SOUTH Winter 2023

www.southmagnz.co.nz WINTER 2023

UNDERGROUND NATION

Exposing the fascinating world of fungi

BACKSTAGE PASS

The Bats on touring with Radiohead

WORLD STAGE

Women’s football pioneer Alison Grant

LIFE & STYLE

Shopping, arts, music, drinks, events, and more

Step into the bright and welcome space at Wall Street Mall. At Wall Street Mall you will find a mix of local fashion retailers like Maher Shoes and Suits on Wall Street, and familiar international brands like Levi’s, Country Road, Taking Shape, Pagani and Rodd & Gunn.

Indulge yourself with a massage from the Rub or a treatment at Luxurious Spa & Nails. Try something tasty at Marbecks cafe while you are here and enjoy the open space of our wonderful atrium. You’ll find us at 211 George Street, just a short stroll from the Octagon.

211 GEORGE STREET, DUNEDIN

Country Road | Jooni’s Crepes | Levi’s | Lush

Luxurious Spa & Nails | Maher Shoes | Marbecks

Maru Sushi | Mobile Fun | Pagani | Rodd & Gunn

Suits on Wall St | Taking Shape | The Rub

Supp or t lo cal news for less than one coffe e a we ek.

Not that we’re asking you to gi up that coffe e

EDITOR

Gavin Bertram

gavin.bertram@alliedpress.co.nz

DESIGN

Mike D’Evereux

CONTRIBUTORS

George Kay

Gill Towle

ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER

Nic Dahl (03 479-3545) nic.dahl@alliedpress.co.nz

MARKETING

Charlotte Thompson

CONTACT

Email: south@alliedpress.co.nz

Online: www.southmagnz.co.nz

Digital edition: issuu.com/alliedpress

Facebook: @SOUTHMagNZ

Instagram: @south_magazine_nz

FOOTBALL’S COMING HOME

One of those abiding passions was largely the product of a very late night in January 1982. Those magical hours saw New Zealand qualify for their first football World Cup finals, with a desperately tense 2-1 win over China.

The playoff match in Singapore was the culmination of a legendarily epic campaign for the All Whites, travelling nearly 140,000 kilometres to play 15 games on the road to Spain.

Half the country was up that evening, waking the neighbours when first Steve Wooddin and then Wynton Rufer scored. And anxiously awaiting the final whistle after the Chinese claimed a goal back. At home in Auckland, injured All White Brian Turner couldn’t bear the tension and went for a walk.

That victory galvanised mass awareness of football in this country like never before. Even so, it remained a sport that was

under-resourced and often in the shadow of other codes.

I remember football clubs around the country selling various merch including the iconic biscuit tins.

Somewhat unbelievably, that fundraising was to help get the men’s side to the world’s biggest sporting event. Imagine what it was like for the early iterations of the New Zealand women’s football team in the 1970s and 80s.

WHO WE ARE

EVEN over 20 years since it opened, Speight’s Ale House Dunedin still trades on the same ‘‘generous to a fault’’ approach it was originally founded on in 1999.

And at the Speight’s Ale House Dunedin, the beer is matched to a menu of equal quality.

Food has always been a major part of the offering, with a focus on Southern fare, hearty servings, and value for money. The menu has something for every taste, with classics including seafood chowder, blue cod, lamb shanks, steak, venison, and vegetarian options.

And, of course, there’s a superb range of brews on offer, including the original Gold Medal Ale, the Triple Hop Pilsner, Distinction Ale, Old Dark, Empire IPA, and even a cider

What more could you want from a Dunedin Bar & Restaurant!

Largely overlooked at the time, they had early success on the world stage and paved the way for today’s Football Ferns. This winter the Ferns are playing in their own World Cup on home soil, including against Switzerland in Dunedin. Unimaginable several decades ago, this feast of football will be happening right here to inspire the next generation.

“Music and football - what else is there?” someone once said to me, and I’m inclined to agree.

TOP SOUTHLAND EXPERIENCES TO TRY

Southland o ers something for everyone, whether you’re a music lover, fashion enthusiast, foodie, or outdoor adventurer.

Don’t miss out on the world-class collections at Bill Richardson Transport World and the hardware store experience like no other at E Hayes & Sons, where you can see the legendary Burt Munro’s 1920 Indian Scout, “The World’s Fastest Indian,” in real life.

When it comes to food, Southland’s winter season is the perfect time to indulge in local delicacies, including cheese rolls, swedes, Blu Oysters, and Southland Blue Cod, all served with a generous serving of Southern hospitality.

Discovering

Nature enthusiasts will find themselves in heaven with an abundance of marine life to discover, from sea lions to Hector’s Dolphins and Yellow-Eyed Penguins. And if you’re lucky, you might even spot the rare kiwi bird in its natural habitat on Rakiura Stewart Island. To top it o , Southland’s clear winter nights are perfect for stargazing, and if the stars align, you may even catch a glimpse of the Southern Lights.

Don’t let winter pass you by without experiencing the adventure and magic that awaits in Southland. So, put on your winter woollies, pack your sense of adventure, and come explore the top Southland winter experiences.

Discover more at southlandnz.com SCAN

winter magic

ILT KIDZONE FESTIVAL 5-10 JULY

Join us these winter school holidays for Southland’s most popular family festival, jampacked with hundreds of hands-on activities, rides and experiences!

RIVERSDALE ARTS MIXED MEDIA ART EXHIBITION 21-30 JULY

A visual mixed media feast with over 500 artworks, attracting many of New Zealand’s finest line up alongside aspiring local artists.

MLT HOKONUI FASHION DESIGN AWARDS 28-29 JULY

The event that turns the eyes of the fashion world south, with prestigious judges and talented designers.

MERIDIAN HYDRO HALF MARATHON

5 AUGUST

Run next to the majestic Fiordland National Park under snow-capped mountains – a vibe you just can’t beat!

FOREWORD

4 Editorial

7 Big Picture

10 WHAT’S ON: Five things to do this winter.

13 DRINK: Celebrating the wide world of gin.

14 FILM: A feast of architecture and design movies at Rialto.

15 BIG ASK: Journalist Richard Langston’s fanzine anthologised.

16 EVENT: The Bledisloe Cup Long Lunch.

17 ARTS: The Pottery in Port Chalmers.

18 JOBS: How Jonathan Usher became a magician.

19 FOOD: Award-winning Augustines of Central.

20 SHOPPING: Stuff to warm up your home.

22 FASHION: Kill the chill this winter.

25 DRINK: The region’s best taprooms.

FEATURES

26 PARK LIFE: Otago’s first football international Alison Grant; FIFA Women’s World Cup.

32 A SECRET WORLD: Liv Sisson’s new book Fungi of Aotearoa.

38 MOTOR HEADS: The Bats epic 1993 Northern Hemisphere tour.

ENDNOTES

42 ONCE UPON A TIME: George Kay on talking to the Rolling Stones.

44 HOW YA GOING? Gabrielle Emery I WAS THERE: Grant Robertson on the 1983 Lions tour.

46 LOOSE ENDS

BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION

Duncan Anderson specialises in Building and Construction Law across New Zealand.

Duncan acts for and advises property developers, building businesses, and property owners in relation to:

• Construction Contracts including performance and payment terms

• Construction Legislation

• Dispute Resolution and Mediation

Big Picture

Oamaru born and raised.

“I love the shade and the shadow, and would be alone with my thoughts when I may.”

Feeding New Zealand’s smallest family members since 1974.

www.topflite.co.nz

How to pair paint with wallpaper

We all want personality in our homes, where our tastes are reflected in our interiors. Living with wallpaper is one way to do this. Print, pattern and texture make our walls come alive, from the bedroom to the powder room. It’s a chance to make an impact, creating a soulful, character-oozing space regardless of your colour palette.

1. When using Resene Wallpaper Collection 38720-2 wallpaper go for Resene Surfie Green or Resene Paradise for a cohesive match. These jade blue-greens mirror the dominant leaf colour, but any other colour could have been pulled out, such as pale Resene Ashanti, the yellow of Resene Switched On or even the almost-black yet still green of Resene Palm Green. Brass accents further bring the setting to life.

2. A small-framed section of wallpaper is enough to catch the eye and bring interest through colour and pattern to

this living room. Resene Wallpaper Collection ONB102646290 dictates this room’s décor, its navy background echoed in the painted walls and neutral patterned mirrored in the room’s brass and tangerine accents.

3. While an inky blueblack on the lower part of the wall – think Resene Blumine or Resene Navigate – draws out one colour of the leaf pattern, the bedlinen speaks to the rust, white and pale green in Resene Wallpaper Collection 833126.

Instead of just an accent wall, Resene wallpaper on all four walls brings a sense of cosiness and harmony to a room. We’re swept up in the cocoon-like element it offers. One on-trend technique to accommodate this is to coat your woodwork in a complementary Resene paint colour, instead of white. Bringing in a paint colour onto your trims and doors is a way to extend the impact of the wallpaper’s palette. This method of coating your woodwork in colour will allow it to either work with your wallpaper or against it, allowing it to pop.

