David Timbs runs his business decidedly outside-the-box. But it does involve a box: that’s where people leave their koha after receiving treatment from him, and it’s the only form of payment he accepts. David first opened his Natural Therapy Clinic doors some 40 years ago, and for the last decade or so, he’s successfully managed to operate on koha alone. The idea is simple, and perhaps a bit idealistic: David asks people to pay what they think is fair, anonymously. And once he started down that path, he’s never given a thought to doing business any other way. A lifelong student and traveler, David is educated and trained in a wide variety of modalities, and they all influence what he offers at his small clinic at Wainui Beach. The majority of his work is spinal manipulation, but he also provides polarity therapy bodywork and Iridology, a study of the eye’s iris to reveal information about a person’s overall health. He holds diplomas in Naturopathy and Ayurveda, and his treatment often blends the different therapies and wisdoms. David himself admits it’s difficult to describe what he does. For him, chiropractic practice always felt a bit too specialized, “I’ve always been more interested in the whole person. I wanted to draw on other things.” His business card reads, ‘Practitioner. Teacher. Surfer’. The koha payment structure arose when he noticed a conflict in client feedback. Until that point, he hadn’t changed his fee for 20 years. Some people were urging him to put his fees up because he was charging too little, while others were clearly struggling to pay and often delaying treatment of their pain as a result. David remembered hearing of a “by donation” system in the States, and he decided to try it out for a week. After the initial week, he decided to continue it through Christmas, which then was just weeks away. “And then I thought, I really like the feel of this.” The clinic has run on koha ever since. In the traditional fee setting, David felt uncomfortable with how close a connection there was between the treatment and the money. “If you relieve someone of pain and then they put money in your hand, that’s too close. It makes it seem as if my motivation was money”. In David’s mind, the motivation is to relieve suffering. So much so that he aims to have no repeat appointments, hoping that once someone has seen him, their pain is gone. He has no idea what each individual person pays, and he doesn’t take personally what amount he receives. “When I go to my box at the end of the day, I know that I’ve been rewarded greater than what I would’ve set as a fee. Other times when you realise someone has put a lower value, maybe it’s what they can afford. If I wasn’t any good at my job, people wouldn’t come or wouldn’t pay. So it’s an honest view of where you fit into the bigger system. But I would rather not think about the money, and just think about doing the best I can for each person”. David’s perspective draws from a lifetime of travel and exploration. He grew up in Wellington, in Titahi Bay, and studied to be a primary school teacher. A keen surfer, he initially came to Gisborne to surf and teach. But at the time, teaching didn’t feel like the right fit. He felt that a person should be worldly and wise before being a teacher, so he set off to adventure abroad, exploring, sailing, and surfing. On one formative trip David went to America to visit his brother, who was studying to be a chiropractor in Iowa. David arrived in San Francisco with $70, a one-month visa, and no ticket out. He hitchhiked across the country to get to his brother, and found himself joining the chiropractic program. After nearly a year of study in Iowa, immigration complications forced him to leave, and David resumed his travels in Canada and ​England. He later discovered Polarity Therapy, and trained with pioneering teacher Pierre Pannetier in California and Mexico before he returned home. Ready to share his knowledge, David opened his first clinic in Gisborne in 1980. In the ensuing decades, he developed a pattern of alternating work at home with travel and study, adding Iridology, Naturopathy, and Ayurveda to his repertoire. He regularly returned to India and America, both to continue his learning and share his wisdom through teaching. When David’s offspring Darnelle and Robson were in university, he decided to return to study too, earning his Bachelor of Education, “I’m always a student, the more you learn the more you realize you don’t know.” Much of David’s focus has been Ayurveda, the Indian ancient medicine system, or “science of life.” After studying with prominent international Ayurvedic scholar Dr. Robert Svoboda, the two became close, and David even hosted him here in Gisborne. During one trip to India for an Ayurvedic Conference, the organiser announced, much to David’s surprise, that David would give the closing address. He remembers, “I thought, either I grow a new arm and do this or crawl into my shell. So I did it and it was fine. But I also thought if my mates could see me now, they would be rolling on the ground.” David is not a man afraid to try something different, and that attitude may well make his patients more receptive to his various methodologies. You may not expect a rural shearer to seek treatment, but it’s not out of the ordinary for David. His clientele ranges from Wainui locals to people coming from up the coast, a diverse group in age, background, and socioeconomic status, and that means a lot to him. When someone walks through his door, he makes sure that they feel comfortable and safe, no matter what their story is. Now aged 70, David typically only works in the afternoon. In the morning, he goes for a surf or meets friends for coffee at Zephyr cafe down the street, Bosco the dog at his side. Twice a week he teaches Yin Yoga. He lives simply, and without hustle. “Money comes and goes. I don’t ever feel there’s a shortage of it, it’s just how you tap into your share of it.” David concedes the koha model would be difficult to just pick up and do, and that what he built was based on decades of relationships and reputation. He emphasises, “It’s all based on the relationship with the person. The relationship is the reimbursement.” In a world where it often feels like everything has a price, David’s approach is remarkable and refreshing. “I’m not trying to sell myself, I’m just trying to listen to the person and be of some use to them.” He’s also careful to say he’s not a healer, “All I’m doing is assisting them to heal themselves. The whole thing is to empower the person, to make them responsible for their own state of wellbeing.” There’s no doubt David inspires empowerment, showing that a shift in the way business is done is possible, and sustainable. His is a heartening example of what it could be like to operate in an ‘Aroha Economy’ where currency depends a lot less on commodification, and a lot more on community. Story by Victoria Williams Photo Sarah Cleave * This story was brought to you with the support of Tāiki e! Next week is Global Entrepreneurship Week. The festival aims to connect diverse parts of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, give visibility to key areas of focus, and inspire our Tairāwhiti community to embrace entrepreneurship as a tool for community transformation and long term impact. It also provides a platform for expressing our own unique Tairāwhiti style and flavour of entrepreneurship which is deep rooted in community and aroha. Stay tuned to find out what Tāiki e! have planned for us!

