Volume XVII, No. 1

SEPTEMBER 2004

COOK-ERA IMAGE RESURFACES
(from The Australian)

The first known painting of Antarctica has been discovered in London-hidden for 200 years under a lush New Zealand landscape.

Little-known 18th-century English artist William Hodges painted his view of icebergs in a rough sea when he sailed as official artist with Captain James Cook aboard the Resolution on the 1772-75 voyages into the far southern Indian Ocean and the Pacific.

The Antarctic scene, which is visable only by X-ray, was recently discovered accidentally by the London National Maritime Museum's conservation team during preparations for an exhibition of 80 of Hodges' works, including 56 oils.

It is displayed only as a photograph to avoid destroying the completely different over-painted scene-a tropical rainforest titled A View of Pickers- gill Harbour, Dusky Bay, New Zealand.

Hodges was the first professional painter to see both the Antarctic and Pacific oceans, and the first professional landscape painter to visit India.

But it was on Cook's second voyage of exploration that Hodges painted his finest work, often completed by peering out the cabin window of the ship.

The English artist's views of Tahiti, Easter Island and New Zealand, as well as a number of ink and wash drawings of "ice islands" were bold and dramatic, adopting a style of art called plein-air, where the artist attempts to represent light and air.

However, experts have always wondered why he did not paint with oil on the voyage.

Hodges' work fell into obscurity after he died penniless in 1797, and the London show is the first since his death. His bold impressionist style was ahead of his time, and he was criticised widely by his contemporaries.

It is not known why he painted over the Antarctic image with Pickersgill Harbour, but on long voyages canvases were often re-used.

Perhaps the icy visage of Antarctica just did not appeal to a northern artist all too familiar with the cold.

The painting and its "ghost image" are part of a new exhibition at the Maritime Museum in Greenwich which was opened recently by David Attenborough.

BLUFF

Situated only 29 kilometres from Invercargill, South Island, Bluff is first and last a seafaring town, home to many southern fishing boats, and the port trading with shipping links to Asia, Australia and North America.

Renowned for its succulent oysters dredged from nearby Foveaux Strait, the stretch of water between the South Island and Stewart Island, and the departure point for the 60 minute Catamaran Ferry Service to Stewart Island.

First inhabited by the Maon people prior to becoming a trading post for sealers and whalers, Bluff has been continuously settled since 1824, making it the oldest European town in New Zealand.

Stirling Point is the starting point for easy walks, offering superb views of native trees such as Rimu, Rata and Kamahi, and from the summit of Bluff Hill (Motupahue), Southland's mountains, plains, estuaries and islands are revealed.

WAIHI

Waihi township is situated on the banks of the Ohinemuri River (North Island). Today's industries are farming and horticulture as the climate is fog free, has high rainfall and a reasonably high sunshine

record. Recently the Martha Mine was re-opened and is successfully extracting gold at the Martha Hill.

The town is 120m above sea level, but is only 11km from the sea and the famous Waihi Beach resort where the crescent white sand beach curves for five miles and the surf pounds relentlessly. A life guard service patrols the swimmers during the summer months.

Waihi means "Rising Water" or "Dirty Water". An old Maon legend tells that Waihi was originally named "Waihthi" by a Maori prophet who came out with the great migration. His canoe capsized off the coast of NZ and he was saved by a whale, on which he rode up and down the coast of the North Island. He named the whale "Mercury" and hid it on Mercury Island. One day they stopped at Waihi Beach and the prophet walked through the trees and over the hills until he got to the foot of Martha Hill, where he realised he was thirsty. Finding a patch of damp ground, he took his tukutuku (walking stick) and dug in the damp silt with it until he found water, which bubbled up from the ground. Once the water ran clear, he had a drink.

The first European to enter the Waihi area was a missionary Rev. Samuel Marsden who sailed into the Firth of Thames in 1820. He visited the Karangahake Gorge, Waihi and Tauranga.

