Two a penny

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School rides market for art

– Tuesday, 03 March 2009

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EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: Christchurch artist Melissa Sharplin is dwarfed by her work Ahab’s Wife, among the items Linwood College has assembled to go under the hammer at Turners Auctions in Christchurch on Friday.

Art investment is back in vogue and a Christchurch school is at the head of the queue for a windfall.
About 130 pieces, including works by Ralph Hotere and Bill Hammond, will go under the hammer on Friday.
Linwood College art auction organiser Tom Davies said 10 times the numbers expected had seen the first three days of a fundraising exhibition at Turners Auctions.
There were already bids on five works well over their reserves.
"At the moment we're sort of panicking about how many people are going to turn up," Davies said.
Art experts say tumbling bank interest rates and falling house prices have made art an attractive investment. Viewers included dealers expressing surprise at the quality on show, he said.
"We've had a lot of inquiries about what people should be looking at to invest a sum of money in.
The director of the Arthouse in Christchurch, Peter Gregg, said: "In the last few weeks, with interest rates dropping and people losing some faith in the finance companies, people are looking at securing their finance through art.
Clients were "frightened" by the housing market, and older, mortgage-free couples were looking to art."
Turnover at the Arthouse had doubled every year for the past three years.
A Goldie oil painting of a Maori chieftainess last year astounded art experts when it sold at auction for $323,000. "If they buy right, they won't lose," Gregg said. The Trade Me auction website yesterday had 835 pieces of art for sale, including one listed yesterday by a Taranaki artist for $250,000.
Months earlier, a 1933 Goldie oil of Maori chief Hori Pokai sold for a record auction price of $454,000. Key is said to favour Maori artists. .

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Climber sets record at age of 79

– Monday, 02 March 2009

It is not your average pensioner who dances on top of a mountain.
Christchurch retiree Ron Webster, 79, is believed to be the oldest person to climb Mt Aspiring, after reaching the top of the 3033m peak last week.
Webster's effort surpassed Taranaki mountaineer Doug Ball's record for the oldest Mt Aspiring climber set last March by three months.
The pair each had a guide.
The Cashmere-based retired pharmacist took 14 1/2 hours to climb the mountain with his friend, 73-year-old Darfield man Murray Robb.
"We booked the climb three months ago.
Webster, who turns 80 on May 20, said achieving the climb put to rest months of sleepless nights. ."
Webster and Robb trained by going for tramps in the Christchurch foothills and Arthur's Pass every week for about eight weeks. I kept wondering whether I was crazy and should I be doing this at my age.
Webster said any loss of concentration could prove fatal.
Mt Aspiring has claimed many lives.
"We got close to the top and suddenly there was blue sky and no-one else around.
"It's very steep and the day we climbed it was clouded over for three-quarters of the way," he said. We danced and jumped for joy. We danced and jumped for joy.

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Flares over Wellington harbour an exercise

– Saturday, 21 February 2009

The Coastguard has urged Wellingtonians not to worry if they see flares going off in Wellington Harbour tonight.
The volunteer Coastguard and its Boating Education Service are holding a training session for new recruits and said the exercise is also to remind boat owners of the importance of carrying flares and other means of communication.
The boat will be located offshore from Westpac Stadium.
Around 40 red rockets, 55 hand-held flares and five orange smoke floats will be set off from on board the Steve-Maree. .
Coastguard president Terry Sampson said it was likely people would mistake the exercise for a boat in distress but urged observers not to worry and refrain from contacting emergency services.40pm.
The exercise will run from 9pm until 9.

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Flares over Wellington harbour an exercise

– Saturday, 21 February 2009

The Coastguard has urged Wellingtonians not to worry if they see flares going off in Wellington Harbour tonight.
The volunteer Coastguard and its Boating Education Service are holding a training session for new recruits and said the exercise is also to remind boat owners of the importance of carrying flares and other means of communication.
The boat will be located offshore from Westpac Stadium.
Around 40 red rockets, 55 hand-held flares and five orange smoke floats will be set off from on board the Steve-Maree. .
Coastguard president Terry Sampson said it was likely people would mistake the exercise for a boat in distress but urged observers not to worry and refrain from contacting emergency services.40pm.
The exercise will run from 9pm until 9.

