Manawatū Conversations - Oral History

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 22nd December 2020. Part 1 of 2. A linguistics PhD on the apostrophe, its history, current usage. Found in ancient Greek manuscripts to mark dropped vowels. Studying old Greek and Latin documents online. Meaning of the word ‘apostrophe’. Complex abbreviation system in Latin because parchment was expensive. Different use in Latin vs Greek. Then looked at French usage in 1500s. Elision. English usage came from French, but slow adoption (by 1551). “An hotel”? Don’t know if Shakespeare used the apostrophe. Disagreement on usage.  

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 28th April 2020.  Part 2 of 2. Teacher training in Christchurch from 1951. Catholic Youth Movement. Teaching at Hokowhitu, then Marton Junction (51 children in the class). Then to Terrace End. Other activities. Married. Sole teacher in 1961. Other schools, Lions. Settling in to communities. Limited resources. School libraries. School buses. Principal of Our Lady of Lourdes from 1975. Integration of Catholic schools into the State sector. Catholic teacher training. Left teaching before Tomorrow’s Schools. 

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio 5th April 2022. Part 2 of 2.   Working with the Palmerston North Community Arts Council. Funded by PN Council and QEII Arts Council. Broad definition of arts. Facilitating activities, building community. Initial negativity from the arts establishment. Moved to involvement rather than excellence as a goal, things have opened up. Funding for projects. Eric Brew, Val Bolter, other tutors. Merging of Community Arts and Square Edge Trust Boards. Loss of momentum. World on Stage. Guiding new groups, mentoring role. International Day, then Festival of Cultures. Women from Iraq presenting a wedding ceremony on stage.  

 Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio 8th March 2022, Part 1 of 3.  Voluntary work, started with Jim’s father, natural to do things for others. Scouts, paper drives, other fundraising. Grew up in Seddonville, moved to Nelson, then Levin in 1978. Paper drives without cellphones. World Vision stands at trade shows, getting people to sponsor children. Actually supporting community projects. Valuing volunteers. Small proportion or revenue going to overheads. Daughter went to Brazil on AFS, ended up teaching English at a university there aged 16. Poverty there. Hosting a Brazilian Rotary exchange student. World Vision monthly sponsorship. 

 Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio  21st March 2022, Part 3 of 3.  20 acre lifestyle block in Woodville rearing calves, semi-retired. IHC and St John calf schemes. St John Health Shuttle, Pahiatua to Palmerston North. Son had meningitis at 3. From age 20 had 36 years with IHC. Now 61, working and independent living with some assistance. Son’s father a Samoan. No schooling or support. IHC workshop in Nelson. Jim, 80 years old, drives a school shuttle for special needs children. People with a family business helped son, Joe, get used to work. Mainstreaming in a country school 70 years ago. Joe’s younger sister helped him, and now assistant dean in a US university. Other child a chef in Perth now. From 27m 3s, son working as chef in Australian mines.

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio 29th March 2022. Part 1 of 2.  Grew up in Palmerston North, studied social anthropology at Massey University. Family background. PhD in anthropology of dance with Queen’s University, Belfast, comparing ballet and breakdance. Working in community arts, a new global movement. Art as a means of linking diverse groups. Development stalled with funding cuts in 1990s. Funding sources reemerging now. Crows Feet Dance Collective. Dance exercise project. Mostly for women, but there are other things for men. Covid and social dance. Country dances, changes since then. Middle aged males have missed out. New Zealand separation of men and women at social events.  

 Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 1st March 2022, Part 2 of 2.  Worked at Massey from 1973 to 2021 aged 78. Type of research, preference for practical applications of chemistry. Past students. Primarily research work until mid-1990s when increased teaching responsibilities. Nature of chemistry research. Changing focus of chemistry towards applications. Water quality increasingly important. Cross-disciplinary approaches. More accurate measurements, better equipment. International links, increase in number of journals, journal rankings. Importance of hands-on training for undergraduate chemistry students. Value of mature students. Running a hostel. 

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 15th February 2022.  Part 2 of 2. Iola’s bach or second home at Foxton Beach. Beach houses in the past. Quarter acre section lifestyle. Kiwi weekends. Holidays in 1950s. Alison on freedom in childhood. School holidays. Better in the past. Extended family ties. More organized activities now. Focus on safety. The Fitzherbert Avenue tree protest 25 years ago. Outcome of the protest. 

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 8th February 2022. Part 1 of 2. Local government responses to Covid and other disasters. Voluntary networks, ethnic communities. Reliance on the authorities. Civil Defence workshop on mapping communities. Privacy issues, conflict with monitoring and databases. ID cards with facial recognition. Local government failure. Submissions to council. Referenda? Training for council staff. Governance versus management. 

