Capital 48 by Capital

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

BEACH BLISS SUMMER 2018

ISSUE 48

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dowse.org.nz dowse.org.nz 45 45Laings LaingsRoad Road Lower LowerHutt Hutt

25 25Nov Nov2017— 2017— 2525Mar Mar2018 2018

Gavin Gavin Hipkins, Hipkins, TheThe Homely: Homely: Dunedin Dunedin (Landscape), (Landscape), 1999 1999 / The / The Homely: Homely: Sydney Sydney (Dogs), (Dogs), 1998. 1998. Courtesy Courtesy of the of the artist artist

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CAPITAL

MADE IN WELLINGTON

uprema a situ was the description of Wellington given by the early colonial settlers, and the truth of it is evident in the beaches photo-essay in this issue. Most of the grand statement views the city offers involve the harbour in some way or other. We commissioned Anthony Green to photograph our beaches. Narrowing down the many beautiful images he took to a photo-essay of manageable size has been difficult. The capital is surrounded by water, ocean and harbour, and fascinating bays and beaches. Water dominates in this issue, with a story from Melody Thomas about the joys of kayak fishing. We’ve a guide to beaches, and a guide to fishing, in addition to our fish of the month. To while away the summer hours there is our annual colouring-in competition for young and old, generously sponsored by Gordon Harris art suppliers. And a short story, just the right length for a leisurely read at the beach after a swim. I find anything too long is impossible in the sun; I prefer my reading under a shady beach umbrella, enjoying the sun beyond its shadow. Sarah Lang rounds up some of the most interesting arts and entertainment events of January and February and chats with artist Gavin Hipkins about his substantial exhibition at the Dowse. The show, spanning his 25-year career, is the biggest ever undertaken by the museum. Sarah Catherall takes a nostalgic look at the heyday of the Matterhorn when it was the centre of social life for foodies, musicians and adventurous imbibers. Wellington College Headmaster Roger Moses reflects on his years at the helm as he begins his last school term; while the Shearers, mother and daughter, offer some fresh suggestions to make the dreaded school lunch something to look forward to.

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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 Instagram @capitalmag 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.

W W W. A R AT O I . O R G . N Z

CONTRIBUTORS

Staff

FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS

Alison Franks Managing editor editor@capitalmag.co.nz Campaign coordinators Fale Ahchong fale@capitalmag.co.nz Griff Bristed griff@capitalmag.co.nz Haleigh Trower haleigh@capitalmag.co.nz Lyndsey O’Reilly lyndsey@capitalmag.co.nz Factotum John Briste d john@capitalmag.co.nz Art director Shalee Fitzsimmons shalee@capitalmag.co.nz Designer Luke Browne design@capitalmag.co.nz Editorial assistant Laura Pitcher laura@capitalmag.co.nz Accounts Tod Harfield accounts@capitalmag.co.nz Gus Bristed

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CHEVRON HASSETT Ph oto g r aph er

N IC HO L A S BU C K Sh or t stor y w riter

Chevron is of Ngāti Porou, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Mahia and Pakeha heritage. Viewing the modern camera as his chisel, he carves works into existence out of time and space. The works intend to open platforms for discussing the country's cultural identity, history and social issues.

By day Nicholas Buck is a head-hunter at the HR and recruitment company Sheffield. Outside work hours Nick is a writer. The Aro Valley resident has been blogging since 2012 and is working on a short novel. Nick, who holds a Bachelor of Laws from Victoria University of Wellington, also enjoys indulging his podcast addiction and his loveable pug, Frances.

SARAH CATHERALL Journ a li st

ANTHONY GREEN Ph oto g r aph er

Sarah is an award-winning Wellington journalist. A passionate Wellingtonian, she has lived here for two decades, and when she isn't writing or hanging out with her three daughters, Sarah loves running around the city's green belt, or dining at one of her favourite eateries.

Obsessed with the ocean and the mountains, when not surfing or skiing Ant will be behind the lens. He documents adventure, travel, surf and lifestyle subjects and enjoys connecting with people and authentically portraying them within their surroundings.

Stockists Pick up your Capital in New World, Countdown and Pak’n’Save supermarkets, Moore Wilson's, Unity Books, Commonsense Organics, Magnetix, City Cards & Mags, Take Note, Whitcoulls, Wellington Airport, Interislander and other discerning region-wide 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.

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CONTENTS

12 LETTERS 14 CHATTER 16 NEWS BRIEFS 18 BY THE NUMBERS 20 NEW PRODUCTS

HIDE NATIONAL PRIDE?

SINGLE-SEX SCHO OLS WORK

Is February six a day for celebration asks Laura Pitcher

Roger Moses on his 22 year stint at Wellington College

TALES OF THE CIT Y Beach Boyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as effervescent as his favourite drink

24 CULTURE

GRIDLO CK Auckland-based artist Gavin Hipkins brings The Domain to the Dowse

EQUAL MUSIC Once pioneers of EDM, women now fight to be heard

G E T T I N G S A LT Y Our summer water-feature includes a look at some old faves, a Capital beach guide, catching dinner from a kayak and fishing 101

47 PHOTO-ESSAY 55 BEACH GUIDE

56 60

FINDING NEMO FEED THE CHILDREN

CONTENTS

Win!

COLOUR ME IN

SHORT FICTION

Release your inner-artist and win

Moving Patterns by Nicholas Buck

FASHION COLUMN

SWAN SONG

HOME

HIDE TIDE

Last orders at the Matterhorn

Old, new, borrowed and blue

Wave hello to the best interior pieces for the new year

73 RACY FASHION 74 LIFESTYLE BRIEFS 80 EDIBLES 82 SHEARERS’ TABLE

RIFE WITH HOPPORTUNIT Y There’s something in the water at Hutt Valley’s Brewtown

92 104 106 110 112

BY THE BOOK TORQUE TALK BABY, BABY CALENDAR GROUPIES

LETTERS

SPIT IT OUT I was on the plane reading your lovely magazine and thinking we are so lucky in Wellington to have such a fabulous publication While poring over the articles and wonderful photography I read the article regarding spit testing for DNA analysis and the surprise of the author on finding out that she didn't have Greek lineage although she had been a practising Greek (so to speak) her entire life. I am hoping that she has a male relative she can ask to do the test as well as the results she has will only show her maternal links. Women carry XX chromosomes while the male carry both X and Y chromosomes. By testing a male relative she will build a complete picture of where she comes from. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very possible that her father has the Greek lineage. In my case I did the test to show my maternal links and then my son kindly offered to take the test allowing me to have the complete picture of both sides of the family. M Scannell, Wellington (abridged) MALE VOICE CREATES ANGER I love Capital Magazine and don't normally get angry reading it! But right at the start of the Christmas edition you have published a letter titled 'What is Abuse?', from a male reader who doesn't understand the difference between compliments and objectification. Or the difference between the systematic misogyny that women face, and occasions when women tell men they look good. I encounter this kind of unenlightened, sexist, patriarchal crap all the time, so I'm only mildly angry with the writer. And, as a woman, as a survivor of rape, and as someone who knows that wolf whistling, locker room banter, and the belittling of abuse are all part of rape culture, I don't feel the responsibility to go around enlightening men who don't get it: if he really wants the enlightenment he asks for, he can do some pretty simple research online as to why women don't love being treated like sexual objects, or reduced to nothing more than their appearance, or routinely disempowered by men who intimidate them in the street. He could try looking at the Everyday Sexism project, for a start. But I'm much more angry that Capital Magazine gave him a platform. Do you think that men who don't know what abuse is are underrepresented? Really, that's the voice you want to amplify? Seriously, 'What is Abuse'!? Not cool. Are you still the Capital Magazine I know and love? I'm on page 12 and it just doesn't feel like it. Ruth Mundy, Mt Victoria Thank you for the suggestion about the Everyday Sexism Project. I hope the letter writer and readers find it helpful. I am sorry publishing the letter makes you angry. The letters page is traditionally a place where readers can air their opinions on current topics. This remains a current topic and publication is not an endorsement of any opinions expressed. Readers are welcome to express a contrary view. Ed

Send letters to editor@captalmag.co.nz with the subject line Letters to Ed

RD E R S E C TCI H OA N THT EE A

INK INC.

NEW YEAR, N E W YO U Go on, admit it. You’re not going to stick to all your wellmeant New Year resolutions. Maybe you’re off the wagon already? Don’t beat yourself up, data from Statistic Brain shows that while just over half of resolution-makers manage to stick to them for a month, only 9.2% are actually successful in keeping it up past the six-month mark. The most common resolutions that are made but not kept include losing weight, quitting smoking and making better financial decisions. Theories differ as to the best time to make resolutions but August and November both have better success rates than January. So we reckon you don’t need to sign up for that gym membership, language course or book club for a while.

SEBASTIAN JACK SILVAR What led you to getting a tattoo? I was on a holiday in Bali last year and surfing heaps. I had a dream that inspired me and decided I needed to get a tattoo. Art or rebellion? Art. I have always enjoyed drawing so for me it is a great way to express my creativity.

LIGHT IT UP

How did you chose the design? I had been browsing tattoo designs on Instagram. After having this dream I knew it had to be done. It represents my love for the ocean and surfing!

LED lights are being installed in Wellington Street lamps. By the end of 2018 Wellington City Council plans to have replaced all the old metal halide lights with the more energy efficient light emitting diodes (LEDs). That’s almost 18,000 bulbs.

Where is the tattoo & why? On my left calf muscle. All my tattoos are on the left side.

C HAT T E R

WELLY WORDS HEATING UP During the December heatwave, a Wellyworder was walking down Kent Terrace, attempting to fan herself with a flyer, when two men from the Toyota dealership walked past her complaining about the heat. ‘I vote we all strip off and serve customers in our underwear,’ one said. ‘Heck, we might make a few more sales.’ Guys, it's a great marketing ploy for summer − just give our photographer some advance warning.

GREAT GROW TH A Wellyworder overheard someone grumbling about having to buy peas and potatoes for Christmas. Apparently their carefully planned produce was ready far too early thanks to the unexpectedly warm weather. ‘Oh well, if anyone asks I’ll just say they’re mine.’ Fair enough we reckon.

A FOR EFFORT A very supportive Wellyworder attended their partner’s end of year dance recital. ‘How was I?’ the partner asked. ‘Great! Wonderful!’ said the Wellyworder. ‘Did I get anything wrong?’ said the partner. ‘Nope, you were perfect. There was even a bit when everyone else was wrong and you were the only one who nailed it...’.

IT'S COOL TO KORERO Tīkina ō koutou kākahu kaukau, kia haere tātou ki tātahi! Get your togs, we’re off to the beach! [to a group]

FIVESE C ON D RU L E We’re not talking about how long you can leave food on the floor and still eat it (that’s the two-second or eight-second rule depending on who you talk to). The five-second rule is how you can protect your pooch’s paws from pavement burns. If you can't place your hand on the pavement for five seconds it is too hot to walk your dog. Either wait until it’s cooler, stick to grassy areas or invest in some dog boots.

JUST GEERING UP A baby when World War One ended, Lloyd Geering turns 100 on 26 February. It’s 50 years since the then-clergyman was tried for heresy by the Presbyterian church for various views he expressed, including that man doesn’t have an immortal soul. The ‘secular theologian’ lives with his wife on The Terrace, still drives, is writing a new book, and plans to appear at Writers Week in March. His only concession to old age is his afternoon nap. We’ll have what he’s having.

NEWS BRIEFS

W H AT ’ S N E W P U S S Y C AT ? From February all domestic cats over the age of 12 weeks in Wellington must be microchipped and the cat's microchip registered with NZCAR. Owners have had 18 months to comply with the new bylaw. Microchipping costs between $15 and $20, plus vet fees. Registration with NZCAR is a one-off fee of $15. The council and SPCA have offered a number of free chipping opportunities to make the transition smoother. Any cat owner who repeatedly refuses to microchip their cat may be prosecuted for breach of the bylaw.

AWARD WINNERS

FLYING AHEAD

SAFE SWIMMING

Laughton Pattrick was celebrated at the 2017 Wellington Theatre Awards held at the St James last month. Laughton received The Mayoral Award for Significant Contribution to Theatre presented by Mayor Justin Lester. Lobsters, a theatrical dance piece choreographed by Lucy Marinkovich (above), won Outstanding Performance (Carmel McGlone), Sound Designer of the Year (Lucien Johnson) and the Excellence Award for Ensemble Performance. The Jack Jeffs Charitable Trust Production of the Year award went to Body Double directed by Eleanor Bishop.

Visitors to Wellington Airport have been flying first class free thanks to virtual reality technology. Designed by Wellington company Wrestler, the airport experience has been such a success that Singapore Airlines want to roll it out in other destinations. It uses world first technology created by DreamFlux, led by Associate Professor Taehyun Rhee from Victoria’s Faculty of Engineering. Rhee was recently awarded a $1 million research grant from the MBIE’s Smart Ideas funding to further develop the software.

Because of high levels of toxic algae which can make you sick, the Greater Wellington Regional Council recommends you do not swim in the Hutt River or Pakuratahi River. Dogs are at a greater risk than humans as ingesting even a very small amount can be deadly for them. Dogs love the musty smell and will try to eat the algae, so keep them on leads near these rivers and Henley Lake in Masterton. The council regularly monitors water quality and up-to-date info can be found on their website.

B O TA N I C A L S K I N C A R E / H E R B A L D I S P E N S A R Y / H O L I S T I C FA C I A L S / TA I L O R E D M A S S A G E / S K I N C A R E W O R K S H O P S C r e a t e d b y H e r b a l i s t s M a d e i n N e w Z e a l a n d w e l l i n g t o n a p o t h e c a r y. c o . n z 1 1 0 a C u b a M a l l 0 4 8 0 1 8 7 7 7 F r e e N Z S h i p p i n g

NEWS BRIEFS

WO OP WO OP F O R W E L LY Zealandia has won the Restoring Nature category at the 2017 NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards. In a post on social media Zealandia acknowledged the thousands of people who have contributed to the success of the ecosanctuary. The Hutt Valley’s Common Unity Project Aotearoa won the Transforming Food category and was a runner-up for the NZI Greatest Contribution to a Sustainable New Zealand Supreme Award. Wellington ethical uniform company Little Yellow Bird received a commendation in the Hardwired for Social Good category.

D ON’ T TOUCH

STATUS QUO

UP-STREAM

Myrtle rust is now in Wellington. The fungal infection could devastate our myrtle natives including pōhutukawa, mānuka, rātā, and ramarama. Myrtle rust can spread easily and rapidly. If you find telltale yellow spores do not touch, but take photos. If you want to join the fight you can download the Myrtle Rust Reporter app to record and map potential host plants in your community. You then become the caretaker for specific plants and responsible for monitoring them periodically for signs of the infection.