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Killer Antonie Dixon dies in prison

By MARK STEVENS and – Thursday, 05 February 2009

PRISON DEATH: Antonie Dixon has died in Paremoremo Prison.

INSANITY PLEA: Antonie Dixon during his 2005 trial.

The lure of Antonie Dixon

Samurai sword attacker and convicted killer Antonie Dixon, who died in prison earlier today, was seen by a psychiatrist just hours before his death. He was due in court earlier today.
Dixon died in Paremoremo Prison in the early morning.
His lawyer Barry Hart told of his growing concern for Dixon’s state of mental health, particularly following an attack by Dixon on Mr Hart.
A prison source told Dixon had suffered head and neck injuries when he struck his head on his cell bars. Dixon had pulled a "makeshift weapon" on Mr Hart last month. The psychiatrist confirmed to Mr Hart at 5pm last night that Dixon was mentally unwell but believed that Paremoremo had the facilities to care for Dixon.
Mr Hart arrange for a psychiatrist from the Mason Clinic to assess him yesterday.
Mr Hart says the Corrections Department "stuffed up".
The next call Mr Hart took was at 6am today, advising him Dixon was dead. .
Mr Hart said his client had refused to take his medication and had been beaten up several times by inmates.
Dixon was due to appear for sentencing earlier today, however arrangements had already been made to have sentencing adjourned until February 20 so his sister, who lives overseas, could attend.
Dixon was due to appear for sentencing earlier today, however arrangements had already been made to have sentencing adjourned until February 20 so his sister, who lives overseas, could attend.
"The Department is now undertaking an initial investigation to determine what happened," she said."He was pronounced dead by ambulance staff when they arrived at the prison.
A coroner's investigation, assisted by the police, would be conducted ahead of an inquest to determine the cause of death, she said.
Ms Field said the death would be investigated by the prison authorities. He was high on the drug P.
Dixon, 40,attacked Simonne Butler and Renee Gunbie with a samurai sword in Pipiroa close to Thames on January 22, 2003, and murdered James Te Aute in Auckland the same night.
His defence had beenthat he was insane when he attackedButler and Gunbiebefore driving to Auckland where he shot dead Te Aute with 10 bullets in his back.
In 2005, Dixon was convicted of charges, including murder, kidnapping and using a firearm against a police officer.
However, the insanity defence waswas always challenged by police who called Dixon a "gold-plated psychopath". He took a hostage before giving himself up to police after a standoff.
In Pipiroa, Dixon's increasing paranoia had exploded into rage when he hacked atGunbie andex-girlfriendButler with a samurai sword – slashing at them until their hands were severed.
In Pipiroa, Dixon's increasing paranoia had exploded into rage when he hacked atGunbie andex-girlfriendButler with a samurai sword – slashing at them until their hands were severed. The chopping stopped only because the sword broke.
It took a team of surgeons 27 hours to delicately reattach Butler's hands but Gunbie's hand couldn't be saved and she's lucky to be alive.
The Court of Appeal quashed the convictions in 2007, ruling the judge had erred in the summing-up of the case. In Augustlast year, after a second jury trial, Dixon was again found guilty on the eight charges he faced.
His death comes just weeks after another prison incident involving Dixon. The reported that Dixon had pulled a "makeshift weapon" on his own lawyer – Barry Hart – during a meeting at Auckland Central Remand Prison on January 17.
"Staff supervising the meeting between the prisoner and his lawyer saw the prisoner get agitated, and attempt to remove what they believed to be a makeshift weapon from his shoe," a Corrections spokeswoman said at the time.
MrHart told the that "[Dixon] has some major mental issues at the moment"."The issues have deteriorated," he said.
The drama was the second time Dixon was reported to beinvolved in an incident with a weapon inside prison. In December, 2007, Dixon used a fork to try to gouge out the eye of another prisoner, who required hospitalisation.
Justice Hugh Williams said he had received a letter from Dixon saying he had dispensed with Mr Hart's services and queried whether a new lawyer needed to be appointed.
Mr Hart said Dixon had dispensed with his services on a number of occasions.
"Everytime he got unwell, he had trust issues."
He said the system had let Dixon down badly. When asked ifhis deathwas a stuff by corrections department, Mr Hart said "Well it has to be".
Dixonhad been jailed at least 14 times and had almost 160 prior convictions – predominately for theft and burglary.
During the 2007 Appeal Court hearing, Hart said Dixon had suffered a horrendous upbringing. As a child he was tied to a clothesline, could only bark like a dog, and showed paranoid behaviour over several years.
– With additional reporting fromMichael Fox, Clio Francis, Kim Ruscoe and

