DIARY OF AN URBAN GARDENER

I’ve cleared another metre of ground, making way for my urban vegetable garden. It’s slow going for me. Whereas some gardeners would have cleared the same space in the wink of an eye – unfortunately I’m a cm-x-cm kind of girl. Lucky for me the garden’s relatively clear of weeds, thanks to the heavy leaf cover on the ground. It’s been a well maintained garden over all. This is a new home for me and my little family. We’re living in a three bedroom ex-state house. The house itself has good solid bones, nothing leaky about it except for the taps that don’t twist all the way to off. Unlike other state homes in our street our yard isn’t quite your ¼ acre section (it’s more like an 1/8th), but compared to the homes we’ve owned in Grey Lynn this property feels almost farm-like in its proportions.

When I was a kid growing up in Galbraith Street which is just around the corner from where we live now, it was a true ¼ acre section. My parents bought the state house from the Government using the Family Benefit as a deposit. That was 1960’s Auckland and we were the only Maori family in the street. In fact the closest Maori family to us were the Webbs, cousins of ours from up North. They lived in Potter Ave two streets over. The Webbs and us were part of the Labour Government’s ‘pepper-potting policy’. This is where Maori families were sprinkled around Pakeha neighbourhoods to encourage assimilation into Pakeha society. I suppose we could count ourselves lucky to have been allowed to ‘pepper-the-pot’, because twenty years earlier (the late 1940s) Maori were excluded from mainstream state housing, on the grounds that their presence would 'lower the tone' of state housing communities. At that time there was state assistance for Maori housing in rural areas but it came in the form of loans. The monies were used to replace dilapidated housing. The replacement buildings were smaller and less sophisticated than the state-sponsored Pakeha housing.

Anyway I digress.

It was the size of the sections I wanted to talk about or rather what was on the sections. I can’t find any policy similar to that of Canberra Australia requiring residents to have set number of trees and shrubs on their properties. But back yard Kiwi state houses of that era, all without exception grew the same trees – feijoa, plum, apple, peach, lemon and a loquat. A mini orchard. Galbraith Street still has one of two original plum trees and the feijoa tree. Both are over 50 years old now and still fruiting strongly. Alas the apple, peach and loquat succumbed to my brother’s over exuberance with an axe, 40 years ago. Many of the state homes in my street today have very mature fruit trees, apples, plums, lemons and loquats mainly. You can tell they must have been planted over half a century ago because of the moss covered bark, the gnarled leaves or the general skeletal frames reminiscent of our own frail elderly. As well as fruit trees, state houses from the 40’s to 70’s also had the most magnificent vegetable gardens. It was no surprise to see 10 metre rows of silver beat stand knee and thigh high beside shoulder tapping tomato plants and head topping corn stalks. Potato plants were abundant along with cabbages, beans, peas and beetroot. Lettuces weren’t at all popular, well not in our neighbourhood anyway.
My section won’t be the ‘long rows akin of old’. Instead I think I’ll have boxed sections, it’ll be much more manageable for me. But I better get going otherwise I’ll still be talking about it this time next year.

IS BLUE THE NEW BROWN?

I took part in the National Party's Candidates' College a couple of weekends ago and ended up on MARAE TV1. I thoroughly enjoyed the College and being on telly. Central Government is a medium term goal for me and my whanau. Running for a Local Board position in Owairaka in the Albert-Eden-Roskill Ward is an immediate priority. I have a small dedicated hard working term; my sister Rosina is my volunteer co-ordinator and fundraiser and Donald Hollingsworth is in charge of Marketing while Julie Stirling is a magnificent help with my websites.

It's really important for any campaign to have a great team around you and because I work in the media - marketing and publicity comes quite naturally to me. Doing the actual mahi though that's another issue. The technical nuances involved and the speed in which things change and upgrade sometimes boggle me. So having Donald and Julie on board is not only useful but saves costs. Janice Mulligan the best Editor in town will be working her magic over my promo-vids when they've been shot. Having the skill of experts is unbeatable.

It's the fundraising that pays for much of the campaigning and if you've got a switched on money-raiser it can pay for all campaigning costs. My Sister Rosina has the widest most eclectic contacts' list I've ever seen. Which is pretty high praise given that the might of a Journalist (old timers anyway) is in the thickness of their contacts' book/e-diary/notebook/ipad! I'm impressed by my Sister's ability to wheel and deal.

The biggest support though has to come from home and the whanau. My Nadine our two boys Kiamana, Te Ua and our little Te Arawa Princess Manawa, give me moral and spiritual support and endless hugs and kisses. All Politicians be they at local or central level say home is the most important place. All too often however, the needs of the people, means families sacrefice time and attention with their loved one so the latter can get on and deal with real and pressing issues affecting others who are by and large strangers. Talking through the impact of political life on all members of the whanau can help prepare everyone.

I hope all Aucklanders assert their right to vote, particularly at this time of great and historical change and amalgamation into a new Auckland-Tamakimakaurau. I have enjoyed the selection process with 'C and R: Citizens and Ratepayers'. I'm looking forward to the campaigning proper - it's really exciting. It is all about the journey and it's all about the destination.

If you are in the Albert-Eden-Roskill Ward vote CandR. If you are in Owairaka subdivision vote Claudette Hauiti Local Board.