Capital 20 by Capital

CAPITAL TA L E S O F T H E C I T Y

JALAPEﾃ前 HIGHWAY APRIL 2015

WITH GUNS AMAZING

ISSUE 20

$3.90 TOP OF THE CHOCS

A M A L G A M AT E

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*Terms and conditions: discount is taken off the full retail price and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Excludes clearance items, seconds and noodist club discounts. Furniture and large accessory items are not kept in stock in store, orders can be placed for such items and home delivery or a hub pick up fee will apply to these items. Delivery times and fees will vary, ask a staff member for more details. Due to some of our stock being far too popular, they may become out of stock or limited. Stock may vary from store to store. Some products may require assembly. While stocks last. Offer ends 26th april 2015.

auckland: north shore, the homezone 60 constellation drive, rosedale p (09) 475 5325 auckland: newmarket 489 khyber pass rd p (09) 520 4133 auckland: apex mega centre 393 mt wellington hwy, mt wellington p (09) 573 0408 auckland: 20 beaumont st p (09) 357 3519 auckland outlet store: henderson 111 lincoln rd p (09) 835 2075 hamilton: 77 tristram st p (07) 834 0150 wellington: 5 college st. te aro p (04) 801 0065 nelson: 60 achilles ave p (03) 539 0286 christchurch: tower junction 66 clarence st p (03) 943 2071 dunedin 140a cumberland st p (03) 477 4436

CAPITAL MADE IN WELLINGTON

THE COVER: Pinaoman OwusuBanahene is ecstatic about tasting chocolate. For more, check out page 30. Photography: Ashley Church Art Direction: Shalee Fitzsimmons

SUBSCRIPTION Subscription rates $77 (inc postage and packaging) 11 issues New Zealand only To subscribe, please email accounts@capitalmag.co.nz

C O N TA C T U S Phone +64 4 385 1426 Email editor@capitalmag.co.nz Website www.capitalmag.co.nz Facebook facebook.com/CapitalMagazineWellington Twitter @CapitalMagWelly Post Box 9202, Marion Square, Wellington 6141 Deliveries 31–41 Pirie St, Mt Victoria, Wellington, 6011 ISSN 2324-4836 Produced by Capital Publishing Ltd

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The opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Although all material is checked for accuracy, no liability is assumed by the publisher for any losses due to the use of material in this magazine. Copyright ©. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of Capital Publishing Ltd.

ocal or national, political decisions are part of the fabric of life in Wellington. It has been slow to build momentum, but the issue of local body amalgamation has finally become a talking point over the coffee cups in the Capital. It surely must be of interest and a source of frustration to the many public relations practitioners and politicians among us that despite much time and money spent informing the public, momentum really only began building very close to the March closing date for public submissions. In this issue we have asked two groups to provide their answers about the pros and cons of amalgamation. Public hearings on the submissions are under way around the region. The date for the Local Government Commission to report its findings is unknown. We have faced up, bravely and willingly, to the chocolate fest that is Easter, and asked a group of tasters to give us their feedback on the local chocolate-making scene. Karen Shead talks to a Hutt Valley family about their colourful home, and science writer John Kerr investigates the bugs in a Porirua research library. Beth Rose talks to players from the ‘ultimate᾽ sport of Frisbee. The new memorial park, Pukeahua, and the 100th anniversary of World War I means April has a strongly military tenor. New books, movies and commemorative exhibitions are emerging around the region. It has been fascinating to discover the extensive defence and military history around the Wellington region. For your convenience we have compiled a handy list of sites for autumnal expeditions. Thank you for your feedback. As always we look forward to hearing from you. Alison Franks Editor editor@capitalmag.co.nz

CONTENTS

TOP OF THE CHO CS the lowdown on local dark delights

A M A L G A M AT E D E B AT E

WITH GUNS AMAZING

The concise Capital commentary on amalgamation pros and cons

Darcy Waters compiles a map of gun emplacements

8 LETTERS

52 EDIBLES

10 CHATTER

REWANA FOR ARANGA

NEWS SHORTS

LIQUID THOUGHTS

BY THE NUMBERS

PERIODICALLY SPEAKING

THE GOLDEN EGG

BY THE BOOK

TALES OF THE CITY

COLOUR AND CHARACTER

BEEING GOOD

GOOD SPORT

26 CULTURE

JALAPEﾃ前 HIGHWAY

GOOD VIBRATIONS

TORQUE TALK

WHAT THE FLOCK

WELLY ANGEL

ON STAGE SISTER STINT

BABY BABY

STREET STYLE

DIRECTORY

AUTUMN LEAVES

CALENDAR

FASHION BRIEFS

TOP DOG

S TA F F Alison Franks Managing editor editor@capitalmag.co.nz Campaign coordinators Lyndsey O’Reilly lyndsey@capitalmag.co.nz Haleigh Trower haleigh@capitalmag.co.nz Kate Ellis kate@capitalmag.co.nz John Bristed General factotum john@capitalmag.co.nz Shalee Fitzsimmons Art direction shalee.f@live.com Rhett Goodley- Hornblow

Design design@capitalmag.co.nz

Craig Beardsworth

Factotum

Anna Jackson-Scott Journalist Gus Bristed

Distribution

K AT E E L L I S C amp ai g n C o ordi n ator Kate is the newest addition to the Capital sales team. She recently moved to Wellington from London where she worked in magazine publishing for years. She is a fashion enthusiast, dedicated doodler and a diehard Carpenters fan.

ROSA FRIEND I l lu str ator Rosa is a freelance illustrator. She graduated from Massey University in Wellington, before travelling and setting up as a freelancer with a particular passion for illustrating children's picture books and magazine illustrations. You can check out her work here: www.rosafriend.com.

STOCKISTS Pick up your Capital in New World and Pak’n’ Save supermarkets, Moore Wilson's, Unity Books, Magnetix, City Cards & Mags, Take Note and other discerning greater Wellington outlets. Ask for Capital magazine by name. Distribution: john@capitalmag.co.nz.

SUBMISSIONS We welcome freelance art, photo and story submissions. However we cannot reply personally to unsuccessful pitches.

THANKS Rosie Bristed | Bex McGill

FRANCES SAMUEL Po em c olum n i st Frances Samuel lives in Wellington and works as a museum exhibitions writer. Her first book of poems, Sleeping on Horseback, was published this month by Victoria University Press.

JOHN KERR S ci en c e c olum nist John loves science and loves talking about it. After stints in research and academic publishing, he moved to Wellington three years ago to work at the Science Media Centre where he helps journalists get their heads around the latest research and science news.

N E W Z E A L A N D S Y M PH ON Y O R C H E S T R A p r e s e n t s

Spirit of Anzac LETTERS FROM THE FRONT

COPLAND

Fanfare for the Common Man

Benjamin Northey

MICHAEL WILLIAMS

C O N D U CTO R

Madeleine Pierard George Henare

Symphony No. 1 Letters from the Front

S O P R A NO

N A R R ATO R

New Zealand Youth Choir

WORLD PREMIERE

VAU G H A N W I L L I A M S

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis JA M E S L E D G E R

War Music WORLD PREMIERE

P R O U D TO C O M M E M O R AT E T H E A N Z AC C E N T E N A RY I N 2 0 1 5

Wednesday 22 April 6.30pm Michael Fowler Centre

WELLINGTON

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LETTERS

PROUD TO BE A REDHEAD We wanted to say a big thank you for the shout out for Gingerella in the summer issue #18 of Capital. We set out to make a really delicious drink supporting Fairtrade and organic farmers and then we were stoked to start getting emails from people saying ‘we love it that your drink makes us proud to be a red-head.’ We’d love to drop in some drinks for you and the Capital team to refresh the office in this welcome heat wave. Petra Mihalievich, All Good Organics (abridged)

CRUMBS, WHAT A COVER Our family really enjoy your magazine and we love your March issue with the toast on the cover. It was a neat idea to help celebrate our Indian summer. We were pleased to read about South African/ Wellington cricketer, Grant Elliott, as we watch the World Cup unfold, although he has not had a particularly explosive campaign so far. Williams family, Porirua

TO SERVE OR NOT TO SERVE In your last editorial you raised issues of poor service in New Zealand for visitors and locals. An area of poor service that concerned me recently occurred when meeting a friend in town from a cruise ship. A busload of tourists were dropped at a cafe clearly unable to cope with the numbers. The visitors obviously have only a short time

to eat; the queues snaked around the room, and after waiting 10–15 minutes to order, the would-be-diners were told they couldn’t order from the clearly on-view blackboard, because that was off, and they could instead order only pre-prepared sandwiches, icecreams and coffee. The coffee took approximately 15 minutes to arrive. I was embarrassed to think of the poor experience all those people were having in Wellington. Cafe owners needs to understand that a great view of Wellington on a good day will only go so far. S Prion, Khandallah

reason. I feel as though our beautiful, genuine Wellington is becoming a city of coffee and beer snobs. Talking about flavours we don’t understand, let alone taste. I recall a recent practical joke/marketing stunt in which was in the media the other day. Where Victoria Bitter (VB) entered a craft beer competition under the pseudonym ‘Vaucluse Bitter’, and they won the competition. Much to the dismay of the organisers of the festival. Is it too long before Tui, takes out Tuatara? Brynn, Khandallah (abridged)

A JADED PALATE

LIT TLE RESPECT

Beer and coffee. Beer, beer, beer and coffee. Is that all that goes on inside this city? Apparantly (sic) we have beers that taste like ‘wet stone’ and “overripe fruit” with a hint of ‘tobacco’. On coffee, this is an actual review I read on the flavour of coffee (not in Capital) not long ago – “Ethiopian ‘single origin’ coffee prepared using a pour-over method. The aroma was a heady mixture of jasmine, lavender and rosemary; the taste a mixture of cacao, pomegranate and rosewater. It left me feeling like a jovial goat” Excuse me? A jovial goat? Are you sure you didn’t mistake yourself for an over enthusiastic fruitbat? We also have about a dozen (maybe more) local breweries attempting to replicate beers from Belgium, Germany, America and almost everywhere else. Don’t get me wrong, I wake up in the morning and enjoy myself a coffee. Just apparently not as much as the next man. I appreciate that it is a heightened appreciation of flavour and subtlety which is being celebrated here. But the term ‘wine snob’ was coined for a

Is it that familiarity is breeding contempt, political correctness is getting out of hand, or that journalism is going to hell in a breadbasket? This question is certainly not aimed at CAPITAL magazine, but I wonder if any of your readers will have an opinion. I listen to the radio and hear the some important person – the Prime Minister comes to mind - being referred to – often in the first instance – as “Key” or “John Key”, rather than The Prime Minister, or Prime Minister Key, or even Mr Key. I’d call that disrespectful. Recently I’ve heard radio journalists talk about a man who’s in court for some heinous crime as Mr So and So. How can that be right or even fair? Brian Wilson,Wellington

Letters to editor@capitalmag.co.nz with subject line Letters to Ed or scan our QR code to email the editor directly.

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C HAT T E R

INK INC.

GIRLS ON HIGH A massive variety in the opiate drugs being prescribed across different regions in New Zealand is of concern to the Health Quality & Safety Commission. Opiates are highly effective in managing pain but also vary a lot in strength and are the class of medicine most commonly involved in patient harm. People identifying as Pakeha/European are being prescribed 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4 times more opioids as those from other ethnic groups. As well, women are prescribed both more strong, and weak opioids than men. These figures vary between regions, however it is unlikely that the ethnic makeup of a community is the sole reason for this.

GINA KIEL How did you choose the design? This number 8/ infinity tattoo is for my Dad, who died. He was a creative and spiritual guy and loved the infinitely connective design of the symbol. It's carved into his grave stone. He was a stone mason and landscape designer and he often talked about "Number 8 wire kiwi ingenuity". He could make anything and fix anything. Practical and creative.

ASIAN ASSASSINATION The Karori upper reservoir and its tributaries are now free of brown trout, which represents a successful removal effort by DOC and Zealandia. Hundreds more kokopu (fish) have been sighted since the removal. Koura (native freshwater crayfish) too, have become much bolder, which suggests their behaviour has changed since the removal. Rotenone was the agent used in removal â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a natural toxin found in the roots of many tropical plants in South East Asia.

Family, for it or against? For I think. When I was young I was interested in becoming a tattoo artist and my dad said I could practice tattooing on him! Where is the tattoo & why? It's on my left wrist. The creative right brain controls the left side of your body. It's my creative connection to my Dad.

C HAT T E R

WELLY WORDS

COURAGEOUS RECIPE “What’s in the vegan tart” asked a Wellyworder at the counter of the grungy-chic Midnight Cafe. “Hopes and dreams” came the deadpan response. Umm, what aisle at New World sells that?

RAPA RAP Despite the fraught and humourless debate about the proposed greater Wellington council amalgamation, rate-payers over the hill can still see past the spleen-venting to make a quip. Some refer to themselves as potential Wellyrapaites – say that three times in a row out loud.

TO OT Y SCO OT Y

SPORT Y A M BAS S A D OR Irene van Dyk might be retired as a Silver Fern, but she’s still right into netball. She’s been announced as the Netball NZ Ambassador – she’s the one to front at NNZ functions and help raise the game’s profile. She’s now wearing the uniform of the local Mojo Pulse (who have recently announced the coffee company as their major sponsor) in the ANZ champ competition. The Pulse are playing five ANZ matches here in April and May.

Is it just us or are there legions of women in their 40s–50s who are using push-scooters to whizz around town? We’ve heard about one Wellyworder car game called ‘Spot the scoot’. Extra points are given if shopping bags are balanced on the handles.

IT'S COOL TO KORERO Easter is time to ditch the paleo diet and tuck into some sweets:

HIAHIA ANA AHAU TIAKARETE. I WANT CHO COLATE.

EXPENSIVE STONEWORK The Australian Memorial at the new Pukeahu National War Memorial Park is made of sandstone brought over by the Australian Air Force so it could be finished in time for its opening on April 20.

COMMANDEERED CubaDupa had its clever upside down/right way up advertising commandeered by the irrepressible Havana Coffee boss Geoff Marsland. His very large CubaDupa promotion poster near Te Papa featured his own screwed up image.

