The Valley Voice Rural - April

WOOL AWAY AND MIND THEM FLIES

BY PENNY TWISS

n a big farm where sheep make up a large portion of the animal holding shearing is an annual or biannual event and in between times the farmer has the flock under constant surveillance. Shearing sheep is not just about selling the wool, especially these days when wool can earn less than the cost to remove it, it is also about animal health. If wool is allowed to grow too long before shearing, various problems can arise. Most obvious is fly strike, the invasion of flies into wet wool and the laying of eggs against the skin of the animal which hatch. Following the normal life cycle of such things they become maggots that feed off the flesh of the host, causing tissue damage. Sheep can die from fly strike. It is a horrible thing for the animal if not caught in time. Warm wet weather is the danger period for fly strike. This is the time to be vigilant and watch sheep every day for the symptoms - your sheep may not appear to be unwell unless you know what you are looking for. You need to look closer if your sheep become irritable and restless, you may notice them staying apart from the rest of the flock, no matter the size of the flock, rubbing up against post, tree or gate. They may be flicking their ears and generally behaving out of sync with the rest of flock. They may be lying down more than usual, appearing unwell and not grazing. You may notice a

FERT MAKES DIRT WORK

darkened or matted area of wool where seepage from the affected area is occurring. Stockholm Tar is a good general-purpose standby for applying to fly strike in the first instance, fly spray will work in emergencies and there are commercial brands that deal with the problem and stay active for several weeks.

Small block farmers with well-indulged sheep that have become too fat need to keep an eye out. Folds in the skin can become warm and damp, an invitation for flies to beaver in and lay eggs. Of course, this can happen on a hill country station but, let’s be honest, sheep are not so likely to become

obese in this situation where they do well, grazing on what they need and ranging widely, unlike sheep on a small block. Keeping sheep clean, ensuring they are crutched to remove dags around the rear end if needed, is also crucial.

As a rule, sheep are shorn in early summer. This helps them handle the heat of summer days as well as discouraging fly strike. In case of a wet and humid summer it may be necessary to shear again in late summer as the fleece regrows. Stay vigilant during extended periods of warm rain, even going into autumn - farm with the weather, not the calendar season.

Small-block shearer Ryan Smith says sheep with tighter wool are more susceptible and it can be the small green coloured flies as well as blowflies that are bothersome. Call your local shearer right away if you suspect flies have been at your flock. Your small block shearer appreciates the sheep being penned ahead of their arrival but can do this if needed. Ryan also checks animal health, tidies hooves and drenches sheep if needed, and he will take the wool away if it is not wanted. Remember that some drenches have a withholding period against butchering.

Sheep cannot be shorn when wet as it is not safe to do so. For a start the sheep will be

heavy and slippery to handle, the shearing board becomes wet and slippery, and the shearer’s handpiece is an electrical appliance not safe to use in wet conditions. Neither can wet wool be baled as it becomes mouldy and unusable and becomes combustible when tightly packed.

Watching sheep shearing is a pleasure to behold, a skill requiring a high level of fitness and a strong back. The modern small block shearer wears his handpiece attached to a rechargeable battery on a belt, a wonderful invention, so far removed from the cumbersome portable petrol snorter that had to be attached over a fence railing in the not so ‘olden days.’

SEARCHING FOR SYLVIE

BY CHRISSY LLOYD-JONES

Kittens, puppies, in fact any young animals, tend to tug at the heartstrings. It is suggested by Valley Voice editor Colleen, asking for a family member, I research the whereabouts of a very cute kitten called Sylvie featured in a television advertisement for the SPCA, in association with Purina pet food. The sleuth in me springs to action.

Cats do rule you know.

I begin by researching the SPCA’s website and find it’s been on an interesting journey.

The Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has a history of more than 150 years advancing animal welfare in New Zealand. The very first animal law was passed to protect animals in the United Kingdom in 1822. Two years later, the RSPCA was founded. A law to protect animals in the UK was passed in 1822 but it would take 48 years before the first recorded meeting took place in the South Island of New Zealand. Eventually ‘Royal’ was dropped from the title.

The first SPCA was formed in Canterbury in 1872, and was quickly followed by Otago, Auckland, and Wellington. The first national law protecting animals in New Zealand was passed in 1878. Against the backdrop of war and human rights issues in the early 1900s, SPCA had a hard road to elevate the issues of animal cruelty.

Improving conditions for working animals was a large part of the SPCA’s focus early on, with cruelty to horses particularly common at the time. Following this, the treatment of bobby calves and the transportation of farm animals were other significant issues highlighted for reform. SPCA worked hard to shape public perception of how animals should be treated.

