Rachel Sturges is the new editor of the Onehunga Community News. A freelance writer with the magazine for the past three years, Rachel was the obvious choice to fill the role, when Sue Newton, our previous editor, announced her retirement to the South Island. Her business and journalism background, combined with her enthusiasm for the OCN and the community it serves, combine to enable her to easily step into the role.
Originally from England, Rachel gained a degree in French and Economics from East London University, and worked in France and the UK in a wide variety of roles, before coming to New Zealand with her Kiwi husband. After years in administration, human resources, and management, particularly in the health sector, when her daughters were born Rachel decided on a change of direction.
Having always wanted to write, she completed a post-graduate diploma in journalism at AUT seven years ago. She worked in radio and print journalism before accepting a role as a freelance writer with the Onehunga Community News. Asked what drew her to the magazine, Rachel says, “Onehunga, and the local area, is like a microcosm of the wider world. Everything happens here. Where else can you meet Helen Clark one day, write an article on water pollution the next, and then interview some elderly singers entertaining the crowd at a rest home at the end of the week?” She has become acquainted with the big and small issues that affect the community, having written the long series of articles about the East West Link, and covered a wide range of local events and issues. Rachel says she is, “Looking forward to keeping the OCN relevant and interesting – continuing to present local issues in a way that is engaging and informative.”