Wairarapa has voted not to amalgamate the three councils into a single Wairarapara District Council. Carterton gave a very clear ‘no’, with around 75% of the district voting against amalgamation. In the South Wairarapa the ‘no’s more than doubled the ‘yes’es. Masterton, which had the most even split of votes, was the only area to vote in favour of amalgamation. More than half of eligible voters did not return their postal voting slips.

If you’re heading north this summer take a look at Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom (which translates to ‘The New Stream’ in Māori then Dutch), Foxton’s new tourism and community services centre. Highlights include the Piriharakeke Generation Inspiration Centre, a Māori museum, arts and learning centre and Oranjehof Dutch Connection Centre, a national Dutch museum. There are experiences, activities and facilities for all the family.

Norbert 17

BN Y ETWH E P RNOUDMUBCETRSS

Summertime ‘Sumer is icumen in’ as those 13th century types would say. Here 800 years later, we’re a little more colloquial – the response to our unseasonably warm early summer is ‘This had better make up for last year damnit’. Below we celebrate all things warm.

Not waving but drowning *source surflifesaving.org.nz

80+

107

1,300

surf life-savers clubs (SLSC) patrolling beaches around the country

SLSC between Otaki and Worser Bay

age of Lyall Bay Surf Club – the first in this country to patrol beaches

people rescued by life guards in 2015

Lark it up

15,000

expected number at the Pasifika Festival Odlins Plazza, Wellington Water Front, 20 January

performance nights in the 2018 season of Gardens Magic, free concerts at the Botanic Gardens ranging from jazz to pop, blues to reggae and more. 9–28 January

groups booked to celebrate Waitangi Day over seven hours at Waitangi Park – from a children’s choir to Whirimako Black and Salmonella Dub. From 12.30, 6 February

The heat is on

94%

98%

5½

the amount of time in minutes required for fair skin to get its daily quota of vitamin D from sun exposure

protection from ultra-violet rays provided by SPF15 sunscreen

protection from ultra violet rays provided by SPF50 sunscreen

number of hours you can safely wait before reapplying sunscreen

number of teaspoons of sunscreen suggested to cover the body

Need protection?

Prehistoric Inuit are said to have worn flattened walrusivory glasses to protect against the sun.

12th-Century Chinese wore flat panes of smoky quartz to protect from glare.

In 1752 English optician James Ayscough began experimenting with blue and green tinted glasses.

Compiled by Craig Beardsworth 1 18 8

In 1936 Edwin H Land began polarizing glass for sunglasses.

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SECTION HEADER

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

Summer l ov i n’ WRITTEN BY FRANCESCA EMMS | PHOTOGRAPH BY TOM WRIGHT

FOOD

M U SIC

DRINK

CREW

BOOK

Five Boroughs

Stranger by Yung Lean

Scrumpy

Shark Week

The Keys by DJ Khaled

Any finn goes with outlandish rapper Beach Boy.

ith a name like Beach Boy it’s no surprise to find the Wellington-based musician swimming in the sea or tanning on the sand. ‘I love being outside,’ he says, ‘especially since it’s been so hot.’ The 21-year-old started life in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, and describes his move to New Zealand’s capital city ten years ago as an amazing journey. ‘The people here are the nicest people on the planet,’ he says. He loves Oriental Bay where he always feels nostalgic, the vegie burger at Five Boroughs diner and raving at Club 121. But most of all he loves performing live music with his friends. ‘I’m loud, crazy and always wanting to party.’ Over the past couple of years Beach Boy (real name Finn O’Brien) has released 38 music tracks, many of them accompanied by a homemade music video. His debut I’m The Most Drunk sees him rapping about (you guessed it) being the most drunk, drinking Scrumpy and jumping in the harbour. ‘At the time I was trying to put myself out there,’ he says. He wanted to produce for local rappers and singers but no one gave him a chance. ‘So I decided to rebel against the whole scene and do something very left field. From there everything has just been developing from a meme to an artist.’ Along with his own body of work he now produces for Iris, Pillow T, Bugs! and Josef Parties. He takes inspiration from here and abroad. A fan of Swedish rapper Yung Lean, Beach Boy says Yung’s new album Stranger is ‘one of the most amazing

pieces of work I've ever come across. Its incredible sounds and large production make you feel you're standing in the ice cold city of Stockholm.’ Beach Boy seems to have energy for days. Recently he’s been travelling a lot and filming music videos and has been ‘super busy in the kitchen cooking all sorts of crazy dishes. I love spice and anything from the sea.’ Perhaps his vigour can be attributed to his favourite book, DJ Khaled’s self-help guide The Keys. Even haters of the out-spoken hip hop mogul have admitted the book is ‘damn inspiring’. Or maybe he gets his verve from his drink of choice, ‘only and forever, red flavoured Scrumpy.’ But it’s probably his support system that keeps this beach boy bouncing. ‘I have a close circle of friends who inspire me every day.’ He often hangs out with the Shark Week crew at the Left Bank store and models for their streetwear label. When asked about his style he says he’s happy to wear anything really. ‘From glitter sneakers to this handmade suit covered in flowers I got made in Hoi An. I think it's important to switch it up every day and always be yourself in what you wear.’ One day he’d like to have enough money to design his own house. But in the mean time Beach Boy’s enjoying the music, the sun and the party life. The only problem at the moment is that one of his cats has recently gone missing. So, ‘if you see a cute lost tabby in Miramar, message me asap.’

CULTURE

NO RU SH Longtime WOW choreographer/artistic director Malia Johnston (now its creative director) is remarkably calm given how busy she is. As part of the NZ Festival, she’s directing Rushes (23 February to 5 March), a genre-defying work where 30-plus actors, singers and circus performers lead you through Circa’s various spaces. She devised it with regular collaborators Rowan Pierce (video art), Eden Mulholland (music) and John Verryt (set design). Johnston’s also an ambassador for Te Auaha New Zealand Institute of Creativity, combining Whitireia and WelTec’s creative programmes, which opens 6 March.

SHAKEN UP

MAID IT

BEFORE THEY’RE GONE

Playing twins separated at birth, James Cain and Michael Hockey swap roles nightly in Summer Shakespeare’s first production of farce The Comedy of Errors (16 February to 3 March) at the site where the quake-damaged Reading carpark was demolished. It’s experienced Shakespeare director Samuel Phillips’ first time helming Summer Shakespeare ‘rather than watching with fish and chips.’ He chose Shakespeare’s shortest play partly because its harbour-city setting is easily reimagined as a ‘version of contemporary Wellington’. Expect characters based on well-known locals.

Three-piece Wellington band Mermaidens (issue #12) last year signed with record label Flying Nun and toured their album Perfect Body countrywide. They also opened at Lorde’s Dunedin concert. ‘That was surreal and awesome,’ says guitarist Gussie Larkin. ‘Some teenage girls were seeing their first rock band.’ They play at the third Coastella Festival in Kapiti (17 February, Southward Car Museum), joined by The Black Seeds, singer-songwriter Nadia Reid and other local and international acts. Afterwards, Mermaidens will record its next album.

Documentary photographer and builder Andrew Ross has lived and worked from a former bakery/corner shop in Newtown for 16 years. Photospace exhibition Portrait of a House (until 27 January) displays images of Ross’ ‘second home’ in Masterton, where he was raised. Getting around town on a vintage scooter, Ross photographs the capital’s urban landscape – particularly old buildings, before they disappear.

You could win a healthier home Fancy $2000 worth of home energy products from Sustainability Trust? This prize fund can be spent on eco-friendly insulation, heating, ventilation and/or LED downlights, from top brands including Fujitsu, GreenStuf, LumNZ Panasonic, Pink Batts and Smart Vent. Enter online: www.sustaintrust.org.nz/healthy-home-giveaway 0508 78 78 24, option 1 | www.sustaintrust.org.nz | customerservice@sustaintrust.org.nz

CULTURE

LUCKY FIND After German ballet-dancer brothers Jiří and Otto Bubeníček watched Jane Campion’s film The Piano, they based a work for Dortmund Ballet on it. Choreographer Jiří and set/video designer Otto return to Wellington in January to create an extended version for the Royal New Zealand Ballet. The Piano – the ballet (23–25 February, St James Theatre) includes Otto’s large-scale multimedia projections using his filming of the New Zealand landscape. After marketing manager Ali Bartleet stumbled on the original piano on Trade Me, it was returned to Karekare Beach for another photoshoot, 25 years on.

BANKING ON ART

GREAT SCOT T

UNCOVERED

The Bank of New Zealand, which has a major New Zealand art collection, has asked Katherine Mansfield House & Garden to host a women’s art exhibition. Reflections: New Zealand Women in Art displays artworks depicting and created by women (Mansfield was a word artist, right?). Fiona Pardington’s photograph Oracle captures an elderly woman peeking through her hands.

Tom Scott (70) recently released a memoir, he will be ‘roasted’ at Writers Week in March, and his play Joan runs at Circa for almost a month from 19 January. ‘I do apologise. People thought I was dead then suddenly I’m everywhere.’ The play is about his uproariously funny mother, who had six children and a hard life. ‘My great friend Ginette McDonald always did hilarious ‘Joan imitations’ at dinner parties.’ McDonald and her daughter Kate McGill play Joan at different ages.

When Fonterra moved into an Auckland office building, it concealed behind a wall Elizabeth Thomson’s sculpture of 500 bronze fish. After 20 years there, the recently-rescued Fearless Five Hundred appears at Elizabeth Thomson – Cellular Memory: A Survey Exhibition 1989–2017 (until 2 April) at Aratoi in Masterton. Thomson and curator Gregory O'Brien selected pieces to reflect environmental concerns including global warming and over-fishing. Thomson creates art including sculpture, printmaking, photography and glassworks from a former steel factory in Newtown.

MUSIC UP CLOSE

2018 CONCERT SEASON

Anderson & Roe / Phantasm / Alex Ross / Bianca Andrew STROMA / Heath Quartet / Borodin Quartet & more!

Core Funder

2018 SUBSCRIPTIONS NOW OPEN Your Year-Long Festival of Music | Tickets from $26 chambermusic.co.nz/2018

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

CULTURE BRIEFS

Presidential attention

Stretching boundaries

By Sarah Lang

At a banquet in Wellington last year, German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier talked about Lifeswap, an animated web series about a German and a New Zealander who swap countries for a year. ‘The episodes prove New Zealanders and Germans can laugh together and also laugh about themselves,’ Steinmeier said. In eight very funny episodes (vimeo.com/channels/ lifeswap), 20-somethings Jörg and Duncan skype about cultural quirks and consequent misunderstandings. In episode one, Duncan learns it’s ‘so unhygienic to urinate from the standing position’ – and that German women spread newspaper to prove that drops land on the floor. Lifeswap’s creators are animator/marionette-maker Steffen Kreft (who moved from Germany in 2009) and Kiwi writer William Connor (above). The couple’s ‘conversations, lists and arguments’ provide material, Kreft says. In May they moved from Greytown to Berlin for a year and a half. Twice, strangers who’ve overheard William talking have asked if he’s Duncan from Lifeswap. Largely self-funded, Lifeswap has had some support from the Goethe-Institut New Zealand. Berlin’s Australian embassy has commissioned an episode about differences between Germans, Kiwis and Aussies which premieres 8 February in Berlin, then goes online. They’ve also made two ‘Journey to Germany’ episodes for the Goethe-Institut Australia for students interested in learning German or going on an exchange.

Musician/composer Rob Thorne (above) plays taonga pūoro: traditional Māori instruments (largely flutes and horns) made from stone, wood, shell and bone. For the NZ Festival, he’s performing alongside the New Zealand String Quartet in Te Ao Hou: This New World (6 March). The concert, which includes the world premiere of his composition Tomokanga, will be held in the earthquake-strengthened St Mary of the Angels church. ‘What an opportunity to play in a church with amazing acoustics that’s also a gateway to the spiritual world, which is what Tomokanga is about. It’s an honour to work with a quartet that knows taonga pūoro intimately – and to play works by leading New Zealand composers [Gillian Whitehead, Gareth Farr and Salina Fisher].’ Fisher’s work was inspired by taonga pūoro, including Thorne’s playing. As the Creative New Zealand/Jack C. Richards Composer-in-Residence at the NZ School of Music, Thorne moved from Palmerston North in July to live for a year in Douglas Lilburn’s former Thorndon home. ‘I’m grateful they stretched their boundaries by choosing me. I feel part of something greater than me, and feel Douglas there.’ Thorne, who performs at global music festivals, will soon release album Rewa with Greek pianist/composer Tania Giannouli through Rattle Records.

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CULTUR AL DIRECTORY

SERESIN WATERFALL BAY Seresin Estate is celebrating its 25th anniversary with fellow New Zealander Chantelle Nicholson, Chef Patron of Tredwells, London, cooking at our Waterfall Bay, Marlborough Sounds restaurant. A short boat trip through the magical sounds will take you to the secret restaurant overlooking the bay, surrounded by native forest. 9–11 March 2017, Waterfall Bay Restaurant, Marlborough Sounds, (03) 5729408, seresin.co.nz

MOVING CONTINENTS ‘Moving Continents’ three artists: Jui Pin Chang, (Taiwan), Tiffany Singh (Auckland), & Deb Donnelly (Kapiti). Also opening is Brenda Tuuta’s Masters show ‘Hokopapa’. On February 22 we launch our NZ Festival show, ‘Women at the frontline of climate change in Vanuatu’, showing photographs and stories of Vanuatu women. 21 Jan–18 Feb 20 Mahara Place, Waikanae (04) 902 6242 maharagallery.org.nz

SUMMER SHAKESPEARE THE COMEDY OF ERRORS Shakespeare is coming to the Reading Carpark! And he’s bringing two pairs of long lost twins who miraculously stumbled into town on the same day. It only takes 90 minutes for this comedy of errors and mistaken identities to win you over with a double dose of hilarity and heart. Friday 16th February–3rd March Tue–Sat 7.30, Sundays 4pm Reading Carpark (Corner of Wakefield & Tory) Tickets: $12/18 summershakespeare.nz

STELLAR* LIVE AT SAN FRAN

THE MOCKERS – LIVE DVD RELEASE SHOW

REFLECTIONS: NEW ZEALAND WOMEN IN ART

The original stellar* line-up return to San Fran as part of their first tour in 8 years. The Boh Rungafronted band burst on to the NZ music scene in 1998 with their unique electronic and guitardriven sound. Performing songs like Violent, Undone, Part Of Me and so many more.

Don’t miss The Mockers live at San Fran celebrating the release of their new live DVD recorded in early 2017 on their reunion tour. Andrew Fagan and the boys are back with a power-pop night to remember – from Forever Tuesday Morning to Shield Yourself – plus very special guests.

