Latest news with #Kaikōura
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Where has 'Lobby' the giant crayfish gone?
Lobby, the iconic orange Kaikōura crayfish, has endured gales, storms, and a huge earthquake. But is time for the big orange cray, a landmark for many travellers on State Highway 1, and visitors to the town, to take a well-earned break and get some much-needed care and attention. Usually hanging two stories up on the outside of the Lobster Inn Motor Lodge tavern overlooking SH1/Beach Rd in Kaikōura, the 6.5m-long Lobby, as locals named it, recently suffered at the hands of someone who may have wanted to score themselves a souvenir. Staff noticed something was amiss back in the early hours of February 2 this year but, as yet, no one has been held accountable. That, and the long years Lobby had spent in the sun, enduring the often extreme Kaikōura winds and salty sea air, meant Lobby needed some immediate tender loving care and attention from the technicians at Hi-Tech Sheetmetals in Christchurch. Made of galvanised sheet iron, steel bars, mesh, papier-mâché and fibreglass, the iconic creature has long been a popular and photogenic sight for visitors to the town over many years. In 1992, the owner of the then Sun Trap Restaurant, Annette Painter (nee Paterson) and partner Lindsay Painter were looking for a way to attract customers to the restaurant, which specialised in crayfish. "We wanted something iconic, so we decided to build a large crayfish as a bit of fun." Lindsay started work in the basement, constructing it from papier-mâché and anything he could lay his hands on. The couple used real estate signs to fabricate the tail, plastic downpipes for the antenna, galvanised iron tubes for the legs, children's rubber balls for the eyes and broomsticks for the stalks. "He moved it all to his garage when it got too big for the basement, and then we covered it in several coats of fibreglass to stop the birds, who had started eating the papier mache." Local panel beater Tony Muir then painted the structure. To get the right shade of orange for the body, the couple drove to the Mitre-10 in Blenheim, placed a cooked crayfish on the counter and politely asked paint staff there to match the colour. Annette says Kaikōura mural artist Brett Pettit advised them on how to make it come alive and appear more realistic. "We gave him a cooked crayfish, and he knew what he had to do with the additions of the back knobs, the colouration and shading, etc." Once they had strengthened the structure, Lindsay then fixed it to the upper story of the building on July 22, 1992. "I have to admit it was a bit scary climbing up there, underneath it, sticking it to the wall," he says. Annette says he did an amazing job creating the attraction. The very next day, Kaikōura was hit by a mini typhoon, which caused a lot of damage to roofs in the area, but not to the new crayfish statue. The couple say it was a lot of fun making it, and soon everyone in the town had an opinion about it. Annette said initially some locals liked it, while others hated it. "Some children were afraid of the monster crayfish, and others asked why we hadn't put a whale up there, as Kaikōura was famous for its whales. "I simply replied that we don't sell whale meat, we sell crayfish." Unbeknownst to the couple, several days before they had mounted their now iconic crayfish a television documentary crew had passed through Kaikōura on their way to look at iconic town structures like Gore's trout. On their way back to Wellington, the crew stopped to include it in their documentary along with Ohakune's carrot and Paeroa's L&P bottle. "We made it onto TVNZ's Inside NZ programme and that helped create the national interest in our restaurant and Kaikōura," says Annette. Over the years, the Kaikōura crayfish has appeared in countless tourist photos, featured as a 40-cent stamp in 1998, adorned a $1 Lotto scratchie, and was also once painted black in support of the All Blacks. Annette sold the business in 1995 and moved to Christchurch with Lindsay. Julie and Neil Pablecheque bought the business and the buildings and developed the Lobster Inn Motor Lodge. They painted the signature crayfish black in 2011 to support the All Blacks during the Rugby World Cup. Neil Pablecheque said the 'Paint It Black' lobster was a great way to show the region was cheering for the All Blacks. "It also gave visitors a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a giant black lobster." Tony Muir painted it black to match Ohakune's 'Paint It Black' signature carrot statue. He later returned it to its usual orange colour and says that over the years he has had to climb up a few times and fix the odd bit of rust, or broken bits caused by the infamous Kaikōura wind or sea storms. Today Lobby rests in Christchurch awaiting the verdict from insurers. Hi-Tech Sheetmetals' general manager, Trevor Dart, said it is a very fragile structure. "We specialise in bespoke custom builds and fabrications," Dart said. "Lobby is made of a mixture of materials and will be a challenge to fix, but we can't wait to start."
