I like New Lynn. It's about a 15 minute train ride from our Sturges Road platform. I think it's the largest suburb on the Western Train Line. You may remember that I've done several posts about it, due to its brick and ceramic making past.
This past Saturday I took a ride over there, just to get a little exercise. I began by walking from the train station up to the old clay quarry to see what changes had taken place there since the last time I walked by. There are dozens of apartments going up along the high end of the 40-acre site. The center and lower end are still being leveled, with big meter-diameter pipes being put into place.
I didn't take any pictures here.
I then made my way back to the city center. Lots was happening. My post today will show you what I saw as I stood near the War Memorial and just across the street from the mall.
Take a look first at this short video. A group was handing out information about their upcoming festival. They had a speaker set up and were playing recorded music.
This past Saturday I took a ride over there, just to get a little exercise. I began by walking from the train station up to the old clay quarry to see what changes had taken place there since the last time I walked by. There are dozens of apartments going up along the high end of the 40-acre site. The center and lower end are still being leveled, with big meter-diameter pipes being put into place.
I didn't take any pictures here.
I then made my way back to the city center. Lots was happening. My post today will show you what I saw as I stood near the War Memorial and just across the street from the mall.
Take a look first at this short video. A group was handing out information about their upcoming festival. They had a speaker set up and were playing recorded music.
Behind the blue New Lynn Memorial Square sign with its map, that you see on the video, is the library. I made my way over there and discovered something new.
Matariki refers to the Maori New Year. It can mean 'the eyes of god.' or 'little eyes.' It is also the Maori name for what we call the Pleiades Star Cluster.
Here is a link.
https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/2322-the-matariki-star-cluster
This poster suggests that I follow the stars to the community center so let's go...
Nearby I noticed that one of the city's early structures is still being supported. It's been braced as you see it for quite a while. Clearly, someone wants to preserve this site, but I wonder when renovation will begin in earnest?
Maybe I should have included this picture in my recent post of What's in a name.
Maybe I should have included this picture in my recent post of What's in a name.
I'm on my way home now. I'm at the ground level bus terminal in New Lynn. It's a busy place with arrivals and departures happening continually.
I am now one level below ground and am waiting for my train. As I sit I study one of the many panels that decorate both walls of the train platform, and remember. One day, after we had done some Christmas shopping and the boys and I were waiting for our train to arrive, we walked the full length of the platform and counted one row of panels. We found that there are 129 of them. (Yes, I know. Talk about useless information, but not really)
The boys were younger then, and multiplying 129 by four total rows and subtracting the nine panels that were missing where the water mains for the sprinkler system came in, gave the boys a 'Grandpa School' lesson for the day.
Here comes my train. I'm going to get off in Henderson and buy some steaks for tonight. Sirloins are on sale at Aussie Butcher. -djf
I loved the video and was in awe at great day in the middle of your Winter. Granted, there were warmer coats noted by some but the day's beauty was clear. I know that you have many gray, wet or colder days but this Winter morning was paradise to me. I was very impressed with the boy's math for the 129 panels. They seem to think of everything there to make the New Zealand world just so special. Thank you for sharing it. McKenzie
ReplyDeleteIt was an unusually beautiful day for sure. We have nothing to complain about when it comes to winters. So far this year, we have had 3 or 4 nights of frost, that's it.
ReplyDeleteAmiri especially has always had a remarkably good head for math. And the schools teach the kids lots of tricks over here for solving math problems. He told Arram, "think of it as multiplying 100 by 4 and then 30 by 4, add them up and then take away 4. You can do all that easier than multiplying 129 by 4.
The Matariki Pathway is a delight to follow. It looks like the stars were painted on the sidewalk and the picture ones reminded me of the mosaic tiles on the Opanuku pathway. I'm guessing that the 'rangi' suffix used in 3 of the star pictures means 'bird' though one of them had a picture of a shooting star.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing those tiles at the New Lynn train station and still think they are very cool. Now they are much more interesting. Who knew? But now I do... there are 512 panels at that station!
Think of us when you look up at the Pleiades...
ReplyDeleteI'll be able to see the Pleiades when I go up north for the 1st week of August not only getting away from city lights and obscuring trees but also having the time to do it! I'll be thinking of them as the Matariki now. O, and thanks for the link - it was very informative!
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