The sound of transit: an interview with Anthonie Tonnon

For this blog post our Lower North Programme Delivery Lead, Bobbi, interviewed Whanganui icon, Anthonie Tonnon, who has interesting links to transport in the region. Read on to check out his story!

Once a month here in Whanganui a group of environmentally minded individuals get together to discuss all things “sustainability”. Each month there is usually a guest speaker and I always like to keep who it will be a surprise!

This particular month, a young man walks in with perfectly combed hair, a tweed suit and briefcase. I was definitely intrigued. He enthusiastically shared the history of Whanganui’s transport system ranging from trams and trains, to buses, taxi’s and even The Durie Hill Elevator - which is Aotearoa’s only public transport elevator! 

Since that first encounter with Anthonie Tonnon a few years back we have continued to cross paths over the years, I thought it’d be a cool opportunity to share a bit of his story and experience with the public transport system. 

Anthonie is an Ōtepoti born and raised creative who moved to Waikato to study Music and History. After finishing study, he decided Tāmaki Makaurau was the best place to pursue his musical career. 

Though he moved to Tāmaki for music, this is where he found his interest in public transport. When on tour rather than just jumping in an Uber, he tries to use public transport where possible and even adjusts his tour to fit in with public transport schedules. In conversation, he told me that “ Public transport can be a bit of a skill.” Anthonie took things to the next level when he developed his Rail Land Tour. 

Anthonie shares on his website:

“Rail Land is a tour celebrating public transport in Aotearoa. The show is a journey of the mind, through song and story, about New Zealand’s on-and-off again love affair with its railways, and its public transport system. Where possible, we accompany the show with an experience - a communal journey by rail or other means of public transport. Where the services no longer exist, we aim to charter them, and bring Rail Land to life for one night.”

The tour has since come to an end, but his mission to influence change in the public transport space hasn’t. One comment that left me wide eyed was that Anthonie said music is his career and public transport is his hobby and the majority of what he does in the latter space is as a volunteer and supporter of public transport. 

It’s fantastic to see the fruits of his persistent mahi. Anthonie has since taken over the running of the Elevator and during the Elevator’s 105th Birthday last month rolled out upgrades to improve patrons' experience. His mahi in contributing to Whanganui’s new regional transport plan has been of great value to the community. In 2023 he also led the launch of new bus lines in Whanganui called Te Ngaru/The Tide in collaboration with Whanganui District Council and Horizons Regional Council. This has been a huge success and as a result, public transport trips in Whanganui have increased 80 percent when compared to the same six months in 2022. 

In the late 80’s early 90’s there were big public transport shifts. Though it didn’t affect Auckland or Wellington, it did affect most smaller towns. Public transport for many disappeared altogether by 1991. Anthonie has high hopes that the rest of New Zealand will catch up to Auckland and Wellington. He says “The big ray of hope is Queenstown as it changed so quickly.” 

As he continues to push for better public transport across Aotearoa, his journey reminds us that a little enthusiasm and innovation can go a long way in making our communities more connected and vibrant. Cheers to Anthonie for all your mahi in the public transport space!