A passion for wind and light

We continue our series on the secret life of city councillors with

Pretending to fly on the cliffs at Baring Head and watching tourists at Cape Reinga are two of Gwen McDonald’s fondest childhood memories.

McDonald had a childhood that most of us can only dream of. Her parents Bill and Kitty Kemp were lighthouse keepers and the experience of living on isolated spots on the coast, shaped who she is today.

Around the council table, she is known as someone who generally has a low profile.

Get her talking about her childhood and places such as Centre Island in Foveaux Strait, Waipapa Point (Southland) or Baring Head and McDonald lights up.

‘‘What I remember about Centre Island is that there were two families and it was just fabulous.’’

Living at Cape Reinga she learned to speak Maori at a school with a roll of eight. Sitting on the gate and watching the tourists at the tip of the New Zealand, was great fun. It was Baring Head, however, that she enjoyed the most.

Despite its proximity to Wellington, it was a windy and isolated outpost. McDonald caught the school bus to Wood Hatton School in Wainuiomata and spent hours playing with her great friend, Claire Jackson, who lived nearby.

‘‘We would stand on the cliffs and dream we could fly. People would ask ‘what are you doing’ and I would say, ‘we took flying lessons’.’’

The sense of isolation and being free to roam over the countryside was something she enjoyed immensely.

‘‘I think you learn to enjoy your own company and you do become a bit of a hermit. You don’t need other people company when you have all that outdoor space.’’

discovering one person’s love of lighthouses.

The isolation and the need to be self sufficient is a feeling that has remained with McDonald all her life. Her Stokes Valley garden overflowis with vegies and her dream is to be entirely self sufficient.

In recent years, McDonald has been heavily involved with the fight to first buy Baring Head and then restore the lighthouse complex. The Greater Wellington Regional Council bought the 180 hectare site in 2010 for $1.75 million and McDonald is active in the Friends of Baring Head. Her dream is to see the three lighthouse keepers’s houses restored and available for accommodation as part of the Rimutaka Cycle Trail.

‘‘I just want to see the houses up and running again. I can’t wait to see the covers off the windows and the houses opened up and to be able to stay the weekend there. I love the wind out there.’’