39 minute read
Event Showcase
by WildTomato
Coppermine: furious and fun
Phil Barnes profiles the uniquely Nelson mountain bike race through diverse and historic landscapes.
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PHOTOGRAPHY HENRY JAINE
Around 150 competitors are expected to line up for the annual Coppermine mountain bike race on March 28. Skye Irwin, from the organising Gravity Nelson bike company, says the event comprises two main course options, the Coppermine Classic and the Coppermine Epic.
The 40km Classic comprises a loop of the Dun Mountain Trail that includes the mineral belt around Coppermine Saddle. At an altitude of 878m, the saddle, unable to support beech forest, is dominated by reddish-brown rocks and limited vegetation. The course then descends steadily on a fast and often exhilarating track. Skye says Easy Trail Services have done a wonderful job upgrading the descent track over the last year, taking out rocks, smoothing crossings over streams and adding berms. The refurbished surface is a further attraction for entrants.
26 The Epic course is a similar distance to the Coppermine but consists of 500m of extra vertical climbing and is far more technical. This is due to a separate section where the Epic leaves the Coppermine course at Four Corners to climb steeply to the top of Fringed Hill (793m). It then follows the single-track descent through native forest along the rugged and undulating Black Diamond tramping track, before rejoining the Coppermine course just past Third House.
Skye says the Classic ride is the more popular of the two. The Epic tends to attract more experienced and competitive mountain bikers.
Solos and teams Skye, who combines roles for Gravity Nelson of administration along with coaching, guiding and driving work, says the event is divided into several categories. These include single-speed, e-bike, parent and child, family and corporate teams.
Family teams must have at least three members. The corporate grade generally comprises workplace teams of four. Skye says teams often wear costumes to add to the fun of the event. “We had a group last year who wore suits, but cut off the arm sleeves.” The criterion for team categories is that all members must stay together.
The start and finish area for the event will be on the flat area known as the Maitai Esplanade Reserve just before the campground on the way up Maitai Valley Rd. An ‘event village’ will feature food and coffee for sale, as well as a range of games and entertainment.
Skye says children are encouraged to bring their own bikes to the area. Last year included a competition (for all ages) to see who was fastest to ride a single-speed bike around a giant log.
HELI-BIKE THE COPPERMINE The uphill is on us.
SKYE IRWIN
The games area will feature attractions such as a log-pulling competition and a coin toss to win this year’s main prize – a helicopter trip into the mountains and then a guided mountain bike descent. The event will be followed by a prizegiving with performance and spot prizes, as well as rewards for King and Queen of the Mountain riders.
Fast times to beat Cash prizes will also be on offer for anyone who can break the existing male and female Coppermine Epic race records. These are held by Kim Hurst, who completed the course in 2hr 32min 24s in 2013, and Tim Wilding, who stopped the clock at 2hr 1min 21s in 2012.
The event, now in its 13th year, has been held in various formats since 2008. However, at that time the course was far more technical – with some parts unrideable. When the Dun Mountain Trail was opened and subsequently became part of the New Zealand Cycle Trails Great Rides network in 2011, those gnarly sections became far more friendly.
A major attraction for competitors from outside the area is the historical aspect of parts of the course. The section between Brook St and Coppermine Saddle follows part of the route of New Zealand’s first railway, the Dun Mountain railway, which was opened in 1862 to transport chromite and copper from the mineral belt around the saddle.
For people seeking further information or wanting to take part, go to www.coppermine.co.nz
0800 FLY NELSON www.helicoptersnelson.co.nz
Proud sponsors of the Coppermine Event
Our coffee cups runneth over
Café culture has exploded in the Top of the South and continues to evolve. Sarah Nottage samples an exciting vibe.
PHOTOGRAPHY STEVE HUSSEY
G E O RG I A T R AT H E N , B L AC K B I R D E AT E RY, ANNESBROOK
With more than 100 registered cafés in Nelson alone, enjoying a cup of java has become an integral part of our identity. Amid what used to be a bland social landscape of milk bars and pubs closing at 6pm, visionary Dutch immigrant Eelco Boswijk opened Nelson’s first café in 1961. For over 40 years, people flocked to Chez Eelco at the top of Trafalgar St for generous hospitality, good conversation, food, music and art in low-lit, bohemian surroundings.
A café is a third space, neither home nor work – a relatively lawless space with plenty of room for idiosyncrasy, as long as the operator knows what they are in for. These days, although we are still partial to the occasional custard square, cafés are expected to meet our diverse dietary and social needs. With flexible work arrangements and little time, we also use cafés as zones of productivity.
