Surviving an ocean of troubles
SEA CHANGE
This book has a "please note" in the frontispiece: "This is a work of fiction, not a DIY Survival Manual. However, readers may learn a thing or two..."
Above, there is a dedication to all whose practical skills keep the world turning in times of disaster.
When reading Sea Change , you may think the warning is unnecessary as the characters in the book have such remarkable skills that most of us could only hope they would be in our orbit if disaster ever strikes. They make this book — they are clever, resourceful, rounded, very human and largely optimistic.
The disaster is a tsunami, the setting a village on the Kapiti Coast.
It brings to mind the John Masefield poem "Sea-Fever" where each verse begins "I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and sky".
The sea in Sea Change is central to the plot and the lives of every character. We first meet it as it comes to the people in fierce terrifying waves described vividly by Lorna, one of three central characters.
Lorna is disaster-prepared.
New Zealand has had a number of weather disasters and the villagers have their emergency drill and supply bags.
Warning is sounded and Lorna climbs a ladder to the roof with her supply bag and hangs on to her flagpole.
Lorna is elderly, arthritic and a recluse after a nasty end to her employment as a civil servant some years ago.
She forgets in her self-absorbed state to tend to her equally elderly, blind neighbour Toddy. He is aware Lorna is on her own and knows about the relative safety of the roof and flagpole and he comes to check on Lorna.
Lorna calls down to him and he, too, makes it up the ladder and joins Lorna hanging on to the flagpole. It is a good thing he does because the wind is so fierce that she needs his strength to maintain her hold.
She feels both guilty that she forgot to look out for him and relieved he is there.
Meanwhile, 9-year-old Eru sits on the ridge of his roof on the house below, his dad out fishing in his boat.
The first wave of the tsunami approaches and the salt and debris laden wind batters them, almost knocking them off.
Toddy tells Lorna to stay calm because there will be a second wave and they need to brace themselves.
All three survive, but they are on their own, cut off from Wellington and the rest of New Zealand by land slips.
Several days later officials arrive and tell them there is to be a mandated retreat and boats come to pick up all the residents.
Toddy, who looks after Eru and Lorna, decide their lives are here in this place and they will conceal themselves when the boats come.
The sea that took so much away is now the only way in and out and becomes a significant source of food, fuel and supplies.
A larger group of characters come to life as the villagers adapt to a life of survival. Everyone has some skill that contributes to the survival or comfort of others.
Surprising and entertaining alliances develop especially as outside forces work both for and against their continued occupation of what remains of their village.
It is an uplifting tale with much to fascinate and amuse.
Anne Stevens KC is a Dunedin barrister
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Otago Daily Times
10-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Surviving an ocean of troubles
SEA CHANGE This book has a "please note" in the frontispiece: "This is a work of fiction, not a DIY Survival Manual. However, readers may learn a thing or two..." Above, there is a dedication to all whose practical skills keep the world turning in times of disaster. When reading Sea Change , you may think the warning is unnecessary as the characters in the book have such remarkable skills that most of us could only hope they would be in our orbit if disaster ever strikes. They make this book — they are clever, resourceful, rounded, very human and largely optimistic. The disaster is a tsunami, the setting a village on the Kapiti Coast. It brings to mind the John Masefield poem "Sea-Fever" where each verse begins "I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and sky". The sea in Sea Change is central to the plot and the lives of every character. We first meet it as it comes to the people in fierce terrifying waves described vividly by Lorna, one of three central characters. Lorna is disaster-prepared. New Zealand has had a number of weather disasters and the villagers have their emergency drill and supply bags. Warning is sounded and Lorna climbs a ladder to the roof with her supply bag and hangs on to her flagpole. Lorna is elderly, arthritic and a recluse after a nasty end to her employment as a civil servant some years ago. She forgets in her self-absorbed state to tend to her equally elderly, blind neighbour Toddy. He is aware Lorna is on her own and knows about the relative safety of the roof and flagpole and he comes to check on Lorna. Lorna calls down to him and he, too, makes it up the ladder and joins Lorna hanging on to the flagpole. It is a good thing he does because the wind is so fierce that she needs his strength to maintain her hold. She feels both guilty that she forgot to look out for him and relieved he is there. Meanwhile, 9-year-old Eru sits on the ridge of his roof on the house below, his dad out fishing in his boat. The first wave of the tsunami approaches and the salt and debris laden wind batters them, almost knocking them off. Toddy tells Lorna to stay calm because there will be a second wave and they need to brace themselves. All three survive, but they are on their own, cut off from Wellington and the rest of New Zealand by land slips. Several days later officials arrive and tell them there is to be a mandated retreat and boats come to pick up all the residents. Toddy, who looks after Eru and Lorna, decide their lives are here in this place and they will conceal themselves when the boats come. The sea that took so much away is now the only way in and out and becomes a significant source of food, fuel and supplies. A larger group of characters come to life as the villagers adapt to a life of survival. Everyone has some skill that contributes to the survival or comfort of others. Surprising and entertaining alliances develop especially as outside forces work both for and against their continued occupation of what remains of their village. It is an uplifting tale with much to fascinate and amuse. Anne Stevens KC is a Dunedin barrister
Scoop
13-05-2025
- Scoop
Revitalising The Gulf At Risk With Continuation Of Bottom Trawling
