Coromind : Recent Episodes
Coromind
This is the Audio version of the Coromind Magazine, a collaborative project brought to you by the Flock Media Group Ltd. from the beautiful Coromandel, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Whenuakite School student Thea Dozell shares the story of a special day of planting, learning and connection with the land. Students planted hundreds of native trees, helping restore local ecosystems while discovering the importance of biodiversity, erosion control and caring for their surroundings.
Through the voices of students, teachers, parents and landowners, this story highlights how small acts of mahi can create lasting change — not just for the environment, but for future generations.
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Ivan Anderson, a quiet craftsman whose extraordinary sculptures are created from ‘found’ pieces of swamp, beach and river timber.
When Covid forced a change in direction, Ivan swapped bait and hooks for chainsaws and woodworking tools, transforming native and exotic timbers into unique works of art. From pūriri and tōtara to kauri, walnut and Tasmanian blackwood, each piece reveals the natural beauty, grain and character hidden within the wood.
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What happens when the hunter becomes the hunted?
In this episode of Wondering in Waikino, Amir Yussof weaves a dark and thought-provoking tale about cruelty, consequence, and the delicate balance between all living things.
Johan finds pleasure in dominating creatures smaller and weaker than himself, until he encounters a mysterious spider unlike any he has seen before.
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Anna Dunwoodie shares the story behind SaltWood, the duo she formed with Len, blending guitar, bass, harp and voices into a warm mix of folk, acoustic, jazz, blues and contemporary singer-songwriter influences.
From a childhood surrounded by musical opportunities to a later-in-life musical awakening, Anna reflects on how music shapes our lives, the changing landscape of learning and performing in the digital age, and why live music and arts education remain so important.
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Cuppa Words is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: The Old Man by Howard Saunders, No limitations - Copyright © bos clipshill October 2023 and WHARF RD by Mary Fox.
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How can a blank wall become a storyteller for an entire community?
In this episode, brought to you by Coromandel’s CFM and supported by Rob Holding, we meet local artist Kylie Gunn, the creative force behind more than a dozen murals bringing colour, history and local stories to life across the Hauraki-Coromandel region.
From Ngātea to Tairua and Thames, Kylie’s artwork celebrates the people, places and memories that make each community unique.
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Milly Moon takes us behind the scenes of the second independent tour of Walking Songs — a powerful performance born from her solo journey along Te Araroa, New Zealand’s 3,000 km trail from Cape Reinga to Motupōhue/Bluff.
From intimate venues and unexpected travel chaos to moments of deep connection, emotion and what Milly describes as “magic” on the road, this story explores the vulnerability, resilience and joy behind creating and sharing original art.
Joined by her sister Lucy-Belle, Milly reflects on the challenges of independent touring, the incredible generosity of communities across Aotearoa and Australia, and the unforgettable moments that made this final chapter of Walking Songs so meaningful.
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Featured Artist, Bob Drummond, shares his journey from software developer to artist, exploring the creative connection between writing code, sketching, painting and building things by hand.
After years of travelling the world for work, Bob discovered that carrying a sketchbook offered something a camera never could — a deeper connection with places, people and moments. From unexpected discoveries in Paris to capturing the character of Coromandel’s landscapes, historic buildings and coastal communities, his artwork is about more than what a place looks like; it’s about the stories and memories held within it.
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Former The Seagull magazine owner and editor Kaitlyn Gooch reflects on the evolution of local storytelling and the incredible growth of Coromind since she stepped away in 2022.
Kaitlyn shares her thoughts on the importance of arts, artists and community connection across the Coromandel Peninsula — from writers and musicians to painters, performers and the people creating spaces for creativity to flourish.
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Dive into the Full Audio Version of the latest issue of Coromind, celebrating the creativity, stories and people that make the Hauraki-Coromandel Peninsula such a special place.
From inspiring local artists and musicians to environmental projects, personal journeys, community voices and reflections on life in our unique corner of Aotearoa, Issue 44 is packed with stories that connect, inspire and celebrate our rohe.
Read the full mag at coromind.nz
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What does it take to convince a government that your relationship is real?
In this episode, writer Hilary Emerson Lay shares the surprisingly emotional, often hilarious journey of applying for a New Zealand partner visa. From compiling thousands of pages of WhatsApp messages and photo albums to crafting a 17-page relationship timeline, Hilary reflects on what it feels like to package your love story as evidence for an Immigration Officer you’ve never met.
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Who were the people who came before you? Where did they live, what challenges did they face, and how did their stories shape who you are today?
Carolyn McKenzie explores the fascinating world of genealogy and family history — from uncovering the basic facts of our ancestors’ lives to discovering the stories behind the names, dates, and documents.
Learn how to begin your own family history journey, where to find useful records, how to overcome those frustrating research “brick walls”, and why genealogy can become an incredibly rewarding (and addictive!) pursuit.
With support from local branches of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists in Thames, Waihi, and Mercury Bay, this episode is an invitation to look back through the generations and discover the people who helped shape your story.
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Why do we sometimes choose leaders who are charismatic, confident, and persuasive — but not necessarily experienced, wise, or prepared for the role?
In this episode of Ross’ Ramblings, Ross explores a question that has challenged societies for thousands of years: why do democracies sometimes reward the wrong people?
Drawing on the ideas of Plato, modern psychology, and research into human decision-making, Ross examines the influence of charisma, confidence, emotion, repetition, and simple slogans on the way we choose our leaders.
From ancient Athens to the modern political landscape, this thought-provoking piece explores the challenges of democracy, the importance of critical thinking, and the need for informed decision-making in an age of overwhelming information.
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What happens when one person looks at a scarred Coromandel hillside and sees the possibility of a thriving native forest, a world-class railway, and a lasting legacy?
That person was Barry Brickell.
In this episode of the Coromind Audio Edition, we explore the incredible story of the visionary potter, conservationist, and engineer who transformed a damaged piece of land into one of the Coromandel’s most unique destinations — Driving Creek.
Through determination, creativity, and a deep connection to the whenua, Barry built more than a railway. He created a place where art, engineering, and environmental restoration come together.
Brought to you by Driving Creek, this story celebrates the pioneering spirit that continues to shape the Coromandel today.
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Welcome to the Full Audio Version of Coromind Magazine, Issue 43 - July, 2026.
Visit www.coromind.nz for more.
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In this thoughtful reflection from Wāhi Tukurua, a pile of donated clothing becomes the starting point for a bigger conversation about waste, abundance, and the choices we make. Inspired by the spirit of Matariki, this piece invites us to consider not just what we throw away, but what we choose to bring into our lives.
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Amplify Aotearoa is an intergenerational music project bringing rangatahi together with some of Aotearoa’s most respected musicians in professional studios and live performance settings. Now reaching the Coromandel, this kaupapa gives young local artists the chance to record, perform, and share the stage with Kiwi music legends, capturing the experience on vinyl and placing their voices into a national creative story.
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Voting isn’t just for older generations. Gabriel Johnston encourages young New Zealanders to get informed, enrol, and have their say. A timely reminder that the decisions made in Parliament today help shape the future we all live in tomorrow.
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Pamela Ferla reflects on the ups and downs of everyday life, from rising costs and global news to misplaced glasses and garden weeds. But a flick through Coromind Magazine shifts the mood, offering colour, inspiration, and a reminder of the richness in local stories, creativity, and community life across the Coromandel.
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In this feature, Gaylene Lonergan shares her love of colour, storytelling, and silk painting. Working with dyes and gutta on silk, she creates vibrant, whimsical works inspired by coastal life at Opito Bay, travel, and everyday moments of joy. A celebration of creativity, imagination, and the simple pleasure of art that makes people smile.
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The KAURI 2000 project had its humble beginnings, more than 25 years ago, with a scattering of kauri seedlings in the Kūaotunu garden of Cliff Heraud. As Cliff contemplated what to do with these baby kauri, the ‘seed’ of an idea came about.
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Cuppa Words is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: KUPU by WORDsmith and Sir Barren Church by Paul Cate
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Charlene Scott shares a personal reflection on clay, creativity, and connection to Papatūānuku. She speaks about her journey into ceramics, the influence of motherhood, myth, and the feminine form, and how working with earth-based materials has reshaped her practice. A quiet, grounded piece about art, land, and returning to creative purpose.
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Clinton Edward. Brought to you by Rob Holding.
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In this reflective instalment of Ross’ Ramblings, Ross Liggins explores the blurred line between habit and addiction. From a lifelong “addiction” to surfing, to reflections on alcohol, relationships, and modern digital dependence, he asks what we really mean when we use the word addiction, and how context shapes its impact on our lives.
Honest, personal, and at times confronting, this piece moves between humour and hard truth, offering a lived perspective on behaviour, consequence, and self-awareness.
Written and narrated by Ross Liggins.
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A heartfelt journey back to India, this story follows Niharika “Nira” Giri as she returns to her ancestral village in Bihar to celebrate her Dhadhi Ma’s 100th birthday. Blending memory, whakapapa, and family tradition, she reflects on migration, cultural rituals, and the meaning of whānau across generations. From Delhi to Gopalganj, and from shared meals to a gathering of thousands, this is a story of roots, love, and coming home.
Written and Narrated by Niharika Giri
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What if every payment helped keep more money in the Coromandel? In this edition of Tech for Everyday People, local developer David Crompton explains how ShopLocal.nz uses open banking to cut payment fees, simplify fundraising, and help local businesses get found online. A practical look at technology built for everyday people, and designed to keep local dollars in local hands.
Written by David Crompton. Narrated by Ross Liggins.
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Inspired by a school mural and a lifelong love of fairy art, Emma Evangeline reimagines Aotearoa’s medicinal plants as magical beings. This enchanting article explores the stories, healing properties, and cultural significance of native plants through the lens of rongoā Māori, inviting us to reconnect with the living world growing all around us.
Written by Emma Evangeline. Narrated by Lana Garland.
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Why do so many of us hesitate to create? In this thoughtful article, Hannah Beasley explores the hidden barriers to creativity, why mistakes are an essential part of the process, and how giving ourselves permission to begin can change the way we see the world. A gentle reminder that creativity isn’t about perfection, it’s about starting.
Written and narrated by Hannah Beasley.
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A reflective guest editorial from Brandon Amoamo on what it means to be raising mokopuna in Aotearoa today. Blending humour, cultural commentary, and sharp observation, he looks toward the future with questions about environment, society, and legacy, while celebrating the spirit of Coromind and its “Corocreators” shaping a more hopeful path forward.
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Make sure you mark 10 July in your calendar for the Matariki Festival happening in Kūaotunu. Te Toi o Matariki will provide an opportunity for the community to come together to celebrate the Māori new year.
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Welcome to the Full Audio Version of Coromind Magazine, Issue 42 - June, 2026. Visit www.coromind.nz for more.
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Tairua artist Tanya Finlayson loves doing things that take a long time! She loves the challenge. And the intricate art that she creates does demand patience, commitment and a lot of time. It also requires talent.
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A Kiwi cult comedy with roots deeper than its Waikato setting, The Tavern carries the spirit of the Coromandel through its characters, stories, and soundtrack of local life. Writer and creator Matt Hicks reflects on over a decade spent in the region’s pubs, festivals, and back-room yarns that helped shape the film’s heart. From grassroots screenings to national success, this is a story of how a small-town film found its voice, and its audience.
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What if your bank account worked for you instead of your bank? In this edition of Tech for Everyday People, David Crompton explores the rise of open banking in New Zealand and how it could make payments faster, reduce fees, improve financial tools, and give consumers more control over their money and data.
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Milly Moon shares the story behind a solo show that grew from footsteps on remote trails into a heartfelt performance toured across Aotearoa and beyond. Blending music, storytelling, grief, love, and connection, this is a reflection on creativity, courage, and the unexpected ways art can touch people’s lives.
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A steep ski run, a confident beginner, and an unforgettable lesson in gravity. In this light-hearted story, a family day on the slopes turns into a dramatic downhill slide when young Finn discovers that gravity never takes a break. A humorous reflection on falls, spills, and why sometimes the blame belongs to physics, not people.
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When you talk to Peter Felix Muller, you get the sense that he’s never been in a rush. That’s not to say he hasn’t achieved a lot – he’s done plenty. But his approach to art, whether it’s behind a camera or at the jeweller’s bench, has always been more about flow than force.
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Cuppa Words is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: Riven with tears by Helen Oliver and I am falling into you by Yaning Ma Foreman
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Clementine and Valentine Nixon, aka Purple Pilgrims, are sisters who make music together. At times playful, ethereal or hauntingly enigmatic, their ever-evolving sound is hard to categorise but certainly falls into the alternative realm.
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things in our community. In this edition, Liam Ryan. Supported by Rob Holding.
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Walk through a healthy Coromandel forest and you’ll notice the understorey thriving, young seedlings emerging, ferns unfurling, and shrubs providing food and shelter for native wildlife. One of the biggest pressures on this vital layer of the forest comes from wild goats, which can strip vegetation and hinder regeneration. Learn more about goat control in the Coromandel here!
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I joined the Mercury Bay Writers when it was formed back in February. We meet once a month and are given a topic and/or genre to write a 500-word piece about. Our first assignment was to create ‘a dialogue’ and the second was to write ‘A descriptive mishap’. I would like to share my attempts with you, so here they are.
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It’s been over 20 years since Whitianga started a local festival in celebration of the local seafood and coastal culture – and with the 21st event taking place on the Whitianga marina waterfront on 19 September, it’s time to reflect on why the Whitianga Oceans Festival is still one of New Zealand’s most loved regional food and lifestyle events!
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Welcome to the Full-Audio version of Coromind Magazine, Issue 41 - May, 2026. Visit www.coromind.nz for more.
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When we clapped eyes on the first issue of Coromind, it was like “WOW”, such a beautiful, colourful and classy magazine in the cafe … free to take.
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Surfing inspired my affinity with the ocean and my motivation to paint it. I first surfed in Whangamatā, and it has always been a special place for me, so its world-class waves are a pleasure to paint.
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On a gloomy Thursday morning, as a heavy rain warning loomed over Hauraki, a group of whānau (people) gathered at the waharoa (entrance) of Kerepēhi Marae, awaiting the karanga (welcome call) that would welcome them in.
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To date, I’ve spent $9,204 NZD on visas alone. I still have another $315 to go when I apply for Permanent Residency in 2027, and $560 more if I decide to go for NZ citizenship in 2032. I knew it would be expensive, but it ended up being about $4,000 more than I’d expected, thanks to both an extra, unexpected medical exam and Immigration nearly doubling its fees – with very little warning – in October 2024.
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I was exhausted, but I couldn't fall asleep. I tried meditating, which usually does the trick, but not this time. The day's challenges and residual issues still pervaded me. I lay awake while the full moon and stars filled the room with surreal and magical light, sedating me somewhat...
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Kauri forests like those found in Coromandel are extraordinary places. Kauri trees are an awe-inspiring taonga species, but these giants are only part of a much bigger story …
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Mary and Donald are old friends from Wellington who have been coming to Wharekaho on holiday for the last 40 years. They were always there for Christmas and after a few years we decided to give each other funny, unusual presents. I remember receiving a giant condom called Big Boy one Christmas. Unfortunately, it was way too big, even for me, so it now...
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My art studio is my happy place, full of light, colour and music. It’s where I feel most myself. Sometimes I enter with a vague plan, sometimes with no plan at all. Often it’s just the music that takes me on a journey as I paint. The fun is seeing what evolves … or sometimes what doesn’t.
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Cuppa Words is a space dedicated to expression and creative writing. In this edition: 'Breath in the Forest' by WORDsmith and 'The Unknown' by Melissa Ireland
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Behind every discarded item is a choice made weeks, months, or years earlier. A bargain that didn’t last. A quick purchase that became clutter. Multiply that across thousands of households, and the scale becomes overwhelming – for communities, for the environment, and for the people tasked with managing it all.
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Proud to be Local is our CFM feature, highlighting inspiring characters from the Coromandel. In this edition, local artist Gary Nevin. Words by Ayana Piper-Healion.
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In this Sure-Shot series, Coromind invites photographers to break down two of their favourite shots, sharing the stories, techniques and moments that make each image special. This month, Bella Muir takes us behind the scenes of her inspiring work.
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The Coromind team had a chat with Ryan Laird, owner of KaiZen in Cooks Beach, about food, philosophy, and what keeps the restaurant thriving through the quieter months. At KaiZen, the idea is simple: share the table. Sharing food is a timeless way to bring people together...
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Welcome to the Full-Audio version of Coromind Magazine, issue 40.
April, 2026
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In recent years many magazines and community newspapers have folded their pages for the last time and closed the doors. Metro magazine, which existed since the 1980s, is one of the most recent to depart from a printed format and exist only in the digital world. And with all this in mind I believe the team behind Coromind must be applauded and admired. They have changed the model and as a result they are making it possible to provide a quality magazine that not only looks great and provides a wealth of interesting articles, but is free of charge.
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Saskia Riemersma's journey is a testament to the power of creativity and following one's passion. From a young age, Saskia knew she wanted to create, and her path has been a beautiful exploration of various art forms.
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I don’t know anyone who would willingly do what that rat did – take such foolish risks – but the irony wasn’t lost on me as I set off alone in the dark, on day two of a solo hike. I started at Broken Hills in the Coromandel and walked up to Hihi Trig Station, taking a small detour to an old dam along the way. The views were lovely, stretching across to the cliffs where I sometimes go rock climbing. Then the mud began...
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It was the mid-1990s and we were steaming back from Aotea/Great Barrier. It was a beautiful hot summer day and the sea was flat and calm. Up ahead we spotted a pod of about 20 Terehu/Bottlenose dolphins. I noticed there was one dolphin that was not participating in playing and as I watched I saw she had a calf with her, a baby about a metre long. When I got closer, I saw that the baby had an old, frayed rope wrapped around its tail...
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The following is a glimpse into the life of William Lewis Townson – a man who was dedicated to his botanical work, and had an expert knowledge of the native birds of New Zealand.
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This year Mercury Bay Performing Arts proudly presents Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr., featuring more than 50 local students on stage – and many more working behind the scenes. Watching these young people grow in confidence, friendships and self-belief has been one of the most rewarding parts of this journey.
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This winter, Coastcare groups around the Coromandel are rolling up their sleeves to plant thousands of native coastal plants and they need your help!
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I bought trimaran Jiwa in the year 2000. Apart from the odd bit of rot in the deck which has needed repair, there have been no problems over the 25 years I have sailed her around the north-east coast of the North Island.
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One of the reasons we create this magazine is to empower young people, so they can rest assured that there are people out there who back them and believe they can do whatever they want to do. We do need to listen to them though … So we asked young people in our region: how do you think the world will be when you are 40?
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Marking twenty years of Mercury Bay Art Escape, we’re highlighting one of the founders, Betty Collings, by talking to the other founder Dave Fowell. Now in her 94th year, Betty is a highly distinguished artist and innovator in sculpture, painting and ceramics.
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Cuppa Words is a space dedicated to creative writing in the Hauraki-Coromandel community. In this edition: 'Mindful', by Mama Khou and No Time to Waste', by Roimata Taimana
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Young Couples Choosing the Coromandel Over the City - It’s a rival-schools-to-lovers story twice over: two Mercury Bay Area School boys and two Thames High girls end up living the quiet life together.
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To ‘wander like a cloud’ (云游) is a term that comes from the ancient Chinese spiritual tradition of Daoism. It refers to holding steadfast to the self-cultivation path whilst travelling to seek teachers, learn skills and expose oneself to different cultures and conditions, helping to dissolve the ‘acquired’ self that’s built up layers of biases and filters that shape who we are and narrow the way we view the world.
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We all love celebrating St Patrick’s Day, and how lucky are we in Whitianga to have a proper party spot right on the water. This year, Buffalo Beach Club is going all out - kicking things off on Saturday 14 March with The Grail playing Irish pub classics, then handing the stage to Twisty Willow, a Waipu Celtic duo bringing lively tunes and serious crowd energy, on Tuesday 17 March.
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We’re searching for a 3 or 4 bedroom house, ideally with a large garage, unit or shed to house our mobile soundproofed studio. Whitianga is our preference, but we’re open to suggestions.
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We have our gym bunnies, those seeking connection, and others wanting to explore Te Ao Māori – we all came to waka ama for different reasons.
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What is Art worth? Some create it, some buy it, some invest in it, and some ... just enjoy it. It is so multi-dimensional and almost unexplainable by linear and limited language, so rather than try to actually define it, let's explore the roles it plays in our lives because without Art, life could amount to nothing more than a monotonous, dull, existence of repetitious survival.
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There have been many well-deserved accolades for Coromind, now well into its fourth year of publication. Leo and Taylor have provided space for an amazing array of Coromandel artists of every hue – painters, sculptors, musicians, woodworkers, potters, writers, historians … I stand in awe of what they have managed to achieve, presenting beautiful covers and fascinating stories while yet maintaining consistency along with variety.
