Russell honours fallen their way
Machinery workshop opens for Bay’s vintage railway
They do things a little differently in Russell on Anzac Day. The parade made up of soldiers, sailors and airmen was boosted by fire brigade representatives, Scouts and St John’s drivers and medics. There were four standard bearers.
They lined up on one part of the waterfront to march to the Cenotaph which is on another part of the waterfront, to the sound of a sole swirling bagpipe. They were greeted by a sole Ma¯ ori warrior who laid down the challenge. So far so fairly standard but from here it deviates.
Wreaths were laid by the head of the community board, a representative from the British High Commission and by a New Zealand naval commander who belatedly laid his wreath because the MC forgot to call him.
A wreath was also laid by 99-yearold Dorothy (Dot) Sowry who is patron of the Russell RSA, making her one of the oldest in the country to lay a wreath.
She was born in Waiuku, the youngest of seven children and joined the army during the war, starting off her training just outside of Blenheim before being posted to Waiouru. There she was one of the few women to gain her HT licence and had the job of carting goods from stores to around the base.
Her daughter, Rebecca Harper, says she worked with a great bunch of other ladies and these things stay with you for a lifetime.
From here the parade walked back along the waterfront and a block back to Christ Church in Russell, to acknowledge the 10 men of HMS Hazard who died during the Battle of Korora¯ reka in 1845.
When Lieutenant G. Philpotts of the Hazard ordered the bombardment of Korora¯ reka, the Anglican and Catholic churches were spared from destruction on Hone Heke’s orders and the musket holes that pepper the church today are stray byproducts of that bombardment.
The Anzac Day parade halted in front of the graveyard and were told to “right turn”. It meant they were facing the shops and not the graveyard, so they had to be told to “about turn” to get it right.
A New Zealand sailor detached from the parade, marched to the headstone in the graveyard, saluted, read the inscription on the tomb and then rejoined the parade.
The parade then turned left, marched down Church St, turned left into Chapel St and into the RSA. The crowd dispersed and there ended the official part of Russell’s Anzac Day parade.
Waitangi events
If you visited the Whare Waka Cafe´ on the treaty grounds of Waitangi on Anzac Day, you would have got a free homemade Anzac biscuit with your coffee. But wait, there’s more. There’s a May holiday programme on offer.
On May 2 archaeologist James Robinson talks about one of New Zealand’s oldest Polynesian settlement sites, dating back to 1300AD at Mangaha¯ wea Bay on Moturua Island in the Bay of Islands.
James has a PhD in archaeology from the University of Otago and 15 years experience as a historic specialist with the NZ Department of Conservation. He has worked on large-scale archaeological projects in the USA, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. He is currently the area archaeologist for Heritage New Zealand.
On Wednesday, May 5 at Te Rau Aroha Museum, there will be an exclusive tour by the curatorial manager who will disclose behind the scenes and in-depth stories relating to how the exhibition came together.
The museum features hundreds of taonga and images, large-scale interactive touchscreens and contemporary audio visual experiences.
Price is $30 per person, bookings essential. Email rsvp@waitangi.org. nz.
On Thursday, May 20 from 6pm Te Rawhitiroa Bosch will give a talk from the floor on how his exhibition came together, from taking the first photo in February 2020 through to opening a year later.
He has worked with carvers, weavers, kaihoe and New Zealand musician, Tiki Taane, to produce the photographic exhibition. Email: rsvp@waitangi.org.nz.
ACE at the Turner Centre
The Aroha Music Society in conjunction with Chamber Music NZ is hosting ACE Brass on Sunday, May 2 at 4pm.
The ACE brass trio consists of Huw Dann, the principal trumpet of the Auckland Philharmonia and Brass Unit co-ordinator at the University of Auckland.
Originally from Melbourne, Huw moved to Auckland in 2009 to take up his job in the APO. He has always loved playing chamber music so soon formed ACE Brass with John Gluyas and Emma Eden in 2011.
Outside of music, Huw enjoys playing chess, long distance running, watching Australian Rules Football,
and spending as much time as possible with his wife and two young children.
Emma Eden has been principal horn of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra since 2020. Prior to this Emma was principal third horn in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra for 11 years.
Emma is a founding member of ACE Brass and especially enjoys the community outreach part of her job. Outside of music Emma enjoys gardening, water skiing and spending time with her wife and 2-year-old daughter.
John Gluyas (MMus) is a graduate of the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music where he studied with Jorgen van Rijen, the solo trombonist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
As well as being an inspirational teacher where he holds the position of head of brass at St Peters College in Auckland, he has performed with the Adelaide and New Zealand Symphonies, Orchestra Victoria and the Auckland Philharmonia. John has also performed in Broadway productions of musicals such as Aladdin, Wicked, Mary Poppins and The Book of Mormon.
In 2007 and 2009 he attended the IMPULS New Music master course in Graz, Austria where he studied with trombone soloist and composer Mike Svoboda. John enjoys watching football, taking French classes and glamping with his family.
Visit turnercentre.co.nz for more information.
Vintage railway workshop
A new machinery workshop at Kawakawa has been opened for the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway.
It’s the first step in a much wider project to reconnect the railway to Opua, reroute a section of the Twin Coast Cycle Trail and restore the steamship Minerva.
The project is being managed by Northland Adventure Experience (NAX) which was awarded $5.59 million from the Provincial Growth Fund last July.
The concept is to create a unique steam-powered tourism attraction for the Bay of Islands.
Project partners with Bay of Islands Vintage Railways are Pou Herenga Tai Twin Coast Cycle Trail Trust, Nga¯ Tangariki O Nga¯ti Hine and Far North District Council.
The new machinery workshop and the site of the next stage in the community-led project, the construction of a service centre alongside the existing railway station at Kawakawa, were both blessed by Huru Tipene.
Work is due to begin mid-May on the centre which will accommodate training, volunteer and office facilities.