Light Celebration ... #129

Well we moved the clocks forward one hour last night ... YES we have started daylight saving 1 month earlier this year ... and the All Blacks won their rugby game against Rumania last night (NZ time) as expected .. so this unusual photo looking south across the Harbour from Khandallah is today's image .. unusual for the nearly horizontal rainbow and it also shows Ian Athfield's house on the hillside edge in the foreground lefthand side.

Ian is a notable Wellington and NZ architect. To the right of the photo is the Interislander ferry on its way to Picton ... 3 hours away in the Marlborough Sounds at the top of the South Island.

A Light Century ... #128

Dominion Day is the name given to 26 September, the anniversary of the day New Zealand was granted dominion status within the British Empire in 1907. There is support in some quarters for the day to be revived as an alternative New Zealand Day, instead of renaming Waitangi Day, New Zealand's current national day.

Exactly 100 years after New Zealand was granted Dominion status and advanced from a colony towards independence, celebrations from a century ago were replicated by this light show. The arches and roof line of the Parliamentary Library were lit up from 6pm till midnight, just as the buildings were on September 26, 1907. Outside of Wellington it might have been difficult to determine that anything out of the ordinary was happening, but in the inner-city and in particular at Parliament the occasion was marked with dignity and debate. Politicians, academics and legal experts gathered for a symposium to consider the changes in symbols and meanings of nationhood in New Zealand over the last century, and to look to the future.

A stone's throw away at St Andrew's on The Terrace, the celebration was expanded to incorporate the centenary of The Dominion newspaper, which was launched to coincide with the nation's changed constitutional status on September 26, 1907. A lunchtime audience assembled to hear a selection of New Zealand music composed over the last 100 years, and Dominion Post editor Tim Pankhurst spoke of The Dominion newspaper's milestone. Mr Pankhurst told assembled guests that while the broadsheet, which merged with sister paper The Evening Post in 2002 to form The Dominion Post, was accused of being "both hopeless leftwing apologists and at the same time heartless Tory privateers," he said that was the way the paper preferred it.

Another book marking the day, David McIntyre's Dominion of New Zealand: Statesmen and Status 1907-1945, has also been published. It details the period just before New Zealand joined the UN, and before it dropped the term `Dominion of ' from its official letterheads. Sixty years ago, on November 25, 1947, Parliament formalised the nation's independence by adopting Britain's Statute of Westminster.

Cruisin' Manoeuvres ... #127

Wellington has a number of visits each year from cruise liners ... maninly for the passengers to see the Capital and then go across Cook Strait to the Marlborough Sounds ... a very beautifil spot at the top of the South Island.

This photo was taken yesterday on a grey wet morning on the way to work ... it wasn't till I looked at the photo on the screen that I noticed the sympathetic spots of red across the monochromatic view, that matched the three tug boats ... the latter is out of sight behind the cruise ship ... the three little red tugs are called Kupe; Toia and Ngahue (THANKS to the MODDY {sic but true} GREYS for the updated info)

The other red spots are the red on the Holcim cement silos and the red of the office & entrance to the courier storage shed on the other side of the road. To the lower left of the photo is where the workman repairing the road under the motorway fly over was taken.

The Three Little Tug Boats
CentrePort who run the Port of Wellington operates three Voith Schneider water tractors, KUPE, NGAHUE and TOIA. These have approximately 24 tonnes18 static bollard pull in direct
mode, with around 50 tonnes if used in indirect mode. These tugs were built directly for the
Wellington Harbourboard and two entered service sequentially around 1971, the third (NGAHUE) six years later. They were procured to satisfy a shiphandling role and a capability need for emergency assistance or rescue and salvage response to a vessel at or close to the entrance in distress. The emergency assistance rescue and salvage need was identified out of the WAHINE enquiry, following this vessel’s foundering at the harbour entrance, April, 1968. Procurement was rapid following recommendation from the enquiry judge. The harbour tugs then in service had proven unsuitable for rendering assistance to a large vessel in severe weather conditions. Wellington’s tugs are now in the order of 35 years old, but with high
maintenance attention, availability has been 100%. 80% of all ship handling involves two tugs.
The three tugs are of similar design. KUPE and TOIA have fire fighting monitors and carry sufficient foam for approximately an hour. These two have capability and accommodation facilities for coastal towage. Tugs are vital to the movement of large vessels at Wellington, given the sudden deterioration in weather conditions that can occur.

