30 May 2006
By RICHARD WOODDOld newsreels, cartoons, and New Zealand events from two large private 16mm film collections are to be shown to the public in Stratford.
Most of the films are from the collection of Bruce Cook, who died 18 months ago and bequeathed it to the King's Theatre, where he spent much of his retirement years as a volunteer projectionist.
The other collection is in the custody of Stratford's Rosemary Macpherson, whose father Eric Gordon Macpherson, filmed every major event around Kaitaia, Northland, where he farmed until his death in 1974.
The TET King's Theatre will screen special Sunday 2pm matinee sessions from June 25.
The theatre manager, Barry Milner, and the head projectionist, Merv Sayer, are gradually working through the hundreds of reels, splicing short films together, labelling the tins and making up programmes for public showing.
Mr Milner said Mr Cook collected 16mm film as a hobby. "For some reason he didn't send any of his collection to the NZ Film Archive, he wanted it kept intact here, so we've set up the Bruce Cook Film Library at the theatre. He had about 10 projectors and we have four of them working. It's slow work, but we're finding all sorts of gems."
These included 1950s newsreels, cartoons, feature films; documentaries on Rotorua, the inaugural trip of the first red railcar from Wellington to Napier; the Crown Lynn pottery factory; the first Beazley Home being built in Auckland; performing chimpanzees in a film called Manhattan Monkey Business; an interview with Peter Snell after he broke the world mile record at Wanganui; the Milford Track; Endeavour on the Ice, about a US icebreaker in the Antarctic; circuses and zoos; NZ National Film Unit Pictorial Parade; Movietone News; Universal International News 1954; Termites from Mars a six-minute cartoon; the Golden Shears championships.
"There are a couple of Danny Kaye short films, some Pete Smith Specials and possibly a Joe McDoak – people will remember them being shown preceding the feature film in the 50s and 60s," Mr Milner said. "There's one silent film that someone has shot of a trip in a Vanguard car from Rotorua to about Hawera. They stop to boil the billy and show us the sights along the way."
Eric Macpherson was a British-born schoolteacher who bought his first movie camera in 1927 (it's on display at King's) and died in 1974. He came out to visit his brother and ended up buying a farm at Peria, Northland. He filmed every major event around Kaitaia, including Opo the dolphin.
Rosemary, who is custodian of the material, is having the film transferred to DVD by a local contractor, Tony Kelly.
In January 1925, King's Theatre was the first theatre in the world outside Hollywood to show sound film.
Mr Milner said Bill Kirkwood, a former Stratford mayor, was one of the syndicate which built the theatre and he bought the importing rights to the De Forrest Phono System and installed it in the theatre. This was two years before The Jazz Singer, the first talkie feature film made.
"We'll start showing film from the collections on June 25, and thereafter on the last Sunday of the month, for as long as it remains popular," Mr Milner said. "There'll be a small cover charge for the theatre."
Tuesday, May 30
Sunday, May 28
Mokoia
By David Bruce
In the 1940s they agitated for a pedestrian crossing on the main road at Mokoia.
With the dairy factory on the seaward side, along with the general store/post office, and the railway station and a scatter of railway and factory houses down Beach Rd and along the Old South Rd, there were a lot of kids wanting to cross the road to school in the morning and again in the afternoon. Crossing the road to the new school.
http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/businessandindustry/mokia.asp
In the 1940s they agitated for a pedestrian crossing on the main road at Mokoia.
With the dairy factory on the seaward side, along with the general store/post office, and the railway station and a scatter of railway and factory houses down Beach Rd and along the Old South Rd, there were a lot of kids wanting to cross the road to school in the morning and again in the afternoon. Crossing the road to the new school.
http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/businessandindustry/mokia.asp
Elvis Museum in Hawera
Kevin D. Wasley has been an avid collector of Elvismemorabilia since 1957. He was born and raised inHawera and attended Hawera High School.
A painter and paperhanger by trade, he is well known
and respected around Hawera and is often seen dressed
as "The King" but his pride and joy is the Elvis
Presley Memorial Record Room which he has developed
over the years in an adapted garage next to his home
The Elvis Room contains thousands of rare recordings,
souvenirs and memorabilia, many of which were collected
during the few trips Kevin has made to the home of Elvis
Presley. (He has been through the house itself 17 times!),
Graceland.
A painter and paperhanger by trade, he is well known
and respected around Hawera and is often seen dressed
as "The King" but his pride and joy is the Elvis
Presley Memorial Record Room which he has developed
over the years in an adapted garage next to his home
The Elvis Room contains thousands of rare recordings,
souvenirs and memorabilia, many of which were collected
during the few trips Kevin has made to the home of Elvis
Presley. (He has been through the house itself 17 times!),
Graceland.
Howard Morrison Quartet
The Howard Morrison Quartet
Howard Morrison was born in Rotorua in 1936, in a rugby-playing family. In 1955, while working as a surveyor's chainman, he started putting together vocal groups to entertain at rugby club socials in Rotorua. In 1956 he toured Australia as a member of the Aotearoa Concert Party.
Wi, Gerry, Noel and Howard On his return, he heard guitarist Gerry Merito and put together a group with Gerry and two others, Wi Wharekura and Noel Kingi, and named the group Howard Morrison Quartet. In 1958 they became part of Benny Levin's touring 'Pop Jamboree.' A recording they made of "Hoki Mai/ Po Karekare Ana" sold well, and in 1959 their parody of "The Battle Of New Orleans," recorded as The Battle Of The Waikato, became one of their biggest hits.