The Ohinemuri Goldfields were opened for active gold mining in Wathi in 1875 but it was in 1878 that a major strike was made by a Mr. John McCombie and Mr. Robert Lee, which was rich in gold and silver. This strike was in the vicinity of Pukewa, but the capital needed to work the claim caused it to be abandoned. In 1881, a group of men took up the claim. This was called the Martha Company and it quickly became a boom. The strike attracted thousands of miners from all over New Zealand and from overseas. Hopeful prospectors tunnelled and dug for the elusive metals. During the late 1800s many more mines were opened in the area. Martha Mine in its heyday produced the equivalent of $90 million dollars of gold bullion each year. During this period, Waihi township flourished and the population stood around 6000. The Martha Mine was eventually shut in 1954 with a total production worth $4200 million at 1988 prices. The pumphouse can still be seen with its windows looking out blank and empty over the town.

World War I led to many of the mines being closed during the 1900s through to 1920 and this caused the smaller towns of the district to die out.

Mining has again commenced and the Waihi Gold Company has an opencast type mining licence at the Martha Hill.

The Karangahake Gorge was where three mining companies extracted gold bearing ore from within the Karangahaké Mountain, the Crown, the Woodstock and the Talisman. The township of Karangahake included nine boarding houses and two hotels, and a great variety of shops for every need.

A sawmill, with a coach company who employed 28 drivers and that could stable 120 horses could also be found in the setlement. No access roads were available so every commodity was brought across the river at Mackaytown or were lowered by pulleys and ropes down the steep sides of the cliff behind the Tramway Hotel. The population stood at 2000 and the homes were spread willy-nilly along the valley slopes and the river flat. The old school still stands on a hilltop.

Waikino was once a thriving township but now is just a ghost of a town with the hotel escaping from the flooding in the early l980s that took away the remaining shops and devastated the area. Across the Ohinemuri River is the remains of the Victoria Battery where the ore that was railed from the Martha Mine was crushed.

It was because of the introduction of the cyanide process in the refming of gold in 1889 that the Ohinemuri region became rich from gold and silver.

The Goldfields Steam Train Society has established train trips over 8km of track running between Waihi and Waikino. This track was originally constructed for the Martha Gold Mining Co and later used by New Zealand railways and the society now uses the old Waihi Railway Station as its headquarters.

KIWI DUNDEE ADVENTURES

World Famous New Zealand

Nature Walks & Tours

Doug Johansen and Jan are two fun loving genuine Kiwi guides. They have both independently received Queen's medals for their contribution to nature, New Zealand Tourism and education and are regarded as two of New Zealand's foremost guides. Doug has been in eco-tourism for 28 years, and in 1992 won the New Zealand inaugural Eco Tourism Award.

Jan and Doug formed their new company together in 1994 and decided to use "Kiwi Dundee" for their company name. (Doug won a New Zealand-

wide competition to find New Zealand's equivalent to Crocodile Dundee!)

"New Zealand is a paradise of native forests, spectacular mountains and national parks, horticulture and farming, coastal scenery, cities, unique culture, and friendly people! We invite you to share a unique and unforgettable experience with Kiwi Dundee Adventures. Learn about our heritage and enjoy the opportunity to feel in touch with nature and the environment." - Doug and Jan

"We just love what we do! We enjoy sharing our knowledge, our love and passion for nature and the natural beauty of our country." - Doug and Jan

Kiwi Dundee Adventures cater for an extremely diverse number of visitors from all over the world. We specialise in deluxe soft adventure tours and walks, but always enjoy a challenge of any kind!

Kiwi Dundee Adventures formed a group together with 17 other top ecotounsm operators with the support of Tourism New Zealand. Nature-nz.com gives visitors the assurance of a quality experience.

(Kiwi Dundee Adventures Ltd.
Doug Johansen and Jan Poole, P0 Box 198, Whangamata, NZ.
Ph/fax: +64 7 865 8809.
Kiwi.dundee@xtra.co.nz)

THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE

The tomtit is a tiny bird weighing about 10g, (about the size of a silvereye) and is fiercely territorial and usually keeps the same partner for life. While not endangered they are fully protected and recently 32 banded tomtits were transferred to pest-free Tiritiri Matangi island in the Hauraki Gulf from the Hunua ranges in southeast Auckland in an endeavour to start a new population.