The idea for Noise Vacancy came into being in 2020 over the course of an evening in which a group of friends, Nikki O’Connor, Lina Marsh, Katy Wallace and myself had come together to discuss an event in which for local artists to show their stuff, potentially as a part of the upcoming Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival. Over the course of the evening the topic of vacant buildings in our inner city came to the fore and the concept of NOise VACANCY was born. Last year’s NOise VACANCY was a grand experiment. We initially envisaged a walking tour winding through the streets, an otherworldly coming alive of disused spaces strung across the city. However the months passed and landlords were not exactly jumping at the opportunity to have a group of artists bring their unused buildings to life for a night. The answers we received were always the same, “it’s about to be leased” or “awaiting earthquake strengthening” or in most cases no reply at all. Many of the buildings we enquired about in those first few months still stand in the same state today. Empty. There were two wonderful people who had a different answer for us however and so it was that Patrick McHugh and Jill Tomlinson handed us over the keys and told us to ‘go to town’ in their two level Lowe Street building. A couple of months later they were amongst the most excited audience members as a night of magic and mystery unfolded for both those who participated and attended. Hundreds of people explored, discovered, pondered and puzzled alongside each other, with much excited chatter about how they had never experienced anything like it - at least not in Gisborne. This year’s event was no different. Another landlord stood apart from the rest with Tony Robinson opening the doors to the Public Trust building on Childers Road for a bunch of artists to explore and occupy for a few days during Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival. Despite the Covid restrictions meaning that the audience had to book into specific time slots the air of discovery and excitement remained. The brief to the artists is to respond to the space and its history using sound. By its very nature art will also reflect the socio-political contexts of its time and some of our current issues were certainly in evidence in this year’s works. Curator Nikki O’Connor is always interested to see how the artists and sound makers connect to the kaupapa, and how they incorporate sound, “As they spend more time with the space and it’s stories it’s fascinating to watch the ideas take shape. The range of creative disciplines and approaches adds to the surreal dreamland feeling of the night”. As the original tenants of the building, the Public Trust Organisation gave some artists the nudge to explore notions of trust, the housing crisis was given a few strong nods and Wendy Kirkwood’s vintage clothing store ‘Unfinished Business’ and the Family Planning Association also inspired installation and performance. Other pieces responded directly to the space in experiential forms such as dance, chanting and spoken word. As the audience meandered around the two storeys of the building in the changing light, projections spoke into various corners including the street outside and the yard out back. A few hardy performers kept going for the entirety of the experience - no less than 4 and a half hours - while others popped up during each session. One of the things about the altered reality of an experience like this - both immersive and sometimes interactive - means that the lines between art and real life can become blurred. And so an empty paper cup set upon a window sill might be picked up and turned over for clues as to its purpose, and a couple passionately kissing on a corner may be unflinchingly observed as a courageous piece of performance art (in a small town such as this), until it becomes clear that actually, the performance is just about to begin… It was great to have a few more young people involved this year with a stairwell installation speaking directly to the regenerative power of rangatahi. 12 year old artist, Wolfe Jackson says he felt really lucky to be a part of NOise VACANCY, “It was really cool and inspiring being around so many other different artists. It was my first exhibition and I was a bit nervous that my art would be just seen as kid’s drawings, but the feedback from people was surprisingly good so that was a relief. It was a great night, a bit tiring but so worth it in the end”. One of this year’s curator’s Katy Wallace loves the way in which “NOise VACANCY gives local creatives the chance to push their practices in different ways and to work with or alongside each other. It is a refreshing challenge to any creative practice considering sound, installation, and performance in one package”. One of the highlights for curator Lina Marsh was working with a great team of wahine who were open to giving anything a go. This included launching NOise VACANCY 2021 online during lockdown. “Neither of us really knew what we were doing and it made it hard to communicate online as opposed to in person, but we embraced the opportunity and created a kookie zoom recording announcing our aims for this year’s performance. NOise VACANCY definitely pushes you out of your comfort zones”. NOise VACANCY provides a fantastic opportunity to show what local creatives are capable of, for our community to experience something out of the ordinary, and it also achieves the original intent of bringing energy to spaces which had been previously forgotten. In a happy epilogue to NOise VACANCY episode one, 64 Lowe Street is currently occupied by a bunch of creatives and the record store Spellbound Wax, all of whom are overjoyed to have an affordable and inspiring space, which they otherwise might not have, if it were not for the NOise VACANCY experience. Story by Sarah Cleave Photographs Tom Teutenberg

Recently a couple of us Gizzy Local crew were having a chat, peering into a very murky crystal ball, trying to imagine how things might pan out for us all out here out East, this summer. We were delighted when through the haze we perceived a sparkly lapping tide, the faint sound of a coffee grinder beneath some lively summery tunes. “Aha” we thought “It’s all going to be okay!” When uncertain times make it difficult to plan a faraway holiday, it’s a great relief to know that a wonderful staycation option awaits, just over the Makorori hill. Tatapouri Bay. Anyone who’s had their eye on local social media or who has ventured beyond the Tatapouri boat ramp over the past couple of years will know that the Tatapouri campground has undergone some tremendous transformations lately. The humans behind it all? Nathan Foon and Shanti Probst. Shanti and Nathan met at Massey University in Wellington about thirteen years ago, Shanti studying Industrial design and Nathan, Visual Communication Design. After graduating they travelled together and had ended up in Auckland with Nathan working as a graphic designer for the television and film industry, which he loved. Shanti had taken some time off work as she kept experiencing vertigo and dizziness. Nathan was surprised to learn that his dad Meng had invested in the Tatapouri campground after selling the Kaiti Mall, but seeing an opportunity to get a branding project on his design portfolio, they headed back to Gizzy for the summer. They thought they’d check the place out and lend a hand, and then soon return to their lives in Auckland. Nathan started out on the branding and website for the campground but soon realised that a swish-looking sticking plaster wasn’t going to cut it. So Nathan and Shanti proceeded to get stuck in, planting, painting, and coming up with simple ideas on how to inject some life into the place. When they realised that Shanti’s health was improving with the outdoor work and as the potential of the place began to dawn on them they eventually decided to take the opportunity to take the ball and run with it. And while it was a big decision to not return to their previous life, their imaginations were bursting with inspiration from cool cafes, accommodation and restaurants that they’d visited all over the world, helping them form their ideas about the kind of space and experience they could create at Tatapouri Bay. On their way home to Gisborne they had taken a short holiday in Raglan, staying at campground, venue and cafe Solscape, and it was this last pocket of homegrown inspiration, which has really helped the couple hone their vision of a community-focused, inclusive space with different price points and accommodation options; a place where you can gather, stay, eat or play, for both locals and travelers alike. Tatapouri Bay really does provide us with an easy getaway when you want to do something or go somewhere special, whether for a whole weekend or even just a few hours, and this Labour Weekend the crew will be emerging from their winter hibernation with the oceanside cafe opening up its doors for summer good times. This year bagels will be joining the menu alongside coffee, baked treats and ice cream and this weekend also marks the return of sunrise yoga sessions, which run every Saturday and Sunday morning throughout the summer season. While it is known as a campground, Tatapouri Bay has evolved into a gathering space for tourists and locals alike, with people flocking to the Bay for a coffee, yoga class, ‘Sunday session’ of live music, or just good vibes in general. Nathan and Shanti have done very little hibernating themselves over winter and this year a new covered outdoor space will provide a sheltered venue for community events and workshops with artists and wellness practitioners, and some sparkling new accomodation options have also joined the ranks. Accommodation at Tatapouri Bay ranges from the newly completed super luxe Zen cabins, to furnished glamping tents, to campsites. In addition to finishing the Zen cabins, the Tatapouri team spent their off-season performing a general upgrade of all the facilities. There’s a new outdoor kitchen for the glamping area, and refined landscaping all over the property. Shanti emphasizes the work has a distinctly personal touch “We’ve poured everything into it, every little corner has had time spent on it, or has a story around someone who came in and put their energy into it.” The team feels lucky that they haven’t felt the impact of restrictions on travel, as the majority of their market is local and regional. Nathan observes that even travelers from farther afield are looking for a “local experience” rather than the “touristy things” typically marketed to international tourists. That local experience is provided and celebrated throughout Tatapouri’s offerings. Exterior walls are adorned with murals by local artists, yoga classes are provided by a rotation of local teachers, and the cafe sources its coffee and baking from the Far East Coffee Co. and Curbside Kitchen. And the team has hopes for hosting bigger events in collaboration with other Gizzy businesses throughout summer. Nathan and Shanti are starting to see the best testament to their efforts - it’s increasingly common for guests to want to extend their stay, “they don’t want to leave!” Beyond the incredible view and the outstanding hospitality, there seems to be an intangible element to Tatapouri’s appeal. As Nathan puts it “This place just has a really good energy. That’s exactly what we were trying to achieve and it’s the locals who help us hold that.” Story by Victoria Williams & Sarah Cleave Images supplied.

