Awhina's People

'Awhina's People' is a story of a Maori woman and her whanau who lived about 400 years before Europeans arrived on these shores. Awhina does her best to protect and nurture her family in a world where the ferocity of the warrior is highly valued. There is a time for harvesting, hunting, storytelling and celebration, and there is a time for war. Tight bonds of kinship and the power of the ancestors are called on, as all stand together to defend their hilltop fortress.

His Father's Will

His Father's Will is based of the life of William Tyrrell (1891 - 1979) In 1896 young Will is his father's constant companion as the family struggles to make a living on a stubborn pioneer farm in golden Bay. His father dies as the result of a farm accident and his mother marries again. Will and his five siblings are placed in Whakarewa Orphanage, a hard place in 1905. As a young man he works in numerous locations in the South Island; as a butcher's boy, boot maker and farm labourer. At French Pass he meets the girl he will marry, but she has to return quickly to Wakefield to nurse her sick mother. Will is broken hearted but follows her to Wakefield, Auckland and then to Taranaki.

Mrs Lacy

Mrs Lacy – a sometimes humorous, and sometimes tragic, New Zealand story. Bella Lacy enjoys riding her quad bike on the beach collecting driftwood and mussel floats, and soaking in her bathtub under the stars. The hostility of her neighbour threatens her safety, and infuriates her beyond endurance, but Ted, the problem solver, is there to help. A dark spirit enters her life and Bella experiences terror like she has never felt before. Somehow she must find a way to lay it to rest. Her ability to feel things that others don't frightens and confuses her. When Bella’s daughter is in trouble in Sydney, Bella feels powerless to help. A tragic fire destroys her peace of mind but her love for Ted, and her pleasure in the coastal world, give her strength. This story provides an insight into human relationships – how difficult it can be to understand others, and how easy to misjudge.

Keep your head up, my girl

(Nelson, 1910) Peggy’s brother is born of prostitution. To evade local authorities, thirteen-year-old Peggy seizes the newborn baby and flees. She finds sanctuary In the Marlborough Sounds with Maisy and local Maori people. In 1917, a disastrous house fire and a failed love affair drive Peggy and her brother across Cook Strait to Wellington. There she finds her father’s family, but is met with cynicism and distrust. Peggy encounters love and loss during World War I, an influenza epidemic and the Great Depression. She enters the fashion business, making clothing for women of the ‘flapper’ era.

Ram on the Roof

Granny is making jam when a huge black-faced woolly ram trots into her kitchen. Brave Granny shoos him out, flapping her apron madly. Ram runs back outside, around the side of the house, up the bank and comes in the open laundry door on the second storey. Uh-oh! Granny finds him standing on the spare bed with dirty hooves, where her washing is folded neatly. Oh-no! Granny doesn't want to startle him in case he poops on the bed; she quietly sidles around the bed and threatens to turn him into stew. Ram jumps down, races along the passage into her bedroom and leaps onto the window seat. Granny arrives in her bedroom in time to see him rise up on his back legs and attack his own reflection in the window, and then he is on the roof surrounded by broken glass. The farmer drives by, sees Ram on the roof and comes charging up the driveway. He chases Ram up and down on the iron roof trying to grab him, but in vain. At last Granny opens the large casement window and ram jumps back through, runs along the passage, out though the laundry door, then the top gate and is back in the paddock at last. Granny races behind him and shuts the gate. The farmer promises to do the repairs. But Ram has enjoyed himself and he plans another visit as soon as his skinned nose heals up. This is a true story. It happened to me. The story is written in verse.

Hōkioi Giant of the Sky

With a three meter wingspan and talons to rival those of a tiger, hōkioi dives on the giant moa, knocking it to the ground and crushing its skull with a powerful grip.

* * *

A family group of Polynesian people settles in an area rich in moa and other large ground living birds. However this is also the home of a pair of giant eagles —the hōkioi.

Peering down from the clouds, the hōkioi observes strange creatures taking precious food stocks they need to maintain their large bodies and to feed their growing chick.

But are these soft-bodied, featherless creatures also food for a hōkioi?

Hema, a boy of only five winters, has the first frightening encounter with the giant bird. He becomes the devoted pupil of Te Reko, the stern tohunga priest, and longs to play the kōauau.

Wanui, a healer and the beautiful daughter of a tohunga priest, falls in love with Rākopi. Baby Toi is attacked and is gravely wounded. In return his mother (Wanui)) kills a chick. Now intent upon revenge, the female hōkioi stalks the hapu.

Gardens are planted, food gathered and stories told, but always with an eye to the sky, fear in the heart and a spear close to hand. Resentment is directed at Wanui who begins to regret her actions.

An elderly kuia leaves her sleeping mat before dawn, wanders away from the kāinga alone and is killed by the female hōkioi. Feeling responsible for the old woman’s death and blaming herself for the suffering the bird has caused her people, Wanui determines to rid the skies of the terrifying bird. Alone she enters its mountainous domain . . .

The story is also told from the point of view of the eagle.