2019-10-01_Australian_Womens_Weekly_NZ

24 The Australian Women’s Weekly|OCTOBER 2019

T

hereis a Ma ̄oriproverb

thatreads:‘Hewakaeke

noa’.Theliteral

translationis ‘thecanoe

whichweareallin

withoutexception’but

thegeneralspiritis ‘we’reallin this

together’.It’sa sayingaboutconnection,

abouthownoonecangetthroughlife

alone,andit’sa themePetraBagustand

hermotherJudihavefoundrepeated

overandoveragain,bothin theirlives

andin theirlearnings.Forthepastthree

years,thepairhavebeenstudyingTe

ReoMa ̄ori,a passionprojectforboth

of themthatquicklybecamesomething

biggerthanjustlearninga newskill.

“Bothofushavediscovereda deep

joyin,whatI wouldcall,a life-

expandingexperienceofseeingthe

worldfroma differentperspective,”

Petrasays.“Ifyoucoveroneeye,you

can see quite a lot but your idea of

wherethingsareandhowthingsare

placedis quiteimpaired.Withboth

eyes,wehavethisabilitytohavea

clearerfocalrangeandseethingsin a

morecomplexway.Whenthe

Europeanworldviewis putalongside

theMa ̄oriworldview,there’sthis

incredibleadditiontolife.”

Thatideaof communityand

connectionis alwaysimportant,buthas

comeat a criticaltimeforPetraandJudi,

as theybattlethroughoneof theirmost

personaljourneysyet.In thisexclusive

interviewwithTheAustralianWomen’s

Weekly, thepairopenupaboutfamily,

vulnerabilityandwhysteppingintoTe

ReoMa ̄orihashelpedthemstepinto

theirownauthenticity(andyes,that

includesgoingsilverforPetra).

Akinderapproach

PetraandI aresittingin herlivingroom

on a sunny but chilly spring morning,

witha fireroaringin thebackground

andPetra’shusbandof 19years,

Hamish,makingeveryonecoffeefrom

theespressomachine.“Hellobeautiful,”

Petra,47,suddenlybellows,as she

hearsthefrontdooropenandher

parentswalkin.Judiandherhusband

Danielareholdingontoeachother’s

armsto helpDaniel,whohasa

newly-acquiredwalkingstickaftera fall

thisyear,walkthroughthehouse–

carefullyavoidingLyla,theworld’s

fluffiestrescuecat,currentlysprawled

outin themiddleof thefloor.Judi

comesto joinus,whileDanielsettlesin

to readin thesun,as Petratalksabout

oneof herfavouritetopics:kindness.

“Ithinkallwomenneedtobekinder

tothemselves,”shesays.“Iseewomen

allthetimeandweholdourselvesto

a veryhighstandard,andI thinkwe

cutourselvesdownquickerthan

anyone else. But thanks to the

BroadcasterPetra

Bagustandhermum

talktoEmmaClifton

aboutmovingin

together,goingback

to school,andfinding

the couragetobe

vulnerable.

PHOTOGRAPHYbyMIKEROOKE• HAIR& MAKE-UPbyKRISZTINAMORICZ

STYLINGby TORI AMBLERfor THE FASHION DEPARTMENT

Petra & Judi BAGUST

Exclusive

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