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New Zealand is the size of Colorado but has as much coastline as the entire U.S.

WILLIAM ATACK - Referee with a flash of inspiration (The New Zealand Edge)

Sport's first whistle-blower retired from NZPA in 1930, aged 74, and died in 1946, aged 89.

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ANZAC BISCUITS

On a recent visit to New Zealand, we bought packages of Anzac biscuits (cookies) everywhere we went, and brought a couple packages home. They are so delicious, they're hard to resist.

From a package: The RNZRSA Story.

The RNZRSA was founded by returned soldiers of the Gallipoli Campaign just days after the inaugural commemoration of ANZAC Day in 1916. Since then the RNZRSA has provided assistance in many forms to past and present members of the New Zealand Armed Forces and their families.

The ANZAC Biscuit. The ANZAC Biscuit, as it is known today, was a welcome addition to the basic rations which were issued to our soldiers during the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915.

It was the mothers, wives and sweethearts at home who baked these treats for the soldiers overseas (as well as for sale to raise funds for the war effort).

These biscuits are a tangible link to our ANZAC heritage.

ROAMING MIDDLE EARTH (info from NEXT)

Melissa Heath of Wanaka Sightseeing, has since September of last year escorted more than 500 tourists around some of the most scenic locations used in the Lord of the Rings films

puzzled by the fervour of the tourists, are beginning to feel that the impact of the three films will never wear off for these people who come from all parts of the world. They range from the truly obsessed-like the Elvish speakers and a few who dress as their favourite characters-to those who haven't even seen the films but have heard that the scenery on the tour is amazing.

(For more information call (03) 443 1855, email or visit:

TRADITIONAL FLAVOUR OF ROTORUA -

from A Slice of Heaven

The city, famous for its towering geysers and bubbling mud has the added attraction of regular Maori concerts and hangi-a Maon-style feast steam cooked or in an underground oven.

The city is full of advertisements for both concerts and hangi but don't dismiss them as a tacky tourist gimmick. You won't be disappointed by the traditional costumes, the ancient eerie unison chants, the single electric call of the elder woman, the toe- tapping island style swing songs, the old games and battle dances.

In song the Maori tell of ancient legends and events of long ago. Traditional actions add meaning to the words. The most common action is the contant fluttering of hands, symbolic of the pulse of life.

Another ancient action is pukana, the charac teristic popping eyes and tongue poking as features in the war dance, Haka. Made internationally famous by

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the All Blacks at the start of a rugby match, the haka was traditionally used in preparation for battle, to tone up the physique and intimidate their enemies with fear and terror.

Games were also used in the villages to ready men for battle. In Whakaropiropi, two men hop from foot to foot slapping their chests in a lively version of catch-me-if-you-can.

Another famous and highly entertaining game is tititorea, the stick games, which is a test of timing and coordination. No-one must miss a beat or drop a stick in the complex throwing pattern.

No Maori concert would be complete without the poi, a small ball of flax on the end of a cord. The women make it look easy as they imitate birds in flight but grace, dexterity and accurate timing is needed to keep the poi moving. Performers begin with the short poi moving on to the more difficult double and quadruple poi.

Evening concerts are held seven days a week at major hotels, including the Sheraton, Quality Resort, T.H.C. Rotorua and Quality Inn.

It is also possible to see a concert at Ohmemutu, the original Maori village around which Rotorua grew. The concert is held in the famous Tamatekapua meeting house each evening at 8pm.

If an evening concert is out of the question, try catching a performance at Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve. The concerts are held daily at 12:15pm from late October through to Easter, but also during the August school holidays, and the only day they are not held is Christmas Day. The large hotels combine the concert with a hangi making it an evening you won't forget in a hurry. There are also marae (traditional home) hangi and concert options which you will pick up from the hostels.

