On June 15 this year we lost a dear friend, Nganeko Minhinnick. We first met Nganeko in 1987, at a Forest and Bird Society meeting where she spoke about the mining by New Zealand Steel of the Maioro iron sand dunes, her people’s ancient burial area at the mouth of the Waikato River, and the […]
Tanya’s year of studying Te Reo Maori
December 19, 2016 by 2 Comments
Nga mihi matakuikui ki a koutou, I have just emerged from a year-long immersion course in Te Ara Reo Maori at the Lincoln Road campus of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, exhausted and elated, appreciative of my new understandings, skills and inspiration. I’ve been immersed in, but also “on the edge of”another way of seeing the […]
Inside and Outside the “Dark Forest”
September 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Gurmon Sup (translated into English as “Dark Forest“) was an extraordinary installation at Te Uru Gallery in Titrangi by Jae Kang, an Auckland-based Korean artist and passionate tomato grower. She used recycled irrigation materials to create sinuous snakes and coils, piles of black polyethylene tubes, pipes and fixings invading rooms, hanging down the handsome golden spiral staircase […]
Walking for Peace
June 19, 2016 by 4 Comments
We’ve just been to Taranaki to join the Pakeha Hikoi for Peace– a walk from New Plymouth to Parihaka in support of Mayor Andrew Judd’s campaign for Maori representation on New Plymouth District Council. The council’s proposal to include one Maori ward for the next Council election was defeated last year by a Citizen’s Referendum. […]
Te Ara Reo Maori
April 19, 2016 by 2 Comments
Both of us love watching Maori Television. The channel offers more local content than any other (82% compared with 51 per cent for TV One and 50 per cent of TV3’s prime time hours, less on other channels) and the largest number of documentaries- 555 hours in the last year. And although many programmes in te reo are sub-titled in […]
Hip Hoperation – Tanya reports…
February 18, 2016 by 1 Comment
Wow, it’s over – I have a new composite right hip joint made of stainless steel, plastic, ceramic and bone concrete! As many of you know, I’ve been managing two seriously arthritic hip joints (resulting, no doubt, from 30 years of sport, 22 years of developing a farm, plus genetics maybe) for more than three […]
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