Paekākāriki Pride Festival 2020. A photo story by Bob Zuur.
Photo stories
The Lockdown Alphabet
Covid-19 punished many in the arts sector and yet it’s art that we rest on and return to during crises. Paekākāriki printmaker Joe Buchanan of Diatom Press captured the human response from his garden studio resulting in an extraordinary series of hand-cut lino and letterpress prints. Drawing on his background as both biologist and font-nerd, the collection documents and comments on the full sweep of the lockdown journey; from our sudden fascination with viruses, to haircuts, to hope.
Waitangi Day 2020 Paekākāriki
On February 6th Ngāti Haumia ki Paekākāriki and the village community hosted the official 2020 Waitangi Day commemorations for the Kāpiti Coast. Delivering spectacular sunshine, music and kai the day will be remembered as a triumph of community spirit. Mark Coote was there to capture some shots for the Kāpiti Coast District Council record books.
A Colourful Community
Louve Pharand-Doucet is a young French Canadian student passionate about music, feminism and photography. She moved with her family in 2018 to New Zealand for a new adventure. She wants her works to show the diversity and beauty that is all around us, everyday.
#perching
Heard of the planking phenomenon? Paekākāriki gives you it’s own take: #perching
Launch Party
A community party celebrating Matariki and the official launch of Paekakariki.NZ.
Meet the locals
2020: a year in flags
From global warming and Covid flags to recently departed friends and berating Netflix, Paekākāriki local Keith Johnson’s choice of a remarkable range of flags often comments cleverly on issues. Flown from a flagpole on the northern edge of the Kāpiti village, he shares the reasons behind his 2020 selections.
Bringing us sunshine
From working alongside international greats like Sir Laurence Olivier and Dame Maggie Smith during the formation of British modern theatre, to heading Downstage Theatre and developing drama in education, Paekākāriki resident Sunny Amey has helped shape live theatre in Aotearoa New Zealand as we know it today. Now in her nineties and still treading the boards, Sylvia Bagnall looks back on Sunny’s extraordinary career, with images from her archive.
Part rockstar, part poet. A birthday blessing.
Ahead of his celebrations this weekend, Dunedin-based writer, Kay McKenzie Cooke celebrates a ‘significant birthday’ for much-loved poet and independent publisher Michael O’Leary aka the Earl of Seacliff.
Daisy Wood: Plants by name, plants by nature
It’s only natural that Daisy Wood is passionate about medicinal herbs – both her names are from the plant world. The degree-trained medical herbalist and naturopath has a specialty interest in women’s health. Using herbs to heal, she turns plants into delicious teas and soothing tinctures.
Born with railways in her blood: Christine Johnson
This week we acknowledge the departure of a quiet yet significant contributor to the Paekākariki community; Christine Johnson. Friend Michael O’Leary tells us about the rich rail history of Christine’s life and the indelible mark she leaves both within the community and on the station platform.
Plant sale legend steps down
After 7-8 years managing the growing and selling of thousands of plants each year through the gardening group Potty Potters, gardening enthusiast Tina Pope hands over the secateurs.
A decade of deli goodness
Celebrating ten years on Paekākāriki’s main drag, the Beach Road Deli is – thanks to Covid-19 – overdue a party. We talk to the Deli’s dynamic owners Kelly Rees and Rebecca Robati-Busby.
Peter Rankin: Haere rā to a revolutionary thinker
‘We talk about economic development as though it’s just about extracting more resources out of the ground or out of the farm or out of the trees. But that’s not how it will work. It’s about finding the riches in our people and enabling them to fulfil their potential.’
Seizing the moment for change: Dr Mike Joy
Beyond the upcoming election, how can all citizens contribute to a vision for change? The Better Futures Forum has been founded by Paekākāriki’s Dr Mike Joy (a well known freshwater advocate) and a core group of others to seize this moment of opportunity for change nationally.
Winter wellness with Daisy Wood
Herbalist and naturopath Daisy Wood on winter wellness and life in Paekākāriki. Interviewed on Te Pae, Paekakariki 88.2FM with Mark Amery and Sylvia Bagnall, July 2020. Daisy is part of Winter Wellness and Homegrown Health, Paekākāriki School 2pm Sunday 2 August.
Hearts all day long
Sarah Bainbridge on her work as an essential worker in a Wellington hospital during lockdown
Remembering Florrie: Florence Louisa Ward
Paekākāriki resident Florrie Ward passed away on 19th March 2020 aged 103. Her daughters, Claire Pinfold and Ronda Thompson, share with us her extraordinary life and character.
