Patron
Her Excellency Mme Laurence Beau graduated from the Paris Institute of Political Studies / Sciences Po Paris and has a master’s degree in English language, Culture and Economics from the University of the Sorbonne. Mme Beau is a Knight of the Ordre national du Mérite and a Knight of the Légion d’honneur. During her 30-year diplomatic career, she has served in Panama, Mexico, Seychelles, Australia and Singapore. Prior to her arrival in Wellington, Mme Beau was the Ambassador of France to Botswana. Read more about her biography on nz.ambafrance.org
Trustee Emerita
Dame Fiona Kidman DNZM OBE is one of New Zealand’s most celebrated writers and winner of numerous awards and fellowships for literature including a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour. As a Katherine Mansfield fellow, she lived in Menton, France, in 2006 and travelled the country with a contingent of New Zealand writers promoting New Zealand literature.
Dame Fiona is renowned as one of New Zealand’s foremost storytellers, having written over 30 books, including novels, short stories and poetry, and numerous television, film and radio dramas. She was created a Dame (DNZM) in 1998 in recognition of her contribution to literature. Her most recent publication is a memoir So Far, For Now (2022). Dame Fiona is a founding trustee of the Randell Cottage Writers Trust.
Trustees
Christine Hurley (Chair) has a background in public service policy and NGO management. She is a life member of the Institute of Public Administration and an active member of the Rotary Club of Wellington. Christine has served as Chief Executive of Interpreting New Zealand, during which time she chaired the Wellington Branch of the NZ Society of Translators and Interpreters. She has an MA (Hons) in English literature from Canterbury University. She has lived and travelled extensively in Francophone countries in Europe and the Pacific. Christine combines these interests with a commitment to the preservation of New Zealand heritage sites.
Gordon Stewart trained as a lawyer and is now a professional company director and professional trustee. As well as his involvement as a trustee of the Randell Cottage Writers Trust, he is involved with Rotary, is chair of the Sisters of Compassion Group, and is co-chair of the Sacred Heart Cathedral Restoration Committee. Gordon has lived in the Cook Islands, and in Menton, France, and maintains close contact with that country.
Jean Anderson is Associate Professor of French at Te Herenga Waka / Victoria University of Wellington, where she founded the Te Tumu Whakawhiti Tuhinga o Aotearoa / the New Zealand Centre for Literary Translation, in 2007. She has co-translated into French novels and short stories by leading New Zealand writers, including Patricia Grace and Janet Frame, and translated into English a number of works by Randell Cottage French writers.
Francis Cooke is a Wellington-based writer and lawyer. He has published work in Landfall, Hue & Cry, JAAM, and Sport, amongst others, and is the co-editor, with Louise Wallace, of the online journal Starling, publishing new writing by New Zealand authors under 25.
James Norcliffe is a novelist, short story writer, poet, editor, teacher and educator. He has been awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Poetry 2022 and has published ten poetry collections, most recently, Deadpan (2019), Letter to Oumuamu, will be out in 2023. James has published a dozen award-winning novels for young people including the three Loblolly Boy books, two Mallory fantasies for children, and The Crate: a ghost story recently appeared in 2022. His first novel for adults, The Frog Prince, written during his stay in the Randell Cottage, was also published in 2022.
Catherine van Melle has an abiding interest in and enthusiasm for Aotearoa New Zealand’s domestic social history and built heritage, encompassing its architecture, period decoration, gardening and household work. She values residential building conservation as an archive which uniquely illuminates the cultural and social perspectives of its inhabitants and how the contemporary social structures, technologies and economy shaped their lives.
Catherine is on the committee of the Thorndon Society, volunteers at Katherine Mansfield House and Garden, and for Age Concern.
Treasurer
Tanya Prince grew up in Wellington and has a background in financial management. Tanya has worked in many industries including education, health, aviation, and construction. She is currently the National Finance Manager for the NZ Association of Counsellors. Tanya spent 5 years working for Read NZ Te Pou Muramura gaining great insight into arts administration in New Zealand.
Tanya is a keen yogi and loves to travel. Yoga has taken her to Fiji, the Cook Islands, and Vietnam.
President, Friends of Randell Cottage Association
Ruth Jeffery is a secondary school teacher of English, French, and lately Fashion Technology, currently working at Wellington High School. In the 1990s, she worked in script and project development at NZ Film Commission, then established The Film School in Wellington in 2000. She has been involved in theatre, both as a practitioner and as a board member of Circa Theatre.
Ruth currently volunteers as a gardener and tour guide at Katherine Mansfield House and Garden, sings alto in Capital Choir, and writes a monthly newsletter for Brooklyn Garden Club.