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Even though I dabble in almost everything, watercolour feels the most like me: fluid, transparent, unforgiving yet honest, occasionally unpredictable and stubborn, but generally well-behaved.
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Welcome to the Full Audio version of Coromind magazine, issue 39
March, 2026
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Sam Connors. Brought to you by Coromandel's CFM
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Wāhi Tukurua - Your Local Hub for Reuse, Recovery and Community Action. Zero waste can sound like a big, serious mission… but at heart, it’s simply something we do better together.
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The Art of Symbiosis with Iona Matheson - Iona grew up in Raumati North, near Wellington. A school trip to Kapiti Island at just nine years old left a deep imprint. Surrounded by native birdlife in a protected sanctuary, her connection to te taiao (nature) began early. Creativity was also close to home...
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After sharing a few tall fishing stories with my friend, I told him about the time when I was a 10-year-old kid walking along Takapuna Beach after fishing off the rocks with a mate. We hadn’t caught anything, so for fun we put a bit of bait on our hooks and dragged the line along the beach to see if we could catch a seagull.
Well, did we ever get a telling off. An old fella yelled at us and told us to stop immediately. He went on about cruelty to animals and the like. So, we stopped and went home empty-handed with neither a fish nor a seagull. At the time I didn’t really think I was doing anything particularly cruel or egregious.www.coromind.nz
While some find their best creative inspiration in books or galleries, in conversation or music, I have found it in the grip of the forest, in the embrace of a river’s cold, in the gentle caress of sunlight.
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Lucky Star is an independent collective that can slot into almost any festival, but experiencing it in person is something else entirely. It’s a buzzing hub that feels like a circus sideshow, a backstreet dive, and a community lounge all at once.
Originally, Lucky Star began as a humble coffee caravan and juice bar. Over time, it has grown into a beloved festival institution with its own personality and energy. What started as espresso on wheels became a playground for music, performance, and playful antics. The crew calls it “always going to misbehave.”
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An art gallery situated in the heart of Hot Water Beach, surrounded by the sounds of crashing waves, local cafes and hot pools! The perfect way to spend a day on the Coromandel.
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There comes a moment in every coastal town’s story when something electric arrives, something that does not just add to the landscape, but transforms it. For Whangamatā, that moment came when the doors of Mekong Foo swung open, unleashing a riot of colour, flavour and unbridled joy onto the Coromandel Peninsula.
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There is something powerful in the saying, “There are dreamers and there are doers”, especially when it comes to our slice of paradise – Hauraki Coromandel...
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What a journey it is, with so much to learn. I’ve always loved painting and drawing; in high school, it was my main focus. About six years ago, I found my way back to painting when my daughter placed a canvas in front of me and told me it was time to give it another go.
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I made the decision to move to New Zealand sometime in the late 80s, which would have put me in the 9 to 11-year-old range. I wasn’t looking to escape home because I was unhappy; I had a truly wonderful childhood growing up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts …
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The major pest eradication on Ahuahu / Great Mercury Island in 2014 was a public/private project. I was then employed directly by the Island; the island paid my salary (funded privately) to ensure that the multi-million-dollar investment that had been pumped into the restoration project over a period of a few years was protected by someone dedicated to just that job. There is still to this day a full-time ranger employed to maintain the pest-free status.
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Catherine (Black) Doyle. Supported by Ron Morgan.
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Art continues to educate us centuries and millennia later – from prehistoric cave drawings to the use of glass beads for jewellery and terracotta clay figurines, and for everyday functions such as storing grain or water.
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Jiwa in the Indonesian language means ‘soul, spirit or vital force’. It is also the name given to a 28-foot trimaran yacht by its builder Wayne and his wife Jill who were practitioners of an ancient Indonesian meditation at the time.
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When you picture New Zealand’s natural wonders, wetlands might not be the first thing that springs to mind. Yet these quiet, waterlogged landscapes are ecological powerhouses – filtering water, storing carbon, and providing sanctuary for our taonga species.
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If these walls could talk, they would tell stories of early mornings, nervous first sessions, quiet breakthroughs, and moments of pride that never make it onto a leaderboard...
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Driving Creek was the net that caught me after a long period overseas; a nest for getting in touch with my creative voice. When I arrived at the residency, it’d been over a year since I’d used a pottery wheel. I’d been thinking about art a lot, but I hadn’t had the chance to make much.
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In this Sure-Shot series, Coromind invites photographers to break down two of their favourite shots, sharing the stories, techniques and moments that make each image special. This month, Kate Beauchamp takes us behind the scenes of her inspiring work.
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Here in Mercury Bay, we’re incredibly lucky to have Te Whanganui-o-Hei Marine Reserve – one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most amazing marine environments – right on our doorstep. It is a place full of life and biodiversity, and more importantly, a place rich with opportunity to learn. At Glass Bottom Boat Whitianga, we believe that protecting this taonga for the future begins with education today.
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I was sipping tea at my aunt and uncle’s house in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) when I clicked an article about 2026 Auckland Pride and Director Hāmiora Bailey. Inspired by the kid from Whangapoua I went to kindergarten with, I want to celebrate Coromandel Pride for us all.
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A longstanding stalwart of the Colville music scene, John Veysey’s musical talents have gone largely unnoticed. Veysey is a prolific singer-songwriter whose penchant for toe-tapping country/blues tunes with catchy hooks and riffs have made him much-loved by those who know him.
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Sandy and Eric are the proud owners of one of the Coromandel’s most iconic holiday destinations. After 19 years of operation, Combat & Fun Zone will be refocusing on paintball only from mid-March 2026, moving to a new bookings-only system...
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How much do you know about our native pigeon, the kererū? Annemieke shares some great educational information about this well-beloved Aotearoa New Zealand bird!
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The word photography comes from the Greek phōs meaning light, and graphé meaning drawing or writing. So, photography literally means drawing or writing with light...
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Welcome to the Full Audio version of Coromind magazine, issue 37
January, 2026
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There’s something about the Coromandel that stays with you. Maybe it’s the way the bush runs all the way down to the sea, or how a sunset turns the sky gold. Maybe it’s the people …
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From the shimmering coastline of Mercury Bay to bustling markets in Whitianga and Coroglen, Sunflower Glass Studio NZ has been steadily evolving into an example of creativity, fun and happy memories!
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Have you discovered the underwater world of the Coromandel? Dive Zone Whitianga are the local diving experts and they reckon the diving here is simply world class.
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Summer brings more people onto Tīkapa Moana / the Hauraki Gulf, one of Aotearoa’s richest marine habitats. The Gulf has high species diversity, with year-round populations of Bryde’s whales (tohorā), common dolphins (aihe), bottlenose dolphins (terehu), and fur seals (kekeno). There are also regular sightings of killer whales (maki), false killer whales, and long-finned pilot whales (ūpokohue), along with...
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At 36 years old, I am still regularly asked for ID when trying to purchase a bottle of my favourite Shiraz-Viognier at the local supermarket. This isn’t a brag – more than once, I’ve smiled at the request, only to be told “Not to worry, actually”. My wrinkles, you see, are suddenly very visible and the mistake is realised.
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If you’re looking for somewhere to safely store photos and documents of local or family interest, The Treasury, in Thames, a charitable trust run by The Coromandel Heritage Trust (2004), is the only purpose built, temperature and humidity regulated, regionwide facility that houses and makes accessible paper-based historical documents of the Hauraki/Coromandel area.
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Most of us would be familiar with the sayings, ‘Don’t just sit there, do something!’, or ‘Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop’, a slightly more sinister version. This seems to be excellent advice for most life situations, as inaction is often not the foremost companion of success. However, there is always more than one way to perceive a situation or circumstance. Let's delve, then...
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My childhood laid the groundwork for where I’m at as an artist, as I often found myself either drawing, reading or constructing something while dealing with an on again/off again disability …
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This issue of Coromind marks our third anniversary. Still young, still energetic and proudly community-driven, Coromind has grown into a platform that brings joy, connection and positive stories to our region and beyond.
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Hauraki-Coromandel is a place of rich hidden histories that sit just beneath the golden beaches and abundant ngahere (native bush). It is somewhere that for the last 50+ years has offered artists and creatives a welcoming place to live and make their art. In the 21st century, these creatives are now able to use local publications such as Coromind as a means to keep this art scene not just alive but thriving.
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A child of Thames, Alice Gwendoline Haszard, known as Rhona, remained an artist throughout her childhood and into adulthood – a short life however, that ended tragically at the age of 30 years.
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Pylat Senior. Brought to you by CFM and Safer Coromandel
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Last year I had the opportunity to watch the Bold Theatre production of ‘Be More Chill’ at the Meteor Theatre in Hamilton. If you are not familiar with it, ‘Be More Chill’ is a sci-fi musical that follows Jeremy Heere, an awkward high school student desperate to fit in. Harry Marshall played Michael in their Hamilton theatre debut, best friend to our protagonist Jeremy who...
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"I am a textile artist, and I make rug-tufted artwork that weaves together stories of land, connection and belonging." For Leah, wool is more than a material – it’s a bridge between her Irish roots and her life in Whangamatā, a way to explore memory, identity and the quiet magic of slow creation.
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After lunch I opened my computer desktop to be greeted by a flashing, beeping Windows page with an annoyingly loud female voice repeating itself over and over, “Security breach. Security breach. Your bank accounts and email address have been compromised.”
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At 239 South Highway, Whitianga, it’s a hive of activity each day as the Wāhi Tukurua team and volunteers are busy rescuing good, usable items from heading to landfill and giving them a fresh start in the community.
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In this Sure-Shot series, Coromind invites photographers to break down their favourite shots, sharing the stories, techniques and moments that make each image special. This month, Lia Priemus takes us behind the scenes of her inspiring work.
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If you look out at Great Mercury Island from Black Jack Road, you can see the full length of the island from north to south. On the southern half, there is a big pine tree plantation which is now over 40 years old, planted during the Muldoon ‘Think Big’ era on land which is considered very poor farmland. The pine forest became economically and environmentally difficult to harvest.
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Art is a visual language. It improves observation and perception. It is a good skill to be able to read images, and to understand symbolism and what is real and what is photoshopped, made unreal, unobtainable.
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After the big storms of 2020 and 2021, Thames- Coromandel District Council (TCDC) proposed to reshape the eroded dunes at Pāuanui’s south end into a wide, gentle slope and replant it in native sand-binding species. Not everyone in the community was convinced...
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Taimania Hinds. Brought to you by Safer Coromandel
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I was full-time island bound, a novice ranger on Great Mercury Island in 2016, not at all well versed in environmental sciences, but with a natural love of nature via curiosity and respect.
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Digital surveillance is when companies and governments collect data on what you do online, like the sites you visit, things you buy, or even your location.
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The crew at Liquorland Whitianga have put together their personal picks for the silly season – the drinks they actually take home, pour for friends and whānau, and keep chilled over the holidays.
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Howard’s connection to the Coromandel ran deep. He restored our dunes, planted our ngahere, and carried a genuine love for this place and its people. Howard supported Coromind contributing his writing and his encouragement. With aroha to his whānau, we share this piece in honour of a man whose life has touched many in our community.
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Stefan Field has been creating and solving problems in metal for nearly three decades. Through his Whitianga-based workshop, Ironworks Coromandel, he turns raw steel into gates, stairways, and custom structures that are functional and beautiful.
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Originally hailing from Hamilton, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Vegas Brown had an illustrious career before moving to Whitianga. In the ten years he’s lived on the Peninsula, Brown has been active in the local scene and continues to record and release music.
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The crackle of a campfire might feel like the spirit of summer – but in the wrong place, at the wrong time, it can become the spark that destroys a forest.
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Gold prices continue to rise, and mining companies are coming to our area wanting to extract it. They aim to mine in and under the forests and mountains – and, as seen in Waihī, even beneath our homes.
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Continuing on from part one of my Hawaiian adventure … I enjoyed my boat trips down the wondrous Napali coast of Kauai, especially when my Whitianga friend Graham was skipper.
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Conservation, education, and acting as kaitiaki for our incredible backyard are at the heart of the Glass Bottom Boat. When conversations began with the Destination Hauraki Coromandel team, the idea of a project we could truly get behind started to take shape...
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In this Sure-Shot series, Coromind invites photographers to break down two of their favourite shots, sharing the stories, techniques and moments that make each image special. This month, Felicity Jean takes us behind the scenes of her inspiring work.
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Just a short stroll from the Whitianga Ferry, tucked in beside the Ferry Landing car park, sits The Pottery Shed.
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One of Dive Zone Whitianga’s ex Diploma in Professional Scuba Instructor graduates, Freya, has plenty to say about her amazing world working in the dive industry.
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My creative practice is all over the map. Aside from my sock “monstahs”, I’ve painted cityscapes, done playful pet portraits, and illustrated a beer label.
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After 35 editions of Coromind, I wonder if there is a house somewhere in Te Tara-o-te-ika-a-Māui that doesn’t have a copy sitting on a coffee table? For those of us who have found this monthly periodical, I’m sure you can relate; the pile has steadily grown since the magazine's inception in January 2023.
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Each month, one copy of Coromind will be preserved in the Alexander Turnbull Library, the national research and heritage collection. A second copy joins the general New Zealand and Pacific collection. Digital deposits are also included in the Alexander Turnbull Library collection and archived in the National Digital Heritage Archive (NDHA), Aotearoa’s long-term digital preservation system.
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The Coromind crew visits Allan Beaver’s studio in Coromandel Town on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Allan produces landscapes in oils, portraits in pastels, and freehand pencil sketches. His wife Loes creates handcrafts, knitting and tapestry.
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If you have been to Tairua, you may have noticed branding on the shops and facilities with ‘Two Tides’, which is the English translation of Tairua. The first settlers, Polynesian ancestors of Māori, were elated by its sheltered harbour; it was one of the first places in New Zealand to be colonised.
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This went through my mind this morning during our mahi as kaitiaki of the sand dunes at Cooks Beach. While removing a range of taru kino weeds, I thought about how the whenua is slowly healing from past harm.
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Real fun brings out the best in you. It requires ongoing, regular, focused training and learning. It often means feeling stupid or frustrated – and that's normal.
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What began as a grassroots celebration of local creativity has grown into one of the Eastern Coromandel’s most anticipated arts events, showcasing over 50 exceptional artists from across the region.
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Welcome to the full audio version of Coromind Magazine, Issue 35.
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Wander into the ngahere (forest) of the upper North Island and you will likely find yourself among kauri trees – towering giants whose roots stretch wide, anchored deep in the whenua (land).
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The first time I saw a Coromind magazine was when my English teacher was waving it above the class, explaining we could submit a piece of our writing to potentially have it published …
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The 19th annual Coromandel Open Studios Arts Tour has wrapped up; over two weekends, the Coromandel came alive with creativity, connection and colour as artists opened their doors and welcomed visitors from near and far.
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Kia ora, I’m Bernadette Ballantyne. I grew up in a small town in Taranaki and went to art school in the early 2000s. My work has always carried a thread of New Zealand nature and the passing of time, with themes of nostalgia running through. Much of what I create is about celebrating life’s natural rhythms and the small, fleeting moments that stay with us.
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We’ve all got that drawer – a tangle of cables, old phones, maybe even a digital camera from 2007. Welcome to the world of e-waste: anything with a plug or battery that’s no longer wanted, from laptops and TVs to chargers and toothbrushes.
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For many years, in my music practice, the imposter would sneak in through dark cracks of self-knowing, thriving on sabotage of all I had built. She would ask “Who the hell do you think you are?” and serve a platter of comparisons, to those more successful, more talented, more infinitely interesting. I refused to call myself a musician because I didn’t play an instrument but when, on hikoi, without music to play aloud, I began to sing...
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Yvette Kloss. Supported by Ron Morgan
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Kathleen Veronica Cummings (08/01/1891 - 14/07/1948) was a New Zealand painter, and a student of Charles Goldie. Her work, Portrait of a Māori Woman, is part of the collection of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. In 2020 an oil on canvas of Harata Rewiti Tarapata, circa 1910, sold for $32,000 at auction.
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Sarah Jamieson has the same first name as me and grew up in the same area. We used to work at the same dairy. There is one obvious difference between us, however: I left and she stayed.
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Caitlin Moloney and Matt Sephton Find a Different Rhythm in Samoa: Earlier this year, Caitlin Moloney and I were fortunate to spend time at the Tiapapata Art Centre in Samoa for an artist residency.
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Imagine this: morning light filtering through the trees near Parakiwai, where Jazz Gilsenan-Fitzgerald’s workshop hums with the sound of planes smoothing wood. Inside, native timber takes shape under her hands – transformed into kitchens, cabinets, and furniture that marry function with quiet beauty.
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Backyard bird feeding is an enjoyable hobby that many Kiwis enjoy. Previous studies (Forest and Bird) have found around half of NZ households provide food for garden birds. Unfortunately, such practice is harmful because it attracts introduced...
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A lifelong Aucklander until recently, Keegan is a 29-year-old singer-songwriter living with cerebral palsy, a condition affecting movement, muscle control, coordination and balance. He discovered his voice at age three in a chapel. Inspired, he began composing original music by thirteen, determined to forge his distinctive sound.
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Nearly every surfer dreams of one day riding the waves at the place some claim to be the birthplace of surfing, the islands of Hawaii. On arrival in Honolulu on board Air NZ, I discovered that my surfboard had been broken in half ...
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The name Clove itself carries layers of meaning. In Indian culture; the spice has long been prized for its flavour and its healing properties. “Clove is not just a spice; it’s a remedy, a symbol of warmth, comfort, and healing,” says Navi.
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Rats eat seeds, bugs, larvae, eggs, whatever is easiest at the time. With rats gone, a boom-bust population relay cycled around Ahuahu / Great Mercury Island.
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Nestled in native ngāhere, on the hill in Whitianga, Lee Jones creates masterpieces with ink on skin. Lee has been a professional tattoo artist for two decades and has won awards in New Zealand and Australia.
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Kia Ora Koutou, Jessica and Joshua here from Garden Music in Thames. As artists ourselves, as well as working professionally within the arts, we know first-hand the complexities, joys and exhaustion of it all. One of the best things that keeps us going and keeps us inspired is getting that fresh issue of Coromind.
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Recently Thames High School students were given the opportunity to participate in the 48 Hours Film Challenge, and what a fun opportunity it was! The challenge was to create a short film within just one weekend to the highest quality possible.
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After completing a Fine Arts degree from Oxford University, I then spent 40 years teaching art – firstly as a secondary school art teacher in the UK and then as Teacher in Charge of art in NZ. More recently, I have taught art workshops at Toi Ako Community Centre and done relief teaching in primary schools.
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Ahuahu (named Great Mercury Island by Captain Cook) is unique in that it represents a snapshot of time, a snapshot of human interaction isolated from the influences of the mainland but a good representation of the human model.
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When people visit our wood-cabin workshop in the heart of Thames, they often arrive carrying something precious – a memory, a milestone, a piece of family history, or a work of art that deserves to be seen and preserved.
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I’ve just found a scrap of paper squashed at the back of my socks drawer. Must have been there a while. It’s a list of my favourite words. There are words to impress, some that sound silly, words of comfort and words that make me giggle.
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In November last year, a few of your local Haheitians managed to finally make a trip happen that had been on the ‘Missions’ list for years – from the end of the road, Fletcher Bay, back home to Hahei Beach, via sea kayaks.
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My own life began in a situation of dishonesty which I outlined in a previous Coromind article. My parents suddenly married and hightailed it to London so my mum could give birth to me free from prying eyes and wagging tongues and avoid the social stigma of falling pregnant before marriage.
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When you scroll through your social media feeds – whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, or even LinkedIn – what do you see? Probably a lot of carefully chosen selfies, success stories, and perfectly edited moments, but...
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Fiona Gates describes her journey to clay as both a homecoming and a rediscovery. Growing up in Tāmaki Makaurau before settling in Coroglen, she found in the Coromandel not just the beauty of beach and bush, but a stable foundation for her whānau and creative life.
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Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) affects approximately 50% of women and 30% of female athletes, some of whom haven’t even given birth. Maybe your mother, sister, wife, partner, daughter. It affects our family, work and social life, it restricts our sporting activities. POP is common, yet most of us get caught by surprise when it happens because we have never heard of it before.
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Living in Whitianga for over 50 years, I have witnessed the rapid decline of our native trees/shrubs/grasses/food sources and habitat for our native birds, insects, bees and butterflies.
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If we’re talking pillars of the Coromandel music scene, Dylan Wade Lajunen deserves a mention. Living on the peninsula for 38 years, Dylan has had a long and rewarding career as a singer-songwriter/guitarist, performing/recording artist and music teacher.
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Raised in the Waikato, Raewyn has never forgotten the tutelage gained from many performers and teachers who had been in the theatre a lot longer than her. So now, as an adult, with not only experience but formal training to her name, she feels passionately about giving back and supporting young talented people keen on taking to the stage.
