Te Harinui is an NZ penned Christmas song by Willow Macky about New Zealand's first Christmas church service, performed by Samuel Marsden in 1814. It's commonly performed in schools and at kiwi Christmas carol functions but I'm particularly keen on the instrumental version performed by The Hollow Grinders, a surf guitar band from the landlocked city of Hamilton. Visit their website and you'll also find a surf guitar version of 'When A Child Is Born'.Hollow Grinders website
If you can track them down there are a couple of great out-of-print NZ Christmas compilations that came out around the turn of the century. Christmas On The Rocks was released in 2001 and features the likes of The Hollow Grinders, Shaft and Mary. A couple of years earlier Christmas in the Summertime gathered 20 Christmas tunes including covers of popular carols by the likes of Sommerset and The Spelling Mistakes and originals like the title track by The Brunettes.Like Te Harinui, 'Sticky Beak The Kiwi' is a truly kiwi Christmas Carol. Sticky Beak informs Santa that rather than Rudolf pulling the sleigh it is he who will perform the honours in the southern hemisphere. The classic version of this song was performed by Julie Nelson on Kiwi Records in 1962. You can find it on a collection of New Zealand children's stories and songs, Don Lindens Children's Favourites Vol. 5
Download the Counting The Beat - Kiwi Christmas podcast
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