Bay Harbour: May 01, 2024

Bay Harbour News Wednesday May 1 2024
10
NEWS
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
‘Absolute gem’ leaving
to answer call of home
• By Fin Ocheduszko Brown
NOTHING COULD keep Chris
Smith from his work maintaining
Te Raekura Redcliffs School.
Even when it was declared
unsafe, due to the risk of cliff collapse
following the earthquakes,
the native Yorkshireman continued
with its upkeep, earning him
a sympathetic slap on the wrist
from the police.
Now after 15 years at the
school, he and his wife Susan are
heading back to the UK.
And there’s no doubt Smith
will be missed.
“He was happy to be in the
background working away for
the bigger picture,” said former
colleague Leanne Kennedy, in
reference to the many roles he
took on in addition to the one he
was paid for.
Proofreading the school
newsletter before it was released,
assisting fundraising events, helping
out at Redcliffs’ community
library, the Lions Club or the famous
Redcliffs School fair are just
some of the ways he contributed
to his adopted community.
Another colleague, Nicola
Holdaway, described Smith as an
“all round good guy that’s always
LEGACY: Chris and Susan Smith are reluctantly bidding
farewell to the Redcliffs community they’ve given so much
back to.
got time for you and is willing to
help others.”
Smith adopted the ‘tidy Kiwi’
mantra and was an avid recycler;
known to turn a seemingly unusable
object over five times before
deciding to use it for something
else.
His time at the school has now
come to an end, but the decision
to return home was bittersweet.
“We came for two years and
stayed for 22, so that tells you
something about the area we’re
in,” said Smith.
“We’ve had a really great time
but the family have called and we
just have to go now.”
Said Kennedy: “Perhaps the
community won’t know what
they’ve lost until he’s gone, but we
do. He is just an absolute gem.”
TRIO:
Diamond
Harbour
artist Brenda
Nightingale,
centre, has
teamed up
with jewellers
Karl Fritsch
and Lisa
Walker for a
landscapes
exhibition. ​
Artists showcase
residency work
A DIAMOND Harbour artist
is exploring the relationship
between Ngāi Tahu and the
environment in a new Stoddart
Cottage exhibition.
Brenda Nightingale is joined
by internationally renowned
Wellington jewellers Karl
Fritsch and Lisa Walker.
The trio have been collaborating
on the exhibition while
completing a residency at the
cottage.
In We Did All These
Landscapes, the artists are
presenting a new body of work
created during April.
The result spans their diverse
practices and includes jewellery,
painting and embroidery.
They have been inspired by
their interactions with the nearby
environment – from Stoddart
Cottage to Nightingale’s garden,
house and studio.
They will be sharing their
thoughts and experiences at
an artists talk on Saturday at
2pm, followed by the exhibition
opening at 3pm. All are welcome
to attend, no bookings required.
Nightingale was until recently
the head of art at Hagley College
and holds a Master of Fine Arts
in painting from Canterbury
University.
She regularly exhibits with
the Jonathan Smart Gallery
in Sydenham and the Hamish
McKay Gallery in Wellington.
• We Did All These
Landscapes runs from
Friday until May 26. The
cottage’s opening hours
are 10am to 4pm, Friday
to Sunday
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