Local Folk – Audrey Sharp, teacher

People judge you when you look like I do. They don’t take you seriously when you don’t dress like a professional and you say you are a witch who believes in spirits. By the time I was 40 I was sick of being treated like just an old hippy. It’s true that I grew up in the 1960s and my generation did believe in love and freedom, but I am more than that. I work on a farm and I don’t believe you have to dress a certain way just because you have a certain job. Looking different doesn’t mean you don’t have the same intelligence and knowledge as the people wearing suits. That’s part of the reason I studied a Masters in tax law – to prove that point.

I grew up in Thames. My mother was a hairdresser and a devout Christian. ON the other hand, my father was an engineer and an outspoken socialist who believed in equal opportunities and social justice. He would argue with anyone. We would have huge debates at the dinner table and as children we were encouraged to have an opinion. He would say, ‘if you don’t have an opinion, why are you here?’ But he also offended people, making it tough growing up in a small town. He had a huge impact on me. After high school I studied English, history and political studies at the University of Auckland and did a Masters in political studies. I went on to get a Diploma in Teaching and started teaching economics and history at a high school in Hamilton.

I wanted to get out of New Zealand and broaden my experiences. Being a tomboy as a child I was off exploring from the time I could walk and I was ready for a big adventure. I hitchhiked from Sydney to Perth by myself and then travelled to England overland via Asia and the Middle East. I wanted to experience different cultures and perspectives. What I found was, once you get passed the different language, dress and food, people are the same everywhere. They all want the best for their children, food in their belly, a roof over their head and someone to love and be loved. I think it’s important to experience other cultures to breakdown prejudices. Half of the problems in the world are because people don’t talk to one another. I’ve been hosting WWOOFers (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) from around the world for the past 20 years and have had over 1000 people stay. That’s been my way of bringing different people together and it’s allowed me to travel with different cultures from my own home.

When I reached London I worked for a year as a chef, began a cleaning business, studied English as a second language (ESOL) and travelled across Europe. After that I travelled the length of the Americas, from Canada to Chile. In Arizona I stayed on a Navaho Indian reservation for 10 days and saw indigenous people living in poverty but learnt that happiness is not measured by wealth alone. When I came home I got a job in Rotorua helping unemployed people receive work training. But I was not in a good space. I had a breakdown and suffered severe depression. I had been sexually assaulted when I was younger and while traveling, and it all caught up with me. I hadn’t dealt with my demons, my fears and inadequacies so I spent some time receiving institutional care. Over that period I kept having a recurring dream about a Chinese man who people would come to for advice. In the end I decided to make a pilgrimage to China. I didn’t really expect to find the man from the dream, but I was drawn to the place and travel had helped me in the past. In China I taught English and visited ancient, sacred sites along the Silk Road. On my last day a man called out to me. It was the man from the dreams. He told me ‘you must be positive in your life’. That’s really guided my life since. When negative things happen, I look for the positive and I see everything as a learning experience. A lot of people live in fear – fear of loosing their job or that nobody likes them. But often it’s the mind that creates the fear. I never would have travelled the world or started lecturing to 300 people if I hadn’t faced my fears. And I am so glad that I did.

After that experience I became a Wiccan, or witch. It’s based on pagan rituals and strongly linked to the seasons and seeing energy and the connection of everything. We have occasions to mark the changing of the seasons and believe you can invoke energies from different sources through chants and spells. I believe thoughts are powerful. What you think can create change. The mind has the power to bring positive outcomes. I also believe in astrology and tarot.

My move to Mahurangi came after my father died from stomach cancer in 1987. For the first time in my life, I wanted to set down roots. My parents had been living in Point Wells so I started looking for land in the area. I found an eight-hectare property near Whangateau where I live today. The owner gave me a year to get enough money together to buy the property. I moved back to Auckland and started working seven days a week, working about six different jobs including cleaning, relief teaching and photography. Within a year I had saved $50,000 and could buy the land. It was the original Ashton family farm, which Ashton Road is named after. Kauri logged in the valley was shipped from the Omaha Wharf and also used in shipbuilding at Birdsall Road. You can still see the grooves in the land where the trunks were dragged out. When I bought it, it was a grass desert, which had been over-grazed by goats. I wanted the land to recover and regenerate so I planted natives and studied horticulture. I love growing things from seeds and cuttings. It’s like magic, creating life. I never get tired of it. It’s taken two decades, but now the land is covered in forest and gardens.

I started my Masters in tax law when I was 40, without any formal education in law or accounting. It was a bit like being thrown into the deep end of a swimming pool and trying to stay afloat. Luckily, I have a photographic memory and can read quickly, so learning has always come naturally. When I graduated, the university was looking for a teacher. As a trained teacher with extensive qualifications I went straight into a lecturer position, which I’ve had for the past 16 years. I love tax. It’s fascinating and affects everybody. There are three certainties in life. Death, change and taxes. Tax is also a powerful way to redress injustices. But I’ve found the university rigid and slow to change. Technology is revolutionising how people access information and education needs to focus on how students want to learn. We expect students to sit in class for 50 minutes when research tells us they can only concentrate for 20 minutes. I want my teaching to be relevant to how young people are learning, so I’ve decided to finish lecturing in December. I’m on the way out of this life so I don’t have time to wait for change. I’m going to set up a school to teach kids and adults about the environment, permaculture and organic growing. You’ve got to make space for opportunities. I’ve got to show a better way is possible by leading by example. We don’t all have to be the same. You can live in a different way and still achieve your dreams.