'NEIGHBOURHOOD' THEME Captions by Shrutika Gunanayagam. Edited by Ashlee Scholefield. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2016 MELLOW, PERCUSSIVE MUSIC Invercargill lies in the heart of the wide Southland Plains, settled by Scottish Presbyterians who voted the town dry in 1905. You literally couldn't get a drink until 1943. (CHUCKLES) Oh my God. Invercargill was very straight and very Pakeha, and from the '80s, it was in a bit of an economic slump. People were a little surprised when a young, internationally acclaimed fashion designer fa'afafine like me came from Auckland, the biggest Pacific city in the world. I remember flying into Invercargill for a fleeting visit. As the plane was about to land, I went, 'Holy sh... I'm moving here.' And the reason why I felt that way was because I was in a place in my life where, um, change was coming, and I didn't actually know what that meant, and I knew I was moving from Auckland; it was time to move away from Auckland somewhere. Invercargill is becoming more diverse every day. So let's explore the cultural mix that makes up this community. In this episode of Neighbourhood, we'll celebrate 50 years of the Rose of Tralee. WOMAN: It's judged on a few different things, and what they're looking for is confidence and attitude and, you know, how you give back to your community and how you represent yourself, your family and your region, really. A designer from Zimbabwe enjoys the freedom to express his creativity. Oh, the first time when I decided I wanted to do fashion design, it was difficult for my mum, because she wanted me to do engineering, and I was like, 'Hell no, I'm not doing engineering.' I don't wanna be (CHUCKLES) thinking of handling metal or dealing with metal. It's not something that I enjoy. An Invercargill local dishes up some Thai treats,... When I was a child at school, I remember every day always have sai oua for our lunch. Smell` Aroma of lemongrass. Yes, very nice. It's feel like home. ...and we'll discover the Japanese way of the sword. MAN: If people come to the Invercargill Kendo Club and they learn the kendo, I really want them to not to give up (CHUCKLES) and how the commitment is very important things. I am Lindah Lepou, and this is my neighbourhood. LIGHT ELECTRONIC MUSIC LIGHT, UPLIFTING MUSIC Did you know the man who invented instant coffee came from Invercargill? Thank God it's gotten better since then. I was raised in Samoa. Being fa'afafine, for me, was balancing my masculine and feminine energy. My mission was to come to NZ and study fashion, and unfortunately, we didn't have the money to` (CHUCKLES) to afford the ticket. Um, it wasn't until, um,... I was with a, um` a couple of friends who were talking about a fa'afafine pageant, and I was just like, 'What is that?' And, um, what is the prize?' And they said it was a, uh, ticket to NZ, and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, that is mine.' So the goal` the next goal was to find a sponsor in order for me to get in there. Once I found one, I won the whole thing and threw all the other prizes to the other contestants and grabbed that ticket, honey, (CHUCKLES) and I came straight to NZ. Not only did I win the ticket, this fa'afafine pageant was the perfect opportunity for me to stand there and tell everybody that this is who I am. PENSIVE GUITAR MUSIC When I won the Southland Rose, I just felt really proud. I felt really, uh, you know, like I had achieved something. I'd got up in front of all these people. And to have my family all sitting there was something really special. It was` Yeah, it was something I won't forget. So, I entered of the Rose of Tralee in 2013. The Rose of Tralee, it's a really interesting thing to try and describe, I guess. It originated because it was about Tralee, um, creating tourism within their town. They wanted to create this big festival that was gonna bring people from all over Ireland, uh, to spend time and spend money in their town, and I can understand that ` in Southland we have to create events to do that all the time. So they started this festival, and it grew and grew to, basically, not just be about Irish women but also about, um, the Irish, uh, people from all over the world. And so NZ's been competing for 50 years, and every year... we basically find a NZ Rose to represent us, to go over to Ireland. My role this weekend with, uh, the National Rose of Tralee is... a chaperone, shall we say. So it sounds quite serious, really, but, basically, I ` what's really cool ` I get to be involved with it, follow the girls around, make sure they get from A to B and get to all the things, the activities but also making sure the judges have what they need and the girls have what they need. My grandparents, when they decided they wanted to leave Ireland, it was about looking for a better life. They saw it as a really good opportunity. My grandfather was a mechanic, and, of course, they were looking for lots of tradespeople to come out here, and they wanted people who had young children, and they thought that` especially with the` the troubles that were starting to brew, especially in Northern Ireland ` they had two sons ` they didn't want their boys getting caught up in that. So it was just an opportunity. And, you know, at their young age ` I think