If you have a Resene wallpaper with a subtle pattern and palette, Resene paint can further bring to life your design in a cohesive way. An accent paint colour will evoke a level of edge to a room, meaning the wallpaper alone doesn’t create all the personality. Though the combined duo will make a stylish statement, instantly elevating your interior, it’ll turn a quite pleasant wallpaper into something extraordinary. When visiting your local Resene ColorShop, you’ll probably find plenty of paint colours that appeal to you, whereas fewer wallpaper styles will. So, which product do you choose first?

“Choose wallpaper first, paint second,” says Amy Watkins, Resene Colour Consultant. “There might be only one wallpaper you fall in love with, but there are thousands of paint options.”

To that end, you may be wondering how to know which colour in a patterned wallpaper

to focus on when matching a paint colour; is it the most dominant colour in the print, the background colour or the colour the eye naturally gravitates to?

Amy says there’s a recommended order to choose your products when pairing wallpaper and paint.

“This depends on the level of detail within the pattern as to which part of the wallpaper you pull the paint colour from. For this reason, I always recommend choosing a wallpaper before finalising the paint colour. If it’s a highly detailed wallpaper, then I recommend pulling the paint colour out from the main background colour. If it’s a wallpaper with a large print or pattern, then you can pull a colour from the detail to inspire your Resene paint colour.”

If you have a plain wallpaper with little pattern, seek out its accent hues that match with the paint. This will bring out the interest in the wallpaper and add personality to the room. It can be more challenging with a plainer wallpaper to select a complementary paint colour, but it’ll be there; it’s a matter of sitting the wallpaper swatch up in a room and glancing over it gradually across a few days until the accent colour makes itself apparent.

Remember that a safe option when selecting a paint colour is to match it with a neutral hue. If you’re choosing the green taupe patterned floral of Resene Wallpaper Collection DGN102287022, you might opt for trims and doors in Resene Botticelli, the pale green of Resene Edgewater or the calming green of Resene Envy. Selecting a

soft colour tone of paint lets the wallpaper become the focal point and its own work of art.

You can either use the exact colour from the wallpaper in the form of paint to create a sleek setting or can you vary it in the form of different shades.

“Use the same shade and colour that is in the pattern or choose to vary the hue/depth and shade of the paint colour chosen,” Amy says. “The larger the contrast can often lead to the intensity of the colour changing within the wallpaper.”

When choosing your paint and wallpaper, remember the feel you want to capture in a room; uplifting and vibrant rich brights for a bright living room, or calming and soothing earthy tones for a comforting bedroom.

“By choosing a neutral, the wallpaper remains as its own feature, creating a restful setting, whereas choosing a bold paint colour to go with the wallpaper will change the whole tone and mood of the space,” Amy says.

Of course, a paint colour that contrasts strongly with your chosen wallpaper brings the greatest level of drama, making a strong impact. You can enhance the drama in your room by drawing out a stronger colour in the pattern. You could team Resene Wallpaper Collection 833126, a botanical wallpaper, with paints in Resene Whizz Bang, a rich brick red, and Resene Warrior, a deep dark green.

Amy says a common mistake people make

when trying to pair wallpaper with paint is not testing out your potential paint colour on a large scale. It’s best to paint out a large colour swatch of the paint colour on the wall or use an A4 drawdown paint swatch to test it.

“It’s important when pairing a paint colour with wallpaper you look at it in a larger size to get a true understanding of how the colour will look en masse. If you just make your final decision from a small colour swatch, you will likely get the wrong depth and hue of the colour you are after.”

Your surrounding furniture should be considered too, as the colours can work with your wallpaper and paint palette, adding the finishing touches to your coherent scheme. Think of how your furniture and flooring will work in with your overall setting and whether their tones pop against or complement your wallpaper and paint colours.

Gone are the days when our walls lacked personality or drama; they’re now a source of soothing or transportive qualities, such as reminding us of favourite destinations or times gone by. With the magical combination of wallpaper and paint, our spaces can be taken to a whole new level.

For help choosing wallpapers, colours and paints to suit your projects, visit your local Resene ColorShop, ask a Resene Colour Expert online, www.resene.co.nz/colourexpert, or book a Resene Colour Consultation, www.resene.co.nz/colourconsult.

Chris Parker

Dunedin Town Hall

7pm, Saturday, June 3

The self-proclaimed ‘People’s Princess of New Zealand’ is back with the brand new ‘Lots of Love’ show, having sold out his 2022 tour. The multi-award winning Chris Parker has been called “a brilliant comedian, who will leave you scream-laughing”. This is the only show he’s doing in the south on this tour.

OF THE BEST

Jackie Goes Prima Diva

Coronation Hall, Bannockburn

7.30pm, Tuesday, June 13

Interpreting the songs of legendary divas, New Zealand chanteuse Jackie Clarke is bringing her maverick entertainment style to the provinces. Paying homage to everyone from Judy Garland, Dolly Parton, Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand, and Lady Gaga, she’ll be entertaining audiences in Cromwell, Roxburgh, Waikaia, Invercargill, Dunedin, and Geraldine.

SJD - The Sweetheart Tour

Crown Hotel

8pm, Friday, June 23

The current University of Otago Mozart Fellow Sean Donnelly is touring the country to celebrate his superb 2022 album Sweetheart

Starting at Dunedin’s revered Crown Hotel, the Taite Music Prize winner will be performing with a full band, with songs from across his nine album deep discography.

All Blacks v Australia

Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin

Saturday, August 5

It’s been six years since there was a Bledisloe Cup match in Dunedin. On that occasion it was a narrow 35-29 win for the All Blacks over their Trans-Tasman rivals. While New Zealand have largely dominated since, this will be a hard fought battle as the sides prepare for the World Cup later in September and October.

New Zealand International Film Festival

Rialto Cinema and Regent Theatre, Dunedin

August 3-20

Another edition of New Zealand’s premier film festival approaches, at Dunedin’s Regent Theatre and Rialto Cinema in August, followed by Gore’s St James Theatre. The programme this year includes Celine Song’s exquisite romance Past Lives, the amazing documentary Beyond Utopia, and beautiful Cannes Jury Prize winning EO.

BEHIND THE WHEEL FOR 45 YEARS

Where did you get your love of cars?

Dad was always in the motor business. He would go on buying trips to Christchurch when I was four or five. I couldn’t sleep, I was so excited to see what he’d bring home. They were beautiful cars, Chev Impalas, Cadillacs, all like new then, really flash.

How did you get started in the industry?

In its heyday, Dad’s business with Len Bell - Holland & Bell - had four service stations and four car yards across Dunedin. In the school holidays, I would wash all the used cars in the main branch at Gt. King St. I first started selling cars in 1978, with my brother Wayne in Western Australia.

And 45 years later?

Since then, I’ve worked for franchise dealers in Australia and Dunedin, selling most brands. I’ve sold a lot of different vehicles! I think Suzuki cars are the most exceptional in terms of value for money, economy and reliability. During my five years at Gilmour Motors Suzuki, I’ve seen huge repeat business. People are really happy with their Suzukis.

What’s the best thing?

I thoroughly enjoy working for Dealer Principal Emma - she’s one of the best. I’ve sold cars for both daughter and dad now, having worked at Gilmour Motors in the ’90s. I have a love for cars, and for people, so I just love the industry. You meet so many people and I’ve made good friends over the years from the people I’ve dealt with.

We catch up with Barrie Holland of Gilmour Motors Suzuki.

Local gins winning with flavour

The beauty of gin is that aside from the use of Juniper, the world is your oyster. Whether the distiller is using their own, in-house neutral spirit (or buying in), the resulting flavour profile can be as varied and far-fetched as you like.

One of the recent trends we have experienced in New Zealand is, the use of local botanicals. That is from the region or doorstep of the distillery. Kawakawa, Horopito, Cabbage tree bark, gorse flower, fresh honey from hives on your doorstep, where do we stop?

We are blessed in New Zealand with many climates that produce all types of botanicals, herbs and fruits, so look for more and more flavours to be experimented with.

The exciting thing is our botanical gins are receiving international awards and often beating out the ‘traditional’ competition for the top spots worldwide. New Zealanders are a passionate bunch and our distillers take their gins and gin craft seriously. The other most recent trend is that

of zero alcohol gins and gin RTDs (Ready to Drink). Every week our stores are being presented with another range of gins in the ‘better for you category’ that answer the call of flavour without alcohol. If you can’t find them instore, just ask to be shown them.

As more people come across to the gin category, more flavours are being experimented with and the world of gin is still as exciting as it was when the good old London Dry first evolved into a botanical flavour explosion. It may not be for you, but please ensure you have a look and even play with one or many of the mixers that now exist, offering a great match and flavour bombs when paired in a perfect ‘gin and mixer’ combination. Most Liquorlands now carry a myriad of different tonics and flavoured sodas from the likes of ‘East Imperial’ (New Zealand made), Fever Tree (UK), Schweppes and many more. Pop on in to your local Liquorland and if they do not have a great gin range and especially New Zealand gins, encourage them to do so!

