Royal gaze no longer looks over Ashburton’s council meetings
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Something has been missing at Ashburton's council meetings since it moved to a new home at Te Whare Whakatere.
The royal gaze.
The late Queen Elizabeth’s photo had adorned the council chambers for almost 40 years, keeping a watchful eye on the district’s democracy in action.
Her portrait remained in the old council chamber on Havelock St until the council made the move to Te Whare Whakatere in January.
Even though King Charles III had his coronation in May last year, the council had been waiting for a portrait of the new monarch to go up in the new council chamber, Hine Paaka.
Democracy and engagement group manager Toni Durham said the official photos became available from the Governor General earlier this month.
“We have downloaded a photo which will be printed and framed.
“The mayor will choose the place to hang the photo in the chamber, with advice from the art gallery and museum director.”
Councils choose whether or not to have a portrait of the monarch, and there was no requirement to remove or replace the official photograph of Queen Elizabeth II which was previously displayed in former council chamber, Durham said.
“With the relocation to Te Whare Whakatere, all photos were removed from the old building.
“The photo of Queen Elizabeth has been retained in council’s archive collection at the Ashburton Museum.”
The photo of Queen Elizabeth II was dated 1986, she said.
“We’re not sure when it was placed in the chamber and it may even have been in the Borough Council Chamber too, given that the district council came into operation in October 1989.”
The portrait of King Charles was taken in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace in June.
It will be the only portrait or artwork to feature in the chamber.
At a meeting on June 26, the council accepted a gift of a drawing by Cuthbert Denham of the old borough council and public library building built in 1884 into the civic art collection.
Deputy mayor Liz McMillan asked if any artwork would be hung in Hine Paaka, acknowledging they were waiting for the King’s portrait.
Ashburton Art Gallery director Shirin Khosraviani said that it wasn’t deemed suitable to include the council chamber in the artwork rotation plan because the hanging requires screwing any frames to the wall and the chamber's maple beech panelling can’t be repaired.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.8% Summer
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36.5% Winter
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1.7% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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