whitest tama in the roopu

One boy's journey towards being "Kiwi".

By Al Ronberg

May 25^th, 2014

life was as simple as slowing the sun.

As a youngster, there were only two ways that you could access Maori culture in 1980s New Zealand. Firstly, once you had successfully navigated the round or square windows, Rawiri Paratene would let you hang out with Manu - the Maori doll on “Play School”. The other dominant Maori narrative that most Kiwi kids would be exposed to was the Legends of Maui. In one such legend, Maui is disappointed with the way that his people can never seem to get their work done before it got dark. He decides to capture the Sun and tell it to slow down. The stories of Maui have always captivated my imagination and introduced me to the concept of mythology as a narrative tool.

I have had this image in my head for a long time and wanted to visually represent the story of “capturing the sun”. If you would like to find this spot - head to the epic Northland beach of Matapouri and go for a wee explore.

Happiness was a river valley and a taniwha

The school I went to for Form One has an incredible mural that depicts the story of Kopuwai of the Mata-au. The Mata-au (Clutha River) is my Awa (river). I have a strong connection with Central Otago that still tugs strongly on my heart. Learning the Maori Language in Form One was a rather unique opportunity in the late 1980s. At the time I was singing with Te Roopu O Kawarau culture group, I never really connected the power of story to what I was doing with the culture group, however, heading to High School and learning both some language and the local myth of Kopuwai was an enriching process for me. I remember the story to this day and appreciate the intense connection with a place that gives you your sense of “home”.
This image is taken at the Matukituki Valley in Central Otago - a place where we would go freedom camping. We would head up in the PA Vauxhall, reading each other Trivial Pursuit questions as we crossed fords, drove through herds of sheep and cattle before we set up camp next to the glacier-fed Matukituki River.

opportunity is a whole new island

I have a little secret to share with you… life doesn’t always go according to plan. My parents separated when I was 8 years old and by the time I was turning 12, it truly was time to inject some manliness and move to live with my father. Thing is, he was on a whole other island that Maui fished up. Moving to the North Island was a very unsettling experience. It was an opportunity to re-invent myself, a process that didn’t work so well for me -apparently if you are going to impress people with stories of your amazing sporting abilities, it would help to be able to back them up with ACTUAL sporting abilities. I tend to joke about my Central Otago roots by saying that I saw my first Maori when I moved to Palmerston North. Whilst this is a complete over-statement as you can imagine, the immensely different cultural dynamic of a North Island city was foundation-shaking. A bit of a blur really.
This photo is taken at Oriental Bay in Wellington. An abstract image that plays with both light, shape and colour - a fitting metaphor for the transition from country boy to whatever it is living in Palmy makes you.

One was not made for an oval-ball world

My teenage years were much like any other male-adolescent in Aotearoa… defined by whether you played rugby, or whether you were a “wuss”. Being not exactly of the large persuasion, rugby just wasn’t exactly my style… I played soccer and like any other soccer-player of the early 1990s, was not particularly top of the social pecking order.

I guess for me, this was a greater issue in the formation of my identity - I wasn’t really designed for a single-sex boy’s school - I was a bit on the sensitive side. You could say that I was happy to leave at the end of Sixth Form. I felt very much like an outsider and that all the things that I valued the most, just wouldn’t be acceptable in a mono-dimensional environment like a rugby-mad single-sex college. Being an outsider in your own homeland kind of sucks.

This image was shot at Saint Kentigern College one early morning as the fog rolled in from the Tamaki River at sunrise.

Freedom is the power to write your own story

Leaving High School was a time of immense pleasure for me. University was a time where I was able to be ME - no-one really gave a hoot about who your family were, what sport you played or what school you went to - people there looked at your attitude, your ability to connect with people and how you were able to challenge your thinking about life. I ended up studying Psychology due to what my Father was experiencing, and that has been a foundation that has given me a passion for people and the diversity of life. I guess it was a time where I suddenly felt free to be me. Pivotal to this journey was an experience I had on a Lion’s Club International Youth Camp in Rotorua after 6th Form. I met people from all over the world who liked me for who I was - this was a really important experience for me. As we immersed ourselves in the experiences of Maori Culture that are a dominant theme around the Bay of Plenty, a sense of ownership of my future was established. At that stage I was going back to School, but whilst I was there I discovered I had passed University Entrance and I never looked back. As I drove through the Desert Road on the way to Rotorua, I had no idea that the experience of that camp was going to change me.

This shot was taken on the Desert Road in the lead up to a storm. The sun was setting on a new day, and there is a hope for a better tomorrow. The storms of my teenage years are behind me and I have definitely learned that sunsets provide me an opportunity to look forward to sunrises!

HAPPINESS IS A BEACH AND A SUNSET

Ohope Beach is a space that is steeped in history and is well blessed with a natural beauty that reminds me why living in Aotearoa is an incredibly awesome opportunity. My wife’s family has been coming here since she was a little nipper and it has been something truly awesome to make it a large part of my story each year. For me, Ohope is a meeting place - we have many friends that we meet there each year and catch up on the ups and downs of our lives and the years that have ticked by between stays at the camp. In a world of individualism, it is important to have a place where you connect with your friends and family in an intimate and natural space. We stay at a little campground that is based at the local Marae and it is a special place in our family story!

