Te Awamutu News | May 2, 2024

They will remember

If you can have stars at an Anzac Day service, then a huge number came out at the 11am service in Te Awamutu.

On a day when organisations queued up on Anzac Green to lay wreaths at the 101 year old cenotaph bearing the names of 58 soldiers who did not come home, it was the children who caught the eye.

None more so than the preschoolers from The Barnyard in Racecourse Rd who strove to get everything right, while taking in the atmosphere, and the gazes from the cadets looking down on them.

The services in Waipā were blessed with fine weather and involved contributions from across the board. Graham Lyttle from the Te Awamutu and Districts Pipe Band played the lament at the Te Awamutu dawn service for the third year in a row.

Guest speakers at the 11am service included Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan and from Te Awamutu College, Seanna Sanders. The list or those who laid wreaths included Te Awamutu and Districts Memorial RSA including the women’s section, companies who have served abroad, army and regular force cadets, police, fire service, St John, Waipā District Council, Corrections, Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, Te AwamutuKihikihi Community Board, Māori wardens, scouts, cubs, guides and Pippins, young farmers, sports clubs, rest homes, marae, a preschool and the following schools - St Patrick’s, Te Awamutu primary, Pekapekarau, Kihikihi, Puahue, Korakonui, Pirongia, Te Pahu School, Te Awamutu Intermediate and Te Awamutu College.

• Further Anzac Day coverage, see pages 2, 8.

All eyes were on the Barnyard Kids pre-schoolers’ wreath laying skills as they were guided by Lee-Anne Waters and Debbie Tucker (right).

Anthony Gibbes and Noah Gillette, right, represented Te Awamutu Primary.

Cruiz Riddiford and Kayelyn Collett presented a wrath on behalf of Te Awamutu Intermediate.

Photos – Roy Pilott

Scouts and Keaswait their turn – from left, Peyton Brice, Melissa HessellShearer, Dylan Scull and Daniel Lindsay and Kea Leader Jessica Lindsay.

Getting their feet wet…

Thirty-six young Rotary leaders spent a couple of hours at Lake Rotopiko near Te Awamutu last week, volunteering their time to help support restoration efforts being done by the National Wetland Trust.

The Trust collaborates with Te Awamutu Rotary Club, offering Rotary Youth Leadership (RYLA) members and others in the club regular opportunities to volunteer at the site in support of various environmental activities, including pest surveillance, native planting, and the construction of sampling tables and viewing benches for visitors.

Lake Rotopiko, also known as Serpentine Lakes, is a complex of three small peat lakes considered a particularly valuable wetland ecosystem.

The National Wetland Trust is leading a significant wetland restoration project which will include the development of a National Wetland Discovery Centre.

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Rotary Te Awamutu’s Stephen Cox, past

president and environmental spokesperson, said the 36 Rylarians were accompanied on their annual visit last week by a support group and two researchers, Nic Sandoval from Wintec, and Kathryn Ross from the Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology.

Nic took them through their paces researching bird numbers. That is being done in response to a problem identified around the effects of thousands of exotic birds that shelter there overnight, leaving their droppings behind when they leave. Numbers of birds are being monitored to assess interventions.

Kathryn showed the group how to use cameras and AI for the monitoring of birds, while National Wetland Trust maintenance contractor Murray Davies oversaw the planting of around 400 native species under kahikatea trees. The group also checked the 41 plastic tunnels situated on the ground adjacent to the fence and walkways that record the movement of different species.

The trees will be back

By Roy Pilott

Te Awamutu’s first venture into a Christmas Tree initiative last year was so successful it will happen again.

Thirty wooden trees were placed outside Alexandra St shops late last November, coinciding with the Te Awamutu chamber’s Black Friday Blow Out street party.

The promotion mimicked a similarly successful one in Gisborne and a feature was that the trees were painted by pupils as part of school projects.

With weeks of work invested, it was no surprise that youngsters wanted to show families where their tree had gone.

The kicker was that meant touring Alexandra Street looking for them – and hopefully attracting residents to shop local.

Last week the man behind the project, Ken Hubert, gave members of the Te AwamutuKihikihi Board a run down on the project as part of a presentation seeking funds.

