups of mashed potato (see separate recipe).
2/ Place the eggs into a small saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain, cool slightly, peel and chop into pieces.
4/ Melt the butter on low heat in a medium-size saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes on low heat until the mixture becomes frothy.
5/ Remove from the heat and add the milk slowly while stirring. Keep stirring until the sauce thickens.
6/ Remove the white sauce from the heat and stir in the flaked fish and chopped parsley. Season with a pinch of salt and shake of black pepper.
7/ Line the bottom of a 20cm oven dish with the mashed potato.
8/ Place the chopped boiled eggs and pre-cooked peas over the potato layer.
9/ Pour the fish sauce evenly over the top.
10/ Mix the breadcrumbs and grated cheese together in a small bowl or measuring cup. Sprinkle over the fish sauce.
11/ Place into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until cooked and the topping is lightly golden.
12/ Remove from the oven and serve with vegetables or salad and a few wedges of tomato.
Healthy Mashed Potatoes
Makes 3 cups
1kg potatoes (4-5)
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp - 1/4 cup milk
1/ Scrub or peel the potatoes. Cut into 2cm chunks and add to a large saucepan of boiling water. Bring back to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 12 minutes until the potatoes are soft. (Check with a paring knife.)
2/ Drain most of the liquid from the potatoes. Add the olive oil and a pinch of salt and shake of pepper.
3/ Mash until smooth and creamy. Add a little extra milk if the potato mash is too dry.
Lunchbox Lemon Muffins
Makes 12
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
lemon rind - grated - from 1 large or 2 medium-sized lemons
75g butter - melted
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/ Preheat the oven to 200[Degree] bake function.
2/ Place 12 medium-size paper cases into a muffin tray and lightly spray each one or spray the muffin tray if not using paper cases.
3/ Sift the flour, baking powder and first measure of sugar into a large bowl.
4/ Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave or in a small saucepan over low heat.
5/ Whisk the egg and milk together in a small bowl.
6/ Wash the lemon and grate the rind (outer skin) using the fine side on the grater. Stir into the flour mixture.
7/ Add the melted butter and egg/ milk mixture to the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Don't over mix.
8/ Spoon the mixture evenly into the 12 muffin cases.
9/ Bake at 200[Degree] for 10-12 minutes until they are lightly golden and cooked. Test by pressing lightly down on a muffin and it should spring back up.
10/ While the muffins are baking, mix the lemon juice and second measure of sugar together in a cup.
11/ Remove muffins from the oven when done and immediately spoon the syrup over the hot muffins. Leave to cool.
Home- Made Lemon Juice
Makes about 1 1/2 litres
3-4 medium size lemons
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 litres water
1/ Dissolve the sugar in 2 cups of warm water in a large jug. Replace some of the sugar with honey if preferred.
2/ Cut the lemons in half and use a lemon juicer to squeeze the juice from the lemons.
3/ Pour juice into the jug, straining out any seeds, and add remainder of water (hot or cold).
4/ Stir for 1 minute to combine flavours.
5/ Drink warm or chill juice in the fridge before serving.
Delivering the paper
Our Stories
By VICKI PRICE - Taranaki Daily News
Last updated 11:18 08/08/2009
MARK DWYER
Days gone by: As a 10-year-old, Don Taylor earned six shillings a week delivering the Taranaki Herald.
"The Great Depression did not treat my father kindly," says Don Taylor of his Eltham upbringing.
"He earned a minimal wage, but scraped together enough pennies to buy me a bicycle in 1938. I was a 10-year-old boy and was thrilled to have wheels, in spite of the fact it was a really old boneshaker."
A bike was an essential piece of equipment if you were a 10-year-old boy wanting a paper run in 1938 and a paper run was the most desirable thing to achieve in life, says Mr Taylor, who now lives in New Plymouth. Mr Egarr, a family friend, had notified the Taylor household that a run was becoming available and Mr Taylor's father, at the time earning five pounds a week, could see the sense in a little bit of extra earning within the family, albeit just six shillings a week.
The job was arranged and now everything hinged on the acquisition of a bike. His father soon found one.
"He bought an old, painted-up, less-than-attractive, uncomfortable, second-hand machine for next to nothing," recalls Mr Taylor, "It had a fixed gear ratio suited more to an adult than a boy and featured the mandatory bell and 12-inch strip of white paint plus red reflector on the rear mudguard. The seat was as hard as a rock and the light fitting had to be continuously pulled around to face forward when being used at night. But it was a bike!"
The lad delivering the Taranaki Herald on Mr Taylor's new run had been called up to the navy, but showed Don what to do before he left. It was a 10-mile (16-kilometre) run delivering 32 newspapers six days a week and included visiting the homes on Saturday mornings to collect payment for the newspaper office. Mr Taylor collected the money and signed a card held by each customer.
"Clearly the six shillings I received was for six delivery runs and didn't include any payment for the seventh trip. That was the way it was done in those days. The newspaper company had its payments gathered at no cost to itself!"
Don's mother sewed up a sugar sack to hold the newspapers and attached a rope so it could hang over his shoulder or the handlebars of his bike. The bike's rear carrier was filled with an oilskin coat and a sou'wester (an oilskin hat) for rainy days. Don was ready for action.
After playing some after- school rugby or a quick round of marbles, Don would hurry home to enjoy the afternoon tea his mother always laid out on the bench for him before starting his paper run. The bus delivering the newspapers arrived in Eltham at 4.10pm. After the newsagent had cut the string, counted the papers and kept his share to sell over the counter, Don loaded his bike and was off, usually by 4.30.
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Traffic wasn't too great a hazard to Don, partly because he had a light on his bike, but also because there wasn't much of it in Eltham in the 1930s.
"In those days, people walked to and from work or rode their bicycles. Most, of course, couldn't afford to own a motor vehicle."
There were four customers who lived just out of town. One of these deliveries added 10 minutes to the run. But if Mr Taylor was lucky, he would catch two young ladies on their way home from work who cycled past this house to their own homes farther on, and they would deliver the paper for him.
"The customer was a parliamentary candidate for the Labour Party and I could never understand why there were never any expressions of thanks from him for a worker. He must have known that his delivery alone added quite a bit to my time and effort." Mr Taylor says.
Norm Tinney, a butcher at the local freezing works, could usually be found each afternoon on the same barstool at the Coronation Hotel. If not, Mr Taylor had to travel to his house, which was right out on the southern boundary to the town.
"In winter, an added benefit for me not having to travel to his residence came at the moment I handed him his paper. Unfailingly, he reached for the plate of hot counter lunch set out for the bar customers and offered me a piece. This was a very welcome and warming snack on the really cold days."
Each week, the six shillings was divided up into three portions: one for Scout payments, one for the Saturday matinee and the other for savings. By the end of the first year, Mr Taylor had saved enough for a deposit on the new model Phillips bicycle.
"It had a crossbar which curved under the stylishly shaped saddle and the mudguards were shaped into four ridges rather than being in a plain curve. It was painted a modern, dark shade of red and, joy of joys, the gear wheel had been designed to cope easily with cycling about town. It was easier to pedal, was more comfortable to ride and had a dynamo fitted to drive a stylishly designed front light."
A lasting impression for Mr Taylor was the pink, red, orange, gold and blue colours of the sky over Eltham as the sun sank behind Mt Taranaki. During still evenings he admired the smoke rising in tall, thin columns over the town as residents lit their coal and wood burners to cook the evening meal. Unfortunately, the smoke soon thickened and settled into a layer that blanketed the town, obliterating the beautiful sunset. But nights when the moon and stars rose clear and bright, as Don switched on his bike's headlamp to deliver his next paper, were a heavenly scene forever fixed in his memory.
By VICKI PRICE - Taranaki Daily News
Last updated 11:18 08/08/2009
MARK DWYER
Days gone by: As a 10-year-old, Don Taylor earned six shillings a week delivering the Taranaki Herald.
"The Great Depression did not treat my father kindly," says Don Taylor of his Eltham upbringing.
"He earned a minimal wage, but scraped together enough pennies to buy me a bicycle in 1938. I was a 10-year-old boy and was thrilled to have wheels, in spite of the fact it was a really old boneshaker."
A bike was an essential piece of equipment if you were a 10-year-old boy wanting a paper run in 1938 and a paper run was the most desirable thing to achieve in life, says Mr Taylor, who now lives in New Plymouth. Mr Egarr, a family friend, had notified the Taylor household that a run was becoming available and Mr Taylor's father, at the time earning five pounds a week, could see the sense in a little bit of extra earning within the family, albeit just six shillings a week.
