Bay Harbour: December 14, 2016

PAGE 22 BAY HARBOUR Wednesday <strong>December</strong> <strong>14</strong> <strong>2016</strong> Our People Tasman Gillies Maori environmentalist follows Tasman Gillies, 27 of Ngāi Tahu (Ngāti Wheke), is a third generation tāngata tiaki and guardian of Lyttelton <strong>Harbour</strong>. Annabelle Dick talked to him about his work and how he almost followed a completely different career path You work for Ngāi Tahu, can you tell me about what you do? I’m an environmental advisor – mahinga kai monitoring and enhancement for Ngāi Tahu. You’re also tāngata tiaki – what does that mean and what do you do in that role? Tāngata tiaki are guardians responsible for managing fisheries resources. In regards to my role as tāngata tiaki, it’s an ongoing thing. It’s the legislative side so it’s a ministerial appointment. Effectively we manage the mātaitai (an identified traditional fishing ground with special status) and issue customary fishing permits for the ngāti wheke area. In the harbour, ngāti wheke is a representative on the Whakaraupo/Lyttelton Catchment Management Plan so I’m the science advisor for that. You’re a third generation tāngata tiaki, can you tell me about your family and their involvement? My pōua was involved in the establishment of the first mataitai reserve at Rapaki. The whole purpose is a recognition of rangatiratanga and the relationship with the traditional fishing grounds and customary fishing management within the mataitai. They were made the first ever tāngata tiaki. Did having the family connection prompt you to follow it as a career? It definitely influenced it, but I didn’t go to university intending to study it or come out involved in this area. My Dad’s a GP so I went down to study medicine and in the first year I knew it wasn’t for me. I’m not sure if I would’ve got into my second year, but regardless, I didn’t want to do it. Funnily enough, I told my dad and he laughed and said “good, because I didn’t think you wanted to do it, but I didn’t want to influence your decision.” I laugh at that because I could’ve saved myself a year but, at the same time, I had to realise it. I changed course and ended up gravitating towards marine LEGACY: Tasman Gillies is continuing his family legacy as a third generation tangata tiaki. PHOTO: NGĀI TAHU science and work associated with mahinga kai. Did you learn a lot about your family in the process? Yes. You start to run into people that used to know my pōua and talk to them. The people I work with now at Ngāi Tahu worked with him when he was alive and, being an iwi, some of them are related to him as well so you hear stories. You definitely learn the technical things like dates and specific legislative parts and what mātaitai is and taiapure. Considering the involvement your pōua had, do you feel any pressure to live up to his name? Not at all – if anything it’s more understanding about what he wanted. The process that him and Henry Couch were involved with, and what they did to get the mātaitai in place, it was a lengthy process. For me, it’s about understanding what he wanted to achieve because Ngāi Tahu always uses the saying “Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri, ā muri ake ne,” which means “for us and our children after us.” It’s a pretty straightforward concept. Knowing my pōua was involved in that whole process, and being third generation tāngata tiaki, it’s quite a literal thing for me. In his mind, he wanted to sustain the fisheries and have management over it so our generation could too. It comes back to the concept of kaitiakitanga, or kaitiaki, which means guardianship or stewardship over the environment. Ngāti Wheke is my hapu, so that’s Rāpaki. Our area is Lyttelton <strong>Harbour</strong> or Whakaraupo and because I whakapapa back to there, kaitiaki or guardianship is also a responsibility – so our world view is we have a responsibility to take care of it as well. Ferrymead The Pilgrim: Soldier. Hostage. Survivor. by Colin Maclachlan I was naked, handcuffed, and blindfolded. All around me, the voices of my captors shouted continuously in my ear – a stream of Arabic I couldn’t understand. It became an endless mantra as I struggled to work out what had gone wrong – what had happened that landed me up in this horrible situation. I could feel warm blood running down the back of my head, mixing with the sweat and dust that already caked my body. My head throbbed WIN THIS BOOK ENTER TO WIN THIS BOOK from the repeated pistol barrel and rifle butt jabs. It felt like the onset of a migraine, that kind of numbing pain that lets you know the fun’s about to really start. 