Reporter’s diary

Press, 3 December 1985, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Food colours

THE 1986 calendar of Amnesty International contains simple pictures of Children doing simple, and’ sometimes magical, things. The pictures were drawn by an Argentinian man for a young boy he had hardly ever seen during his eight years in prison. Juan Carlos Rodriguez was arrested in 1975, along with his pregnant wife, because of his work with unions. His wife eventually moved to the United States with the boy, who was born in prison and taken away from her when he was three months old. The mother was released from prison when the boy was three, and living with her family. Juan Carlos remained confined, and eventually became one of Amnesty International’s prisoners of conscience. He was released in 1983. He drew pictures as joyfully as he could for young Patricio. Although prisoners were usually allowed a pen and paper, Juan Carlos had to use prison food to provide colour for the drawings. The reds and pinks came from beetroot, the maroon came from coffee, and the green came from herb tea. Many of the drawings were destroyed by the prison guards, but some got through. Marsden’s past ONLY TWO houses remain in the area .of Marsden proper now. The town went through the typical boom and bust of West Coast goldmining communities last century. First its people left, then its buildings disappeared quickly. The last hotel closed in 1918. A Paroa woman whose family has lived in the area for more than 80 years is trying to bring together all the information she can about Marsden, which is close to Shantytown, so that she can write a book, helped by another woman, about it and other gold rush communities such as Paroa, Rutherglen and Dunganville. The town was on the old route from Greymouth to Kiimara, and began to decline 11 or 12 years after its founding in 1865 because of the Kumara gold rush. The Rutherglen Road woman has been researching for seven years. She has lived in the district all her life, and drives the school bus from Paroa to the vicinity of Dunganville. Marsden School closed when she was eight years old. She would like to hear from anyone who had families in those districts and could provide any personal memories. She can be reached through us. Breakables A COUNTRY truck driver had broken so many flasks recently that his girlfriend decided to save him some money. She bought an expensive,' stainless steel-type could stand up

to rough punishment. Unfortunately, what the driver had in mind, accidental or not, was too rough. He drove his big rig over the flask, and now has a flat, expensive one for a conversation piece. He has returned to the cheaper, more breakable ones.

New life AN OLD Dunedin building that lost its original name soon after it was finished in 1908 has gone the way of the old Canterbury Public Library building in Christchurch. The city’s old library, the Dunedin Public Library, has become the Carnegie Centre. It has fine art galleries, an art school, a music studio, a ceramics studio, a restaurant, a place to hire theatrical costumes and other retail outlets for handicrafts and other goods. Dunedin’s former * library was originally called the Carnegie Library because of the contribution of Andrew Carnegie, the Scots American philanthropist. The building was bought by a design engineer and his wife, then transformed with the help of an architect. Old library shelves and glassfronted showcases have been restored to display goods and art works. The building’s wooden floors have been sanded several times then brought to a new sheen. Remote route FIORDLAND Travel, which owns the steamer Eamslaw at Queenstown, is planning to open up a new route in the Wakatipu back country. A vehicle ferry for the lake is being designed by a naval architect It will be able to take 15 cars or three buses on a 20-minute crossing of the lake at its calmest section. The ferry will leave from Wilson’s Bay, op the road to Glenorchyw and -

cross to Beach Bay at Walter Peak, making up to five round trips a day during peak holiday times. From the Walter Peak mooring, there is 88 kilometres of public road to Mount Nicholas Station and the highway between Queenstown and Te Anau. Production line THE NEW British Show exhibition at the National Art Gallery in Wellington has quite a few heavy exhibits that required scaffolding and strong piano movers to put in place. Some of the work was done by 11 St Patrick’s College art students. They carried and placed slabs for the Slate Cairn exhibit, a sculpture by a Perth artist. The sculpture is six metres in diameter and came in eight crates weighing a tonne apiece. Cheap rooms SO MANY British holidaymakers are looking for bargain accommodation that tour operators are coming under a lot of pressure. They have begun to book hundreds of cheap hotels, just to meet the demand, that they would not have even bothered to sneer at before. Compilers of the latest “Recommended Resort and Hotel Guide” are warning people about places formerly avoided by tour operators which are now turning up in brochure promotions. One, the guide says, is “a great spot for plane spotters, insomniacs and the hard of hearing.” The Corfu hotel is only 274 metres from the island’s airport. Hello there YOU MAY remember the story about the mother duck who had a chilly reception

this year at the St AlbansShirley Working Men’s Club. Two years ago, she had

nested in a goldfish pond in the centre of the premises. The only access to the pond and decorative garden was by flying, so there was no way for her eight ducklings to get out. When the ducklings were older, they were carted to the Avon River. Last year, the mother duck was discouraged from returning, but this spring she got in again and laid more eggs. The management was not amused because of the mess she left behind the first time. Her eggs were confiscated and she was ejected. So much for that. A group calling itself the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Duck objected, but the damage was done. Yesterday, as if from nowhere, the mother duck appeared in the enclosed garden. She walked out from under a ponga with nine ducklings. She had not accepted defeat. All the time the club thought the problem was gone, she had been hidden and doing her work, much to the surprise of everyone and the delight of some.

—Stan Darling