Amanduh La — Part Two

🌈 Takatāpui Talk | Amanduh La – Part Two | The Power of Drag, Identity & Legacy

In Part Two of my conversation with the incredible Amanduh La, we explore the deeper meaning of drag—not simply as performance, but as an art form that creates joy, confidence and connection.

For audiences, drag can be an escape from everyday life. It invites us to laugh, celebrate, reflect and see the world through a different lens. Behind the glamour, costumes and humour are artists who dedicate countless hours to their craft, creating unforgettable experiences while often giving people permission to embrace their own authenticity.

Amanduh also shares stories of chosen whānau, the takatāpui pioneers who paved the way, and the legacy she hopes to leave for future generations.

Thank you for supporting Takatāpui Talk as we preserve and celebrate the stories of our community—one conversation at a time.

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_02 0:01

And welcome back to Takatapu Talk. Last week, we followed Amanda La's incredible journey from Tokador to the world stage. But today, we go a little deeper. In part two, we explore the people who shaped Amanda's life. The Takatapu pioneers who walked before her, the importance of chosen Fano, and the legacy she still hopes to leave for those who follow. Also, the power of drag is a few tears from me. It's a conversation filled with laughter, love, reflection, gratitude. So please make yourself comfortable and let's continue the remarkable story of Amanda La. And she is. I mean, when I f when I first met you, I'd hired you for a show here in Rutsoa, which was a huge success. And for me, it was about bringing drag to Rutsadura, like proper drag, you know, not the rural drag. And uh and and I and when I was because we just I had it at the Citizens Club, like, you know, it's a very basic menu. I did it. Well, thank you. And I was willing to make it something fabulous, but I know the power of drag and what it can do to an audience. And um, you know, Spanky Jackson and uh Cola was with you, and you just did incredible, you did an incredible show. But as I was walking through this club or you know, the citizens club, and the shock on the you know, the president or the shock on the manager of the success of it, and then the bar, which we had our own bar, had to be filled three times. And I'd say and I'd say to them, I told you this is drag, the power of drag, the entertainment. Look how everybody's feeling. And when it was closed at midnight, they didn't want to go, you know, but it was like there's nowhere else to go because it was ruther. And I've always known that about drag, obviously, spending a lot of my time in Sydney growing up and you know, in London, and all of that. I was always looking for a drag show. So we've always got to be, we've got to be really grateful for it and what it can do, how it can make you feel. Even if you're reading people to filth, it's still fabulous. And I always loved your numbers because they were slightly, you know, indigenous or African and things like that. You know, so you know, she's really playing the uh she really plays up to that, but you're not really playing up to it, you're actually living it. It's just an extension of who you are, and so much power and drag. I can't emphasize it enough. You know, I was talking to Lodeti uh Ormond the other day, and he does the Tifas, you know, beautiful boy. Gosh, he's so lovely, he's only 23. And in the Tifa's show now, and I'm like, I need to bring you here. You need to come and do it here. Oh, you need to. And he also emphasized that he makes so much more money from drag.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

And you know, you know, doing doing drag, I mean, I got to host um some fabulous events for Witcher Workshop for James Cameron. Um when I was in New York, uh, Collor and I went up there for for a holiday and just to buy things. Um, we got invited to some exceptional places that that normal people wouldn't be invited to. I mean, working at Government House, for example.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

