Northland Rd

Ross Taylor emerges to bat in his 100th test

Ross Taylor, Basin Reserve, Wellington, 22 February 2020

The dogma of survival in early colonial New Zealand

In the first six years of formal colonial rule [from 1840 to 1846] the New Zealand governments cut their teeth on state bankruptcy, war, sometimes virulent settler opprobrium, and widespread Maori apathy. Living through this period, it must have felt like the colonial administration was bouncing from crisis to disaster. When Grey took up the reins to govern for the second half of the decade he had the appearance - and within a year, the reputation - of a colonial crusader. But to interpret this part of the decade - as others have been tempted to - as the time when the British imperial fist removed its velvet mitten in order to thump the country into shape requires a substantial misreading of events. Grey abhorred having to depend on force, and was not indifferent to its consequences for the country's teetering race relations. He kept his eyes focused on potential trouble spots, and was armed with extraordinary (though intermittently fallible) diplomatic instincts. Moreover, he was driven by the same basic urge that pulsed through the veins of his predecessors in the post: the need for British rule to endure in the colony - at any cost.

The real leverage behind this dogma was the fact that policy on New Zealand was being made primarily in New Zealand. All that the British Government could or would do was to give the occasional nudge in the right direction, and keep a fatherly watch over the shoulders of the colony's governors in the unlikely event that there was some excess requiring correction. There was never an imperial master plan to which the country's rulers had to conform; no grand design or iniquitous conspiracy to seize the nation and add it to the already flourishing collection of imperial dependencies that Britain seemed to be amassing. As far as overworked colonial officials in London were concerned, provided British law applied to its subjects (and if possible to Maori as well), then it would be satisfied that the 'New Zealand problem' had been resolved, and their attention could then revert to the demands of the Indian subcontinent, which was where the 'real' business and challenges in this period of Britain's imperial history lay.

- Paul Moon, The Newest Country in the World, Auckland, 2007, p.211-2. 

See also:
Blog: An enemy whose hostility was to be unabated, 1 March 2017
Blog: Wellington Anniversary Day 1850, 22 January 2015
Blog: Colenso's grave, 12 January 2015

A fallen angel has been canned

Joaquin Phoenix's mention yesterday in his pro-vegan Oscars speech of his brother River's lyrics reminded me that I owned one of his tracks. River Phoenix was the lead singer for Aleka's Attic, a hotly-tipped and very young Californian band that ultimately struggled to compete with Phoenix's burgeoning movie career. The band contributed their 1989 track Across The Way to the 1991 PETA charity album Tame Yourself, which I picked up (probably from the Marbeck's discount bin in Queen's Arcade) because it featured a collaboration between Indigo Girls & Michael Stipe, the excellent I'll Give You My Skin. But Across The Way also stood out as an impressive effort, featuring pleasing hints of psychedelic pop and an ambitious lyrical structure.

 

Rich pickings at the Regal Cinema, Karori

Interior of the Regal Theatre in Karori, Wellington. Ref: 1/2-100184-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22790892

For decades before the introduction of television broadcasts to New Zealand in 1960, if people wanted to get out of the house for some entertainment and didn't fancy the rattling journey to town on a tram, there was often a local picture-house in their suburb to provide a show. The Regal Cinema in the centre of the Wellington suburb of Karori was a typical example. A business offshoot of the still-active Empire Theatre in Island Bay, the Regal served its community over five decades from the 1920s. More recently occupied by the Karori Bridge Club, for years the Regal provided cinematic glamour to the wind-swept residents of the western hills, from a purpose-built home near the main shopping area. 

