Capital 85

CAPITAL Mayor mayor…

Who’s the fairest candidate of them all?

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Clothes minded

Why cherishing your wardrobe is chic

Fowl play

From alive to fried, it’s chicken season-ed

Ghosts get souls

Shoes you’ll want to take to the grave

The time issue THE STORIES OF WELLINGTON

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CAPITAL

The stories of Wellington

W

e hope you’ll enjoy our Spring issue. We’re firmly anchored, but still it reflects the volatile weather we can expect at this time of year.

Spring brings freshness and growth. You’ll find grass, babies, lambs, chickens, and daffodils mentioned in our latest crop of stories. Fried chicken is on-trend right now, and we have explored all things chook, from fly to fry.

We asked fowl food expert Tim Yamat to come along to sample fried chicken from local outlets, and summarise his findings. See his chicken lickin’ comment on p84.

Fashionistas have long been doing the mahi to keep style sustainable. We asked five of them to open their wardrobes and pull out old favourites for us. We are firm supporters of any occasion with dress-up potential: as Halloween is looming we persuaded art director Shalee Fitzsimmons to devise a photoshoot with spooky sheets’n shoes.

CPoTY, our Capital Photographer of the Year Competition, was a remarkable success. The People’s Choice winner features inside. Thank you to the many of you who visited the exhibition and voted online.

You’ll have another chance to see it when it shows again at Pataka in October.

Last but certainly not least, we have put the questions to the people seeking to become Mayor of Wellington.

Their replies are lined up in a chart for easy comparison, to help you to evaluate the candidates. Three years ago, I was exhorting readers to vote. And here I am again.

How would Wellington or New Zealand fare without local democracy? Please make sure you vote on Saturday 8 October. Wouldn’t it be great if Wellington led the local election voting turnout?

Subscriptions $84.90 for 6 issues $164.90 for 12 issues New Zealand only

To subscribe, please email accounts@capitalmag.co.nz or visit capitalmag.co.nz/shop

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See you in November.

Alison Franks Editor

Produced by Capital Publishing Ltd

The opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Although all material is checked for accuracy, no liability is assumed by the publisher for any losses due to the use of material in this magazine.

Copyright ©. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of Capital Publishing Ltd.

8

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Staff

Featured contributors

Managing editor Alison Franks editor@capitalmag.co.nz Campaign coordinators Haleigh Trower haleigh@capitalmag.co.nz Milly Brunel milly@capitalmag.co.nz Siobhan Vaccarino siobhan@capitalmag.co.nz Factotum John Bristed john@capitalmag.co.nz Art director Shalee Fitzsimmons shalee@capitalmag.co.nz Designer Elaine Loh design@capitalmag.co.nz Content manager Sophie Carter journalism@capitalmag.co.nz

MARLBOROUGH LIGHTS Ph oto g r aph er

MADELEINE BOLES DE BOER Writer

“I have tried so many times to give up taking pictures and do something honourable with my life. But I think I am cursed to do this.” Marlborough Lights has been working professionally in the photography biz since 1999. You can find him on Instagram @marlborough_lights.

Madeleine is an enthusiastic Wellingtonian and writer, and relishes combining the two. When she’s not working on her house in Karori or taking pictures of her cat Caroline, she can be found reviewing exotic chippies with friends on Instagram @chipsinthenight_

Publishing coordinator Hannah Mahon hello@capitalmag.co.nz Accounts Tod Harfield accounts@capitalmag.co.nz

Contributors Melody Thomas, Janet Hughes, Anna Briggs, Sarah Lang, Deirdre Tarrant, Francesca Emms, Dan Poynton, Chris Tse, Claire Orchard, Harriet Palmer, Jess Scott, Griff Bristed, Claire O’Loughlin, Chev Hassett, Joram Adams, Sanne Van Ginkel, Rachel Helyer Donaldson, Matthew Plummer, Fairooz Samy, Adrian Vercoe, Sasha Borissenko, Courteney Moore, Josiah Nevell, Monica Winder, Craig Beardsworth, Olivia Lamb, Wilson Matete

Submissions We welcome freelance art, photo, and story submissions. However we cannot reply personally to unsuccessful pitches.

TA L LU L A H FA R R A R I l lu str ator

OLIVIA LAMB Ph oto g r aph er

Tallulah is an artist and illustrator based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. When she’s not dreaming up her next creative idea, you’ll find her walking along the waterfront, cooking elaborate flat dinners in Mt Vic, or rewatching ’90s romcoms.

Find her online at @tallulahfarrar

Olivia Lamb is a freelance photographer.

When she isn’t at home consuming the latest horror film, you’ll find her out exploring bush walks and trails around Wellington’s coast line, or catching waves down at Lyall Bay. Check out her work on Instagram @olivia.s.lamb

10

V

E BY M AI

OT

L

Find out more at wcc.nz/elections

IL

EL

EC T I ON

22

S

Get your vote in from 16 September to 8 October.

BY MA

LO C AL

VO

Friends who VOTE together, stay together.

TE

C O N T E N T S

16 20 23 24 27 31

CHATTER NOTEWORTHY

BY THE NUMBERS NEW PRODUCTS TALES OF THE CITY CULTURE

47

Worn out Why hanging on is always in style

36 On a wing and a prayer Netballer Ainsleyana Puleiata talks faith, family, and powerful thighs

41 Sounds of silence Why Quakers don't need to shout

59

Chain reaction We play 20 questions with Wellington city’s mayoral candidates

C O N T E N T S

83 65 Soul High-heeled and hellbound, ghosts in shoes

74

LIFESTYLE

76

Bug me Bigger, better wētā

79

EDIBLES

92 94 97

103

Spring chicken

Nursery rhymes

Chooks from pen to plate

Lullabies meet leather in this harmonious home

TRY THIS

BY THE BOOK RE-VERSE

98 Rook star Xanthe Rook is away with the fairies

110 WELLY ANGEL

112

Wāhine Melody's relationship manual

114 CALENDAR 116 PUZZLED

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Whetūrangitia Made As Stars S E C T I O N

H E A D E R

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03 Sep 22 —19 Feb 23 15

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C H AT T E R S E C T I O N H E A D E R

CPotY Snapshots

One

Title: Threads of Heritage Photographer: Mele Tau’alupe Category: Society semi finalist

Run around As if he were not already busy enough as brand manager at Coffee Supreme, Doug Johns has challenged himself to run every street in Pōneke. Inspired by runner Rickey Gates and his Every Single Street project, Doug has started For the Run of It, and is inviting anyone to join him to “share a few kms.” While one of Doug’s main aims for the project is to explore more of the city, he also hopes to fundraise for Trees That Count. With roughly 700km of paved roads to cover, his goal is to plant a tree for every kilometre run.

Behind the camera: Mele Tau’alupe is a 28-year-old Tongan photographer. Born and raised in Newtown, she runs her own photography business, working mainly on weddings and lifestyle shoots. As someone who cherishes family and community, she finds photographing weddings comes very naturally.

Why photography? In her early twenties Mele felt lost. She had dropped out of criminology studies at Victoria University and was left without direction. Deciding to fill the void with travel, she set off to spend several months in Nepal – taking her father’s camera with her, and picking up a new passion in the process.

The snap: The subject of Threads of Heritage is Hana, the bride, dressed in a traditional Pakistani wedding gown. “The detailing caught my eye as soon as I saw her,” says Mele. She likes to make “headless” portraits in order to “capture the individual’s material character”.

The day of wedding was also that of the Hunga volcano’s eruption in Tonga. The photo, which will preserve a wonderful memory for the couple, also reminds Mele that it will be some time before she can return to her home country.

Two Hospo heroes Egmont Street Eatery, Kisa, Hawthorn Lounge and Boneface in Upper Hutt are among the nominees announced in this year’s Felix Awards. Pour and Twist’s Zuyi Woon (See p.90) is in the running for Outstanding Barista, and Havana Bar’s Eom Jae Hoon (Cap #84) for Outstanding Chef. The awards acknowledge the restaurants, chefs, baristas, and bar and front of house staff, that keep the food industry buzzing. Winners will be announced on 11 September.

The Capital Photographer of the Year 2022 competition was held earlier this year, with the winners announced in June. We’ll be highlighting some of the entries each issue and online at capitalmag.co.nz/cpoty

16

C H AT T E R

New in town

Support small Rejuvenation in the suburbs continues apace. Welly Collective has opened a new store, in Johnsonville Mall. This is the third store opened by the collective which brings together more than 130 small businesses into one vibrant shopping experience. A perfect place to find artisan and bespoke gifts. The other businesses are at 100 Courtenay Place and at 9A Park Road Miramar.

Three

C a t wa l k Smart Cat Collars are being launched by the Wellington City Council in a bid to keep both cats and native birds safe. Designed by a sewing group at Newlands Community Centre, the collars feature a reflective strip and bright polka dots to make them easily visible to drivers and birds. Bird numbers in the capital have increased significantly in recent years, partly thanks to people’s cooperation in keeping cats indoors at night, and having them desexed.

Four

F i ve

In the good books

Ra i s e yo u r g l a s s

Lisa Adler has been named Best Emerging Bookseller 2022 at the Aotearoa Book Trade Industry Awards. For Lisa, the award is bittersweet, as it came just two days before the closure of Vic Books Pipitea, where she had worked since 2018. Vic Books general manager Jessica Godfrey (Cap# 83) says Lisa is “a voracious reader and she loves to put the best book into the hands of readers.” Lisa will be taking her talents to Vic Books’ Kelburn location.

Unity Books in Wellington were also prize winners, receiving the award for NZ Bookseller of the Year. The store on Willis Street celebrates its 55th birthday this year.

After being one of the many events axed because of covid in 2021, Toast Martinborough is returning with a bang for its 29th year. The one-day festival is setting out to be more eco-conscious, incorporating compost and recycling bins on the seven sites, and limiting single-use containers and packaging. The event takes place on Sunday, 20 November, with eight Wairarapa wineries taking part.

Organisers are offering live music, and glamping tents to provide handy accommodation after a few too many.

17

S E C TCI HO AN T TH EE RA D E R

Six

Eight

Smell the history

I n C Po t Y n ews

Whanganui reeks of heritage - so says Heritage Month coordinator Ann Petherick. The October event has a transport theme celebrating a Historic Places Trust Category 1 airport control tower, the Durie Hill elevator, riverboats, buses, and trams. Waimarie, the southern hemispheres only coal-powered paddle steamer will be a highlight as it traverses the Whanganui river.

A regatta on the river plus street parades, high teas, and exhibitions at local museums and art galleries are also planned.

People’s Choice The people have spoken, and chosen Bridget Sloane’s The Fog at Dawn (pictured) as the 2022 People’s Choice winner.

CPotY judge Bridget Reweti commented that the image “appears magical, like an island in the clouds somehow tethered to the land via the windmills”. Congratulations Bridget, and thanks to the almost 2,000 people who voted.

S eve n

Doing Time Eight people variously describe being arrested in a dramatic meth bust, giving birth in handcuffs, surviving being transgender in men's prisons, the small comforts such as a good pillow and a pair of socks, and what it takes to take a lifetime of trauma and make a better life, on new podcast. True Justice is produced by JustSpeak, with production company Popsock Media and platform Re: News.

Available on all platforms from 28 September.

It's cool to kōrero Sorry I’m running late.

I’ll be there in a tick!

Manawanui mai, e tōmuri ana au. A koko ake nei hei korā au!

Interislander Enjoy an exhibition on the water during your next trip across Cook Strait. Our Whenua sponsor, Interislander, has displayed the semi-finalist photos in the category on the ferries, and in their reception area at the Wellington terminal.

Porirua bound Capital Photographer of the Year: The Exhibition is hitting the road and heading to Pātaka Art + Museum for six photograph-filled weeks. From 28 October until 11 December it will showcase the best images from the 2022 competition, including each of the category winners and our official Capital Photographer of the Year. Entry is free.

Nine Bounce back After the Kaikoura earthquake hit in 2016 Paul Barton began investigating how indemnity insurance companies respond to customers’ claims. He discovered that while traditional cover helped to repair homes in the long run, it did not provide the immediate cash flow that’s needed after a natural disaster. In response, he started Bounce, a Wellington insurance provider, which aims to quickly get renters, homeowners, and businesses back on their feet after an earthquake.

18

N O T E W O R T H Y

LAST C HA NC E E X PR E S S Regeneration of inter-regional train travel is still on the cards thanks to a recently announced inquiry into the passenger rail network. Save Our Trains spokesperson Dr Paul Callister says that although the timeframe for the enquiry is yet to be confirmed the Transport and Infrastructure Committee offers a chance to reset decades of decline in the rail system. “Services have been run into the ground through decades of deliberate decline and bias towards road and air transport. This inquiry offers an eleventh-hour chance to reverse the decline of our rail network.”

STAND AND DELIVER

HIGH-UPS

A healthy crop of candidates is contesting the Wellington local body elections. With postal voting closing on 8 October, the public are encouraged to swot up on who’s who.

Wellington City has nine choices for mayor, with incumbent Andy Foster being challenged by Paul Eagle, Kelvin Hastie, Tory Whanau, Ellen Blake, Ray Chung, Chris Duffield, Barbara McKenzie, and Donald McDonald.

There are 54 people vying for the 15 seats around the council table.

Taller residential buildings in Porirua are up for discussion with newly drafted changes to the district plan being offered by the city council. Medium and high density housing areas up to six stories, and rezoning land for development in Pukerua Bay are proposed. Council Environment and City Planning Manager Stewart McKenzie said “Our city is growing, and this means some of our planning rules have to change to allow for greater housing density and more housing choices.” Submissions are open until 12 September.

Spiegel Fest

A TARANAKI EVENT LINE-UP LIKE NO OTHER

SKY IS GOING GREEN Sky Stadium has sought funding of $39,500 to investigate renewable energy switches. This investigation would cover changing the venue’s lighting to low-energy LEDs, and converting cooking appliances and heating from gas to electric. If it is approved, the council’s Low Carbon Acceleration Fund will absorb the cost. In February this year the council expanded the amount of funding on offer, reflecting the increased value of the 255,660 carbon credits they hold.

Centuria Taranaki Garden Festival

N O T E W O R T H Y

A MERE M AY O R Mayoral chains are jangling as elections loom around the Wellington region. Porirua has four choices for mayor including incumbent Anita Baker. Hutt City has three including current mayor Campbell Barry. Veteran mayor of 21 years Wayne Guppy has four candidates snapping at his heels for Upper Hutt, and Kapiti Coast’s race is wide open with six people looking to replace K Gurunathan who is not seeking reelection. Over the Remutaka Ranges South Wairarapa is still reeling from a 29% rates rise, and there are three candidates hoping to topple incumbent Alex Beijen. Carterton’s two-horse race pits current mayor Greg Lang against previous two-term mayor and former NZ First MP Ron Mark.

H 2 NO

WOOD YOU INVEST?

GRIM AND BEAR IT

Flawed research is being used to justify Three Waters reform according to economic consultants Castalia. Federated Farmers spokesperson Sandra Faulkner used Castalia’s analysis at a select committee in August, saying ‘We believe strongly in keeping the local in local government and are opposed to a centralisation agenda.’ According to Faulkner even the government’s own Infrastructure Commission has found that there is no relationship between the size of a council and the efficiency of council activities. Bigger may not be better at driving down costs.

Now in its second generation of planting, Forestry Enterprises celebrates 50 years of sustainable forestry investment in 2022. The Masterton company has grown to manage 20,000 hectares of radiata pine for 6,500 investors. With forests in Wairarapa, Hawkes Bay, and Gisborne it is the country’s biggest forestry investment company. The company is clearly in for the long haul, and in July employee Graeme Tindall notched up 25 years’ service.

A slew of extreme weather events around the world is making New Zealanders edgy this year. Concern over the impact of climate change is most acute in Aotearoa, according to global market research and public opinion specialist Ipsos. We topped a list of 32 countries, with 81% of respondents worried about climate change in other countries and 76% worried about impacts here. The Ipsos survey noted a significant rise in our collective concern from previous years.

Taranaki Arts Trail

Taranaki is known for its world-class events. With a stacked spring events line-up, now is the time to plan your ultimate escape to Taranaki. Come for the arts, culture or gardens, and stay for the picture-perfect scenery, decadent dining, and fascinating local history.