In 1960 they were so popular their managers released 13 singles, 3 EP's and 2 LP's. Another parody of Lonnie Donegan, "My Old Man's A Dustman" was rewritten by Gerry Merito as "My Old Man's An All Black." This was highly topical because of the huge controversy over Maoris not being allowed to tour South Africa with that year's All Blacks.
Moving into 1962, two of their singles were more parodies, with Ray Steven's "Ahab The Arab" becoming "Mori The Hori" and Pat Boone's "Speedy Gonzales" becoming "George The Wilder Colonial Boy", celebrating the exploits of escaped convict George Wilder.
Due to the constant touring and absence from families, the quartet disbanded in 1965.
The Haka
What is a haka?
Haka is the generic name for all Maori dance. Today, haka is defined as that part of the Maori dance repertoire where the men are to the fore with the women lending vocal support in the rear. Most haka seen today are haka taparahi, men's ceremonial dance-poetry performed without weapons.
"More than any aspect of Maori culture, this complex dance is an expression of the passion, vigour and identity of the race. Haka is not merely a pastime of the Maori but was also a custom of high social importance in the welcoming and entertainment of visitors. Tribal reputation rose and fell on their ability to perform the haka."
(Mahuika, 1972)
http://folksong.org.nz/ka_mate/index.html
Haka is the generic name for all Maori dance. Today, haka is defined as that part of the Maori dance repertoire where the men are to the fore with the women lending vocal support in the rear. Most haka seen today are haka taparahi, men's ceremonial dance-poetry performed without weapons.
"More than any aspect of Maori culture, this complex dance is an expression of the passion, vigour and identity of the race. Haka is not merely a pastime of the Maori but was also a custom of high social importance in the welcoming and entertainment of visitors. Tribal reputation rose and fell on their ability to perform the haka."
(Mahuika, 1972)
http://folksong.org.nz/ka_mate/index.html
Saturday, May 27
Hawera impresses sister city mayor
27 May 2006
By CRAIG JEFFREYFirst impressions count – and for the visiting Mayor of Hawera's Chinese sister city, Harbin, Taranaki's landscape gave him a sense of people living happy, comfortable and relaxed lives.
The delegation, with five representatives from Harbin's development zone, foreign affairs and financial sectors were welcomed by South Taranaki deputy mayor Jack Rangiwahia yesterday.
The sister city relationship was forged two years ago and while it is still in its infancy, cultural and educational exchanges have been mapped out with a planned visit from a group Harbin of 16 and 17-year-olds.
Sharing information is high on the agenda, with the Chinese keen to learn more about New Zealand's excellence in dairy technology and farming.
It was Mayor Zhongxin's first visit to New Zealand, and through an interpreter, he was glowing in his view of Taranaki.
"We live in a city of 3 million people, which covers an area of 23,000km? so the landscape you have here is beautiful and relaxing," he said.
After a formal welcome and exchange of gifts, the delegation visited Hawera Intermediate School, where students had learned some Mandarin through their language studies.
The delegation then got a taste of Kiwi culture and history with a visit to Tawhiti museum and dinner at the Aotea Marae.
An official tree-planting ceremony will be held next to the Chinese garden at King Edward Park today at noon, followed by a scenic bus trip back to New Plymouth, where the visitors fly out at 4.15pm.
By CRAIG JEFFREYFirst impressions count – and for the visiting Mayor of Hawera's Chinese sister city, Harbin, Taranaki's landscape gave him a sense of people living happy, comfortable and relaxed lives.
The delegation, with five representatives from Harbin's development zone, foreign affairs and financial sectors were welcomed by South Taranaki deputy mayor Jack Rangiwahia yesterday.
The sister city relationship was forged two years ago and while it is still in its infancy, cultural and educational exchanges have been mapped out with a planned visit from a group Harbin of 16 and 17-year-olds.
Sharing information is high on the agenda, with the Chinese keen to learn more about New Zealand's excellence in dairy technology and farming.
It was Mayor Zhongxin's first visit to New Zealand, and through an interpreter, he was glowing in his view of Taranaki.
"We live in a city of 3 million people, which covers an area of 23,000km? so the landscape you have here is beautiful and relaxing," he said.
After a formal welcome and exchange of gifts, the delegation visited Hawera Intermediate School, where students had learned some Mandarin through their language studies.
The delegation then got a taste of Kiwi culture and history with a visit to Tawhiti museum and dinner at the Aotea Marae.
An official tree-planting ceremony will be held next to the Chinese garden at King Edward Park today at noon, followed by a scenic bus trip back to New Plymouth, where the visitors fly out at 4.15pm.
New Plymouth's Womens Rest Room
Rita comes home for party 27 May 2006
By ROCHELLE WEST Not many could boast calling a toilet block home. New Plymouth's Rita Thomas can.
The 91-year-old, who was the custodian of the New Plymouth Women's Rest Rooms from 1969 to 1978, not only cleaned the toilets, she lived in the building – and loved it.
Living in a flat at the rear of the rest rooms, Mrs Thomas enjoyed the convenience of inner-city living long before it became popular.
She was employed by the council to look after the popular refuge for women – day and night.
Returning to the quaint public toilets on James Lane yesterday to celebrate the rest rooms' 70th birthday party, the memories flowed for Mrs Thomas.
There were the Friday nights when giggling school girls would change into their glad-rags in the pristine women's toilets, slap on their make-up and emerge from the cubicles young ladies for a night out.
Then there was a time in the 1970s, when the Huatoki Stream burst its banks.
