4 minute read
GUIDE TO
THE BUSMAN’S GUIDE TO: Whanganui
It may be famous for its river but this historic city also has fantastic ceramics and homewares to stock up on, as well as some inspiring bungalow spotting Paloma Gardens
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1 1 P O H U T U K A W A L A N E , F O R D E L L Drive east for 20 minutes from downtown Whanganui and you can pull up at these privately owned gardens that are open to the public. Owners Nicki and Clive Higgie have spent many years cultivating what has been deemed a Garden of National Significance by the New Zealand Gardens Trust. Stroll through the towering bamboo forest, wander across the immaculate grass of the Wedding Lawn, marvel at the Jardin Exotique’s myriad of palms, cycads, cacti and succulents, cross the Palm Garden and wind up in the wonderfully foreboding Garden of Death. This is an enclosed garden with poisonous plants such as the obvious oleander, the curious tequila agave and, shock, horror parsley. Apparently, if taken in very large doses it can lead to kidney and liver problems. paloma.co.nz
Sunset over lower CBD.
S B B I G S S O R
CALIFORNIAN BUNGALOW DRIVE-BY
A casual drive through suburbs such as Durie Hill and Gonville is a happy hunting ground for some fantastic examples of the Californian bungalow. Some are stucco, some brick and others are wood but most share the generous covered porches and interesting decorative touches as well as large, tree-lined sections. If you ’re short of ideas on what will enhance your house’s street appeal, a 20-minute drive will give you plenty of inspo.
Quartz, Museum of Studio Ceramics
8 B AT E S S T R E E T The ’70s may have given pottery a bad name but this vast collection of New Zealand pottery proves there’s so much more to it than those brown salt pigs. Studio potter Rick Rudd, who is known for his precise hand-built black teapots that look more like futuristic abstract sculptures, opened this brutalist building to give his wide-ranging collections a home. On display is his own New Zealand Collection, with pieces by Len Castle, Barry Brickell and Madeleine Child, and the Whanganui Collection with works by locals is proof, if you needed it, that Whanganui is a hotbed of artists. There’s also the Rick Rudd Collection of his own work, as well as that of Simon Manchester who was a huge collector of local pottery and amassed a collection of 3000 New Zealand pieces during his lifetime. What is every bit as interesting as the collections is that Rick can usually be seen behind the reception area, quietly sculpting his teapots with the bare minimum of tools. quartzmuseum.org.nz
A GALLERY
8 5 G L A S G O W S T R E E T A Gallery, inside a repurposed villa, has rich pickings of local artists and exhibitions, which include Whanganuiborn artist Sheila Pearson’s whacky animal paintings in the manner of Old Masters until May 1. But the main reason to visit is because it’s the local gallery of Whanganui-based ceramicist Aaron Scythe, who has an international following. He studied ceramics in Japan for many years and is influenced by the yobitsugi method of repairing ceramics. He’s a punk potter who cuts pieces out of his fresh ceramics and virtually destroys tea bowls cutting them up to rebuild them, then painting bubble cars and other whimsies on them in traditional Japanese style. agallery.nz
ART OF THE MATTER
Aaron Scythe’s Japanese-influenced ceramics (top left); one of Sheila Pearson’s cat paintings at A Gallery (top right); Rick Rudd’s 10 Green Bottles (above) and one of his sculptural teapots.
La Station Design Store
1 3 9 G U Y T O N S T R E E T You won’t fail to notice the old Central Fire Station, a vast Spanish Mission-style building with well-groomed cypress trees pressed up against it. Feels like Europe, but it’s actually the city ’s best interiors and furniture shop. You ’ll find everything from rattan bedheads, to chairs, scented candles, lights, glassware, tableware and all manner of accent pieces. lastation.co.nz
ALSO VISIT
Brown & Co for handmade glass lights; New Zealand Glassworks for a chance to watch this red-hot skill, then pick up a paperweight from the gallery; and the Whanganui River Markets on Saturday mornings for Devine Treats, the stall with the home baking. You ’ll know it by its towering streusel cake.
SARJEANT GALLERY
P U K E N A M U , Q U E E N ’ S PA R K A L S O , S A R J E A N T O N T H E Q U AY, 3 8 TA U P O Q U AY The grand neo-classical Sarjeant Gallery, built in 1919, is closed at the moment for earthquake strengthening and the addition of an extension. Word is it reopens next year and should be worth a trip just to marvel at the revamped exterior, let alone the roughly 8500 national and international art works. Still, you can make do with Sarjeant on the Quay for the time being. When we swung by Mark Rayner’s rug wall hanging of Jacinda Ardern La Corona was on show, as was ceramicist Angela Tier’s Egyptian-style ceramic Seven Dogs figures (pictured above). serjeant.org.nz