WHAT’S ON Feastival Taranaki - 1-4 Sept | Taranaki Arts Trail - 28 Oct-6 Nov Centuria Taranaki Garden Festival - 28 Oct-2 Nov | Spiegel Fest - 10-20 Nov Find out more about these and other events happening in Taranaki at taranaki.co.nz/visit AN INITIATIVE OF VENTURE TARANAKI

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B Y

Hare and the tortoise

Jet lag

World of Wearable Art

T H E

N U M B E R S

200

35

0.5

80

top speed in kilometres per hour of a Karearea (native falcon) in flight

time in years for a tuatara to be fully grown (one of the slowest growth rates of any reptile)

the maximum distance in inches a garden snail travels in one second

the average number of days for a kiwi egg to hatch

26

1.7

102,672

17

the largest time difference in hours between countries

distance in miles of the world’s shortest flight (between two Scottish Islands)

price in NZD of the world’s most expensive flight

time in hours of the Air NZ non-stop flight from Auckland to New York (from 17 September)

35 years since the competition began

830,000

people have seen a WOW awards show

4,985

10,500

finalist garments have been shown on stage

people have worked on a WOW awards show

CO M P I L E D BY S O P H I E CA RT E R

Trick or treat

1.3

31,000

15,458

45

million NZD value of pumpkins exported annually

online market searches for costumes in the two weeks before Halloween 2021

participants in the world’s largest zombie party

the percentage of people in the USA who believe in ghosts (according to a YouGov poll)

23 23

N E W

P R O D U C T S

3.

2.

1.

4.

5.

6.

8.

7.

Once in a blue moon

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

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24

sunday

Eat. Drink.

Be Entertained.

20 November 2022 toastmartinborough.co.nz

TA L E S

O F

T H E

C I T Y

Flower bud

BY SA S H A B O R I S S E N KO P H OTO G R A P H Y BY H E L E N L E A WA L L A N D K A R L I N A M I TC H E L L

BAR

MUSIC

WALK

HOLIDAY

PET

Little Beer Quarter

The Seaside Sloths

Wellington waterfront

Abel Tasman National Park

Koa the mixedbreed dog

Hogan Gill isn’t your garden variety daffodil grower.

D

affodil farming seems an unlikely occupation to take up by accident, but it’s one Hogan Gill stumbled upon – literally.

The former scuba diving instructor was back from living overseas, and helping his parents move from Auckland to Ōhau, south of Levin. The five acres they’d purchased had been owned by an avid daffodil farmer, who grew them to compete, rather than sell. “He was purely in it for the love of it and had his heart set on producing the best-looking blooms,” says Hogan.

The family assumed the bulbs would have been taken away when the property changed hands. However, when spring arrived, Hogan was pleasantly surprised by acres of yellow flowers. After a few days “frolicking in the fields”, Hogan “fairly quickly fell in love with the little buggers. Hard to not be impressed by all these prize-winning beauties popping up in the backyard.”

Five years later, Hogan swapped the sea for the land to become “The Daffadude.” Eight (or ten, if he’s lucky) weeks a year, he sells his blooms up and down the Kāpiti Coast and in Wellington. He typically starts picking in late July, although “daffs make up their own mind when it comes to the timing of the season.”

The hundreds of thousands of bulbs and haphazard planting he inherited mean plenty of surprises for him and his customers. His favourite variety is Trigonometry – a coral split-cup flower that blooms into a vibrant pink (but is no use for calculating angles).

Picking is a ritual, and Hogan’s happy place. “On a good day’s pick, I’m walking about in the sunshine

through a sea of colour, filling loads of buckets as I tune out to my tunes.” Although Wellington’s changeable spring weather can pose challenges, the payoff for Hogan is the smiling faces of his customers. “People will stop in their tracks to just stare and smile at my daffodil display.”

Hogan’s weekends are often workdays, spent surrounded by buckets of daffs at Saturday markets in Waikanae, then picking for and selling at the Sunday Harbourside Market in Wellington. If he sells out early, he wanders along the waterfront, accompanied by his pooch (or as he calls her, “Daffadog”) Koa. When the season is over, Hogan’s weekends are still busy with his other occupation, as a wedding celebrant.

Another career he apparently fell into, when a chance encounter with some forgotten clerical robes led to his officiating at his sister’s wedding.

His success at this event led to a string of requests, prompting him to take up the role on the regular. He’s since donned everything from a suit to Jedi robes to help people tie the knot, and has added wedding-day coordination and MC services to his skill set.

Daffodils and weddings have proven a harmonious seasonal pairing. “By the time weddings have died down in April or May, I’m prepping the fields for the next round of daffs. And after packing down for my last market in early October, I’m donning the suit for a wedding that afternoon. The two professions merge serendipitously well.”

27

THE 2022 EXHIBITION If you missed it the first time, this is your chance to experience the finalists and winners of Wellington’s largest photography competition.

28 October – 11 December Free entry Pataka Art + Museum 17 Parumoana Street, Porirua

Prints available for purchase.

capitalmag.co.nz/ cpoty for more info

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C U L T U R E

TH(INK)ING AHEAD Covid hasn’t slowed down Indian Ink theatre company.

“When the lockdowns hit, we researched and wrote; when they lifted, we toured,” says co-founder, playwright, and actor Jacob Rajan. He inhabits multiple characters in his 25th anniversary solo performance of Krishnan’s Dairy (Soundings Theatre, 17–21 September), considered one of New Zealand’s most successful plays locally and internationally. Meanwhile, co-founder Justin Rogers and Kalyani Nagarajan performed Mrs Krishnan’s Party at the BroadStage festival in Santa Monica, California, recently. The troupe is now working on a comedy set in an office.

RUNAWAY SUCCESS

PRESIDENTIAL PIANIST

BEST AT OUR WORST

Chantelle Burgoyne, a Samoan New Zealander from Kilbirnie, has made a short film, Sista. "It’s loosely based on my sister and me. I was 11 when she ran away from home three times.” They’ve written the film together. Sista will screen at the short-film festival Show Me Shorts (14–26 October, Lighthouse Cuba; some shorts will screen through an online platform). Chantelle was one of 10 directors of a lauded Australasian feature film, We Are Still Here, about the impact of colonisation on indigenous peoples.

Who could say that they performed at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration? Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero can. For her first-ever performance with the NZ Symphony Orchestra, in the ‘Legacy’ concert (1 October), she plays Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20. It’s worth booking early for NZSO ‘Heavenly’ concert (10 November) featuring Mahler’s Fourth Symphony; with Madeleine Pierard, soprano.

Kiwi comedy leverages our cultural-cringe factor, says media-studies lecturer Nicholas Holm. He has gathered 30 excerpts and full-length clips from TV comedy, webseries, films, and gigs – including The Best of The Billy T James Collection and The Worst of Eating Media Lunch, and created NZ Comedy is a Bit Shit... But in a Good Way, available on NZ On Screen, an online collection. Nicholas says, “Some of our best, most distinctive comedy actively embraces ‘shitness’: rough edges, questionable content, disarmingly odd behaviour!”

COFFEE & GREAT READS

vicbooks.co.nz

C U L T U R E

THE POWER O F PAUA The relative sturdiness of pāua shells, their turquoise sheen, and their reflection of light make them a popular material for jewellery-makers. Pāua: A Contemporary Jewellery Story (9 July to 20 November) at the Dowse displays 70 works by 29 jewellers, among them German-born Island Bay artist Karl Fritsch. “1980s jewellers tried to change the status of pāua from only a souvenir object to jewellery that could be worn by everyday people,” says curator Sian van Dyk. The exhibition also considers the cultural significance of pāua in Māori art, including whakairo rākau (carving).

GIRLS’ NIGHT

ENCORE

WAR STORIES

Bree Peters was studying at Toi Whakaari NZ Drama School in Wellington when she saw her first professionally performed play (at Downstage Theatre, RIP) starring Miriama McDowell (pictured). They later became friends. Now the Auckland friends and occasional collaborators reunite for a production of The Wasp (Circa, 1–29 October), a psychological thriller about two friends taking a big risk (no spoilers here). UK playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s female-centric work inspires Miriama, who a few years ago directed a Lloyd Malcolm play.

Reprising ballet performances is a smart move, given that choreographers and dancers put so much into creating and performing them. The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s five-act gala showcase Tutus On Tour (7–8 October) brings back the grand pas de deux “Waltz of the Pohutukawa Flowers” from its 2018 production of The Nutcracker. The gala includes four other works, some new, some returning.

The colonial conflicts called the New Zealand Wars have interested storytellers for a century. The New Zealand Portrait Gallery exhibition He Riri Awatea: Filming the New Zealand Wars shows excerpts from film, TV, and digital-storytelling formats about these conflicts. You’ll see photographic portraits of tāngata whenua who were involved in the productions on both sides of the camera. The cocurators are Annabel Cooper, author of Filming the Colonial Past, and writer-musician Ariana Tikao.

New Zealand Arts Icon photographer Ans Westra is responsible for the most comprehensive documentation of New Zealand culture over the last 60 years. The {Suite} Westra Museum is a dedicated exhibition space for Ans' photographs. Prints are available for sale.

w w w. s u i t e . c o . n z Tu e – F r i 1 0 a m – 5 p m 32 S a t 1 0 a m – 4 p m

2 4 1 C u b a S t r e e t , We l l i n g t o n Instagram: @answestra

C U L T U R E

ABOUT TIME Fifty years of revitalisation of te reo Māori is being celebrated in September. Te Hui Ahurei Reo Māori o Te Whanganui-a-Tara, the Māori Language Festival of Wellington, will run during nationwide Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week, 13–19 September). Events include a multi-sensory concert featuring Māori musicians. Many events and activities are whanau-friendly, free, or koha.

The festival is presented by the Taranaki Whānui collective, iwi Ngāti Toa Rangatira, and Wellington City Council.

It commemorates the presentation in September 1972 of a Māori-language petition to Parliament for the recognition and revitalisation of te reo Māori, particularly in schools.

WADE IN

THE ATLAS

GONE POSTAL

Wellington opera singer Wade Kernot is enjoying quite a career. He performed in 20 productions during his five years as an ensemble member with Theater Sankt Gallen in Switzerland. In NZ Opera’s new production of Verdi’s Macbeth, the award-winning bass tackles the role of Banquo, who appears in multiple scenes – as an army general, then (spoiler alert) as a ghost.

International stars Phillip Rhodes and Amanda Echalaz sing Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in this operatic account of Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy.

A veteran of the global circus, vaudeville, and fringe-festival circuits, Wellington’s Rachel Atlas presents Gag Reflex: A Scandalous Solo Show (16, 17 September).

The winner of the 2022 New Zealand Fringe Festival’s “Best in Fringe” award is about Rachel’s exploits, including performing as a knife-thrower’s assistant and sword swallower. Expect stunts.

It’s one of 17 shows forming TAHI: NZ Festival of Solo Performance in September.

Cristohper (yes, that’s spelled correctly) Ramos Flores is a Mexican composer, sound artist, and instrument builder who lives here with his Kiwi wife and baby. He was a postie for six months recently. “I needed a morning job, so why not?” He earned a PhD in Music Composition from the New Zealand School of Music last year. Now he’s received the firstever three-month Creative NZ/NZSM Sonic Artist Residency. He’ll buy and replace letterboxes that capture Wellington’s history for his installation. It’s barely begun, but he envisages electronic instrument components inside the letterboxes, creating percussive sounds.

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F E AT U R E

On a wing and a prayer P H OTO G R A P H Y BY O L I V I A L A M B

A ruptured ACL is a potentially career-ending injury for an athlete. That wasn’t the case for 22-year-old netballer Ainsleyana Puleiata, who’s done it twice. She talks to Francesca Emms about where she gets her strength.

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hen Ainsleyana Puleiata found herself captain of Samoa’s netball team at the Oceania World Cup Qualifiers in Fiji this July, she got a bit choked up. “Wearing the uniform of Tifa Moana, with the Samoan logo on my heart, and singing the Samoan national anthem, I almost cried. It was a very proud moment.”

The rising netball star from Porirua has come a long way since 2019, when she was facing a gruelling recovery from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It was the second time Ana had damaged the same knee. Looking down the barrel of more surgery and many months of rehabilitation, she says, “I kind of had a mental breakdown.”

According to the NZACL Registry, sporting accidents are responsible for 82% of ACL injuries in New Zealand, with “high-demand pivoting sports”, like netball, causing the majority. Women are five times as likely to rupture their ACL as men. The registry has found that less than half of the athletes who go through reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation get back to where they were pre-injury. That Ana has been through it and made a comeback, twice, is testament to her courage and determination.

Ana lives in Porirua with her mum, dad, and three younger brothers. Her parents, Diana and Fa’auliuli, were both born in Samoa and moved to New Zealand as children. Her dad is from Magiagi and her mum is from

Vaiusu. “It’s hard to connect to my roots being so far away,” says Ana, “especially with covid. I sometimes feel disconnected not being able to be there and experience the culture. I took my trips to Samoa for granted.”

Samoan is spoken at home, though Ana says she’s not fluent. “I understand it. If someone says, ‘Make me a cup of tea,’ in Samoan, I’ll reply in English, ‘Yeah, sure’.” She worries that she sometimes neglects her Samoan culture by living “in a Western, Kiwi way. My identity is Kiwi and Samoan. I need to find a balance.”

Her faith is an important part of her identity and a source of strength. “My religion is a part of who I am. It helps a lot when I’m trying to find confidence in myself, when things are tough, or when I need a reminder that where I am is alright and I just need to keep going and trust that my time will come.”

Ana went to a small primary school in Porirua. Being a bit “thin on numbers” the school, Windley, only had one netball team, so when Ana was only nine she was playing with 11- and 12-year-olds. When she moved to St Mary’s College in Wellington, the opportunities expanded. Ana played in the Senior A team from 2014 to 2017. The school has a good reputation for netball.

“Back in the day” she enjoyed playing with people like Whitney Souness, Mona Lisa Groom, and Colleen Faleafaga. “And now, it’s really nice to see young players coming through from St. Mary’s. The game is still strong there.”

Backdrop: Tongpop by Telly Tuita, Bergman Gallery

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While she was at college Ana also became interested in rugby. Her parents were hesitant, “because rugby’s such a full on contact sport,” Ana explains. She managed to persuade them to let her join St Mary’s teams, telling them, “I’ve got thighs! I’ve got big thunder thighs that will protect me! It’s all good.”

However, during a rugby training game in 2017, Ana ruptured the ACL in her left knee for the first time. The average person in a guided rehabilitation programme might gradually increase their activity.

But for someone like Ana, who plays sport at a high level, the only option is surgical reconstruction and comprehensive rehabilitation. She underwent surgery, then worked through a nine-month rehab programme.

When Ana returned to sport she was named captain of the Central Manawa team for the 2019 NNL season, but in a pre-season match, her first game back, she ruptured her left ACL again. Ana says the recovery from her second injury “was really, really hard.” Physically she could do it, but mentally she struggled. The hardest part? “Watching people play netball. I just couldn’t take it. You really want to go out there and train as well. It was really hard to be on the sideline.” She had to remove herself from training and games for a while. “I kind of drifted away from the support that was there. I was really grateful, but that environment wasn't good for me, mentally.” While she was off court Ana focused on her rehab and her studies. She now holds a Bachelor of Health degree from Victoria University.

Ana’s rehab trainers were Malcolm and Mallory Toeagia, co-founders of Centurion Athletic Performance. They recommended she read The Mamba Mentality, Kobe Bryant’s account of his life and basketball career. “I started reading it and I was in tears because I was like, ‘That’s me!’ reading about his his injuries and his setbacks. I started to think, maybe I could do what he did and come back stronger.”

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In early 2020, after a tough year of rehab, Ana was ready to make her second comeback. In September she was named for the New Zealand under-21 netball training squad for the 2021 Netball World Youth Cup and the 2021 Central Manawa team. She was also awarded Victoria University’s 2021 Pasifika Sportsperson of the Year. In June this year she was selected for the Central Pulse and will be playing in the next ANZ Premiership.

It’s no surprise that Ana’s parents are very proud of their daughter. “They were my number one Uber,” she laughs. “I was always calling them, ‘Mum, I've got training here. Can you pick me up?’ or ‘Dad, can you drive me here? Can you pay my fees?’ They’re really supportive. They were always at every game that I had, whether it was netball or rugby.” Says Ana, “If you have a doubt, or a low moment on court, it’s nice to look out to the crowd and see your family there.”

