'81 Springbok tour paraphernalia

From the collections of the Waikato Museum in Hamilton, which I visited on 31 December 2014, a collection of anti-Springbok tour posters and badges. For more background, see NZHistory on the events in the winter of 1981 in which 'more than 150,000 people took part in over 200 demonstrations in 28 centres, and 1500 were charged with offences stemming from these protests'. I was only eight at the time, and my only memory of the tour protests was sitting up in One Tree Hill watching the stolen plane flour-bombing Eden Park during the final test of the tour (12 September 1981).

I live a life of danger for the FBI

Originally recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1966 as the US theme for a British TV series featuring Patrick McGoohan, Devo's version from 1974 was filmed for this clip in May 1976. It formed part of the Devo film The Truth About De-Evolution, which was in effect the band's first music video. The Rivers version is fun too, albeit rather more straightforward.

What about my crazy surgical options, Dr Spaceman?

TV star Jenna Maroney seeks medical advice from "Doctor" Leo Spaceman (pronounced 'Spachemin') to combat her new-found obesity:

Spaceman (Chris Parnell): Now Jenna, medically speaking, for your height, your weight puts you in what we call "the disgusting range". Fortunately, there are solutions. For example, crystal meth has been shown to be very effective. How important is tooth retention to you?

Jenna: (Jane Krakowski): It's... pretty important. What about my crazy surgical options, Dr Spaceman?

Spaceman: Please: "Doctor" Spaceman is my dad. Call me Leo. And there are some wonderful crazy surgical options. Are you familiar with the Bradshaw Clinic?

Jenna: Am I! That's where the Olsen twins were separated.

Spaceman: I've sent a number of my famous clients there. [Cut to framed portraits of Ashlee Simpson, Kenny Rogers, King Hollywood, Alf, some presumably well-known senator, and the Unabomber]. I can make the call, get you in as soon as possible.

Jenna: Thank you Leo. I can't be on television looking like I just had a baby or something.

Spaceman: This right here is why I got into medicine.

- 30 Rock, 'Jack Gets in the Game', s02e02, originally broadcast 11 October 2007

Wellington tramlink

A while back I posted rough outlines of what an Auckland waterfront and Avondale to Onehunga tram line might look like on the ground, irrespective of the chances of these ever actually happening. As a natural next step, while the prospect of a proper light rail or tram network for public-transport-friendly Wellington seems unlikely at the moment thanks to the skimping of the city's transport review, I thought I'd have a go at mapping out where the stops might be.

The first point to note is that rather than the usual idea of a Wellington Station to Airport route, I believe there are considerable advantages in extending the route north of the station into the light industrial area along Old Hutt Rd. This would permit less expensive land to be freed up for affordable park and ride facilities for drivers from Highway 1 and 2, allowing those commuters to leave their cars and ride into town on a speedy and reliable service without clogging the central city with traffic. Rail commuters on the existing lines could pick up the tram service in front of the station, and those in southern suburbs would also be able to make the journey to town or to the hospital in speed and comfort. Of course, this all presumes that money is no object, which it isn't! But it's nice to dream what we could achieve, isn't it?

Possible Wellington light rail route 

(The Google Maps link for the above map if you want more detail is here). The line details below denote park and ride facilities at the three northern stops of Ngauranga, Onslow Rd and Kaiwharawhara. Due to the one-way street network, only the airport-bound tram service would stop outside Te Papa; the return service would stop on Wakefield St. As for the Basin Reserve, as money is no object, let's have a tunnel underneath!

Colenso's grave

Grave of Rev William Colenso, Napier, 27 October 2014

The Rev William Colenso (1811-99), a prominent figure in the early colonial history of New Zealand, is buried at the Old Napier Cemetery atop the hill, with the following inscription:

In loving memory of the REVd. Wm. Colenso FRS
Born at Penzance 17th Nov. 1811
He was the first printer in these islands, and the first Missionary in Hawkes Bay
Died at Napier Feb. 10th 1899
Aged 88 years.

Following his arrival from Sydney at Paihia in the Bay of Islands on the schooner Blackbird in December 1834, Colenso took up the role of the Church Mission Society printer and subsequently became a pioneer of printing in New Zealand, including impressive runs such as 5000 copies of the Maori New Testament from December 1837 and 27,000 copies of the Book of Common Prayer in Maori. Colenso also produced important non-religious work, such as the Maori text of the Treaty of Waitangi on 17 February 1840 and the first New Zealand Government Gazette on 30 December 1840. His printing work was undertaken despite the considerable challenges posed by a lack of decent equipment and stationery.

Despite a later career as a missionary, explorer and naturalist, plus representing Napier in Parliament's General Assembly from 1861 to 1866, Colenso's life and works were dominated by the reaction to an extra-marital affair he conducted with a member of his household, Ripeka Meretene, probably from 1848 onwards. Meretene had Colenso's illegitimate son Wiremu, and following the discovery of the affair he was suspended as a deacon of the church in 1852 and dismissed from the mission. His status as a deacon was not restored until 1894!

