Petone Herald - 15 July 2009

Keep NZ Beautiful worth it?

By Jamie Melbourne-Hayward

Keep New Zealand Beautiful has called for entries to the Best Town and City Awards, but a Hutt City Council environmental advisor says they won’t foot the membership bill because of “behind the scenes pressure”.
The Keep NZ Beautiful website has no entries for Keep Hutt Beautiful or Keep Petone Beautiful under its ‘regions’ section, but both groups exist and are active.
Petone fall under the Keep Hutt Beautiful banner and Keep Petone Beautiful convener Roy Hewson says he would like the Council to be part of the organisation.
“We run our own programmes in Petone, but it would be good to be part of something larger – I’m in the minority on that one.
“[Keep NZ Beautiful] has been trying to get us to join ... and we have a problem attracting younger people, so joining might help out,” he says.
Hutt City Environmental Sustainability advisor Sandy Beathcroft says joining “caused more problems than it was worth”.
“It’s the behind the scenes negotiations that really get me – you can’t have one set of rules for one and another set for another,” says Mrs Beathcroft.
She has “been bullied and verbally abused” in previous dealings with the organisation, and says “it had a very corporate role”. Busy coordinating local environmental efforts Mrs Beathcroft says she doesn’t have the time or the budget to “splash out” on Keep NZ Beautiful.
“It’s an add-on really, a promotion, it’s the last thing I can afford.”
She says the idea behind Keep NZ Beautiful is good, if a little token.
“We don’t pay $1,500 dollars to be a member of something that’s not good value for money.
“National funding for Enviroschools has been pulled, but we fund it locally and that is really doing something in the area,” says Mrs Beathcroft.
CEO of Keep NZ Beautiful Simon Johnston says the idea that councils’ or any other group have to pay to be involved with them is “horribly, terribly wrong”.
“It doesn’t cost anything to register; you just need to fill out a form.”
If councils want to join up and receive information they can pay up to $1,500, but registration doesn’t cost anything, he says.
Mr Johnston says the groups displayed on the website are active volunteer groups, and he was “truly surprised” the Hutt was not registered.
“It’s something for all New Zealanders, anyone can join, and we even had a two-man-band register.
“We want all past members back on board, and are in the middle of a new membership drive right now,” he says.
Keep NZ Beautiful wants to pull together environmental groups from around the country and create a central hub for posting projects to the web and discussing ideas, similar to the Transition Towns concept.

Petone Herald - 15 July 2009

Delving into our faults: the Lower North Island's fault lines

Petone is on shaky ground

If the Wellington Fault line ruptures massive ground-shaking would severely damage structures in the region, and the Hutt Valley could drop 1m, increasing flood risks.
Hutt City Emergency Management controller Paul Nickalls says following the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake the harbour moved up and down 4 meters every 20 minutes for 12 hours. “When the next [earthquake] happens, possibly within 400 years, I would expect the sea to encroach,” he says.
In 1855 the sea reached up to Te Whiti Park where boatyards used to be located.
Petone is particularly susceptible to an earthquake because its soft soil and reclaimed land would become liquefied, causing structures to sink, tilt, or topple. The Earthquake Commission estimates a quake would cost $6.2 billion in residential property claims.
GNS Science is part-way through a seven-year project to improve understanding of the Wellington Fault and its potential for causing damage. GNS geologist Russ Van Dissen says knowledge and understanding from the project will enable more accurate hazard estimates for the Wellington region.
“Computer models show over the next 20,000 years, the Wellington Fault will cause more financial losses from earthquakes than any other single fault in New Zealand,” he says.
Dubbed ‘It’s Our Fault’, the project has extended historical knowledge from 600 years back to 3000 and uncovered ‘new’ ruptures unknown before the project started.
“A computer model was made that now has rupture histories of more than 50 faults in the greater Wellington region.
“Ten years ago, there were only seven faults in this model,” says Mr Van Dissen.
Wellington’s Fault is the most active in the region, rupturing every 600 to 1000 years, and last ruptured 200 to 400 years ago.
When it ruptures it produces an earthquake of magnitude 7.5, resulting in about 4 meters of horizontal land movement. Strong ground-shaking during a quake of magnitude 7-plus will make it impossible to stand up. Residents living in coastal areas that experience a large earthquake should plan to immediately get as high up or as far inland as they can.
If you need help following an emergency report to your nearest Civil Defence Centre. Local centres are; Imperial Tobacco on Richmond Street, Korokoro School on Korokoro Road and Eastbourne residents can go to the Tennis Club on Muritai Road.
Other Civil Defence Centre locations can be found at www.huttcity.govt.nz.
Visit www.eq-iq.co.nz/quakehouse to see the effects a quake would have on your home.

