Tere Tahi, one of the survivors of Operation Grapple. The story of the veterans who witnessed the nuclear tests is told in a photographic and story exhibition at Waitangi Museum.
New exhibition for Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi
The Waitangi Treaty Grounds has announced its latest exhibition. It is called Operation Grapple – We Were There, which opened on April 18 and will run until July 6, 2025.
Photographer Denise Baynham has created an exhibition highlighting the stories of 19 Operation Grapple veterans. The exhibition combines portrait photographs of the veterans in their own homes which are accompanied by their stories told in their own words.
Operation Grapple was a series of thermonuclear/hydrogen weapons tests conceived and conducted by the British Government in the South Pacific Ocean, at Malden Island and Kiritimati.
Operation Grapple began in May 1957 and concluded in September 1958, with nine tests being held in total.
The Royal New Zealand Navy provided HMNZS Lachlan, which was a survey ship to carry out an inspection of both islands. The frigates HMNZS Pukaki and HMNZS Rotoiti investigated the detonations. Pukaki was present in all nine tests while Rotoiti was there during the first four.
Over the course of these tests, a total of 551 New Zealand naval personnel manned the ships. Their duties consisted of witnessing the detonation of the nuclear devices and collecting weather data as close as 37km to ground zero. The largest of the detonations, Grapple Y, was hundreds of times larger than the Hiroshima bomb dropped on Japan.
Curator Owen Taituha says the exhibition presents an opportunity to “hero” the previously unsung stories of some of our country’s brave veterans. Operation Grapple provides a unique insight into the personal experiences and lived history of these men.
“It is an honour to be able to display this exhibition as part of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds Anzac commemorations,” he said.
Crime writers get together in Kerikeri
An audience with crime writers takes place on May 7 at the Proctor Library in Kerikeri.
It’s termed “Villainy in the Vines” and is chaired by Whangārei crime writer Michael Botur who said he will challenge the writers to prove their worth with quizzes and games.
“Authors who don’t know their Raymond Chandler from their Raymond Carver may be publicly shamed,” he said.
The authors in question are Auckland-based writer Angus Gillies who penned Ruatoria Killings a series of non-fiction investigations. He has written biographies of sports stars Matthew Ridge, Adam Parore, Justin Marshall and entertainer John Rowles and has worked as a journalist and producer for TV3 for 20 years.
Most recently he co-wrote Far North, a true crime tale which was also made into a six-part TV series starring Robyn Malcolm and Temuera Morrison.
Catherine Lea is a Kerikeri-based author who has written the DI Nyree Bradshaw series, among others, and who has written standalone thrillers. Her latest Nyree Bradshaw mystery is Better Left Dead.
She lives with a dog that thinks he owns the house. She is the bestselling author of The Candidate’s Daughter. She also writes gritty crime fiction under her pen name, C.J. Lea
She is joined on stage by KV (Kim) Martins, who is a prolific storyteller of Gothic, historical, and crime fiction. Originally from Sydney, she now lives in the Far North.
KV Martins offers readers a unique and thrilling perspective on stories that simmer with suspense and the allure of an Agatha Christie or a detective noir tale. Her latest crime novel is Everything to Hide, set in 1930s Sydney.
Michael Botur is a poet and author whose short stories have won awards in New Zealand, Australia and the USA. His story, The Flemish Bond, was part of the acclaimed Dark Deeds Down Under 2 anthology of transtasman crime.
He has written 13 books, several screenplays and short film scripts. His new crime novel is Glass Barbie, a drug-fuelled black comedy, about a “buddy cop” road trip from Whangārei to Kaitāia to the Bay of Islands to try to solve a complicated kidnapping.
He says ever since he began getting paid for stories, back in the “golden age” of New Zealand literary zines, which was around 2008, he would write about usually young males behaving badly.
“The short story collections I initially self-published around 2012-2018 all have crime-themed covers and stories centred around ordinary Kiwis doing dodgy things while trying to make their lives better.
“One of my earliest and most popular stories was a piece written around 2006 in which a ‘bro from the hood’ which is Mt Roskill, applies to work at a BP gas station and kind of tells his life story all in the application letter.”
Glass Barbie was published over the summer.
“I had only my personal experiences of breaking the law, growing up with lots of risk-taking ruffians in Christchurch.
“There was about a 10-year gap when I didn’t really spend time with any ‘crims’ before I took on an alcohol/drug/crime survey researcher role for Massey University.
“I spent time with arrestees and police at the Whangārei Police Station where I met all sorts of inspirational characters including a thug known for putting people in freezers; a drunk Brethren arrested for a violent fight with his dad, a lovely young lady who helped run a meth lab and taught me some contemporary slang, two youngsters who’d done an armed robbery in Dargaville, funny cops, cagey cops, hard-done-by cops, and many more.”
The authors will all have their books for sale and are available to give creative writing advice to aspiring creatives.
The event is part of 30 “Mystery in the Library” experiences taking place nationwide. The Northland writers will spend 90 minutes discussing the art and craft of storytelling, creating criminal characters, what drew each of them to crime and mystery writing with plenty of riveting tales about crooks, cops, lawyers and literature.
It’s free to attend on Wednesday, May 7 at the Procter Library in Kerikeri at 6pm but it is essential to RSVP to the Far North Libraries website.
Stingrays inline and on the go
The Northland Inline Skating Club, known as the Stingrays, has been run by volunteers since 1997. It is based at BaySport complex in Harmony Lane, Waipapa.
It’s a not-for-profit organisation that conducts all aspects of inline skating including leisure, sports, competition and community involvement, with free learn-to-skate sessions for beginners, bring your own skates or hire the club’s.
Stingrays started the year with a club day to welcome new and existing members back to inline hockey. The Spring League last year was so popular the club has been running Summer League home games for players of all ages and skill levels.
The club’s premier team has already played one round of the National Premier League in Auckland, where they were placed second. They have three further rounds to go, which are held in New Plymouth during the season.
The Stingrays senior team played in the National Senior League recently in Auckland and won all four games. Further rounds take place at Mt Maunganui, Wellington and Nelson.
The junior players recently attended a development camp held in Kerikeri run by a New Zealand representative coach from Inline Hockey New Zealand. Club member Sue Cooper said the camp was a great success.
“It was extremely beneficial in improving skills and confidence to the younger players and now the junior teams are looking forward to playing age-grade league games in Kerikeri and Auckland this year.”
Three Kerikeri players represented New Zealand for 16 under and under 18 grades at the North America Roller Hockey Championships in California last year and had an “amazing experience” playing against American teams.
The club ran a competition recently for a new hockey jersey logo. The winning entry was designed by one of the club’s younger players, Onyx Best, from Waipapa.
News snippets from the Far North