Um when they had the air show, Peter Jackson took that that plane from King Kong. Uh, Raquel and I were asked to host that. I mean, that was international. That that they there was on an average day you'd hear five languages being spoken. So I I was very fortunate because I speak um French and German and Japanese and English, um, I was able to welcome people in their in their national native tongue, which which it sort of set this precedent where I think uh the the average audience, especially for that event, thought that Drag was like Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the big hair and the big makeup. And then you see these girls coming out, one looks like Whitney Houston and the other one looks like Rihanna. Yeah, and then they open their mouths, yeah, and they're speaking their real. You know, they're speaking in French, they're speaking in German. So I think the coordinators were like, who are these people? Like, that are they are they transgender and you know they they wanted to meet us as boys, but we were hired as drag queens. So when you asked before about Amanda and Adam being separate, I learned very quickly in my career, Amanda's completely separate to me. Yeah, and I I did this experiment, I I'd become quite well known in Wellington, and I could go up to any nightclub and just walk in and hi Mandy. And you go to the bar and get a drink. Hi, Mandy. So I thought, could I do that as a boy? So one Saturday night, I went down to a club that I always go to. And I was dressed nicely. And he goes, Hoy, hoi, hoi, yo, yo, yo, hoy. Who do you think you are? And I was like, Rick. It's Nate, it's the manager of all. And he goes, Nah, don't get to the back of the line. And I was like, What? And he goes, get to the back of the line. Don't try and push in here. And I was like, Well, it's a night. And then and then I I sort of went to the back of the line and I thought, isn't this what it feels like to stand in line? I hate it. But anyway, I I got to go in after about I don't know, 15 minutes, and I was furious that I had to stand in the back of the line. Then I went up to the bar staff and I was like, hi guys, I always drink red wine. Yes, I'd like a red wine. Oh, that's uh $14. So that's $14. No, but it's me. Do you want the drink or not? I'm thinking, when you say the power of drag, yeah, to go out as a drag queen in Wellington City back then, yeah, and then to go out as a boy. Can I just say that experiment was never duplicated? I never did that.

SPEAKER_02 6:20

We see for someone like me being, you know, being a male, I would go out with drag queen specifically for that reason because I wouldn't have to line up. Um, and I they're always my friend. And I I knew that again, the power of drag, I was never in the line either. I would get a free drink, you know, but I would have also done their wig or, you know, done their makeup or stuff like that. I which I I totally adore as a hero makeup artist, but I I knew that. I knew it was really, really important. And and you know, and there was always conversations with people that they just didn't know, and that's where I really learned that term by Felicia. And I was like, why do you call it Felicia? You didn't even know him. And it was like, well, that's what I mean. That's Felicia. Don't know him by Felicia, you know, and all the terminology, and and and it's it's exciting, really. And and you as long as you give two, like I have to give two, I'm not just hanging on, I'm not an entourage person, I'm not really being like that. And I've had so many questions for you, um, Amanda, but you've answered them all anyway. Everything has segued into um, you know, into the the whole thing. And um, you know, I'm almost thinking it needs to be another part because you know, I wanted to start talking about television and things like that. Oh, yes, yeah, you know, because that's been another career for you too. And I was talking to uh Jade the other day, a fuck awahi near and her life from where she began and you know, and and where she ended up in the the corporate world, her career is another show, and that's what I so love about our people and about our experiences, because it is it's more of a trilogy than it is just one conversation, you know. And I feel I feel like oh no, I don't want to cut anything off, but I I'll go, I I we'll go into uh our grounding questions because as you've worked so hard through your life, what does looking after yourself look like this day? How what what is your personal hoe order? How do you take care of yourself?

SPEAKER_00 8:22

So I think for me, um, the most important thing, I have a thing. And um at first my friends were like, Why do you do this? But it it does have a little bit of a cob every morning for 11 years, well actually it's been 14 years now, uh our sister had cancer falling. And she rang us and told us that she was sick, and we were devastated. So she said, I'm going to have a weekend. So we called it Sister's Weekend. And we we went and got our nails done. Um, you weren't allowed to bring a phone. You had to bring your medical certificate and your financial report. So I was sort of I was the only boy that was invited. Paul did the deliver this uh one, two, three, five, six girls. Six seven girls. And um I was like, why are we doing this? And Pauline said, because I didn't I didn't realize the cancer was gonna come, but I need you to look at my finances so that you know when I pass, you know, I've got my insurance that needs to go to the kids. And she said, these are the conversations that I want to have with my with my family because I don't know how to have them with my children. So after I'm gone, these things have to be put in place. So we we did that and she passed, and it was I I had a paradigm shift. I realized we are never given tomorrow, you know, and and my attitude towards life and order, my well-being changed. I started to eat better. I wanted to keep in contact more, so every morning without fail, at six o'clock in the morning. My sister Norma, she would text, we have a sister's page, and she would text every morning, good morning. As soon as I opened my eyes, you were the first person that I thought about. My family. So she'd wait, and then as we woke up, we would all text back, and it was it was her way of uh um healing her mama for our sister. Now that was going on for 11 years, and every year we would have two sisters' weekends, and over the last well last year, normal past, and I woke up this one morning and I went going outside notice, and it was like the most guttering kick in my throat. The the pain I felt because I I looked and I thought, where are you? This was my highlight for my day. And my uh uh my sister Phyllis had passed and Lillian and Panamas prior in the years prior. So there were only two girls and me left in the sisters' room. And I thought, oh my god. And then I started thinking, when I wake up in the morning, I think of people like Spanx, Cola, you know, Shaz, people that I engage with every day. Now, um, my cousin Lee, my sisters, my family. So I started sending these good morning textes, they're little memes.