Have a great weekend

The Great Wall of ...... #126

There is always somewhere in the city that is under re-construction and again the "guardians" of our safety are out in force, although in this case they take a somewhat different form to the usual cones.

This photo is taken outside the Occidental Hotel at the north end of Lambton Quay not far from the Beehive.

Writer's Walk ... #125

This fun and educational walk starts at Chaffers Marina (to the east of Te Papa) and follows the waterfront to Te Papa and Circa Theatre, across the City to Sea bridge to Civic Square then back to the waterfront finishing at Frank Kitt’s Park. Text sculptures with quotes by well-known New Zealand writers, including Katherine Mansfield, James K Baxter and Maurice Gee, are found along the way. Pick up a brochure from the Wellington i-SITE Visitor Centre. This Wellington feature had an interesting history in its creation.

HISTORY
In mid-2000 a small group of members of the Wellington Branch of The New Zealand Society of Authors met to consider how they could make writing more visible in the city. They were aware that literary tourism was a growing phenomenon and considered various ways of building on the interest already generated by the Katherine Mansfield Birthplace. Wanting to draw attention to Wellington’s wealth of writers among both local people and visitors they decided that a series of plaques creating a writers walk, such as exists in Sydney and Dunedin, would be a good starting point.
At the end of 2000, they accepted typographer Catherine Griffith’s designs for the plaques and then began a long process of discovery as she explored methods of casting, and considered what scale and materials might be most appropriate.
The committee then investigated various materials for use in the plaques. Bronze was too expensive to use on the scale they were now imagining. With the help of Richard Taylor of Weta workshop various compounds were experimented with but all seemed too fragile. Finally they were directed towards Stresscrete in Otaki where they met Ron Seymour – a man who can knows that anything is possible in concrete.
Wellington City Council gave a generous grant, as did the Lion Foundation of New Zealand, the Community Trust of Wellington and the New Zealand Community Trust. Some sponsors were matched to particular writers: Victoria University of Wellington sponsored Bill Manhire and Vincent O’Sullivan’s sculptures, Learning Media sponsored Patricia Grace, The Dominion sponsored Robin Hyde, The Evening Post sponsored Pat Lawlor, and the Bank of New Zealand (who have been the sponsors of the Katherine Mansfield short story award since 1959) sponsored Katherine Mansfield’s sculpture.
Generous individuals were also critical to the fund-raising. A group of Lauris Edmond’s friends clubbed together and raised the money for Lauris’s sculpture. Peter Biggs, who has always been passionate about the poetry of James K Baxter, sponsored Baxter’s sculpture personally and his company sponsored Maurice Gee, while Christopher Finlayson joined Dr Diana Mason in sponsoring Bruce Mason. His Excellency, Mr. Jorge Alvarez, Ambassador to Mexico held a very successful fund-raising evening in his residence (which happens to be Katherine Mansfield’s childhood home in Karori).

In the pink ... #124

Even though we had rain last night and today ... something must be happening .. we don't have a lot of "blossom" type trees as most of ours are evergreens .. but ones like this had highlights to the urban landscape

Real Food ?... #123

Moore Wilson's is where the cafes, caterers and restaurants of Wellington shop and is open 7 days a week. Moore Wilson's Fresh offers a unique Deli and fresh food store. The Grocery Warehouse building also contains a huge selection of wines, beers and spirits plus small appliances, kitchen utensils, glasses, crockery and even toys. Also at Porirua, Masterton and Lower Hutt. At the Porirua site, Moore Wilson's Farmers Fresh Market brings you local food and gives you an opportunity to buy direct from the local growers and producers. It means you know where your food comes from and you'll also know it has travelled less food miles to reach your plate at home. The all weather venue is open rain or shine and offers a friendly, relaxing and enjoyable food experience.

High quality, regionally grown food: Fresh Vegetables, pies, deli foods, cheeses, bakery sweets, olive oils, pickles and chutneys, spices and Artisan breads.