Ana’s brothers are also part of her support system, having been dragged around to training and games since day one. “AJ (aged 21) will always give his critical observation on the game, but is always proud and supportive of me. And my two little brothers Atticus (5) and Alexander (2) will always crush me with cuddles, especially after a hard loss or when I wasn’t performing to my best.”

If she could give younger netballers any advice, it would be to take their time. “I felt like I was rushing my sporting career to get to the top. When I should have been enjoying the journey, and just having fun.”

Ana says it’s advice her younger self should have heeded. “It took me a long time to learn, but young people have a lot of time. I didn’t think I did, but I do.

I’ll get there when I get there.”

Get where? Ana is excited to be joining the Pulse as a full-time contracted player this season. But maybe, down the line, she will get to play in a black dress.

Watch this space.

Vote #1 Jane O’Loughlin

C U L T U R E

for Wellington City Council Lambton/Pukehinau ward

Fungus among us

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ro Valley artist Georgette Brown creates stainedglass artworks that, rather than saints or gods, depict mushrooms. “I’m fanatically obsessed with mushrooms,” says Georgette.

She’s actually more interested in the mycelium – the rootlike structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching threads – than the ‘sporocarp’ or ‘fruiting body’ (as distinct from fruit) which in this case is the mushroom.

A two-time Parkin Drawing Award finalist for works in coloured pencil and pen on paper, she learned how to work with stained glass only last year – “I’m super novice!” Deciding to combine the medium with her love of fungi, Georgette has created six A1-sized stained-glass panels, which she describes as “colourful, 1960s-style psychedelic works. They depict mycelia underneath mushrooms, as they would be in a forest. “I’m interested in the symbolism of the mycelium as reciprocation.”

Georgette is showing these stained-glass works in City Gallery’s 12-artist group exhibition At Thresholds for three months from 3 September. The exhibition explores humanity's relationships with “multispecies”, a term encompassing relations between life-forms, including plants, animals, and fungi, with which we share the planet. Works in the exhibition include photography, video, painting, sculpture, and installations. Curator Moya Lawson says that in a time of ecological crisis, “the artists contend with the fact that we can never fully know our non-human cohabitants”.

Georgette, who works part-time as a family assistant (cooking and doing odd jobs), doesn’t exactly forage. “I go out looking for mushrooms, but never take anything. I observe, take photos, draw them.” Wainuiomata Recreation Reserve and East Harbour Regional Park are good spots. “I’m often looking for a specific type of mushroom, but if I don’t find what I set out to, I still get to immerse myself in nature.”

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Standing for smart sustainability Follow me on Facebook @JaneOLOWgtn or check out my website janeoloughlin.nz 39

Authorised by Jane O’Loughlin | janeoloughlin.nz

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S O C I A L

N O T E S

Sound of silence After a dalliance with Quakerism in his late teens, several decades later Craig Beardsworth visits the Quaker meeting house in Wellington, to investigate what it was that had attracted him.

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kowhai and a silver birch flank the brick path leading to the main Quaker meeting house in Moncrieff Street: a meeting of European and New Zealand flora where a European tradition has inserted itself into the neighbourhood. Up the path lies a single-storey Georgian revival building designed by William Gray Young. At its deep-red front doors I meet Heather Roberts – a Quaker born and raised, who is reluctantly raising her profile to meet me to discuss the religious practice of the Friends.

The building, completed in 1929, is one of four in the enclave at the end of the Mount Victoria culde-sac. Inside, the architecture is typical Gray Young – chest-high wood panelling, large multi-paned windows, exposed wooden beams, white plastered walls. It’s warm, inviting, peaceful. The main meeting room at the end of a short wide hallway contains chairs surrounding a table with a single blue hydrangea in a glass vase – a simple point of focus for the two dozen people who meet here weekly.

Quakers have been in Aotearoa since the first European settlement ships arrived. Thomas and Jane Mason were passengers on the New Zealand Company ship Olympus when it sailed into the harbour in 1841. Settling in Taita and holding regular meetings in their home, they are considered founding Wellington Quakers. By the

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1920s a permanent meeting house had been built in Moncrieff Street, and ninety years later, the campus now also includes a small rentable hall, and several flats.

The Religious Society of Friends has its origins in mid-17th century Lancashire.

“Friends” is a word that keeps cropping up in our conversation, signalling the non-hierarchical philosophy of Quakers. The language and trappings of the traditional Christian church are eschewed – there are no parishioners but rather “friends”, no worship or services, but rather “meetings”. The Bible is not often referred to during meetings, inspirational readings being taken from sources such as Martin Luther King, Ghandi, and Quaker founder George Fox. The idea of clergy or leading public worship conflicts with their belief in a silent, individual spiritual pursuit – everyone in charge of their own growth. No leaders allowed or aloud.

This philosophy stems from an epiphany George Fox had after failing to find solace in traditional priest-led worship. Sitting alone in contemplation one day he became aware of “God’s presence” within himself, and in turn felt strength, hope, and understanding.

He spoke of his experience to other seekers and the movement was formed. Friends began

S O C I A L

to gather and sit in silence – the internal search precluding the need for the external preacher or leader. Heather explains that 370 years later, “The silent tradition is common, but is not the only strand of Quaker worship. The American and African quakers have more structure to meetings, and a more evangelical approach.” New Zealand meetings, however, are conducted around the idea of quiet reflection in a circle.

“Meetings begin when a designated person gives a reading or reflection, and end when that same person waves or catches our attention. The person changes every week.” During the hour in between, there might be musings, a song, a quotation to mull over – but largely silence. Heather says that this silence has influenced the way she interacts with people in general. “Quaker worship has made me a good listener, to see between the words. It has taught me patience, looking for and finding that of God in others and waiting for the right moment.”

The lack of formal leadership does not affect spiritual meetings, but Heather admits that from a practical perspective business decisions can take longer: “Consensus is always sought and issues talked through – everyone who wants to can voice an opinion”. On very rare occasions Heather has seen friends step back from voting on a decision they don’t agree with – “It’s an abstention, acknowledging the majority will carry, and not wanting to be a negative presence”. It is a natural result of the consistently pacifist stance for which Quakers are noted.

Their pacifism has flown the Quaker flag outside the Russian Embassy in Karori over recent weeks, in quiet protest on behalf of peace and reason.

Many Quakers were conscientious objectors during

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the World Wars, joining non-combatant corps in roles such as stretcher-bearer. Their dedication to equality and living in harmony with each other and the earth has often put them ahead of the zeitgeist – advocating the abolition of slavery in America, and early adopters of earth stewardship principles. “Our numbers are small but we have a voice – we want our message to be heard,” says Heather.

Those numbers are estimated to be about 1,000 spread across Aotearoa. The Quaker website lists 32 meeting venues, but Heather points out many of them are very small gatherings in people’s houses, just like that held by Thomas and Jane Mason in 1841.

Heather grew up in Hobart, Tasmania, where there was a large group of Quakers – enough to populate a Friends’ school and to support regular community activities. With a small and dispersed population, New Zealand Quakers can muster two annual gatherings. “The Yearly Meeting is to discuss business. The Summer Gathering is much more social, to bring people together to have fun and fellowship.”

As with all religious groups, Quaker meetings have been impacted by the covid pandemic and consequent limitations on in-person worship, Zoom offering the only practical alternative. As silence is such an important part of Quaker practice, I ask Heather how online video meeting has worked.

“At first you feel foolish, as your screen is full of other silent people, but you get used to it and it can be very moving.” Heather reveals there have been Zoom meetings with Quakers in Ukraine – sitting in digital silence with compatriots on the other side of the world has proved to be immensely powerful.

“There is solidarity in silence.”

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F E AT U R E

The smell of spring is in the air, with the prospect of more time outdoors.

Time perhaps to ditch the activewear or pyjamas for clothes that have been pushed to the back of the

P H OTO G R A P H Y BY B EX M CG I L L M A K E U P BY A M Y M C L E N N A N

wardrobe for two and a half years.

Sustainable fashion is all about reviving old looks and inventing fresh combos of old and new favourites.

Five Wellington fashionistas talked to Sasha Borrissenko about a favourite “old piece” from their wardrobe.

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ellington born and bred Sue Elliott likes classic fashion items with a modern twist, which explains why she’s happy to wear clothes that date back to the Boer War, she laughs.

There’s a joke among Sue’s colleagues that when she’s asked about the origin of her clothes, she’ll always say “I got it decades ago”.

Whether it’s scarves from her mother, aunts, or grandfather, or her grandmother’s ball dress, it’s the quality and timeless character of the clothing that excites her. The oldest item in her wardrobe came from her grandmother: a lavender ball dress, with thin straps and beautiful bead-work on the bodice, and a long-sleeved waist-length jacket in matching fabric and beading. “Not a lot of call for ball dresses, but I did wear it aeons ago at a university ball.”

She loves the fact her daughter and even her son borrow her clothes. But at six foot two, Sue’s son’s scope for borrowing is realistically limited.

Sue wears a multi-purpose jacket by Marilyn Sainty, who collaborated with photographer Deborah Smith to produce the dolls’ house image on the back. The woollen jacket has a men’s-suit quality to it, she says, and it’s very easy to wear.

She likes things that will go anywhere: “I tend to select things that can be worn casually over jeans, or for smarter occasions with a few accessories.” The strategic communications specialist has had the jacket for 25 years. Sue started her career as a press secretary at Parliament, then founded one of Wellington’s first government relations companies with three other women. She and a partner sold the company after 19 years. She established a communications consultancy,

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Communications Chambers, in 2005, and now also works as a senior advisor for Massey University’s College of Creative Arts.

“I always say I am channelling my mother when I wear her coats”; Sue says a Jaegar camelhair coat her mother bought while living in England in about 1947 is “beautiful and perfect for Wellington weather.” It still looks brand new, and the only thing she has done to it is to replace the lining with one in a burnt orange, “my goto accent colour.” She also has a mohair coat, “probably only about 45 years old”, from her mother with a large check pattern in coral tones. “On the coat theme I do have a great herring-bone coat of my grandfather’s – too big, but as I love linings I just roll up the sleeves and show off the beautiful Edwardian stripes.”

“I’m not a big shopper,” says Sue. “There are items in my wardrobe that I’ve collected over the years that I love but they’re not fashionable per se. I go with what I like.” She says that what interests her is the person wearing the clothes and the way they can reflect their personality.

She once heard about a memorably-titled recipe in the Ward Women’s Federated Farmers cookbook.

“How to Smarten Up Old Chops certainly didn’t sound appetising, but as a fashion mantra, not bad, and my colleagues and I used it a lot. I love scarves, jewellery, shoes and lipstick. Although on the latter if you haven’t seen me before 9.30am, you have probably missed it.”

Sue says all her clothes are “very adaptable, to be worn casually or smartened up with a good jacket or accessories for more formal affairs”. A bonus of sticking with classic clothes and simple lines, she says, is that they are invariably comfortable.

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A

manduh La, the founder and creative director of the Wellington International Pride Parade, started performing in drag in 2004.

When a performer twisted their ankle preparing for a performance at Parliament, Amanduh drew on her background in choreography, put on a pair of heels, and literally stepped in.

It was such a success that a friend suggested she enter the Mr Wellington drag performance competition. She was hesitant, but the cash prize piqued her interest.

Third place was announced, then second then first. She didn’t realise she had won until she noticed people staring at her; she had forgotten her newly minted drag name.

Amanduh entered New Zealand and Australian national competitions the following year with success, then travelled to compete further afield. She felt it a privilege to represent the LGBTQI+ community in this way, she says. In 2007, she moved from weekend drag gigs to performing as a full-time occupation..

She thought it would be lucrative. “My original maths told me that in a year I’d be eating squid, caviar, shellfish, and margaritas on the island of Mykonos. But in reality I was lucky if I could afford a four-pack of noodles and a coke.” But she wouldn’t do anything differently.

In 2017 she initiated the Wellington International Pride Parade, baffled that there had been nothing like it in 23 years. The first year attracted 9,000 participants.

There were 50,000 in 2020.

For the first time in New Zealand’s history the governor-general spoke at the opening ceremony. And in a world first the Army, Air Force, Navy, Police, and Corrections officers marched together in solidarity.

Performing drag has allowed her to meet remarkable people, some of whom she now considers her family.

She recalls first meeting Georgina Beyer: “I was taken aback by her sophistication. Listening to her speak, she was so fluent and commanding.”

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Despite Georgina’s public career and accomplishments, she never forgot who she was or her sisters on the street, Amanduh says. They developed a close bond, and Georgina gifted her the blue dress she wore for her final performance on Dancing with the Stars. Amanduh was baffled, then devastated to learn that Georgina was dying. “She told me to remember her and to remember her stories, so I chose that blue dress for this article.”

“It’s these people in the LGBTQI+ community that worked and advocated for our people in the shadows so that I can walk in the sun. There was no fanfare; there was a quiet sense of dignity that mustn’t be forgotten.”

Amanduh takes pride in helping to change the general population’s understanding of what it means to be a drag queen, and to create a platform for diversity and individuality.

Once upon a time people thought drag was exclusively reserved for Priscilla Queen of the Deserttypes, she says. But now, in 2022, Amanduh performed in front of 48,000 people at an All Blacks’ rugby test game against Ireland. It was the first time that a New Zealand representative rugby event incorporated an LGBTQI+ element.

“I was a little bit nervous about the reception but it was unbelievable. There was a sense of unity and harmony that I did not expect. I was so filled with emotion. I could have never imagined this level of support for the LGBTQI+ community 10 years ago.”

Fashion is at the heart of her performance and her philosophy. “Fashion to me is everything. It shouldn’t be followed, it should be unique. You should be able to wear or be anything you want, whenever you want.”

She says fashion should be about who you are on the inside. “It’s a way of expressing your identity, personality, and what you’re feeling. I think fashion has the ability to change the conceptual design of people and how they function in the world.”

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C

heryll Goodley’s love of fashion comes from her mother.

“My mother was always very fashionable and well-presented. When my sister and I were children, she’d always make us really lovely dresses.”

Cheryll’s mother drafted her own patterns, and dressed her daughters in crocheted jerseys and flared trousers patterned with daisies, well ahead of popular trends.

As teenagers they wondered why they didn’t look like everybody else. But it was a good thing – “It subconsciously gave us the freedom to be different.”

Her mother’s influence combined with living in Wellington and Dunedin inform her personal style.

Her cupboard is filled with pieces mostly in black and white, with statement jewellery and pops of colour to lift an outfit, she says. She wears clothes she’s comfortable in, which “don’t scream an era.”

Her chosen piece is a Zambesi jacket she purchased in 2014. It’s suitable for any occasion, but a little sparkle adds something special, she says.

“It’s a really good jacket. The tail at the back gives it volume and structure. It’s amazing and timeless. I love that Zambesi produces quality.”

She feels comfortable in their clothes and likes

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to buy “pieces that are intended to last.”

The jacket is reflective, she says, of her style philosophy of buying fewer items of better quality. “I’m not interested in buying in bulk or buying one item in many different colours.

I have a very sustainable ethos.”

When she travels overseas she doesn’t buy a lot – “the odd pair of boots if the budget permits” – and is a huge fan of New Zealand designers, whose wares she says are as good and as varied as those of overseas names.

While she loves the likes of Comme des Garçons, it’s on the pricier side, and she generally prefers local designers such as Zambesi, Jimmy D, Leila Jacobs, and Company of Strangers.

Cheryll’s had the jacket for eight years and wears it regularly. People admire the jacket without realising the year it was made, she says.

Cheryll’s love of design and quality has been constant. For many years she has been a regular attendee at Dunedin Fashion Week, often along with her sister and mother. It has also proved financially advantageous. For more than 20 years the mother-of-two has championed her business, Landau Group, a printing consultancy where she collaborates regularly with graphic designers and artists.

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M

ele Wendt’s fashion journey also started with her mother and a shared love of sewing.

One of three children of palagi and Samoan parents, Mele grew up in Western Samoa when it was hard to buy ready-made clothes.

“My mother was fashionable and liked to look good.

My sister and I learned to sew from a very young age and we’d experiment with design. We’d make things out of scraps of material when our parents went out to cocktail parties. We could make little tops, skirts and shorts before I was 10 years old.”

Her sewing is sporadic, she says, periods of sewing a lot alternating with years of doing nothing.

Her chosen piece is a dress she made for her engagement party 29 years ago. She was going through a sewing phase, and made her dress from a bolt of lavalava material she had. Mele altered a blouse pattern to create an off-the-shoulder mu’umu’u dress, with ruffles for dramatic effect.