This summer Katherine Mansfield House and Garden is home to artworks from the BNZ Art Collection. Reflections explores issues of representation that surround women within the arts, both as creators and subjects. The exhibition includes work by iconic New Zealand artists such as Robin White and Fiona Pardington.

Saturday March 10 San Fran, 171 Cuba St Tickets at Eventfinda.co.nz

Friday 2 March, 2018 San Fran, 171 Cuba St Tickets at Eventfinda.co.nz

Katherine Mansfield House & Garden, 25 Tinakori Road, Thorndon Phone: 04 473 7268 bnzheritage.co.nz

WORLD PREMIERE SE ASON OF

THE PIANO : THE BALLET The Royal New Zealand Ballet is honoured to stage a new full-length dance work, inspired by the film The Piano with permission kindly granted by Jane Campion, Jan Chapman and Saddleback Productions

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CULTUR AL DIRECTORY

FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL

JOAN BY TOM SCOTT

CULTURE FOR THE NEW YEAR

The best of French cinema returns to Wellington with the 2018 Alliance Française French Film Festival. The 12th edition will showcase fresh talent, daring auteurs and a cast of audience favourites at Embassy Theatre from 7 March. One language, a world of emotions.

The play, Joan, follows the life of Tom Scott’s mother from Southern Ireland to raising six children in grueling circumstances with an angry alcoholic husband. Mother and Daughter actors, Ginette McDonald and Kate McGill share the narrative as the young hopeful woman learns of life from an older, wiser self.

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7–28 March 2018 Embassy Theatre frenchfilmfestival.co.nz

20th January–17th February 2018 Circa Theatre, 1 Taranaki St (04) 801 7992 circa.co.nz

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Artwork detail courtesy of the artist

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Gridlock By Sarah Lang

Auckland-based artist Gavin Hipkins recently flew to Wellington to oversee the installation and attend the launch of his biggest exhibition, and first survey show. Spanning a prolific 25-year career, Gavin Hipkins: The Domain (until 25 March) is the Dowse’s biggest-ever show, taking up the entire ground floor (800 square metres of wall space). ‘I’m pleased on all fronts,’ Hipkins says. ‘It’s big but it provides pockets of intimacy too.’ To accompany the exhibition, Victoria University Press has published in hardback Gavin Hipkins: The Domain. Hipkins, who tests the boundaries of photography as a conceptual practice and physical medium, has used pretty much every old or new photographic technology. At this exhibition, you’ll see everything from an analogue slide-show through to photograms (photographic images made without a camera by placing objects on a lightsensitive surface). Many large-scale installations are on display, made up of sometimes dozens or even hundreds of photos.

‘In the late 90s and early 2000s, my art was dominated by my obsession with circular forms and model-making’ says Hipkins. To create the first version of The Colony (pictured) for the 2002 São Paulo Art Biennial, he cut up 100 polystyrene spheres, painted them, glued them together, then photographed them with a close-up lens in front of paper backdrops. ‘It didn’t take long – a few months.’ Are we looking through the scientist’s microscope, the astronomer’s telescope, or the captain’s periscope? ‘Possibly all those things, but I do see it as landscapes floating on little oceans. Those who hang it determine the order, which keeps the work alive and new, though this is its fifth outing.’ The Colony also highlights Hipkins’ use of the grid as an organising principle, and his occasional sci-fi undertones. Currently Hipkins is Associate Professor at Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland. Teaching three days a week during term allows him time to make art.

MUSIC

Eq u a l music If festival lineups and highest paid DJ lists were all you went by, you'd be forgiven for thinking the only people making music to move to are men. But since the very beginning, female musicians have played an important part in expanding electronic music’s potential. MELODY THOMAS talks with just a few of those contributing to Wellington’s thriving electronic music scene.

ou might not know it, but many of the earliest pioneers of what we now call EDM (electronic dance music) were women. There was Clara Rockmore, the virtuosic performer on the world’s first electronic instrument, the theremin; Laurie Anderson who, among other inventions, created a tape-bow violin using magnetic tape instead of horsehair; Delia Derbyshire whose electronic arrangement of the theme music to Doctor Who was lightyears ahead of its time… and many, many more. Today, the industry is unquestionably maledominated. A 2016 analysis by the Huffington Post looking at the lineups of ten of the biggest music festivals in the US found huge disparities between male and female artists – with the gaps at their widest for EDM festivals (where all-male acts made up 87–91% of those on the bill). Every single person on the tellingly-titled Forbes ‘Cash Kings of EDM’ list of highest paid DJs is male. EDM is estimated to be worth $7.4 billion and, while other parts of the music industry are shrinking, it looks to be on the up and up; however women and gender minorities only enjoy a tiny slice of the pie. But these lists don’t show the full picture. Zoom out just a little and you’ll find a huge number of female, LGBTQI and artists of colour DJing, working as sound engineers and producing their own beats, in major studios and in their bedrooms. Increasingly, festivals and big brands are either recognising they have a responsibility to level the playing field or (if you’re more cynical) twigging to the fact that it’s not just men who buy music. Last year Red Bull kicked

off a series of evening workshops in London under the umbrella #NomalNotNovelty, aimed at encouraging women in electronic music, and Smirnoff launched the Equalising Music campaign with the intent of doubling the number of women headlining music festivals by 2020. The first lineup announcement for Moogfest 2018 featured exclusively female, transgender and non-binary artists. Here in Wellington, similar movements are underway. Last year, Emma Hall-Phillips set up Moments − a collective inspired by Disccwoman in New York aiming to prioritise women, LGBTQI people and people of colour in music, to ‘create spaces where everyone feels welcome and safe [and for] artists who have never played a show to play in a non-judgmental space,’ she says. A DJ herself, Hall-Phillips (who goes by ‘aw b’), got her start after seeing DJ and producer k2k (aka Katherine Anderson) behind the decks. Hall-Phillips approached Anderson, who went as far as to show her the ropes and, a few weeks later, booked her to play her first show – ‘The rest is history!’ she laughs. Wellington-based ‘electric blue witch hop’ producer Estere, who cites overseas producers Georgia Anne Muldrow, Tokimonsta and Grimes as inspiration during her move into beatmaking, says representation is, ‘a huge component in feeling empowered and capable of doing something.’ The nature of electronic music-making might mean bedroom producers have access to the same software as top studio engineers, but invisible barriers can stop would-be musicians before they’ve started.

Emma Hall-Phillips Photo by Imogen Wilson

MUSIC

‘I think if you see yourself in someone else, and can imagine yourself doing what that person is doing, it can be the difference between giving something a go or not trying at all,’ she says. The experience of multi-instrumentalist, singer and producer Alexa Casino is a case in point − it was Estere and Auckland’s Chelsea Jade that made a big difference for her. ‘Both produced and sang their own music and I’m so glad because I probably wouldn’t be otherwise,’ she says. When Alexa first started making beats it was in her bedroom on a Garageband app on her iPad. She began performing live, then started to DJ, a practice she says, ‘completely overhauled the way I listen to music; immersive and creative rather than just floating through my head. I learnt more about song structure and patterns and layers.’ Alexa released her EP Cheer Up Try Hard Tear Up Cry Hard late last year − a collection of songs to cry-dance to, which detail what Alexa calls ‘composed intrusive thoughts that never leave me.’ If it sounds deeply personal then that is the intent − as Alexa puts it, ‘Stories need to be told from the voices who experience them rather than carelessly appropriated.’ Another great electronic release from Wellington late last year was the self-titled debut from Blaek, aka Rose Blake, who was writing songs with guitar and banjo until ‘the sheer unlimited possibility of manipulating sound’ started to carry her in a

different direction. Though at times she found it daunting, Blake gained confidence in choosing sounds she liked from the seemingly endless possibilities, letting her experience as a songwriter guide her in her process. ‘I still always start with a melodic idea and work from there,’ she says, ‘[So] the songs still have a very personal singer-songwriter feel even though I'm working with new tools.’ For Rose, Wellington has proven a great place to explore electronic music − but she’s aware this isn’t the case for everyone. ‘When you see a space that is empty because of these issues it’s an uncomfortable feeling. The thing that is heartening to me is when people see that space and start to create opportunities for those communities, and I do think that is starting to happen in electronic music,’ she says. For the music-lover keen to try their own hand at making music but unsure they have it in them, the advice is just to start. ‘Open your computer, open whatever music software you can get your hands on and start to make sounds with it,’ says Blake. ‘Allow yourself space and freedom to be creative and try new things,’ adds Estere, ‘Don't put pressure on yourself to get a certain end result, or to be perfect – there's no such thing And a lot of people's successes comes from trust in their own creative process.’

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Hide national p r i d e? P H OTO G R A P H BY C H E V RO N H A S S E T T

With Waitangi Day approaching, LAURA PITCHER looks into our national pride, or lack-thereof, on a day that many New Zealanders feel gives little reason for celebration.

ovements querying the celebration of national days are gaining steam across the world. You only need to look across the ditch at anti-Australia day or ‘invasion day’ movements or to the US at ‘un-Thanksgiving’ events to see unquestioning national pride being challenged. There’s a frequent call for the re-evaluation of history, which some would call the dangerous re-writing of it. This categorises certain elements of history as ‘bad’ and others as ‘good’. The issue then becomes how do we commemorate and celebrate these divided occasions? New Zealand has never had a high degree of patriotic emotion associated with our national day, Waitangi Day. John Key noted New Zealand’s ‘unpatriotic-ness’ when first campaigning in 2008, calling for similar celebrations to Australia Day. While Anzac Day is gaining momentum, with growing attendances at the dawn services, Waitangi Day remains a complicated commemoration. A 2007 Research New Zealand poll showed that more than half of the population consider Waitangi day insignificant to them. A quarter of Māori respondents to the survey agreed. A 2013 poll by UMR Research also showed a clear majority of New Zealanders feel that Anzac Day means more to them than Waitangi Day. For New Zealanders overseas, however, Waitangi Day has become a focus of patriotism, says freelance production coordinator Lewis Whaitiri from Gisborne. Living in London for over two years, and attending two of the notorious Waitangi

Day pub crawls, he says he noticed a shift in attitude to Waitangi Day. ‘You become more patriotic when you live overseas’ says Whaitiri. ‘You just want to surround yourself with other Kiwis on the day, whether they are pakeha or Māori’. The pub crawls have taken place for over 35 years, attracting up to 15,000 people. Whaitiri has now returned to Gisborne, where he’s noticed far less interest in Waitangi Day. ‘I’m not sure why it’s not celebrated like it is in the UK.’ The commemorations at Waitangi itself have attracted protest action and political controversy. Clearly there is ambivalence about the relationship between the peoples of New Zealand inscribed in the Treaty. Perhaps this underlies a reluctance to invest in its anniversary as our national day? Whaitiri seems to think sensational reporting of protest action colours Kiwis’ view of the official commemorations. He says that being away from the media coverage of Waitangi Day allows those in England to forget the negative aspects of the day. ‘As a Māori man, I respect that it is a right for Māori, and all people, to protest. I am always aware of the issues that come with Waitangi Day but being away from the media’s portrayal of the events did allow me to just enjoy being around fellow Kiwis’. There have been calls for a more explicitly patriotic approach to the day in New Zealand. Indeed its name was changed in an effort to broaden its focus: from 1973 to 1975 it was called ‘New Zealand day’. Among others, political commentator David Farrar has also long advocated a separate ‘New Zealand Day’ as a focus for national pride.

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Dr Kirini Kaa, a lecturer in the School of Humanities at the University of Auckland, says that the idea of a ‘New Zealand Day’ comes from people who want to simplify New Zealand’s diverse identity. He suggests that in the US or Australia the ‘waving of flags and fireworks’ are intended to ‘cover their past sins’ with patriotic display. ‘You can cover racism by waving flags, we want to avoid that.’ Kaa thinks that, while former Prime Minister Bill English labelled Waitangi day protests ‘cringeworthy’ last year, it would be more cringe-worthy to pretend we live in ‘Disney Treatyland’. There is a risk, he says, of celebrating too soon, before addressing the serious issues pertaining to the Treaty. Kaa feels that New Zealand is actually in a good place regarding Waitangi Day. ‘We are getting angry, throwing sex toys and hosting conversations. Now we are prepared to be slightly sad and angry which I think is important. It’s like a family laying everything out on the table.’ There is room in future for national pride to be more appropriately focused on Waitangi, says Kaa. He suggests that with more emphasis on teaching Treaty history, we could all be more aware of the potential of the treaty and thus have ‘more to celebrate’. Kaa’s noticed that many of his students, most of whom are Pakeha, came with no previous knowledge of the Treaty and express regret at not learning sooner. His students often have identity crises during the course. ‘But from those who I’ve talked to, it seems they would all rather have the difficult truth than comfortable lies’. Taryn Beri, a Wellington tā moko practitioner, says that she can’t yet use the word ‘celebrate’ when talking about Waitangi Day. She spends her Waitangi days working at events as a Māori artist, keeping close to her tribal area. ‘We need

Waitangi Day as our day to remember. I think we need to be having debates and korero around the kaupapa of the treaty as it’s important to honour our ancestors’ says Beri. Dr Carwyn Jones, from Victoria University’s Faculty of Law, believes we already have something to be proud of on Waitangi Day. He suggests that former politician David Shearer may have been on to something in wanting New Zealand to wish each other ‘Happy Waitangi Day’. ‘I don’t know if this will ever happen but, looking at recent trends, I’ve begun to think that having complexity can be our positive thing’ he says. He believes we can celebrate the very tensions and discussions surrounding the Treaty, and that this will move us forward as a nation. ‘I think we have always had a level of discomfort that’s healthy’ he says. ‘In a very New Zealand way we have always been pragmatic with questions around Waitangi Day. We can be proud of that, be inspired by our ancestors and be energised by the challenge of the future.’ Perhaps this outlook would appease those who insist protesters ruin Waitangi day for everyone. While the rest of the world calls for historical complexities to be recognised in amongst the food and fireworks, those asking for a more patriotic New Zealand may have completely missed the point. National pride is not measured by how many flags you fly, toasts you give or how many lamb roasts you make. It’s never a bad idea for national pride to be constantly reassessed. If Waitangi Day makes you feel uncomfortable, it may be because you think we’re not at a place we can be proud of. And that’s okay. ‘New Zealand Day’ will just have to wait until all New Zealanders, not just some, feel ready to celebrate.

From safe swimming to sweet surfing, boat ramps to BBQs we’ve got the low down on Wellington’s best beaches.

