Matthew Bell, resident organist, composer and music teacher at Kings School, Remuera. He will be giving a recital on the Rodgers Inspire organ at the Turner Centre, Kerikeri, on Sunday, November 21.
Matthew Bell, resident organist, composer and music teacher at Kings School, Remuera. He will be giving a recital on the Rodgers Inspire organ at the Turner Centre, Kerikeri, on Sunday, November 21.
BAY NEWS BITES
The Bay of Islands Singers are holding an event at the Turner Centre. But there won't be any singing.
Instead, they have invited organ specialist Michael Bell to give the inaugural recital in their new Rodgers Inspire organ, which replaced the old organ they had.
The President of Bay ofIslands Singers, Sylvia Burch, said the organ purchase was made possible by donations from choir members and supporters and a bequest from the estate of Jane Berry.
"It's an amazing instrument with an incredible range of sounds and tones. You usually have to sit in a rather uncomfortable cathedral or church to experience a full-blown organ recital so here's the chance to capture all that in the comfort of the Turner Centre auditorium."
The Rodgers Inspire is a state-of-the-art 165 pipe organ voices in four styles, two keyboards, a 32-note pedalboard and 33 original voices. Playing it will be Michael Bell, who is resident organist, composer and music teacher at Kings School, Remuera, Auckland. He was director of music at St Matthews in the City from 2002 until 2016.
For Kerikeri, his recital will include works by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Joplin and Widor. Musical director of the Bay of Islands Singers John Jackets said it's a rare opportunity to hear what Mozart rightly called the "king of instruments" on an organ worthy of the title.
"Michael will also talk about the instrument and demonstrate its various features and stops," he said.
• Turner Centre, Sunday, November 21, 2pm. Tickets $10 for adults and free for those 18 and under.
The Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board has granted the Whangaroa Community Trust committee $30,000 towards a shade structure for the Kāeo playground.
The Kawakawa Hundertwasser Charitable Trust received $10,000 from Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board to facilitate the development of the community plan.
In the funding application, the Whangaroa Community Trust said the playground is a popular picnic and gathering area for families and visitors, but the playground equipment was often too hot to use at the height of summer.
Other Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board grants were $10,000 each to Our Kerikeri Community Charitable Trust to purchase a permanent Christmas tree and to Kawakawa Hundertwasser Charitable Trust to facilitate the development of the community plan.
Kerikeri Gymnastics Club received $7600 for venue hire and $5325 went to Northern Community Family Services for budget advice and advocacy services.
Te Puna Aroha for Moerewa Christmas 2021 received $5000 while $4000 went to Henry & William Williams Memorial Museum Trust for the development of Place, Faith and Family.
Varying amounts of just over $3000 to $2397 went to: • Kawakawa Hundertwasser Charitable Trust (again) for the Te Hononga Booking Office project • the Bay of Islands Walkways and Walking Trust for the Russell to Ōkiato pathway signage • to Youthline Auckland Charitable Trust for costs towards Youthline • to the Tōwai Market for costs towards a gazebo • to the Bay of Islands Jazz and Blues Festival for transport and promotion and • to Ngāti Rahiri Māori Komiti for Te Tii Carols in the Park.
Free kayak training
An initiative of the Kiwi Association of Sea Kayakers (KASK) will see experienced kayakers training novices and those who might have had, say, one season in a kayak and could learn a bit more.
Novice and experienced paddlers can get free skills-based training at Meet the Paddlers New Zealand, taking place at Whangārei Heads on Saturday, November 27.
The workshop is entitled Meet the Paddlers – Paddle Craft Safety, and is supported by Safer Boating New Zealand.
Shaun Maclaren, president of KASK, said the number of recreational boating fatalities in 2019 was twice that of 2018.
"More than 300,000 people own or paddle a canoe or kayak in New Zealand. Preparation in the form of knowledge about recognised safety equipment and knowing where to source information about weather, local conditions and the area to paddle is paramount before embarking on a short trip or a long one."
The workshop is open to all types of paddle craft users. The day starts at 9am and will finish about 5pm, Saturday, November 27. Interactive topics such as equipment, weather and tides, navigation, trip planning and emergencies will be covered.
"Paddlers should expect to get wet in the afternoon skills clinic on the water," said Maclaren. "But they will be under the watchful eyes of experienced paddlers."
Some gear may be available for those who don't have their own. For queries, contact Dallas Veitch at 021 02918988 or dallasv@gmail.com.
New Waitangi recycling centre to open
The Waitangi Recycling Facility at 4 Tahuna Rd is operated by the Te Ti (Waitangi) B3 Trust and from November, the site will be open for public use.
The new Waitangi Recycling Centre is only a few hundred metres from the Waitangi Bridge.
The trust operates the centre under contract to Waste Management and it will accept clean, sorted recyclables free of charge. The nearest non-kerbside recycling service before Waitangi opens is at Whangae Refuse Transfer Station, which is 10km away.
Far North District Council chief executive Shaun Clarke said the new facility would be a welcome addition for residents in the Haruru, Waitangi and Paihia areas.
"One of the best ways to reduce rubbish in our environment is to make it as easy as possible to dispose of rubbish and recycling correctly," he said.
"I am pleased the new community recycling centre will soon be open at one of our most important and busiest tourist destinations."
Russell School wins poster competition
A poster competition designed to try and keep people from throwing rubbish out of their cars has been won by Rooms 3 and 4 of Russell School.
Pupils from Russell School with the poster that won a design competition are (front from left) Stevi Parlane-Peters and Jade Bomati; (back from left) Ruby Tauri, Maria Clendon and Paige Hogan.
Of the six designs submitted, their design was described by Diane Henaram the project driver as being "simple, clear, bright and eye-catching and the kiwi is such a suitable symbol for the area".
The pupils painted the four signs themselves. Two signs will be put up by Far North District Council between Kawakawa and Paihia, and two between Puketona Junction and Paihia.
As a prize for winning the competition, Focus Paihia made a donation to the Russell School Library. School principal Melissa Jackson said the project fitted into the school's environmental and sustainability programme.
"The children had already designed and made signage for the Russell-Whakapara Road. Over the past three years, they have focussed on environmental projects including hatching and raising their own chickens, apiary classes and beehive building and seed raising.
"They have constructed their own greenhouse using recycled materials and the school has established a garden-to-table programme."
The school's senior class has participated in the development of walking tracks, including designing and building bug houses that were placed along the trails.
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