This year, to celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori, we joined a hikoi up Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill) with a couple of thousand young people, their teachers and family members. At the top of the mountain there were prayers, haka, waiata and the call of the conch. We talked along the way […]
Place as Person
September 19, 2019 by Leave a Comment
‘Place as person, landscape as identity: ancestral connection and modern legislation’ The 2019 Cumberland Lecture at the University of Auckland was given by Kennedy Warne, founding editor of the the NZ Geographic magazine, and a sensitive man with a deep feeling for Aotearoa and its many environments. We really enjoyed his lecture on 22 August […]
Rangitoto…
August 19, 2019 by 2 Comments
“Where shall we go for my birthday treat, I wonder? Somewhere not too far away, close to nature, simple to arrange, and with a low carbon footprint. How about Rangitoto Island?” Tanya asked herself…and Charmaine … So here are Tanya’s reflections on 14-17 August 2019… For both of us, the skyline of Auckland has […]
Good Judgement
August 19, 2019 by Leave a Comment
If you’ve ever wondered what the induction of a new judge into the court system in New Zealand might be like, you might have imagined rows of dark-suited lawyers, and elderly be-wigged Pakeha men presiding. When we were invited to the swearing-in of Auckland barrister Faumui Penelope (Lope) Ginnen as a Judge in the Manukau […]
Te Wai Pounamu: Monday 24 June-Tuesday 2 July
July 19, 2019 by 4 Comments
This winter we decided to take a short break in the South Island of Aotearoa , rather than on a warm island in the Pacific to the north. So Tanya organised a journey to Marlborough, Kaikoura and Christchurch. In Marlborough we wanted to learn more about the Wairau Bar and Moahunter history there; in Kaikoura […]
And finally, a celebration… a political activity…and a great writer
July 19, 2019 by 1 Comment
Charmaine celebrated her 77th birthday on Thursday 11 July, and Tanya had organised a lovely day- a cuppa in bed and a beautiful gift, breakfast at a cafe in Grey Lynn, and a surprise outing in the evening- all Charmaine knew in advance was to be ready for an Uber at 5.40pm. We went outside […]
“Inside keeping the silence of peace at Parihaka”
June 19, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This title of a lecture by Maata Wharehoka comes from her lived experience of Parihaka for more than thirty years, since she arrived, newly-married to one of the local people. She has become one of their highly respected kuia. The occasion was one of a series of lectures organised at the Auckland campus of the […]
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