It’s happening in Hamilton
Street art and beautiful gardens make ‘The Tron’ seriously cool writes Mike Yardley
IF EVER there is a city where past preconceived notions should be firmly consigned to the rubbish bin, “the Tron” is it, because flourishing Hamilton has become seriously “in” with the cool kids.
Anchoring its evolution is its perky creative pulse, where the urban design cues seem to have dipped deep from Melbourne’s inspirational font. Hello street art, hello laneways.
Recasting the streetscape over the past six years, the Boon Street Art Festival has been the catalyst for dozens and dozens of daring new mural installations, in a carnival of colours.
I virtually walked my legs off, ogling the multitude of gigantic artworks that blaze a trail across Hamilton’s CBD and Hamilton East. It is wall-to-wall enthralling.
Last year one of New Zealand’s largest ever wall murals recast a hideously ugly grey wall in Anglesea St, beneath Wintec, spanning a length of 248 metres.
It now beckons as a sweeping tribute to many of the region’s taonga, headlined by the mighty Waikato River.
Another personal favourite is situated in the Victoria St art hub, where the beloved Riff Raff statue in Riff Raff Square has been complemented with the Rocky Horror Picture Show-themed installations, including the bright red ‘Frankenfurter’s Lab’, which actually conceals convenient and bespoke public toilets.
Just down the road, Waikato Museum, a truly sublime regional museum, sharing compelling insights into the history and culture of the region, with a strong accent on Tainui heritage.
The museum is currently staging two remarkable visiting exhibitions. Where Children Sleep is confronting, compelling and heart-warming, all at once. Venicebased British photographer James Mollison initiated this ongoing photographic project, drawing attention to the extreme poverty experienced by children around the world. He also shows us the joy that each child exudes in coping with their own lives alongside some in more privileged settings.
To highlight their mixed fortunes, he has photographed where they sleep. Not always in a bed, nor even inside a building.
It’s the photo of a 14-year-old girl, pregnant for the third time, sleeping rough in a Brazilian favela, that wrenched at me.
The exhibition is on until May. Waikato Museum is also the first museum in the world to host the magnificent exhibition devoted to Galileo Galilei, direct from Florence. The Italian natural philosopher, astronomer and mathematician made fundamental contributions to the sciences of motion, astronomy, strength of materials and to the development of the scientific method. Through a vast gallery of interactive exhibits, you can explore Galileo’s study of motion and his discoveries with the telescope, which paved the way for acceptance that the Sun is central in our planetary system. It’s the astronomy section that I found particularly enthralling. Right outside the museum, I adored Michael Parekowhai’s three-storey sculpture, Tongue of the Dog, which was inspired by a Māori legend about the creation of the Waikato River.
It is a tale of a servant dog who cuts a pathway for the healing waters of Mt Tongariro to reach an ailing Mt Taupiri.
But if you really want to stuff your eyes with wonder, nothing beats the exceptional sights, botanical whimsy and visual splendour of Hamilton Gardens.
No matter where you sited this collection of gardens, whether it be London or Lumsden, it would be a box-office blockbuster, bursting forth as a culturally themed architectural triumph. With over 20 uniquely themed gardens the tour de force, in my opinion, are the Paradise and Fantasy Garden Collections, inspired by classic designs like Italian Renaissance and the movie-set good looks of the Tudor Garden, with its intricate knot hedging and green and white poles crowned with mythical creatures like dragons, centaurs and unicorns.
The latest edition to the Fantasy Collection is the Surrealist Garden. Clad in giant animatronic trees, which have fast been nicknamed “the trons”, there’s a distinct sense of Alice in Wonderland wackiness in this wondrous garden to warp your senses. Never one to rest on their laurels, there are more grand designs in the works at Hamilton Gardens.
The next cabs off the rank are the Ancient Egyptian Garden, Pasifika Garden, Medieval Garden and the Baroque Garden — all set to open over the next 12 months or so.
Edging the river, after devouring the gardens, you can experience the beauty and tranquil water on the Waikato River Explorer, a scenic cruise which currently operates between Thursday and Sunday.
It’s a wonderful way to soak up the best river views, on New Zealand’s longest waterway.
www.waikatonz.com