Capture: Wellington? Well, I Would.
144 Responses
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ChrisW, in reply to
Who and where is the wooden man?
He's (Professor) WR Mcgregor, who led the campaign to stop the logging of Waipoua State Forest and its establishment as a forest sanctuary instead, finally successful in 1952. His bust carved in kauri at the splendid Kauri Museum, Matakohe in the Kaipara district.
An Aucklander very much in the real Northland, nothing to do with Wellington sorry. But the tie is a stand-out, retained in my memory bank of images.
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Hilary Stace, in reply to
Thanks Chris, I knew I had seen him somewhere but not a Wellington memory. Saw him at that wonderful museum a few years ago.
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Just found this. Duck pond during January light festival at the Botanic Gardens. I don't think the ducks enjoy it much but the citizens of Wellington do.
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Jackie Clark, in reply to
I would have paid to see that! Gorgeous.
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Sacha, in reply to
the splendid Kauri Museum, Matakohe
Awesome place. Do visit, anyone who's up that way. From Welli, maybe.
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ChrisW, in reply to
Peter Fraser in bronze - here the more conventional frontal view where he doesn't seem to be leaning so far into the wind.
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To continue the sculptural theme - Harry Holland in marble? Well, I wouldn't think this was necessarily intended as a close likeness of him. Still, an impressive 1937 monument, its rear view passed by hundreds a day walking to and fro on the path through the edge of the old Bolton Street cemetery.
And the inscription! - politicians today have no ambition. -
1) Second view of train station, with statue. ;-)
2) Boat sheds at night. Found the contrasts a bit much, really.
3) Detail. -
360 degree panorama from the Mount Victoria lookout last weekend. iPod Touch with Photosynth. The stitching isn't quite perfect; it was rather windy.
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Chris Waugh, in reply to
I don't know how you work such magic with the railway station. It always felt so grimy, rusted out, and ready to crumble at the next Mildly Strong One that I always struggled to see any beauty in it.
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JacksonP, in reply to
Nice one Jarno.
I always struggled to see any beauty in it.
Thanks Chris. It’s the special grime filter. Well, not really. Propped the camera on a parking meter for this one, and on the ground for the other. Improvising.
Still not a patch on Alex Efimoff’s one from the Two Tripods thread. Mine are more of a homage. ;-)
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Sacha, in reply to
Beautiful exterior
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I've always loved the Welly railway station: the exterior's so grand and the inside's so bustling.
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Chis -- the Holland monument is lovely, but isn't the central figure allegorical? I'm struggling to think what it might be, though.
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Chris Waugh, in reply to
I’ve always loved the Welly railway station: the exterior’s so grand and the inside’s so bustling.
It always struck me as being more void than place, a hollow vacancy people rush through on their way elsewhere. I suppose that is the prime function of railway stations, but I think Wellington does spectacularly badly at barren, windswept, grimy, purely utlitarian empty spaces for the loading and unloading of trains. Comparing with railway stations I've used in Dunedin and many Chinese cities just heightens the sense of void.
As for grand, I'll give Wellington a pass mark for effort, but Dunedin wins hands down.
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Ian Dalziel, in reply to
We are amused...
360 degree panorama from the Mount Victoria lookout
I used to live in a house just under that transmission tower at the 360 start, not the white installation visible but on the other side of that hill about level with the mans waist... but also level with the landing planes...
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ChrisW, in reply to
Yes I've always understood Harry Holland's monument to be symbolic, to be classical and uplifting and aspirational in some way. He's buried here so this is no more meant to be a direct representation of him than a marble angel is on many another mortal's grave.
But thanks to your nudge, I found in the Evening Post via Papers Past that the monument's symbolism was thoroughly explained on the day it was unveiled -
It symbolises the struggle of primitive mankind to emerge from chaos; at the base of a pedestal are groups of two figures each, male and female, emerging from the rough block—freeing themselves slowly and painfully, but looking up and forward. These figures, together, with the pedestal, form a base which supports a figure of a youth holding in one hand wheat, grapes, and olives and in the other flowers, symbolising the inheritance by mankind of the material and spiritual things of life—that is to say, by the efforts of those who have gone before, mankind is entering into a fuller inheritance. Not content, he, too as his predecessors did, looks up and beyond to still more sublime achievement.
I'd struggled to imagine what those lower figures were doing symbolically, when it seems so obvious they are reaching into nesting burrows for muttonbird chicks or somesuch.
And here in the reverse view from the path, you can see the main figure is indeed looking up and beyond to the still more sublime achievement represented by the much taller monument on Richard John Seddon's grave just a little further up the hill.
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Wellington is a strange place :) but I love this city!
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Hilary Stace, in reply to
Wellington Railway station is a busy place. Contains a supermarket and university among other popular attractions. Not so much grime these days either, even the trains are new and shiny.
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Chris Waugh, in reply to
That's the trouble with expatriation.... especially my kind, in which trips back 'home' are infrequent, to say the least. So I'm responding to a place that essentially no longer exists, even if it is the same building that was the place of my memories. I did take my wife through there in February 2010, catching a train out to Petone to meet an old mate, and found it and the trains to be the same as I remembered, just older. But your description makes it sound much more interesting than I remember. Funny how change sneaks up and changes everything while you're far away.
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Lilith __, in reply to
the monument’s symbolism was thoroughly explained
Gosh. That's quite wonderful. If arguably laying it on a bit thick. :-)
And the Seddon monument. Hm. I'm sure sometimes a tall column is just a tall column!
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Islander, in reply to
As for grand, I’ll give Wellington a pass mark for effort, but Dunedin wins hands down.
Tautoko. That place is a definite national treasure.
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JacksonP, in reply to
Wellington is a strange place :) but I love this city!
Hey Alex. Thanks for dropping in. That's an impressive panorama.
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Lilith __, in reply to
That place is a definite national treasure
In Dunedin post-quake, I stared open-mouthed at all the twiddly bits on that facade! Amazing building.
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JacksonP, in reply to
In Dunedin post-quake, I stared open-mouthed at all the twiddly bits on that facade! Amazing building.
Photos anyone? Don't let the Wellington tag stop you.
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