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Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for the country's best shed! Send in the photos and stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever storage spaces, cute chicken coops and potty potting sheds. The Resene Shed of the Year 2022 winners will receive prizes worth more than … View moreOnce again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for the country's best shed! Send in the photos and stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever storage spaces, cute chicken coops and potty potting sheds. The Resene Shed of the Year 2022 winners will receive prizes worth more than $2200. Just tell us in writing why your garden shed is New Zealand's best, and send up to five high-quality photos. Email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close Feb 27, 2022.
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As boulders the size of fire engines hurtled down the cliff towards him, Dunedin electrician Clive Kirkland knew it was matter of life or death.
It was September 2000, and he was on the second day of a South Island motorbike tour with five mates.
They had spent the previous night in Queenstown … View moreAs boulders the size of fire engines hurtled down the cliff towards him, Dunedin electrician Clive Kirkland knew it was matter of life or death.
It was September 2000, and he was on the second day of a South Island motorbike tour with five mates.
They had spent the previous night in Queenstown and were heading towards Wānaka when they spotted rocks on the road below the towering Nevis Bluff, on State Highway 6.
They stopped to see what was happening and noticed rocks the size of footballs popping out of the cliff face above them.
“It was like someone would spit a berry fruit ... like they were under pressure. It was so amazing to see.”
Two of their group proceeded through the rocks while the rest decided to turn back.
“Then all of a sudden it just opened up, and this big rock slip came pouring down on the road.”
The boom from the collapse was heard across surrounding vineyards and the dust cloud could be seen from 5 kilometres away.
Witnesses described the boulders as being as large as houses. Kirkland said they were the size of fire trucks.
“It was almost time to get off our bikes and run for our lives. It just happened so quick.
“It was life or death.”
When the slip stopped the rocks were piled so high that Kirkland and his friends could not see over them.
Ever since giant boulders fell in 2000, work has been ongoing to stabilise the Nevis Bluff.
“We were sitting there worried about our friends, then one of them came rock climbing over the top of the rocks and waves and says ‘we’re OK’.
“He shouldn’t have gone over there. He was a bit of an adventurer.”
Waka Kotahi estimated about 10,000 cubic metres of rock fell – about a third of a much larger fall in 1975.
After the fall in 2000, it took two weeks for the road between Queenstown and Cromwell to reopen and led to an ongoing monitoring regime, stabilisation work and controlled explosions.
In today’s dollar value, it has so far cost about $23 million to protect a road estimated to be used by nearly 5400 vehicles each day, pre-Covid-19.
A new $1 million project started on Tuesday to remove a massive section of rock from the bluff known as the Yates Feature (named after abseiler Ben Yates, a key member of the team mapping the unstable features on the Nevis Bluff after the 2000 rockfall).
It sits about 150m above the road at the Queenstown end of the bluff and is about 30m high, 20m wide, and weighs more than 4000 tonnes.
Waka Kotahi Central Otago senior network manager Robert Choveaux said movement and fresh cracking had been observed at the site since late last year and the team now wanted to stabilise the rock.
The schist was susceptible to freeze/thaw conditions in winter, rain, and dry, hot and windy conditions.
The goal now was to prevent an uncontrolled collapse.
The team would insert 100 rock bolts into the rock mass to stabilise it, rather than using explosives, which would be significantly disruptive to road users, Choveaux said.
“The majority of the work can be completed with the road remaining open to two lanes with minimal disruption to road users, but there will need to be closures as abseilers and drilling gear is set up and moved around the rock face.”
The work is expected to take 16 weeks to complete, subject to rock and weather conditions.
Kirkland, who has since retired and is now living in Wānaka, said he and his motorbike friends called the road past the Nevis Bluff the “Rock Slide Rumble.”
“Every time I go through, and I’ve been through quite a lot, I think about it.
“It really was life or death,” he said.
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Hi Neighbours,
Download your Property Climate Risk Report today and receive a 20% discount! Simply insert this code SUMMER22 at checkout and find out how climate resilient your property is today.
The peak property buying and selling season is here and after the record-breaking warmth of … View moreHi Neighbours,
Download your Property Climate Risk Report today and receive a 20% discount! Simply insert this code SUMMER22 at checkout and find out how climate resilient your property is today.
The peak property buying and selling season is here and after the record-breaking warmth of 2021, it is time to consider how our climate could impact your home.
Let's plan together to keep your home cooler, drier and more liveable.
Dear neighbours,
Every month, NZ Gardener runs a series of tested reader recipes using a seasonal crop. We are now on the hunt for eggplant recipes, so send your best ones to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz before January 30, 2022.
Every published recipe wins a copy of our special edition Homegrown … View moreDear neighbours,
Every month, NZ Gardener runs a series of tested reader recipes using a seasonal crop. We are now on the hunt for eggplant recipes, so send your best ones to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz before January 30, 2022.
Every published recipe wins a copy of our special edition Homegrown Recipes.