Muddy waters and more than the odd rat surrounded the well-built stucco building.
"The water was right at the back door, it came up the steps. I had to be carried out."
Merchandise, including fridges and babies' clothes, from nearby flooded shops floated by as Mrs Thomas' family saved her from her watery home.
There was also the work. "My job was keeping everything clean – all the toilets, replacing toilet paper and soap, washing the floors and polishing the floors."
Today, rest room attendants look after the building during day-time hours, with the old flat being converted into an office and staff room.
Mrs Thomas was one of dozens of women and the odd man to join in the rest rooms' 70th birthday afternoon tea party yesterday.
As well as the usual party food treats, a giant cake – complete with colour photograph of the rest rooms mounted in the icing – was cut for all to sample.
The women's rest rooms, often described as a haven for women, have had a colourful history to rival its bright colour scheme.
It has survived the threat of demolition on several occasions – the latest was recently, when women rallied to successfully fight the New Plymouth District Council, which planned to demolish or move the building to make way for the Huatoki development.
More than 3000 people signed a petition to stop the demolition.
Built for the New Plymouth Borough Council in 1936, the James Lane rest rooms replaced the old women's toilets opposite the fire station on Courtenay St.
According to Puke Ariki reseachers, the central location and ease of access was heralded as a breakthrough for women of the time, especially "country visitors".
Last year, the rest rooms received recognition of its status – winning an award for the best public rest rooms in New Zealand.
By ROCHELLE WEST Not many could boast calling a toilet block home. New Plymouth's Rita Thomas can.
The 91-year-old, who was the custodian of the New Plymouth Women's Rest Rooms from 1969 to 1978, not only cleaned the toilets, she lived in the building – and loved it.
Living in a flat at the rear of the rest rooms, Mrs Thomas enjoyed the convenience of inner-city living long before it became popular.
She was employed by the council to look after the popular refuge for women – day and night.
Returning to the quaint public toilets on James Lane yesterday to celebrate the rest rooms' 70th birthday party, the memories flowed for Mrs Thomas.
There were the Friday nights when giggling school girls would change into their glad-rags in the pristine women's toilets, slap on their make-up and emerge from the cubicles young ladies for a night out.
Then there was a time in the 1970s, when the Huatoki Stream burst its banks.
Muddy waters and more than the odd rat surrounded the well-built stucco building.
"The water was right at the back door, it came up the steps. I had to be carried out."
Merchandise, including fridges and babies' clothes, from nearby flooded shops floated by as Mrs Thomas' family saved her from her watery home.
There was also the work. "My job was keeping everything clean – all the toilets, replacing toilet paper and soap, washing the floors and polishing the floors."
Today, rest room attendants look after the building during day-time hours, with the old flat being converted into an office and staff room.
Mrs Thomas was one of dozens of women and the odd man to join in the rest rooms' 70th birthday afternoon tea party yesterday.
As well as the usual party food treats, a giant cake – complete with colour photograph of the rest rooms mounted in the icing – was cut for all to sample.
The women's rest rooms, often described as a haven for women, have had a colourful history to rival its bright colour scheme.
It has survived the threat of demolition on several occasions – the latest was recently, when women rallied to successfully fight the New Plymouth District Council, which planned to demolish or move the building to make way for the Huatoki development.
More than 3000 people signed a petition to stop the demolition.
Built for the New Plymouth Borough Council in 1936, the James Lane rest rooms replaced the old women's toilets opposite the fire station on Courtenay St.
According to Puke Ariki reseachers, the central location and ease of access was heralded as a breakthrough for women of the time, especially "country visitors".
Last year, the rest rooms received recognition of its status – winning an award for the best public rest rooms in New Zealand.
Sunday, May 21
Role models of the past in Taranaki
05.06.05By Helen Frances
South Taranaki Museum in Patea is a wonderful place to rummage through, somewhere like your grandmother's house perhaps, where you stumble across some odd piece of technology or uncover a forgotten childhood treasure. It was a welcome dry spot on one of those days that help to produce the lush green grass for the region's dairy industry. It also led me to the fascinating Tawhiti Museum near Hawera. Between the two, a dismal day suddenly became a lot of fun. It was the sight of the Aotea Canoe floating in the rain above the main street of Patea which first attracted my attention. As kids back in the 50s and 60s we made our own fun on those weekend visits to the museum and this turned out to be just as intriguing. After a quick intro by museum volunteer and local councillor, Warwick Fry, I wandered through the rooms, marvelling at the stuff our Maori and European forebears used in their daily lives. Gramophones with trumpets, early typewriters, and antique telephones crowded the shelves, all within touching distance. The no-glass case displays continued through the Agricultural and Machinery room, where early separators and churns mixed it with horse-drawn gigs and fire trucks. Women didn't feature much in the displays so their minor presence was all the more conspicuous in the Trade and Industry room, where an antique mannequin stuck her head out of an iron lung used to help polio victims breathe at Patea Hospital in the 1950s. A harassed looking woman glared over the monthly washing in 1890. She was surrounded by instruments such as mangles, evidence of the intensely manual work of the times. Women's lives were a bit on the margins in this museum but their role was certainly clear in the court devoted to domesticity. Maori history is also a little thinner than you might expect. Maori arrived in Patea in the 14th century after navigators Turi and Rongo-Rongo found their way following directions from Kupe to look for "the river flowing towards the setting sun". In the Maori court, an unadorned fishing canoe that had been dug out of a swamp looked battered, yet solid, beneath paintings of Oriwa Haddon, the first Maori painter to show work at a Fine Arts exhibition in the capital city. Valuable cloaks, tools, and piu piu are housed behind glass in this room. But the dairy industry is certainly not forgotten. In the 1940s Patea Port was the world's largest cheese exporter and the life of the port unfolded as I strolled through a wood-panelled corridor in a simulated ship's hold accompanied by the cries of