We have a housing crisis, it's more problematic than you might think, and unless we have the maturity to make some sacrifices today we are sacrificing our future generations. A Housing Crisis The average house price in Aotearoa is more than $900,000, we have a shortfall of more than 100,000 dwellings, all urban housing markets are considered severely unaffordable by international standards, 500,000 Kiwis are in overcrowded housing situations, 300,000 households are on accommodation supplements, Māori home ownership sits at just over 30%, less than 50% of people in our largest city (Auckland) own their own homes, and 1 in 100 people — that’s 50,000 people — are living in ‘severe housing deprivation’ (sleeping on the streets or in cars, in emergency housing, temporarily staying at a relatives or friends, etc). Our housing situation is driving inequality and it’s dangerous. The Fall of Rome, the French Revolution, the Arab Spring and Brexit, were all driven in part by inequality. Inequality is a key contributor to crime, violence, abuse in its many forms, and mental illness. It destroys social cohesion by eroding the bonds that make us feel like we’re all in the same boat. As it stands, the current housing system is growing the divide, creating conditions where those who own homes are witnessing their wealth grow — without having to exert any effort, and in many cases faster than their incomes ever will — while those who do not, watch the prospect of obtaining one become more and more prohibitive. Some people will choose to take on large and unprecedented sums of debt; many more will acknowledge that homeownership is out of their reach. At the same time, a growing number of hard-working people in this country are in unsuitable living situations, staying in cars, sheds, garages and overcrowded houses. Every week an article is written examining the various drivers of expensive housing in New Zealand: lack of supply, easy access to finance, low interest rates, investors, speculators, red tape, restrictive building codes and council rules, material costs and so on. And every other week an article is written with solutions to these issues: a tax, a change in regulation or policy, a homeownership scheme or a building programme. Why is it that despite our best efforts — that is, knowing the problems, having the technical expertise needed to address them, and making efforts to do so — the trajectory for quality affordable housing is only getting worse? Could it be that we are not addressing the heart of the problem? I believe it is timely to reexamine and update our values and beliefs that lie at the heart of both the issues and the solutions to our housing crisis. We are all in the same boat We do not get to choose the circumstances into which we are born. We don't choose our race, our gender or our economic position, and yet these circumstances have far reaching implications on our lives. We need to design our housing system so that every member of society, no matter who they are or where they are born, has equitable access to good quality affordable housing, along with fundamentals such as quality education, healthcare, and food, in order to lay the foundations for a strong future society. Our current system perpetuates unaffordable housing as the status quo, and isn’t good for the millions of individuals who are not in homes which they own or have unprecedented amounts of debt in their names. We have to be fair An expensive house or no house isn't much of a choice. Why should future homebuyers, who are entitled to the basic human right of adequate shelter, be forced to pay ever higher prices for property that hasn’t necessarily had any real value (such as habitable space) added to it? Is it fair that those who have been on the receiving end of property sales have accumulated large sums of money at the expense of buyers? If large sums of money have found their way into the hands of current and previous property owners without any real value being added, wouldn’t it be only fair to look at how that money could be redirected and redistributed towards things that add real value to our society? Given our current state of crisis, we could begin by looking at how such money could be directed towards solutions to the housing crisis. No pain, no gain It is not possible for the average house to be both unaffordable and affordable at the same time. In order to move towards affordability, we're going to have to give up our expensive housing. This will mean a sacrifice for some individuals who, relatively speaking, have more than others. It is not easy to give up something that we enjoy, even when we know the outcome of giving it up is better for us. Whether it's giving up or reducing smoking, alcohol, or sugary drinks for a healthier lifestyle, or forgoing a social outing or sports activity to spend more time with the kids, all of these require some sort of sacrifice on one level in order to achieve a greater objective. The same is true when it comes to expensive housing. We will need to find and develop the strength within ourselves to overcome our self-interest for the benefit of all. The media The tone of the conversation about housing and especially housing as ‘an investment’ needs to change, and our media industry needs to lead this charge. We need to critically examine whether it’s appropriate to talk about rising house prices as if it’s a good thing, when in reality, rising house prices also plays out as rising inequality, crime, mental illness and violence. Newspaper stories with headlines “Major urban centres continue to show strong gains” and “Cheaper suburbs leap ahead” could accurately be rewritten to headline “Major urban centres witness inequality and child poverty grow” and “Rents increase for already struggling families in cheaper suburbs”. Just substitute any reference to ‘rising house prices’ with ‘rising inequality’ and you have a fuller picture of what is going on. Some hard choices We have some choices to make. We can allow our house prices to rise. We can watch as our homeless population grows, more people sleep in cars, and the prospect of home ownership slip away from more Maori and Pasifika families. We can build taller fences and put up barbed wire to keep thieves out as we further isolate ourselves from ‘the other’ — people in different socio-economic circles than us. We can witness our society become more and more divided. Or we can design our housing system to ensure that everyone, no matter who they are, has access to quality affordable homes, homes that they can own should they wish. We can make the price of property commensurate with the real value of property. We can stop concentrating wealth via property into the hands of a minority at the expense of the majority, and we can think about how wealth that has been obtained without creating any real value can be redistributed in a sensible fashion. Redesigning the housing system to be more fair and equitable means we are going to have to make some changes in our thoughts, attitudes, policies and practices. We are going to have to give up a system that is helping an increasingly small segment of society get ahead economically for one that is more holistic and considers the wellbeing of all over the wellbeing of only some. It may be hard in the short term but a more equitable society, a society where we all feel more connected and safer, one in which all human potential is given the chance to develop, is surely a society that we’d rather live in. Be sure however, that if we fail to make the necessary sacrifices soon, it is our future generations that we are sacrificing. Story by Zane Sabour Image by Sarah Cleave

