Latest news with #WhanganuiHighSchool
NZ Herald
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Musical triumph: Whanganui band shines in regional music competition
The Tangata Beats event started in 1998 as the Urban Beats Award but over time became its own competition. The Lights Go Out members, Alijah Ngaronga, Jeremiah Herewini, Poppy Brooks-Mann, Mason Maraku, Manaia Takiari, Rangitaumata Hayward, Amelia Muir, Arne Leiva-Benegas, Moata Leiva-Benegas and Gio Maraku, met through Te Kura Waenga o Rutherford although some have gone on to secondary school at Cullinane College and Whanganui High School. 'They're still all with our music teacher [Jordan Maraku] and he makes a band every year and most of the years it's been the same people,' keyboardist Amelia Muir said. A previous band, Reckless, containing multiple of Lights Out's current members, made the Tangata Beats national final in 2023 and came third. Reckless only competed in Tangata Beats in previous years, making this the first attempt at Smokefreerockquest. 'We thought we would give both competitions a shot this year and we're glad we did,' trombone player Arne Leiva-Benegas said. 'We were really surprised we won.' For their first-place wins, the band received $500 of musical equipment from the Rockshop. Lights Go Out consists of three brass instruments, three keyboards, two vocalists, a drummer and a bassist. Coming up to the competition, the band practised together for more than 10 hours a week. At the competition, Lights Go Out performed original songs Alive and Light Path. Muir said the songwriting process was collaborative, with each instrument group writing their own parts. Raia (Waihīrere Fifield-Taylor), from Te Aho o Te Kura, came first in the Whanganui Smokefreerockquest's solo/duo category. Muir and Leiva-Benegas said the band was musically inspired by reggae music and New Zealand bands L.A.B., Six60 and House of Shem. A4, from Rangitīkei College, placed second behind Lights Go Out for Smokefreerockquest. Missing Comma, from Whanganui High School, were third. In the solo-duo Smokefreerockquest category, Raia (Waihīrere Fifield-Taylor), from Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu, was first and Sophie Toyne, from Whanganui High School, second. Nisi (Denise Pio), from Rangitīkei College, won the solo-duo for Smokefree Tangata Beats. Alongside Raia and Sophie Toyne, Lights Go Out can submit a video of their original material for selection as one of the top 15 finalists to play at Smokefreerockquest nationals in September. Along with Nisi, they can also apply for the national final of Smokefree Tangata Beats on September 13 at Auckland's ASB Theatre. Olivia Reid is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.
NZ Herald
21-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Athletics Insight: Whanganui cross country season heats up as Harrier Club turns 100
In Wellington, the annual College Relays were held at Berhampore with 71 teams competing at the Wakefield Park venue following the move from Karori Park three years ago. Whanganui Collegiate sent three mixed teams from the small group of students for whom cross country is their main sport, as opposed to some years in the past when teams had many runners from other codes. The largely inexperienced teams enjoyed the spirit and camaraderie of relays in the near-perfect conditions. Mixed relays have become a popular addition to both track and field and cross country, and the grade was a perfect fit for the Whanganui students at the Wellington event. The more experienced Olivia Gilbertson, Ben Brunton, and Dylan Anderson stood out, as did Year 9 runner Sophie Dunlop. The top team finished fourth in the grade but will gain confidence that, had the inexperienced Dunlop run with the top team rather than the B team, they would probably have won the grade. At local school level, the annual Secondary Schools Cross Country will return to the popular Dudding Lake venue. Although all teams must travel, the excellent and beautiful venue has proved popular with runners. The date of this year's championships has been changed and will now be held on Thursday, June 5, 10 days later than the original date. Whanganui High School and Whanganui Girls' College have held their championships. Cullinane College held its yesterday. The Whanganui Collegiate Championships will be held on Friday, May 30. Lennox Brotherton, who in the summer won the senior 3000m Whanganui Schools title, added the Whanganui High School senior title from Darcy Johnson and Jake Newton. Brotherton is clearly in good form and has impressed in recent Whanganui Riverbank park runs. He has been first across the line seven times from his 12 appearances, including five in a row leading to a personal best of 16m 48s last Saturday (his first time under 17 minutes for the 5km run). Brotherton is clearly the in-form senior boys' runner. The Whanganui High School senior girls was won by Whanganui Secondary Schools sprint representative Amy Davidson from Paige Conley and Isla Jones. Alex Payne won the junior boys from his close track rival Sean Frieslaar with Bruce McGregor third. The junior girls grade was won by Hannah Cameron who, in the summer, was Whanganui's leading junior high jumper. The Year 9 events were won by Korbin Gabbott and Chelsie Howe in the respective boys' and girls' races. Whanganui Girls' College had an excellent turnout for their event with many dressed in pink in celebration of Pink Shirt Day. There were some good performances with Alexis Toy first overall from Brynne Minnell and leading Whanganui 300m hurdler Grace Fannin third. Year level winners were Year 9 Allegra Gosney, Year 10 Brynne Minnell, Year 11 Gabrielle Valentine, Year 12 Alexis Toy and Year 13 Hayley Stewart. This winter is a special one for the Whanganui Harrier Club as it celebrates its centenary. The centennial will be held over the weekend of Friday, June 20, to Sunday, June 22, starting on the Matariki holiday. A big weekend of events has been scheduled, starting with the Vaoga Cup races on Friday. There is a street orienteering event at 1.30pm on Saturday with the Centennial Dinner at the Durie Hill Bowling Club from 5.30pm on the same day and a Sunday Brunch scheduled at the Club Rooms at Victoria Park at 10.30am on Sunday. Registrations are now open for our WHC Centennial Celebrations. All past and present members, along with anyone who has been connected with the club over the years, will be welcome at this special occasion.