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S i n g l e - s ex s c h o o l s wo r k P H OTO G R A P H Y BY A N N A B R I G G S

Roger Moses, the headmaster of Wellington College for the past 22 years, held his last senior prizegiving last November as he prepares to step down in April this year. He spoke to JOHN BISHOP about his values and achievements, and life after running a top-flight boys’ school.

oses followed Harvey Rees Thomas into the top job in 1995 and got a school ‘in good heart.’ ‘Harvey had ignited the place with an educational philosophy that focused on academic achievement with extracurricular activities surrounding the core. ‘He left me a good legacy. The boys were proud of their school. Respected it.’ In 2017 the school is different. Bigger: 1,750 boys compared with just 1,200 or so in 1995. More ethnically diverse: Wellington College is 11% Maori and 6% Pacifica, with many students from various Asian and African communities. ‘The demographics, new technology and the way we teach and the ways young people learn have all changed dramatically in the past 20 years,’ Moses says. He uses the term ‘headmaster’ rather than ‘principal’, reflecting a conservative approach to change and the management of a school. Moses cites influences from conservative moral thinkers like GK Chesterton, CS Lewis and Sir Thomas More. ‘Christianity is my moral framework. A school has to have an agreed set of values. Learning takes place in the context of some moral and ethical presuppositions. Values are important; character more so.’ Wellington College students collect more scholarships than any other school in the country, and his speech at annual prizegivings is a catalogue of achievement. So how much of this is his doing? ‘I will claim credit for building a strong team and recruiting very good staff in a diverse range of subject areas. ‘I have been influenced by Jim Collins and his book From Good to Great. Get good people on the bus, he says. That applies to academic staff, sports coaches, the orchestra and right across the school.

If I have a single talent it is recruiting and managing good people. ‘I am not a micromanager. I operate a high trust model. I have been influenced by the people I have worked with.’ He cites the late Sir John Graham, who ran Auckland Grammar; and Colin Prentice from Maclean’s College in Auckland, among others: ‘I have had some great mentors.’ Moses follows Rees Thomas and others in thinking that a school is about turning young boys into good men. ‘One of my former teachers said that schools were in the business of liquidating ignorance. Something called knowledge has to be conveyed to students.’ He is uncomfortable about the shifting of responsibility from parents to schools for many aspects of social education. ‘The core business of a teacher is getting rid of ignorance and replacing it with knowledge, but more and more social education roles are also expected of us, as the role of institutions such as the family and the church have changed.’ He’s had some difficult experiences in this area. Earlier this year two Wellington College students bragged online about having sex with drunken girls, and Moses was criticised by some people for failing to respond quickly or firmly enough. Some perceived him as to blame even if, as he points out, he was not in any sense responsible for the conduct in question. ‘I have no jurisdiction over a student from the time they go out of the school gates in an afternoon until they return, but if that student does something odious on Saturday night I am contacted by media and others demanding to know what I am going to do about it.

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‘Schools don’t want to own the responsibility for student behaviour, but they have to because the media expect them to do so and parents encourage that. ‘The fundamental issue being missed is individual responsibility. Kids can make the wrong choices, but it is too easy to blame someone else.’ And the media only make the matter worse with their blame-seeking culture, he says. Moses believes firmly in single-sex schools for both boys and girls. ‘I taught in four co-eds, and I am not for or against them as such. Both can do things well. What is distinctive in New Zealand is that single-sex schools do well academically – whether for boys or girls. ‘Looking at scholarship results over three years 2012–14, it was clear that in every category and in every decile boys in single-sex schools do well. Girls too. A strong extracurricular commitment is also easier in single-sex schools.’ Twenty years in any job is a long time, and while he has always loved the job, the career progression for a top school principal is limited. ‘I never wanted to be some kind of superintendent. I have chosen to remain at Wellington College because I wanted to. I was not driven by any desire to leap into the Ministry and become some kind of policy wonk. ‘I am essentially a teacher, not an edu-crat. I get on well with the Ministry, but I never wanted to become one of them.’ He has more admirers than detractors. One admirer is former Labour Party Minister Marian Hobbs, who was herself principal of Avonside Girls College in Christchurch, and gave up the position of Principal of Wellington Girls’ College to enter Parliament as MP for Wellington Central. She ‘really rates’ Roger. ‘I loved what I saw of Roger's leadership. And although we began our educational leadership from two different sides, we both valued each other's style in single-sex schools.

‘We both celebrated the gender of our students. I loved his assembly greetings “Good morning, gentlemen”. There was pride in being a man, and I loved it, just as I instilled a pride in being a woman with all the choices.’ After 22 years at the helm he was still instilling values. Even in his last address to a school prizegiving, he referred to ‘four timeless features of our heritage at Coll – enduring values, the pursuit of knowledge, a love of the arts and sport, and the imperative of service. It is my profound conviction that such key emphases should continue.’ The challenge is for students to become good men with the right attitudes to work, women, themselves, and society generally. In a heart-warming moment which still brings a tear to his eye, Moses recalls an Ethiopian refugee student called Terefe Ejigu ‘who came to us from a council flat. He hadn’t seen his mother for six years, and had limited English. ‘He made such an impact on the school, as we did on him. He became a national athletics champion, a school prefect and a top academic scholar. The boys loved him. They chanted “boom, boom Terefe” when he competed on track. ‘One day I called him up to speak to the school assembly. As he walked up the aisle the “boom, boom Terefe” chant started. He spoke, and there was not a dry eye in the house. ‘He talked about how the school had given him everything. He went on to university in the USA, and now works with refugee children in Australia. When I look back, I remember him, because we made such a real difference in that boy’s life.’ So what for Roger Moses now? He turned 63 last November. ‘Not retirement, but I will be spending more time with my five grandchildren than I was able to spend with my own children. I will put family first, and everything else is going to have to work around that.’

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GREAT SUMMER,S EVEN IF

BEER A BIT SHITE , THREE new ipa s Hi Res IPA and Hopfinity IPA are available in 500ml bottle. Coastin’ Session IPA is available in 6 and 12 pack.

Hi Res is a nod to the Home of the Brave with a tonne of dank American hops shovelled into the brew. True to its name, Hi-Res is a juicy, highly resinous brew exploding with citrus and tropical fruit flavours and aromas. Accessible, approachable, distinctly quaffable. Whatever you call it, Coastin’ is a beautifully refreshing ale loaded with passionfruit, melon and mango from a generous helping of Trans-Tasman hops. There’s a vast array of hops that grace this great country. They’ve been combined with exemplary South Island malts to create one immense Kiwi brew. Hopfinity combines a heady blend of citrus, sauvignon grape and stone fruits.

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Igniting Creative Futures

Getting salty Summer time and the living is easy. And to make it even easier our saltwater feature includes a beach photo-essay, the best spots to swim, the joy of sea kayaking and fishing for beginners.

Photographer Anthony Green takes us to find new beauty in our most familiar salty spots.

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Worser Bay

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Breaker Bay

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Makara Beach

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Days Bay

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Lyall Bay

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Titahi Bay

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Titahi Bay

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Makara

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Beach guide From safe swimming to sweet surfing we offer you some suggestions. Beach name

Surfing

Dogs

Safe for children

Playground

Toilets

Boat ramp

Sand vs rocks

Cafe

Marine reserve

Public transport

Southern Suburbs Houghton Bay Beach

Bus: #23 27 mins

Island Bay Beach

Bus: #1 31 mins

Owhiro Bay

Bus: #1 → #29 38 mins

Princess Bay Beach

Bus: #23 32 mins

Red Rocks

Bus: #22 → #29 47 mins

Central City Freyberg Beach

Walk: 10 min

Oriental Bay Beach

Walk: 15 min

Eastern Suburbs Hataitai Beach

Bus: #24 16 mins

Lyall Bay Beach

Bus: #3 24 mins

Shelly Bay

Bus: #24 16 mins

Te Raekaihau Point

Bus: #3 26 mins

Worser Bay Beach

Bus: #24 43 mins

Breaker Bay Scorching Bay Bus: #24 13 mins

Balaena Bay Western Suburbs Makara Beach Northern Days Bay

Bus: #81 45 mins

Petone Beach

Bus:83 26 mins

Titahi Bay

Bus: #211→#220 1hr 9 mins

Paekakariki Beach

Train: KPL 42 mins

Raumati Beach

Train: KPL 51 mins

Waikanae Beach

Train: KPL→Bus: #280 1hr 10 mins

Foxton Beach Himatangi Beach Restrictions * Patrolled apply

Buses from Courtenay Place. Trains from the Wellington railway station.

F E AT U R E

Finding Nemo BY M E LO DY T H O M A S P H OTO G R A P H Y BY H A R R I E T N O RTO N

The night before I head out I pack the car, load the kayak on the roof and make a list of things I need to grab in the morning, then I try to get some sleep. My heart is pounding and I wake up through the night like a kid at Christmas, but when the alarm goes off at 4:30 I jump straight out of bed. Breakfast, coffee, outta here. I get to the coast when it’s still dark and load up the kayak. When I finally get in the water I’m overwhelmed by a deep sense of appreciation − this is where I’ve been

hanging out to be all week. Paddling out in the dark, with no-one else around, is magic. My line is in the water well before the sun pops over the horizon and I’m completely in the moment. Everything is in its right place. There are days when it’s tough − if the weather turns or you’re plagued by barracuda and sharks − but when you land the fish you’re trying to catch, taking care of it quickly and getting it straight on ice, it’s so rewarding. I’m out here, fully immersed in nature, and I’m feeding my friends and family. There’s no better feeling.’

hat’s my husband − a lifelong surfcaster who, a few years ago, managed to convince me a fishing kayak was a good investment for the whanau. Since then, if it’s a good day for it and work or family obligations don’t get in the way, you’ll find him out on the water − bringing gurnard, kahawai, trevally and, when all goes according to plan, kingfish home for the table. He’s one of a growing number of fishers all around the country who, given the expense and maintenance costs of a motorised boat, are opting instead for a kayak. While it’s hard to nail down the exact number doing so, the Taranaki Kayak Fishing Classic − New Zealand’s premier competition of its type − usually sees about 200 competing. Locally the Wellington Kayak Fishing Community Facebook group has more than 700 members, though many are just spectators; and on a good day up to 20 kayaks will take to the water in a spot like Pukerua Bay. Anecdotally, the anglers I spoke with say there’s barely ever an issue with finding a mate to go out with. Anthony Murray bought his first ‘yak secondhand six years ago and hasn’t looked back. ‘Straight away I was catching more fish and getting out to

places where you can’t really go surfcasting,’ he says. Like many starting out, Ant got in touch with an established local kayak fisherman, Riki Johnson, who took him out for the first time and helped show him the ropes − teaching him things like how to retrieve an anchor safely, helping to install a fish finder and providing a bit of advice about suitable places. ‘It’s a very open and inviting community, where questions are always welcomed and always answered no matter how basic,’ says Ant, ‘It makes a huge difference when you’re starting out.’ For many kayak fishers the social aspect of the sport is a big drawcard. On online forums like Facebook and Instagram they post pictures and videos of fishing success stories, discuss gear, share tips and tricks, and talk about the various ways they’ve customised their kayaks. ‘It sounds like a lot to learn, and it is, but I didn’t know any of it to start off with,’ says Ant, ‘You just learn from the others. And the more you get out and try different areas, the more you learn about what works and what doesn’t.’ Justin Tunnage started kayak fishing three years ago in Auckland, where he was living at the time. ‘I

F E AT U R E

wanted to get some snapper and had tried it from the shore… but it was proving pretty difficult so I thought “What’s the cheapest way I can get out there and catch some fish?’ he says, ‘And the kayak was it.’ Snapper-chasing gave way to the thrill of the kingfish hunt. When work and cheaper housing brought him and wife Leilani to Wellington, Justin was nervous his ‘kingi’ itch might go unscratched. ‘I was quite despondent moving down here. But Wellington’s kingfish turned out to be a wellkept secret.’ While Ant stresses that you don’t need to go out very far to catch great fish, Justin’s favourite mission is a seven-kilometer paddle out to Kapiti Island, where his eternal kingi search leads him once every couple of weeks. He also likes to dive for paua from his ‘yak, getting to the good spots much faster than by walking or swimming. These days he can be heard asserting that Wellington fishing ‘on a good day’ beats any of the northern meccas. ‘Over the last few months our Kapiti missions… have become the envy of some of my Auckland and Northland-based kayak fishing mates,’ he says, laughing. At just a year in, Phanat Chiv is the rookie of the group − though he’s more than made up for lost time. He grew up like many Kiwis fishing for spotties off wharves, but it was a summer of fruitless surfcasting that pushed him out to sea – with some help from Anthony. ‘I spent the first year ticking off species using typical bait fishing techniques, but coming in to this summer my ultimate goal was to catch a legal kingi,’ he says. After noticing that Justin seemed to post the most kingfish photos in the chat group they were both a part of, Phanat got in touch and joined him on a Kapiti mission. He landed a legal kingi on his first trip − a 12kg’ ‘barrel’ that he says still has him ‘fizzing’.

Barrels aside, there are a bunch of other advantages to kayak fishing − the exercise, the meditative aspect of being so close to the water and the adrenaline that comes from meeting a target species on a more even playing field than you do in a boat. ‘You’re at the mercy of the fish − even a kahawai is going to tow you around. It’s much more intimate,’ says Justin. But being one tiny person in a big ocean also comes with risks − and Wellington weather can be particularly unpredictable. Even when they’re not dangerous, mistakes can be expensive − on Phanat’s first trip he capsized and lost his fishing rod and the fish he’d just landed with it, and Justin cringes when he tells about going to cast out with fish slime on his hands, and watching on his fish finder as his expensive new rod and reel flew into the distance and then drifted to the bottom of the ocean. For those keen to give kayak fishing a go the harbour is generally recommended as a safe place to start and − if you know where to go (or someone who does) − can deliver some great fish too. Leilani, who goes out with Justin sometimes, recommends telling your partner or a friend when you intend to land, and picking a ‘SAR time’ or a time to call Search and Rescue if you aren’t back by then. There’s also safety in numbers, and it’s not hard to find people to go out with through the various social groups. In case you’re not sold yet, I ask Justin, Phanat and Ant what they would say if someone asked why kayak fishing was something worth doing. ‘It’s the most rewarding form of fishing,’ says Phanat, ‘because you literally have to work for it.’ ‘It’s an experience that can switch between relaxing and thrilling at a moment’s notice,’ says Ant. Justin nods his head and sums it up: ‘It’s a never-ending adventure.’

