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
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. … [Read more...] about A Colourful Community
Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre proposed for Emerald Glen Road
The 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. NZTA has identified land — … [Read more...] about Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre proposed for Emerald Glen Road
Where does a poem come from?
Paekākāriki writer Rob Hack on what motivates anyone to write a poem, or become a poet. Are poets born? Or formed and shaped by external circumstances? Albert Wendt the great Samoan poet and novelist wrote, 'like a sensitive plant, the artist, through an unconscious process of … [Read more...] about Where does a poem come from?