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Service for Air New Zealand crash victims

Dobbyn ‘honoured’ to sing

– Tuesday, 20 January 2009

Air New Zealand
UNDER THEIR WING: The remains of four of the five Air New Zealand crew killed in the Perpignan air crash sit beneath the Boeing 747 which transported them back to New Zealand.

IN MOURNING: Family and friends at the service.

Air New Zealand
HOME SOIL: Maori performance made up part of the service.

Air New Zealand
LEADING FROM THE FRONT: Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe speaks.

‘WELCOME HOME’: Dave Dobbyn said it was an honour and a privilege to perform as part of the service.
A scheduled Air New Zealand flight from London touched at 11pm carrying the remains.

Photo 5 of 5

Air NZ crash victims coming home

A service was held to mark the return home of the remains of four New Zealanders killed in the Air New Zealand crash at Auckland International Airport today.
After ordinary passengers disembarked at the international terminal, the Boeing 747 was towed, with family and the remains onboard, to the airline's engineering base for a formal ceremony.
Airport security kept reporters and photographers away from the area as the jet was parked in a hanger and the doors closed. .
Seven people were killed in the crash off the south of France coast last November, five New Zealanders and two Germans.
In a statement the Airline said veteran singer Dave Dobbyn was to sing "Welcome home".
The bodies were accompanied by their families and airline chief executive Rob Fyfe.
One New Zealand body has yet to be recovered.
Dobbyn said it was an honour to sing there.
Dobbyn said it was an honour to sing there."
Mr Fyfe was to then pay tribute to the four men and missing colleague Murray White and pass on condolences from Prime Minister John Key and the Civil Aviation Authority before members of the Air New Zealand kapa haka group paid a special tribute on behalf of the airline.
"Our hearts go out to them and everyone at Air New Zealand also for what is indeed a sad time.
Mr Fyfe says the arrival would be an extremely emotional time for the families and friends of thedeceased men and Air New Zealanders around the world.
Families would then carry their loved ones to hearses for their journeys to their last resting place.

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"Arriving home in New Zealand will mark the end of another chapter as we all come to terms with the tragedy that occurred in France when we lost our men and A320 operated by XL Airways of Germany," Mr Fyfe said

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Fire rips the heart out of Dargaville

By ROBYN DOWNEY and ROSE STIRLING – Dargaville News Tuesday, 06 January 2009

SOMETHING’S BURNING: Firefighters take a load off whild battling the blaze in downtown Dargaville.

