Southern Stars Steel Band. Leader Camille Nakhid is center wearing a cap. Photo: RNZ / Nick Atkinson
Nick Atkinson tracks down the colourful band who rehearse above the Working Man's Club. Not only did he get an impromptu lesson on how to play an instrument that was originally fashioned from disused 44 gallon oil drums, he also heard the remarkable story of a gregarious Trinidadian happily stranded in New Zealand.
The Onehunga Working Man's Club on a cold gloomy Tuesday evening seems like an unlikely place to hear tropical sounds that originate from the Lesser Antilles.
But if you bypass the bar patronised by portly bearded fellows drinking large beers you'll soon hear the strains of The Southern Stars Steel band.
The ensemble play a range of steel drums, the bell-like instrument originating from the island of Trinidad.
Like the Steel Drum, Southern Stars founding member Camille Nakhid was born in Trinidad. Missing her home and the Caribbean way of life Nakhid formed the large ensemble from a diverse and largely untrained group of aspiring steel drummers.
