Thank Goodness for Coromind!
Kia ora koutou to the readers and supporters of Coromind, to those featured on its pages, and to everyone who loves the Hauraki-Coromandel.
Hauraki-Coromandel is a place of rich hidden histories that sit just beneath the golden beaches and abundant ngahere (native bush). It is somewhere that for the last 50+ years has offered artists and creatives a welcoming place to live and make their art. In the 21st century, these creatives are now able to use local publications such as Coromind as a means to keep this art scene not just alive but thriving.
Living in Hauraki-Coromandel enables a freedom of mind and expression that is not possible to tap into in a city. While tangata whenua (indigenous people) have history here that reached deep back into the whenua (land) before the white sails of the colonisers appeared on the horizon, more recently in the 20th century the area became for Pākehā (new settlers) a place to try a different way of living.
Early Māori landed in the region around 1250 AD to a resource-rich peninsula. While in Whitianga and Thames you may see plaques denoting things of historical note, there is a trove of history that predates these commemorative metal plates. Pā sites with still visible palisades can be found all over the peninsula, and each new subdivision unearths artefacts from the early days of this land’s first inhabitants. On Robinson Rd in Whitianga, a stone store built in the 1860s has signage next to it, explaining its heritage. Behind the stone store sits Toumuia – known locally as Lovers Rock – which was the site of a battle with a raiding party from Ngapuhi so bloody the river ran red with the blood of a number of iwi. Only the stone store shows any evidence of historical importance to a casual observer.
In more recent history – a century after settlers had milked the peninsula of kauri and gold, leaving still visible scars – in the 1970s came an art rush as city-dwellers seeking a different kind of life flocked to the area, drawn by the beauty of the beaches and bush and the freedom that living far from the city allowed.
While the population of the peninsula has swelled, most visibly since 2020, you could still hit an artist with a pāua (abalone) shell if you threw it pretty much anywhere on the Coromandel. Throw a kina (sea urchin) and you’ll likely hit an exhibition or festival – the art scene in the area continues to blossom and grow.
There are so many stories to be told, so much art to be made and shared. Local publications like Coromind are the key to ensuring these hidden stories see the light and allow creatives from all mediums a place to showcase their art and connect with other artists.
We are so lucky to have the crew from Coromind who not only shine a light on untold stories but who also tautoko (support) so many artists on the peninsula.
You can feel the passion and enthusiasm practically buzzing out of Leo and Taylor and this excitement carries through to everything they do. The peninsula would be a much more boring place without you, Coromind, so thank you for all that you do!
Roimata and Carolyn x
Words by Roimata and Carolyn Wadey-Barron
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