My research is over and it’s time to have some fun. I take a ferry from Sydney Harbour to Jamestown, walk along the cliffs and eat fish and chips by the shore. I swim in enclosed pools tucked into the rock face at Coogee beach. In Manly I swim in calmer, warmer waters and return on … Continue reading Flight from fireworks into the Blue Mountains and downhill all the way
Chirps from Australasia
‘The hurt can linger’ – uncovering child migrant stories
The pressed flowers and leaves, picked by Bob and his mother when she came to visit him in a Hampshire orphanage, are numbered and named. ‘ The most precious thing I had were my scrapbooks,’ reads the caption in the Children’s Journeys gallery in Sydney’s Maritime Museum. ‘ It was the only link with my mother.’ … Continue reading ‘The hurt can linger’ – uncovering child migrant stories
Out and about in Sydney museums searching for migrant stories
Manon, at five weeks old, seems quite happy in the Long Gallery of the Australian Museum in Sydney. She’s not at all perturbed by the skeleton sitting in an armchair, another riding a horse and a third on an exercise bike. I suspect she will have to get used to such visits as her mother, … Continue reading Out and about in Sydney museums searching for migrant stories
Māori myths or Māori reality? Quakes and Christmas in Hawkes Bay
Tess picks me up at Napier airport. I have been invited to spend Christmas in Hawkes Bay with her sister and Brazilian husband and various other members of this extended family. Tess takes me on a tour of Napier, rebuilt in Art Deco style within 3 years of the 1931 earthquake. This, and the subsequent … Continue reading Māori myths or Māori reality? Quakes and Christmas in Hawkes Bay
Gorgeous Geraldine, Quake City and Rūaumoko
I travel to Geraldine where my friend, Esther, is there to greet me off the coach. I met Esther, like Tess, on a writer’s retreat in France. She is an impressive 77 year old who runs up mountains, follows her car-racing grandson around the world and writes a column, anonymously, in her local paper about … Continue reading Gorgeous Geraldine, Quake City and Rūaumoko
Mourning mists of Māori gods in Milford Sound
As I gaze at the rain disturbing the smooth surface of Lake Wakatipu, I recall Tess’s farewell statement. “There is a Māori legend for everything. Take note. It will deepen your experience.” I am in Queenstown, South Island in New Zealand, surrounded by mountains. It has been raining for hours. Perhaps the raindrops are the … Continue reading Mourning mists of Māori gods in Milford Sound
‘AND STILL I RISE’: Young refugees rap at Te Papa
Patrick from Sudan invites me to ‘Come and see what we’ve been doing.’ Young refugees, from over 20 ethnic backgrounds, have explored their experiences of coming to, and settling in, New Zealand through, ‘writing, film, photography and all kinds of artwork.’ I accept Patrick’s invitation and enter the Mixing Room on the fourth floor of … Continue reading ‘AND STILL I RISE’: Young refugees rap at Te Papa
Refused entry at Te Papa Tongarewa
When I worked at the V&A museum of art and design in London, people talked of objects with the WOW factor. The blue and sea green chandelier by Chihuly, with its entwined glass tentacles, was one of them. It hangs pride of place in the V&A’s main lobby in South Kensington. The giant squid at … Continue reading Refused entry at Te Papa Tongarewa
Wearable Art, Waitangi Treaty and a Wellington Welcome
The rain persists so, instead of going west down the coastline, we head for Auckland Museum. “You can compare the displays of Māori culture with Te Papa, “ Tess suggests. “They have a more traditional approach here than in Wellington.” But we get sidetracked. There is a touring exhibition from the Museum of Wearable Art. … Continue reading Wearable Art, Waitangi Treaty and a Wellington Welcome
Falling in Love with Pohutukawa over Christmas
On a grey rainy day I take a cab from Auckland airport to where my friend, Tess, is having her works Christmas lunch. Crackers, Christmas hats, rubbery turkey and office gossip. I could be in London. But then Tess drives me to the highest point of the city and we look out over the ocean. Mountains … Continue reading Falling in Love with Pohutukawa over Christmas
Eithne Nightingale 