From the Editor

Apr 13, 2012

markr2Nga hau e wha
Mark Revington

This is my first issue as editor of TE KARAKA. Am I a little nervous? Of course. The phrase ‘big boots to fill’ doesn’t seem quite the right metaphor to describe the challenge set by my predecessor, Faumuinā Tafuna’i, but as editor of TE KARAKA, she set a high standard.

As I write, it seems only weeks ago I sat with my father-in-law, Justo Diaz, looking out over the mangroves of the upper Waitematā from our home in west Auckland. And now here I am in Ōtautahi with my wife Deborah and son Tom, renting a house, learning the ropes of a new job and a new life, and waiting for the ground to move. Thankfully there hasn’t been too much of the latter.

I believe new challenges are what help us grow as people, and in that regard my father-in-law inspires me. Actually he’s more like my dad in some ways, since my father passed away a good few years ago. Justo is originally from Cuba, and moved to the United States when he was 16 to get better schooling. He stayed, got married, got a degree, raised three daughters and then packed up the family and 18 suitcases and moved from Kansas to New Zealand. After retiring from his role at the University of Auckland seven years ago, he has spent six months a year, every year, teaching in Kuching in Borneo. Packing up the family and moving from Auckland to Ōtautahi seems tame in comparison.

I come from a family of publishers and publicans. One ancestor started the Hawkes Bay Tribune. Another established Revingtons Hotel in Greymouth. I am a North Island boy, brought up at Ohope Beach in the eastern Bay of Plenty. We dearly miss our whānau up north but we are here because we wanted to start a new journey in our lives. And to me, the role as editor of TE KARAKA and all that entails, is a privilege. I look forward to meeting you and hearing and sharing your stories.

Nā Mark Revington

MANAGING EDITOR
Phil Tumataroa

EDITOR
Mark Revington

SUB EDITOR
Adrienne Anderson

SUB EDITOR
Faumuinā F. M. Tafuna’i

SUB EDITOR
Adrienne Rewi

SUB EDITOR
Diana Leufkens

WEB EDITOR
Simon Leslie

CONTRIBUTORS
Tremane Barr
Tom Bennion
Raoul Butler
Diana Clement
Shar Devine
Keri Hulme
Adrienne Rewi
Aaron Smale
Rob Tipa
Kim Triegaardt
Phil Tumataroa
Will White

DESIGN
La Fábrica Design Studio

PRINTING
Spectrum Print – Blue Star Business

PUBLISHER
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu
PO Box 13 046, Christchurch 8141
Phone 03 366 4344
Fax 03 365 4424