#695 ... Pushing it uphill

A bit like the preverbial really ... pushing S#*t uphill! We spotted these guys pumnping concrete uphill .. when we went for a lunchtime walk around Thorndon. The cement mixer truck and the concrete pumping truck were virtually wedged up the narrow Ascot Tce ... the wonders of modern construction solutions for challenging sites.

#694 ... This says it all

#693 ... A Thorndon Cottage

One of the delightful , well maintained heritage cottages in Thorndon. On a fine day, a lunchtime walk around the narrow steep streets on the Thorndon hillsides is always rewarding ... for the character and history of the place.

#692 ... The Tui Trio

Well almost colour co-ordinated including the 'blonde' hair !! ... at the Hurricanes vs Brumbies rugby match at the Stadium. Photo obviously not taken by me.

#691 ... ANZAC Rugby

Images left to right, top to bottom:
Hurricanes & Brumbies 'walking' out for the opening ceremony
At attention for the 'last post'
Airforce chopper flying in the match ball
Firing of the guns
The red poppie on the big screen
Mates saluting during the playing of the 'last post'
Chopper diappearing into the night sky
Generations & cultures at ANZAC parade (nzrumi Photo)
Airforce 'husband & wife"

GAME REPORT courtesy of the DomPost
Hurricanes 56
Brumbies 7

He is sporting a Zapata moustache, the likes of which hasn't been seen since the days of Freddie Mercury in the 1970s, but Cory Jane is a rugby player whose time may have come. The Hurricanes are finding their rhythm when it counts, putting together their most complete performance of the season to blitz the Brumbies in Wellington last night. The Hurricanes were more than steady - they were explosive at times, scoring four tries in 18 minutes to have the bonus point on the half hour.

From there the Canes ran in four more tries and even had the luxury of getting Piri Weepu back into the groove off the bench after a two-week absence.It was a performance that will send a shudder through the top end of the table where the Hurricanes have solidified their place in another mad scramble for playoffs spots.

Next week, it's sink or swim for the Blues in Wellington. After this form by the Hurricanes, the Blues might well pack their aqualungs.Portrayed as a potential title winner in the leadup to the tournament, the Hurricanes have spluttered along mixing brilliance with ordinary. But classy centre Conrad Smith said he knew they "weren't far off" a performance like this big win.

Hurricanes 56 (C. Jane, C. Smith, T. Ellison, D. Smith, F. Levave, Z. Guildford 2, V. Vito tries; W. Ripia 5 con, 2 pen), Brumbies 7 (B. Alexander try; S. Mortlock con). Halftime: 25-7.

Wellington Daily Photo now on Twitter as "wellingtondaily"

#690 ... ANZAC Day

Anzac Day is a national public holiday in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. Anzac Day is also observed in the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tonga. This image is from the Dawn Parade at the Cenotaph in Wellington ...the north end of Lambton Quay

History
Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs. Anzac Day remains one of the most important national occasions of both Australia and New Zealand. This is a rare instance of two sovereign countries not only sharing the same national day, but making reference to both countries in its name.

The Gallipoli campaign
When war broke out in 1914, Australia had been a Federal Commonwealth for only thirteen years. In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of an Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula, under a plan by Winston Churchill to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies. The objective was to capture Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of Germany. The ANZAC force landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish Army commanded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. What had been planned as a bold strike to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stale-mate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915, the Allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian and 2,700 New Zealand soldiers died. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians and New Zealanders at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which they remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.

Though the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives of capturing Istanbul and knocking Turkey out of the war, the Australian and New Zealand troops' actions during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as an "Anzac legend" became an important part of the national identity in both countries. This shaped the ways their citizens viewed both their past and their future.

The foundations of Anzac Day
On 30 April 1915, when the first news of the landing reached New Zealand, a half-day holiday was declared and impromptu services were held. The following year a public holiday was gazetted on 5 April and services to commemorate were organised by the returned servicemen.

The date, 25 April, was officially named Anzac Day in 1916; in that year it was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services in Australia and New Zealand, a march through London, and a sports day for the Australian and New Zealand soldiers in Egypt. The small New Zealand community of Tinui, near Masterton in the Wairarapa was apparently the first place in New Zealand to have an Anzac Day service, when the then vicar led an expedition to place a large wooden cross on the Tinui Taipos (a 1,200 ft (370 m) high large hill/mountain, behind the village) in April 1916 to commemorate the dead. A service was held on the 25th of April of that year. In 2006 the 90th Anniversary of the event was commemerated with a full twenty-one gun salute fired at the service by soldiers from the Waiouru Army Camp.

In London, over 2,000 Australian and New Zealand troops marched through the streets of the city. A London newspaper headline dubbed them "The Knights of Gallipoli". Marches were held all over Australia in 1916; wounded soldiers from Gallipoli attended the Sydney march in convoys of cars, accompanied by nurses. Over 2,000 people attended the service in Rotorua. For the remaining years of the war, Anzac Day was used as an occasion for patriotic rallies and recruiting campaigns, and parades of serving members of the AIF were held in most cities. From 1916 onwards, in both Australia and New Zealand, Anzac memorials were held on or about 25 April, mainly organised by returned servicemen and school children in cooperation with local authorities.