However another aspect of Moore Wilson's is the art work on the external walls of the Wellington store which has been painted with a range of food products in the "trompe d'oiel" style. The architecture of the western wall is unique with the gap and the wood splitter wedged in the wall ...

For others in the "trompe d'oiel" art series go to
hooked
Remiro
Anyone Home?

Stationary Movement ... #122

The other night I was required as a taxi service for Sabine ... (our German student who is living with us this year while going to college in Wellington) and her mates. Other "taxi" parents were waiting patiently amongst the students exiting the Zeal Club in Garrett Street by Glover Park. The STOP-GO feeling of the image appealed.

Glover Park has recently had a major makeover See Tom Beard's WellUrban blog for further info on this recent upgrade.

Zeal is a Central Wellington youth venue and arts centre. It is run by Body and Soul Trust in partnership with the Wellington City Council to provide a safe, accessible and diverse youth venue catering for all young people.

WOW ... #121

Wellington hosts a very unique event in September .. the Montana World of WearableArt Awards Show - WOW, Wellington, 20 September 2007 - 30 September 2007. Step into a world where art and the human form combine, where dance, music and lighting tell a story of the body as a canvas; where the lines of fashion and art blur and merge as one. The WOW Show can be difficult to describe, hard to define and utterly impossible to forget. A montage of theatre, dance, colour, movement and art, simply put, the Montana WOW Awards Shows are theatrical spectaculars. It is a two hour show held annually in September in Wellington, New Zealand to an audience of 30,000 per season. First shown in 1987, World of WearableArt originally began as a promotion for a rural art gallery in Nelson. Nelson sculptor Suzie Moncrieff had the vision to exhibit art in the form of a live theatrical show - and WOW has since grown to receive international acclaim.

Just have a look at the video on the WOW website and you will get a small taste of what it is all about .. the audience comes from all over NZ and the world. I waas out taking some photos yesterday and talked to people from Coromandel, Christchurch, Dunedin and Hawkes Bay who were in Wellington for the show ... You are obviously not allowed to take photos during the shows however there are many side activities that take place in and around the city during the week of the show. This montage of images is from a lunch time event at Midland Park on what was really the first great day of spring. many of the fashion shops have examples of costumes from previous years including the delightful tongue in check dress made from wooden coat hangers.

Whether attending the WOW Show or not, Wellingtonians can get into the spirit of the occasion with a series of suitably quirky and energetic, free lunchtime performances in the central city. To celebrate the third year of WOW® being held in Wellington, OZ Star Airlines, Mr Fungus and Vinyl Burns provide hilarious air hostess antics, New Zealand's loudest mime and a fantastic visual comedy act respectively.

The Moody Greys ... #120

Photo taken from the Stadium concourse looking at the three harbour guardians against a moody grey morning sky.

PS: this image is a special contribution in recognition of Allan .. at the Ngaio Pharmacy and myself .. who could well qualify as the Moody Greys !!!

Make a Match ... #119

This wharf is opposite the Westpac Stadium and is nearly always covered in logs from the radiata pine forests in the lower North Island. Some days when driving past you can detect a strong pine aroma. The logs are mostly sent to Japan for making house framing and softwood products .. chop sticks?
To the left of the first photo you can see the Interislander ferry boat heading towards its berth next to where yesterday's photo was taken. Directly at the stern of the ship you can see the dip in the hills which is the start of the Hutt Valley. In the centre of the photo you will be able to pick out Soames Island

So many for so few ... #118

These workmen (9 ... one is behind the roller) were repairing a small patch of road (about six times the size of the roller!) under the motorway over the road from the inter-islander ferry terminal and the cement silos.

Perhaps it looks like a bit over resourced but when you consider the traffic on here morning and night they only have a small window of opportunity in the middle of the day to effect the repair ... so more hands get the job done quicker ... thanks guys for keeping us "unholey" .. you do a devil of a job !

Old St Paul's ... #117

Old St Paul's is a fine example of 19th century Gothic Revival architecture adapted to colonial conditions and materials. Designed by the Reverend Frederick Thatcher, then vicar of St Paul's parish Thorndon, the first Anglican cathedral of Wellington is considered his finest work.

Constructed entirely from native timbers, the glowing interior is enhanced by stunning stained glass windows. Memorial items and displays tell the early history of Wellington.

