Alex Bell (left), the new property lead for Pompallier Mission in Kororāreka-Russell, and new visitor services co-ordinator Cornelia Schmidt-Bundfuss.
Janet Planet – a colourful life
Janet Planet of the South Sea Art Gallery in Russell passed away on August 3, 2023 after a very short illness. She was well-known and highly active within the community. This tribute to her was written by Russell resident Sue Fitzmaurice:
Janet was born and raised in Hamilton and left New Zealand at 17 to work around the world.
Her first stop was as a governess for a French family in New Caledonia. She went on to Sydney and then the USA, where she lived in Beverly Hills and worked at the Rainbow Night Club.
“The Rocky Horror Show was next door, and it was written by Richard O’Brian from Hamilton,” she said.
Back to Byron Bay in Australia, and there were various artists and musicians who formed a co-op and created a video clip.
“I was in it, and that was when they named me. My father and mother had different names and I wanted to be separate and have my own identity, and so Janet Planet is who I am, and that name allows me to be a wide spectrum of characters.”
She came to Russell and worked at Fuller’s Ferries by day and the Duke of Marlborough Hotel by night. For the next several years she had an array of interesting roles, including television and radio work and working with at-risk youth. She even took over Scouts in Russell for a couple of years.
She had been at the South Sea Art Gallery for 20 years, although she was not an artist herself.
“I’m a photographer, but my mother was a hobby artist and taught drawing, and I was mixing with artists. Peter Arnold offered me a job running his gallery in winter, and I was living upstairs, and he later sold it to my now-business partner.
“When it comes to art, I’ve got an eye and I know what feels good - I see patterns and I can find mistakes and anomalies instantly.”
She started the Wearable Arts Award and then the Oyster Festival parade. She got a theatre group going and became involved with Creative New Zealand. She was a former chairwoman of the Russell Business Association.
“We are geographically isolated, and there’s a serenity comes with that. I tell people it’s Hotel Russel - you can check out but you can never leave, and if Russell takes you to its bosom, you’re part of it.”
They did, and she is.
Paihia scrubs out graffiti
Peter Robinson, the new chairman of Focus Paihia, says the community’s shared pursuit of creating a safe and vibrant community requires addressing the underlying factors that contribute to crime and disorder.
Writing in the Focus Paihia community newsletter, he said the “broken windows theory” in criminology highlights the impact of visible signs of crime, antisocial behaviour and civil disorder on urban communities.
He suggests when these signs go unaddressed, they can attract further criminal activity, which leads to serious consequences.
“One such example is graffiti,” he said. “Vandals seek recognition for their acts, and leaving their handiwork untouched grants them the attention they crave.”
He believes removing or repairing the damage caused by graffiti is to deny the graffiti writer the satisfaction of seeing their work glorified. He pointed out, however, that this step in reducing crime is not enough on its own.
“Research has shown that relying solely on police work for crime prevention is insufficient in maintaining a safe and crime-free environment. Instead, members of the community hold the key to successful crime prevention.
“When we care for and protect the spaces we inhabit, we cultivate a sense of ownership and responsibility that translates into safer neighbourhoods.
“By sharing information and concerns with each other and local authorities, we empower ourselves to respond effectively to potential threats. And let us not underestimate the power of looking out for one another,” he said.
He gave thanks to local Paihia resident Martin Cruse, who removed the graffiti from a bench on the waterfront. It is now back to its original purity.
New faces for Pompallier Mission
It is one of the Bay of Islands’ most significant heritage attractions, and two new faces are set to appear at Pompallier Mission in Russell.
Archaeologist Alex Bell becomes the new property lead. He was previously Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga’s Hokianga property lead, based at Te Waimate Mission.
Cornelia Schmidt-Bundfuss will become visitor services co-ordinator. She is an artist and most recently curated an art exhibition for Matariki at South Sea Art Gallery in Russell.
The Pompallier Mission is the historic printery established by Jean-Baptiste Pompallier and his team of Marist missionaries in 1841-1842.
It was on this site that Bishop Pompallier established the Roman Catholic mission to Oceania, and is where the brothers built the printery building. They used a traditional Lyonnais style of construction, which consists of pise de terre [rammed earth] for the lower level and pan de bois [timber framing]. Earth panels were installed upstairs.
A hipped roof is broken by dormer windows that complete the frontier architectural masterpiece, though the work was only beginning for the Marists.
Within a few years of the printery being commissioned, the missionaries had produced nearly 40,000 leather-bound religious books in te reo Māori. It was an outstanding achievement.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the opening of Pompallier Mission after an extensive and award-winning restoration in the early 1990s which was carried out by Jeremy Salmond of Salmond Reed Architects.
Today, Pompallier Mission is known for its French ambience, the tranquility which is a legacy of Pompallier and his mission team.
Bell said he is delighted to be part of the rich tradition of storytelling associated with Pompallier Mission.
“It is a wonderful part of a visit to Kororāreka, and there are many incredible stories nestled into that site.”