Flying With NAC

 

My first memories of flying in an airplane was accompanying my father (age five or six in the 1950's) on an NAC DC3 from Bell Block aerodrome (New Plymouth) to Christchurch.

It was a trip I made with Dad every couple of years to stay with my grandparents in Christchurch's Port Hills.

There was always a stop at Ohakea enroute and I vividly remember enjoying the low flying over farmland and watching the rivets on the wing!

Also had a stop-over at Paraparaumu before tackling Cook Strait.

The boiled sweets served by the stewardess were another treat to look forward to.

The DC3 was a great aircraft and very reliable, albeit slow by today's standards. https://www.zazzle.com/new_zealand_national_airways... #Airlines #NewZealand #Flying #DC3 #NAC #history

Penny For The Guy

An English tradition that had cemented itself into Waitara's culture in the 1950's was the observance of Guy Fawkes Day.

Why we celebrated a pyromaniac/arsonist with great gusto many thousands of miles away from the fable origin remains somewhat of a mystery?  My best guess is that it was one of the vestiges of "Mother England" that remained in our psyche at the time.

As children we were not worried about origins.  November 5th was an excuse for buying skyrockets, catherine wheels, sparklers and crackers from the local stationers and Chinese grocers.

There was a also a competition run by the town to see who could produce the best 'Guy'.  This involved stuffing old and discarded trousers, shirts and jackets with hay or newspaper so that the effigy resembled a human.

We wheeled these around the neighbourhood in a wheel barrow shouting "penny for the guy", although in truth, very few pennies were forthcoming.

The local children then paraded heir Guy Fawke's creations down one of the main streets of Waitara where they were judged by a local panel and prizes awarded.  I have to report that my efforts never made it to the winner's dais but we had great fun nevertheless.  (An example of another town's celebration can be seen in the image below).

The fate of the 'guys' was preordained.  They were all incinerated as part of the big community fire down at the Waitara Beach domain. This was the time where we lit our fireworks and placed rocket sticks in an old beer bottle holder so they blazed upward.  Sparklers were the chosen fancy of the younger set who were closely supervised.

While fireworks are still sold in New Zealand to celebrate November 5th I suspect that the legend of Guy Fawkes is no longer understood by those who make such a purchase.  Times change, and our Asian community and civic authorities use fireworks to celebrate other major events on the calendar.

Guy Fawkes Day 1912 – History Geek

Red Peak Is A Red Herring!

This late inclusion of a nondescript piece of cloth into the new New Zealand flag debate is more about political one-upmanship than national identity.

A flag (Canada's is an excellent example) is about an immediately recognisable design that has a key recognisable element.  This so-called 'red peak' design lacks any immediacy or national identity.

There are really only three design elements that resonate with all New Zealanders:

 - The Kiwi

 - The Koru

 - The Silver Fern

It is the latter, the fern, that is by far the obvious choice and is already widely recognisable as 'New Zealand'.

I'll be voting for a design that includes it.  If for some bizarre reason 'Red Peak' is chosen as the preferred alternative I will then vote for retaining the existing.  

But perhaps that is the outcome that 'change the flag' critics & red peak supporters have been hoping for anyway?

WoW! Dinosaurs, Rockets & Creativity

I paid one of my infrequent visits to our Auckland War Memorial Museum today.  As its title suggest, it is a mix of 'memorial to the fallen' and a historical showcase of a wide range of diverse collections.

From Dinosaurs and a jade buffalo from the Summer Palace, the to a German V1 Rocket, this museum has it all.  best of all it is free to Auckland ratepayers.

Auckland War Memorial Museum

The temporary exhibition when I visited this summer was the New Zealand event, the World of Wearable Art (WoW), which will later embark on a world tour to other museum.

If you get a chance to see WoW you should as it is inspirational and highly creative in the costumes on display.

The World Of Wearable Art Exhibition - Auckland War Memorial Museum

Related articles

• Auckland Museum Announces Formation of Youth Advisory Group
• Powhiri for return of Te Pahi's medal

Pohutukawa Flowers

Pohutukawa Flowers
January 2015
Roger Smith

The New Zealand Pohutukawa trees are flowering at this time of year and when they fall they carpet the pavement.

The Singapore & NZ Poems Finally Published

The White Bridge by Roger Smith | Make Your Own Book

New Art Work - Composition 2109

Composition 2109
Roger Smith, 2014
Copies of this print are available here.

Singaporean Chinese in New Zealand - some statistics

The latest statistics from the recent New Zealand 2013 census have been released and while the country population now number over 1.4 million people, only 741 of them are Singaporean Chinese living here.