NEWS SHORTS

HEART OF GOLD Plasma, nicknamed ‘liquid gold’, is the goldcoloured liquid in blood which carries red blood cells. The Wellington branch of the New Zealand Blood Service needs 566 new plasma donors by the end of the year to keep up with demand. Wellington currently provides 16% of donors in the country. Asuka Burge, National Manager of Marketing and Communications for the NZBS, says, “Donating plasma is easy and efficient” it is used for treating burn victims, loss of blood, kidney and chemotherapy patients. The Wellington Donor Centre is on Hospital Road in Newtown.

MUSLIMS WELCOME The Wellington Council of Christians and Jews has moved to rename itself as the Wellington Abrahamic Council, and Muslims will have full representation. “The three Abrahamic religions share a great deal of common history, theology, ethics, and practice,” says the council’s Dave Moskovitz. He says that Muslims have been welcomed at all meetings since 2007, and it is time to make the relationship more formal.

A MENZSHED FOR UPPER HUT T

TAKING BACK THE WETLANDS

Both Rotary and the Upper Hutt City Council are looking for a site for a Menzshed in Upper Hutt. Menzshed, originally for blokes who felt isolated from having lost contact with workmates and the structures of working life, has spread significantly over recent years, according to the Upper Hutt Council. Menzshed provides a space where blokes can make friends, share stories, knowledge, and skills; many use their skills to do good works for the community.

Our wetlands are centres of indigenous biodiversity, home to more species of bird than any other type of habitat in New Zealand, as well as many rare fish, insects and plants. Less than 3% of our wetlands have survived the pressures of development. The Regional Council has begun contacting landowners with significant areas of natural wetland to establish appropriate rules for stock access, fencing and pest control.

Send Mother flowers she will remember!

S ENCETW IO S NS H HOE R A TDSE R

PAV E M E N T S P O U N D E D , CARS STILL ON TOP “The number of people walking, jogging or cycling to work has increased by more than half,” according to researcher Rosemary Goodyear from Statistics New Zealand. This is particularly true within the CBD. The area around Lambton Quay has more than 43,000 people working in it – the highest employment density in the country. The latest census figures from Statistics NZ show that the number of people using their cars to get to work has decreased slightly, by 4.6% to 64%.

CONCRETE CRICKET CLUB

SMALL GROW TH (NOT CANCEROUS)

Fundraising by the Save the Basin Campaign is in full swing. A Victorian dinner is being hosted by the Mt Victoria Historical Society to help raise 50k by the 20th of July – the hearing date of the appeal. The New Zealand Transport Agency is against the board of inquiry’s decision to deny resource consent for the Basin Reserve flyover.

For the financial year ended March 2014 the growth of Wellington’s GDP was the smallest recorded regionally nationwide. We increased by a meagre 4.4% compared with Southland’s 11%. This is because industries such as agriculture, which led a strong increase, have only a very small presence in Wellington, which is driven by the financial and insurance services industry.

SHOP ONLINE OR VISIT US IN STORE AT 11 HUNTER ST WELLINGTON

NEW SPACE ANZAC dawn service in Wellington this year will take place at the new Pukeahu National War Memorial Park at the top of Tory Street. Be there at 5.30am. The Ataturk memorial service above Tarakena Bay starts at 2.30pm. Pukeahu has been built beside the National War Memorial, and the Carillon to remember the 30,000 New Zealanders who’ve died in wars, and the ten times as many New Zealanders who fought in them.

BY THE NUMBERS

LOWER HUT T LOWD OWN

JOLLY JAPES

COLOUR YOUR WORLD

98,238

number of people living in Lower Hutt (2013 census figures)

number of acts in the Wellington leg of the NZ Comedy Festival

3000

more women than men in the city...single men in Wellington take note

festival venues across the city (from Bats theatre to the Tararua Tramping Club rooms)

years since fashion house WORLD hit the capital (and 25 years since it birthed in Auckland)

2.3

percentage of the country’s population who live there

days of mirth, guffaws and belly laughs spread over April and May

height in metres of the ‘colour field wall’ that dominates their spunky new premises in Victoria Street

38,481

number of dwellings

% discount on Wednesday tickets (limited numbers available)

1643

year Cire Truton was founded (candle brand stocked in store)

800 +

specially designed T-Shirts sold this summer as a fundraiser for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer NZ

FO G OF WAR

number of years Gallipoli: The Scale of War will run at Te Papa (starting Apr 18)

125

number of WETA Workshop technicians who have been working on the exhibition – including mould makers, sculptors, costumes, hair/make-up artists

2779

number of New Zealanders who died in the 1915 Gallipoli campaign

number of dollars it costs to attend

PROSE ON YA TOES

number of writers work represented on the Wellington Writers Walk (concrete typographical sculptures along the waterfront)

2002

year the project to beautify the waterfront with quotes from NZ writers began

2013

the last time new concrete plaques were added to the walk

500

number of $$ you could contribute to become a friend of the walk and in turn help add more sculptures along the waterfront

Compiled by Craig Beardsworth

MAJEST Y ON HIGH

116

height in metres of The Majestic Centre (Wellington’s tallest building)

number of floors

other buildings taller in New Zealand, though at the time of completion in 1991 it was the third tallest

light bulbs on the spikes at the top (they’re retractable so no, it’s not as hard as you might think to change them)

CANDICE BREITZ 28 MARCH â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 26 JULY 2015

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“[Lindberg is] the best thing that ever happened to the trombone.” BBC MUSIC

NEW ZEALAND S Y M PH ON Y O R C H E S T R A p r e s e n t s

Aotearoa Plus Christian Lindberg CON D UCTO R | TROMBO NE

David Bremner TROM BONE

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Claro WORLD PREMIERE

S A N D ST R Ö M

Echoes of Eternity LILBURN

Symphony No. 2

Friday 1 May 6.30pm Michael Fowler Centre

WELLINGTON

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New York

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Cuba Street

WRITTEN BY ANNA JACKSON-SCOTT

en Hurley is a frustrated rock star, underrated cricketer and comedian. It’s been 14 years since he first performed at the Wellington Fringe Festival, at what was then called Indigo bar, now San Fran. He returns to Wellington for the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, opening 24 April. Hurley became a comedian by accident. “Some friends were mucking around doing stand-up and convinced me to have a go. The first gig went ok, the second one didn’t. I gave up for six months, wrote a new set and then got offered a spot on TV show ‘Pulp Comedy’ and made my first money. It was better than my job at the time, doing nightfill at the Johnsonville Warehouse.” It’s a rollercoaster career, but with a BA in Political Science, Hurley says he’s “dangerously unqualified” to do anything else. “I’m way too far down this rabbit hole. It’s this for life now.” If he went back to study it would be in Geography or History – “as infinitely useful as the degree I already have”. Hurley finds Kiwi humour quite English. “We like dry, acerbic, witty and natural as opposed to loud, character driven comedy. We don’t like a comedian to look like they are trying particularly hard. This suits me as I don’t really like to try very hard.” Originally from Taranaki, Ben came to Wellington to study. “Wellington is one of the best cities in the world. What it lacks in size it makes up for in convenience, style

and lifestyle.” He loves the waterfront and, although it “may show his age,” now thinks Zealandia is a very cool place. His heart belongs in “some bar on Cuba Street”. He can be found in VKs Comedy & Blues Bar, San Fran, Sweet Mother’s Kitchen, or having a beef rendang at Satay Palace. “[Satay Palace] hasn’t changed in 15 years and that’s great. I’m pretty sure the chef has the same red baseball cap.” New York is his second favourite city. “It’s like Wellington but humongous.” Activities away from work include eating, drinking, cooking and cricket. “Cooking is probably my only hobby other than the odd game of cricket. However, I do all the cooking in our house so it’s another case of my hobby becoming my job.” He also listens to music, and likes local sludge-metal band Beastwars. “We’ve all felt like they sound during a Wellington winter.” Holidays are the only time he reads, the most recent book being Steve Martin’s autobiography, “a great insight into the early days of standup in America.” Hurley now lives with his wife and two daughters in Auckland. They have two cats and, thanks to his daughter, a grasshopper called Bert. But he’d really like a house by the sea with a cricket oval. “Is that too much to ask?” Ben hosts Next Big Things, 28 April at San Fran. The NZICF runs 24 April - 17 May.

A M A L G A M AT I ON

BETTER TOGETHER ILLUSTRATED BY ROSA FRIEND

The proposed amalgamation of the nine Wellington Councils has produced strong feelings both for and against. We asked two civic groups who represent opposing sides of the issue to answer a few questions. In the pro corner we have Better Wellington, www.betterwellington. org.nz/. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re headed by respected accountant John Shewan and strongly supported by the Wellington Regional Council head Fran Wilde. In the other corner we have Best Little Capital bestlittlecapital.org/ which wants governance to stay the way it is. Their backers include economists Eric Crampton and Oliver Hartwich of the New Zealand Initiative, and former MPs Sue Kedgley and Stephen Franks.

(FOR) 1. How will amalgamation affect a. rates, b. savings, c. debt levels? a. Rates. Impact should be minimal because most councils in Wellington

(except Kapiti) are already on a capital value system, unlike in Auckland where there were enormous swings as they changed systems. b. Savings Amalgamation will result in significant cost efficiencies. The Local Government Commission (LGC) report conservatively estimates these at $30.4m a year. c. Debt Will be spread over the entire region which means that areas that currently have higher debt because they have invested in infrastructure will have the burden shared immediately and those with lower debt but future infrastructure needs will be helped at the time when their infrastructure is developed.

the jobs will be there. This is all about helping to grow the region for everyone's benefit. 7. What will local boards do better than the local councils we currently have?

Local communities will be able to make their own decisions about community facilities and not have to fight "city hall" as they do now. Existing councils do not have the local connectedness to cater for community views on important local issues like sports grounds, parks, libraries and arts/cultural facilities. 8. The LGC and amalgamation supporters often mention getting 'one voice' for the region. What does that mean?

2. Will it change who pays for what? Why will it be better or worse?

One voice for the region means that for the big issues where the region is negotiating with Government it will be represented in a strong and coordinated way instead of having the nine current voices who don't agree. This is critical. The current structure is causing Wellington to [get less Government funding for major commercial, roading and recreational projects than] other major regions.

3. Do we need amalgamation? Why?

9. The LGC and amalgamation supporters say consolidating the plans is a good idea? Why? [Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what] any large organisation needs to survive.

It is likely that any current targeted rates (e.g. flood protection) will continue so those who benefit directly will continue to pay the most. Spreading all rates and debt evens out the loads and means that smaller communities will be able to upgrade infrastructure but in turn will also help pay for some items that currently the bigger councils are investing in for the whole region. [Currently] assets remain with individual councils who remain responsible for the big decisions on capital spending. It's a sub-optimal model. Public transport is delivered by the Regional Council, regional roading priorities are decided by the Regional Transport Committee and local roads are managed by local councils. This splintering of responsibility hampers progress and priorities. 4. Do you favour full amalgamation as proposed or partial?

We favour full amalgamation for regional issues but with local boards to deliver local services. 5. Why not include the Wairarapa, the Hutt and Wellington all in one? Why not three or four separate regional bodies? Wairarapa, the Hutt, and Wellington and Porirua or the latter two staying separate.

A number of separate councils (e.g. Hutt, Wellington/Porirua/Kapiti) will not work because (both practically and legally) water management issues need to be addressed on a catchment basis, and the regional public transport network cannot be broken up into different parts. 6. Which area stands to lose the most and which to gain?

All will gain - smaller councils through access to know-how and funding support and bigger ones by having more efficient decision-making and spreading big project support around the region. Wellington City has a symbiotic relationship with the rest of the region - its workers come from Wairarapa, Hutt, Kapiti and Porirua. It needs those areas to work effectively for their residents. The workers in turn need Wellington City to flourish so 20

10. How will amalgamation affect democratic representation and diversity of regional voice?

The local board structure protects and enhances democratic representation and diversity. 11. What is the most important lesson from the Auckland experience? Amalgamation has delivered huge economic and social benefits to Auckland.

Yes, there are problem areas, as there are in all major reorganisations. One of those is that the local boards need to be structured with funding appropriate to their functions. The proposal for the Wellington region has taken that lesson on board. 12. What are the three top reasons for amalgamation ? Amalgamation provides -

1. 2. 3.

Significant scope for improved economic growth and jobs in the region - vital if our kids and grandkids want to live here. Big efficiency and cost savings; A basis for acting on a coordinated basis in planning, service delivery, hazard management and central government negotiations.

13. What question would you like the other camp to answer?

Explain how the Wellington region will be economically viable in 20 years if current trends continue?

SECTION HEADER

A M A L G A M AT I ON

(AGAINST) 1. How will amalgamation affect a. rates, b. savings, c. debt levels? a. Rates: They will go up. “Any option that combines the current Wellington City Council areas with others is likely to result in rates increases for Wellington City.” – Local Government Commission (LGC) Proposal 6.398, p 224. b. Local body savings: The majority of economic studies indicate that amalgamation will not bring efficiency savings (see Byrnes and Dollery (2002)). c. Debt levels: Amalgamation will be expensive to implement. It will force Wellington City residents to meet the expense of fixing infrastructure in the Hutt and Porirua. Costs will be met through rates hikes or taking on debt. Based on the Auckland experience probably both!

8. What will the gains and losses look like? Losses to your wallet, and your ability to access democracy. Wellington City’s identity will be fragmented as it is reduced to three competing local wards. Gains will belong to the other parts of the region spending our money and will be mainly infrastructural. 9. Local boards will provide local democratic decision making, according to the Local Government Commission (LGC). What will local boards do better than the local councils we currently have? Nothing. 10. The LGC and amalgamation supporters often mention getting “one voice” for the region. What does that mean? Bureaucracy speaks with ‘one voice’ and it speaks down. Amalgamation isn’t about having one voice to better lobby central government; it’s about central government only having to deal with one person so they can better lobby us.