now` they were younger than what I am now ` to hop on a boat and come to a land where, you know, they didn't know anyone here, it was quite brave. Your children, you bring 'em up with their heritage, and that's something that'll always be with them. You know, that's where they came from originally, their` their family. And the girls are a challenge. They've all gotta do something special. (LAUGHS) (LAUGHS) Yeah. Yeah, they are very talented, the girls that are in the Rose of Tralee. They're lovely, absolutely lovely. It's not like a Miss World or Miss Universe, where you just stand there and look good. (LAUGHS) They` Hey, they have to perform. They are` Yeah. Yeah, it was just` it was so neat to have them there and to be able to say, you know, I'm really proud of where I come from. GENTLE MUSIC So, we are at the Ascot Park Hotel now, so we're only a few hours away from the ball, and it's, uh` it's so exciting now. Now it's about` you know, things are getting real for everyone, and this is the fun part where you get your hair and make-up done, and the girls are all going through interviews as well. So it's, um` Yeah, it's just about` it's just about time. Uh, I have had family members enter in the past when I was younger, and I sorta thought, 'Oh, they look like they're having a lot of fun on stage,' and I've got lots of family who are in Ireland still and family over here who are Irish, and, I guess, Irish has just been` the Irish culture has just been a part of my life for a long time. So it was a great opportunity to celebrate it, yeah. We're judged on our personality ` qualities that we possess that would make us a good role model for young Irish girls ` uh, and just our pa` our Irish spirit, I suppose, yes. Yeah, NZ's won a couple of times. We actually have a Southland Rose. She was Maryann Murphy, now Maryann Ward, and she went on to win the International Rose. Um, so, Tara, you're a nurse in Christchurch, is that correct? Yeah, I work in Intensive Care in Christchurch Hospital. As soon as you think 'pageant', everyone assumes it's gonna be a beauty contest, but that's not anywhere in the criteria. The Rose of Tralee is` it's judged on a few different things, and I know that what they're looking for is confidence and attitude and, you know, how you give back to your community and how you represent yourself, your family and your region, really. Ladies and gentlemen,... the next NZ National Rose of Tralee is our Hutt Valley Rose, Hannah. APPLAUSE, CHEERING BANDS PLAYS 'THE ROSE OF TRALEE' You're always a Rose for life. I think it's not ever` you're never an ex-Rose. You were a Rose from that year, and that's what I really like about that, and so we do talk about being part of the Rose family, and it's just something nice that, you know, once you're in, you do feel an association to it, and I think that's why I'm still part of the Irish Society now. # ...that stands in the beautiful Vale... # POIGNANT MUSIC I was raised in Samoa, and at the age of 10, I remember vividly coming out of a classroom of mine and just climbed in this tree, uh, just to get away from, um, the flies and the heat, and, um, there was this vision that appeared on the top right corner, and I was just, like, taken aback, and I saw myself as a fashion designer, a performing artist and a pilot. POIGNANT MUSIC CONTINUES Since then I have travelled the world, working with amazing artists and performing artists, and I have, um, also exhibited alongside, um, fashion greats like Vivienne Westwood, Dior and Chanel. Um, so in essence, um, my dream has come true. I can get on! Oh, Daddy's getting on too. Where's Dad? Oh, it's more heavier. ADULTS CHUCKLE Everyone, help me. GENTLE ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC I came to Invercargill because I teach kendo for the senior class, which is children and adults, and a beginner's class, which is pretty much the same ` children and adult class ` and also I teach the preschool kids as well... very recently. My wife started kendo when her son was 11. He was really enjoy the kendo. Joanne, she started, and she's very good at kendo now, (CHUCKLES) and, uh, she's on black belt level as well. Up again, and... BOTH: Men! One more. BOTH: Men! Kendo is very much a family activity, no matter what the age. BOTH: Men! All right, next time you cut here, say, 'Men.' Men! When I was a child (CHUCKLES) and our parents pretty much have a strong power to do what kids needs to do, but I still respect my parents, and I really enjoyed my childhood time. GENTLE PIANO MUSIC When I was 8, that time kendo is very popular. Friends of the parents also recommend the kendo to my parents. Kendo, it was horrible (LAUGHS) to do it for me. It's totally opposite. Um,... my character is` want to do is be nice way, but kendo, it's very` looking very aggressive. Always a few scary teacher there. Of course, I need to do harder, otherwise it's` had a bashing from the backside. (LAUGHS) I was desperate about the kendo when I was... 20, early 20, and then at that time I wanted to quit the kendo,... and I went to the bookshop. I found the kendo philosophy, and then everything ` it's not the technique ` kendo philosophy, history, why we do that way to learn the kendo, and everything, it's` he explain it. Yeah, I probably give up the