Electrification of the motoring industry is not only inevitable, it is happening at a far faster rate than most people were probably expecting.
Our new weekly newsletter Quick Charge makes it easy to be informed and entertained, bringing you all of the biggest EV news, as well as regular updates… View moreElectrification of the motoring industry is not only inevitable, it is happening at a far faster rate than most people were probably expecting.
Our new weekly newsletter Quick Charge makes it easy to be informed and entertained, bringing you all of the biggest EV news, as well as regular updates on our various long-term tests and other bits and pieces that have caught our eye.
Sign up (it's free!) here.
Wake up on Sunday morning to a treat in your inbox from the team at Sunday magazine.
As well as the weekly cover story, Sunday's free newsletter delivers the latest on food (including delicious recipes from our resident chef Sam Mannering), fashion, design, beauty and well-being direct to … View moreWake up on Sunday morning to a treat in your inbox from the team at Sunday magazine.
As well as the weekly cover story, Sunday's free newsletter delivers the latest on food (including delicious recipes from our resident chef Sam Mannering), fashion, design, beauty and well-being direct to your inbox.
Sign up here and we'll see you on Sunday!
The 98-year-old painter who saved a village and a cat who hitched a ride to a charity shop in an old chair feature in today's Antidote - your much-needed dose of positivity to remind you that there's inspiration, kindness and quirkiness even in these unusual times. … View moreThe 98-year-old painter who saved a village and a cat who hitched a ride to a charity shop in an old chair feature in today's Antidote - your much-needed dose of positivity to remind you that there's inspiration, kindness and quirkiness even in these unusual times. Sign up here to get The Antidote delivered to your inbox (it's free!)
Late last year a drama unfolded. It involved closed door meetings, and emails exchanged on an issue impacting every resident and visitor to Dunedin.
Read all about it in this week's edition of The Mish
We live in unusual times. It all gets a bit much some days. So we're bringing you a much-needed dose of positivity to remind you that there's inspiration, kindness and quirkiness out there too.
Sign up here to get The Antidote delivered to your inbox each day.
Today: … View moreWe live in unusual times. It all gets a bit much some days. So we're bringing you a much-needed dose of positivity to remind you that there's inspiration, kindness and quirkiness out there too.
Sign up here to get The Antidote delivered to your inbox each day.
Today: The story of a husband for sale on Trade Me, a skipper with a digger, kiwi chicks in the skies and many, many beers for Betty White.
Hi neighbours!
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A once popular entertainment venue has sat idle for five years since the Dunedin City Council bought it due to fears it would be torn down.
The council bought the Sammy’s building on Crawford St for $128,000 in January 2017, but it did not own the land.
The building opened as the Majesty … View moreA once popular entertainment venue has sat idle for five years since the Dunedin City Council bought it due to fears it would be torn down.
The council bought the Sammy’s building on Crawford St for $128,000 in January 2017, but it did not own the land.
The building opened as the Majesty Theatre in 1897 and its stage was once graced by Sir Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh.
In more recent years, under the ownership of Sam Chin, it became known as a music venue, hosting acts including The Pogues, Violent Femmes, Hunters & Collectors, and Pavement.
The venue's management ran into difficulties in 2016 when a liquor licence was declined, and it was put on the market – initially for $240,000.
The council confirmed its ownership of the site in February 2017, with then councillor (and now mayor) Aaron Hawkins saying: “Sammy's has played a huge role in Dunedin's social and cultural history, so it's exciting for our community to be able to start thinking about its future.”
The building had been at risk of being torn down, and it was envisaged at the time of the purchase that it would become an anchor tenant for the city’s Warehouse Precinct.
It was one of four venues initially mooted as a possible future performing arts centre along with the Athenaeum, the former Fortune Theatre and the Mayfair Theatre.
A feasibility study noted Sammy's was one of the larger spaces, potentially seating up to 400 people, but had the highest estimated cost – up to $38 million.
That was more than twice the estimated amount of the preferred option of the Octagon-based Athenaeum, which was not owned by the council.
A council spokesman said no decisions had been made regarding the future of Sammy’s, or the Fortune Theatre, which closed in 2018 and was also owned by the council.
“While these two venues have been ruled out as proposed new theatre sites, the council will not be considering any recommendations on their future until the council has decided on the new performing arts centre.”
That wasn’t good enough for music venue advocate Scott Muir, manager of The Chills and on the board of Independent Music New Zealand, who was “very disappointed”.
“The rhetoric around the reasons for purchasing Sammy’s centred around saving the music venue and now it simply seems to be a case of demolition by neglect – something DCC councillors have been happy to level at private business developers when it suits them.”
The same could easily be said of the neglect of the old Fortune Theatre building, he said.
The city was well catered with multipurpose theatre spaces, but was lacking a music venue with capacity for 500 to 800 people.
‘’The opportunity to leverage off the cities rich musical heritage and youth population bubble could easily be incorporated into a development in this space,’’ Muir said.
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