Fire, Flood, Pestilence

The KZ1

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/KZ1_(yacht)

Based on the number of impressive racing yachts we saw that day in Auckland's extraordinary marina, we deduced that New Zealanders must be serious yachting enthusiasts.

Had we not been concerned about keeping our distance from others, we would definitely have visited the  Maritime Museum itself, if no other reason than to escape the rain and wind even just for a short time.

I had never sailed seriously myself but a good friend of mine was very passionate about it and invited me to watch her compete in the Cowes week regatta on several occasions.

She explained at the time that the lighter and more streamlined the vessel, the faster it would sail.

But she also explained that competitive racing at international level was becoming increasingly aggressive and unpleasant.

Seeing the KZ 1 on display outside the New Zealand Maritime Museum in Wynyard, reminded me of those words and of her passion for sailing.

"The KZ 1, formally called the New Zealand, is a one-off sailing yacht built to challenge for the 1988 America's Cup".

"It was designed by Bruce Farr and is constructed from a carbon fibre and Kevlar/Nomex sandwich, skippered by David Barnes and crewed by a team of 40 from the Mercury Bay Boating Club in Whitianga, New Zealand".

"The unexpected challenge of Michael Fay and KZ 1 almost immediately after the 1987 American victory to the San Diego Yacht Club prompted syndicate head Dennis Conner to respond with an unconventional defense".

"Lacking time and looking to protect the planned international event in 1992, the defenders defended with one of two catamarans built for the challenge Stars & Stripes (US 1), a wing masted catamaran that Conner sailed to easily win the challenge, though most of the battle was later fought in court".

THE LION NEW ZEALAND

https://www.nzsailingtrust.com/lionnewzealand

After admiring the impressive KZ1, we continued our walk around that extraordinary marina and my husband spotted The Lion New Zealand which had been one of the most impressive racing vessels in the world in the 1980s.

"Sir Peter Blake had a very specific idea of the boat that he wanted to build for the 1985/86 Whitbread Around the World Race".

"After discussions with a number of top New Zealand yacht designers the design was awarded to New Zealander Ron Holland, based in Ireland".

"The boat had to have the following criteria: 31 tons actual displacement weight (light but stiff)."

"It needed to excel to windward"

"It had to be very fast when reaching under two sails"

"It had to be fully controllable downwind with a spinnaker up."

"It had to be a masthead rig"

"The result was one of the finest International Ocean Racing (I.O.R). maxi sloops ever built".

"Construction of Lion NZ began in 1983, with a launch date set for November 1984".

"This was to coincide with the Sydney to Hobart Race beginning on Boxing Day - its first real test".

"Unfortunately, on completion Lion NZ came in 8 tons heavier that the original design draft and to make matters worse all the weight was in the wrong places, her hull and fittings".

"It became apparent that the extra weight was going to slow the boat down in lighter conditions".

"Lion's first race - the 1984 Sydney to Hobart Race - was a true test".

"After 3 days, 11 hours, 31 minutes, 21 seconds Lion NZ crossed the finish Lion in First Place".

"It had proven its strength and gained the nickname, "The Urban Assault Vehicle"."

"Lion NZ went on to finish a commendable 2nd Place in the 1985 / 86 Whitbread Around the World Race".

"America’s Cup remains deadlocked approaching halfway"

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/sport/2021/mar/13/americas-cup-remains-deadlocked-approaching-halfway

As I write this on 14 March 2021, now over a year since we left Auckland and returned to Sydney, the 2021 America's Cup is well underway.

There isn't an overall winner yet but the final stages of the contest are now clearly between New Zealand and Italy.

This article in the Guardian written yesterday on 13 March 2021 is an excellent summary of how things stand at the moment as the world waits with bated breath for the winning team to emerge victorious.

"Holders Team New Zealand roared back to beat Luna Rossa and make it 3-3 in the 36th America’s Cup match off the coast of Auckland on Saturday, after the Italian challengers dominated the day’s opening race".

"TNZ hit speeds of over 40 knots in the second race to cross the line in 27 minutes and 27 seconds, a minute and 41 seconds ahead of Luna Rossa, to the delight of most of the roughly 15,000 fans on the quay and some 2,000 spectator boats".

“That was a good one, to have the boat speed like that,” TNZ flight controller Blair Tuke said.

“The big speed difference was pleasing and like yesterday, a really good reply from the guys. A good way to finish another tight day."

"There’s still a lot to do; it’s a tight battle.”

"It was the perfect response from TNZ, who lost the first race by 18 seconds after a poor start in which they were forced to delay and could not get up on their foils".

"The Italians led throughout following a starboard entry to finish in 29:05".

