Authors

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Stephen Lasham has been a resident in Onehunga for the past 25 years, living in Quadrant Road and having a close connection to the Manukau Harbour through his 15 years of involvement as a leader at Aotea Sea Scouts. Here he introduced his three children to Scouting, became a leader and joined the group’s committee. It was through the Sea Scouts that his interest in the Onehunga Foreshore history was piqued. Due to the actions of the New Zealand Transport Agency in relation to the East West Link project, he took on the task of building the Sea Scouts’ case in opposition to the radical changes proposed around the Sea Scout building on Orpheus Drive. The main area of concern was the proposed changes to Gloucester Park which would have undoubtably ended the Sea Scouts’ ability to run their program at their hall and would have prevented future utilisation of the park area used for their activities. The resulting investigation led the author to join The Onehunga Enhancement Society (TOES), and the Manukau Harbour Restoration Society (MHRS). Through the encouragement of Jim Jackson, the then chairman of both these groups, the author become involved with the Community Plan campaign promoting a better alternative solution to that proposed by the NZTA. It led the author to the discovery that the Unitary Plan had blocked TOES desired future restoration of the foreshore between Taumanu Reserve and the Port of Onehunga with the introduction of the Outstanding Natural Feature (ONF), designation placed on Gloucester Park and more importantly, its foreshore. Researching for Aotea Sea Scouts’ objection to the East West Link also meant delving back into the group’s history, something that was recorded in minutes, old letters, and log books held by the group, along with other sources. The group has a long history of dealing with the various transport agencies throughout its existence. This is another fascinating work as yet waiting to be published, adding to the Scouting history of Onehunga since Scouting started in New Zealand in 1908. Researching for both these projects highlighted to the author just how radically the foreshores of Onehunga had been changed. Many publications touch the surface of this subject, and many in recent times; the subject was of vital significance to the NZTA in developing their analyses for the East West Link project and prior projects relating to State Highway 20. This work hopefully goes some way to illustrating the changes, highlighting just how much change has taken place and how much damage has been done. The author acknowledges that Onehunga has other stories, and hopes he has not strayed too much into others’ territories, but hopes through your reading of this work that you will now have a better understanding and maybe join the cause for further restoring the lost foreshores of Onehunga and improving the quality of the Manukau Harbour as a whole.

A researcher and social commentator, Celia Lashlie worked for 15 years within the prison service, starting in December 1985 as the first woman to work as a prison officer in a male prison in New Zealand. Celia, who had a degree in anthropology and Māori, went on to work on a number of projects, all of which were linked to improving the lives of at-risk children and empowering families to find their own solutions to the challenges they were facing.

Photography took a serious turn for Peter Latham me in 1989, when he packed so much camera equipment onto the back of his bike, he could barely lift it! He pedalled his way around the South Island for six months and dreamed of being a landscape photographer, then travelled the world as a photographer aboard cruise ships. A photographer's exhibition in Alaska wowed him so much that when he returned home to N.Z. in 2003, Peter began to trial printing onto canvas. Printer technology was advancing rapidly at that time and both the results and response he got from those early canvas prints was very encouraging. He developed an audience for his work through a network of art galleries and suddenly found himself very busy, having discovered his niche. LOOKING FOR THE LIGHT his first book was published ny New Holland Publishers in 2017 and this set a high standard. It was so well received that Peter believed any future title must exceed it. After many missions to capture the images for a new book and a mammoth self-publishing project which involved 1000 hours of design, writing, editing, proofing and more editing, Peter is proud to finally present LAND OF LIGHT.

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Following the war, Pippa settled in New Zealand where she raised four children. For decades, Pippa told no one - not even her family - of her incredible feats during WWII.For seventy years, Pippa's contributions to the war effort were largely unheralded, but she was finally given her due in 2014 when she was awarded France's highest military decoration, the Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Lgion d'Honneur (Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour).Pippa was the last surviving F (French) Section Special Operations (SOE) agent from World War II.Pippa finally decided to tell her remarkable story, written with the assistance of TV personality and award-winning historical documentary producer and writer Jude Dobson.Jude has been researching/writing, producing and directing WWI and WWII content for the past six years. She won the New York Radio Awards Bronze Award in 2023 in the historical documentary category, for an Anzac Day audio documentary about WWII aviators telling their stories.Pippa chose Jude to tell her story and they formed a close bond before Pippa's death in 2023, at the age of 102.

Nigel Latta is a respected senior clinical psychologist, bestselling author, and television presenter. Latta has written eight books, published in 19 different countries, with translations into 15 different languages. Over the last fifteen years he's been a sought-after keynote speaker on the topic of resilience, engaged by brands, NGO's, the defence force, and government agencies. His work as a clinical psychologist spans over two decades and reflects a dual interest in both forensic psychology and working with young people and their families. Latta was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours, for services as a psychologist.

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James Laughlin is a seven-time world champion drummer, leadership coach and personal mastery strategist. He has worked with elite performers and leading organisations around the world, including professional athletes, CEOs, billion-dollar companies and high-achieving sports teams. James also hosts the award-winning podcast Lead On Purpose, which shares interviews from the most successful people on the planet. He lives in Christchurch, New Zealand.