“I was quite happy with how it turned out and it was an amazing party – we danced the night away and I have such fond memories when I occasionally wear it now.

You can dress it up or down and it’s fun and vibrant.”

Over the next few months after that party, Mele and her mum Jenny sewed some of the wedding party’s attire – flower girls’ dresses, page boy and groomsmen’s vests, and bridesmaids’ draw-string purses – with an island theme to reflect Mele and her fiancé Ete’s identity.

Mele tends to hold onto her clothes and make good use of them. If she isn’t using them and they’re in a good condition she gives them away. Her mother cleared out their closets regularly: if you didn’t wear something or it didn’t fit, you should give it away or throw it away.

“It would really force us to wear most of our clothes.

We were relatively privileged kids compared to a lot

53

of others in Samoa, and Fiji where we also spent a few years. So we’d pass clothes on to relatives and others.

It’s also nice to think those cherished items sewn with love would go to a good home.”

For Mele, wearing clothes that last underpins her fashion philosophy, as does giving them a new life with someone else.

She says she is not into trends. “Fashion isn’t a huge part of my life but I do want to look good. I think people should buy things they look good in.”

Environmental considerations also figure: “I don’t feel comfortable that our landfills are filled with fastfashion clothes that have only been worn once.”

In Fiji during her teenage years Mele took up modelling for street-style spreads and fashion parades.

It was a lot of fun, and when she came to New Zealand for university she continued to dabble in modelling, mostly television advertisements, for the cash.

But in 1986 attitudes towards women in the modelling industry were sexist, Mele says.

“Having my feminist hat on I couldn’t stomach it for too long, so I lost interest and stopped. Plus I put on a lot of weight with the New Zealand hostel food!”

After teaching for five years and having children she started working for Victoria University of Wellington where she founded the Pacific liaison officer role, and managed the domestic recruitment office for five years.

A suggestion at a cocktail party led her to apply for the CEO role at the Fulbright Commission. Despite having no doctorate and at just 39, Mele got the gig, and led the charge for 10 years. She is now a board member and consultant to the commission.

She became a Member of the NZ Order of Merit for her services to governance, the Pacific community, and women in 2019. Recently, she won the Not-ForProfit Governance Leader award at the Women in Governance awards.

F E AT U R E

B

abette Mclellan grew up in a small town and remembers fondly her 10 years learning classical ballet. It gave her an appreciation of classical music, and teaching beginners provided a foundation for teaching yoga later.

She wanted to get a job, save money, and go travelling – the custom in the ’sixties, she says.

Her parents had other ideas, so she completed a secretarial course at the Wellington Polytechnic, which led to a job as a personal assistant at a law firm. At night, she’d work at the Steak Bar on Willis Street and as a nurse aid at Newtown’s Calvary Hospital.

The moment she’d saved enough money, she was on a ship to England. There she felt free to develop her fashion sense.

“I believed in wearing what I loved and my fashion sense grew from that – mistakes were made and it was worth checking in with friends from time to time!” The hippy look of the early ’seventies greatly appealed. Babette still loves long skirts with fitted tops, boots, and velvet.

After four years she returned to New Zealand, where she married and gave birth to two daughters. Besides working with her husband, Babette took up jazz ballet, massage therapy, and modelling – which she still does today. “After my hair went grey, my daughter suggested I try modelling as there was a

demand for older models. I would never have done so without her pushing me.”

A memorable modelling experience was a shoot with Capital in 2016 (see Cap #28), she says.

“I had to float on a white swan in Thorndon Pool in one of Wellington’s worst howling winds. I had to be anchored down with ropes as the swan was intent on becoming airborne.”

In her forties and after a marriage breakdown, Babette sought a new beginning and a living as a sports masseuse for the Wellington YMCA. At this time, 30 years ago, she bought her wool/cashmere pink swing coat by Jane Daniels (pictured) on impulse when she started her new job.

In a difficult time, she says she bought this garment as a gift to “honour and encourage” herself. “It is still in perfect condition, apart from re-doing the lining not so long ago.”

She’s taught yoga for the last 20 years. Her yoga and meditation practice took her to India in 2014. “It showed me that stunning colours are bountiful in all aspects of Indian life.”

India informed her sense of fashion. The radiant colours women wore astounded her, she says. And in summer she’s also partial to baggy pants and Indian tops.

Babette’s motto in life? “Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet,” she says, quoting Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh.

54

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F E AT U R E

Chain reaction 20 questions with Wellington city’s mayoral candidates

CO M P I L E D BY T E S SA J O H N STO N E I L LU ST R AT I O N S BY TA L LU L A H FA R R A R

I

t’s fair to say Wellington has been a bit angsty of late.

Leaking pipes, a creaking public transport system, claims the city is dying, squabbles over carparks and cycle lanes, housing shortages, struggling creatives cancelling shows, and businesses shutting up shop. All the while COVID-19 and climate change simmer not so quietly in the background.

So mayor of Wellington at a time like this may not seem an enviable role, but nine people have chucked their name in the hat for the upcoming local government elections in October.

We’ve grilled the candidates about where they stand on Wellington’s major woes so you can vote for the city leader you want for the next three years.

We’ve asked a dozen influential people what they think Wellington needs to get its mojo back. Read online at capitalmag.co.nz

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Overly so, to the extent that in discussions with residents, there is too much emphasis to everyone else’s detriment.

It’s exciting to see the recent changes.

Looking forward to making a great place to live for all of us.

Rates should only pay for what we need. The essentials include many good things for Wellingtonians – public libraries, parks, and services.

Safe travel for all is a priority. An integrated multimodal transport system serving the people is the way to go.

It’s a plan on the table, no pipe dream. We need to transform transport with better climatefriendly options for all.

LGWM is a large transformational programme with many parts. The early delivery initiatives will give us a big boost.

There are improvements although with mixed results. Council can help with more bus lanes and better bus stops.

1. Wellington City Council works well with mana whenua.

2. Rates increases can only be justified as a way to pay for the council essentials: three waters and waste.

3. A connected network of safe, separated cycleways is an urgent priority.

4. Light rail from the city to Island Bay is a pipe dream.

5. Let’s Get Welly Moving have got it right with their plan for a second Mt Victoria Tunnel.

6. Wellington bus services have improved for users over the past three years.

I live in Broadmeadows and the number 24 is superb compared to not having a service for many years.

We have to consider traffic to Eastern suburbs. This will make it more efficient for public and private transport and cyclists.

The 21,000 houses light rail is intended to serve is a hopeful dream and we don’t have the population to justify this.

The council is borrowing more and more. They need to show some restraint and while I’m also a cyclist, these aren’t urgent.

Council continues to waste ratepayers’ money on ideological nice-to-haves when the focus should be on fixing the infrastucture.

Ray Chung

STATEMENT ↓ CANDIDATE → Ellen Blake

The bus service is now unreliable. The buses are too large for many Wellington streets and cause too much damage to underground services.

We need to prioritise traffic flow and a 2nd (4 LANE!) Mt Vic Tunnel is essential. We also need another lane in the Terrace Tunnel.

Rapid transit bus services are a better option - more resilient, more flexible and less costly.

Most cycleways installed by the WCC & its “consultants” are ill-conceived, badly designed, ridiculously expensive & under-utilised.

Agree in principle, but “essentials” should encompass ALL infrastructural and resilience work including repairs, maintenance and upgrades.

Engagement with mana whenua can bring delays and additional costs to essential resilience or climate change mitigation projects.

Chris Dudfield

Yes, but route design and driver shortages have affected service reliability. Wellingtonians desperately want this sorted.

I support the decision to double the tunnel. I will get spades in the ground as soon as possible.

I support rapid transit to the southern suburbs and will deliver neighbourhood plans that accelerate housing and urban development.

We need affordable, reliable options for all Wellingtonians, including quality roads for public & private transport, walking & cycling infrastructure.

We also need to invest to maintain and upgrade other important assets, such as pools, parks and playgrounds and potholes.

I will ensure mana whenua are integral in restoring the mana of Wellington as the capital city.

Paul Eagle

Three years ago we emerged from ‘bustastrophe’. Main issue now is Covid impact on staffing.

Great to have Airport Express back.

Details and alignment still to be resolved. Plan allows future flexibility.

GW, WCC and Minister all want to accelerate LGWM delivery.

We’ve agreed on light rail or bus rapid transit.

Suspect bus rapid transit is likely – more affordable and flexible though lower capacity.

We need a safe cycleway network as part of transport plan.

However need case by case to weigh up benefits v costs to others. Devil always in the detail/design.

We need to be careful with money, but our community has repeatedly wanted investment in our city, helping us be a world class, liveable, city.

We’ve made huge strides, signing Tākai Here, iwi committee representation, Māori Ward, resourced Māori unit, regular hui with iwi leaders.

Andy Foster

To provide really useful material for our readers we have used a chart format. We recognise it limits candidates to extreme brevity on some major issues. To preserve the integrity of the answers we committed to only very light editing mostly for purposes of length – Ed.

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Covid has had a massive impact on how Wellington’s Regional Council has been able to deliver services in the last triennium.

The tunnel bypass will future proof Wellington. The proposed second Mt Vic tunnel leaves us standing still, visionless

The corridor can simply be broken into walkable catchments and the funds redirected into regional rail to improve connectivity.

There needs to be transformational change in this area.

Pop-up cycleways don’t deliver the safety and future resilience required.

Tunnel bypass paid for by central government is part of the SH1 network, no cost to the ratepayer.

We must uphold the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, partnership, participation and protection in everything we do.

Kelvin Hastie

Not enough drivers mond Aug 5/7 services canxel. Greedy cars unable willing transport.

Planes/8 runways/20.

Don 1* intNTL Canberra war memorial 2014. Reluctant travlr.

Too cars .90 trips unnecessary. .88 on kerbside not use. $trln waste petrol.

Policy world population cut/2 xplanet survive. Cars/4 flights/8. Cycle predominantly

Efficiency. Call centre complete audit. Rept 2500 times. Rate is pc . rates is $$revenue. en

Recent crrs answer .01* msges fixs lgoima parking water impt electoral oath constituents. Tk croneill.

Donald McDonald

Agree

Consistently poor record of meeting timetables, let alone the need for more services. Only getting excuses from GWRC and contractors.

It is obviously needed and should have started years ago. LGWM have only delayed and obfuscated.

Great if it was feasible. LGWM reports are all PR and totally useless at what would be required in practice.

Not supported by Wellingtonians; there is no way we can afford it; no way 99% of roads have space.

Question is loaded: agree in principle, but there are more responsibilities that are essential.

They consistently ignore at least 88% of us so they must be talking to someone.

Barbara McKenzie

Undecided

Too many delays. We need more dedicated bus lanes, free fares and salary increases for drivers to improve frequency and efficiency.

A second tunnel will improve public transport and make it easier to travel by foot, scooter or cycle from the East to the cbd.

It’s an opportunity to set up our city for future. Fast, accessible and efficient rail opens up access to city and more housing.

Housing and water infrastructure are also priorities. But children and our residents are entitled to ride across our city safely.

To ensure our city remains attractive for families we must invest in other areas eg libraries, pools. Not doing so means passing the cost to our kids.

There’s always more to do but I commend council for signing a partnership between mana whenua and WCC.

Tory Whanau

Disagree

It does need sprucing up but we also need to retain businesses and removing car parks will drive them away.

The inner city is evolving and needs more green open public spaces for the people that live, work and visit there.

We all must heal from Covid-19. Working from home in the suburbs or inner city needs support, as do essential workers.

Well managed drinking, storm and waste-water is essential. Affordability the key. Not convinced a major restructure will address the issues.

There is already some support available. I’d like to hear what business want council to do.

We have great events and activities happening all the time. For example, the outdoor public screen on Masons Lane.

We built it, and I’m looking forward to using it. We need to make it work for us.

Affordability is a big part of the housing issue. Options for more quality housing for both renters and owners are needed.

7. Wellington’s central city is dying and something needs to be done.

8. In post-COVID Wellington, investment should be in energising the suburbs not the city CBD.

9. Wellington needs the Three Waters Reforms in order to fix its ageing pipes.

10. Council needs to do more to support businesses struggling after two years of COVID-19 disruption.

11. Wellington is still the arts & culture capital of New Zealand.

12. The new convention centre will be an asset to the Wellington economy.

13. Housing intensification in the city suburbs is the only way to address Wellington’s housing shortage.

The housing problem is not so much a lack of quantity, it’s cost. There are houses for sale but they’re too expensive!

I hope so but it all depends on how well it's promoted so time will tell!

I believe it is, but haven't really looked at other centres recently.

So many businesses are suffering and yet council are spending hundreds of millions on nonessentials.

Not in its current form as the additional management layer will just increase costs without the productivity or efficiency increase.

I agree but it’s not one or the other.

Activity is increasing in the suburbs because of more working from home but the CBD shouldn’t be neglected.

Ray Chung

STATEMENT ↓ CANDIDATE → Ellen Blake

Many options are available on a city wide basis - including those mentioned above.

Assuming it is properly promoted and managed. A big ask for the current Council!

Infrastructure is crumbling & facilities are tired. The crown is slipping.

Small businesses are an essential part of the local economy & should receive consideration.

Assets paid for & owned by Wellington ratepayers should not be handed over & bundled into disparate entities without compensation or accountability.

Attract people back to the CBD by easing height controls & expanding multi-use zoning. The suburbs will thrive by offering lifestyle alternatives.

The CBD is not dying - but something still needs to be done to enhance urban vitality. The Golden Mile proposal will achieve the reverse.

Chris Dudfield

All of Wellington needs to be part of the solution. Let’s start where there is broad agreement, like Adelaide Road.

Tākina will help draw visitors to Wellington again but we need a plan to ensure we can accommodate additional visitors.

But we can be again, and it will be one of my key priorities.

It’s time we gave our business owners a break and I will be a transparent and business-friendly Mayor.

Wellington’s pipes are in a sorry state, resulting in burst pipes, flooded roads and sewage in our harbour.

We need a thriving CBD and thriving communities. The City Development Authority I establish will develop masterplans to underpin investment.

I will deliver a mixed-use Civic Square, and create a world-class arts precinct connecting Wellington’s iconic venues.

Paul Eagle

We need more housing. Intensification encourages more walking and public transport use. Focus on Tawa, Jville, CBD and MRT corridor.

Looks stunning. On budget, ahead of time. Already 80+ conventions booked.

Lots of jobs created, and will drive investment eg in hotels.

Absolutely and will get better. Wgtn has heart and soul. We have great events, venues coming back.

Innovative initiatives/collaboration underway.

Covid restrictions hurt. Would like more friendly parking arrangements.

Working on several business opportunities. Work ongoing.

More investment needed. We are doing that. Three Waters doesn’t fix pipes, just gives the task to more distant entities who bill us for the work.

Strong CBD heart is critical. We have great suburbs each with their own unique character to be nurtured. We can and must do both.

Covid hurt cities badly, but we are coming back. Buildings reopening/new builds, events, Poneke Promise, new business opportunities, return of tourism.

Andy Foster

Intensification needs to take place across the the city in partnership with key landowners and infrastruture corridors and with community

Exciting long overdue asset for the city that now requires a thriving hospitality sector through activation and essential worker housing in the city.

Without a doubt, but we must do much more through activation of all forms of art and entertainment to reactivate the city and make it safer.

Agree we need to be more outward facing to our retailers and business communities. This will be done through the Reimagine Wellington campaign.

Decided at the 2023 NZ election. In the meantime council must plan and strategise to deliver transformaional change to regional infrastructure.

Forming partnerships across the city, key organisations to energise and reinvigorate to provide live, work and play centres to help reduce emissions.

The CBD requires reactivation through business, events, placeleading, music, art, drama and entertainment initiatives.

Kelvin Hastie

Enough houses too population sustain.

World die soon expensive greedy rent house.

Conference only rich mp coys. Spread virus donate newt cultural community centre halls.

Don newt poet dompost ban democracy ads their truth anything but whole.

Science astron math Jesus.

Bring upon selves.

Travel cause virus.

Rich people.

Wash u car ears.

Expn$$ve water. Cost filter water and showers wcc greyst.

Covid19-29 here to stay. Support community life is poverty $$ communcn allowce thermom save heat $$m.

The greedy planet diedie 2o30. Get right with Jesus. Go heaven Zion.

Donald McDonald

There are other options. But style of housing should be decided by people, not councils.