2. Will it change who pays for what?

Yes and Wellington City will pay for more. The LGC wants areas with ‘ability to pay’ to meet costs for areas with greatest community need (LGC Proposal 6.37, p 156). It identifies Wellington City as the area with the greatest ‘ability to pay’ (LGC Proposal 3.9, p 59).

a. Why is that good? It isn’t. b. What’s wrong with it? It is undemocratic. c. Whose voice would no longer be needed? Local residents as they won’t be listened to.

3. Do we need more amalgamation? We already have a regional approach on transport and water. We don’t. The councils are already involved in resource sharing in areas where regional coordination makes sense. Compared to the rest of the Western world, New Zealand has very large councils already with one of the biggest ratios of citizens to councillors.

11. The LGC and amalgamation supporters say consolidating the plans is a good idea? Why? What’s wrong with that? The rhetoric is all about ‘spatial planning.’ This has not gone well in Auckland. Auckland’s spatial plan is a bloated document filled with platitudes and feel-good aspirations, and Auckland’s proposed unitary plan is the subject of thousands of submissions in opposition. Auckland’s planning mess will take years to sort out.

4. Do you favour full amalgamation as proposed? Or partial? If partial what sort of amalgamation do you favour? Why not three or four separate regional bodies? Wairarapa, the Hutt, Wellington, Porirua? Or Wellington and Porirua separate with the rest amalgamated? No. Best Little Capital is opposed to any amalgamation that threatens Wellington City’s unique identity. Any alternative proposal would have to be assessed on its merits and have the support of the public before we’d support it.

12. What are the most important lessons from the Auckland experience? Don’t do it.

6. Which area stands to lose the most? Wellington City. But the loss of Wellington City will hurt the whole region.

13. What are the three top reasons for amalgamation? 1. Wage increases for executive staff. 2. Unlimited power for the would-be super mayor. 3. You won’t have to think. The super council will know what is best for you. d) And against? 1. Loss of local democracy. 2. No economic benefits and high cost. 3. The public doesn’t want it.

7.Which area stands to gain the most? Just look at who wants this. It isn’t the region or any part of the region. It’s a small cabal of power-hungry politicians.

14. What question would you like the other camp to answer? Why fly in the face of public opinion when there is no evidence to support your position?

5 Why not include the Wairarapa, the Hutt and Wellington all in one? Geographically silly, economically unviable, democratically bankrupt.

F E AT U R E

BE E -ING GO OD AND D OING GO OD WRITTEN BY JOHN BISHOP | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEX MCGILL

very Tuesday afternoon Claire Tocher and ten students from her Year 8 primary school class put on white head-to-toe overalls and cross the playground at Te Aro School to check on their bees. The school has two hives, which are home to about a hundred thousand bees depending on the time of the year. The hives are a learning resource, a source of great fascination for kids and parents alike, and increasingly a tidy earner for the school as well. “We got two swarms of bees in October 2013, and the experience has been fantastic,” Claire enthuses. “The kids involved with the bees can see purpose in the learning.” The environmental benefits are also strong. “Pesticides and the varroa mite are devastating bee populations,” said Claire, and she wanted to do something about it. “We talked about it and the students decided we should write to the Mayor and our local MP. “The kids are driving this so it’s not about taking the most effective action based on adult judgement.” The team also planted bee-friendly flowers like borage and sprinkled about wild flower mix from the local garden centre – which helps to attract bees. “At one point we lost a hive to disease. We talked about it and about what we could do. The kids made the connection to other losses that they had experienced in their lives… relatives and neighbours and so on. They saw the loss of the bees as their responsibility.” Martin Tolman, an active beekeeper in Karori, and also a teacher, helps out with expert advice. A member of the local Beekeepers Association, he has been involved at Te Aro School from the beginning, and is also now helping other Wellington schools with an interest in beekeeping. The association lent the school ten kid-sized bee suits with gloves, and, looking like mini spacepeople, they gather around the hive for the weekly inspection. This week they couldn’t find the Queen Bee but the kids were absorbed. They take turns using the smoker – a coffeepot-like device which is stuffed with pine needles and then lit. The kids love pressing the bellows, which puff out smoke. Puffing at the entrance to the hive encourages airborne bees to go inside. When the hive is open, and the trays are lifted

to check on their development, puffing smoke at them will drive the bees deeper into the hive itself. The kids get that. Martin explains that the smoke calms the bees and makes them easier to work with. Today’s examination is about seeing when the honey will be ready to harvest. And each vertical tray is carefully examined. The students pick out the drones and the worker bees and comment on how full the cells are with honey. Another couple of weeks before the full harvest is Martin’s verdict. Several kilos of honey have already been taken, and processed. One of the students, Sam, explains that the honey combs are put into a large spinning machine, and “the honey flows out.” It’s sieved to remove wax particles and then bottled as is. Typically honey sold in supermarkets is pasteurised, which “kills all the good stuff in honey,” Martin explains. The hexagonal jars of honey – about 250gsm each – are sitting in boxes in the classroom. “We market these to the school community,’ says Claire, “for a koha of $5. Last year the hives produced 16kg of honey, and this year Claire and Martin expect to get more than 25kg. So far they have 150 jars of honey. Claire says the bee project has extended the students’ learning into many other dimensions. “Right now the students in ICT are designing labels for the jars. The kids made one of the hives in their woodwork classes, and have produced videos, poetry, blogs and posters and pictographs to explain and document their work and that of the bees themselves. Claire made a video which won a competition run by Genesis Energy, and won the school a pile of solar panels. “The bee project has many benefits; the students learn to work together and to collaborate on a project with common goals and to work as a team. “The learning is cross-curricular and involves problem solving and communication skills.” “Right now we are in the process of forming a company which will sell the honey and earn some money for the school as well as making Wellington a bee-friendly city.”

Students from Year 8 at Te Aro Primary School 24

CULTURE

COMMUNITY RECORD Vera Williams' newly released album Monte Cassino is a family affair. Inspired by a visit to Monte Cassino, Italy, where her grandfather fought in World War II, the 19-year-old returned to Wellington to complete the album with her family and friends. She pulled together Massey visual design student Zavier Ellah, filmographer Sonja Davenport, and a bunch of her musical friends to help. “Sometimes talent goes unnoticed or wasted,” Vera explains. She released the retro-rock album with no help from a label or funding. She featured in issue seven of Capital as part of girl band Gaol B8 (pictured right), which she still plays with.

BRIDGING THE GAP New Zealand and Australia commemorate the Gallipoli centenary with simultaneous orchestral commemoration concerts. The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Symphony Orchestra perform world premiers of commissions for New Zealand composer Michael Williams and Australian composer James Ledger, supported by the New Zealand Youth Choir and the Gondwana Chorale. These young singers act as a reminder of how young the Gallipoli soldiers were during the war, as they’re around the same age. Williams found the commission a deeply personal project. “I had to dig very deep in this piece. My great grandfather Arthur Major was killed in the 3rd battle of Passchendaele on 31 August 1917. My family is in possession of the wallet with a picture of his family he carried with him in the trenches and when it was returned, they hadn’t even bothered to clean off the blood and skin. He must have been shot through the heart and the bullet went right through the wallet. I came to the conclusion that there were just too many men killed to worry about the state of their personal effects.” New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, 6.30pm, 22 April, Michael Fowler Centre Sydney Symphony Orchestra, 6.30pm, 22 April, Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall

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CULTURE

HOME A N D AWAY Local actor Freya Milner is playing one of six lead roles in the short TV One When We Go to War. The six episode miniseries will begin screening around Anzac Day. The series looks at how young people’s plans and hopes for their lives are disrupted by war. Milner plays the youngest (18) sister in a family of six, corresponding from home with her sister who’s away at war. Freya's 19 in real life and says the role has given her a better perspective on the scale of the war. “People have an idea that New Zealand wasn’t affected as much as Europe but there were huge challenges here as well – for those who went away as well as those who were left behind”. She’s acted since she was six and played Jackie Meyer in The Lovely Bones when she was 12. She began a fine arts degree at Massey this year.

Trench at Gallipoli, circa 1915. Collection of Pataka

HISTORY DISPLAYED

FIELD DAY

PARKS AND ILLUSTRATION

Porirua and Plimmerton inhabitants who served at Gallipoli are remembered in Pataka’s exhibition Porirua Anzacs at Gallipoli, opening 2 April. Plimmerton historian Allan Dodson has been gathering stories of around 100 men and women since 2011; the exhibition shows 25 stories, and photos of their subjects. Dodson’s research is published on Plimmerton’s community website. It includes the last letter ever written by John Plimmer, the town's namesake.

Berhampore is receiving an art injection this month: a giant temporary painting on the fields of Macalister and Liardet Street Parks. Norwegian-born artist Siv B. Fjærestad is working with public art producers Letting Space to produce Projected Fields. She’s been testing grass paint on the fields. The public can contribute to the painting on opening day,19 April. It’ll be a field day. The painting is inspired by activities the parks are used for, and is meant to be played on.

The mural on the French Art Shop building is a tribute to Lewis Glover, Chair of the committee that eventually became the Labour Party. The early 1900s trade unionist left his estate to the city to create a green space, which became Glover Park, opposite the art store. Wellington illustrator Stephen Templer worked on the mural, which combines a New Zealand botanical and French theme with an image of Glover. It will be complete around Easter.

31 Waring Taylor Street Wellington Ph 04 473 8037

www.schoc.co.nz

CULTURE

NURSING ORAL HISTORIES An online archive of nursing oral histories was launched last month in Wellington. The site makes histories more accessible to the public. The Nursing Education and Research Foundation has been collecting oral histories about nurses’ practice and personal lives since the 1980s. Oral histories are usually stored in Wellington’s Alexander Turnbull Library, which can make them difficult to access, New Zealand Nurses Organisation policy adviser Jill Clendon says. “We can make this stuff more accessible for family and history students so we developed a website where we could store excerpts of the oral histories.” The public can contribute material by contacting Jill.

SEEING D OUBLE Warattaya Bullot has achieved her post-graduation goal – achieving notice and recognition – with two exhibitions opening in April. The Thai-born Wellingtonian was selected as one of five finalists from around the world for Contemporary Art@Tell, an exhibition run by Switzerland’s University of St. Gallen. Their 2013 launch-year call for artists received 750 applications. Wara will exhibit "Know Where", a series of photographs of an imagined future that reflects on the relationship between nature and our built environment. It opens at the Swiss university 27 April and runs for six months. Know Where is also at Courtenay Place gallery 30Upstairs from 27 April.

CONNECTION TO THE PAST A new website enables online visitors to experience the sights and sounds of the ANZAC’s and WWI era. This has been produced in partnership by Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision and the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Highlights include Mrs Barnard, who had a gargantuan 4.5 ton gingernut baking fundraising effort. Head of Audience Diane Pivac adds: “Through Sights and Sounds we are hoping to convey a real, tangible connection to the past.” www.anzacsightsound.org

SECTION HEADER F E AT U R E

TOP OF THE CHOCS COMPILED BY ANNA JACKSON-SCOTT PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASHLEY CHURCH

Cacao beans grow around the world from South America to Africa to Asia, and we gobble chocolate over Easter without a thought for its international journey. We brought together five individuals from cacao bean-growing nations to taste some of Wellington’s chocolate offerings. After tasting usual and strange flavours, chilli chocolates that left them sweating and swearing, and Easter eggs and bunnies, we’ve singled out a highlight from each company. Wimmy is from Indonesia and moved to New Zealand in 2012. She has no full name so Wimmy doubles as her surname. She noticed when she shifted countries that “it’s 10 degrees colder here!” She acts, models, and dances, and is also an avid mountain biker. She blogs at ezperienza.com and works during the day as a Claims Advisor for the Earthquake Commission. Diogo Freire comes from Belo Horizonte in Brazil. He moved here in 2008 and became a citizen last year. He found personal space to be the biggest cultural difference, which led to a few awkward interactions! He misses the music in Brazil, which is played on every corner, park and square. “And I miss my pão de queijo with my black filtered coffee.” Pinaman Owusu-Banahene was born in Ghana’s capital city, Accra. She came to New Zealand 12 years ago and works as a senior advisor at the Ministry of Health. Passionate about policy, fashion and philanthropy, she wants to use fashion to create social change. She founded social enterprise organisation ADJOAA in 2011 to promote African designers in Australasia and aid Africa’s development. Marita Ortiz is from Lima, Peru. She arrived in New Zealand in 2004 and teaches Pilates, Zumba and Yoga in Mount Victoria as SoulMarita. One of her claims to fame: “I’m the face of Zumba!” Marita also teaches and performs traditional and tropical South American dance, and can usually be recognised by the bright green feathers of her Peruvian costume. Mohan Thalia is from Hyderabad, India. He can’t speak his mother tongue, Telugu, without throwing in English words, and also speaks Hindi, English and German. He says India is a colourful country, “not black like Wellington!” There’s also more interaction in India, and people get involved in festivals and community activity. “And they ask other people for directions rather than using Google Maps!”

SHO C

WELLINGTON CHOCOLATE FACTORY

SILKY OAK

B OHEMEIN CHO COLATE

Schoc has stores in Greytown and Wellington. They gave us a fruity Easter bar reminiscent of hot cross buns, but our tasters went crazy for their Curry and Pappadums bar, trying to name the spice it contained. Our Indian taster looked particularly puzzled. He said it reminded him of a very distinct and seldom-used spice in India that he couldn’t quite place, and made for a smooth, interesting, surprisingly enjoyable flavour.

Wellington Chocolate Factory is Wellington’s first bean-to-bar setup (see Capital 10). Among their samples were a sheep’s milk chocolate, which will be released in the next couple of months, the much-anticipated Craft Beer Bar, and their Easter egg lined with brittle salted caramel. The Craft Beer Bar took the cake. Topped with hops, the bar was textured, fruity, and completely foreign – exactly what we wanted for our unusual tasting round. The hop flowers make for an attractive bar.

Silky Oak originally opened in Napier, where they have a chocolate museum. They’ve since expanded to Tauranga and Lower Hutt, so we brought their chocolate in for our tasters. The chilli and dark chocolates were particular hits, with the dark having peanut notes that set off our tasters’ buds. Silky Oak donated a chocolate-covered marshmallow for their Easter specialty which our tasters commented, inventively, was “marshmallow-y”.