Hear4U is a movement which brings friends, families, and strangers together to support each other in speaking up about men’s mental health and suicide here in the Tairāwhiti. July 2019 saw a loss that rocked our local forestry community. Krissy Mackintosh remembers her partner coming home early that day with the news that a fellow forestry family had lost their 21 year old son Toby to suicide; she recalls a community in shock. Krissy had recently discovered her love of making art from dried flora. At a friend’s request she gathered up all of the flowers that had been sent to the Fraser family following their son’s death, dried them, worked them into three heart-shaped wreaths and gave them back to Toby’s family. In that act of not giving up on those masses of flowers, and instead extending their ability to keep on giving and sharing their message of love and hope, Krissy found the seed for an idea, which was to become the Hear4U movement. Listening to the outpourings of shock and grief that followed, Krissy recognised herself in so many of the stories about Toby as ‘so outgoing, ‘the happy one’, loads of friends, the last person anyone thought this would happen to…’ Having been in that space multiple times herself, and having survived it; hearing the words, which would supposedly explain it all - the language of depression and anxiety - Krissy began to think more and more about the importance of destigmatising mental health and getting people talking about the stuff that she knew so intimately is a very normal part of life for many of us. Having lost ten of her own male friends to suicide Krissy decided that the best way to move forward was to “get guys out there, talking about this stuff”. Thinking about the things that have lifted her own spirits at times throughout her own life, like art, exercise and music, she set about creating projects and events to bring people together to understand men's mental health and suicide prevention better, through listening and learning from each other's stories and experiences. Jo Higgins-Ware and Renee Grant were an integral part of the establishment of Hear4U, which set about creating events to raise funds, and support established foundations, programmes, and charities that were already championing the cause. Connection, healing and education are at the heart of everything Hear4U does, and of course as the name of the movement suggests, the importance of letting people know you are always here to listen. The Hear4U team encourages us to keep asking the kinds of questions that let friends and family know that we are listening “Are you okay? Do you want to talk? Do you know how much I love you? Want to catch up? What’s up bro? You seem distracted.. You don’t seem yourself lately..” The first event was the Hear4U Exhibition and Auction, in which men modelled dried floral wreaths and an auction raised over $53K for the Movember appeal. To date, this is the highest amount raised for a foundation in Australasia. The donation helped fund ‘Headstart’, an educational programme that teaches men from all walks of life the importance of understanding mental health, wellbeing, and suicide prevention throughout the country. Since then a Hear4U Trailer built by Toby Fraser’s best mate Griffin Law, which went to Speedway events all around the country advocating for men to speak up on suicide prevention during Mental Health Awareness Week last year. The Good Blokes Xmas Appeal brought together photography and art with local builder Steven Huzzy modelling floral wreaths, another event which achieved some epic raising of funds as well as awareness. Just recently 140 people ran the Taupo Marathon for Hear4U. Almost everyone in the team had lost someone to suicide. Many had lost multiple people, across generations, and most of them male. Krissy was recognised for her contribution to men’s health in the community at this year’s Eastland Forestry Awards, receiving ‘The Good Deed Award’. It’s not an easy space to work in, but it’s clear from the richness of relationships that have formed amongst the Hear4U team, which continues to learn from each other, advocate for and work with over 100 men and their families, from all walks of life, that Hear4U is making a difference here in the Tairāwhiti. The group are in the early stages of becoming a registered charity and developing a new website, which will allow them to continue raising awareness, sharing stories and promoting their events and projects as well as enable people to support the cause. Krissy has also embarked on a book about Hear4U. If you want to know more or to join the movement, you can follow #Hear4U on Facebook or contact Krissy Mackintosh at ahear4ustory@gmail.com. Story by Sarah Cleave Photos 1. by Sarah Cleave, 2. supplied by Krissy MacIntosh

Painting Kelly Spencer adopted this lucky plastic cat years ago. Thanks to lockdown she got to sit down and give her a fabulous new paint job. @kell.sunshine This canvas is another family effort, Courtenay, Nick and daughters Shiloh (8 years old) and Rosa Butler (4 years old). Green Flash by Marg Hansen. 1. Cate King has started creating art works using the beeswax from their family beekeeping business @pauarikihoney 2. Cate has put a contemporary spin on the traditional Batik process. Find more of her lockdown creations @resist_studio. Brett Summerlee and 4 year old Key painted this mural ‘Tama nui Te Ra’. With the message ‘The Sun will always Rise no matter how Dark the night’ it acknowledges the better, brighter days that lie ahead. If anyone is keen on a swap, trade or Koha get in touch with Brett (or us and we’ll pass it on!) Dimensions: 2.4 x 1.2m Soon to be a basketball backboard. Collaborative painting in progress by Lennox (6 years old) Pippa (9 years old) and parents Sarah and Matty. Phoebe Gander has been painting peoples’ ‘Lockdown Walks’ @phoebeganderart Amanda Rutherford has completed the top painting for Montessori Kindergarten and has also been working on these floral works. Digital Art A Collab between Matt and Brendon showing two artists’ interpretations of a Hannya mask - used in Japanese theatre and often appearing in Japanese-style tattoos. Left side: @mattvoidtattoo / Right side: @brendon_the_barber ‘Gisborne Surf’ by Nikki Renwick @namiko_native_design Mixed Up Media Archie (13 years old), Benny McKinnon (10 years old) and their mum Katy Wallace are making a stop motion soap of family life in lockdown featuring themselves. Episode 1 is about Archie getting caught hiding his phone under his bed. Roimata Earrings, carved from stranded sperm whale jawbone by Guy Tuterangiwhiu O'Connor. @Kiwibone on Facebook Newspaper outfit by Irelyn Purnell (10 years old). Using some of the skills she's picked up at Tairāwhiti Museum Holiday Art Classes and a stack of Gisborne Heralds she created this swish little number. Pen on Paper by Rosie Cairns Mixed Media on board by Rosie Cruddas @rosiecruddas Photographer Tink Lockett and a photographer friend in Auckland set themselves a creative competition. This shot depicts feelings of opportunity and life going down the drain because of lockdown. @Tink M Lockett Flower crown made by Yulia Clark, Masha (11 years) and Yana (7 years). Preserved Protea Wall Hanging by Kate Briant @theruralflorist At the end of a few days of hard mahi in the garden Pascale Delos decided to stop some flax on its way into the compost… Amanda Roe has been collecting trash on the beach for the past year. Lockdown gave her the time and inspiration to make something with it. A magical fairy house for a magical place by Lily Rose Cairns, 9 years old. SSC News Banner by Sammy (12 years old) and Diego (10 years old) On the Tools Kelly Spencer knocked out this charming little drink shelf for the hammock - it was surely for this kind of job that lockdowns were made for…@kellsunshine The Scallywag: A bike by MattyK ‘Twas born of a bike or seven A free frame in freeze-frame, propped against an almond in blossom When lockdown was sprung on us like a frosty morning late for work What else do you do when there’s little to do and even less places to be? Create you do, that’s what. So we do. I strip, bang, sand, cut, weld, mask, spray away the days. Bolt it together all hotchpotch like and pop a wheelie for the freedom of days of youth and reliving it soon. As we get back to level 2, it’ll be my taxi. Me and ‘The Scallywag’ a steed thats stands for freedom Freedom so close I can taste it in the air. Aiden Nomell (14 months old) has had a super busy lock down renovating an old caravan to a sleep out, making a cool play area with Mum and Dad. Both projects have been done using stuff that was lying around and of course pallets! Writing By Neherā Kopa “The answer is that greed, which is to demand ever more, is a praiseworthy quality provided that it is displayed under the right circumstances. Thus, should a person show greed in acquiring science and knowledge, or in the exercise of compassion, high-mindedness, and justice, this would be most praiseworthy. And should he direct his anger and wrath against the bloodthirsty tyrants who are like ferocious beasts, this too would be most praiseworthy. But should he display these qualities under other conditions, this would be deserving of blame.” - Abdu’l-Baha Right now there’s a clip of a woman being flogged in the street. Her prosecutors take it in rounds, enjoying their time before handing the flog off for the next man’s turn - that’s only fair business. They’d forced a crowd to watch, dragged from their safe spaces. Made to surround so that the heat of