There's nothing quite like the hangi. Feast on tender New Zealand venison, wild pork with puha (native thistle), lamb, thicken, pumpkin, kumera (sweet potato) all cooked in a steam box. To go with these goodies are such delicacies as smoked eel, fresh mussels, marinated fish, Maori bread and lots of salads.

Finish off with fresh fruit, including the more exotic kiwifruit, tamarillo and feijoa. Look out for New Zealand's national dessert, the pavlova, a sinful concoction of meringue, sliced fruit and whipped cream.

KAHUKURA SACRED JOURNEYS --

New Zealand holds the key to the new way of being.

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Explore Otago Pninsula's well preserved, colourful history. Lamach Castle, Glenfalloch Woodland Gardens and the Disappearing Gun are highlights of any visit to the Otago Peninsula.

Discover the talents of current residents when you visit the galleries, studio and craft shops that dot the small townships and roads of Otago Peninsula.

Otago Peninsula's Cafes and restaurants offer a great selection of fine cuisine at reasonable prices and the opportunity to sample some of New Zealand's award winning wines.

A variety of accommodation styles to suit all budgets is available on the Peninsula. Stay a while longer and enjoy the hospitality found at our Bed and Breakfasts, Farmstays, Homestays, Motels and Self- contained units, Cottages, Backpackers, Lodges and Camping Ground.

A round tour of the Otago Peninsula is approximately 64km. You may choose to travel the harbourside road out to Taiaroa Head and return to Dunedin via the high road. Highcliff Road offers magnificent views.

There are a number of optional detours and walks for those with time to spare--and that time is always well spent. Wildlife and their natural habitats are precious. As the saying goes-take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints.

Do's and don't around wildlife:

Seals: Don't get between seals and the water. Keep at least ten metres back from seals.

Sea lions: Keep well back. Sea lions are not afraid of you and can move quickly over short distances.

Penguins: Hide so penguins can't see you. Talk quietly and move slowly. Keep to the track and away from nest sites. Don't bring your dog. No flash photography.

BEAUTIFUL NEW ZEALAND HAS NO REASON TO FEEL INFERIOR

From Travel, Wisconsin State Journal

"New Zealanders are very cross with Russell Crowe," Rae tells us. "We don't understand why he tells everyone he's from Australia."

We are sitting in the dining room of Henry Maxwell's Bed and Breakfast in the sleepy town of Blenheim, New Zealand. Before us is a sumptuous repast of kiwi and mejora fruit, warm brown bread, and rhubarb jam. Rae is our hostess, a fiftysomething empty-nester who, after traveling the world for four

years, decided to return to her native New Zealand to operate this B&B.

She is telling us about New Zealand's age-old inferiority complex, attributed to the fact that people around the world tend to view New Zealand as a kind of Australian suburb. And Rae is steadfast in her belief that maybe the most famous New Zealander alive- the Oscar-winning movie star Crowe-is contributing to the problem.

"(Crowe) was born here and lived here for six years before his family moved to Australia. They came back when he was in high school, and he finished school here," Rae says. "But he tells people he was raised in Australia."

Rae's right. Most people think Crowe is an Aussie, not a Kiwi. And many Americans do tend to group these two very separate countries together. As it turned out, New Zealand gained respect again due to films.The Kiwis have one of their own to thank: film director Peter Jackson, who spent more than a year there filming his "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Jackson has said that New Zealand-with its mixture .of dense pine forests, towering mountains, spectacular glaciers and lush, green fields-was the ideal place to re-create J.R.R.Tolkien's Middle Earth.

And visitors will find that there's much more to do here than take in the spectacular scenery. There are lively cities and charming small towns and endless acres of vineyards; and there are dozens of ways to break one's neck. New Zealand, after all, regards itself as "the adventure-sport capital of the world."