seagulls and wash of waves. Twelve portholes offered evocative glimpses into scenes from the past of a tribal settlement and once-thriving sea town. "Ooh, that one's creepy," cried a child to her mother, backing away from one porthole, where a life-size model of Skipper Barnes was busy transmitting from a ship's radio. I discovered local artist Nigel Ogle created these gems and his wonderful museum at the old Tawhiti cheese factory was the next, unexpected visit that afternoon. "You mustn't miss it," urged Warwick, so, spurred on by this fellow museum vote of confidence, I set off to Hawera and Taranaki's answer to Madame Tussauds. Tawhiti Museum was slick after Patea's olde curiosity shoppe style. A vast number of figures, made by Nigel, played out the dramas of local history in scenes of war, work and family life. The scenes are illustrated in a range of different-sized scenes, from life-size proportions to miniatures. The figures are modelled on real people and look amazingly alive. A frazzled mother in curlers holding a baby in one arm and stirring a pot with another while a toddler screamed at her apron strings brought back memories, while a chap leaping up from a long drop when the door was opened caught everyone by surprise. In other scenes, men were busy fixing cars, shearing and slaughtering sheep while women served behind counters, cooked and sewed. The Brock family rooms take visitors close up to early middle-class life at home. A kid smears her face with lipstick as the parents prepare to go out, a drawing room scene sings when you push a button and toffee spills from a child's pot in the kitchen. Maori life in the region and Kimble Bent's escape from the British Army in 1865 to live with the Hauhau tribe are also illustrated with imagination and Nigel's meticulous attention to detail in a series of dioramas. This former art teacher has turned a hobby and talent into a full-time business and has produced a hugely informative work of art that continues to grow. In Badger's Cafe next door a series of models from The Wind in the Willows illustrate scenes from the book. Musing over a cuppa and a delicious home-baked cake, I realised I should have allowed more time for Tawhiti, but that is what happens when you just follow your nose.
South Taranaki Museum in Patea is a wonderful place to rummage through, somewhere like your grandmother's house perhaps, where you stumble across some odd piece of technology or uncover a forgotten childhood treasure. It was a welcome dry spot on one of those days that help to produce the lush green grass for the region's dairy industry. It also led me to the fascinating Tawhiti Museum near Hawera. Between the two, a dismal day suddenly became a lot of fun. It was the sight of the Aotea Canoe floating in the rain above the main street of Patea which first attracted my attention. As kids back in the 50s and 60s we made our own fun on those weekend visits to the museum and this turned out to be just as intriguing. After a quick intro by museum volunteer and local councillor, Warwick Fry, I wandered through the rooms, marvelling at the stuff our Maori and European forebears used in their daily lives. Gramophones with trumpets, early typewriters, and antique telephones crowded the shelves, all within touching distance. The no-glass case displays continued through the Agricultural and Machinery room, where early separators and churns mixed it with horse-drawn gigs and fire trucks. Women didn't feature much in the displays so their minor presence was all the more conspicuous in the Trade and Industry room, where an antique mannequin stuck her head out of an iron lung used to help polio victims breathe at Patea Hospital in the 1950s. A harassed looking woman glared over the monthly washing in 1890. She was surrounded by instruments such as mangles, evidence of the intensely manual work of the times. Women's lives were a bit on the margins in this museum but their role was certainly clear in the court devoted to domesticity. Maori history is also a little thinner than you might expect. Maori arrived in Patea in the 14th century after navigators Turi and Rongo-Rongo found their way following directions from Kupe to look for "the river flowing towards the setting sun". In the Maori court, an unadorned fishing canoe that had been dug out of a swamp looked battered, yet solid, beneath paintings of Oriwa Haddon, the first Maori painter to show work at a Fine Arts exhibition in the capital city. Valuable cloaks, tools, and piu piu are housed behind glass in this room. But the dairy industry is certainly not forgotten. In the 1940s Patea Port was the world's largest cheese exporter and the life of the port unfolded as I strolled through a wood-panelled corridor in a simulated ship's hold accompanied by the cries of seagulls and wash of waves. Twelve portholes offered evocative glimpses into scenes from the past of a tribal settlement and once-thriving sea town. "Ooh, that one's creepy," cried a child to her mother, backing away from one porthole, where a life-size model of Skipper Barnes was busy transmitting from a ship's radio. I discovered local artist Nigel Ogle created these gems and his wonderful museum at the old Tawhiti cheese factory was the next, unexpected visit that afternoon. "You mustn't miss it," urged Warwick, so, spurred on by this fellow museum vote of confidence, I set off to Hawera and Taranaki's answer to Madame Tussauds. Tawhiti Museum was slick after Patea's olde curiosity shoppe style. A vast number of figures, made by Nigel, played out the dramas of local history in scenes of war, work and family life. The scenes are illustrated in a range of different-sized scenes, from life-size proportions to miniatures. The figures are modelled on real people and look amazingly alive. A frazzled mother in curlers holding a baby in one arm and stirring a pot with another while a toddler screamed at her apron strings brought back memories, while a chap leaping up from a long drop when the door was opened caught everyone by surprise. In other scenes, men were busy fixing cars, shearing and slaughtering sheep while women served behind counters, cooked and sewed. The Brock family rooms take visitors close up to early middle-class life at home. A kid smears her face with lipstick as the parents prepare to go out, a drawing room scene sings when you push a button and toffee spills from a child's pot in the kitchen. Maori life in the region and Kimble Bent's escape from the British Army in 1865 to live with the Hauhau tribe are also illustrated with imagination and Nigel's meticulous attention to detail in a series of dioramas. This former art teacher has turned a hobby and talent into a full-time business and has produced a hugely informative work of art that continues to grow. In Badger's Cafe next door a series of models from The Wind in the Willows illustrate scenes from the book. Musing over a cuppa and a delicious home-baked cake, I realised I should have allowed more time for Tawhiti, but that is what happens when you just follow your nose.