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things! In this edition, Chelsey Bennett. Brought to you by Fabian Roberts.
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Love them or dislike them, the coalition government's implemented and proposed changes will significantly impact workers across New Zealand's employment landscape. Find out more here!
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Most towns have their ‘good sorts’, local men and women who quietly and unassumingly contribute to their community, their dedication and involvement leaving a lasting and much-valued legacy. One such person was Frederick Sawyer, affectionately known as Fred.
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Once again, Mercury Bay Performing Arts will bring together young talent from across the peninsula to create a magical production that promises to be bigger, brighter and even more breathtaking than the last!
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When the first issue of Coromind came out, I already knew it would be something special. I had been friends with Leo and Taylor for years, and watched them pour their creativity and energy into ALTBAYS Table Talk, their podcast that sparked honest conversations and unexpected connections.
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For the longest time, all I really wanted was a little cabin in the woods where I could draw, paint, surf, and maybe rock out to a party or three if the isolation got too much. Fast forward to today and that dream still feels as far away as it did 30 years ago. Funny how the simplest things can be the hardest to achieve … or maybe I’m just taking the long and winding road to get there.
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I wake early and busy myself with packing a bag, fussing over a layered outfit – Melbourne's weather can be more volatile than home – then anxiously sift through old writings in an attempt to reassure myself that I have at least a semblance of know-how, worthy of the weekend ahead.
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The morning inside the cave was chilly and dimly lit. The only light was from a few coals still burning in fire pits from the night before. All was silent, save for the stifled moaning of a young mother giving birth to her second child while her daughter looked on in awe.
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Rob Holding.
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Coffee LaLa was born of a fortuitous string of events. Surprisingly, roasting coffee is a lot like firing pottery. Potters and cooks make good roasters...
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We are Suckafish and we play punk rock. Our style is loosely based on the 90s punk sound but also dips into ska, grunge and metal.
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Wāhi Tukurua has launched Mercury Bay’s first-ever resource recovery centre at 239 South Highway, Whitianga – right next to the Refuse Transfer Station!
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Driving Creek is thrilled to announce that Ngā Kaihanga Uku (the Māori Clay Artists Collective) and friends will be returning to Kapanga to rekindle their long-standing relationship with Driving Creek.
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The English School marketing fair I attended in Riyadh was held in the NZ Embassy … The NZ Embassy is deemed to be NZ soil so alcohol can be consumed there and it was interesting to see a lot of Saudi language school agents making a beeline for the bar...
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The process of researching a topic, and then turning the research findings into a narrative, is not a task to be undertaken lightly, if for no other reason than the writer’s exposure to rabbit holes into which they might fall. Some years ago...
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Throughout his career, Ashley has drawn inspiration from those he worked alongside – especially Barry Brickell, who became a key influence in his understanding of clay. Over time, ancient ceramic traditions and the work of New Zealand artists such as Graham Fraser, Warren Tippett, and Andrew Van der Putten helped refine his aesthetic. In the 1980s and ’90s, Ashley’s work evolved through colour and brushwork, allowing expressive surface design to emerge as a central focus of his ceramic language.
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Coromandel Open Studios Arts Tour is a wonderful annual event celebrating the vibrant artistic community in and around Coromandel Town, and Coromind is delighted to partner with it!
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It's hard to describe. That feeling in your chest as the music reaches within, grasping your core, sending vibrations throughout your entire being. When nothing exists but you and that rhythm as you melt and connect into something primal. Coromind has a heart for giving and spreading joy, bringing people back to their true nature to experience life as we were designed, centred in creation.
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Another great adventure from Ross Liggins, this time about his time in Saudi Arabia: "The camel market was interesting, except when I was given a cup of fresh, warm camel milk which I was assured was excellent for health. I drank it politely, trying to smile and not spit it out. A camel seller told me that..."
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Te Tiriti, representation, and the power of your vote. What is a ward? Where did this all start? Does democracy work for Māori wards? Will Māori wards cost more money? Who gets a say? Find out here!
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I am an artist whose creative journey began over 20 years ago, when a close friend encouraged me to explore the world of painting. Starting with oils, I soon discovered the beauty and versatility of other mediums, which has led to a unique and ever-evolving artistic practice.
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Fishing may still carry a reputation for being a man’s game, but in Whitianga, tides are changing. Hunting & Fishing Whitianga hosted a sold-out event that brought together a lively crew of wahine for an evening of creativity, connection, and casting.
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Glen Theobald. Brought to you by Ron Morgan.
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Great Mercury Island / Ahuahu – 1872 hectares, basically two islands, one rhyolitic and the other andesitic, joined by a tombolo (natural sand isthmus) in the centre on which once stood great native conifer and coastal trees. At the time of my employment in 2016, Great Mercury Island had only just been officially recognised as a pest-free island, after a major pest eradication in 2014 focused primarily on rats, but also feral cats. There were no goats, possums or mustelids on the island in 2014 and surprisingly,,,
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Coromind On Air started with a simple idea: turn the camera on, hit record, and let the community speak. Whether it’s a conversation with an artist, a panel of candidates before the elections, or a local band performing under the stars, Coromind On Air is becoming a space where voices from across Hauraki-Coromandel can meet and be heard.
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If you have ever wondered when the best time in life is to learn a new language, then you’re in luck because a ton of study has gone into this...
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May Love is a sweet sensitive songwriter with a delicately expressive voice and a penchant for emotional storytelling. She has performed extensively around Europe and released music in various genres, with the aim of inspiring and uplifting listeners.
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I’m an anti-social web designer working from home in the Coromandel. I had spun my web about 160 metres up, well away from the pigs, possums and goats down below...
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When I first met Murray Rainey, aka Muzza, what struck me wasn’t just his elegant, well-balanced pottery. It was the tidiness of his studio. It was spotless. Not in a clinical way, but in a way that made you feel calm. Safe, even...
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Being outside and connecting with the environment is one of my favourite things to do with my children. Helping them learn how to respect nature is incredibly rewarding. Ra knows not to touch bees because he might get a mamae (hurt) so he waves at them and says “Hi bee” in the cutest toddler voice. He also says hi to the flowers.
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Some places just get things right. Atmosphere, top service, delicious food, and something to keep everyone entertained. The Aviator in Thames is one of those places.
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After nursing for almost 30 years, I felt the desire to try painting. From playing with paint and painting from photos my husband and I had taken, I developed my own style of painting with acrylics by applying paint in many layers to achieve a realistic scene.
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A thirty-minute drying cycle. I was confident the time would pass while I lost myself online, keeping up with (dis)information on my gadget...I felt a little bored. It was then that I noticed a magazine on another chair nearby. What caught my eye was how artistic and colourful the cover was, so I grabbed it, in need of distraction. Its cover was a piece of art with a unique title – COROMIND? My interest piqued, I turned the pages.
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Coromind is launching a new series of free workshops designed to support artists in our region. Whether you’re just getting started or have been creating for years, these sessions offer hands-on knowledge, kōrero, and community — all aimed at helping you grow a sustainable, confident creative practice.
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The power of small changes! The idea is simple: choose to refuse single-use plastics for the month of July (and beyond).
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There’s something special about the way homes flow in Pāuanui and throughout the Hauraki-Coromandel. Real Interior NZ, a locally based interior design and renovation team, knows how to make the most of that character. From beachside baches to full family homes, their custom approach brings style and functionality into every corner of a space.
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Algorithms are the secret sauce behind every social media feed, and they trap us in ‘echo chambers’, bubbles where we keep seeing the same types of opinions, making it easy to reinforce what we already believe and harder to understand different points of view – where everyone agrees with you or, worse, push you towards more extreme content.
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The rock lay at the top of the bush, at the eastern end of the farm. Nick and I found it one day, though we had not been searching for it. We had crossed the road from my father’s house, into an area of bush that clung to the side of the hill like limpets to the hull of an upturned ship...
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Listen: punk rock agitates, but it always has something to say.Ever since it cursed and spat its way into the beige and regimented mindset of the mid-70s, it’s been loud in calling out the bullshit and challenging the rules. Bands like Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, and The Clash in the UK, and Ramones, Television, and Richard Hell and the Voidoids in the US, were, respectively, fearless in their rejection of establishment, corporate mainstream, and authority. They became an indignant reaction to dire social conditions. Not everyone had a slice of the pie, so backs were turned and flags were raised. Things were done their way.
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During my linguistics and language studies, there turned out to be several surprising crossovers between how you approach language and how you can approach life and the people around you.
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A while ago I was very fortunate to be selected to travel to Japan, representing New Zealand, at the Local Government Exchange and Cooperation Seminar, in Kōhoku, a town in Saga Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. Whilst there is much to write about … it was the collective responsibility felt by the citizens, working together for the betterment of all, which had the most profound effect on me.
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As the water temperature cools down over winter, you may notice New Zealand fur seals, or kekeno, returning to the rocky shores around the Coromandel Peninsula...
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Lisl Wollheim Jones. Brought to you by Ron Morgan.
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At Pattaya, which in the 70s was just a sleepy seaside town which American GIs had also frequented during the war, an ex-soldier also called John befriended us and asked for some money as he didn’t have anywhere to stay and was sleeping under a water tower. He had fallen victim to the lure of swallowing opium-soaked coconut fibre which was a cheap drug of choice for some travellers.
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Kauri are among the largest and longest living trees in the world with two ancient giants, Tanenui and Tairua, recorded on the Coromandel Peninsula in 1986. (Ref: Te Ara, teara.govt.nz.) The Kauaeranga Valley was once filled with magnificent kauri trees, but with the arrival of the European settlers thousands of massive trees were felled, and by 1928 most of the kauri had been logged.
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The CoroCine Film Festival is back for 2025, shining a spotlight on Coromandel’s growing community of filmmakers. From 22-24 August, the festival will light up MTC-Mercury Twin Cinemas, Whitianga with a curated three-day programme showcasing films made by, about, and for the Coromandel.
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In today’s world, having digital skills and internet access is essential for staying connected and being involved. But not everyone has the same opportunities to participate in this digital landscape, and the ‘digital divide’ can seriously affect a person’s sense of belonging – both online and in the real world.
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This is the 30th issue of Coromind! A milestone. Enjoy the full audio version.
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While Matariki is widely known as the marker of the Māori New Year, in regions like Te Taihauāuru, parts of Northland, and the South Island, we look first to Puanga – a star just as important in our skies and stories.
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What’s clear now is that Coromind is more than a magazine. We’re a platform. One that produces and promotes events, partners with incredible creatives and businesses, and offers an online outlet where the world can see what makes our corner of Aotearoa NZ so unique – and feel inspired to visit, support, and celebrate it.
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Impressionist, quirky, cartoon-like painter and sculptor Cindy Alger was born and raised in Coromandel. Cindy paints around 20 paintings per year, but has aimed at ensuring her paintings are priced to be accessible to collectors who may not have big budgets as she believes that art is for everybody.
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Whether you’re a first-time language learner or an experienced polyglot, the language learning process always comes with its own unique challenges. Luckily, you can apply some excellent language-learning tips and strategies to make the journey a little easier.
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The women who settled in Thames during the gold rush of 1867 came from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances, which influenced their standing in the community. All classes were drawn to the goldfields by the prospect of striking it rich!
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Ancient spiritual traditions and modern quantum physics each suggest everything in the universe including humans is composed of vibrating energy. This energy field, often referred to as the ‘life force’, Ka (an ancient Egyptian term) or ‘chi’, flows through and around us, created by us and for us.
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From her home in Whitianga, where her roots run deep through generations of family, Sandy Gaskell has been quietly and powerfully expressing stories of Aotearoa through the intricate, absorbing world of te whatu kākahu.
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Monica Harris. Brought to you by Ron Morgan and Coromandel's CFM.
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In 1973, due to civil and religious unrest, travellers were advised to avoid areas of southern Thailand, so my travel buddy Nigel and I decided to head for Koh Samui Island.
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For more than 80 million years, New Zealand’s native species evolved without mammalian predators. Now, more than 4,000 of Aotearoa’s native species are threatened or at risk of extinction. They face threats from possums, rats, stoats, other introduced predators, and habitat loss. In areas where these predators have been eradicated, nature heals, allowing native wildlife to return and recover.
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Just like your car, your plumbing needs regular maintenance to keep everything running smoothly! Small issues like leaks, slow drains, or low water pressure can turn into big (and expensive) problems if left unchecked. Let’s catch those sneaky issues before they catch you!
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Imagine an apple slice left out on the bench. After a while, it turns dull, dry, and wrinkly. Now picture your skin exposed to winter air without protection – losing bounce, hydration and glow day after day. So, how do we keep that juicy, fresh-skin glow alive in winter?
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Gold prices are high, and big companies are coming to our area planning to extract it. They aim to mine in and under the forests and mountains – and, as seen in Waihī, even beneath our homes.
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This Matariki, three unapologetically Māori voices—Jason Tahatika, Roimata Taimana, and Walter Baker—bring bold, powerful new work to Kūaotunu in a special exhibition titled The Three Fried Bread and a Doughnut. Their creativity calls us to reflect, remember, and connect.
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New Zealand-born artist Ross Paul Dunn has long explored the complex relationship between humans, animals and the environment through his creative work. His paintings often weave narratives that challenge viewers to reflect on the way people shape – and are shaped by – the natural world.
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Gaming isn’t just for teenagers – it’s a cultural phenomenon for millions of people around the world, including a lot of adults. It’s more than just a way to pass the time; gaming lets people explore different identities, build skills and connect with others.
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When I first visited Kay Ogilvie’s studio, the diversity of her work immediately caught my attention. I loved the massive bats hanging upside down – as they would, of course – but what really stood out was how varied everything was. If you spread her pieces across a gallery floor without any labels, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were made by a group of different artists. In my humble opinion, that’s part of Kay’s magic.
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Johnny Greaves. Brought to you by Ron Morgan.
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In 1975, after a three-week stay at a Buddhist monastery in Sri Lanka, I made my way by ferry across the Palk Strait to Tamil Nadu in southern India and from there caught a train to Pondicherry, a city south of the state’s capital Chennai, which at the time was called Madras...
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Have you ever wondered about a plant, animal or insect you’ve seen in nature? Your observations can make a valuable contribution to scientific research and conservation.
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If you’ve lived in New Zealand all your life, you should know by now that this season could bring some of the harshest weather conditions damaging to roofs: Strong winds, Heavy rainfall, Condensation and Moisture...
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In 2019, Carl committed and trained to do my bit to help change the trajectory of men’s health in New Zealand. Since then, Carl has worked in a private capacity with hundreds of Tāne from around Aotearoa who turn up to me in Tairua, with burnout, depression, trauma, addictions like alcohol/vaping, mental unease, relationship issues – an awareness that there is a better way to live – and are looking for answers.
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Born from a simple callout for sock donations, Children in Care – Te Manaaki Tamariki is a grassroots initiative supporting vulnerable tamariki (children) across the Thames/Coromandel District.
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While browsing through the museum collections, I was drawn to a photo of a gentleman in a uniform, with a number of medals pinned to his jacket. He appeared to have dressed carefully for the photo, with a sense of pride in his appearance and the uniform he was wearing.
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Kupe, the legendary Polynesian explorer, journeyed from the Pacific to Aotearoa on the Matawhaorua, a great double-hulled waka. According to tradition, Kupe was ‘chasing a wheke’ – a giant octopus – which metaphorically describes how he and his crew navigated the vast Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (Pacific Ocean) using the many different currents.
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I clearly remember the purpose that brought me to Hot Water Beach sixty years ago – looking for a site for a family beach home with room for gardening. I was 15 years old. My parents came down and bought a beachfront section and a DIY beach home project was created.
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Using language is this cool inbuilt ability, when you think about it. It takes the basic sounds we make with our mouths, or the signs we write or make with our hands, and forms entire codes that we then use to communicate.
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Eggsentric Café operators Sam Fowell and Rachel Saunders are showing that hospitality and sustainability go hand in hand.
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In the last five issues of Coromind, I took you on a trip, sharing my insights into the great food and drinks you’ll find in our lovely Hauraki-Coromandel region. For this last article, I wrap up with a few special things which occasionally feature as a real indulgence in my diet.
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From the moment Emma Lovell could move, she was dancing. As a child, her mother would watch her twirl on tiptoes before she could even walk, captivated by the rhythm and movement that seemed ingrained in her very being. That innate love for dance led her on a lifelong journey – one that has now brought her to Whitianga with a mission to share the joy of movement with the community.
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Pete Sephton was raised in Thames but left at 18, first to attend university and then to travel across Australia and South-east Asia. In 1972, he returned to university to qualify as a teacher, and by 1977, he was teaching art in Kawerau.
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Kanani Cowell is originally from O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, and arrived in Aotearoa 40 years ago after spending time in Tahiti and Samoa. Kanani Cowell pursued art and art history, teaching in Aotearoa (including at Thames High) and completed a Master’s in Art in 2001.
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Nature isn’t just a place to visit; it’s where we find balance, restore our energy, and reconnect with ourselves. With a passion for the natural world and a background in environmental and outdoor education, DOC Community Ranger, Maree Limpus, has witnessed the positive impact nature can have on people and their well-being.
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Is your digital self deciding what you get to see and do in real life? Every time you scroll through TikTok, ask Siri to play a song, or search for a cool new recipe on your tablet, you’re adding to what’s called your ‘algorithmic identity’.
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Thames Music and Drama (MAD) produce plays and smaller revue-type shows at their base at the Tararu Cultural Centre.
Their upcoming production, School of Rock, gives rangatahi an opportunity to showcase their talents in acting, singing, and musicianship.
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Hi, Alisa Clapham here. Mother of two young children and the owner of BOD. Skincare & Massage in Whitianga. As an advocate for mental wellness, I often wonder – are people truly happy in their day-to-day lives? I can sympathise with your never-ending to-do list.
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Being married to Dianne, who generally prefers vegetarian food, has presented challenges for me as someone who is more naturally carnivorous. However my tastes have certainly flexed over the years and I am passionate about several plant and fruit items grown in NZ. I’m also involved in vegetable growing as a Director of a large-scale Hawkes Bay-based cropping operator.
Here I introduce certain vegetables and fruit I love for both nutritional and taste profiles.
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Possum hunting is the unlikely catalyst for a historical novel written by Hikuai man, Jonathan Peet. But this ex-farmer, musician and history lover says when hunting possums years ago he discovered evidence of old mining sites in the bush, sparking his love of history and the writing of his first book, Wairata.
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Megan Carmichael. Brought to you by Ron Morgan.
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What is flotation therapy? It involves floating in lukewarm water saturated with Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom salts). The weightless, zero-gravity environment induces deep relaxation while the absence of external stimuli allows the brain to rest, escaping daily distractions.
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A long way from the Coromandel, in the middle of the Southern Alps somewhere, my two rock-climbing partners’ looks of concern terrified me! “Rachael, we have taken off your helmet and replaced it with mine and we have set off your emergency locator beacon!” I felt sorry for my partner at home, in Whitianga, my first emergency contact! He’d be receiving an almighty fright as emergency rescue services contacted him.
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The world’s languages are dying! Every single language on this earth is an intangible taonga, each containing an entire people’s identity, history, philosophy, culture, economic and technological knowledge, and more. And when a language dies, that intangible part of humanity dies with it.
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Following up on Part 1 of the Barton Wood story: One day one of my housemates, Dave, decided to explore the several sheds on the property, which unfortunately weren’t locked. I say unfortunately because they contained some pretty interesting stuff which immediately caught Dave’s aesthetic eye...
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How comfortable do you feel being alone? Ideally, being alone, spending time in our own company, is based on liking who we are, otherwise it can be a nasty spiral downwards.
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There’s a big sparkly sign in the shape of a surfboard as you pass the Tairua home of Dessa Bluu. It’s done in mosaic with a Pacific design and is just one of this imaginative artist’s creations.
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The ocean floor suddenly comes to life – a grey winged creature unveils itself. It takes flight, gliding effortlessly along the sand. The stingray – or ‘whai’ in te reo – can be found in abundance on our coast during the summer months. Belonging to the same family as sharks, whai also have skeletons of cartilage. They bury themselves beneath the sand to hide from predators and flee when they feel threatened. Whai feed on crustaceans, worms, molluscs, fish and zoo-plankton.
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Most in the Coromandel will be familiar with the story of Driving Creek: established in the early 70s by polymath potter, train enthusiast and conservationist Barry Brickell, Driving Creek evolved organically over its more than fifty-year history. It became a significant...
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Continuing from my introductory story of my arrival at Te Puia (Hot Water Beach) in 1964, I will explore the reasons why I became so passionate about restoring the biodiversity of the enchanted Te Puia Pa site.