5 9 SANCTUARY WELLINGTON'S WORLD-CLASS WILDLIFE VISITZEALANDIA.COM

F E AT U R E

Feed the chi ldren W R I TT E N BY J O H N B R I ST E D A N D CA LY P S O H I R D

e thought of the old Chinese proverb, ‘…Teach a man to fish…’ So fish. It’s easy. If you’ve never fished before, don’t worry. The principle is simple … get a line or a rod with a weight and a hook or two. Put bait on the hooks and throw them in the sea. That bit’s not hard. Actually catching the fish is not so easy. But it’s a skill worth learning and can give hours of pleasure. So spend a few dollars on a rod or a line, and take the family to your local fishing spot. You’ve got to start somewhere. If the kids are tiny, a bait catcher is an easy start, with no hooks to catch little fingers. A bait catcher is a plastic tube with one-way holes in the ends. You put some bait inside then lower it into the water somewhere you can see little fish swimming around, and if you’ve used the right stuff little fish will swim into it. They can’t get out, so with a bit of luck there’s your first catch. When you’ve got them out you can use them as bait for bigger fish. The next step is a rod or a line. Some find rods easier but both work well. The old way was a line wound round a stick with a weight on the loose end and a couple of hooks tied on to hang just

above the bottom when the line is straight down in the water. You don’t need a big rod unless you’re casting your bait out to sea. Start with a small hook. Squid, the go-to bait, is sold nearly everywhere. Cut the bait in a strip (to look like a little fish) and put the hook through it once near the thick end. Many of the frozen baits like pilchards and bonito are softer and come off the hook easily which defeats the purpose. Some people tie such baits on the hook with very fine thread. Where to go? There are plenty of fish in the sea and they can be caught almost anywhere there’s seawater – but some fishing spots are better than others. Watch to see where others fish. In Wellington there are always people fishing from wharves round the harbour and off the seawall around Oriental Bay. And if you invest in a surfcasting rod and rig you can fish from the shore just about anywhere round New Zealand where there’s a reasonably smooth bottom. Wellington’s south coast is popular, and the Kapiti Coast for snapper. Factors like tides and weather affect fishing. Dawn and dusk are peak feeding times for fish.

FOR THE A B S O LU T E B E G I N N E R

F I SH I N G TAC K L E

1. Casting with a rod: Let the weight and the bait hang 30cm from the end of your rod. Unlock the reel, hold the line with your trigger finger and then swing your rod forward swiftly, pointing the tip at your target. As the rod comes past your shoulder release the line so the weight of the lure pulls the line off the reel. Lock the reel again. Keep a little tension on the line so you can feel the fish when they bite. 2. When you feel a tug, jerk your rod or line and you might have caught a fish. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again. Get hints from other fisherfolk – they love to talk technique. 3. Kill your catch with a bang on, or a spike through, the head. Check size and species regulations beforehand, using the free NZ Fishing Rules app. Or if you don’t want to eat it, you can always unhook the fish and return it to the sea.

Apart from the basic rod and reel or line, hook and bait, you might add

• A tackle box • A knife, line clippers, needlenose pliers • Extra hooks, spare line, and weights in case you lose one or need a bigger one • Measuring tape • Weighing scale • And perhaps a cooler to keep a cold drink and some bait in, and to carry home your enormous catch. The only knot a fisherman really needs to know is the one that holds the hook on. It's called the uni knot and it's good for everything. Look it up and good luck fishing.

F E AT U R E

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Corporate adventures BY M EGA N B L E N K A R N E

Summer is, by far, my favourite season. I think fondly of playing outside and getting a deep tan, when my biggest issue was convincing someone that two ice creams a day was absolutely an appropriate dietary choice. Those halcyon days are behind me and, like many of you, I will spend a fair chunk of the sunniest bit of the year inside, on a computer. The conundrum this poses is: what to wear to work? It’s so hot on the (flat, moderately shady) walk to work that I break into a sweat long before I get to the office. I can’t wear blazers, my usual go-to for making my outfits workappropriate, because the only thing that will be blazing is my body as I collapse from heat exhaustion. I’ve thought hard about the problem of hitting the Wellington corporate dress code – which I would describe as ‘corporate-enough’ – while maximising the summer weather. The solution is to channel Lady Adventurer (in my case. You can channel whatever kind of adventurer you like). Not real adventurers, who nowadays wear high-tech materials, but fabulous Hollywood lady adventurers from films, striding across a desert and being devastating to handsome

men with deep-seated emotional issues. It’s a look that features the two best choices you can make in hot weather: natural fibres and roomy cuts. Nobody wants to wear skinny trou in a heat wave, and for the sake of your colleagues, steer clear of polyester. Plus, if you can achieve a billowy, natural-fibre combination, you can avoid the ‘are spaghetti straps okay in the office?’ debate of a morning, which is ten valuable minutes you can spend buying an iced coffee. I’ve opted for the beautifully cut but comfortably baggy khaki pants and drapey, fluid silk shirt pictured above, in a loosely rendered ode to Katharine Hepburn. You’ll have your own ideas about what an Lady Adventurer is, and what she gets up to (do practice a withering stare, though). The resultant outfit should be warm-weather appropriate and give you a rush of powerful adventurer attitude, a key boost when your makeup has melted off, your hair is sticking to your forehead, and you’re already ready for a siesta by 10am. After all, if you can negotiate with desert pirates in it, Bob from office services should be a piece of cake!

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INTERIOR

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Photography by Anna Briggs Styling by Shalee Fitzsimmons Props by Rhett Goodley Hornblow

Wave hello to the best new interior pieces, for shore.

Aalto white vase, $200, The Porcelain Lounge Bird skull jewellery keeper, $70.90, Smack Bang Fold white stem holder, $59, fogandstonehome.com Aalto oak serving platter, $150, The Porcelain Lounge White soup spoon, .80c, Moore Wilson's Serax stoneware small plate, $25, Moore Wilson's Japanese crockery soypot, $20, Moore Wilson's Ashley & Co minibar, $9.50, Small Acorns Matcha whisk, $19.95, Moore Wilson's Ceramic gold rim dish, $34, Small Acorns Japanese crockery tumbler, $14.95, Moore Wilson's Tiago trinket box, $54.50, Smack Bang

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Fold brass stem holder, $75, fogandstonehome.com Ceramic gold rim tumbler, $34, Small Acorns Ashley & Co minibar, $9.50, Small Acorns 6-piece glass candle holder with tray set, $19.95, Moore Wilson's Katherine Smyth pasta bowl, $49.99, Small Acorns Katherine Smyth small bowl in duck egg, $33, Small Acorns Vintage lassi cups, $79.00, Small Acorns Porcelain vase with lacquer finish, $70, Trade Aid Wary Meyers soap, $25, Mooma Small stone storage box, $22, Smack Bang Bone charm, $18.90, Smack Bang

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Morgan Linforth offering bowl, $200, Mooma 2018 tear calendar, $34, fogandstonehome.com Alchemy beaker candle, $62, Smack Bang Stoneware bowl, $25.50, Smack Bang Ruthie Frank marbled vase, $80, Mooma 6-piece glass candle holder with tray set, $19.95, Moore Wilson's Japanese crockery soypot, $20, Moore Wilson's Balmain soap dish, $49.50, Smack Bang Fold white stem holder, $59, fogandstonehome.com Light blue ceramic cup, $13, Trade Aid Japanese crockery pourer, $13.95, Moore Wilson's

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With the horse races gearing up this Summer, we get you race-ready.

10 9

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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Tauherenikau Racecourse: 2 January and 6 February Otaki Racecourse: 5 January Trentham Racecourse: 13, 20 and 27 January 73

Issey Miyake Orbit hat, No16 Laurentina clutch, $70, Wittner Kester black dasher nail polish, $23, Mooma Annpurna bangle, $30, Small Acorns Childe dress, $229, Goodness Nudus Bitter Sweet lipstick, $45, Mooma Euphoria spiral dress, $457, Zebrano Company of Strangers Nightfalls dress, $560, Service Depot Ivey heels, $249.95, Wittner Floral silk scarf, $44, Trade Aid Trelise Cooper sunglasses, $249, Zebrano George & Edi peony perfume, $36, Small Acorns

LIFESTYLE BRIEFS

SECRET GARDEN Hidden Gardens is back this year. From Thursday 1 February, seven secret gardens designed and created by horticulture apprentices will be waiting to be discovered around the city. Each of the gardens comes with a clue, usually a riddle, to help find the secret location. City sleuths can find the clues on the Wellington City Council website from the beginning of February. Once you’ve found all the gardens you can vote for your favourite.

TAKE COVER

ON YA BIKE

CATCHING ZS

Thunderpants is already famous for undies that won’t go up your bum so if you’re struggling to find togs that stay where they’re supposed to, you’ll be pleased to hear that their super comfy swimwear is back. This season the Wairarapa brand are offering boyleg, high-waisted and original swim pants to team with halter tanks and crop tops in black, striped or jacquard hearts. If you’re after more coverage there’s also a flared swim dress which can be paired with any swim bottoms.

A new cycle-focused website has gone live. BikeThere.org.nz aims to get more Wellingtonians biking to more places more often. Designed to encourage cyclists of any level it provides info and tips for cyclists from total novices to people who cycle every day. A spokesperson from Wellington City Council said the website is part of a programme ‘to make Wellington an even more people-friendly, attractive and sustainable city. More people riding bikes helps to reduce congestion and emissions, improve health and wellbeing, and provide connections within neighbourhoods.’

Synthetics are your enemy when the temperature rises and since it’s not always appropriate to sleep in the nude it’s worthwhile investing in durable, comfortable summer PJs. Wellington based Fog and Stone’s PJs are made from sustainably sourced 100% Egyptian cotton so they feel super luxe and are made to last. Their shorts, culottes, kimono tops and camis are perfect for hot summer nights and lazy mornings.

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Colour me in

Win!

Let your true colours shine in our annual colouring competition. This year’s illustration, by Greta Menzies, features all our Welly-faves including swimming, hills, coffee, the beehive and a good gust of wind. Colour it, send it and go in the draw to win one of two creative packs worth $750 thanks to Gordon Harris. If you’re 13 or younger tick youth, and everyone else, congratulations, you’re an adult! We’ll pick a winner from each category in March 2018. Post your entry to: PO Box 9202 Marion Square Wellington 6141 You can download and print extra copies at www.capitalmag.co.nz

Colouring-in competition

CAPITAL

Name Age Address Email address

Categories

Youth

Adult

Please send your entries to PO Box 9202, Marion Square, Wellington. You can download more copies at capitalmag.co.nz

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FISHY BUSINESS

Butter fish Name: Butterfish or greenbone Māori names: Mararī Scientific name: Odax Pullus Looks like: Butterfish have a streamlined but plump body, and are easily identified by their broad sweeping anal and dorsal fins. Adult butterfish average 45–55cm in length with a maximum size of about 70cm. Body colour depends on size and sex − young fish are yellowish brown with a white stripe down each side, adult females are brown with a pale band replacing the dashes, and adult males are brown to olive green. Breeding males are bright blue with a light blue stripe on the head. Butterfish are sometimes referred to as green bone because their bones have a greenish tinge. Habitat: Mararī are endemic to New Zealand and inhabit rocky coastlines throughout the country, though are more abundant south of East Cape and especially around Cook Strait.They are rarely found at depths greater than 15 metres. Feeds on: Greenbone are herbivorous and feed on seaweed − they have micro-organisms in their guts that help to extract the nutrients.

1 DAY 3 DAY 9 DAY WINTER SEASON LOCAL SENIOR FAMILY VISITOR

Catch: Butterfish would definitely be in the running for the most speared fish in the country. They are easily spooked so your best bet is to dive straight into the weed and hide, waiting for the fish to re-emerge (which shouldn’t take long). Camouflage suits can help. Cook: Praised as a good eating fish, butterfish isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. In fact this summer the ITM fishing show did a blind taste test comparing butterfish, snapper, gurnard, john dory and blue cod… and butterfish came in last (gurnard won and snapper came in second to last!) For those who do love it, there’s a delicious baked butterfish recipe on the rnz.co.nz website from Jeremy Jones, that uses courgettes, lemon and thyme to great effect. Did you know? All butterfish start life female, but at about two to four years roughly half of them (depending on location) change sex to become males. If they were human they would be: The vegetarian workmate with the indomitable microbiome cultivated over years of consuming homemade fermented foods.

Buy your licence online or at stores nationwide. Visit fishandgame.org.nz for all the details.

We’ve introduced a brand new range of licences to better suit your fishing needs. Whether you’re out there for a day or the whole year, you’ll find the right licence for you.

fishandgame.org.nz

EDIBLES

C AV E M A N NO MORE The Ministry of Health has chosen not to recommend the paleo diet in their recently issued Eating and Activity Guidelines for New Zealand Adults. The Paleo diet is based loosely on the eating habits of our caveman, hunter-gatherer ancestors from the paleolithic period which is from 2.5 million to 10,000 years BC. The Paleo diet consists of food that our ancestors could literally have hunted or gathered, including meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits and nuts. This eliminates processed grains – one of the reasons that MOH decided not to endorse it, because it excludes entire food groups considered healthy, such as grains, legumes, and dairy.

GOOD FLAVOURS, BAD TASTE

GO OD BUZZ

HOLY MOLY

Consumer New Zealand’s annual Bad Taste awards were released toward the end of 2017. There were several customers you might expect to see in there, such as Lipton’s iced tea, which has a huge sugar content. However also sneaking in were several unexpected, er, winners? Sanitarium’s Up&Go breakfast drinks claim slow-release energy but a 500ml bottle could contain up to 10 teaspoons of sugar. Similarly Pams toasted muesli might seem a healthy breakfast choice, but since 2012 the sugar content of this product has gone up by 44%.

A new seasonal coffee blend is called L’affare Summer. For each packet purchased L’affare will give lunch to a kiwi kid in need, in support of the charitable business venture Eat My Lunch. L’affare Summer blend has spiced orange aromas with a dark chocolate finish and costs $10 per 200g pack. After over two months closed, L’affare will be open in February.

The Sisters of Compassion recently handed over land in Haining St at a blessing ceremony to Te Puaroha Soup Kitchen for a new urban garden to be worked by guests of the kitchen. The Soup Kitchen want to create a place where guests who may be homeless feel they can belong and contribute to various planned activities. Building and planting will take place over the summer months, and the garden will officially open in March 2018.

Let’s Let’sget getyou you ridingin inWellington Wellington riding bikethere.org.nz bikethere.org.nz

EDIBLES

DO THE REPTILE ROCK Award-winning Wellington brewery Tuatara (see issue #43) have teamed up with NZ band SIX60 to create a beer. It is Tuatara’s first ever beer released in a can, so that it can be enjoyed at concert venues around NZ. It is available through New World stores, as well as all SIX60 concerts this summer. SIX60 played a role right through the brewing process, wanting to make a beer which everyone can enjoy, not just craft beer aficionados. The band takes its name from the address 660 Castle St where they flatted while at Otago University.

SHARE THE GO OD NEWS

PIECE A PIZZA

BEER CANNED

If you google ‘NZ fruit and food share map’ your browser will come up with a google map of New Zealand, resplendent with pins and descriptions of foods available for public use and consumption, from rosemary bushes, to plum trees and composting gardens. For example it shows an apple tree and blackberries very near the Zoo, and a plum tree just off Garden Rd by the Botanical Gardens. You can make your own submissions for inclusion, and we think this is a great idea.

