Almost crushed on Cuba Street

Walking to work one early morning. 
My headphones on as others were snoring. 
I reach Cuba Street with a pep in my step. 
Until I Feel a big shudder just off to my left! 
I thought was this a quake? 
Most definitely not. 
Was almost crushed by a giant rock!

True story. Part of a building on Cuba fell nearly landing on me & a female. Never heard anything in the news after.

3 Marshmellows!

We are from Germany and came to taste different kinds of coffee shops. Personally, we strongly believe that the best coffee shop in town is at Cuba Street. Only because you get 3 marshmellows. It is the first coffee shop we've ever found  where you get so many of them. Fantastic. Go and try.

Bobby on the beat!

In 1969, I used to walk to the Monde Marie (upper Willis St) from the Public Services Hostel (near Wellington station), and back again [at] about 1.30am. I would get to Wright Stephensons before I met anyone else and [I] was the local Bobby on the beat!! Wouldn't [do that] now!!

Family time on the train

I love coming into Wellington with the kids, on the train.

From home to parking lot

I have lived in Wellington my whole life. We have just moved from the home I grew up in. Now whenever I drive post I get sad, because it is now a parking lot.

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time lived Maui and his mother. They lived in a place called Autarua [Aotearoa?]
 

Only in Wellington

On a windy day in Wellington, we ventured out to the thriving shops of Cuba St, and came upon a shop called Recycled Boutique. Inside the lovely shop, as well as finding some great clothing, I heard a woman say to another employee 'could you help me? I've got to fit a rather large male into a tiny dress! Oh wellington...love you Wellington!

An old life and a new life here at home

When I was 8 I came to NZ with my family. Dad had got an international assignment with work and was transferred to Wellington. We were only meant to be here for 2 and a half years but other projects came along and we ended up staying for 8 years. When I was 15 we applied for citizenship and were successful in gaining NZ/Kiwi passports. I remember lots of special things about growing up in Belmont and Kelson. My brother and I cycled to school every day across the Kennedy Good Bridge and up the hill on the way home. Dad took us to many a cold rainy match at Athletic Park where our seats were generally on the roof! We came to see at least 2 Nissan Mobil 500's too. 19 years later, my wife and I have emigrated back to Wellington and started a new life in the place I call home.

Hot metal, lead letters

I arrived from UK in 1965 to work as a compositor at the Southland News. In 1967 I was working at the Wellington Polytechnic to a new job setting up a hot metal section in the school of design - with John Drawbridge, Dennis Beytagh, Don Ramage, Kate ... and many others from the school of design. My role was to show students how lead letters worked as hand set pieces. Gerald Bennett.

A shop of memories

When Kirkcaldie and Stains first opened, my Grandmother worked there as an 18yr old. My mother always visited the store on trips to Wellington and always told shop attendants about her mother at the store. Now my generation and our children always visit Kirkcaldie and Stains on visits to Wellington and talk to staff about their Great Grandmother.

Been here since way back

My family has been living in NZ since 1840. Wellington is special to me a lot. I love NZ. 

Riding a giant

I can remember riding on the elephant at the zoo in [the] early 1950's? No OSH regulations then but what an amazing experience as a child.

Sixth generation links

Hunter is a sixth generation Wellingtonian. His Great-great Grandad was C.E. Adams - Govt Astronomer and Seismologist. His Great-great-great Grandad was Daniel Docherty - Harbour Pilot (2nd Pilot).

Hunter is cool (Sixth generation Wellingtonian).

Herrings for lollies

My name is Ruby, I'm from Paraparaumu but I adore Wellington. My parents both grew up here and my dad used to trade herrings for lollies at the dairy and sneak them up to his room! I am a sailor and do lots of sailing in the harbour.

A chimp for tea

I remember going to the Chimps tea-party at Wellington Zoo in the 1960s. It was wonderful.

Buckets in common

I come from Liverpool in the UK and am staying in Wellington for a while. I noticed your bucket fountain in Cuba Street. We have one in Liverpool made of metal. I used to watch it as a child. It is still there but not in use. It surprised me to see something so unique halfway across the world; a feeling of home across the miles.

Animals on the wharf!

Thirty days hath September, thirty things we remember … (#30 of 30). This is our final story celebrating Wellington's unique history and culture. Thank you to our story tellers and most importantly to Wellington for being such a cool city!

In 2006 the Museum of Wellington City & Sea held an exhibition to celebrate Wellington Zoo turning 100. It was one of my first projects and was so much fun. The lovely staff from Wellington Zoo were great to work with and brought a blue tongued lizard, cockatoo and tuatara to the Museum. Already in residence was 'King Dick' (named after Prime Minister Richard Seddon) and officially the Zoo's first animal. My whole family helped out with the big outdoor 'Animals on the Wharf' event - a great excuse to dress up and celebrate all Wellington's animals: furry, bristly and scaly. (Kim, Marketing Manager)

Stay tuned for our daily stories throughout Wellington’s Heritage Month 2013 - where staff and volunteers share one of their favourite stories of the Wellington Region.

