Free event Thursday 31 July : Queer Histories of Pōneke

To celebrate Pūmahara Ia Te Wā Queer History month we’re diving into the rich histories of Wellington’s rainbow communities. We'll be walking through the decades and exploring the pivotal moments, people and movements from the 1890's through to today!

Join us for this free event with Will Hansen (Kawe Mahara Queer Archives Aotearoa), Kerryn Pollock (Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga), Gareth Watkins (PrideNZ) and Leilani Sio (Wheako Pōneke Experience Wellington).

Will Hansen (he/him) is a transgender historian based in Pōneke. He recently completed his thesis, 'Queer Activism in Aotearoa NZ, 1961-2013' at Te Herenga Waka, and has been awarded a Judith Binney Trust Writing Award to spend a year turning the thesis into a book. Will is also a trustee of Kawe Mahara Queer Archives Aotearoa.

Kerryn Pollock is an Area Manager and Senior Heritage Assessment Advisor at Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. She leads the organisation’s Rainbow List, a project improving the representation of queer lives, communities, and histories on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero, the national statutory list of Aotearoa’s place-based heritage.

Gareth Watkins (he/him) founded the non-profit community website PrideNZ.com in 2009. It has become the largest online audio repository of local Takatāpui LGBTQIA+ Rainbow histories. The site now holds over 1,000 audio recordings of events and life histories, along with thousands of related news items dating back to the early 1900s—all freely available to a global audience. From day one, the website’s kaupapa has been to capture a snapshot of local communities, make that content easily accessible to the public, and help safeguard Rainbow heritage by ensuring the collection is available to archives in the future. In 2017, Gareth and his husband Roger Smith also founded Walktours NZ – a volunteer group that has run over 100 free, accessible, inclusive and community-focused walking tours exploring the city’s rich queer heritage.

No Ngāti Hāmoa me Aotearoa ahau
Kō Leilani Sio toku ingoa
Tenei au te Mataka Hotanga Hapori Haumi o Wheako Pōneke
Tena koutou katoa

My name is Leilani Sio and I was born in Tāmaki Mākarau, and grew up in Te Whanganui-a-Tara; Strathmore to be precise. I am Sāmoan, and I work as a public programmes specialist for Wheako Pōneke Experience Wellington. For the last five years I have been creating and collaborating on public programmes and community engagement with people in our city, including the Hutt and Porirua. I consider myself very lucky to be working in a sector that I am passionate about, in a city that is embraced by the ocean. I moved out to the Kāpiti Coast over a year ago, to be even closer to the sea!