kendo... if I didn't find this book. This is Kendo set, and it's written by the Inoue Sensei, and, um,... that book tell` told me lots of` about the kendo philosophy and also the, um,... kendo background, history. The behind of the kendo, it's the, uh, never give up ` that's the one thing ` and then commitment. It's only two things that's very important, and then that made me the whole change. My life is much easier. GENTLE PIANO MUSIC CONTINUES This is Inoue Sensei. He passed away last year, but he's the, um, most, um,... famous kendo sensei in Japan. I find that the Inoue Sensei came from Japan to NZ and, uh, Invercargill as the host of the national camp. I was so excited to see him, and then I explained why ` I` it's, you know, 'I had to really struggle to keep doing the kendo when I was a child, 'and I really, totally hate it, but I was saved by your book.' He was also very impressed. (LAUGHS) You know, he was very happy as well. He wrote that` the words especially to me. It's a message. They say that, um, the teacher have to be strict... himself ` (CHUCKLES) it's not to the student ` and then the student is following you. That's the` the words. Swing up and... stop... LOUD THUD ...at the same time, and this time bring your right foot back. LOUD GRUNTING, YELLING (YELLS) Oh, people probably think kendo, it's more, you know, attract` attractive movement (CHUCKLES) and fancy movement, but soon as they come here, it's more lots of running (CHUCKLES) around and yelling and really hard. (ALL) CHANT: San, chi, go... If people come to the Invercargill Kendo Club and they learn the kendo, I really want them to not to give up (CHUCKLES) and how the commitment is very important things. And then if they have a habit that way, and then they could have a big successful life. So until I die, probably, just keep doing it. PENSIVE MUSIC I use the term 'Pacific couture' to describe my style. I love using natural fibres and traditional materials in contemporary ways. For example, um, here is some flax that I have used. This is a garment I designed in 2009 ` uh, I call her Bushygaga ` and here is, uh, what is worn underneath. It's a nice tight bodysuit with padded hips, just in case she's hungry. TINKLING MUSIC I think of myself as a lineage artist. What that means is that I can draw from my own heritage, my cultural background. For example, my mother is full Samoan, and my father is part Scottish and English, so, you know, I have that Pacific-Pakeha element in my lineage. My genealogy is like an anchor on my journey. Your culture defines who you are, no matter how far away you are from your home. GENTLE PIANO MUSIC BIRDS CHIRP Aaron and I live in Thailand for two years. After that we moved to... China ` one year ` and moved to Vietnam. We live in Vietnam for seven years before we move to NZ. We live in the hotel, because Aaron is a manager here. My parents' life, um, all about rice farm, but education is what they want... me to be different from them. The hardest part to living in NZ... is the culture, I` for me, because when we live in Thailand or Vietnam, it's the same culture or similar, but moving to NZ is totally different. (SPEAKS THAI) (SPEAKS THAI) I am Buddhist. Yes, it's important for me to have Thai temple here and keep the religion alive. (SPEAKS THAI) 'I taught my son 'how to show respect to the Buddha.' It is important for my child to have Thai culture. Of course, I speak to them in Thai, cook some Thai food. LIGHT MUSIC It's not difficult to meet friends in Invercargill. The day that I walk in the Asian shops, I met the owner, and they are Thai, so I was very happy to meet them. Sawatdee khap. Sawatdee kha! (SPEAKS THAI) Sawatdee. BOTH: Sawatdee. LAUGHTER Very wonderful to meet someone that from the same country as you, so it was very... very happy. (SPEAKS NORTHERN THAI) My friend at the shop,... when I get together with my Thai friend, she's from the north also, so we speak our local language ` the north` the north language. ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC Today I'm gonna make... my hometown food ` sai oua. This is the north sausage. This is something that unique. When I was a child at school, I remember, every day always have sai oua for our lunch. It smells spicy, smell` aroma of lemongrass. Yes, very nice. It's feel like home. SQUELCHING The spice that we always put in the food, the main thing is chilli ` many types of chilli. One of the guests of the hotel that` Aaron introduced sai oua to him, and he like to try after this. He want me to keep doing it, keep making the sausage, so he give us this. ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC CONTINUES My aunty came to visit me here, and one day I was feel like having sai oua. So she show me how to make sai oua. I never made sai oua before until living in NZ. Hey, guys. Come on in. How are you? Hello. Sawatdee khap. Sawatdee kha. Sawatdee khap. CHUCKLING Dad. Eh? CHUCKLING Come here. OK. GENTLE MUSIC PEOPLE CHATTER Thank you, everyone, for coming. Uh, cheers. Good health. ALL TALK AT ONCE It looks magnificent. CHUCKLING This` This` This one quite similar, similar taste. Very nice. MAN: Mm. The herb, all the herb, everything smell good, yeah, but the different about the smell, because we cook with, um, oven, but in Thailand we cook with charcoal, on the top of charcoal. Smell different, but the taste similar. Yeah. (CHUCKLES) GENTLE MUSIC Like that? So that's 1cm that side. Oh, you're doing much better. Perfect. As well as my own designs, I've created an internship for fashion designers around the country as support and guidance, um, and what we do is we provide real-world experience on real-world product for established designers and uniforms so that when they're ready to go and do their own business, they are not afraid. What I encourage my interns to do is to celebrate their own unique identities and how to translate that into a commercial product, and some of them have an extraordinary story to tell. RELAXED MUSIC I really don't want anything to do with sexuality, but I just call myself androgynous. Like, I mean, in the Bible, it says that I'm a child of God. So that's what I'm just gonna take myself as ` a child of God. My name is Lenon Wakuwa, and I was born in a small town called Chitungwiza in Zimbabwe. I came to NZ when I was 17. That was in 2007. I came to NZ because my mum got a job here as a nurse at Timaru Hospital and also for a better life, for a better future, especially with the education, whereas in Zimbabwe it was a bit difficult, because the teachers are always going on strike and sometimes no transport to go to school, because we needed transport to go to school because our school was in town. It was so difficult during my high school years, because of my sexuality, and so I had few friends. Like, most people, if they were seen playing with me, they would get teased, and it was bit difficult time for me, and I ended up spending most of my time in the art room at school, because that's where I felt at peace with myself, and that's where I could focus on` just express myself through colour. In my artwork I use colours, sort of like` sort of like looking at the bright side of things, and that's why I have so much colour in my garments and in my paintings and my drawings. PENSIVE MUSIC Oh, the first time when I decided I wanted to do fashion design, it was difficult for my mum, because she wanted me to do engineering, and I was like, 'Hell no, I'm not doing engineering.' I don't wanna be (CHUCKLES) thinking of handling metal or dealing with metal. It's not something that I enjoy. It's too masculine for me. I decided to go with fashion because I like creating garments and seeing somebody wearing it and, uh, making a person wearing the garment bring it to life. I've been studying for the degree in fashion design and technology at SIT. My grandmother is a` is a tailor. So growing up, I would see her sewing clothes for people. It was just a good thing, and I was like, 'I wanna learn how to do that,' and, yes. (CHUCKLES) Hokonui is the Southland fashion` fashion awards, where everyone from Southland can enter, and the` it happens once each and every year. Uh, my big project at the moment is working for the Hokonui garment, and I'm putting it into Fantasia, and it's menswear. Of course, it's like a dress, but it's, like, sort of, like, androgynous and something for` cos I` it's something that I like. It's, like, outstanding, and it's just` the colour is all red. You don't often see it on men that much. For the patterns, I decided to put birds, sort of representing me trying to find what kind of bird I am. CURIOUS MUSIC When it comes to, yeah, designing garments, I love using colour, and these are some of the colours of which` the colours that are my favourite ` a mixture of green, blue, yellow and purple, and it's just... really outstanding, and it makes the garment look beautiful and unique, and it's sim` it's an African type of printed fabric. What I love about fashion design is designing a garment and creating it. You can create something out of your imagination, so it's uplifting, something that's uplifting that, like, during those dark times, it's more like a bright side of the dark times that I often go through. So when you see the work of my creation, it is more like a bright side for me, like there is a hope in the future, and, yes. (CHUCKLES GENTLY) CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS GENTLE MUSIC I have to create something that I will wear, and then people will see what I'm wearing, and I have to model my own outfit, because I'm the designer; I have to sell my garments. So that's why I am doing` also doing modelling and fashion designing. And when it comes to modelling, I love it, because I feel free. Like, life feels like it's` the world is my runway; life is a... catwalk, and I feel like a supermodel, and I am a supermodel. (CHUCKLES) That what I like about modelling ` cos it makes me feel free. LAID-BACK MUSIC Moving from Auckland to a town that for 150 years had been very white and conservative has had its challenges. But with it comes many opportunities, like low overheads, uh, where you don't have to stress about paying your bills, and more focus on, um, developing your creative ideas and building business and taking the leap of faith on your vision. There's a whole new generation of people here who bring fresh energy and enthusiasm to the place. 'NEIGHBOURHOOD' THEME Captions by Shrutika Gunanayagam. Edited by Ashlee Scholefield. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2016 STATIC CRACKLES, PULSES