A Dargaville business owner looked on helplessly as his Victoria St west shop and several neighbouring buildings were destroyed by fire.
Ken Foster, owner of Foster's Home Decorating was visibly upset as he watched his furniture shop going up in flames at around 7.
He says the business he and his wife Elain had worked hard to build up over many years and now run with the couple's two sons, was just a blazing inferno with an estimated stock loss of $500,000 and the building containing it, believed to be around $1.30pm on Monday, January 5.
"My whole life's in there mate and we'd just about done 26 years," he told the Dargaville and Districts News.5 million. Mr Foster says the couple bought the building in 1994, having moved in from premises across the road. He says he would be discussing with his family the possibility of starting again.
They then built it up to an up-market furniture store and Resene colour shop.
Mr Foster says the building was insured for replacement value.
"We will have to see if we can rebuild it, we'll see what happens" he says.
"Due to the verocity and size of the fire it was unable to be contained and more fire trucks and crews were needed from several centres around Kaipara and from as far away as Whangarei and Maungaturoto, turning the incident into a fifth alarm, with a 1000 square metre area engulfed in flames," he said.
Police and fire safety officials held a media conference at the Dargaville Police Station later, where Dargaville Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Mitch King said the brigade received multiple calls saying that there was a building on fire between Victoria and Normanby Sts and on arrival fire fighters found an interiors store well ablaze where the fire is believed to have started.
Around 100 fire personel, plus Kaipara District Council and St John Ambulance staff, with police containing the surrounding area, keeping the public at bay.
Around 100 fire personel, plus Kaipara District Council and St John Ambulance staff, with police containing the surrounding area, keeping the public at bay. Mr King says if the buildings had had heat sensors and sprinklers installed this would have made a "huge difference to the outcome".
He says a significant structural collapse occurred with the second level facade falling onto the street of Fosters Home Decorating shop. Business owners' decisions not to have them was often a cost factor.
He says the lack of these fire safety devices was not just an issue in Dargaville but all over the country.
There were no injuries and one person living in a flat above one of the shops, was escorted to safety.
Fire officials say it took fire fighters a good two and a half hours to get the blaze under control and fire crews would continue to dampen down hot spots overnight.
Two men in their teens were arrested during the emergency, one for climbing onto the roof of the close toby Northern Wairoa Hotel and the other for obstructing police. Victoria St west is expected to be blocked off to vehicular and foot traffic between Edward St and Hokianga Rd while the fire is under investigation.
"They were idiots, because the reality is, it was a great big dirty fire and they could have been killed and if they want to kill themselves that's fine but they don't need to endanger anyone else," he says.
Constable Ewen Cumming of the Dargaville police says one of the men was "rubbernecking" on the hotel roof and had unnecessarily compromised the safety of police staff, while the other man was obstructing police who were trying to deal with public safety.
They said hotel staff went from door to door of the hotel accommodation area to ensure hotel visitors vacated the building in case the fire spread further.
They said hotel staff went from door to door of the hotel accommodation area to ensure hotel visitors vacated the building in case the fire spread further.
Elleigh Jackson, an assistant at the close toby Blockbuster video store told the Dargaville and Districts News that she smelt smoke just before police arrived and told her to vacate the store.
"As I was leaving the store I saw the front windows of Foster's store cracking and yellow smoke billowing up inside," she says.

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Is it Harihari, or Hari Hari?

– Friday, 02 January 2009

After 100 years on the map, debate still rages over the name of a West Coast settlement.
The township, which celebrated its centenary in 2008, is fighting to keep the space between its Haris.
However, outside forces want that gap closed.
The issue surfaced again recently when an angry local wrote to the University of Canterbury saying it had "incorrectly" used the one-word version on the website for a local field station. .
However, the locals disagree.
"If you look at the Land Information website, it's all spelled as one word and they are the people who name the places and who am I to go against it?" said university field services manager Jack van Berkel.
When the post office was established in 1908, it was necessary to officially name the settlement.
"In the 1960s it was decided that Hari Hari with two words had no meaning," she said.
"The new post office was given the name Hari Hari and it's always been written by locals and local businesses as two words," said Mary Molloy, a resident for over 30 years.
"There's one or two locals who use it as one word, but the majority use two words.
Despite this, most of the 350-strong population use the two-word version."
Dr Rawiri Taonui, associate professor of Maori and indigenous studies at the University of Canterbury, said there were a number of problems with writing down the oral language. Better than 90 per cent.
"Maori never was a written language and as it came to be written, a number of grammatical conventions were adopted to retain the meaning of Maori names," he said.
"Maori never was a written language and as it came to be written, a number of grammatical conventions were adopted to retain the meaning of Maori names," he said."
"Hari can mean gladness, joy or celebration. The difference between Maori and English is that one word tends to have many more meanings than one word in English. "
Web oracle Wikipedia states that Hari Hari should be two separate words meaning "to take/carry joy" or "come together in unison" from a Maori canoe song. Hari hari can be a familiar celebration.
The Maori dictionary defines harihari as a verb meaning to "take or carry (a number of times)".
It says the one-word version means "ambulance".