Neapolitan pizza is made with special tomatoes which grow on the volcanic plains to the south of Mt Vesuvius, and buffalo mozzarella. Mediterranean Food Warehouse is hosting a masterclass where, under the tutelage of their Pizzaiolo, you’ll learn how to hand-stretch your dough and create and eat your own Margherita masterpiece. 30 Jan, $30 per person.

Garage Project have pulled the pin on production of their popular beer Death From Above. One of their original iconic brews, DFA was an India Pale Ale. It was given its name in reference to the film Apocalypse Now, about the Vietnam war, which now has a cult following. Pete Gillespie of Garage Project decided to retire the beer after receiving a letter from an Australian woman of Vietnamese decent, who said the name and artwork made her feel upset. The name was never intended to be anything more than a pop culture reference, and definitely not designed to endorse war.

S H E A R E R S ' TA B L E

Lunchbox freeze BY N I K K I & J O R DA N S H E A R E R

packed lunch is not just for the young but also for the young at heart, and summer is the perfect time to pack your favourite lunchbox full of the bounty of the season. This month we are celebrating the humble tomato with the addition of the fruit’s perfect companions, basil and cheese. Domatokeftedes (pronounced doh-mah-to-kef-thethes) or tomato fritters honour those plump, ripe heirloom tomatoes, served with tzatziki. The Caprese skewers are a marriage made in heaven… tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and balsamic crema, beautiful

BLISTERED TOMATO AND FETA TARTS

Makes 12 tarts 18 cherry tomatoes cut in half ½ red onion thinly sliced drizzle of olive oil drizzle of balsamic vinegar sheet of ready rolled puff pastry 1 free-range egg yolk 3 Tbsp crème fraîche 1 Tbsp chives chopped finely Seasoning 1 free range egg yolk, beaten 12 basil leaves 30−50g crumbled feta (we use chilli feta) 1. Place tomatoes and red onions in a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and bake at 180 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. 2. Using a 70mm x 70mm square cutter, cut out pastry shapes. Score a 10mm border from the edge of each square and prick the middle area with a fork. 3. Place on a baking tray and bake for eight minutes until starting to turn golden. 4. Remove from oven and press down centres of tarts using the back of a teaspoon.

visually and delicious to eat. And you definitely can’t go wrong with tomato tarts… so easy to make, and delicious hot or cold. We know lunches can sometimes be difficult to come up with ideas for; try some of these to ensure lunchtime is an anticipated event. Get creative and have fun! We freeze pottles of yoghurt and add them in the morning to keep food cool and safe until lunchtime. By the time lunch rolls around your yoghurt should be thawed but still cold, and even if it hasn’t thawed completely, frozen yoghurt is delicious.

5. In a bowl mix the egg yolk, crème fraîche and chives. Season well. 6. Spread 1tsp of mixture into the centre of the tarts. Add three of the halved tomatoes and some of the red onion. Brush sides of the tarts with the egg wash. 7. Return to the oven and bake for a further 12−15 minutes until golden. 8. Sprinkle with torn basil leaves and crumbled feta. D OMATOKEFTEDES (GREEK TOMATO FRIT TERS)

Makes 8–10 fritters

1 zucchini, grated 6 heirloom tomatoes, diced 1/2 red onion, finely diced 2 Tbsp roughly chopped basil 2 Tbsp roughly chopped Italian flat leaf parsley 3/4 cup sifted high grade flour salt and pepper olive oil 1. Combine first five ingredients, sift over the flour and stir to combine with a good splash of olive oil to make a batter. Season generously. 2. Fry large tablespoon amounts of the batter in a pan over a medium heat with olive oil until golden and cooked through.

CAPRESE SKEWERS

Makes 6 skewers 6 large cherry tomatoes sliced in thirds 12 basil leaves 6 small balls bocconcini mozzarella, (buffalo) cut in half balsamic crema 1. Assemble the skewers as follows: third tomato, half mozzarella, basil leaf, third tomato, mozzarella, basil leaf, third tomato. 2. Drizzle with balsamic crema just before eating. TZATZIKI

1 cup Greek yogurt 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed 1 cucumber peeled, deseeded & grated juice of ½ lemon handful of roughly chopped mint handful of roughly chopped dill salt and pepper 1. Squeeze excess water out of grated cucumber. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and season. Refrigerate until ready to use. 2. Serve with Greek tomato fritters.

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F E AT U R E

S wa n Song BY SA R A H CAT H E R A L L

After more than 50 years, the end is nigh for the Matterhorn.

hen it closes its doors, the Matterhorn leaves behind a colourful history. Bands and careers have been launched, and public debates and political spats sparked, in this iconic haunt on Cuba Street. Set up in 1963 by two Swiss brothers as one of New Zealand’s first purpose-built cafes, Matterhorn evolved into a bar and live music venue, which launched among others Fat Freddy’s Drop. As a 28-year-old, I watched Fat Freddy’s Drop perform its gig, Live at the Matterhorn, in the back garden of the bar, and the album went on to reach Platinum status. The band literally gigged in the garden, a ramshackle courtyard which eventually provoked an intensely public noise control fight that ended up in the Environment Court. In 2002, the Matterhorn closed for renovation, forced to pack the walls and the new courtyard with insulation. I was one of the Matterhorn fans who pined for it to reopen, walking past the dust and dirt spilling off the construction site, hoping they would reopen it early. And when it did, not everyone liked the contemporary restaurant and bar, which was five times as big as the old Matterhorn. They missed the grungy mid-century Matterhorn, and the dusty courtyard out the back. The Matterhorn had grown up. One of the former co-owners, Sam Chapman, says the Matterhorn was

forced to change to survive the hospitality changes of the 2000s. ‘It was a high-octane place that would have had a short lifespan.’ His own connection with the place began in the late nineties, when he was managing a bar on Courtenay Place and painting houses in his spare time. His friend Leon Surynt asked him to buy into the Matterhorn, joining him and the other owners, Christian McCabe and Adan Tijerina. From the mid-nineties, the Matterhorn was a place for testing ideas. The cocktail culture was just beginning here, and behind the bar, Jacob Briars experimented with spirits and cultivated the art of mixology. Now based in New York, where he is the global advocacy director for Bacardi Ltd, the Matterhorn was his career launching pad. ‘The Matterhorn was regularly regarded as having put New Zealand bar culture on the global map,’ he says. He helped make it New Zealand’s most awarded bar and restaurant in the early 2000s, and the first New Zealand bar to make it on the World’s 50 Best Bars list. The architect, Allistar Cox, was not long out of architecture school when he designed the new-look Matterhorn. His first major hospitality project, it helped launch his career designing bars and restaurants. The style was timeless, and 15 years later, it remained virtually unaltered.

F E AT U R E

‘Wellington was a phenomenally creative place at the time. You had this new Wellington sound coming through, and Wellington was also an incredibly creative, collaborative community,’ says Chapman. ‘People around you were doing things they loved, and you saw people going from this amazing domestic environment to the world stage.’ In the 1990s, Weta made The Frighteners, followed by The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and American cast and crew drank and dined at the Matterhorn. Elijah Wood became a regular patron, along with Ian McKellen. Lani Kopoua was head chef, serving tapas before they became a thing. ‘There was international money in town and a desire to party. Wellington had a real confidence. It was a cultural nexus, and people shifted from Auckland to be part of its culture,’ says Chapman. Over the years, the Matterhorn hosted an impressive line-up of musicians and bands. In 2012, the British indie folk band, Mumford and Sons, jammed an impromptu gig in the bar on a Monday night. Trinity Roots played some of its earliest gigs there. Riki Gooch and Warren Maxwell, not long out of jazz school, tested their sounds on bar patrons. Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement hung out at the Matterhorn before they went off to Hollywood. Chapman remembers the night when McCabe told him to ‘come and meet Fergie.’ ‘I expected to meet the Duchess of York but it was Fergie from Blackeyed Peas,’ he laughs. Matterhorn was at its peak in about 2008–2010, when Sean Marshall was head chef. In 2008, it won Cuisine’s Restaurant of the Year award. Around then, I regularly drank and dined at the Matterhorn, so much so that the bar manager, Riki Carter, would begin pouring my wine of choice as soon as I walked through the door.

They sold the business in 2011 to Auckland’s Pack Group. Christian went to Melbourne, and set up two restaurants, the Town Mouse, and his most recent, Embla, which he co-owns with former Matterhorn chef Dave Verheul. Leon is in Dubai, running a coffee brand, Nightjar. Chapman moved to Auckland and set up the bar Golden Dawn. Again, he says the idea was to fill a gap, to set up an off-the-beaten-track bar in a neighbourhood that didn’t yet have that kind of place. ‘Everything we have done is creating something that wasn’t there in the first place, something we personally miss.’ Sean Marshall went from cooking in the kitchen to owning the Matterhorn a year ago, when he bought the bar and eatery. It’s been a pressurecooker year, as he has tried and failed to keep the iconic premises from impending demolition. Marshall has tried without success to find a new site; despite pleas from Matterhorn fans, the doors will close in February. Part of the issue, too, is the business model of bar, restaurant and live music venue on one site. Sean himself says that it simply ‘doesn’t work anymore’. Just as the former owners have moved on, Marshall is opening an Italian restaurant in Tory Street. He has Italian roots: his grandmother, Katerina Zampesi, came from Italy’s Veneto and married a West Coast coal miner. ‘I love Italian cuisine. It’s a people’s food,’ he says. And while the restaurant will be named Monte Cervino, the Italian name of the Matterhorn peak, he wants similarities to end there. ‘I’m not setting out to recreate Matterhorn. That has its own identity, and this one should too.’ Farewell Matterhorn − you won’t be forgotten.

THE perfectlY bAlAnced ipA BIrD

DOG

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Since 1995, BurgerFuel have always offered a vegetarian burger option and it has become an integral part of their menu. Just in time for summer, the kiwi brand has upgraded their veggie menu, adding even more plant-based ingredients to their already awesome burgers, as well as a 100% vegan option!

crumbed pumpkin, carrot, chickpea & ginger bites, for a great source of delicious nutrition. They’ve then gone ahead and added a serving of miso pea mash, as well as raw grated beetroot & chia seeds for a super-food hit!

The classic V-Twin has also had an upgrade. With a nutrient dense kumara The new V8 Vegan includes vegan & sunflower seed patty, it is now not only covered in tasty 100% vegetarian provolone cheese and their very own BurgerFuel vegan aioli. Formally known melted cheddar, but is dressed with a as the V-Dub Vege, it’s packed with dollop of truffle infused mascarpone

too. It’s still served with sweet plum sauce and their signature free-range BurgerFuel aioli. For tofu lovers, the Combustion Tofu is still a strong BurgerFuel go-to and is as good as ever. The gourmet veggie range can be found in all BurgerFuel stores across New Zealand. Head to www.burgerfuel.com to check it out.

CHEERS

R i fe w i t h hopportunity BY G R I F F B R I ST E D P H OTO G R A P H Y BY A N T H O N Y G R E E N

n early December it’s at least five degrees hotter in Upper Hutt than it is in Wellington. We’ve arrived at the South Pacific Industrial Park and are driving around having a look, with the air conditioning on full blast. This is the old Dunlop factory which began producing tyres in 1949. At its height in 1970 there were more than 850 employees. After Dunlop moved tyre production elsewhere in 2006 the factory lay abandoned for two years before Upper Hutt developer Malcolm Gillies purchased the site in 2008. Malcolm was once an apprentice welder at the factory. Now, there are more than 35 businesses and 300 employees based here. Phil Gorman from the Upper Hutt City Council shows us around Brewtown, a particularly interesting corner of the park. Brewtown is the joint name coined for the four breweries which have made the old Dunlop factory their home. Panhead has been based here since 2013 and now Boneface, Te Aro Brewing Co. and Kereru have joined them, and a bourbon and whisky distillery will be established in the coming months. Phil’s excitement and enthusiasm for the project is contagious. As the economic development manager for the Upper Hutt City Council, he sees this as his baby. He’s been campaigning for a brewing hub for some years, attending beer trade shows and guild

awards nights. Now he is often found at ground zero getting his hands dirty. He points out a Boneface-branded fridge, which he proudly tells us he painted himself. Upper Hutt City has been making considerable effort behind the scenes to reinvent itself. The council is offering a grant of up to $80,000 dollars for innovative businesses to relocate to Upper Hutt. This was obviously attractive to Boneface founder Matt Dainty who already had sold his house to try to start a brewery. The $30,000 which Matt received was used largely on the wetfloor of his brewery – a floor which is easily cleaned and has an extensive drainage system. Bacteria is the enemy of brewers everywhere; entire batches can easily be contaminated, which means that cleaning is a constant. It wasn’t just economic considerations that made the Upper Hutt location attractive to Matt. There’s something in the water. Literally. The local water is considered ‘soft’ which means it is lacking in any hard minerals, and so ideal for brewing. It is similar to the water of famous English brew town Burton on Trent. We certainly thought we could taste the difference at lunch. There is also a collaborative, community aspect to the brewing here. Boneface and Te Aro are right next door to each other, and Panhead is barely 100m away. Matt tells me that they happily share materials, or manpower if somebody is short.

Top: Matt Dainty owner/founder at Boneface Bottom: In the Dunlop building; taproom and brewing tanks

CHEERS

Boneface moved into Brewtown only a year ago, and their front-of-house tasting room became functional in August. Already on a Friday or Saturday evening it is packed with regulars to the point you can’t find a seat, and this isn’t a small space. Logan Brown is looking after the food – I had their miso smoked pork belly burger for lunch. At Panhead’s brewing facility their general manager Josh Drake fills me in on their vital statistics. Their recently expanded brewery now has 3,700 square metres of space in total, up from just 400 a couple of years ago. They can now brew 24/7, and are using up to six tonnes of grain in their brewing every day. They now brew roughly 2.5 million litres of beer per year. That’s nearly 7.5 million bottles of beer. At one stage they were brewing so fast the Upper Hutt city water mains couldn’t keep up. Panhead’s the flagship brewery here, their Supercharger APA having been awarded the title of New Zealand’s best beer two years in a row. The brand new taproom and bar has 16 different beers running all the time, nine of them core beers from the range. As we walk through, new staff, several holding

note pads, are being trained and given a complete run-down on all the beers. Panhead began with three employees and now has 30. Being local boys themselves, they try to give back to Upper Hutt the same way the old Dunlop factory did. They employ youth from the area, and give them a chance to work their way up the ranks to a brewing role. The team were petrol-heads when they were younger. When they were looking for a name, their creative agency said get back to what you love. Founder Mike Neilson and his father were members of the local hotrod club. When they found that the Panhead image (the name is borrowed from a distinctive type of Harley Davidson engine) translated well to a bottle, they were sold. The UHCC and Mr Gillies have big plans for Brewtown. The area in front of the main entrance is to be redeveloped into a beer garden for relaxation space and a full-time restaurant will be included. At the moment the park is full. However they are open to the idea of more businesses being added in the future. Which given the way things are beginning to look, seems like an attractive prospect.