Bohemein Chocolate opened in Hataitai in 2005 when Jiri (George) Havlik moved to New Zealand from the Czech Republic. He gave us a cinnamon bunny as the Easter offering, which our tasters found to be the cutest chocolate. One taster declared of the Bohemein dark, “that’s what chocolate needs to be forever”. The Chilli Ganache rated highest amongst our tasters, who noted it was a particularly attractive chocolate, had a good balance of chilli flakes, a good texture, and left their faces only lightly on fire.

F E AT U R E

THE CHO COLATIER

NYCO

TRADE AID

THE WILD CARD

The Chocolatier is Wellington’s other bean-to-bar chocolatier. Ian Ryan learnt to craft chocolate in Ireland, Europe and Denmark before bringing his skills to New Zealand. He supplied us with a particularly exotic bar, Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar with Breadcrumbs. Our tasters weren’t quite up to the challenge of those strong flavours, and went for the chilli instead. It had a late but intense spice, smooth texture, and was beautifully sprinkled with dried chillis.

Nyco is a chocolate manufacturer on the Kapiti Coast. They are doing an Irish Crème and a Grand Marnier egg for Easter, which our tasters commented “embodied the spirit of Easter”. Their chilli chocolate also rated highly, with a definitive “yes!” from our pickiest taster, who said it was “one of the best”. Others found it refreshing and “amazing!” One taster found it too spicy, but noted that after the five chilli chocolates that preceded, this chocolate may not be entirely to blame.

Trade Aid recently opened a chocolate factory in Christchurch which supplies the Wellington store. They didn’t have an Easter or milk chocolate offering for our tasters, but gave a Sri Lankan Spice and a Dark Salt Toffee Crisp that held up well, given it was the last test for our then-oversaturated chocolate tasters. The dark particularly had “the perfect taste”, one taster said. The rest chewed obligingly away in a pleasant, sugary state of happiness.

The chocolate that received the strangest reaction was by far Nyco’s chicken-flavoured chocolate, sent to test on our tasters before Nyco refine and release it. One taster’s face lit up with realisation before he shouted “noodles!” while others debated about different flavours of noodle sachets. They were by no means disturbed by the chicken-chocolate combination; in fact one taster took the rest of the chicken chocolate home (probably to put on his noodles).

F E AT U R E F E AT U R E F E AT U R E

KEY

F O R E ST

WITH GUNS AMAZING

HARBOUR

Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

H I STO R I C POINTS

COMPILED BY DARCY WATERS ILLUSTRATED BY RHETT GOODLEY-HORNBLOW

In Wellington, hidden away from the motorists, much of Wellington’s remaining built military heritage is there to be explored. To get to some of the posts you need boots like those worn by the men who used

HILLS

them – soldiers stationed to defend harbours and lands. Before World War I, when New Zealand was still a colony of the British Empire and the empire was at war with the Russians, the fear of invasion spurred a building frenzy in the 1880s. Fort Buckley above Kaiwharawhara, Gardens Battery atop the Botanic Gardens, Kelburn and then Fort Kelburn above Ngauranga, were built to defend the inner harbour. Gradually the focus moved outwards from defending the inner harbour to denying access to it. Gun emplacements were built on the Miramar Headland at Halswell Battery at Pt Halswell, Kau Pt Battery at Kau Pt, and two forts – Fort Balance and Fort Gordon – on Pt Gordon. By the Second World War the focus was on denying access to the harbour channel and also the concept of counter-bombardment from strategic points.

22 Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Fo r t O p a u M a k a ra B e a c h

4 Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Somes Island B a tt e r y

Khandallah

Kaiwharawhara Magazine 6

Massey Memorial 8

Fo r t B u ck l e y

Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

12 M t C ra w f o rd A A B a tt e r y

Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Ka u P t B a tt e r y D e f e n c e Ro a d s

Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

S h e l l y B a y 10 B a r ra c k s

11 Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Fo r t B a l a n c e

Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Stout St 3 Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Mt Cook Defence HQ

Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Ka r o r i

Po i n t Dorset

Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

7 Gardens B a tt e y

Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

We l l i n g t o n Airpor t

1 Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Wr i g h t s H i l l Fo r t r e s s

N 35

F E AT U R E

1 WRIGHTS HILL FORTRESS Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

End of Wrights Hill Rd, Karori.

Open to the public most public holidays.The most extensive and most well known of the former military sites around Wellington. Built WWII. 3 gun 9.2” C.A. (Coastal Artillery) Battery with its engine rooms, plotting rooms and magazines underground all connected with 2030 ft of tunnels. Only two guns installed, testfired after WWII ended.

6 KAIWHARAWHARA MAGAZINE Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Access via reserve entrance off Ngaio Gorge Rd. 19th Century military Magazine. Had been almost restored when it was burned down by thieves destroying an Armourguard van during a robbery in 2000. Restored as a ruin.

7 GARDENS BAT TERY Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

2 FORT OPAU Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Access via the Makara walkway (no public transport nearby). 2 gun 6” C.A battery built WWII and had a radar post with views across Cook Strait toward top of South Island.

3 STOUT ST DEPARTMENTAL BUILDINGS Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Used now by another Government Dept, but was built for the Defence Department as its headquarters when they moved from the exNZ Railways HQ brick building in Featherston St. They since moved out to a new HQ in Mulgrave St. Exterior also used in Roger Hall's TV series, Gliding On.

4 SOMES ISLAND AA BAT TERY Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Access to island via Dominion Post Ferry (charges apply).

3.7” Anti-Aircraft Battery on summit of island with views up harbour channel and across to Hutt Valley and Wellington. The only AA battery with a dual role.

5 MT CO OK DEFENCE HQ Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Corner Buckle St and Taranaki St. Some of the buildings on this defence reserve are still in military use. The red brick building on the very corner was used as defence HQ from when work started on the Dominion Museum and Art Gallery in 1927 until it moved into the former Railways HQ in Featherston St in 1938. Visible from the street but not publicly accessible.

In the Botanic Gardens near the Dominion Observatory. Gun Pit for 7” RML gun (pit filled in but parapet still visible). Magazine entrance still there, but magazine became the basement of the Dominion Observatory. It is largely intact.

8 FORT BUCKLEY Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Off Barnard St, Highland Park. Built in 1886 and armed with two 64pdr rifled muzzle-loading guns. This was part of the defence of the inner harbour. Had an underground magazine between the emplacements, which has long since collapsed. Overlooks Kaiwharawhara.

9 9.POINT D ORSET Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Access via Breaker Bay Rd or Seatoun foreshore. Assorted observation posts, magazines and 4” and smaller-calibre gun emplacements scattered amidst the scrub along this ridge overlooking the entrance to the harbour channel. All that remains of what was Fort Dorset (other than the south sports field).

10 Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

SHELLY BAY

Submarine mining depot barracks of 1886 remain, as does a large assortment of WWIIperiod buildings from its occupation by the Navy, along with workshops and slipways. The road behind has 10 magazine buildings set into cuttings in the side of the hill on the way up Mt Crawford. In 1946 handed over to the Air Force until its decommissioning. Good starting point if walking through the headland. (If using bus walk from Miramar cutting).

11 11.DEFENCE ROADS, MIRAMAR HEADLAND Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Clearly visible on Google Earth. They link the various military sites, including Halswell battery, Kau Pt Battery, Fort Balance and Shelly Bay, before Massey Rd was built. Quite a nice walk but boots are required especially after rain.

12 MASSEY MEMORIAL Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Access via Massey Rd. White Marble monument built atop the Halswell Battery. Originally had an 8” disappearing gun. The gun was tossed down the bank and later found when the road below was widened. The emplacement was lined with marble and the Masseys are interred there. The magazines and associated rooms/ passages are structurally intact underneath but is not publicly accessible. The memorial on top is open to the public and offers views of the harbour. Quite a walk from public transport.

13 MT CRAWFORD AA BAT TERY Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Access via the grass road across the headland or up the bank from Massey memorial. Four emplacements and command/observation post for a 3.7” Heavy AA battery.

14 14.KAU PT BAT TERY Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Climb up the hill from Kau Bay or down from the dirt/grass road above. 8” disappearing gun emplacement. Gun pit largely filled in, rest structurally intact but UNSAFE to enter. However above the emplacement across the grass road is the observation post for this battery, with labels for the different batteries written on the walls.

15 FORT BALANCE Created by Daniel Turner from the Noun Project

Access via Mahanga Bay. Initially constructed 1885–1888 to defend the harbour channel. Armed with 2 7” RML guns, 2 6pdr Nordenfeldt quick firing guns and a 6” BLHP gun and a electric searchlight. South 7”RML gun later replaced with a second 6”BLHP gun. Also had the control room for the harbour channel electrically fired minefield. 1925 site was no longer used as coastal artillery. WWII the emplacements were turned into ammo storage and 4” guns installed.

SECTION HEADER

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GOOD V I B R AT I O N S WRITTEN BY CRAIG BEARDSWORTH | PHOTOGRAPH BY RHETT GOODLEY-HORNBLOW The week of Wellington City Council festivities to mark ANZAC day includes a vintage aircraft flyover, parades involving WW1 vehicles, and light and sound shows. Some special magic will happen in a small room at the top of a tower overlooking the new Pukeahu National War Memorial Park. That tower is the National War Memorial Carillon. At over 50 metres it has dominated the skyline since 1932 and is the third largest carillon in the world. The tower houses 74 bells ranging in size from 10 kgs to a 12.5 tonne behemoth called the ‘peace bell’. The bells are hooked up, via a set of wires and levers, to a keyboard which is played with the fists and the feet. The bells are bolted in place across four floors in the tower – each bell has an iron clapper that sounds the bell. National carillonist Timothy Hurd has been frustrated over the past three years as the tower and memorial hall beneath have been earthquake-strengthened and he hasn’t been able to play. Add to that the dust and vibrations from

the creation of a tunnel and park below, and the instrument “isn’t as finessed” as Hurd would like it. The original 49 bells were sponsored through private donations in memory of WW1 casualties, so Hurd points out “it is a 1920s example of crowd funding.” Each bell has a name and dedication inscription. One is dedicated to Leslie Beauchamp, brother of writer Katherine Mansfield. Other bells bear the names of military units and specific battles. With 500 years of carillon music to choose from Hurd has plenty of options for repertoire. The ANZAC concerts will include improvisations and a newly commissioned work by Hurd. Oh, and that 12.5 tonne peace bell? Hurd played it for us while we were up inspecting the bells – it reverberated for three minutes. Light and WWI Remembered: A Light and Sound Show April 18–25, Pukeahu National War Memorial Park (Hurd will play from 7pm every night).

W HAT T H E F L O C K ?

MS ROYA L SPO ONBILL Name: Royal Spoonbill. Māori name: Kōtuku ngutupapa. Status: Native, naturally uncommon. Only six sightings were recorded in New Zealand before 1930, but the bird has since become widespread with numbers increasing all the time. Habitat: Breeds in Australia and New Zealand – with 15 breeding sites here ranging from the Parengarenga Harbour to Foveaux Strait. Look for them: At known breeding sites and on the coastlines of North and South Islands. Near to Wellington, Royal Spoonbill that nest on Kapiti Island regularly visit the Waikanae estuary, and they’re not uncommon at Pauatahanui inlet. Look for a large, white waterbird - similar to an egret - with a spoon-shaped black bill often put to use sweeping back and forward while wading through shallow waters. If you can get close enough to discern the details of a spoonbill’s face, you’ll notice beautiful bright yellow ‘eyebrows’ and a red facial patch on adults which are absent in juveniles. During breeding season these already unusual looking birds develop a “nuchal crest of filoplumes” aka punkish feathered mohawk that rises up from the nape, with feathers reaching up to 20cm long on males. Call: Grunts and growls at the nesting site, usually quiet when elsewhere. Feeds on: Fish including flounder (yum!), shrimp, insects and frogs. Did you know? At breeding time, unpaired Royal Spoonbills gather into groups to form “bachelor parties”, sparring, performing aerial acrobatics and bowing while clapping their bills and quivering their heads. Once a pair has bonded they engage in a spot of mutual preening. If it were human it would be: We imagine this bird as a type of dancer – graceful and long-limbed, but with out-of-this-world facial features and a hairstyle to match. Imagine Swan Lake with choreography and composition by Wellington band Orchestra of Spheres (well-worth a Google).

Top: My cousin Dylan, his baby sister Hannah, my little sister Charlotte and then me on the far right. Bottom: Back, Jonnie (10 yrs), Sarah (12 yrs), Front Adam (3 yrs), Diana (5 yrs). And Great Uncle Bulgaria of course, at our grandparents' house in Raumati.

F E AT U R E

O N - S TA G E SISTER STINT WRITTEN BY CRAIG BEARDSWORTH

We all know the story from childhood – her ugly sisters are mean, her fairy godmother conjures up an elegant dress and a veggie coach, and she loses one of her stilettos at the ball. Nineteenth century composer Gioachino Rossini liked the story of Cinderella too and wrote a comedic opera based on it. A couple of the stage sisters in the NZ Opera’s production of La Cenerentola are played by Wellingtonians now living abroad. Sarah Castle is Cinderella, and Amelia Berry one of her ugly sisters Clorinda.

suggested to the pair that playing sisters at odds with one another on stage might require a bit of delving into the past to old sibling rivalries or the present cut-throat opera audition circuit. Berry thinks much of the insight for the role is laid out in the text “Clorinda is like the heightened, played-up versions of the vain, self-involved, privileged and bossy women that we see on reality TV these days”. As the eldest child and grandchild on both sides of the family, Berry felt a fair amount of responsibility growing up. “I was definitely very bossy toward my younger siblings and a total control freak, but I felt very protective of them and wanted them to do the best at everything... my little sister and I did a fair amount of bullying of each other but we are great friends now that we are grown up.” Castle has a mix of six siblings and half-siblings, but takes a holistic approach to creating the role of the downtrodden Cinderella – she doesn’t specifically think about sisterly spats. “Often you are not aware of every event in your history which informs the role; it's often not a conscious thought at all, but rather an instinct, formed from all your experiences”. Neither singer thinks the audition circuit is as aggressive as the stories suggest. Castle has been through plenty. “Even in one of those line-ups where five of you are all clearly auditioning for exactly the same part, all gathered together in a darkened wing, it's normal for us to genuinely congratulate each

other... no-one would want to be seen to be being bitchy – it generally does not go down very well with employers”. Berry is sure they are exaggerated. “There are always people who will act out, but I think you find that in any field.” Perhaps the sisterhood support network is stronger than all those tales make out. Director Lindy Hume is using a line from Lady Gaga’s 2011 song ‘Born this way’ as the main theme for La Cenerentola: “Hold your head up and you’ll go far.” It is a pervasive theme in fairy tales but I wondered if it rings true for the ‘jobbing’ opera singers looking for work. Berry thinks it’s vital to show people who you are. “We are marketing ourselves to people not only in auditions, but at events, meetings, random elevators and any number of other situations. People won't always love you, but at least they can respect you for being who you are”. Castle admits that there is always a dilemma in auditioning, “where you're trying to second-guess the panel, as to what kind of singer they prefer, what you should sing, or wear, or say”. But experience has taught her that it's best to suit yourself and hope the audition panel gets it. In both of their cases the auditions paid off as they travel back to New Zealand regularly for singing work. The best bit about singing in New Zealand? Seeing your sisters (and brothers) of course. La Cenerentola, 9–16 May, St. James Theatre.