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As a trained hostage negotiator and rescuer, he was part of the notorious Operation Certain Death in Sierra Leone and was the first sniper on the scene of a hijacked flight at Stansted. He was then on the other side of a rescue mission when he was taken hostage in Basra in 2006 and brutally beaten before being rescued by British troops. The Pilgrim is more than just a Boy’s Own story. It is a heartfelt exploration of what it means to be a modern soldier, to work in the SAS, to have a gun held to your head, to see your friends die beside you – all in the line of duty. I Won’t Be Home for Christmas by Amanda Prowse Romance blossoms in New Zealand when a lonely mother visits her grown up daughter at Christmas. While her free-spirited daughter travels the world, Vivienne prepares for a lonely Christmas in Bristol, with her best friend Ellen and her ancient dog Bob. Then a letter arrives that changes everything. Vivienne’s daughter is getting married in New Zealand, and she wants her mum and Ellen by her side. But out on the rugged coast of Tutukaka, the sea sparkles, romance beckons – and Vivienne falls under the spell of another life. Will she leave everything she holds dear for a chance at happiness? Or will her daughter be the only one to fall in love this Christmas? book release We have one copy of The Pilgrim: Soldier. Hostage. Survivor. by Colin Maclachlan to give away, courtesy of Take Note Ferrymead. To be in the draw, email giveaways@starmedia.kiwi with The Pilgrim in the subject line or write to Take Note Book Giveaway (The Pilgrim), Star Media, PO Box <strong>14</strong>67, Christchurch 8<strong>14</strong>0. To be eligible for the draw, all entries must include your name, address and contact number. Entries close Thursday, 22nd <strong>December</strong>, <strong>2016</strong>. Winner of ‘Chaos’ is Lara Kim Keet of Belfast. 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Wednesday <strong>December</strong> <strong>14</strong> <strong>2016</strong> BAY HARBOUR PAGE 23 in his grandfather’s footsteps HOME: Tasman Gillies is at home in the harbour. Being tāngata tiaki is not so much about continuing his legacy – it’s more what I should be doing anyway. The kaitiaki concept isn’t exclusive to Maori, I think people should have a responsibility towards the environment and take care of it because we’re being trusted to take care of it while we’re here for future generations. Did you grow up at Rāpaki? We moved to Rāpaki when I was nine. I was born in Australia and lived in a little town called Alstonville near Byron <strong>Bay</strong>. Both of my parents are Kiwi and I have two older sisters. We kind of grew up in the bush – we lived in a big valley and the next neighbour was a kilometre away so we had all the room to play around but we had to be careful because it was Aussie. We knew we were Maori but, in Australia, we were absent from the culture in a sense. When I moved here, it was a big learning curve. I think that was why our parents wanted us to move back to see those things. What does your family do? My mum and dad still live in Rāpaki – he’s a doctor. My sister works for the Ministry of Education, but she was previously a Maori teacher at Lincoln High School. My other sister is a dentist in Masterton. What was it like moving to Rāpaki? It was a shock initially. You can know you’re Maori but then someone goes “oh you’re Maori, do you want to be in the Kapa Haka group?” I didn’t even know what that was. People look at you funny because they know things about your culture that you don’t. But in saying that, my sister became a Maori teacher. It’s been a massive learning curve but also a really good one. It’s more than the acknowledgement I’m Maori now. Now I’m part of it. Where did you go to school? I went to Lyttelton West then Cashmere High School. I heard you were head boy, too? You kept that one quiet. Yeah I was . . . that was a laugh. Do you have any hidden talents? I won the dance competition at the work Christmas function out of like 300 people. I don’t know what kind of dancing I was doing and when and where I picked it up . . . I just free-styled. I think I picked it up from those Step Up films from years ago. I was dressed as The Wiggles with a few of the guys from work. What do you do for fun? I love surfing and skiing and I used to do waka ama, too, which is outrigger canoeing. Have you travelled overseas? In 20<strong>14</strong>, after I had submitted my masters thesis, I went to Canada. I lived in Whistler for a year working at the bar and on the mountain and just skied and had fun. I had a good time and, by the end of the year, I came back wanting to make use of my degree and be more involved in something besides living paycheck to paycheck. Were there any bear encounters? Yeah, walking through the village early morning and I was still quite tired and went through the forest section in the valley. I looked up and there’s a beer standing just in front of me. He didn’t really care so I just turned around cause I didn’t want to deal with it. You get them everywhere. They’re quite clever so a lot of the door handles are knobs because they know how to open the levers. Stuff like that I wasn’t used to. The raccoons were hilarious but they’re the weirdest creatures that waddle around. Iron out your driving habits with JM Driver Training! Refresher Lesson (1 hour) only $75 AA Certified New Learners Refresher Training Call Jeff today! 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