FOODIE FORTUNE (from Pacific Way)

Twenty-six-year-old Sarah Terry has a problem. Her accountant reckons it's the best problem you can have: a small business making too much money. It sounds like skiting, but Terry isn't bragging; since starting food-delivery company Gobble in Auckland 18 months ago, she has had a wonderful but gruelling time.

Gobble was supposed to be a boutique business, catering to a niche market. "It was supposed to deliver people yummy, healthy, hot food at the office or at home, because we live in this crazy world these days where you're supposed to be working and being a mum and having a yummy lasagne and salad and garlic bread on the table. And it was for the guy sitting at his desk at nine at night who doesn't want to eat fast food."

Terry found there was a demand for the product, but she didn't realise how much. Soon after

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launching, the phone was running off the hook. If it rained, Gobble was over-run with orders. Rain, apparently, made everyone crave warm, healthy cook ing. "It was system overload. At seven at night we were saying, "We can't take any more orders. We have no food left," says Terry.

Her plans went to custard. "Our (original) forecasts are so funny to look at now. We turn over every three days what we wanted to turn over in a month. There's so many more zeros than we ever expected to see."

So what is wrong with that? "We grew too fast," she says. Plenty of would-be cusomers were lost when told that Gobble wouldn't be taking any more orders that evening or when a meal was late. "People thought we were this big business, but we're just small and we couldn't keep up."

And the burgeoning growth began to take a toll on Terry's personal life. With two small children and a staff of 40, Terry finally cried "enough!" Her partner, Richard Beven, a former financial analyst, climbed on board and took up some of the slack.

But watching Gobble take off, Terry says, has been as gratifying as it has been hard work.

Besides, the business suits her personality:

she's never been able to sit still for long. At the age of 16, to fund a trip to Japan, she sold Russian fudge at school, and after bagging $2,000 she went one step further-cutting a wholesale deal with the school tuckshop. She started her first business-a wedding planning company-at 20.

After finding Gobble's food supply companies weren't offering exactly what she wanted, Terry set up her own-Mortar & Pestle.

Although she now has partners in all of the companies, Terry says she's not shopping for any new businesses. She wants to put all her energy into Gobble.

Her next goal is to franchise the company in Wellington and Christchurch and expand in Auckland to meet the crazy demand for healthy, hot food.

RUGBY 2005 - KIA MAU!

New Zealand's All Blacks are having another good season under new coach Graham Henry and captain Tana Umaga. Henry, assisted by Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith, along with selector Brian Lochore have assembled a squad containing eight fresh faces and one old one returns. The coaches showed no mercy in chopping those who disappointed last year or

just weren't fit enough. This included previous captain Reuben Thome.

Andrew Mehrtens has bveen brought back to support Carlos Spencer at fly-half. Notable first-timers include Jono Gibbes, Sam Tuitupou, Mose Tuiali'I and Simon Maling. Captain Umaga is well known in the rugby world for his skills, high work rate, and intensity. Richie McCaw was selected as vice-captain.

The boys opened up with two tests against World Cup defending champs England. New Zealand responded well in the first match by blasting England 36-3 in an overpowering performance. The following week saw New Zealand win again, 36-12, in Auckland. The Poms played one man short after ten minutes following Simon Shaw's being sent off. England coach Clive Woodward and rapidly aging captain Lawrence Dallaglio spent a lot of time whining about the refs during the tour. The unhappy team flew to Australia for a one-off test where they were promptly pole-axed by the Wallabies 51-3.

The All Blacks then hosted Argentina at Hamilton, the home of the Mooloomen. New Zealand triumphed in a sloppy match 41-7 with a lot of reserves getting playing time.

The Tn-Nations tournament opened on July 17 with New Zealand dominating Australia 16-7 in a defensive struggle on a rainy, windy night in Wellington. Daniel Carter's kicking made the difference for the host team.

Next up the All Blacks won a hard-fought test 23-2 1 over South Africa at Christchurch. Doug Howlett dove in for the game-winning try with one minute left on the scoreboard.

The following week Australia came from behind to defeat South Africa at Perth 30-26 in another cliffhanger.