Meow for talent

Thirty days hath September, thirty things we remember … (#29 of 30)

Something I love most about Wellington over the years is its wide range of talent. Being a born Wellingtonian, music has been a huge part of my upbringing. Over the years this gorgeous city has provided a variety of artists whose music I've grown up with. My favourite place for Wellington music is Meow on Edward St. It's quirky, vibrant, warm and most importantly a good place to go for Wellington night life. Out of all the places I've been over the years, this place certainly takes the cake for best venue and showcase of Wellington talent. (Pippa, Publicist)

Stay tuned for our daily stories throughout Wellington’s Heritage Month 2013 - where staff and volunteers share one of their favourite stories of the Wellington Region.

Music in the trees

 

Thirty days hath September, thirty things we remember … (#28 of 30)

The best thing I remember when growing up was the amazing Botanical Garden concerts. Every concert would be packed out to the max! All Wellingtonian's would gather with picnic rugs, thermoses and cold cut dinners listening to the amazing talent Wellington has to offer. When there was one person brave enough from the crowd to get up and dance, then a few more would follow which would give me license to get up there too! The best part is that they still happen! (Pippa, Publicist)

Stay tuned for our daily stories throughout Wellington’s Heritage Month 2013 - where staff and volunteers share one of their favourite stories of the Wellington Region.

The ol' gaol

Thirty days hath September, thirty things we remember … (#27 of 30)

I used to live in the superintendent's house for the old Terrace Gaol, now the site of the Te Aro School. One of the saddest stories of the Gaol is that of young Hamiora Pere, a participant in the Te Kooti's War, who was hanged at the Gaol and buried in an unmarked grave. He is the only New Zealander to have been executed after being convicted of treason. The only toilet was outside behind a line of sheds and I didn't like going out in the dark as I was a little spooked by this sad story and the idea that Pere may have been buried on the property. (Kim, Marketing Manager)

(Hamiora Pere had been tried for treason in the Supreme Court in Wellington on 28 September 1869. he was one of the first men charged under the Disturbed Districts Act, a temporary measure containing special provisions for trying Maori 'in open rebellion' who had committed 'outrages and atrocities'. According to some theories, Pere was executed not because he was deemed to have deserved it, but because the government 'needed someone to hang' to satisfy public opinion or to serve as an example.)
 
Stay tuned for our daily stories throughout Wellington’s Heritage Month 2013 - where staff and volunteers share one of their favourite stories of the Wellington Region.

Te Marua loot

Thirty days hath September, thirty things we remember … (#26 of 30)

Growing up in Te Marua, there were twon ways to make money - diving for golf balls in the river or visiting the Speedway the morning after stock car races. I wasn't allowed to do either, but I can still remember the loot the other kids had and especially the watches and jewellery they brought to school on Mondays.

Stay tuned for our daily stories throughout Wellington’s Heritage Month 2013 - where staff and volunteers share one of their favourite stories of the Wellington Region.

Sweets and other discoveries

Thirty days hath September, thirty things we remember … (#25 of 30)

On Saturday evenings Dad took us out in our 1953 Ford Prefect always to the dairy on Constable Street in Newtown, to buy the Saturday Evening Post. Rob and I were given three pence to spend on sweets and all the way there we would debate what our purchase would be - 6 spearment leaves of 6 oddfellows, perhaps 3 of each, or a hokey pokey bar or 6 milk bottles. At home we tried to make our sweets last as long as possible while we read the centre pages of the paper with Ripley's Believe It Or Not! column and Jeeves and Neville Lodge among the cartoon strips. [I] fondly remembered fun and simple pleasures in our lovely home city of Wellington where I especially loved going up and down our hilly streets and discovering new and interesting places. (Judy, Visitor Services Host)

Stay tuned for our daily stories throughout Wellington’s Heritage Month 2013 - where staff and volunteers share one of their favourite stories of the Wellington Region.

Warriors of the forest

Thirty days hath September, thirty things we remember … (#24 of 30)

When I was younger, i spent a lot of time living in Kelburn with my cousin who was of a similar age. The best part about living there was living by the gardens. We made a secret hiding spot behind the duck pond gazebo, where we pretended to be warriors of the forest. Every time I go back for a walk, I remember all the wonderful characters and adventures we went on from childhood. (Pippa, Publicist)

Stay tuned for our daily stories throughout Wellington’s Heritage Month 2013 - where staff and volunteers share one of their favourite stories of the Wellington Region.