their skin and eyes beat down heavy in tandem with the sun and the whip. Children can be heard playing just off-screen. Her prayers get louder so that now I can hear its cuts ring high above the rest and I don’t want to look at this anymore. Should’ve scrolled down first thing. Could have left it to get lost amongst the masses, sandwiched as it is between @globalpositivenews and @overheardnewyork. Let it gather dust. I can brush it off over a pint someday. Question: what use is it for me to subject myself to this when nothing is all I can do? If you’re familiar, you’ll know with shameful intimacy, the whisper of resentment that flickers right before the deep roiling of guilt washes in. If habit and conditioning can perverse the character, then surely rejection of iniquity is something that must be trained also. This is where I double-back, make myself watch, breathe through my nose, swallow down on my racing heart and closing throat. Did I do that right? Is it making a difference yet? (Stop. Train myself not to think so of myself when exposed to someone else’s pain) If your expectations were for a joyful sidepiece about my dog, take this as an apology. Nothings happened to him, he’s right here beside me, wrapped up tight, snoozing. Tomorrow is another day in the bubble; we’ll play in rays of light or cool waters. He’ll be a menace to society, as per. Maybe next time I’ll tell you how his antics caused a meltdown (mine: not his) of astronomical proportions. He waka eke noa. Wiggle Woo by Miro O’Neill Divingboards by Silke Steffen Shiny wet concrete Steam rising up through my nose and mouth Higher and higher to the painful blue skies Arrows of sun shooting down through my bodies, right Into the heart of an eccentric tiny, little golden flower Let's run, let's fly Let's dive right into it Race to the bottom of the seemingly neverending stairs to life I arrive and look: who took the stairs? Gone, nothing to climb and nevertheless so much to discover I never liked feeling my achy muscles hurting from tiny steps upwards upwards and upwards and upwards and upwards and upwards and and I turn around leave the stairs behind which are gone. Now. Turn around and dive into Oceans of sweet and wonderful tasting greens and softly colourful flowers Which are The stairs of tomorrow - At least in my dreams "Artitecture" “Seven years ago we decided to build our own place. Fast forward to now and I feel obliged to share some actual progress I have been making on the semi-rural legend that is “The Round House.” During this lockdown I’ve sacrificed many sunny days out on the farm to sit in my office with the hope of making this huge undertaking a reality for my family and the people that are tired of hearing me talk about it! I trained as an industrial designer but have been working in film and TV for 23 years. I’ve always found my initial, left field ideas are the best ones so when I started designing our future home around constellations, I kind of got lost in the weirdness of it. What a strange thing to do. Te punga (the anchor), māhutonga, the southern cross, croix du sud are just a few of the names for our most recognisable southern hemisphere constellation. A great metaphor the anchor is for a house: semi-permeance, safety and a connection to the earth, albeit a bit dubious. Until now, we have used our small farm as a testing ground for a more natural construction methodology that might relate to our future home. Our own building policies on the farm include: no paint, no treated timber, and no plaster. All floors are made of earth, all posts are recycled hardwood and all the labour has come from our family, friends or wwoofers. To me, sustainability is synonymous with perfection. It doesn’t really exist in our modern human world but I think we all need to push ourselves in that direction as much as we can. It is a slow process but the transition needs to happen and we all know it”. @barrywhitesnake Experimental Art After reminiscing with workmates about childhood junk food over a zoom call Sarah Pocock was inspired to try to re-create some old favourites at home. Sarah made these dark chocolate and sea salt pop tarts. A bit of a process but a good outcome apparently! Tamariki Beautiful creative moments from Juniper, Alfie and Esmeralda, a collab between Felix and mum Rosie, and Dehstinee’s Dad as a superhero :)

Last week Gisborne became one library richer. This sweet little cupboard with glass doors and rows of shelving sitting on the side of Murphy Road may not be immediately recognizable as a library, but library it is. It is Wainui’s Little Free Library to be precise. More than 90,000 Little Free Libraries can be found in 91 different countries around the world. Touted as the world’s largest book-sharing movement, the intent is to build community, spark creativity and inspire readers. Hayley Trashe’s reasons for getting one up and running in her own neighbourhood of Wainui run true to form. As someone who has always enjoyed having “a toe dipped into some community group or another” the idea of a community library fit rather well with Hayley’s current personal mission to spend less down time in front of TV or phone, and more time reading books. “I like reading but I haven’t necessarily been a big reader. Last year I set myself a reading challenge of 12 books a year with the App Good Reads. By October I’d read my quota so this year I set my goal at 18 for the year. Unfortunately since I have started studying reading for pleasure has taken a back seat. ” She is hoping that [Wainui’s Little Free Library] will encourage her to read more by coming across titles she might not necessarily have sought out herself and hopes that it will also do the same for others. “Books are expensive and while good books get passed around friends, I like the idea of increasing accessibility to those good books”. Hayley also likes the idea of a visit to Wainui’s Little Free Library becoming another thing you might add into your repertoire on a trip out to the beach if you live in town, (especially if you’ve forgotten your book!) She emphasises that the library is not just for people who live in Wainui and sees it as a great resource for backpackers and travellers too. Hayley came up with the idea for a community library at the end of June. Since then she has registered with the Little Free Library organisation and consulted with the Wainui community via the community’s Facebook page to gauge interest and get ideas for a suitable location. The structure itself was built from scratch by her lovely husband Whyte over the course of a few weekends from recycled materials. Installed on Sunday August 4, a microwave cookbook had appeared by Monday morning. Hayley added one book of her own and by that afternoon, there were 20 books sitting pretty in their temporary home. Hayley says it has been a relatively easy exercise and would love to see more of these community resources dotted around town. Earlier on a road trip around the upper North Island I found countless pātaka kai, or community pantries and free clothes piles dotted around the place. It’s not hard to understand why. They are spaces that encourage and enable us to be our own best selves both to each other and our planet, all the while providing an opportunity to stumble across each other and engage in a good old fashioned conversation - in this case very likely over a book. Look for Wainui’s Little Free Library on Facebook and for an even more enjoyable experience go have a browse in real life! It’s situated outside 8 Murphy Road. If you have a book you’ve finished with and think someone else might enjoy, take that too! Story Sarah Cleave Photograph Tom Teutenberg