Meet the locals #4
Meet Gilbert, Kamala and Jon.
Remembering a Community Champion
Allie Webber remembers John Porter — a man deeply rooted in community values.
O, poetry! O, Helen Heath!
Paekākāriki poet, Helen Heath, just won big time at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for her poetry collection, Are Friends Electric? Here she chats to two other local poets, Maria McMillan and daughter Lily McMillan.
Meet the locals #3
Meet Suzie, Anna-Maria & Margaret
Meet the Locals #2
Meet Michael, Mercedes, Joe & Nicole
Meet the locals #1
Meet Carol, Moira, Alun and Arlo, Darcy and Prue
Perky’s eulogy
No-one in Paekākāriki talked about ‘diversity’ in 1971 but the Perkins family soon came to epitomise it. The culture of the Middle Run family farm was right wing, left-leaning, New Age, rural, cosmopolitan, outdoors, arty, horsey, gentle, blokey, into surf life-saving, and famous for teasing humour noted for a consistent lack of tact. The John Perkins era attracted wonderful people to our village: people who might not be like-minded―the Perkins family is incapable of being that boring―but certainly people who are, by and large, remarkably like-hearted.
Community
Paekākāriki advances north!
Making use of the land you already have becomes a keen issue nationwide as the availability of property becomes more difficult. In Paekākāriki the community has begun making better use of grounds they have access to – a strip of land between the village’s northern boundary and the Paekākāriki Holiday Park.
From retreat to revival: shifting a leading surf club
Coastal communities and surf lifesaving clubs around New Zealand now face more risk from climate change and sea-level rise. In Paekākāriki, one of the country’s oldest surf clubs is vulnerable – its boat ramp collapsed in last Spring’s storms. But this club is turning retreat into opportunity, as it consults on plans to install a new building inland.
Cycling to recycling: turning food scraps into community gold
Bikes are increasingly seen on Paekākāriki’s streets, and eco-initiatives are also on the rise. But a different kind of cycling has just been introduced – Pae Cycle, an inventive scheme where food scraps are delivered to the community garden by a sleek black e-bike.
The Waikākāriki Wetland restoration
Nestled between State Highway One and the railway line at Paekākāriki, is a 1.6 hectare sliver of land that, with the help of Ngā Uruora and community volunteers, is emerging from invasive weeds to shine as an ecological treasure. Featuring a project by Paekakariki School students, Ana and Audrey, Andy McKay fills us in on where we can find it, how we can help, and why wetlands are vital.
Bubble breakout!
A beautiful record of a community day and night 20 June at St Peters Hall Paekākāriki by photographer Bob Zuur with an array of musical talent and words from Gilbert Haisman. This night saw the hall’s new floorboards given a thorough test. Here, we take the chance to remember a few of our people in words and images.
A lovely seaside haven for rodents
It’s that time of year in New Zealand when mice and rats move in and share our bubbles as they seek warmth. That means, says Maree White, its time for us to work together on being predator free. Paekākāriki has long taken a lead with likely the first backyard trapping group anywhere in New Zealand.
Anzac Day 2020 Paekakariki
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.
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.
Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre proposed for Emerald Glen Road
NZ Transport Agency’s plan for a souped-up version of a truck weigh station, planned for land at the start of Emerald Glen Road, has hit some wobbles as locals and the Paekākāriki Community Board express their disappointment at the lack of consultation.
The Paekākāriki Green Dream: Realising a Community Orchard and Garden Project
What is happening in our newest community space? A welcome for you to join in, plus a short history in images and words of the journey it took to get here.
Children and parents learn te reo Māori together
“Tapawha whero!” yells three-year-old Hana as she proudly points to a red square on a board. She’s playing a game naming colours and shapes at Paekākāriki Playcentre with Whaea Wai Miller who visits the centre each week to help the children and their parents to practise their te reo Māori.
Giving it right back
‘In his quiet, behind-the-scenes way, he’s a very active, enthusiastic Paekākārikian, working hard for social equality. We are lucky to have him.’ Introducing our altruistic second sponsor.
Creative non-fiction
Sometimes I need solitude, sometimes a village
For many, keeping on top of our mental health is a daily battle. To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, Dani Deluka shares a pilgrimage to reconnect with her roots in order to stand strong.
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.
Where does a poem come from?
Paekākāriki writer Rob Hack on what motivates anyone to write a poem, or become a poet.
A restless person’s guide to a walking meditation
I am restless by nature. There. A confession. Undeniably a deficit in my character. FOMO at its worst.