The job was arranged and now everything hinged on the acquisition of a bike. His father soon found one.
"He bought an old, painted-up, less-than-attractive, uncomfortable, second-hand machine for next to nothing," recalls Mr Taylor, "It had a fixed gear ratio suited more to an adult than a boy and featured the mandatory bell and 12-inch strip of white paint plus red reflector on the rear mudguard. The seat was as hard as a rock and the light fitting had to be continuously pulled around to face forward when being used at night. But it was a bike!"
The lad delivering the Taranaki Herald on Mr Taylor's new run had been called up to the navy, but showed Don what to do before he left. It was a 10-mile (16-kilometre) run delivering 32 newspapers six days a week and included visiting the homes on Saturday mornings to collect payment for the newspaper office. Mr Taylor collected the money and signed a card held by each customer.
"Clearly the six shillings I received was for six delivery runs and didn't include any payment for the seventh trip. That was the way it was done in those days. The newspaper company had its payments gathered at no cost to itself!"
Don's mother sewed up a sugar sack to hold the newspapers and attached a rope so it could hang over his shoulder or the handlebars of his bike. The bike's rear carrier was filled with an oilskin coat and a sou'wester (an oilskin hat) for rainy days. Don was ready for action.
After playing some after- school rugby or a quick round of marbles, Don would hurry home to enjoy the afternoon tea his mother always laid out on the bench for him before starting his paper run. The bus delivering the newspapers arrived in Eltham at 4.10pm. After the newsagent had cut the string, counted the papers and kept his share to sell over the counter, Don loaded his bike and was off, usually by 4.30.
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Traffic wasn't too great a hazard to Don, partly because he had a light on his bike, but also because there wasn't much of it in Eltham in the 1930s.
"In those days, people walked to and from work or rode their bicycles. Most, of course, couldn't afford to own a motor vehicle."
There were four customers who lived just out of town. One of these deliveries added 10 minutes to the run. But if Mr Taylor was lucky, he would catch two young ladies on their way home from work who cycled past this house to their own homes farther on, and they would deliver the paper for him.
"The customer was a parliamentary candidate for the Labour Party and I could never understand why there were never any expressions of thanks from him for a worker. He must have known that his delivery alone added quite a bit to my time and effort." Mr Taylor says.
Norm Tinney, a butcher at the local freezing works, could usually be found each afternoon on the same barstool at the Coronation Hotel. If not, Mr Taylor had to travel to his house, which was right out on the southern boundary to the town.
"In winter, an added benefit for me not having to travel to his residence came at the moment I handed him his paper. Unfailingly, he reached for the plate of hot counter lunch set out for the bar customers and offered me a piece. This was a very welcome and warming snack on the really cold days."
Each week, the six shillings was divided up into three portions: one for Scout payments, one for the Saturday matinee and the other for savings. By the end of the first year, Mr Taylor had saved enough for a deposit on the new model Phillips bicycle.
"It had a crossbar which curved under the stylishly shaped saddle and the mudguards were shaped into four ridges rather than being in a plain curve. It was painted a modern, dark shade of red and, joy of joys, the gear wheel had been designed to cope easily with cycling about town. It was easier to pedal, was more comfortable to ride and had a dynamo fitted to drive a stylishly designed front light."
A lasting impression for Mr Taylor was the pink, red, orange, gold and blue colours of the sky over Eltham as the sun sank behind Mt Taranaki. During still evenings he admired the smoke rising in tall, thin columns over the town as residents lit their coal and wood burners to cook the evening meal. Unfortunately, the smoke soon thickened and settled into a layer that blanketed the town, obliterating the beautiful sunset. But nights when the moon and stars rose clear and bright, as Don switched on his bike's headlamp to deliver his next paper, were a heavenly scene forever fixed in his memory.
That most public of art
The prettiest buildings in Taranaki are the churches
Whiteley Memorial Church
St George's Anglican Church, Patea
The Mayfair, Devon Street
Hunter Shaw Building, Patea
Collier building, Devon Street
St Andrew's Church
St Mary's Church
TSB Showplace, Devon Street
Ryder Hall, New Plymouth Boys' High
Pukekura Park kiosk
St Joseph's Church
Launching a feature on Taranaki's nicest and nastiest buildings was always going to be problematic.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder was one weary cliche trotted out. And when unaesthetic buildings begging to be on the ugly list were suggested, some replied they performed a function or were architecturally designed and thus a goodie, not a baddie.
Still, the Taranaki Daily News pushed on. Compiling a list of the region's stunners and shockers was something we reckoned we - and the public - could have fun with.
And it was a chance for reflection. Visitors judge us on appearances and while the sea, the mountain and the bush beautify our region, our buildings add to and detract from our look.
Furthermore, buildings constructed in the past 30 years are open to more debate. The vast majority of beautiful buildings our experts nominated were elderly specimens, constructed more than 50 years ago. Today's constructions might be considered less permanent, less elegant and far less likely to engender pride. Or perhaps it is just a matter of time. Will Puke Ariki grow in our affection? Will Huatoki Plaza inspire enthusiasm in years to come?
When it came to the crunch, churches frequently topped everyone's beautiful list.
Taranaki's most beautiful buildings
St Mary's Church, Whiteley Memorial Church, St Andrew's Church, St Joseph's Church, St George's Anglican Church, (Patea), St John's Church, Kaimata, Hunter Shaw Building (Patea), Wishing Well florists (Hawera), Ballentynes store, (Hawera), Pukekura Park kiosk, TSB Showplace, Devon Street, Collier building, Devon Street, Ryder Hall, New Plymouth Boys' High, The Mayfair, Devon Street
Honourable mention:
White Hart building, Post office building (Hawera), The Mill (New Plymouth), The ASB Bank, New Plymouth, St Aubyn office building
Retired architect and former Witt tutor Brian Chong says St Mary's, the country's oldest stone church, has the whole package.
"The buildings that I think are beautiful are built from the heart and with passion. St Mary's Church is the number one. It's built from natural materials with a lot of feeling and hard work."
South Taranaki's charmers include Victorian and colonial structures such as the town's courthouse, its library and some of its banks. A small stand-out specimen typifying old-world charm is 77 Princes Street, currently occupied by Wishing Well Flowers.
One of the loveliest examples of colonial architecture, reckons Mr Cullen, is St George's Anglican Church in Patea. A deep A-frame roof marks the building out, as do its stained-glass windows and bell tower.
Patea's second prime pick is the Hunter Shaw building, the 80-year-old red brick edifice on the main street.Designed by renowned architect William Gummer, it began life as a library and reading room. It was built in the much admired Georgian style, with shutters and a clock tower, and modelled on the award-winning Remuera library.
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In Hawera, the High Street building once called Patterson's building is also a stunner, but because of Art Deco features, not Victorian. Curved exterior walls and coloured geometric windows create a streamlined look.
"Inside, it has a wonderful quality of light and space," says Mr Cullen, referring to the store's mezzaine floor, central staircase and Art Deco detailing. Ballentynes now occupies it.
Significant mention also goes to the Hawera post office building. Advertising across its top detracts from its intended look, but when built, it encapsulated the International style of architecture, prevalent in the 1920s and 1930s, though it was built later than that. A solid upper wall contrasts with a recessed glass frontage and with a green faux marble wall.
"It's a rare modern building in Hawera, although the style sits uncomfortably with 19th-century buildings around it," Mr Cullen says.
New Plymouth architect Ian Pritchard, who wrote a book on pioneering architect Frank Messenger, struggles to reel off more than a handful of memorable buildings. His favourites include modern buildings: St Joseph's Church in Powderham Street, Ryder Hall at New Plymouth Boys' High School and the Whiteley Methodist church. The New Plymouth fire station would once have rated highly - sadly, he says, a coat of paint ruined its original appearance. Designed in concrete block, its grey exterior took cognisance of St Andrew's church opposite, also a stone building.
"The acknowledgement of that has gone. Whoever did it should be taken outside and shot. It was a beautiful building that has been destroyed."
Likewise, the Pukekura park kiosk. One of the hundreds of Taranaki buildings designed by Messenger, the upgrade transformed interior beauty into blandness. "It had wonderful dark panelling inside . . . its soul has been ripped out."
But St John's Church at Kaimata, a roughcast structure, remains a much admired pick for Mr Pritchard.
"It's a honey. It was built as a memorial by Albert Burwell to his wife and to give thanks to the end of World War II. It's gorgeous," he says.
And the Colliers building, opposite Mr Pritchard's Devon Street office, is also lovely because of its lean, well- proportioned look.
He's not so complimentary about the city's newest buildings.