No longer a parish church but still consecrated, Old St Paul's remains a place of spiritual significance to many and is living testimony to one of New Zealand's greatest heritage battles. It is a well-loved venue for weddings and other services, concerts, recitals and many other cultural events..

For a narrative of the the life of this Wellington icon go to the history of St Paul's Cathedral and for a perspective on the "new" Cathedral of St Paul, one block to the west just noth of Parliament Buildings and opposite the National Library of New Zealand look at this link

The night photos were taken at the Son Et Lumière ... a unique event celebrating one of Wellington’s favourite buildings.

Tracing the vivid history of Old St Paul’s, Son Et Lumière synchronised dynamic lighting with recorded voices from the past, theatrical tableaux, the cathedral choir and an organist, to dramatise the life of this beautiful building.

From deciding on the site and laying the foundation stone, through its years as the hardworking Cathedral Church of St Paul’s, to the extraordinary fight to save it from demolition - each part of the story is told through the building itself, bringing history to life. The story was narrated by Ray Henwood, a well known actor in Wellington and NZ. An informative and different experience.

Larger than Life ... #116

For those of you in most of the rest of the world who play with round balls ... our national game is Rugby .. played with an oval ball !!. and right now the Rugby World Cup is under way in France. Given the time of the games and the time difference it means a lot of late nights watching the live telecasts ... some economists have calculated the loss in workforce productivity in NZ will amount to millions of dollars .. due to tired bleary eyed sports fans arriving late for work.

This billboard is in Featherston Street and the hardworking staff at NZ Customs feel that Richie McCaw is a bit like the Mona Lisa .. his eyes follow you around the road intersection !!!

The latest game was the Portugal game in Lyon. Forget about the large score line and reflect on the moment of an exceptional game of rugby. This was a game of the giants against the minnows but a unique event for multiple reasons .. the large crowd, the temperature, the passion of the game, the magical delight on the faces of the Portugal players having played against the All Blacks, the sporting and referring gestures and a spectacle that was better than anyone could have imagined. Potugal had won the right to be at the Rugby World Cup in France and they were going to make the most of it. Read about the All Blacks versus Portugal game and remember that despite the cricket score some rugby magic happened in Lyon that will long be remembered for all the right sporting reasons.

Some further interesting snippets can be found on the BBC blog site

Clean clean clean... #115

Another cleansing of the city environment ... these window cleaner guys hunted as a trio. nearly all window cleaners are male and they tend to work alone or sometimes in pairs ... well this was the enhanced version with three in action on Lambton Quay at the start of the working day.

Life springs eternal ... #114

There are more and more signs each day that we are leaving winter behind ... this daffodil is on the edge of our driveway .. battered and buffeted by the wind .. yet it still stands proud

The New Lollipops ... #113

In many countries like Australia, UK and New zealand a school crossing patroller is colloquially known as a lollipop man or lollipop lady because of the modified circular stop sign they carry, which resembles a large lollipop. It has the word STOP, an international symbol for children, and a strip of black. It was like this when I went to primary school and I was one of the senior pupils that did school patrol duty.

Well now this has changed as you can see by the swing out signs in this photo. Rverything including the parent/teacher vests are in fluro safety colours. A City Council workman had just finished installing the flags for the crossing .. to make sure that motorists really do see the pedestrian crossing. I went to school in Manurewa and came across this meeting record which shows the bureaucratically complex world of crossing the road.
Have a look at Manurewa Community Board meeting notes from 2002 .. go to page 31-32

Remembering Remiro ... #112

It was a sad day in Wellington for many when "Remiro Bresolin"died (05 March 2007) ... the greatest loss was obviously to his family, but any Wellingtonian who appreciates our lively dining scene will remember Cavaliere Bresolin for bringing a touch of Carnevale to our city.
Remiro brought Wellington its first taste of pizza, and its first 2am license. At one stage, Il Casino was serving more Champagne than anywhere else in the country. His legacy will live on, both through his example and through his family's ongoing commitment to true hospitality at Boulot and Scopa, but one vital aspect of his work is under threat: the Il Casino building itself. This photo is of the awesome mural on the north wall. (For reference Caffe L'Affare is about 50 metres to the left)

Il Casino was a top-class restaurant that has been offering outstanding Italian food with impeccable service since 1976. Both formal and semi-formal surroundings - a garden conservatory and pizzeria - provide choice for diners. In winter diners could enjoy an open fire, and a piano bar all year. Private rooms catered for groups from four to 40. Mouth-watering and memorable meals were served day in and day out. For those seeking a simpler meal, the traditional wood-burning oven cooked up authentic Italian pizza.