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
'Lobby' the giant crayfish takes a break
Lobby, the iconic orange Kaikōura crayfish, has endured gales, storms, and a huge earthquake. But is time for the big orange cray, a landmark for many travellers on State Highway 1, and visitors to the town, to take a well-earned break and get some much-needed care and attention. Usually hanging two stories up on the outside of the Lobster Inn Motor Lodge tavern overlooking SH1/Beach Rd in Kaikōura, the 6.5m-long Lobby, as locals named it, recently suffered at the hands of someone who may have wanted to score themselves a souvenir. Staff noticed something was amiss back in the early hours of February 2 this year but, as yet, no one has been held accountable. That, and the long years Lobby had spent in the sun, enduring the often extreme Kaikōura winds and salty sea air, meant Lobby needed some immediate tender loving care and attention from the technicians at Hi-Tech Sheetmetals in Christchurch. Made of galvanised sheet iron, steel bars, mesh, papier-mâché and fibreglass, the iconic creature has long been a popular and photogenic sight for visitors to the town over many years. In 1992, the owner of the then Sun Trap Restaurant, Annette Painter (nee Paterson) and partner Lindsay Painter were looking for a way to attract customers to the restaurant, which specialised in crayfish. "We wanted something iconic, so we decided to build a large crayfish as a bit of fun." Lindsay started work in the basement, constructing it from papier-mâché and anything he could lay his hands on. The couple used real estate signs to fabricate the tail, plastic downpipes for the antenna, galvanised iron tubes for the legs, children's rubber balls for the eyes and broomsticks for the stalks. "He moved it all to his garage when it got too big for the basement, and then we covered it in several coats of fibreglass to stop the birds, who had started eating the papier mache." Local panel beater Tony Muir then painted the structure. To get the right shade of orange for the body, the couple drove to the Mitre-10 in Blenheim, placed a cooked crayfish on the counter and politely asked paint staff there to match the colour. Annette says Kaikōura mural artist Brett Pettit advised them on how to make it come alive and appear more realistic. "We gave him a cooked crayfish, and he knew what he had to do with the additions of the back knobs, the colouration and shading, etc." Once they had strengthened the structure, Lindsay then fixed it to the upper story of the building on July 22, 1992. "I have to admit it was a bit scary climbing up there, underneath it, sticking it to the wall," he says. Annette says he did an amazing job creating the attraction. The very next day, Kaikōura was hit by a mini typhoon, which caused a lot of damage to roofs in the area, but not to the new crayfish statue. The couple say it was a lot of fun making it, and soon everyone in the town had an opinion about it. Annette said initially some locals liked it, while others hated it. "Some children were afraid of the monster crayfish, and others asked why we hadn't put a whale up there, as Kaikōura was famous for its whales. "I simply replied that we don't sell whale meat, we sell crayfish." Unbeknownst to the couple, several days before they had mounted their now iconic crayfish a television documentary crew had passed through Kaikōura on their way to look at iconic town structures like Gore's trout. On their way back to Wellington, the crew stopped to include it in their documentary along with Ohakune's carrot and Paeroa's L&P bottle. "We made it onto TVNZ's Inside NZ programme and that helped create the national interest in our restaurant and Kaikōura," says Annette. Over the years, the Kaikōura crayfish has appeared in countless tourist photos, featured as a 40-cent stamp in 1998, adorned a $1 Lotto scratchie, and was also once painted black in support of the All Blacks. Annette sold the business in 1995 and moved to Christchurch with Lindsay. Julie and Neil Pablecheque bought the business and the buildings and developed the Lobster Inn Motor Lodge. They painted the signature crayfish black in 2011 to support the All Blacks during the Rugby World Cup. Neil Pablecheque said the 'Paint It Black' lobster was a great way to show the region was cheering for the All Blacks. "It also gave visitors a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a giant black lobster." Tony Muir painted it black to match Ohakune's 'Paint It Black' signature carrot statue. He later returned it to its usual orange colour and says that over the years he has had to climb up a few times and fix the odd bit of rust, or broken bits caused by the infamous Kaikōura wind or sea storms. Today Lobby rests in Christchurch awaiting the verdict from insurers. Hi-Tech Sheetmetals' general manager, Trevor Dart, said it is a very fragile structure. "We specialise in bespoke custom builds and fabrications," Dart said. "Lobby is made of a mixture of materials and will be a challenge to fix, but we can't wait to start."
