Southern View: May 08, 2018

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8 Tuesday May 8 2018 Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi News SOUTHERN VIEW Horace is 100 and iPad savvy War radar expert keeps up with the play • By Emily O’Connell and Kurt Bayer HORACE LONGSON might have just turned 100 but using his iPad to check Facebook is a breeze. That’s because he has lived alongside innovative technology since World War 2. When war broke out in 1939, the railway clerical cadet volunteered for the air force and became involved in the secret world of radar. Mr Longson was one of a few in New Zealand trained to use the Typex British-made cipher machines. It scrambled morse code messages, enabling planes patrolling the coastline and hunting Japanese or German submarines, ships, or aircraft, to communicate in secret. “The work was extremely hush-hush but highly-interesting. And we knew that what we were doing was special,” he said. Tour city’s historic pub sites on your phone • By Julia Evans DIGGING INTO the city’s colonial past has been made easier with the release of a new heritage app. Heritage New Zealand outreach adviser Rosemary Baird was part of a team that developed the Heritage Trail – Public Houses, Private Lives: Excavating Christchurch’s Colonial Hotels app, which gives users a guided walking tour of sites of the city’s Victorian hotels. “We’ve been playing with the idea of doing an app for a while. For years I first wanted to do one on the history of the Avon River but this was the one that got off the ground,” she said. The heritage trail is a 3.5km loop of seven hotel sites ranging from the 1860s to 1900s, Dr Baird said. The app starts at the site of the former Oxford on Avon on Colombo St and loops around locations including the Occidental Hotel on Hereford St, the Caversham Hotel on Madras and St Asaph Sts and finishes in Cathedral Square at the Old Government Building. It uses old photographs and videos to showcase excavations Rosemary Baird Mr Longson celebrated his 100th birthday with family and friends at the Papanui Club last Saturday. He is feeling good for his age but concedes he’s a “bit wobbly in the legs.” Mr Longson still attends weekly church services at St Martins Anglican church, where he once operated the sound desk. “I’m a technician, but the age of improvements – they’ve gone digital. They work off a little laptop screen, a tiny little screen that Horace finds difficult,” he said. Last Sunday, the church celebrated his birthday with a morning tea and a special ride in a vintage vehicle. Born in Temuka in 1918 and named after his uncle Horace Prattley who died at the Somme in World War 1, Mr Longson was always inquisitive and handy. As a child, he built his own radio sets. After World War 2, he returned to his railways job and soon became interested in ham radio. He is a life member of the Amateur Radio Transmitters’ Association. He would also build his own television sets – his first had a 15cm screen made from a radar tube. Mr Longson retired in 1976 and his wife of 67 years, Brenda, died about six years ago. The 100-year-old has lived in the same house for “probably” 60 years and has no plans to move. “I’ll only go if I’m carried out. I’m not intending to leave this house as long as I possibly can,” he said. Mr Longson, who doesn’t wear glasses or hearing aids, says the secret to reaching 100 is eating good food and not drinking or smoking. The most important thing he’s learnt is to be kind to other people. “Anything I can do for anybody, I’m very happy to do it,” Mr Longson said. and artefacts from the sites, a lot of which were uncovered following the February 22, 2011, earthquake. “If you talk to any Christchurch archaeologist, CELEBRATION: Horace Longson, holding his wedding day photo, turned 100 on Saturday. PHOTO: MARTIN HUNTER they’ll tell you this city has a unique collection of archaeology,” she said. Archaeologists are called to work on sites of pre- 1900s buildings that are being TOUR: The site of the former Oxford on Avon on Colombo St is the first stop in the Heritage Trail app. PHOTO: CHRISTCHURCH CITY LIBRARIES demolished – a common occurrence after the earthquakes, Dr Baird said. “The best illustration I can give you is that the archaeology company, Underground Overground, had one or two staff members before the quakes, now they have 20 or 30,” Dr Baird said. •To download the app, search for Heritage Trails in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Artisan Homes Builders of superior homes. Built to last. Winners in Registered Master Builders House of the Year Awards Visit our new show home - Faringdon South Show Home Village East Maddisons Road | Phone: 03 374 9172 Phone 03 374 9172 Rob 021 324 876 email robin@artisanhomes.co.nz www.artisanhomes.co.nz