We ask a lot out of our café experience. We are looking for a gastronomic, humanistic and environmental trinity – goodquality food, drinks, service and atmosphere. We want attractive, welcoming spaces close to home or work, with music that creates the right vibe. We appreciate friendly service.
We are increasingly moving to more ethical eating and drinking habits as we try our best to minimise our impact on the planet. If we can tick off our To Do list all at one place – buy our groceries, grab a coffee and a snack or meal, hang out with friends and whānau – we are happy. Most of us don’t have time to prepare home-baking, let alone clean the house and entertain visitors, yet we crave social contact and connection.
Working from home is not glamorous. There is the procrastination without immediate consequence, mindless snacking from the top shelf, bad coffee and lack of social contact. Hence the thriving ‘coffice-worker culture’ (‘A café one makes into an office where non-coffeeshop work is performed’ – Urban Dictionary). Coffice workers want a clean workspace, minimal background noise, good coffee, food that doesn’t get stuck in the teeth for when the meeting
Above: From left to right - Coffee at Blackbird Eatery; post-workout snack at Blackbird Eatery
Opposite page: Georgia Trathen, owner/operator of Blackbird Eatery begins, and a genial relationship with café staff, who understand that we won’t stay too long. Parents/whānau and grandparents want to go to cafés where they won’t be judged by their children’s behaviour; where a visible, secure play area ensures carers have a few minutes to themselves without fear that their children will go missing. They want sugar-free options so that grandparents don’t have to tell porkies about the amount of sugar their grandchildren consumed.
Fortunately, no matter what you are looking for in a café experience, you’ll find it in the Top of the South, in cafés such as Marlborough’s Vines Village, Nelson’s Coffee 101 , Bobby Franks, Sublime Coffee Roastery and Brew Bar and Tasman’s Hooked.
Workout and chill out Blackbird Eatery and Coffee has a unique location on the premises of CityFitness, Annesbrook, and in the heart of the industrial area close to the airport, which brings a varied clientele to their doorstep. When you are pounding a treadmill, the smell of bacon cooking can be pretty motivating.
Owner/operator Georgia Trathen grew up in a family who love to cook. Needing to change their eating and lifestyle habits, Georgia and her mother became regulars at the gym, and had fun at home experimenting with cooking raw, gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan and dairy-free options at home.
Having completed a cookery course at NMIT, Georgia jumped at the opportunity when the café space came up for rent in 2015. Blackbird’s cabinet and menu options are both naughty and healthy, colourful, inviting and varied. Their salads change daily, according to seasonal variation and what is in the fridge.
“I am always experimenting and looking for different, fresh ideas, which keeps things interesting and makes me motivated to come to work,” says Georgia. Blackbird also offers catering and cake-making services. “I just baked a vegan wedding cake that was so light and fluffy no-one could tell it was vegan.”
Posting photos of their food on social media is an effective marketing tool for Blackbird. “People send their children or partners out to bring home one of our raw cheesecakes or donuts. I love how excited people get about our food.”
YA R A H U N T, B LO O M , M OT U E K A
Above: Clockwise - Bobby Franks Cafe; Nicole and Julie Wood at Bloom Cafe Motueka
Opposite page: Clockwise: Jocelyn Winters and Petra Van Hasz at Bloom Cafe Motueka; Kylie Fenwick at Connings Food Market; colourful artwork at Bloom Cafe Motueka
Eddie Edwards, personal trainer at CityFitness, says having access to Blackbird enhances his service, particularly with new clients. “It can be quite intimidating for new clients to come to the gym, but if we sit down in the café over a coffee it puts them at ease, which helps me get to know them and put together the best training programme. Having the café adjacent to the gym also creates a really vibrant atmosphere – I always see big groups sitting down to coffee and a treat after a workout. The social element of exercise can be just as important as the exercise. Hopefully they are making good food choices.”
Funky in The Wood Bobby Franks Cafe in The Wood, Nelson, has been described by regular customer Zinnia as a “ friendly and approachable team who are happy to cater to my dietary requirements, offering fresh, good-quality ingredients”. Operators Keira and Marc Shaw have drawn on many shared years of hospitality experience in New Zealand and Australia, a passion for food, coffee and their love of the ocean to create a funky, welcoming café and exciting menu.
“Marc is a cooking whiz; he loves to create and experiment. I have a cookbook obsession – we mix it up a bit and find what works,” says Keira. “The ‘Hippie’ goes off – it’s our big vegetarian breakfast that has a little bit of everything. And the ‘Green Grocer’ [named after the historic 150-year-old building] is also popular; it changes seasonally and is currently a house-made herb falafel with white-bean hummus, garden herbs, slowroasted vegetables and chimichurri.”