Northern Courier - 8 July 2009

Masala is Indian at its Best

Entering Masala the first thing I notice, amidst the cosy buzzing atmosphere, is the delightful smell of spices on the air.
Enticed by the promise of those smells, I was transported to a place a million miles from the freezing windswept Wellington Street. Masala’s charming owner Divyang Patel greeted us and was appreciative of my attempts at polite Hindi.
Our table was like dining at the Maharajas bordello; a spacious round table encircled by plush salon seating that you sink into. The warm reds and oranges splashed across the walls were a pleasant change from the scene outside.
The menus were bathed in a rich-muted light, and the atmosphere transported us to a restaurant in Bombay, and dreams of the Indian Ocean.
Mid-week and Masala is near full – intimate couples, family gatherings and a 30 guest buffet – all fitting neatly in.
Even in the relative chaos our wine was served within minutes of being seated and our orders taken.
I indulged in my obsession with tasty vegetarian food by asking for the Vegetarian Platter, stacked with generous offerings of samosa, pakora vege sheekh kebab and paneer tikka. The scrumptious finger food had been prepared in the tandoor (clay) oven, and was very hearty.
Soon the restaurant became even more abuzz with a casual football team turning up and fitting in nicely along-side a gathering of 30 odd young women.
The atmosphere remained relaxed, and even at capacity Masala is not crowded. Dining with my mother made the food selections easy, as she had begun my Indian food addiction and knew sharing dishes wouldn’t come to ill.
The Lamb Badam Pasanda had us hooked with its splendid sounding name, and the lamb pieces were cooked to perfection and melted in the mouth, sautéed in onions, garlic, ginger and spices with almond gravy.
I was especially keen to have a Chicken Tikka Masala prepared in the traditional sense, and the tender pieces of barbecued chicken marinated in spices imported from India did not disappoint.
The wonderful staff gave us a friendly farewell accompanied with a Hindi thanks – Namasté – and reminded us next time to leave room for a delicious sweet-yoghurt mango lassie.
Masala is an Indian restaurant deserving of it popularity, for it is a place of true taste and class.

Northern Courier - 8 July 2009

Scot knits up 106

I’ve been to retirement homes before, but this visit was something else.
When someone makes it to 100 years of age we awe at their fortitude and strength, not to mention that letter of congratulations from the Queen.
But the day I met one hundred and six year old Agnes Harkins was a day of eccentric design, as that morning the King of Pop had passed away and every radio station was paying tribute.
I arrived at Tawa’s Longview retirement home feeling slightly bemused and melancholy from the radio’s endless obituary.
Longview seemed a nice enough place, and soon after arriving I found myself at the end of a long table bustling with party guests of all ages.
Taking a seat beside the smiling birthday girl and her 82-year-old daughter, I started off asking Agnes a few basic questions, including if she liked Michael Jackson, to which she answered yes in a Scottish accent, “aye”.
To most of my inquiries she responded; aye, yes, or nodded.
Her daughter Esther Mills had decided to answer most of the questions when I realised a new approach was in order – and asking about Scotland was just the ticket.
Fair enough, Ms Harkins is a little hard of hearing; and soon I found myself half-yelling questions at her in a Scottish accent.
That was when she really piped up.
Turns out she came to New Zealand on a passenger ship from the Isles when Esther was just two years old, and says her daughter didn’t complain a peep.
“She’s a really good daughter,” she said
Mrs Harkins met her husband in the wool mills of Scotland, and transferred their skills to a mill here.
“There are lots of similarities between Scotland and New Zealand, and we had our first house built in Jackson Street, Petone,” said Mrs Harkins.
In my best accent I asked if she had any favourite prime ministers, to which she replied, “They’re about the same really”.
And the trick to long life says Mrs Harkins; eat your porridge – no sugar.