The gin explosion in New Zealand really followed the UK (London) trends of approximately 15 years ago, but we have come on in leaps and bounds.

DESIGN EXPO

After a record-breaking festival in 2022, the annual Resene Architecture & Design Film Festival returns for its 12th year.

The Resene Architecture & Design Film Festival has presented an extraordinary selection of architecture and design films from around the world for over a decade. This year’s edition has an even bigger programme than usual, with a range of

the tensions between the regionalists and the internationalists; their differences and similarities.

Unexpected Modernism: Between them Samuel G. Wiener and William B.

female photographers—Else Tholstrup, Nanna Bisp Büchert, Marianne Engberg and Tove Kurtzweil. It’s part of the festival’s ‘Female Focused’ category, dedicated to the unwavering passion of female photographers

Unexpected Modernism documents the Wiener brothers crucial role in American modernist architecture.

paradigm-shifting project.

Plan For Buenos Aires: Reconstructing Le Corbusier's modernist proposal for Argentina's capital city, revealing the larger scope of political and cultural

BIGASK: Richard Langston

From 1984 to 1986, Richard Langston’s fabled Garage fanzine documented Dunedin’s flourishing music scene. Its six issues along with new material has recently been anthologised as Pull

Down the Shades: Tales from the New Zealand Music Underground by HoZac Books in the United States.

Now living in Wellington, Langston has had a broad career over the decades since Garage, and is now a journalist and director for Country Calendar. He’s also a widely published poet.

What inspires you?

Waking up. Then musicians, poets, artists, and visiting the remote landscapes of this country in my work as a director for Country Calendar.

And what annoys you?

Blowflies and people crunching food –especially potato chips and apples – this is a syndrome apparently with its own name, misophonia.

Can you recommend a book, a film, and an album (or song)?

The Collected Poems of Peter Olds (Cold Hub Press), Tarkovsky’s Ivan’s Childhood, The Flying Nun retrospective compilation Getting Older 1981-1991.

What’s the most important thing that you’ve learnt?

The satisfaction/joy is in creating a thing. Whatever happens afterwards is in the lap of the gods. The moment of creation is the best moment.

Who do you admire?

People who make/do things with love and are not afraid to show it or talk about it.

What do you love about where you live?

Wellington – the hills, harbour, Cook Strait, and that our local beach Island Bay/Tapu Te Ranga is a marine reserve, and that it’s a city that values creative types.

Where/when are you happiest?

At home, by the turntable, thinking what is next?

When (other than now) was the best time of your life?

In my 20s – travelling the world, creating Garage along with some great people and friends, and reveling in life in Dunedin, and the music we were hearing.

What are you looking forward to?

Revisiting my 20s - with a gold card.

I think everybody should… (at least once in their life).

Eat Bluff oysters with an Emerson’s Porter and taste the sweet salty flesh of the oyster and the velvety ale crossing the palette. Then have another. And probably another.

LUNCH WITH RUGBY LEGENDS

Local rugby aficionados will be able to experience the Bledisloe Long Lunch during Dunedin’s big test match weekend this winter.

On Saturday, August 5 in Dunedin, Australia will take on the mighty All Blacks in the second Bledisloe Cup test match. Can they end their 21-year Bledisloe drought or will the All Blacks reign supreme?

Join the Otago Daily Times and Rugby News for the Bledisloe Long Lunch at the Dunedin Town Hall on Friday, August 4. MC Paul Ellison and his guests will take you through the history, rivalry, and tall stories of the Bledisloe Cup.

Kick off the momentous weekend of

rugby by rubbing shoulders with former players and other special guests, while enjoying canapes, a two-course lunch, and complimentary drinks.

At the popular VIP Rugby Event in 2022, held on the eve of the All Blacks vs Ireland test, Allison introduced a stellar lineup of speakers, including Grant Fox, Josh Kronfeld, Jaco Peyper, and Stan Meades.

The legendary sports broadcaster was the resident radio rugby commentator at Carisbrook for nearly 20 years. Now

he’s known as the “Voice of Forsyth Barr Stadium”, having called many Highlanders and All Blacks matches from the commentary box. All Blacks centurion Mils Muliaina is officially confirmed as a guest speaker at the Bledisloe Long Lunch with more guests to be announced in the coming weeks.

Raised in the south, the World Cup winning fullback played his hundredth and final international in 2011. He also won a Commonwealth Games gold

LONG LUNCH

All Blacks legend Mils Muliaina is confirmed for this year’s event.

medal with the New Zealand Sevens in 2002.

As well as success on the world stage, Muliaina was part of the Blues side who were 2003 Super Rugby Champions, and he won the ITM Cup with both Auckland and Waikato.

Be entertained by the perspective of Muliaina and other notable guests at the Bledisloe Long Lunch.

• Bledisloe Long Lunch: 11.30am, Friday, August 4. Dunedin Town Hall.

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES AND RUGBY NEWS INVITE YOU TO THE ‘BLEDISLOE LONG LUNCH’.

Australia will invade Dunedin on Saturday, 5 August to take on the mighty All Blacks in the second New Zealand Bledisloe Cup test match of 2023.

Kick off a momentous weekend of rugby with your colleagues, clients or mates. Enjoy canapés, a two course lunch and complimentary drinks, while rubbing shoulders with former players and special guests

MILS MULIAINA & TIM HORAN

Town Hall Dunedin | Friday 4 August, 2023

11.30am-3pm | MC: Paul Allison

THIS IS AN EVENT NOT TO BE MISSED!

To book your table, email events@odt.co.nz, phone (03) 479 3567, or register online at odt.co.nz/Long-Lunch.

WHEN Mariel Wells was 19 she donated a kidney to her sister, an act she describes as an honour.

Opening The Pottery in Port Chalmers, and offering classes and experiences, has given her the same feeling. Having discovered an all consuming passion for ceramics in her 30s, Wells is reveling in sharing her knowledge with others.

“I’m lucky to get to wear this hat,” she says. “I think it has to do with making decisions that come from your heart, rather than money.”

The native of Long Island, New York, had worked in marine insurance for a decade. Having met her Canadian partner Lucas Siegfried in New Zealand, the couple decided to move her as it was easier than staying in North America. Initially living in Wellington, Wells was still working remotely in the Northern Hemisphere, beginning at 3am. Looking around for something to do once she’d finished mid-morning, she found Vincents Art Workshop, a free artspace and gallery.

“I didn’t have the courage to ask about the pottery wheels at the back for about two months,” Wells relates. “I loved it. I taught myself and after a few months I got my own wheel.”

Finding that pottery was what she was supposed to be doing with her life was a bittersweet realisation. But while wishing she’d been introduced to it as a child, Wells does admit that finding it when she was 31 changed the course of her life.

Moving to Port Chalmers and having two children, she found a small studio for her own ceramics work, before moving to another on George St that could accommodate a kiln.

Give it a whirl

It was there Wells started doing ‘Whirl on the Wheel’ sessions, where beginners could get some experience.

When the much larger space across the road became available, she leapt at the opportunity, despite having a six-month-old baby, and a broken ankle.

“These places don’t come up often,” Wells says. “And it’s like it was made for it. Big tall ceilings, lots of light, and it’s warm. This space is awesome for learning in.”

At The Pottery she’s offering the 1.5 hour Whirl on the Wheel introduction, with a demonstration and hands-on experience. Then there is Beginners One, with four 2.5 hour classes, and Beginners Two with six 2.5 hour classes. Attendees are taught basic skills that they can then practice under Wells’ skilled eye.

“Because this is my passion, I have a whole lot of excitement about it,” she says. “I think that gives the student the lift and the drive to keep going forward. And there is a true energy that gets shared between people who come together and do something positive.”

Many of the classes have been booking out. And so in time Wells hopes to expand The Pottery with more classes, more teachers, and to encompass community events, and possibly other artists.

Having departed the lonely nocturnal world of remote working, she’s loving the social aspect of an endeavor that she would ultimately like to become a sort of creative club.

“I wanted to build a community of creatives around me,” Wells says. “Moving to New Zealand, finding pottery, having children, there were all these possibilities that weren’t as easily achievable in America. So I’ll just keep going… I want the lights on every night in here.”

• The Pottery: 34a George St, Port Chalmers. See thepottery.co.nz for more information.

Serendipity led to the opening of The Pottery in Port Chalmers in January this year. The experiences, workshops, and classes on offer are proving popular.

Believing in magic

How I became a… magician, with Dunedin’s Jonathan Usher. By Gill Towle

It was December, 1999. Jonathan Usher, now one of New Zealand’s most highly-skilled magicians, was attending a work Christmas function at the Otago Yacht Club.

One of the guests performed a magic trick repeatedly. Usher was fascinated but became increasingly annoyed as he couldn’t work out how the trick was done.

