THE CENTRE OF NEW ZEALAND

Note: This being the approximate halfway point of our time in New Zealand, Alex’ sidekick and unofficial photographer decided to take a little walkabout (as they say on the West Island) and visit Nelson, the earliest colonial settlement on the South Island. He humbly offers the following guest posting.

p.s.: In Mozilla and some other browsers, to see a larger version of a photo, double click on it.

Nelson is full of history. Tasman, D’Urville, and Cook sailed the nearby waters. The city was founded in 1841 by Arthur Wakefield, the most respected member of the tarnished Wakefield family, and was home to the first Anglican bishop and the first Quaker Meeting House.


Above all, Nelson is the Centre of New Zealand, and the Centre is accessible by means of a short hike. The hike begins at the footbridge over the Maitai River at the end of Hardy Street, and the sign points to a playing ground in front of a large hill.


At the start of the “zigzag” up the hill, however, we learn that the centre is not really the actual centre, so the hike becomes instead a search for the psychic centre of the country. And the preliminary clue to this centre is right there on the same sign, pointing out that the first Rugby game in New Zealand was played on that very field. (see texts in footnotes below)

As we continue upward on the path, there is another clue, in the form of what appears to be a large wooden phallus. Why there is such emphasis on sports and masculinity in this society I wouldn’t venture to say.

It may have something to do with memories of the Empire, and Gallipoli, and ANZAC Day. These memories are revered by almost everyone.











After a further fifteen minute hike I reached the top, where there are survey markers and a sculpture. In the distance are more signs of New Zealand. The Cathedral, which was meant to have a peaked roof but for some reason has a flat one. The hilltop site of a former fortified Maori Pa, which did the inhabitants little good when Maori from the North Island, after obtaining muskets from the early European whalers and missionaries, came south and dispersed them.


Below the former Pa is the modernist and ugly Town Hall, with its clock tower. And in a different direction, sheep and logs.


In the distance is Abel Tasman National Park, the sort of place the foreign tourist associates with the true New Zealand. The day before, it was too rainy to hike, so I had taken a boat trip up the coast. One island, Adele, has by continued trapping and poison been made predator-free and has become a haven for birds. (The predators were all introduced pests, not native.) The boat turned off its engines for several minutes so we could listen to the birdsong.








Turning my attention back to the sculpture at the Centre of New Zealand, I notice that the heavenward-pointing lance has a bumper sticker on it. Is it true? Especially in secular New Zealand? As the Tui Beer commercials always say, “yeah… (snicker snicker), right!”






Like Split Apple Rock at Abel Tasman Park, New Zealand and most other countries are divided, formed from land stolen often more than once.





When you get deep enough into it you see the contradictions and the dark side.
In 1843, Arthur Wakefield and several others, including a Quaker surveyor, were killed by Maori in the Wairau District in a still-controversial land dispute. The outsider hesitates to make any judgments, since on the surface this is a successfully bicultural country, but old wounds, misunderstandings, bigotry and political correctness still seem to hover over most attempts at Maori/Pakeha resolution. While waiting for some future secular National Epiphany to occur on that hill at the sort-of-Centre of New Zealand, I will continue to work on my Kiwiana collection.















































(Text of Marker -- "The top of Botanical Hill is reached by a moderately easy track, commonly referred to as the 'Zigzag', winding up the southwest face. The monument at the top designates the geographical centre of New Zealand. It is suggested that the actual Geocentre is in the Spooner Range, about 55 kilometres southwest of here. Botanical Hill's claim probably arose from the fact that the trig station on the hill was the first survey point allotted in the South Island and the first surveys radiated out from this point. The plain table at the summit illustrates this point.")


(Re: First Game of Rugby: "Charles Monro was born at Waimea West on the 5th of April 1851 and entered Nelson College in 1861 where he remained until 1865. In 1867 he set out for England with the intention of entering the Army. In preparation for this he attended Christ's College in London where he learnt the game of rugby. Returning to New Zealand, he brought the game with him and is considered the founder of rugby in New Zealand.")