SPEAKER_01 11:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:47

And um Spanky says to me, Why do you text so early in the morning? Like, why do you send these dumb memes to me? And I don't open them up, and you're just filling up my phone. So I gave him the cope-up of what happened with my sister. And I said, You know, Spanks, one day I won't be sending these texts. And I said, I want you to remember when I wake up in the morning, you're the first person I thought about. And all my love for you that I have for you every single day. And here it is. And it's just one good morning message, and it's become so important to my friends and my family now. I got sick a couple of weeks ago. I just had a cold and I was too tired and I missed the good morning um thing three times in a row. Well, I had cola ringing. Girl, are you all right? Yeah, why aren't you sending me my memes? Yeah. Stanks. Hey, do I need to come down? And you know, this really triggered something in my head because I thought if anything ever happened to me, they would be the first person, people to realize, oh, something's happened. Amanda's gone quiet.

SPEAKER_02 13:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

And I know that they would come looking. So I've I've experienced a couple of friends that have died in their homes by themselves, and I live alone.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

You know, and and when they passed, it wasn't for a couple of days that people realized there was no communication and what's happening. And by the time they got to them, they were really in a bad way physically. I don't ever want that to happen. And if it ever comes to a to a to a situation where, you know, it is my time to pass and I can't get to a phone. I know that if I don't email you or text you tomorrow to say that I'm good morning, immediately they they start thinking.

SPEAKER_02 13:41

Oh, Amanda, that is um, that is the most beautiful hoe order I've ever really heard for a long time. Um, you know, my voice is cracking a bit. It and you know, it's what I should be doing. It's what we should do. It's an incredible, you know, people talk about hoe order, they're like, oh, I love to have MIDI. You know, like that's that is that that is that is care for yourself in the true sense of keeping in contact with people that you're close to. And if they don't care from you, you know, and I know our audience is going to hear this, and it's like just because we live alone, we don't have to be alone. And I'm not a lonely person. So it's like if I got sick and I'd like, you know, I'm fine, you know. I called an Uber to the hospital and I was having a heart attack, you know, and it's like it's really silly. You you know, you you need to keep in contact with people, and this everyday thing, I've got a handful of people I could I will definitely start doing that with. So thank you for that inspiration.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

Oh, you're so welcome.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

That just that you know, because because we do live alone, yeah. I I always think to myself we don't know when the good Lord's gonna come knocking. Yes, but if we put if we put fundamental strategies like this, and it's so simple, but it's so beautiful because now Spanks realizes, you know, um I th I think of him every day. Cola knows that I think of her every day. You know, my nephews and nieces, we have a uh Farno page, yeah, and everyone puts up their messages, but they look for that. So it's got to be between six and say half past seven in the morning, they wake up and they go straight to their phones.

