Invercargill Hauroko Water Pipeline Revisited

Posted 25th April 2017 to the Southland Express Newspaper Invercargill NZ

In the news it seems Haast is going to put in a water export pipeline.

But what happened to Tim Shadbolt’s Hauroko Pipeline to Bluff ?  Did Southland miss the boat pun on this.

At least Southland has a PORT to service boats .

Smart money in the USA is looking at fresh water as the next Crude oil, hard on the heals of a report that
lead is tainting most of America’s civic water supplies.

Forget boats, our forward planners are all to busy going round and round the mountain looking for pushbikes :-)

The Fate of Invercargill - Future Shocks

Posted 17th July 2016 to the Southland Express Newspaper Invercargill NZ.

Dear Southland Express,
It is topical now that Invercargill has got a real problem with it’s future
Ask the Boys at GNS and Climate Scientists and they agree that The City is simply built in the wrong place.

It is sad to say there is No financial model that says it is feasible to get it up to scratch for what lies in store.

Perhaps it might be prudent to start on a totally New CBD in another location  and leave the Historic Town Centre alone
Much like the did in Oamaru.

One Great Enclosed Shopping Mall  somewhere inland would fit the needs of the 21st century better than trying to shoe-horn it into the
Context of the 19th ?

Climate Change and Subduction Zones are real albeit future problems, but that being said it is not the 19th Century anymore, we don’t need to live by the waters edge
If we need to ship goods and people. 

Court of Public Oppinion - Southland Times

Posted 9th July 2015 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ   by A. Nicholson

The Court of Public Opinion is a funny old institution as our learned council for the defense J Murrell of Manapouri has pointed out this week.
Ever since the Southland Times got rid of non-deplumes we writers have had to sign our Literary persona's with their creators names, which gets
kind of confusing  especially in small town Southland where people all know each other, Messages can get a little muddled.

Despite all this it’s all good for society to question and debate... a luxury fewer paid Journalists have these days.
If you want to join properly you need the skills of a scriptwriter a good imagination and a network of contacts and... you get to do it all for free :-)

Today you don’t even have waste classic diversionary debate material either... I give it all to a Non deplume blog spot :)

 

Spiritual Fascists of Invercargill

Posted 13 Jan 2015 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill by A.E.Nicholson

Sir:
I don’t really want to be conversing with Spirtual Facists at this point considering what has happened in Paris
but if any one wants to know about Richard Dawkins you can find his Material in Bookshops
And on line, I suggest that the Aussie CJ Wherelman’s Books are also enlightening for those people fascinated with
Bible Stuff from a more local perspective. Due to editorial limits I can not explain the views of these writers in a small Public Opinion
Window.

And  BTW I don’t need to have the answers to EVERYTHING as I don’t think it is a constructive use of my time. I do like to observe life and on occasion, share my thoughts.

New Zealand: Stonehenge Awarua, Southenge. Aotearoa.

Before Anyone thought of Building a Plywood Stonehenge near Masterton NZ
there was a plan in Southland at the very bottom of the South Island to build a perfect working Replica of the Ancient British Stone Circle known as "Stonehenge" which is in fact in a semi ruined state.

There where many good reasons for picking Awarua South of Invercargill firstly the Latitude was near perfect for the Alignments the Grey and Blue Stone Natural Slabs for Construction exist in quantity in the surrounding area, The Awarua Plains are as flat as Salisbury and though the Ground is not chalk it is tight packed white quartz shingle and would make a perfect recreation of original Stonehenge ditch-works and Avenue.

This Project was conceived by Mr Aaron Nicholson of Manapouri who helped set up a fully functional incorporated society to promote the Idea called the Stonehenge Society of New Zealand.

For a time the project was very promising with endorsements from not only prominent Southlanders and New Zealand media but also English Heritage in the UK.

However when it was time for a TV interview the Project Spokesman had to cancel due to a parental bereavement on the very same day.

Then things started going wrong,  a meeting with English Heritage Head at Stonehenge England and our Benefactor went wrong through bad luck.

and then The People from the North Island that had been approached to advise The Stonehenge Society
on astronomical Alignments announce to the world they where Going to build their own Stonehenge.

Meanwhile the Invercargill City Council found that they had enough to deal with setting up their now famous Zero Fees Polytechnic scheme.  and the Window of opportunity closed for Neolithic Monuments.

The Society Drifted apart and the story has become a mere memory.