"There's nothing built in the last decade you would say is a beautiful building because the test is: does it evoke an emotional response, does it stir the soul? I can't think of any built recently that do that."
One of the best buildings - largely for its well-arranged, workable inside - is the TSB Showplace, says Paul Goldsmith, well-known local architect and one of those responsible for designing Puke Ariki. Its original features, such as a grand opera house ceiling, were retained. It's atmospheric and "proud", Mr Goldsmith says.
"I think you need to look inside a building as well as out. The inside of the civic chambers [the New Plymouth District Council] is better than the outside."
Mr Goldsmith puts groups of buildings and areas of town on his list of lovelies. Devon Street has got "leaner, meaner, tighter and groovier". Council work begun in the last decade to link the mountain, the sea and the town is proving successful.
"In 10 years' time, these corridors from mountain to sea will be fantastic," he says, pointing out that it's only in the past 20 years that town planners have begun to consider links between outdoor spaces and buildings.
New Plymouth businessman and spirited CBD campaigner Richie Shearer says beauty, as well as being subjective, also relates to a building's design, how it sits in the environment and its longevity. Clusters of buildings tend to earn his respect.
"In a city context, it's how a whole group of buildings make you feel." King Street is one such example, as is nearby Queen Street with its old-timers: The White Hart, the clock tower, the former Public Trust building, Govett-Brewster art gallery, the former New Plymouth club and St Aubyn Chambers (now apartments).
"It's because Queen Street is one of our most original streets. It's a shame we have not been as proactive as other cities in retaining our old buildings or put design protocols in place," says Mr Shearer, a founding member of the since abandoned New Plymouth District Council urban design group whose work lead to the development of the Huatoki Plaza.
As to individual structures, Mr Shearer favours pink-toned Mayfair in Devon Street, the Collier building, the Mill (looking better since its grey paint job) and the ASB bank. Outside the CBD, Mr Shearer names a small building on St Aubyn Street opposite the Devonport Flats.
"The scale is great and it has a glass front that relates well to the street."
And while public toilets may only briefly attract our thoughts and presence, Mr Shearer thinks recent additions deserve admiration.
"They seem to blend in. When you think about the toilets on the foreshore, you don't notice them. They could have looked like a skyline garage, but they're attractive."
Its grounds also add to its aesthetic appeal, he says. Historic trees loom up above significant gravestones: Marsland Hill and its environs add to the serenity. Second equal on Mr Chong's list are New Plymouth central city churches St Andrew's and Whiteley Memorial Church. St Andrew's rates for its exterior stonework and well-proportioned spire, Whiteley Memorial for its soaring roof. But Mr Chong admits bias: he worked on the Methodist church, designed by architects Harvey and Bowering, in conjunction with Auckland Abbot Hole and Annabell. Opened in 1963, the church in 2007 earnt a New Zealand Institute of Architects award for enduring architecture, and last year it was among several Taranaki landmarks profiled in a weighty book on New Zealand's modern architecture.
"The minister at the time, Reverend Greenslade, wanted a church which went up very high and gave that lofty feeling. It was very controversial, but the thing about churches is they serve many purposes, from birth and death to baptisms and marriages. You feel emotional whether you are strongly religious or not."
Pukekura Park's tea house earnt a fourth placing on Mr Chong's list, despite the fact the new paint job is a glaring white. Shape as well as location were the reasons.
"You go past the cricket ground, you see the trees, the band rotunda and the Victoria water fountain before you come across the tea house and the red bridge. Immediately you feel you're in another world."
The word "beautiful" tends to encompass old or pretty places, points out Hawera architect Clive Cullen, when asked for his eyesore and eye-candy collection..
"It has a connotation that does not necessarily sit with what modern buildings are."
Whiteley Memorial Church
St George's Anglican Church, Patea
The Mayfair, Devon Street
Hunter Shaw Building, Patea
Collier building, Devon Street
St Andrew's Church
St Mary's Church
TSB Showplace, Devon Street
Ryder Hall, New Plymouth Boys' High
Pukekura Park kiosk
St Joseph's Church
Launching a feature on Taranaki's nicest and nastiest buildings was always going to be problematic.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder was one weary cliche trotted out. And when unaesthetic buildings begging to be on the ugly list were suggested, some replied they performed a function or were architecturally designed and thus a goodie, not a baddie.
Still, the Taranaki Daily News pushed on. Compiling a list of the region's stunners and shockers was something we reckoned we - and the public - could have fun with.
And it was a chance for reflection. Visitors judge us on appearances and while the sea, the mountain and the bush beautify our region, our buildings add to and detract from our look.
Furthermore, buildings constructed in the past 30 years are open to more debate. The vast majority of beautiful buildings our experts nominated were elderly specimens, constructed more than 50 years ago. Today's constructions might be considered less permanent, less elegant and far less likely to engender pride. Or perhaps it is just a matter of time. Will Puke Ariki grow in our affection? Will Huatoki Plaza inspire enthusiasm in years to come?
When it came to the crunch, churches frequently topped everyone's beautiful list.
Taranaki's most beautiful buildings
St Mary's Church, Whiteley Memorial Church, St Andrew's Church, St Joseph's Church, St George's Anglican Church, (Patea), St John's Church, Kaimata, Hunter Shaw Building (Patea), Wishing Well florists (Hawera), Ballentynes store, (Hawera), Pukekura Park kiosk, TSB Showplace, Devon Street, Collier building, Devon Street, Ryder Hall, New Plymouth Boys' High, The Mayfair, Devon Street
Honourable mention:
White Hart building, Post office building (Hawera), The Mill (New Plymouth), The ASB Bank, New Plymouth, St Aubyn office building
Retired architect and former Witt tutor Brian Chong says St Mary's, the country's oldest stone church, has the whole package.
"The buildings that I think are beautiful are built from the heart and with passion. St Mary's Church is the number one. It's built from natural materials with a lot of feeling and hard work."
South Taranaki's charmers include Victorian and colonial structures such as the town's courthouse, its library and some of its banks. A small stand-out specimen typifying old-world charm is 77 Princes Street, currently occupied by Wishing Well Flowers.
One of the loveliest examples of colonial architecture, reckons Mr Cullen, is St George's Anglican Church in Patea. A deep A-frame roof marks the building out, as do its stained-glass windows and bell tower.
Patea's second prime pick is the Hunter Shaw building, the 80-year-old red brick edifice on the main street.Designed by renowned architect William Gummer, it began life as a library and reading room. It was built in the much admired Georgian style, with shutters and a clock tower, and modelled on the award-winning Remuera library.
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In Hawera, the High Street building once called Patterson's building is also a stunner, but because of Art Deco features, not Victorian. Curved exterior walls and coloured geometric windows create a streamlined look.
"Inside, it has a wonderful quality of light and space," says Mr Cullen, referring to the store's mezzaine floor, central staircase and Art Deco detailing. Ballentynes now occupies it.
Significant mention also goes to the Hawera post office building. Advertising across its top detracts from its intended look, but when built, it encapsulated the International style of architecture, prevalent in the 1920s and 1930s, though it was built later than that. A solid upper wall contrasts with a recessed glass frontage and with a green faux marble wall.
"It's a rare modern building in Hawera, although the style sits uncomfortably with 19th-century buildings around it," Mr Cullen says.
New Plymouth architect Ian Pritchard, who wrote a book on pioneering architect Frank Messenger, struggles to reel off more than a handful of memorable buildings. His favourites include modern buildings: St Joseph's Church in Powderham Street, Ryder Hall at New Plymouth Boys' High School and the Whiteley Methodist church. The New Plymouth fire station would once have rated highly - sadly, he says, a coat of paint ruined its original appearance. Designed in concrete block, its grey exterior took cognisance of St Andrew's church opposite, also a stone building.
"The acknowledgement of that has gone. Whoever did it should be taken outside and shot. It was a beautiful building that has been destroyed."
Likewise, the Pukekura park kiosk. One of the hundreds of Taranaki buildings designed by Messenger, the upgrade transformed interior beauty into blandness. "It had wonderful dark panelling inside . . . its soul has been ripped out."
But St John's Church at Kaimata, a roughcast structure, remains a much admired pick for Mr Pritchard.
"It's a honey. It was built as a memorial by Albert Burwell to his wife and to give thanks to the end of World War II. It's gorgeous," he says.
And the Colliers building, opposite Mr Pritchard's Devon Street office, is also lovely because of its lean, well- proportioned look.
He's not so complimentary about the city's newest buildings.
"There's nothing built in the last decade you would say is a beautiful building because the test is: does it evoke an emotional response, does it stir the soul? I can't think of any built recently that do that."