SPEAKER_01 15:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

You know, and I and I got that from my sister because I I know how empty that was when she stopped. It was very difficult actually for all of us. You know, we would text each other in the morning and think. Um, she was she was quite old. And uh say, for example, where's my phone? I don't know where to put my phone. But she would get the phone for um on messenger, and she'd be like this, and she had no teeth, and she'd be like this. If there's bloody thing working, and then she'd scream out to your husband, I think it's fast, it's broken, and we're there, yeah, and we're going, Good morning, hey, good morning. Is that you? Yeah, oh hello dear. So and and we've kept those videos, yes, you know. So when we when we miss her, or you know, when we miss the other sisters, we have um a catalogue of all this corridor that we'll remember and and we share it with our children, you know, our our nephews and nieces and the younger ones, so that they don't they they the brothers and sisters aren't um forgotten. So this year at um Easter, my sister came down and we are going to collate a book.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:41

So in this book, it's gonna be our Fano book. We'll all have a picture of ourselves, and then a little book, Copapa, Where We Are In the Family, and then you turn the page and it'll have all our photographs and videos of the last 14 years of us having sisters' weekends. Um, and on our sisters' weekends, we always picked uh someone had to tunnel for it, so I tunneled it for them to come to Wellington. You have to give it a theme. My theme was getting to know you. Um and you you I asked the girls to write one page of things that they've never ever told our family before. And then we we went to art installations and uh fabulous artist Keel Kasky um made these wooden frames and we were all painting, you know, doing the these he got us the Turnbull library, and we all started painting. We had all these paints, and then he rang the bell, and we were looking at him, there's seven of us, looking at him, and he goes, I'd like you to get up off your painting and move to your sister's painting. I'm like, what? So he got up, left our painting, went to our sister's painting, and then by the time we finished, we had a toma for our children. Of course. Every brush stroke, every memory, every thought that we had is that was Auntie's, that was auntie, that was auntie, that's me. Yeah. And it's it's the most gorgeous, eclectic visual of how we truly feel about each other while we are alive.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:19

You know, so I've got mine framed, and and uh my kids know that when I'm gone, you know, that's something that I'll pass on to them. And just little little items that we've got from Sisters Weekend, I've kept. You know, so when I when I miss them, I have a little item and think, oh, I remember this day. Oh, I remember what you're wearing. Oh, I remember what the conversation was. So each each um sisters gathering, we talked about our parents and my mum, my dad, um, a sister that might have passed, or a brother that might have passed. Um there was always subject matter, so you had to write one page, and we'd get into uh uh our venue, our apartment, um, and on the Friday we would read our stories, and then on the Saturday we'd do an activity, and someone would take videos and photographs, and on the Sunday, um there was normally like a church something in the morning because none of us are active now. Um so it was it was gorgeous, yeah. It was really, really gorgeous. So these things I I think are so important to pass on. Yeah, they have now that the children understand and the memories too, though. So whenever you want to remember, you can, you know, without emotion, because it's all they're beautiful memories and um yes, yeah, and I mean some of my my friends have started Sisters Weekend where they get together with their sisters, and I know that my nieces have done two um cousins' weekends. So it's it's I I hope that it filters down through the rest of the family.

SPEAKER_02 20:02

I think I uh I think it's filtered down with our audience because it's such a great way to remember people and also caring for yourself, you know. I mean, it's moved me. We you know, like I said, when people talk about their hoe order, your whole order of keeping everyone together and keeping, you know, and and and contacting everybody every day, because um this is the difference between Spanky and Cola. And I I shouldn't sound racist, but you know, it's like Cola's being Māori herself. You know, she's like, Where have you gone, girl? What's wrong? But then Cole, you know, Spanky's like, Why are you doing this? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:41

It was it was very cola.

SPEAKER_02 20:44

You know that I adore those. I adore all three of you. You know, I when I I'm not trying to big note myself, but I loved it when you came through. I took you up for dinner, I got you a lovely hotel. And and I and I said and I said to you, this is the way that you get you deserve to be treated. You know, you don't just come in here and have to do your makeup uh in the back of a toilet or the you know, the the the uh the paraplegic toilet, you know, that they normally oh you know, Donald, when we went in when we went into the hotel, I remember looking at Spanky thinking, we just got off the flight.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

Yeah. Can't remember who came to pick us up, but they were lovely. And we got to the hotel, and when we were going in to check in, I was looking at Spanky going, uh, do they know we're drag beans? Do they know that we're staying here? And they were just so excited. They had fast from bang when we arrived. Yeah, our rooms were so lavish and so luxurious, and we all had our own rooms, and so we're running around watching our uh you know what we got. We had a great dinner with you that night, and the the lady I'll never forget.

