Councillor Helen Craig with a copy of a Joan Morrell bust of James K Baxter.
PICTURE / PAUL BROOKS
Councillor Helen Craig with a copy of a Joan Morrell bust of James K Baxter.
PICTURE / PAUL BROOKS
Last year, on National Poetry Day, Whanganui based community group, The Guyton Group Trust, organised a successful Recite event with visiting poets Glenn Colquhoun and Bill Manhire. The Sarjeant Gallery was the host venue and it was filled to capacity with poetry lovers of all ages. The success of this event andsubsequent positive feedback from the community has prompted the group to arrange an event to mark this nationally significant day.
This year they have partnered with The Grand Hotel to present Breakfast with Baxter at 7am on Friday, August 24. The hotel hosts a morning of breakfast and poetry to raise further funds for the bronze, life-sized James K Baxter sculpture planned for Guyton St.
Patrons will dine and hear poems written by New Zealand's poetry icon, well known in Whanganui, especially in his final days. "I do think James K Baxter (sculpture) will bring tourists to town," says Lesley Stead, one of the breakfast organisers and chair of the Guyton Group Trust. "He's being studied at secondary school and we've already had a teacher from Manawatu say she wants to bring a class over here. "I think that's an indication of what will happen."
Whanganui District Councillor Helen Craig says there will probably be a reaction similar to that of the John Plimmer statue in Wellington. "You can't help but smile." Lesley says she gets people coming into her shop, Paige's Book Gallery, saying they knew Baxter. "There are so many stories — he is a story-telling prompt. "It's going to be a plus for Whanganui, especially when we add the poetry trail."
Fundraising for the sculpture is going well. One man, resident in Sydney, apologised for not being able to get to the breakfast but made a substantial donation anyway. The sculpture will cost just short of $100,000. "We are just over half-way [towards the goal]," says Lesley.
Tickets for the breakfast are $30, all of which goes towards the sculpture because Neville Gorrie, owner of the Grand Hotel, is providing the breakfast as a donation. "He is such a generous, community-minded man," says Lesley. "It's not the first time Neville has done something like this."
After the breakfast there will be an auction of donated items. "People have been incredibly generous. "We've got an overnight stay at the Flying Fox in the James K Baxter cottage, JY Catering has offered a gourmet meal for six, delivered to your home on your chosen date. "We have a trailer-load of firewood from an anonymous donor, a beautiful pen from Inkt, poetry books from Victoria University and Auckland University presses, tickets for the Waimarie and Red Door Gallery has donated a piece of art. It's quite varied," says Lesley.
Breakfast with Baxter will host a selection of local Baxter admirers sharing some of their favourite poems. Readers include Jenny Duncan, Whanganui's Deputy Mayor, Donald Trott, opera singer and one of the founders of the New Zealand Opera School and local artist and community leader Rere Sutherland. Local journalist Paul Brooks has also agreed to read, as has Whanganui's previous Mayor Annette Main and local thespian and director Kerry Girdwood.
The Grand Hotel has offered their heritage dining room as the venue as well as the catering. Silks Audit Chartered Accountants and Kate Joblin Accountant have also made this event possible by donating their services to the trust for free.
Lesley had a vision and stayed with it, says Helen. "I know how long you've persevered with this." Permission from the District Council did take time, but all is approved and the project is underway. Tickets from Paige's Book Gallery, Guyton St.