NZ Herald
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
On The Up: ‘It gave me the best start': How Whanganui shaped pianist Liam Wooding's career
Wooding (Atihaunui a Pāpārangi) now bases himself in Perth but is back in New Zealand this month for a series of concerts, including one at Whanganui's Sarjeant Gallery. 'My connection to Whanganui is really important and something I'm going to grow as I become a more established professional,' he says. That journey began back as a pupil at Westmere School. 'My first primary school teacher was my piano teacher for eight years. 'I was just following a thread, really.' The thread took him to Whanganui High School, University of Waikato, the Australian National Academy of Music and a Fulbright scholarship in the United States. Now he performs professionally as a soloist, chamber music partner, accompanist and as part of the Morton Trio. 'It's never with the mindset of, well, I'm going to make money out of it and become a professional, because it's hard to know what that looks like, especially when no one else in Whanganui is doing that,' Wooding says. Five years into a professional career, he feels established. 'Now I think it's time to be more selective about what I focus on and try to build something more substantial.' This age, where artists can have a more direct relationship with the audience, is something Wooding wants to explore. 'I'm not really the 1950s concert pianist, you know, flying around playing concertos. 'My work involves a lot of people, it's very collaborative. Even if I do a solo concert, it kind of takes a team to make that happen.' Wooding's ability to do this was forged by the countless opportunities afforded him in Whanganui. Whether that was playing chamber music, accompanying the Whanganui Lyric Singers, Amdram, High School choirs – his experience was broad. 'In hindsight, it gave me the best start ever,' he says. 'I didn't necessarily have the best nuts and bolts technical start, but I had access to opportunities that so many other people didn't have. 'By the time I got to university, I was pretty proficient in areas that lots of others weren't. 'I think a stumbling block for a lot of famed pianists is that they don't have the skills to be able to do that. 'They train to be a pianist, they don't know how to apply it to the world.' Part of that is connecting new people to classical music. 'I think especially since Covid, it's changed, and it's a hard sell.' A culture that is all about 'optimisation' and people 'doing things to make themselves better or at least survive' doesn't necessarily align with something 'seemingly [as] useless as classical music'. 'Even though, of course, I don't agree with that. '[It's] a leisure activity that promotes life-long learning, which I know is a value for a lot of middle-class professionals. 'There's always something surprising and edifying about going to a concert and witnessing the mastery of a performer. It's something I think people can appreciate, if not necessarily the music. 'If we're to try and get younger people to become interested, it's about tapping into those sorts of things.' Wooding remembers it was French music that first resonated with him, and early 20th-century music in general. 'I often found different styles of music quite inspiring for its inventiveness and – I know it's kind of obvious – how I felt it tapped into feeling and emotion as a sensory kind of thing, and a communal kind of thing. 'It kind of pointed to a whole world that I knew was going to be bigger than what I grew up with in Springvale.' Wooding will perform alongside flautist Hannah Darroch in their show, Home for the Winter, at the Sarjeant Gallery on Saturday. The duo will showcase music by local legends Gillian Whitehead and Jasmine Lovell-Smith, well-known flute works by Dutilleux and Copland, and the New Zealand premiere of a new flute sonata by Australian composer Lachlan Skipworth. Advertise with NZME. 'We're kind of bringing our two respective interests together,' Wooding says. He is also keen to see how the newly redeveloped Sarjeant Gallery works as a venue. 'I've had an international life, still do, and I'm attracted by what the community in Whanganui is trying to do with the Sarjeant Gallery, trying to further modernise the city. 'Having me and my mate come in there to do a show, it kind of accords with all that is going on there. 'I owe a lot to the community in Whanganui that raised me, but I don't come back out of a sense of repayment. 'It's important for me to be in touch with all those people because they're important to me.' When: Saturday, May 17, doors open 6.30pm, performance begins 7pm. Where: Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased from the shop at by visiting the gallery, or call 06 349 0506.
