Charity concert for fire victims

Lee Walker owner of Cactus Jack's, Waipawa will be putting on a fundraising concert for Ongaonga resident's Leigh and Martin Gillard whose house burnt down this month.

By Clinton Llewellyn

Cactus Jacks Music Saloon owner Lee Walker had no hesitation in organising a charity concert on hearing that her friends, Ongaonga couple Martin and Leigh Gillard, had lost everything in a major house fire.

The Gillards lost precious family heirlooms and most of their possessions - including irreplaceable vintage Art Deco jewellery pieces - when their 1911-built wooden four-bedroom house at the eastern entrance of the village, formerly the Presbyterian manse for the area, was destroyed in the blaze on Monday night, May 22.

The night before the fire, the music-loving Gillards had been at Cactus Jacks in Waipawa to watch Landslide, a Fleetwood Mac/ Stevie Nicks tribute act, dressed in costume.
The next day the couple left for their holiday home in Waihi before they were alerted by a phone call from police that their home had been burned to the ground.

Lee said her heart immediately went out to her two friends, who often helped put the chairs away after shows at the venue.

"They are mad for music and they love to dance. They come to everything," said Lee, who wanted to help the couple in the only way she knew how.

"I thought well, I've got a venue so the best thing I can do for them is to have a concert," said Lee. She has organised for NZ rock'n'roll icon Shane Hales and the Shazam Band to headline the charity variety concert on Sunday, June 25, which will also feature other local acts.

"Shane's already performing here on the Saturday night so the Tukituki Motel has given the whole band free accommodation for the night, so he's staying over and performing here on Sunday. Central Design and Print has done 50 free flyers for the show, and John Fletcher's coming already and probably his daughters too. They're great singers," said Lee.

Tickets to the charity concert from 3pm-6pm on June 25 are $30 with all proceeds going to the Gillards. Register for the concert by calling 857 5334. Items for a charity auction on the night are also welcome.