In 1933, the various separate Societies around the country decided to amalgamate as a Federation. Out of this grew the national organisation, SPCA New Zealand. On 17 June 2017, SPCA delegates from independent

CUSHIONRIDE

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CUSHIONRIDE

– a quality woodfibre product which guarantees an exceptional, virtually dust-free surface, reliable in all weather conditions.

Centres around the country voted to officially form one national organisation. A new unified and future-focused national entity was created, with the change coming into effect on 1 November 2017. Since then, there has been one SPCA in New Zealand.

The society consists of 27 animal shelters and nine vet partnerships around New Zealand, including many in regional areas with SPCA Op shops, in a close vicinity, raising funds. SPCA inspectors have the exclusive power to investigate animal welfare complaints and prosecute abusers when necessary. It has launched public education cam-

paigns regarding the humane treatment of animals encouraging people to change their behaviour towards them, relevant currently after a recent spate of dog attacks throughout the country.

The SPCA constantly run animal awareness campaigns and are currently running a new one called Super Mums. The new campaign shines a spotlight on cat mums, who often wait a lot longer to find forever homes than young kittens. Usually, mothers while they themselves are kittens, every Super Mum is offered for adoption de-sexed, microchipped, vaccinated, health-checked,

EQUESTRIAN SURFACING

and lovingly prepared by SPCA teams and foster families. The Super Mums adoption campaign runs from 9 February to 29 March and a new series of regional walk-in ‘Caturdays’, make it easier than ever for New Zealanders to meet and adopt cats and kittens. Check out the SPCA website for details. Having learned about the SPCA I turn to

Purina, the well-known pet food company. I find it is closely affiliated with SPCA and during October last year offered to match any donations made to SPCA, resulting in an amount raised in excess of $80,000, a good sum to help support and look after pets in need. Purina says feeding the animals and the association between the two respected organisations is ongoing. On some pet packaging there is a pet picture. The one my family has at present is Folly, a puppy abandoned at four weeks and left in a cardboard box on the roadside. Now a muchloved member of her household she loves going for walks and collecting household goods in a pile on the living room floor. She has become a successful dog agility trial participant.

And what of little Sylvie, the kitten in the television advertisement? Spokesperson for SPCA, Georgia Gilbertson, tells me Sylvie was fed Purina 1, given vet attention and developed into a well-loved adult feline. Although exact records cannot be located about Sylvie’s outcome, as the advert was made in 2016 at the Mangere SPCA and staff have moved on since that time, Georgia says she feels Sylvie (possibly renamed) found a good home and has grown into a treasured senior cat. Georgia also said the owner may possibly come to light through this story. Who knows?

On the home-front my golden girl Poppy relishes Purina’s little Tux biscuits every morning (plus every time she can scrounge one by barking near the biscuit tin) and moggy Mr Tweedie practically inhales the Purina Oscar pet food pouches as they are so delicious and surrounded by cat-enticing

jelly which is also easy to slide out of the pouch - not personally tried, I might add. Many of us are invested in our pet health and welfare and in New Zealand over 63% of households own at least one pet. There are an estimated 1.26 million cats, making them the most popular pet. Approximately 1.2 million dogs are also registered. Pet ownership

rates have remained stable over the past decade, and these statistics highlight the strong bond New Zealanders have with their pets, with dedicated owners doing their best by their four-legged friends. SPCA and Purina are jointly investing heavily in animal welfare, so the future is undoubtedly assured.

NOW’S THE TIME TO PLAN NATIVE PLANTING AND WETLAND RESTORATION

BY MYLES GOODWIN, RURAL SUBDIVISION EXPERT AND ENVIRONMENTAL DIRECTOR, CATO BOLAM CONSULTANTS.

Autumn and winter are ideal seasons to start planning native planting. If you are considering restoring bush, enhancing wetlands, or exploring environmental enhancement subdivision opportunities, early preparation can make a measurable difference to timing, compliance, and long-term returns. Wetlands and bush are more than environmental features. Managed well, they protect productive land, improve farm resilience, and can unlock

value through Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) and environmental enhancement subdivisions.

Wetland restoration could be faster than you think

Wetlands are commonly found in lowlying or poorly drained parts of rural properties and may only be seasonally wet. They are not always obvious, and vegetation is often the key indicator, particularly watertolerant species like rushes. Even degraded

wetlands can be restored relatively quickly with fencing, targeted native planting, and early pest control. With the right programme in place, ecological thresholds required for protection or subdivision can often be met within 1-3 years. We have seen full restoration programmes completed in as little as 22 months.

