Copyright © 1995 Brian Harmer
Once in a while, Wellington puts on a photo-opportunity day, providing opportunity for artists to make pictures. Friday was such a day. While waiting at the very top of the Maungaraki hill for a colleague who rides to work with me, I looked round at the view. The morning was stunningly sharp and clear, full of refreshing deep blues and greens.
Hawkins Hill is the highest point in the hills which provide a Southern backdrop to the city, spoiled slightly by the prominent white dome on its summit, which protects the airport radar from the worst excesses of Wellington's wind, and by the nearby wind turbine which capitalizes on the same wind. Over its shoulder, in the very far distance, near Kaikoura, Tapuaenuku's pale blue icy mantle stood in sharp contrast to the perfect deeper blue of the morning sky.
Houses of all shapes and gleaming colours adorned the green sunlit slopes of Seatoun, Mt. Victoria, Brooklyn, Wadestown, and Khandallah. Here and there, windows reflect the golden rays of the morning sun. In the foreground, the still harbour reflected the lovely hills. Its deep glassy perfection was disturbed by the curving wake of the freight ferry "Arahanga", swinging through the inner harbour towards a rendezvous with another load of trucks and rail wagons bound for Picton.
Between Seatoun and Mt. Vic, the airport shimmered in the haze left by a the steep, impossibly slow climb of an Australia bound 767, soundless at this distance. It is possible to imagine the cabin crew reluctantly unbuckling themselves after their brief respite during that first steep climb, ready to meet the unreasonable demands of their passengers.
We resumed our rather shorter journey, along the ridge to Korokoro, winding down through the shaded twisting roads of that leafy suburb to the crawling, commuter clogged motorway. We travelled slowly along the Western edge of the harbour, sometimes passed by an electric train in its new unrelieved blue colour scheme, full to the doors with catatonic commuters who gazed unseeing from the windows. We continued across the Ferry terminal and railyards into the city, along the Terrace, and up the hill to the now warmly mature and lovingly renovated shape of Victoria University's Hunter Building.
What a debt this city owes to the "Friends of the Hunter" who saved it from planned demolition. I wish a similar success to those who have a similar attachment to the embattled Broadcasting House. Though undistinguished externally, it is the scene of a million memories, and to that extent at least is part of Wellington's cultural heritage.
The soaring notes of Dame Malvina Major on the radio as I write, would have been a perfect soundtrack for a video of the scene I have attempted to describe.
On with the News
Police were delighted with crowd behaviour at the first of Michael Jackson's two Auckland concerts. No arrests were necessary, which is a rarity in a concert which attracts in excess of 40,000 fans.
Although only one of the three charges of manslaughter was found to be proven in the recent trial of surgeon Keith Ramstead, relatives of other patients who died in his care have filed civil suits against him.
A stamp was printed but then withdrawn when it was discovered that it depicted a child sitting in an car safety seat facing the wrong way. It is believed that a number of the stamps were sold before the error was discovered. These were in the possession of Auckland Savings Bank which auctioned them for charity. Prior to the auction, five single stamps were valued at $250 each, and a block of 70 at $16,000. At the auction itself, the singles fetched $825 and the block of 70 realised $48,000
ACT Leader, Richard Prebble is advocating the early construction of a new road through Transmission Gully to be built as a toll road. The present access to and from Wellington in the North is restricted by the steep terrain.
(I have never pretended to be a fan of Mr Prebble, but I like him even less as a latter day Dick Turpin - BH)
The Museum of New Zealand is planning to mount an exhibition called "On the Sheep's Back" for its 1998 opening. The exhibition will feature that quintessential New Zealand garment, the Swanndri (aka Swanni). The exhibition coordinator is seeking stories which feature the famous heavy bush shirt. In some cases actual shirts will be displayed, no matter how "back country" they smell.
Radio New Zealand chief executive Sharon Crosbie is receiving a lot of protest letters after her announcement that the children's programme "Ears" is to be axed as a cost saving measure. According to Ms. Crosbie, surveys show only 1,200 children in the target age groups listen to the show for more than 8 minutes a week. Incensed fans dispute the figures used, and the campaign for the show's retention is snowballing.
The Governor of the Reserve Bank, Don Brash has suggested that the increased government spending which might result from some of the coalition negotiations would necessitate a delay in the introduction of the second stage of the tax cuts promised in this year's budget.
TV One's news reader Simon Dallow has raised questions of conflict of interest after accepting a position as junior defence counsel for the man accused of killing Tania Furlan. Dallow normally appears on mid-evening news as co-presenter with his wife, Allison Mau. Unlike some other news programmes, the presenters are not journalists in their own right. TVNZ is taking steps to contain the damage.
