Saturday 2 January 2016

Hotere Gardens, Port Chalmers

 I know we are a day or two into the new year
 but as this is my first post this year I would like
 to wish you all a very Happy New Year
 and all you could wish for during 2016.

************
On New Year's Eve afternoon my GKB and I went down the harbour and spent the afternoon with his sister 
and her husband. It was a beautiful day and we spent 
a large part of the afternoon sitting out
 in their garden overlooking the water. Beautiful.
Unfortunately I never took a photo of the view 
but here is another one of the harbour 
from further up the hill at Flagstaff Lookout.



On our way home we decided to go up Flagstaff, 
we haven't been up there for years, and we had a nice surprise.
When we turned around from taking photo's we saw 
a sign telling us about the Hotere Gardens Oputae. 
So take a load off your feet and take five minutes
 to have a look around the garden with us.


They were new to us and definitely new to my GKB 
who grew up in Port Chalmers. So we went exploring.
Ralph Hotere is (or was) a New Zealand artist 
who lived in Port  for a few years. My father knew him 
and I think Mum may have met him once or twice 
when they lived there. I have seen his work in art galleries
 but it is not to my taste. I just don't get it. Other people do.


This is his work.  
It is called Black Phoenix.
I like the fact it has been incorporated in a native garden
 along with three other sculptures from other artists.


A totem pole. It has the word Aramoana carved onto it.
Aramoana is where there was a lot of political controversy 
about an aluminium smelter being built.
Several years later a shooting tragedy occurred 
involving the whole community and I'm not sure which event
 is being commemorated with the totem. Maybe both.
It was carved by Chris Booth.


This is a sculpture by Shona Rapira Davies.
The plaque nearby reads:
They do cut down the poles that hold up the sky. 1989.


This one is by Russel Moses and is named 
Brick Column.

It was a lovely day just to stroll around the little garden, 
and it is small.There are nice paths to walk on and one
 or two seats to sit and just enjoy the garden or the view. 
Take a picnic lunch. And ponder!
And when you are finished if you want to you can walk 
down a path to the road around to Back Beach 
or the Yachting Club.


I hope you've enjoyed this little hidden gem as much as we did.
And if you want to know more just click
 on the links in the dialogue.

joining Stephanie over at:
and
Amy at Love Made my Home for:

Have a wonderful week,
look after yourselves and 
I'll see you next time.
Diana






14 comments:

  1. What a lovely place to enjoy the day! Happy New Year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the view!
    Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful view of the harbor! The Hotere Garden is quite interesting. It sounds you had a very pleasant day! Happy New Year.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Diana, that scenery is just beautiful!! I like art that looks like art.lol I guess I am just a traditionalist. Thank you for showing me a part of the world I will most likely never see in person! I love learning about our world.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a beautiful place.
    Happy New Year. : )

    ReplyDelete
  6. Diana, what a beautiful day! It looks so warm and sunny there. Winter has finally arrived here and it is cold! That statue of the upside down headless man is so interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Happy New year! It's so great to get out on a nice day and see something like this unusual art. We're hoping to go to the beach tomorrow...and ponder! Sweet hugs, Diane

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a wonderful day to enjoy the sunny skies and the sculptures.
    Happy New Year, Diana!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Look at that beautiful blue sky. We have mild temperatures but the sky is just full of rain! Enjoy your wonderful summer sunshine xx

    ReplyDelete
  10. My, what a beautiful place to visit! The sunshine looks so warm and inviting :)

    Thanks for joining Roses of Inspiration, sweet friend. Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  11. A wonderful sunny garden with lots of interesting things. Some of the sculptures might have me scratching my head in puzzlement. But art can mean so many things.

    ReplyDelete
  12. A beautiful place to visit, and looks like a great sunny day.

    ReplyDelete
  13. A very interesting place to visit and have a wander around! Thank you for joining Five On Friday! Happy Weekend! xx

    ReplyDelete
  14. Nice to meet you through Five on Friday. Happy New Year! It's lovely to wander through this garden with the beautiful views of the sea and find some interesting sculptures and sculptors new to me. They're thought provoking and add a sense of place to Observation Point with a nod to the artist who lived nearby.

    ReplyDelete

please feel free to leave a comment, I love to hear from you