He said many of the trees from 2023 would be recycled, but it would be necessary to invest funds to replace some.

Māori ward move ‘arrogant’

The coalition government is arrogant and has “over-reached” on Māori wards, Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan said this week. She was speaking as the council discussed a government directive which would force Waipā to abandon its Māori ward or hold a binding poll – costing about $50,000 - in 2025 on the issue.

Waipā has had a Māori ward for three years and the seat is held by Dale-Maree Morgan..

Councillors this week agreed to express concern to local government minister Simeon Brown.

“I’m disappointed the government has come in in such a heavy-handed way, on one hand promoting localism and on the other hand trying to dictate how local communities like ours should be represented. You can’t have it both ways,” O’Regan said.

“As it stands councils, informed by their own community, can make decisions about the establishment – or not – of Māori wards without having to undertake a costly poll. That’s what we did and that’s what all councils and all communities should be able to do.”

Waipā District Council is one of 45 councils which have established Māori wards, or have resolved to, since the 2021 law change which removed the requirement for a poll.

Councillors were told today the Bill confirming the change is likely to be introduced in May.

The project – which he also organised in Gisborne for 10 years before moving to Waipā – had attracted support from 17 schools, Menzshed and the Corrections Department.

He also pointed to stories in the Te Awamutu News which helped advertise the promotion and quoted retailers and schools who supported the concept..

It had been well received by retailers –though some had declined because their head offices had said no.

“Westpac did support it, so I’m any of them can – the trees are not placed in the stores,” he said.

He said at its height as many as 80 trees adorned main shopping streets in Gisborne.

The funding applications was one of 16 the board has received. The chamber of commerce sought $2000 towards the Wooden Christmas Tree Project 2024.

Organisations have applied for a total of just over $36,000 – the board has just under $8450 available in its discretionary grant fund.

The News will have more on the applications next week.

Kaumatua Bill Harris and Don Scarlet of the National Wetland Trust welcoming the group of young Rotary leaders.

Call it in

New Zealand’s Environmental Protection Authority says plans for an incinerator plant in Te Awamutu have national significance and it supports requests for the proposal to be “called in” and heard by a board of inquiry or the Environment Court rather than Waipā district and Waikato regional councils.

Bring out your leaves

An annual autumn collection service has started in parts of Te Awamutu, Cambridge and Kihikihi. Waipā District Council is collecting fallen leaves – and residents in selected areas can place piles on grass berms to be picked up.

Boundary changes

Waikato Regional Council will continue to have 14 elected members, but the boundaries may be moved. Councillors have voted 11-1 to modify the Waihou constituency to include Waihi and Paeroa rural areas – currently in the ThamesCoromandel constituency – to meet the requirements for fair representation.

Good planning

Waipā District Council says its investment into contingency planning ensured water continued to flow for Ōhaupō residents last week, after a sixmetre-long crack in a water pipe caused a significant leak. The water team found and isolated the leaking pipe, connected to the Parallel Road water treatment plant, within minutes of receiving an alert.

Time’s up

Submissions close tomorrow (Friday) on the Waipa District Council’s annual plan.

Lions lend a hand

A warm gesture by the Lions Club of Cambridge is helping ease the lives of Waikato Cancer Society’s Lions Lodge residents. The Lions responded to a lodge request for knitted knee rugs, needed by patients, and 49 were delivered last month.

Oh brother! It’s 50 years

The longtime friends, both septuagenarians sporting grey beards and a collegial banter, now hold the title of monsignor, granted by the Pope to denote a special honorary clerical status.

They will mark their 50-year milestones in separate jubilee services in Waikato next week. Mons Stack, who leads St Patrick’s Church in Te Awamutu, will celebrate on May 11, while Mons Danvers, who leads St Peter’s Church Cambridge, will mark his on May 12.

That their collective contribution to the Catholic Church in New Zealand has reached this point seems to surprise neither of them. After all, they suggest, that was the purpose of seven years of study at seminary… seven years in which many of their original class of 31 dropped out, leaving just 10 who were ordained.

What they share now is a deep appreciation at how well it’s gone, how much they have packed in and how much they have learned along the way.