As an article in the Dominion Post stated about this iconic Wellington building ..."We would not only lose a handsome pair of buildings and the city's best trompe l'oeil mural, but also miss a potential focal point for "SoCo" and the memory of 30 years of la dolce vita. There are plenty of sites in Te Aro that could (and should) be redeveloped before this one. Knock down a Briscoes or build on an open-air car yard, but leave us "Palazzo Rosa".

Officially Tagged ... #111

This is Waitangi Park which has been the subject of earlier postings .. the childrens' play area, the skate boarders, and families running across the wooden planks. Well there are also purpose built bill boards for taggers to bomb their artwork .. and it is quite exquisite.

The lower photo shows the hills above Oriental Bay in the background and in the centre on the top of the hill is St Gerards.

The Mayor of Cuba Street ... #110

Nelson Nunns who is still going strong in the prime of his life ( the 80s !!) is probably one of the oldest retailers in central Wellington. Every time I have taken the lawn mower to Ellmers Mower Centre for servicing or repair, I am received with a "SMILE" and some interesting snippet of history.

Nelson bought the store with two of his sons in 1992 having spent the previous 37 years working as a grocer. He says "I took an adult apprenticeship" when changing careeers at the age of 62. These days he runs the store in partnership with the youngest of his 8 children.

Retirement has not been a consideration for Nelson and as the last of remaining sibling of a family of 11, he knows that we spend a long time "lying on our backs looking at the lid" so he is determined to make the most of the life he has left. For Nelson, running the store is a way of life .. he loves people .. and it shows when you have the pleasure of meeting him.

The green green grass of home ... #109

Meadow Fresh dairy products are currently running a consumer competition where you enter a code from your milk, yogurt, cream etc in their website and go into the draw to win a piece of land. Well to be more correct $250,000 NZD towards the cost of your dream section of land.

The first billboards promoting the competition were the usual vinyl printed ones .. but they are now changing the look and impact by building the bill boards with real living grass. The one in Christchurch has been going for 5 weeks and this one in Wellington has just been completed. The grass is pre-grown and the top layer of soil and grass is held in shallow square boxes by green wire netting. Each square is fixed to the billboard a bit like wall tiling. In the close up you will notice the green drip hose that is run between the boxes to ensure the grass gets a daily watering. The final touch is the lettering and graphics which are fixed on top of patches of cut grass.

A wise man, once told me that if you sprinkle your lawn with whiskey you can save yourself a lot of lawn mowing as the grass comes up half-cut ... YEAH RIGHT !!!

The Blue Crate Group ... #108

Walking down Woodward Street I spotted this and it seemed like a nice bi-play on the BMG ... Blue Man Group. I have seen them play .. perform ... act or whatever you can describe it as ... in New York and London .. a fantastic experience .. I can still smell the mashed banana ... and you will know what i mean if you have seen them perform.

However this was outside the Nest store as they were getting ready for their Summer promotion. It all turned to "custard" when a member of the public complained to the City Council ... who sent an OFFICIAL along to get them to move the crates off the pavement and scrub off the bits of blue paint ... the consequences were that there are now some very clean bricks .. cleaner that the surrounding ones ... and Nest head office in Auckland have been fined for causing a public disturbance on a public thoroughfare ... I think it could be much easier if you just did a "normal" protest.

Lunch Time... #107

A mother and her young daughter stop for some lunch and also feed the pigeons in whay is locally known as "Pigeon Park", on the corner of Manners and Dixon Streets.

