Current Projects:

Community Voices

Ruth is a contract writer and storyteller for Auckland North Community and Development's quarterly magazine - Community Voices. Find out more here.

A History of Councils of Social Service

I have been commissioned by Auckland North Community and Development Inc, to research and write a history of the original network of Councils of Social Service (COSS). The story begins at the end of WW1, when the British National Council of Social services was established. The first COSS in NZ was in Napier in 1933, in response to the 1931 earthquake. At its height there were over 50+ councils, plus a national body - NZCOSS, today known as Community Networks Aotearoa.

Echoes of August - Podcast

I have created a podcast to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in Japan. There are six episodes to the podcast, featuring archival audio from Nga Taonga Sound and Vision, Radio NZ, audio effects from Pixabay and music by Bounce Bay Records. I interviewed people in Aotearoa NZ and Japan with one central interviewee - Rev Ian Dixon, a chaplain/ padre in the NZ J-Force and who was in Hiroshima in 1946, just six months after the bombing. I did an oral history with him 20 years ago and have come back to his story in the making of this commemorative podcast. This project has been supported by Funding from the Peace and Disarmament and Education Trust, with sound engineering by Brent Harbour and studio time provided by Planet FM. Listen on Spotify or Listen on Soundcloud
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