Discover The Hidden Stories Of The West At This Year's West Auckland Heritage Conference

Join us for the upcoming West Auckland Heritage Conference, on Sunday 11th of April in Titirangi War Memorial Hall. This fifth edition has a great line up with the theme “Hidden Stories the West”. We’ve got three key note speakers (Robin Taua-Gordon from Te Kawerau a Maki, Michelle Edge and Sandra Coney) and we’re ending the day with what looks like to be another very entertaining presentation by Sir Bob Harvey: A Whale of A Tale – featuring an opera singer, sea shanties and Moby Dick. Only $20 pp for the whole day including lunch and 20+ speakers! www.westheritageconference.org.nz

Between the key note speakers we have two sessions of PitoPito Korero - on a topic to raise people’s curiosity or highlight an interesting story or event. The first set is called: “Places with New Faces”, with Sarah Elsby (Eden Arts Karekare), Rosemary Dean (Te Toi Uku), Cynthia Smith (McCahon House), Claire Inwood and Nancy King (Waygood Foundation), Jeffery Wells (Hotel Titirangi) and Andrew Clifford on the caves in Karekare. After a very nice lunch, included in the ticket price, Sandra Coney will be talking about The body in the Burning Bach - one of New Zealand’s greatest criminal mysteries and how it was unravelled and finds there are still surprises waiting to be uncovered. Sandra’s parents were honeymooning at the small beach settlement of Piha when the cry went up that there was a fire in the Carew-Thomas bach in the valley. What looked like a tragic fire turned out to be something much more macabre.

The second set of Pitopito Korero will be on “Legends of the Landscape”, with Peter Hosking on Piha Seabirds past and present, Glenda Northey who wrote the childrens history book Benson, a sheep on the run, Raewynn Robertson on photographer Phillip Percival Sharp, Melissa Laing and Christina Houghton on Walking art project Wayfinding Waikumete.

We end the day with Sir Bob Harvey’s story of “A Whale of a Tale”: Is it possible the whale which stranded in Whatipu is the illusive Mocha Dick, Herman Melville modelled his Moby Dick on??? A rollicking tale with lantern slides, shanties and the odd harpoon… Wine and nibbles will be provided afterwards to catch up with friends old and new and mix and mingle with the presenters.

The $20 ticket includes lunch and nibbles, only available by booking in advance through: www.westheritageconference.org.nz

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