It will never justify the huge investment. Would have preferred the money to be used to fix all the leaks.

We do well. But if there is nowhere to park on a winter's night, going out of town for theatre and films will appeal.

Better infrastructure will help business. But otherwise council needs to do less. In particular, not sabotaging businesses by removing car parks.

Running down an essential service and then selling it off for a song in order to fulfil a political agenda is highly irresponsible.

Investment should be where it is most needed regardless of location, and what people want, rather than trying to remake the city.

The less the council does, the better the city’s chances.

Barbara McKenzie

It’s one way. We must increase housing supply to ease costs of buying, renting and it must be warm, dry and well-designed.

This will bring international crowds to the city which will impact our hospitality industry, hotels and local businesses.

Always, but we risk losing this. Artists and our arts infrastructure need more direct support to allow them to be creative.

They’re struggling so we must invest in training for different sectors, public transport and safer streets to bring people to the city.

Government investment in our pipes will allow the council to spend on other priorities such as public transport and community initiatives.

It must be both. We are all one big community and efforts must be made across the region.

The city is dull, but not dead yet. Let’s bring the crowds back to the city with the arts, business support, safer streets and free public transport.

Tory Whanau

To some extent but a major contributing factor was a council who refused to work together.

The ability to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each person and to build on the strengths and negate the weaknesses.

Decisions have already been made, so I’ll work to get the best outcome possible.

Carbon neutral projects are the way of the future, do it now, not later when it's more expensive.

We can address the issue with better council oversight to maintain confidence in water management.

We have party politics whether we like it or not.

Making it work for Wellington has to be a priority.

Voters will decide that. I’m interested in making positive changes for the people of Wellington, better together.

15. The Shelly Bay housing development should be halted for the sake of environment and mana whenua.

16. Major council projects should live or die based on their carbon footprint and impact on climate change.

17. The no fluoride in the water debacle demonstrates that the way we manage water in the region needs a total overhaul.

18. There’s no place for party politics in local government.

19. The outgoing council was divided and ineffective because of poor leadership.

20. Good leadership is: I’ve got a vision, a

plan. I’m consistent and persistent with all the citizens of Wellington in mind.

It's not one or the other. There are plenty of places to build houses now but the cost is too high for many house buyers.

We can have quality and character, it’s not one or the other. Think outside the polarised boxes and come up with a better way forward.

14. Maintaining Wellington’s heritage and character is more important than making space for new homes.

I absolutely agree and party ideology has been the primary cause of this dysfunctional council.

This won't be improved by a total overhaul but the managers who were culpable for this should take responsibility.

This should be a consideration but not the only factor.

There should be a development there that can be used by the public such as parks or leisure activities

Ray Chung

STATEMENT ↓ CANDIDATE → Ellen Blake

Motivating & inspiring people to work together & achieve great things through effective communication coupled with skill, passion, integrity & empathy.

We need a new mayor & one who is not politically "endorsed". I've got vision, skill & I work effectively with others.

Party agendas, political partisanship, self-interest & blinkered advocacy have contributed to the dysfunction & ineptitude that permeates WCC.

GWRC and Wellington Water must be held to account for the current state of our water services generally. Heads must roll.

Absolute nonsense!

As is the idea of carbon free by 2050.

Nothing we do in Wellington will endanger or save the planet.

It should be halted because the original proposal was an abomination. The idea of a heritage park should be revisited.

Council's interpretation of heritage & character is often questionable & can stifle quality renewal.

Chris Dudfield

Good leadership is delivering a vision that unites Wellingtonians to restore the mana of Wellington.

There has been no leadership – no vision, strategy or agreed plan of action – impacting council’s ability to deliver.

I will focus on building a united council that puts Wellington first regardless of political affiliation.

It is a major failure with serious public health risks.

Greater accountability is needed to ensure this never happens again.

I will integrate climate and environmental factors into decision-making, alongside economic, social and cultural factors.

I support the aspirations of mana whenua to develop their land like any other landowner.

We need to protect Wellington’s iconic heritage buildings while unlocking developments.

Paul Eagle

Staying calm, positive, knowing where you want to go, getting results, overcoming odds and difficult circumstances – and I have.

Absolutely it has been divided, but it improved and we got a huge amount done, more than any Council in a long time.

Councillors swear an oath to ‘act in the best interests of Wellington City, using the best of their skill and judgement.’

That is antithetical to party politics and block voting which undermines co-operation.

A complete overhaul of Wellington Water would risk undermining its capability to do the work required.

There have already been changes made.

We should take carbon footprint into account in all decision making, and seek to minimise it as best as possible.

Sadly it’s largely beyond council control now. I want communities to be meaningfully involved in placemaking decisions.

Plenty of capacity to do both. I’ll ensure intelligent planning fully involving communities and active delivery.

Andy Foster

The ability to unify through good practical thought leadership and social enterprise, whilst having the ability and open mind to work with everybody.

I don't how many times I have heard that, but Andy is a really nice guy.

Government is a key player in local government. Central party politics creates complicated vested interest, confusion, tension and division.

Wellington Water has suffered from decades of underinvestment. It is time for regional partners, especially Wellington city, to up our game.

There needs to be a strong business case for large infrastructure projects. This is why a tunnel bypass includes emission capture technology.

It is not Wellington City Council's place to get involved, like any development it must stand up to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Wellington needs partnership between heritage, character and the built environment. A bypass tunnel means we can have both, freeing up more land.

Kelvin Hastie

Answer phone listen to tape did wrong thing sick society gabble media rnz take your time.

Because ppl voter unintelligent choose counter person economy.

Stuff media viewers org NZ antidemocracy veteran campaign shxx on best candidate gratuitous gossip.

Children bread elder need teeth. Losing.

Dental health. Poverty food without.

Climate changes wrong direction.

Bcos must reverse to half population you know wages sin.

Agredecide? Too housing. Boring drive around bays Massey 1:20 years.

Shout taxi rotate seating.

Derelict zoo bus shelter. Earthquakerisk library any borrow use function.

Donald McDonald

Being courteous but firm while in the chair. Most important is having a team who want to work together for the good of the city.

Council had a lot of people with their own agendas and would never cooperate with anyone who disagreed.

Party affiliation has some advantages but is generally destructive. Banning would only drive it underground.

Another management failure.

Spend a fortune, mess with people's lives and achieve nothing except virtue signalling?

Batty.

Shouldn’t be a council decision.

Not an either/or.

But Wellington's suburban character contributes to lifestyle, one of the reasons people want to live here.

Barbara McKenzie

Empathy, honesty, emotional intelligence, mana, team-building with a touch of charisma.

Mayor must be an effective team leader, relationship builder and able to bring Wellington on board. That has been missing.

The Mayor must be neutral but there's a place for party representation.

But not for petty politics and bad behaviour.

They need to be held accountable for mistakes such as that. A review into how we manage water is needed.

We must build a climate-resilient city and climate change is already impacting our coasts. It's the way forward.

I'd honour the commitment made in 2017 and increase housing, but understand the concerns communities have.

Protecting historic places is important, but we must also create more homes for people. Good green design can maintain character.

Tory Whanau

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25 August – 6 November 2022

FREE ENTRY New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata Shed 11, Queens Wharf, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington, 6011 UTU: Redux images courtesy of Aotearoa Film Heritage Trust and Te Tumu Whakaata New Zealand Film Commission

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SMALL NO MORE Homewares store Small Acorns celebrates its 30th birthday this year. Opening in 1992 Small Acorns first home was in Kilbirnie (at around an eighth of its current size). Owner Amanda Holland first spotted the location while working as a pharmacist across the road. Her vision was to present things differently, and support local artists and makers. “I suppose you could call us a lifestyle store, but that concept didn’t exist 30 years ago.” Blair Street is the store’s fifth location and with sister cafe Squirrel next door they’re ready for the next 30 years.

LIGHTS OUT

MOVE IT

GREEN TEAM

Low-sensory pool sessions have been introduced by Porirua City Council at Arena Aquatics. On Monday mornings and Thursday evenings the wave machine will be shut off, music will be turned down, and lights will be dimmed. The sessions, run in partnership with the Āhuru Mōwai Trust, aim to make swimming more accessible to people who struggle in high-sensory environments, including those on the autism spectrum.

Sports New Zealand have teamed up with fitness company Les Mills to encourage young women to participate in sport. Studies show 69% of young women want to partake in physical activities, but most don’t because they aren’t confident about their bodies. A campaign worth $2.5 million has been created for the “It's My Move” initiative and digital campaign. The website features free workouts, and encourages women to discover new ways to have fun while being active.

The annual Te Wā o te Kōanga Spring Festival will run throughout September, with weekend events in two Wellington gardens.

At the Botanic Garden events include a lesson in beekeeping in the Akoranga Learning Pavilion, and Tulip Sunday, September 25, when attendees can enjoy Dutch culture and food among the blooms. An open day at Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush, September 17, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Lions Ōtari Conservation Laboratory. Popup performers will be making appearances in both gardens on 10 September.

It’s been 76 fantastic years... but the time is right for us to bow out. We’re moving on by Christmas so everything must go!

Starting now we’ve reduced almost everything – that means great savings on our best everyday prices.

Gigi was $179 now $139

Pixie was $169 now $129

Ezra was $179 now $119

Ajax was $189 now $139

Do drop in before we go, we’d love to share your memories.

mgoptometrist.co.nz 77 Customhouse Quay

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473 6275 04 499 7044 | gubbsshoes.co.nz | 102 Wakefield St, Wellington continuing to offer you the best styles and prices 76 years on

World of WearableArt Show is coming up soon.

At Egmont we have your pre-show dining sorted with an express two-course meal, bookings essential. Locally owned and operated since 2015.

11 Egmont St. @egmontst.eatery

04 801 6891 www.egmontstreet.co.nz

Active Feet Podiatry “for feet that look and feel great”

Dr Tim Halpine DPM (USA) MPN Z

Level 2, 85 The Terrace Wgtn Ngaio Medical Centre

Old Bank Arcade Lambton Quay www.iloveparis.co.nz

04 473 8696

www.activefeetpodiatry.com

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Collagen skincare discovery kit, $99.95, Adashiko Kanapa foaming facial cleanser, $29.95, Xtend-Life House of Nunu green check bath towel, $90, Small Acorns Kelp and mint bath salts, $39, Wellington Apothecary Restore active vitality bone broth tonic, $12.99, Greenlea Butcher Aleph concealer foundation, $62, Orinoco Designs What the Fat?, $35, Unity Books Coola classic body sunscreen SPF 50, $55, Urban Sanctuary Camden Co wheat bag, $49.90, Te Papa Store

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Cook Strait Giant Wētā

BY M E LO DY T H O M A S

Name: Cook Strait Giant Wētā (also known as Stephens Island Wētā)

The Cook Strait giant wētā can be found at Zealandia, on Mana Island, and on Matiu/Somes Island – which is how we recently saw a male and female pair (see below for tips if you want to try find them yourselves).

Māori name: Wētā punga Scientific name: Deinacrida rugosa (Deinacrida translates from the Greek to mean “demon grasshopper” and rugosa means “wrinkled”)

Look/listen: We booked an overnight trip to Matiu/ Somes Island, staying at Education House (this can be booked through DOC, and I highly recommend it, especially while the cost of the ferry there is half price). Following advice listed on a sign at the house, we went out spotlighting after dark, searching for wētā punga where the bush meets the grass, which they come out at night to eat. This search only served up one baby wētā (species yet to be confirmed), but the next day we were lucky enough to find a pair hiding out under a corrugated rubber mat, off to the side of the path. Pictures can’t really prepare you for how cool (and huge!) they are. If you are lucky enough to find one, it’s advised that you disturb them as little as possible, so we carefully put the mat back in place and went on our way.

Status: Endemic, vulnerable Description: The Cook Strait Giant Wētā looks similar to a tree wētā (the classic wētā you’ve likely encountered before, possibly in your gumboot) but significantly chunkier.

There are eleven giant wētā species in Aotearoa, and this one is one of the biggest. Female Cook Strait Giant Wētā weigh up to 27g (for comparison, the average mouse weighs around 19 grams), the males being smaller. They’re brownish-yellow in colour, heavily armoured, with big old spiky mean-looking spines on their back legs, which can be raised above their heads in defence. If you haven’t seen one before you might find their appearance rather freaky, but they are peaceful vegetarians, and, once you’re used to them, actually pretty cute.

Tell me a story: The winner of the title of Aotearoa’s heaviest insect goes to the Little Barrier giant wētā (Deinacrida heteracantha, or wētāpunga, spelt without a space), which have been recorded weighing around 70g, or heavier than a sparrow! In fact, wētāpunga might be the heaviest insect in the world.

The University of Florida Book of Insect Records names it the “conditional” winner of this title, as to date the weights of the world’s heaviest beetles (which could be contenders) have not been recorded.

Habitat: Giant wētā are among Aotearoa’s most ancient land animals, and were once common throughout the motu. Once upon a time, when there were no mammals in Aotearoa, giant wētā occupied a similar niche to night-dwelling mammals like rats and mice (though they grow and reproduce at a much slower rate). When rats and mice arrived in New Zealand, giant wētā couldn’t compete for food resources. They became food for rodents themselves, and their numbers plummeted.

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BURGERFUEL.COM

Little Sprig provides the best of the Sprig + Fern Brewing Co. offerings, in a pint sized community tavern tucked away in Seatoun. The tavern has just welcomed a new co-owner; Tom Watson. Here’s what he thinks makes Little Sprig so special.

Q. What does make Little Sprig such a cool place to visit?

A. It’s unique in that we have 8 rotating taps, with a mixture of core range beers and Limited Releases. These change frequently. Being so close to the beach, summer pints are a hit after outdoor activities, but we also keep it toasty warm in the winter and light the candles for those wrapping up to escape the house.

Q. What’s on at Little Sprig?

A. Daily specials, daily happy hour from 4-5pm, we also hold a popular monthly Curry Night. Summer will see the return of a regular monthly acoustic music night.

We have a small food menu offering bar snacks and gastro style pub food. There are fantastic small plates to share with friends while enjoying some great beers.

Q. Little Sprig is a community tavern, what does that look like day to day?

A. We’re the neighbourhood pub where everyone knows your name.

We look after our locals and friends who support us. You know we even send a Friday text to regulars so they can pre-book tables for the weekend.

Q. What’s your go to beer on tap, what do you recommend?

A. Without a doubt Nectaron Pale Ale; it’s the most popular beer at the tavern.

The tropical flavours are really refreshing, plus I think it’s cool that our brewery was the first to put out a commercial beer using the rock star Nectaron hop.

E D I B L E S

IN GOOD SPIRITS Highball is back for 2022. More than 30 New Zealand and international distilleries will be shaking up cocktails, and pouring tasters at the Dominion Museum Building for the festival, held over September 23 and 24. The event follows Wellington Cocktail Week, in which bars around Wellington take part.

The New Zealand Bartender of the Year competition is also hosted during the event, so Highball attendees can watch the pros in action. Last year’s winner was Pōneke’s own Alex Vowles.

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

KNOW THE LIMIT

FIVE A DAY

Flùr is the latest culinary venture by Sarah Mackenzie. Sarah left her legal career behind 10 years ago to become a pastry chef, working in Nikau Café, Rita, Baker Gramercy, and Floriditas.

She completed a diploma in patisserie, and set up a small business, supplying pastries to local cafes and restaurants.

Sarah wanted her own shop, and an empty space on Upper Cuba Street proved ideal. Flùr, which is Scottish Gaelic for “flour”, was inspired by her father, a proud Scotsman, who opened one of the first wine bars in Auckland.

University of Oxford scientists have found that 17 units (around five large glasses of wine) a week to be the threshold before alcohol begins to affect aging. Consuming more than this can damage our telomeres, the caps on the ends of chromosomes, which has been linked to cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s. Telomere shrinkage was found in 40% of people, who drank over 17 units of alcohol a week, but the telomeres in those those who drank under 17 units remained undamaged.

A study published in the Journal of Maternal and Child Nutrition has shown that 61% of two-year-olds do not eat enough vegetables, and 45% do not eat enough fruit. Almost all the children in the study had, however, eaten fast food in the previous month. The head of University of Auckland’s Nutrition and Dietetics department, Professor Clare Wall, says that conception to age 5 is a “highly sensitive window” in which to encourage healthy food preferences in children, which is “critically important” for their development.