RNZ News
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Documentary 'The Bones of Our Past' tells history of Takahanga Marae near Kaikōura
More than 30 years ago, in 1992, Takahanga Marae and its wharenui Maru Kaitatea was opened, built on the exact site of a much older whare that stood in the hills above what is now Kaikōura township. The stories of the marae - from it's fundraising and construction through to the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, when the marae fed and housed tourists trapped in the town - are told through a documentary The Bones of Our Past , released last month. Takahanga Pā trustee Jacqui Te Wani was one of the people interviewed for the documentary and said it was an emotional watch, especially seeing archival footage of people who had since passed away. "It also turned this woman into a weeping willow and that was not a pretty sight," she said. "I looked absolutely horrible. "The major part is those who have gone, but it's just hearing their voices." Te Wani was raised at Oaro, south of Kaikōura, by Rangi and Miriama Solomon, among the people of Ngāti Kuri. Takahanga Marae is the subject of a documentary called The Bones of Our Past. Photo: Supplied/Cilla Harnett "It was my dad's idea and his aspiration to build Takahanga Marae for the Kāti Kuri whānau, but not only for them - for those who decided to make Kaikōura their home away from home." Producer Cilla Harnett said the idea for the documentary began in 2022, when Takahanga Marae was due to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its opening, but due to Covid, the celebrations didn't go ahead. "I had a lot of connections to the marae and to the whānau down there, Kāti Kuri," she said. "Because of that, I was really keen to help out with the celebrations any way I could and usually that's helping out in the kitchen. "I just got to thinking a lot about the marae, and the significance of the artworks on the marae and the wharenui, and the story behind it. "From that, I thought maybe my skills would be better used documenting during the celebrations. The celebrations didn't happen and so, from that, the idea really grew to produce the documentary." Producer Cilla Harnett originally intended documenting the Takahanga Marae's 30th anniversary celebrations. Photo: Supplied/Cilla Harnett So far, Harnett has only heard good things about the documentary from the Kaikōura community. "It's really inspiring for a lot of the younger people to get that insight into their parents and their grandparents of what they'd gone through," she said. "A lot of the older people loved it, because of all the archive [footage] we had in there. "The rest of the general community in Kaikōura, I've only heard good things, which is awesome. There's that little element of the racism that exists in the story and, I mean, that is kind of common in a lot of small towns in New Zealand. "There were a few people who commented, saying they didn't realise things were like that back then, so I guess, for some people, it's a little bit of an eye opener - that's awesome as well." Harnett loved researching and sifting through the archival footage, which was a new experience for her. When work started on the documentary, the main focus was on the arts of the whare, which was designed by the late artist Cliff Whiting, she said. "Working through the whole process, it just became so much richer, when we all learned the breadth of the story," she said. "It wasn't just about the arts, it was also about the community and working together to build the culture back up." The interior of the wharenui Maru Kaitatea, designed by the late Cliff Whiting. Photo: Supplied/Old Beach Farm Productions Te Wani said Whiting was the key to bringing the marae together, teaching the whānau how to weave the tukutuku panels and make the carvings for the new whare. "There's nothing and then there was us, I don't know how to emphasise that any more. We were literally a blank canvas and I know Cliff was shocked to hear that this whānau had nothing, but I think he was just as shocked that this whānau wanted to have everything and he was our key." Te Wani said most of the Takahanga whānau were used to working behind the scenes, but the documentary brought them in front of the camera. "To be honest, it was absolutely terrifying. In our world, it's nice to be behind the scenes and not in front of the camera, so you had to get over being so whakamā [ashamed] and being able to have, not just the ability, but the self esteem and the confidence to sit in front of that camera." Takahanga Pā trustee Jacqui Te Wani was one of the people interviewed for the documentary. Photo: Supplied/Cilla Harnett The making of the documentary was hard work, but belonging to Ngāti Kuri made the story unique, she said. "It kind of takes over your life, but if you have the opportunity, do it. It's best for those who were there to have their kōrero heard and documented, than having it second or thirdhand, and even though it is overwhelming. I tell everybody just go for it, because it's our story." Harnett said they wanted to make sure that the finished product stayed in the hands of Ngāi Tahu in terms of copyright and intellectual property. The documentary ends with a photo montage of many of the people of Takahanga who have died over the years. Te Wani said, when that played to the whānau for the first time, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. "We're very proud that we are the people that we are today, so what I was like back in the day - before my Dad passed, which was in October 1977 - to the woman I am now in 2025, we are a testimony to their teaching," she said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