Walking into TaiTech is a little bit like being enveloped in a hug. You’ll be welcomed at the door by Polly Crawford and depending on the day and time, the air will be abuzz with the hum of laughter and learning, and the whiff of home baking drifting through from the tearoom. The Tairawhiti Technology Trust (TaiTech) is all about giving people a hand up on their business and digital skills journeys. Sandra Groves recently went along to their Whare Atamai drop-in business hub in the Kāiti mall to find out just what goes on in there. TaiTech is run by a group of passionate people who believe in providing a community hub for people who want to develop ideas by using technology. The hub expanded from the ‘Gizzy Geeks’, a group of IT professionals who were working together to better integrate technology into our wider community. In 2019 Taitech started out as a once-weekly-hub at the Ka Pai Kāiti offices, soon growing to five times a week within the space of a few months. Funding from the Kanoa- Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit and the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment allowed them to open full-time, running daily courses in their own Whare Atamai hub. TaiTech’s Operations Manager Polly Crawford has been involved from the early days and is amazed at the way in which the hub has continued to grow in popularity as well as scope. There are opportunities to start with the basics and upskill your digital skills, and many of Taitech’s participants are kaumātua/seniors. The hub has adjusted its programme over time to offer a wider range of business training too. One of their offerings is a one-on-one course for people who don’t currently have a smartphone, and in some cases, have never had one - thanks to Digital Wings, who refurbish digital devices. In this course participants can learn the basics like making a phone call, turning it on and off, adding contacts, texting, using voice and swipe texting. It might sound like simple stuff, but for those who have never had the opportunity to use a smartphone, let alone learn how to, this kind of opportunity is nothing short of life changing. A long-time student of the phone and computer course, Turei Walker, thinks the hub is an amazing place. He didn’t know anything about using a mobile phone, and now he feels heaps more confident. He reckons the mix of different cultures of the participants and the manaakitanga of the tutors make for an awesome learning environment “They make you feel at home and really look after you.” Taitech also holds workshops on everything from understanding copyright to small business needs, networking and tax advice. Much of the training is supported by Trust Tairawhiti, IRD, local businesses and subsidised by organisations like the Sunrise Foundation, Digital Inclusion Alliance Aotearoa (DIAA) and MBIE. DIAA provides courses that specifically cater to kaumātua such as ‘Appy Seniors’ for over 65’s and free ‘Better Digital Futures’ computer courses. Classes on email technology, social media, and online banking and shopping are also being integrated into the programme and other training options being considered for the future include how to use a Smart TV and video communications such as Zoom. One of the groups that meet regularly at the hub is the Creative Writing Group. Regina de Wolf-Ngarimu loves the relaxed environment and getting to meet other creative people. Everyone shares their stories and knowledge in a way you wouldn’t normally, she says, and adds that with a lonely pastime such as writing, engaging with other people really helps. So, if you have been thinking it’s time to work on your digital skills, need business training or just want to connect with other people, head along to TaiTech and speak to Polly, she would love to see you! Taitech also offers their venue for seminars, workshops and meetings by other groups. TaiTech is open Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm in the Kāiti mall. You can contact them by email: office.taitech@gmail.com and you can follow them on Facebook. Story by Sandra Groves

MUSE was formed back in 2002 by a group of women wanting to create a safe and nurturing environment for women to make music, perform, and encourage other women to make music too. The story goes that Irene Pender (who now lives in Derry, Ireland) was sick of being drowned out by loud guy bands. As time went on MUSE came to be a musicians’ network for singers wanting to find accompanists, songwriters who needed singers, for women wanting to collaborate musically in general. Over the years it has been a safe space in which to experiment, to get experience performing and in which to enjoy the ‘womentorship’ of the MUSE Matriarchs. Many of those original members are still here in Gisborne teaching and performing. One of the MUSE Matriarchs, Tanya Mitcalfe reflects that things have changed since then; it’s much more common to see a female musician performing on stage these days. But she is still a strong believer in creating safe supportive spaces in which for women to perform and have a go. Many young women have been mentored through MUSE over the years and the Collective are proud of the recent success of two of their protégés, Jasmin Taare and Amy Maynard, who recently won the group section of Five Minutes of Fame on Māori Television. MUSE hasn’t always strictly stuck to music, with comedy, poetry and satire providing some memorable moments over the years. Who remembers the ‘DIY Plastic Surgery’ performance in which Keren Rickard a.k.a. Professor Parsnips decked Tanya Mitcalfe out in cling wrap, painted her with Twink and used a vacuum cleaner to suck out her ‘undesirable’ attributes? After a few years hiatus, MUSE is back and Smash Palace is hosting the Collective’s return tomorrow evening Friday August 6, 7pm. You’ll be able to catch up on what various MUSE members have been up to lately, (including Jasmine Taare!) and hear from some new members too, in a diverse celebration of women’s music. As any musician is well aware, the audience has a huge role to play when it comes to performance and MUSE events are no exception - everyone is warmly welcome! MUSE is always keen for new members, and as one of the most recent recruits Wendy Wallace attests, it is an awesome opportunity to work and collaborate with like-minded women to celebrate diversity, passion and prowess! If you’re interested in finding out more head to the MUSE Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Muse-Womens-Music-Collective-113192210993366/ Story by Sarah Cleave

While Phil Kupenga (Ngati Porou, Te-Whanau-a- Apanui) was born and bred in Gisborne, he had been away for twenty years before returning home from Wellington with his family last year. Unlike many a city dweller who is lured to these fair shores by the prospect of a more laid back lifestyle, Phil was motivated to bring something of the city back here - opportunity. Prior to becoming a Business Analyst, Phil was in the New Zealand Police, and had always assumed he would be a career-policeman, loving as he did the camaraderie and not knowing what each day would hold. About 15 years ago however, Phil took two years leave without pay, intending to take a bit of time to rejuvenate before returning to the police force. Life however had other plans. Phil’s wife Rachael was working as an IT recruiter and when she saw a job come up with the Department of Corrections, she suggested he give it a go. While Phil didn’t have experience in Information Technology, he did have an understanding of the sector, and demand was high for more people in technology roles. While Phil describes his entry into the world of IT as having been in the ‘right place at the right time’, that high demand for people in the tech sector hasn’t changed and Phil is back here in the Tairāwhiti to ensure that his people have the opportunity to get some of that pie. Phil continued on from that initial IT role with Corrections to similar roles with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and Inland Revenue before forming his Consultancy business “Next Chapter” in 2013. He provides business analysis for a range of government departments, working on a range of Information Technology and complex business projects. * * * A couple of years ago the Ministry of Social Development invited a number of experts to look at the segment of the population cycling on and off the benefit, often between seasonal work contracts. Phil was one of these experts, and in September 2019, the not for profit organisation ‘Orawa’ was formed to pilot a Cultural leadership programme to help whānau prepare for the work of the future; to support people looking to make sustainable and real change towards an independent and meaningful life in this continually evolving environment. Phil’s role in Orawa is to inspire people in the Hawkes Bay and Tairāwhiti regions to consider high value work in technology and entrepreneurship; growth industries that are ‘future-ready.’ That is, they are not going anywhere, anytime soon. In our region we have the second lowest median wage in the country. The median wage for Information Technology on the other hand, is 80 to 90K. There are plenty of IT jobs around here too, so Phil is not only tasked with upskilling our people but also matching them up with jobs in our own community. The son of a freezing worker, Phil believes in his people and wants to help people to lift their sights, to unleash their own potential. He wants to enable more people in our community to afford homes, and be able to spend more time with their families. It is undeniable that technology is shaping our futures and the Covid pandemic has only accelerated that. What advancements in technology are going to displace jobs? Currently fruit-picking robots are being trialled in Hawkes Bay, “rather than being the ones who lose their jobs to robots, let’s be the people designing the robots” urges Phil. In his 13 years in the industry it has become patently clear to Phil that there is a dire lack of diversity in tech, with very few women, Māori or Pasifika people occupying those roles. The way Phil sees it, a diversity of value systems is important to ensure that the thought leadership informing the direction of innovation and the ways in which technology is used, is not coming from one homogenous worldview. * * * Since coming back to the Tairāwhiti Phil has joined the Tāiki e! Whānau, where he supports people to do a three-month course in Full Stack Web Development, also known as ‘coding’ through Dev Academy. The first cohort graduated just last week and as the next cohort is underway with another due to start shortly, Phil is working with local employers to create pathways to employment for the graduates. I spoke to Andrew and Bomb (Pavaris) who have just completed the Dev Academy course, who reported that it had been “fun”, a word I least expected in relation to a course in coding I must say.. Bomb lost his job as a flight instructor after Covid hit, and is stoked with the opportunity he has been given to retrain. Both Bomb and Andrew said that there is heaps of online support throughout the course, and working alongside someone else had made it even more easier. A big part of the Dev Academy programme is to develop digital literacy skills. It’s more practical and vocational than a university degree and is designed to meet the requirements of the roles that exist in the sector; from coders, business analysts and testers, to quality assurance, UX designers and Cyber security. All those roles are in high demand in our country and that demand has only been increased with Covid. Students who complete the Dev Academy programme with Phil get the benefit of being a part of the Tāiki e! community, where entrepreneurship is the norm, and a wonderfully diverse and inspiring array of people flow through the space. We have the creative edge here in the Tairāwhiti Phil reckons, but more capability technologically, combined with entrepreneurship will enable us to do something with all of these ideas. It’s a potent mix that will enable us to create our own autonomy, our own industry and stem our current reliance on the primary industries. But first we have to build our own capability from the inside, and to do that we need to start believing in ourselves! If you are interested in doing the course or are an prospective employer interested in what Phil is up to, please get in contact with him at 021877827 or phil@nextchapter.co.nz.

Te Aroha Paenga (Right front) with a table of keen Kawhe Klub participants What do you get when you combine kawhe (coffee), people and te Reo Māori? When Sandra Groves checked out the Kawhe Klub at Far East Roastery last week, she found a whole lot of good vibes, heaps of kōrero and a friendly approach to learning te Reo Māori. Te Rūnanga o Tūranganui a Kiwa kaimahi, Te Aroha Paenga, explained how it works. The learning is tailored to people with different levels of te Reo and each week they provide sound bites to kōrero. Resources are available to support learning from phrasing, to ordering kawhe, greeting each other, basic grammar, fun sayings, and other daily interactions. It is a great way to learn in a real-life setting that allows everyone to learn, practice, and connect with others on their Reo pathway—especially those who might otherwise not have the time to access more formalised learning. Steve King and Jo Pepuere of Far East Coffee host the Klub and Steve reckons it's nice to have the kaupapa in an everyday situation to normalise te Reo Māori in our community and help people who don’t feel so comfortable speaking te Reo. You can join in (or not), everyone is welcome, and it is free. Around 25 people have been attending with praise for the relaxed learning environment. Regulars Donna Biddle and Anna Barber find the klub awesome. Donna is learning a few more words to kōrero and enjoys seeing people’s reactions as her vocabulary expands. Anna Barber says it’s a relaxed environment and she is grateful to be able to bring her baby along to be amongst others speaking her language. If you want to learn te Reo in a comfortable, relaxed setting and enjoy a kawhe at the same time, head along to the Kawhe Klub, it meets every Thursday 12-1 pm at Far East Roastery. They will be moving to other cafes around Turanga so keep an eye on the Kawhe Klub Facebook page @Kawhe Klub Turanga. Contact Te Aroha Paenga at TROTAK (tearoha.paenga@trotak.iwi.nz) for further information. Thanks to Te Mātāwai Funding for supporting this great kaupapa, now in its 4th week. Story by Sandra Groves www.firstchapter.co.nz Photo Sarah Cleave

At a recent Historic Places Trust Whare Kōrero, historian Jane Luiten gave a historical context to the discussion currently taking place in our community about Maori representation. “Local Government has been an important tool of colonisation” she says, “and in making our local government more inclusive it is necessary to look at that legacy of colonisation”. “Making a new home in a new place or making yourself at home in a new place takes a lot of energy and effort and it comes with hopes and dreams. In the case of colonisation of Aotearoa it comes with a flip side of dislocation and dispossession and pain” she began. When Jane went to university and discovered New Zealand history she was hooked. Much of her life has been researching Treaty claims that have been brought to the Waitangi Tribunal - about acts and omissions of the Crown that breached the Treaty. Jane has researched local government both on the East Coast and the King Country and her basic premise is that local government has been a very important tool of colonisation. “It’s not that it's just been applied wherever Pākeha settlement has gone, which it has, but it has within it an internal combustion engine which projects and propels Pākeha settlement to every forgotten valley in the country. It has done this and there has never been any role for Māori to include Māori interests, with very adverse impacts on communities … and it’s time to change that.” Jane says that “the reason it hasn’t included Māori is because the policy of the government since the Treaty was signed has been one of assimilation.” The presumption with local government is that you can be involved if you function just the same way Pākeha do – and Māori have not. “A longstanding Pākeha myth is that colonisation in New Zealand was done nicely. There have not been any colour bars in our legislation about what people can and can’t do. But we don’t need [colour bars] because there has been structural discrimination which has excluded people.” “It’s time we have a system that includes everybody’s interests - that’s where I am coming from,” says Jane. SOME FACTS Local government is a delegated power to carry out prescribed functions and public works a community needs. There is an annually recurring direct taxation on property, which pays for the public works - as most of us know, these are called rates. The council is empowered to borrow money to top up what they get from rates to get the works that we need done. “Why is something so boring, so crucial to colonisation and actually so interesting?” Jane asked the crowd of 45. “Because it’s actually the busy fingers of colonisation. This is where the rubber hits the road.” Civilisation as we know it depends on the productive utilisation of land. Roads are vital to that. to enable the development of farms, and to get produce to the market. It was the County function to build these roads and because it was the farmers who were on the county council, rural local government was largely preoccupied with roads and bridges. LOOKING AT THE HISTORY For the first 35 years after the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand was run as six provinces. Auckland Province included everything from Taupo north, including Poverty Bay, but the electorates were drawn from areas of significant Pākeha population: Auckland city, suburbs of Auckland, pensioner settlements and the Bay of Islands. There was a single ‘northern’ and ‘southern’ electorate for everyone else. Tūranga only became an electorate in 1873, shortly before the