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If the locals love a place, you know it’s worth a visit. That’s exactly what you’ll find at Craft Haus Gastropub in Whangamatā – a warm, welcoming spot where great food, craft beer and community come together. Owned and operated by Phil and Natalie Keogh, along with their daughters Poppy and Isla, Craft Haus has quickly become a favourite for both locals and visitors.
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Every time we throw food away, we're not just tossing scraps we're throwing away money, resources, and a chance to care for our environment...
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Ronella Silbery. Brought to you by Ron Morgan.
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Growing and producing Olives for oil is an ancient process that dates well back into the BC years. The Mediterranean Region, which has an optimal climate for Olive production, was one of the first production areas to emerge all these years ago.
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Wendy is a professional mixed media artist with local and international clientele. Her genre is Mixed Media and she paints landscapes, still life, flora and fauna and is not shy of trying new subjects and resources. A qualified teacher, Wendy has conducted art workshops throughout the North Island, in her art school in Auckland and later in her studio classroom in Whitianga.
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Hazy and the Jays is a dynamic alternative pop/rock band based in Thames, New Zealand. The group features Izzy Fitzsimons on lead vocals, Harris Elliot-Hogg on guitar, Jacob Rush on bass, and Jacob ‘Sticky’ Wenhold on drums. Together, they craft a unique sound shaped by diverse musical influences.
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They say Coromandel is good for the soul and I reckon the lovely Rapaura Watergardens at Tapu are good for the soul and the heart. With 64 acres (about 26 hectares) of native bush, lush gardens and delightful waterfalls, it’s a welcoming haven for those needing rest or some space and time with nature.
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Did you spot Whitianga Waka Ama on the water this Waitangi Day? Our local club welcomed more than 40 new paddlers who took to the moana (ocean) for the first time as part of the Waitangi ki Whitianga celebration held at Buffalo Beach Reserve.
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I have loved fishing for most of my 73 years. As a youngster, I went with my father and his mates game fishing in Bay of Islands waters. I was sometimes seasick and had to be dropped off at Deep Water Cove to while away the day while the fishermen scoured the ocean towing a dead kahawai along the surface.
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Wink is a one-eyed Conservation Dog from Invercargill with an important job: detecting pests and sniffing out Spartina grass. His well-tuned nose has brought him up all the way up to Hauraki and Coromandel...
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Each one of us carries the ability to communicate and understand the world around us through language. The languages that we use are not inanimate objects or meaningless tools that we use as a means to an end. They are an extension of culture, containing all the different ways to describe, categorise, and interpret the world.
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Coffee consumption as a beverage began approximately 700 years ago in places like Ethiopia (East Africa) and Yemen (Middle East). Today, coffee consumption is still expanding and a staple in most societies. Coffee is grown in over 70 countries and is the second most exported commodity in the world (after oil).
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We live in a country of natural beauty and we pride ourselves on our clean green environment image. However, we are destroying the ocean floor around us. New Zealand is now the only country in the South Pacific to allow deep sea trawling – this is one of the most common methods in New Zealand for commercial fishing. (Attempts are being made to reduce the extent of trawling, but not fast enough in our opinion.)
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Every morning offers us a beautiful opportunity: the chance to start anew in our relationships. But this renewal is only possible if we actively prevent the buildup of what I call ‘relationship gunge’ – those unspoken thoughts, unexpressed feelings, and silent resentments that gradually corrode the connections we cherish most. Like plaque in arteries or dust in a rarely cleaned room, this emotional gunge can silently undermine even the strongest bonds.
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Sitting in my home – nearly hidden in kānuka (white tea-tree) forest – above the stretch of sand and sea that is my tūrangawaewae (place to stand), Te Puia Pā (an ancient fortified village) is shrouded in mist. My mind takes me on a journey …
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Eden Mclean. Brought to you by Ron Morgan.
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I was born in London to Kiwi parents who were there on their honeymoon. You may think it must have been a long honeymoon but that’s a story for another time. I was taken by ship and flying boat to Aotearoa and didn’t return to the country of my birth until I was 21. I was carrying a surfboard when I arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport.
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Whitianga is abuzz as Mercury Bay Performing Arts (MBPA) gears up for its first production, Disney’s Aladdin Junior: The Musical. Led by Fabian Roberts, a passionate musician, songwriter and radio DJ, MBPA aims to inspire tamariki (children) and rangatahi (youth) with the magic of musical theatre while fostering confidence and lifelong skills.
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Most people picture a harp something like this: Gently falling arpeggios, graceful fingers, and nondescript angelic lullabies ... the kind of harp we see in the background of movies to signify affluence and luxury and relaxation. From the time I could walk, I wanted to play a harp like this. Oh, to be so serene, so refined. My ten-year-old self, clinging to princess daydreams, so desperately wanted to understand that mesmerising, other-worldly instrument.
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The protection offered by marine reserves allows marine ecosystems to flourish. We all play a part in protecting these special areas.
Te Whanganui-o-Hei / Cathedral Cove marine reserve is part of the rohe (area) first claimed by Hei, leader of Ngati Hei, who arrived in 1350 AD on Arawa waka. The area was named Te Whanganui-o-Hei (the great bay of Hei).
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In 2019, I moved from Tauranga to Coromandel Town with my wife and youngest daughter for a bit of a ‘gap year’ – a new adventure, if you will. Once here, Coromandel had its way with us, and we decided to permanently call this place home. From early childhood, it was clear I was wired for art, and in my teenage years, I immersed myself in painting. In the mid-80s, whilst in high school, Michael Smither was my artist hero; at home, I painted birds and wanted to be the next Raymond Ching.
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The Mercury Bay Art Escape 2025 opens with its annual Gala Event on Friday, 28 February, at 6:00 pm at Hot Waves Café, Hot Water Beach...
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As you cross the ferry from Whitianga to the Cooks Beach side, a must-do track awaits you. This track is the start of two tracks: the Whitianga Rock and Pā Site track and the Maramaratotara Track (a loop).
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In my Ferry Landing studio, I draw inspiration from the ocean rolling into Maramaratōtara Bay from Mercury Bay. My studio, nestled within our developing garden, provides a sanctuary for my creativity. While my surroundings significantly influence my work, my artistic vision has been equally shaped by years of travel and diverse life experiences.
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I love many things about the Coromandel, and our summer season is definitely one of the strongest reasons I’ve chosen to call this place home for the past twelve years. People from all over the world come to enjoy the best of this magical region, and of course, this attracts epic festivals right to our doorstep...
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Kia ora. Welcome to Issue 25 of Coromind! We’re celebrating two years of existence, and we’re so stoked that you’ve joined the party! Every issue of Coromind is crafted by a talented team dedicated to quality and deeply focused on the well-being of our community.
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James Webster’s artistic journey is a testament to the power of self-discovery, whakapapa and cultural revitalisation. His story begins in Waikato where his whakapapa traces roots to the Pirongia maunga, the Waipa River and Pūrekireki Marae.
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Leanne Rolls. Brought to you by Ron Morgan and Coromandel's CFM
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Continuing with Jerry’s story from Part 1, he had been house leader for several years and was building a wooden dinghy in the garage. This boat-building project was funded by St Vincent de Paul. The nun I replaced, Sister Celia, had assured me that he was able to manage the house and maintain the discipline required for its successful operation …
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Mike Taylor has over 20 years of history working in the wine industry as a Financier, Consultant and Company Director. “As the weather warms up, anglers ranging from the most experienced to the occasional weekend warrior will be heading onto the water with expectations of catching the big one. So, of course, I wish each and every one the greatest success, and hopefully some personal bests are placed in your bin”.
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Each year during the first two weekends of March, passionate local artists from Tairua to Whangapoua throw open the doors of their creative spaces and invite the public into their studios.
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Anne Bowden’s 20-year legacy of mosaics and mentorship - Her journey into art began during a challenging 10-year period of deep depression. Encouraged by her counsellor to try painting, she discovered a creative outlet that became transformative. This led to her participation in an exhibition organized by Stepping Out, a support group for psychiatric survivors in Thames, where she showcased her work for the first time.
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Summer in the Coromandel is hard to beat. Whether you’re enjoying the stunning coastline or cruising the sparkling waters, you may notice some picturesque islands and interesting rock stacks along your way.
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Coromind Magazine is thrilled to celebrate its second anniversary, solidifying its place as a cornerstone for the arts community in the Hauraki-Coromandel region. With every issue, we’ve created a positive safe space to share and celebrate local stories and talents.
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After her youngest child left for tertiary studies this year, it was time for Reina to focus on herself and prioritize her well-being. Over the past year, she dedicated time to self-care, undergoing some non-serious surgeries and procedures, including eye surgery, and has humorously emerged as “Reina 2.0.” Despite these procedures, she continued to paint and host art workshops and retreats, successfully completing four very large commissions throughout the year.
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Audrey Neville is currently 94. Born in the 1930s, she began playing the piano at the age of eight, marking an impressive musical career spanning eighty-five and a half years.
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Mt Paku is a volcanic peak rising between the southern end of Tairua Beach and the Tairua harbour mouth. It was formed around 7-8 million years ago as a volcanic island. Relatively recently (over 6,000 years ago), sea levels rose, allowing a land bridge to develop that now connects the area known as Tairua to Mt Paku.
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Imagine a future where our beaches are pristine, our community is thriving, and businesses, nature, and people live in harmony. This future might seem distant, but every small action brings it closer.
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We love our beaches here in the Coromandel! Our coasts are home to a special mix of native plants and animals that are found nowhere else in the world! As you spend this summer enjoying our beautiful beaches, you might like to know why they are so important and how you can help care for and protect these special environments.
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We had the incredible privilege of hosting our very first Cross Club Jiu Jitsu Tournament in Whitianga, featuring 38 young practitioners from Coromandel BJJ (based in Tairua) and Toa Martial Arts (Whitianga). The event marked a huge milestone for our local Jiu Jitsu community, with over 40 matches taking place throughout the day.
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Nau mai, haere mai to our fun whānau day at Te Whitianga-nui-a-Kupe to commemorate the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This inaugural beachside event will feature an exciting line-up of live music from local artists and Mau Rākau demonstrations. Experience cultural performances ...
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In this Sure-Shot series, Coromind invites photographers to break down two of their favourite shots, sharing the stories, techniques and moments that make each image special. Featuring this month, we have Karen Mcleod.
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There’s a joy in watching children play and use their imagination, and fostering imagination and play is a key part of Waldorf Steiner education worldwide. This philosophy is thriving on the Coromandel, thanks to a group of dedicated locals...
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If you haven’t noticed by now, my ‘modus operandi’ is optimal health. And optimal health doesn’t just cover physical health; it’s the food you’re eating, the people you are spending time with, the media you are consuming, the business or job you are giving your time to – each of these impacts your overall optimal health.
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“Morley’s colourful and bold landscape painting scenes draw the viewer in and can leave them staring for hours as their imagination fills in the gaps to whatever kind of picture they want to see”...
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Mt Moehau is also known as Te Moengahau-o-Tamatekapua (‘the windy sleeping place of Tama-te-kapua’) who was the commander of the Te Arawa canoe, and was buried on the summit of the mountain. His grandson, Huarere, gave his name to the tribe Ngāti Huarere. Mt Moehau stands as the tallest mountain in the Coromandel at 892m above sea level. The summit is sacred to the collective Marutūāhu iwi, and for this reason, reaching it isn't possible, so please respect the mountain and its boundaries...
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The stunning sandy beaches of the Coromandel Peninsula are not just a playground for people; they are essential habitats for native shorebirds including tūturiwhatu / dotterel, tōrea pango / variable oystercatcher, tarāpunga / red-billed gulls, tarāpuka / black-billed gulls, and tara / terns.
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Tucked along the south coast of Hahei lies one of the Coromandel’s secret gems. Running from Great Barrier Island through the peninsula to the Kaimai Range, the Coromandel Ranges are the remnants of ancient volcanoes – a landscape quite literally born of fire.
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Since 2023, the market has defied expectations and is now established as one of Coromandel’s must-visit destinations. The market is primarily based on locally sourced produce and food, fresh organic veggies, berries, staples, delicatessen and artisan goods. While maintaining its focus as a farmers market, it features a uniquely Waihī Beach flavour by including selected high-quality crafts, garden art and local Waihī Beach pottery art.
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Whitianga-based musician FĒI LÍN sat down with fellow Kiwi-Asian Elvisa van der Leden to share some insights on some of the elements that bring her music to life.
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Tony Calsaferri recently sold his paint palette. The buyer wanted to acquire Tony’s palette simply because it was a work of art, with his paint piled high like small piles of single-coloured pancakes. His work has become popular and could be closely linked or likened to ‘pop art’ for some. Many homes in Coromandel Town and the surrounding area have a Tony Calsaferri on their wall.
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Nestled in Paeroa is a place that lives and breathes Te Ao Māori, and a man who is the living embodiment of kotahitanga – unity, togetherness, solidarity. Darby Tuhaka is an artist, advocate, activist, cultural preservationist and healer. His business, Healing Ink Studio, is a multi-faceted venture, home to tā moko (traditional tattoo), whakairo (carving) and rongoā (traditional medicine). It’s also what he calls “a destination for discarded taonga (treasures)”.
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The walk from my backpackers home in Sydney’s King’s Cross to the Matthew Talbot Hostel for homeless men in Woolloomooloo during the early eighties was colourful to say the least. On stepping out the door at 8 am during the first couple of weeks of my new job, I was surprised to see the used syringes lying on the pavement, ladies of the night still lounging on street corners offering different prices for the various services …
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Nina Winter. Brought to you by Coromandel's CFM and Ron Morgan
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Mike Taylor has over 20 years of history working in the wine industry as a Financier, Consultant and Company Director. This history has principally been a business journey, but has also provided a rich opportunity to try wines from a vast number of producers (both NZ and global) at all manner of price points, ranging from very expensive to cheap.
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You know what I’ve been thinking about lately? Those endless Christmas ads showing partners unwrapping shiny new gadgets with delighted faces. (Spoiler alert: No one is actually that excited about getting a vacuum cleaner, even if it is ‘smart’!)...
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We are heading straight into one of the busiest times of the year, Christmas is on the horizon and 2025 is just around the corner.
Even if you're not a celebrator of Christmas, this time of year generally gets busy (and silly). We have an increase of public holidays, work parties, school coming to an end for the year – and summer is coming. Days are getting longer, people are getting out and about. It's not surprising that this time is also usually equated with a whole heap more stress …
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Imagine a future where our beaches are pristine, our community is thriving, and businesses, nature, and people live in harmony. This future might seem distant, but every small action brings it closer.
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A leap across ‘the ditch’ in 1991 catapulted New Zealander Elizabeth Kyle into an unexpected life as a highly regarded Visionary Surrealist / Mystical Symbolist artist and gallery owner in Australia. Elizabeth’s journey began in Katikati where she showed early signs of artistic flair. Her forward-thinking parents allowed her to study at Tauranga Girls’ College under the tutelage of the legendary Claudia Jarman...
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Many of us worldwide, at some point in our youth, were encouraged to take up Judo, Karate, Taekwondo or some other Martial Art. The usual motivation was to promote self-esteem, focus, confidence, discipline and fitness. When introduced to adults, the focus seems to be on self-defence, competition or codified systems and traditions of combat. Originating from the word ‘martialis’, meaning ‘of Mars’, the Roman god of war, the term ‘martial’ has a historical association with…
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Johanna and I agonised over the decision to book our overseas trip in July because we were so worried about Tess. Thanks to Dave, our vet, Tess, our beloved Border Collie, is still with us despite being diagnosed with liver cancer. He had prescribed prednisone, a steroid, to control her cancer. It was working, and she was eating, albeit reluctantly. We visited Dave again, and he used an ultrasound to check if the cancer was still there. His diagnosis confirmed that it remained present...
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From Moehau at the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula to Te Aroha in the south, diverse ecosystems are home to a wide variety of wildlife, including many native, threatened and at-risk species...
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Once upon a time, the great Polynesian explorer Kupe paid a visit to our region, followed a few centuries later by Captain James Cook. Later, the small seaside township of Whitianga became renowned for its kauri sawmilling, and laid out the permanent settlement of the town. A large brass band was started in 1909 by the local barber, rehearsing in the drill hall – probably Whitianga’s first ‘big band’...
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My French friends, Jacques and Marie and their two young children, who participated in the cricket match mentioned in Part 1, eventually left Aotearoa bound for New Caledonia where they stayed for some months before heading to Fiji. They invited me to join them to sail with them to Vanuatu, so I flew to Nadi and boarded their 40-foot yacht …
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Poetic Ground is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: Te Puia 2017, By Howard Saunders, and Reflection of the World By Yaning Ma Foreman
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I’ve been creating art for as long as I can remember. As a child, my favourite activity was drawing. I’d carefully arrange my pens in rainbow order before each session, a reflection of my early obsession with colour. Even in my earliest works – felt pen drawings from the age of four – colour played a central role.
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If I asked you, what song are you? Or, which book are you? This might not make any sense at first sight, agree? But imagine that in the grand orchestra of life, it’s easy to find ourselves lost in the cacophony of doubt and comparison.
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The arts matter. This is my third time writing about Creatives in Schools for Coromind. I have a personal connection to the mahi, but I’m also a fierce advocate for the arts. I believe the arts are a core necessity for people of all backgrounds, for enjoyment, entertainment and wellbeing.
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We were 10, 11, 12 when we rode the eddy-wave. Storms high in the hills had swollen the river into a frothy churn of mocha-brown and bubbling white that surged through the valley, cutting into the high banks with the weight of all that rain.
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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Joe Reynolds. Brought to you by Ron Morgan.
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My name is Connor de Gier, and this is my story. I was born in Auckland and lived there until moving to the Coromandel in 2021. I am 17 years old and have now developed a love for nature and exploring anywhere my legs can take me. I only just started hiking and adventuring this year...
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How Experience Shapes Your Thoughts and Beliefs. What would you say if I told you that there is a record of everything you have ever done, said, seen, heard, felt, tasted, smelt, even thought? Well, there is. It is called your subconscious mind. It takes in and records everything...
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This year, En Pointe Dance Studio says goodbye to three of its stars – Courtney, Charli and Indaria. They've spent years growing, dancing and making lifelong memories here, but now it’s time for them to move on to new adventures. From tough rehearsals to amazing performances, these dancers have left their mark. And while they’re stepping off our stage, their stories are far from over...
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Last December, Luke Steele invited me to play the drums with him and his father, Rick Steele, at a pre-Christmas gig. Despite my initial concerns about not having at least one rehearsal, Luke assured me we'd be fine. These guys are top musicians, so I trusted their judgment. Rick Steele is a legendary Bluesman, inducted into the West Australia Music Hall Of Fame in 2016, and his son, Luke Steele, is an eight-time award-winning singer-songwriter, lead vocalist, guitarist and one of the producers of the electro-pop duo, Empire Of The Sun...
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Sigh … I have spent too long trying to start this article. Overthinking how to tap the subject lightly on the shoulder and start the conversation in my mind. Being in my 30s and in a traditional relationship, I am seeing so many different scenarios play out with my girlfriends. Observing so many life paths and supporting friends through various types of relationships has exercised my compassion and expanded my heart for those who had hoped for something that wasn’t to be.
Prisoners Of War is a thrash metal band with strong influences from the 80s and 90s. The current lineup consists of Reef Denton (rhythm guitarist/vocals), River Lloyd (lead guitarist/backing vocals), Zach Greenfield (drummer/backing vocals), and Vienna Blofield (bassist).
I guess sailing became part of my future genetic makeup back in 1865 when my great-great grandfather William Foote abandoned his timber milling business in Newfoundland Canada because adverse weather over several years had affected tree growth. Together with another family, the Peaces, he bought the 132-ton brigantine (sailing vessel) called Clara, loaded her with a steam engine and all their timber milling machinery and set off for a new life in New Zealand. Aboard were 37 people including…
Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Luke Neale. Brought to you by Ron Morgan
Thames Arts, Treasures and Textiles (TATAT) is a group of local artists who have come together to exhibit and sell their unique creations.
Starting on 19 October, the exhibition will be open for sales every Saturday morning, 9 am - 1 pm, in the Grahamstown Hall, in conjunction with the Saturday Thames Market. On display will be collections of pottery, jewelry, textiles and fine arts, as well as beautiful and rare forgotten treasures from ages past.
They may not look picturesque, in the way a Coromandel beach might. The waters aren’t shimmering blue. Things don’t just soar here; they creep and wriggle. Birds don’t just chirp; they croak and boom.
Yet the Hauraki and Coromandel’s wetlands are magical places. Wetlands are ecosystems including rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, swamps, bogs, estuaries, natural springs and more.
Jocelyn Pratt’s passion lies in sculpting hardstone, where she explores and enhances the natural qualities of stone through form, polish, texture, light and shadow. Her creations celebrate the natural solidity and strength of stone, aiming to evoke a sense of tactile repose and optimism for societal change.
Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Virginia Connell. Brought to you by Ron Morgan
Meet King Fish, the killer three-piece band with Jacob on drums, Heinzy on bass, and Jay rocking guitar and vocals. They’re all about heavy riffs but with a cool twist: each instrument gets its own space to breathe, avoiding that full-throttle, non-stop noise. Their sound hits hard but stays clear and balanced, giving them a unique edge in the scene.
Occasionally, we all feel unwell. Periodically, we might have a headache, catch a cold, or burn a fever. Sometimes, we break some bones, suffer more severe internal issues or are diagnosed with some devastating illness. When this happens, most of us will seek out a general practitioner, a specialist or a surgeon and, subsequently, receive some medication to help us recover. On other occasions, although we are physically healthy, we may feel mentally unwell – be it anxiety, depression, stress or more extreme conditions, such as psychosis or schizophrenia.
Free Self-Guided Tour Showcasing the Best of Coromandel's Art Scene
For many years, the Coromandel Town area has had a reputation as a notable centre for arts and crafts in New Zealand. Talented artists are often drawn here from other areas not just for the beautiful views but also the lively art community. Every year since 2006, many of these artists have been opening up their studios on the first two weekends of October, for the Coromandel Open Studios Arts Tour.
My name is Olivia McDonald, I’m 19 years old and at the end of July I am going to America to play college soccer in Nebraska. My football journey began when I moved to Whitianga and joined the Mercury Bay 11th Grade team coached by Leah Gubb, the first person who truly inspired me to take the sport further.
In Part 1 of this story, I suggested that people and political parties sit down and share kai together, speak and listen to each other and reach compromises through sharing ideas and understanding – and not use historical agreements to sow discord and division, as the Act Party’s Treaty Referendum Bill is doing. The party’s policy of New Zealanders having ‘the same fundamental rights regardless of race, religion, gender …’ is obviously a nonsense.
I paint because it brings me happiness, fulfilment and allows me to share the messages I have for the world in the most authentic way possible. Also, because I don’t know how not to. When I haven’t painted for a while I feel like there’s a big storm cloud brewing behind me full of ideas, adding up and threatening to push me over.
Even as the excitement of the Summer Olympics blazed onto our screens, a world class pool star in Whitianga continued to hope he would see Cue Sports on the Olympic podium in the near future.
Retired lawyer and international pool player, Royce (Rocky) Lane has lobbied for the sport to be recognised in the Olympic arena since the 80s, saying Cue Sports is in the World Games, so why not the Olympics.
My husband and I were fortunate enough to both be home full-time with our toddler and four month old baby while I was on six months of Paid Parental Leave (PPL).
While this period did require financial and social sacrifices, we made it work and were grateful to be able to invest so much time, energy and love into our babies in those early months. We were so aware that not everyone is lucky enough to be able to do that as a couple.
Hello again, I hope this article finds you well! This month I want to dive into a topic that is a personal favourite – Meditation! Now, before you skip past, I ask that you give me a chance, even if you've tried meditation before and it hasn’t worked for you. Most people who don’t automatically love sitting in stillness and silence decide very quickly that meditation isn’t for them…
Common Ground is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: Blister by Flaxxies and Beauty by Denise Allen
When Jacci Hilton was growing up on Auckland’s North Shore, all she dreamed about was helping animals. A naturally curious, caring and empathetic girl, she had lots of pets, a menagerie of sorts! As a teenager she worked in a pet store, and would regularly bring home animals to rehabilitate or rehome, sneaking them on the bus in a bag or in her pockets, to be met at home by her Mum exclaiming, “Oh, what did you bring home now!”
Play that note again, cook it for a bit longer, draw smoother lines, clean it harder, wait until it is dry, shake it before using it, ask for help, price it right, don’t ask for help, question more, wedge the clay, stay quiet, improvise, laugh about it …
I’m from Thames and started playing squash at 12, but before I started I grew a love for the sport because my parents have played for many years now. When they went to tournaments, I would go with them and found squash more interesting the more I watched.
Common Ground is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: Old Sailor by Chris Porter and This One’s For The Winos, The Working Girls, The Lovers, and The Crowds Passing By – Stewart Pedley & The Sinners
**Imagine this. It’s dark, it’s late and the music’s loud at a park in Cordoba, a city of over one-and-a-half million centred in the heart of Argentina. A happy crowd fills the open space as they dance, their movements measured, couples focused as they concentrate on the irresistible passion of the Tango.
Local man Sergio Corvalan is there. He sees a woman across the crowd and invites her to dance. As is the custom, the invitation is simply a gaze – no words – and she smiles her acceptance. They do not know it, but it will be the first of so many dances together…**
Doodling has always interested me as a quick, easy and no judgement start to art. I used YouTube as a resource and doodling led into loose urban sketching. A broad definition of loose urban sketching is the ability to observe surroundings and simplify the bustling streets, architecture and people into basic shapes and lines.
Embark on a journey full of delicious surprises and vibrant melodies at this year’s Whitianga Oceans Festival. It's not just about the food and drinks; it's about creating unforgettable memories. But what many don’t know is that the festival is a community owned and run event that has a strong focus on sustainability and the environment.
I attended a private high school in Auckland at which the students were all white except for one Māori boy called Ben, so obviously there was no whānau room and no te reo Māori taught. Most of us had little experience of Māori culture. However, for me, that was about to change.
They say it takes a village to raise a child – but it also takes a village to raise a mother. From the moment she discovers she is pregnant to the day her child leaves the nest, it is the community surrounding the family unit that supports and guides them. From antenatal courses to schools and sports clubs, there are various avenues by which a community comes together to support each other.
I recently had the pleasure of meeting Georgie Parry, the founder of The Coromandel Youth Mentors Programme (CYM). Georgie, a young woman who emigrated to New Zealand in August 2019, struck me as a deeply passionate and caring individual dedicated to her community. Originally from England, Georgie holds a degree in Criminology; however, her true calling emerged when she worked as a mental health advocate in the UK.
They say a journey takes a thousand steps … ours took about 1000 years!!!
And so our journey has now been laid out in a new exhibition installed at the Mercury Bay Museum in Whitianga, named ‘Shaping Te Whanganui o Hei – People, Place & Time’.
It has been a labour of love for the museum team. We started in October last year with a discussion about creating a timeline and a space on the main floor of the Museum for our people to be more visible and help tell our local stories…
**Express Yourself - The Creative World of Judy Brocas
Kia ora, I’m Judy (Jude) Brocas. Among the many caps I wear, I’m an artist, an introverted/shy kind of person, who is not the best at ‘putting myself out there’, so this is a difficult write. I mainly work with plants these days, creating swathes of seasonal colour that not only feed the pollinators in our garden but my inspiration. Both my grandmothers dabbled with paint, their palettes and brushes have pride of place in my studio; perhaps that is where my artistic nature roots lie.**
Hi, I’m Noah Greenfield but my friends call me Greeny. I’m 13 years old and I live in Cooks Beach. I love sports, particularly surfing, football and table tennis. This year I’m playing for the Junior Boys Mercury Bay Football Club team, now that I’m at Mercury Bay Area School. Last year, my Whenuakite team lost 6-0 to a Tairua team, but by the end of the season, we won 1-0. I also won the Most Valuable Player trophy that year. I go surfing at Hot Water Beach as much as I can – I love being in the water, talking to friends, splashing around and catching waves.
It’s a moment in history that we have all simultaneously dreamed of and dreaded. A moment that may very well shake the core beliefs of every person, not just in the Coromandel Peninsula, but every coastal town in the whole world. This indeed may be the moment that nomads, couples and even families decide to never bother visiting the beach again. It is at this very moment that we announce that the search is indeed over. For all of us. As local Coromandel primary school student Bella Ride has found the most perfect, most singularly spectacular sea shell in existence.
I want to start with why optimal health is crucial for enhancing the quality of our lives. Our well-being + health fundamentally shape our daily experiences, which is why the saying "If you don’t have your health, you have nothing" resonates so deeply. While it's possible to be surrounded by loving and supportive people even when unwell, enjoying life becomes significantly more challenging without good health.
Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world.
In this edition: Ron Morgan
As we reported in Coromind a couple of months ago, the ALTBAYS team is hard at work building a new studio in Whitianga. This will be their third location since they started livestreaming their shows, creating a cozy and safe space for guests from various backgrounds.…
Commodore65 consists of Joshua on keys and vox, Phil on bass and vox, and Jessica on drums and vox. Their shed-punk vibe blends punk and garage elements with a healthy dose of retro gaming nostalgia. Their lyrical themes cover a wide spectrum – from delving into deep mental and emotional experiences to taking jabs at politicians, poking fun at trashy TV and being really tired!
How can we help our little blue penguins survive in this changing world?
With sleek blue feathers, a small yet solid stature and cute pink feet, the kororā (blue penguin) is a beloved part of our coastal wildlife and landscapes. Being the only penguin species naturally found around the North Island coastline, kororā are a taonga (treasure) to many coastal communities, including the likes of Kūaotunu.
The NZ Podcast Summit is an annual event that focuses on collaboration, education, sharing and networking for Aotearoa’s podcast producers, presenters, practitioners and providers. The event stands out because, in the conference room, you will find indie podcasters sitting next to representatives of NZ's big media companies like Stuff, RNZ, The Spinoff and the NZ Herald…
We all have potential; it is human nature. We were designed to survive, thrive and evolve. But, nowadays, many of us get stuck in a mindset of ‘stuckness’. How do we move away from it?
Music has the ability to entertain, provide comfort, lessen anxiety and uplift the spirit. The importance of entertainment was very evident during the heady, gold rush days of the 1800s in New Zealand, none more so than in Thames. Speculators and large companies brought new prosperity to Thames, and a rush of prospectors were lured to the newly opened goldfields, hoping to make their fortune.
Her eyes light up as I walk in: I’ve always loved her eyes, an unusual uniform colour like a warm brown; circular pools of melted chocolate. Today, she’s alert and animated. “Stella! It's so good to see you.” Mum always speaks with emphasis. With meaning.
We live too far away. I call her most days, but technology is such a poor substitute for…
Remember the days in Aotearoa when a coffee purchased away from home involved a ceramic cup, a saucer, a tablecloth and possibly a custard square on the side?
When we enjoyed the whole ambience of a quaint coffee lounge, a friendly chat, the delicious smells and the people who seated us, served us and cleaned our dishes in a sink of hot water. (Well, if you are Gen Z or younger you may not remember – but I promise it was a thing)
For me, Matariki 2024 is about living by the words that Kīng Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tūheitia Paki spoke at a national hui, held at Tūrangawaewae Marae on January 20th this year.
“Just be Māori … build kotahitanga (unity with others) … build our future … We are all in this together … the way forward needs to bring peace and unity for everybody. These issues (around the strategic erosion of Mana Tiriti by elements of our present government) are bigger than politics … it won’t be easy … there’s more mahi (work) to do.”
When I first met Bernadette (Bernie) Ross while working at Creative Coromandel, I was immediately drawn to her deep passion for the arts, her friendly warmth and her sharp wit! It wasn’t until I visited her in Whangamatā in 2021, where she was exhibiting local artists’ work alongside her own, that I really started to understand the depths of her talent as a kairaranga – weaving artist. Three years later, we’re still connected, and long overdue for a kōrero about her raranga (weaving) journey!
My name is Zoe Winter, I’m 16 years old and I live in Tairua. I’m currently in year 12 at Hauraki Plains College and I am a lifeguard at Tairua Beach. My beach safety journey began when I joined our three-week summer junior surf program at around 10 years old, encouraged by my parents. The program challenged me physically and mentally, leading me to start rookie lifeguard training at 13. I then earned my lifeguard award in 2022, which has opened many new opportunities for me.
I have just returned from Japan after visiting my partner’s family. On arrival at Narita Airport at 9pm, we were met by Hiroshi, my partner’s brother, who said “We go to onsen (Japanese hot baths).” After flying for 12 hours, this was indeed a welcome treat and we basked in 40 degree pools of different depths, some shallow with stone pillows to gaze up at the planes taking off every few minutes from the airport a kilometre away, and some with pummelling jets of water that massaged away the aches from 12 cramped hours on Fiji Airlines.
Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world.
In this edition: Matt Bowden
Sporadic road cone displays have always been a part of the package of visiting and travelling around the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula. The breathtaking State Highway 25 and 25A take in both coastal shores and forest wonderlands, frequently peppered with segments of those delightful reflective beacons of joy – Road Cones.
My grandfather Paul was an artist. I began painting in his studio with some of his oil colours, many of which were home-made – by grinding raw materials and mixing with linseed oil. However, most of my early work was in watercolours, learnt by experimenting and reading books. No art school for me, although I did attend a night class run by Colin McCahon while at Auckland University. I still have the painting I did then in 1958 of Albert Park pine trees. Much later in Whitianga l attended Paula McNeill’s classes; from both, I learned important elements of composition.
People often say to me ‘I’ve always wanted to play the harp’ … and I believe them – it’s an intriguing instrument which both enchants and bewitches the listener at the same time. There are also a few myths to debunk.
1. Angels play harps. I can neither confirm nor deny this, but here on earth, it’s just normal people. However…
To say Noah loved music and his violin is an understatement. His passion for both had him skipping meals, losing sleep and wandering the fields and forests, fiddling away the hours in practice. A young teenager, he was enrolled at Waihi College where he joined the school orchestra. Unfortunately, his passion just wasn't enough. For all the time sacrificed and spent in practice, he just wasn't a very good violin player and so was given only a minor role at the back of the string section.
The paradox of probability
Many of us are all too familiar with the game of tossing a coin to decide a choice, question or stake. To the Romans, it was known as ‘Ship or Head’ – a game of choosing between a ship on one side of the coin or the head of the emperor on the other. In German, it’s ‘Kopf oder Zahl’, and the most common in English is ‘Heads or Tails’. One side of the coin usually depicts a ruler's head and the other side is called 'tails', normally numerical, but perhaps it could just logically be that – the opposite end of an animal from its head.
Creating art has always been a part of my life; my earliest memories were of drawing.
The other constant throughout my life has been the Coromandel. On my first visit to Hahei, I was bathed in a bucket at the camp; until Dad died, we had a family bach there. Thirteen years ago, my partner Lance and I moved to Whenuakite to be closer to him.
Becoming a parent is like going through a second puberty. You can know all the theories, but nothing can prepare you for the lived experience. It can unveil things about you that you weren’t aware of. It can test your relationships. And while each overall journey is different to the next, there are many shared moments and feelings between all parents. It can feel like you’ve joined a secret club – particularly when you become a mother.
Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world.
In this edition: Jacob Skeen
In 2017, at the age of 43, I arrived in Hamilton, NZ, with the goal of pursuing a doctoral degree in Law at the University of Waikato. This decision came after accumulating 25 years of professional history in Brazil and abroad. Throughout this journey, I have been fortunate to receive unwavering support from my wife and three boys, making it a delightful and highly rewarding academic expedition. The words shared here serve as a testament to my personal journey and practical expertise.
The first time I saw Flaxxies playing live, I was impressed by their musicianship, enthusiasm and stage presence.
After that show, we ended up at a cool party and bonded pretty quickly. I’m at least 10 years older than drummer Neo Lee, Eric Goodger lead guitar, Nick Tait rhythm guitar, Chris Manning bass/trumpet, and lead singer Benji Humphries, but they’re old souls with a great sense of humour, willing to understand the world around them by connecting with humans and showing interest in what they are up to.
I am eleven years old and have been riding since I was five. My first pony was Possum. He is a grey (white) bush pony who loves the mud. I now ride Knight and I am starting to ride Lacie. These were my big sisters' ponies. I have had many fun adventures on my ponies – jumping, swimming, doing tricks, trekking, beach rides, dress-ups, pony club and making friends.
Namaste; the soul in me greets the soul in you. My name is Verna Carr, I live in Whitianga, and I am a Conscious Energy Healer, Tarot Card Reader, Author of Metamorphosis Wisdom for a Changing Consciousness, Workshop Facilitator and mentor for people wanting to explore their own spirituality.
Back in February 2022, if you had told the ALTBAYS Table Talk podcast team that within two years, they would have live-streamed over 260 episodes, hosting guests from all over Aotearoa NZ for engaging conversations in their studio in Whitianga, they might not have been surprised. However, if you had mentioned that they would be building a new studio for the third time, you would certainly have generated a reaction!
How much of your thinking is about the past? Where you were, how good things were, or how bad they were … Most of us do this at some time or other. We remember. And rightly so. Our sense of self is partly defined by what we’ve experienced and how we felt about it. The challenge comes when we get locked...
When I was growing up, I remember that in our house we had a Japanese katana (samurai sword) hanging on one wall and a small Japanese wooden pagoda on a cabinet in the lounge. My mother also had a beautiful kimono with birds and flowers flowing down the sleeves which she used to put on sometimes. These were relics for which my father had traded food and cigarettes when he…
Millions of years ago, this story began with the emergence of early hominins in Africa, the cradle of humanity. These were not yet modern humans, but their bipedal movement marked the dawn of a new era. In this primitive world, survival was the daily script, and adaptation was the key player. The landscape was a rough canvas, slowly being painted with the first strokes of human activity…
Common Ground is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: Love With Love by Waimā De Souza, The sad limitations of love by Helen Oliver , and drawings by Eli Thomas “ET” Tahatika
Educating the younger generation about conservation is crucial for the future of our planet. By creating a love for nature and wildlife, we allow them to become future conservationists who actively care for our environment. As someone who has looked after wild birds for many many years, I always felt it was an important part of my role.
The World of Sarah Alves' Quilling
Quilling artist Sarah Alves of Tairua makes fascinating creations out of strips of paper. It’s an ancient craft from the Middle Ages, when nuns would gather excess bits of paper from the monks’ writings and turn them into art. The term ‘quilling’ comes from the feather quill which they used to twirl paper strips around. The result is a kind of filigree. It’s hard to believe Sarah has no art training. In fact, she reckons she’s…
Grab your ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ and get ready to ‘Rock Around the Clock’ to the irresistible beat of Rock ‘n Roll! With hot music that’s endured since the 1950s, those gorgeous skirts and a thriving Rock ‘n Roll club in most towns, no wonder this dance phenomenon has recently grown in popularity.
Tēnā koutou katoa. Ko Kohana Kauika-Rameka toku ingoa. I am a Year 7 student at Miller Avenue School in Paeroa. Two years ago, I started to enjoy playing touch. My pāpā Greg Hine came to our training after long days at work to show us some touch skills from his referee's perspective. He would tell me how proud he was when I tried to learn new skills. The aroha he put into helping us is the reason I love the sport so much!
What should we do when the world is spinning too fast? Should we make more motorways to cut three seconds off a trip from wherever to wherever? Should we limit and undermine the Te Tiriti rights of tangata whenua? Should we shut people out of local decision-making? Should we remove protection from freshwater and mine the hell out of the Peninsula?
Nick Fedaeff transitioned from the world of music to the field of visual arts, marking a notable shift in his creative journey. Prior to delving into visual arts, he captivated audiences as the frontman of a rock band and as a composer for various theatrical productions and films. When questioned about the source of his inspiration, Nick often responds with insight into his perpetual role as a composer. He explains, "Melodies and chords have always resided in my musical heart. When I became an artist, I simply changed the keyboard for brushes.
In the planning for our annual Anzac exhibition, we came across three photos of soldiers posing in their World War I uniforms. These photos made us ponder – who are the men in the photos?
When starting the research, we were lucky enough to know the soldiers’ names.
This story is written to be read with imagination. You can fill in the gaps, expand the characters, and add thoughts, feelings and actions. This story is a framework for you to elaborate on, add to and own.
Johnny knew he’d have to go soon. But when, where and how to go?
I remember when I was three, having a bath with my mother, and when I was four, leading my sleepwalking sister back to bed before she woke up and freaked out. And I remember wars with the kids down the road in which we threw stones at each other. Once, I even hid in our garage and thrust a metal bar through the spokes of an enemy kid’s bike as he roared down the hill outside our house. I had to run like crazy and…
In an era where digital platforms are saturated with content tailored to specific demographics and interests, carving out a unique niche can seem like the golden ticket to success. Based in Whitianga, on the Coromandel peninsula of Aotearoa New Zealand, the podcast ALTBAYS Table Talk has defied convention by embracing the niche of not having a niche.
Herbs and Herbaliser are not just cool bands, they are natural remedies you can grow in your own backyard – ranging from Aotearoa's native rongoā to folk herbals. The plant world has been offering its support to benefit human health for centuries. Animals also eat their way to health through their native ecosystems; this is known as zoopharmacognosy.
The Eco-Friendly Art of Annemieke Kregting
It is common to hear people expressing their love for animals, but not many carry the passion and dedication to care for them as deeply as Annemieke Kregting does. For many years, Annemieke ran the Bird Rescue in Kūaotunu, and it is no surprise to hear "Yes, I’ve taken an injured bird to Annemieke before" in our community.
Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world.
In this edition: Toni Payne
Common Ground is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: Do You Believe in Magic by Denise Allen, the places I write about by Fauze Hassen, and drawings by Siobhan Cox
The cool thing about Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST)
When I started studying BCST, I was surprised by the diversity of health issues helped by BCST and the results people gain from BCST in only one or a few sessions. The changes I have witnessed in others and the experiences I’ve had myself show me that this therapy is capable of healing some things faster than mainstream medicine can.
Not every living thing has a heart. All multicellular organisms need to induce nutrient flow, but not all have a heart, so let's forget about those heartless creatures for a bit. I'm half a bottle of whiskey done and I am bored. So let's talk about the Heart.
The heart is located in the middle of your chest ... kinda. Many people seem to forget that the heart is just an…
I'm Leo. I write for Coromind magazine and I bang on drums. Music plays a big role in my life and, over the past decade, I've rocked many stages alongside Mr. Stewart Pedley, aka Stu. While we've been tearing it up in a punk band called Corrosive Moses since 2020, Stu and I have a deeper connection that goes way back.
**The mural that lifted a gym's spirits
In May 2020, we moved into our new gym space on Joan Gaskell Drive. It all happened so fast – the gear from our Coghill St gym was moved and the new premises were fitted out. We put a lot of thought into the design and functionality of the gym space, dojo and classrooms, but we overlooked one thing: the bare white walls in the reception area. Three and a half years later, they had to go. They were uninspiring to us in such a key part of our business.**
“How many Likes did you get in your post?” You may have heard or asked that question before.
In today's digital age, the Like button holds significant power on social media platforms. It's a simple gesture, but its impact is profound. By hitting that button, you're not just acknowledging a post; you're amplifying its reach and supporting the person behind it.
There are more reasons than ever to think about ethical and environmentally conscious shopping as the impacts of climate change give us pause to think about the food we buy. Under capitalism, every dollar spent is a vote for the kind of world you want to live in so it’s good to think long and hard about who those votes are supporting. With this reasoning, it becomes preferable to put your money into the small businesses owned and run by people in your community.
**After a lot of thought and planning, Vessel opened its doors in October 2021. Initially Eben was running exhibitions through the shop in Pollen Street, but due to the lockdowns business was slow. The idea of creating a Co-op as a place to sell art seemed an excellent solution.
It was their intention that Vessel would be more than a shop or gallery and that it needed to be a place of support and connection for artists as well as the community.**
My mum has always said that I had no choice but to learn to swim and compete. Swimming is something handed down to me by my dad and to him from my grandad, whose whole family swim and compete.
My dad competed in swimming from a young age (in England and New Zealand) and so did grandad and they both went on to coach, teach and even run a swimming school when I was a baby.
Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world.
In this edition: Stevie Macfarlane
When was the last time you gained some legit life advice from someone 20 years younger than you?
I’ve always thought that we (and by we, I mean we middle-aged folks!) have been quick to write off the younger generation. I mean, what do they know, right? They’ve yet to reach ‘adulthood’ and still have all that ‘life experience’ to rack up. But here’s the thing. We have plenty to learn from our rangatahi, especially this current generation. I had one such aha moment with one of Mercury Bay’s brightest young stars, Francie Lidgard.
As a proud Māmā to three boisterous reo rua/bilingual māori boys, Waitangi was a given for our rātaka/calendar this year. With the life we choose to live as tangata whenua reclaiming our identity, it was right up there amongst attending the Rangiriri activation/peaceful protest to protect our Mana Motuhake/sovereignty, learning our maramataka (māori lunar calendar) and kōrero māori ia rā, ia rā! (Speaking māori every single day.)
We all have different responses to the conflicts and challenges we face. Some people fly through them unscathed; others get bogged down, avoidant, frustrated, tearful or just wish it would all go away.
This model, based on Stephen Karpman’s ‘Transactional Analysis’, might help you see your typical response to conflict.
I have a photo of myself as a 3-year-old standing beside a dozen large rainbow trout, which of course couldn’t have been caught by one so young, but it was the beginning of my conditioning to become a future catcher of our finny friends. At a slightly older age, I remember my dad waking me at 5 am with a cup of tea and a marmite sandwich to sustain me for the next three hours of trolling trout lures around Lake Rotoiti.
The sunlight peers through the palm fronds and lays itself gently all over Belle. Her hair lights up like a firebrand in some places, but sleeps quiet and moody in others. It is evening sun – that wonderful golden glow you sometimes get that blankets everything in a surreal light. The French refer to it as ‘L’heure entre chien et loup’ or ‘the hour between the dog and the wolf’. Sometimes known as the twilight hour, it is also referred to as dusk, or simply put … sunset. She’s napping and unaware of her splendour and radiance. I breathe quietly. My name is Sylus, and I live with Belle.
Every day, the same endless white canvas engulfs the science district. The mundane environment reminds me of the similar monotony that has leached its way into the minds of all its occupants. The once vibrant and creative district destined to lead the world to a brighter future has instead fallen away, spiralling into the lifeless, passionless glumness that it is today.
All the hope that had once fuelled the accomplishments of this district has resulted in unimaginable failure.
I’m Jessie Macaw, a born and bred local from Tairua. Growing up as a kid in the Coromandel, with creativity and imagination fuelling my days, later led me to a career in graphic design.
I had always been a doodler who loved art, but it wasn’t until I discovered intuitive painting 10 years ago that my paintings started heading in a direction that felt authentically me.
Common Ground is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: Book Keeper by Mary Fox, The Old Man and the Mountain by Chris Porter and drawings by Aila Wills
Coromind Magazine Issue 14
Full Audio Version
Read by Anusha Bhana, Fabian Roberts, Lana Garland, Leonardo Magri and Ross Liggins
I'm Sebastien Pan, a film and television composer, musician and artist. I’ve been calling Whitianga home since 2015, but my roots trace back to the eastern landscapes of France. Oui, oui.
**Even if my main interest since childhood is music (and Chardonnay), art has always been…
Read by Fabian Roberts**
One enlightening oldies experience in my life is having been involved with Whitianga Continuing Care. My Dad moved there from Auckland in 2003 after a quadruple bypass (one of the less enjoyable possible consequences of growing old), and later, some mini strokes which left him able to understand what he heard, but unable to speak and put sentences together. He would laugh at my stupid jokes, but couldn’t say “Hi Ross.” So…
**When observing the plumage of a bird, many of us witness nature's artwork and how intricate details shape our fascinating world. Tracy Johnson goes beyond this, creating her art on delicate feathers with an attention to detail that teaches her patience and nurtures an increased appreciation for the environment around her.
Read by Lana Garland**
WordSmart's Groundbreaking Approach to Dyslexia Remediation
The initial trial at Coroglen Primary School showed promising results, with students gaining confidence and achieving significant progress in learning letter sounds. The app's innovative approach strengthens verbal working memory, allowing students to engage with stories and improve their letter recognition skills.
Taking the WordSmart programme to Fiji, the app produced remarkable
Read by Lana Garland
Award-winning hip-hop artist, producer, youth mentor and Māori ambassador Tipene Harmer (Ngāti Kahungunu) is a force to be reckoned with. For the past three years he’s resided in Whitianga, but now he’s moving back to his home region Te Matau a Māui Hawkes Bay, so his whānau can reconnect with their iwi, and he can be closer to his son.I first met Tipene kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) in July 2021, when I…
Read by Anusha Bhana
In this third article of the series, I cover the last of the abilities that I have distilled so far from my own journey towards Eldership. I’m sure there are more to come; I’ll keep you posted!
**Self-focused abilities: Maintaining a light heart even when feeling sad. An elder can identify a…
Read by Fabian Roberts**
**Imagine you are going through your late grandfather’s garage and you find a small enamel potty, a weird electric bed warmer, a very rusty saw and a gum spear. Now, you went to the local museum recently, to drop off some other things – your school magazines, some pencils from Palmer's Sweet Shop and a couple of A&G Price patterns – and you noticed some beautifully displayed logging saws, like this one of Grandad’s. You could take everything to the Seagull Centre, or the tip, but no, you decide to take it to the museum …
Read by Lana Garland**
Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world.
In this edition: Jason Toia
Read by Lana Garland and Fabian Roberts
“I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
I have chosen this famous paraphrase from a biographer named Evelyn Beatrice Hall about her understanding of Voltaire’s thinking on free speech because this is becoming a serious problem in our era, even hundreds of years after the philosopher’s time – so let’s talk about talking, shall we?
Read by Lana Garland
Raewyn Helms-Davis Explores Māori Identities
I am of Pakeha and Ngāi Tahu descent and my marae is at Moeraki. I live at Whitianga on the Coromandel Peninsula and my name is Raewyn Helms-Davis.
Making portraits has always been what I do, an instinctual thing really, and I’ve always been drawn to the faces of Māori as subjects for painting…
Read by Lana Garland
A Glimpse into the Life of a Hato Hone St John Volunteer
Ten years ago, my husband Mike and I were living in Ōtautahi Christchurch with two teenage sons, and I was studying social work. Ōtautahi was a fantastic place to raise children, but we knew once the boys left home we wanted to move somewhere that would offer a different (and warmer) lifestyle.
Read by Fabian Roberts
**Hey, my name is Tamahau. I'm ten and I'm from Waikino. I love sport, especially rugby, skiing and running. Last year I was diagnosed with a severe medical condition that, among other things, affects my vision. Finding out I'm disabled was a huge shock for me and my family, especially when the specialist said my days of playing rugby are numbered.
Read by Fabian Roberts**
**Common Ground is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: Bananes de Mexico by Stella Pennell and photography by Pete May ‘The Flying Kiwi’
Read by Fabian Roberts**
How the unique NZ way of life may not be so unique at all!
‘What an absurd statement’ many of you might think. I don’t back down on it. Stepping off a small ATR-72 prop plane in the French Polynesian morning breeze, I, too, was convinced that this was nowhere like ever before, some kind of magical mystery paradise.
Read by Fabian Roberts
**The heartbeat of any podcast is its audience, and for ALTBAYS Table Talk more than 55% of this heartbeat is female. This statistic reflects the podcast's resonance with women not only engaging with the content but also the intentional inclusion of powerful wāhine as guests and co-hosts. ALTBAYS Table Talk leads by example, amplifying the voices that often go unheard.
Read by Lana Garland**
Hi, my name is Tom Lamason. I am 15 years old and I have lived in Whitianga my whole life. I’ve just finished year 10 at Mercury Bay Area School. I’m involved in a lot of sports and activities like football, cricket, swimming, drums and being a lifeguard at Hot Water Beach.
For the past year, I’ve been fully involved in basketball and...
It’s no secret that the five years I lived in Whitianga changed the shape of my life. I moved in 2012 to be administrator for Mercury Bay Art Escape, a decision that set me on the path to become the full-time artist, author, teacher and speaker that I am today.
I was coming out of an intensive period as director of Morrinsville Art Gallery and shifting to the Coromandel Peninsula gave me...
Art, nature, and exploration in Tairua
Hello! My studio/gallery is in beautiful Tairua. I create original artworks, merchandise, and hold art workshops and art retreats here in my studio.
I had a deeply spiritual, multi-cultural upbringing, surrounded by books, art, craft, theatre and music. I studied art right through school, winning many awards ... but the true rewards were never in the certificates or trophies...
Common Ground is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: Words For The New Year 2024 by Bernie Spangenberg and comic photography by Kate Beauchamp
In the previous edition of Coromind, I introduced the concept of Eldership and defined it as ‘the capacity to be with a person or situation in a way which catalyses and supports their or its development’.
I introduced the first of the self-focused abilities, namely ‘Being present with one’s own vulnerability’ and ‘Letting go of the need for validation’ and the first of the other-focused abilities, ‘Being gracious with the differently informed’ and ‘Being generous’. You might have tried them since or seen them in action. You might have noticed when they were missing in your or someone else’s behaviour. Either way, if you read the article, your awareness of them has hopefully been heightened and your sensitivity to them increased.
They say age is just a number which I guess is true until the number stops going up, but it’s also a number of other things – not being able to remember why you went into the bedroom, needing a little blue pill once you get there (men only I think, although they may have another colour for women by now, I wouldn’t know), having a wee accident before you reach the loo, carrying around metal pins and plates to replace worn-out bones, waking up with aching joints …
Have you ever thought about the things we used to use?? The things that we used that were hardwired or in a certain location?? The things that you now carry with you but in a different form??
Once upon a time, to call friends and whānau, you lined up either outside a phone box (I know, I can hear everyone of a certain age asking, “What’s a phone box?”)...
You glance out the window, greeted by a beautiful sunny day. With the dishes sorted and the whānau happily occupied, you decide to treat yourself to a well-deserved walk. As you grab your cell phone and headphones, the big question arises: Should you listen to music or a podcast? We've been there too …
Technology is a beautiful tool; when used correctly, it teaches, inspires and…
The intersecting realms of Māori and European knowledge
I am a student of many threads and yet master of none. The words that follow flow with whatever approximation of truth I have been trusted to grasp, but assuredly there are those tōhunga who will speak with much greater wisdom on the points I will try to bring to light here.
There is a considerable difference between...
Reggae roots and positive vibes with DJ SunRay
DJing is an ever-evolving art form. It fuses technical mastery, creative flair and a profound love for music. Those aspiring to become DJs are encouraged to dive deep into the culture, carve out their distinctive style, and persistently engage in learning and adapting to the dynamic currents of the music realm.
Rachel Johnston, aka DJ SunRay, is all about positive energy and...
**How to assist baby birds in distress
Baby Bird season has started even earlier this year! It's always a busy time, not just for the birds, but for wildlife rehabilitators and veterinary clinics. During this time of year, birds are busy building nests, laying eggs and feeding hungry chicks.**
So what if you find a baby bird? When does it need rescuing?
Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world.
In this edition: Tracey Kennedy
Glass Bottom Boat Adventures
‘The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.’
The famous quote by Jacques Cousteau couldn’t be a better fit for our marine reserve. Te-Whanganui-o-Hei is one of those special places; it has a magical pull that draws you in with its beautiful kelp forests, sparkling fish and other captivating marine life and it’s right on our doorstep.
Te-Whanganui-o-Hei, or The Great Bay of Hei, is one...
Sculpting Stories with Ian Thorne
Ian Thorne has carved out more than just exquisite pieces of art. His journey, woven into the very fabric of recycled bones, stones and traditions, unfolds as a timeless dialogue between artist and material.
Imagine a table where diverse voices gather, each with its own story and perspective. No scripts, no teleprompters – just genuine, raw dialogue. Some guests might challenge your views, and that's exactly what the ALTBAYS crew believes in – the power of real korero, transcending differences to find common ground.
Welcome to the vibrant world of ALTBAYS Table Talk, the podcast sensation produced in Whitianga, Coromandel, since February 2022
Hey, I’m Emily Brickwood, a 17-year-old girl from Whangamatā. I play rugby and love to dance, but my favourite sport is skiing. I have been skiing since I could walk and come from a family where everyone loves skiing and we spend as many winter weekends as we can at the mountain. Some of my favourite things about skiing are: there is always a new challenge, the terrain is constantly changing, and being lucky enough to spend time with family or friends while doing something we all enjoy….
Kūaotunu harbours resilience and unity that has shaped the community for over a century. In the late 1800s, the discovery of gold brought prosperity, transforming this once-sleepy village into a thriving settlement. By 1910, the gold rush waned, leaving behind a small seaside village that would later face a challenge that would test its very essence…
Boats come in many shapes and sizes and degrees of beauty. One of the ugliest and most ominous to my mind is the submarine. My opinion is no doubt influenced by a close-up experience of one in the Waitemata Harbour in 1979. A year before that, my friend Dave had taken part in a waterborne protest against the nuclear powered and probably nuclear armed submarine
Music heals. Whether we’re listening to it or making it, music embraces us at our most vulnerable, and our most joyous. It uplifts, unites, motivates and provides an outlet to share and analyse our thoughts, feelings and stories. As I write this, I reflect on the countless times music has literally saved my life.
I’m always inspired by young people harnessing music to share their unique perspectives on life. So I am excited to introduce you to…
Summer in Te Whanganui o Hei/Mercury Bay was an exciting time as it meant one of the biggest events of the year was being held – the New Year’s regatta.
The history of the regatta began in December 1887, when it was
held because the SS Iona sailed in from Auckland with visitors and a band
onboard to race against the Mercury Bay crews…
Dive Zone Whitianga, situated in the magnificent Mercury Bay, is the hub of diving knowledge and offers a gateway to outstanding dive locations on the Coromandel Peninsula. Spoilt for choice with beautiful islands and secluded bays, you’re bound to find a sheltered spot here when the weather elsewhere would normally prevent you from diving. Their purpose-built dive vessels depart from the Whitianga marina, literally a stone’s throw away from a multitude of ideal dive spots. Living a life less ordinary starts right here.
The concept of Eldership is implicit in many indigenous cultures. The word invokes images of age, wisdom and often a connection to the spirit world or some form of other reality. In the western context, the word has often been associated with churches or used in a biblical context. The Wikipedia entry focuses on church governance and various dictionary definitions are similarly focused, with the common themes being sobriety, reliability, fidelity and age.
... On average, teachers work 55 hours every week, in and out of the classroom. On top of this, they work an extra 21 hours a week during holidays. For most, teaching is incredibly taxing and time-consuming. In an NZCER survey, a participant said they struggled to find a healthy work-life balance, and…
Common Ground is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: Molly’s Story by Sue Foster, Prayer for Aotearoa by Helen Oliver and comic ‘Commander Hot-Dog’ by Dylan Castle and Jimmy Flanigan.
One word that really annoys me is ‘bucket list’, as if the world is a commodity for our personal gratification, experiences we are entitled to before we die. It suggests we can travel the world contributing to pollution without contributing to better relationships and we can look at this place, Hauraki, as a pretty backdrop for our lives, without facing what is happening to its life.
Creativity flourishes in Waihi, and artists like Millie Robinson find inspiration at every turn. As the proud owner of Laughing Pottery, Millie feels her artistic journey is a tale of serendipity, resilience and a deep connection to a vibrant community. Millie completed a degree at the Otago Polytechnic School of Art, immersing herself in …
Can penguins fly? Yes, they fly underwater! One exception was Pico the little blue penguin … Are you intrigued? Penguins do have wings, or are they flippers? Most people call them wings. The ‘wing’ structures of penguins evolved for swimming rather than flying in the air. Pico the little blue penguin came to us in January 2021 from Corovets in Whangamatā as a young fledgling…
Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world.
In this edition: Leah Gubb
Coromind is honoured to have Michael Smither (Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit) as our featured artist. When our team asked Michael to share some words with our readers, we were stoked with what we received. Here's a journal entry from Michael Smither from 27 October to 1 November 2023…
Tēnā koutou kātoa. Thank you, Lord, for all that I am. Kia ora, Roimata Taimana tōku ingoa. I whakapapa back to the far north – Hokianga, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi – and whakapapa to Ngāti Huarere, Whangapoua, Hauraki Coromandel.
Born in West Auckland and raised there and in Whangapoua, I have travelled parts of our beautiful world and come back to reside in our wonderful village, Kūaotunu, with my ātaahua wife Carolyn, our cute little rescue kurī Esme, six chickens, all the amazing creatures of the ngāhere, manu galore and great neighbours who are more whānau than friends.
En Pointe Dance Studio is buzzing as five senior ballet students, Milly Lamason, Charli Thackray, Indaria Bainbridge-Davies, and sisters Courtney and Elizabeth Till, prepare for their annual end-of-year show. They can't wait to showcase their passion and hard work on stage!
We sat down with them to learn…
Hi, my name is Caleb Mahoney, I am 12 years old. I am in year 7 at Mercury Bay Area School and I have lived in Whitianga for six years. I started to play golf when I was nine years old. That was in 2020. I enjoy playing golf because I get to spend time with my grandparents. My grandad has taught me to play…
I am sharing what I have learned after losing my beautiful man to suicide in the hope that it helps someone else, in the hope that there can be some meaning from this tragedy. Grief is profoundly personal. I hope the bravery of my sharing my own experience will help others pull through.
Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world.
In this edition: Jasmine Simpson
How many of us are doing what we really want to do? Are you at work thinking about the things you'd rather be doing? How many of us are willing to do what it takes to make our dreams come true? Now imagine telling your friends and whānau about what you wanted to do. Did you feel like there was a whiff of doubt from them? Did it make you doubt yourself? Welcome to my world!
Kia ora, my name is Fredrick Pokai…
The sunlight filters through the window illuminating a glorious bunch of flowers on an old kitchen table. Inside, the basement studio is a hive of activity …heads are bowed over colourful creations as members of this group settle into their mahi. The programme has been running since 2002 and now has Lizzy at the helm, ably assisted by Christine. Lizzy is a textile artist from Kūaotunu; used to working alone in her studio, she is beaming as she introduces the artists. It’s obvious she is enjoying herself as much as they are. “This programme is such a success,”….