PICK YOUR SUBSCRIPTION

WE SPEAK TO GROWERS

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Weekly, fortnightly and more

Leave it to us. We rescue the “too big”, “too much” or “too wonky” fruit and veg each week

Your box of goodies will be waiting on your doorstep by the end of the week

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KIWIS HELPING KIWIS The founders of Native Sparkling, brothers Guy and Matt Hobson, noticed that certain consumer habits might be able to help the environment: “Think saving the world with Friday night drinks.” Globally, $1.5 trillion USD is spent on alcohol per year, and while many people regard being eco-friendly as important, “few of us are taking any action.” The Lower Hutt business partners with conservation groups to help protect New Zealand’s native species. So far they have funded the hatching and release of kiwi at Pūkaha, and contributed to the kōkako breeding programme.

STAFF WANTED

FEEDING WHĀNAU

MIRAKA KIRĪMI

Competition for hospitality staff has been reflected in increasing wages in the sector. The average hourly wage in the industry has risen to $24.43, already surpassing the new Living Wage rate of $23.65, which comes into force this September. Hospitality New Zealand’s 2022 remuneration survey showed the average hourly rate has risen almost nine percent, and the average salary has risen by 10.5 percent to $72,558.

Te Awa Kairangi Kai Collective has been awarded the Kāinga Ora Homes and Communities Excellence Award for Social Wellbeing. Supported by Hutt City Council, the Kai Collective is a community-led initiative by food banks in the Hutt Valley, who came together during the pandemic to provide urgent food to struggling families. Mayor Campbell Barry congratulated the collective, saying, “The Kai Collective has been able to ensure that there is food on the table for our families and kids.”

In celebration of Māori Language Week (12–18 September), Whittaker’s has released a limited edition Miraka Kirīmi block. With support from the Māori Language Commission, they have been translating their creamy milk chocolate labels into te reo since 2020, but this is the first time it will be available in stores nationwide.

Co-Chief Operating Officer Matt Whittaker says ““We’re pleased to take part in this week of celebration to help revitalise te reo Māori.”

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H O L I S T I C T H E R A P I E S | H E R B A L R E M E D I E S | F R E S H P L A N T B A S E D S K I N C A R E | A R O M AT H E R A P Y | W O R K S H O P S | B E S P O K E OPEN

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Spring chicken Turn the pages of this chick-flick as we explore chicken in all its forms.

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Chicken feed

Chook wranglers

Chicken ginger stir fry

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Chicken feed P H OTO G R A P H Y BY OLIVIA LAMB

Fried chicken is hot right now – sometimes really hot, with both Nashville and Korean fried chicken joints becoming increasingly popular. We asked Titty Eats to help us in a blind taste test, to find out who really rules the roost.

Winner Winner

Soul Shack

Order: Proper Hot Fried Chicken Boneless bites

Order: Whole buttermilk fried wings, level three spice

Score:

Score:

Crunch: There was a nice, consistent crunch to the bites.

There were no soggy bits and it was dressed well.

Crunch: The first bite had a weak crunch, and after that it fell apart while being eaten.

Tenderness: The chicken was succulent. It delivered a clean, firm bite, and wasn’t too crispy. Al dente batter is the way to go.

Spice: It had a bit of a kick to it. I could spot the chilli flakes on the coating and the spice lingered on after I’d finished.

Tim Yamat has tried a lot of fried chicken. In fact he’s grown an Instagram following of almost ten thousand for food reviews on his page @titty.eats. The page really gained traction in 2016 when Tim first reviewed Burger Wellington entries.

Tim orginally trained as a chef, but now his culinary skills shine online, where he prepares his own burger masterpieces and presents them on a second Instagram page.

Extra comments: It had a nice colour – the perfect golden brown that makes your heart skip a beat. The coating stuck well to the chicken.

Fun fact: Save room for dessert, as they have a cabinet of sweet treats. What is pinky pie? We don't know, but it sounds good.

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Tenderness: The chicken was cooked well, but was lacking succulence. It was a bit boring to eat.

Spice: The spice level on this one was insane. It dominated each bite and lingered long after; however it lacked seasoning.

Extra comments: The dredging was overpowered by chili powder. It didn’t coat well, and most of the dredge fell onto the plate.

Fun fact: Habanero, ghost pepper and Carolina Reaper are among the chillies used in their recipes. We dare you to try spice level five.

E D I B L E S

Platform 145

KFC

Newkor

Order: Yummy spicy chicken

Order: Spicy wicked wings

Score:

Score:

Order: Little devil: glazed in spicy sauce and sesame seeds

Crunch: Excellent crunch – really crispy. The coating lasted until the last bite. The dredging was magnificent, and it was perfectly fried.

Crunch: This had a familiar crunch to it. It was evenly coated, and the “crisp factor” reached another level beyond others in the taste test. The dredge remained intact, with a couple of pieces crumbling off of the chicken.

Tenderness: The chicken was really juicy. The juices ran down my fingers as I ate it. Every bite was clean and it was easy to pull the meat from the bone.

Spice: The spice was almost non-existent, but the sauce was sweet and sticky, and worked as a good glazing.

Extra comments: If I had to guess, this chook had been double fried, which helped it to stay crispy. It had a familiar sticky glaze, like Korean fried chicken (the best kind in my opinion).

Fun fact: Owner Peter Lee was a metallurgical engineer in South Korea before coming to NZ.

Tenderness: The meat was very tender and juicy. Each bite was easy and clean and there was no resistance.

Spice: This had no heat whatsoever, but it was seasoned well. Various “herbs and spices” were definitely used.

Extra comments: If I had to guess where this was from I’d say, “I can eat a whole bucket of these.”

Fun fact: Kentucky flew across to New 1971. Now 50 years over 100 in around

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Fried Chicken Zealand in on, there are country.

Score: Crunch: There was a good, crisp crunch to the batter, but after sauce was added it became soggy.

After that there was no crunch to it and the “oomph” was gone.

Tenderness: The chicken was nice and tender, and had been cooked well. The meat was easy to pick off the bone, and came off clean.

It wasn’t too greasy either.

Spice: This had a mild kick.

The sauce used was similar to an Asian yumyum sauce. There were strong flavours of garlic with some sweetener, and a small amount of chili flakes providing a small spice hit.

Extra comments: Chicken that’s been battered like this tastes great. As long as it’s golden it’s good.

Fun fact: Newkor have private karaoke rooms so you can sing to your heart's content without spoiling other diners evenings.

E D I B L E S

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Chook wranglers P H OTO G R A P H Y BY A D R I A N V E RCO E

The old saying says never work with children or animals but one school has discovered putting the two together can work a treat.

Sophie Carter finds out how.

“I

’m the chief, and Matthew’s deputy.” Afonso explains their roles as Thorndon School’s chicken monitors. The role is one that ten-year-old Afonso Rato is proud to have held for the past two years.

Afonso’s protégé, nine-year-old Matthew Payne, is still fairly new to the job. Caring for the chooks is something students look forward to in years five and six, of which teacher Jason Trenberth is team leader.

He says that he does very little for the school’s pets, and that his students take care of all things chicken.

The first bird arrived six years ago. A parent of one of the students was rehoming a hen that had stopped laying, and offered it to the school. The principal at the time, Alistair du Chatenier or “Mr Du”, accepted it and brought in several more chickens. Over the years there have been renewals of the flock, with two of the original hens dying, and three others brought from Christchurch. The current lineup consists of Maggie, Funky, and Steel.

The role of chicken monitor is not undertaken lightly, and involves a rigorous selection process.

“Afonso puts any applicants through a test, from which he then chooses the best,” says Jason. During the school week full responsibility for the hens falls to the boys. Every afternoon they clean the coop, replace the hay, and refill the feed, heading to the local New World to purchase it. Collected eggs are given to the teachers, or find their find their way into class bakes.

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Thorndon School has about 50% international students. Since the opening of New Zealand’s borders Jason’s classes have been somewhat quieter, with several children away visiting relatives overseas. Afonso has recently returned from Portugal. While he was away his duties were passed to back-up chicken monitors, Taylor Watt and James Naulls, who are on hand to cover absences.

This is neither Matthew nor Afonso’s first rodeo as regards animal care. Matthew has had hens in the past, and says they have plenty of room at home to one day have them again. Along with a pet budgie, Afonso also has hens – one of which is named after his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Keeping chickens in the city can bring challenges. Limits and rules put in place by the council include a ban of roosters in urban areas. “We have to look out for cats,” Matthew says. “There’s

a black and white cat that often waits outside the school. If we see one we have to quickly put the chickens back in their cage.”

Although they live close to a busy road in the government district, the chickens are unfazed by the noise, and seem content with their little slice of the world. The boys spill the story that “Mr Du once left the gate to their coop open over night.”

The chooks were discovered the following morning, happily pecking away barely 10 metres from their pen. “Maggie has a line she won’t cross,” Afonso says, of the flock’s longest-serving member, who has lived at Thorndon School for five years.

The school is always keen to involve its pupils in environmental and outdoor projects. They have a greenhouse, in which they grow grapes, carrots, and tomatoes. A large compost bin also provides treats for the chooks, as they search it for scraps.

40 events celebrating NZ’s largest range of heritage buildings and early transport.

8–30 O C

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Highlights include the Steamboat River Festival on Saturday 8th and Heritage Vehicle Parade and Antique Fair over Labour Weekend.

www.whanganuiheritagetrust.org.nz

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ORDER NOW:

E D I B L E S

Chicken ginger stir fry

with Chinese sausages and black fungus

BY Z U Y I WO O N

Zuyi Woon cut his culinary teeth as a professional chef in cafés and fine dining establishments across New Zealand. In 2017, he and his wife Elaine opened Pour and Twist, in Garrett St, introducing imaginative flavour combinations to the coffee world.

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his recipe is a favourite from my childhood. It’s a nostalgic meal that always reminds me of home. My mum raised my younger brother and me on her own, while also working full time.

Even though she was busy, she always made sure we were fed well, and this dish was easy and nutritious. Chicken for protein, ginger for energy, black fungus to

Ingredients 5 boneless chicken thighs 4 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil 5 dried chilies (deseeded) 2 spring onions (cut into 3cm pieces) 20 grams ginger (thinly sliced) 2 Chinese sausages (thinly sliced diagonally) 8 garlic cloves (minced) 15g black fungus Marinade 2 tbsp shao xing wine 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp white pepper 1 tsp salt 1 tsp sesame oil Seasoning 2 tbsp oyster sauce 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp dark soy sauce 1 tbsp shao xing wine 1 tsp white pepper 1 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp chicken stock powder (optional) Cornstarch slurry 1 tbsp cornstarch 3 tbsp water

1.

strengthen our hearts, spring onion for those much-needed greens, and some chili to stir our appetites.

I’ve put my own spin on my mum’s recipe by adding in Chinese sausages – she’s tried it and given it her stamp of approval. All of the ingredients can be found at your local Asian supermarket.

Serves 4

Marinate the chicken, cut into 2cm cubes and place in a bowl. Add all the marinade ingredients and mix well. Cover and leave for at least 30 minutes.

2. Mix all seasoning ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

3. Make the cornstarch slurry. Mix the water and cornstarch in a small bowl and set aside.

4. Soak the black fungus in a big bowl of warm water. It will expand as it is rehydrated.

5. Heat oil in pan and add Chinese sausages.

Stir-fry for 30–40 seconds.

6. Add the ginger and chili. Stir fry for another 30 seconds.

7. Add the minced garlic. Fry until fragrant.

8. Put the marinated chicken in the pan and stir-fry over high heat till cooked through.

9. Add the rehydrated black fungus and continue stir-frying for 30 seconds.

10. Add the seasoning and stir well to coat the ingredients.

11. Remove the pan from the heat. Pour the cornstarch slurry in and mix well.

12. Pour into your bowl of choice. Top with spring onions and a drizzle of sesame oil.

Serve immediately with jasmine rice.

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The Wild Fermentary + The Wellington Apothecary

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Kefir Soda - Lemon, Ginger & Wild Mānuka

Barker’s Immunity Daily Shots

Almighty, but faster.

In a bid to take on traditional energy drinks with a modern healthy alternative, Almighty has launched Almighty Active. Clean, lean energy for morning strollers, yoga mat rollers, outdoor explorers, and sweaty dance floorers. For whoever, wherever, whenever.

Almighty Active is a naturally flavoured sparkling water with 80mg of natural caffeine (about the same as a decent cup of coffee) and that’s it. No sugar, nothing artificial, no ingredients you can’t pronounce.

Almighty managing director and co-founder Ben Lenart says he's stoked that as a New Zealand-owned and operated business they are the first caffeinated water to market here.

Get going and keep going with three delicious flavours, apple, blackcurrant, and pineapple.

A probiotic water kefir collab between The Wild Fermentary and Wellington Apothecary. Bringing together billions of gut-loving lactic acid bacteria and the roots, shoots and fruits of Papatuānuku.

Handcrafted in small batches using local lemons, fresh ginger-root, and medicinal tea, lovingly blended by the Wellington Apothecary herbalists. These components, along with essential medicinal botanicals (lemon balm, lemon myrtle and native Mānuka) are all powerful healing ingredients to aid the gut, strengthen digestion, boost immunity, and uplift the mind.

As well as bursting with life (bacteria and yeasts) Kefir Soda is a vote for natural fermentation, low sugar and microbial diversity. Unpasteurised, vegan, dairy and gluten-free; with no sweeteners, preservatives, or additives.

Perfect on its own, or as mixer.

Give your immunity a boost with these delicious, new daily shots from Barker’s of Geraldine. Available in three fruit flavours: Orange, Carrot & Ginger; Blackcurrant & Goji; and Kiwifruit, Cucumber & Matcha – containing seven shots per bottle.

Made right here in New Zealand from over 98% fruit and vegetables and no refined sugar, Barker’s Immunity Daily Shots are an easy and tasty way to enjoy the benefits of vitamin C every day.

Chill and enjoy undiluted as a 70ml daily shot. Every shot contains 80mg of vitamin C (that’s 200% of your recommended dietary intake).

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C O N T E N T

For the moments you put yourself first

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Real Active Range

CH'I Sparkling Herbal Handcrafted from real herbs, right here in New Zealand CH'I Sparkling Herbal drinks are now in perfect sized cans.

The Original has remained unchanged since first sold in 1987.

Spiced Ginger is deliciously warming with fresh bright flavours of real ginger root and cardamom. The Herbal Sugar Free is 100% free from synthetic sweeteners, with natural plant stevia replacing sugars – possibly your keto diet’s new BFF. Equally perfect when mixing cocktails, or when taking an alcohol free moment.

From a New Zealand owned business, handcrafted in Riverhead.

Orinoco are proud, exclusive Kapiti Coast stockists for Real Active.

Real Active sells unique activewear and accessories, and donate 10% of proceeds to mental health charities.

Their new activewear collection has been designed with their customers, ambassadors and stockists.

The range has all the features customers asked for – pockets, comfort, support, adjustable straps for the perfect fit, subtle motivational reminders, style, and most importantly flatters all shapes and sizes.

Every Real Active size has been fitted on real women of that size and has its own pattern (not just size graded like so many brands). And that’s why women glow in this range – they don’t just look good, they feel good!

Orinoco. Clothing, Beauty, Home. 2a Maclean Street, Paraparaumu Beach.

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orinoco.nz

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Loopline Olives Certified Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is listed in the official index of the World's Best Olive Oils. Situated in Opaki in New Zealand’s Wairarapa region, Loopline Olives specialises in the highest quality, single variety EVOO. Five olive varieties grow at Loopline, flourishing in the hot dry summer days and cool nights of our crisp winters.

Oil is produced from four of the varieties Picual, Picholene, Leccino and Frantoio. The fifth, Pendolino, is a pollinator. Each variety is picked and pressed separately to celebrate the fruit's individual qualities.

Loopline is committed to excellence in all stages of production to assist nature with our expertise and passion to bring you olive oil perfection.

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sourcebotanics.suarespace. com Whether you’re hosting an office lunch or a corporate event, our experienced team are here to create the perfect menu to suit your needs.

From attractive packaging to our delicious cuisine, we offer the best of the best.

Looking for a tasty lunch that’s easy to serve?

Look no further. We offer individual lunch platters for small or large events, with a mouth-watering selection of sweet and savoury items to tantalize your taste buds.

Our catering is perfect for all dietary requirements, and we can create custom menus to suit any event.