“This is so much more than a career,” said Danvers, “it is really a calling. Above all, it is relationship-based. We intersect with people at some the most significant times of their lives and they don’t forget that. We see that as a real privilege.”

Stack agreed, adding that over and above their commitment to their respective congregations, both have also held administrative roles within the church and the Hamilton diocese during those years.

Both men grew up in strongly Catholic families.

Danvers was born in Hastings but moved with his sister to be

raised by their Manurewa-based grandparents after his mother’s death. He became an altar boy, then went to St Peter’s College where early thoughts of entering the priesthood began to percolate.

“We used to have ‘old boy’ priests who came to talk to us,” he said. “I guess you could say they introduced the vocation to me from a human level. On leaving school, I applied to the bishop for acceptance into the Holy Name Seminary in Christchurch. He gave me the nod and off I went.”

Stack took a similar route. Born in Auckland to a Catholic family, he too attended Catholic schools and became an altar boy. He joined his family in other church-led community endeavours and by the sixth form, he felt ready to apply for a seminary place.

“I had some – not very accurate – thoughts about what life as a priest might be. I was young and idealistic.”

Stack started in 1967, Danvers in 1968. Seven years of training included philosophy, with four years of theology then taught at Mosgiel. There were various points at which students could reaffirm their

commitment, but there were also occasions when students opted out, often leaving with no forewarning to their classmates.

“That was quite unsettling, but it is what was done back then,” said Stack.

He added a further year’s university study to his training, which meant the two twentysomethings - Stack and Danvers - were ordained in 1974, each in their home diocese. Stack was ordained in Ellerslie, and Danvers in New Zealand’s first outdoor ordination, organised to accommodate his being the first Manurewa old boy to become a priest.

Stack’s work has taken him across the North Island and he moved to Te Awamutu almost a decade ago, while Danvers – who studied at Boston College in the United States in the mid1980s – has worked primarily in Auckland, Tauranga and the Waikato. He has led St Peter’s Church in Cambridge since 2013.

The pair became foundation priests when the Hamilton diocese was formed in 1980.

Both men are grateful for the timing of their five decades… things are very different now.

The seminary they attended closed in 1978 as student numbers dropped, training shifted to Auckland and much of the philosophy they enjoyed has now disappeared from the curriculum.

New priests, once accommodated in presbyteries with more senior priests with whom to share tasks within the role, now mostly live alone. Congregations are smaller, priests are challenged more than in the past. Times are changing. As Danvers and Stark reach their 50year milestones they’re taking a cautionary approach to the prospect of retirement. There’s no pressure to give up, but both admit to having a few things on their bucket lists …

Helen Carter Funeral Director

Genial monsignors Joe Stack and Leonard Danvers, who celebrate their 50th year as Catholic priests next week, are quite often mistaken for brothers.

Photo: Viv Posselt

Mōtai Tangata Rau rule

By Sigrid Christiansen

Waipā’s Mōtai Tangata Rau celebrated a major win at the Tainui Waka Cultural Festival 2024 in Hamilton last weekend.

The competition, which attracted thousands of kapa haka fans and a record 20 teams, was staged at the Claudelands event centre.

Te Ao Māori presenter Peata Melbourne said the Ngāti Raukawa

group told stories of their ancestors in te reo Māori with excellence.

The group’s colonia era costume included rau huia – huia feathers, representing the times of King Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, the first Māori king, she said.

The leader of Mōtai Tangata Rau is Paraone Gloyne from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

“It’s always an exciting time when the Tainui competition

comes around, not only for the participating kapa haka, but their support crew and whānau who have all contributed to getting them on stage to represent who they are and where they are from,” he said prior to the festival.

He described kapa haka as a testing lifestyle, but also life changing.

“There are multitudes of people who have been inspired to connect

with their marae, and learn te reo and tikanga Māori because of kapa haka.

“Our Tainui competition is an opportunity to unite, celebrate the stories of Tainui and champion our reo and tikanga through kapa haka.”

Political sentiments have always been explored through the Māori performing arts.

Melbourne said another group,

Te Pou o Mangataawhiri, used the stage to express concerns about the government, with the metaphor of a game of uka (euchre). This included the line ‘He mahi māminga, he mahi nanakia, he mahi rūkahu hoki’ (devious, scheming, and false).

