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Kevin. We're just standing with two blocks of the New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt, and we're actually standing in front of the first panel, which is Peter Cuthbert's. When did you first become aware of the quilt? It must have been back in the early 19 nineties, Uh, when I became involved with Nelson HIV AIDS Support Network and we were looking at, uh, bringing Well, we heard about the quilt through the network, and we looked at the possibility of bringing it to Nelson. And I think [00:00:30] it was 1994 when it came to Nelson for the first time with Nicky Eddie, who was the coordinator, and that she bought eight blocks down with her, and we took it on a two week tour of Nelson together. And each block has how many panels 88 panels per block. And, of course, each panel measuring 6 ft foot by three means. Each block is 12 ft by 12 ft, which is roughly 3.5 metres by 3.5 metres, which is is quite a size. [00:01:00] So bringing that many blocks down to Nelson. How did how did Nicky go about kind of shipping them down back in those days, airlines was operating and they actually transported the quilt around the country free of charge. And so we made use of the services there to bring it down to Nelson. And then when it left Nelson, it actually went up to Taranaki to do a tour of Taranaki and the and took it up. So you were saying that it toured around Nelson? Where where did you tour it? [00:01:30] And and can you explain to me, um, what the reaction was like, uh, we spent a week going around some of the high schools and secondary schools. We even took it right over to and that which is a good couple of hours, the way we had use of a, um the hospital board allowed us to use one of their vans for the day, and we used that to take it over to and, uh, we also spent a week with with it on display in the cathedral in Nelson [00:02:00] and that particular display in the cathedral. I know there is at least one panel on the block on the quilt today, which specifically mentions that display where the person who commemorates actually saw the quilt for the first time hanging in the cathedral. So it was the cathedral and schools were were there. Were there other places that it was? No, that was all we did at that stage. I was just there for the two weeks and sort of, like a different school every day. Except the day we went to when it was [00:02:30] a in the morning and then over to at lunchtime for the afternoon session there was it easy to get into schools? Um, some. Yes, some. No. Um, we still to this day have not had a definite yes or no from Nelson Boys College, but I've had the quilt in there three times since. So yeah, the reaction. It varied a lot. I didn't have much trouble at all. Really? In getting it into the schools? [00:03:00] Um, most of the hassles, if you could call it hassles of getting it into schools, came on, uh, subsequent tours later on, like one that comes to mind was in 2002. I think it was when I took it down the west coast, where there was, uh, schools that just didn't bother to get back to me or to the, uh, the health board person who was doing a lot of organising for me. Um, there's one definite flat No, right from the beginning. [00:03:30] But, um, there's other times I went I I actually went down there a year or two earlier, and I asked what would be the possibility, Like of bringing it into the school. And the principal said to me If you got it in the car now and bring it in now, if you have which, uh, unfortunately, I didn't have. But I ended up there in 2002 and had a very good day there. And that was at reef. Done. Did you take other people with you to explain the quilt? [00:04:00] Or were you Were you, um, running kind of workshops? It was basically a one man band. Take it, and we set up the displays on the floor. Um, usually And then the classes came through, um, two or sometimes three classes together. Um, we concentrated on the year tens for 14 year olds and or fourth form, and they we had them for a whole period. We talk about, uh, HIV [00:04:30] and AIDS. What? It is what It isn't how you get it, how you don't get it. And then about the quilt, the story about the quilts and that. Then we'd have a look at the, um They had a chance to have a closer look at at the quilts and that and walk around them and talk about them. And then we'd come back together again, sort of talk a bit about more about the quilts if anyone had any specific questions, and then we would talk about how to protect themselves and they, um, including a full safe sex message. What [00:05:00] were the reactions like from the students? It was amazing as there some schools in particular where it was, I was really blown away. The kids had obviously talked about it amongst themselves, at playtime at the interval and lunch time. And that and the classes later on in the day came back with questions. So which is how I knew they'd obviously been talking about it and that, and they they had some awareness, which was good at the end of it. There's one particular display I did [00:05:30] in a school where, um, at interval towards the end of the interval one of the teachers came in and had a look and that and she started getting a bit tearful. We always carried a box of tissues with us knowing that would happen. And, um, some of the senior girls were around and as well, and she started talking about at the end of the communist regime in Romania and that how she actually went over to look after some of the AIDS affected, uh, orphans [00:06:00] and that and the way they were treated. And that is being almost subhuman. And that, and by the the bell, went at the end of the interval to go back to class and that and they still carried on talking for about 10 minutes. Quarter from now they're together and that I think there wasn't a dry eye amongst everyone present. And from what I can gather, it was the first time that she had actually been able to talk about the about her experiences in that in Romania And that and yeah, [00:06:30] a very, very moving, uh, period of time in the presentations. Did you find that there was a moment where it suddenly clicked for people? Um, it varied some. Yes, some No, uh, there's one school in particular with the boys in particular. Senior boys. They just couldn't be interested. And the girls are in the class, were most apologetic about their behaviour, and and they were really full of questions. [00:07:00] And they Yeah, they In general, though, the reception was really brilliant. There's I've lost count of the number of times that teachers have said to me. I've never seen the class that quiet before. Yeah, so obviously, the message did get through was getting through to some degree. In nearly all cases, I imagine taking these panels around, um, the chance of being desensitised a wee bit. If you were telling some more stories time after [00:07:30] time, how did did you ever find that? And and if you did, how how did you kind of counter that? Uh, at times it was a little bit sort of towards the end of the tour and that, But then again, uh, you start getting the reactions and that from the from the kids and that you knew you were on the right track and it kept you going. And that, of course, in the next time we had the quilt down there were different blocks and that involved, and they still kept it going that way. Are there any [00:08:00] specific panels that just really kind of get to you? This one? The block seven, The block. I know that there's a There's two panels side by side on that, Um, when the the story was first told to me, that