The couple have clear long-term goals for Bobby Franks and their coffee-roasting company, Soul Arch, aligned with
30 sustainable, environmentally responsible business practices. They and their three young children recently moved to a fivehectare property over Whangamoa Hill, where they use all the waste from the café as compost, including the coffee grinds.
“We intend to grow seasonal vegetables to use in the café – to bring the farm to the plate. We have two cute goats who are clearing the land and eating the weeds,” says Keira.
Their Soul Arch coffee is starting to appear in local businesses. Marc roasted for Marvell St Coffee Roasters in Byron Bay for several years, and knows what he likes. Their coffee beans are sourced seasonally. They have developed their own house blend with Colombian and African beans, and single-origins that they put through their filter.
“We love our single-origins; with one type of bean you can taste the origin of the bean. At the moment, our favourite is La Cristalina from Colombia. It has chocolate notes, and we seem to get so many flavours out of it,” Keira says.
A verdant oasis Bloom Cafe Motueka was created with integrity and experience by operators Yara Hunt and Aaron Banks, who met as teenagers while studying cookery in Christchurch.
Walking under the pink arch along the path to Bloom, you feel like you have discovered a secret treasure. The conventional High St gives way to a lush, calming oasis. Light pours into the café through the large windows, illuminating the delicious cabinet food, thriving pot plants, stunning artworks and vibrant green walls.
In summer, bifold doors are opened to create a relaxed indoor/outdoor flow to the sheltered courtyard, which lends itself to leisurely family gatherings over wood-fired pizza topped with local ingredients and Aaron’s homemade sauces. As one customer says, “You go there in the early morning with the sun coming in at a low angle and it’s just like, ‘Oh wow’. For someone who has owned two cafés, I know that Bloom is the real deal.” The food, whether from the cabinet or off the menu, is generous, abundant and fresh, thanks to Aaron’s wealth of
S I M O N C O N N I N G , CO N N I N G S F O O D MA R K ET, A P P LE BY
culinary experience and the couple’s personal preferences. “We love food,” says Yara. “We create options that we enjoy eating ourselves. Life is meant to be fun and vibrant so we want to create that kind of environment where people can feel comfortable and express themselves.”
The name Bloom has stuck with Yara for a long time. She is big on writing down ideas in notebooks and being specific in order to manifest what she wants in life. She came across one of those notebooks from years ago in which the café was all planned out, with the word Bloom beside it.
“I love the idea that we are all capable; that we all have the potential to grow, given the right circumstances. Aaron and I understand that in creating this space we are in control of something that can benefit the wider community.”
To promote more community connection and encourage artistic expression, Bloom are organising creative workshops in the evenings. They invite a local artist to transform their blackboard art every month.
Bloom do everything they can to minimise their impact on the planet – with no tokenism in that approach. “There is so much on this earth already, we have to be brave and make a stand,” says Yara.
The café offers discounts to customers who bring their own containers, is dog-friendly, and has a ‘no disposable cups’ policy. Crockery mugs are provided free to customers who want takeaway coffees.
“People can take them home, donate them to an op-shop, bring them back. I really believe this approach is the way we need to live and the way of the future, and I want it to hurry up,” says Yara.
“A lot of people walk out. That’s okay with me. From the day we opened we haven’t offered disposable cups and I stand by it. I do find it hard when we offer a mug, the customer refuses, goes to the next café and is given a takeaway cup.”
Branching out from fruit and veg ‘Promoting the imperfect’ is a core value at Connings Food Market at Old Factory Corner in Appleby. The Conning family have been supplying the region with fresh fruit and vegetables for decades, and are establishing Old Factory Corner as a community hub where people can shop for a range of highquality goods.
At the heart of the complex is a deli, surrounded by fresh produce, artisan products, bouquets of flowers, a café with indoor/outdoor seating, a children’s playground and in summer, a Berrylands fresh-fruit ice cream stall. The building was designed to be easily accessible for everyone, with easy parking.
“Our intention is to offer high-quality, locally grown produce and minimise organic and packaging waste,” says Simon Conning. “People who shop with us are more accepting of blemishes on their fruit and vegetables because that is what we promote – there is nothing wrong with them, and they are much cheaper.”
The deli and food market are stocked with picnic and lastminute dinner ingredients – salads, sandwiches and smoothies, as well as delicious sugar-free baked treats. The café is still evolving and will continue to do so, especially considering the large-scale residential development underway just down the road. They are always coming up with new ideas and seeking feedback from customers.
Now that the three Conning brothers – Simon, Toby and Ben – have all moved back to Nelson, they are creating much more work for their parents Robbie and Cheryl Conning, and also building an exciting complex quite unlike anything else in the Top of the South.
Service, good eats & great coffee
The success or otherwise of a café depends on several factors. Ivy Lynden talks to the winners of the 2019 Kono Dine Out “Best Café Nelson Tasman” Award to see what makes them stand out.
