Southern View: December 20, 2016

Oxford Tce
Oxford Tce
SOUTHERN VIEW Tuesday December 20 2016 7
footsteps of his ancestors
HOME: Tasman Gillies is at home in the harbour.
Being tāngata tiaki is not so
much about continuing his
legacy – it’s more what I should
be doing anyway. The kaitiaki
concept isn’t exclusive to Maori,
I think people should have a responsibility
towards the environment
and take care of it because
we’re being trusted to take care
of it while we’re here for future
generations.
Did you grow up at Rāpaki?
We moved to Rāpaki when I
was nine. I was born in Australia
and lived in a little town called
Alstonville near Byron Bay. Both
of my parents are Kiwi and I
have two older sisters. We kind
of grew up in the bush – we
lived in a big valley and the next
neighbour was a kilometre away
so we had all the room to play
around but we had to be careful
because it was Aussie. We knew
we were Maori but, in Australia,
we were absent from the culture
in a sense. When I moved here, it
was a big learning curve. I think
that was why our parents wanted
us to move back to see those
things.
What does your family do?
My mum and dad still live
in Rāpaki – he’s a doctor. My
sister works for the Ministry of
Education, but she was previously
a Maori teacher at Lincoln
High School. My other sister is a
dentist in Masterton.
What was it like moving to
Rāpaki?
It was a shock initially. You
can know you’re Maori but then
someone goes “oh you’re Maori,
do you want to be in the Kapa
Haka group?” I didn’t even know
what that was. People look at
you funny because they know
things about your culture that
you don’t. But in saying that, my
sister became a Maori teacher.
It’s been a massive learning
curve but also a really good one.
It’s more than the acknowledgement
I’m Maori now. Now I’m
part of it.
Where did you go to school?
I went to Lyttelton West then
Cashmere High School.
I heard you were head boy,
too? You kept that one quiet.
Yeah I was . . . that was a laugh.
Do you have any hidden
talents?
I won the dance competition
at the work Christmas function
out of like 300 people. I don’t
know what kind of dancing I
was doing and when and where I
picked it up . . . I just free-styled.
I think I picked it up from those
Step Up films from years ago. I
was dressed as The Wiggles with
a few of the guys from work.
What do you do for fun?
I love surfing and skiing and I
used to do waka ama, too, which
is outrigger canoeing.
Have you travelled overseas?
In 2014, after I had submitted
my masters thesis, I went to
Canada. I lived in Whistler for a
year working at the bar and on
the mountain and just skied and
had fun. I had a good time and,
by the end of the year, I came
back wanting to make use of my
degree and be more involved in
something besides living paycheck
to paycheck.
Were there any bear encounters?
Yeah, walking through the
village early morning and I was
still quite tired and went through
the forest section in the valley.
I looked up and there’s a beer
standing just in front of me. He
didn’t really care so I just turned
around cause I didn’t want to
deal with it. You get them everywhere.
They’re quite clever so a
lot of the door handles are knobs
because they know how to open
the levers. Stuff like that I wasn’t
used to. The raccoons were
hilarious but they’re the weirdest
creatures that waddle around.
PROJECT PROGRESS IN 2016 ACTIVITY IN 2017
1. An Accessible
City
• Work on Manchester and Durham Streets
well advanced.
• Durham Street:
– Kilmore to Armagh reopens to two-lane
traffic – early 2017
– Armagh to Tuam one lane until April.
• Manchester and Durham Streets finishing
late 2017.
Bealey Ave
Bealey Ave
2. Avon River
Precinct
Bealey Ave
• Triumphal Arch and Bridge of Remembrance
finished.
• The Terraces and Worcester East Terrace
finished.
• PGC site finished.
• Work starts on The Promenade – a sharedspace
streetscape, paved areas, gardens –
1st quarter.
• Works starts on restoration of Victoria Square
– 1st quarter.
• Margaret Mahy Family Playground finishing.
Victoria St
Montreal St
Durham St
Colombo St
Manchester St
Madras St
Barbadoes St
3. Convention
Centre
• Pre-construction site preparation works
underway.
• Early Works finishing mid-year.
• Construction works begin 3rd quarter.
Park Tce
Salisbury St
Peterborough St
Victoria St
Salisbury St
Peterborough St
Salisbury St
Peterborough St
4. Canterbury
Earthquake
National Memorial
• North bank finished.
• Work on Memorial Wall well advanced.
• Finishing February.
Kilmore St
Cranmer Square
Cambridge Tce
Kilmore St
5. East Frame • Work started on public spaces in October. • First residential lot starts in March/April.
Chester St
• Public spaces finishing in December.
Ave
Hagley Ave
Rolleston Ave
Antigua St
Armagh St
Gloucester St
Worcester Blvd
Hereford St
Cashel St
Tuam St
St. Asaph St
Montreal St
Montreal St
Armagh St
Oxford Tce
Cambridge Tce
Durham St
Cashel St
Lichfield St
Tuam St
St. Asaph St
Colombo St
Colombo St
Gloucester St
Worcester St
Hereford St
High St
Manchester St
Manchester St
St. Asaph St
Latimer Square
Madras St
Madras St
Barbadoes St
Barbadoes St
6. Metro Sports • Pre-construction earthworks and local road
Gloucester St
Facility
changes underway.
7. South Frame • Construction across project area underway.
Lichfield St
Land divestment
Ferry Rd
Armagh St
Worcester St
Hereford St
Cashel St
Tuam St
St. Asaph St
Fitzgerald Ave
Fitzgerald Ave
• Areas inside Innovation Precinct opened
in October.
• Several sales balancing commercial returns
and regeneration outcomes eg sale for
development of future farmers market and
Hoyts Cinema.
• Construction begins mid-year.
• Areas will open as work finishes.
• Continue to support new and different
developments that increase the number
of people working, living and enjoying the
central city.
Moorhouse Ave
Moorhouse Ave
Moorhouse Ave