SPEAKER_02 21:46

Remember that restaurant, Unnies? So I got to speak to Larissa. I also interviewed her because she um got terrible. Um she had cancer, and so she you know had to close it, unfortunately. But Spanky remembers her from Melbourne. Yes. Way, way back in the beginning of her career, her drag career, she remembered her then. So that connection was really magical. And it was also really magical to be able to speak to her and her influences and food and her inspirations and her mother. And it's been really amazing. Loris Vincent.

SPEAKER_00 22:23

And do you also remember that that night? Um she gifted us those beautiful Tonga, those um scarves, the body scarves. I still wear mine to this day.

SPEAKER_02 22:34

Well, uh, Tongahuya is the designer from Duturua, and um she is my first cousin's wife, Tongahuya, and um she still has her online business, and she will be really happy that you mentioned it because you know that was also really because I was busy running around, you know, these girls deserve this. They just you know, and she said, I've got some scarves for you that I've made. And I was like, Okay, we'll give this to them because I sort of wanted you to come back, really. I knew that you were going to do an amazing show, and you did anyway. So, you know, we could talk about these sort of things for hours, really, couldn't we?

SPEAKER_00 23:08

Oh, look, and and another thing I I yes, another thing that that was such a highlight for me on that day was we went down to have breakfast. And I mean, we were we were just going down for breakfast like everybody, like everybody else. And the chef actually came out. Um, he was coming to the show that night, yeah, and he said, Look, if you want um they eggs, if you wanted um omelets with tomatoes and ham and cheese. And I'm looking at the buffet because it's a beautiful spread. And he goes, Oh, not bad. If you if you want me to go away and pop something up, you know, I can do that. Oh, and I tell you what, I felt bouge. I'm I'm I'm I'm going to be quite frank here. I think Spanx had breakfast and then went back to his room to to relax. Holler and I sat for a little while and then she went back to her room. They were clearing the dishes away before I went back to my room. Oh, sitting there. Oh, that's mad. It was gorgeous. It was so gorgeous. And then to be able to meet up every moment too.

SPEAKER_02 24:16

Yes. Every moment. And then I took you to the um, you know, the citizens club. I shouldn't criticize that. It was a wonderful night. Oh, with such a fabulous. You you you were into the audience, everyone was cheering, and I I named all the tables um different divas, you know, like I had the Aretha table, and uh, you know, it was uh it's it's about not just hiring somebody to come down and do a drag show because that's not what it's it's about impact. And it was important to me because obviously I knew a lot of the people that it were that bought tickets that you must dress, you can't come in your armgum boots. Uh you know, because even though Miss Little Kane with that guy from TV.

SPEAKER_00 25:04

Oh, that was hilarious. And I remember we were we were walking through because we were we had taken our our costumes down, but we were walking in, and I tell you, that whole bar stopped. So we thought, ooh, we'll have a quick beverage here, and we sat down and talked to the punters, and then um I can't remember who I think it might have been Beverley was saying, come on, we've got to get backstage because we've got to get into our costumes and start welcoming people. And I think people in the actual bar, because it was a sold-out night, they were trying to get tickets, or they were all lined up at the door, pushed in the corner. It was fabulous.

SPEAKER_02 25:39

I wonder, um uh Amanda, and it's just difficult to talk about it because she's not long gone. Do you remember my sister helped you get changed? Look, that you know, one thing I do remember she came backstage and she just knew exactly what to do, and she would help you with your gowns. And sorry I'm being emotional because I still really miss her.

SPEAKER_00 26:02

Oh, yes, you know, and you and you will. One thing that highlighted that I I remember was a highlight. Um, we had these dresses that had just arrived, and so our bodies had molded into the dresses. And I remember your poor sister behind um me first, and she's like this, and I'm like, No, no, no, it's go up, it'll go up, and it was sweet. She's pulling the dress up, and then it went up. And as soon as I finished, thank you so much, and then Collis were in front of her, and she was like this. Oh her poor little fingers trying to pull it.