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FASH ION

AUTUMN LEAVES April heralds the season of change. From fresh apple greens and crisp whites to cinnamon-coloured oranges and warm patterns.

FASH ION

GREEN FA L L S

World 3978 epistemology gown, $999.00, World Scarf, $21.50, Vintage Heaven Grid laundry basket, $119.00, Let Liv Uashmama paper bag- grey, $28.00, Let Liv Thyen Xi, $200.00, The Service Depot Mortar and pestle large, $54.99, Nood Chartreuse linen cushion small, $109.00, Let Liv Martina organics oil cleanser, $89.00, Let Liv Artificial cactus in pot, $9.90, Iko Iko Bonnie & Neil maidenhair green plate, $85.00, Small Acorns

FASH ION

Kowtow uniform dress- rust red large, $225.00, Wanda Harland Nectar lampshade- clay, $563.00, The Vault Bamboo floor lamp, $640.00, Stacks Decker ring, $195.00, Kelly Wearstler Apothecary sandalwood 500ml candle, $59.90, Iko Iko Wire baskets by General Electric, round, $69.00, Stacks Copper leg side table, $335.00, Stacks Worldman 3846 quattrocent coat, $699.00, World

RU ST RETURNS

STREET STYLE

REFLECTION OF YOUR PERSONALIT Y Name: April Hague-Smith Occupation: User Experience Lead at Proximity Location: Customhouse Quay April featuring in April’s issue–seems appropriate, yes? But don’t get me wrong, she isn’t in here because of her fitting name. She’s in here because she has completely captured what it means to dress for a beautiful Wellington day – bright colours, a long flowing dress (because we all know short flowing dresses do not work in Wellington, even on a stunner day) tort frames and some work-casual shoes. April has totally inspired me. I have always dressed with a bit of flair – fluoro, sequins, fur, you name it, I’ll have it. But when I started working, I thought I needed to cull the fun and focus on the neutrals. April put it in the best terms, “Fashion should be a reflection of your personality”. Playing it safe isn’t really me, so if it isn’t you either, go for it. Wear whatever you like and don’t be afraid. Prada frames | Tony Bianco shoes | Mika and Gala dress | Topshop belt | Kelly Lipman bag | Zoe & Morgan necklace Elsie Blackman, workingclass.co.nz

LaLA

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FASH ION B R I E F S

A POCKET FULL Yuka Maud’s latest collection from her label Otsu (her maiden name) pockets the limitless creativity of childhood. The A/W15 collection, launched in February, features large, structured pockets that remind the wearer that “there’s space for the freedom, creativity and fun” they may’ve left behind with childhood. “Kids always carry around stupid things in their pockets – an acorn, flower, or piece of paper. It’s creative and free and funny. When we grow up we only carry what we think we need. You think you need a phone. You don’t need a phone. Kids never do that, they just do whatever they want to do. It’s something we’ve forgotten,” she says.

Adam Bryce

GO AFRICAN

LIGHTNING SALES

RAINED OUT

Pinaman Owusu-Banahene has launched a Spark crowd-funding campaign to bring New Zealand its first African Fashion Festival. The campaign closes on 6 April. She needs to raise $30,000 to launch the festival in Wellington and Auckland in May. Born in Ghana’s capital city Accra, Pinaman is passionate about using fashion to create social change. The festival expands the commercial reach of African designers in Australasia, while proceeds will go towards education in Africa. The festival is a project of social enterprise ADJOAA, which Pinaman founded in 2011.

Thunderpants sold half their limitededition banana print in a week. The ‘philanthropants’ are a collaboration between Martinborough company Thunderpants and All Good Organics, who support fair-trade bananas. Five dollars from each sale is donated to Kaibosh Food Rescue in support of minimising food waste, hence the philanthropic aspect of the pants. There are only about 250 pairs left of the hand-printed underpants, so quit monkeying around! Guy Williams is the face (and bum) of the All Good banana ‘philanthropants.

Okewa means large grey rain cloud in Te Reo Maori. It’s a fitting name for the raincoat brand from windy, rainy Wellington. Fashion graduate Nevada Leckie began the brand with her husband Nick. “I wanted to create functional fashion raincoats for a long time. There was nothing that was completely waterproof and looked good.” They reached double their Kickstarter campaign target in August last year, which showed there was a real market for fashion rainwear, Nevada says. Nevada designs and makes the patterns for the coats, which are produced in Auckland.

GARDENING FOR C O M M U N I T Y H E A LT H WRITTEN BY JOHN BISHOP | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MELL LEENDERS

Cannons Creek has 14 shops in a block and outside the dairies there are ten signs offering specials. Four offer deals on fizzy drinks, three promote bread, and there’s one each for bananas, baked beans and spaghetti. “Typically the top ten grocery items sold in supermarkets in New Zealand,” says Tim Borrer of the Cannons Creek Community Pantry, which is striving to offer an alternative. Tim quotes Mark Winne, a well-known American food and community activist, saying that ‘the rich get local and organic; the poor get diabetes.’ In Cannons Creek some of the community are trying to break the dependency on processed food and takeaways and to promote better eating habits. At the Pantry, one of the activities of Wesley Community Action in Porirua, volunteers are still packaging up 30-40 food parcels a week for the needy. But the action has moved well beyond this task. Volunteers have dug up the front lawn outside the

pantry’s building on Mungavin Avenue to grow fruit and vegetables. Right now they are harvesting a big crop of apples, and over summer have been growing zucchini, sweet corn, beans, silverbeet and lettuces along with potatoes, tomatoes, and blueberries. Ten dollars gets a family a bag full of fresh fruit and vegetables - about half the supermarket price for the same quantity. Two hundred families are taking part regularly. “We want to make fresh stuff more affordable and more accessible to people in our area, and we are showing people how to plant their own gardens. “We’ve now got over a hundred gardens up and running, and we are also running workshops to help people with cooking what they produce,” Tim says. The community pantry gets money from the Ministry for the Environment, the Dove Foundation (a Christchurch charity funded by an IT company), and the local Mana Community Trust .

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EDIBLES

WA S T E N O T WA N T N O T Hutt City is part of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign. Wellingtonians are throwing nearly $106 million out with their food scraps each year. The Sustainable Living Programme is a series of workshops running through until June aimed at reducing food waste. Workshops include sessions on composting, worm farms and winter gardens, as well as planning meals and being clever with food storage. Workshops are being held at the Hutt City Libraries.

THE PASSION OF THE BUN Fervour for Easter hot cross buns is heating up across the region. Local bakers ACME & co. and Grammercy in Berhampore have added their fare to the already steep competition. Will one break out and crucify the others? It’s the first time Grammercy and ACME & co. have done the Easter specialty, although they’re not the dairy-free Lent friendly buns of history.

OUI OUI WADESTOWN

HOUSE OF HONEY

Le Maquis (the French resistance) have opened an épicerie to feed the troops of Wadestown. Under this moniker, it is located/poking out of the scrub on Sefton St. The authentic French, beretwearing staff will cheerfully offer you a café au lait while you decide which locally produced cheese or patisserie you would prefer. We believe they will be inundated on ANZAC day. Vive La Résistance!

Bees Blessing are from the Mangaroa Valley, just north east of Upper Hutt. Purveyors of all sorts of honey based cordials, they were winners of the Mindfood Producer of the Year awards. They are eagerly anticipating winter sales, suggesting their lemon honey and ginger variety (made from nothing else) would be perfect to keep away those fast approaching Winter chills.

EDIBLES

COMMUNIST COFFEE Recently opened is the Stories Espresso Bar on Cuba. They aim to bring the next generation of baristas to the front line of Wellington’s coffee battleground by providing their first place of employment. A true socialist enterprise, every dollar goes back to the Barista Training Academy of Zeal, a nationwide youth trust which aims to transform young people.

BILLY BRINGS HIS APPLES TO WELLINGTON It was 1964. Exhibiting with Andy Warhol in New York for the controversial show, Supermarket, Billy Apple was involved in America’s entry into Pop Art. He has further combined art and consumption with his new range of Billy Apple cider, available at Moore Wilson’s and Trade Kitchen. It is rumoured that he uses the Fibonacci formula in the creation of this refreshing beverage.

EARNESTLY DELICIOUS

TEEN DRINKIN’ IS BAD

There is a division in our office over whether vegetables belong in juice. Just off Cuba, on Garrett Street, is the newly opened Earnest Juice Bar who mix up all manner of fruit and super foods. They cold press their different flavours of juice on site so you can be sure it is fresh. Also available are salads, coffee and raw treats, complete with a park on their doorstep to enjoy your lunch. A slow roll-out of a juice delivery system is underway, so enquire with them if you are in the CBD and interested.

Community Action on Youth Alcohol and Drugs is beginning a new campaign aimed at reducing the amount young people drink. CAYAD Public Health Advisor Anna Tonks says, “Most people want to be with the crowd, not against it.” The What About You? campaign which has been introduced at the Wellington and Petone WelTec campuses suggests that most young people don’t actually drink as much as we think. Hence – Go with the crowd and drink less.

THE FOREST CANTINA

R EWANA FOR AR A NGA BY UNNA BURCH

e have one of the sweetest long weekends in April, Easter! Easter means different things to different people and many cultures all around the world celebrate occasions with eggs as a symbol of fertility and new life. I thought I’d balance out all that sweetness from Easter eggs with an eggy breakfast perfect for a long weekend. I love making a cooked breakfast when there is time to take things a little slower. When my husband is home and not rushing off to work, he can play with the kids while I make something yummy to begin the day with. This recipe is Kiwi. It is my “Naenae watercress benedict with a horopito hollandaise on rewana bread with manuka smoked bacon.” Watercress, horopito, rewana and manuka are all flavours that are special to New Zealand and it’s great to be able to combine these flavours using eggs from my chickens. I have 13 heritage breed chickens in my backyard which I have selected specifically for their egg shell colour. From speckled eggs to pastel blue shells, they look like they

are already painted for Easter (you can read more about what breed lays what colours on my website www.theforestcantina. com under the ‘lifestyle’ section) The horopito (bush pepper) that I added to the hollandaise is available from Moore Wilson’s but feel free to use regular pepper if you can’t source it. I also used rewana bread in this recipe as made by a family friend, Orlando MacDonald. He uses kumara as his ‘bug’ in his bread which is quite traditional and it means that because kumara is sweet, he doesn’t have to use the amount of sugar that other breads need. His ‘bug’ is about three years old now so gives his bread a lovely flavour and texture. Although Orlando no longer lives in Wellington, he does make special orders for his bread for things like Māori language week down here in Wellington. If you happened to be at Porangahau Beach in Hawkes Bay where he now lives, you could buy his special bread from the local dairy that his parents own. Ciabatta is a good alternative in place of rewana.

METHOD Ingredients Serves: 4 1 tablespoon white vinegar 8 free-range eggs (a size 6 or 7, any smaller and you’ll need to reduce the cooking time of the eggs) 2 tablespoons olive oil manuka smoked free range bacon medium-size bunch watercress rewana or ciabatta bread, sliced and toasted For the horopito hollandaise 2 tablespoons lemon juice 4 free-range egg yolks 150g butter, melted 1–2 teaspoons of horopito (or to taste, much less if you are using regular pepper)

For more on my chickens and eggs visit: www.theforestcantina.com

For the hollandaise Put the lemon juice and yolks in a food processer (or you can whisk by hand) and mix for a few seconds then SLOWLY pour in the melted butter while the processor is still running. Once all the butter has been added, add the horopito to taste. If using salted butter, the hollandaise might not need extra salt, but adjust if needed. Once the horopito and salt seasoning is right, pour into a jug and let it sit while you make the rest of the dish (Hollandaise will thicken more once the butter has reformed, so if you want it a little thicker you can let it sit for a while, or you can make it the day before) For the bacon Heat the oil in a skillet or frying pan over a medium/high heat and cook the bacon to your liking. For poached eggs Bring a large pot of water to the boil with the vinegar in a pot or pan large enough to completely submerge the eggs. Once it is boiling, turn the element off. I wait until there are no bubbles and the water has calmed down, then I crack the eggs into the water and let them sit in the hot water, with the element off, until cooked – about 2 minutes, then I use a flat potato-masher to scoop out. If the eggs are cooked before you are ready to serve, take them out and put them on a plate to stop them from cooking further. To serve Put the toast on a plate, top with watercress. Add the bacon on the side then top with the eggs. Spoon over the horopito hollandaise. I serve extra hollandaise on the side. 54

LIQUID NEWS

TH E HOP S ARE ALWAYS GR EENER BY KIERAN HASLETT-MOORE

Yeastie Boy Stu McKinlay has packed up the family home, sold his toys, sent the dog to his father and is following his dreams with the family in tow.