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Waka harihari turoro is listed in the dictionary as the noun meaning ambulance

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Most expats in no rush to come home

– Wednesday, 24 December 2008

Three-quarters of the New Zealanders living in Britain have no intention of coming home in the next year, a study shows.
"I'm certainly in the survey's majority of respondents in not looking to return to New Zealand in the immediate future," Christchurch expat Simon MacKechnie, 35, said.
The Global Career Link survey of more than 800 New Zealanders living in Britain found only 6.
The British Government has backed down on threatened changes to the visa system, allowing the 88 per centwho had the necessary stamps to stay longer.3 per cent planned to return home in the next three months.
Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly said: "The reasons for young New Zealanders leaving home wider range of opportunities, more higher-paying jobs, OE will remain regardless of the current fallout from the credit crisis.
"But most scarily, 61 per centof those planning to come back are also considering Australia, so we might not even get them back," Global Career Link chief executive Simon Swallow said."
The survey found that of those returning home, 13 per centquoted a lack of work opportunities in Britain or better work opportunities in New Zealand as the reason.
"So the reasons that they are coming back are still the same old `homesick' or `wanting to start a family' chestnuts," Swallow said. Being closer to friends and family was the motive for 32 per cent. They would reassess their next destination after their wedding and before they started a family.
MacKechnie, who will marry his South African fiancee, Nicolette Gerber, 31, next year, said they had no immediate plans to leave London.
An old boy of Christchurch Boys' High School, MacKechnie left for Sydney in 1997 and has lived in New York and London.
"My personal preference is Sydney, while Nicolette's is Cape Town, so we'll probably end up in Cape Town initially," MacKechnie said.
He is as a financial controller in the technology arm of the New York Stock Exchange Euronext business.
He is as a financial controller in the technology arm of the New York Stock Exchange Euronext business. .
"I'm not aware of any Kiwi or other friends leaving London as a result of the credit crunch.
MacKechnie said he was not inspired by the opportunities on offer at home.
"Second, the decline in the kiwi dollar means that people's money will go a bit further in New Zealand," he said.
"Other than the small number of growth companies in Christchurch, most companies seem to offer more senior roles to existing staff within the organisation and they are rarely advertised.
"My perception is the demand for middle and senior finance roles in Christchurch is very limited compared with Auckland and Wellington," he said."

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National ditches light bulb phase-out

Wednesday, 17 December 2008

The Government has dropped plans to phase out incandescent light bulbs and is moving to axe other measures, including a ban on thermal power plants and laws forcing a move toward biofuels.
Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee said yesterday the plan to phase out traditional light bulbs in favour of energy efficient bulbs had been abandoned.
But National campaigned against the plan and said it would overturn the phase-out if elected.
Incandescent light bulbs were due to be phased out from the end of next year under energy efficiency standards introduced by Labour, in line with moves overseas, including Australia.
The move comes as National proposes to overturn other measures introduced by the last government, including a ban on thermal power plants and moves to increase the use of biofuels.
Mr Brownlee said yesterday it was up to householders to decide which light bulb they used.
Mr Brownlee said the last government passed laws requiring biofuels to make up 2.
Parliament is debating both measures under urgency this week.
The new Government did not believe in making their use mandatory.5 per cent of all petrol and diesel sales by by 2012.
There were several exciting biofuel developments taking place in New Zealand, Mr Brownlee said. Instead, it would move toward using tax incentives to encourage their use."
But there were concerns about the sustainability of some biofuels and the costs they would load on to consumers.
"So-called second generation biofuels, from things like wood waste and algae, are able to be produced sustainably and will increase the security of our fuel supply whilst reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
The Government was also investigating other ways to encourage biofuel use, including exempting ethanol and biodiesel from excise and road user charges. .
"The ban would only put additional strain on the sector and last winter demonstrated the critical importance of gas-fired generation.
Its decision to repeal a 10-year ban on building thermal stations, including gas and coal-fired plants, was aimed at easing strains on the energy sector.
Under existing law, new thermal generation plants are banned, although the law made provision for exemptions where it was necessary to ensure continuity of power supply. At the time, electricity from thermal sources was generating over 50 per cent of our electricity needs," Mr Brownlee said.