Who controls the past, controls the future, who controls the present, controls the past… it follows that the past is whatever the Party chooses to make it. –George Orwell
Thanks to our November speaker
About 45 people were in attendance including two teachers from Waikanae and Kena Kena Schools who made useful comments
The talk covered concerns over the new history curriculum which Years 1-10 students will be taught from 2023
Learners need to get a balanced and accurate coverage of our country’s story, but sadly there is very strong Maori bias and there are historical details included which are not true. There are also significant gaps such as the Musket Wars which killed at least a third of the then current native population.
There was a general feeling that the curriculum needs to be balanced. The Maori component of our history is important, but no more important than other aspects of our nation’s story.
The November speaker is Professor Mark Dickson on the coastline
This is a topic of interest to all Kapiti residents and not to be missed. Kapiti’s Changing Coast: A Large-Scale Perspective. Mark Dickson says that as a part of the Resilience National Science Challenge we are mapping historic coastal change around all of New Zealand in an effort to provide the first national coastal erosion stock-take since the pioneering work of Gibb (1978). In this talk he will describe examples of coastal change around the country, discuss the large-scale drivers of change, and consider the observed coastal-change patterns at Kapiti within this broad context.
Mark is an Associate Professor at the School of Environment, University of Auckland. He studied at Massey and Wollongong and undertook postdocs at Bristol and NIWA. Much of his research career has focused on trying to understand the drivers of coastal erosion, particularly on cliffed coasts, and he is interested in a broad range of coastal management challenges, including anticipating future coastal change under rising sea levels. Mark has published widely on various aspects of coastal geomorphology, engineering and management. He collaborates on a number of international projects but is currently focused on New Zealand based research, including the coastal theme of Resilience to Nature’s Science Challenge and a Marsden project on marine terraces.
(Mark was originally going to speak in 2020 but coronavirus played havoc with attempts to reschedule the session. We appreciate Mark’s tolerance and flexibility!)
- Tuesday 8, starting at 7.30pm sharp.
- Kapiti Uniting Church, 10 Weka Road, Raumati Beach
- In the hall beyond the main door and up a small set of steps.
- All welcome
- A koha would be appreciated.
The December session to wind up the year
Our last speaker for the year is David Hadfield speaking about his father Barry Hadfield – first mayor of the Kapiti District. This will take place on Tuesday 13 December.
If you have any suggestions for speakers for 2023 let one of us know. We need some names of willing people.
Event this coming Sunday–
Kapiti US Marines Trust
- Sunday 13 November at 2.00pm
- Northern end of Wellington Road in Queen Elizabeth Park
- Kapiti US Marines Trust – Installation of the Camp Paekakariki Interpretation Site: 80 years after the Marines arrived in the area.
Whereas Camp Mackay and Camp Russell were located either side of the railway line, at what we know today as Mackay’s Crossing, Camp Paekakariki was in the village to the north of it. This Camp will be recognized in the ceremony on Sunday, 13 November.
Come along Tomorrow
Mark Dickson has come all the way from Auckland to give his talk which is relevant to all Kapiti Coasters. So come along and hear about the “Large Scale Perspective” on our changing coastline through time.
Best wishes,
Roger Childs, Gordon Dickson and Larry Keim