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WENDY COMMON GROUND FAIRCLOUGH Selected works 2007–2014

SIMPLY STUNNING MEATS

& Tylee Cottage works 2016–2017 to 11 February 2018

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& Arts South Australia

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National Library and Mark Beatty

POETIC LICENCE Not a poetry fan? Alexander Turnbull Library exhibition The Next Word: Contemporary New Zealand Poetry (until 24 March) may change your mind. It displays not only poetry published commercially, but also poetry from artistic fine-printing presses and in ‘non-page’ forms including recordings, fragments, posters, art and more. ‘We’ve filled the building with poetry,’ says co-curator/poet Hannah Mettner. James Brown’s 10-stanza, read-in-any-order poem Popocatepetl (with drawings by Anastasia Doniants) is now a tower of cubes, so you can make your own version, and Hana Pera Aoake turned poems into video art.

WELLINGTON REPRESENTS

NO PIGEONHOLES

ROD GER THAT

Wellington’s outdone itself on the Ockham NZ Book Awards longlist, especially in fiction, where Brannavan Gnanalingam (Sodden Downstream), Pip Adam (The New Animals), Annaleese Jochems (Baby), Kirsten McDougall (Tess), Mandy Hager (Heloise) and Apirana Taylor (Five Strings) take six of 10 spots. Chris Bourke’s Goodbye Maoriland and Ten x Ten: Art at Te Papa are up for Illustrated Non-fiction, but why was Christopher Pugsley’s masterful A Camera in The Crowd snubbed?

You may remember Catherine Robertson, a novelist not so keen on the ‘chick-lit’ label, from the August 2016 issue. Her latest Gabriel’s Bay (Penguin, $38), out in January, will be officially launched at Vic Books Pipitea on 1 February. It’s about runaway groom Kerry who lands in a coastal village with its own problems. Will he stay? Robertson also teaches literacy at Rimutaka Prison as a Howard League volunteer.

Wellington playwright Victor Rodger has been awarded the six-month University of Auckland Residency for 2018 at the Michael King Writers’ Centre. He’ll work on a novel and a short-fiction collection. Wellington scientist-turned-novelist Tracy Farr gets a four-week residency there to work on her third novel, while local essayist Nadine Millar (from online Maori and Pasifika magazine E-Tangata) is one of the three first recipients of residencies for emerging Māori writers.

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Summer short fiction

M ov i n g patterns BY N I C H O L A S B U C K

im’s teenage self knew what she would become. Visually, like Kristin Scott-Thomas, with a blue Lotus and a wardrobe crammed with Karen Walker. She would top her creative writing class at Oberlin, then start an agency in Malibu. She would grow up in Wellington, do her undergrad in DC but never take a job in the public sector, let alone in (blergh) policy. There would be no children or husband but a long term partner with plenty of American teeth and hair and a last name for a first name like ‘Blaine’ or ‘Blake’; a Bradley Cooper doppelgänger who runs operations at, let’s say, Oxfam North America. Kim: This Will Be Your Life. When asked, she’ll say she feels lucky, that good parents and genes (whiteness) and privilege handed her life on a plate. This pretending that she didn’t make her own luck will be her only conceit. As with literally every other part of her teen worldview, Kim was wrong about her future, which ruined her plan (20 years in the making) for her return to Wellington: the compliant prodigal coming back for Kelburn School’s centenary celebration. A day on school grounds, jaundiced photo albums (rayon, tie dye, bowl cuts, side pony, Reebok Pumps), the cute, positive badness of the school orchestra, the buildings in miniature and clanging against her pre-teen memories of massiveness. She even imagined the moment she would correct herself with the good news that the school grounds were, obviously, the same size as 1994: tangible proof she and her worldview had enlarged. In her dream centenary, that evening would bring room temperature drinks and teacher peck-on-cheeking in the school hall. There are classmates but no social anxiety because Kim would have met or exceeded the promise of her early adolescence. There would be no one to whom her 1994 persona was accountable, no one to judge her. No judgment, at a reunion: the dreamiest of dreams. And then the dream’s climax: leaving. Dusky twilight, walking down Upland Road and toward Alex Delaney’s, the afterparty holder. Alex, like Kim, would have fulfilled his destiny. He would have made money in merchant banking before buying in Wellington to remotely manage the business he started in Zürich. It had to be Switzerland

because Kim did not anticipate the internet and redundancy of place in global eCommerce. Alex could’ve done what he did from Kawakawa, but who cares − Zürich is a romantic backdrop for a dream. Alex’s wife is a teutonically blonde architect. She has strong cheek and collarbones, a woman built with a setsquare, a Nazi visage that belongs on a recruitment poster for Hitler Youth. Like everything else in the dream, Alex’s wife is someone’s idea of perfect. The sense of time passing stops when Kim walks into Alex’s house. Old friends are there and, despite twenty years, immediately recognisable. Everyone is visibly older but only in life-affirming ways: no balding or crow’s feet or fatness or bad clothes − immaculate aging in the manner of Sigourney Weaver or Temuera Morrison. Everyone’s drinking is an ironic 90s throwback − the men have Double Brown, the women $20-a-slab RTDs. Smash Mouth is playing loudly, as it did, always, in 1994. No one speaks but everyone knows that everyone else has become A Success. There are no exceptions: in her dream, they have all arrived at the resting place of their earliest aspirations. Kim loved creative writing at school, at Kelburn School. It was the subject with the fewest rules, the main one being to not end with the finisher: ‘she woke up and it was all a dream’. She took this seriously, crafting elaborate and wakeful twists into the final paragraphs of her 200-word essays. But as she got older the need to articulate her dream demanded an outlet, so she committed her mental life to the idea that she would one day do enough to feel like she belonged. Kim became an objectively successful adult (career, health, money, lover, loved) who felt always that she was falling short, fucking up, drowning close to shore. Which is why her actual return to Wellington felt like a wretched capitulation. She cried hot, nostalgic tears as the Civic (worth the price of a Lotus’ cupholder) turned down and out of Ngauranga Gorge and into the toy-town panorama of harbour, Mt Vic, Thorndon. She loved this town so much it made her sick, but this was not the plan.

BY THE BOOK

She had been offered job relocation from Auckland and jumped at it on the pretence of wanting to create space between her and Jeff. The truth was that he’d been all but erased from memory the moment he took his blender from the kitchen and the Van Halen poster off her living room wall. He’d driven off into the sunset, swiping right, probably, before he’d changed out of first. To Kim, Jeff was a failed project, evocative of nothing, now as he’d always been. Kim’s parents had a granny flat attached to their Brooklyn quarter-acre ex-State house. For now, it was hers, the fit-out untouched since 1975, the centrepiece of the studio being a pistachio two-seater covered in tesselating, faded hyacinth velour. The rooms looked like she felt: staid, withered, belonging to another era. Overall, it seemed like the speculative fit-out of a psychopath trying to think and decorate like a Normal Person. She dubbed the flat the Murder Box. On this day, Saturday, she sat on the hyacinths, in the Box, drinking Red Ribbon Roast, looking across Aro Valley, riveted by her view of Boyd Wilson Park. In 2002 that field was a swamp that offered nothing but looming subsidence to drag the neighbouring university off the side of the hill. Now it was neat, astroturfed, floodlit, manicured. Fit teens and twenty-somethings played there with ludicrous intensity − energy that required formal organisation to burn off. An excess of energy: unthinkable. On this day, Kim carries her mug outside, down Ohiro Road and onto Aro Street. The Valley is overcast but energised, crackling with the pent up mid-life crises of public servants loosed on their macchiatos and mountain bikes. The air is warm. There is a brewery in place of the Shell Station. Odd. She climbs Devon Street, that zig-zagging goattrack prick with a personality that wants to kill you. She crests and is down the other side, through the Uni Quad and down onto Boyd Wilson. It’s too early for the sports-uniformed hardouts, but there are people on the

field. She sits, watches. A dollar bag of kooks and weirdoes. Varying ages. Ill-fitting trackies, men (8), woman (1), short and tall, white and brown, office-worker arms, laughing, respiring, hollering middle-age-spreaders in waiting, running unathletically in defence/attack on (hard to say) an electric lavender Nerf ball. Touch, perhaps, or gridiron, or their own brand of balls-driven mayhem. Their most striking feature is this: they are emphatically not this park’s target market, their presence and joy a happy, incidental contempt. ‘Care to join?’ ‘What, me? No. Thank you, no. I −’ ‘Go on. You’re already in uniform, so...’ Kim looked at the others on the field then down at her hoodie, her Betty Boop pyjama twinset and knew he was right. The man addressing her was perfectly nondescript, a human gray tie, 180 cms, 45, tired eyes, shapeless brown hair, crows feet that extended down to his jaw, round features, sweaty in context. ‘I suppose.’ She laughed nervously. ‘It’s been a while since I’ve done, well, anything.’ This was closer to the literal truth than she wanted him to know. ‘...I mean, anything exercise-wise.’ He smiled. ‘Don’t let that hold you back − we’re all useless.’ ‘Yes. I mean, ah, that it’s nice that you’re out here.’ ‘It keeps us off the crack. C’mon.’ He stood with his back turned halfway back toward the field, waiting and knowing she would comply. Kim complied. At first just standing, watching as the Nerf buzzed and flipped out of reach. Without knowing how it ought it to be thrown, she knew their rotating pielobs did not fully exploit the Nerf ’s physics. Then the Nerf dribbled near her feet. She scooped it up, the other woman semaphored at her to throw, which she did. Beginner’s luck occurred: the ball rotated neatly

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on its horizontal axis, moving in a tight, flat arc into the woman’s mitt. There was a celebration, a point scored. Kim felt immortal in that moment, then ashamed because shame is hers and womankind’s most abundant emotional commodity and surely, surely it’s forbidden to feel joy that basic and unedited. But she made it a habit. On Saturdays Kim walked down and up the Valley at 8:30 with cold, thawing limbs for 40 minutes of Nerflex before the kids took over the park. She learned the kooks’ names and the games’ rules − a hybrid of seemingly every ball sport invented. Afterward they went back to the Quad to drink $2 vending machine coffee and talk about their jobs in the spirit of employerly disinterest. They did not work together, they were not related but they cohered. To Kim, their easy friendship felt strong and tribal and very un-Western. She did not ask what caused it in case she broke the spell. On her ninth week, she woke to horizontal rain sleeting at her thin bedroom windows. She walked anyway, arriving to the same group who had greeted her for the last two months. She played Nerflex, as per, running asymmetrical zig zags across Boyd Wilson, aiming that tatty missile toward the In-Zone whenever she could. Time was called. The real, lo-fat sportpeople started to show up. She rested, hands on knees, breathless but luxuriating in her covering of rainy sweat cocktail. Kim was comprehensively clean, as if mere exercise and wetness had the power to scrub pessimism from her sense of self. ‘You might like to know, Kim,’ said Gray Tie as they walked toward the Quad, ‘that you’re the first addition to Nerflex Club since 2014.’ She smiled and made a gently mocking fist pump gesture. ‘Well, that really is an honour. You do all seem, well, tight knit.’

‘We are. We needed to be insular, for a time, for our rehabilitation. But I remembered you from school and knew you’d fit in fine.’ ‘We know each other?’ ‘My last name is Cullinan. Tim Cullinan. From Kelburn School. I’m younger than you but my sister was in your year.’ Kim remembered Moana Cullinan well. Like her brother, she was noteworthy for being so non-descript: average looker, middling student, a predestined wallflower. ‘I remember. She was a nice person.’ They continued walking. ‘I’m sorry, but did you say you were younger -’ ‘− Yes. I know: I look old. I feel old, as in decrepit and exhausted. This really is my, our rehab, because gyms are shit and walking is too quittable, but you’ve got to keep moving. I’ve had….’ He paused, stopping to look into the middle distance. ‘...It’s been a hard ten years, Kim.’ ‘Oh. I’m sure.’ She wanted to punch herself in the face for sounding so trite. They continued to walk the gentle slope toward the quad, trailing the others. ‘Tim, will you go to the Centenary next week? Are you curious to see how you turned out? I mean - ’ ‘I know exactly what you meant. “Turning out” is a relative term, isn’t it.’ ‘Yes,’ said Kim. ‘I suppose so.’ ‘I need to see everyone and calibrate my life accordingly.’ He laughed. ‘Thank you for helping me make up my mind − I’m there. Are you going?’ ‘Maybe. I’d given it some thought.’ This enormity of the understatement managed, of course, to pass Tim by. They kept walking. ‘I’ll give it some more thought.’ said Kim. ‘Cool,’ said Tim. ‘It might be good.’ ‘Yeah. It might be good.’