SOUTHERN VIEW Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi Tuesday May 8 2018 9 Laneways link central city Christchurch is becoming a city of laneways and courtyards, with many developments taking inspiration from Melbourne. Bridget Rutherford reports PEOPLE SIT in the sun on the benches eating their lunches and chatting in the newly-finished Evolution Square. In the heart of the Innovation Precinct, the new public space is buzzing. Next door, Little High Eatery is a hive of activity. Nearby, the site where Poplar Lane once stood is now home to eateries, and Vanguard Square, another courtyard for people to relax in. Over in Cashel Lobby in the BNZ Centre, people wander in through the different laneways to buy their lunches and sit on seats and beanbags – the courtyard sheltered from the wind. The Terrace development is nearby. Oxford Lane, which runs between two of the buildings, provides a place for revellers to enjoy a drink at the tables under the glow of hanging lights. This was the city council and Government’s vision for the central city – activating the spaces in between the buildings, much like Melbourne. And now, it’s becoming reality. Both Evolution and Vanguard Squares are part of Government anchor project the South Frame. It will eventually join the Innovation and Health Precincts. It is made up of five pedestrian ACCESS: The architects behind The Crossing visited Melbourne to take inspiration for the laneways through the development. Right: Oxford Lane in The Terrace will provide a place for people to sit and socialise in between two buildings. lanes and eight vehicular access lanes, which run from north to south. It also has four gathering spaces, while a spine known as the Greenway would run right through the middle from east to west. Otakaro South Frame project manager Cameron Mclean said Evolution Square was an example of how well it had worked. He said the project’s laneways and gathering spaces were a catalyst for further private development in those blocks. “Having these public spaces on their doorstep encourages developers to deliver the likes of hospitality and retail ventures that spill out onto the laneways and make this an appealing part of the city for people.” Melbourne’s laneways were inspiration for the South Frame’s potential, but they tried to add a unique layer to the design through collaboration with CONTRAST: The once popular Sol Square is a shadow of its former self. PHOTOS: MARTIN HUNTER Matapopore, Mr Mclean said. For example, the garden beds were filled with plants traditionally used by Ngai Tahu and stones used for tools or trading had been placed throughout the frame, he said. Otakaro would continue to divest land adjoining the laneways to parties to develop them to attract people to the central city, he said. The concept of laneways and courtyards was part of the central city blueprint, developed after the quakes in 2012. But the idea of enhancing these spaces was around before then. The city council was in the process of upgrading its existing laneways before the February 22, 2011, earthquake. The Central City Lanes Plan identified lanes that had the potential to be successful like the popular Sol Square and Poplar Lane. But when the February 22, 2011, earthquake hit, that plan was paused, and both Poplar Lane and Sol Square were severely damaged. While new buildings have popped up in Poplar Lane’s place, Sol Square is a shadow of its former self. The red Mini Cooper teeters above the square where weeds grow up through the cracks in the pavement, and graffiti covers the buildings and windows. Some evidence of its past remains – the faded signs for once popular The Fish and Chip Shop and Toast and the large musical notes on the side of one of the buildings. Sol Square is, however, rising from the ashes, with developer Dave Henderson’s plans to restore the complex to its former glory. Since the quakes, other private developments were also including laneways and courtyards in their designs. Strange’s Lane was the first. The lane which runs between Lichfield and High Sts has a similar feel to the old Sol Square and Poplar Lane with brick buildings, hanging lighting, bars and eateries. It was the brainchild of developer Shaun Stockman. He said Strange’s Lane took inspiration from Melbourne laneways – not too wide and intimate. “I had a break there just after the quakes and it gave me the idea.” Mr Stockman said there was an arcade on the site in the 1960s. He said the work happening now with laneways was a follow on from the work the city council had done before the quakes. The Crossing opened last year. It is made up of several buildings which are all interconnected. The man behind the development, Philip Carter said while there was a planning requirement to incorporate laneways within The Crossing, they were happy to do it. “The laneways create interest and encourage discovery. We invested in the architecture of the development, and the laneways gave us an opportunity to showcase the architecture and make the spaces interesting.” Mr Carter said the architects visited Melbourne early in the design process and they used its laneways as inspiration. He said they created an “interesting CBD” and spaces where people would want to spend time. Richard Peebles has included laneways in his McKenzie and Willis complex which will eventually link to the Duncan’s Buildings he’s restoring. He plans to connect his Riverside development, due to open at the end of the year, with a new building to be constructed on the former Guthrey Centre site, to link it with Ballantynes. Much of the South Frame is expected to be finished by the end of the year. Land Information New Zealand is working to acquire the remaining land needed. Three are still to be finalised. The laneways are opening progressively. But while some of the city’s old laneways are gone, some of the new ones reflect on their history. One of the lanes leading into the BNZ Centre’s Cashel Lobby is called Shades Lane, a reference to the former Shades Arcade which once stood there. People moving through Evolution Square have a chance to literally walk down Memory Lane, a tribute to the labyrinth of past lanes in the area.
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Southern View: May 08, 2018

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