That's less than 1% of the total population but not surprisingly nearly 60% of them live in the Auckland area.

21% of Singaporean Chinese living in New Zealand were actually born overseas and the median age of this group is 31.7 years.

Other interesting facts:

• Only 8.4% of Singaporean Chinese are regular smokers
• 27% of them can speak two languages
• 43% own their own residence in NZ, compared to the half the total NZ population who own theirs
• Singaporean Chinese are more highly educated than the rest of their NZ counterparts with 43.3% holding a Bachelor's degree or higher (overall NZ is only 20%)
• They are more religious than most New Zealanders with 73.3 % of Singaporean Chinese being  affiliated with at least one religion.  Only 55% of the total NZ population are.

Those Were The Days - My First Year Of Infant Schooling

How small we were in those days!

Yours truly is in the middle row, 6th from left. The school is Waitara Central in the town of Waitara, Taranaki, New Zealand.  Waitara Central celebrated its 125 Jubilee in the year 2000.

Five abiding memories from those times:

1. Compulsory and free school milk that was delivered in half pint glass bottles and which we consumed at 'playtime' (morning break)
2. My school leather satchel which was my pride and joy and carried a homemade sandwich lunch.
3. Home knitted jerseys of various patterns and hues which my mother created; she was a good seamstress, knitter and creator of various home crafts.
4. The crackle of winter frosts and iced-over puddles underfoot as we walked to school.
5. A robust and vigorous childhood full of outdoor games and adventures.

Today's Print - Spectre 2

What happens when you weed the Garden of the Mind!  I enjoyed the challenge of creating this art work.

Spectre 2
Roger Smith, 2014
Digital Composition

Copies of this work are available as a print - Look Online.

Two Thoughts On Autumn

I took the camera to today to capture the change of seasons.  Here are a couple of the autumn (Fall to my American friends).

Autumn Leaves Photograph
Roger Smith 2014
Click Here

Old Vines Photograph
Roger Smith 2014
Click Here

When Pseudo Science Is Finally Defeated

Kinoya Whale Meat Cans, Tokyo

I've never looked a whale in the eye.  Nor have I ever been tempted to eat one.  

My friends will testify that I have always been prepared to try anything on a dinner plate that is put in front of me, the one exception being a menu option I experienced in Stavanger, Norway.  

The restaurant were offering whale meat as a main and something within me rebelled against the thought of doing so.

Perhaps it was and is the idea of eating an animal that is critically endangered or that the meat in question was quite unprepossessing.  

A good dose of  angry cynicism about the Japanese instance on their right to conduct "scientific whaling" in our southern waters, when clearly they have been doing so to sell it in their open meat markets, no doubt contributed to my decision at the time.

Perhaps it was also a growing realisation of mankind's selfishness to consume every palatable species around us thereby sowing the seeds of our own inevitable destruction as a species.  Whatever the reason I settled for Norwegian salmon on the menu instead.  Although it is fair to report that two of my museum colleagues at that time did try it.

So I awoke this morning to the news that the International Court of Justice had handed down a ruling against Japanese whaling in southern waters, with a sense of relief as well as admiration for those who had campaigned so vociferously against the practice.

Not that I regard myself as a "Greenie' but I do appreciate nature's bounty and beauty both on my plate and around me.  It is selfish in the extreme to plunder the world's food resources without giving a damn about generations that will follow.

Now it will be a question of who is going to enforce the whale ban ruling?  I suspect both the New Zealand and Australian governments will police and enforce the ban.  At least I would like to think so.

It is perhaps no coincidence that today is April Fool's Day.  For once we have stopped fooling around with the balance of nature and have respected the rights and conservation needs of another deserving mammal.

Related articles

• UN court to rule on Japanese whaling
• UN orders Japan to halt whaling in the Antarctic
• Antarctic whale hunts not scientific, ICJ rules

Asian Golfers In The Ascendant

Golfer Lydia Ko in action.
Source:  LPGA

One of the passions of Singapore, besides food, is golf.  That is, if one can afford the cost of playing the game which George Bernard Shaw once snidely described as "typical capitalist lunacy".

The cost of playing golf in Singapore as in other parts of Asia is very expensive and a club membership is coveted and sometime traded.  Despite this prohibition golf has become an all consuming relaxation and competitive sport for many.

Which leads me on to the admission that in recent months I have become rather an avid followers of the Women's LPGA.  Now while some of you may assume, quite erroneously, that it it the sight of lithe young women that proves the attraction, it is in fact the success of the Asian women golfers that has attracted my attention.