One of the best buildings - largely for its well-arranged, workable inside - is the TSB Showplace, says Paul Goldsmith, well-known local architect and one of those responsible for designing Puke Ariki. Its original features, such as a grand opera house ceiling, were retained. It's atmospheric and "proud", Mr Goldsmith says.
"I think you need to look inside a building as well as out. The inside of the civic chambers [the New Plymouth District Council] is better than the outside."
Mr Goldsmith puts groups of buildings and areas of town on his list of lovelies. Devon Street has got "leaner, meaner, tighter and groovier". Council work begun in the last decade to link the mountain, the sea and the town is proving successful.
"In 10 years' time, these corridors from mountain to sea will be fantastic," he says, pointing out that it's only in the past 20 years that town planners have begun to consider links between outdoor spaces and buildings.
New Plymouth businessman and spirited CBD campaigner Richie Shearer says beauty, as well as being subjective, also relates to a building's design, how it sits in the environment and its longevity. Clusters of buildings tend to earn his respect.
"In a city context, it's how a whole group of buildings make you feel." King Street is one such example, as is nearby Queen Street with its old-timers: The White Hart, the clock tower, the former Public Trust building, Govett-Brewster art gallery, the former New Plymouth club and St Aubyn Chambers (now apartments).
"It's because Queen Street is one of our most original streets. It's a shame we have not been as proactive as other cities in retaining our old buildings or put design protocols in place," says Mr Shearer, a founding member of the since abandoned New Plymouth District Council urban design group whose work lead to the development of the Huatoki Plaza.
As to individual structures, Mr Shearer favours pink-toned Mayfair in Devon Street, the Collier building, the Mill (looking better since its grey paint job) and the ASB bank. Outside the CBD, Mr Shearer names a small building on St Aubyn Street opposite the Devonport Flats.
"The scale is great and it has a glass front that relates well to the street."
And while public toilets may only briefly attract our thoughts and presence, Mr Shearer thinks recent additions deserve admiration.
"They seem to blend in. When you think about the toilets on the foreshore, you don't notice them. They could have looked like a skyline garage, but they're attractive."
Its grounds also add to its aesthetic appeal, he says. Historic trees loom up above significant gravestones: Marsland Hill and its environs add to the serenity. Second equal on Mr Chong's list are New Plymouth central city churches St Andrew's and Whiteley Memorial Church. St Andrew's rates for its exterior stonework and well-proportioned spire, Whiteley Memorial for its soaring roof. But Mr Chong admits bias: he worked on the Methodist church, designed by architects Harvey and Bowering, in conjunction with Auckland Abbot Hole and Annabell. Opened in 1963, the church in 2007 earnt a New Zealand Institute of Architects award for enduring architecture, and last year it was among several Taranaki landmarks profiled in a weighty book on New Zealand's modern architecture.
"The minister at the time, Reverend Greenslade, wanted a church which went up very high and gave that lofty feeling. It was very controversial, but the thing about churches is they serve many purposes, from birth and death to baptisms and marriages. You feel emotional whether you are strongly religious or not."
Pukekura Park's tea house earnt a fourth placing on Mr Chong's list, despite the fact the new paint job is a glaring white. Shape as well as location were the reasons.
"You go past the cricket ground, you see the trees, the band rotunda and the Victoria water fountain before you come across the tea house and the red bridge. Immediately you feel you're in another world."
The word "beautiful" tends to encompass old or pretty places, points out Hawera architect Clive Cullen, when asked for his eyesore and eye-candy collection..
"It has a connotation that does not necessarily sit with what modern buildings are."
Shop owner in 70km mission to thwart thieves
Shop owner in 70km mission to thwart thieves
By RICHARD WOODD - Taranaki Daily News
BIG HAUL OF MOWERS: Detective Paul Davison with the haul of 26 lawnmowers, recovered by Hawera police yesterday.
RICHARD WOODD/ Taranaki Daily
BIG HAUL OF MOWERS: Detective Paul Davison with the haul of 26 lawnmowers, recovered by Hawera police yesterday.
A Hawera shop owner chased fleeing burglars for 70km yesterday morning trying to recover the 26 lawn mowers they had stolen from him.
But Mike Seaver was ordered by police by cellphone to back off after the burglars reversed into his car.
The police later executed search warrants and found the $26,000 worth of mowers stashed in a Hawera house.
Detective Paul Davison said he was hoping those responsible would be charged in the district court today.
He praised Mr Seaver for his sharp eyes and for quickly alerting the police after discovering crooks had broken into his shop (Seaver Cycles and Motors) in Regent St and stolen 26 boxed mowers from the showroom.
Mr Seaver discovered his shop had been burgled at 10.30pm on Sunday and called the police.
"But I couldn't sleep. I suspected the burglars lived in a house close to the shop and I was lying there listening for vehicles," he said. "Eventually I got up about 6am and drove around and I came up behind a Subaru hatchback with what looked like collapsed mower boxes in the back. There were two young people in the car and I think they must have been moving the boxes to somewhere they could be burned."
He phoned the registration number to the police and chased the vehicle to Manaia and then along back roads to Normanby, where the driver stopped and reversed into his Falcon wagon.
"It wasn't a high-speed chase, but it was a bit nerve-racking. The police had a fair idea who they might be," he said.
His wife Mary slept on oblivious to Mike's dramatic adventures. "But I'm glad I wasn't awake."
The police said Mr Seaver should get his mowers back by the weekend.
By RICHARD WOODD - Taranaki Daily News
BIG HAUL OF MOWERS: Detective Paul Davison with the haul of 26 lawnmowers, recovered by Hawera police yesterday.
RICHARD WOODD/ Taranaki Daily
BIG HAUL OF MOWERS: Detective Paul Davison with the haul of 26 lawnmowers, recovered by Hawera police yesterday.
A Hawera shop owner chased fleeing burglars for 70km yesterday morning trying to recover the 26 lawn mowers they had stolen from him.
But Mike Seaver was ordered by police by cellphone to back off after the burglars reversed into his car.
The police later executed search warrants and found the $26,000 worth of mowers stashed in a Hawera house.
Detective Paul Davison said he was hoping those responsible would be charged in the district court today.
He praised Mr Seaver for his sharp eyes and for quickly alerting the police after discovering crooks had broken into his shop (Seaver Cycles and Motors) in Regent St and stolen 26 boxed mowers from the showroom.
Mr Seaver discovered his shop had been burgled at 10.30pm on Sunday and called the police.
"But I couldn't sleep. I suspected the burglars lived in a house close to the shop and I was lying there listening for vehicles," he said. "Eventually I got up about 6am and drove around and I came up behind a Subaru hatchback with what looked like collapsed mower boxes in the back. There were two young people in the car and I think they must have been moving the boxes to somewhere they could be burned."
He phoned the registration number to the police and chased the vehicle to Manaia and then along back roads to Normanby, where the driver stopped and reversed into his Falcon wagon.
"It wasn't a high-speed chase, but it was a bit nerve-racking. The police had a fair idea who they might be," he said.
His wife Mary slept on oblivious to Mike's dramatic adventures. "But I'm glad I wasn't awake."
The police said Mr Seaver should get his mowers back by the weekend.
Book launch brings former scouts together
By KIRSTY JOHNSTON - Taranaki Daily News
Last updated 05:00 10/08/2009
ROBERT CHARLES/Taranaki Daily News
BADGES GALORE: Some of the archive material on display at Saturday's scouting book launch was former members' badge-covered blankets and possibly the oldest Scout uniform in New Zealand, dated 1920. From left, Moira Butler, book editor Bruce Bellini and Kevin Whittaker.
One hundred years worth of fond memories of scouting in Taranaki were celebrated in New Plymouth on Saturday.
Former scouts, cubs and keas either dropped in for afternoon tea or stayed for dinner at the Plymouth Hotel to mark the launch of Scouting New Plymouth and North Taranaki: 100 years of Scouting Memories, edited by local man Bruce Bellini.
The book was five years in the making and meant to be finished last year in time for the scoutings' 100th anniversary but there was so much information it took six months extra to write it all up.
Organiser Moira Butler, a former scout leader, said 150 books had been pre-ordered and more had been sold during the afternoon.
The event was a chance for old scouts to get together with friends they met through the organisation and reminisce, as well as inspect material brought out from the archives, Mrs Butler said.
Bruce Bellini said he had been "quite nervous" before the book's release.
"But the feedback had been all positive so far and the turn out higher than expected so I'm very pleased," he said.