17-07-2025
- Automotive
- NZ Herald
Wellington's James Smith carpark building set to reopen after $30m strengthening project
His son Guy Aharoni, a development manager for the company, took the Herald through the site ahead of the first 100 car parks on the ground floor opening to the public next month. Aharoni says the carpark is a 'key piece of infrastructure in the Wellington CBD', situated across the road from the Michael Fowler Centre and Town Hall, also currently being restored due to seismic problems for a hefty $329m. Aharoni believes its phased reopening will help bring life and activity back to this part of the city. 'It's extremely needed, there's been a lot of outcry in the public domain for more parking and hopefully the punters are there to make use of these car parks when they come back online', he said. Prime Property's Guy Aharoni in the James Smith carpark in Wellington's CBD. Photo / Ethan Manera Wellington City Council currently provides approximately 32,000 car parks in the CBD, 2200 of which are on-street metered parks, a council spokesman said. In recent years an estimated 100 metered on-street parks have been lost in the CBD due to roading changes like the construction of cycleways. Across the capital around 1650 parks are thought to have been lost in the roll out of a new cycleway network including in suburban centres like Karori, Island Bay, Kelburn, and Aro Valley. Additional parks on Courtenay Pl are on the chopping block with the Golden Mile project. The James Smith strengthening project, which began in 2023, has included removing tonnes of concrete from the building to reduce its structural load, pouring new foundations, erecting new walls, and 'temporarily propping the building up' to bring it up to 100 percent of the national build standard or NBS. The 'iconic' spiral ramp in the building will remain, Aharoni said, and has been detached from the rest of the structure so it will move independently in a future quake. Workers are currently painting the bottom levels to remove years of graffiti from vandals who had broken into the building while derelict. The James Smith carpark in Wellington's CBD. Photo / Ethan Manera Some of the building's cherished wall murals, those untouched by vandalism, will remain in the new look site. The James Smith carpark is one of a series of buildings on Wakefield St owned by Prime Property which suffered damage in the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake. The adjoining Amora Hotel closed in 2017 for repairs and Pringle House directly next door, where the Greater Wellington Regional Council used to be located, has been closed since the 2013 Seddon earthquake. A man was critically injured when he fell three floors down a stairwell in the abandoned Pringle House last year. The bridge over Wakefield St connecting to the Amora hotel is set to be demolished over the coming days by Wellington City Council. Glass dislodged on Wakefield Street after the Kaikōura earthquake in 2016. Photo / Mark Mitchell As well as the extensive physical works to the carpark building, it will also see new technology installed, with the hopes a licence plate recognition system will make the experience more seamless for those using the carpark. Users registered with the Prime Parking app will be able to drive in and out being charged online without using paper tickets or dealing with payment kiosks. The 'advanced' technology is thanks to Prime's collaboration with local software company Eyegate, Aharoni said. The company operates three parking buildings across the city, on Cable Car Lane, Stout St, and Gilmer Terrace. The rates for parking in the James Smith building can not be shared yet, a spokeswoman for the company said. The company's other sites charge between $4 and $6 per half hour. In recent years Prime Property has also purchased the closed quake damaged Reading Cinema complex and Amora Hotel. The Amora Hotel was closed in 2017 after being deemed earthquake prone. Photo / Ethan Manera The company plans to reopen the Reading complex next year with the chain as its key tenant operating a similar number of cinemas as when it closed in 2019 due to being earthquake prone. The Amora Hotel is also undergoing redevelopment, with Prime Property planning a 'modern hospitality offering' for the site. Ethan Manera is a New Zealand Herald journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 as a broadcast journalist with Newstalk ZB and is interested in local issues, politics, and property in the capital. Ethan can be emailed at
Scoop
08-07-2025
- General
- Scoop
A Tale Of Two Stopbanks Hemming In Wairau River
