‘Colony’s dullest hole’ has a laugh

A social media page which slags off small towns and provincial centres in New Zealand has aimed its sights on New Plymouth and Inglewood.

But the ‘S... towns of New Zealand’ Facebook page is sure to win few supporters within the province.

With tongues firmly in their cheeks, the authors labelled the small town of Inglewood as ‘‘the murder capital’’ of New Zealand, and the region’s largest centre,

"Having a sense of humour is what makes us such a great place to visit."

New Plymouth District Council external relations manager Jacqueline Baker

New Plymouth, as a ‘‘great place to go if you hate yourself’’.

Taranaki residents have instead shrugged off the slurs and got on with living in the one of the more desirable regions in the country.

‘‘Having a sense of humour is what makes us such a great place to visit,’’ New Plymouth District Council external relations manager Jacqueline Baker said.

‘‘After all we are one of the top two regions in the world to visit, according to travel gurus Lonely Planet.’’

The Facebook post slated Inglewood as ’’top for murder,’’ and ‘‘a centre for psychopaths.’’

The authors add that New Plymouth gives Palmerston North a ‘‘good crack’’ at being the country’s most boring city.

‘‘It’s a great place to live if you hate yourself,’’ they say.

They dig back through history to a comment made in the 19th century - that the city was ‘‘dullest hole in the colony’’ - to justify their dubious claims.

Now in the 21st century the city is ‘‘one giant sewage pond’’ with a single attraction - the Wind Wand ’’a terrifying 48-metre monstrosity that waves menacingly over the tiny people below,’’ the authors cry out.

But Taranaki people are not so easily scared by an internationally-acclaimed sculpture.

They go out and celebrate instead - at music festivals such as WOMAD, and at Ranfurly Shield games.

New Plymouth District Council deputy mayor, and Inglewood resident, Richard Jordan said he had not seen the Facebook post.

‘‘They are way off the mark to label Inglewood the murder capital of the country, that’s so dated as to be laughable,’’ he said after being drawn attention to the posts.

‘‘It’s not a label anyone in the town would be happy to have but you would expect that sort of thing from an anonymously written post.

‘‘We pretty proud of our towns in Taranaki and we were recently voted second best region in the world to visit by a more reputable and credible publication, Lonely Planet.’’