About Me
My full name is Aprilan Louise Fraser (but I really like to be called Ann {look no e}) and I was born in Paparoa, Northland, New Zealand on September 15th, 1952. I was named after my mother's sister who had been born on Anzac Day (April 25th). She had been named by my grandfather who had served with the Maori Battalion in WW1. He wanted a name that reflected the significance of that date. My father's name was Norman McGinn, and my mother was Hiria Heta. I was the third, and ultimtely the last, child in the family having a sister, Ruth and a brother, Peter. I have lived in New Zealand all my life. At this point I will add that I also have a half brother called David Heta. He is my mother's first born and was bought up by her parents. I recently re-established contact with him after not having seen him or known where he was for 35 years.
Dad was a Railway man and when I was very young the family moved from our home in Kaiwaka, Northland to Levin where Dad went to work at the Railway Station. He would often take us for rides on shunting engines and jiggers, something that was to prove the envy of school friends. Sadly he passed away on December 27th 1960 of a heart attack while doing St John's duty at a function at Hokio Beach just West of Levin.
Mum had maori heritage and we are part of the Muaupoko Iwi which is centred around Lake Horowhenua just to the West of Levin. She was trained as a seamstress, and in tailoring so was very good with a sewing machine. A talent she passed on to my older sister but not so well to me. My mother remarried, in 1965, to George Morton who had a son, David, and a daughter, Angela, from a previous marriage. They stayed with their mother. Sadly my mother also passed away on September 17th 1976 in Whanganui Hospital after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage.
I attended Levin Central Primary for most of my Primary education, but during my last year my stepfather kept moving to farms in different areas and I also went Hunterville Primary School, Ranana Catholic Primary School, and Opaki Primary School. In each case these were the only schools available in their respective areas. I began my secondary education at Wairarapa College and then transferred to Central Hawke's Bay College when my stepfather went to work at a farm in the Hawke's Bay. He moved to a number of jobs from there but I was able to remain at the same High School. I left school mid 1969, when the family moved back to the Wairarapa, a decision I ultimately regretted.
After leaving school I have worked as a shop assistant at Woolworths Variety stores (in Masterton then Levin), as a factory hand at Talus Brushware in Levin. From there I went to NZ Post and became a postie before embarking on a career in communications in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
I met my husband David in 1979 and we married on the 8th of April (Easter) 1982 and we have one son, John, born on 23rd February 1983. We were able, with some help from the Department of Maori Affairs, to purchase our home in Waipara were we still live. John served in the Royal New Zealand Army as a driver, and in 2007 earned his promotion to Lance Corporal, he now lives and works in Manawatu.
Since then I have had a long and enjoyable association with Canterbury Playcentre having been on Committee of Management. In 1996 I attended Rory Christie's Radio School and learnt the finer arts of Radio Announcing. Then In 2002 I did a course on Mental Health Support Work at Christchurch Polytech. However I did not work in the latter field as I had found my true vocation was behind a microphone helping to entertain others. I don't consider that time to have been wasted as I have been able to use the knowledge gained to help friends when needed.
From December 2000 to May 2008 David and I ran a low power radio station from the spare bedroom of our house. We initially called it "The Grapevine" which seemed to fit in with the booming viticulture industry enjoyed locally. For a while we called it "qfm" but eventually went back to the original name. In the early years we had relied quite heavily on music provided by NZ on Air and gradually added a wider range of music, while maintaining a 20% kiwi input as asked for by the Ministry of Broadcasting. The station was closed due to rising costs and a lack of support. I worked with Alison Paulsen when she first operated Rivertown Radio in one of the rooms above Hansen's Mall in Kaiapoi, and left when it changed hands. The Kaiapoi station ultimately came under the ownership of James Holland who had been one of Alison's announcers, it is currently called JUST FM and operates on 107.7 FM. James is a remarkable young man who has overcome his blindness and produced a first rate station. When we moved back to the North Island This came to an end with a promise of impending podcasts from me that could be used on his station. I also worked as a volunteer announcer at Radio Ferrymead from 1996 to 2008, a hugely rewarding experience for me. Then in October 2011 I joined the community radio station, Compass FM in Rangiora. This proved a great move and I was fortunate enough to work with a very experienced team which included the great radio personality Owen Patterson. My association with Compass ended when I informed the newly appointed (at that time) Station Manager of our impending move back to the North Island. I now produce music podcasts for LPFM stations and links to these are available on the Nickelodeon page of this website, or the Facebook Page Ann's Nickelodeon Podcasts.