n the 28th of January this year the Yeastie Boys made history. They raised half a million dollars in less than 30 minutes via the crowd-funding platform Pledgeme. They weren’t the first NZ brewer to use crowd funding to raise capital (Renaissance took that honour in August of last year), but they were the fastest. No one expected the $500,000 worth of shares to disappear quite so quickly, certainly not the National Business Review readers who poured scorn on the whole endeavour on the internet. Many investors were caught out not having made it home from work in time to invest, while there are countless tales of people securing shares just in time. At Goldings Free Dive in Leeds St the atmosphere was electric; the people had spoken with their wallets and backed the Yeastie Boy dream. That dream was to take Yeastie Boy’s eclectic range of beers to the UK. Last year the Yeastie Boys were chosen to be part of the JD Wetherspoon International Real Ale Festival, an event that brings brewers from around the world to the UK, and pairs them with traditional British breweries to produce a cask ale version of their beer. The Yeastie Boy’s flagship Gunnamatta Earl Grey Tea IPA was brewed at Adnams in East Anglia and was a huge hit. The experience got Stu and his business partner Sam Possenniskie thinking about the potential for their beers in Europe, and eventually the idea of crowd funding was seized upon. The money raised by the sale of a portion of the company was to be used to start contract brewing at the edgy Brewdog Brewery in Scotland, and to fund the temporary relocation of Stu, his partner Fritha and their three boys to London so he could spearhead the brand in Europe. The NBR readers labelled it

lunacy, Renaissance’s Roger Kerrison memorably told them to go back to their power company floats, and the craft beer community backed one of its own in record time. By the middle of this month Stu and family will have relocated from Karaka Bay to London and the job of building the UK side of the business will begin. That Stu has moved the whole family, minus Wendy the dog although she will follow if they decide to stay longer than the initial six months, says everything about how different this business is from those the cynics would usually back. More conventionally, a UK sales rep would be appointed and Stu might be expected to pop across regularly to build the brand. But this will be a family campaign, just as the wider craft beer family have funded the move. First on the agenda when they arrive is to set about sourcing the right hops and tea for the first two beers to be brewed in Scotland. The plan is to brew Pot Kettle Black and Gunnamatta at Brewdog, and import the rest of their range from NZ. Yeastie Boys have also entered into a cooperative arrangement with Renaissance, Tuatara and Three Boys, and together they will work to increase the profile and availability of NZ craft beer in London. Then Stu will be off to Wiltshire to brew a beer for the next Wetherspoon’s Real Ale Festival at the very traditional Wadworth Brewery. Just what they will make of his unusual recipes I can only imagine. Only time will tell if the critics or the craft beer community will be proved right. Unsurprisingly I think the sun will shine on the side of the brewers.

EDIBLES

ONE-TRICK PONY Armadillos were once the animals associated with Matt Hanna; he’s since moved on to lamb. Lambanjo is Seatoun’s new roast eatery, opened by Hanna in late January. “Lambanjo is what Aussies call the shoulder, which is all I’m serving. People say it looks like a little banjo but in all reality it looks like a ukulele. We call it the oyster cut in New Zealand, but people would have asked for oysters.” The self-described one-trick pony chose lamb roast with potatoes Anna and a tossed salad because he can do it well, consistently, and fast. Seeing that customers have been blitzed by every possible food combination, he went back to basics. “There’s not much you can invent now that make people think ‘oh, this is new’. It’s simple and honest and translates into people going ‘oh I get it. He’s just saying come and have a feed.’” Hanna came back to Wellington after a fifteen-year stint in Queenstown. “I suddenly realised, ‘it’s cold here in the winter’. When your water bottle freezes next to your bed and you turn on the shower and sorbet comes out, it’s time to go.”

LIQUID THOUGHTS

PINOT C A P I TA L Wellington pinot lovers will have to wait an extra year to celebrate their favourite red since the next Pinot Noir New Zealand conference has had its date pulled back to January 2017. The three-yearly conference has been rescheduled to make way for the inaugural International Sauvignon Blanc gig in Marlborough next January. The red wine follow-on ‘will be exciting’, promises Pinot Noir NZ 2017 chairman Ben Glover: “We have a superbly reprobate team developing this programme.” pinotnz.co.nz/board-bio.php

LET THE MO OD TAKE YOU

ARBITRAGEUR GOES FRENCH

Wellington bars have beer and cider labelled with new flavour scales to help customers choose according to mood and preference. The new brews and ciders come from the makers of Mac’s, who have added a flavour scale of 1 to 7 to their labels. The ratings on four ciders and two new beers appeared in March, and are a guide to style and preference for intensity (higher ratings) or lightness (lower rankings), says Mac’s brand manager Dave Pearce.

Marlborough winemaker and photographer Kevin Judd has just released his new 2012 Greywacke Wild Sauvignon and while it’s trickling into the trade, his 2011 Wild Sauvignon is drinking superbly at Arbitrageur Wine Room & Restaurant. The chefs have matched the full-bodied maverick-style sauvignon to a dish of asparagus, goat’s curd, pumpkin and parmigiano. It’s a new food twist on a French-inspired classic (chèvre with sancerre), which flatters this sancerre-like sauvignon down to the ground.

11 APRIL — 2 AUGUST 2015 45 Laings Rd, Lower Hutt 04 570 6500 | dowse.org.nz

Bronwynne Cornish, Frog Figure (detail), 1979. Collection of Hawke’s Bay Musuems Trusts, Ruawharo Ta¯-u¯-rangi

Y T I L L I U TRANQ

Chris Charteris / Jeff Smith 21 March–31 May 2015

Tungaru: the Kiribati project 2014, Mangere Arts Centre, Auckland (installation detail) Photo by Sam Hartnett

allery.org.n

nzportraitg

Cnr Norrie and Parumoana Streets, Porirua City, www.pataka.org.nz

P E R I O D I C A L LY S P E A K I N G

CULTURE OF RESISTANCE WRITTEN BY JOHN KERR

Thousands of tiny glass tubes sealed away in a Porirua lab chart the microbial history of modern New Zealand – including the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

he medical section of the New Zealand Reference Culture Collection holds many interesting – and in some cases, notorious – bacteria. The collection is a library of ‘medically important’, rare or unusual bacteria. Over 4,600 strains are freeze dried and stored in small glass vials, housed in a secure heat- and shock-proof building in Porirua. The Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), a government research wing, manages the collection, responding to hundreds of requests for bacterial cultures each year. Cultures are couriered to labs and hospitals around the country for use in teaching, quality control and research. For example, scientists may request a historic sample of bacteria to compare with a contemporary strain, to study how the bacteria have evolved over time. And there are certainly historic bacteria in the collection; some samples date all the way back to 1955 when the collection was first started by Wellington microbiologist James Manning. Each sample in the collection is painstakingly processed, vacuum sealed and carefully catalogued by specially trained staff. When handling potentially disease-causing bacteria, the utmost care needs to be taken. Dozens of strains are added to the collection each year. To be included in this ‘hall of fame’ bacteria don’t necessarily have to be disease-causing; many strains are kept as a record of New Zealand’s biodiversity, offering a snapshot of our bacterial wildlife for future researchers. Others are included because they are important for use in tests, or represent the ‘classic’ version of a strain. Some, however, make it in because of their unusual ability to thwart modern drugs. Notable cultures in the collection include samples of the first New Zealand-detected strains of MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant form of Staphlycoccus aureus which can cause nasty and difficult-to-treat skin infections. The collection also holds variants of the very un-sexy, gonorrhoea-causing Neisseria gonorrhoeae which cannot be treated with standard antibiotics. The rise of so-called ‘super bug’ bacteria resistant to antibiotics has become an issue of international concern, with the World Health Organisation calling it a “serious threat to global public health that requires action across all government sectors and society.” Thanks to the discovery of antibiotic drugs like penicillin, infected cuts and scratches went from being life-threatening 60

to mildly inconvenient. However, the bacteria that cause these infections are increasingly developing resistance to antibiotics and the armoury of new treatments is starting to dwindle. Dr Deborah Williamson, a Clinical Microbiologist at ESR, doesn’t sugar-coat the pill. “There’s no doubt that antibiotic resistance threatens many of the advances made in modern medicine,” she warns. Antibiotic resistance doesn’t just mean infections will get harder to treat. Without effective drugs for prevention and treatment of infections, medical procedures such as organ transplantation, cancer chemotherapy and major surgery would become just too risky to undertake. “While we are relatively fortunate in New Zealand to have comparatively lower rates of resistance than other parts of the world,” says Williamson, “we are certainly not immune.” She cites increasing international travel and transmission in health and community care as major drivers for the spread and rise of resistant bacteria. However, the number one culprit, she says, is “overuse and misuse of antibiotics.” When a bacterial infection is only partly treated with antibiotics, the bacteria that survive tend to be the toughest and most resistant to the drug. When these infections bounce back, you have a version of the disease that is going to be more difficult to treat. That’s the problem with bacteria: what doesn’t kill them only makes them stronger. Williamson’s own recent research has shown that the overprescription of antibiotic skin creams in New Zealand may have contributed to the rise of hard-to-treat MRSA infections over the last decade. Despite the best efforts of drug companies, development of new antibiotic drugs has been slow. Only a handful have made it to market in the last decade. A lack of new treatments in the pipeline has led doctors and health experts to focus on preventing resistance rather than trying to outrun it with new antibiotics. Researchers like Dr Williamson are working hard to track and limit the spread of super bugs in New Zealand, but what can you do to help tackle resistance? If prescribed antibiotics, always, always, always take the full course. We don’t want to create any new superbugs to be added to ESR’s culture collection.

The Russian Empire Study Tour September 2015

India Old and New Study Tour October 2015 Short Course: Understanding India starts 1 July

Mexico: Mayan to Modern Study Tour October/November 2015 Short Course: Mayan Civilisation starts 5 May

For more information visit www.victoria.ac.nz/studytours

BY THE BOOK

BANDS FROM UP CLOSE WRITTEN BY ANNA JACKSON-SCOTT | PHOTOGRAPHY BY IAN JORGENSEN

hotography and music go hand-in-hand for Ian “Blink” Jorgensen. He got his first camera when he was 10 and has photographed bands ever since, from high school rock quests to Shihad, his first big gig. He’s since worked with many national and international acts. These years of work have been collected into a ten book box set, A Movement retailing at the hefty price of $300.00. The box set contains Ian’s photographs from 2000-2015, a period he sees as very explosive for New Zealand music. “That’s when the internet really took off in New Zealand and bands started using it as a marketing tool and touring overseas. In the 80s and 90s, to play a show in Melbourne was a huge deal. That’s why this series of books is called A Movement,” he explains. The books cover music scenes and bands Jorgensen was most involved with. The Datsuns, Shihad, Ejektor (the first band he managed and toured), and Betchadupa headline four of the books, spanning New Zealand’s Garage Rock, Indie Rock, Underground, and Pop scenes. The other four are more general looks at New Zealand music, international bands, and festivals and events that Jorgensen has worked with. Apart from the date, place and band name, there’s very little written info; it was important to Jorgensen the set be seen as a photography project first and foremost. It’s a very personal venture for Jorgensen. “It’s like the photo album from my life. These are my friends and I wanted it on my shelf so as I got older I could flick through and remember events and people.” Perhaps the personal nature

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of the project explains why it’s published under his real name rather than the pseudonym he’s better known for, Blink. “My photo credit used to say ‘photo by [his former photography company] Blink’. People started calling me that and so I called myself that because it was easier. It started feeling really weird. It’s nicer to call me by name, but it’s tough because people know me as Blink.” He self-funded and self-published the books, working with local designer Matthew Gleeson on the layout. A Kickstarter campaign selling the first week of a subscription to receive the box set gave him the confidence he was not going to “lose a crazy amount of money” and that there was a market for the books. He sold about 60, which covered about half the costs. He doesn’t expect to make money. “I just wanted to get it out there so I could have a copy for myself!” It’s been in the pipeline for a while, and it was the Rongotai Kiwi Self Storage fire in April 2014 that set the process in motion. Ian received an email the following morning – someone thought his storage unit had been burnt. “I completely freaked out, I was panicking! My life, all my negatives were in there. I thought, I’ve got to stop procrastinating and scan and archive these negatives and get these books out.” So he shipped a couple of scanners in from the USA and sat at home for six months scanning his negatives – all 40,000 of them. Now the books are finished, he’s attempting to work reasonable hours rather than sun up to sundown. On what, he wouldn’t say.

BY THE BOOK

R E -V E R SE INTRODUCED BY FRANCES SAMUEL

My Worl d War I Po em

Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. By Bill Manhire, from Top Dance Moves, The Marinera Press (2014)

BREAKDOWN Bio Bill Manhire is New Zealand’s most distinguished contemporary poet. His Selected Poems was published last year by VUP and Carcanet, UK. In brief You’re a World War I soldier. How do you protect yourself? You dig your trench and you pray to God. The 14 words of this poem read like a loop, and one interpretation could reflect that: the trench echoes with prayer and the prayer echoes with digging because it’s through prayer that you find the strength to keep shovelling the mud out of the trench. Dig. Pray. Dig. Live … Number two way of looking at the poem is to read the word ‘digging’ as ‘questioning’. Because let’s face it, as you sit in your trench with wet feet, and the bullets and shells rain down, life’s big questions start demanding your attention. You pray, but at the same time you cross-examine your faith. Faith in religion, faith in authority, nationalism, British superiority, heroism – under the strain of the Great War, the status quo caves in. Not only in the trenches but worldwide people are digging for meaning. The Age of Innocence heads for the hills as moral chaos and modernism roll in, new ideas about psychology arrive, women’s lives take new directions, and art accelerates away from tradition. Your trench may save you, or it may not. And the thing with faith is, if you dig at it for long enough, it either collapses in on you or you break into the light, into revelation.

thinking, fast and slow

57 Willis St, Wellington 6011 (04) 499 4245 • www.unitybooks.co.nz wellington@unitybooks.co.nz

For more gritty WWI poetry Read ‘Sonnet of brotherhood’ by RAK Mason, and look up Wellington poet and academic Harry Ricketts’ books on WWI poets and poetry.