Unlocking value from gullies and remnant bush

Many rural properties already contain pockets of native bush or wetlands tucked into gullies, steeper faces, or less productive corners. Under the Unitary Plan, protecting and enhancing these areas can create opportunity. Where qualifying native bush or wetlands meet the required thresholds, landowners may generate a TDR or create new on-site titles while permanently protecting the ecological areas. Importantly, the protected area no longer needs to be contiguous. A 2024 Environment Court decision confirmed that qualifying bush or wetland areas can be recognised even when made up of separate pockets. For many farms, this reflects how the landscape functions, with remnant vegetation often retained in gullies or on south-facing slopes where planting and protection are practical. This allows landowners to focus protection on erosion-prone or lower-performing land, strengthen farm resilience, and meet policy thresholds without compromising productive areas. It is about making better use of existing areas, protecting them permanently, and unlocking additional value.

in use, marginal areas are stabilised, and long-term environmental gains are secured alongside tangible value.

Start with the right advice

What this looks like on the ground

One rural client recently secured four new Transferable Title Rights (TTRs) by fencing and covenanting remnant bush in gullies and slip-prone areas. Rather than retiring highperforming paddocks, the strategy targeted marginal land. Excluding stock from vulnerable areas reduced maintenance and improved waterway protection. Proceeds from the TTRs supported further fencing and on-farm improvements. The result is a more balanced property: productive land remains

Existing bush and wetlands have value, even if they are not in pristine condition. In many cases, areas that look like rough pasture or scrub can become a long-term asset. An ecological assessment can confirm whether an area qualifies as a wetland, whether bush meets indigenous vegetation criteria, and what subdivision or TDR options may be available. Native planting, fencing, and pest management take time, so acting early gives you more control over staging and costs.

We offer free site assessments to help landowners understand what may be possible on their property. If you are looking to make better use of unproductive areas, explore your options. Contact Myles Goodwin at mylesg@catobolam.co.nz or call 0800 2 CATOBOLAM.

FLOWER FUSION PROFUSION

BY PENNY TWISS

There is floral magic happening down a quiet country lane in Karaka, where flowers grow en masse in the glass houses at Flower Fusion. New owner Ronnie Tan is brimming with enthusiasm for this, new to him, venture that he took on over just one year ago.

Flower Fusion is the new name for the former Oak Meadows which was established in 1989 by Johannes Boonejamp who “lay the foundation for a respected and reputable flower business.” Johannes had a special interest in developing a strong line of gerberas, work Ronnie continues with support from Johannes “continuing as a trusted advisor and collaborator. Together, they are committed to carrying forward the original vision of Oak Meadows, building on its strong legacy while fostering innovation and growth in the floral industry.” (https://www.flowerfusion.co.nz/). Ronnie has applied himself to learning about growing flowers, introducing technological innovations, reading the market for trends in fashion, considering new varieties and understanding the joy that flowers bring.

Gerberas are one of Flower Fusion’s lead sellers. The gerbera glass house is alive with row upon row of flowers in all colours. Some are the classic lines of pure orange, hot pink, clear yellow and strong red, other flowers are in shades of pastel with creams and pale pink and pretty blends of two tones. A blog on the company website gives guidelines for preventing gerbera flowers from drooping, a sad event that can occur if they are not

Trees can cause power cuts in storms

How close are your trees?

Trees and vegetation growing too close to power lines are a key cause of unplanned power outages. That’s why the Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Regulations are important. They set out what property owners and companies like Counties Energy are obligated to do to keep everyone safe.

Here’s what you need to know about your responsibilities.

Maintaining a safe distance

In October 2024, the Regulations were updated to increase the minimum safe distances between trees and power lines, and a new ‘clear to the sky’ requirement for some trees. There is a grace period relating to these until 16 October 2026.

If your trees are growing within the Cut-Back or Notice Zone (Tree A), you may get a legal notice saying your trees must be trimmed soon because they’re getting too close to power equipment. Should they reach the Growth Limit Zone (Tree B), you will get a legal notice requiring them to be trimmed. Visit our website at countiesenergy.co.nz/serviceproviders for a list of authorised contractors.

Choosing to ignore a Cut or Trim notice and failing to comply with it is an offence under the Tree Regulations and can result in a fine of up to $10,000 and up to $500 per day/part day if the offence continues. Also, if our lines are damaged because you failed to comply with the Tree Regulations, you will be liable for the cost of repairs.

countiesenergy.co.nz/trees

The regulations

clearances apply

Under the Regulations, landowners are legally obliged to keep trees on their property from encroaching on the Notice Zone of a power line.

Counties Energy will carry out the ‘first cut’ of a tree near network power lines for free, then the owner is responsible and liable for the costs of any future maintenance of the tree to ensure it does not encroach on the Notice Zone. Tree owners may face penalties if they fail to maintain their trees’ clearance and this results in damage to power lines or equipment.

handled correctly. When we receive flowers, remember it is OK to buy them for yourself, snip a little from the stem and put them in a clean vase. Vases should always be washed thoroughly - “bacteria are the number one enemy of vase life.” Keep them cool, flowers will not last as long in a sunny position, recut the stems and refresh the water every couple of days. This advice works for flower arranging in general, of course.