Last updated 05:00 10/08/2009
ROBERT CHARLES/Taranaki Daily News
BADGES GALORE: Some of the archive material on display at Saturday's scouting book launch was former members' badge-covered blankets and possibly the oldest Scout uniform in New Zealand, dated 1920. From left, Moira Butler, book editor Bruce Bellini and Kevin Whittaker.
One hundred years worth of fond memories of scouting in Taranaki were celebrated in New Plymouth on Saturday.
Former scouts, cubs and keas either dropped in for afternoon tea or stayed for dinner at the Plymouth Hotel to mark the launch of Scouting New Plymouth and North Taranaki: 100 years of Scouting Memories, edited by local man Bruce Bellini.
The book was five years in the making and meant to be finished last year in time for the scoutings' 100th anniversary but there was so much information it took six months extra to write it all up.
Organiser Moira Butler, a former scout leader, said 150 books had been pre-ordered and more had been sold during the afternoon.
The event was a chance for old scouts to get together with friends they met through the organisation and reminisce, as well as inspect material brought out from the archives, Mrs Butler said.
Bruce Bellini said he had been "quite nervous" before the book's release.
"But the feedback had been all positive so far and the turn out higher than expected so I'm very pleased," he said.
Film company to share veterans' tales
By KIRSTY JOHNSTON - Taranaki Daily News
Last updated 05:00 10/08/2009
World War II veterans in Taranaki are being sought to tell their wartime tales before they're lost forever.
Local film company Anvil Productions has been given $28,000 by the Taranaki Electricity Trust to film interviews with 50 veterans in conjunction with the Rata Education and Historic Productions Trust.
Taranaki TV founder and journalist, Ray Cleaver, of Anvil Productions, said he wanted to get on to the project as soon as possible as the number of WWII veterans was dwindling rapidly.
"I got the idea when my father, who was a WWII veteran, began writing down memories of the war before he died," Mr Cleaver said.
"Like many soldiers he never talked about the war for many years and I thought, if we don't do something the stories will be lost soon."
Recent research by Inglewood man, Jack Elliot, shows the number of Inglewood veterans remaining is only 12 per cent of those who went to war.
Each veteran's story will be filmed by Mr Cleaver with Peter MacDonald of Stratford interviewing.
They will cover from the time when the soldiers joined up until they returned home.
The interviews will then be edited and DVD copies given to the veterans, Puke Ariki and the National Army Museum at Waiouru.
"That way anyone who wants to look up WWII or a certain battle can find this information on it," Mr Cleaver said. "But the best thing about it is that it will be their personal stories."
Taranaki's eight RSA clubs will be the main source of contacting the veterans.
Last updated 05:00 10/08/2009
World War II veterans in Taranaki are being sought to tell their wartime tales before they're lost forever.
Local film company Anvil Productions has been given $28,000 by the Taranaki Electricity Trust to film interviews with 50 veterans in conjunction with the Rata Education and Historic Productions Trust.
Taranaki TV founder and journalist, Ray Cleaver, of Anvil Productions, said he wanted to get on to the project as soon as possible as the number of WWII veterans was dwindling rapidly.
"I got the idea when my father, who was a WWII veteran, began writing down memories of the war before he died," Mr Cleaver said.
"Like many soldiers he never talked about the war for many years and I thought, if we don't do something the stories will be lost soon."
Recent research by Inglewood man, Jack Elliot, shows the number of Inglewood veterans remaining is only 12 per cent of those who went to war.
Each veteran's story will be filmed by Mr Cleaver with Peter MacDonald of Stratford interviewing.
They will cover from the time when the soldiers joined up until they returned home.
The interviews will then be edited and DVD copies given to the veterans, Puke Ariki and the National Army Museum at Waiouru.
"That way anyone who wants to look up WWII or a certain battle can find this information on it," Mr Cleaver said. "But the best thing about it is that it will be their personal stories."
Taranaki's eight RSA clubs will be the main source of contacting the veterans.
Wednesday, July 1
Party to kick off filming
Party to kick off filming
By RICHARD WOODD - Taranaki Daily News
There's so little public activity you'd hardly know a full-length feature film was being made in South Taranaki, but that's all about to change.
The South Taranaki District Council is laying on a welcome party next Friday for the 50-odd cast and crew of Midnight Productions, who are involved in the making of Predicament.
Invited guests will get a chance to meet the star (as yet unnamed but almost certainly Jemaine Clement, one half of the Flight of the Conchords), the director and screenplay writer Jason Stutter and producer Sue Rogers.
A new clue to the star's identity is the latest reprint of Ronald Hugh Morrieson's novel by Dunmore Publishing, which has a black-haired, black horn-rimmed spectacled chap on the cover that strongly suggests Clement in the lead role of Cedric Williamson.
Company publicist Sue May says everything is going according to schedule with filming starting in mid-July and running through to August, at unidentified locations through the district. However, they are urgently looking for more crew accommodation.
"We need good quality furnished houses in Hawera that are available to rent. This is because although the motels are very helpful, and we are using them, we seem to have booked out the whole town and we have more people still to accommodate," she says.
Anyone able to help should contact Gerald Langford, communications manager at the STDC.
Set building is in full swing in the old Warehouse building right in the centre of Hawera, but the windows have been covered over.
One thing that is known is the director has asked Taranaki Newspapers to print a 200-copy run of a special newspaper, called The Harperton Herald, so obviously something in the movie is going to make headlines.
The big unknown is: Whose house will be used to represent the Williamson family home?
By RICHARD WOODD - Taranaki Daily News
There's so little public activity you'd hardly know a full-length feature film was being made in South Taranaki, but that's all about to change.
The South Taranaki District Council is laying on a welcome party next Friday for the 50-odd cast and crew of Midnight Productions, who are involved in the making of Predicament.
Invited guests will get a chance to meet the star (as yet unnamed but almost certainly Jemaine Clement, one half of the Flight of the Conchords), the director and screenplay writer Jason Stutter and producer Sue Rogers.
A new clue to the star's identity is the latest reprint of Ronald Hugh Morrieson's novel by Dunmore Publishing, which has a black-haired, black horn-rimmed spectacled chap on the cover that strongly suggests Clement in the lead role of Cedric Williamson.
Company publicist Sue May says everything is going according to schedule with filming starting in mid-July and running through to August, at unidentified locations through the district. However, they are urgently looking for more crew accommodation.
"We need good quality furnished houses in Hawera that are available to rent. This is because although the motels are very helpful, and we are using them, we seem to have booked out the whole town and we have more people still to accommodate," she says.
Anyone able to help should contact Gerald Langford, communications manager at the STDC.
Set building is in full swing in the old Warehouse building right in the centre of Hawera, but the windows have been covered over.
One thing that is known is the director has asked Taranaki Newspapers to print a 200-copy run of a special newspaper, called The Harperton Herald, so obviously something in the movie is going to make headlines.
The big unknown is: Whose house will be used to represent the Williamson family home?
Saturday, May 2
Memories shared
More than 60 years since the world's biggest conflict put millions of men and women in uniform, the clubs and associations they formed after the war struggle to survive. The Taranaki branch of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Association might be one of those which doesn't.
Open to any ex-RNZAF, Commonwealth or Allied air forces members, the branch suffers from being isolated from former air bases and major airfields where former pilots and flight crew naturally settle.
Although counting more than 30 members on their books, many are in rest homes or hospitals, too frail or sick to participate in association activities.
In the past three months alone seven members have died.
Whether the Taranaki branch will continue in its current form was the subject of a special meeting held last week.
Seven members attended, bringing with them walking sticks, glasses, hearing aids and faces lined with memories.
Matt Rilkoff talked to three of them about their lives.
Samuel West
On Friday evenings Sam West meets with his regular group of ex-servicemen at the RSA for a beer or two before dinner.
The former Royal New Zealand Air Force flight sergeant chuckles about solving the world's problems that way, a common joke among men with time to fill and beer to drink.
Gentle and intelligently spoken, the Hawera-born man sits comfortably in his overstuffed armchair, his ankle a stripe of white between slippered feet and dark trousers.
As president of the Taranaki branch of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Association, much of the responsibility for finding a solution to the membership problem falls to him.
He is quietly pragmatic about the issue, which for many provokes sadness and dismay at a period of time falling from the nation's living memory.
"Its inevitable that we will amalgamate with another association. Whether that is this year or next, I'm not sure. But it's our only option. As these things operate now, even the RSA will have trouble in time."
Mr West left the Air Force in 1975, having joined as a 16-year- old aircraft apprentice in 1951.
His first posting was to England where citizens still carried ration cards and bomb craters dotted the cities. He met his wife Doris there, and made lifelong friends.