"It was the first time in the match a team had managed the feat after the previous four races were won by the vessel that started from the port side".

"TNZ skipper Peter Burling said he was happy with his team’s effort despite the disappointment of the first race".

“We improved the way we sailed (in the first race) to keep it within 20 seconds.......... within that one mistake margin, but Luna Rossa didn’t give us a chance,” Burling said."

"However, Luna Rossa, who excel in light winds, failed to build on their advantage and co-helmsman Jimmy Spithill was left to rue a slow start that cost them the second race".

"We were happy with our positioning; unfortunately we got caught in a light spot and couldn’t get the boat going back to the line, almost a reversal of the first race,” Spithill said."

“Not a lot of passing lines from then on,” he added".

“It’s a bit of a minefield out there from the start box and we couldn’t get the boat to accelerate.”

"Spithill added that the teams were pleased to be racing in front of supporters, with Auckland having eased COVID-19 restrictions".

“Back in Italy, they’re in lockdown. So the fact we could go out there at all is a privilege,” he added".

“But we’re also pushing as hard as we can. Let’s hope this one goes down as one of the greatest fights out on the water.”

"The teams face off in two races again on Sunday in the best-of-13 series for the oldest trophy in international sport - the 170-year-old “Auld Mug” - with stronger winds predicted".

Queen Street and Auckland CBD

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland_CBD#/media/File:Dilworth_Building_Another_Time.jpg

The next thing on our TripTins 1 day Auckland tour was to visit Queen Street, the heart of Auckland's Central Business District. 

As soon as you manage to fight your way through the maze of scaffolding and pavement closures and gain access to Queen Street, you are in no doubt at all that you are in Auckland's central business district and the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area.

"It is the area in which Auckland was established in 1840, by William Hobson".

"It is New Zealand's leading financial hub, and the centre of the country's economy; the GDP of the Auckland Region was $114.148 billion in the year ending March 2019".

This is as far from New Zealand's South Island as you can get.

Auckland is New Zealand's London or New York and as such is every bit as vibrant, fashionable and affluent as all other modern metropoleis all over the world.

This area of Auckland was busy, noisy and as far from practising social distancing as I expect London was at that time.

As it was a chilly, rainy Monday the streets and bars were not overcrowded so we still felt safe walking outside but I expect it would be a different story on a warm Friday afternoon; they were certainly not empty though it and we saw no evidence at all of shop closures or limited numbers being allowed into busy malls at one time, so much to my chagrin, we decided not to check out Auckland's massive Westfield Centre, as we would be flying in less than 24 hours time so we felt it was the responsible thing to do.

We were in no doubt that "Auckland's CBD is one of the most densely developed places in New Zealand, with many commercial and residential developments packed into a relatively small space; just 433 hectares (1,070 acres)" I read later.

"The area is made up of the city's largest concentration of skyscrapers and businesses".

"Bounded by several major motorways and by the harbour coastline in the north, it is surrounded further out by mostly suburban areas; it is bounded on the North by Waitematā Harbour, east by Parnell, southeast by Grafton, south by Mount Eden, southwest by Newton, west by Freemans Bay and northwest by Viaduct Harbour"

HISTORY

"The town of Auckland was created in 1840 with the first European colonisation of the area, marked by an official ceremony on the now non-existent Point Britomart".

"The initial centre of the new town was focused on what is now the corner of Shortland and Queen Streets, which was at the shoreline of Commercial Bay".

"From approximately their junction, the main wharf ran north off the end of Queen Street, with Shortland Street leading up to Fort Britomart and Government House, around which many of the wealthier people built houses".

"Shortland Street tended to be the location of the more important businesses and most of the 'luxury' shops of the mid 19th century".

"The 1850s onwards saw an increasing number of businesses, and especially retail, locating further south along Queen Street, which still to this day forms the 'spine' of the area".

"In 1841, one year after the European founding, the census counted approximately 2,000 people, with "mechanics" the largest group at 250, and other groups of note being 150 agricultural labourers, 100 shopkeepers, 100 domestic servants, and 125 "upper class Founder members".

"During the remainder of the 19th century, Commercial Bay was progressively filled in, allowing a northward extension of Queen Street and the creation of Fort Street, Customs Street, and Quay Street".

"The part of Queen Street north of Customs Street is today referred to informally as Lower Queen Street".

"As well as being the location of a great many multi-storey warehouses, initially the Lower Queen Street area also contained many manufacturing businesses, though many of these started to move to other areas such as Freeman's Bay, Newton and Parnell, especially if they took up a large area (such as timber yards) or created noise or pollution (such as brick yards or foundries)".