Last year WildTomato’s foodie panel judged Hardy St Eatery the best café in Nelson for 2019. Situated in Hardy St as per its name, the eatery is both a café and a restaurant open for breakfast and lunch Monday to Saturday, and for dinner Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights with a separate menu.
Consistency Owners James Rutherford and Louise Morten moved to Nelson from Wellington several years ago with a vision to create an eatery with an atmosphere that customers can liken to dining at home. Drawing on James’ experience as a chef in New Zealand and internationally, their eatery food philosophy is creative,
32 Above: Clockwise - Lunch time at Hardy St Eatery; Owner James Rutherford and front-of-house Andrew Clancey
seasonal and approachable meals from a regularly changing menu, using fresh local ingredients whenever possible.
James and his staff all agree about the need for consistency in the hospitality they offer at Hardy St Eatery. “Nelson is a unique location. It historically has a super busy summer season and then we hunker down in the winter months, so it was important for us from the outset to capture the local market.”
Amazing product The success of this came through forming solid relationships, investing time with all their customers and getting to know them on a personal level, says James. “For me it’s always important to set the tone as soon as someone enters, to greet people to guide them through the experience we have created at Hardy St and to make sure people feel relaxed and comfortable in the environment and then leave feeling better for it.
“Consistency is the key to any good business; to be able to deliver the same product day-in day-out so that the customers don’t know who made their coffee or scrambled the eggs. This takes time and is something we are always working on.
“Relationships with suppliers are also important. We get our coffee from Revive in Wellington where I worked for a couple of years. I know the love they put into their roasting and the passion Dallas (the head roaster) has for all things coffee.
“We are also lucky in Nelson Tasman to have such amazing produce. I start every Saturday morning off at the local markets filling the larder for the week ahead.” James says it’s crucial to be able to touch and smell the produce as the seasons roll on by; that picking produce at its peak makes the job easier in the kitchen. “That way there’s less we have to do to it before we put it on the plate and it makes so much easier for the front-ofhouse to sell a product that is at its best. “Most of all, he says, having a café is about creating an environment that people are comfortable in, where they feel relaxed, somewhere for them to check out of the rat race, to people watch, a community hub, a home-away-from -home away from home where they will be treated to consistently great coffee, food and service.
Experience these must-visit cafés from the Top of the South ...
Sublime Cofffee
Sublime Coffee Roastery and Brew Bar C reating a buzz on New Street is the Sublime Coffee Roastery and Brew Bar. Offering an interactive experience where customers can watch the roasting process, their effortlessly funky industrial café space is a haven for coffee lovers with a thirst for discovery. Sublime serve filtered coffee, which allows the drinker to appreciate the subtle nuances and taste the differences in single origin coffees from around the world. A down-to-earth family business, Sublime have selected, roasted and blended the highest quality coffee beans since 2005. Passionate about sustainability and authenticity, Sublime have achieved the ultimate — all their packaging is compostable, from coffee cups and wholesale bags to the ink they use. Ph 03 546 9470 www.sublimecoffeeroasters.co.nz
Coffee 101 C offee 101 is a small coffee house that packs a big punch with coffee lovers of Nelson, located in the heart of Nelson at 101 Bridge Street .We are proud recipients of the 2019 Kono Dine Out Awards Best Coffee Venue title. Our aim is to provide consistently, delicious coffee the way you like it! Every time! We have teamed up with Allpress coffee and espresso specialist to ensure we have some of the best equipment and beans available.
We also offer smoothies, sugar and sugar-free sweets, gluten-free options and a tonne of milk alternatives.
We look forward to welcoming you to our little slice of coffee paradise. Ph 022 372 1592 www.facebook.com/coffee101nelson
Bobby Franks Cafe B obby Franks Cafe, a relaxed yet sophisticated space in a recently refurbished historic building, has added a culinary kick to The Wood, Nelson. Selfconfessed foodies with a passion for coffee, owners Keira and Marc roast and serve their own coffee – ‘Soul Arch Coffee Roasters’. For an early morning espresso, lunch or afternoon sweet treat, Bobby Franks specialises in providing options for all appetites.