Mōtai Tangata Rau will be one of five Tainui teams to compete in the national kapa haka competition, Te Matatini in New Plymouth next February.

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Kaitātaki (lead female) Ngahuia Kopa, the wife of Mōtai Tangata Rau leader Paraone Gloyne pictured during the festival. She is flanked by Rangipurei Manley (left) and Atarangi Manley. Photos: Tainui Waka Kapa Haka Festival 2024

Keoghan O’Brien was in full flow for Mōtai Tangata Rau at Claudelands last weekend

Meghan Hawkes takes us back to look at what was in the news in Waipā in 1899.

A show and a jaw dropping episode

A maypole dance by school children was held at intervals in the school close to the Te Awamutu Town Hall during the Waikato West flower show and Fancy Fete.

The weather was lovely and the show was largely attended. There was an excellent display of flowers, and a number of side shows, comprising guessing competitions, and demonstrations of the stereoscope, phonograph, telephone, and galvanic battery. There were also box making and hat trimming competitions for men, and a baby show, which excited a great deal of attention and assisted materially in swelling the funds.

Refreshments at moderate prices were provided all day by the ladies of the Anglican Church who also manned a stall selling plain and fancy work.

A rather unusual accident happened to a young Ōhaupō girl when, on rising one morning she yawned, and opening her mouth rather wide dislocated her jaw. She could not shut her mouth again and had to be taken at once to Dr Pairman, who soon put matters right.

Also at Ōhaupō a pleasant and enjoyable ball was given by the members of the Gymnastic Club. It was purely a local affair, with very few outsiders attending. The hall was nicely decorated and not too crowded. Dancing was kept up with spirit till about 4am, which time was considered by older

A Snip in Time

heads to be too late, and that 2am should be the latest - six hours dancing ought to satisfy the most ardent lover of it.

When some person set fire to the furze (gorse) to the east of Pirongia a fresh breeze carried some sparks which set fire to the house occupied by Hori Tuhawe, who was not at home at the time, but a short distance away. Mr Scott, of Ellerslie, Auckland, a visitor, but once a Pirongia resident, happened to be passing at the time and promptly began getting out Hori’s goods and chattels. Mr Harper also lent a hand. Judging from the quantities of the miscellaneous articles carried well into the road they appeared to have worked like Trojans. Hori was most thankful although his house was completely consumed.

Kihikihi had been fortunate in not experiencing a fire of any consequence for many years, but the record was broken when the residents of Mr Floyd’s house, situated close to the Star Hotel, were awakened to find the house filled with smoke. Shortly afterwards the whole building of six rooms was in flames and very few of the contents were saved. Thanks to the absence of wind and the assistance of a few willing helpers, Mr Porter, of the Star Hotel, was able to prevent that building from taking fire. The cause of the fire was quite a mystery as no fire had been lit in the house or been in use the previous evening.

The Maypole Dancers at the Te Awamutu Flower Show

Heaven, via the depths of hell

By Viv Posselt

Te Awamutu and District RSA padre Rev Murray Olson called on those attending Anzac Day memorials to remember the sacrifice of their forebears by strengthening their resolve to pursue international peace and justice.

Addressing last week’s Anzac Day service in Kihikihi, he said many of those who had died in global conflict through the decades had come from around the district. He prayed for peace across current areas of hostility, including Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Iran and Sudan and urged the world to “turn from retaliation to reconstruction”.

Speaker Peter Emery said the journey soldiers undertook to fight in other parts of the world took them “to the depths of hell”.

“Those who went to Heaven had to go through hell to get there. Those who came home suffered PTSD… they had to pick up their lives and carry on as best they could. Kihikihi played its part.”

His own forebears were among those who shipped out to Gallipoli, and he recalled their recollections of endless dead bodies and the tortuous sea of mud soldiers endured in France … “they were like sitting ducks.”

Also speaking at the service was Kane Rangitonga, manager of Te Awamutu’s social services agency Kainga Aroha.

He said he was 10 when he went to his first Anzac Day commemoration.

One of the things that struck him the most was the ‘Lest We Forget’ sign on the gate – its symbolism is something that has remained with him since.

He said the sacrifice undertaken by those soldiers to preserve the freedoms we enjoy today is still happening.