Ferdinand the bull
By Virginia Winder
Taranaki rugby mascot Ferdinand the Bull survived one fire, a goring from boar tusks, a broken back and an attack by police.
But in the end he became a victim of fashion.
It all began in the early 1950s, when Taranaki supporters decided to challenge Waikato's dairy industry icon.
An article published in a Taranaki Rugby Annual 1978-79 tells the story.
It says that in 1952, when the northern foes held the Ranfurly Shield, Mooloo the cow was the emblem of Waikato.
Murray Mitchell and Geoff Bendall built the bull in Geoff's parents garage. "We built it out of straw, number eight wire and papier mache," said Mr Mitchell.
Bovine birth
And so Ferdinand was born.
His first trip out onto Rugby Park, with Mr Mitchell as the back legs and Mr Bendall as the front, was a rainy day - not ideal for a papier mache bull.
"It was pissing down with rain - and the ground was all sloppy. Before we even got out onto the field we'd fallen over," said Mr Mitchell. "We went out and took a bow. The crowd went burko they thought it was wonderful. The guy on the microphone said 'you've heard of Mooloo - well now you've got Ferdinand
http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/sport/ferdinandthebull.asp
Taranaki rugby mascot Ferdinand the Bull survived one fire, a goring from boar tusks, a broken back and an attack by police.
But in the end he became a victim of fashion.
It all began in the early 1950s, when Taranaki supporters decided to challenge Waikato's dairy industry icon.
An article published in a Taranaki Rugby Annual 1978-79 tells the story.
It says that in 1952, when the northern foes held the Ranfurly Shield, Mooloo the cow was the emblem of Waikato.
Murray Mitchell and Geoff Bendall built the bull in Geoff's parents garage. "We built it out of straw, number eight wire and papier mache," said Mr Mitchell.
Bovine birth
And so Ferdinand was born.
His first trip out onto Rugby Park, with Mr Mitchell as the back legs and Mr Bendall as the front, was a rainy day - not ideal for a papier mache bull.
"It was pissing down with rain - and the ground was all sloppy. Before we even got out onto the field we'd fallen over," said Mr Mitchell. "We went out and took a bow. The crowd went burko they thought it was wonderful. The guy on the microphone said 'you've heard of Mooloo - well now you've got Ferdinand
http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/sport/ferdinandthebull.asp
Wednesday, May 17
Let us take a few risks
For our sakes, let us take a few risks 16 May 2006
This week is Youth Week, and in the second of a five-part series featuing the opinions of young people in the district, Stuart Julian writes on issues that concern him. Youth Week aims to highlight the positive input young people make in their communities.
We are the super generation of youth. Social scientists have studied the trends of children for hundreds of years to come to this conclusion, and yet they see a flaw, a single imperfection that could quash all of the great expectations of our super-stature. We as a nation, our youth, our parents and our leaders, are turning soft.
My parents tell me stories of their childhood hardships – "back in my day . . ." I would grow tired of these pretty early and would soon learn the art of selective hearing.
Today's youth take for granted what they have got. Now I realise that with a bit of hard parenting and lack of technology, our older generations have gained not just physical toughness from climbing mountains each day, barefoot over gravel and snow, but mental toughness also.
My mother would tell me she biked from Waiwhakaiho and back – all the way from Seaview Road for every single netball game she played. In today's society, this would be regarded as an outstanding feat and would probably receive a gold medallion and a letter from the Queen herself. But she did it because it was all she knew, she didn't have her own personal car to drive wherever she pleased.
Nowadays, you would be lucky to see youth with the willpower to pry themselves away from the TV and just bike across Seaview Road.
We could argue that pure laziness is letting our New Zealand youth waste away, but there is an equally large factor. When I was a young child of eight, I was walking the 2km journey to Spotswood Primary alone. Until, of course, it was my turn to receive a large, shiny black bike for my 10th birthday, my parents thought it was good for me.
Slowly, our society has become too wrapped up in the belief that there is no way our children can make it to the dairy without being kidnapped, raped or slaughtered.
Has our world become so corrupt that we cannot let our children walk to the park – two blocks away – without parental supervision? Is it so unruly and dangerous that we should install metal detectors in pre-schools? Sure, there are a lot of bad guys out there and they have a new age of weapons in their arsenals – this in turn brings double the paranoia in parents.
But we must let our children experience risk and hardship, to condition them for the future and give them the confidence to push back when being pushed. Youth of today need to stop wasting the sunshine and get active, to play a part in this vibrant community.
Parents, to instil good habits and attitude for the future – for theirs and everybody else's sake – let your kids walk to the park every now and then – during the day of course.
STUART JULIAN is 17 years old and the chairperson of the New Plymouth District Council youth subcommittee.