His time in England was as close as he came to the world war, to the type of aggression he was trained to mete out and defend against. For a long time, association members like Mr West, those who were not veterans of World War II, were a minority. Now they are the only hope for its survival.
Without young ex-RNZAF members the association will continue its decline.
"Oh, it's changed all right. We used to make trips, overnight trips or longer. We used to have dances and everyone would stay out late at night. Now our members prefer lunch and we don't get many along to that either. So many are in rest homes or in hospital. Most people accept that is the way these sort of clubs go," he said.
The problem for the Taranaki branch is geographical. Pilots and ground crew tend to live in bigger cities where larger airports and services offer employment. Mr West himself lived in Auckland when he worked for Air New Zealand after leaving the air force. He moved to Bell Block only when he retired.
The presidency came Mr West's way because of his age. At 74 he's younger than the people he has been charged with organising for the past few years. Sometimes he wishes he had those years the other members own.
"If I had been five or 10 years older I would have been living in a better period than today. Life was more settled, people were more communicative. They knew what was wrong, what was right."
dummy word
William Edhouse
Freshly demobilised WWII veteran Bill Edhouse slept through his train stop, arrived in New Plymouth and decided to stay.
It's a polished story, worn smooth by telling and one of many age and experience have equipped him with.
There is the tale of bunking school at Ohakune to peer at planes from the bushes, of Kingsford Smith and the barnstormers, of white coated "spies" at a wartime plywood factory and the Chinese family that helped his own survive the Great Depression.
They are a spiderweb of history and now and then there is a strand about the Pacific, a place he first knew as a venue for war against the Japanese.
It was there he served as a gunner, radio operator and almost any other job required except flying the PV1 Ventura bombers of his squadron.
His face, unlined and smiling, peaks out from history books he owns.
In these photos he is a young man meeting the governor general with the rest of his aircrew on an island airfield captured from the Japanese.
Pointing to the insignia on the bomber's wings he has another story to tell.
"You can see our roundels don't have the white lines on them yet. At that time the Yanks were shooting at anything that looked like a red circle, like the Japanese. They were trigger happy. They shot at anything that moved."
He should know. At one time his plane very nearly came under attack from two American P-38 Mustang fighters planes who mistook it for a Japanese bomber.
"They came in so fast. They were there and then they were gone and they must have been going at a rate because for an instant I could see the vapour trails coming off their wingtips. You get those at higher altitudes but when they came at us we were low so they must have been just thundering."
From time to time he makes promises to get back to the topic he agreed to talk about - the Airforce Association - but there are memories and distractions everywhere.
"When I applied for the air force I got a telegram telling me to report to Te Kuiti at oh-nine- fifteen. I asked my father "what's this oh-nine-fifteen". We didn't know about any 24 hour clock," he laughs.
Then he laughs again recalling his father's advice. "Ask the post office, they'll know."
The next telegram confused them just the same, telling the 18-year-old to report to Ohakea "forthwith" a word, like the time before, he had never heard.
He asked his father what would happen if he went "without".
"Ask the post office," he said. "Ask the post office."
There is no doubt his children have heard the story, his grandchildren too. Like the one about his arrival in New Plymouth, it has the good humour and timing of a well practised skit. Though his squadron did not lose a man in the theatre of war, they did not escape unscathed.
During training one of their pilots lost control of the Tiger Moth he was flying, slammed into the side of a shop and was killed.
"We all got airborne straight away. It was what we did. It was the way to make sure nobody lost their nerve."
He pauses, takes a bite of his cracker.
"These are all just memories coming out. You work them in to make them fit."
dummy word
Lorna Sarten
Before her own war, a young Lorna Sarten knew Anzac Day simply as the one when her brother got a birthday cake.
Now each year the former WAAF rises at 5am for the dawn ceremony to see children wear the medals their grandparents won in a war so devastating it changed the world forever.
"That makes me smile when I see them wearing those medals. It is really special to me to see that," she says.
The 86-year-old enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force in 1941 at Bell Block. Just months later she was in Wellington training as a cook at Rongotai airfield dealing with the massive quantities of food to feed 2000 airmen.
"We used to fry eggs in a pan that was about two feet long. It was half an inch deep with fat and we'd start cracking eggs in at one end and by the time we got to the end we'd be going back and taking the first ones out."
While civilians were dealing with rationing, there were no such restrictions on the fighting men and women, some of whom saw opportunity in the excess.
She recalls her "battleaxe" boss at the base and the fate of a bacon and egg pie.
"I had to make it for an exam and I know she took it to the guards to keep them sweet so they would not search her bags when she left. There was food in them, of course."
Like other ex-servicemen and women Mrs Sarten remembers the friendships of that time, the bond their common experience gave them. Despite the horrifying reason behind their mobilisation, the memories are happy ones.
There were the weekly dances, the trips to town in their civilian clothes and the innocent flirting with the young men preparing to fight.
"We did not even think about them maybe dying. We did not want to think about it and no one wanted to talk about it . . . I knew a man from a flying boat that had been shot down. I knew him very well and when I heard he had died that made me think about it. That brought it home to me as to what it was all about."
She says she knows of a few other ex-WAAFs in New Plymouth but there may be more. To her, meeting with these women who share similar memories is not a time for nostalgia. They never talk of their war.
"It's just that contact we enjoy," she says. "The chance to chat with people."
By MATT RILKOFF - Taranaki Daily News 25-4-09
Open to any ex-RNZAF, Commonwealth or Allied air forces members, the branch suffers from being isolated from former air bases and major airfields where former pilots and flight crew naturally settle.
Although counting more than 30 members on their books, many are in rest homes or hospitals, too frail or sick to participate in association activities.
In the past three months alone seven members have died.
Whether the Taranaki branch will continue in its current form was the subject of a special meeting held last week.
Seven members attended, bringing with them walking sticks, glasses, hearing aids and faces lined with memories.
Matt Rilkoff talked to three of them about their lives.
Samuel West
On Friday evenings Sam West meets with his regular group of ex-servicemen at the RSA for a beer or two before dinner.
The former Royal New Zealand Air Force flight sergeant chuckles about solving the world's problems that way, a common joke among men with time to fill and beer to drink.
Gentle and intelligently spoken, the Hawera-born man sits comfortably in his overstuffed armchair, his ankle a stripe of white between slippered feet and dark trousers.
As president of the Taranaki branch of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Association, much of the responsibility for finding a solution to the membership problem falls to him.
He is quietly pragmatic about the issue, which for many provokes sadness and dismay at a period of time falling from the nation's living memory.
"Its inevitable that we will amalgamate with another association. Whether that is this year or next, I'm not sure. But it's our only option. As these things operate now, even the RSA will have trouble in time."
Mr West left the Air Force in 1975, having joined as a 16-year- old aircraft apprentice in 1951.
His first posting was to England where citizens still carried ration cards and bomb craters dotted the cities. He met his wife Doris there, and made lifelong friends.
His time in England was as close as he came to the world war, to the type of aggression he was trained to mete out and defend against. For a long time, association members like Mr West, those who were not veterans of World War II, were a minority. Now they are the only hope for its survival.
Without young ex-RNZAF members the association will continue its decline.
"Oh, it's changed all right. We used to make trips, overnight trips or longer. We used to have dances and everyone would stay out late at night. Now our members prefer lunch and we don't get many along to that either. So many are in rest homes or in hospital. Most people accept that is the way these sort of clubs go," he said.
The problem for the Taranaki branch is geographical. Pilots and ground crew tend to live in bigger cities where larger airports and services offer employment. Mr West himself lived in Auckland when he worked for Air New Zealand after leaving the air force. He moved to Bell Block only when he retired.
The presidency came Mr West's way because of his age. At 74 he's younger than the people he has been charged with organising for the past few years. Sometimes he wishes he had those years the other members own.
"If I had been five or 10 years older I would have been living in a better period than today. Life was more settled, people were more communicative. They knew what was wrong, what was right."
dummy word
William Edhouse
Freshly demobilised WWII veteran Bill Edhouse slept through his train stop, arrived in New Plymouth and decided to stay.
It's a polished story, worn smooth by telling and one of many age and experience have equipped him with.
There is the tale of bunking school at Ohakune to peer at planes from the bushes, of Kingsford Smith and the barnstormers, of white coated "spies" at a wartime plywood factory and the Chinese family that helped his own survive the Great Depression.
They are a spiderweb of history and now and then there is a strand about the Pacific, a place he first knew as a venue for war against the Japanese.
It was there he served as a gunner, radio operator and almost any other job required except flying the PV1 Ventura bombers of his squadron.
His face, unlined and smiling, peaks out from history books he owns.