In particular the remarkable achievements on the New Zealander of Asian descent, the sixteen year old, Lydia Ko.  In the LPGA ranks the Koreans and Taiwanese perform extremely well and young Lydia at the tender age often outshines her older compatriots.

This has been recognised two days ago in New Zealand when she was named New Zealand's Sportsperson of the Year, the youngest ever to achieve this honour.

Her elevation to the professional ranks and her previous prowess as an amateur playing against professional has been nothing short of remarkable.

What many of us really appreciate is not only is this teenager a sporting prodigy she is also unassuming, well-mannered and a good sportswomen overall.  Sportsmanship is more than just performing on the course, and she has it all.

As I write Lydia Ko is sitting two shots behind the joint leaders of the Australian Womens' Open, with the final day at hand.  We shall have to wait and see what transpires but she will surely maintain her world number four ranking after another great performance in this, her first year as a  professional.

After Australia the tour heads to Thailand where the playing conditions will no doubt be just as hot as Melbourne, but with humidity to match.  One hopes that there will be no thunderstorms during the tournament which often temporarily curtail play on Asia's links.

Being struck by lightning while playing a shot with a five iron is not something one would want to contemplate!

New Walk, New Photographs

A morning stroll produced these results:

Down Memory Lane
Roger Smith - Feb. 2014
Get a copy here

The Right Path
Roger Smith - Feb, 2014
Get a copy here

White Clouds & Dark Trees

White Cloud Botany -  After Ansel Adams
Roger Smith 2014

The cloud shapes during certain seasons are interesting and remind me of the tropical cumulus around Singapore.

I took this photograph on one of my afternoon walks and gave it the 'Ansel Adams' treatment.  The white cloud was neatly framed by the trees which made for a successful composition.

Whangarei

It's many, many years since I have stayed in this regional city in Northland.  Back then it was just an overnight stay as I considered whether to take up a museum job or not.

These past two days we have been spending in the city to escape the Xmas bustle of Auckland.

A visit to Whangarei Falls today was a highlight.  Here are some images of the city and the Falls

It's Summer!

Summer Montage
Roger Smith 2-13 - available here

Today's Art Work - Composition #5

Composition #5
Roger Smith, 2013
Copies of this art print are available here

The combination of colour and texture combined in an abstract composition.  Perhaps because it is at last summer weather, the colours selected reflect the season!

A much larger version of the work (unframed) can be seen here.

The Two Olds

Retirement  - no such thing!

I well remember when my father retired.  He chose not to take up a government offer to come chief judge in a New Zealand Pacific protectorate, in preference to his first love, fishing off the rocks on the Coromandel peninsula.

Not that I was surprised at this as he had by then had enough of party political interference in the appointment of the judiciary.  He had also served his country in Word War II which included several years in a German POW camp; he was captured on Crete as many New Zealanders were.

The thing about Dad was he never publicly expressed any negative views about such matters, such was his legal training.  When the time came that he could retire he "packed up his tent" and went fishing.

So today as I reach the official NZ retirement age and become eligible to reclaim back a small portion of the large amount of tax I have paid the country over forty years, I am reminded of the day my father chose relaxation over re-employment.

In my own case and to paraphrase a Chinese expression it is a case of 'the two olds'.

I turned sixty as a Permanent Resident (PR) in Singapore thereby qualifying for a plastic card that identified me as a 'senior citizen', travel and other concessions.  While this was much appreciated, I felt a bit of a fraud as I was in lucrative full time employment with no intention of retiring from my senior appointment with the British Council.  Singapore has subsequently raised its retirement age since my departure.

Now some five years on and back in New Zealand I still don't really believe that the day has come when I have qualified once again for this status in society.  Yet another piece of plastic arrived though the post entitling me to an even broader range of tempting discounts; not that discount facials and new tyres hold much appeal.  But as my Mother used to say, it is the thought that counts.

The other thing about 'retirement' at an arbitrary age is that it seldom if ever happens.  Where a few generations ago you were given a gold watch for long service and gently ushered out the back door, most of us now spend at least some time on pursuits that are tied into our former full time employment.

I am just as active now in the digital, online world as I ever have been which keeps the creative juices flowing.  The beauty is I no longer have to sit through the tedium of irrelevant staff meetings nor in my car braving the rush hour.

The brave,digital world that allowed me in my working life to communicate with clients, colleagues and friends around the globe, does so still.  So when I think about it, nothing much has changed except that I occasionally miss the face to face socialising that took place in the many staff rooms I frequented.