Magic is a unique performing art, and human beings are driven by a desire to understand things that seem impossible. At the end of the night, Usher asked the guest to show him how the trick was carried out. He agreed and the rest, as they say, is history.

On a subsequent trip to Christchurch, Usher visited a magic shop and bought one of the tricks he’d been shown at the function. He learnt how to do it and then, every time he visited Christchurch, he would go back to the shop and buy another trick or two.

In 2003, a colleague who knew Usher loved magic asked him to perform a show for her children. The audience loved it, and so he placed an advertisement in the Yellow Pages, promoting himself as a magician and comedian. He began receiving more and more bookings, at

birthday parties, school events, and fairs. Word spread and Usher says he was so pleased that people were asking him to perform primarily through word of mouth.

Over the following years, the best exposure he had was at shows such as the Otago A&P Show, the Queenstown Winter Festival, and the Wānaka A&P Show. Events in Melbourne and the surrounding area began to hire him, and Usher has now performed in a variety of Australian states, as well as across Aotearoa New Zealand.

“My show is for every age group and type of audience,” Usher says. “I use comedy alongside magic as I love making people laugh, but it’s also a good form of misdirection. If the audience is laughing, they won’t notice the sleight of hand.”

The Kiwibank Local Hero Awards aim to identify and reward everyday people doing extraordinary things in their local communities. In 2015, Usher received this tribute. He has raised funds for many charities both in New Zealand and overseas.

In 2021 he received New Zealand’s Best Comedy Magician Award, and last year he was presented with the Lou Clauson Top Variety Artist in New Zealand Award, a competitive honour that includes comedians, musicians, and fellow magicians.

Usher is a member of The Magic Circle in London, which has more than 1500 members worldwide including King Charles III and Stephen Fry. Founded in 1905 to promote and advance the art of magic, it is the world’s premier magic society. All members have to abide by the Latin motto ‘Indocilis privata loqui’ or ‘not apt to disclose secrets’. There are few New Zealand members and it is challenging to join and be accepted by The Council of The Magic Circle.

Magic is a unique performing art and Usher has a responsive and adaptive presentation style, being able to perform to large crowds or as a closeup magic show. His clients have included the University of Otago, Deloitte, The Cancer Society, and he has entertained and enthralled audiences at many corporate conferences both here and in Australia.

“For 20 years, magic has given me many opportunities,” Usher reflects. “I’ve been able to travel to wonderful places and meet many amazing people.”

A magician can mystify us; we suspend our disbelief and look at a great illusionist in wonder. These days, it’s nice to believe in a little bit of magic. https://hocuspocus.nz

Preserving the personal

The boutique Augustines of Central recently won an Outstanding New Zealand Food Producer award.

Gus Hayden began by bottling sunshine. His boutique business, Augustines of Central, was established in Wānaka more than 10 years ago, capturing the warm summer flavour of Central Otago’s apricots by preserving them using traditional techniques.

Hayden is personally involved in every step of the preserving process from picking, sourcing his fruit from small, independent growers, to bottling in the time-honoured way.

As he says, all he needs is a knife, a wooden spoon, a pot and an oven. He soon started using other Central fruit such as blackcurrants, black doris plums, peaches, and quinces.

This year Hayden won an award at the Outstanding New Zealand Food Producer Awards for his Blackcurrants in Cassis. The judges loved its versatility and extraordinary flavour and gave the company a Special Award for Outstanding New Product –Boutique Producer.

In previous years, his passion for preserving has paid off with Gold and Silver medals and, in 2021, a Farro Earth Champion Award for Black Doris Plums in Pinot Noir. Hayden took home a Gold medal for this high quality product, as well as for the Apricot and Date Chutney.

He now divides his time between his kitchen in Wānaka and his Peninsula home in Portobello, on his parents’ 20 hectare nature reserve. The farm grows apples, plums, and gooseberries, and they’re currently planting rhubarb crowns that will be split and thus multiply over the years. This truly is a personal, family-run business with Hayden’s partner, parents, and sister

very much involved.

The whānau’s ambition is to open a farm store and eatery on the Peninsula by the Christmas holidays. It will be a must-visit destination for food and nature lovers, offering ever-changing tasting menus by day and trust-the-chef evening dinner events.

The menus will showcase Augustines product range as well as seasonal farm produce. Deciding when to stop sampling and savouring these beautiful products will be the biggest problem for visitors. To walk it all off, guests will be able to take a stroll on tracks around the nature reserve. Here they will see regenerating native bush, and hear the calls of tui and the pīwakawaka fantail.

Whilst waiting for the farm store and kitchen opening, it’s worth visiting the website augustinesofcentral.com to see the wide range of preserves, jams, and chutneys for sale.

A new product will be appearing soonBottled Feijoas in Pinot Gris. There are multi packs such as Gold Medal, Cheese Lovers, or Variety, and all orders are shipped within two business days of being placed. A list of stockists can be found on the site, as well as featured recipes starring the preserves.

Sun-ripened produce is in safe hands, picked and personally bottled by Hayden to preserve the authentic Central Otago flavours. Everything is handmade with care. If your grandparents bottled and preserved, they would surely be impressed with these utterly delicious jars of love.

1. Jock McHare’ taxidermied hare by Kimberley Dodd (aka Secret Squirrel), available from Flora Fauna in Queenstown. 2 & 3. iBride artworks, available from Wrens in Invercargill. 4. Ceramic decorative pears, available from Wrens in Invercargill. 5. Classic standing clock, available from Wrens in Invercargill. 6. Fyne Audio F300 bookshelf speaker pair, available from Relics HiFi in Dunedin. 7. NAD C3050 LE Stereophonic amp, available from Relics HiFi in Dunedin. 8. REGA Planar 2 turntable in walnut, available from Relics HiFi in Dunedin. 9. Vintage leather armchair, available from Wrens in Invercargill. 10. Resene Tropical House Wallpaper Collection 687835, available from your local Resene Colorshop. 11. Queenstown made Black Teal Bay wellness products, available from Flora Fauna in Queenstown. 12. Decorative plants and flowers, available from Wrens in Invercargill.

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Discovery lies in all directions …

While it routinely tours visitors through the solar system from the comfort of reclined, plush seating, it has been put to countless other uses over the years. The most recent diversion is an ongoing documentary series — Exhibition on Screen — which displays the work of artists like Vermeer, Renoir, Munch, and van Gogh in vivid, panoramic projections.

Soon, however, the Planetarium will be returning to its astronomical roots, albeit with a musical twist.

Fifty years ago, Pink Floyd took us to the dark side of the moon, and in celebration of that seminal album, Tūhura Otago Museum will be screening the Aotearoa premiere of an eponymous anniversary show.

For 44 minutes this June, it will be 1973 again, but this time the sound will be surround and complemented by a

The biggest science centre in New Zealand

mixture of space and psychedelic art on a 360˚ screen. It truly will be The Great Gig in the Sky.

If you’ve ever pondered the physics behind Pink Floyd’s instantly recognisable prism emblem, the Museum’s Science Centre can help with that.

It has a section that explores the science of light, not to mention a slide that you may require crampons to reach the top of. There’s no ‘right’ way to experience New Zealand’s largest science centre — you could let pūrākau from te ao Māori guide you from darkness to light to life, or you could simply wander wherever your curiosity takes you. Discovery lies in all directions.

Although, if it’s exotic butterflies you’re after, you’ll have to step into our Tropical Forest, where they live in balmy comfort and winter dares not tread.

Crafting perfection

A taproom is not merely a bar. With brewers showcasing their best efforts, they are a place to engage with the craft of making beer on a deeper level. And with food to complement their liquid offerings, the taprooms listed here are all worthy of some appreciation.

The Taproom

(142 Dee St, Invercargill)

The frontend of Invercargill’s 4Mates Brewery, The Taproom is a classy eatery and craft beer bar. The menu includes small plates as well as meals and desserts, while the drinks list includes a good range of wine and spirits alongside the superb beers.

Whakatipu Brewing

(24 Beach St, Queenstown)

In the centre of town, Whakatipu Brewing is the perfect place to unwind in Queenstown. There’s a hazy pale ale, the Peak pilsner, and Alpine pale ale, alongside a tempting menu that’s a perfect match for the beer.

Altitude Brewing

(827 Frankton Arm Walk, Queenstown)

Located in Frankton, Altitude’s taproom is affectionately known as “our little red shed”. From Wednesday through to

Sunday they serve quality brews, and with food trucks in regular attendance there’s everything you need.

Rhyme X Reason (17 Gordon Rd, Wānaka)

With 14 taps pouring a range of their own unique beers and some guest brews, Rhyme X Reason can be found on an industrial street in Wānaka. There’s also a light snack menu on offer, plus food trucks - and they welcome BYO food.

Olivers

(Sunderland St, Clyde)

The popular Olivers Bar serves tasting trays of the Victoria Store Brewery range, from their compact gravity-fed brewery. As well as the classic pilsner, IPA, golden ale, and porter, there’s excellent local fare on offer.