Tweedia are an unusual flower not often seen in gardens. Their small white or skyblue flowers, rather like a large forget-me-not,

Continued on page 8

Cutting trees near live lines

Only Counties Energy-approved arborists may cut or trim trees within 4m of an overhead line. We can refer you to a fully qualified and experienced contractor or temporarily disconnect your supply so the trimming can be done safely.

It’s important you take the necessary precautions to keep you and others safe.

Always treat lines as live, and if a tree or object touches a line call

immediately.

From page 7

are in demand for bridal bouquets and are a pretty option for adding the traditional “something blue” to the bride’s day. They are beautiful in a tight bunch on their own or contrasting with other flowers, either with stronger coloured flowers or creating a soft look with finer blooms like the dainty, airy spires of Lepidium Green Dragon. Lepidium grows in tall spires with tiny white flowers amongst light green foliage. A long vase life makes it a valuable filler for floral work, and it also dries well, the flowers setting into tiny seed pods that stay on the stem when dried, the whole becoming straw coloured. Many flowering plants with tiny flowers can become untidy and shed petals and pods but Lepidium has tidy habits and won’t send you looking for a duster to sweep up beneath the vase every day.

Flower Fusion is also growing the beloved

spires of delphiniums, including the less common belladonna variety which is pale blue and flowers less compactly along the stems than other delphiniums, which of course they also grow. Ronnie is proud of the clever new growing platforms in the delphinium house. The platforms are raised off the ground and roll on tracks, giving the pickers an easier height to work from and more space between rows as the growing beds can be rolled to one side once harvested.

Some of the more startling and fascinating flowers grown here are the architectural, spiky rounded heads of Dianthus Green Wicky. In the same family as carnations and sweet William, these flowers are strikingly different and will add drama and structure to any arrangement. The flowers are entirely green, quite stunning and a wonderful contrast to other more soft flowers. Also great

for a funkier design and a dramatic twist on the classic posy is a bunch of them tied tightly together, forming a rounded bunch. Flower Fusion grows the classiccoloured dianthus as well, in shades of purple, dark purple, dark pink, pink, white, and red. Another flower, the Veronica, in pink, purple and white, is special and unique. With fine spires of flowers with an unusual flat tip, it is dainty, elegant and charming.

Ronnie is enjoying the seasonality of growing and selling, the excitement of different seasons and the demands for different colours for events, commemorations and celebrations. Red flowers are a hot seller for Valentine’s Day, Christmas customers want red of course but also white, and green (Dianthus Green Wicky is perfect for this) and naturally Anzac Day is a time for red flowers as well. The gerbera glass house is a

special part of the business, supplying many of the sought-after red flowers and is always flourishing, but come back in spring, he says, and you can hardly see the staff for flowers in here.

Flower Fusion is a business based on growing strong healthy flowers that will have a long vase life once they have passed through the hands of the wholesaler. Flowers go to the auction house three times a week, to the florists and their customers. Ronnie Tan is loving the whole thing. He says he is thankful that he has staff who have been with the company long before he took over and he loves to work with them on ideas for moving the business forward. Building on the core values established by Oak Meadows, Flower Fusion grows more beautiful by the day, with Ronnie on the constant lookout for fresh ideas to enhance his range of floral offerings.

INTERIOR FURNISHINGS • HOMEWARES • LINEN, CUSHIONS AND MORE

BY HELEN MARTIN

THE NZ MEATMASTER

People I talk to about rare breeds say the animals are important for qualities that other, more recent breeds don’t have, and for the fact that their genetics will be needed. Here’s an example of that - a rare breed of sheep, the Damara, has genetics prescribed as essential to the production of the composite NZ Meatmaster, a sheep that may be just what the industry needs. There are just two registered breeders of the NZ Meatmaster in the Rare Breeds Directory. Daniel Wheeler Canterbury stud, which sells them, has been

up and running for some 20 years while on their farm Lallybroch Livestock in Hawkes Bay Bryan and Michelle Ritchie are working towards commercial production of the NZ Meatmaster.

The Ritchies are funding the enterprise Bryan calls an “out of control hobby” out of their own pockets (both have full-on, fulltime jobs) but, he says, they have the time needed to get everything in order before they launch their NZ Meatmaster stud as a business. Both with farming backgrounds, initially the Ritchies were breeding rare

Damara sheep, originally from South Africa, on their small holding in Otāne. At the same time, they were cross breeding their foundation ewes, and 10 years ago switched to breeding the more self-sufficient NZ Meatmasters, buying their first ram, Ghost, from Daniel Wheeler in 2020.

