OTIRA - ARTHUR’S PASS TUNNEL

The 8.5 kilometre Otira Tunnel between Westland and Canterbury would not have been built almost a hundred years ago without a man who knew his trigonometry.

John Howard Dobson was the man who did. He was the surveyor for the tunnel between Arthur’s Pass and Otira. The Pass was named after his cousin Arthur Dudley Dobson. The result of the surveyor’s hard work was a dead straight hole through the Southern Alps from West to East, with a steep upward grade, exactly as planned.

When the major centennial celebrations for the tunnel get underway on August 4th, John Dobson will no doubt smile down on the people from all over New Zealand assembled at Otira to replicate the opening of the tunnel a century before. Members of the committee planning the celebrations came face to face with John’s genius while working to trim vegetation near the Otira end of the tunnel. With guidance from Bruce Shalders , co-author of a new book about the tunnel, they were able to see how John did what he did. After all, between the portals of this monumental tunnel are mountains. Well, the answer is trigonometry. There are lots of definitions of trigonometry online. Here’s one:

‘Trigonometry helps to find angles and distances, for science, engineering and video games.’

Trigonometry is from ancient Egypt or possibly Babylonia. In Greek, the word ‘trigon’ means three angles.

John and his team had a huge task ahead of them, before the hundreds of tunnellers moved in 1908. In order to ‘see’ both ends of the tunnel at once they built five ‘survey monuments’ each made of concrete upon which they would set a theodolite.

Three were at the Otira end, two at the Arthur’s Pass end. Each monument had to be visible to another one, and that one to a third, which was in line of site to yet another etc. It is a bit hard to understand, but work it did.

Bruce Shalders said, “It’s about line of sight, you have to be able to actually sight the next monument. For example, there’s a ridge above Arthur’s Pass from which you can see Mt Barron.”

Bruce also points out that the job was not easy, a lot of climbing was required and the seasonal notorious weather in the area would have made seeing anything, often difficult or impossible.

The committee members working at the Otira end of the tunnel to trim vegetation, were able to stand behind one of these monuments and see right through to the other end of the tunnel, more than 8.5 kilometres away at Arthur’s Pass.

Diane Gordon Burns , Coordinator and Chair of the Centennial committee was moved when she saw the monument in the bush.

“To be able to clear away vegetation and see this beautiful piece of hundred year old engineering was so special to me. Suddenly it became clear how this miracle of engineering happened,” commented Diane. On August 4th, the day of the celebrations, visitors will be offered a bus ride from Otira to the portal to stand behind the monument to see for themselves what John Howard Dobson’s genius created.

Simon Williams.

Please contact us to make an appointment in one of the four convenient office locations.

Kate Warren Senior Associate

Mobile: 027 384 3054

Email: kate.warren@tp.co.nz

Rolleston & Darfield: 03 317 9099

Christchurch: 03 374 9999

Ashburton:

INHERITANCE - WHAT’S MINE IS NOT YOURS

If you are in a qualifying relationship and inherit assets (whether those assets be physical items or cash) the law does not require you to share your inheritance with your partner, and therefore these assets will initially be regarded as separate property. This means the inheritance remains the property of the party that inherited - hence, what’s mine is not yours!

If, however, you intermingle the inheritance with joint assets, it becomes relationship property. An example of intermingling inheritance would be the transfer of inherited money into a joint bank account with your partner. If you were to inherit a motor vehicle and proceed to use it for the benefit of your relationship, then there is a high chance this asset would become relationship property.

To obtain certainty around the status of inherited assets, we recommend entering into a Contracting Out Agreement under s21 of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976. This Agreement can cover just the inherited assets to protect their status as separate property, or it can cover other items brought to the relationship where it is agreed these assets should not be divided equally in the event of separation. The Contracting Out Agreement could state that the party who inherited the money would be paid out the amount of their inheritance before the relationship property is divided. Or, if the inheritance were invested into real estate (the Property), for example, the contribution could be agreed to reflect a percentage of the value of the Property and therefore in the event of separation the percentage share of the Property would be paid back – although with this option can come to a risk of capital loss.

