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Otago Daily Times
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Organisers pull out stops for record numbers
Ngarangi Sadlier, of Lower Hutt, auditions for the Singer/Songwriter category of the New Zealand Gold Guitar Awards in Gore on Friday. She eventually won the Gospel category. PHOTO: ELLA SCOTT-FLEMING As record number of contestants converged on Gore for the New Zealand Gold Guitar Awards, organisers put systems in place to handle the churn of more than 800 musical entries. The auditioning process for the awards began across five venues on Friday and convener Philip Geary said their systems for handling this year's 829 entries were reasonably good, but could be better. Given the growth of the awards, Mr Geary said the awards committee was engaging a software writer to create a new program to help organise the contestants, judges' scores and the winners in each of the 31 categories. "[Something] that should just spit everything out, and all we need to do is look at it and confirm it, and that's it," he said. Having worked the awards for 30 years, this was not Mr Geary's first rodeo and he and the other organisers made sure the stage and setup were the same across the auditioning spaces to keep the competition regulated. Gore Country Music Club music committee convener Laurel Turnbull said due to the record number of entries they had engaged all four venues for the auditions as well as added an extra van to act as a courtesy coach between venues. The 12 judges were distributed between the Gore RSA, Gore Town & Country Club, Gore Baptist Church and Calvin Community Church for auditions, but came together at the club for the finals on Saturday and Sunday nights.
Otago Daily Times
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Awards organisers pull out stops for record numbers
As a record number of contestants swarm Gore for the Gold Guitar Awards, organisers say they have systems, and added venues and vehicles, in place to handle the churn of more than 800 musical entries this year. The auditioning process for the Gold Guitars began across five venues yesterday and convener Philip Geary said their systems for handling this year's 829 entries were reasonably good, but could be better. Given the growth of the awards, Mr Geary said the awards committee was engaging a software writer to create a new program to help organise the contestants, judges' scores and the winners in each of the 31 categories. "[Something] that should just spit everything out, and all we need to do is look at it and confirm it, and that's it," he said. Having worked the awards for 30 years, this was not Mr Geary's first rodeo and he and the other organisers made sure the stage and setup were the same across the auditioning spaces to keep the competition regulated. "We're just trying to create the same environment of what they would do at the finals anyway, so that everybody's on the same level playing field," he said. Gore Country Music Club music committee convener Laurel Turnbull said due to the record number of entries they had engaged all four venues for the auditions as well as added an extra van to act as a courtesy coach between venues. The 12 judges were distributed between the Gore RSA, Gore Town & Country Club, Gore Baptist Church and Calvin Community Church for auditions, but would come together at the club for the finals on Saturday and Sunday nights. Invercargill-raised and Dunedin-based musician Holly Muirhead, 21, who said she had first entered the contest when she was 13, said the competition was massive this year. "When I was back in [the] intermediate [section] there were a lot less contestants and now it's like every class is 50 people," she said. "I don't know how the judges do it." She said the competition had been growing gradually every year and it was nice to see so many new faces in the songwriter and senior (or classic) sections. Mr Geary said the competition's growth, particularly in the younger, intermediate section, happened about 10 to 15 years ago with the rise in popularity of country rock, such as Taylor Swift. "I think it was three years ago [the intermediate section] increased by 30%, which is great, which is big," he said. Ms Muirhead said she agreed with the Taylor Swift effect and said it was the American star's crossover between country and pop which attracted new audiences. She said another of her favourites, five-time Grammy Award nominee Kelsea Ballerini, succeeded in that crossover space. The Dunedin singer/songwriter auditioned with her original song 60 Years about her grandparents' anniversary.
Otago Daily Times
30-04-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Veteran thankful for, moved by Anzac service
Former Mataura RSA president Dave Mackenzie remembers the lives we have lost in service to our country. PHOTOS: ELLA SCOTT-FLEMING Anzac day in Gore began in the pitch-black cold with a dawn parade down Mersey St to the cenotaph. A roughly 600-strong crowd, young and old, encircled the monument with returned service men and women at its centre. A small patch of turned earth, with neat rows of white crosses, to the left of the memorial, stood to further represent lives lost in war. Local Anglican Rev Bruce Cavanagh gave a tribute and then led a prayer before announcing the laying of the wreaths. Gore RSA president Bradley Bridgman and Gore District Mayor Ben Bell both laid tributes. The Dawn Parade makes its way through Gore. They were followed by returned service men and women from the Malaya, Vietnam, East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. The crowd then flowed into the Gore RSA behind to warm up with hot drinks and conversation. Two-time cancer survivor and East Timor veteran Nigel Cuckow said he felt like he had been cared for and honoured by Southland RSAs. Mr Cuckow said the Gore faction had supported him through two battles with mouth cancer. He said the association twice supported him financially while he went through treatment and was unable to work. Father and son Nigel (right) and Jack Cuckow warm up in the Gore RSA after the dawn parade. The help from the RSA left him overwhelmed, he said, as he was used to doing things on his own. "In a situation like that, they've supported me," he said. "It's like a family." The Invercargill RSA also paid for the new pair of glasses he was wearing using proceeds from its poppy fund, he said. When he first returned from serving in East Timor in 2002, he felt he had come back to "nothing". The Hokonui Celtic Pipe Band, led by Martyn Turnbull, fronted Mataura's Anzac parade. After being a Territorial soldier, with a weapon in his hand patrolling for seven months, coming back to his regular job felt "different", he said. It took him 20 years and the help of the "strong" Gore RSA to make him feel like a returned serviceman. Mr Cuckow's son Jack was there to support him. A couple of hours later in Mataura, where the temperature had dropped to 1°C, a crowd of 60 moved through the mist to the town's cenotaph. The parade was led by the Hokonui Celtic Pipe Band and the memorial heard words from former RSA president Dave Mackenzie and pastor Mike Whale.
