The History of Hayley Westenra International

Why would two men, both in their fifties, devote a significant part of their lives to the creation of a website for a 15-year-old girl who happened to have a good singing voice but who lived on the far side of the world and whom they, at the time, had never met?  There are two answers to that question.  One is that the singer was Hayley Westenra!  The other is that the two men were Keith Sheel and Simon Smalley and anyone who knew them would not expect them to do anything else.

In 2001, Keith and Simon came to know one another through their involvement in a support site for Charlotte Church.  It was there that they first heard Hayley’s voice and in early 2002, they created a UK support site for Hayley.

Meanwhile, a small fansite existed in New Zealand but its owner, for reasons not known, chose to close it down.  His files were sent to Keith and Simon for inclusion on their own newly-created site.

Apart from the love of his dog, Charlie, and numerous cats, Simon’s great interest was web design.  He had created a few sites on various themes, not all of which were musical.  Keith’s interests were diverse and included genealogy, word and numbers puzzles, and the life and works of Lewis Carroll.  They both had a passion for classical and crossover music and especially for good quality vocals.  They quickly realised that you are not likely to hear anyone better than Hayley.

Keith and Simon’s site was subsequently moved to a new host.  In doing so, its name was changed and so Hayley Westenra International was born and officially launched on 24th May 2003.

In those early days, HWI was actively supported by a small group of people whose names may be familiar to you – Belinda (NZ), Gerrit (Netherlands) and Steve Macdonald (US), for example.  Even then, we were truly international!

The HWI Forum was created by Keith in July 2003.

Keith Sheel
1950-2005

I first met Hayley in December 2003 in London following her brief appearance in a charity concert in Trafalgar Square.  My first involvement with the site was to post a message on its guestbook a few days later.  Within the hour, Keith emailed me to ask if I would write a review of the event.  Dave Ludlow’s involvement began at approximately the same time after he read a recommendation on a fansite for Eva Cassidy, who sadly had died a few years earlier.

Over the next few months, Dave and I became increasingly involved with the site and Keith asked us to become Global Moderators of the forum.  By now, we had both seen Hayley on several occasions, often meeting up with Keith and Simon.

In March 2005, Keith confided in me that he was terminally ill.  A few months later, he asked Dave and I to take full control of the forum and so we became Administrators.  Keith died of cancer in December 2005 at which point Simon became the sole owner of the site and the forum was registered to me.

I had been aware for some time that Simon had health problems and he was diagnosed as having cancer earlier this year.  Like Keith, his health declined rapidly and he passed away in June 2007.

Over a prolonged period during the latter half of 2006, Simon and I had discussed the long-term future of HWI.  This culminated in a little business deal whereby I became the site owner and now try to fulfil Keith’s role as its “front guy”.  Meanwhile, Dave took on Simon’s role as Webmaster.

HWI’s aim is, and will continue to be, to promote and support Hayley in any way we can.  It also serves as a tribute to the guys who created it, our friends, Keith and Simon.

Roger Mansbridge
July 2007

Addendum – September 2009

After well over three years running the forum and nearly three years ownership of the website, Roger has decided that for personal reasons, he is unable to continue. As I have been his forum co-Administrator and the website Webmaster, Roger offered both positions to me. His decision was sudden and it came as a great surprise to all of us, so to minimise the impact and to allow a smooth transition, I agreed to take up his offer. Joe Sukenick (who has been a member for longer than almost everyone else) kindly agreed to provide much needed support as my co-administrator in the forum and deputy for the website.
 
Roger has been our respected and popular leader for the last few years, carrying a huge workload in support of Hayley, and we are very disappointed to lose him. We wish him well in whatever he now chooses to do and hope he will be able to join with us at the occasional ‘Hayley’ event. Thank you, Roger, for all you have done for HWI and, of course, for Hayley.