The Regal Cinema at 272 Karori Road, designed by Edwin Royden Wells, is an excellent example of Art Deco style and was designed as a silent film venue. The building was financed by a private company, the Karori Theatre Co, whose managing director was August Tartakover. He had contributed to the founding of the Empire Theatre in Island Bay and wanted a similar theatre in Karori. The first films shown were The Farmer's Daughter and The Gay Retreat; and the first talkie was The Student Prince. The theatre was a source of entertainment for the local community until its closure in the 1960s.
- Judith Burch & Jan Heynes (eds.), Karori & its People, Wellington, 2011, p.170

To get an idea of the cinematic fare on offer to Karori residents, here's a glimpse at the Regal's film listings in the months after the 1929 Wall Street stock market crash, from the advertising pages of the Evening Post.

"Why Be Good?" which opens to-night at the Regal Theatre, is a comedy-drama, with equal emphasis on the humorous and serious qualities of the story. It is an up-to-the-minute picture, showing the modern girl just as she is, her faults as well as her virtues being presented in an absorbing story that answers the question put forth in its title. Colleen Moore gives an ideal interpretation of the modern girl. A comedy and news reel will also be shown.
- Evening Post, 7 November 1929

A Wodehousian farce with a suitably moral ending, Why Be Good? features Colleen Moore in a prime case of nominative determinism, playing a flapper named Pert Kelly whose looks impress the boss' son Winthrop Peabody Jr, but whose innate virtues and integrity ultimately win through after trivial romantic obstacles. Moore, who was 29 at the time of this picture, helped popularise the bobbed haircut through her cinema appearances, but a four-year hiatus beginning not long after Why Be Good? virtually ended her screen career. She went from strength to strength after movies however: she was an astute investor and ended up a partner in Merrill Lynch; and her talent and passion for dollhouses led to her creation of one of the world's most visited dollhouses, which is still exhibited at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

The picture-loving public have seen Lon Chaney in many roles where the make-up to suit the part has been so life-like that they have marvelled at the versatility of this screen actor, but never previously has he attained such triumph as a make-up artist as he does in "West of Zanzibar," which comes here tonight. As the crippled erstwhile conjurer, who to play a revenge on the man who has betrayed him, spends years of weary waiting in the "White Man's Grave." Chaney once again portrays a type seldom hitherto seen in filmland. The supporting picture, "On to Reno," is a story dealing with the farcical divorce laws in that State. A gazette and news reel will also be shown.
- Evening Post, 9 November 1929

With a top cast of Lon Chaney (several years after his starring roles in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera) and acting royalty Lionel Barrymore as rival magicians, and a gifted director in Tod Browning (Dracula, Freaks), this bonkers tale fed into the contemporary American passion for exotic locales. By the time West of Zanzibar screened in Wellington, in real life Chaney had contracted pneumonia on a winter film shoot, and by August of the following year he was dead of a throat haemorrhage, having been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Karl Dane and George K. Arthur score in their new comedy of navy life, "All at Sea," which will be at the Regal Theatre tonight. In this farce they run into all sorts of complications. They are cast as a pair of rollicking sailors who both have an eye on the same girl, a pretty photograph studio operator, portrayed by Josephine Dunn. The sequel is one prolonged bout of comedy, bristling with absurd situations. Good supports will also be featured.
- Evening Post, 11 January 1930

Little remains of the comedy All at Sea other than a fine poster. Like Colleen Moore, Karl Dane failed to make the transition to the talking pictures era, because his thick Danish accent limited his options. He died by suicide aged 47 in Los Angeles, in 1934. George K Arthur, an English actor, had better luck, retiring as an actor in 1935 and moving into producing and distributing short films. He went on to win an Academy Award for the short film The Bespoke Overcoat in 1956.

"Trent's Last Case," which comes to the Regal Theatre to-night, is a mystery melodrama with strong, sustained love interest upon which the story revolves. A fiendish husband, misconstruing his wife's affection for his secretary, sets about to destroy both by planning a suicide which will look like murder. Several surprising twists reveal the actual murderer in a series of exciting developments and bring about a reunion of the lovers. The cast includes Raymond Griffith, Raymond Hatton, Marceline Day, and others. A strong supporting programme will also be shown.
- Evening Post, 18 February 1930

A short feature of only 66 minutes, Trent's Last Case was a detective story directed by the great Howard Hawks, and featuring another actor who later moved behind the camera. Raymond Griffiths, who often played comedic roles in top hat, white tie and tails, ended his film career with a small uncredited role in 1930's All Quiet on the Western Front, and then turned to writing and directing. He produced or co-produced four films in the 1930s.

