Conversations with Rachael King and Te Kana Pitiroi

27 July 2011

Conversations with Rachael King and an audience with Te Kanawa Pitiroi

The first Great Lake Tales event with Joe Bennett was an outstanding success, reports Erupt Events General Manager, Kylie Hawker.

“We had forty guests enjoying an afternoon at Hilton Lake Taupō on Sunday, with Joe enthralling all with his stories and theatrical descriptions of love, life, hitchhiking and underpants!” said Ms Hawker. “It was a great start to the series.”

The next visiting author in the series is Rachael King, who will be at Hilton Lake Taupō from 3pm to 5pm this Sunday, 31 July.

An additional talk as part of the Great Lake Tales series has also been announced. Te Kanawa Pitiroi will be at Taupō Museum at 11am on Tuesday 2 August, and will speak of his role in protecting the mana of artefacts for both Ngati Tuwharetoa and the many iwi of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Rachael King was born in New Zealand in 1970 to a bookish family – her father Michael King (who died in 2004) was one of New Zealand’s most prominent authors, and her mother Ros Henry is a publisher.

She has worked in radio and print media, and in 2006 published her first novel, the Sound of Butterflies, which subsequently won the Montana New Zealand Book Award for Best First Novel.

Her second novel, Magpie Hall was published in New Zealand in November 2009, and she has recently edited and introduced a collection of her father Michael King’s writings, called The Silence Beyond.

“This is a unique opportunity to hear such a celebrated author talking first hand about her work,” said Ms Hawker. “Tickets are now on sale from Prices Bookshop. At only $45 including refreshments, and with limited numbers, we are expecting tickets to sell out fast!”

Te Kanawa Pitiroi is a respected elder of the Ngati Tuwharetoa people of the Central Plateau.

As a teacher at Te Kura o Hirangi in Turangi and Deputy Chairman of the Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board, Te Kanawa also sits as a member of the repatriations committee for Te Papa Tongarewa, The Museum of New Zealand in Wellington.

This committee works with various organisations nationally and internationally to return taonga or treasures to their rightful place.

Te Kanawa will speak of his role in protecting the mana of artefacts for both Ngati Tuwharetoa and the many iwi of Aotearoa New Zealand.

His talk in the Tuwharetoa Gallery at Taupo Museum is free to attend, but seats may be limited due to venue constraints.

The third author to visit Taupō in the series is Dame Fiona Kidman, one of New Zealand’s literary legends, who will speak on Sunday 7 August.

Lastly, Sir Ray Avery, 2010 New Zealander of the Year will be in Taupō on Sunday 14 August to share his inspiring life story, as documented in his autobiography, Rebel with a Cause.

Each author will be hosted in a relaxed and intimate environment, in front the fire at Hilton Lake Taupō, from 3pm to 5pm each Sunday afternoon.

For more information including speaker biographies, visit www.eruptevents.co.nz.

Tickets are available from Prices Bookshop (95 Tongariro St) and are $45 including a glass of Vidal Reserve Series wine on arrival and canapés.

ENDS

© Scoop Media