When Marlborough District Council's chief executive was confronted by a frustrated Spring Creek resident last weekend, the collective anxieties of a whole community was laid at his door. At the time John Boswell took it in stride. 'Look, his house is threatened,' Boswell told Local Democracy Reporting after the resident left. 'You can understand the person, like, I get it.' The resident was not alone in his dissatisfaction with council. Nearly every Spring Creek resident who spoke to LDR voiced the same grievance. 'They should have sorted it out yesterday,' one resident said, standing next to a water pump. 'We expected council would start the works when they said they would,' said another. Each frustrated sentiment was underpinned by a single question. Where were the promised Wairau River stopbank repairs? And why had they been delayed? In 2024, council set aside $8.7 million in their Long Term Plan to strengthen the stopbank after it was compromised following the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake. That included $3.6m in government funding. Work was to begin at the end of 2024, but was delayed by about a year to the start of 2026, with work to be completed by June 2027. That delay left residents, who had already been flooded for three of the past four years, with another year at risk of flooding. Speaking last week, Boswell said rebuilding a stopbank from scratch was no easy task, and required time to get it right. 'You can't just repair a stopbank overnight,' he said. 'It takes time, and because of the type of events that we experienced at the weekend, they're going to have to do it in the summer.' Boswell said the delay was caused by a combination of design finalising, funding and material sourcing, and works on the northern side of the Wairau River. 'There was work done on the northern side in terms of clearing out some vegetation, and widening the river [to take] the pressure off the southern bank, which worked really well during [last weekend's] event. 'And then we went through the design process, sourcing the funding, getting the materials, and so on. 'They're working bloody hard to do it as quickly as they can.' At least 35,000 tonnes of rock would be needed for the job, the council said last year. Most of that was expected to come from the nearby Pukaka Quarry. Boswell said council had long communicated with the Spring Creek community about the complexities of rebuilding a stopbank. 'One of the first things I walked in on when I came to this job was a meeting in the hall at Spring Creek, where our rivers engineers team talked the community through the issue, what the potential fix looked like, and the time frame for that fix,' Boswell said. 'Since that meeting, they've worked bloody hard to get the design confirmed, to source the money from government, to think about where they're going to source the materials and how they're going to pre-position them.' Concerns about how the stopbank would perform when put under stress caused council to issue a precautionary 24-hour evacuation for 60 households in Spring Creek on June 27. But Boswell said that stopbank actually performed better than they thought during the rainfall. 'The bank itself held up really, really well ... it was performing exactly as we hoped it would,' Boswell said. 'Once the river level started to drop, and we could see that the integrity of it still was there, then we were able to let the residents back in.' Boswell said he stood by the decision to evacuate residents. 'When it comes to risking someone's life versus their property, then we'll always err on the side of caution, and that's what we did on this particular occasion,' he said. Boswell said the water that covered parts of the township was surface flooding, not due to a stopbank breach. 'The surface flooding was as a result of stormwater coming in across the paddock to the west of the Spring Creek settlement,' he said. 'On this particular occasion it resulted in a low, although incredibly annoying, level of stormwater or flooding for the local residents. 'But it certainly wasn't life threatening to the same extent as if there had been a [stop bank] breach.' Boswell said the council was also hard at work identifying and repairing faults in the stopbank at the confluence of the Wairau and Waihopai rivers. The council issued a 'be ready to leave' order on June 27 that led many Renwick residents to self-evacuate. Boswell said it was a very close call for Renwick residents. 'During [a routine] check, it was found what appeared to be seepage through a stopbank on the Waihopai River, which if compromised could have impacted on lower Renwick,' Boswell said. Boswell said that if the bank had been breached they would have had less than an hour to fully evacuate lower Renwick. 'We thought that was enough time if people have been pre-warned, to get them out if we needed to. 'We had a trigger point for when we were going to order an evacuation. 'We didn't quite get there, so we didn't have to do it.' Council staff would be out in Renwick identifying any more weaknesses in that stopbank. 'We're going to do whatever we can to ensure the integrity of that stopbank, should there be another event,' Boswell said. 'Then we're going to look at the wider scheme just to make sure that we've got everything.'