The year 13 student is head boy at Spotswood College. He plans to further his education at university next year.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dailynews/0,2106,3669100a6554,00.html
This week is Youth Week, and in the second of a five-part series featuing the opinions of young people in the district, Stuart Julian writes on issues that concern him. Youth Week aims to highlight the positive input young people make in their communities.
We are the super generation of youth. Social scientists have studied the trends of children for hundreds of years to come to this conclusion, and yet they see a flaw, a single imperfection that could quash all of the great expectations of our super-stature. We as a nation, our youth, our parents and our leaders, are turning soft.
My parents tell me stories of their childhood hardships – "back in my day . . ." I would grow tired of these pretty early and would soon learn the art of selective hearing.
Today's youth take for granted what they have got. Now I realise that with a bit of hard parenting and lack of technology, our older generations have gained not just physical toughness from climbing mountains each day, barefoot over gravel and snow, but mental toughness also.
My mother would tell me she biked from Waiwhakaiho and back – all the way from Seaview Road for every single netball game she played. In today's society, this would be regarded as an outstanding feat and would probably receive a gold medallion and a letter from the Queen herself. But she did it because it was all she knew, she didn't have her own personal car to drive wherever she pleased.
Nowadays, you would be lucky to see youth with the willpower to pry themselves away from the TV and just bike across Seaview Road.
We could argue that pure laziness is letting our New Zealand youth waste away, but there is an equally large factor. When I was a young child of eight, I was walking the 2km journey to Spotswood Primary alone. Until, of course, it was my turn to receive a large, shiny black bike for my 10th birthday, my parents thought it was good for me.
Slowly, our society has become too wrapped up in the belief that there is no way our children can make it to the dairy without being kidnapped, raped or slaughtered.
Has our world become so corrupt that we cannot let our children walk to the park – two blocks away – without parental supervision? Is it so unruly and dangerous that we should install metal detectors in pre-schools? Sure, there are a lot of bad guys out there and they have a new age of weapons in their arsenals – this in turn brings double the paranoia in parents.
But we must let our children experience risk and hardship, to condition them for the future and give them the confidence to push back when being pushed. Youth of today need to stop wasting the sunshine and get active, to play a part in this vibrant community.
Parents, to instil good habits and attitude for the future – for theirs and everybody else's sake – let your kids walk to the park every now and then – during the day of course.
STUART JULIAN is 17 years old and the chairperson of the New Plymouth District Council youth subcommittee.
The year 13 student is head boy at Spotswood College. He plans to further his education at university next year.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dailynews/0,2106,3669100a6554,00.html
Ronald Hugh Morrieson
'We were an average group of 12 to 14 year-olds having tons of fun on our bicycles,' he says of their teenage years. 'Morrieson's most valued possession was a Rudd Whitworth, the crème de la crème of bikes. We used to ride all over the place but we never did anything nasty. We never broke letterboxes or anything like that. It was only later in life we got in trouble with the cops.'
'I drank a lot at his place,' Robinson grins. 'But not what he made. Ron used to organise the beer from the local brewery in sugar sacks that held 4 dozen big bottles of beer. OC (Octopus Clamp) was one and VC (Victoria Cross) was the other made at the Hawera Brewery. Octopus Clamp came from a hold used by wrestler Lofty Bloomfield, a hero of Ron's.'
Along with a talent for music, Morrieson honed his amateur wrestling skills. Robinson remembers a night many years down the track when Morrieson treated his old mates to a social demonstration. 'My God! What a bloody performance. He got this school teacher and gave him 'an aerial helicopter.' Lifted him up, swung him round and round and threw him down on the floor, then lifted him up on his knees and dumped him. Poor fellow, he drank a bottle of brandy that night, and the next day drove the school bus, and he had to keep stopping to have a throw-up.'
He says Morrieson was seriously into billiards and snooker and even though playing for money was illegal, he suspects his friend made 'quite a lot' off his cue. 'We used to play a lot, Ron and I. He was far better than I because he didn't work. He didn't ever have a job. He spent yonks up in that pool room.'
http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/arts/morriesonprank.asp
http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/arts/morriesongoth.asp
http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/arts/morriesonscare.asp
Ronald Hugh Morrieson: A BiographyJulia Millen
Writer, musician, music teacher, Morrieson was also known as a drunken bum, a wastrel, a womaniser and a spiv. He played bass in dance bands and drank in pubs around Taranaki in the 1950s and this became the material for his novels. In life, as in his remarkable literature, he was an original.
'I drank a lot at his place,' Robinson grins. 'But not what he made. Ron used to organise the beer from the local brewery in sugar sacks that held 4 dozen big bottles of beer. OC (Octopus Clamp) was one and VC (Victoria Cross) was the other made at the Hawera Brewery. Octopus Clamp came from a hold used by wrestler Lofty Bloomfield, a hero of Ron's.'
Along with a talent for music, Morrieson honed his amateur wrestling skills. Robinson remembers a night many years down the track when Morrieson treated his old mates to a social demonstration. 'My God! What a bloody performance. He got this school teacher and gave him 'an aerial helicopter.' Lifted him up, swung him round and round and threw him down on the floor, then lifted him up on his knees and dumped him. Poor fellow, he drank a bottle of brandy that night, and the next day drove the school bus, and he had to keep stopping to have a throw-up.'
