Mark Amery reports on a special time for www.paekakariki.nz and looks back on the site’s activity since it launched. A rocket launch at the end of June 2019 at the Paekākāriki Surf Club as the sun sets. We huddle together against the cold before a beach fire, or we perch silhouetted on a … [Read more...] about How we are doing. Me pēhea tatou
Anzac Day 2020 Paekakariki
With Aotearoa in lockdown Anzac Day in Paekākāriki has begun with a dawn service at letterboxes. We would usually gather to march to Memorial Hall for the roll of honour to be called, addresses and the Last Post to be played. This year we present our Anzac Day ceremony online through services past, … [Read more...] about Anzac Day 2020 Paekakariki
We are failing the Wainui
When it rains hard a treasured Kāpiti Coast waterway, Wainui Stream turns very brown. Home to some of the best native fish biodiversity in the Wellington region the stream, says freshwater ecologist and advocate Mike Joy, has long been abused. It is now likely being damaged by Transmission Gully … [Read more...] about We are failing the Wainui
Stronger together: What communities can do in the Covid-19 crisis
From Italy’s ‘Listen to Your Grandmother’ campaign and Bristol’s Mothers Turned Drug Runners to RongoCare in the tiny village of Rongotea, Louise Thornley has been researching great NZ and international community responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. A public health researcher, most recently … [Read more...] about Stronger together: What communities can do in the Covid-19 crisis
Driftwood bridges
Dani Deluka about reaching across water to touch those we can't and how a village can help get us to the other side. I am grateful for the quiet of April. This stillness. Is something else. Something good. Easter is different this year. We are connected. We are home. On … [Read more...] about Driftwood bridges
Hearts all day long
Sarah Bainbridge on her work as an essential worker in a Wellington hospital during lockdown I’ve never been afraid of hospitals. I actually find them sort of comforting. I was in a burns unit as a pre-schooler and I wonder if it imprinted on me somehow. The faintly antiseptic scent. The … [Read more...] about Hearts all day long
In lockdown with the kids of Paekākāriki
Tash Nilsson gathers together the creative ways tamariki and their parents are keeping sane in the Kapiti Coast village. When our village went into lockdown with the rest of the country, many parents were no doubt wondering how they would navigate this new reality: entertaining the kids … [Read more...] about In lockdown with the kids of Paekākāriki
The complete history of the Paekākāriki Progressive Association
A true and accurate chronicle of an episode in Paekākāriki community politics by Gilbert Haisman. Images: Mark Amery In 1973, a military chap came to live in our village. He discerned a need for a Ratepayers Association and called a public meeting to discuss his proposal. Posters went up in … [Read more...] about The complete history of the Paekākāriki Progressive Association
Remembering Florrie: Florence Louisa Ward
Paekākāriki resident Florrie Ward passed away on 19 March 2020 aged 103. Her daughters, Claire Pinfold and Ronda Thompson, share with us her extraordinary life and character. We also feature the remarkable docu-animation film in which she and her twin sister Pearl aged 79 starred, after … [Read more...] about Remembering Florrie: Florence Louisa Ward
Interior world: a community photo-essay of life in isolation
Many Paekākāriki locals responded to www.paekakariki.nz's week-one-in-isolation photo challenge. Here's an essay hand-picked by illustrations editor Mark Coote. Our contributors: Ralph Wallace, Maree White, Lindsay Christopherson, Mark Amery, Steve Bright, Nik Bullard, Lesley Olsson, Annabel … [Read more...] about Interior world: a community photo-essay of life in isolation