Speight’s Ale House (200 Rattray St, Dunedin)

Since they opened on the site of the Speight’s brewery

Wooing

in 1999, the Speight’s Ale House has stayed true to their ‘generous to a fault’ ideal. There’s obviously an extensive range of Speight’s and other beverages, while the menu offers something for every occasion.

Emerson’s Brewery (70 Anzac Ave, Dunedin)

Since opening in 2016, the Emerson’s Taproom has been one of the busier spots in Dunedin. The range of beers made on site includes the classics and always something new, and there’s the brilliant menu, with sharing plates, mains, and snacks.

Arc Brewing (Blueskin Bay, Dunedin)

A small batch brewery in a superb location 20 minutes from Dunedin, Arc Brewery has been open since 2019. As well as their taproom favourites, there’s usually something new

on offer. And the regular presence of food trucks only adds to the appeal.

Scotts Brewing Company (1 Wansbeck St, Oamaru)

On the Oamaru waterfront in the historic precinct, Scotts is a busy production brewery, taproom, and eatery. They serve an extensive range of beers, including a pale ale, red ale, lager, porter, and IPA, while the menu includes excellent stonebaked pizzas.

Craftwork Brewery (10 Harbour St, Oamaru)

In the middle of Victorian Oamaru, Craftwork is an idiosyncratic nano-brewery, creating handcrafted Belgian style ales. Their bottle and keg conditioned brews can be sampled in the tasting room, with artisan cheeses, bread, and seasonal specialties.

Otago Southland Owners

Anna & Greg Sinnott

Dunedin

Anna Sinnott – 021 286 6386

anna@a1homesotago.co.nz

Central Otago/ Southland

Trina Affleck – 027 405 3937

trina.affleck@a1homesotago.co.nz

Tree Show Home Coming Soon

A DRIVE TO WIN

As the FIFA Women’s World Cup approaches, Otago’s first Football Fern Alison Grant reflects on a career that included scoring a winning goal against the United States.

AS a talented footballer in the 1970s, Dunedin teenager Alison Grant spent many nights training in the winter mire at Logan Park. It would have been hard to envisage that a stadium just across the road would one day host FIFA Women’s World Cup matches. The women’s game was in its infancy in the 1970s, both here and around the world. But it was in Dunedin that the young Alison Grant honed her game, and dreamed of where it might take her.

Over the following decade Grant played many games for New Zealand. She debuted for the national team at the age of 18, played at three World Invitational Tournaments that precursed the Women’s World Cup, and even captained her country during her career.

Along the way Grant scored 11 times for New Zealand - including the only goal in a famous 1987 victory over the United States. Arguably, it was the goal that inspired the United States to review their game and go on to become the most powerful nation in women’s football.

“You’ve got to be remembered for something,” she laughs.

ALTHOUGH born in Dunedin, Grant began playing football at Ohakea Air Force Base, where her father was a doctor. It was there she played for the local boys’ team, The Ohakea Wanderers.

When her father left the Air Force he

returned to Dunedin and started work as a doctor at Cherry Farm Hospital. Grant briefly played for their women’s team, but it wasn’t long before she was spotted by Alan Wright, a Green Island coach who’d worked professionally in England. Later, she’d play for North End (now Northern), where coach Ron Little helped develop her game. “He just drilled me with short, sharp technical work, developing both sides of the body,” Grant remembers. “And lots of shuttles around the football field. I enjoyed the training and the hard physical fitness that went with it.” While studying Physical Education at the University of Otago, Grant was often seen hitting the ball against the wall at Smithells Gym during the winter months. Running was a strength of hers and she would often run the tracks of Ross Creek and the Dunedin hills, and when time allowed, went tramping. Grant progressed from women’s club football, to representing Otago at South Island and National tournaments, before getting her New Zealand call up in 1979. Back then they were called the NZ Women’s Football Team. History shows that they were a force to be reckoned with on the international stage. On their very first international outing in 1975, the team won the Asian Women’s Championship in Hong Kong. Members of that squad were still around when Grant was first selected, including Barbara Cox, Marilyn Marshall, Debbie Leonidas, and Nora Watkins.

“I was a young kid coming into a New Zealand team full of senior Auckland and Wellington players,” she recalls. “Marilyn Marshall, who was also the New Zealand softball captain and her sister were in the team. You respected those guys, and they didn’t let you muck around. You learnt very quickly to just get on with the job.”

An Achilles tendon injury

prevented Grant from making her international debut in 1979, but in May 1980 she got her first cap, against Australia, in the TransTasman Cup.

That series saw the teams meet three times, drawing 3-3 in Auckland, 1-1 in Wellington, and Australia winning 3-2 in Christchurch. In that final fixture, Alison scored her first international goal.

“They were very tough opposition,” she remembers of the Matildas. “You got to know and respect them as players. They were good players – hard players and technically very good. I also remember them being a rather tall team.”

After that baptism of fire, Grant was a fixture of the New Zealand team until the end of the 1980s.

FOOTBALL was a minority sport in New Zealand until the early 1980s, even though the first men’s international match was in 1922. It was the All Whites’ triumph in qualifying for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain that finally cemented the game in the national psyche. A major boost for football in this country, it brought increased exposure, funding, and sponsorship.

The game’s popularity has fluctuated since, but an Active NZ report in 2018 found 210,000 people participated in the sport. And last year FIFA president Gianni Infantino suggested football could grow to become New Zealand’s number one sport.

Certainly hosting 29 matches - including six in Dunedin - of the FIFA Women’s World Cup through July and August this year will benefit the game here. The tournament is the biggest women’s sporting event on the planet.

“It is a massive game overseas, and perhaps some Kiwis don’t realise that,” Grant says. “Women’s football has a huge following, and people travel the world to support it.”

JUST one year after her international debut, Grant was captain for a number of games at the 1981 Women’s World Invitational Tournament in Taiwan.

Pre-empting the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991, the invitationals were organised every three years by the Chinese Taipei Football Association. There were ostentatious opening ceremonies, and crowds of up to 35,000 when the home nation played.

Grant says they were always a great experience for the New Zealand players, even in the stifling heat of Taipei.

In the 1981 edition, they played teams from Switzerland, West Germany,

Norway, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Finland, and Thailand. Winning five of their seven matches, drawing one, and only losing to the West German selection saw New Zealand place second of the 14 teams. “When you come from a small place at the bottom of the world, you’re pretty proud of yourself to achieve at that level,” Grant says. “Some of our more senior players had been together for a while. This experience and having a no-nonsense approach as a team all helped us achieve back then. The game is different now, as we didn’t travel all over the world to play other countries like the teams do now, it just didn’t happen.”

New Zealand returned to the Women’s World Invitational

Tournament in both 1984 and 1987.

In 1984 they came fourth, beating Australia 3-0 in the process. And in 1987, with a new generation of New Zealand players emerging, they again came fourth, beating Australia, Canada, and most astoundingly, the United States.

The latter remains perhaps the biggest scalp the team now known as the Football Ferns has ever claimed.

THE UNITED States is now the most successful side in women’s football, but in 1987 they were relatively inexperienced.

While the team included later stars Mia Hamm, Michelle Akers, and Kristine Lilly, the US had only debuted on the international stage in 1985. The following year at the Mundialito invitational tournament in Italy, they’d beaten Brazil, China, and Japan to finish as runner-up to the hosts.

In Taipei during December 1987, the New Zealand team wasn’t overawed by the larger nation.

“You just went out and played,” captain Barbara Cox has noted. “It wasn’t ‘oh, it’s the US, it’s going to be scary’. That attitude stood us in good stead.”

The side also included Cox’s daughter Michele, Leslie King (who played softball for both the US and New Zealand), and Grant’s Otago teammate Vivienne Robertson.

They were a well drilled side, coached by New Zealand women’s football pioneer Roy Cox (Barbara’s husband), assisted by the 1982 All Whites head coach John Adshead.

Grant says that the New Zealand side had played together for a long time, and worked hard for each other.

“We had players who had a lot of knowledge, and we had a drive to win, like anyone,” she reflects. “The Americans were fast, and they certainly had some really classy players. But at the end of the day we won the game. We walked away with a smile on our face - and they certainly didn’t.”

Although she scored the only goal in the hard-fought encounter, Grant only has a vague memory of the moment.

It was in the 50th minute of the match when New Zealand launched a counterattack. Grant’s clearance found her fellow midfielder Julia Campbell, who swung in a perfect cross from the right.

Grant had somehow traversed the length of the

pitch and managed to head the ball past US goalkeeper Amy Allman. “I was lucky, I was there at the right time,” she says. “That was probably a strength of mine; my fitness, my ability to read the game, and finding gaps. It worked on that occasion and I think we just hung on for dear life because we were all shattered by that point.”

THE DEFEAT resonated through the US Soccer Federation, prompting an overhaul of their women’s programme. “They launched into a big review, and that is what changed US Soccer,” Michele Cox has said.