In these photos he is a young man meeting the governor general with the rest of his aircrew on an island airfield captured from the Japanese.
Pointing to the insignia on the bomber's wings he has another story to tell.
"You can see our roundels don't have the white lines on them yet. At that time the Yanks were shooting at anything that looked like a red circle, like the Japanese. They were trigger happy. They shot at anything that moved."
He should know. At one time his plane very nearly came under attack from two American P-38 Mustang fighters planes who mistook it for a Japanese bomber.
"They came in so fast. They were there and then they were gone and they must have been going at a rate because for an instant I could see the vapour trails coming off their wingtips. You get those at higher altitudes but when they came at us we were low so they must have been just thundering."
From time to time he makes promises to get back to the topic he agreed to talk about - the Airforce Association - but there are memories and distractions everywhere.
"When I applied for the air force I got a telegram telling me to report to Te Kuiti at oh-nine- fifteen. I asked my father "what's this oh-nine-fifteen". We didn't know about any 24 hour clock," he laughs.
Then he laughs again recalling his father's advice. "Ask the post office, they'll know."
The next telegram confused them just the same, telling the 18-year-old to report to Ohakea "forthwith" a word, like the time before, he had never heard.
He asked his father what would happen if he went "without".
"Ask the post office," he said. "Ask the post office."
There is no doubt his children have heard the story, his grandchildren too. Like the one about his arrival in New Plymouth, it has the good humour and timing of a well practised skit. Though his squadron did not lose a man in the theatre of war, they did not escape unscathed.
During training one of their pilots lost control of the Tiger Moth he was flying, slammed into the side of a shop and was killed.
"We all got airborne straight away. It was what we did. It was the way to make sure nobody lost their nerve."
He pauses, takes a bite of his cracker.
"These are all just memories coming out. You work them in to make them fit."
dummy word
Lorna Sarten
Before her own war, a young Lorna Sarten knew Anzac Day simply as the one when her brother got a birthday cake.
Now each year the former WAAF rises at 5am for the dawn ceremony to see children wear the medals their grandparents won in a war so devastating it changed the world forever.
"That makes me smile when I see them wearing those medals. It is really special to me to see that," she says.
The 86-year-old enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force in 1941 at Bell Block. Just months later she was in Wellington training as a cook at Rongotai airfield dealing with the massive quantities of food to feed 2000 airmen.
"We used to fry eggs in a pan that was about two feet long. It was half an inch deep with fat and we'd start cracking eggs in at one end and by the time we got to the end we'd be going back and taking the first ones out."
While civilians were dealing with rationing, there were no such restrictions on the fighting men and women, some of whom saw opportunity in the excess.
She recalls her "battleaxe" boss at the base and the fate of a bacon and egg pie.
"I had to make it for an exam and I know she took it to the guards to keep them sweet so they would not search her bags when she left. There was food in them, of course."
Like other ex-servicemen and women Mrs Sarten remembers the friendships of that time, the bond their common experience gave them. Despite the horrifying reason behind their mobilisation, the memories are happy ones.
There were the weekly dances, the trips to town in their civilian clothes and the innocent flirting with the young men preparing to fight.
"We did not even think about them maybe dying. We did not want to think about it and no one wanted to talk about it . . . I knew a man from a flying boat that had been shot down. I knew him very well and when I heard he had died that made me think about it. That brought it home to me as to what it was all about."
She says she knows of a few other ex-WAAFs in New Plymouth but there may be more. To her, meeting with these women who share similar memories is not a time for nostalgia. They never talk of their war.
"It's just that contact we enjoy," she says. "The chance to chat with people."
By MATT RILKOFF - Taranaki Daily News 25-4-09
Gerald McNaughton Chong
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/features/2362813/Siblings-recall-fathers-untiring-efforts#share
When dawn breaks on Anzac Day, Taranaki resident Brian Chong will remember his father's medal-winning World War I service as a stretcher-bearer.
Brian's father Gerald McNaughton Chong was one of only a handful of Kiwis of Chinese descent to serve in the war - a source of immense pride for his family.
His bravery under intense German shelling saw him awarded the Military Medal for "conspicuous bravery" but Brian says his father was "just an ordinary man who did his bit for his country".
"My brother and I would visit our father's grave after the parade, to put a poppy on it," he says.
"We used to compete to see who would get there first and my brother would beat me to it."
But his father was one of the many men who returned from the war and preferred to leave it behind, refusing to talk about his experiences, not wanting to be reminded of the horrors he had seen.
"He would say, though, that on Christmas Day they would yell out season's greetings to the Germans - because their lines were very close," he says.
"He said they would throw tins of jam to each other."
Many Chinese-New Zealanders declined to serve in the war because of their marginalised status. But Gerald McNaughton Chong volunteered to join the Medical Corp.
The youngest son of Chew Chong, a prominent member of the community who pioneered selling and manufacturing the pound of butter and built one of the first butter factories in 1885, and Taranaki local Elizabeth Whatton, the daughter of a settler involved in ironsand smelting, was a chemist's assistant.
He enlisted and joined the New Zealand Medical Corp as a stretcher-bearer, being attached to work with the No 1 Field Ambulance.
Initially an officers corp, an amendment in 1908 defence regulations saw "all officers, non-commissioned officers and men connected with the medical service of the permanent force, militia and volunteer, formed into the New Zealand Medical Corps".
General Sir Ian Hamilton ordered the corp organise field ambulances and "make every use of men whose civilian training fitted them to the work".
With his training as a chemist's assistant, Gerald Chong was quickly admitted and in May 1916 sailed for Plymouth on the Willochra, reaching England two months later.
He was sent to Bapaume in France, where www.britainatwar.org.uk records: "The ground shook and tolled humanity by the second."
Being a stretcher-bearer was exhausting work.
Chong carried wounded men to aid posts to receive treatment and later to dressing stations where they would have their bleeding stopped, splints applied, or have their wounds stitched.
In his book The New Zealanders at Gallipoli Fred Waite wrote: "A man without a load can dash from cover to cover, but the stretcher-bearers, with their limp and white-faced burdens, must walk steadily on, ignoring sniper and hostile gunners. Hour after hour the work went on, until after 20 hours' stretcher-bearing these unheeded heroes fell in their tracks from sheer exhaustion".
Chong's life was constantly at risk from bullets, shells and gas as he waded through mud and shell craters to remove the wounded from the battlefield.
One corp sergeant said he would never forget the experience: "A 12-stone weight on the stretcher, a dark night, a little drizzling rain, groping our way down the steep incline through prickly scrub, our wounded man crying with pain and begging for a drink every few yards, incessant rifle fire and bullets whizzing all around us."
In 1918 Bapaume came under intense enemy bombardment on August 25. The New Zealand Division suffered heavy losses and more than 300 were wounded. Heavy overnight rain meant heavy mud made the conditions for the stretcher- bearers almost impossible.
Chong was on duty at one of the bearer-posts and worked continuously for 36 hours carrying the wounded despite the weather and heavy shelling, winning his medal.
It is not possible to determine how many Chinese-New Zealand men served in World War I, a time of intense and open racism against the Chinese.
But like Chong, that did not deter Arnold Wong Lee, who also had a European mother, from "answering his country's call", as the inscription on his parents' headstone in Hastings reads: "He was killed in action on November 24, 1917 at the age of 19."
Another soldier of Chinese ethnicity was Clarence Eric Kee, who stayed in France with the Canterbury Infantry Regiment from 1917 until the end of the war, despite being wounded during his service.
In 1920 his father, Frank Kow Kee, was granted naturalisation because of his son's service, making him one of only four Chinese naturalised between 1908 and 1952 - years when Chinese were not allowed to become permanent citizens.
Michele Ong is a Fairfax intern student at AUT
When dawn breaks on Anzac Day, Taranaki resident Brian Chong will remember his father's medal-winning World War I service as a stretcher-bearer.
Brian's father Gerald McNaughton Chong was one of only a handful of Kiwis of Chinese descent to serve in the war - a source of immense pride for his family.
His bravery under intense German shelling saw him awarded the Military Medal for "conspicuous bravery" but Brian says his father was "just an ordinary man who did his bit for his country".
"My brother and I would visit our father's grave after the parade, to put a poppy on it," he says.
"We used to compete to see who would get there first and my brother would beat me to it."
But his father was one of the many men who returned from the war and preferred to leave it behind, refusing to talk about his experiences, not wanting to be reminded of the horrors he had seen.
"He would say, though, that on Christmas Day they would yell out season's greetings to the Germans - because their lines were very close," he says.
"He said they would throw tins of jam to each other."
