Flatmate

(spying on Julia from my bedroom window, she brought out the ladder to pick 3 apples at the top of the tree)

To know Julia, my flatmate, and owner of the house I reside in, one must also know Wellington, Fiji, and Raoul Island. Julia Stance was born and raised right here in Wellington! Many moons ago (not quite sure how many moons), Julia graduated from Victoria with a degree in geography. At some point in time she was married to a photographer…sounds like they traveled right round the world together then split up. Since becoming a photographer herself, Julia has been involved with projects all over the South Pacific.

Julia lived in Fiji for 10 years, passing by the staging of the first coups completely unaware, with an iguana in tow (she was delivering it for a friend). During her stay in Fiji Julia worked at the Fiji Museum. Her book, Yalo I Viti, about the artifacts housed inside the Fijian Museum has been in print for over 30 years.

It’s no surprise that Julia is a self-proclaimed island person, which leads me to the introduction of Raoul Island. Raoul Island is 1000 km away from Auckland. It’s the last of the Kermadec Islands, perhaps this means nothing to you, but in terms of New Zealand it’s the most northern territory under the NZ state. For a year Julia lived on this subtropical island picking weeds (turning 60 during her stay!). 5 people a year are chosen to live on Raoul Island, and it is an extremely high honor to be accepted into the program (as it is extremely competitive). I HIGHLY recommend viewing her website:

http://www.jbwphotography.co.nz/gallery.html

Here one can view Raoul island, a rare treasure- an island without rats or cats- an island returning to it’s natural habitat thanks to all the volunteers who are practically hand picked by personal strengths to take care of it. FYI, Julia’s website is under another name Julia- Brooke-White. There is also quite a bit of coverage on contemporary New Zealand craftwork, as well as Pacific Island Festivals. It’s a marvelous blend, please visit the site!

At the moment Julia is typing up some recently discovered 150ish-year-old journals from “first” travelers to the Kermadecs. I love coming home after school and chatting with Julia during dinner. We watch Coro Street together, laugh at the absolutely dismal New Zealand “news” (Ron Burgundy has some serious competition in New Zealand), and share all costs on food. I have immense respect for Julia, who is equal parts interesting and pleasant to be around, a combo that is hard to find.