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B Y

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G R E AT G E T S Crime Time hosts crime-writing royalty Val McDermid (who’s sold 17 million-plus books) and Michael Robotham of the Joseph O’Loughlin series – in person, not by video link, on 11 September. They’re joined by New Zealand-born author J P Pomare, winner of a Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel.

Lawyer/author Brannavan Gnanalingam will chair.

The session is organised by Verb Wellington, which is also staging a session with Mohamed Hassan, the New Zealand-based author of essay collection How to Be A Bad Muslim, 29 September.

SURPRIZE Local writer, student, and Asian New Zealander Emma Sidnam is “incredibly excited” to have been awarded the 2022 Michael Gifkins Prize For An Unpublished Manuscript from among 13 finalists, and received a contract with Australian publisher Text and a NZ$10,000 advance against royalties. Next year, they’ll publish her novel Backwaters, about a girl who is ambivalent about her Chinese heritage, and uncovers a family secret. The prize honours the late Wellington writer and literary agent Michael Gifkins.

NOW YOU SEE THEM… From moko kākāriki (a gecko with a bright blue mouth) to kōwaro (a fish that can survive out of water for months), new all-ages book Tiaki (Bateman Books) highlights Aotearoa’s ‘less glamorous’ native species.

It’s nicely written and illustrated by local Jean Donaldson, a self-confessed bird fanatic who works at Massey University research centre Toi Āria: Design for Public Good.

NEW AGE Poet and creative-writing teacher Sarah Jane Barnett was in her 30s when her father came out as transgender. It took some getting used to. With her parents’ permission, Sarah Jane writes about this in her excellent memoir Notes on Womanhood (OUP), part coming-ofmiddle-age story, part feminist manifesto. She touches on topics including her complicated relationship with society’s beauty standards, the “male gaze”, sexist healthcare, her almost androgynous grandmother, and juggling work, motherhood and life admin (there’s a relatable shrunk-socks-in-the-dryer vignette).

2 AUG – 2 DEC Open Daily Free General Admission 326 Main Street, Palmerston North

for all your gardening needs come out for a visit to twigland gardeners world middleton road | glenside | open 7 days

MUSEUM OF ART, SCIENCE AND HERITAGE TEMANAWA.NZ 0800-4-A-MUSEUM

16 - 18 SEPT SKY STADIUM

WELLINGTON

FRI & SAT 10-5, SUN 10-4 Adults $8, Gold Card Friday $4, Under 16 Free

Visit this unique exhibition of ancient and new taonga to learn the story of Te Awa Tupua, the Whanganui River and its people.

Open Daily 10am-4.30pm Pukenamu Queens Park, Watt St, Whanganui

Te Huihui o Matariki – the stars of Matariki Panel 1 of untitled triptych, Kate Hartmann

Mahara Place, Waikanae www.maharagallery.org.nz

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B Y

T H E

About the poet: Originally from Karnataka, South India, Sudha Rao (see Cap #84) migrated to Dunedin with her parents and trained in classical South Indian dance. She moved to Wellington to establish Dance Aotearoa New Zealand (DANZ). In 2017, Sudha completed her Master’s in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters. On Elephant’s Shoulders is her first collection.

B O O K

Re-verse I N T R O D U C E D BY C H R I S T S E

MIGRANT

In brief: This poem, along with two others in Sudha’s collection, was originally commissioned to accompany an exhibition of portraits of migrant women of colour

by Auckland-based photographer Abhi Chinniah. In keeping with the title of the exhibition, A Migrant’s Path, this poem describes, with evocative imagery, the lived experience of a migrant moving across borders and waters.

This is not a place for a wild hunt.

By grant of a native wind my sky withers, as a migrant.

I, seeking not favor, an aspirant, a blue moon, flee a torrent, as a migrant.

Reverse

My breath forms prayer beads of advisements.

Under cover of darkness, I become a consignment, as a migrant.

Why I like it: “Migrant” is a potent poem made up of seven rhyming couplets, each presenting a different perspective on the migrant experience, from the decision to leave to the moment feet touch upon new soil. In between are sobering snapshots that emphasise the reality of risking your life for safety in a new land (“sleeping on sand, burying sirens”). This peril is reinforced by the repetition of ‘as a migrant’ to end each couplet, which may also comment on the way “migrant” can be a loaded descriptor in different social and political contexts. The poem suggests that there are battles that continue long after arrival, with migrant stories and lives rendered “semi-transparent” or reduced to “a pigment”. Despite the lurking claustrophobia throughout the poem that threatens to consume the speaker (“my sky withers”), it does end on a hopeful note.

On a hunt carrying dreams, I am fragrant with enticement and frightened, as a migrant.

What can I see? A wide front of sea, compliant, sleeping on sand, burying sirens, as a migrant.

By current I fly as time makes me a pigment likened to dark or light, as a migrant.

Light must, like fine dust, make me semi-transparent.

At this seafront, regnant Dhasu runs, as a migrant.

By Sudha Rao From On Elephant’s Shoulders (The Cuba Press, 2022)

Read more like this: Although the topic of migration is threaded through the history of Aotearoa’s poetry and literature, there are some notable absences from the kinds of voices published. However, collections and anthologies like More of Us (Landing Press) and A Clear Dawn (Auckland University Press) have featured stirring work by writers from diverse migrant backgrounds who have made Aotearoa their home.

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F E AT U R E

Rook star P H OTO G R A P H Y BY M AT I L DA B O E S E - WO N G

Xanthe Rook talks to Sarah Lang about spiritual rituals, mental health, living in a notorious Wellington flat, and becoming an archivist.

W

hen Xanthe Rook, 23, was growing up in West Auckland, she was interested in the occult. “My grandmother encouraged me to have a relationship with fairies and angels – and from there I became interested in other forms of mysticism, witchcraft and ritual. My mother already had books on the subject. The way I make sense of the world is naturally through patterns, signs and intuition, though I mostly keep this all very private. Through university, I brought this world of mine into the academic sphere.”

She did a BA in history and religious studies, with interests in occult history and women’s spirituality – initially at the University of Auckland, then transferring to Victoria University of Wellington.

Xanthe began an honours year in religious studies.

She dropped out, but would like to eventually write a dissertation. Her studies focused on women’s spiritual/ ritual circles in New Zealand, including a feminist Catholic ritual circle her grandmother belonged to, dedicated to German mystic and composer Hildegard of Bingen. She wanted to compare this group with ritual circles formed by the younger generation. “I’ve always found ritual an interesting thing, especially as a pillar that binds together so much difference.”

Xanthe acknowledges that this academic, analytical treatment of her spirituality changed it: “I’m still trying to figure out how it’s going to look and operate in my life now. I don’t think I could ever rid myself of it though. It feels like the faith of my inner child.”

She says there’s a gap in research on spiritual freedom of choice, perhaps because in recent times it has come to be taken for granted. “People have an autonomy in their practice of spirituality that didn’t really exist 30 years ago. And New Zealand is an interesting melting pot as a case study.”

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F E AT U R E

Xanthe grew up in West Auckland with her brother, ophthalmologist father, and high-school music teacher mother.

She played clarinet, piano, bass and drums, and largely taught herself singing and guitar.

She played in various bands (mostly on drums) during high school, and was deemed to be a good “girl drummer” or “good at drumming for a girl”. In the band “Courtney Hate” she performed at the Silver Scroll Awards in 2016. “Growing up as a female musician, and going to gigs, I saw minimal representation of women and queer people onstage.”

Xanthe identifies as queer, and in recent years more as nonbinary/femme than as a woman; “But I still associate a lot with a woman’s social experience, especially as a woman musician.”

“I think I probably always knew”, says Xanthe, but says she has become “more comfortable being queer in the past few years,” since she started being around more queer people. “I never felt I had to ‘come out’ because I never felt rigidly forced into any box to begin with. I understand that this experience is quite different for a lot of people. For me, it was an eventual acknowledgement that I didn’t always associate heavily with being very feminine, and didn’t always respond positively when treated that way.”

Xanthe took the train to Wellington in 2019, with two suitcases. “I wanted to move somewhere where I didn’t really know anyone – and where I could plant myself.” She was already friendly, however, with drummer Josh Finegan and guitarist/vocalist Christian Dimick.

Josh, Christian and Xanthe began writing songs together, and got a Sunday-night slot performing at the Pyramid Club.” They sought to expand the band, “with other women/queer people who had a similar kaupapa.” The lineup solidified into seven-member band Recitals. Xanthe sings and plays bass, with Josh on drums and Christian on guitar/vocals. The other members are Tharushi Bowatte (trumpet), Carla Camilleri (keys/vocals), Olivia Wilding (cello), and Sam Curtiss (guitar). Recitals’ genre-bending music has been described as “chamber pop.”

It was no mean feat to form a band, record an album, and get signed by a major record label during a pandemic – “a very strange, and disorderly time to be alive”. Recorded in various studios and bedrooms, Recitals’ first album Orbit I was released by Flying Nun in August, on vinyl LP and in digital formats.

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Xanthe lived briefly at 13 Garrett Street, the three-storey concrete Morrisons’ Building beside Glover Park. “It’s a crazy old former printing-press building which had [hosted] lots of gigs and huge parties. It was a flat for 30 years.

When I moved in, 11 people lived there. It was extremely, and at times overwhelmingly, social. I couldn’t do something like that again, but I’m really glad I did it.”

The building was sold, and Xanthe moved flats just before the first lockdown. In the solitude of lockdowns, she came to understand that she was more introverted than she had previously believed.

Xanthe had dealt with mental-health issues for many years.

Now various pressures “compounded into this crushing force and I had a breakdown”. She realised she habitually felt she was “not good enough”. “I felt I should do more, be more productive, be a better and kinder person, help more people, achieve better things.” While the breakdown was “terrifying”, it also had its benefits. “It was like a bushfire burned everything down and I had to start again and try to find some sort of love for myself.”

She also found a career, developing an interest in heritage collections, and the moral considerations related to dealing with taonga. She’s now a collections archivist at Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision.

As a child she had fantasised about archaeology, “religiously” watching Egyptian-history VHS tapes, and idolising Indiana Jones. “My interest in magic and occult stuff fused with archaeology in my mind. History became this mysterious magical thing.”

At Ngā Taonga, she is working on Utaina, a digital-preservation collaboration between Ngā Taonga, Archives NZ, and the National Library. The project is digitising Crownowned audio-visual content (particularly Ngā Taonga’s TVNZ collection) stored on magnetic media from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Think oral histories, music recordings, broadcast news, recordings of community events.

These items are physically deteriorating, and the playback technology needed for magnetic media is obsolescent. “There’s this rush against time,” Xanthe says. An external agency digitises the material, while “we deal with it at either end.”

Xanthe is considering postgraduate studies in conserving heritage and cultural materials. But she’ll always play music too. “It’s nice having the two paths, and maybe at some point I’ll swap one out for a bit.” She’s in no rush.

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H O M E

Nursery Rhymes

New parents Nicola and Reuben have used their combined knowledge of art and design to style their Miramar home, and give their spare room a dream jungle makeover.

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P H OTO G R A P H Y BY JOSIAH NEVELL

H O M E

My brother and family in New York sent Pinsy the giraffe (we gave our four-year-old niece Elara naming rights). He’s such a feature, and we love how he’s always watching over the room.

N

icola Provost and her partner Reuben Morrison are enjoying their first months of parenthood. Baby Fox (named after Nicola’s grandmother, whose maiden name was Fox) has already been deservedly spoilt, and is settling into her recently renovated nursery.

When Nicola and Reuben bought their home in 2018, it was just “blank canvas sun trap, with a lift.” It’s since been filled with auction finds, travel mementos, family heirlooms and all the accessories that come with a baby. The home’s Miramar location is close to Reuben’s work as director of Lux de Lux Ltd, a company which provides lighting for feature films.

Nicola is currently on maternity leave from her role as Zambesi store manager, although she’s excited to be gearing up for this year’s World of WearableArt where she will be a model. Both her parents and Reuben are on hand for baby-sitting duty through the fittings, rehearsals, and performances.

Redecorating the spare room was really fun. We painted the walls and roof “Greenhouse”

by Resene. It’s a very calming colour, and I often find myself staring at a roof during middleof-the-night feeds. When Fox was first born we had lots of parties with family and friends and we all gravitated to the nursery. It’s such a nice space to be in.

104

The photographs are by Wellington photographer Harry Culy. We bought the white one at an exhibition, and always regretted not having the black. I was lucky enough to purchase a black one after Harry’s exhibition at City Gallery.

The black chairs are from Babelogue.

I had seen them online, and then visited the Auckland store – I just couldn’t get them out of my mind. They’re 1970s Arkana, made in Great Britain.

The lamp is the newest addition to the lounge, arriving when I was in labour. It’s from Webb’s auction house. Auctions are definitely one of my addictions; I can often be found in the nursery feeding Fox and scrolling through catalogues.

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H O M E

Fox was very spoilt, and was gifted a custommade baby blanket. Inspired by the winter 2022 Zambesi collection, it’s striped and made with pure merino wool. It’s the perfect size for her cot, and also accompanies us on walks.

At our baby shower we asked guests to contribute to a baby account, and the money went towards buying the beautiful Boori Eden cot.

106

As well as being used a lot for the obvious, our Mocka change table is also a great storage space. The green crates from Hay are amazing for keeping nappies and wipes. We’ve learnt pretty quickly that the change mat cover spends just as much time in the wash as it does protecting the mat.

All the books in Fox’s little library have come from friends and family. Green Eggs and Ham is her current favourite.

H O M E

Everyone told us we’d need a chair with a stool – and they were right. You’ll find us here every three to four hours feeding. Eventually it will relocate to the record room as a listening chair.

The Hatch night light is incredible; it plays white noise, changes to various colours, and shows the time. It’s all operated by an app which is really handy when feeding.

Growing up we both loved Animalia by Graeme Base, and we still love the illustrations. It was the inspiration for the nursery, and being the year of the Tiger we thought Fox would be right at home in her jungle.

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The animal mobile was a gift from Grandma and Grandad. It’s handmade with felted wool

by Tik Tak Design Co. Quite often I find Fox lying in her cot, chatting away to the creatures.

H O M E

The drinks cabinet in the dining room belonged to my Nana and Poppa. The warrior on top was a birthday present I bought Reuben, from The Asian Gallery that was once in Kilbirnie. The plate is from Turkey, and the stamp and ink are from China. The rat artwork is a pointillist piece that we picked up from a Nelson market.

108

My wardrobe is my favourite room in the house. The biker jacket is one of my most loved pieces. It’s leather with beaver fur sleeves, by designer Rick Owens.

It has accompanied me to a lot of parties, and is always first in my suitcase for winter holidays.

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W E L L Y

A N G E L

What would Deirdre do?

feels that someone else will tell, and it may be better that that person is family. You will be needed by both of them. Let your ill cousin get settled at the hospice, then see if he can be persuaded to write to or phone his brother. Time may not be on your side but stay close for them both.

A DV I C E F RO M D E I R D R E TA R R A N T

T R A N S SE C R E T S

D O G DAYS N UM B E R E D

We have elderly family members in Japan who have a transgender great grandchild who lives here. They have not been kept up to date with the transition changes. The specific family’s attitude is that the information will be too distressing for the great grandparents to cope with. Our part of the family is planning a skiing trip to Japan soon. Is it our job to keep the secret for other family members? Or do we owe honesty to ourselves and the great grandparents?

Skiers, Whitby

I have an ageing dog and cat. Both of them are healthy but I know that is unlikely to remain the situation. I enjoy their company every day. I grew up on a farm where animals were well treated but they were not family members. Even pet lambs, we understood, would probably eventually disappear to the works. My friends and family were aghast recently when I said it would be practical to have the pets put down in a few years. I have enough money to take care of them but think it’s foolish to pay for expensive procedures just to prolong their lives. I would rather see that money go to someone who needs it, than spend it on an animal who only has a couple more years left. Am I hard hearted or sensible?

Hard hearted Hannah, Porirua

Respect for cultures and values is important. This situation spans three generations and a time line of many years as well as physical distance. I personally have known of families who did not all know their children’s sexual preferences, and choices not to tell were made and sustained. It is not about right or wrong.

It is about being family and loving your relatives as special people no matter what happens in life’s journey. Relationships and life choices are personal for those involved. It is possible to maintain both separately? This seems to be one of those times.

Respect all individuals for themselves and be supportive. Have a good holiday and go visit. You will be appreciated for who you are. The issue is not about you, and you do not owe yourself honesty about it? You are clearly concerned, but this is not your secret. Be a loving friend and respect their decisions. How wonderful that the great grandparents exist. Travel safe.