He says Morrieson was seriously into billiards and snooker and even though playing for money was illegal, he suspects his friend made 'quite a lot' off his cue. 'We used to play a lot, Ron and I. He was far better than I because he didn't work. He didn't ever have a job. He spent yonks up in that pool room.'
http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/arts/morriesonprank.asp
http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/arts/morriesongoth.asp
http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/arts/morriesonscare.asp
Ronald Hugh Morrieson: A BiographyJulia Millen
Writer, musician, music teacher, Morrieson was also known as a drunken bum, a wastrel, a womaniser and a spiv. He played bass in dance bands and drank in pubs around Taranaki in the 1950s and this became the material for his novels. In life, as in his remarkable literature, he was an original.
Monday, May 15
Sunday, May 14
Hotel owners looking to new options after blaze
13 May 2006
The New Commercial Hotel in Manaia could be reincarnated as a cafe-sports bar, its owners say.
The top floor of the 125-year-old hotel was destroyed by fire on Anzac Day. At the height of the fire, 32 firefighters from six brigades battled to bring it under control. An application for the renewal of the hotel's on-licence appeared in the Taranaki Daily News this week.
Owner Ian Taylor, whose family had owned the hotel for 12 years, said every effort would be made to keep the business running. "Otherwise I wouldn't have spent the money on getting a licence again. We want to reopen but unfortunately that place is now beyond being able to be used," Mr Taylor said.
"That pub won't be staying open. As from Monday or Tuesday next week, we will be starting to pull it down.
"We hope to be putting in more of a sports-type bar or a cafe-type sports bar and as things change in the town, we will move with it."
He had already made an appointment with a designer to draw up plans for a new building but was playing the waiting game with the insurance company.
"Once it is down on the ground then the insurance company and us will be discussing things more.
"But then at that stage it all depends on whether it comes under the insurance company's criteria, whether the insurance company covers the costs," Mr Taylor said.
The new building would be single storey with manager's accommodation out the back, he said.
There were a number of reasons why they wanted to keep the hotel running.
"We have lived in Manaia for quite a few years and we like Manaia. We don't like the idea of there being only one pub in the town and we like the idea of still running a hotel.
"We are also doing it for our cliental and the people in the town," he said.
The New Commercial Hotel in Manaia could be reincarnated as a cafe-sports bar, its owners say.
The top floor of the 125-year-old hotel was destroyed by fire on Anzac Day. At the height of the fire, 32 firefighters from six brigades battled to bring it under control. An application for the renewal of the hotel's on-licence appeared in the Taranaki Daily News this week.
Owner Ian Taylor, whose family had owned the hotel for 12 years, said every effort would be made to keep the business running. "Otherwise I wouldn't have spent the money on getting a licence again. We want to reopen but unfortunately that place is now beyond being able to be used," Mr Taylor said.
"That pub won't be staying open. As from Monday or Tuesday next week, we will be starting to pull it down.
"We hope to be putting in more of a sports-type bar or a cafe-type sports bar and as things change in the town, we will move with it."
He had already made an appointment with a designer to draw up plans for a new building but was playing the waiting game with the insurance company.
"Once it is down on the ground then the insurance company and us will be discussing things more.
"But then at that stage it all depends on whether it comes under the insurance company's criteria, whether the insurance company covers the costs," Mr Taylor said.
The new building would be single storey with manager's accommodation out the back, he said.
There were a number of reasons why they wanted to keep the hotel running.
"We have lived in Manaia for quite a few years and we like Manaia. We don't like the idea of there being only one pub in the town and we like the idea of still running a hotel.
"We are also doing it for our cliental and the people in the town," he said.
Friday, May 12
Spring Clean
SPRING CLEAN: Hawera's Handyman Barn, which has used house fittings piled in front of the shop front.RICHARD WOODD/Taranaki Daily News
C C Ward
Landmark NP store takes scissors to fabric section.11 May 2006
By MICHELLE SUTTONNew Plymouth department store CC Ward is cutting its fabric business.
The landmark store, which opened in 1891 and is renowned for stocking high-quality material, is phasing out its fabric department.
The children's clothing department will also close at the end of the season.
CC Ward owner Roslyn Holyoake said the two departments were closing because the store was too small to fit everything in.
Fourteen years ago, CC Ward stocked furnishings, but that was relocated because of a lack of space and later sold.
"Today we are faced with the same problem. The physical size of the store is too small to cater for the number of product lines we do."
The decision is in line with department stores Smith and Caugheys, in Auckland, and Kirkcaldie & Stains, in Wellington, which both dropped their fabric departments several years ago.
The extra space from the fabric section would be used to expand the bridal department, in particular ready-made bridal dresses.
"All of our departments need to be more specialised. Our bridal department, 10 years ago, never had a ready-made dress and today there are over 1300 dresses in that department."
New Plymouth sewing tutor Jenny Major said shoppers from around the country travelled to CC Ward because of the quality fabric.
"It's possibly a sign of the times because less people have time to sew these days, but having said that I have 80-90 students a week in our sewing classes."
The closure of the store's fabric department would make it difficult to find top-end fabrics in Taranaki, she said.
The weekly sewing classes, previously at CC Ward, would continue at Spotlight Stores in New Plymouth from term 3 in mid-July.
By MICHELLE SUTTONNew Plymouth department store CC Ward is cutting its fabric business.
The landmark store, which opened in 1891 and is renowned for stocking high-quality material, is phasing out its fabric department.
The children's clothing department will also close at the end of the season.
CC Ward owner Roslyn Holyoake said the two departments were closing because the store was too small to fit everything in.
Fourteen years ago, CC Ward stocked furnishings, but that was relocated because of a lack of space and later sold.