Press Release – Hauraki Gulf Forum Progress on revitalising the Hauraki Gulf is at risk with the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries confirming the Government will not implement trawl corridors. The Hauraki Gulf Forum has expressed concern at the Minister's comments, made at the Environmental Defence Society's Oceans Symposium in Auckland yesterday, and are calling for urgent action to prevent a further decline in the health of the Marine Park. 'The Hauraki Gulf Forum has continually expressed concern about trawling in the Gulf, and advocates for the removal of fishing methods that damage the seafloor,' says interim Executive Officer of the Forum, Katina Conomos. 'Bottom contact fishing destroys benthic habitats and the marine environments they support. We can and should do better than continue to allow these types of destructive fishing practices, it is not sustainable.' Restricting bottom trawling is a significant plank in the Government's response to SeaChange, alongside the creation of Marine Protected Areas through the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill and local marine management by Mana Whenua and local communities through Ahu Moana. 'Our communities want to see the Gulf thrive for generations to come, with abundant fish populations supported by a thriving marine ecosystem. To achieve this, we need urgent action to reverse the ongoing decline in the health of the Gulf.' says Cr Warren Maher, Co-Chair of the Forum. 'Abandoning action on trawl corridors, which has been awaiting a decision since 2023, will severely degrade any progress towards a revitalised Gulf.' Notes: The Hauraki Gulf Marine Park The Hauraki Gulf Marine Park is New Zealand's first marine park, established by the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act in February 2000. At 1.2 million hectares (20 times the size of Lake Taupō) it stretches from Te Arai in the north to Waihi in the south and includes the Waitematā Harbour, Gulf Islands, Firth of Thames and the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula. The Park is the seabird capital of the world, and a whale superhighway, but as successive State of the Gulf reports have shown, it is a shadow of its former self. The Hauraki Gulf Forum The Hauraki Gulf Forum is a statutory governance board established under the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act 2000 to promote the conservation and management of the natural, historic, and physical resources of the Hauraki Gulf, its islands, and catchments, for the benefit and enjoyment of the people and communities of the Gulf and New Zealand. The Forum consists of representatives from tangata whenua of the Hauraki Gulf and its islands; the Ministers of Conservation, Oceans and Fisheries and Māori Development; and elected members appointed by the Auckland Council, Hauraki District Council, Matamata-Piako District Council, Thames-Coromandel District Council, Waikato District Council and Waikato Regional Council. The Forum is required to present triennial reports regarding the state of the environment of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. More information on the Forum and the Marine Park is available at
Newsroom
29-04-2025
- Newsroom
Denniston Rose author says new coal mine is ‘crazy'
The Denniston Plateau is an historical site. There are wonderful interpretation panels up there, telling the story of that great engineering wonder – the Denniston Incline – and of the people who lived and worked in those harsh and isolated towns, now long gone. I'm proud to have helped in making the plateau a tourist destination. Many of the visitors, I'm told, go there after reading my novel The Denniston Rose. There's even a self-guided Denniston Rose Trail, pointing out where my fictional characters lived and worked. Those underground mines of Denniston are an important part of our history. And that's where they should stay. Old underground stories. Opening up a new – opencast! – coal extraction on Denniston is in my view backward and lazy thinking. The rock on the plateau is hard. The great podocarp forests of the West Coast can't grow there. The dead could never be buried on Denniston. Early photographs of the mining towns show a landscape devoid of vegetation: homes and buildings squatting in the mud. But it's so different now – chimneys and brick doorsteps are screened by mosses, shrubs, stunted trees and grasses. It has taken decades but the old plateau is overcoming that mining trauma. I pointed this out to an old miner and he laughed. 'Probably all the shit from our dunnies did some good after all.' I also asked him, back then, must be 20 years ago, where the coal trucks were coming from. Every 10 minutes or so, a laden truck appeared climbing into the old Burnett's Face road. The miner shrugged. 'A little boutique mine down the valley near Cascade.' But the Denniston Plateau was a conservation area and ecologically unique. How could this be? And anyway what the hell was a 'boutique mine'? He just shrugged. Another laden truck climbed into view. At that time I was taking photographs for the illustrated version of my novel. Could we go down and see? No way, he said. The road was steep, winding and single track. If we met a truck it would be impossible to back all the way up again. After he moved on, we waited till the next truck came up and then headed downhill hoping to arrive at this 'boutique' mine before the next load set off. We made it. We saw, and photographed the small coal seam and the out-of-proportion devastation of the hillside and bush in that beautiful regenerating valley. The men operating the sluice told us proudly that the top grade coal would be used in making cosmetics and car tyres. How did this hidden operation get permission to mine? I never found out. Nor do I know what happened to that valley after the seam ran out. In my new novel Sea Change the wealthy businessman Adrian Stokes says to the villagers who are trying to block his plans to develop their properties, 'I am rich and have the ear of those in power. I will always win.' I hope that view doesn't turn out to be true of Bathurst mining company's plans for Denniston. The new bestseller Sea Change by Jenny Pattrick (Bateman, $37.99) is available in bookstores nationwide. Synopsis: a tsunami has devastated a village on the Kapiti Coast and a mandated retreat is announced. This government's decision has been manipulated by a wealthy and powerful businessman who has designs on the area for his own private development…