The South African Meatmaster Breed Standard was adapted for New Zealand by Daniel Wheeler and accepted by NZ Sheep Breeders Association in 2009. The NZ Meatmaster is the only sheep in NZ, Bryan says,

with a breed standard solely based on performance, apart from the stipulation that it must contain a percentage of Damara. A big factor in the desirability of the Damara genes is that it is one of only a few sheep breeds in NZ which is polyoestrous (cycles every 18 –21 days) throughout pretty much the whole year. “If you can capture that trait,” explains Bryan, “farmers can pick their lambing times.”

Other genetics in the NZ Meatmaster Continued on page 10

From page 9

Bryan and Michelle are working on include those of the Dorper, White Dorper, Texel and Exlana. These breeds are selected to contribute to easy-care, parasite-tolerant, and productive sheep that do not require shearing. Dorper genetics give the muscle building factor, with Texel adding the MyoMax gene to increase muscle yield and reduce carcass fat. Bryan says, “We’re really strict on animal lineage and have to know everything about an animal at least five generations back. We also have to know about their behaviour. In our originals we have White Dorper, Damara, Finnish Land Race, Texel and Wiltshire and have been capturing the traits we want from each of these breeds. In the early stages we had as many as 15 rams of different breed mixes, who were then put to chosen ewes, all the while, ensuring sound animals were produced, without diluting the Damara percentage too far. At the end of each breeding season all stock are scored for their traits and those not meeting the performance standards are culled.

Sheep of South African heritage go well in a drought situation because they’re browsers, not grazers, Bryan says. Like goats they eat all vegetation, so farmers can utilise areas where grass grazing sheep don’t do well. NZ Meatmasters inherit from Damara the characteristic of hair, not wool, which has huge advantages in their resistance to fly strike and the fact that they don’t require shearing, which is good for insulation, particularly for newborn lambs.

The NZ Meatmaster, like the Damara, has a high flocking instinct making it easy to muster. With a few quiet ewes in a mob, they can easily be moved from one paddock to another without a sheepdog. NZ Meatmasters don’t have to be docked, there is less need for drenching, and they are facial eczema resilient.

How do the Ritchies keep track of all this? For a start, at Lallybroch they use the Livestocked app, Bryan tells me, a farm

management app for recording and managing livestock information directly from a phone, tablet, or computer - births, weights, treatments, movements between paddocks, pasture use, farm inputs. In 2025, the Ritchies signed up to the SIL (Sheep Improvement Limited) recording system, which enables them to monitor the performance and genetics of each sheep. The data from this is sent by SIL to the online tool nProve, which ranks each individual sheep for each function and is used to help farmers find rams with the best genetics for their farming goals.

“We try to preserve some coloured lines in our NZ Meatmaster stock,” Bryan says. “The coloured sheep are very popular with lifestyle block owners, who love exotic-looking sheep. This has been the hardest line to do - it’s difficult to incorporate colour and get full shedding and polled sheep. Recently, we have added two NZ composite dairy breeds to our NZ Meatmaster line, with the aim of improving a ewe’s milk production ability. This has seen accelerated lamb growth.” Bryan and Michelle love what they do. Bryan explains that NZ Meatmaster carcass offers a premium grade of meat, and any lambs that don’t quite meet the grade are sent to a local butcher to produce quality meat for the table. “‘Our butcher Bryn is always excited to receive one of our animals, and is always impressed by the meat yield ratio, meat quality and minimal subcutaneous fat.” The NZ Meatmaster, they say, will enable farmers to avoid putting their farms into pine trees, or growing wool they’re not paid for. Instead, they can have an animal that sells for a premium because it is a highend quality product. “In other words, the NZ Meatmaster is a competitive breed of the future, with low input and high profit.” And the rare Damara is an essential part of that.

ENVIRONMENT MATTERS

BY HELEN MARTIN

WASTEWATER

Violent weather events around the world, including in Aotearoa, are a timely warning that, in the light of expected increased rainfall and sea level rise, we need to be prepared. The recent spillage of millions of litres of raw sewage from Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant in Wellington for example, is said to be a costly environmental disaster that will take many months to repair. Meanwhile, with the climate changing for whatever reason and in the midst of the denial and the looking-the-other wayMarco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, for example, recently told the audience at the Munich Security Summit “To appease a climate cult we have imposed energy policies on ourselves that are impoverishing our people” – there is much talk of future proofing and its cost. The NZ Listener (February 28 – March 6), for example, has devoted its cover to this issue, and points out that planning around water is urgent. Water is a big issue, and the replacement of Labour’s Three Waters was one of National’s 2003 election promises. Having successfully become the ruling party (in a coalition with ACT and NZ First), they call their replacement Local Water Done Well. No doubt water will be an issue much talked about in the lead up to the election this year.