We often provide independent estate and relationship property advice, and can of course assist with property investment.

If you wish to keep your inheritance yours, get in contact.

See advertisement in this issue for contact details.

Kate Warren, Senior AssociateTavendale and Partners.

Steak Cookoff

...continued from front page. We would like to thank everyone for getting us to this event, it was so heart warming to have the community behind us and cheering us on, win or lose. “We know now we can kick it with the world's best and will be looking to head back next year. The beauty about Steak Cookoff competitions is anyone over the age of fourteen can enter, you don't have to be good in the kitchen or be a chef.....literally, anyone can do it, and if you work hard enough, then World Champs is a real reality. If this story has enticed anyone to Steak Cookoffs.....I can help you. This is a sport that is starting to explode globally,” Chris concluded. To get in touch with Chris follow his Facebook page: ‘Rendered’.

Malvern Spelling Bee

After two years of uncertainty, we were finally able to hold the annual Malvern Spelling Bee on Tuesday, March 28th, at the Darfield Primary School Hall. We had a very special guest, Mayor Sam Broughton who was our Bee Master. We know how much of a busy man he is, so we were very excited to have him join us and read out the words. We had eight teams participating - the Springfield Spuds,

Glentunnel Geeks, Glentunnel Golds, Greendale Ghosters, Windwhistle Warriors, Darfield A and Darfield B and Hororata Spellicans. The teams of four had to work together to work out the correct spelling of the words, some of the lists included words relating to the Coronation of King Charles III. There were some very tricky words that even the adults found difficult!

Once all the rounds were counted, the Greendale Ghosters and Hororata Spellicans were first equal and Glentunnel Geeks and Glentunnel Golds third equal. They were all very proud of themselves. The competition was fierce, and we are looking forward to next year already. We wonder what Mayor Sam will be up to that day. Nākunoa,nā, BronwynHarding,Tumuaki Principal,KānukaRuruhau GreendaleSchool.

Council Adopts Draft Plan

At Wednesday, March 29th, special meeting Selwyn District Council adopted its Draft Annual Plan for public engagement. The Draft Plan outlines what the

Council is going to do over the coming year and how much it will cost. It’s the third year of the Council’s Long-Term Plan 20212031.

Mayor Sam Broughton said, “Council has worked hard to pull together a work programme that keeps the rates as low as possible while ensuring its services and facilities continue to meet the needs of Selwyn’s evergrowing communities.

“We are acutely aware of the rising living costs that our residents are facing at the moment given the high inflation.”

The proposed average rates increase is 5.9%, slightly higher than the 5.5% increase forecast in the Long-Term Plan, but well below the current rate of inflation of 7.2%.

For a typical household this rate increase means an extra $3.36 a week. This is an average, and for individual ratepayers, the actual change may be smaller or greater, depending on their location and the services provided.

“When planning our capital projects, we focused on what’s achievable, and thanks to several new government initiatives we have had an opportunity to also access additional funding sources. This has enabled us to progress new projects or bring some already planned forward, particularly in the transportation area. An example of such a project is traffic signals at a key arterial intersection in SelwynLevi/Lowes/Masefield/Lincoln Rolleston Road traffic signals, which was originally scheduled for 2025/26,” Sam continued. In addition to several major projects, the Council is continuing to invest in services, facilities and infrastructure, and other community projects across the district. These include projects such as the new:

• community reserve development in Dunsandel and Darfield

• water treatment plant in Leeston and Prebbleton

• membrane water treatment plant and reservoir in Springfield

• reservoirs in Hororata and Arthur’s Pass

• and intersection upgrades in Lincoln town centre.