Their eclectic, fresh, seasonal menu and food cabinet are bursting with deliciousness, and their talented chefs cater to everyone’s dietary requirements. Expect a twist on traditional fare and generous portions, such as ‘The Lumberjack’ and ‘The Hippie’. www.facebook.com/BobbyFranksNZ/
Hooked H ungry locals and visitors rejoice – now you can satisfy your appetite at the popular café, beer garden and restaurant Hooked all year, including the autumn and winter season, five days per week. Ideally situated in Marahau, gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park, we have been ‘hooked on Hooked’ since it opened in 2002. With one of the best waterfront locations in the known universe, Hooked offers the freshest, best seafood and locally sourced produce. Hooked has attracted a loyal following, both as a relaxed hangout for a cool drink in the sun and an excellent breakfast, lunch and dinner venue. Ph 03 527 8576 www.hookedonmarahau.com
Vines Village Café & Deli T he Vines Village Café & Deli is WildTomato and the Kono Dine Out Awards ‘Marlborough Café of the Year’ and an award-winning favourite casual dining and foodie destination for locals and visitors alike. Twelve minutes drive from Blenheim, it sits amongst the expansive grounds and lakeside gardens of The Vines Village, surrounded by Marlborough’s world-famous vineyards and cellar doors.
Specialising in nourishing breakfasts, fresh Supreme coffee, tasty lunches and afternoon drinks, The Vines Village also has a deli with Appleby Farms Ice Cream and ‘Pour Your Own’ Taylor Pass Honey. Roots Dry Gin and Golden Mile Brewing craft beer are made on site. Open 7 Days. 03 579 5424 www.vinesvillagecafe.co.nz
Coffee 101
Bobby Franks Cafe
Hooked
Testosterone & pomade
Many blokes – and some women – are ditching the hair salon in favour of razors, scissors and blades at their local barber. Eddie Allnutt finds out more.
PHOTOGRAPHY BRENT MCGILVARY
Our towns and cities have sprouted spirals of blue, white and red thanks to a boom in barber shops. Men young and old are rediscovering the joy of watching the barber’s craftsmanship or reminiscing over the paraphernalia. They shoot pool, shoot the breeze with mates, listen to great tunes, share their troubles and surrender to the edgy pampering of a cut-throat shave.
The barbering zenith would have to be the Schorem (Dutch slang for ‘scumbag’) Barbers in Rotterdam, for whom old-school shaves and cuts are a thing of male beauty. These heavily tattooed, gritty ‘gentlemen’ are taking barbering to the next level and have achieved pilgrimage status. To quote one client: “I was here at eight o’clock in the morning, and I was number 30.”
A space to be a man Nelson barber Kyle Crittenden, new owner of Stormy’s off Montgomery Square, hails from Seattle originally. He says barbers have made a spectacular comeback “because we provide a space where guys can feel comfortable”. The formula works and New Zealand now faces a huge shortage of barbers as a result.
In the upstairs of a building that used to be a piano repair shop and wool products factory, five guys, who are dressed as if they are off to an Eddie Vedder gig, are busily creating contours, pomps, smooth skin, flattops, Sonny Bills and Ronaldos. I request a ‘Trumpy’ but Kyle says they are traditional barbers and don’t have any orange dye. He then tells me to slap my name on the blackboard – it’s no appointments – and have a Wakachangi beer while waiting.
Guys are shooting pool and throwing darts with rays of sun disturbing their Jimmy White and Snakebite Wright poses. There’s a moose head, an Elvis, a jukebox and guys talking man’s stuff. Kyle says his barbershop could be described as a ‘garage’ or ‘garage sale’ type. “People are being re-acquainted with what it means to be part of a barber shop and what it’s trying to promote. Message: You don’t have to spend a whole bunch of money, and don’t have to have an awkward experience.”
Kyle gets the feeling from his clients that they don’t want a flute of bubbly, lilies in the corner, frilly wallpaper or girly gossip. “There’s no need to have one service to cater for two different types of people. Men and women are very different and want different things.” Regular customer Paul Hughson – who’s got a bit of a ‘Chopper Read’ moustache happening – stumbled across Stormy’s a few years ago when new to town and both he and son Brandon were getting a tad scraggly.
“I like the way you can sit in any barber chair and get a professional service with a male camaraderie-sided conversation,” Paul says. “You can have a chat about really anything that’s on your mind, or you can sit in relative silence. Up here it’s atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere. There’s something for all ages. The foosball table, pool, darts, board games, puzzles and a wide range of magazines – which are all complemented with likeable playlists from Spotify.”
Kyle finds guys are not fussy with their cuts but the top requirement for a barber – the difference between a good or a
K Y LE C R I T T E N D E N , BA R B E R
great cut – is being meticulous. “A meticulous barber will check and recheck to get the last rogue hair. They’ll get more repeat custom and that’s important in a commission-driven industry.” Each barber supplies his or her own cutting tools like clippers but the shop provides the consumables such as pomade, and each barber will have their favourite brands. Then there’s that signature jar with scissors and combs drowning in its blue liquid (Maurice King concocted Barbicide in 1947).