BY THE BOOK

M I N D, B O D Y, S P I R I T Spiritual literature receives a $20,000 injection with the Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust Book Awards. The award is given in two parts: $10,000 to published work and the rest to an unpublished manuscript. The trust and award was established after Ashton Wylie died in 1999. The Auckland businessman was a philanthropist particularly interested in spirituality, personal development and positive relationships. Spokesperson for The Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust, Adonia Wylie says the judging panel is looking for fiction or non-fiction works that have the potential to uplift and enhance people, relationships and society. A shortlist is announced mid-July and the winners on 14 August. The book category closes 31 May.

WAR RECORDS

SECOND TIME AROUND

NO STONE UNTURNED

War historian Glyn Harper’s most recent book Dark Journey (Harper Collins) launches this month. It’s the result of 10 years of research and writing, and covers three World War I battles on the Western Front – Passchendaele, the Spring Offensive and Bapaume. The Massey University professor of War Studies joined the Australian Army in 1988 before transferring to the New Zealand Army where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Bridget Van der Zijpp’s second book In the Neighbourhood of Fame (VUP) is a novel in three parts. It’s told partly in chapters, and partly from the alternating perspectives of Evie, Lauren and Haley, three women caught up in the history of rock musician Jed Jordan’s past, which has troublesomely resurfaced. Bridget gained an MA in creative writing in 2004 from Wellington’s IIML. Her novel launches this month.

Masterton bookstore and publisher Hedley’s Books have worked on many music publications with Genesis Publications UK. The latest is Ronnie Wood’s 1965 diary. Hedley’s will release How Can It Be? A Rock & Roll Diary with reflections, photographs and illustrations by Wood later this year. The independent family bookstore has been going since 1907, third generation owner David Hedley says. A 2013 book of Ringo Star’s photographs is their most recent project with Genesis Publications.

From 25 April

OPEN DAILY 10AM – 5PM 326 MAIN ST, PALMERSTON NORTH www.temanawa.co.nz

HOUSE

COLOUR AND CHARACTER SHAPES THEIR LIVES WRITTEN BY KAREN SHEAD | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JONATHAN KAY

Tucked away on the edge of Belmont Regional Park is a little slice of suburbia. Eighteen houses, which all look remarkably alike, are nestled together creating their own community in the suburb of Maungaraki.

lthough the same on the outside, inside is a different story – especially for Anna and Richard Gilhooly who have been striving to make their house their own since they moved in four years ago. Anna has given the house an injection of colour and, with a keen eye for design and passion for DIY, has gradually been turning their family home into an inviting place with an abundance of character. “For me it was quite a big mind change moving here with 18 houses which looked the same,” she admits. “It was not what either of us was used to.” Anna comes from a family of creatives – her dad is a photographer, her younger sister is an artist and she grew up surrounded by pictures, colour and art. “I am very visual and colour is really important to me,” she says. This is also reflected in her line of work. Anna is brand and communications manager at Core Logic in Wellington. Moving into a new property meant that “nothing functional had to be done, just a lot of décor

stuff. We have been prettifying it,” she says. “A lot of painting has been going on.” This is clear to see. As you walk in the front door, you are welcomed by a contrast of colours. A wall in the hallway has been painted a dark blue, which contrasts nicely with the pink background of the painting of Max the dog, the family pet who sadly died three months ago. Anna asked her sister and artist, Rosie Ralph, to paint the picture as a loving memory. (She also painted the stunning landscape of Cape Kidnappers which sits in the lounge. Anna and Richard are both from Hawke's Bay). And the two rooms leading off the hall – their son Tom's bedroom and the master bedroom – have also been treated to a dose of colour and character. Three-year-old Tom's room has a lot of child-appeal. One of his favourite books has been lovingly cut up and turned into bunting. Postcards from his aunt Polly in London have been framed. Perhaps the most striking addition is the yellow tree painted on the wall behind

HOUSE

the door, complete with white bird house, with the leaves made from wallpaper from his great-grandma's house. Anna began to paint the tree when pregnant with Tom with the idea that he and older sister Molly could put leaves up on the branches when they were kind to each other. Anna and Richard's bedroom has a striking yellow and white striped feature wall behind the headboard. Thick lines of alternating yellow and white paint, which were Anna's idea and Richard's execution. “He had to do all the maths to make sure the lines were straight,” she says. Maths also came into play when covering one of six-year-old Molly's bedroom walls with stars in a grid pattern. “I have the ideas, but I am useless with the maths,” Anna confides. Molly's room, which Anna says is her favourite also has lots of personal touches. Molly's love of art and drawing is reflected in the gallery of framed pictures on the wall, and things with meaning have been made into practical everyday items. For example, an old breastfeeding cardigan of Anna's, which she couldn't part with, has been turned into a cushion cover which sits on Molly's desk chair, and Molly's first big girl bed sheet has been used to cover the headboard. “I like the idea of re-using things,” says Anna. And as she points at furniture and items around the house, a lot of them are second-hand (mostly from TradeMe), which she has then done up. Her passion for interior design and DIY has been a long-term one. “I remember when I was younger and used to babysit, I would look around the room and think 'how would I do this room if it were my house?' I love house magazines [there are stacks dotted around the house] and follow lots of blogs. And I have always done DIY.”

She is keen to share her passion and has recently launched her own blog called houseofralph (Ralph was her maiden name and is what Richard and friends call her), which will share projects she has done as well as ideas on how to decorate on a budget. “I am really big into decorating for yourself and not to impress,” she says. “And you don't have to spend money on fancy stuff to have a really attractive home. “The blog will have practical stuff, like how to put up a plate wall,” she says gesturing to the collection of gold-trimmed plates she has hanging next to the kitchen. “A lot of people get put off by DIY, but my goal is to share the practical side of it.” She will also share tips on how to organise your stuff. “I like having things really organised,” she says. This is apparent from the cube shelving unit in the playroom/office adjacent to the open-plan living area, where toys are stacked in labelled boxes. “I will be writing about storage 'nerdiness' and de-cluttering. I like the idea that you only have the things you use all of the time in your house or the things that bring you joy.” So why did a couple who love colour and character so much, move into an identi-kit house in the Hutt? “We were living in Newtown and it was really noisy,” says Anna. “We wanted a family home and the houses were really expensive in Wellington, but we could get everything we wanted here.” “We couldn't satisfy our requirements in Wellington,” Richard adds. “We needed a sensible investment and value for money.” They also liked the idea of not having to do any work on the property, having previously spent a lot of time and money on renovations. “We used to spend every weekend in Mitre 10 Mega and we wanted a break from it. This is low maintenance

HOUSE

and everything is so easy. We have a lot more family time.” And they both enjoy living in the Hutt. “There are great facilities here, especially for kids. There's The Dowse, McKenzie baths in Petone, Avalon Park...there is good art and good recreational stuff,” says Anna. And although they both work in the city, the commute is not a problem. Anna works three days a week and drives in post rush-hour after school drop-off. Richard, who works in HR for New Zealand Rugby, catches the train. “I like having my work-life in the city and family life here,” says Richard. “It's nice to be able to relax and chill out. Our friends say it reminds them of being at a bach!” The house is peaceful. And it's warm. And I am promised that from the deck there are stunning views over the neighbouring regional park

– the main reason they chose their plot. I just happen to visit on a foggy, low cloud day. And living in suburbia isn't proving to be such a bad thing either. “It is a really nice neighbourhood. Children knock on the door to see if Molly wants to play; we have a Christmas party every year; it's really old-school, which is great,” says Anna. And as for the two rooms in the house which still remain white – the laundry and the bathroom. Anna already has plans for these. She wants to add a wall of penny tile to the laundry and a big oak floating shelf, and the bathroom will see a massive perspex light put in above a larger mirror and maybe a geometric fabric shower curtain hanging from a copper pipe. “You don't have to do lots of stuff to make a difference,” says Anna. To read Anna's blog visit www.houseofralph.com

GOOD SPORT

SPIRITED AWAY WRITTEN BY BETH ROSE PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEX MCGILL

Do you know your scoober from your chicken wing? More importantly, can you stop a hammer turning into a corkscrew? If the answer’s yes, it’s likely you’re an ‘ultimate’ fan.

GOOD SPORT

his month, Wellington teams the Wildcats and Suck It Up Princess head to Auckland to defend their titles. They are the reigning national champions in the men’s and women’s categories of extreme Frisbee, otherwise known as ultimate disk, or just ‘ultimate’. Despite Wellington’s windy reputation – a condition not generally considered compatible with accurate Frisbee throwing – the capital is yielding some top players, many of which are likely to be selected for the New Zealand team competing in the 2016 Ultimate World Championships. A fringe sport with its origins in American universities, ultimate has become a global passion for Frisbee fans. New Zealand players travel the world to compete against international teams in this sociable, democratic spirited game. Matt Dol, Wildcat player and league coordinator for Wellington Disk Sports, lives and breathes ultimate. Standing at the sidelines of the artificial surface at St Patrick’s College, Matt describes the rules of engagement and the particular tactics being used in this Wednesday night Wellington league game. “The aim is for the seven players to drive the disc towards the end zone. When a player from the offensive team catches the disc in the end zone, a point is scored,” explains Matt. “In this respect the play is similar to American football. “When a player catches a pass, they cannot continue running. They have to pivot from one foot and find an open team member to pass to, which is the same rule that applies when passing in netball”. The principles are straightforward, but the pace is fast

and throws are specific and miraculously accurate. Different passes allow precision in the game and players call out to each other to let their teammates know their location and the type of throw they can receive. As with many unconventional sports, a colourful dictionary of terms accompanies the game and players communicate in their own language. Matt clarifies the names of ultimate throws and demonstrates the ‘chicken wing’, a forward fling motion that results in his arm doing a chicken impersonation. A unique aspect of ultimate is its democratic principles and reliance on players to self-referee. There is no official adjudicator on the pitch, so each team member has to adhere to the rules. Fouls must be admitted or accepted by the players and penalties agreed between the teams. “There is a strong ‘no jerks’ policy within the sport,” explains Matt, “which supports the ultimate code of conduct called the Spirit of the Game”. In addition to playing the game in good spirit, at the end of a match, both teams gather together in a huddle called a ‘spirit circle’ to close the game. “In a spirit circle, the captain of each team will talk about different aspects of the match and point out good play and what they thought went well,” says Matt. “This happens at the end of every match, whether it is at home or abroad. The selfregulation aspect and spirit circles means English has to be the common language of the sport”. The focus on good sportsmanship in ultimate lends itself well to the school Ultimate Youth Leagues, according to Mike Sheridan, a parent and ex-ultimate player for New Zealand during the 80s and 90s. He now coaches seven youth teams in the Hutt Valley.

GOOD SPORT

“Ultimate can be played very competitively, but we make sure that in every training session we focus on interpretation of the rules and how to treat the opposition. The Spirit of the Game is a really important part as it encourages kids to take responsibility for their own behaviour.” “I got back into ultimate through my children and last year my son Ryan made the under-19s New Zealand team, so I went with him to Italy where the international Club Championships were held. In Italy I met the father of a boy from the American team who told me that his son used to get into trouble at school, but since taking up ultimate all that had stopped. His boy’s now the captain of the under-19s American team”. In addition to the four training sessions per week that Mike attends, in each of the past two years he has taken a week off work to go along and teach Frisbee in Hutt Valley High’s PE classes. “It’s part of the school’s way of introducing new sports,” says Mike, “Students are attracted to ultimate because it is fast and fun, but Frisbee’s not an easy skill to be good at. Kids show real persistence and determination to master it. I have one particular student, a girl who struggled with catches four years ago. She stuck with it and I now believe she will make the New Zealand under19s team. “I’ve been coaching ultimate at Hutt Valley High School for the past five years, along with PE teacher Audrey Siple. Each year the number of students taking part has doubled and we now have 70 kids involved”. All the ultimate leagues are reliant on volunteers to make the training sessions and tournaments happen. Alongside the many hours Mike commits, parents 73

of students pitch in to transport youth teams to their games. Matt Dol’s commitment sees him taking part in an ultimate-related activity almost every night of the week and during his weekends. “Monday night is five-a-side ultimate,” says Matt, “which takes place on smaller pitches indoors. Wednesday nights are league games and social teams play on Thursdays. Then there’s the school leagues, and when I’m not at matches I’m entering the league scores and keeping the website up to date”. This enthusiasm has also had a contagious effect on Matt’s family and friends. “My Mum and Dad both play in social leagues, my sister plays five-a-side on Monday nights and my brother on plays on Thursdays. When I started my new job a year ago, I emailed my floor to see if colleagues wanted to play in a work team. We now play once a week”. A crowning moment in Matt’s Frisbee-throwing career is having once scored points on ‘the greatest’ pass – so named for literally being the greatest throw in ultimate. When the disc flies out beyond the sidelines, a player may leap outside the boundary, catch the disk in mid-air and throw it back into play before their feet touch the ground. If another player from the same team catches ‘the greatest’ pass in the end zone – according to the rules of ultimate – that makes the greatest thrower ‘nothing short of a legend’. The Wildcats and Suck it up Princess will be in Auckland on 11 and 12 April for the 2015 New Zealand Ultimate Championships.

T R AV E L

JALAPEÑO H I G H WAY WRITTEN BY GRIFF BRISTED PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAM KITSON

The three of us were panicking about driving on the right hand side of the road, and whether our tiny Toyota rental should give way to the enormous SUVs and six-wheeled family vehicles which America thinks are normal. I realised that the little blue learner motorcycle license I got the day before I left New Zealand wasn’t going to be much protection when I finally did get on a motorbike in the chaotic maelstrom of LA traffic.

