What's he up to?

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 241, 3 May 1988, Page 15 (Supplement)

What's he up to?

Graeme Dingle, the man with the insatiable thirst for adventure, has returned to Turangi to tackle an adventure of a very different nature. "Ding", as he is affectionately known by most, has been enthralling New Zealanders for the past 30 years with tales of his escapades, but he has always maintained a need to share his love of the mountains and rivers with others, particularly teenagers just discovering the challenge and fun of the outdoors. This need was first fulfilled in 1972 with the establishment of the Outdoor Pursuits Centre of New Zealand near Turangi. In 1983, Ding's social conscience was again pricking him, the outcome of which is the "Woolrest Foundation" a group of business people dedicated to taking positive steps toward stopping the rising unemployment and crime in this country. In 1983, while walking in the Braldu Valley in Karakorum in Pakistan, Graham Mourie and Ding started discussing the idea of a "Grand Life Skills Scheme" which every unemployed youngster would attend. It would combine outdoor adventure activities with caring for one another, together with learning skills such as first aid, budgeting, cooking etc. The eventual outcome of these discussions was a meeting in the Beehive with David Lange and several world experts in youth. One suggestion they put forward was for Ding and associates to visit some of the schemes running through New Zealand for unemployed youth. The resulting investigations brought the members of the Woolrest Foundation to the same conclusion: A community should be able to solve its own problems. If every community took responsibility for itself and the problems of unemployment and crime were dealt with by the community, the whole of New Zealand should be a better place to live. COMMUNITY MODEL In order to prove this, a community model needed to be set up. A town needed to be selected, not too big, that had its fair share of problems, but a town that also had potential for growing and expanding. Turangi, in the central North Island, located at the southern end of Lake Taupo, is such a township. Built in 1964 to house the families of the workers building the hydro-electric power stations, Turangi now has a population of 4000 with most people employed in forestry, hydro power and tourism. Tourism is an expanding industry here with visitors flocking to enjoy the trout fishing, skiing, climbing, tramping and boating. From these concepts the Woolrest Foundation was formed. (Originally it was known as the Foundation for Youth Development. From a holistic approach this name was too narrow. All problems need to be looked at as interrelating.) The Woolrest Foundation is made up and funded by: Bill Hall (Chairman), Graeme Dingle (Director), with Grahame Craig, Jim Fletcher and Graham Mourie as Trustees. In March 1987, a public meeting was held in Turangi

Roz Noble updates the colourful life of Graeme Dingle who, these days, can be found at a desk in Turangi or developing a new rock climbing area at Motuoapa. to discuss the idea of a community dealing with its own problems. It was incredibly well attended by all walks of life. Even the Mongrel Mob were there. The people of Turangi whole-heartedly supported the idea of collectively being responsible for the future of Turangi. From that meeting an advisory group was formed and eventually the Turangi Enterprise Agency was started. The Foundation decided they would select projects which could have an impact on social issues. The Turangi Enterprise Agency is one of these projects (TEA). TEA opened its doors on September 1, 1987 and is surging ahead with enthusiasm and success. It can now run by itself so will eventually cease to be part of the Woolrest Foundation. As soon as funding is assured, TEA will begin to operate on its own, for its own community. FIVE KEY PEOPLE The team working for the Woolrest Foundation in Turangi are made up of five key people: Graeme Dingle is the overall Director, but his specific area is business development and employment. Michelle Hawley is the person up front and takes on the challenge of receptionist/secretary. Two capable women, Lil Gage and Georgina Warena, manage the resource centre. They help people into employment and training and provide general resource assistance such as typing, writing letters, they act as gobetweens with the Housing Corporation or Social Welfare. So far 100 unemployed people have been placed in jobs through Lil and Georgina. Softly spoken, hard hitting Sol Delamare is the fifth member of the team. Sol is the Detached Youth Worker. He walks the streets of Turangi at night, talking to the young people, picking up the drunk kids, taking the glue sniffers home and talking to parents. He attempts to encourage youngsters into the Culture Club, the Outdoor Club or the newly formed Drop-in Centre. The success of TEA has had quite a pro found effect for the community. A lethargy and suspicion typical of many small towns toward new ideas and change was one of the hardest hurdles to overcome, particularly as many people have very little confidence and self esteem, have low faith in their parenting skills and don't consider their opinion is worth voicing.

However, >the list of TEA's achievements is long and among the highlights are: • An outdoor club established to introduce the local youngsters aged 10-20 years into mountaineering, tramping, kayaking and rock-climbing. Between 20-40 youngsters turn up every Sunday to try something new or improve their skills. • Business clinics to give practical advice to people attempting to start up in business or businesses struggling to survive. • A "City Experience Scheme" for senior students at Tongariro High School went well at the end of 1987 and will be repeated this year. • A Drop-in Centre for young people has started. This is run by young people for young people, based on a model in Cambridge which after 6 months operation reduced the crime rate by 30%. A local church provides the venue and the Enterprise Agency provides facilities such as pool-table, table-tennis, coffee and tea. • "Turangi Day" was an immeasurable success in February this year, with almost everyone involved in stalls, shows, displays, talent contests and much more. • Plans are being drawn up for an Industrial Park. • An Access module in stone carving and mural painting, has seen the town acquire a magnificent carving now on display outside the Information Centre. An impressive mural graces one wall in the town centre. CLIMBING But 1987 wasn't "all work and no play" for Ding. In August he set off to climb Mt Nun in North West India with Ross Palmer and Ian Jowett. Bad weather forced them to abandon their plan to climb Mt Nun but they successfully climbed several 15,000-17,000 foot climbs in the Ladakh region and one unclimbed unnamed 21,000 foot mountain. This year plans are afoot to climb the Northern most mountain in the world, situated in the United States Range in the Arctic. Although it is proving a struggle to raise finances at present, the team planning this little jaunt are: Bob McKerrow, Ian Jowett, Graeme Dingle and Dick Cowan. If this trip doesn't eventuate, Ding would like to finally realise his dream of a solo ascent in the Himalayas. Closer to home is the development of a major new rock-climbing area at Motuoapa, 5 kms north of Turangi on State Highway I. Since Ding started developing the area in July 1987, 17 new routes have gone up, with great potential for many more. 1987 was an exhausting but richly rewarding year for Graeme Dingle. With his enthusiasm and energy 1988 looks set to be as successful, if not more than'1987. The concept of a community taking responsibility for itself has appealed to neighbouring towns of Taumaranui and Taihape who are keen to adopt similar ideas and philosophies and attempt to implement those in their own communities. There is no easy answer to the problems faced by communities today, but the quest for a happier, safer society continues, and for a man who feeds on uphill struggles, Turangi is going to make it.