provinces were abolished. In this provincial period, the income derived by local government from rates was extremely limited. Public works were instead financed by the Land Fund. The Land Fund came from the purchase of Māori land by the Crown at a cheap price. The land was then cut up into surveyed parcels with road access and sold at a much higher rate. The profit margin went back to the provinces to support that settlement. The expectation from a buyer was that their property would come with a road. In 1876, the provinces gave way to centralised government and general territorial taxation, ie. annual rates on property, was introduced to pay for local infrastructure. To support expanding Pākeha settlement, New Zealand was carved into 63 counties and local government delegated to the elected county council. Each county in turn was made up of ‘ridings’, which were communities of interest who would for example, share a road. Representation on council, and the county finances, were based on the ‘riding unit’. WHAT HAPPENED HERE? Cook County in 1876 ran from just north of Mahia to Cape Runaway. The Waiapu Riding was basically the whole of the east coast. At that time there were 3400 Maori and 374 Pakeha living in Cook County - ten to one. Only ratepayers were able to participate in local government, meaning that 10th were in the driving seat. Two-thirds of them lived south of Kaiti. Waiapu Riding in 1884 was made up of just 18 electors/ratepayers. Most of them had been there less than 10 years and it was these select newcomers who started controlling road development and expenditure. Waiapu County Council was also the driving force behind the ‘Native townships’ legislation 10 years later. In a classic colonial misnomer, the legislation enabled the government to take up to 500 acres in districts where it was otherwise unable to acquire land through purchase – to establish Pākeha townships, not native ones. Tokomaru Bay (Tuatini), Te Araroa, Te Puia and Waipiro all started out in that manner. COUNTY FRANCHISE A longstanding cherished Pākeha precept is ‘no taxation without representation.’ But, Jane points out, wherever direct tax is involved, funny things start happening to representation, and to democracy. Rates were based on the occupiers’ column of rateable properties on the district valuation roll. The lack of any residential franchise meant that local government remained firmly in the hands of farmers, while strategies such as weighted voting and plural voting meant the wealthiest of them were elected to council. Weighted voting meant a single ratepayer could exercise up to five votes, depending on the value of his property. After 1899, the scale was lowered to a maximum of three votes. Plural voting meant a single ratepayer could vote in any riding in which he held property. DIRTY SECRETS These are the “dirty secrets” of local government. The residential qualification introduced in general government in 1879 was not extended to local government until 1944, and then residents were given a single vote. “Women got the vote much earlier in local government. This was not because of a desire to empower women, it was because landowners could place a wife or daughter over the age of 21 in the occupiers’ column in order to have more control over the electoral outcome.” Plural voting in general government ended in 1889; in local government it took almost another century, ending in 1986. Weighted voting was never a feature of general government but it only ended in local government in 1974. This still does feature in some form however, in that rural wards can get elected with 100 votes in Ruatoria for example, while it takes 4000 - 5000 votes to get voted in the city. Once they are at the table, they hold the same voting power. WHY CAN’T MAORI TAKE PART? “You can imagine that overnight imposing a property tax is a political act. If you have been occupying your land for 26 generations and someone says you have to start paying this tax every year, you are not going to like it much,” says Jane. It took 40 years from 1876 when territorial tax was imposed, to pull Māori land into the rating system and in 1910 all Māori freehold land was deemed to be liable for rates. MULTIPLE OWNERSHIP Despite Māori traditionally holding their lands communally, nothing was done to devise a mechanism where multiple ownership could be converted to multiple franchise. At the end of the 19th century, provision was made for a ‘nominated occupier’, where Māori could choose one of their number to go onto the valuation roll. This didn’t work well. By the 1920s a new system of ‘charging orders’ bypassed Maori occupiers altogether: county councils could go straight to the Native Land Court to have the rates charged against the land, and Māori landowners were not even sent a rates demand. If you didn’t pay your rates, you didn’t get a vote. “That just becomes a little unfair when you have this system where Māori weren’t even sent the demand to pay rates. “The whole bent of twentieth-century legislation has been aimed at rates recovery from Māori land but very little attention has been given to how that could be conveyed into representation.” THE EAST COAST ANOMALY If ever Māori stood a chance in joining the ‘local government club’ it was in Te Tairāwhiti. Still in possession of much of their land by the early twentieth century, Ngāti Porou were the pioneers of title consolidation and land development which meant that by the 1920s many were ratepaying farmers. The Māori councillors in Matakaoa County at that time, are a case in point. However, despite the Māori farming initiatives taking place, structural barriers still worked against Māori representation in local government. A 1938 inquiry into the non-payment of rates from Māori in Waiapu County revealed that 60 percent of the entries in the valuation book were inaccurate. “Court records of succession to deceased owners, or partitioned lands, were not transferred from the court to the valuation department, or the local body.” The local body resorted to court to recover rates, which meant there was no incentive to keep its records of Māori occupiers updated. RIDING CONFIGURATION If all else failed, riding boundaries were configured to retain control. Old rates books in the back room at the Te Puia county offices are split into two categories: European and Native, with data showing occupiers, owners, property descriptions, area, rateable value, rates owing, who paid the rates, and the date paid. “The devil is in the detail” Jane says, “it’s remarkable the patterns and trends that come up once you start collating.” In 1945, the year after introducing the residential vote, the Waiapu County ridings were reconfigured, with glaring disparities of electors between ridings, which widened over time. “From this time, Māori had a seat on council, but they never achieved anything proportional to their presence on the coast.” Riding configuration is one reason why: by 1980, Mata Riding and Hikuwai Riding had just 20 and 21 electors, as compared with Piritarau Riding’s 534 electors. Weighted voting ended in 1974 but plural and non-resident ratepayer voting continued until 1986. That year, for the first time, Waiapu County Council returned a Māori majority. One of the first things they did in their district scheme was to place the Treaty of Waitangi at the heart of all planning policy. The outcome was profound. Māori had been unable to return home to live on their land up the coast because of the planning rules, which said you couldn’t have more than one house on a title unless it was for a labourer. Māori were similarly prevented from building within old communities that had not been designated by the council as urban settlements, to avoid expenditure on amenities like footpaths and lighting. “So the council files are full of these letters asking permission to build on family land and being refused. All of a sudden there’s a change of thinking - let’s get as many people moving home as possible. They changed the rules.” That same year Waiapu County was amalgamated into Gisborne District. Not all of the gains were lost, but once again Māori were reduced to a minority in local government. The systemic exclusion of Māori from local government has meant that their interests have largely been ignored. On the coast it meant that whole communities like Whareponga did not have road access until the 1950s. At Rangitukia, there were 51 Maori households trying to dairy farm without a road. “Marginalisation hasn’t worked”, says Jane. “It is time to do things better”. Story by Debbie Gregory Photograph by Sarah Cleave