Fine print, small print, or “mouseprint” is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service.[1] The larger print that is used in conjunction with fine print by the merchant often has the effect of deceiving the consumer into believing the offer is more advantageous than it really is, via a legal technicality which requires full disclosure of all (even unfavorable) terms or conditions, but does not specify the manner (size, typeface, coloring, etc.) of disclosure. There is strong evidence that suggests the fine print is not read by the majority of consumers.[2]Fine print may say the opposite of what the larger print says. For example, if the larger print says “pre-approved” the fine print might say “subject to approval.” [3] Especially in pharmaceutical advertisements, fine print may accompany a warning message, but this message is often neutralized by the more eye-catching positive images and pleasant background music (eye candy). Sometimes television advertisements flash text fine print in camouflagic colors, and for notoriously brief periods of time, making it difficult or impossible for the viewer to rea Fine print, small print, or “mouseprint” is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service.[1] The larger print that is used in conjunction with fine print by the merchant often has the effect of deceiving the consumer into believing the offer is more advantageous than it really is, via a legal technicality which requires full disclosure of all (even unfavorable) terms or conditions, but does not specify the manner (size, typeface, coloring, etc.) of disclosure. There is strong evidence that suggests the fine print is not read by the majority of consumers.[2]Fine print may say the opposite of what the larger print says. For example, if the larger print says “pre-approved” the fine print might say “subject to approval.” [3] Especially in pharmaceutical advertisements, fine print may accompany a warning message, but this message is often neutralized by the more eye-catching positive images and pleasant background music (eye candy). Sometimes television a colors, and for notoriously brief periods of time, making it difficult or impossible for the viewer to rea Fine print, small print, or “mouseprint” is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service.[1] The larger print that is used in conjunction with fine print by the merchant often has the effect of deceiving the consumer into believing the offer is more advantageous than it really is, via a legal technicality which requires full disclosure of all (even unfavorable) terms or conditions, but does not specify the manner (size, typeface, coloring, etc.) of disclosure. There is strong evidence that suggests the fine print is not read by the majority of consumers.[2]Fine print may say the opposite of what the larger print says. For example, if the larger print says “pre-approved” the fine print might say “subject to approval.” [3] Especially in pharmaceutical advertisements, fine print may accompany a warning message, but this message is often neutralized by the more eye-catching positive images and pleasant background music (eye candy). Sometimes television advertisements flash text fine print in camouflagic colors, and for notoriously brief periods of time, making it difficult or impossible for the viewer to reaine print, small print, or “mouseprint” is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service.[1] The larger print that is used in conjunction with fine print by the merchant often has the effect of deceiving the consumer into believing the offer is more advantageous than it really is, via a legal technicality which requires full disclosure of all (even unfavorable) terms or conditions, but does not specify the manner (size, typeface, coloring, etc.) of disclosure. There is strong evidence that suggests the fine print is not read by the majority of consumers.[2]Fine print may say the opposite of what the larger print says. For example, if the larger print says “pre-approved” the fine print might say “subject to approval.” [3] Especially in pharmaceutical advertisements, fine print may accompany a warning message, but this message is often neutralized by the more eye-catching positive images and pleasant background music (eye candy). Sometimes television advertisements flash text fine print in camouflagic colors, and for notoriously brief periods of time, making it difficult or impossible for the viewer to rea Fine print, small print, or “mouseprint” is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service.[1] The larger print that is used in conjunction with fine print by the merchant often has the effect of deceiving the consumer into believing the offer is more advantageous than it really is, via a legal technicality which requires full disclosure of all (even unfavorable) terms or conditions, but does not specify the manner (size, typeface, coloring, etc.) of disclosure. There is strong evidence that suggests the fine print is not read by the majority of consumers.[2] Fine print may say the opposite of what the larger print says. For example, if the larger print says “pre-approved” the fine print might say “subject to approval.” [3] Especially in pharmaceutical advertisements, fine print may accompany a warning message, but this message is often neutralized by the more eye-catching positive images and pleasant background music (eye candy). Sometimes television a colors, and for notoriously brief periods of time, making it difficult or impossible for the viewer to rea Fine print, small print, or “mouseprint” is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service.[1] The larger print that is used in conjunction with fine print by the merchant often has the effect of deceiving the consumer into believing the offer is more advantageous than it really is, via a legal technicality which requires full disclosure of all (even unfavorable) terms or conditions, but does not specify the manner (size, typeface, coloring, etc.) of disclosure. There is strong evidence that suggests the fine print is not read by the majority of consumers.[2]Fine print may say the opposite of what the larger print says. For example, if the larger print says “pre-approved” the fine print might say “subject to approval.” [3] Especially in pharmaceutical advertisements, fine print may accompany a warning message, but this message is often neutralized by the more eye-catching positive images and pleasant background music (eye candy). Sometimes television advertisements flash text fine print in camouflagic colors, and for notoriously brief periods of time, making it difficult or impossible for the viewer to rea

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30 Years

PARTNERS Ramona Rasch LLB David Leong LLB 97 1st Floor Kilbirnie Plaza 30 Bay Road | Kilbirnie, Wellington | Tel 04 387 7831 | www.raschleong.co.nz

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O l d , n ew, b o r r ow e d and blue W R I TT E N BY S H A RO N ST E P H E N S O N P H OTO G R A P H Y BY A N N A B R I G G S

home with a large, open-plan, light-filled interior, suitable for their twin son and daughter, was what Karina Lagreze and Kevin Rumble envisaged when they began house-hunting in 2005. So when they stumbled upon this Mt Victoria villa, it didn’t quite fit the mould. ‘It was totally run-down,’ recalls Karina of the 1890-built house. ‘Very little had been done to it and no-one had lived in it full-time for a while.’ But Karina, a lawyer, and Kevin, an IT consultant, saw beyond the rotten weatherboards and dark, dated interior to a house that they and Isabella and Hayden (now 15) could grow into. ‘It had a homely feel and lots of character, which is what I’ve always liked,’ says Karina, who was born in Chile but moved to Wellington when she was 15. ‘Kevin prefers more minimalist new builds but I’ve always wanted a character villa.’ The two-storey home also ticked multiple boxes on their wish-list: it had a garden, buckets of potential and, the holy grail of inner-city dwellings, a garage and a driveway big enough to fit three cars. Having lived in Mt Victoria previously, the pair were keen to return to one of Wellington’s oldest suburbs. So although they viewed numerous houses all over the city, this 145sqm house won their hearts.

The first item on their renovation list was replacing rotten weatherboards and painting the exterior a light blue. They also re-carpeted the stairs and the three bedrooms upstairs. But when the couple came to lift the carpet in the front formal living room and the family room, they discovered rotting floorboards. They replaced them with matai floorboards which Karina had painted black to match the staircase’s black balustrade. Keen to bring more light into the interior, Karina replaced the ‘dark, oppressive’ mushroom wall colour with lashings of white paint. She also swapped the heavy curtains for sleek blinds, and gibbed over the oddly-shaped brick fireplace in the living room, painting it black for a contemporary look. ‘We did as much as our budget allowed,’ says Karina. That included removing a built-in window seat in the formal living space and replacing it with a mixture of vintage and more contemporary furniture. ‘My style is quite eclectic and I’m all about mixing the old and new.’ The emerald green velvet couch in this room was given to Karina by a friend, while the more modern red chair was a gift from Kevin for her birthday.

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Karina is an artist (she has turned a small shed in the garden into her studio) and her oil and acrylic paintings feature throughout the house. The large textured artwork above the fireplace was commissioned by Kevin from Auckland artist Peter J Hackett after Karina admired his work, as a surprise for her 40th birthday. The spoils of browsing antique and second-hand stores are evident, such as a wooden trolley that once served meals to hospital patients but now holds a range of objets d’art, and the covetable vintage wooden tie presses which adorn the walls. Kevin found the large vintage ‘Frankston’ sign and the wall clock in Melbourne and had them shipped back to Wellington. The two Singer sewing machine tables were bought for a song and re-purposed as side tables either side of the fire. Karina recalls her grandmother in Chile using the same style of sewing machine and says they bring back memories of her childhood. Two years ago, the family realised that their house was bursting at the seams with themselves and their teenage children and their Rhodesian Ridgeback Simba and cat Matisse. In early 2015, Karina gave Kevin an ultimatum: ‘Either we move to a bigger house or we extend this one’.

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So they cast around for a new home but everything they saw in Mt Victoria was either out of their budget or didn’t have the accustomed alchemy of location, garage and garden. Eventually, they realised that if they pushed out the back of the house, they could open up the cramped kitchen and laundry and provide another living space. It would also give them a much-needed connection to the garden, which they hardly used because it was inaccessible and muddy. ‘Our brief to architect, Anne Kelly, was clear – give us more living space, more storage and a better flow between the indoor and outdoor spaces.’ Anne, a fellow Mt Victoria resident, provided an airy extension, which flows seamlessly from the existing living room. Gone is the postage-stamp laundry and pokey kitchen/dining room which was barely big enough to house the 2.3m-long dining table and Emeco chairs bought from Thonet. In its place is a spacious kitchen arranged along the eastern wall and an island which is stepped to deal with the sloping section. ‘We entertain quite a lot and this house is always full of family and friends. It was chaos trying to cook for them in the tiny previous kitchen so one of my non-

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negotiables was a large, user-friendly kitchen where several of us can be at the same time.’ A long bank of cupboards next to the kitchen conceals the laundry while the additional family space to the rear of the extension features a sun-drenched window seat, a favourite place to curl up with a book. Off to one side is a toilet and shower, which was designed as a wet room for bathing Simba, their 43kg dog, who doesn’t fit in the shower uptstairs. Although Anne was keen on a flat roof for the extension, Karina opted for an A-frame roof-line. Not only does it enhance the sense of space, it also aligns with the classic villa look

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and its more traditional neighbours. Slide back the large double-glazed doors and a stepped deck leads to the garden and what Karina calls the man-cave. This is on the site of the old garage, which was in such disrepair it had to be torn down. It was replaced with a versatile space which serves, variously, as Kevin’s office, spill-over accommodation for family and friends and storage for surfing and rowing gear. Having completed the downstairs renovation, Karina is now turning her gaze to the first floor. ‘Although we painted and re-carpeted upstairs seven or so years ago, it might be time to redecorate.’

SALE ON NOW www.gordonharris.co.nz

Sale ends: 12/2/18

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T O R Q U E TA L K

Swe d e spot W R I TT E N BY RO G E R WA L K E R | P H OTO G R A P H Y BY LU K E B ROW N E

It’s perhaps strange that from the land of Norse mythology and the Vikings should come such very civilised cars. But then, Scandinavia is also the home of lauded design products, Lego, and IKEA. Sweden, with its high ratings for quality of life, health and education, civil liberties, equality, and prosperity is listed as one of the world’s happiest places.

he Volvo certainly is stamped into the Swedish psyche, consistently rating as one of the world’s safest cars. Volvo was established in 1915 as a subsidiary of the world’s largest bearing manufacturer, SKF. It makes sense that its name is derived from the Latin ‘volvere’, to roll. The company built cars especially to withstand the rigours of Sweden’s rough roads and freezing temperatures. Within a few years Volvo had diversified into the manufacture of trucks, buses, aircraft engines and construction equipment. Perhaps because of the Nordic reputation for exploration, Volvo sponsors the Round the World Yacht Race, in which sailors battle hostile seas, long distances and dramatic weather. A few ageing readers will remember Roger Moore as the Saint in the 60s TV series, and his enthusiasm for the memorable P1800 coupe. But Volvo are now best known for superbly comfortable and capable four-door passenger vehicles. The XC 60 compact luxury crossover was introduced in 2008. This one, which I had great pleasure evaluating, is the 2017 second-generation XC60 RDesign D5 AWD, top of the range. Although run by a Swede, Volvo cars is now owned by Geely Automotive Holdings. This is the first Volvo made by the former Chinese fridge maker which turned itself into a car maker and bought Volvo from Ford in 2010. (Not at all parochial, it also bought the London Taxi Company, and is buying into Lotus (England) and Proton cars (Malaysia)). I have to say in this gender-neutral world, that I find the Volvo logo a bit strange: it is a circle with an arrow pointed upwards to the north east. I thought this was the ‘male’ sign. Volvo aver the sign is also the ancient chemical symbol for iron and that’s why they chose it. And, despite looking muscular on its 21-inch Pirelli PZero tyres, the XC60 is definitely soft, cuddly, and metrosexual. It positively drips design intent. It’s architectural. (I had to say that didn’t I?) And its curvy tail lights are straight from a Scandinavian furniture brochure.

At the back, there are sensors under the tailgate. You don’t need to drop that box. Wave your foot, it lifts – and behold the generous boot area. Seated at the controls, you find there is more designer cleverness. There is voice control for the functions you use most frequently: simply select the menu you want, and talk to your XC90 in a natural voice (no need to shout). The designers have eliminated as many switches and buttons as humanly possible. Climate control, entertainment and anything else that makes life easy are moved onto the touch screen. A ventilation pod situated behind the rear vision mirror allows a cool draft on your face without the discomfort of winding down a window. There’s a $5,000 Bowers and Wilkins sound system. A twist start gets the 177kw, 2.0-litre diesel fired up. It’s so civilised. Even the warning that your seat belt is not fastened is a dear little bell sound, not a raucous bleeping. There is a 360-degree camera, which knows the name of the road you are on. The head-up display not only tells you how fast you’re going, but also knows the speed limit and displays it on the windscreen right next to your speed readout. With 500nm of torque under your right foot, the speed can become considerable in the blink of an eye and even though it’s such an attention-oriented car, telling the nice policeman that ‘it’s not speed that kills, but inattention’ is not going to get you very far. The motor silently turns off while you pause at a red traffic light and then starts again as the traffic light goes green, and when you park the mirrors quietly fold in. At night, the LED headlights steer with you around corners. If you think I have gone too far with the Norse mythology, I point out that the daytime running lights are officially called ‘Thor’s hammer’. The XC60 R-Design D5 AWD’s information, interactivity, and performance is all here in this one supremely friendly and civilised car. I want one.

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B A B Y, B A B Y

S a fe and sound BY M E LO DY T H O M A S

ith the other parent in our household temporarily employed full time, I’ve been reintroduced to my old life of round the clock Mumhood − and it’s been full on. In fact I half-finished a column aiming to end the debate over whether paid or stay at home employment was harder (clue: it’s the unpaid one). And then a piece of playground equipment malfunctioned and nearly killed my son. Needless to say my priorities shifted. Don’t ask me what numbskull designer thought it a good idea to suspend a 20kg metal plate a few metres above the heads of children by A SINGLE BOLT. Don’t ask me why, after the park was closed all winter, the local council didn’t think it important to get out a ladder and check said bolt was still securely in place. But there we were, splashing about in ridiculously good weather, when suddenly the plate fell with a monstrous crash less than a metre from my child’s little head. Mums gathered around in shock and support, some called the council, and reassurances were given that this would never happen again. But I haven’t been able to push it out of my brain. One thing no-one tells you when you’re pregnant for the first time is how you’re going to spend the first few weeks once they’re born imagining all the ways your beautiful baby might up and leave you. Or that actually, that impulse doesn’t disappear so much as happen less frequently over time, with the occasional spike when they get sick or run onto a road without looking. It all serves to make you feel incredibly helpless. People talk about how

happy kids make you, and how you’ve ‘never experienced love like it’ − but what they never say is how much of a liability that is. Every now and then I am stopped in my tracks by the fact that all of my happiness rests in these two precious little baskets. That if something were to happen to them, our lives would never be the same again. But there’s really very little we can do about it. As this latest scare reinforced for me, we can try our best to keep our children safe, but a significant part of what gets any of us to teenagehood, adulthood and old age is luck. I could never have known that plate was going to fall from the sky. Had it happened a few seconds later, the outcome would have been very different. Life is precious and fickle, and all we can really do is live it up while we can. That’s not to say you’re not fully entitled to bad days, or months, or whatever. Parenting is so hard, and anyone who says they haven’t imagined throwing their child out the window in the middle of the night is lying. But summer is here, and there’s no better babysitter than nature. The bush is teeming with birds, even the south coast is swimmable, and dinner is as easy as a salad and something on the BBQ. Many of the best things − chubby, sunscreened limbs, bottoms eating togs, cherry-stained mouths and dappled sunlight through the canopy − can be enjoyed from a towel on the sand or those warm rubber mats under the playground swings. Just be sure to check for heavy objects hovering above your children’s heads before you close your eyes.

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Capital 48

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Summer Lovin'

Getting Salty