ChristchurchNZ
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Contagion magic
Travels with Rocinante. It was the end of autumn. I was sitting on my bedroom floor, staring at the bones of a bike. Metal debris littered the carpet. My phone stood propped against the cardboard bike box as YouTube explained how to screw pedals on. I had no idea what the hell I was doing. …
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In the clubs
The 1964 guide to the club fields of the South Island. “You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub.”- ‘In Da Club’, 50 Cent Here’s an approximation of the conversation I had the first time I set foot on a club field: “What the hell is that?” “That’s the nutcracker.” “Nut what??”…
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Roll Cage Mary
Sometimes landscape symbols feel like an ingrained part of ourselves. A cathedral, or a memorial, is solid, concrete and dependable, even when it has fallen. There is an order to the markings of our landscapes that helps us navigate our world. That is until you arrive in Antarctica, when all that solidity goes out the…
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The wheels of history
How the quest for a nicely fitting knicker suit changed the world. IN MAY OF 1894, THE NEW ZEALAND RATIONAL DRESS ASSOCIATION (NZRDA) LAUNCHED IN CHRISTCHURCH. The aim was to “bring about that change in women’s dress which her wider life and increased activity seem to demand”. Basically, it was about the right to wear…
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All roads lead to snow
The 1964 guide to the ski roads of the South Island. WE HAVE TO DRIVE TO THE SNOWLINE HERE, UNLIKE IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD, AND THE ROAD UP TO ANY NEW ZEALAND SKI FIELD IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF ITS FOUNDING STORY. Early paths carved by bulldozers, winches and good keen humans opened…
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Ode to Port Emo
Fringe dwellers, story tellers, and a used-to-be-bar that somehow still is. At the bottom of a small staircase, in a low-ceilinged basement, the darkened space is lit by candles and the flickering of an open fire. People in coats swarm the bar. There’s a microphone stand in the corner. It feels intimate, familial even. The…
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Flare – A Ski Trip: A NZ ski film by Sam Neill
Laura Williamson looks back at Flare, a classic New Zealand ski film directed by Sam Neill. Warning: Contains ski ballet. “FREESTYLE,” THE NARRATOR TELLS US, “BEGAN AS AN EXUBERANT REACTION TO THE CONSTRAINTS OF CONVENTIONAL SKIING. NOW IT HAS STRETCHED THE LIMITS OF WHAT’S POSSIBLE ON SKIS.” It’s 1976. Six skiers (five Kiwis and one…
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The Cabin
The unlikely journeys of an Antarctic hut. The fawn-coloured, three-by-four hut perched atop Godley Head is neat and unassuming. It sits quietly, overlooking the Pacific and the Kaikoura Ranges, but if walls could talk, these ones might just chew your ears off. This cabin has been to Antarctica and back, weathering relocations, heartbreak and more…
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Isn’t it beyond words: Essie Summers
Between the covers with Aotearoa’s Queen of Romance. IN THE BEGINNING WAS ESSIE. ESSIE SUMMERS. THE MOST FAMOUS NEW ZEALAND NOVELIST YOU’VE MAYBE NEVER HEARD OF. TO VERIFY THIS CLAIM, IN A HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY, FOR A PERIOD OF A WEEK, I ASKED EVERYONE I KNEW OR MET WHAT THEY THOUGHT OF ESSIE SUMMERS AND…