“We are able to stand up and say what we don’t agree with… I love that about our country.”

A hymn was sung by members of the Kihikihi Māori Women’s Welfare League and Adan Te Huia read the Anzac dedication. Several wreaths were laid at the foot of the cenotaph, including those placed by Te Awamutu RSA president Peter Watson and Waipā District councillor Marcus Gower.

There are only 6 one-bedroom or two-bedroom supported living apartments still available in the new Hanlin Building. These easy-living apartments are in the heart of our established retirement village with its own café and village shop right on your doorstep. Enjoy the community vibe and great lifestyle with the added benefit of care and support as you require.

Kane Rangitonga, manager of Te Awamutu’s social services agency Kainga Aroha, was one of the guest speakers.

Te Awamutu RSA president Peter Watson laying a wreath at the Kihikihi cenotaph.

Members of the Kihikihi Māori Women’s Welfare League Waipā District singing at last week’s Anzac Day memorial in Kihikihi.

ON SHAKY GROUND

Eruptions of Red Crater

By Janine Krippner

Our central North Island volcanoes have lulled us into a false sense of security.

I recently spent a day around Red Crater on Tongariro surrounded by evidence of recent eruptions and, wow, what a gorgeous place to be.

We started out around the Emerald Lakes – craters now filled with beautiful water giving them the fitting name, then hiked up around Red Crater itself.

The crater is at the top of a scoria cone, sort of a mini version of Ngāuruhoe, with a mix of red and black scoria and rocks of all sorts of colours from geothermal alteration.

Active geothermal areas are scattered around, some with fumaroles you can hear, and often you can smell their sulphurous emissions.

A striking feature within the crater wall is a large, 5-10 m wide drained dyke, an old vertical pathway that magma took towards the surface that hardened along the edges into solid rock resistant to time.

Like Ngāuruhoe to the south and Te Maari to the north, Red Crater is one of the younger and more recently active vents of the Tongariro Volcanic Complex, which has around 17 overlapping vents that we know of. Volcanologist Brad Scott and Social Scientist Sally Potter of GNS Science have gone through records to capture the history of activity at Tongariro, except for Ngāuruhoe (I am working on that).

They found Red Crater has been more active than we thought, with six potential eruptions between 1855 and 1934.

Red Crater has been active for at least 3400 years and formed upon older Tongariro lavas.

The Emerald Lakes craters are part of the cone and formed around 1300 years ago.

During its lifetime it has erupted ballistic ejecta (rocks that fly out at deadly speeds), scoria and spatter that have built the cone, ash plumes, and lava flows.

The largest of the Red Crater lava flows is around 6.5 km long towards the east and up to 150 metres thick.

If you were driving along Desert Road during a Red Crater eruption you might see red hot rocks flying out of the crater and a lava flow slowly descending the flanks. This would light up the sky at nighttime.

With a more explosive eruption style we might see grey to black ash plumes of fragmented rock and gas rising from the vent up to hundreds or a few thousand metres before they are carried away by the wind to deposit ash across the landscape.

Any warning signs of magma moving towards Red Crater would be taken very seriously, also keeping in mind that not all unrest leads to an eruption.

We know that even a small eruption can be catastrophic if people are near the vent, and this is a popular spot along the Tongariro Alpine Crossing where hikers stop for a well-earned break.

While future eruptions of Red Crater will no doubt be one of the most beautiful spectacles of nature we might see here, it is much better at a safe distance.

Persistence pays off

By Christine Bryant, Lay Minister, St John’s

Over the last couple of weeks, a few of our top sports people have been profiled, particularly those who have won selection to represent New Zealand at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Competing at the Olympics is a life-long dream for most of them. Some have met the criteria for selection before, but were not selected, for example, Zoe Hobbs.

What a cruel disappointment that must be. Years of gruelling training, sacrifice of family or social life, under constant financial pressure and constrained even by what you can eat and drink – and still that’s not enough.

However, these athletes pick themselves up, brace themselves to do it all over again and aim for the next Olympic Games.

In this country, we don’t talk much about the stars of the Arts or Academia, nor celebrate their achievements.