The North Americans have since won the FIFA Women’s World Cup four times, including the first edition of the competition in 1991.

FIFA had been forced by the success of the tournaments in Taipei to explore their own international women’s competition.

In 1988 they staged the FIFA Women’s Invitation Tournament in China, with 12 countries taking part. New Zealand wasn’t present, with the Oceania spot taken by Australia.

Three years later, China was again the host for the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup. Grant had already retired from the sport by then.

“At some point I just had to make a call and I pulled the pin,” she says. “I was asked to go to the first World Cup, but at that point I’d already made the decision. I was a young teacher and I was finding it hard to do justice to both football and teaching.”

Even when she graduated from the University of Otago in 1984, Grant had thought it would be her final year playing at the top level.

As well as wanting to do other things, in an Otago Daily Times story that year she’d bemoaned the lack of exposure women’s football had in New Zealand.

“Sometimes it is very disconcerting,” the then 23-year-old said. “Women take their sport very professionally and many soccer players are just as good if not better than many guys.”

But after moving to the North Island and having a break from the game, Grant refocused on football as she began a teaching career.

While working, she continued to play for Waikato and New Zealand for a number of years, ending up with almost 40 caps.

Much later, when teaching at Lincoln High School in Christchurch in the early 2000s, Grant became involved in coaching football at a regional level, coaching the Mainland senior women’s squad for a number of years. This progressed to New Zealand teams, and as assistant coach she went to the U20 Women’s World Cups in 2006, 2008, and 2010, under the tutelage of both John Herdman and Tony Readings.

Having coached at that level, Grant remains hopeful about the Football Ferns’ prospects at this year’s World Cup, even though their recent form has been poor.

“They’re still building and getting themselves ready,” she says. “Hopefully over the next couple of months they’ll do what they can and get to another level. But this is a World Cup and teams come to win. No World Cup game is easy.”

GRANT WILL be at New Zealand’s first World Cup match against Norway in Auckland on July 20.

Now living in Mapua, she teaches Physical Education at Motueka High School. A keen mountain biker, she has so far refused to embrace the e-bike phenomenon.

The development of women’s football has come a long way since the 1970s. From kicking a football around at Logan Park, Grant showed that reaching the pinnacle of a sport is achievable through hard work and dedication.

“If you look at what has happened in women’s sport over the years, there has been huge progress,” she says.

“Women’s football is no different. The professional era has opened the door for many players to travel and play around the world. It’s an exciting time for players and those seeking careers in the sport.

“The opportunities are there, and I think it’s wonderful that Dunedin has got this opportunity to host games of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.”

TAKING ON THE CHALLENGE

A local footballer is hoping to play for New Zealand at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in 2024.

Many young local footballers are looking forward to watching world class games at the FIFA Women’s World Cup this winter.

But one of them is also looking forward to the possibility of attending a World Cup as a player.

For 17-year-old winger Georgia Kennedy that prospect is very much on the cards, as she’s involved in the New Zealand Women’s Under-20 programme.

She plays for the Dunedin City Royals in the ODT Women’s Southern Premiership, and has also appeared for Southern United in the Women’s National League.

But the Year 13 student at Trinity Catholic College has had to fight her way back from a serious injury to still be in the frame to go to next year’s FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.

Having been part of the training squad for the New Zealand U17s in 2021, Kennedy badly tore the anterior

FIFA Women’s World Cup matches in Dunedin

The FIFA Women’s World Cup is the biggest women’s sporting event in the world- and this year it’s being co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia. Dunedin will be hosting six matches during July and August this year, and the Swiss team will be making the city their base camp during the tournament.

cruciate ligament in her knee. That destroyed the possibility of attending the U17 Women’s World Cup in 2022. It was a tough time for the footballer, but by focusing on her football goals Kennedy is well on the road to recovery.

“My overall life goal is to play for the Wellington Phoenix,” she says. “It sounded like a challenge, and you just never give up with a challenge; you take it on.”

Assistance from coaches and sports psychologists locally and at national level has helped hugely with the recovery. Now playing again, Kennedy’s match fitness is gradually improving. And in recent months she’s been selected for a New Zealand U20 training camp in Auckland, and an ID match in Christchurch.

Kennedy began playing football for Mornington as a child, and loved it from the outset. That passion, and seeing a possible career in the sport, helped get her through the injury.

Philippines v Switzerland

5pm, Friday, July 21

This will be the Philippines first appearance at a FIFA Women’s World Cup, and they’ll certainly have a torrid time against the well drilled Swiss.

Netherlands v Portugal

7.30pm, Sunday, July 23

Other than the Ferns, this game will generate the most interest. The Dutch were runners-up to the US in 2019, while Portugal are making their World Cup debut.

Japan v Costa Rica

5pm, Wednesday, July 26

Japan have played at every FIFA Women’s World Cup since it began in 1991, and were champions in 2011. Costa Rica are making just their second appearance.

“My ultimate goal is to play for the Phoenix, or any A League team,” she says. “And just get better, always. I just love being with the people and in that environment, that’s a big thing. But putting the boots on is another thing.” Kennedy credits various people for helping her, including Dunedin’s Graeme Smaill, New Zealand U20 coach Leon Birnie, and Football Fern Annalie Longo. But iconic United States women’s striker Alex Morgan is her biggest inspiration.

When New Zealand played the US in Wellington during January this year, Kennedy was in the crowd, and tried to get Morgan’s shirt. While that wasn’t successful, she did get a photo with the star, and forward Lynn Williams’ top instead.

With the FIFA Women’s World Cup coming to town, Kennedy will be attending as many matches as possible. “It’s amazing, it’s so cool,” she says. “I’m still trying to convince dad to go to the final in Sydney!”

Argentina v South Africa

12 noon, Friday, July 28

With youth and experience, the Argentines will entertain with typical South American flair. The South Africans are appearing at their second World Cup after debuting four years ago.

New Zealand v Switzerland

7pm, Sunday, July 30

The big one for local fans. Before a home crowd the Football Ferns, led by the experienced Ali Riley, will be hunting for glory against the higher ranked Swiss.

Vietnam v Netherlands

7pm, Tuesday, August 1

Vietnam will struggle against the Oranje. It’s their first World Cup outing while the Dutch, led by the hugely experienced Sherida Spitse, are looking to back up their 2019 success.

AN UNCHARTED WORLD

Overshadowed by the more popular flora and fauna, fungi is “the third F” that is relatively unexplored.

Liv Sisson’s new book Fungi of Aotearoa is the perfect introduction to this fascinating hidden world.

LIV SISSON first became captivated by the amazing world of fungi while tramping in terrible weather on Rakiura/Stewart Island.

In the introduction to her new book Fungi of Aotearoa she describes being “struck by lichening” while trudging through the rain.

As she explains, the Canadian naturalist Trevor Goward has previously described the “lichening rod effect”. That’s the moment when an individual’s eyes are opened to the hidden universe of fungi and its vast array of colours, textures, and shapes.

“There are so many unique greens in the lichen down there, and so many stunning textures,” Sisson marvels. “Some are almost skeletal, some have big craters in them, some have raised polka dots. There’s no shortage of colour or texture or variety.”

Raised in the US state of Virginia in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the author says she’d been curious about the natural world since she was young.

But while the realms of flora and fauna are generally conspicuous, the “third F word” of fungi flies under the radar.

Because it’s so complex and ever evolving, the world of fungi has proven too vast to document, with only about 6% of it having been formally described by science.

Even pioneering Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, who died in 1778, wrote that the taxonomy of fungi was “chaos… a scandal of art”.

“Flora and fauna rolls off the tongue,” Sisson says. “But we don’t often say the third F. Sometimes they are hard to spot, and they’re not right in your face like a big tree. The kingdom is still largely unknown to us.”

After her revelatory moment on Rakiura, Sisson indulged her curiosity and began informally researching fungi back in the US.

Then having moved to Christchurch, her curiosity was piqued further when she began foraging in the Red Zone,

including for porcini mushrooms. Due to her wealth of fungi knowledge, a friend who’d worked in the media suggested Sisson should write a book on the topic.

Although there were already some specific field guides about the fungi of Aotearoa New Zealand, there was nothing for a more general readership.

“It’s for the budding enthusiast, and maybe for the future experts,” Sisson describes. “The way I thought about it was taking the reader by the hand and taking them on a journey. And turning the first couple of stones for them, but giving them the lens and excitement to go turn the next 50.” Fungi of Aotearoa certainly fulfills that brief. Over its 300-plus pages it explains what fungi are, how to find and identify them, how to forage, edible fungi, and of course there’s an extensive guide to over 130 species. As well as being entertaining and engaging, the book is visually stunning thanks to the photography of

Paula Vigus.

While it’s more of an introduction than a definitive text, Sisson says even academics have engaged with the book through the stunning images. As well as Vigus, she worked with various local mycology experts to help shape the book, including Shirley Kerr, Jerry Cooper, Peter Buchanan, and Peter Langlands.