NZ Herald
14-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Athletics Insight: Juliet McKinlay, Jonathan Maples lead Whanganui track and field rankings
McKinlay won awards in three categories at the recent Whanganui/Manawatu Athletics Awards and was the New Zealand under-18 heptathlon gold medal winner and a member of the New Zealand Schools team to California. McKinlay had an outstanding season. Year 9 Whanganui High School athlete Jamie Munro is ranked second behind McKinlay in both 100m and 200m, with hurdler Kaylee Bishoff second in both hurdles and 60m while Lulu Dufty, in a year affected by injury, ranked second in both horizontal jumps. Youth was to the fore in high jump with Hannah Cameron and Mareka Kendrawaca displaying high potential. Thrower Phoebe Corin, although small in stature, displays technical maturity and headed the discus rankings and is second to expat Maples in hammer. Another Year 9 athlete, Harlynn Faalili, headed the 300m rankings. Whanganui Girls College hurdler Grace Fannin headed the 300m hurdles and 400, 600 and 800m, showing a strength that will prove valuable when later she progresses to 400m hurdles. Middle distance runner Hannah Byam, who was second over 2000m steeplechase at the North Island Schools, also led the Whanganui 1500m and 3000m rankings. Her Whanganui Collegiate teammate Tilly Darke headed the 800m, with Masters New Zealand record holder Sally Gibbs leading the 5000m rankings. The leading male athlete was Jonathan Maples who topped the rankings in 60, 100, 150, 200, 400m and 400m hurdles. Maples, who had an outstanding season, won the New Zealand 400m hurdles title and took silver in the 400m and bronze in the 4 x 400m. Maples is currently in England and races this weekend at the Loughborough International. Maples is followed by the very promising Damian Hodgson in the 150m, 200m, 400m, 600m and 400m hurdles where he won gold in the under-20 championship. Hodgson follows several former leading local athletes and is US-bound in August. Hopefully Hodgson, like George Beamish, Brad Mathas and Lexi Maples, will retain his club affiliation. Auguz Thongskul had an outstanding breakthrough year, winning a bronze medal at the Athletics New Zealand under-18 championships and stepping two places higher on the podium at the North Island Schools with a new impressive personal best. Thongskul added a personal best of over 0.3s in the 100m, taking third in the North Island championship. The young Whanganui High jumper/sprinter has an exciting future. Colorado-based George Beamish headed the 2000m steeplechase, mile and 5000m with Oliver Jones heading both the 1500m and 3000m (Jones won the MWA Out of Stadia Award in his under-20 age group). Whanganui High School athletes Sean Frieslar, Alex Payne and Lennox Brotherton show considerable middle-distance promise. Top male throwing rankings were shared by Oliver Toohey (javelin), Cody Campbell (discus) and Te Huatahi Bradley (shot). At a recent meeting at Sport Whanganui, there was considerable discussion on where to place North Island Schools on the development–elite spectrum. One opinion shared by all was that schools and Athletics Whanganui need to provide pathways for all athletes, particularly those who showed promise at the North Island competition. Cullinane senior jumper Ethan Linklater, who heads all three male jump rankings and is new to the sport, provides a prime example.
NZ Herald
22-04-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Whanganui swimmer Paige Conley adds five golds to her collection at age group nationals
Whanganui teammate Zoe Baskett, 13, won bronze in the 200m backstroke at this year's event, with Ryleigh Dorricot, Rachel Pui and Millie Boden-Cave also competing. Paige, Whanganui High School's 2024 Junior Sportswoman of the Year, said coach Richard Gheel had been instrumental in her success. She won the 200m butterfly and 1500m freestyle by a distance but the 400m individual medley 'was definitely a close one'. 'Butterfly is my strongest stroke so I always get out pretty fast,' she said. 'Backstroke and breaststroke aren't so good but I can usually pull it back on the freestyle.' She said it was important to keep up a training routine and, when she was not swimming, she was at the pool helping younger club members. Volunteering at the pool began as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award programme 'but now I just do it for fun'. 'Basically, I'm there [Splash Centre] every morning and every afternoon,' Paige said. ' The main pool is going to be shut [for two months] but we've still got a 25m pool on the other side. It's just a lot smaller and shallower." Next up was the Wellington Short Course Championships in June, followed by the National Short Course Championships in September, she said. Paige has one more year to add to her NAGS medal tally, with the 16-year age group the last in the competition.
