Mary Kippenberger
Mary Kippenberger (born 1951) is a New Zealand storyteller, author and entertainer. She lives in the village of Otane in Central Hawkes Bay.
Mary is the Granddaughter of Sir Howard Kippenberger and is the niece of Mary and Garry Weston.
Early years
Born in Lower Hutt, Mary was raised in Canada in a town called Vernon in British Columbia while her father was teaching at a local school there. The family returned to New Zealand when Mary was 14 years old and settled in Auckland.
Early career
Once she had completed her high school studies, Mary attended Teacher Training school, then going on to working in the Child Protection field within New Zealand’s Department of Social Welfare as a front line Social Worker. During her time working as a Social worker, Mary was involved in many amateur theatre projects, local and national celebrity comedy debates and stand up comedy. Mary debated with and against many well known New Zealand figures such as former Prime Minister David Lange, Gary McCormick and Ginette McDonald in what was known as the annual WETA (We Encourage The Arts) Great Saleyard Debate in Waipukurau.
Activism
Mary was involved in the occupation of Bastion Point in 1978 until her arrest with 220 others in relation to the occupation. On the 12th of September 1981, Mary marched against the 1981 South African Rugby tour of New Zealand with her husband Peter.
Current career
In 2005, Mary left the Department of Social Welfare (now known as a service called Child, Youth and Family) after 23 years and began touring the country with her Husband Peter Charlton-Jones. They predominately tour local schools and libraries. The content is generally aimed at children and younger audiences.
Peter was also a social worker for 15 years and an ordained Anglican minister. A prominent musician, Peter left Social working to tour with Mary. Peter writes and performs music to accompany their road show.
Reception
Mary's style of storytelling, by using her husbands music and heavy use of props is well received by audiences. Most reviews note how Mary engages with her audience by including as many people as she can into her stories. Mary and her husband Peter spend 2-3 months every year working overseas. They regularly visit schools, libraries and organisations in Wales, Ireland, the UK and Australia The rest of the year involves traveling the length and breadth of NZ or working from their performance venue. (based at their farm in Otane Central Hawkes Bay NZ)
Family
Mary and Peter live on a small farm near Otane with two of their four children and four grandchildren.