Anzac Day at Manly, Brisbane, Australia, 1922Anzac Day was gazetted as a public holiday in New Zealand in 1920, through the Anzac Day Act, after lobbying by the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association, the RSA. In Australia at the 1921 State Premiers' Conference, it was decided that Anzac Day would be observed on 25 April each year. However, it was not observed uniformly in all the States.

During the 1920s, Anzac Day became established as a National Day of Commemoration for the 60,000 Australians and 18,000 New Zealanders who died during the war. The first year in which all the Australian states observed some form of public holiday together on Anzac Day was 1927. By the mid-1930s, all the rituals now associated with the day — dawn vigils, marches, memorial services, reunions, sly two-up games — became part of Australian Anzac Day culture. New Zealand commemorations also adopted many of these rituals, with the dawn service being introduced from Australia in 1939

#689 ... A Dog's Life

Ghuznee Street ... outside the PopArt shop ... taking in the late summer sun ... someone has to do it

#688 ... In the Garden

The city gardners preparing the flower beds for the winter planting ... a rather precarious garden with traffic on both sides ... very close.
These guys do a great job maintaining the beauty of our city ... THANK YOU

#687 ... First Frost

OK not spectacular metre deep powder snow ... which incidentally we do not get in Wellington ... BUT the first frost of the winter season .. a crisp morning .. no wind !!! .. and a magical sunny day in the making

#686 ... Coastal Filter

A Wellington coastal perspective taken by David Pears. I met David when he was working at the Ministry of Health ... he is passionate about photography and carries one of those bazooka cameras unlike my toy one. This image could be one of a multitude of New Zealand coastal views, however Wellington claims this particular one

#685 ... Mondrian!?

The apartment block, with a touch of the Mondrian, at the top of Molesworth Street on the apex between the Ministry of Health building to the right and the US Embassey to the left ... there is a friendly Mojo's Cafe on the ground floor .. sort of like a second office for me and many from the Ministry of Health and the NZ Police (building behind) who work in the vicinity.

I come past here most mornings ... to work a couple of blocks away and drop the girls off at Wellington Girls' College.

#684 ... Winning Paint

Showing which team you support ... well it must have worked as the Hurricanes beat the Stormers 34-11 ... on a superb autumn night in Wellington

#683 ... Otago Hurricanes

In town for the rugby and other things ... the female members of this group are off doing the Wellington shopping things and these guys are enjoying some late summer weather ... now Dad her is one of the movers and shakers behind the Otago Rail Trail .. a unique regeneration of a piece of NZ history in Central Otago ... while in Wellington they are going to come along to the Hurricanes (hence the uniforms) vs. Stormers game at the Westpac Stadium tonight ... so here's hoping the outcome of the game is as good as the shopping

#682 ... "Barbie on the dashboard of my car"

Well not my car actually .. but an interesting dashboard icon spotted in a "boy racer" car parked on Lambton Quay .. apologies for the photo quality ... image shot with windscreen reflections of Vodafone building on Midland Park, street lights and camera in hand (right hand side). You will note that Barbie has had some enhancements with a wad of cash or maybe "plastics" added to her left hand .. together with a pink bow !!!

#681 ... Fire Fire

A firey performance at the hot air balloon event .. something more to entertain the audience. Basin Reserve

#680 ... Train Coming

The train coming up the Johnsonville line ... winding around the Wadestown hills towards the Crofton Downs station. You will note the usual Wellington scene of "little boxes on the hillside" and the predominance of greeness.

#679 ... A spot of Fishing

Easter for many is also a time for family ... and here we have one enjoying some fishing off the wharf by Te Papa ... looking across the marina to the Freyberg Swimming Pool (left)and St Gerrards on the hilltop, Port Nicholson Yacht Club (middle, cream roof, white centre) Copthorne Hotel (right).

Thanks to my mate Rumi again for capturing this easter moment.

#678 ... A lot of Hot Air

The Wellington wind paused just long enough for these hot-air balloons to inflate and light up last night. Local sculptor and balloon owner Denis Hall said it was "a bit of a fluke" that the weather came through for last night's nightglow during the Balloons at the Basin fiesta. "It's just something you deal with on the night we were more nervous during the week, watching the weather forecasts."

The 20 balloons lit up the sky for about half an hour about six o'clock before rising winds raised safety concerns. Balloonists from Whangaparaoa to Christchurch came to Wellington for the event, which has not been staged at the Basin Reserve before. Balloons gathered at Oriental Bay last year.
Ballooning was a hobby like any other, and attracted people from all walks of life, he said. "Some people have boats, some have sports cars, some have model airplanes we have balloons."

For a great photo by DomPost photographer Robert Kitchin go to balloons

#677 ... Easter Sunday

The Easter cross on the communication mast on the top of Mt Victoria .. photo taken at night from Wadestown Hill ... the cross is one of the most basic symbols yet it has been the essence of hope, the purpose of life and the catalyst of conflict ... for many people in our world.

#676 ... The Road Works

Molesworth Street ... on WTuesday they ground off about the top 100mm of the road surface and on Wednesday they replaced it with new bitumen ... lots of machinery, orange vests, orange cones and the aroma of hot tar.