I wish we were more balanced in this. However, a recent, exception has been for the immensely talented Tamison Soppet, the 14 year old ballet dancer from Christchurch.

She has just taken out the top award for Junior Women Dancers at the prestigious Youth America Grand Prix.

She is now within sight of her ultimate goal – a place at the Royal Ballet School in London, followed, hopefully, by a glittering career.

For her (and her parents and teacher), the journey towards this goal has been every bit as arduous and costly as for an athlete.

Winning gold medals is really the icing on the cake and makes the life of an athlete or artist seem glamourous, yet the long period of training and preparation is anything but –

it is “blood, toil, sweat and tears”, with the constant threat of a career-ending injury.

St Paul spoke about the Christian life being similar. He likened it to a race which lasts a lifetime.

It is about turning up to serve God and His people day after day, not unduly revelling in the triumphs, nor being too downcast by the setbacks. And St Paul knew a bit about both. His first interactions with Christians involved his support for persecuting them, he was treated with great hostility and suspicion and, at first, forced to leave Jerusalem. More than once he was imprisoned or confronted with a hostile crowd.

Nevertheless, he persisted in proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, crucified, died and risen.

During his missionary journeys around the Mediterranean and Asia Minor, he founded numerous churches and supported them faithfully, visiting when he could. In his last years, St Paul was under house arrest and then in prison in Rome.

For us who follow 2000 years later, this period produced his greatest triumph – the seven letters he wrote to the new Christians in cities like Corinth and Ephesus, along with the personal letters to Timothy and others. In 67AD, about a year before he was executed, St Paul was able to write: “I have fought the good fight, I have run the race, I have kept the faith”. (2 Tim.4:7)

Whether it is athletics, the arts or faith, persistence and dedication pay off, especially when the journey is arduous.

Te Awamutu at your

The Te Awamutu App is the go-to place for your latest mobile news, sport and opinion.

Every day, locals open the app to stay informed about what’s happening in Te Awamutu.

But there isn’t only news on this app: it features upcoming events, funeral notices, the latest properties for sale, places to eat and drink, activities, local businesses, and much more.

Download the Te Awamutu App, look around, you might be surprised by what you find.

TE AWAMUTU CREATIVE FIBRE 2024 Pop-Up Shop

This newspaper is subject to NZ Media Council procedures. A complaint must first be directed in writing, within one month of publication, to the editor’s email address. If not satisfied with the response, the complaint may be referred to the Media Council P O Box 10-879, The Terrace, Wellington 6143. Or use the online complaint form at www. mediacouncil.org.nz

Please include copies of the article and all correspondence with the publication.

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Mythical creature (6)

Singing voice (5)

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Down: 2. Orchard, 3. Lint, 4. Physiotherapy, 5. Employer, 6. Tango, 7. Spasm, 8. Ugly, 12. Luncheon, 14. Suppose, 15. Drift, 16. Free, 18. Crush, 20. Heat.

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by Michael Bennett Two murders. Two decades apart. One chance to get justice.

Return to Blood

From the award-winning author of BETTER THE BLOOD comes the gripping new Hana Westerman thriller

Hana Westerman has left Auckland and her career as a detective behind her. Settled in a quiet coastal town, all she wants is a fresh start.

The discovery of a skeleton in the dunes near her house changes everything. The remains are those of a young Maori woman who went missing four years before, and Hana has a connection to the case. Twenty years ago, a schoolfriend of hers was found buried in the exact same spot. Her killer died in prison, but did the police get the wrong man? And if he was innocent, then why did he plead guilty?

No longer part of the Criminal Investigation Branch, Hana turns to her ex-husband Jaye, a high-flying Detective Inspector, for help. But when he cuts her out of the investigation, she realises that she will have to find the answers she needs on her own. But in digging deeper, she sets herself on a potentially fatal collision course with a killer.

MICHAEL BENNETT (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue) is an award-winning screenwriter, director and author. His first book, a non-fiction work telling the true story of New Zealand’s worst miscarriage of justice, In Dark Places, won Best NonFiction Book at the 2017 Ngaio Marsh Awards. Better the Blood, the first Hana Westerman thriller, was shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction/ Ockham New Zealand Book Award, as well as the Audio Book of the Year at the Capital Crime Fingerprint Awards. It was also a finalist for both Best First Novel and Best Novel at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards. He lives in Auckland, Aotearoa (New Zealand).