SPEAKER_02 26:36

What is she like saying? Well, she was five foot eight, you know, and new girls are six foot four.

SPEAKER_00 26:41

And then getting down on her hands and knees because we couldn't clasp because we had corsets on, we couldn't put the clasps on our heels. Yeah, no sweet to her. And then she came back, yeah. What are you drinking? Yeah, and I was looking at because Cola doesn't like us drinking. Oh, she doesn't mind. She she's never said no. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you you can see that raised eyebrow look. I'm watching you, girl. And your sister went away and she brought back these drinks. And I was thinking I said to the girls, hey, we have to pay for these. You can't you can't just get them. And she said, Oh no, my brother's got this all sorted. And I was thinking, Oh my god. Yeah. Okay. And it was magnificent. And the audience sometimes when they stood up and they cheered so loud, it was it was that thunderous. I was thinking that roof's gonna break. Break yeah, exactly. Yeah, and then she came out with us and we were sitting outside after the show, yeah, and your sister was just so open, and we talked about your mum, yeah. Um, about your career. Oh, and I do remember coming into your saloon because you had I think you had three clients. Yes. And if I remember correctly, Kate, Priscilla, she used to come to you.

SPEAKER_02 27:55

Yes, yes, she did. Yes, yes, yeah, yes, exactly. Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah, great memory. I mean, I still look after Auntie Annette Sykes, you know, she's still here, and she came the other day, and they're incredibly loyal to me. And I'm working from home now in my studio here. Because you're incredibly talented, that's what it is.

SPEAKER_00 28:16

Yeah, but you just have your sisters here that night or the the day before. Yeah, I think you'd styled it. If I remember correctly, because when your sister came, we're thinking, 'Cosh she's a bit, she's a bit of a posh molded. Yeah, yeah, she was. She was. How are you? How are you how are you looking after yourself after this?

SPEAKER_02 28:37

Um, well, I've had to definitely look after myself. You know, and I've I've I've done a lot, I've certainly made a lot of changes. Um uh sugar, given up sugar. Uh, I did that about two months ago. So refined sugar is a poison. And so I was in hospital when I gave up the sugar, which is good. So I was able to sort of, you know, cope with the withdrawal because you literally do go through a withdrawal and you're so sick. And um I I was eating really healthy, but it wasn't enough weight, it wasn't enough for weight loss. And I keep calling him the gynecologist, but the cardiologist said, you know, he was trying to find a polite way to say, you know, that you should lose weight. And I thought, because I said to him, what should I do? The medication is working, I feel really, really well. He said, um, well, that's good, but I would like you to, there's an operation that you're going to have to uh um normalize your heartbeat, which is an electric shock. And I was like, I'm just too young for these types of things. Um, is there anything else I can do while I'm on feeling so well? And then I said, Look, I'll lose weight. Would that help? And he said, That would really help. So on a co-pupper of intermittent fasting, which has always worked for me quite well. But in my six-hour window, I'm really focused on the food that I'm eating in that period. It's not hamburgers and chips as well. Uh, and I've got lots of energy, and I'm able to, I've done four clients today, and so and I'm really, really focusing on it. But I think something that will make an important part of my hoe order is certainly being in contact with a small circle of my far known, like my two nieces and my nephew. And I'm gonna start up pages and I'm gonna make them, I'm gonna tell them that they have. Oh, I love that. No, I just loved it, and I think our audience will love that. And um, thank you for so much for talking about my sister. I think I really needed it. I needed uh somebody that was, I mean, you know, we're we're you I know you, we're we we've worked together, but that's how you saw her, and she was very precious. And I loved how she just I didn't ask her to do anything, I said just go and help the girls. That's what I said. And that's she was amazing. Yeah, it's what she knew to do.

SPEAKER_00 30:48

But she she always came back at half time, or you know, when we left stage, because getting into the dresses is is unique in itself. Yeah getting out of them is equally as unique. So she was always you know, she she was very mindful as we were each leaving the stage. She'd come running back, ready to zip our son down and yeah, and get us into our next costumes because our changes were quite quick and the costumes are quite elaborate.

