Laura Williamson
-
Top of the pit stops
The 1964 guide to our favourite rural, and remote, toilets of the South Island. You may not realise it if you grew up in Aotearoa, but this country does public toilets well. Drive into any small town and you will be greeted by a white-on-blue sign pointing the way jauntily to the loos, conveniently located,…
-
Can’t buy me trout
“THERE’S LITERALLY A GODZILLA-SIZED BROWN TROUT LOOKING OVER YOUR SHOULDER, AND YOU’RE TELLING ME NOBODY IN GORE SERVES TROUT AND CHIPS? ISN’T THIS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ‘BROWN TROUT CAPITAL OF THE WORLD’?” MY SERVER GIVES ME A FAMILIAR LOOK. IT SAYS: “YOU’RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE, AND MAYBE YOU SHOULD STOP TALKING.” The immense…
-
Book Review: Wonderland
THE PHOTOS IN PETER ALSOP’S WONDERLAND (POTTON & BURTON) ARE A SAMPLING FROM THE ARCHIVES OF WHITES AVIATION. FOUNDED IN 1945, WHITES DEALT IN EVERYTHING FROM AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY, TO TRAVEL JOURNALISM, TO HAND-COLOURED PHOTOGRAPHY. ONE THING THEY DIDN’T DO WAS FLY; DESPITE THE COMPANY’S NAME, THEY NEVER OWNED A PLANE. THEIR PHOTOS, COLOURED BY HAND…
-
It’s a (sled) dog’s life
Sled dog racing is a thing in New Zealand, and it’s growing in paw-pularity. ACCORDING TO AMERICAN HUMOURIST LEWIS GRIZZARD, “LIFE IS LIKE A DOG SLED TEAM. IF YOU AIN’T THE LEAD DOG, THE SCENERY NEVER CHANGES.” GOOD POINT, LEWIS. ALTHOUGH I’M NOT SURE I’D WANT TO BE FRONT MUTT IN THE EVENT MOST OFTEN…
-
Claimed by the sea
French for Rabbits make soundscapes like seascapes, like driftwood, like walks on the beach. THE MUSIC MADE BY FRENCH FOR RABBITS IS HARD TO DEFINE. THE BAND ARE OFTEN DESCRIBED AS PURVEYORS OF “DREAM POP”, BUT THERE’S MORE TO IT THAN THAT. FOR ONE THING, IT’S SALTIER. FRONTWOMAN BROOKE SINGER’S VOCALS FLOAT LIKE SEAFOAM ON…
-
DIY defence
The Semple tractor tank has a reputation as a homegrown groaner, but was it really such a bad idea? IN MID-1941, THE CHRISTCHURCH AND DUNEDIN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS HELD THEIR CAPPING PARADES. ALONG WITH THE USUAL MOTLEY, INCLUDING A SIX-LEGGED PANTOMIME HORSE, LOTS OF BOYS IN DRESSES AND A DEVICE CALLED “THE NEW POMME POMME” THAT…
-
Second hand news
The 1964 guide to the top op shops of the south. WALK IN WARDROBE – QUEENSTOWN One of the very few upsides to living in a region where people move away all of the time is that those people often leave great clothes behind. Queenstown’s Walk in Wardrobe is like rummaging through your mate’s closet…
-
Prisoners on the Milford
That one time the “finest walk in the world” was a short-lived experiment in Australian-style convict labour. THE MILFORD TRACK IS PROBABLY THE SHINIEST JEWEL IN NEW ZEALAND’S VERY BEJEWELLED TOURISM CROWN. FAMOUSLY CALLED THE “FINEST WALK IN THE WORLD” IN A 1902 ARTICLE BY THE ENGLISH-BORN POET AND ALPINIST BLANCHE BAUGHAN, IT’S WALKED BY…
-
A portrait of an artist in a small town
Wanaka-based artist Stephen Martyn Welch paints people, because people deserve to be painted. PORTRAITURE. IT GETS A BAD RAP. FOR MANY, THE WORD EVOKES POWDERY ARISTOCRATS IN RUFF COLLARS, GREY AND WHITE CEOS LINING THE WALLS OF GREY AND WHITE BOARDROOMS, AND THE QUEEN. STEPHEN MARTYN WELCH (KNOWN LOCALLY AS MARTY) IS A PORTRAIT ARTIST,…