I am keenly interested in Amateur Radio and was a member of the North Canterbury (Branch 68) Club from 1988 until early 2014. I then now joined Branch 05 in Christchurch. I sat and passed my exam in September 1990 and gained the callsign ZL3TNT. I was actively involved in Amateur Radio at Branch level, Canterbury Combined Branch level and also have been the Councillor for Midlands at National level. Every year we try to attend the National AGM and Conference as it's a great time to meet up with our many friends and attend some great forums. When the codeless licence came it was impressed upon me to retain my distinctive callsign which I did, however I have gained a secondary one ZL3ANN.
Dad was a Railway man and when I was very young the family moved from our home in Kaiwaka, Northland to Levin where Dad went to work at the Railway Station. He would often take us for rides on shunting engines and jiggers, something that was to prove the envy of school friends. Sadly he passed away on December 27th 1960 of a heart attack while doing St John's duty at a function at Hokio Beach just West of Levin.
Mum had maori heritage and we are part of the Muaupoko Iwi which is centred around Lake Horowhenua just to the West of Levin. She was trained as a seamstress, and in tailoring so was very good with a sewing machine. A talent she passed on to my older sister but not so well to me. My mother remarried, in 1965, to George Morton who had a son, David, and a daughter, Angela, from a previous marriage. They stayed with their mother. Sadly my mother also passed away on September 17th 1976 in Whanganui Hospital after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage.
I attended Levin Central Primary for most of my Primary education, but during my last year my stepfather kept moving to farms in different areas and I also went Hunterville Primary School, Ranana Catholic Primary School, and Opaki Primary School. In each case these were the only schools available in their respective areas. I began my secondary education at Wairarapa College and then transferred to Central Hawke's Bay College when my stepfather went to work at a farm in the Hawke's Bay. He moved to a number of jobs from there but I was able to remain at the same High School. I left school mid 1969, when the family moved back to the Wairarapa, a decision I ultimately regretted.
After leaving school I have worked as a shop assistant at Woolworths Variety stores (in Masterton then Levin), as a factory hand at Talus Brushware in Levin. From there I went to NZ Post and became a postie before embarking on a career in communications in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
I met my husband David in 1979 and we married on the 8th of April (Easter) 1982 and we have one son, John, born on 23rd February 1983. We were able, with some help from the Department of Maori Affairs, to purchase our home in Waipara were we still live. John served in the Royal New Zealand Army as a driver, and in 2007 earned his promotion to Lance Corporal, he now lives and works in Manawatu.
Since then I have had a long and enjoyable association with Canterbury Playcentre having been on Committee of Management. In 1996 I attended Rory Christie's Radio School and learnt the finer arts of Radio Announcing. Then In 2002 I did a course on Mental Health Support Work at Christchurch Polytech. However I did not work in the latter field as I had found my true vocation was behind a microphone helping to entertain others. I don't consider that time to have been wasted as I have been able to use the knowledge gained to help friends when needed.
From December 2000 to May 2008 David and I ran a low power radio station from the spare bedroom of our house. We initially called it "The Grapevine" which seemed to fit in with the booming viticulture industry enjoyed locally. For a while we called it "qfm" but eventually went back to the original name. In the early years we had relied quite heavily on music provided by NZ on Air and gradually added a wider range of music, while maintaining a 20% kiwi input as asked for by the Ministry of Broadcasting. The station was closed due to rising costs and a lack of support. I worked with Alison Paulsen when she first operated Rivertown Radio in one of the rooms above Hansen's Mall in Kaiapoi, and left when it changed hands. The Kaiapoi station ultimately came under the ownership of James Holland who had been one of Alison's announcers, it is currently called JUST FM and operates on 107.7 FM. James is a remarkable young man who has overcome his blindness and produced a first rate station. When we moved back to the North Island This came to an end with a promise of impending podcasts from me that could be used on his station. I also worked as a volunteer announcer at Radio Ferrymead from 1996 to 2008, a hugely rewarding experience for me. Then in October 2011 I joined the community radio station, Compass FM in Rangiora. This proved a great move and I was fortunate enough to work with a very experienced team which included the great radio personality Owen Patterson. My association with Compass ended when I informed the newly appointed (at that time) Station Manager of our impending move back to the North Island. I now produce music podcasts for LPFM stations and links to these are available on the Nickelodeon page of this website, or the Facebook Page Ann's Nickelodeon Podcasts.
I am keenly interested in Amateur Radio and was a member of the North Canterbury (Branch 68) Club from 1988 until early 2014. I then now joined Branch 05 in Christchurch. I sat and passed my exam in September 1990 and gained the callsign ZL3TNT. I was actively involved in Amateur Radio at Branch level, Canterbury Combined Branch level and also have been the Councillor for Midlands at National level. Every year we try to attend the National AGM and Conference as it's a great time to meet up with our many friends and attend some great forums. When the codeless licence came it was impressed upon me to retain my distinctive callsign which I did, however I have gained a secondary one ZL3ANN.