Taupo Swamp
The first time I became aware of Taupo Swamp was when the Queen came to visit. A platform was erected atop a small grassy knoll beside State Highway One. From here the Queen could stand, her back to the traffic, to admire the sea of flax, and perhaps wave royally across its expanse at commuters on the Kapiti train line. My parents felt a bit sorry for her – but they were also amused.
Centennial
Our house backs onto paddocks and on the other side of those paddocks part of Transmission Gully is being constructed. It’s a notorious road. One I can hardly believe is actually being built, having heard about it for as long as I can remember. I see the earthmovers and the hazard bunting during the day, and I’ve got used to the hi-vis workers clearing out the pie warmer in the local dairy, but it’s mostly at night when I feel the road advancing. Lights pulse and flash, machinery growls, and the shouting talk of workers carry across the paddocks.
History
A century of service
It’s the end of an era for the ‘oldest garage on the coast’. Owner Chris Clarke is retiring and the building has been sold to a Waikanae-based collective responsible for restaurants, a bakery and craft brewery.
Paekākāriki Progress: community media 70 years ago
Found under the house of Paekākāriki’s former chemist Mr Bill Carson during lockdown, is a 1950 copy of a fortnightly community newspaper, Paekākāriki Progress. This is what a community website or newspaper (shades of Paekakariki Xpressed 2000-2010) looked like 70 years ago. With its hand-drawn masthead, typed, printed and stapled, it fulfils many of the same functions: events, a directory of services, local body politics, news from community groups.
Diamond in the rough: One Eye Gallery
New Zealand’s regions are full of galleries representing the work of local artists. Rarer outside the cities are contemporary art dealers representing the often more challenging work of artists nationally. From 1997-2004 in Paekākāriki, was a quite brilliant exception: One Eye Gallery. Just north of the Wellington art scene, highly regarded painter Gary Freemantle operated a satellite. He mixed an ever startling array of art outsiders and locals – work of quality from elsewhere but little seen in Wellington – and artists already of repute trialling new ways of working, like Don Driver, Joanna Margaret Paul, Rob Cherry and Hariata Ropata-Tangahoe.
Paekākāriki Xpressed 2001-2011
An award-winning community newspaper we consider, with total bias, to be one of the finest ever printed. Paekakariki Xpressed editor Don Polly here reflects on those who contributed to a paper which informed and entertained Paekākāriki households for a decade.
The last years of the Paekākāriki Pub
‘Photographs like these are traitors to the fact that we easily forget.’ Mark Amery kicks off a series dedicated to the stories of the infamous Paekākāriki Pub with a photo essay by Andrew Ross.
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 work upstream after measures requested by the Environmental Protection Agency were not put in place.
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
Kahe Te-Rau-o-te-Rangi: A celebration of art and wāhine toa
More than 50 Paekākāriki School students along with community artist, Rachel Benefield, were at the unveiling of their two newest panels celebrating the story of Paekākāriki’s famous wāhine, Kahe Te-Rau-o-te-Rangi.
Scoreboards & brawls
Jenny Clarke gives us a run-down of recent celebrations of Paekākāriki’s sporting history with images by Mick Finn.
Lake Hallow: A Village Pond with Spears, Bones and Pleasure Boats
Fiona Gunter Firth dives into the history of Lake Hallow
For Preservation
Jenny Clark writes about the heritage of our Paekākāriki buildings and the merit in saving them
In 50 years' time
Plant seeds in people
“It’s crucial that we make time for blue sky thinking.” Sophie Handford imagines Paekākāriki in 50 years. The second in our series of stories by young residents on what we will, or could look like in the future. Images by Louve Pharand-Doucet.
Not everyone wears shoes
Erica Julian ponders Paekākāriki’s future and what makes us special. The first in series of stories for Paekakariki.nz by residents on what we will, or could look like in 50 years time.
News
Paekākāriki Pride Festival: gone to the dogs
“It’s caused a bit of controversy. Some people felt quite strongly that they couldn’t possibly dress their dogs in the same outfit twice in one weekend, so we’re encouraging them to either find new outfits or chuck on the same one and teach their dog a new trick or two.”
How we are doing. Me pēhea tatou
Paekākāriki – meet your candidates!
We hear from those standing for both the Paekākāriki-Raumati seat, district wide seat, mayoralty and Community Board.
New energy and expertise
Welcoming Dr Judith Aitken to the Paekākāriki Community Board
Fiction
Autumn 1943 Paekākāriki
A story by Dani Deluka paying tribute to a little cottage once used as a Catholic refuge for young pregnant girls.