Otago Daily Times
23-04-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Documentary recalls service in East Timor
With his documentary airing on Anzac Day, a Gore man wants to remind people of the experience, service and sacrifice of the contemporary veteran. Twenty-five years ago, Aaron Horrell took a video camera to his first deployment to East Timor because he said he knew they were going to be a part of history. Last year, Mr Horrell commemorated that history by taking 15 veterans back to the place of the conflict and filming their emotional return for his documentary, Back to Timor . In its largest deployment since Korea, New Zealand was part of the multi-national force sent to East Timor in 1999 after its people voted for independence from Indonesia. After the referendum, devastation and violence erupted as pro-Indonesian militia tore through the island, systematically razing its towns to the ground. Gore RSA president Bradley Bridgman said when he arrived in Timor-Leste in 1999, there was nothing but "scorched earth". Mr Bridgman said the Timorese had fled their country when he first got there and his battalion worked to repatriate them back to their home. He said by the time he left and Mr Horrell's battalion arrived, people were starting to get back to their normal lives but it was still a "hostile" environment. It was in this environment in July 2000 where Private Leonard Manning was shot during an ambush by the militia, becoming the first New Zealand soldier killed in action since Vietnam. A total of five New Zealand soldiers were killed during the deployment. Mr Horrell said the Gore RSA helped to fund the three veterans' return to East Timor, while some of the others used their $1500 "travel warrants" which they are given to go back to a place where they served. He said Community South Trust funded the rest. "Probably 70% or 65% of funding came from Southland." The veteran said the documentary highlighted the emotional and positive experiences his crew had in returning to the war-torn country they had served in. He said it was touching for them to see how things had changed, that the country had healed, with the jungle regrown, but also how evidence of their presence remained. This evidence ranged from physical details like a drawing he had left carved on a door of the old barracks to the locals saying "kia ora bro" and remembering their service. Mr Horrell said he wanted his documentary to connect with veterans who did not get the chance to go, so they could experience the healing and appreciation, too. He also said he wanted to use the documentary as a tool to remind the government of the sacrifices contemporary veterans made, not just those who fought in the world wars. He wanted the documentary to remind people that we need to be doing more for these veterans, who often come back isolated by the things they have experienced. "You created these veterans by sending them overseas, but you need to look after them a bit better once they come back," he said. Mr Bridgman said his RSA invested in the documentary as he similarly wanted to draw attention to the plight of the returned servicemen, and to remind them of the services, support and community the association could provide. • Back to Timor airs tomorrow at 5pm on TV3 and at the same time on RNZ's video platform.
Otago Daily Times
23-04-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Video highlights veterans' sacrifices
Aaron Horrell holds a photo of his patrol in East Timor, deployed in 2000. Photos: supplied With his documentary airing on Anzac day, a Gore man wants to remind people of the experience, service and sacrifice of the contemporary veteran. Twenty-five years ago, Aaron Horrell brought a video camera to his first deployment to East Timor because he said he knew they were going to be a part of history. Last year, Mr Horrell commemorated that history by taking 15 veterans back to the place of the conflict and filming their emotional return for his documentary, Back to Timor. In its largest deployment since Korea, New Zealand was part of the multi-national force sent to East Timor in 1999 after its people voted for independence from Indonesia. After the referendum, devastation and violence erupted as pro-Indonesian militia tore through the island, systematically razing its towns to the ground. When Gore RSA president Bradley Bridgman arrived in Timor-Leste in 1999 he said there was nothing but "scorched earth". Mr Bridgman said the Timorese had fled their country when he first got there and his battalion worked to repatriate them back to their home. Two unknown soldiers stand in front of the carved graffiti left by Aaron Horrell in East Timor in the early 2000s. He said by the time he left and Mr Horrell's battalion arrived, people were starting to get back to their normal lives but it was still a "hostile" environment. It was in this environment in July 2000 where Private Leonard Manning was shot during an ambush by the militia, becoming the first New Zealand soldier killed in action since Vietnam. A total of five New Zealand soldiers were killed during the deployment. Mr Horrell said the Gore RSA helped to fund the three veterans' return to East Timor, while some of the others used their $1500 "travel warrants" which they are given to go back to a place where they served. He said Community South Trust funded the rest. "Probably 70% or 65% of funding came from Southland," he said. The veteran said the documentary highlights the emotional and positive experiences his crew had in returning to the war-torn country they had served in. He said it was touching for them to see how things had changed, that the country had healed, with the jungle regrown, but also how evidence of their presence remained. Aaron Horrell stands in front of his old carved message in East Timor last year. This evidence ranged from physical details like a drawing he had left carved on a door of the old barracks to the locals saying "kia ora bro" and remembering their service. Mr Horrell said he wanted his documentary to connect with veterans who did not get the chance to go, so they could experience the healing and appreciation too. He also said he wanted to use the documentary as a tool to remind the government of the sacrifices contemporary veterans made, not just those who fought in World Wars 1 and 2. He wanted the documentary to remind people that we need to be doing more for these veterans, who often come back isolated by the things they have experienced. "You created these veterans by sending them overseas, but you need to look after them a bit better once they come back," he said. Mr Bridgman said his RSA invested in the documentary as he similarly wanted to draw attention to the plight of the returned servicemen, and to remind them of the services, support and community the association can provide. Back to Timor airs on Anzac Day at 5pm on TV3 and at the same time on RNZ's video platform.