Congratulations on your forward thinking approach to this.

They are special friends to you and that does not change. If and when things become distressing for them and the quality of their life deteriorates it is not heartless to consider what you might best do. Until then enjoy one day at a time with them both. Live in the now.

FA M I LY O F F L I M I T S I have an elderly cousin who lives in another part of New Zealand. Another cousin has told me of an illness that means he hasn’t long left to live. He asked me not to tell his brother, the cousin who lives elsewhere. They have had an on-and-off relationship for much of their lives. The ill cousin is about to go into a hospice. And he has repeated his request that I not tell his brother anything. I get on well with both of them. To which one do I owe my loyalty?

Irritated and confused, Thorndon

G HO ST S A N D G HOU L S What is positive about Halloween? It seems like just an imported bit of Americanism to me.

Grumpy, Khandallah Indeed it is and a commercial extravaganza, but it certainly seems to have infiltrated and is a lot of fun for many. I love carving pumpkin lanterns and dressing up! Enjoy.

This is hard – I feel that you need to respect your ill cousin in the first instance but when he moves into the hospice, maybe suggest that you go to visit and take the brother with you? Realisation and conversation may evolve from the circumstances. It is best ultimately that both know and hopefully their relationship finds a pathway of its own. The challenge for you is to find a way to be loyal and a friend to both of them. Part of me also

If you’ve got a burning question for Deirdre, email angel@capitalmag.co.nz with Capital Angel in the subject line.

110

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WĀ H I N E

How to relationship

BY M E LO DY T H O M AS

Time for connection

W

ith the seemingly endless pandemic, the terrible weather, and the fact that hibernation annoyingly remains not an option for humans, this winter has been really hard for a lot of people. If the extra stress has had an impact on your romantic relationship, you’re far from alone.

But couples therapy is expensive, and hard to fit in if you are time poor (though worth prioritising, if you can wrangle it). Here are a few key things I’ve learned from therapy, and from interviewing sex and relationship therapists, which have made a huge difference to my own relationship.

Check-ins Regular relationship check-ins are an absolute game changer, and are entirely responsible for putting an end to the regular fights my husband and I used to have at about 10pm in bed (about the worst time there is to talk about anything important). A relationship check-in will look different for different couples, but it’s basically a regular, structured time to sit down and reflect on the health of your relationship.

Here’s what we do. When something happens throughout the week that’s annoying, hurtful or otherwise not ideal – we log it on our phones, to bring up later at check-in time. Of course some things need to be addressed right away, but most of the time those conversations are going to be much more productive when everyone’s had a chance to calm down. Check-ins go hand in hand with active listening, which is worth googling and trying (it will feel weird at first, but it soon becomes as natural as shutting down or switching off used to be).

The coolest thing about check-ins is how just half an hour a week or fortnight of active, constructive communication begins to benefit your wider relationship. Issues are addressed, needs are met, and in the process trust is built, because you’re receiving regular reassurance that your concerns will be heard and acted on.

Before you give it a go, remember: Check-in is a sacred time, so don’t bring snarkiness into it. So when something annoying happens, don’t say pointedly “time for a check in”.

And if you’re starting out from a bit of a rough patch, take the advice our therapist gave us and either start or finish each time by sharing something about your relationship that you’re really digging at the moment, or something you appreciated that the other person did for you recently.

112

Advice for couples (especially those with kids) often recommends date nights. I love a date night, but when you’re not getting along super well they have a tendency to go horribly wrong: for us this usually meant me going in with unrealistically high expectations, which inevitably came crashing down in a stream of tears when they were not met. A low-key date night can be a good place to start. Go bowling!

Throw some axes! Play mini golf! Go out and meet friends for a drink together. Seeing your partner through the eyes of those who love and admire them can reinvigorate your own attraction, which can lead to sex, which is also nice.

And though getting into bed and watching a killer show is appealing, there’s a lot of value in not turning to a screen.

We’ve been doing this more recently (it started accidentally, when we couldn’t find something to watch) and it’s become a favourite part of the day for both of us. It’s made us realise how rarely we just hang out any more: shooting the shit, cracking dumb jokes, venting about our stresses (but not so much that we kill the vibe). When you have a family, so much of your communication becomes task delegation, and it’s easy to lose sight of each other’s humanity. This small amount of time in the evening is all it’s taken to restore that perspective, and though we’ve gone through a lot of stress in the past few months, we’ve found we’re tackling it as a team.

Self work None of this would be possible if we hadn’t both been doing the hard mahi individually, towards better self-knowledge and self-compassion, and investing time in the things that make each of us happy. The first part can be deeply uncomfortable, and is often born out of a crisis. It might feel like the worst thing you’ve ever done, until suddenly it reveals itself to be the best. The second part is a never-ending challenge not many of us know how to do naturally. The third you have to fight for, through pangs of guilt and doubt.

But it all adds up to a real, solid understanding of who you are and what experiences made you that way, and of your inbuilt ability to tend to your own needs and offer yourself comfort and empathy; and to a rediscovery of what brings you passion, happiness and peace – plus the understanding that you are worth all of it. This can only flow on to benefit all of the relationships around you.

C U L T U R E

Ewan McDougall: Freed Up in Lockdown

D I R E C T O R Y

Explore the unexpected Andrea Gardner's exhibition, this is the rabbit hole, features a new collection of work that explore self-portraiture through staged photography. It shows the artist's interest in the absurd, a deep love of colour and the playful act of spontaneously combining costumes, props and poses in the studio.

Freed Up in Lockdown is a touring exhibition of oil paintings completed since the Covid Lockdown of March, 2020. I poured myself into work and my output doubled. This show is the distillation of this focused frenzy.

Friday 30 Sep–29 Oct, 5.30pm.

The Light Box Academy Galleries, 1 Queens Wharf, Wellington. ewanmcdougall.co.nz

9 July–16 Oct 12 Bruce St, Masterton. aratoi.org.nz

Show Me Shorts Film Festival Show Me Shorts is Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading international short film festival. The best short films from around the globe are brought to this Oscar qualifying festival, at the Lighthouse Cuba.

14–26 Oct showmeshorts.co.nz

Spring at Circa Theatre

Skin Tight

A muscular piece of poetry.

By Gary Henderson Directed by Katherine McRae $25–$54 Presented by arrangement with Playmarket

27 Aug–24 Sep

One of Aotearoa’s most poignant and lasting works of theatre. Skin Tight is a searing and sensual romance that is as stunningly physical as it is poetic - a theatre experience that will leave you with goosebumps.

Image by Isabella Austin

Back to Square One?

It’s theatre, but only just!

Written and performed by Anders Falstie-Jensen.

Presented by The Rebel Alliance Part of TAHI Festival 2022 $25–$35 (and $50 combo ticket available for the two TAHI Festival shows at Circa)

3–11 Sep

The Rebel Alliance invites you into 95 year old Inga’s living room in Denmark as she reaches out through space and time to her grandson in New Zealand.

Using only chalk to draw with Anders Falstie-Jensen weaves the Norse myth of Ragnarok into a unique story of disasters, family and unexpected connections. Coffee & Cake included.

Image Credit: Alec Forbes

Title and Deed

NZ Premiere!

A monologue by Will Eno Performed by Steven Ray Presented by Titled Productions Part of TAHI Festival 2022 $25–$35 (and $50 combo ticket available for the two TAHI Festival shows at Circa)

14–24 Sep

A provocative, engaging play by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Horton Foote Prize winner Will Eno, whom the New York Times called “a Samuel Beckett” for the Jon Stewart generation. Title and Deed is a work that stirs the heart and asks the audience to look within.

Artwork: Murr-Mite Media, ChCh

The Wasp

By Morgan Lloyd Malcolm There’s no friend like an old friend Directed by Sam Snedden Starring Bree Peters and Miriama McDowell $25–$54

1–29 Oct

Heather and Carla haven’t seen each other in years. Carla lives a down and out hand-to-mouth existence while Heather looks like she has it all. During an unexpected catch up, Heather presents Carla with a bag of money and a deadly proposition. At once thrilling and darkly funny, The Wasp is a sharp reminder that if you don’t deal with your past you should expect it to deal with you.

Image by Andi Crown Photography

Shows daily Tues–Sun 1 Taranaki St Wellington 04 801 7992 I circa.co.nz

C A L E N D A R

HE RIRI AWATEA: FILMING THE NEW ZEALAND WARS How the portrayal of NZ history has changed in films, TV series, and digital storytelling New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Queen’s Wharf VITRUVIAN TUNNEL Interactive light sculpture by artist/ architect Matt Liggins Te Manawa, Palmerston North WHETŪRANGITIA: MADE AS STARS Contemporary indigenous NZ and international artists respond to their relationships with their gods The Dowse, Lower Hutt TE PĀTAKA WHAKAAHUA – THE LINDAUER GALLERY A world-leading collection of Māori tūpuna (ancestor) paintings Whanganui Regional Museum PĀUA: A CONTEMPORARY JEWELLERY STORY Dazzling style or cultural cringe? Check out the work of 30 contemporary jewellers The Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt GLEN HAYWARD: WISH YOU WERE HERE Carving, painting, and installation exploring absurdity and anti-art City Gallery Wellington, until 11 September GILBERT & GEORGE: THE TĀMAKI MAKAURAU AUCKLAND EXHIBITION 2022 Challenging, alternative, and sometimes controversial works from the artists’ own collection Auckland Art Gallery, until 11 September

ROBIN WHITE: SOMETHING IS HAPPENING HERE Retrospective exhibition spanning more than 50 years of work Te Papa, Wellington waterfront, until 18 September

STAR GOSSAGE: KIA TAU TE RANGIMARIE – LET PEACE BE AMONG US A survey exhibition of two decades’ work Pātaka Art + Museum, Porirua, until 30 October

SKIN TIGHT Physical theatre at its searing and sensual best Circa Theatre, until 24 September

ARTGLASS22 Annual group show exploring the complex physics of glass NZ Glassworks, Whanganui, until 31 October

PEOPLE OF CENTRAL BRAZIL, ~ THE INY Exhibition of life and culture seen through ceramics and film Te Manawa, Palmerston North until 9 October MAUNGARONGO RON TE KAWA: STAR RELATIONS Recent works about family and relationships Mahara iti, Waikanae until 9 October DROOP Four artists’ unexpected and absurd “floppy formalist” sculptures The Dowse, Lower Hutt, until 9 October SHE SHED: CONTEMPORARY WOOL CRAFT Work by seven contemporary makers exhibiting heritage craft skills Petone Settlers Museum, Petone foreshore, until 16 October

September

1 PRIMAVERA Jewellery exhibition celebrating the arrival of spring Twentysix, Newtown, until 10 September 2—3 JAZZ IN MARTINBOROUGH Two concerts over two nights Martinborough Town Hall 4 FATHER’S DAY 5 I WILL NOT SPEAK MAORI Works by Tama Iti and Delaney Davidson Suite Gallery, Cuba St, until 17 September

THE POOL ROOM Work by eminent potter Ross Mitchell-Anyon Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui, until 16 October

6 BLACK GRACE: LIFE – O LE OLAFA Dazzling contemporary dance choreographed by Neil Ieremia The Opera House, 7pm

BETWEEN SKIN & SHIRT: THE PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS OF WILLIAM HARDING First exhibition of works from this New Zealand collection National Library, Molesworth St, until 29 October

8 TAHI – NZ FESTIVAL OF SOLO PERFORMANCE It takes a lot of grit to stand alone on a stage – give these artists your support Various venues until 17 September

C A L E N D A R

WELLINGTON MAYORAL DEBATE 2022 Chamber of Commerce forum where candidates talk shop with business owners Lecture Theatre 1, Rutherford House, 5.30 – 7.30pm 11 LIONS v OTAGO Sky Stadium, 2.05pm 13–19 TE WIKI O TE REO MAORI – MAORI LANGUAGE WEEK 14 UPPER HUTT MAYORAL DEBATE Hosted by current affairs correspondent and facilitator Jehan Casinader Whirinaki Whare Taonga, Upper Hutt, 5.30–7.30pm 16 WELLINGTON HOME & GARDEN SHOW Trends and innovations to help you realise your own grand designs Sky Stadium, until 18 September 17 KRISHNAN’S DAIRY 25th anniversary season of the award-winning tale of ordinary people and legendary love Soundings Theatre, Te Papa, until 21 September TOI PONEKE EXHIBITION Vibrant range of works from Toi Poneke’s studio artists Toi Poneke, 61 Abel Smith Street, until 17 October

23 MARTINBOROUGH MUSIC FESTIVAL A treat for lovers of opera and classical music Martinborough Town Hall, until 25 September 29 WORLD OF WEARABLE ART AWARDS SHOW It’s time to put on make-up, it’s time to light the lights, it’s time to see NZ’s largest theatrical production TSB Arena, until 16 October 30 FREED UP IN LOCKDOWN Dunedin artist Ewan McDougall’s prodigious output since lockdown 2020 Academy Galleries, 1 Queen’s Wharf, until 29 October WELLINGTON UNICEF CHARITY BALL Catered event and dance for people aged 16–20 Hunter Lounge, 1 Kelburn Parade, 7.30pm 3RD ANNUAL HUTT RIVER WHITEWATER FESTIVAL Competitive and social events for kayakers and pack rafters Kaitoke Regional Park to Waikanae, until 2 October

5 NZ OPERA: MACBETH Verdi’s opera based on Shakespeare’s play about the quest for power St James, 7 and 9 October 6 TUATARA OPEN LATE A monthly feast of art, music, film, and talks City Gallery, Te Ngākau Civic Square, 5–10pm 8 LOCAL AUTHORITY ELECTIONS Just do it! Let brunch be the carrot Various locations region wide WHANGANUI HERITAGE MONTH A lot to see and do with over 40 events on offer At locations in and around Whanganui, until 30 October 14 SHOW ME SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL Exceptional short films from NZ and around the world Lighthouse Cuba, until 26 October 16 MEL PARSONS SLOW BURN ALBUM RELEASE TOUR San Fran, Cuba Street, 7pm

October

24 LABOUR DAY

THE WASP A reminder to deal with your past before it deals with you Circa Theatre, until 29 October

28 CAPITAL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2022 finalists and winners extended show. Be inspired to enter next time.

Pātaka Art + Museum, Porirua, until 11 December

1–31 BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

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Time to shine Answers will be published online at capitalmag.co.nz/ Answers will be published crossword online at capitalmag.co.nz/ crossword

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Acros s

Down

1 & 6 down. Spring forward, fall back (8) 3. Length x width x depth (10) 8. Ante meridiem (2) 9. Planets, aliens, stars (5) 11. Time flies when you’re having ___(3) 12. September 4 is ____ day (7) 14. A very chilly period in time (6) 15. Responds to cellaring (4) 16. Telling time with shadows (7) 17. Before long (4) 18. Working hard or hardly working? (5) 20. Time and ___ wait for no man (4) 23. Boo (5) 25. Commonality between humans and clocks (5) 28. Spring, te reo (6) 30. Jet-lag messes with this clock (4) 31. Annually (6) 33. Back to the Future scientist (3) 34. Gangster film turning 50 this year (3,9) 38. Not quite singing (3) 40. Singer, wanted to “turn back time” (4) 42. Deadlines increase this (8) 43. Worlds slowest mammal (5) 44. Short-term employment (4) 45. Famous clock bell (6)

2. Putting in time at the gym (3) 3. Yellow spring flower (8) 4. See you later, te reo (2,2,2) 5. “The clock ___ one” (6) 6 & 1 across. Spring forward, fall back (6) 7. Period associated with the dinosaurs (8) 10. Beauty and the Beast talking clock (9) 13. _____ time-bomb (7) 15. “I’m late for a very important date” (5, 6) 17. Used to time races (9) 19. Bird, lives in certain clocks (6) 21. Prompt (5) 22. Time is ____ (5) 24. One of the longer months (7) 26. Four periods of year (6) 27. Prime of life, __day (3) 29. Australian electronic rock band (8) 32. Squash, becomes art in October (7) 34. App with onomatopoetic name (6) 35. Era (5) 36. Pace of music (5) 37. Agathis australis (5) 39. Very long, indefinite period of time (4) 41. Abbreviation, speed of a car’s engine (3)

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LOOK WHAT’S POPPING UP HERE IN WELLINGTON Launching 15th September