"Up until the middle of the 20th century the centre of town still contained a large number of small factories including clothing manufacturers".

"The relocation of industries to outlying suburbs became especially pronounced in the 1950s, partly due to incentives made by council planners to create industrial areas in Penrose and Rosebank Road (amongst others) and thus rid the inner city area of noise, pollution and heavy traffic".

"This was mirrored by the development of suburban shopping malls (the first being LynnMall in 1963) which enticed retailers to vacate the inner city as well".

"Attempts by the council to halt this pattern by constructing numerous public car parking buildings met with varying success".

"The rise of suburban supermarket and mall shopping that was created in places such as Pakuranga from 1965 onwards has been added to by the appearance of Big Box retailers in places such as Botany and the North Shore".

"Residential numbers in the inner city (including the inner suburbs) were also declining in the 20th century from as early as the 1920s. In the two-mile zone surrounding the CBD, there were approximately 70,000 people in 1926, with only around 50,000 in 1966 - a change made even more marked by the development of the remainder of Auckland's population, which grew more than fourfold in the same timeframe".

"In the 1990s, only a token population of around 1,400 was still residing within the CBD, though this was to grow substantially with a boom of new apartment buildings around the turn of the millennium".

"More recently, in the early 21st century the CBD has seen a resurgence with strong population growth".

"In 2010 there were around 24,000 apartment units".

"In 2018 the CBD is growing at six times the rate of the overall region" which we definitely saw evidence of with all the building and redevelopment work in progress all over central Auckland on the day we were there.

Fortunately some of the more ornate, historical buildings have survived the redevelopment onslaught in the city so far but I do wonder what Auckland will look like in 10 years times if the building and redevelopment works continue at the rate we witnessed in March 2020

The Old and the New

Although most of the Auckland we saw in March 2020 was sleek, modern and new we did spot a few rather attractive heritage buildings which bestowed a unique charm upon the city.

Dilworth Building

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilworth_Building

"The Dilworth Building is a heritage mixed-use building at the corner of Customs Street and Queen Street in central Auckland" and is the first heritage building in the city to catch our eye.

"The building by William Gummer and Reginald Ford, was constructed between 1925 and 1927, and is listed as a "Historic Place - Category" by Heritage New Zealand."

"At the lower entry to Queen Street, the building was once envisaged as one half of a 'gateway' to the city, and hailed as a visionary concept".

"However, the mirroring building on the opposite side of Queen Street was never constructed".

"The building was constructed at the behest of James Dilworth as a rental property to help fund students at the Dilworth Ulster Institute (which later became Dilworth School)".

"Originally the Dilworth Trust Board office was on the 9th floor (with a mezzanine floor) while the rest of the building was let out to tenants".

"The building was sold by the Dilworth Trust in the 1980s, but it still retains some of the original interiors."

"It has housed the American consulate, and during World War II served as headquarters for the U.S. Army."

Landmark House

https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/44766/landmark-house-auckland

Landmark House also in Queen Street was another heritage building which we noticed on on city walk that day.

Surrounded on all sides by sleek, modern developments, this attractive building stands out as an important link to the city's historical past.

"Landmark House was designed by Alva Bartley and Norman Wade for the Auckland Electric Power Board and opened in 1929".

"It is among the few examples of the Chicago commercial Gothic style of skyscraper architecture in New Zealand, where narrow windows and mullions (or piers) are used to emphasise the building's height".

"The building included a corner tower that was lit at night – a beacon of modernity in its day"..

"During the 1980s much of its interior was gutted as part of a neighbouring development" but we were pleased that at least its beautiful facade was maintained and that we were able to see it that day.

If Auckland continues to develop at the rate it has been developing in recent years, it is set to double or even triple in size by the mid 21st Century.

I only hope that the city's remaining heritage buildings like the Dilworth Building and Landmark House, will continue to be preserved and valued by future generations as important links to Auckland's historical past

Rain, Rain GO AWAY 

We were on our way to Albert Park from Queen Street when the constant drizzle we had contended with all day thus far, suddenly turned into a veritable downpour.

Everyone took refuge somewhere; we found a shop with an awning and parked ourselves there for a while. 

It was still cold and blowy under that awning but at least we were dry.

Our original plan was to have a picnic lunch in Albert Park then visit the War Memorial Museum in the Auckland Domain which is not only the oldest park in Auckland park but at 75 hectares it is also one of the largest.

The museum had been suggested  to us at the Museum of Wellington where it was described as one of the finest in the Southern Hemisphere but we were not sure we should visit potentially crowded indoor spaces at that time if we wanted to adhere to national social distancing recommendations.