As the NZ Listener points out, “in December (2025) the government implemented new wastewater standards that in many cases downgrade the quality of treatment, particularly for discharge to the open ocean …”and gives the example “new standards limit

contaminants only according to the waterway’s type ...so discharge can continue even if water quality worsens.” Chief engineer David Romilly at water consultancy Lutra is quoted as saying “There’s other parts of the world that are certainly more

THE DENTURE MAN

advanced in their water regulations.”

Uniquely, Auckland’s water is managed by one of its Council-appointed utilities (CCOs) Watercare Tā mātou pakihi, whose website explains “Watercare Services Limited is a council-controlled organisation under the Local Government Act 2002, wholly owned by Auckland Council … All the money we

Continued on page 12

From page 11

receive from customers goes into operating, maintaining and expanding our networks of pipes, treatment plants, pump stations and other infrastructure.” One of its current projects is to replace the Helensville/Parakai wastewater system beside the Kaipara River, which is tidal, low-lying and at risk of going underwater with the expected rising sea level, with a new treatment plant on a more appropriate site. As Local Board member Mark Dennis explains, it’s a long-term thing involving a carefully planned process.

At a scheduled public meeting in February locals were told about the process, beginning with the options considered - move the treatment plant, future proof what is there or connect the area to an existing wastewater system in town. Listeners were told it had been decided the most practical option was relocation and that “once they have the new site locked in, they will hold it until a trigger, such as sea level rises or extreme weather

means it’s time to move.” I’m interested to know why there’s a need for a trigger, and Mark explains that because nature is unpredictable it cannot be known for certain when the new wastewater plant will be needed. Also, with new technologies coming through, he says. It’s in our favour to push it out as long as possible. The recent $17 million upgrade to the existing Helensville Wastewater Treatment Plant was done in response to a 2021 abatement notice from Auckland Council using technologies that didn’t exist 10-15 years ago, who knows what will be available to us in the future?

Meanwhile, the painstaking groundwork of preparing a site - consulting with the relevant stakeholders, finding and preparing the best site available - will have been done. In other words, the powers that be will have a site ready on which to build a new, fit-forpurpose wastewater plant using the latest technologies available. “It’s great to see this level of planning, preparedness and trans-

parency from a Council organisation,” says Mark, “and it was great to see so many at the public meeting held to discuss it.”

Legal basis for tackling climate emissions to be scrapped in the US

I know it’s hard to keep up with what’s happening around the world regarding the future of our planet so, in case you missed it, here’s one bit of news that needs a mention.

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) director Lee Zeldin has joined US President Donald Trump in announcing the axing of the legal basis for climate regulation, repealing the EPA’s own 2009 legal finding

that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health. Explaining this move, Zeldin talks about “the holy grail of climate change religion”, a sentiment Trump agrees with. Tump’s administration says climate change is a hoax and has previously withdrawn the US from the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Trump and colleagues have revived the slogan “drill, baby, drill”, which has also been picked up and used by the current pro-fossil fuel energy policy championed by Aoteoaroa’s Resources Minister Shane Jones.

ON GARDENS, GARDENERS

BY PENNY TWISS

How blind I was, in my last column, to the amount of fruit the orchard is bearing. Autumn tells a different tale. Sure, there were slim pickings on the Luisa plum but there was nothing slim about the size of them, they were huge, like gorgeously hued avocados, too fat to drop into the baked bean picking tin attached to a bamboo pole they perched atop it to be lowered gently to waiting hands or laid to rest upon the ground.

I doubt that Damsons ever vary greatly in size, but they can vary in abundance of crop. Ours have been fantastic the last two years, clustered fatly along the branches they are an unusual fruit, not the kind of plum to pick and eat even though they look so tempting, like fat grapes, dark purple covered in a fine bloom. Biting into one is a disappointment, the flesh is somewhat floury and slightly tart, the skin is sour. A basketful is a pretty and

Continued on page 14

WALKERS PEST CONTROL

From page 13

satisfying sight but what to do with them? Gin, yes, there are three ice cream containers of them in the freezer to use for that later. What else? The New Zealand Gardener spoke of a woman up north sun drying them and using them to make fruit loaf, so I thought it worth a try and set to. This, I found, would be more fun to do sitting around with friends or family - it is so slow and fiddly. One must cut them in half and remove the stones then lay them on a rack in the sun. I lay paper towels in the top and bottom of a roasting dish and stoned plums until each dish was full. My rationale was that the stainless would become hot and contribute to the drying process. Out in the sun they went, covered with a fine voile cloth, the kind you toss over food to keep flying insects off. You know what, it worked, it took a little over a week, and we

didn’t have sun every day during that time. The dried fruit looks like a wee prune and is very sour, and the loaf it made, mixed with raisins, is good. Will I do it again? Hmm, ask me next autumn. Oh, plus I made Damson cordial, which is delicious with water or soda water, though also a somewhat heavy mixture which drops to the bottom of the glass if it doesn’t get a good stir.

