HARAKEKE (FLAX) CARE AND USES

By Giarne Harrison

In Halswell, we are blessed with a lot of harakeke that is Council planted and maintained as well as lots in our own gardens. Harakeke is like any plant; in that it can become overgrown if not attended to properly. It can also be challenging when planted right by pathways or where it spreads into or falls over mowing areas.

Harakeke is a really useful plant - the leaves can be used for weaving; and the korari (stems) can be used to make tī rakau - for playing stick games. The council has a great website that gives some info: https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/harakeke/ 

If you'd like to keep the bushes near you in tidy condition here are a few tips.

• always say a karakia (a short one is given in this article)
• never cut the middle three leaves, they keep the bush alive
• start cutting close to the middle leaves and cut as straight down to the ground as possible (this helps rain flow off the cut area)
• treat the plant and leaves with respect as they represent our tipuna/ancestors
• always wash your hands after handling (harakeke can have a laxative impact)
• do not cut at night, in the rain, or whilst menstruating
• proper cutting prevents pooling rain, mould and diseases setting in and allows air and sun to circulate

In the article there is a pic showing a well cut back plant (photo taken by Giarne Harrison of some Halswell harakeke) and a graphic from the Council website showing the parts of the plant (sourced from the link provided above). 

All parts of the harakeke plant need to be disposed as general, red waste as the fibre content means it doesn't break down well as compost. It can be cut into pieces and used as a mulch and weed suppressant. We used to put waste back under the plants but that can sometimes spread disease so that's not common anymore.

If you'd like some help cutting back your plant, I'm happy to help if I have time. You can contact me by email - giarne@gmail.com  I'm a local weaver and always happy to help when I can. If you have concerns about the harakeke on council land you can snap, send, solve or call the Council to let them know an area needs a tidy up - 941 8999.

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Local Elections 2019: who got in to represent the Halswell and West Christchurch Wards

Congratulations to our new and returning local body representatives. 

 

Christchurch City Council

Anne Galloway returns for a second term as our council representative.  Anne is a resident of Aidanfield and has a particular interest in youth and has been good at connecting with a wide range of people in her role over the last three years.

Halswell Hornby Riccarton Community Board

Debbie Mora  has been returned as a representative for Halswell on the Halswell Hornby Riccarton community board.   

AndreiMoore,  is a new face on that board for this term.  Andrei grew up in Halswell and has been active in this community including on the committee of the Halswell Community Project.  We’re excited to see a young face on the board.  

Sadly, we are saying goodbye Ross McFarlane who has been a fantastic representative for Halswell on that board for the last three years.

Canterbury Regional Council

Our new Environment Canterbury representatives who look after the West Ward for Christchurch are: 

Craig Pauling: Craig is a local Halswell Resident who has been active in all sorts of different ways in our local community as well as serving on the Selwyn Zone Committee and being chair of Te Ara Kakariki.  

Megan Hands resides in Darfield and has been a member of the Malvern Community Board and was on the Selwyn Zone Committee.  We’re interested in why she wanted to represent us here in the West Ward of the City, rather than represent her community in Mid Canterbury.  Hopefully, time will tell, and we’ll see and how she plans to do that.

Canterbury District Health Board

Congratulations also to local resident Naomi Marshall on getting elected onto the District Health Board.  Other people elected onto the DHB were Sally Buck, Jo Kane, James Gough, Catherine Chu, Aaron Keown and Andrew Dickerson.