"Today we are faced with the same problem. The physical size of the store is too small to cater for the number of product lines we do."
The decision is in line with department stores Smith and Caugheys, in Auckland, and Kirkcaldie & Stains, in Wellington, which both dropped their fabric departments several years ago.
The extra space from the fabric section would be used to expand the bridal department, in particular ready-made bridal dresses.
"All of our departments need to be more specialised. Our bridal department, 10 years ago, never had a ready-made dress and today there are over 1300 dresses in that department."
New Plymouth sewing tutor Jenny Major said shoppers from around the country travelled to CC Ward because of the quality fabric.
"It's possibly a sign of the times because less people have time to sew these days, but having said that I have 80-90 students a week in our sewing classes."
The closure of the store's fabric department would make it difficult to find top-end fabrics in Taranaki, she said.
The weekly sewing classes, previously at CC Ward, would continue at Spotlight Stores in New Plymouth from term 3 in mid-July.
Wednesday, May 10
Goreme Restaurant -
http://www.geocities.com/goremerestaurant/ Where Wendy is currently - working on this website
Tuesday, May 2
NZ History
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/handsonhistory This section of NZHistory.net.nz is to assist anyone who is researching, writing or teaching New Zealand history
The Classroom
NZ History Calendar
Events in New Zealand history throughout the year. Each day's event is displayed on the NZHistory.net.nz homepage. The week's events are also displayed in The Classroom.
Discuss NZ history
Ask questions or discuss New Zealand history topics. You have to register to post to the forum, but anyone can read what others have said.
Oral history guide
Learn how to prepare, record and process oral history interviews.
Genealogy Links
The Classroom
NZ History Calendar
Events in New Zealand history throughout the year. Each day's event is displayed on the NZHistory.net.nz homepage. The week's events are also displayed in The Classroom.
Discuss NZ history
Ask questions or discuss New Zealand history topics. You have to register to post to the forum, but anyone can read what others have said.
Oral history guide
Learn how to prepare, record and process oral history interviews.
Genealogy Links
Taranaki Movies
The Film Archive and Friends of the Eltham Town Hall proudly present Taranaki on Film, a selection of films made between 1912 and 1962.
Piano accompaniment by Paul Adams.
Scenes in Taranaki, New Zealand 1912Early newsreel showing oil exploration and scenic spots including Pukekura Park.Mt. Egmont, 1935 Scenic film of Taranaki and Mt Egmont, produced by the Government Publicity Office.King's Cinema Review, Park Day April 1, 1929A local newsreel showing activities at Park Day, Victoria Park, Stratford. These include a drill display by High School students, a brass band and "Bert" Vinsens Circus. Other scenes of Mt Taranaki, and trampers and skiers. Produced by Burgess - Threipland.A&P Show Hawera or Eltham, 1940 Filmed by Courtney Edgecombe, photographer from Hawera.Wedding, Elthanm Women's Institute, 1950Home movie madeby Courtney Edgecombe on his 8mm camera.Delivering Trams to Eltham, 1954New Plymouth film maker Caleb Wyatt, documented the trams move to new homes on farms in Eltham. Refloating of the Calm, 1956 (extract) The steamer Calm ran aground on Saturday 14 July 1956 at Waiweranui Point, near the Cape Egmont lighthouse. Salvage attempts eventually succeeded and Calm returned to New Plymouth. Five hundred spectators gathered on the wharf to cheer her arrival. Filmed by Caleb Wyatt.Eltham - Egmont August 1962Home movie made by RG Finn. The Finn family from Te Awamutu experience the snow on Taranaki. The children ride sleds down the mountain. Last scene is the family grouped outside the Eltham District Library.
This short programme will be followed by the video Official Opening of the Refurbished Eltham Town Hall, produced by The Friends of the Eltham Town Hall in conjunction with the South Taranaki District Council.
Piano accompaniment by Paul Adams.
Scenes in Taranaki, New Zealand 1912Early newsreel showing oil exploration and scenic spots including Pukekura Park.Mt. Egmont, 1935 Scenic film of Taranaki and Mt Egmont, produced by the Government Publicity Office.King's Cinema Review, Park Day April 1, 1929A local newsreel showing activities at Park Day, Victoria Park, Stratford. These include a drill display by High School students, a brass band and "Bert" Vinsens Circus. Other scenes of Mt Taranaki, and trampers and skiers. Produced by Burgess - Threipland.A&P Show Hawera or Eltham, 1940 Filmed by Courtney Edgecombe, photographer from Hawera.Wedding, Elthanm Women's Institute, 1950Home movie madeby Courtney Edgecombe on his 8mm camera.Delivering Trams to Eltham, 1954New Plymouth film maker Caleb Wyatt, documented the trams move to new homes on farms in Eltham. Refloating of the Calm, 1956 (extract) The steamer Calm ran aground on Saturday 14 July 1956 at Waiweranui Point, near the Cape Egmont lighthouse. Salvage attempts eventually succeeded and Calm returned to New Plymouth. Five hundred spectators gathered on the wharf to cheer her arrival. Filmed by Caleb Wyatt.Eltham - Egmont August 1962Home movie made by RG Finn. The Finn family from Te Awamutu experience the snow on Taranaki. The children ride sleds down the mountain. Last scene is the family grouped outside the Eltham District Library.
This short programme will be followed by the video Official Opening of the Refurbished Eltham Town Hall, produced by The Friends of the Eltham Town Hall in conjunction with the South Taranaki District Council.
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