While some guys request vanguards, slickbacks and ‘the psycho’ – many just leave it to the man with the blade. “It’s easy to come in and say, ‘Look mate, you know what you’re doing – just make me look good’. We’re the experts. With that out of the way, you can then go on to talk about sport or the outdoors, or whatever. To me, that’s another reason why a barbershop is really attractive.”
Shawn ‘Stormy’ Stormann, the well-known Nelson barber who founded Stormy’s Man Cave, has had a radical change in lifestyle, Kyle says. “He’s now living on Norfolk Island; he’s gardening there. I guess he just wanted to make his world a little smaller.”
Walk-ins only Kyle says the difference between a barber and a salon is the latter “tends to have more rounded, soft, curved haircuts. They do curling and colours, dyes and washes too, which we don’t. “Typically, trained barber styles in men’s styled haircuts seem to be more square, chiselled and a little bit more robust. We’re looking for those squared edges, clean lines, those masculine haircuts and styles. We stick to clipper and scissor cuts plus traditional straight-razor shaves.” He also says classic barbershops are walk-ins only, no appointments.
A barber shave is unique: the hot towels, the oil, the lather, the raspy movements of the cut-throat razor followed by a splash of Bay Rum to awaken the senses and refresh the skin. “Technically they call it a straight-razor shave,” says Kyle, “but in New Zealand, you have to say cut-throat because that’s how you know it. Usually, they take about 45 minutes.”
Moustachioed Paul gives his spin on his style: “I’ve had the same type of haircut for ages now – boring, right? In saying that, I grew a beard – not the best beard I may add – that I had neatened every barber visit. The lads were awesome in making my beard look semi-presentable and shared their knowledge of beard oils and similar products.
“I’ve had a cut-throat shave, which was a first for me – a little nervy but it was a great shave once complete. Currently, I have a moustache, which I’ve decided to keep from ‘Movember’. Not sure how long it will last though …”
Catering for all ages I scan the waiting area to see quite a cross-section of Nelson – but no Tiki Taane today (he got a mohawk here not so long ago). A mum arrives with her young son and chalks his name on the board. A couple of guys look to be aged in their 30s, and a nice old gent flashes his SuperGold card to get the ‘Wise Men’ price of $20. Kyle says the male demographic you see on the street is reflected in the shop: “We gauge our music on whether a six- or 60-year-old would enjoy it. Music that isn’t too specific, to cater to our wide audience.”
THE BARBER AS A CONFESSIONAL Paul adds: “I’ve seen everything from squirmy toddlers to the elderly and those who are holding on and embracing their final strands that sweep over their shiny scalps.”
Cuts take 20 to 25 minutes on average. Kyle says seniors tend to wait longer between haircuts and “can come in looking a bit raggedly”. They are not so worried about appearance, and also their hair growth slows down.
Young guys, on the other hand, can come in up every three or four weeks. Kyle explains that in Britain many guys get spruced up every Friday for the weekend. Grooming to look good is quite primal. “It’s been around since apes and cavemen. In essence, we want to look good for the opposite sex and feel confident.”
For Kyle, it’s not only about running a business and making money. “Everyone is welcome to come up here. That’s really important to me. You don’t have to feel obligated to have a haircut. I have a lot of respect for this community and want to be part of it.”
He’s even had a dad come up with his 16-year-old and say, “Son, if you’re ever in trouble, I want you to come up here.”
Thanks to the hipsters ‘No bookings, no coffee, no flash mags and no loud music. Just a darn good clip round the ears!’ Barbers on Buxton, one of the oldest such premises in Nelson, is proud of its no-nonsense slogan. Owner Olwen Murphy explains that barbershops have done “full circle” and are now back in vogue. “Years ago there’d be a barber shop on every corner of every town, but they reckon what changed that was the Beatles. People wanted long hairstyles, so salons became popular and barbers less and less.”
However, barbers are back thanks to the ‘hipsters’ – that trendy subculture fond of checked shirts, geeky glasses and short-back-and-sides, fades, waxed handlebar moustaches and beard care.
Barbers on Buxton is like an unofficial local barbering museum. There’s a till that came from Gibbons’ barbershop back in the ’60s, and a kids’ wooden horsehead barber chair that’s getting close to 100 years old and hailed from Brian Lucas’s barbershop. “We have one customer who’s a retired gentleman and he had his hair cut in that chair when he was a kid,” Olwen says.
This resurgence, she adds, means that we are getting some “great quality products” such as the Kiwi-made Killer Groom brand with its perfect hold and a scent to sway the ladies. Olwen also stocks a shaving brush made from rimu with Mongolian wild-boar bristles.