Part of the social isolation and exclusion that dogged Colenso's life in New Zealand was due to his inflexible and unsympathetic nature, as recorded by the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography:

Colenso was a man of great energy, dedication and perseverance. His journeys revealed his courage and endurance, and paradoxically paved the way for the settlement he had opposed. His botanical collecting was of great value to others and his achievements were acknowledged by eminent scientists. Colenso founded the printing industry in New Zealand, and set high standards despite the inadequacies of his equipment.

However, in all matters involving human relations Colenso's career was an unhappy one. Despite his genuine concern for the Maori people he saw them as fickle children, and his behaviour towards them was overbearing. He could be crudely undiplomatic and insensitive to their traditions and sense of honour. His narrow religious views and self-righteous behaviour offended his missionary colleagues. The charges of a lack of spirituality he aimed at them earned him the undying enmity of George Selwyn and William Williams. In politics he revealed a lack of skill and an uncompromising nature. With his quick temper and capacity to harbour a grudge he often descended to bitter and vindictive personal attacks. Unsympathetic to moral laxity in others, when his own great tragic moment came there was no one to sympathise with him.

- David Mackay, 'Colenso, William', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 30 October 2012

A detailed and respectful obituary appeared in the Hawke's Bay Herald on 11 February 1899, the day after Colenso's death. It contained no allusion to his extra-marital affair, but does mention that even as late as Colenso's arrival in Sydney in 1834 'there were only three clergymen of the Church of England residing in all Australia - two of them (the Revs. Messrs Cowper and Hill) in Sydney, and the Rev S[amuel] Marsden at Parramatta'. If this is true, then Colenso's arrival at Paihia meant there were more Church of England missionaries in New Zealand than there were in Australia!  

See also:
History: The oldest building in New Zealand, 29 August 2011
History: Forest lords & mission houses, 16 January 2009
History: Each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds, 23 March 2009

Baby boomers have more money than sense

When I was out for my morning run yesterday I paused for a moment to admire the comically overpriced Minis for sale in the car dealership at Kaiwharawhara. I know modern Minis are positioned as premium status symbol compact motoring, a mile away from the utilitarian austerity motoring of Alec Issigonis' original Mini. But the prices being asked for the new cars are simply comical. I get the impression that the prime customer for Minis are cashed-up baby boomers nostalgic for the marque of their youth, but with plenty of ready cash to throw at a more luxury motoring experience. It's certainly a niche marque - while 2014 was a record year for new car sales, figures from the Motor Industry Association show that of the nearly 84,000 new car registrations in New Zealand last year, only 541 (0.6 percent) were Minis; on average, only about 50 new Minis are sold in New Zealand each month.

The car pictured with a ticket price of NZ$44,200 is the Mini Hatch Cooper S. The Mini website is notoriously coy on the subject of actual prices, which is unusual for New Zealand car websites - most of them are reasonably up-front about their asking prices. But the listings summarised in the AA Directions magazine (Summer edition) show the following prices for the New Zealand Mini range:

Mini Hatch Cooper	$36,200
Mini Hatch Cooper S	$44,200
Mini Cooper Countryman	$44,500
Mini Cabrio Cooper	$46,200
Mini Countryman Cooper S	$52,500
Mini Paceman Cooper S	$52,500
Mini Cabrio Cooper S	$54,200
Mini Roadster Cooper S	$55,800
Mini Coupe JCW	$62,200

Let's compare those prices with overseas markets. In Australia the Mini website shows an enormous range of 29 models for sale. This includes the basic Mini model, the Mini One, which is not offered for sale in New Zealand. Here's some comparisons of the Mini prices on offer in Australia:

Model	A$	Equiv. NZ$	NZ margin
Mini One	$28,032	$29,345	n/a
Mini Hatch Cooper	$32,308	$33,821	+7.0%
Mini Hatch Cooper S	$42,917	$44,927	-1.6%
Mini Coupe JCW	$58,104	$60,825	+2.2%

(As sale prices are determined in part by state taxes, I used my friends in Sydney's postcode to determine the potential price). There's not much difference in the prices across the Tasman. The relative similarity between the two markets is interesting, because in a quick survey I did nearly a year ago New Zealand was substantially over-priced in comparison to Australia. It's worth remembering that Australia's per capita wealth is a whopping 62 percent higher than New Zealand's, so the market for pricey small cars is always going to be a great deal bigger in Australia than it is in New Zealand.

Now let's examine Mini prices in the UK, its home market. (Although the marque has been owned by BMW since 1994, when it bought the Rover Group). I've selected the 3-door manual transmission versions in each case.

Model	GBP	Equiv. NZ$	NZ margin
Mini One	£13,750	$26,606	n/a
Mini Hatch Cooper	£15,300	$29,605	+22.2%
Mini Hatch Cooper S	£18,655	$36,097	+22.4%
Mini Coupe JCW	£24,010	$46,460	+33.9%

So there's a fairly consistent healthy markup on the UK prices for the New Zealand market, which doesn't appear particularly justifiable given the cost of sea freight transportation. Or perhaps the reluctance of the New Zealand retailers to display their sticker prices online is just a reflection of the 'reassuringly expensive' margin built-in to their prices - the exclusivity that comes with an inflated price-tag that shuts out most buyers who prioritise value for money.