T R AV E L

inally, we had found a motorbike which we wanted to purchase. It was about an hour away from our base in Santa Monica. It was dark by the time we completed the transaction. I had a helmet that was too small, shark sunglasses, leather racing pants and a brown LA opshop jacket on. My hands were sweaty inside the overlarge gloves. I stalled the bike. Wondering whether I had bitten off more than I could chew, with the boys in the rental car peering back at me, I nervously followed them out into the dizzying lights and fast moving traffic. We set out for the I-5, the main artery of LA, six lanes in each direction. It is well known that the speed limit is 60mph in America – but the cars here were whooshing past at closer to 90 mph. The turbulence these massive vehicles left behind felt as if they were all deliberately trying to push me over. Everything was hypersensitive – the wind resistance my body was causing, small corrugations in the road, the vibrations through the handlebars, my bad knee getting tight. After a hairy ¾ hour, the Santa Monica exit came up and I eased several lanes to the right and soon we were whooping and high fiving in the safety of our driveway. I told my parents after that it was the most extreme thing I had ever done in my life. That record was short-lived. It was our first week in America, and getting my motorcycle license the day before we left for LA had seemed like a great idea at the time. Luckily our farm-bike skills prevailed and by the end of two weeks in LA we had the motorbikes we thought we wanted to carry us across the deserts, jungles and pristine beaches of Central and South America to Chile. The scenery quickly changed as we left the concrete jungle of Los Angeles, and we skipped past San Diego on flat rivers of concrete. Then we were ushered through a narrow corridor, guarded by heavily armed Mexicans, and didn’t even have to take our passports out.

We emerged on the other side, realising that 2014 and familiarity was on the far side of that heavily barricaded border we had just crossed. Where we were now, right next door, felt as though we had travelled to a civilisation far removed from what we knew and were comfortable with. Tijuana’s dilapidated houses seemed to leer at our nervous inexperienced white skin. The smell encircled us, and we felt as though hundreds of greedy eyes were focused on the overloaded, easy targets that we were. We had travelled just a few k’s but just not to where I had expected. We didn’t actually realise until later that though Central America might be a polar opposite to New Zealand in terms of climate and geography, the Latin people do share some remarkable similarities with New Zealanders or with what we like to think of ourselves as. The much vaunted hard work and No. 8 wire mentality is prevalent in so many of their people. It is a civilisation from a different time. Is this how New Zealanders used to be? We maintain we still are, but really it seems as though a lot of the “we can make it work” attitude has been left to a few tradespeople and farmers. A week into Baja California, Mexico we had our first major breakdown. Luckily it was within towing distance of a dusty town named El Rosario. Somehow in broken Spanglish we convinced the local mechanic to let us camp on his front lawn (read dust patch). Octavio the mechanic got up every day in the gloomy 6am dawn to start work on our motorbike. He would literally not stop, eating whilst working until about 8.30pm, when he would invite us in for fresh fish tacos which he would cook for us and his family. There didn’t really seem to be a method to the way he took our bike to pieces, and when he began to put it back together he just had a knack for picking the right bolt out of a pile of about 50. Unbelievably, he would hold it up to the light, blow the dust off it and put it in place... It nearly always fitted. This

T R AV E L

went on for nearly six days, while we tried our best to help. Never did he seem as though he was tired or sick of working for gringos. He brought our bike back to life in a dusty front yard with rough old worn-out tools, having never seen a bike as big as ours before, or even being a motorcycle mechanic. (He usually worked on trucks.) We had a fair few other breakdowns and many others helped us out for next to nothing, often free of charge and in record time, unlike the greedy American mechanics we had seen before we left, who wouldn’t let us into their garage, or even tell us what the problem might be, before we paid. The locals mostly did everything they could to help us out. We had many minor problems, and whenever this happened we were besieged by people demanding to help us, saying that they knew the best mechanic in town. Maybe they just wanted to be up close to the biggest motorbike and the stupid ‘American’ gringos, but their eagerness to aid us was as surprising to us as their religious commitment. Religion for many of my generation is something antiquated. We know about it, but are never really affected by it. We knew that Latin Americans are religious. It is part of the attraction for tourists: old Spanish colonial churches, nuns, and children running barefoot from school prayer to play football on another dust patch. However as New Zealanders we were taken aback by some of their standards. In Mexico, the three of us had hit upon a very simple way of making our very threadbare shoestring budget last longer. We booked two single beds in each motel. A simple game of paper, scissors, rock would determine which of us would get the luxurious bed to themselves. Riding through Guatemala and Honduras, two countries with murder rates well past absurd, and despite murder, rape and robbery being every-day occurrences, we were surprised and irritated to find that it was impossible to pay for two beds for the three of us. We were often turned away with obvious distaste, as if three hairy men on motorbikes had travelled to Hon-

duras and turned up in their reception area at 10.30pm just to get in between the sheets with each other. In an odd collision of our two cultures, Mexico has recently overtaken the USA as the ‘fattest country in the world.’ It is a fact which was brought home to me on an overnight ferry. We arrived in the breakfast hall, and literally out of 200 men, women and children, we were the only three without a bright red can of coke in our hands. We were stared at. It was intimidating. CocaCola is cheaper than water, cheaper even than Corona, and because it is a product of Western civilisation, they wondered why we didn’t drink it as they do. These Central American countries are victims of our Western civilisations marching ahead without them. It was often pointed out by other tourists that these people were “ignorant” for burning all their plastic rubbish, or just tossing it into the sea. What else are they supposed to do? No rubbish truck comes around the corner on a Tuesday morning to take their recycling. Even if there were, there are no facilities to process and recycle it. Fifty years ago that's exactly what we did with our rubbish. Only we weren’t consumers of millions of plastic items produced by countries more advanced than ours who still cannot cope with their own rubbish. We are better at hiding it. Central American nations may be a slightly less advanced group of countries than ours. They may well struggle to deal with mortality rates, morbid obesity, homosexuality and pollution. Nonetheless, all those things I initially went to see were still there too: enormous glassy waves grinding rocks into golden sand beaches. Archipelagos of beautiful islands, locals paddling beyween them. Nicaraguan jungles filled with howler monkeys and bats. Scorpions and cacti in the deserts of Mexico. Corona and Pacificos in quantity. Roads which seemed as though they were built for motorbikes, and friendly people smiling and waving as we rode past. Somehow between the contrasting extremes, you are presented with an open charm which always beguiles. Even if you are being pick-pocketed at the same time.

T O R Q U E TA L K

THEY SAID THEY’D NEVER BUILD IT WRITTEN BY MARK SAINSBURY | PHOTOGRAPH BY RHETT GOODLEY-HORNBLOW

Quite simply, something didn’t seem quite right when I picked up the BMW Active Tourer. There was nothing at all wrong with it, it was just that I had this little niggle that something was out of kilter.

as it me? I’ve always been a fan of the Bavarian Motor Works products and their motto “the ultimate driving machine”. There has always been a feel to driving a Beemer but something seemed different. The reason it was hard to pinpoint was that in most respects this is a traditional BMW, traditional in terms of superb build quality and fit-out. Traditional in the equipment level that comes with it, but Something Was Different. When I worked it out it was quite simple. This is the vehicle BMW said they would never build. It has frontwheel drive, effectively the 3-cylinder drive train from the BMW-built Mini. And you can tell. There is a feel you get from rear wheel drive cars which is missing … so in one sense it’s a major departure but it’s a necessary one because the whole market for these small SUV style cars or MPVs is growing and the Germans can’t afford to miss out. What the front-wheel drive setup gives the Active Tourer is room. It means the options for configuring the interior suddenly opens up in ways that previously wouldn’t have been possible. The rear seats, which can accommodate two adults or three kids, offer a 40/20/40 back split, plus they can be separated forward and back. It comes with two engine options, the $51,900 218i 1500cc 3-cylinder petrol that I had for several days (which was a treat), or the 2-litre four-cylinder diesel which at $62,900 is a jump up. Both come with a five-year warranty and three years scheduled servicing. As a confirmed fan of V8s I have watched the evolution of small engines with much interest. After all even a Mustang is now available with a four-pot power plant.

Anyone who has driven the Mini with the same motor as this car, knows it’s no slug. And the more I used the Active Tourer the more it grew on me. It is useful. I had all manner of stuff to pick up and transport around and that flexible seating arrangement really pays off. I can see why the size is so popular … you get the advantage of a practical wagon together with the nimbleness of a sport hatch. It’s a bit like Dr Who’s Tardis. It’s compact when negotiating traffic but feels incredibly roomy inside. Of course for some purists the move to front-wheel drive is a motoring crime for the brand, but BMW knows it has no choice; this is a market segment that can’t be ignored and what they have delivered is a fine start. The electric rear hatch and lack of lip mean loading the rear is a doddle – and let’s face it, filling the car with the groceries or the kids’ sports kit is what this will be used for. There will be cheaper alternatives around but you get what you pay for, and the Active Tourer is bristling with everything you’d expect of a premium brand. Top of the range safety features include dynamic stability control, 5AV active guard to avoid hitting the car in front, and airbags everywhere. Same with the sound system and “connectivity”. A car can no longer be a car. It has to merge and mesh with all your devices and if you make the most of everything it offers you might hardly ever need an office again. But what I like most is the comfort factor. I enjoyed getting into this machine and in a strange turn found it was easier to get my substantial frame into this 2 series than into its bigger stablemates. I still relish the feel you get in the rear-wheel-drive models, but I believe this is a compromise that will pay off.

W E L LY A NG E L

WHAT WOULD DEIRDRE D O? Got a problem? Maybe we can help. Welly Angel Deirdre Tarrant, mother of three boys, founder of Footnote Dance Company and teacher of dance to generations of Wellingtonians, will sort out your troubles. MOTHER UNNECESSARY My mother left when I was young, about five years-old, she has reappeared now 20 years later, lives not next door but in the same region and wants to see me, often. I have met her and simply don’t want/need to have further contact. I don’t hate her, I just don’t need her in my life. I was lucky and had a wonderful stepmother of whom I am very fond, and this infuriates my mother. She keeps sending me presents and deputations of her family, most of whom I also know and like, to tell me I should respond to her. It’s doing my head in. How do I deal with it, particularly Mother’s Day coming up? Weary, Wainuiomata This is difficult for all of you. A mother who gave up her child but regrets this many years later and wants somehow to make amends and a daughter who is hurting from this and has grown up with another ‘family’. It interests me that you do not use the word love but you

clearly want to honour your stepmother and her place in your life. You are an adult now so try to be friends with your mother and her family and keep them at that distance while clearly prioritising the giving of your time and attention to your stepmother. Be very clear about making social times and keeping to them and get on with your own life and friends and priorities. There is no reason not to be able to find a way for you all to all move forward – be polite but firm about your own priorities.

is huge. ‘Thinking about’ suggests uncertainty? There are counsellors and qualified people out there – she must talk to her doctor and health clinic and access all the information she can. In the first instance help her keep well and eat well and be mindful that she has another life in her care and get professional help immediately. Best wishes to all.

BIG BABY ISSUES

If you know a person’s table manners are poor and will cause them problems with some friends or certain occasions, is it friendly to warn them beforehand or just let them find out?

What is the right thing to do if a friend is thinking of having an abortion? Should the father of the baby have a say in what happens? Should he accompany the mother to the hospital or clinic? Should somebody in her family be informed? Anxious flatmate, Te Aro You do not say how old your friend is nor anything about the relationships involved nor the timeline of this pregnancy. I find it amazing that there is even a question about informing her family. She will need support and help and lots of it during the next months whatever decision is made. This needs to come from people who care about her. You are a good start and if the father is with her and cares then by all means he should help her. The first question

GROSSED OUT AT THE TABLE

Cringing friend Table manners maketh man – there is a quote something like this! I think I would let it go and leave him/her to deal with whatever ensues. People feel very strongly about this and generally the ‘culprits’ get the message. Butt out and enjoy the dinner! Stay friends and don’t mention it unless it worries you!

If you’ve got a burning question for Deirdre, email angel@capitalmag.co.nz with Capital Angel in the subject line.

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B A B Y, B A B Y

PORRID GE TIME BY MELODY THOMAS

t’s pretty cocky to think that starting a family won’t change your romantic relationship - and yet I can’t be the only one who took little heed of the warning. I’m not an idiot, and even if I’d tried I could never have completely ignored the millions of ‘helpful’ advice-givers assuring me that parenthood meant a lot less of my favourite 'S'-words (sleep, spooning, sex, sanity). But there was one 'S'-word I never dreamed would be compromised, and that was our Solidarity. It might have taken us a few years and a lot of hard work, but before the baby was born Baby Daddy and I had figured out what it was to be a team. We were a great one. And for the first few months of parenthood we managed to keep that up. It’s only now, two years down the track, that we’ve suddenly realised how much of our hard work has been dissolved by the ruinous effects of neglect. Now that I think about it, we must have some idea about how tough things might get. Sadie was about six months old when we struck our mad pseudo-deal – dramatically intoning, “We’re not allowed to break up until our youngest child is five,” while looking pleadingly into each other’s eyes and holding hands. We were joking, but then we weren’t joking. We’d seen the effects of parenthood strain the relationships around us. We’d watched as the couple we most admired for the health and balance of their relationship became the sneering, snapping pair oblivious to how awkward they were to be around. And then without even knowing we were anywhere near the road that leads to that place, we were suddenly there. It happened over porridge. “We should probably put some oats on to soak overnight”, I said. “And by we do you mean you?” snapped Baby Daddy. “Why do you have to be such an asshole all the time?” I yelled. And when the couch surfer who’d

been standing practically between us at the time mumbled, “OK I’m off to bed”, it finally hit me. We were both being assholes. A lot of the time. And both of us were completely and utterly convinced that the other person was the one doing all the assholing. Since that realisation we’ve done a lot of talking and thinking about how we got to this point, and what it mostly comes down to is that we haven’t made our relationship a priority. After the baby was born she became the only thing that really mattered. And that’s great – a baby can’t change its own nappy or sort out its own breakfast. It relies on complete dedication. But when you pour 99% of your energy, time and general life-force into someone else, you can be left to feel jealously, defensively, maniacally protective of the 1% that remains yours. And so the fights revolve around this bitter tally of who has done what, who is most tired, who has suffered more and whose turn it is now to suffer. But out of the heat of this conflict, an idea has occurred to us that might just help. What if we could change the way the tally works, and instead of competing for who has it the worst, we were competing to see who can help the other the most? We’d still be doing the same amount of work, but we’d be doing it from a place of selflessness. And the more you feel your partner is giving to you, the more you’d be motivated to give back. Because there’s something about helping someone else, someone you love, that feels easy and infinitely more rewarding. The laws of physics couldn’t explain it – would say that my load weighs the same as your load – but I guarantee that if can we stop for a moment and I take yours, and you take mine, we’ll end up feeling a whole lot lighter.