It’s estimated there are between 2.2 and 3.8 million fungi species on the planet, with new examples constantly being discovered.

And our understanding of how fungi function is also evolving, with a lot of current research being done into how mycelial networks transfer information and even resources.

“The more we learn, the more sophisticated and thinking they seem to be, even though they’re technically not thinking,” Sisson relates. “The more we observe them, the more we’ll learn. It seems like we’re only at the tip of the iceberg.”

Sisson hopes that Fungi of Aotearoa will compel readers to go for a wander and find “a little bit of magic” along the way. “Whether it’s just on your normal walk to work, or through a beautiful pristine bush setting,” she says. “There’s always a lot of excitement to get to a big peak, and I love doing that. But often the wonder and awe you can find in your everyday is a lot more accessible.”

It’s the ephemeral emotions of wonder and awe that Sisson is pondering for a further book project.

But another idea she has was inspired by foraging in Christchurch’s Red Zone. The lonely rogue potatoes she’d often find have become a fixture on her Instagram page.

“People around the world will now randomly send me potatoes that they’ve seen,” she relates. “So I think maybe a coffee table book about food in places it shouldn’t be with short stories about how it got there might be really funny.”

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HALFWAY TO NOWHERE

It was 30 years ago that The Bats toured the Northern Hemisphere as part of the Noisyland showcase, before sharing stages across the United States with Radiohead.

RADIOHEAD were blowing up on MTV in America when The Bats shared a bill with them in 1993.

The New Zealand band had an uncomfortable wait to find out if they were even on the tour, but ended up playing 14 dates in the US with the now massive English act.

The Bats’ bassist Paul Kean recalls they’d been invited to tour with Rhode Island band Belly, before Radiohead was also invited.

“We hadn’t heard of Radiohead, but they were getting quite a lot of attention,” he says. “Belly had invited them to play before they got famous, and now Radiohead wanted to dictate who the opening act was.”

Those shows with Belly and Radiohead were the postscript to The Bats’ most hectic period of overseas activity.

As well as recording the 1993 Silverbeet album in the US, the Christchurch-viaDunedin band had been touring widely. That included the Noisyland showcase with fellow kiwis Straitjacket Fits and the JPS Experience that traversed the US, UK, and Europe in the middle of 1993.

Noisyland proved a mixed experience for the bands. Both Straitjacket Fits and the JPS Experience called it quits after the tour, while The Bats greatly reduced their activity.

JPS Experience’s Dave Yetton has said the tour was an eye-opener for all three bands.

“It left all of us feeling jaded,” he said. “We were still on the dole, and yet there were big write-ups about the success of Noisyland. It was so out of whack with the reality of the situation.”

NOISYLAND emerged after all three bands made inroads in the Northern Hemisphere. Dunedin’s Straitjacket Fits had signed to the huge Arista label, and Christchurch’s JPS Experience had released music in both Europe and the US. The Bats were signed to influential North Carolina label Mammoth Records, and had recorded Silverbeet in Massachusetts during a period of solid international touring.

Finance for Noisyland came from Arista, Mushroom Records in Australia, and the last of the funds from the Music New Zealand government initiative in New Zealand.

In his 2016 autobiography In Love With These Times, Flying Nun Records founder Roger Shepherd wrote that the label put forward a successful proposal for the tour. “Generating some activity in overseas

haunt, remembered for shows by Bob Marley and the Wailers, Neil Young, and Guns N’ Roses.

“You’re in the heart of it there,” Kean says. “That was a good gig, but it felt very much industry. We’d rather connect with the fans than the industry people to be honest.”

The only other West Coast show was at musician Boz Scaggs’ own San Francisco venue Slim’s. It was a much better show for the New Zealand bands in front of an adoring crowd of 600.

THE US leg of Noisyland saw them play 19 dates, mostly on the East Coast, but also taking in the Midwest’s Chicago and Detroit. There were shows in Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston, as well as another industry showcase in New York. On July 24 they performed at Manhattan’s Irving Plaza on the final night of the prestigious New Music Seminar. The Noisyland show gained a prominent review in The New York Times, with critic Jon Pareles writing that the bands had “filled Irving Plaza with earnest pop sentiments and bristling, enveloping guitar noise”. Although the review divided the plaudits evenly, the tour had exposed some challenging dynamics.

Initially Straitjacket Fits were the headliner due to Arista’s financial involvement. As the excursion continued, The Bats were promoted to top billing.

territories would theoretically help some or all of the bands take the next step towards international success,” he noted.

Before the US tour began in mid-July 1993, the three bands played an Australian entree under the ‘Beyond the Jangle’ banner. After several dates there, they flew to Los Angeles for the first Noisyland show - an industry showcase at the Roxy Theatre on West Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard.

In the shadow of the iconic Capitol Records Building, the Roxy is a notorious music

But The Bats’ songwriter Robert Scott says there was no animosity between the bands. “We had a slightly bigger fanbase in America, so in quite a few places we ended up going on last,” he says. “We’d toured the States more and we’d built up a really good crowd.”

“Originally we were in the middle,” Kean says. “And people would leave after we played. And then when we played last, unfortunately people weren’t coming in until we played in some instances.”

FOLLOWING the US dates, the bands flew

across the Atlantic to London for several shows in England.

There they received more positive press, with a double-page feature in the popular music weekly Melody Maker.

It was in England and then Europe that the bands had their first taste of tour bus life. Tour buses are supposed to make existence on the road relatively comfortable for bands, with a lounge area and bunks.

However, the bunks were cramped, and cabin fever could soon set in when people were cohabitating for long periods, according to Straitjacket Fits’ frontman Shayne Carter. “My main memory is of churning through Europe in the middle of winter and everyone was sick,” he said. “Hunkered in those coffin-like bunks in the bus with everyone snuffling around you, that was the beginning of the end for me.”

For Robert Scott it was a more enjoyable experience. He and then-partner Rowan Carroll had three-year-old daughter Brydie with them, while Kean and Kaye Woodward (also in The

Bats) had four-year-old Rose. The two young children were mostly looked after by Carroll during soundchecks and when the bands were playing.

The Bats’ tour bus was therefore the quieter, family friendly option, while Straitjacket Fits and JPS Experience had the party bus.

“When you get the tour bus, it comes fully loaded with a fridge of beer,” Scott remembers. “That was all gone by the time we left England; the driver said it was the first time he’d ever seen that. I’d go between the two buses depending on how much sleep I wanted.”

WITH the other two bands remaining in Europe for further touring, The Bats returned to the United States.

After the video for their single Courage appeared on MTV, they’d received the invitation to tour with Belly. The quartet was led by Tanya Donnelly, who’d been a co-founder of legendary alternative rock bands Throwing Muses and The Breeders.

Meanwhile, Radiohead’s star had been on the rise due to the single Creep from their Pablo Honey album climbing both the UK and US charts. The Bats happily stayed at Mammoth Records’ boss Jay Faire’s house in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, waiting for word of their inclusion on the Belly and Radiohead tour.

Once that was received, they joined the tour for 14 shows starting in Texas, and taking in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and up the East Coast to crowds of 1000-1500.

“I felt a bit sorry for Belly, as it was originally their tour,” Kean remembers. “But having Radiohead drew an earlier crowd, so we always had a good crowd to play to. It was a real buzz.”

Soon Radiohead had eclipsed Belly as the headline act, with a polished set including Creep, subsequent single Anyone Can Play Guitar, and an embryonic version of The Bends.

Having the opportunity to watch the nascent band every night when they were beginning to break was an eye-opening experience for Scott.

“They were completely on fire and their playing was fantastic,” he says. “When they hit the first chord for Creep, it just went nuts. It was really good being on the side of the stage and watching them play.”

The Bats were initially only supposed to be on the tour for a handful of shows. Flights had to be changed when they were invited to stay on for more, but when a further extension was suggested the band decided to return home to New Zealand.

FLYING back into Momona after being in the maelstrom of the international music industry could be a shock to the system, Scott reflects.

“You can always smell the silage out on the Taieri,” he laughs. “That’s what I remember coming back every time. It seems very slow and sleepy, but that wears off after a couple of days. Dunedin’s definitely a good place to come back to and ground

yourself.”

While their fellow Noisyland travellers split after their experience on the tour, The Bats have continued in a more subdued manner since. The band celebrated their 40th anniversary last year. They look back on that time 30 years ago with fondness.

“It was a bit of a peak in our career,” Kean says. “It was good times, but I always feel like we nearly made it. But in some ways looking back on it, thank god we didn’t make it too big. There’s a weird thing that happens to people who get too well known.”

The tour also clearly had a lasting impact on both of the infants travelling with The Bats in 1993. Three decades later, Brydie Scott is a member of London band Superorganism , while Rose Kean works as a tour manager in Australia.

Sticks and Stones

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Rolling Stones’ first record, Rip It Up’s George Kay recalls 1988 phone interviews with Jagger and Richards when times-were-adisintegrating.