The dismantling of a building in Lower Hutt where tertiary butyl mercaptan was added to Natural Gas, led to plans by the gas provider, Trans Alta to dispose of the material by burning. It was expecting a number of spurious complaints of gas leaks arising from what it said was a harmless process. Instead it got appalled protests from chemists and environmentalists, and the National Poisons Centre who pointed out that the material cannot be safely disposed of by burning, as the resultant fumes were toxic, and produced lung damage. Some 200 litres had been disposed of previously by burning. Investigations are now under way to find out what offences the Canadian owned company may have committed. Fines of up to $200,000 are in prospect for having burned the material without a resource consent. Trans Alta say they were told by the Natural Gas corporation that burning was safe.
(Hmmm. I thought these guys were experienced gas system operators. Isn't that what they told the various inquiries into the decision to permit them to buy the local organizations - BH)
Police in Malaysia have arrested a man suspected of sending a bomb through the post to students in Wellington. The bomb failed to operate fully, so that the students, though seriously burnt, survived the blast.
Coalition partner in waiting, the New Zealand Alliance has launched a campaign to increase the minimum wage in New Zealand under the slogan "All I want for Christmas is $300 a week". The eventual goal of the Alliance is a minimum wage which is two thirds of the average wage.
Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, leader of the Zulu people visited Wellington to meet the Prime Minister and his deputy today. Prince Buthelezi is in New Zealand to attend a gathering of Indigenous People in Rotorua. Anti-apartheid protester, Trevor Richards has been vocal in his criticism of the prince as leader of a violent political movement. Prince Buthelezi reacted angrily to the criticism, denying that he was involved in violence, and accusing Richards of arrogance.
The Commerce Commission and the Consumers Institute jointly warned against a pyramid scheme called "Family of Eagles" which involves the purchase of gold coins and jewellery.
(This scheme has raised its ugly head on a number of Usenet groups lately. The commission warns that section 24 of the Fair Trading Act would be breached by this scheme, and that prosecutions could follow - BH)
Staff shortages, compounded by the costs incurred when Air Force personnel joined other defence people in staffing jails recently has forced the cancellation of the planned 60thanniversary air show at Ohakea.
Two separate accidents at level crossings killed five in the South Island yesterday. Four people in one car were killed instantly when their vehicle was cut in two by the Southerner passenger train near Oamaru. The other person was killed at Rangiora when his ute was struck by a goods train.
A man has confessed to the murder of a man 14 years ago. No one ever reported the victim missing, so prior to the man's unexpected revelation, police were unaware of the murder. The victim's throat was cut, and he was stabbed several times before his body was buried in bush near Murapara in 1982. The murder occurred during a drinking session at a gang house.
A half year profit to September of $360.9 million caused Telecom shares to reach $7.75 yesterday. Telecom has offered to buy back shares worth $1 billion in the coming year. They are likely to offer $8 per share, according to market rumour. Telecom's American owners are obliged to keep their shareholdings at or below 49.9% of the total.
Deputy prime minister Don McKinnon unveiled plans for a $94 million building to accommodate 28 cabinet ministers, their staff, and the Prime Ministers's Department. The building is intended to be erected on te site presently occupied by Broadcasting House on Wellington's Bowen St.
The plan has distressed the group campaigning for the preservation of Broadcasting House. Much of the public comment has focussed on the relative lack of architectural appeal of either building. The Broadcasting House supporters who seem to comprise a "who's who" of New Zealand theatre are arguing on the basis of the superb facilities contained in the building, and on the history associated with it.
Auckland Mayor Les Mills has succeeded in gaining support for a major new transport hub on the site of the Britomart parking building and the downtown bus terminal. Noisy angry protesters at the council meeting failed to dissuade the Mayor, as did the negative comments from the Business Round Table which believed that the Council had no role in this kind of development. There was an eleventh hour slip when it was revealed by the Tranz Rail had not entered into any agreement to participate in the new centre, despite the fact that their occupancy of the existing Railway station on the Strand comes to an end next year. This oversight was hastily corrected, under terms yet to be revealed.
Wellingtonians who live near the airport tend not to look kindly on Air New Zealand whose 737s, even with the hush kits, are second only to the RNZAF's 727 for noise output. New noise regulations may make it impossible for Air new Zealand to bring the 737s into the capital, though the mayor and council are unwilling to accede to pressure to ban the hush-kitted models.
Date: 14 November 1996
Brian Dooley
Wellington
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