Many Chinese-New Zealanders declined to serve in the war because of their marginalised status. But Gerald McNaughton Chong volunteered to join the Medical Corp.
The youngest son of Chew Chong, a prominent member of the community who pioneered selling and manufacturing the pound of butter and built one of the first butter factories in 1885, and Taranaki local Elizabeth Whatton, the daughter of a settler involved in ironsand smelting, was a chemist's assistant.
He enlisted and joined the New Zealand Medical Corp as a stretcher-bearer, being attached to work with the No 1 Field Ambulance.
Initially an officers corp, an amendment in 1908 defence regulations saw "all officers, non-commissioned officers and men connected with the medical service of the permanent force, militia and volunteer, formed into the New Zealand Medical Corps".
General Sir Ian Hamilton ordered the corp organise field ambulances and "make every use of men whose civilian training fitted them to the work".
With his training as a chemist's assistant, Gerald Chong was quickly admitted and in May 1916 sailed for Plymouth on the Willochra, reaching England two months later.
He was sent to Bapaume in France, where www.britainatwar.org.uk records: "The ground shook and tolled humanity by the second."
Being a stretcher-bearer was exhausting work.
Chong carried wounded men to aid posts to receive treatment and later to dressing stations where they would have their bleeding stopped, splints applied, or have their wounds stitched.
In his book The New Zealanders at Gallipoli Fred Waite wrote: "A man without a load can dash from cover to cover, but the stretcher-bearers, with their limp and white-faced burdens, must walk steadily on, ignoring sniper and hostile gunners. Hour after hour the work went on, until after 20 hours' stretcher-bearing these unheeded heroes fell in their tracks from sheer exhaustion".
Chong's life was constantly at risk from bullets, shells and gas as he waded through mud and shell craters to remove the wounded from the battlefield.
One corp sergeant said he would never forget the experience: "A 12-stone weight on the stretcher, a dark night, a little drizzling rain, groping our way down the steep incline through prickly scrub, our wounded man crying with pain and begging for a drink every few yards, incessant rifle fire and bullets whizzing all around us."
In 1918 Bapaume came under intense enemy bombardment on August 25. The New Zealand Division suffered heavy losses and more than 300 were wounded. Heavy overnight rain meant heavy mud made the conditions for the stretcher- bearers almost impossible.
Chong was on duty at one of the bearer-posts and worked continuously for 36 hours carrying the wounded despite the weather and heavy shelling, winning his medal.
It is not possible to determine how many Chinese-New Zealand men served in World War I, a time of intense and open racism against the Chinese.
But like Chong, that did not deter Arnold Wong Lee, who also had a European mother, from "answering his country's call", as the inscription on his parents' headstone in Hastings reads: "He was killed in action on November 24, 1917 at the age of 19."
Another soldier of Chinese ethnicity was Clarence Eric Kee, who stayed in France with the Canterbury Infantry Regiment from 1917 until the end of the war, despite being wounded during his service.
In 1920 his father, Frank Kow Kee, was granted naturalisation because of his son's service, making him one of only four Chinese naturalised between 1908 and 1952 - years when Chinese were not allowed to become permanent citizens.
Michele Ong is a Fairfax intern student at AUT
McCormick's death end of an era
The death on Anzac Day of Don McCormick marked the end of quite an era in Hawera's history.
It might even be called the day the music died when Donald Irvine McCormick passed away in the Trinity rest home at the age of 87 years.
He was a funeral director, a skilled musician and closest friend and drinking buddy of Hawera's late and not always lamented posthumously famous novelist Ronald Hugh Morrieson.
They were both born in Hawera in 1922 and both died there. Morrieson drank himself to an early death in 1972 at the age of 50, three years after his mother died and not long after McCormick embarked on a similar path.
They were mates from about age nine. McCormick joined the RNZAF when he was 18 and graduated as a sergeant pilot just before World War II ended.
McCormick learned piano from Miss Winifred Thomas, played in local competitions and sang in a church choir. Morrieson was born into a musical family and became a music teacher himself. He played violin and double bass hand-crafted by his grandfather Charles Johnson, an outstanding instrument maker.
McCormick and Morrieson played in dance bands together for some 20 years, from about 1946. Both men were talented multi-instrumentalists, firstly playing in the five-piece Premiere Band, Don on drums, piano or sax (his first sax was acquired from an American serviceman in exchange for a bottle of whisky) and Ron on piano, bass or guitar.
They then formed the Rhythm Masters trio and played all around Taranaki, tearing through the night in Ron's nine-seater Hudson, which was big enough to take all their gear.
Later they joined Colin King's eight-piece The Harmonisers.
While Morrieson was secretly writing his novels based on Hawera life, McCormick inherited his father's funeral parlour and furniture store business, then based where Barrie's Restaurant and Bar is now located in Princes St.
The firm buried Morrieson, but McCormick chose to be just another mourner. Shortly after this event, he sold it to his partner Russell Bassett, invested the money and began living off the interest. Bassett sold out to Michael Clegg in 1975.
McCormick boasted to me about his drinking prowess in a published 1988 interview after I met him at the Railway Tavern. At that stage his daily routine was to begin at the Railway about 9am, move to the South Taranaki Club when it opened at 11am, go home for lunch and a snooze and head back to the club at 3pm.
When I asked him how long he'd been living like this, he replied: "Not bloody long enough."
He later shocked Hawera by giving up alcohol. This was when people began telling him he'd go the same way as Morrieson.
On the subject of Morrieson, McCormick said: "Actually I'm a bit sick of talking to journalists about Ron. A lot of rubbish has beenwritten and a lot of people are suddenly discovering that they knew him.
"He's getting to be larger than life. He wanted success but not fame. He never told anyone outside of his mother and aunt he was writing books until after the first one was published."
Don McCormick was a lifemember and former Rangatiraof the Hawera Savage Club and very proud of what he helped the club achieve.
By RICHARD WOODD - Taranaki Daily News
Last updated 05:00 02/05/2009
It might even be called the day the music died when Donald Irvine McCormick passed away in the Trinity rest home at the age of 87 years.
He was a funeral director, a skilled musician and closest friend and drinking buddy of Hawera's late and not always lamented posthumously famous novelist Ronald Hugh Morrieson.
They were both born in Hawera in 1922 and both died there. Morrieson drank himself to an early death in 1972 at the age of 50, three years after his mother died and not long after McCormick embarked on a similar path.
They were mates from about age nine. McCormick joined the RNZAF when he was 18 and graduated as a sergeant pilot just before World War II ended.
McCormick learned piano from Miss Winifred Thomas, played in local competitions and sang in a church choir. Morrieson was born into a musical family and became a music teacher himself. He played violin and double bass hand-crafted by his grandfather Charles Johnson, an outstanding instrument maker.
McCormick and Morrieson played in dance bands together for some 20 years, from about 1946. Both men were talented multi-instrumentalists, firstly playing in the five-piece Premiere Band, Don on drums, piano or sax (his first sax was acquired from an American serviceman in exchange for a bottle of whisky) and Ron on piano, bass or guitar.
They then formed the Rhythm Masters trio and played all around Taranaki, tearing through the night in Ron's nine-seater Hudson, which was big enough to take all their gear.
Later they joined Colin King's eight-piece The Harmonisers.
While Morrieson was secretly writing his novels based on Hawera life, McCormick inherited his father's funeral parlour and furniture store business, then based where Barrie's Restaurant and Bar is now located in Princes St.
The firm buried Morrieson, but McCormick chose to be just another mourner. Shortly after this event, he sold it to his partner Russell Bassett, invested the money and began living off the interest. Bassett sold out to Michael Clegg in 1975.
McCormick boasted to me about his drinking prowess in a published 1988 interview after I met him at the Railway Tavern. At that stage his daily routine was to begin at the Railway about 9am, move to the South Taranaki Club when it opened at 11am, go home for lunch and a snooze and head back to the club at 3pm.
When I asked him how long he'd been living like this, he replied: "Not bloody long enough."
He later shocked Hawera by giving up alcohol. This was when people began telling him he'd go the same way as Morrieson.
On the subject of Morrieson, McCormick said: "Actually I'm a bit sick of talking to journalists about Ron. A lot of rubbish has beenwritten and a lot of people are suddenly discovering that they knew him.
"He's getting to be larger than life. He wanted success but not fame. He never told anyone outside of his mother and aunt he was writing books until after the first one was published."
Don McCormick was a lifemember and former Rangatiraof the Hawera Savage Club and very proud of what he helped the club achieve.
By RICHARD WOODD - Taranaki Daily News
Last updated 05:00 02/05/2009
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