Ramblings of a much published New Zealand author

30 September 2011

New Zealand Odyssey: Bank of New Zealand, Rakaia, Canterbury

'New Zealand Odyssey', published in 1989 by Heinemann, was authored by me, Don Donovan (who did the text and illustrations) and Euan Sarginson, who did the photography and design. In this series of blog posts, I will publish some of my drawings.



Rakaia is a little settlement south of Christchurch just off State Highway 1 and close to the Rakaia, a whopper of a shingle river that crosses Canterbury Plains and tries to take bits of the Southern Alps with it into the Pacific Ocean.

If nothing else symbolizes the wealth of Canterbury farmers this four square pile does it nicely. According to that little box on the right hand side of the front door it dates to 1852 but I don't believe it.

In 1987 New Zealand's Bank of New Zealand owned it. I doubt if they do now; besides, it's no longer New Zealand's bank - it belongs to the Australians.

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
.

25 September 2011

New Zealand Odyssey: Quinn's Arcade, Waimate

'New Zealand Odyssey', published in 1989 by Heinemann, was authored by me, Don Donovan (who did the text and illustrations) and Euan Sarginson, who did the photography and design. In this series of blog posts, I will publish some of my drawings.



I couldn't believe my eyes when I discovered this building in Waimate in 1987. Not only was it architecturally unique in my experience but it was astonishing in such a small town. It was built in 1906 by a man who owned a brickworks - surprise, surprise, he must have used it to display his whole catalogue!

Mr Quinn thought it would make a nice covered shopping arcade but it never really worked that way; in the end it became a cinema and other things and, clearly, by 1987 it was freight depôt. It's not just a front, it runs the width of a block from High Street to Grigson Street. Long may it last.

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
.

24 September 2011

New Zealand Odyssey: Geraldine Cinema, South Canterbury

'New Zealand Odyssey', published in 1989 by Heinemann, was authored by me, Don Donovan (who did the text and illustrations) and Euan Sarginson, who did the photography and design. In this series of blog posts, I will publish some of my drawings.


This has got to be the most exciting piece of architecture in Geraldine - a pretty village in South Canterbury. Back in the early days of movies, in the absence of a cinema they used to show films in the local town hall - until a cinema was built. In Geraldine's case they didn't build a custom-made movie theatre - they turned the town hall into one. I was there in 2010 and it was still as it was in 1987 when I did this watercolour.

What is that architectural style? Fireside gothic? Pseudo-Tudor kitsch? I've no idea but I love it, I love it!

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
.

19 September 2011

New Zealand Odyssey: Holy Name Church, Ashburton

'New Zealand Odyssey', published in 1989 by Heinemann, was authored by me, Don Donovan (who did the text and illustrations) and Euan Sarginson, who did the photography and design. In this series of blog posts, I will publish some of my drawings.




No matter how hard an author tries there is bound to be at least one mistake in any book. This was the only one in 'New Zealand Odyssey'. I captioned the church 'Holy Child, Ashburton'; it should have been 'Holy Name'. 

I know how I made the mistake: my wife went to a Holy Child convent when she was a young girl. That name stuck in my mind and superseded 'Holy Name'. Simple as that. It took a reader in Ashburton to spot the mistake and tell me about it, much to my chagrin. 

What appealed to me about the church was not so much its architecture - no matter how good it is - but that in a small town like Ashburton the local Roman Catholics could have had the cash and energy to build such a solid temple.

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
.

15 September 2011

New Zealand Odyssey: 1878 Harbour Light, Timaru, South Canterbury

'New Zealand Odyssey', published in 1989 by Heinemann, was authored by me, Don Donovan (who did the text and illustrations) and Euan Sarginson, who did the photography and design. In this series of blog posts, I will publish some of my drawings.


This harbour light was built in 1878 to guide shipping into Timaru Harbour but by the time I painted it in 1987 it had been moved to Benvenue Street, Maori Park where it stood merely as a piece of history. Typical of design that comes from function its form is pleasing and sculptural giving off an air of solid reliability. I particularly liked the red cupola - a legitimate opportunity to use a primary colour without apology!

I think it's been, or is being, moved yet again in 2011.

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
.

10 September 2011

New Zealand Odyssey: Mailbox, Yaldhurst Road, Christchurch

'New Zealand Odyssey', published in 1989 by Heinemann, was authored by me, Don Donovan (who did the text and illustrations) and Euan Sarginson, who did the photography and design. In this series of blog posts, I will publish some of my drawings.



It's just another whacky side of the New Zealand character. We seem to need to outdo each other in various ways: some pretty weird houses (never two the same), a jumble of seaside cottages and mail boxes at the ends of drives - especially farms where the old, unused fridge  or washing machine often comes in handy. 

This adapted milk churn swayed gently in the breeze on Yaldhurst Road, an escape route from Christchurch that heads towards Porters Pass and the romantic transalpine highway to Westland. It was so open that I imagine that if the wind blew from the wrong direction all the paper mail and newspapers would have joined the escape.

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
.

08 September 2011

New Zealand Odyssey: Protest Graffiti, Winslow, Canterbury

'New Zealand Odyssey', published in 1989 by Heinemann, was authored by me, Don Donovan (who did the text and illustrations) and Euan Sarginson, who did the photography and design. In this series of blog posts, I will publish some of my drawings.


This is an example of a political protest made mock of by a cynical rustic. Protest made by earnest do-gooders; rustic riposte by, probably, the local sheep farmers.

In about 1987 when I did this drawing there was a strong movement against the export of live sheep to Muslim countries. So the protesters went round the country painting 'Ban Live Sheep Exports' on barns, sheep sheds and so on. The locals simply changed 'Ban' to 'Baa' and that was the end of that!

This shed was at Winslow, beside the main south road in mid-Canterbury. I couldn't resist it!

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
.

07 September 2011

New Zealand Odyssey: Ellesmere Brass Band Hall, Leeston, Canterbury



At Leeston, a small farming town on the Canterbury Plain near Lake Ellesmere, this proud, solid, earnest hall stood in 1987 as, to my mind, a good example of local community spirit. I daresay it was built early in the 20th century when people tended to travel less, stay in their discrete neighbourhoods and keep themselves occupied without the passive intrusion of television. 

I guess it was built with funding from local subscription. I hope the brass band still flourishes and that the hall is still used for its original purpose.

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
.

01 September 2011

New Zealand Odyssey: The Old Shipping Office, Akaroa

'New Zealand Odyssey', published in 1989 by Heinemann, was authored by me, Don Donovan (who did the text and illustrations) and Euan Sarginson, who did the photography and design. In this series of blog posts, I will publish some of my drawings.



This was a hasty scribble in my sketch book, I had intended to make a more formal rendering later but never did. Despite its looseness I think it conveys the essence of this old shipping office in Church Street, Akaroa. It was built in 1895.

The fascinating thing about this building is that it's entirely made of wood but that the architect found it necessary to make it look like stone. Why was that? Did it lend some pomposity and bank-like authority? Funny people, the Victorians.

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
.

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Blurb

RANDOM SAMPLINGS F...
By Don Donovan