The perfect spot around the bays

Thirty days hath September, thirty things we remember … (#23 of 30)

During the summer I used to love going snorkeling with my dad and sister. We would check the tides and the weather before heading out around the bays in Wellington and picking the perfect spot to jump in. It was always hilarious when we went over deep water or water with lots of seaweed because my sister hated it and would panic a little bit. I even got to see a stingray up close when it swam under me. Driving around the bays was always one of my favourite parts of summer. (Sarah, Visitor Services Host)

Stay tuned for our daily stories throughout Wellington’s Heritage Month 2013 - where staff and volunteers share one of their favourite stories of the Wellington Region.

Driving the old road

Thirty days hath September, thirty things we remember … (#22 of 30)

When I was 16 and living in Te Marua a family friend offered to give me my first driving lesson. She parked her Morris 1100 across the road from the diary, pointing north, and said 'go'. I drove to the bottom of the Rimutaka Hills - it was a bit hairy as the Kaitoke Road was a series of winds and bends in those days and you had to double the clutch to get her car into second gear. These days the trip takes no time at all, pretty well straight through with passing lanes and sweeping curves. It's a great feat of engineering and makes the trip to visit whanau in the Wairarapa so much easier, but it's just not quite the same as driving on the old road. (Rachel, Learning and Public Programmes Manager)

Stay tuned for our daily stories throughout Wellington’s Heritage Month 2013 - where staff and volunteers share one of their favourite stories of the Wellington Region.

A Humpback lesson?

Thirty days hath September, thirty things we remember … (#21 of 30)

One day when I was walking along Oriental Bar, I was amazed to see a humpback whale (I think) swimming out in the harbour. It was such an unusual sight that it got me thinking of why Europeans first came to this area which was to set up whaling stations on Kapiti and over at Port Underwood. Then the waters must have been thick with these magnificent creatures. So while it was great and grounding to see this connection with history, as I am a historian and these things interest me, I was rather sad that there are now so few of them that sighting one is an extremely rare event. A lesson to be learned? (Paul, Deputy Director)

Stay tuned for our daily stories throughout Wellington’s Heritage Month 2013 - where staff and volunteers share one of their favourite stories of the Wellington Region.

Thunder and lightning ... and snow!

 

Thirty days hath September, thirty things we remember … (#19 of 30)

The building across the road just it up with lightning and I counted 4 'Mississippis' before the loud thunder rolled over the Museum. It's bucketing down. We hardly ever have storms like this in Wellington. Maybe I won't bicycle [sic] home ... although I loved riding my motorbike in the 2011 snow storm. (Kim, Marketing Manager)

Stay tuned for our daily stories throughout Wellington’s Heritage Month 2013 - where staff and volunteers share one of their favourite stories of the Wellington Region.

Our carved guardian

When we moved to Wellington this year, we left our three children (now young adults) behind in Christchurch. One day I was walking in our suburb of Brooklyn, along the ridgeway and discovered Kawakawa Reserve off Quebec St, which overlooks the South Coast, back up North. There is an amazing carving there - by a local writer, which has a great number of faces which look in all directions. I felt this was my family's guardian looking back home south and back up north to where we are. It was a powerful and comforting image.

Gone are the days of the ginormous cheese

Thirty days hath September, thirty things we remember … (#20 of 30)

Growing up, whenever we drove past Lindale Farm in Kapiti we HAD to stop and get an ice-cream from the Kapiti Cheese shop and play on the ginormous cheese. Now as adults whenever we drive past and see Lindale Village all empty we feel sad. (Bridget, Experience Services Coordinator)

Stay tuned for our daily stories throughout Wellington’s Heritage Month 2013 - where staff and volunteers share one of their favourite stories of the Wellington Region.

Milk in the way!

 

I had a driving test on Buller St. I had to do a hill start and a three-point turn. It was 1972. The milk truck was blocking the street and I had to signal and go around it first. I passed my test.

Fork of the day

Thirty days hath September, thirty things we remember … (#18 of 30)
 
It’s funny to hear these days that the tramp up to Powell Hut (at 1200 metres on Mount Holdsworth, Tararua Ranges), is suited for ‘fitter trampers’ when as kids, our primary school had no qualms in marching us all up there on a regular basis! I’m glad they did though. Despite the harrowing winds and cold nights huddled together in the historic hut, I have fond memories of our adventures up there. The most vivid being when approaching the hut with a class-mate during what could only be described as a blizzard, and upon realising through the mist how near we were to our destination, we began running in jubilation along the last snow-cased ridge. Suddenly, my friend in front was whipped off the side by the wind and thrown down the slope. His saviour from falling over a hundred metres into trees, was a dinner fork clasped tightly in his hand (your guess is as good as mine as to why?), which he somehow dug deeply into the slope. That same fork served him well later on that night too – to eat our baked beans. (Brent, Public Programmes Developer)
 
Stay tuned for our daily stories throughout Wellington’s Heritage Month 2013 - where staff and volunteers share one of their favourite stories of the Wellington Region.