When it comes to art, some folks are just born with it in their blood. They breathe creativity, they live it, and it becomes a part of who they are. Jenny McLeod, a local artist based in Thames, is one of those artists. With more than 30 years of experience in glassmaking, she's got the magic touch, and she's not afraid to share it with her community.
Jenny's artistic journey started with a leap of faith…
Whenever people tell me they want to get into tattooing, I think about artists all over the world and reflect on how the art form has changed since I started. Surely, many people through the ages of tattooing have had these thoughts. I did my first tattoo 13 years ago in Cornwall, in the UK, where I apprenticed with a lovely lady who...
The days become longer, the sea warms up and the coastline dances in red as Aotearoa’s Christmas tree, pōhutukawa, begins to bloom – it must be summer!!
These are also signs of the start of the great migration of Kiwi Campus Major – the movement of Kiwis on a summer camping holiday to the famous hot spots around Aotearoa New Zealand.
Christmas day gifts are often a hint for many Kiwi children...
For the 2nd consecutive year, a group of Mercury Bay Area School students took part in Creatives in Schools, a well-being initiative funded by the Ministry of Education in partnership with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and Creative New Zealand.
Local music producer Dave Rhodes returned as the ‘creative’ to guide a group of music students aged 15 to 18 through the writing, recording and production of a 13-track album of eclectic original music.
‘Building a plane while flying it’ best describes the small team at Wilderland Educational Trust who juggle the daily tasks of sustainable living while rebuilding the land and planning for the future.
Wilderland is 64 hectares of hilly land beside SH25, with wonderful views of Whitianga Harbour from the summit. It is one of New Zealand’s longest-serving learning centres...
Three-Level Listening: How to hear what’s really going on for someone
As people, we have three main ways of operating: we Think, we Feel and we Act.
And when it comes to communicating or talking to others, we’re usually expressing a combination of our thoughts, feelings and actions or intentions. We often do this quite unconsciously, not realising that it’s happening...
Social media is an integral part of our lives, not just for personal connections but also for businesses, creators and individuals to reach a global audience. To help you navigate this digital landscape, Altbays.nz, a Coromandel-based Media Support company, brings you tips to make your mark on four popular social media platforms: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.
Every year, locals and tourists alike enjoy sunny afternoons at Lukes Kitchen. What many don't know is that before serving epic pizzas and cocktails, Paul Reilly, Luke's father, ran a mechanic shop in that same spot. "I managed a nearby farm for five years with low power and a kerosene fridge…
Common Ground is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: I Had a Dream by Yazmin Todd, Limitations by Bernie Spangenberg and illustrations by Kaia Kerai
I guess, considering my bloodline and my early childhood experiences with boats, water craft of all kinds were always going to play an important role in my life.
My maternal grandfather ran away to sea at the age of 14 and walked back into the family home unannounced on Christmas Day seven years later. He eventually became captain of a Union Steamship Company steamer at the tender age of 27 until 15 years later in 1929 his ship was wrecked on the Catlins coast of the South Island.
Alan Rhodes is a successful potter and musician, well liked and respected in the Coromandel area and beyond. He was a founding member, lead vocalist and guitarist of the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band (HCBB), who have been delighting audiences with their vibrant, fast-paced music and rich vocal harmonies since the late 1960s.
Alan got hooked on bluegrass music at age 14, and…
Kia ora, I'm Shane – raised in Waihi Beach and currently residing in Wānaka. I have been a full time freelance visual artist since 2015. My art practice is mainly self-taught, and multidisciplinary. It consists of a dedicated studio practice, painting murals and…
Elections are funny things. They often make a lot of us get a bit hot under the collar and angry with others, including our family and friends. Of course, we all think we are right and things would be better if they were done our way. However, a certain amount of critical thinking is often required to give us enough facts (not alternative ones) to form our opinions on which to base our voting choices.
Hi my name is Lane Crawford, I am 10 years old, I live in Paeroa with my dad Eli, mum Roxanne and my big sister Nova 14 and I go to Netherton school.
My dad growing up played soccer and showed me when I was just a toddler and I liked it. I started playing soccer for the Paeroa Rangers soccer club when I was just 3 years old
When we say, “It’s my privilege”, what do we mean? When I say, “It’s my privilege to live in the Hauraki rohe”, what am I saying? When naming white privilege causes conniptions for some people, what is going on? I reckon the word “privilege” deserves a deep dive into the murky water, the easily triggered soup of powerful reactions right here in this place.
Urban Food Forestry is not really a new concept, perhaps just a chic name for an old idea. When we were growing up, my grandparents grew large gardens and had many fruit trees. We would visit on the weekend and dig potatoes and top, tail and slice green beans thinly on the diagonal and shell fresh green peas for the family Sunday roast dinner. Perhaps the nostalgia…
Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world.
In this edition: Sharon Carter
Ever wondered where you fit in your organisation, be it a business, a club or any group of people with a specific focus? Do you want to make a difference, sort out the problems, get everything perfect? And have you ever noticed that while you want to be influencing others, the ‘others’ seem more focused on just doing their job and are not very interested in the exciting changes you think they could be making?
What I love about hemp oil is its ability to be used as a skincare ingredient in such a diverse range of products and that it can help such a vast range of skin conditions; it’s great for dry skin, but just as amazing on oily acne prone skin. Some of the most incredible messages…
Common Ground is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: Fourmai by Elvisa Van Der Leden and Reflections at the End of the Day by Helen Oliver
Growing flowers isn't just about painting a picture-perfect landscape around you; it's also about contributing to the vibrant ecosystem and playing your part in the pollinator-friendly floral orchestra of nature. Our Coromandel is a paradise for gardening enthusiasts. If you're a beginner looking to create a captivating flower garden during the spring season, here are five essential tips to help you get started…
A few years back, I was enjoying a beautiful sunset with my older daughter at Gisborne after a light jog. It is a very special sunset due to the geographic position of the beach where you have the impression of the sun going down over the sea and we are talking about an east coast beach, so only this fact is already unique, isn’t it?
Anyway, barefoot on the sand, feeling the…
Kia Ora, my name is Tessa Zank, some may know me as Zank Art Realm. I'm a Hauraki-based artist. I’m a mama to a gorgeous 11-month-old baby girl, Haysel, and when little miss goes to bed at night, I dive into my art world and sometimes lose track of the time. That makes for a very tired mama the next day. Like many, I was…
While everyone was getting ready to start their lives, all I could think was that I needed more time. So ensued the idea of a gap year. I decided I would travel around New Zealand for the year. Then, as exams were in full force, my sister asked me if I would come and interrail Europe with her. Impulsively I agreed and bought a ticket to London Heathrow. Soon after though my sister was…
The oldest commercial building in Whitianga has had a life that is worthy of a story all of its own. It was built in the heyday of kauri milling, moved location when no longer required and is still in use nearly 140 years later!
In 1884, a few months after the Mercury Bay Timber Company Mill…
Tiled kitchen splashbacks are all the rage right now, and it's easy to see why. They add a wow factor to your kitchen while serving a practical purpose by making cleaning easy, keeping your walls protected against moisture and increasing your home's resale value.
With so many options available for style, shape and colour, choosing a splashback tile can be overwhelming. So, to help make it easier, let’s take a look at some of Tilespaces’ popular splashback colours in NZ right now
Over 7,000 islands. Magical surf breaks and mountainous rainforests. That’s probably what comes to mind when I mention the Philippines. While this is still very true, I come from a more undesirable and dangerous area; long dirt roads, rusty tin shacks as houses, dirty sewage canals and poverty are what I grew up around. That was before I came to New Zealand with my family and with the help of a great man, Mark, my stepfather.
Migrating to this country at a young age, knowing very little English…
Podcasts have become a cultural phenomenon, and YouTube has become their vibrant home. But what exactly is a podcast on YouTube? Picture your favorite radio talk show, but in the digital realm. These podcasts offer a treasure trove of conversations, discussions and interviews that you can listen to or watch at your own convenience. And that's where Altbays Table Talk comes into the picture.
Produced in Whitianga since February 2022, the Altbays Table Talk
"The kitchen is a country in which there are always discoveries to be made." – Grimod de la Reynière
Grimod de La Reynière was a founding member of the ‘Société des Gourmands’, a gastronomic society in Paris that brought together food enthusiasts, writers and chefs to celebrate and discuss the art of cooking and dining
Born and Raised is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world.
In this edition: Madison Drabble
Mid-September marks one year since resigning from my teaching position and becoming a full-time artist! After graduating with my Fine Art degree in 2005, being a full-time artist is something that I have always strived for … who knew it would take me 18 years to figure out how to make it work?! So, I’m here. My ‘day job’ is ARTIST…
I first came to the Peninsula when I was 17 and I fell passionately in love with the place, despite not knowing my Irish great-greatgreat- grandmother was buried here. I also fell in love with the word ‘Coromandel’ which sounded so exotic and romantic. I knew it was from India, but I had no idea how it got here. At that stage I was not asking critical questions about the names or their origins...
Common Ground is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: 9 Weeks, a poem by Petra Campbell and Ten year old Sairee Johnston’s tale on horses and vegetarian food.
Less stressful encounters have been with much larger ocean creatures which don’t include humans in their diet. In 1994, I was invited to participate in a University of Auckland research project to photograph the flukes and record the songs of the humpback whale population…
We live in a society where scoring points or winning is often the approach taken when it comes to evaluating options and making decisions. Certainly at the level of government, the debating chamber is where we can see and hear this played out. But is it the best option?
In our beloved Coromandel region, where the land meets the sea in a symphony of beauty, every effort towards sustainable living resonates deeply. It’s great that our region now has a food scrap service. Less waste in landfills, fewer greenhouse gases – it's a win-win for Mother Nature. Landfills turn food scraps into methan e, a harmful greenhouse gas…
The Whitianga Brass Band was formed in approximately 1909. They practised on Sunday mornings at the blacksmith shop or in the drill hall. The ‘drill hall’ or ‘Carina’s Hall’ as it was known, was the first hall…
Hi, my name is Colville Green from Whitianga and I have lived here and gone to Mercury Bay Area School my whole life. My article is all about how rugby has impacted my life and how I have enjoyed it all. I started playing Rippa Rugby at the age of 5 in 2011, then went on to play…
With four diverse museums within walking distance of each other, Thames quashes both these myths. Ancient civilisations established museums to display and learn from antique objects and works…
…The shop is full of a mixture of high quality and bargain items and you never know what you may find! We have had such a wide range of donations over the years, from clothes to clarinets! Not all items received were meant to end up at the shop though. One husband donated his wife’s uncle’s crystal decanters from Scotland – luckily, they were found before being sold, saving both them and the marriage! A team member once found a Rolex watch in a dressing gown…
Initially I noticed subtle changes in my thinking. At work and in my personal life, a distance grew between my colleagues and friends and me. A recent break-up, coupled with financial pressures, added to my unhappiness. However, what troubled me most was the sense that others didn't understand or acknowledge my struggles. It left me feeling isolated and unseen.
Whatever you do, don’t call me an artist! It has become such a wishy-washy term used to explain a huge variety of creative activities. For better or for worse, I am a sculptor/painter and on a very good day (i.e. once in a blue moon) you might call me a good painter or sculptor
Caitlin Moloney is an Australian-born clay artist from Coromandel Town, who’s running a fullyfledged business for her art. She has been running her business for many years, but over the Covid-19 lockdowns, she and her husband decided to expand their business skills through Creative Waikato’s Elevate program…
In the heart of the Coromandel, where nature's beauty meets human creativity, a media support company is making big waves. ALTBAYS.NZ, a dynamic team of audiovisual professionals with over a decade of experience, is helping businesses and individuals enhance their online presence and fostering a vibrant creative community in the region.
In a world plagued by screens, it’s so important that we make time to connect with nature and appreciate our epic surroundings. Scenic tracks not only provide heaps of inspiration for my work as a landscape painter, but they also have so many benefits for my physical and mental health. If you’re visiting Coromandel with friends and whānau or you’re a local looking for a change of scene, it’s worth exploring these beautiful tracks. Here are my favourite five on the Coromandel Peninsula…
In the late 1800s, hotels were establishments that provided accommodation and food for weary travellers to break up their long journeys. In 1894, there were 1,719 hotels, or one for every 420 people in the country.
Aotearoa’s hotels have ranged from tiny little shacks to grand buildings, but one thing has always been common…
In this digital era, having a solid online presence is not just a luxury; it's an absolute necessity. You can break boundaries and reach new heights by harnessing the power of social media and online engagement. The Altbays Media Support company is setting an inspiring example for…
What a soggy year it's been! By July, some parts of New Zealand had already gotten more rain than they usually do in an entire year. In the Coromandel, we hit that milestone back in May! Our poor gardens have taken a real beating from this never-ending rainy season. But fear not…
I dropped out of university after six weeks and I don't regret it. That choice I made caused me to lose my scholarship and my first-year fees free status. During my last two years of school, nothing filled me with more dread than what I was going to do after I finished. For as long as I can remember…
The instant access to information has turned us into constant stimulus-seeking creatures. We want to scroll and swipe and click and tik and tok and post and tweet and vlog and blog and more. Still, everything seems so painfully boring all the time, right? Nowadays, everyone is…
If you walk along any beach now and think back to what those areas looked like in late February, the difference is amazing. Huge amounts of sand that were dragged away by the cyclone have been redeposited back on the beach. In some places we have helped Mother Nature, in other places the repair is…
Celebrating success can be a challenge, especially when there’s still a lot to do, or when things overall just don’t seem like they’re going your way. But celebrating even small successes is important; it will make a difference to how you feel, and quite possibly how others around you feel.
Yeah, Dean Martin … you’re right. It may not be snowing but El Niño has kicked in and the sou’westers are ripping down the beach. The choppy waves are sliding sideways to the shore and grey clouds are scudding busily across the sky…
Helena James is one of the Coromandel’s treasured local weavers and has been weaving for nearly 30 years. After learning a few different methods of weaving in her life, she truly believes that traditional methods are the way to go when it comes to raranga…
My body has grown and birthed a human. My body will never be the same again. Even if I lose some of this weight, I will always have saggy skin, stretch marks and saggier boobs. Knowing this, I do sometimes miss my younger face and body…
Common Ground is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: I Went Somewhere by Denise Allen and Projecting The Rain by Waimā De Souza.
Many of you will have stories of creatures you have encountered in the ocean. Here are a few of mine. My oldest memory of a significant shark encounter was at the Bay
of Islands 60 odd years ago. My mum and I were swimming 50 metres off the
beach. I was getting cold so…
The handpan is a remarkable instrument that defies its ordinary name, and Tairua musician Taylor Sol plays it as part of his sound healing workshops. He has beautiful crystal quartz singing bowls and other healing sound instruments, all resonating peaceful vibrations to touch the heart and soul…
Hi I'm Monique Rush, your local Whitianga artist and Gallery curator. I have considered myself to be an artist my whole life. It's been an interest ever since I could hold a pencil at two and a half years old, when mum showed me how to draw circles…
After having accomplished the breakthrough of the so-called ‘transformer’ technology into the mastery of language as seen in ChatGPT and similar applications, AI now converses fluently in most written languages including te reo. After gaining the ability to ‘understand’ and implement complex tasks, engineers have been busily working on principles to make these systems
As a parent of young children, I struggle with the addiction of screen time for them and for myself! So I will be guiding them towards outdoor hobbies as much as I can … it is a very common issue in many households for all ages!
I feel very lucky that here on…
Are you a small business owner in our beloved coastal community? Has the closure of SH 25A, along with a poor summer and seemingly endless rain, left you facing some challenges around dwindling tourism and a decline in customers? Don't lose hope! Along with possible access to various financial support opportunities, here are some ideas that might help.
Did you know that the name ‘Whitianga’ was under threat of disappearing forever? It all started in 1928, when it was proposed that the local council change the official town name of ‘Whitianga’ to ‘Mercury Bay’. There were several petitions…
Common Ground is a space dedicated to expression. In this edition: Matariki by Helen Oliver and Yin and Yang by Sandie Faiers.
What would you do if you needed help with your employment but couldn’t find it locally? You could do what we did and look at starting your own union. Trade unions in New Zealand date back to the mid-19th…
I’d like to think I’m a pretty forgiving person. When people have wronged me in the past, I’ve always said that all I really need from them is a good, heartfelt apology, and then I’ll be ready to move on. In my mind, an apology was always kind of a magic spell that fixed everything. But I’m starting to understand now that that’s not true…
In conversation the other day someone mentioned “In its heyday …”, and it made me think about what’s happening in this millennium of great invention and apparent progress. I noted recently that vinyl records have now exceeded CD sales by quite a margin. It’s not that long ago that CDs were heralded as the greatest sound recording, but eventually something called a cube was…
Today we’ll dive into ‘Nutritional Information’ labels. Much like the requirement to identify ingredients on food packaging, manufacturers have to include a macro breakdown on each food label sold in New Zealand. But what does macro mean? Our food is made up of three macronutrients…
Born and Raised is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula peeps doing wonderful things out in the world.
In this edition: Tanya Johnston Sannuto
Hi, my name is Sienna and I am 12 years old, from Thames. I currently go to Parawai School and am a Year 8. Last year I was old enough to compete in my first year at the AIMs games in Tauranga for Gymnastics. I've been doing gymnastics competitively…
As the chill of winter approaches, it's a great time to prepare your home for the colder months ahead. Areas often overlooked when it comes to heat loss prevention are windows and doors. The theory behind achieving insulation is to form spaces to trap the air flowing from ‘A’ to ‘B’. When you minimise heat transfer through glass, you keep the warmth in and keep the cold out. This results in keeping heating costs down. As the chill of winter approaches, it's a great time to prepare your home…
My next stop was a dingy flat in a grey suburb with grey weather in a grey London. Somehow, I had envisaged a white Christmas with snow covered Christmas trees and lovely green holly decorating every doorway. This cold, dull, drizzly place wasn’t what the doctor ordered, so a few of the flat’s occupants, including myself, hatched a cunning plan to escape and head south through France and Spain to the warm, sunny beaches of southern Morocco. Seven of us chipped in and bought an old Ford Transit van with a few mattresses in the back and off we went...
From their arrival here, c1350, Māori developed a communications network using waterways and foot tracks along the shore and through forests. Ocean-going waka plied the coast and fished in Tīkapa Moana, while smaller dugout waka tiwai navigated rivers. James Cook and his party were the first…
Preparing your soil for the spring season is the key to a successful and abundant garden. By following these essential steps, you can create the optimal conditions for your plants to thrive, ensuring a vibrant and flourishing garden oasis…
Coromandel-based podcast Altbays Show has reached a remarkable milestone of 200 livestreamed episodes, and with this achievement comes an exciting announcement. The show, which has captivated audiences…
My first experience refereeing was at a young age when I helped my father, who was coaching my brother’s rugby team, to referee a game. I kept playing rugby after that, but at the age of 14, I realised I was over rep rugby/touch and having to train all the time. so I decided I wanted to referee more. I went back to playing, but at 17, I decided just to be a referee.
After more than ten years of playing rugby, being the man in the middle
In my never-ending pursuit to eradicate ‘621’ from my diet, my awareness of its use is acute as I currently travel Indonesia; Monosodium Glutamate is everywhere, and my body can feel it! That’s MSG to the lay-person, and it’s labelled number 621 on ingredients lists.
There are others too that appear pretty consistently on ingredients lists, so...
I’m a professional rugby player here in Scotland. We travel to play games across Ireland, Wales, Italy and South Africa in the United Rugby Championship, as well as Europe games in the Champions Cup.
What about the culture where you are do you like the most?
Edinburgh is great, there is always lots happening, and it has such a rich history.
I recently lost my sister Mina who took her own life, she was only 21 years old. She was my best friend and the only person I could truly talk to. I still have so many things to say, share, and ask … and now I can't.
She was a very smart, colourful...
An ‘environmentalist’ is a person who advocates for or who is concerned about protecting the environment, not a council, a business or any entity with the power to make political decisions.
An 'environmentalist' wouldn't agree to the ...
Over the last 30 years I have worked as a leadership developer in organisations of all sizes, and I’ve concluded that the principles of leadership are remarkably similar in all of them. This summary of my observations and experiences is subjective, no doubt incomplete and possibly even wrong, but I hope it throws some light on the topic of leadership, how we exercise it within our society and most importantly, your style of leadership. How do you lead?
The importance of embracing diversity and celebrating multiculturalism cannot be overstated in a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected. Through these encounters with different cultures...
**Coromandel’s Real Estate Experts
As a real estate agent in the beautiful Coromandel peninsula, I'm excited to share my insights on buying a house.**
For first-home buyers, this process can seem daunting, but with the right information and guidance, it can be an exciting and fulfilling experience...