Souper soups

There’s nothing more comforting on a cold winter’s day than a bowl of hot nourishing soup. There are thin and thick soups — thin to whet the appetite before a main course and thick soups that can be meals in themselves.

The most famous thin soup in the world must be chicken soup, made by cooking chicken in stock or water. Once the chicken is cooked, it may be deboned and the meat returned to the soup or eaten separately. Vegetables, rice or noodles can be added to provide more body.

Bisques are a type of well-flavoured creamed soup, typically made with crustaceans such as crayfish or prawns, but also with vegetables, as in tomato bisque. The ingredients are cooked in a broth, then puréed, strained and ‘creamed’. Traditional bisque recipes use bread or rice to as thickeners. Chowders and gumbos are varieties of thick, distinctly American soups. Creamy chowders are usually thickened with starchy vegetables such as corn or potato. Gumbos are regional American soups from Louisiana, thickened either with a very dark roux—a mixture of flour and fat that is cooked to a deep brown colour — okra, or file powder made from dried sassafras leaves.

THAI CHICKEN SOUP

2 tablespoons rice bran oil

1 onion, diced

3 each: large garlic cloves, spring onions

500g skinned and boned chicken, thinly sliced 3-4 tablespoons (or to taste) Thai green curry paste

400ml can light coconut milk

4 cups chicken stock

2 makrut (kaffir) lime leaves

2 tablespoons fish sauce

250g thinly sliced green beans

Topping: 1/2 cup each: basil leaves, coriander leaves

4 tablespoons lime juice

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Sauté the onion, until softened. Meanwhile, crush the garlic. Thinly slice the spring onions.

Add the chicken to the saucepan and stir-fry, until coloured. Stir in the curry paste. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, lime leaves, fish sauce, garlic and spring onions. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the beans and simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, finely chop the basil and coriander. Combine with the lime juice. Ladle the soup into bowls and add the topping just before serving. Serves 4.

MUSSEL CHOWDER

1 each: small leek, large celery stalk (including leaves)

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

4 tablespoons plain flour

1/2 cup white wine

1 1/2 cups chopped shelled mussels salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 teaspoon each: paprika, lemon juice

3 cups milk

Finely chop the leek and the celery (including the leaves). Sauté in the oil with the garlic, until the leek is soft.

Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine. Stir over low heat for 1-2 minutes.

Add the mussels, salt, pepper, parsley, paprika and lemon juice. Stir well. Pour in the milk and heat until simmering, stirring frequently. Great served with crusty bread. Serves 4.

CREAMY CELERY BISQUE

6 cups diced celery and leaves

2 cups each: chicken stock, boiling water

1 onion, sliced

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup plain flour

2 cups milk

1 cup light sour cream salt and pepper to taste

Combine the celery, chicken stock and boiling water in a saucepan; simmer until the celery is tender. Meanwhile, sauté the onion in the butter, until softened. Stir in the flour. Slowly stir in the milk, cooking and stirring, until thick. Stir in the celery mixture and sour cream. Season. Purée in a blender, until smooth. Reheat gently to serve. Serves 6.

Thai chicken soup

Mussel chowder

ACCOUNTANT

We are looking for a person to join our team either fulltime or part-time, who has a people first attitude and understands the importance of delivering in a positive, timely manner. You will be joining an accountancy firm with a large farming client base along with many progressive businesses. Flexibility to work from either our Hamilton and/or Ōtorohanga office as well as from home as our offices are cloud based.

Qualifications & experience

• Minimum of 2 years experience in a New Zealand chartered accountant’s office.

Benefits

• Flexible working environment

• Offices in Hamilton and Otorohanga

• Payment of professional membership fees

• Staff savings scheme and paid day off for birthday

• Fun progressive team environment

• Being totally cloud based the team are all able to work remotely from home

Send your CV and covering letter to Osbornes Chartered Accountants Ltd, PO Box 1, Otorohanga 3940 or email jeni@osbornesca.co.nz.

ClearCut™ Fabricated deck for medium to large-sized gardens.