We have always been a bit droopy lipped about our grape harvest. Big, fat, cornucopiashaped bunches have simply not happened, until this year, when we have satisfyingly fat bunches which I have left a bit late to photograph. We have been happy to see all three varieties looking good in the grabour, also known as grape arbour, even though technically it is a tunnel. Said tunnel is also host this year to hue/gourds, but they are just coming on so more about them another time. All I will say is that I am grateful that Jock barks at possums in the night, The Other Gardener wakes and scares them even further with a bang. I have seen photos of the damage caused to hue by possums on a hue FB page I follow.

At first it seemed that the figs would not ripen, they stayed hard and did not swell for a very long time, despite copious summer rain. However, we are feasting on them now, their brix is high and just it occurs to me it could be fun to dry some. Pause in tappingfigs now sliced lengthwise and basking in the autumn sun.

Almost ready are quince and apples, the sheep have been munching apples for ages, but they are not quite ready. I give them the peeler test, the peeler must glide beneath the skin, not drag and burr the flesh. I am looking forward to the crock pot filled with quince and filling the house with their incomparable perfume as they cook throughout the night. Elsewhere in the garden we have managed to raise three buttercup pumpkins and one

6 months or 6 months after infection

butternut, bumblebees are smothering sedum, the last of Dinky-Di dahlia, oregano and solidago flowers and the beans are all but done. Bees are still in short supply, something is bugging the capsicums and not letting them colour up and the toms and beans are ready for taking down. My goal for winter is to grow splendid rhubarb, must get a bag of horsh to dig into compost for that. Summer has been kind to gardeners, so much rain, I have never been so carefree with taps. Autumn, however, feels like a slightly different story, but never mind, it is nicely decorated with persimmons, and I will hope the lawn cracks no further because there is now rain in the forecast for the next week.

ART IN ACTION

A MONTHLY GLIMPSE INTO THE LOCAL ART WORLD.

BY HELEN MARTIN

JOANNE SULLIVAN

Sculptor Joanne Sullivan is an artist with a history of working in bronze, paint, silk and glass. (Valley Voice, October 2019). Born in South Africa, she began studying sculpting at South African sculptor Etienne de Kock’s bronze foundry and eventually became the official sculptor for her country’s racing industry. After moving to Cleveland, America, she continued studying under master sculptors and took part in many exhibitions

there. Then, in 2002 she arrived in Aotearoa, where she quickly established a reputation as a sought-after sculptor in bronze, and was commissioned to make Phar Lap, then Sir John Walker. While she still sculpts in that medium, her most recent bronze work being the Sir Keith Park bronze sculpture unveiled in Thames in September 2025 to commemorate the Battle of Britain, Joanne now spends much of her time making beautiful, smaller glass objects.

She says she is in an ideal position, making a livelihood through the business she and husband Huw have, selling imported gemstone jewellery at weekend markets, while spending much of her time doing the painstaking work of creating unique pieces of glass art. It takes at least a month to take a piece from start to finish. In the glass fraternity, she tells me, it’s accepted that if you want to become a millionaire working in the art you need to start as a squillionaire, so it’s a good thing that Joanne does it for the love of it. “Artwork is a gentle thing,” she says, “when you put the joy in you get the joy out. I see the world in turmoil. The best I can do is go into the studio and create something beautiful and meaningful. My inspiration is drawn from the vitality of the everchanging nature surrounding me. It’s my way of creating balance and hopefully lifting the spirits of those who get to enjoy these creations.” Huw, a former park ranger whose main interest is in organically growing all manner of produce, helps in the studio. “We work together,” Joanne says.

The lost wax process of creating glass works is very

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From page 15

similar to working in bronze, with the benefit that a foundry is not needed in the process - clients have the option of the casting of large bronze works being done in China or Aotearoa, always in a foundry. With glass, everything is done in the studio. Glasswork also needs patience, a quality Joanne has plenty of, to bring a work to fruition, and there are hours of work casting, carving, firing and sanding each piece, whether it’s a goblet, vase, sculpture, or panel. The finished piece is offered in editions of, generally, nine or 18, and the mold is then destroyed. In an edition no two are the same, Joanne explains, as she varies the colours and blends. The palette is from nature - greens, blues, oranges, golds, yellows or just clear glass. A case in point is a piece she is working on now, Medusa, which will be in clear glass. “I only make pieces I really like, and I’m definitely doing this one for myself in the first place. If someone else likes it too, that’s wonderful.”