From the words of my Architecture river tour guide, ‘Architecture creates beauty, and beauty creates and shapes culture’. I have never claimed to be knowledgeable when it comes to architecture; however, after learning about the different types amongst some of the tallest buildings in Chicago alone, I couldn't agree more with what he said. Things like Urban and City Design and how they are critical to the influence on the culture that will grow in a city blew my mind...
**Kia ora
Welcome to the 5th issue of Coromind, a magazine that thrives on collaboration and community involvement. At Coromind, we believe in the power of individuals to make a significant impact in shaping our society and the world. Too often, we hear people say, "I can’t do much about it; whatever I do won't change anything in the world". This simply isn't true.**
Each one of us has the power to make...
**Lara Gay
I was born in Annecy in the French Alps in 1999, and I've always loved to draw, paint, and craft in general, for as long as I can remember.**
Since childhood, I've been deeply influenced by surrealist artists as both my parents had a big interest in them. As a kid, I remember going to Salvador Dali's museum in Figueres and having my mind blown by his work. I experimented with my interpretation of Dali's paranoiac-critical method to reach my inner mindscape. I think Dali's world will forever influence my creative expression. The surrealist art movement, in particular, helped me to express myself and share my inner thoughts with others, thoughts that can't be held by words.
Finding Balance by Reuben WatsonBe still. Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity. – Lao Tzu
From the second I saw someone rock balancing on YouTube, I was hooked, like a shot of caffeine to the soul. It consumed every spare moment I had for the first couple of years. Exploring this art form has been a hobby that I’ve returned to time and time again over the past five years.
My most memorable strange experience occurred in my early thirties. I had been attending parapsychology classes over the previous months, where we learned about auras, spirits and lots of other esoteric things. One of them was called ‘transfiguration’, when a person or thing changes its shape or form. I was visiting a friend in Whangamatā...
What is Acclimatisation? It is the adaptation of animals or plants to an environment or climate they are not normally found in.
Aotearoa New Zealand’s first acclimatisers were the Polynesian voyagers that arrived here around 1250-1300 AD. They brought with them kiore (pacific rats), kūmara, kurī (dogs), taro and paper mulberry. The taro and paper mulberry did not grow well in this climate, but the kūmara grew well on our sub-tropical islands. The kiore and kurī, however, had a different impact on the environment. Many of the endemic birds here in Aotearoa New Zealand were flightless and so hunting was easy....
Whether you are 8 or 80, it’s never too late to start astronomy and learn our place in the universe. Did you know you can see our own galaxy with your unaided eyes? Craters of the moon with binoculars? Countless wonders await you any clear night. When attempting to view the night sky, location is key but fortunately in the Coromandel Peninsula we are spoilt for choice for areas free from light pollution, like Opito Bay.
The first step for beginners is simply to look up and ask, “What’s that?”...
As far back as the Roman slave revolts led by Spartacus, to the mediaeval peasant rebellions wanting protection from their kings, to the factory workers uniting in the Industrial Revolution to stop child labour and gain a 10-hour work day, to the union organisers of last century getting a 2-day weekend, the story of the worker has been one of trying to improve their workplace conditions and attain a more comfortable life. So what’s the next step in this progression? And why would it help businesses just as much as their employees?...
I was one of the founders of the Mercury Bay Rugby Club during my first year of teaching at the old primary school. I was a player and coach and mentor for schoolboy rugby throughout the Bay....
Hi! My name is Finn Molloy and I’m 12 years old.
I live in Auckland but spend lots of time at my family beach house in Matarangi. I have been kitesurfing for around 2 years now. My current highest jump is 7.5 metres and I performed this at Matarangi.
My favourite trick is called the...
**Where do the Earth's and our human needs intersect?
Living sustainably on Earth as humans is an idea that seems to have been somewhat greenwashed lately. While there are excellent initiatives out there addressing several issues that humankind has created on Earth, we need a more hands-on approach not only to deal with them but to live with them in the foreseeable future.**
Movies have been a major part of our lives for over a century. They have the power to take us on an emotional rollercoaster, transport us to other worlds and help us understand different perspectives and points of view. Movies have always been considered one of the most effective mediums of storytelling. As cinemas are often a focal point for the community, they and the movies they show have become an important vehicle for education...
**Key principles for a happier more positive life
Did you know that your thoughts influence your fate, day by day?
Albert Einstein once said: “A single thought is the smallest entity of energy.”**
Up to 60% of our body is water. The water content in our brain and muscles is even as much as 75%! So, a thought is like the tiniest movement on a bucket of water and the whole content of the bucket gets moved by this vibration...
The speed of evolution of ChatGPT and similar systems is astounding. ChatGPT was already known to be able to generate functioning software at lightning speed. I tried it myself by asking it to write me a statistics function in the R statistics package, which saved me perhaps a couple of hours of work. ChatGPT has now been given the ability to read and improve its own code....
Celebrating a Milestone With Style! ALTBAYS Show
The ALTBAYS Show hit a milestone of 180 episodes, and they celebrated in style. The host, Leo Magri, welcomed three incredibly talented Kiwi artists to the studio for a chat and some music. Roimata Taimana, visual artist and musician, Fabian Roberts, multi-instrumentalist, CFM broadcaster and Altbays Show co-host, and Stewart Pedley, singer-songwriter, brought an impressive array of instruments, including acoustic guitars, mandolin, resonator, and percussion, for a memorable show.
A chance encounter with a couple of cyclists at a Kaiaua cafe set in motion a plan to ride the length of the country. The idea took on a sense of romance and I was hooked.
It is a long ride, over 3000 km across two land masses on tracks, trails, roads, both busy and quiet, and wilderness areas.
I questioned myself – besides the romance and physical challenge of it, why this journey and why now?....
Listening is something we all do, all the time, wherever we are. At home we listen to our partners, our families, our friends. At work, we listen to our staff, our colleagues, our bosses. But how well do we listen to them? How well do we really hear what they're trying to tell us? Most listening specialists (and many of the people we listen to) would say "Not too well!"...
**Goodbye, Mr Gillette!
Last year, I made the decision to stop shaving my legs. I hadn’t necessarily made this choice out of some huge feminist epiphany; it was more the fact that I just couldn’t be bothered doing it anymore. The awkward positions in the shower, the little head unclipping itself from the razor spontaneously, the cuts on my legs. Not to mention all the money I was spending on those stupid pink taxed women’s razors. Having smooth legs was nice, but it just didn’t seem worth it to me anymore.**
The Art of Watering Your Plants
It can be a bit tricky to determine the right amount of water your plants need, but with some observation and attention, you can keep your plants happy and healthy. Here are some tips on how to water your plants properly.
Kia ora
As Coromind releases its fourth edition, our team is stoked to see our magazine taking a natural educational path. We are passionate about sharing content that is both entertaining and informative. Education is key to personal and community growth, and we want to support that through our publication.
You're not alone if you've ever felt trapped inside your home or office, surrounded by sterile walls and artificial lighting. But what if there was a way to bring the outdoors in, creating a more vibrant natural environment that benefits your physical and mental health? Enter biophilic design, the practice of incorporating natural elements into our built environments. Here are some achievable ways to bring nature into your space...
Kia ora! I’m Emma Evangeline Gustafson, a full-time artist and illustrator based in Whitianga. I primarily paint nature-based scenes and local landscapes. I’m very grateful the universe brought me to the Coromandel. I love exploring the peninsula and painting those special spots I find off the beaten track. Through my painting, I get to showcase the magic of this place – the pristine beaches, bush, birdlife, creeks, crystals and stunning rock formations. I love the challenge of trying to do these landscapes justice. I sometimes like to add metaphysical/surreal elements to my paintings too, because I think it's important to remember that everything in our world is so much more connected than we realise.
My painting process is very intuitive...
It’s easy to feel daunted by the big, scary world of politics. There is so much to know, and if you’re a new voter, or just don’t have the time or energy for a bunch of research, it’s difficult to know where to even start. Well, worry not dear reader; here is your unbiased guide to the basics of politics in New Zealand. Read on to learn how the system works, and what your part in it is.
Every three years, there is a general...
Hemp is a super plant that's been used for centuries for its medicinal properties and it is gaining recognition for its many benefits. There are three main ways you can use hemp.
Hemp Fibre: A Renewable Resource, Hemp Oil: A Versatile and Nutritious Ingredient and Hemp Seeds: A Nutrient-Packed Superfood...
Female business owners are creating the community they want to be part of.
We’ve all said it. “I have an idea for a business!” It’s something I hear all the time from the women in my life, as a female entrepreneur. So, what holds most women back from taking that idea and running with it? The answer is fear of failure.
This fear, a very rational and appropriate response to any risk...
My family links to Mercury Bay are my grandparents, Kevin Brown, long-time resident and ex-commercial fisherman from Kūaotunu, and Christine Carter, who had the Civic Video store for 20+ years. My twin brother and I grew up in Kūaotunu...
Bark is the protective outer layer of a tree's trunk and branches. While it may not seem like much at first glance, bark plays a crucial role in the health and well-being of trees and can also benefit your garden in a number of ways.
At the time of writing this article, I have just received the news that SH 25 is greatly compromised between Hikuai and Whangamatā. With the section of SH 25A that has already completely collapsed, this news brings more changes that are beyond my control. Hopefully by the time you read this, the weather has improved and so have the roads.
However, the prospect that our part of the world will be closed off...
What value is there in learning your indigenous language when the majority of the world speaks English? Is it important to know where you are from? Your whakapapa/genealogy, does it really matter? Āe, it simply is. Having the knowledge of where you originate from, knowing the struggles and triumphs of your tūpuna/ancestors, brings a sense of pride and self-knowing unlike anything else I have experienced. As a Māori girl growing up in mainstream education...
In most of the interactions and relationships we have with others, there is some sort of power structure in place. It may be based on age, skill level, gender, seniority or dozens of other factors.
“So what?” you might say, “I know where I stand!” But ask yourself this: “Do I always stand in the right place?”
For many years, art and photography have been my passion. It all began with my high school art teacher, a photographer, who led me to set up my own darkroom at home. However, life got in the way: work, making money, relationships, injuries, etc., and it took some time to realise that photography was the journey I wanted to continue and take further. My initial enthusiasm for photography was nature and landscapes, but in 2017...
Most of us have had experiences that we find difficult to explain logically, and I thought I would share some of mine with you. The ‘inner voice’, intuition, gut feeling, call it what you will, that people talk about probably saved my life when I was very young. I was in my father’s rusty old Zephyr during the mid-1950s on...
Kia ora e hoa ma
Being away from home is usually what people enjoy the most about travel, and personally it is for me too. Making memories in different cities, surrounded by different foods and culture. As I’ve mentioned before, the awe and excitement is addicting. However, recently I found myself in a position I have only been in once before, and that is the feeling of being stuck whilst overseas and desperate to get home …
Why Dialogue and Respect are Keys to a Flourishing Society. The importance of respectful dialogue with those with opposing views has recently become particularly relevant online. The podcast ALTBAYS Show (produced in the Coromandel, Aotearoa New Zealand) faced significant backlash and attempts to stop them from featuring a porn actor in one of their episodes...
Te Moata Retreat Centre, located in the beautiful Coromandel region of New Zealand, is seeking Assistant Managers to live on its sacred land and contribute to its daily operations. The role requires a mature independent couple, or a handy person, with a deep sense of mindfulness, love for the environment and a desire to serve humanity. The Assistant Managers will work closely with the current managers...
In this edition: The Tūī Sing by Sharon O’Connell and Welcome, Stranger by Ceridwyn Parr.
Thomas Everth on the risks of privatisation of public assets
In a capitalist society like ours, there is a constant battle fought by private interests to carve out greater flows of value by claiming stakes and entitlements to sectors of public life and services and convert these rights into tradable assets sold to shareholders. This battle is aided by political forces...
Planting, Pines and Problems? by Roger Wood
The Role of Local Communities in Sustainable Resource Management
The first memory I have of pinus radiata was as a young boy, with the smell of Christmas trees. That piney aroma would fill the house along with the anticipated excitement of the opening of gifts thereunder. As a teenage apprentice carpenter, I learnt about the strength and versatility of NZ-grown Monterey Pine...
Local Action - Reef Denton (Motocross)
Hi, I'm Reef Denton and I'm 14 years old. When I was three, my parents took me to Nitro Circus and ever since then I've loved dirt bikes. My Dad told me if I could ride a push bike properly, he would get me a dirt bike. So, after some practice on a push bike he bought me a PW50. We went riding heaps at paddocks and...
A Golden Time in Opitunui by Becs Cox, Mercury Bay Museu Manager
The first recorded discovery of gold in Aotearoa New Zealand was in Kapanga, Coromandel, in October 1852. Returning from the California goldfields, Charles Ring and...
Nutrition Matters with Rebecca Smith (Real Nutrition)
It’s time to flip the scales: Let’s reframe the ‘diet’ game.
As I learned more about health, nutrition and overall well-being, something pretty cool happened. My mind made a shift, from the spotlight being on societal pressures of body image, to a devoted focus on feeling good – I mean really good – and living in an energetic, healthy state. And I didn’t even notice at the time...
Growing up I loved to read books and paint. My influences came from the stories in the books of Greek mythology, kings and queens, and history. These images and stories remain in my work today, combined with influences of music, opera and expressions of passion and excitement to display the beauty and joy of the human form with symbolism and colours of sea and nature...
Self-sustainability starts with you.
In a world where resources are finite and environmental degradation is a looming threat, the importance of being self-sustainable has never been greater. Self-sustainability means living a lifestyle that...
Brought to you by Te Moata Retreat Centre
I lived in Whitianga/Purangi from when I was born till I left school, 1997-2014. I've done various stints back in the area, working on the Glass Bottom Boat during my uni holidays, and at Coromandel’s CFM in 2019 and 2020...
Dealings With Feelings by Dave Burton
Like it or not, we are all affected to some extent by our feelings: joy, sadness, anger and fear are a part of all our lives. The question is, how do we react when we feel them?
Ross' Ramblings - The Changing Art of Education - Part 3
It never ceases to amaze me how young minds soak up knowledge naturally through play and interaction. A child can learn several languages at the same time and not confuse them when speaking. But suddenly, at age five or six, they are required to slot into an education system and change the way they learn, often being forced into learning styles....
The Power of Presence by Brando 'Wildboy' Yelavich
Brando Yelavich, NZ explorer and writer, aka Wildboy, shares his personal experiences and insights on mindfulness and self-discovery.
Comedian Alan McElroy poses the question.
I love omelettes! I LOVE OMELETTES! There, I said it – but to make an omelette, you’ve got to break a few eggs. Imagine my horror on a recent shopping trip when I realised that the eggs were as scarce as hen’s teeth. “Are chickens laying fewer eggs nowadays? Like humans having smaller families, they’re just too busy with life ...” My head was spinning....
309 Road: The Man Behind the Name
Mercury Bay Museum Manager, Becs Cox, shares the story of the Topp man who drove up the range.
Local Action with Pia Rogers (Surfer)
What inspired me to start surfing would have been a love for the ocean and coming from a family where we all surfed. My brothers and I spent a majority of our time...
Shark Swarm by Sebastian Ross - A concern about the growing shark population
On my last local spearfish, at Whale Island, a large Bronze Whaler shark came cruising below me. It swam slowly and yet with great power, gracefully but with intent. Encouraged by the shark's calm demeanour, I slipped...
...Once seated, we packed our jackets into plastic bags and popped them away inside our seats. We shared some Soju and Terra (Korean beer). Multiple different cuts were provided and we started sizzling away with some delicious pork belly...
Why They're Taking Over Your Headphones
Podcasts are super popular these days and have a big impact on society. They're becoming just as important as mainstream media in many countries, and listeners use them for both information and entertainment.
When Coromind asked me to write an article for this edition on the impact of AI technology on our lives, I thought to respond with an example of what AI and ChatGPT, in particular, can do.
So I logged into ChatGPT and told it to...
Making it 16
Should we consider lowering New Zealand's voting age?
Read by Brooke Koppens
Nutrition Tips with Rebecca Smith
So you’ve discovered the ‘new year, new me’ ambition has become a too-distant memory, as we creep towards the second quarter of 2023. It’s become all too easy to slip back into the old habits – you know, the not-so-good ones...
What to do with Weeds - The Coromandel region of New Zealand is home to many different types of weeds, some of which can be harmful to your garden. Here are three weeds that you should look out for...
Phd Sociologist, Stella Pennell. talks about the Airbnb effect on local communities: vibrant or disconnected?
In this edition: Crushed by drudgery by Bête Noire and Self-criticism & criticized by Bernie Spangenberg.
Petra Campbell explores the role of worldviews in environmental sustainability
Now more than ever sustainability, or the lack thereof, is an issue at the forefront of many of our minds. It is the issue that plagues...
Ross Liggins is back with more anecdotes and insights.
Despite having a myriad mixed feelings about education, I eventually became a high school teacher of accounting, economics, and any...
In this edition: New Mourning Prayer In America by Kaspur Franke and Summer Daze by Anna Mikkelsen. Read by Fabian Roberts
Brent Dry takes a trip down memory lane.
My family Bill, Jayne and Bryce Skinner moved to Whitianga in 1988/89 and took over the Dairy that was on Monk Street...
Ever find yourself in a situation where you know something needs to be said or done about a situation, but you’re not quite sure how to talk about it or engage others in helping to make some improvements? You might want them to understand your concerns and...
What have birds, trees and fish in common, one may wonder? It turns out a lot. And here is why.
When humans arrived in Aotearoa, they found a fantastic ecosystem that had evolved over millions of years into a wonderland of...
Whitianga Podcast Garners Worldwide Attention, Highlighting the Power of Independent Local Media.
Chef Andrew Lee, a veteran of the hospitality industry with over 35 years of experience, recently made a controversial statement on the podcast Altbays Show...
It seems to be the knee-jerk reaction nowadays, boosted by the accessibility of social media, to go from zero to agitated in less than 5 seconds.
In the old days, criticism and insults had a deal more creativity...
Mirror Mirror on the wall...in this digital age, who is the fairest of them all?
Our world, where terms such as ‘Snapchat Dysmorphia’ coexist alongside plastic surgeons being in high demand to chisel away...
My name is Hannah Coleman-Smith. I have been creating since I was a little
kid, and I have always been drawn to creating art depicting women, especially
in nature. Art is important to me because...
From small-town life to jet-setting around the world, Chloe Potae shares how travel became her career.
Kia ora, my name is Chloe Potae, and I am an international flight attendant....
The mighty kauri (Agathis australis) is one of the largest and longest-lived tree species in the world, with some trees living for over 1000 years.
The largest recorded kauri grew at the head of...
Coromandel is a perfect place for gardening. However, as a beginner,
it can be difficult to know which fruit trees are best suited to the area.
The subtropical climate of Coromandel is generally...
Local Coromandel, NZ, musicians Paul and Jani Lee share how music intertwines with their environmental advocacy.
I've always tried to take song/lyric writing as a serious responsibility with a conscientious intention to make change for the good...
Coromandel creative demonstrates how to get into the flow state and how to kill your inner critic.
Aotearoa is a Pacific Island nation coming to terms with its whakapapa. Our whakapapa includes pre-Treaty strands originating in Te Moana Nui a Kiwa² and post-Treaty strands from Europe and…
Managing our time is not about time; we all have the same amount in a day, a week or a year. Nor is it about management; we can’t control time. Time management is about…
Are you willing to look and listen before you speak? This challenge is set out for you to accept the state of ambivalence when faced with multifaceted issues and then start asking the right questions.
Kiwis have a special perspective to offer. Talking to locals and guests from other parts of NZ teaches me about active listening and respecting diverse opinions. In giving space for the people of Aotearoa to tell their stories, Altbays is creating a unique legacy from the Coromandel.
Acclaimed NZ music producer Dave Rhodes mentors Mercury Bay Area School students for Creative in Schools programme
A life’s journey unfolds before your eyes as a Kapa Haka stalwart shares her tale of bloodlines and connections
Warren Lee: Fourth generation Lee in Whitianga. I now live in Alaska and have been here for 30 years. I lived in Whitianga from 1971-1992. I attended MBAS From kindergarten ‘til sixth form.
My first memory of formal education was my first day at primary school. My teacher was a stern, sad, wrinkled woman who I thought was very old...
In this edition: Filiopietistic, by Graeme Eady, flowers grow from dirt, by Helen Oliver and (give me thirty three more poems), by Fauze Hassen. Read by Fabian Roberts.
Scootering is an amazing sport as you are able to get outside and have fun learning new tricks, like a Flair. This trick isn’t too hard for me as I have…
Have you ever heard somebody say to you, “You scream like a girl”? Or perhaps you could have said that phrase to someone else? Growing up, I’ve always heard one particular phrase: “You throw it like a girl.” …
Do you want to wake up feeling the best you have ever felt? I guess the answer would be yes! Well, it’s totally possible and let me tell you how...