Its correct name is Te Aro Park and marks part of the site of the major pā, Te Aro. The park, designed by ceramics artist Shona Rapira Davies, is in the shape of a canoe, with the prow at the eastern end. go to this website for more info

The Daily Grind ... #106

The title normally refers to the work day .. and now in our cafe society ... the morning coffee .. and like most cities we have a cafe called "The Daily Grind" ... well this guy was hard at work on a sunny morning making repairs to the construction machinery .. another new building .. this time opposite the railway station ... love the double hats ... a bit like the '98 Ford Falcon XR8 which had a double boot spoiler like a Gillette Razor ... have a great weekend everyone

No-ble Endeavours ... #105

YES Wellington gets exposed to all the normal marketing hype of world brands .. on my way from the train station I came across these delightful young ladies handing out cans of Red Bull to the the morning commuters .. at least it gave us a boost for the first half of the day.

The other link to this image is that I was part of the "mini" era .. both the great little cars that made a significant impact on the automotive world (Mini Cooper S .. wow) and of course the "mini" skirt which made an impact on moi!! .. still love both varieties and the modern iteration of the BMC Mini carries on the memory of a great icon.

Zoomin Out ... #104

Lately the posts have had detail showing the eclectic mix of our city ... so it seems about time to ZOOM OUT and look at the "big picture".
This photo is taken from Wadestown Hill and I will point out some key landmarks ... many of which have appeared in the WDP blog.

In the forground is the Wellington Motorway ... somewhat smaller than an American or European equivalent. It is part of State Highway 1 which is the main route running the length of the country. To the lower right by the the trees (with the yellow sign) is the Wool Store which has just gained historic places recognition and is now home to designers (brand, lighting, kitchen, ceramic tiles, fashion), architects, fashion stores, exclusive homeware and a cafe. The Wool Store is on Thorndon Quay which curves around the railway yards (just beyond the motorway) and into the city.

To the left the Westpac Stadium is obvious ( and you can see why some refer to it as the cake tin!) Directly behind the Stadium you can pick out the container cranes and the wharf. Moving right you will see the green Statistics NZ building which is part of the growing 'wharf' business district. The NZ Rugby Union (All Blacks etc) is just to the left of this on the opposite side of the access road. Moving right around the harbour edge you will see a cream building with a long red roof .. that's Wellington Girls College; above with the bitsy orange roof is Revera, an IT infrastructure company and behind that again the tall building with the red dot (NZ Post logo) on the north face. This building although not architecturally notable has a key place in the city as each christmas it has an outline of a christmas tree and candles illuminated.

On the far side of the harbour on the right hand side you can pick out the beige wall of Te Papa ... our national museum. Continuing to move left the yacht marina and the Overseas Terminal (this used to be where all the passenger ships berthed); Oriental Bay and Mt Victoria (Communications mast) on the skyline directly above the Stadium.

... and please don't forget about the Westpac rescue helicopter in the top left hand quadrant. !!

Take care out there ... #103

Currently Wellington is running a campaign about pedestrians taking care when crossing the road ... cause internally cars and people are sort of OK but externally people and cars can be a dangerous mix especially when they move into each others designated zones!! ... so we are asking and promoting that when pedestrians venture forth across the raod they need to be super vigilant and take care.

The outline on the roadway is on Lambton Quay beside the Midland Park; the poster is on the local trains and the bill board is opposite Frank Kitts Park . This pictogram and 3D bill board follow on from yesterdays theme.


The billboard is about drivers being careful at intersections ... and showing reasonable caution when turning .. otherwise you may end up being dressed in stiff white.

Pictogram Challenge... # 102

I am currently reading graphic design book about pictograms .. you know all those signs we see around our cities, airports and public buildings .. and of course every 4 years the Olympic Games... one of the most famous and long lasting sets came from the Munich Olympics.

Well this got me looking around the everyday signs I see and I came across this beauty .. .not sure how helpful it is really !!! not sure about the DON'T START but you can finish crossing .. cause if you were halfway across you wouldn't be able to read the sign .. would you ! ... but at least for those with impaired sight our cross now lights are accompanied by a unique buzzer sound.

In the background you can see the west side of the Wellington Railway Station.

The Loneliness of a LDR ... #101

One of the pleasures of Wellington ... running around the bays and across the beach at Oriental Bay. This view is looking north towards the container wharf .. you can pick out the container cranes if you click on the image and look at the larger picture ... to the right and onthe skyline you can pick out the communications mast on the top of Mt Kau Kau