Glass is bought in billets from a supplier in Whanganui. While Joanne is experimenting with other types of glass, the artwork she is doing at the moment is in lead crystal glass, using the same technique as that by artist René Lalique, who revolutionized glassmaking in pioneering Art Nouveau and Art Deco glass art, beginning in the late 19th century. Her pieces are quite personal. “They all relate to something important to me and to the land. Many depict fauna and flora, some are more sculptural, some in the form of goblets or vases. My aim is to make pieces that bring joy.” She says she is always fully masked when working in the studios, “most especially for silica dust and lead dust when polishing the glass, all of the polishing is done wet for this reason.”

Joanne sends the occasional piece to a gallery in Whanganui and while other galleries ask for work, she’s not wanting her art to become factory-like. “I tend to sell on the Helensville Art Trail or directly to people who contact me and buy direct from the studio,” she says. “Generally, they’ve seen a photo of my work somewhere or heard about it through word of mouth. I don’t make a living from it but then I don’t want to become a treadmill

machine where I just work, work, work. I’m doing it for the joy of doing it. I like the pace I work at and while I put in a good number of hours, six to eight a day, I don’t want it to become mechanical. If somebody finds me that’s great.”

Her website is https://www.joannesullivan.studio/

MUSIC MONTH

IN WHICH GARY STEEL DIGS UP THE CHOICEST NIBLETS OF THE MONTH SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO.

It’s hard to gauge how the local music scene is doing because the medium on which most of us listen to our new music, Spotify, pays no heed to New Zealand music and doesn’t give a hoot whether our music makes a splash, which it rarely does since people stopped listening to records and radio.

Despite the lack of visibility for local artists on the music streaming platforms, Recorded Music NZ reports there were nearly 900 million streams of local acts in 2025, a seemingly impressive feat that is admittedly dealt something of a blow by the fact that we streamed a total of 12.4 billion tunes during the same period.

So here’s an idea. Let’s have a listen to a random selection of recent Kiwi songs and albums just because we can and find out whether the quality to trash ratio is healthy and just how much diversity there is in our culture bunker.

It’s been a while since Bic Runga released an album. Though she was a smash success in the late ‘90s Red Sunset is her first proper album since Belle in 2011, unless you count her album of cover versions from 2016. So she must have been stockpiling great songs, right? Instead, it’s almost unbearably slight, and more or less picks up from where Belle left off, with its urbane French feel. While Belle was influenced by French pop, Red

Sunset was actually recorded in France and several of its songs could almost be soundtrack themes for sexy 1970s Parisian movies. Bic still sings sweetly on this brief 10-song selection but the rather flat production of her partner-in-life Kody Nielson puts a dint in the sonic lustre. And although the electronics that dominate the first few selections are extinguished to allow some analogue elements into the mix, there’s a sense that the Bic Runga we knew and adored is somehow absent from her own record.

According to Warner Music, Macey is a

“fast-emerging singer-songwriter, whose emotionally rich storytelling and magnetic live presence have been steadily capturing attention across the country.” Listening to his latest three singles, ‘Clementine’, ‘Seaside Wishes’ and ‘Mona Lisa Money’ I’m left underwhelmed. Like a teen idol version of Springsteen with mundane observations, Macey sings story-songs but there’s no grit in them and he (or his producer Ben Malone) seems to choose a jangling guitar or a Phil Spector beat with little consideration for consistency of vision. Pass!

Continued on page 18

From page 17

Theia is the stage-name for Em-Haley Kukutai Walker, who is scheduled to represent Aotearoa at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues in New York later this month. Her album Girl – In A Sav‐age World is only 21-minutes long, but I longed for it to be shorter. Strikingly different for about the first two minutes and increasingly annoying thereafter, Theia puts

on a high, girly voice that I can only assume is a satire on the wives and girlfriends of the land-grabbing honkies that her songs refer to. Bold artistic statement or gauche silliness? This will depend on your personal artistic sensibilities and political inclinations.

Thank goodness for our final selection this month: Anitya by Tom Scott (not the cartoonist or the jazz saxophonist but the

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former rapper in Homebrew). Here’s an album to take you by surprise, but one that, unlike Theia’s record, doesn’t wear out its welcome. In fact, it’s the gift that keeps giving as it hazily evolves from track to track with influences that range from hip-hop to soul to jazz and some indefinable experimentalism that encapsulates pure ambience. Anitya is recorded in such a way that it feels intensely intimate, beautifully spare and without boundaries. There’s all manner of instrumentation and Scott’s lyrics hit you with wit and a level of honesty and creativity that’s rare in NZ hip-hop (or any other scene, come to think of it).

Our randomly selected songs and albums suggest that there’s a wealth of variety coming out of NZ and that things are not as hogtied to convention as they were 20 years ago when Kiwi bands were imitating American EMO bands just to get NZ On Air grants. That has to be a good thing.

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