The picturised version of Warwick Deeping's famous novel, "Sorrell and Son," comes to the Regal Theatre this evening. Those who have read the book will witness in the film version a life-like reproduction, and this human drama should appeal to many. "Sorrel and Son" is a picture which sets an example, and is intensely British throughout. Good supports will also be screened.
- Evening Post, 20 February 1930

This film was a trifle outdated, having been released in the US in November 1927 and adapted from a 1925 novel by Warwick Deeping, a prolific English novelist whose work received little critical acclaim but who sold well enough. More than two decades later the two leading actors of Sorrell and Son, HB Warner and Anna Q Nilsson, both featured in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (1950) in the famous card game scene with fellow Old Hollywood 'waxwork' Buster Keaton. 

The former Regal Cinema, Karori, February 2020

Housing documentary 'Push' & the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing

On Wednesday I attended the screening Fredrik Gertten’s 2019 documentary Push, which follows UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing Leilani Farha as she gathers information on the deepening global crisis in housing affordability. The bulk of the film sees Farha talking to social housing residents around the world (Canada, US, Chile, Sweden, Italy, England, South Korea) about their increasingly precarious position as megacorporations snap up privatised social housing portfolios and either sweat the assets to run down the facilities enough to force them out, or refurbish the properties so they can raise the rents beyond their ability to pay.

Farha stresses the role of international finance as pivotal in the shift from housing as a right and a social necessity, to housing as an asset with huge potential gains if the wellbeing of the occupants can be partially or completely disregarded. Joseph Stiglitz in particular offers useful explanations on this theme as one of the film’s range of talking heads, and two London stories in particular illustrate it further. In Fitzrovia in London’s stratospherically expensive central west, Farha takes a tour of the ghost neighbourhoods largely owned by offshore owners as real estate investments, which now have almost no actual inhabitants. And she speaks to an eloquent survivor of the Grenfell Tower fire, who is grappling with the aftermath of the disaster and his inability to afford to remain in Notting Hill, his home of 20 years.

There were plenty of similar stories about financiers’ preferences for luxury accommodation investments skewing real estate markets and persuading local governments to prioritise the interests of developers over the interests of working-class and middle-class communities, who increasingly find themselves unable to afford to live in the cities they work in.

While the documentary doesn’t present swift solutions, and rather peters out into a UN presentation by Farha, it’s still a worthwhile addition to the housing debate. For other useful contributions on this topic, see Urbanized (dir. Gary Hustwit, 2011), The Human Scale (dir. Andreas Dalsgaard, 2012) and Capital in the 21st Century (dir. Justin Pemberton, 2019). And, for local readers, note that Farhani will shortly make her final fact-finding visit of her UN mandate to New Zealand (10-19 February). Her statement includes:

At the end of the visit, the Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference to share her preliminary findings and recommendations at 13:00 on 19 February 2020, at UNICEF New Zealand, Level 1, PSA House, 11 Aurora Terrace, Wellington. Access will be strictly limited to journalists. The press conference will also be streamed live.

Our modesty is severely put to the proof

The Right Hon. Charles W. Wynn to the Duke of Buckingham

East India Office, March 7, 1823

My dear B[uckingham]

It is true that there be many things which may arise between this and the end of the session, but at present the one point upon which all the House of Commons seems to agree is, that we are the best and WISEST Ministers since the days of Lord Burleigh, and we only stand in need of fans to hide our blushes when our modesty is severely put to the proof by the compliments of the opposite side...

- Quoted in the Duke of Buckingham & Chandos, Memoirs of the Court of George IV, London, 1859