Former Hawke’s Bay Regional Council chairman Rick Barker presented a historic ceremonial pendant to newly elected chairwoman Sophie Siers at the council's second meeting on Wednesday.
Former Hawke’s Bay Regional Council chairman Rick Barker presented a historic ceremonial pendant to newly elected chairwoman Sophie Siers at the council's second meeting on Wednesday.
Move over mayoral chains – a ceremonial pendant commissioned 26 years ago has been presented to Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s new chairwoman Sophie Siers.
The pendant was commissioned in November 1999 by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) chairman at the time, Ross Bramwell, and his communications co-ordinator, Susan Wylie.
Wylietold Hawke’s Bay Today Bramwell wanted the pendant because at ceremonial occasions he attended with the region’s mayors, “he was the only one who didn’t have any bling”.
“I think it is fantastic. It’s designed to be worn on special occasions and to identify the chairperson of the regional council.”
At the council’s second meeting on Wednesday it was presented to Siers by former chairman Rick Barker.
Siers said the pendant was gorgeous and had lots of history.
“I don’t expect to wear it often – only on the most formal occasions.
“The pendant belongs to the role, not the person, and it serves as a daily reminder of the trust the people of Hawke’s Bay had placed in the position of chair,” she said.
Two local designers made the pendant, while renowned Havelock North furniture designer David Trubridge made the cabinet it is housed in, featuring New Zealand native flora with a jade disc on the lid.
The chain was made by Tanya Robinson of Napier, a silversmith and graduate of the EIT Visual Arts programme.
Using sterling silver, Robinson developed a leaf design, with each leaf big enough to inscribe a name on.
The pendant is made from tanekaha (aka celery pine) from north of Wairoa.
Two pieces of the wood hold jadework by Sam Wilkinson of Havelock North, also a graduate of EIT, in place.
He supplied the nephrite jade, which is Haast stone from South Westland.
A letter sent to the council from the three designers said they hoped the pendant would become an heirloom for generations to come and would be a true expression of Hawke’s Bay society, art and design at the turn of the millennium.
“Maybe it would set a new precedent for mayoral chains,” the letter said.
Bramwell was chairman from 1996 to 2004. He died on August 11, 2019.
HBRC’s second meeting also included five young speakers who shared their thoughts on what the environment meant to them and their hopes for Hawke’s Bay 25 years from now.
Hawke's Bay Regional councillors with their kākābeaks, presented to them by Hawke's Bay secondary school students.
Year 13 student from Hastings Girls’ High School, Ocean Dutta, who moved to New Zealand from India, said environmental policy felt distant and abstract in India.
“Here, I learned land isn’t something you can know from afar. What struck me about Aotearoa wasn’t just its beauty, but the way people treated land as if it were whānau.”
She was joined by Ananya Tariyal (Hastings Girls’ High), Liam Pentreath and Max Riley-Harper (Lindisfarne College) and Aiden Walters (St John’s College).
Before speaking, they each gave a councillor a kākābeak plant, a symbol of hope, once nearly extinct but nurtured back to life in local schools and gardens.
Barker also spoke at the meeting. His theme was the future.
“You are the pre-eminent organisation in the region for the environment,” he said.
“No one else has the remit you do. If you are going to promote environmental issues, you need to build a relationship between the people and their place.”
He said the council’s job was to look over the horizon and into the future.
Siers said after the meeting, the best ceremonies bring together age and youth.
“Everything we do from this point on will be measured by what we leave behind.”
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