Ohope Beach’s West End at sunset in the middle of winter.

your whanau + my whanau = our whanau

Family is a pretty dominant narrative in Maori culture - individualism is not a concept that is rarely observed. This flies in the face of the completely narcissistic world that we are currently building around ourselves. When I married my darling wife at St Luke’s Church in Pakanae, two very different stories collided at an altar with tears of joy and songs of love. Family will do that to you. Our little church shares space with the Pakanae Marae on a hill overlooking sand-dunes, the harbour and farmland. There is a very clear connection between a Marae and the land around it - these hills share stories that give our story a sense of heritage - we share this sacred space with the local iwi who were gracious enough to allow us to be married here…

Pakanae is a tiny settlement just a few minutes drive from Omapere and Opononi - you should go up there and enjoy the amazing hospitality of the team at the Copthorne!

don't leave town until you've seen the country

I might be showing my age here, but there was an incredibly cool ad on the telly when I was a kid that encouraged kiwis to head around Aotearoa before they headed around the world. The idea was that you can’t really appreciate the world around you until you have seen the wonders of your own land. I think that I was greatly blessed to have travelled a lot of Aotearoa before I travelled overseas.

It wasn’t until I travelled through Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe and saw the history and cultures of places like Malaysia, Dubai, France, Italy, Malta, Tunisia as well as in the UK, that I truly have come to appreciate the unique identity that Maori culture offers to all of Aotearoa. Flying home to carvings, korus on our planes, haka and waiata are all things that help to provide a sense of identity as a New Zealander. I truly felt that I was home.

This picture was taken at the iconic DC3 at Taupo McDonalds. Not exactly a classy establishment… but I was there with a camera when something special was happening in the sky - I do think this image captures the travel motif quite nicely though… I shall call it “McTravel”.

The circle of life is alive and well in howick

It kind of freaked me out a bit at the time… OK… it COMPLETELY grossed me out and if I am completely honest, isn’t something I would discuss over the dinner table. The fact of the matter is however, that this Punga fern has truly excelled itself at growing in my little native garden at home. What is it that makes it grow so well? Well, apparently it is the placenta of a rather cute 6 year old.

My lovely Mother-in-law is a Midwife and decided that she would like to partake in this traditional practice to celebrate the arrival of her first grand-child… and I was happy to let her do this - I even dug the hole, but then retreated to the farthest corner of the house before I grossed myself out any further. I guess it could have been worse - we DO own a Crock-Pot!

Having kids is an important step for me - carrying on our family story for another generation ensures that all the things that are important to my family, live on in the lives of my kids. The fern has continued to send out fronds of great quality and each brings valuable life to the whole plant. I pray that my little “shoots” will continue to bear fruit that will bring life to our family for a very long time… (editor’s note: Said fern has not QUITE made it through the 2014 summer heat… but you get the point anyway).

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?

It is time for true confessions: My name is Al, and I worked for the Boys’ Brigade. I would have felt the need to put out a disclaimer like this when talking about why I worked for the organization before I took the job - but the more people you meet in BB, the more you observe that they have an unrivalled passion to do something about the state of rudderless boys in our society. They have their own hymn that asks a most pertinent question - do you have an anchor that keeps you safe in times of tempest? Coming back to New Zealand and starting our family has been a time of putting roots down and growing strong together - the dominant foundation for our family is our Christian faith - it provides us with a solid rock to remain anchored to, in all the seasons of life. This season of life is about an example and a challenge for our kids - encouraging them to be actively in tune with the needs of their community - actively engaged in their school life, their home life and in the many different activities they manage to fill their lives with. Community is something that provides a local expression of identity.

My name is Al, and I am Howickian… Well… Until someone pays us the big-bucks to move back to Otago! ;)

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven

Some seasons are a bit naff. I had a job working on a project that I was pretty excited about - and pretty passionately working with. It would seem that financial times dictated that they weren’t exactly passionate about me continuing to be passionate about their project... and sent me home to have an awkward conversation with my wife. This was a great season.

What was an incredibly horrible experience to endure has developed into one of the best seasons of my life. 2 weeks to the day after being made redundant, I was sitting at a seat in a Tauranga classroom for my first day at Bethlehem Tertiary Institute on their Secondary School teaching course. The journey to Tauranga each time would ALWAYS include a stop at these stunning falls in the Karangahake Gorge. The journey to becoming a teacher provides ample opportunity to engage the wider world of education in Aotearoa and the role that we have in engaging students of different cultures. My previous experiences had enabled me to approach this with a renewed appreciation for the complex and ever-growing story of Bi-cultural New Zealand. I had some fantastic and intimate experiences being privately welcomed onto one of my classmate’s Marae and meeting his “Nan”. I loved so much about my year at BTI - It grew me in all the ways that I needed to grow - aware, alive and inspired to be a teacher that teaches out of my genuine passion for living.

The sun comes up, It's a new day dawning

The great American Philosophers “Five Iron Frenzy” write:

When I was young, the smallest trick of light, Could catch my eye, Then life was new and every new day, I thought that I could fly. I believed in what I hoped for, And I hoped for things unseen, I had wings and dreams could soar, I just don‘t feel like flying anymore.

Every new day is still an opportunity to dream big. I love new days - I don’t love early mornings - so this shot is very much a rarity for me. I like to live well - I try to give myself challenges that remind me that I am alive. It might be insane things like the adventurous honeymoon that we had - or silly events like the 18.5km Tough Mudder run that I completed in April - but we need to make sure that we are living for a reason - we have been given only so much time and my challenge to myself is to spend the time that I have wisely. In writing this, I realise I spend too much time in front of a screen, and not enough in front of a pair of beautiful kids - I need to make changes that enable me to enjoy the time I have with the people I am closest to!