Signposts - a blog about Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Common tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus)

It’s the biggest comeback since Lazarus for New Zealand’s ‘living dinosaur‘, the tuatara. For the first time in around 200 years a tuatara nest has been found on mainland New Zealand.

The nest was found at Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, a large sanctuary surround by a predator-proof fence, just minutes away from Wellington. The tuatara had become extinct on mainland New Zealand, and its re-population is thanks to the survival of tuatara (both Sphenodon punctatus and Sphenodon guntheri) on nearshore islands. In 2005 the sanctuary was gifted 70 tuatara from Stephens Island (Takapourewa) in the Marlborough Sounds by their kaitiaki (guardians) Ngāti Koata, with another 130 released in the sanctuary in 2007.

A land-based taniwha

It’s interesting that Ngāti Koata are kaitiaki (guardians) of the tuatara. The tuatara, with a Māori name meaning spiny back, were often used as kaitiaki themselves. They were sometimes released near burial caves to protect the dead. Tuatara, along with other reptiles, were often held in fear by Māori. And, like other reptiles, it was seen as descending from Punga, whose descendants were considered hideously ugly. It is also sometimes considered to be the model for the giant land-based taniwha in Māori tradition, such as Te Ngārara Huarau.

Tuatara hatchling

It’s not the first time this year these living descendants of the 250-million-year-old Sphenodontia order have been in the news. Harry the tuatara is the epitome of the term ‘living fossil‘ – at the sprightly age of 111 he became dad to 11 healthy eggs laid by a cradle-snatched 80-ish Mildred. In case you’re interested, we have footage of tuataras mating. It’s not Harry and Mildred, but they’re dead-ringers.

Orange sign? Must be election day

It’s an exciting week in New Zealand – at least for election junkies. Not only do we have our own general election on Saturday, but we’ve been able to watch the US election as well.

I certainly enjoy a good election, and will be hosting my fourth triennial election party, where my friends and I will hang out, channel surf between the election coverage on TV One, TV3 and Māori Television, and voice our opinions about the proceedings.

Te Ara will be covering elections and New Zealand’s parliamentary system in more detail in our upcoming Nation theme, but in the meantime you can find an introduction to our system of government and electoral system in our Government and nation entry.

You can also find some election-related treasures among our images and media, such as the famous 1975 advertisement warning against immigration, Michael Joseph Savage’s victory speech after the 1935 election – the Labour Party’s first time in government, and Sidney Holland’s victory speech after the 1949 election (accompanied by an image of the cover of the National Party’s campaign booklet). And you can see how the citizens of Palmerston North found out about the results of the 1935 election, back in the days before television.

On NZHistory.net you’ll find an Election days feature, which outlines New Zealand’s electoral system and includes stories from the first election, in 1853, to more recent polling days. You can even view the famous – or infamous – ‘Dancing Cossacks‘ television advertisement from 1975, and what is probably the earliest film clip of a New Zealand politician on the hustings in 1911. Other relevant features on NZHistory.net include Women and the vote, Māori and the vote, and The road to MMP.

It’s likely to be another 12 years before the New Zealand and United States elections are both in the same year, so enjoy the political buzz while it lasts.

Westport Borough Council building – the West Coast meets Los Angeles

Although Napier and Hastings are often identified with the art deco style of architecture, it is also found in other parts of New Zealand, including Westport – the art deco capital of the West Coast.

This is because Westport was badly damaged by the 1929 Murchison earthquake. In the subsequent reconstruction in the 1930s several of the town’s larger buildings were erected, incorporating art deco features:

• The Buller County Council chambers featured in an issue of four art deco stamps produced by New Zealand Post in 1999.
• The Westport Borough Council building uses simple classical lines to produce a solid municipal building. It looks like solid stone, yet is really stucco. With a palm tree and the sun shining, it could be in Los Angeles.
• The post office building was badly damaged in the earthquake, and has been partly reconstructed using typical art deco symbols over the windows.

Many older movie theatres were built in the 1920s and 1930s, and have external decoration in the art deco style – often a good way to dress up a building that is little more than a box. One of the most out-of-the-way examples is the Lyric Theatre in Granity, with an art deco facade. Unfortunately there are no surrounding buildings to hide the other three sides.

One of my favourite Westport buildings was the St James Theatre, with art deco detailing on the front and a modern mural on the side. I photographed it a few weeks ago for the West Coast regional entry in Te Ara (due to be launched in December). But sadly this was one of the last pictures of the building ever taken.

It was long been known to be structurally unsound. During a movie session on Sunday 12 October a large crack was noticed on the back wall, and the roof was sagging. The next day it was examined and condemned. The grand piano was hastily removed, and demolition began. Before anyone could say ‘heritage’, the building was gone.

With thanks to the Westport News (www.westportnews.co.nz) for information on the last days of the St James Theatre.