Celebrating our culture

Posted by on 13 February 2010 | 0 Comments

We might be complaining about the rain yet again, but we shouldn't when you think about what is happening in Australia.

Out hearts go out to Victoria's residents, who have been so badly hit by fire. It's an absolute horror watching on television and seeing the number of deaths steadily growing and the devastation across the land.

On happier subjects, I was a guest at the Waitangi Day celebrations at the Bluff Marae. It was a very special day and one from which I learnt a lot. The friendly powhiri on to the marae made us all feel welcome and the whole day was the absolute highlight of their trip for the French couple we took along with us.

The sea food was divine and the speakers very enlightening.

I have also been asked to unveil a headstone for Minnie Dean at the Winton Cemetery. This headstone has been placed on her grave by relatives in Scotland and has been in the news lately with the fake headstone mysteriously arriving beforehand.

Whether you believe she was guilty or not guilty of infanticide, Minnie Dean is very much part of Southland's history and I believe it is important to mark her grave.

I have been looking forward to attending Shakespear in the Park once again this year and know it will be up to its usual high standard. It will be interesting to see our fine actors and actresses in a new venue too, with the performances at Hawthorne Gardens in McIvor Road.

Our very popular Mobile Book Bus has had a makeover, with the new pictures of Southland and Southlanders adorning it. Council had a chance to check out the new-look bus this week and were very impressed.

The bus, along with our libraries throughout the province, is becoming more and more popular with numbers of users growing. A lot of our new residents use the libraries a lot, particularly for the free internet, part of the Aotearoa People's Network.

And finally, I am off to Wellington next week to a rural sector meeting and several new Ministers will be attending, including our new local government Minister. So it will be good to hear them all speak.