And I do miss Singapore; the arrival back home at Changi airport, the tropical thunderstorms and verdant foliage, the colourful creepy crawlies and the warmth of its people.  I am blessed that many of them in the 'Little Red Dot' and people I knew and worked with in NZ, remain friends still.

There was an article in the local press yesterday quoting a specialist who has said "Life expectancy in New Zealand is higher than ever, but early retirement is killing people".  The gist being that keeping the mind active keep you living longer.  They could well be right.  The thought of sinking into a lethargic torpor holds no appeal whatsoever!

I can't think of one person I know who has retired to the couch.  All of us are actively engaged in work and/or society. Which just goes to prove that we 'Baby Boomer's', despite the dire predictions of our parent's generation, aren't any lazier than those that went before us.

To paraphrase a certain BBC fox puppet "Boom, Boom" and long may life remain so.

Related articles

• Life expectancy good, early retirement not so much
• Singapore becomes fourth largest investor in NZ assets

Sport And Sportsmanship No Longer Share The Same Bed

If you don't like sport then look away, for this is a short and sharp 'rugby rant'.

More precisely it is a commentary on the sad reality of contemporary sport which in many cases now seems devoid of its one important quality, 'sportsmanship'.

I remember with great affection attending the 1956 rugby match between the visiting Springboks team from South Africa and my home province Taranaki.  Resplendent in my amber and black knitted hat which my mother had spent many hours producing, I went with my father to stand on the terraces to see the match.

It was cold as only a Taranaki winter can be but I soon warmed up jumping about with excitement at every flowing movement of the game.  And there was plenty of action, the provincial mascot (a bull called Ferdinand) leaping around with equal vigour.

The 1956 rugby match between Taranaki and the visiting Springboks team

Nobody really gave Taranaki much of a chance of winning but it was team spirit and the home crowd support that saw them match the tourists and produce a very creditable draw.  Several of this provincial team's best performers later went on to become All Blacks.

But this was just one such regional match amongst the many over the years that I enjoyed.  The noticeable difference between then and now being that these earlier players gave their all were part of a wonderful amateur code, unsullied by trappings of so-called 'professionalism'.

Fast forward fifty plus years and we are are in a different era when it comes to sport and what constitutes sportsmanship.  In my day no individual was bigger than the game itself even if you were a star player.  If it was a team sport, you were part of the team and did your best by them for the greater good.

Nowadays it is quite apparent that sport and sportsmanship are diverging markedly. It is all about how much money one can make as a sportsman, or sportswomen.  The impact of any personal decision upon a team is a secondary consideration if at all, to be disregarded if the the money is right.

Being a great athlete does not automatically equate to being a great sportsman, if sportsmanship and the team are measures of one's success both on and off the field.  

In my day our ambition was to play for our province and if you were good enough receive national honours.  A hefty pay packet was never the motivation nor even a consideration.

This past week we have witnessed the less than edifying spectacle of a New Zealand athlete holding both the NZ Rugby Union and the Australian based National Rugby League to ransom as he dithered between accepting one contact offer or the other.  This same player also displaced another who had been previously selected to represent New Zealand at the Rugby League World Cup.

Let's be frank about this - no player is greater than the game itself. This athlete chose to play league in the end so cut him adrift and forget about chasing or signing him in the future.  There are other younger players coming through who should be nurtured and the money that was on the table over this contract offer could be put to better use.

The media (who are making such a meal out of this turn of events) should also be reminded that just last week they were describing the rugby test between the All Blacks and the Springboks at Ellis Park in South Africa as "one of the greatest ever".

The aforementioned player was not in the team and did we suffer as a result?  No we did not.  

The Ellis Park match was great game because it was hard fought, both sides giving their all for the team and because of the sportsmanship shown by the South African captain when an official's error could have jeopardised the opposition's chances.

Today's editorial in the New Zealand Herald neatly sums up the actions of the player I referred to above:

"Williams has good instincts on a rugby field. On the wider field of life he leaves a lot to be desired."

And that is the lesson that sport should be teaching us - sportsmanship is all about consideration for others and working hard for the collective good.

And, if you are a rugby player like I was, surviving eighty minutes in the forward pack on a muddy field was foremost in one's mind!

The author (circled) played representative provincial rugby for Manawatu Juniors in the late 1960's and was part of the championship winning Palmerston North Teachers College teams in 1967 and 1968. Prior to that he played most of his rugby at New Plymouth Boys High School where he was a boarder.

Related articles

• Sonny Bill Williams Rejects Pathway to All Blacks Rugby Return - Bloomberg
• Opinion: 18 years of Ellis Park pain over... finally, All Blacks V Springboks, Rugby Championship 2013