When the downpour calmed down a little, we opened our brolly, put on our hoods and resumed our walk. 

It was still wet and windy so as much as we really wanted to see Albert Park, we decided that a sandwich and a cuppa on a park bench overlooking the Garden Clock centrepiece with the University of Auckland in the background would probably not be a good idea.

We continued walking towards the Park hoping for a little relief from the poor weather even if just for half an hour.

We had read that it is recognised as "one of Auckland’s most important city centre parks", so we were keen to see it even if just for a fleeting moment. 

"Albert Park's central location in the heart of the CBD, together with its long history and distinctive character, have earned it a special place in the hearts of Aucklanders and made it an important destination for visitors".

"The papakainga (village) that occupied the site prior to european settlement was named Rangipuke".

I had read that "from the entrance at the corner of Bowen Ave and Kitchener St, sealed footpaths climb steeply through native trees to the large flat area at the summit, where a formal layout of paths and flower gardens encircle a fountain".

We would have loved to have walked on those footpaths had the weather cooperated with our tourist itinerary.

According to Wikipedia, "Albert Park occupies much of the site of the Albert Barracks, one of Auckland's early European military fortifications, which in turn was built on the previous site of Te Horotiu pa".

"The barracks consisted of a number of wooden and masonry structures standing in an enclosed area surrounded by a rock fortification built of the local volcanic stone".

"A portion of this wall remains visible in the adjacent University of Auckland grounds, and is registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category I historic site".

"The Park was laid out in the 1880s and originally had commanding views over the city and harbour".

"The view now is of modern office blocks, except where mature trees have hidden the buildings".

"The Park contains a number of interesting specimen trees dating from the 1880s to the First World War".

"A caretaker's residence was provided which still stands on the eastern side of the part adjacent to Princes Street".

"After 1906 this Gothic-styled cottage was occupied by the City Park Superintendent Thomas Pearson, who died there in 1931".

The caretaker's residence is currently empty so rightly or wrongly we assumed that it was not occupied by anyone else after Thomas Pearson's death.

Sadly the weather did not improve at all; we arrived at the entrance of the park but the rain and wind persisted and we were getting horribly wet so we had to make an  decision in a hurry as we couldn't continue to walk in such heavy rain and just get wetter and wetter with every hour that passed.

We decided to return to our car and change our walking tour of Auckland to a driving one; not ideal but better than nothing. 

We would start with Mount Eden Summit then have a drive around areas of Auckland we had not yet seen before returning home for an early night.

On our way back to the car we had to take refuge from heavy rain again on a couple of occasions; on one of those occasions I ended up in a very elegant Chinese Designer Boutique showcasing Chinese fashion items which were beautifully made and competitively priced.

As it was completely empty apart from the two of us and two sales assistants both wearing masks and plastic visors that we we had not seen anyone else anywhere wearing at that point, we went in.

I found a pretty lightweight white satin jacket which I thought would go well as evening wear over my Luisa Spagnoli dress at our daughter's wedding later that year.

I still needed a day jacket but I decided to buy that in the UK as it  would not be lightweight and would certainly add too much bulk to our checked baggage which was also at the limits of what we were allowed to take back with us.

I bought the jacket then we went back to our car and set course for Mount Eden Summit.

Mount Eden Summit 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maungawhau_/_Mount_Eden

We arrived at the Mount Eden parking area at the very moment that it finally stopped raining which was just as well as we realised on leaving the car that vehicular access to the summit was forbidden so we were obliged to park in the designated area provided and walk the rest of the way; it reminded us of our excursion to Mount Vesuvius in Italy where the same rules applied.

The walk to the summit was windy but dry which was a relief as our clothes were already pretty damp.

When we finally arrived the views of both Auckland below us and the volcanic crater right in front of us were totally mesmerising in spite of the windy, overcast weather.

"Maungawhau / Mount Eden is a scoria cone in the Mount Eden suburb of Auckland".

"Maungawhau is a Māori-language name meaning 'mountain of the whau tree (Entelea arborescens)'."

"The name "Mount Eden" honours George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland".

"The crater is named Te Ipu-a-Mataaho ('the bowl of Mataaho'); Mataaho was a deity said to live in the crater and to be the guardian of the secrets hidden in the earth".

"The cone is a dormant volcano and its summit, at 196 metres (643 ft) above sea level, is the highest natural point on the Auckland isthmus".

"The majestic bowl-like crater is 50 metres (160 ft) deep".

"The volcano erupted from three craters 28,000 years ago, with the last eruptions from the southern crater filling the northern craters".

"The western face of the hill was extensively quarried".

But we were pleased to read that "it is now the site of a large ecological restoration project run by volunteers".