History is lies about crimes. —A.N. Clark

Adjusting the programme

It is good news is that we are back in business and have confirmed speakers for the remaining six and a half months of 2020. We start in two weeks – Tuesday 30 June – with Sir Kim Workman speaking about his Maori and Scottish heritage and growing up in the Kapiti district. 

Topics for the rest of the year will cover rail transport, Seven Oaks, the Otaki Health Camp, the Musket Wars, Maori heritage and a Hadfield topic.

Sir Kim Workman on Tuesday 30 June

Sir Kim Workman has had a long and distinguished career in the justice system. He has been a strong advocate for prisoners’ welfare and reform in the criminal justice process. 

He has worked with youth at risk, been a Families Commissioner and set up groups to work on improving how the law affects offenders. 

He was knighted for his services to prisoner welfare and the justice sector.

We are fortunate to have him along to talk to us. 

I thought I would talk about my connections with the Kapiti Coast, through firstly, my  Ngai Tara whakapapa, the earliest iwi to live in the Kapiti  area, and secondly through my great- great-grandfather, Scottish whaler John Stanton Workman, who first arrived in Aotearoa in 1834, and whaled at Tokomāpuna Island from 1840.  I would then share the experience of growing up in a mixed descent whānau, with a Māori father and a Pākehā mother, and the influence of my tipuna, on my life. 

We are sure he will be happy to answer questions about his working life too.

• Tuesday 30 June at 7.30 pm
• Kapiti Uniting Church 
• 10 Weka Road, Raumati Beach
• Enter via the main church door
• Gold coin koha. Thanks
• A light supper will be served following the talk.
• All welcome – bring your friends.

The programme for the second half of 2020

• 28 July – John Robinson on the 1800- 1840 Musket Wars and their impact on the Kapiti area.
• 25 August – Wendy Huston on Seven Oaks, the first retirement village in Paraparaumu.
• 22 September – Anthony Dreaver on the former Otaki Health Camp and its historical buildings.
• 27 October – Hari Jackson on his Kapiti heritage.
• 17 November – Bruce Taylor’s topic will be “A History of the Wellington to Manawatu Railway with particular reference to the impact on Kapiti, 1870s to present.”
• 15 December – David Hadfield on a topic related to his heritage.

Suggestions for historical topics and speakers are always very welcome.

Topics for early 2021

These will include a couple which had to be cancelled because of the Coronavirus emergency.

• Mark Dickson on the Kapiti coastline
• Roger Childs on Gallipoli
• John Mclean on Parihaka

The 2020 organisation

Just a reminder that we are continuing on the same basis as last year with monthly speakers on a Tuesday evening – usually the last in the month — with a gold coin koha. The koha covers our expenses. 

If you are on the mailing list you are a member. 

Roger Childs and John Robinson, Coordinators, Kapiti Historical Society