SPEAKER_02 31:11

Oh, yes. Oh, you pulled them all out, you bought all the costumes, it was incredible. It was the color that was how needed. Really, it did.

SPEAKER_00 31:18

Yeah, it was we need to do this again, honestly.

SPEAKER_02 31:21

We need to organize something like this. Yeah, we will. We will have to do it again. You know, it's not spanky's not so busy, so you know, bringing back you three girls would be amazing.

SPEAKER_00 31:30

Oh, look, and we would love that. We loved the opportunity. Um, so we've called ourselves uh what's the name that we was it before?

SPEAKER_02 31:37

It was very funny before that that trio um what did you call it before?

SPEAKER_00 31:42

Leading ladies. Leading ladies, that's right. Yes, yes, and and people would ask us, why did we call ourselves leading ladies? And it's because in our own right, we can lead. So say I would do the the welcoming in our first segment, I'd welcome the audience, and then in our second segment, Cole might do a game, and then our third segment, Spanky would do the bye-bye. So we all led each section. Yeah. Um, and we all get on so well together. Like we're we truly are a little family. It's gorgeous, it's wonderful to be part of.

SPEAKER_02 32:16

And you know, when you hire you as a group, as a producer, and you know, I was hosting because I was doing fundraising for Wadeke Woman's Refuge. I don't know if you remember, you don't have to host anything like that. You don't even have to introduce your girls, you know, because everything's ready. And so as a producer, it's just a joy. You just produce, sell the tickets, you know, make sure the venue looks great, and then you come back. And the venue did look great. Yeah, well, you know, for the venue that it was, I I was really quite proud of my what we all pulled together. You know, I got somebody to put up lots of rainbow colours, you know, all our colours and everything that represented us. I think I had a client that made a backdrop, you know, and rainbow our rainbow our colors, you know. So it was really perfect. It so was. Um, and as I said before, I could really talk to you for hours. Um, but thank you so much again for recognizing my sister. But I want to I do this with everybody. I take them to these fast five questions that I was I hope you don't think too much about. You would just go straight in and sort of say a reply. Uh, the first one is what would you tell your younger self? You are exactly where you're meant to be. That's really good.

SPEAKER_00 33:32

Never never doubt.

SPEAKER_02 33:35

Yes. Yes. Uh what brings you most joy right now?

SPEAKER_00 33:44

Honestly, my grandchildren they are growing exponentially, and I'm I'm trying desperately hard to keep up with the with the language and the the constant use of the the what is it, uh their cell phones. Oh yeah, yeah. Um but they are growing to be incredible women. And my daughter is like I think her husband's pretty great, but my daughter is quite exceptional. She she has gone over and above anything that I could ever imagine a woman. Like, I'm not saying this because she's my daughter. Um she's put herself to university, she's got a master's degree, she holds a very high position um in her Mahi. So does her husband, he works um in the mines. They uh uh 43, I think she is, and she's freehold for her house. My um Morkel, eldest Morka, is doing um uh anesthesiology at the hospital. They had 350 students in their course. My Mokw is third top.

SPEAKER_02 34:55

Right.

SPEAKER_00 34:56

And that's nothing to do with me, that's everything to do with her mother. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:00

My second Mokor is is one of my little things to do with, you know, probably what you would pass on as the fucker papa of your own generation, really, you know.

SPEAKER_00 35:09

Yes, like but Nikki is just she's an incredible woman. Yeah, you know, she's I I look at her and I think, how how do you accomplish all of this? But you know, I see I see a lot of um the women in her life uh have been very strong, strong uh woman in their own right, very intellectual, and she is all of that. Yes, you know, she's I love it when she comes down because then she can just relax and it gives me time to run away with the children. And um my second one reminds Yes, my second one reminds me a lot of of me. She's very creative, very um Uber focused on what she wants to do. She wants to go into dermatop dermatology. The last one I said to her, Well, I'm getting old, so don't worry about getting a job because your parents will look after you. And then when I get old, I'll come home and you can look after me. Now I changed your nappy when you're a baby, so you can change my nappy when I'm an old old lady.

