Issue 01: Summer 2019/20
From the annals of big bird-dom: Superman the moa
“It trampled over tropical wilds for millions of years—until man made it extinct! Now, centuries later—has it come back for revenge?” SO THIS HAPPENED. IN JULY OF 1973, THE FIRST STORY IN DC’S ACTION COMICS NO. 425 WAS ‘THE LAST MOA ON EARTH!’. IT’S COMPLICATED, BUT BASICALLY IT’S ABOUT A HUNTER WHO STUMBLES ACROSS A…
The art of the rod
Carl McNeil’s fibreglass rods are pretty fly. WHEN A MASTER FLY CASTING INSTRUCTOR, WHO BY HIS OWN ADMISSION MAKES THE BEST FLY RODS IN THE WORLD, ASKS FOR THE NAME OF THE ARTICLE YOU ARE WRITING ABOUT HIM, AND YOU SAY, ‘THE ART OF THE ROD’, YOU DON’T EXPECT HIM TO REPLY WITH, “THAT SOUNDS…
No pets, no people, no politicians
Stuffing it up with Arrowtown taxidermist David Jacobs. David Jacobs, fourth-generation taxidermist, has one firm rule: no pets, no people, no politicians. As far as David’s concerned, politicians are stuffed anyway, and if your pet dies, you probably need a psychiatrist, not a taxidermist. It’s not a new craft, but there’s currently a growing fascination…
The Selfie Project
Photographer Simon Williams uses the selfie to take a good hard look at himself. MUCH OF MY ADULT LIFE, I HAVE FACED CHALLENGES OF MENTAL WELLBEING. I HAVE SOUGHT HELP TO OVERCOME THESE, TO DEVELOP COPING STRATEGIES, AND TO LIVE AS WELL AS POSSIBLE, BUT NOTHING PREPARES YOU FOR THE JOURNEY OF DEEP GRIEF THAT…
All you can eat, cheap
The 1964 guide to binge eating your way around the South Island without ending up in debtors’ prison. WINTON – THE MIDDLE PUB You would think a place like Winton would lead the way when it comes to the Southland delicacy that is the cheese roll, and you would be right. Winton’s Middle Pub−yes, it’s…
Alpine soundscapes
In 1998, the Rippon festival brought New Zealand music to the mountains of Wanaka for the first time. Twenty years later, TUKI festival is taking homegrown to new heights. No one said it would be easy. A loss here, a legal tussle there, the trials of the digital age. But Wanaka’s TUKI music festival, and…
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,…
Blood on the track
“Death crouches ‘round every bend. They should have seen it coming.” – Richard Burgess EVERY NELSONIAN GROWS UP WITH STORIES OF THE MAUNGATAPU MURDERS; THE DEATH MASKS OF THREE OF THE KILLERS ARE ON DISPLAY AT THE NELSON PROVINCIAL MUSEUM. NOW A NEW SHORT FILM, DEATH ROUND EVERY BEND, BRINGS THE WHOLE GORY THING TO…
Pleasure and plunder: A short history of Mount Aspiring National Park
The “public pleasuring ground” that is Mount Aspiring National Park was established in 1964. These 3562 square kilometres hold rambling rivers, pointed peaks and more stories than a kea could pick at. Established in 1964, Mount Aspiring National Park was New Zealand’s tenth national park (there are now thirteen) and it’s arguably the most diverse.…