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 22nd February 2022, Part 1 of 2. Born in England. Many moves in early life. To Palmerston North in 1973. Early family connection with New Zealand. Moving to Canada. Came to New Zealand aged 19 for university. Similarities with Canada. No assisted passage for the family. Choice of chemistry. Travel after graduation. International calls. Canadian weather. Trips to Egypt. Departmental name changes.  

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio 15th March 2022, Part 2 of 3.  Joy was adopted at 6 years old by mother’s twin sister. Family connections, long-term impacts. Volunteering with AFS, hosted children. As hosting exchange students, got trips to visit Thailand and have short stays with families. Now get paid to host. Cultural differences with Thailand. Stomach bugs when travelling. Running a motel, work hours, incidents. 

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 19th October 2021.  Part 2 of 2. Changing relationships over the past 45 years less than might be expected. Some change in roles, but human nature is the same. Problems negotiating in relationships. Children. Marriage versus de facto relationships. The Family Court not functioning so well now, less opportunity for effective counselling. Children and separation, blended families. View of the future. Roles in relationships, changed expectations. De facto relationships, repartnering, suitability of legislation. Grandparents, separations, distance. Teenage children. Best scenarios are better than in the past. Increased cultural diversity. 

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 2nd November 2021.  Part 2 of 2. Grey Power is a stand-alone separate lobby group for older people. Description of Age Concern, a government funded support group for older people. Lew involved with Age Concern for over 20 years. Now active with Grey Power – issues affecting older people, housing costs for renters. Empty houses. Rental house as an investment for older people. Changing provision for retirement, KiwiSaver. Superannuation surcharge and the establishment of Grey Power. Aged Care Commissioner. Supporting students on interest free student loans. Lobbying. Key policy issues. Retirement Villages. Other organisations, Senior Citizens, Age Friendly. Range of Age Concern’s activities. 

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 28 September 2021. Part 1 of 2.  Family purchased land in Manchester Block in 1880s, “Broadlands Station”. Previously flax farming at Riverdale near Opiki. Opiki toll bridge. Riverdale broken up. Romley family working for Akers family. Hugh moved onto Broadlands, hill country farm. Using horses for shepherding. Perendales vs Romneys. Changing requirements for sheep farming. On-farm accidents. Docking, dehorning. Work done by vets. Links with Massey University. Planting natives. Wetland with best swamp maire. Erosion limited due to natives. Farming more technical now. 

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 5 October 2021. Part 2 of 2.  Great-grandfather on foundation committee of A&P Show in 1886. The Royal Show. Judging sheep. Types of wool in demand. Relationship between feed and wool quality. Return to wool carpet. Reliance on wool in the past, but not now, price too low. Focus on meat. More frequent lambing. Effect of policy changes in 1980s. Corporatisation of farming. Hidden subsidies. Future outlook for farming. Wide range of skills required. Young people entering farming. 

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 26th October 2021.   Part 1 of 2. Setting up StreetVan 26 years ago. Early days, volunteers, food. Glue sniffers. Second van to take people home. Community reception. Food and other things donated. Types of homelessness in Palmerston North. Mental health issues. Shepherd’s Rest. Childhood as motivation for this sort of work. War veterans. StreetVan now. Charity shop. Shiloh Rehab centre (now closed). Limited support for people released from prison. StreetVan helping people of all ages.  

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 23rd November 2021.  Part 2 of 2. 17 years as national roller skating championship manager, the second vice-president. Roller skating community. Life memberships. 1991 NZ team manager to Hong Kong. Outfits, no safety gear. Asian approach, hospitality. Team manager for competitions hosted in NZ. Experiences in Hong Kong. Team had to have familiar food. “Golden Arches”. Funding manager, grant applications. NZ international skating achievements. 

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 16th November 2021.  Part 1 of 2. Malcolm’s involvement in roller skating in Palmerston North started in 1974, daughter Nicola (5YO) keen to learn. After 10 years she was very competent, in national skating championships. 1986 became president of local club. Premises. Local competitions, grades. Daughter’s success, Bronze medal in Hong Kong. Roy Dobbin speed skating coach. 

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 12th October 2021. Part 1 of 2. Description of interactive drawing therapy, process, origins (Russell Withers), “accessing the client’s unconscious”. Various courses. Expansion to Australia. Who can benefit and why. Examples of the process. Viewing drawings from a distance. Perception of issues. Types of problems addressed. Transactional analysis (TA). Communication and intrapsychic states. Left brain right brain. 

Broadcast on Manawatu People's Radio, 1st June 2021.  Part 2 of 2. Losing an election. Working for Sensible Sentencing Trust. Objectives of the organization. Issues with sentencing. Physical discipline. Prisons and reoffending. Remand and electronic bail. White collar crime. Family structure/policies affecting crime rates? Gangs and the army – similarities and differences. Value of LSV (Limited Service Volunteers). Compulsory community service.