Malcolm Garrett, one very busy community worker

May 3rd, 2010
By David Armstrong

A big man with a big heart, Malcolm Garrett is one great example of a "foreigner" (smile) who retires to Motueka, only to become heavily involved in the activities of the community he loves.

Malcolm is a member of 10 community groups and clubs! And not just a member; in most cases he's on the committe or is (or was) chairman or such. His current aim is to cut that commitment back to seven. His trouble is that he sees something that needs doing and he thinks, 'I could manage that', so he pitches in and does it or helps to arrange that it gets done. "It may not get done otherwise," is his straightforward response.

A good (and current) example of his involvement in getting things done is the firewood project that involves one of his community groups, the Vinnies (the junior members of St Vincent de Paul). With Bill Nugent, Malcolm was an instigator of the project that had its genesis in an idea from the Community Board, and he has been coordinating its activities since last winter.

"The young fellows out at Abel Tasman Education Trust were cutting wood from apple trees as part of their training course on chainsaw use, and the problem was what to do with the wood. Bill and I got access to a little tip truck and we got the lads to dump the wood at the church grounds. From then it was just a matter of organising people, often from various other churches, to come along and cut it up for firewood. And now the Vinnies will load and deliver it to people who are desperate for help in heating their homes."

Malcolm was born 73 years ago into a Southland farming family and raised in Christchurch. Back in Southland after professional training, he spent much of his working life there as a primary school teacher. He and his wife Betty taught at several schools, mainly at Tuatapere where Malcolm was head of junior classes after the school became a Form 1 to 7 college. He taught an interesting mix of drama, economics, maths and IT (he championed the use of computers in the school). Betty was senior mistress at the school.

In 2001, no longer able to manage their 3.5 acres of farmlet, they decided to retire in Motueka. Two of their four children are in the Tasman District, one in Golden Bay and the other in Mahana, so that was the obvious attraction. Plus, of course, the climate. "Our house down there faced south and you just couldn't get away from bitterly cold southerlies. We love the milder climate here," he says.

One of the first things that Malcolm and Betty did was to join Combined Probus. "It's very easy to sit around in a new town and say 'they're not very friendly here'. I've met people like that, but I have to ask, 'what have you done to make friends? It's really up to you.' There are lovely people around here, as long as you're prepared to get out there and make their acquaintance. That's where Probus was a really good opener for us."

Malcolm then joined Seniornet, which is now a large, thriving organisation teaching older people how to use computers. He was head of its education section, then chairman and now technical advisor, and has been a tutor on and off for seven years.

One constant in Malcolm's life has been the church - in his case the St Peter Chanel Catholic parish. He was chairman of the Parish Council for three years and now acts as an advisor. "One of the basic tenets of the church is social service," he says. "It's a very big feature and motivates what we do." The work of St Vincent de Paul is just one outward expression of this.

And so we come to Malcolm's list of current activities. One he's very proud of is the Short Term Accommodation Trust (aka the Night Shelter), of which he is the chairman. He's also on the Motueka Museum board (he was chairman for three years) and takes his turn as a volunteer at the desk, as well as writing the museum newsletter.

He is treasurer of the local Amnesty International group, and a member and volunteer for the St Vincent de Paul charity group. He is course coordinator for U3A (University of the Third Age) and has led the Geology group there.

Drama could have been another activity - from Teachers College onward he was heavily involved in drama and music, as an actor and producer, but he's let that pass now. "It used to require so much energy, and I just can't do that any more." Health problems with his lungs, hips and knees have slowed him down somewhat, but he still plays a little golf to try to keep as fit as possible.

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