BARBERS ON BUXTON Affordable haircuts for the whole family
– TYNIA SHERIDAN, BARBER
Barbering in Blenheim Tynia Sheridan, from the Barber Shop in Blenheim, says men’s haircutting culture “has just become phenomenal and in the last five years there’s been a huge turnaround”.
With one barber in Picton and about half-a-dozen in Blenheim, the culture is a lot different to when she started cutting many years ago. “The barber shop we have was originally in the middle of town, so it’s been around since the horse-andcart days. It’s been through different stages. When I started there, they were employing ladies’ hairdressers ’cos barbering wasn’t cool. However, it’s now becoming that hairdressers think it’s cool and are even putting little barber corners in their salons.”
The Barber Shop is ‘no appointment’. “We employ six staff because we like to keep waiting times down,” Tynia says. “Even if guys want a wet shave at lunchtime, they can decide, just like that.” They cater for weddings too and could give the groom’s party a wet shave and cut the morning of the big day.
Barbering has become so popular that there’s now an official New Zealand qualification. Tynia reckons it’s an awesome trade for young guys and girls – she has two female barbers doing apprenticeships with her now. After two years’ hands-on experience, and a few block courses, they are ready and can ply their trade worldwide if they wish.
“From farmers’ kids to lawyers, I just love the cross-section of customer and my job. It’s also a nice way for some older men to get a little pampering, luxury – their social interaction. Someone chats and spends a little time with them.”
Footnote: The barbers’ signature pole has a morbid origin, with the colours representing veins, bandages and blood – dating back to medieval times when barbers were also surgeons. Thankfully, we’ve moved on since then.
Above: Product and tools
No appointments required 17 Buxton Square, Nelson Central - 03 548 2810
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A tale of two fractious towns
Blenheim and Picton survived a bad case of sibling rivalry, Alistair Hughes reports.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARLBOROUGH MUSEUM
According to ancient tradition, Blenheim and Picton owe much of their creation to a giant octopus. The story, detailed on a carved pou (marker post) at Picton’s Karaka Point, tells of Māori navigator Kupe’s deadly struggle with the mighty cephalopod Te Wheke-o-Muturangi. Their scrap ranged from ancestral Hawaiki, across the Pacific, until the combatants found themselves at Te Wheke o Te Tau Ihu, the northern South Island.
Kupe overcame the creature in a final epic confrontation that gouged out the land, causing the sea to flow in and form the Marlborough Sounds. Afterwards Kupe continued to explore the new-found coastline, discovering and naming the Wairau Bar ‘the shoulder’ or Te Pokohiwi o Kupe.
Centuries later these two locations served as gateways to the Wairau Plain for European settlers, and this year we begin commemorations of the 170th anniversary of Blenheim and Picton’s colonial founding. Opinions differ as to exactly when those dates should be marked. Initial European settlement of the region was set back several years after the tragic Wairau Affray in 1843, in which 26 people were slain in an armed clash between Ngāti Toa and the New Zealand Company over land. When pioneering spirit eventually overcame fearful memories, settlers gradually returned, including two men who were pivotal in the birth of the town now known as Blenheim.
Earliest settlers The Wairau Bar was originally settled by 13th century explorers from Polynesia, becoming New Zealand’s earliest site of human habitation. Around 1847, enterprising Dutchman James Wynen moved from Port Underwood to the north side of the Wairau River mouth and established a virtual monopoly on receiving and transporting goods shipped to the bar from Nelson and Wellington. Wynen also set up a combined store and drinking shanty, whose patrons are described in caustic terms by TL Buick in his book Old Marlborough (1900) as “rough and uncouth bullock-drivers, boatmen and whalers, who … revelled in drunken orgies which are almost beyond our comprehension in these days of comparative sobriety”.
The following year, a quake estimated at magnitude 7.5 altered the future province of Marlborough forever. The bed of the nearby Wairau lagoons lowered and the Ōpaoa (Opawa) River became a metre deeper – suddenly navigable by ships. Capitalising on this opportunity, Wynen built a store on the banks further inland, at the confluence of the Omaka and Ōpaoa rivers. Wynen’s outpost became known as Beaver Station. Blenheim’s long and unlikely association with a semi-aquatic rodent from the Northern Hemisphere probably dates back to when future MP Joseph Ward assisted in an 1847 survey of the Wairau Plain. Camped near the future site of Wynen’s station during a wretched day and night of rain, Ward’s party was forced to perch on bunks while floodwaters swirled around them. Ward later quipped that they sat “like a lot of beavers in a dam”. The name stuck to the area like superglue.
A couple of years after Wynen’s new base was established, Scotsman James Sinclair arrived to live at the Wairau Bar settlement with his wife Christina. Their subsequent abrupt move further upriver is explained by AJ McIntosh in his 1940 book, Marlborough – A Provincial History: “The wild and drunken habits at … the grog shop moved Mrs Sinclair to horror after a few weeks, and she preferred the unknown terrors of the Beaver to the indignity of living in her new surroundings.”