On August stopped New Zealand's win streak with a 23-18 victory at Sydney. The veteran Aussies won another defensive kicking struggle. Loti Tiquiri scored the only try in the match for Australia.

The All Blacks top peiformers this year have included Daniel Carter, Joe Rockocoko, Chris Jack, and Richie McCaw.

As of today New Zealand and Australia each have one test left vs the Springboks in South Africa.

The All Blacks travel to Europe for a four-test

end-of-year tour in Europe. Fixtures:

Sat. Nov 13 vs Italy at Rome

Sat Nov 20 vs Wales at Cardiff

Sat Nov 27 vs France at Paris

Sat Dec 4 vs the Barbarians at London

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Next season looms large as New Zealand hosts the quadrennial British and Irish Lions in a three test series. It will be hard to top the outstanding Lions series in 2001. If anyone can, it's these two teams.

Fixtures 2005:

Sat June 25 at Christchurch

Sat July 2 at Wellington

Sat July 9 at Auckland

In other news New Zealand won the Rugby World Sevens Series for the fifth consecutive year. The Kiwis were followed by England, Argentina, Fiji, and South Africa in the standings.

New Zealand won the World Under- 19 World Championship held in South Africa. The title game was held in Durban with NZ winning 34-11 over France.

The ACT Brumbies won the Super 12 tournament final with a 48-3 8 win over the Canterbury Crusaders in Canberra.

The all Blacks recently voted Australia's great scrumhalf George Gregan as their most respected opponent, followed by teammate and flanker George Smith.

Former All-Black great Michael Jones was named head coach of Samoa. Auckland Blues coach Wayne Pivic takes over as Fiji's head man, and the always popular former Wallaby Willie Ofahengave "Willie 0" as the new coach for Tonga.

Until next time: Play On !!

From WYSIWYG NEWS - BY Brian Harmer

(Copyright by Brian Harrner, reprinted by permission)

Setting out to work yesterday, I noted with interest the flaming red/orange sky, in the East, and the deep indigo/black sky to the South. Uh oh! As I reached the Petone overbridge and arrived at the fore shore, I saw that the harbour was flat calm, and about the colour of hammered pewter. The Miramar Peninsula was absolutely black against the dark sky behind it.

Reflections of the magnificent red sky behind me brushed the tops of the clouds to the west. The whiteness of a small boat crossing the harbour leaving an equally white wake was stark against the dark water. I was conscious of my ever-present camera on the seat behind me, and wished I could grab it and capture the moment, but a rush hour motorway is no place to be fiddling with cameras.

And then the peninsula disappeared. So did Brooklyn and Mt. Victoria. In their place, a perfectly straight grey wall of water intervened. I had a weird flashback to the art teacher in my first year of secondary school. "Boys," he would say, 'There are no straight lines in nature!"

He was wrong. Another small boat in the water, this time a small two-person fibreglass out rigger canoe, practicing no doubt for some impending competition was heading parallel with the roadway, en route to Petone. Oh, boy! When that water caught them, they were in for it. The traffic was perceptibly slower than usual, but even so, it and that wall of water were on a very rapid collision course.

Splat! A great fat rain drop hit the windscreen. Then a whole succession of them and then a tremendous cacophony as the entire celestial bucket was upended on the earth below. The wipers were slapping at top speed, and the lights of the car ahead were barely visible. Rain turned to hail and the noise increased to deafening. And decreased!

Taps were turned off somewhere, and after a few moments of light rain, the weather was gone. It wasn't quite fine, but that astonishing wall had passed over, cleansing everything it touched (though I imag ine the crew of that outrigger may not have been grateful). Amazing. The traffic resumed its normal flow and the new day began.

HELP YOUR FELLOW KIWIPHILES!

Some of you may have been in New Zealand during the last year or so. Please send along your notes, your memories, your suggestions to help others in their planning. THANKS.

KIWIphile FILE

Published quarterly by Eva Trapani

E-mail: KiwiET1@aol.com

Copyright 2004 by Eva Trapani

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