May 1963, five young blues fans from West London, and their manager, one Andrew Loog Oldham, descend on Olympic Sound Studios.

Three hours later they emerge with a cover of Chuck Berry’s Come On and on the flipside, a version of Muddy Waters’ I Want to Be Loved. A new day rising.

1988, and Rip It Up has scored one of only five international interviews with Keith Richards to herald the arrival of his first solo album, Talk Is Cheap.

“Auckland, Wellington, or Dunedin?” he slurs down the phone from the Hotel Halcyon in London.

“Dunedin,” I reply.

“The arsehole of the world”, he chuckles. No, Keith, I felt like saying, you’re confused, that was your description of Invercargill when the Stones toured in the ‘60s. But I let it slide.

He’s in good humour, justifiably upbeat about his first solo album with its lean and funky vibe and trademark Keef guitar chops. Its critical success a contrast to the lukewarm response that had greeted Mick’s two dull, eclectic solo albums, She’s the Boss (“the title says it all,” Keith quips), and Primitive Cool.

In fact, Keith was so disparaging of Jagger’s

solo efforts that in his autobiography, Life, he labelled Mick’s third album, Goddess in the Doorway, as ‘Dogshit in the Doorway’. Reports that the Stones were hardly a harmonious band of bruvvers surfaced at the start of the ‘80s. A rift had developed between Jagger and the rest of the band as he saw himself as Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, his backing band. He had developed into an egotistical control freak, nicknamed ‘Her Majesty’ and ‘Brenda’ by Keith, “because she works in a very imperial way and also in a very impetuous and feminine way and that’s why I call him Brenda”, he laughs.

At the time of this chat with Keith, Mick is actually touring Australia with his band.

“I have a lot of sympathy for him because he’s gonna be there playing Stones’ songs, my songs like Brown Sugar and Jumpin’ Jack Flash with his phoney band and that’s kinda pathetic, that makes me sick. If you’re gonna go solo, go solo, don’t live off a band or break it up and live off their music. That’s not kosher. You can tell him that when you see him.”

Fortunately, living in Dunedin I don’t see Mick too often, but two weeks after Keith’s chat, Rip It Up is granted an exclusive phone conversation with a reluctant Mr. Jagger who is in Sydney, scheduled

to play Auckland the following month. He wants to talk about his band and Primitive Cool and I want to talk about Keith and that other band. This could end in tears.

Small talk about how Joe Satriani has fitted into his band and the nature of Japanese audiences before I mention that I talked to Keith a couple of weeks ago and he has been giving you a lot of grief in the press recently.

“I’m not interested in his problems,” Jagger snaps.

He’s disappointed you’re playing his songs on your solo tour.

“I don’t want to talk about Keith.”

He said the Stones may be getting back together. You’re in favour?

“Yeah, if everyone’s getting on. I don’t wanna tour if everyone’s fighting. It’s pointless.”

A fair point. Keith has a very low opinion of your solo albums, what do you think of his?

“I don’t want to talk about Keith, and if you do we might as well end the interview. See ya, I’ve gotta go now, thank you very much.”

Click. Thank you, Mick.

The postscript has to go to Keith and his account in Life of the Glimmer Twins reconciling in Barbados in January 1989.

“Mick and I may not be friends, too much wear and tear for that. But we’re the closest of brothers and that can’t be severed.”

HOW YA GOING?

Gabrielle Emery has been around the world since graduating in Law at the University of Otago. Having completed a Masters of Law in Ireland, she worked in India, London, and New York, and for the Red Cross in the Asia Pacific region. Now she lives in Fiji, working as the Head of the Pacific Subregion for the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

I Was There: All Blacks vs Lions

An epic tour by any standards, the British Lions 1983 New Zealand visit took in 18 matches, including four tests.

The third of these, a 15-8 All Blacks win, took place at Carisbrook on July 2. As well as settling the series in New Zealand’s favour, the occasion was the sporting peak for the Hon Grant Robertson.

Now the Minister of Finance, Robertson was an 11-year-old ball boy for the big test, with friend Tony Ballantyne. Several years ago he related the story on The Spinoff.

“The game itself is a bit of a blur. I know early in the first half Lions first five Ollie Campbell put the ball into touch and I was in a position to

So, how are you going?

Doin’ pretty well – fighting off the jet lag but thankful for coffee.

Where are you and how’s the weather?

Normally based in Suva, Fiji, but this week in New York City. Apparently a nice balmy day but I am stuck in the windowless basement negotiating room of the UN Building so can’t testify to that fact.

What’s been keeping you busy recently? The United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting of the Midterm Review of the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. This is the reason I am in New York this week. We have a number

of Pacific delegations here with me advocating strongly to advance disaster and climate action and financing for Pacific Island countries.

When you have visitors, where do you take them?

Surprisingly Suva doesn’t have any beaches in town - so we normally take visitors along the Coral Coast to some of the nearby beaches. But there are some lovely waterfalls and forest walks in Suva, Colo i Suva , which is a must do when in Suva.

What do you miss about New Zealand?

My family, a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, and the ease of getting things done.

catch it on the full. A minor misjudgement, and the ball landed in a small lake that had appeared on the Terrace side of the ground. What followed remains the biggest crowd cheer I have ever received – in sport or in politics.

“The match is probably best remembered for Stu Wilson claiming the New Zealand record for most test tries. In the grainy footage you can see Tony and I loving being as close as we could get to the action. Looking like two bedraggled ewoks, we had the best seat in the house as one of our heroes burst through to score.”

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WHAT WE DO

Located next to the mighty Mataura River halfway between Kingston and Lumsden, Athol is a quiet town of less than 100 people.

While gold played a small part in its early history, farming has always been the main industry in the area and in more recent times tourism has developed in the form of trout fishing, and the Around the Mountains Cycle Trail.

But in 1910, the town was briefly home to a man who later became one of New Zealand’s most prominent politicians during the Depression era. Born near Winton in 1880, Adam Hamilton was training to become a

One thing about…

ATHOL

Presbyterian minister in Dunedin when he came to Athol as a home missionary in 1910. Upon graduation in 1912, he decided that was not the life for him. Entering politics, Hamilton became MP for Southland’s Wallace seat as a Reform Party candidate, later holding various ministerial positions.

As Minister of Labour from 19311935, he was criticised for the country’s high unemployment during the Great Depression.

But in 1936, when the Reform and United parties merged to become National, Hamilton became the nascent party’s first leader.

QUIZTIME

1. In 1996, Danyon Loader won the 200m freestyle Olympic gold. What event was his other gold medal in?

2. Which Dunedin band’s 1977 album Stuffed reached number 23 in the Australian charts?

3. Invercargill born journalist Peter Arnett won a 1966 Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on what?

4. Which Dunedin label was part of the New Zealand Four to show at London Fashion Week in 1999?

5. Which southern New Zealand city did the Beach Boys and Roy Orbison play in 1964?

6. In 2017, which American celebrity shared images of Central Otago to their 8.3 million Instagram followers?

7. A memorial to who can be found at Waitohi in South Canterbury?

8. Where did TV3 news reader Samantha Hayes grow up?

Viewed largely as a default option for the leadership due to infighting between the more influential George Forbes and Gordon Coates, he nevertheless led the opposition for four years.

Despite a resounding loss in the 1938 election, Hamilton clung to the reins as World War 2 kicked off.

Serving on Labour’s War Cabinet weakened his position as leader, and he was replaced by Sidney Holland in November 1940.

Hamilton remained as MP for Wallace until 1946. He died in Invercargill in 1952.

5 TRUTHS IN 5 WORDS

• Everyone gets everything he wants. (Willard, Apocalypse Now).

• Fear’s stupid. So are regrets. (Marilyn Monroe).

• We’re a virus with shoes. (Bill Hicks).

• One fails forward towards success. (Charles Kettering).

• Confine yourself to the present. (Marcus Aurelius)

9. Jill Tremain and which other NZ explorer did the first full traverse of the Southern Alps in 1971?

10. Opening in 1947, which was the first commercial ski field in Central Otago?

Answers: 1. 400m freestyle; 2. Mother Goose; 3. The Vietnam War; 4. NOM*d; 5. Invercargill. They

OAMARU

Blue Penguin Colony. Voucher valid to 15 May 2024. 4) 2 x adult tickets to SteampunkHQ. 5) 2 x adult tickets for a Whitestone Cheese Factory Tour. Prizes cannot be redeemed for cash or other products or otherwise exchanged. Prizes are not transferable for cash, no refunds. Entries close at midnight Saturday, 10 June, 2023. Winner will be contacted by phone Wednesday, 14th June, 2023. Winner's name will be published in ODT Saturday, 17th June 2023. This competition is not available in conjunction with any other offers or deals. If for any reason the winner is unable to redeem the prizes as offered, Allied Press reserves the right to redraw. By entering this competition you consent to be contacted by Allied Press for marketing and promotional purposes, and for your images to be used for promotional purposes. Entries are subject to the scrutiny of the promoter and any entries deemed invalid will be removed.

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