Before the end of 1852 Sinclair had set up his own business near Beaver Station, prospering as a land agent, banker and businessman,
and rapidly eclipsing Wynen as one of the most influential men in the Wairau. Sinclair even gained the epithet ‘King of the Beaver’.
Picton by any name While future Blenheim was being founded out of necessity, Picton became established for more political reasons. After Governor George Grey arranged purchase of the Wairau Plain in 1847, settlement of the area became a priority, and establishing a seaport was deemed an essential first step. A committee based in Nelson was quickly appointed to select the site. After a lengthy report had been delivered (discounting the Wairau Bar), in 1848 Governor Grey sailed to the head of Queen Charlotte Sound to negotiate acquisition of Waitohi from the Te Āti Awa people.
Grey and Sir Francis Dillon, a New Zealand Company agent, were eventually able to buy Waitohi for £300 pounds in 1850. Establishment of the new port did not progress smoothly. Delays in building a road connecting Waitohi with the region it was supposed to serve proved discouraging for would-be settlers. The other factor was the unforeseen rise of Beaver. According to John Hegglun, author of A Life Less Ordinary, formal plans for the township of Beaver were issued in June 1857. It was now the economic centre for Wairau, river shipping flourished, and the growing town had its own court-house, blacksmith and post office.
Waitohi seized the chance to re-establish its own significance when Wairau’s separation from Nelson administration became a reality. A seaport was a necessary condition of becoming an independent province, and this distinction could be leveraged to make the coastal harbour the provincial capital. But with another riverbed-lowering quake in 1855 making the Omaka and Ōpaoa even more navigable, the Wairau neither needed nor wanted Waitohi as a port, much less the capital. Trouble was brewing.
A capital choice Separation from Nelson was granted on November 1, 1859, and the new province found itself christened after the Duke of Marlborough. Beaver, aka Beavertown, found itself dubbed after the Duke’s 1704 victory at the Battle of Blenheim.
No time was wasted in creating a provincial council, but sadly, what should have been the beginning of a prosperous union between Blenheim and Picton degenerated into a long, bitter dispute over the title of provincial capital. For six long
Above: Clockwise - Afternoon at the top of Queen Charlotte’s Sound (as it was known then), photographed in 1872; the wharves and Fell’s stores at Blenheim, taken in 1873
Opposite page: In 1982, the Marlborough Colleges presented an original musical, A Capital Choice, which shone a light on Blenheim and Picton’s bitter feud over which should be named the provincial capital
years the seat of local government wrenched from Blenheim, to Picton and then back again while squabbling administrations repeatedly collapsed, reformed, then pulled themselves apart once more. Author AD McIntosh describes this rivalry as “comicopera politics” that “rendered [Marlborough] the laughing stock of New Zealand and helped ultimately to bring the whole system of provincial government into disrepute”.
Little evidence exists today of this animosity between the two towns. In 1976, a congratulatory notice from the Blenheimbased County Council, marking Picton’s first centenary, extolled the virtues of friendship: “As Picton, (the thriving Gateway to the South), enters its second century, its future and that of Marlborough County seem destined to follow an even more integrated path, each relying on the other more and more …” Perhaps mutual embarrassment has drawn a discreet veil across the previous century’s mortifying events, which finally compelled central government to decree in 1876 that no-one would have a provincial capital again.
Forging ahead The two towns have come a long way in the 170 years since that tumultuous founding. Picton is an undisputed major hub in the transport system of the entire country, and as the gateway to the Marlborough Sounds, also remains a major tourist destination.
Ironically, while Marlborough’s 19th century seismic activity helped to establish Blenheim’s early river shipping to Picton’s detriment, the major 2013 Seddon quakes achieved the opposite. The apparent instability of the coastal Awatere area became a factor in ending a decades-long proposal to move the ferry terminal south to Clifford Bay, and safeguarded Picton’s lucrative status as the ‘front door’ to the South Island. Blenheim, meanwhile, has always enjoyed the benefits of being Marlborough’s most populous centre, with a strong pastoral and agricultural base. The explosion of viticulture in the late 1980s established Blenheim and its surrounds as one of New Zealand’s premier wine regions, spawning ‘wine tourism’. The marshy settlement once occupied by raupō reed and flax is now encircled by hectares of abundant vines.
With thanks to Marlborough authors Ron Crosby and John Hegglun, and local historians Prue Mathews, Alan Simmons, Jenny Pierson, Peter Olliver, Carolyn Lister and Gillian Collins.
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