GUNDRY'S GRUMBLES with Simon Gundry
POHUTUKAWAS IN BLOOM
Simon Gundry is a Devonport and North Shore identity, and character, who is known for calling a spade a spade. He is a director of contracting company Gill & Gundry, is an enthusiastic and active sailor (past crew-member of Ceramo New Zealand and Lion New Zealand in Whitbread Round The World races and Shockwave in Admiral’s Cup) and is a life member North Shore Rugby Football Club. This is his regular and lively contribution to CHANNEL.
I can’t believe we are looking down the barrel at Christmas already, where has the year gone? The beautiful pohutukawa blossom is starting to appear along the waterfront at Devonport, with the tide full and the blue skies I wouldn’t want to be living in any other part of the world.
I have just returned from Australia where I visited my number three son, who graduated from Otago University with a degree in Surveying. He is working on the biggest infrastructure project in the Southern Hemisphere, guiding tunnelling machines that are boring a myriad of tunnels underneath Brisbane. I came back thinking why the hell can’t we do something like this under our harbour. Sir Dove Myer Robinson, the former Mayor of Auckland, with his idea of rapid rail really did have the right idea – he was a man ahead of his time. He was the man who stopped the proposed oxidation ponds being put on Browns Island, instead building them down at Mangere where they are now.
One of my great concerns on talking to my number three son, is that of the 40 young people who graduated from Otago with a degree in surveying in 2009, less than a handful have jobs working in New Zealand. The rest of them are spread throughout the world. Again, another example of our part taxpayer funded tertiary education working to the advantage of countries overseas. These young people are now working in Australia, Europe and the Middle East. I do realise that this overseas experience is important for these young New Zealanders, and the bright lights of London are more exciting than the bright lights of cities in New Zealand.
Sometimes I wonder whether New Zealand is too small, too few people paying taxes and too many on social welfare, too many on benefits. We have too many people with a sense of entitlement, who think the state will pay for them and look after them. Where has this come from, when we used to be known for our independence, ingenuity, innovation and can do attitude? We are now a nation of beige people, too scared to speak out. We have lost our sense of humour. One of the worst things that happened to us as a country was losing Billy T James at a young age. He was one person who could “poke the Borax” and get us to laugh at ourselves. When he died, a lot of our national humour died with him. Now we are so politically correct we can’t say anything vaguely controversial.
I’ll give you a graphic example, I wrote an article for this magazine a couple of months ago with my opinion about the Masonic Tavern in Devonport, in which I said the Environment Court decision in giving the go ahead for this development was just the first hurdle in the ongoing battle for the developer. Many more hurdles will be thrown up before this project is finished. In fact I feel now that the owner would be better off selling the hotel and the land right now and walking away, and spending the money to enjoy his life. I believe he would be better off financially doing that, than when the project is finished.
Within a couple of days of this article being published in Channel magazine, I received a trespass notice in the post barring me from the Masonic for 24 months. This really has annoyed me, as I do enjoy a quiet beer there on a Thursday evening with a few good people. One of my good friends wrote a letter to the proprietor of this fine establishment asking why I had been banned and defended my position. He also received a trespass notice banning him for 24 months by return post – the reason given being “Quarrelsome and Insulting behaviour”.
There are a couple of other regulars who have voiced their opposition to this development. One in particular is a very well travelled and articulate person, who goes in to play pool a couple of nights a week with his best mate, the lawyer. He has been quite vocal with his opposition in the environment court, telling the court that the proprietor had run down the hotel deliberately to try and convince people it was a dying business. He too has received trespass notices for 24 months. Where the hell has the freedom of speech gone? People have told me just to go back and try to have a beer there, but these trespass notices have also been filed with the police and the council. We have no right of appeal.
I can remember from my history lessons at Takapuna Grammar School of people trying to stifle the freedom of speech in Germany in the 1930’s. Sometimes in life you have to speak up and say what you believe in, and to hell with the consequences.
Summer is coming on, a wonderful time in this country. We are blessed with good beaches and sailing grounds, open country and fresh air and friendships. Lets make the most of the summer months, I get sick of going to funerals and saying to friends “let’s catch up sometime” and the next time you catch up is at another funeral. Make a few phone calls over the summer, invite those friends over and have a beer, a glass of wine and some food. Include the kids. Communicate with your next door neighbours, sometimes it takes an extraordinary event as happened in Christchurch back in September, for people even to get to know their neighbours.
Okay, that’s it for now. See you in the December edition of Channel. It’s good to see it being accepted so well by the people of the North Shore. I know it’s pretty widely read as a lot of people come up and talk to me about the column, and agree with many of my points.
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