To deliver these services and facilities, the plan proposes committing $137.7 million to capital projects over the next twelve months. This includes $20.8 million in water supply projects, $45.8 million in wastewater projects and $43.5 million in transportation projects.

“While our work programme for next year is pretty much on track with what’s outlined in our LongTerm Plan that was widely consulted on, it’s still important that we hear from our Selwyn communities.

“I encourage everyone to have a look at our draft plan and let us know if we are on the right track or if we have missed something,” Sam concluded.

Feedback period is open from Friday, 31st March, until 5pm Friday, 28th April.

People will also have a chance to talk to their local councillor at drop-in sessions held in each ward.

Annual Plan

It's Annual Plan time, this is when the Council decides what projects are included in the 2023/24 year. Consultation is open until April 28th - with a drop-in session at Darfield Library on April 18th from 3pm5pm. You will be able to ask any questions. Staff will be present for this, but we are of course available to answer any questions before or after this date.

To expand on some of the projects listed in the Council media release - The community reserve development at Darfield is for the extension of the reserve development on Telegraph Road to adjoin the Pemberton Drive Reserve that is relatively unimproved.

The Council continues to fund upgrades of our water supplies. The membrane filter at the water treatment plant and reservoir in Springfield is a continuation of the current upgrade, and a membrane filter will be added to the Acheron supply.

Water storage reservoirs will be added to Hororātā and Arthur’s Pass, adding resilience to our river-sourced supplies. Treating stored water can be used during periods when the source water is not fit for treatment, cutting down on conserve water notices and adding capacity.

A project we are excited about is a possible recycling station in Malvern, servicing all rural people who don’t have any recycling collection. This would be potentially located at the Hawkins pit, and would be a trial period, so if you want this to happen, best get behind it.

We are also pleased to be working with Waka Kotahi to reduce speeds around schools and upgrade school signage to keep our kids safe.

We urge you all to place a submission for project ideas that are important to you, and again we are more than happy to answer any questions.

Lydia and Bob.

Contact details:

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Photocredit:KristalMerryPhotography.

Art Section

On March 25th, the school art competition took place as part of the Malvern A & P Show. The large shed at the back of the showgrounds was once again filled with all kinds of fantastic arts and crafts. One of the categories was open to the local schools and their tamarikis creative delights.

Seven local primary schools and two preschools were invited to take part in this event and use the event to fulfil the school’s curriculum goals. This year there was an outstanding array of portraits, creative writing, still-life compositions and cultural exhibits.

“I would like to thank the judges from the Malvern Community Arts Council for supporting this event,” commented Art Section Asst, Sian Ellis

There were two major art trophies presented, including the inaugural

Speedshear Results

Smylies Cup.

• Smylies Cup for Overall Creative Gallery: Glentunnel School

• School Art Cup (PGG Wrightson): Springfield Primary School.

“Well done to all the schools and preschools that took part in this event. On behalf of the Malvern community, I would like to thank Jodie Miller for her commitment over the last six years, tirelessly putting up and down the exhibits as a volunteer. The Show could not work without such commitment,” Sian concluded. Open Competition winners:

• Lauren Carmichael - 1st & 2nd, 18 and over panting and mix media

• Susan Tully - 1st, under 18 portrait and recycled materials

• Isabella Irsigler - 18 and over, pencil drawing.

Juniors:

• 1st: Te Ariki Humphrey

• 2nd: Stephan Bruinesse

Farmers:

• 1st: Reece Cleland

• 2nd: Trevor Taege

Seniors:

• 1st: Renata Potini

• 2nd: Ed Harrington

• 3rd: Dion Adams

Open:

• 1st: Ryan Millar (22 sec)

• 2nd: Saun Burgess (23 sec)

• 3rd: Wayne Roori (25 sec)

Teams:

• 1st: Bluehair /Pink shirt (1min 32 sec)

• Worst: Waimak Young Farmers (3min 40sec)

Photocredit:KristalMerryPhotography.

Photocredit:KristalMerryPhotography.