Everything from mullets to maunga feature in this snapshot of Taranaki which was created by National Services Te Paerangi intern, Mackenzie Hansen.
The images shared in this kete | set speak to her fond memories of the places and people who come together to create that special thing called home.
Portraits, maps and marae
My parents’ engagement photo. Over 30 years ago, with my father rocking the mullet, and my mum finally out of her perm phase!
This photo is from the Swainson/Woods collection, a donation of over 110,000 negatives from two prominent photography studios in New Plymouth.
This is a map of New Plymouth that was made in 1841. A copy of this map is hung up in the hallway of my father’s house.
The marae of my hapu in Waitara, Taranaki, Owae Marae. My first time stepping onto this marae was only June 2023, but it was such a special moment for my whanau.
Night lights
The Taranaki Festival of Lights is always an exciting time of the year for people in Taranaki. My family would pack a picnic, meet up with friends, watch a local music band and end the night by walking around the park looking at all the light displays.
Te Maunga
Growing up surrounded by the maunga 24/7 I never really appreciated it. Having moved away from Taranaki, whenever I go home, I now appreciate the mountain for how beautiful it is!
Summer memories
Every year my family would go camping for a week at Ōākura beach camp. We met up with other family friends and would create a small village for the week, taking up a large section of the campgrounds. Our days were spent at the beach swimming and building sandcastles and nights were filled with campfires, possum hunting, yummy cheese platters and card games. This was a tradition in my family for almost 20 years. The first year we camped I was only 4 months old.
During my childhood the Bowl of Brooklands had numerous concerts such as Christmas at the Bowl that my family and our family friends would attend. I always remember the large grass hill being packed with families with picnic blankets, snacks, and handheld candles to light up the steep hill.
Lake Mangamahoe is a man-made lake between New Plymouth and Inglewood. There is a loop track that you can walk that takes around an hour that I used to walk with my grandmother. The lake has a beautiful view of Mt Taranaki.
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