Mr Baileys Reply

Hi Andrew 
Thanks for you reply. 

I’ve just finished a stint with the events committee of Hastings Mainstreets, the organization charged with promoting the city’s CBD.  I’m very passionate about having events that bring the community together; they lift the morale of the locals, make them friendlier, and so, I believe, reduce the inclination towards criminal activities.  Like many cities, we have something of a problem in the CBD with graffiti and general nuisance activities, but I think that allowing the youths to take ‘ownership’ of our city centre by being a part of many community activities there will make them less likely to abuse the place.   

In fact, we have so many groups that have formed to promote this or that, that sometimes our problem is coordination; one group sometimes steps on the toes of another because lack of communication.  Slowly these groups are being brought together, but the positive thing is that they all want to promote Hastings, and that’s great!  From what I can see, the Taunton & District Civic Society are doing great things, and presumably there are others doing so too. 

I’m sorry to hear you have no special Somerset holidays.  Here, we have provincial anniversaries; Hawke’s Bay anniversary (2nd to last Friday in October) just so happens to coincide with Labour Day (the following Monday) so we get a four day weekend.  It’s great.  The Hawke’s Bay show that weekend is the largest in NZ and when it is a Royal Show, it’s the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, I’m told.  The next single biggest event is the Hastings Blossom Parade in September, which has been going about 50 years, and used to be huge.  It is still a major event and much of the city turns out to see the floats.  In the last two years we have built a week around it with shows, exhibitions, etc. 

Hawke’s Bay is also promoted as HB Wine Country, due to our producing international medal winning wines.  The wine and food festival lasts throughout February, with free bus tours between the wineries, music, long lunches, you name it…  The festival also incorporates events such as the edible art awards and the floral fiesta, and is so much fun.  Visitors to our farmers’ market quadruple and it is great to wander around and hear so many international visitors chatting away.  Finally, a recent event that HB has embraced is Matariki, the Maori new year (around mid-winter).  It has turned into a food festival, too, and often incorporates fire, light and fireworks.  Here in HB, where it is possibly bigger than anywhere else in NZ, we also have a hot air balloon race on the day, with balloonists coming from around the world.  

Most of these festivals are recent events, but they have all helped to pull Hastings out of the depression of the 1980’s rural downturn and now the city looks good, but more importantly, feels good.  How do you know if you’re getting it right?  Look on the faces of the townsfolk.  I believe in the last half-decade we have finally achieved ‘community spirit’. 

I have been reading a bit about the stir over the new Devon flag.  It seems to have become a focal point for unifying (most) Devonians and expressing ‘things Devon’.  They have put out a list of days for flying the flag – which become ‘Devon days’ and these events will strengthen the community spirit, I’m sure.  The Cornish seem to have a case of sour grapes because they did it all first and think the Devonians are stealing their idea.  So what!  The Cornish appear to have a great sense of identity, and the Devonians are fast getting there too.  How does Somerset stack up?  It seems the further east one goes, the less the regional identity is promoted, or am I wrong? 

I’m a fifth generation New Zealander; my g-g-grandfather and his brothers were the pioneers of the Feilding district on the west coast of the North Island.  Their father grew up in Taunton and both his and his wife’s families were from the area.  A few years ago we banded together the 150 or so families that descend from the Bailey brothers.  We had a great reunion marking 130 years in Manawatu and I now write a quarterly newsletter that goes out to them.  In it I try to include plenty of ties to Somerset (and the Tiverton area) because I feel it is important that we understand that we are also a part of the region (well, the history of the region) and our ancestors once went about life in the same way as the ancestors of today’s Somerset people.  

So it would be nice to see Somerset celebrations that we can be a part of, even if it means flying a Somerset flag from a pole 12,000 miles away!  St Botolphs Day - 17 June - was once a high part in the Taunton year; I think it would be great to rekindle a 900 year old annual event, especially with it being in the middle of summer.  My latest article, incidentally, mentioned that 2004 was the 130th anniversary of Feilding township.  It then went on to say Taunton was turning 1,100 years old!!!  Wow!  Do you realize the 904 charter was before the Maori even arrived in NZ?  Well done on hosting a great celebration, Taunton. 

Regards

Doug Bailey