A small but very appreciative audience gathered at the Museum on Monday 1 November to listen to two guests, Gavin Brittan and Rob Thorne.
Gavin started the evening off talking about his work in schools and colleges, working with children and teachers introducing them to traditional Maori musical instruments. He bought along a great collection of different types of instruments which he readily shared with the audience.
Rob Thorne (Ngati Tumutumu) then performed his incredible one man performance called Whaia Te Maramatanga.
Rob played one instrument and layering this with a loop pedal, was able to play and loop further instruments over the top to build up a ‘sound scape’ of traditional instruments being played as they would in times past. With the gathering twilight and the performance being played on the marae, this really added to the experience and atmosphere.
After the performance, the audience was able to experiment with Gavin’s fine collection of instruments and talk to Rob about his performance and the instruments he used. Their interest and enthusiasm in what they had just experienced was demonstrated by the fact they were still asking questions of Rob long after the performance had ended! Altogether an interesting and richly rewarding experience.

We had a great response to the Kawatea Walk on Sat 30 Nov with around 50 friends of the Museum and others meeting by the camping ground at 10:30am. After a short 20 min walk over to Little Okains, in ideal conditions, the group gathered on the beach to be addressed initially by Te Runanga o Koukourarata member, Peter Ramsden on the significance of Little Okains to Maori and some of the pre-European history of the area. He was followed by Museum founder and Director, Murray Thacker who talked about the discoveries he made at Little Okains as a youngster which lead to the start of his collection. Sam Hampton then shared his thesis studies which looked at the volcanology that formed Banks Peninsula and the morning’s talk sessions concluded with NZ Archaeological Association member Bridget Mosley talking about archaeological preservation and the recent changes that have occurred in archaeological practices. After a short time free to explore the bay, it was back to the Museum for a scrumptious meal turned on by Museum Custodians Sharon and Dave. After lunch, Murray showed us some of the material he has collected from Little Okains including some very special material not on show. Altogether, a thoroughly enjoyable and richly rewarding day. A huge thank you to everyone involved in the organisation of the day, to those that addressed the group and to the cooks! Check out the photos here.

Waitangi Day at Okains was once again a great success with a large crowd making their way over the hill from all over Canterbury to celebrate this important day. After the formal ceremony was over, the waka made their way up the Opara Stream to a large crowd gathering at the landing stage.
Once again, a seemingly endless supply of food flowed from the hangi, much to the gratitude of the hungry crowd queued up well down the road outside the Museum. In the afternoon, it was time for fun and games with running races, the infamous tug of war and the traditional lolly scramble. All in all, a very successful day.

The old Little River Jail is now on site and work will start shortly on laying the foundations for this so that construction can start.