particular block was all assembled on the Northland. And these, uh, one of the people on one of the two panels was, uh, interested in genealogy [00:08:30] and had the initials of his ancestors, And they had written on the side and the people, the family members for the one next to this as the block was being as actually being joined together. So what do those mean? And that and they got talking. And it turns out that one person whose memory remembered on one side his ancestors sold land to the people on the adjoining panel. So yeah, [00:09:00] it's quite a sort of quite sort of a weird sensation movie at the time. And I'm actually feeling it now, too. Yeah, after that tour in the mid nineties, what was your next involvement with the the quilt? Um, it's been sort of ongoing, uh, sort of all the time, really right through. And it all started from there. Just so whenever we sort of thought I would bring some of the quilt down to Nelson. And that [00:09:30] sort of ended up being sort of de facto coordinator of the support network and coordinating all these things. And, um oh, we also had, um, helped a father make a panel for a son he had lost. Uh, that is still one of the individual panels that hasn't been joined to a quilt. Um, yes, there's a bit of my needle work on that, along with the, uh, part of the table. That one nearly came complete with the oak table, because we, uh, [00:10:00] superglued a bit of material on that wouldn't stick in the glue soak right through the oak table. But thankfully, we managed to separate her to add. You can still see a little bit of varnish attached to the back of the paddle. You went from there, and I've always sort of maintained an interest in the quilt and that, and right up until the present day, uh, with having, uh, created the website for the quilt as well, which I still maintain. [00:10:30] We'll get on to the website in just a minute. But I'm just wondering, what can you describe for me? What it was like to actually be part of making a panel and and and and working with with somebody who's lost somebody to HIV and a ID, Uh, at that stage, we initially he came. His son actually died in London and he came to me and we got talking and that and sort of Towards the end of it, I sort of mentioned about the fact that they had [00:11:00] the quilt existed and they told him about it. It would be a lovely idea. And that and he came along to one of the meetings of the support network, which we had on a monthly basis back then and he from there we all sort of make a a panel and that, and we help him do it and which he he was most thankful for. And and even to today. Um, just a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to him and said that the quilt was actually coming here to Papa and he was [00:11:30] wrapped with that news and that it was coming here to the quilt was coming to Papa on a permanent basis and yeah, it was really good. But we together making it. We shared a lot of He shared a lot of memories with us about his son. Um, there's actually a twin. Um, I think is the oldest of the two twins. And there was another older brother as well. And I was talking about with the when his wife was pregnant with the twins. He used to live just down [00:12:00] the road from the hospital and took took his wife to the, uh, to the hospital to deliver the twins and we all that we had a lot of from the memories. Sure there was the but there's still a lot of laughter of that around the table as well. So yeah, a lot of good memories from that time with all of us here together. And there is actually a photo of that on the website of us making that quilt. [00:12:30] So the website how did that come about and and and why is that important website came about as a, uh as a permanent memorial to to the quilt. I was always been thinking in the back of my mind for some years. What is going to happen to the quilt eventually? Um, all that work and love and everything that's gone into it, uh, what's going to happen? Uh, And then, um, was talking with, uh, Michael Bancroft there about [00:13:00] the, um the sort of the possibility of doing a website. Uh, there'd been talk from, um, Rachel and from the AIDS Foundation about, uh, the creation of a site, and it just sort of grew from there. I sort of said, Well, I can do this and do that. And yeah, they took one and one, and I actually did a dummy site from some of the information that I had and took it up to Auckland showed them and, [00:13:30] uh, yeah, they were really blown away with what they saw and said, Go for it. I've got God from there. When you first started out on the website, how was it trying to collate all that information? Um, a lot of the early stuff was precomputer days. Really, Uh, for some of the early panels, But, um, eventually was able to get hold of the archives that, uh, Michael had and was able to go through those and sort out [00:14:00] all the relevant details regarding the panels and everything. And also the a lot of the stories were eventually actually put on to computer by the quilt network, uh, sorry of the quilt project. And they and Michael actually gave me a copy of all those files. And that's so there's quite a lot of cut and paste from those original files onto the website, which cut down a lot of work. And it also saved a lot of research, too. Just once, I found [00:14:30] out just how the the files and that were arranged on the disc and just went from there, and I got hold of the physical files themselves. So I've done a lot of updating as well, and that included photographs and everything that were on those that were included with the files but never included with the display information. So when a family or friends or loved ones donated a quilt panel, did they also donate stories and other [00:15:00] memorabilia around that person? So because I mentioned it would be quite hard to to track people down now to get those kind of stories It's very, very difficult to track down people these days. Um, there's there was no actual compulsion to, but we asked if they could give a story about it. They just sort of explain just sort of the significance of various things on the panels and that, uh, sadly, there's still about 2025 panels that we still have no information on. As it turned [00:15:30] out this morning, I've actually met up already with someone who made one of the panels and where we don't have the information and she's going to send it to me, too, so I can get it up on the website. So But there is provision on the website for people to make contact with me so we can get that information there. And if there's a panel there for someone who has a, um A. Even if they've got a story in that there and they want to add their own memory of that person, that can be done quite [00:16:00] easily, and there's about half a dozen panels already. With that second one case, I think a third edition being done. So the original materials from the quilt project So the the the quilt and also the the archival documents and photographs are now with te Papa. What what are your thoughts about? That couldn't go to a better place, so we know that they will be looked after, Um, all the work. That and the love that's gone into that work over the years. [00:16:30] It hasn't gone to a waste. It will still be in existence. And that and even though it might be difficult to access them physically here at Papa, they it's still accessible in the digital format and that as well, particularly with the wonderful photographs, all the blocks and that which and they allowed us to use on the website.
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