postcards from royal oak
A documentary photo miniseries based in Royal Oak, Auckland.
My grandma lived on Campbell road and my great uncles lived on Manukau road. Royal Oak could be the most nostalgic suburb in Auckland; many places such as Ollies or KFC (the first one in the country) have been there for a long time, and the area still feels the same as it did in the early 2000s.
I associate Royal Oak with memories of running from my great uncles' flowering garden into their house, which was decorated with $2 shop decorations and wisps of cigarette smoke hanging off the pink walls. Or my grandma chopping mango and writing down Samoan words in red marker for me to learn slowly. Sometimes my uncle would teach me how to play a game called Ladybug on a heavily pixelated 90s Mac at my grandma's house while she rested. On a day where they felt like it, my great uncles would slowly walk with their canes up Manukau road to go to the pub for beer and pokies. When my great aunty visited from Canada we reunited in a Chinese restaurant just off the roundabout which has since closed, and I was spoilt for attention.
My grandma, great uncle and great aunty are now gone, but sometimes I go back to Royal Oak to go shopping or walk around Cornwall Park. I met the women below in Royal Oak and was lucky that they agreed to be a part of this series. Thank you to everyone involved!
TOP LEFT: Mi Nam of Flowerise. Her store has sold floral arrangements at the Royal Oak mall for 20 years.
TOP CENTRE: Carla of Urban Kurl, which is a hair salon on the Royal Oak roundabout (another salon is also based in Avondale). Urban Kurl fills a number of gaps and diversity issues in the hair industry by providing specialist treatment and education of curls and natural textures.
TOP RIGHT: Hasina of Unique Desire. Hasina's store is inside the Royal Oak Mall and has been running for several years. Unique Desire sells a large range of clothing, jewellery and home furnishings. There is another store in Pakuranga Plaza.
BOTTOM LEFT: Lulu and Radha, who volunteer at the Royal Oak SPCA.
BOTTOM CENTRE: Wendy of Mobie, which is an electronics store and phone repair service that has stores across Auckland. The store in the atrium of Royal Oak mall opened 10 years ago.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Melanie of Stardome Observatory and Planetarium in Cornwall Park. Melanie has always loved astronomy and started at the planetarium when she was 19, and regularly runs shows and viewings of the night sky.