SPEAKER_02 36:12

I feel like these are the same conversations I have with my niece and and nephew. Um so what one word describes your journey? Oh, just one word prosperous.

SPEAKER_00 36:27

Yes. My journey has been filled with so much happy, and um the trials and the tribulations have also been beneficial to shaping the prison that I am today.

SPEAKER_02 36:43

Beautiful prosperous. What are you calling in for your future? What are you calling your future?

SPEAKER_00 36:53

Well the foreseeable future I would like to see my my family succeed, to try to call our community as much as I can to um promise my friends that they will survive. You know, that that life is is never as desperate as you may think. You know, my my friends are uh are just another extension of my family, so I I dedicate and devote a lot of time to um their well-being. And it'd be because I'm looking after them, I look after me.

SPEAKER_02 37:33

Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_00 37:34

That makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 37:35

And that's what's magical about being Takatapui, really, isn't it? So what does Takatapui tanga mean to you today? Is our final question.

SPEAKER_00 37:46

Name just say it is I I feel majestic to be part of a community that is steeped in tikanga that has a sense of um true essence that is not fabricated. You know, with our with our people, when we love all we love with our whole heart, mind, body, and soul. And we are part of that cordial. You know, and you look at um people like Georgina Bayer and Carmen Lupi, Down and Milo, uh Kenny Edwards, and so many other of our Tocata Buifano that have passed, they see precedent.

SPEAKER_01 38:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:37

And what when I say majesty, I feel majestic because I I still walk in their shoes. I I hold their mana and their integrity and their their purpose here.

SPEAKER_01 38:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:52

So I I'm very blessed.

SPEAKER_02 38:55

We know I'm a little fine. I've got a little Carmen story since you brought her up. Uh is uh when I was in uh Sydney in Surrey Hills, I had a salon in Crown Street and it was called Hollingsworth, my last name. And she would walk past because she worked lived on um uh Riley Street, uh in uh she had a housing court place. And she would walk by, and then she'd look at me. And then the third time, after a third three days of week, she looked at me and she just walked in. Do you know Kelda? You know, and she said, Where are you from? Like straight away, we always know, you know, we just had that connection straight away. Obviously, I have brown skin, but she was like Kielda, she knew. And um then she said, I'm gonna have to start coming to you, and you've got to do my hair. So she'd come every week to have it put up and washed and put up, and I'd always put it up in that little knot that she had. Oh, and the conversations we had, especially, you know, the the the Lebanese boys that she looked after that had mummy issues, you know, and she said, Girl, you can come over any time, but if the bird cage isn't on up the front, you can't come in. She was the thing that represented the birdcage was meant you could come in if the bird was out. Otherwise, it would be inside. Oh, that's just one of the conversations. She was incredible. And I I'm just so grateful that I I I got to meet her and I got to, you know, meet uh Georgina when she used to do things at um, I was a young, young boy, like four fifteen, at uh Alfie's when she used to perform there. And yeah, you know, this is like 1984. I was really young. Um, but you know, it was a sort of a twink then, but a brown one, I suppose. Uh this Amanda, thank you so much for today. I this is so amazing. And uh, we are definitely going to do another one because there are other there are other uh conversations that we need to have, especially about your children and your care more of your career too. Because um, as I it's not just your whole order that's been inspiring, it's definitely been your life. And I I had no idea.

SPEAKER_00 41:02

Oh, really? Oh, this is.

SPEAKER_02 41:06

I certainly knew that you were Amanda and you did this incredible show for me, you know, but that's all I knew. That's all I knew. So thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 41:14

Oh, look, this has been such a pleasure. Uh you know, I when you first introduced the subject matter, I thought, what is this about? And now knowing that there is um there is a plethora of people that come from unique backgrounds with unique corridor that all tie together in this tapestry of Tagadapoy ship. I was just so honored. And so thank you. Thank you for choosing me to be part of this audience. I I really appreciate this. Kakitiano.