Leaves From My Sketchbooks. 54. Stone Hut Remains, Allandale, New Zealand

I've searched frutlessly for some Internet history of this shed. I saw it among undergrowth some years ago and decided to draw it even though it was not a particularly interesting subject. But I think I might have preserved a bit of Lyttelton Harbour that's gone for ever.

I made a note on my drawing that reads: '9/7/1966. All that remains of a cottage which began as a wood hut for workmen on the Vigers property at Allandale. It was added to in stone in 1880 by Henry Jennings, a settler. For many years it belonged to William Garlick, was bought by Dunbier and was destroyed by fire in the 1950s being then 100 years old'.

© DON DONOVAN. donovan@ihug.co.nz 
www. don-donovan.blogspot.co.nz
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New Zealand Odyssey: The Little Red School Bus

'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 illustration establishes a point in New Zealand's history when some school buses were still run by the Department of Education (which is now a Ministry). I drew this little red Bedford in 1987, at Allendale, when it carried children to school in the Lyttelton harbour area. It may bring tears to some eyes because it was quintessentially rural New Zealand.

© DON DONOVAN

donovan@ihug.co.nz

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My Books: Second Bite

This piece of fictional nonsense is full of sex and violence and based on a real murder that was perpetrated upon Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common, South London, England. It should have been published by Hazard Press who published my first novel 'The Wastings' but they broke the contract and I was too sensible to sue them

So I published it myself and the only way you can buy a copy is by contacting me by email. But be quick because there are few left!

donovan@ihug.co.nz

Open 7 Days 37. Okains Bay Store

I wrote and illustrated ‘Open 7 Days’. It was published in 1991. It’s a series of freeze-frames of some historic New Zealand general and convenience stores as they were preserved in the last decade of the 20th century. Bit by bit, on this blog, I re-publish some of the entries from that book.

OKAINS BAY STORE

Okains Bay, Banks Peninsula.
Proprietor: Chris Stanger.

Chris Stanger is a solo parent. He finds living in Okains Bay perfect for his lifestyle because while he works the shop, his sons go to the school whose front gate is less than a gumboot’s throw across the road. Chris, a mechanic by trade who has served time as a truckie, took over the store in 1987 for a bit of peace and quiet. He now looks after the needs of about forty families, but gets very busy for eight weeks in the summer when the local camping ground accommodates about 400 holidaymakers.

Because Okains Bay is so isolated, Chris doesn’t quite suffer the problems other country storekeepers have of competition from big-town supermarkets. That means he carries a more comprehensive inventory of groceries, dairy lines, petrol and oil, hardware and home-brew supplies. The store has the postal agency and is the fire group’s call-out point. It also provides a focus for news and advice, and Chris often finds himself consulted about marriage guidance, household budgeting, fixing the car, employment and how to achieve a successful home-brew.

It’s a great old building, very original, with two old kauri counters in the shop. When things are quiet in the winter, Chris manufactures garden gnomes – a gang of seven plaster dwarfs – which he sells, either naked or painted, both in the store and to garden centres in Christchurch – The Big Smoke north of the Port Hills beyond Lyttelton Harbour.

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
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Country Churches of NZ 94. St. Peter's, Teddington, Banks Peninsula

I wrote and illustrated Country Churches of New Zealand. It was published in 2002 by New Holland, Publishers and is still on sale in bookshops. The publishers have kindly agreed to me re-publishing some of the book’s images and descriptions in this blog.

ST. PETER'S, TEDDINGTON

Many's the time I've passed St. Peter's on my way to visit friends in Gebbies Valley at the head of Lyttelton Harbour. But I have never seen it looking so fresh as it was on the spring day in 2001 when I illustrated it.

At only 52 square metres, it is the smallest of Benjamin Mountfort's country churches.

It was built on land given by William Gebbie, an early settler, and opened for worship in April 1871 (although it was not consecrated until 7 January 1885). Apart from having its shingles replaced by iron in 1895, it is very much in its original form.

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
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Country Churches of NZ 91. St. Paul's, Port Levy, Banks Peninsula

I wrote and illustrated Country Churches of New Zealand. It was published in 2002 by New Holland, Publishers and is still on sale in bookshops. The publishers have kindly agreed to me re-publishing some of the book’s images and descriptions in this blog.

ST. PAUL'S, PORT LEVY

The intimate little church of St Paul's, Port Levy, in one of those delightful indented bays of Banks Peninsula, has a special place in my heart. Many years ago some friends and I had a memorable 'sketching picnic' in its churchyard. One of them, a good friend and a talented artist, died just a few days before I re-visited Port Levy and so this sketch is in his honour.

St Paul's was designed and built by Joseph Maddison, a Christchurch architect best known for his work on the 1906 New Zealand International Exhibition.

Rather less severe than his usual structures, it was opened in 1888 to a congregation of whom 100 had travelled across Lyttelton Harbour especially for the occasion.

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
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Country Churches of NZ 89. St. Cuthbert's, Governors Bay, Christchurch

I wrote and illustrated Country Churches of New Zealand. It was published in 2002 by New Holland, Publishers and is still on sale in bookshops. The publishers have kindly agreed to me re-publishing some of the book’s images and descriptions in this blog.

ST CUTHBERT'S, GOVERNORS BAY

'Idyllic spring day. Lawns and gravestones very well tended. Interior dark wood, low windows, peaceful and reassuring. Lady doing flowers said they're planning a fund-raising drive to keep the church maintained. I think that this is the best of all that I've visited so far.' (SKETCHBOOK NOTE 1/11/2001)

The foundation stone of St Cuthbert's, Governors Bay, was laid in 1860. Two years later Edward Morey finished building it to the design of George Mallinson using cob faced with stone from a local quarry.

Governors Bay is on the inside of Lyttelton's volcanic crater and the wind sweeps down from Coopers Knobs on the crest above so strongly that the outside walls of the church had to be buttressed. These add to the charm of a building that very closely resembles an English village church.

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
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