State-of-the-art PALMY
Mike Yardley delights in the beating heart and inspiring art of Palmerston North
THE CENTREPOINT of Palmerston North has a spark and a buzz to it that many a New Zealand city can only dream about, as they bemoan the doughnut effect of suburban shopping.
Boasting a true town centre, framed by The Square, an afternoon stroll through Palmy’s verdant heart laid bare how embracing and embraced the city centre is. It was cranking.
Shoppers flocked along the wide footpaths grazing from the inviting retail offerings, locals enjoyed a languid autumn picnic or indulged in games on The Square’s vast grassy carpet, while kerbside buskers revved up the ambience of Palmy’s beating heart.
The Square’s seven hectares are dotted with a plethora of monuments, fountains and artful installations, ranging from the soaring lantern-crowned Hopwood Clock Tower to the glorious Carrara marble statue of Te Peeti Te Awe Awe, the Rangitaane chief who was instrumental in selling Palmerston North to the Crown in 1865. That gracious statue is just one of 32 designated installations that comprise the city centre’s eye-catching Arts Trail.
Don’t let the city’s brutalist building binge put you off. Mercifully, they do not get a mention on the trail map. The city council building would have to be a top contender for New Zealand’s ugliest.
Remarkably, this visual atrocity and its soulless Soviet design came up trumps in a civic building design competition in the 1970s! Grab an Arts Trail map from the i-SITE in The Square and you’ll be able to feast your eyes on this eclectic array of murals, mosaics, installations and sculptures on a leisurely 90 minute stroll.
The murals along Berryman’s Lane explode in a carnival of colour. I absolutely adore Paul Dibble’s tribute to the memory of the extinct huia, Ghost of the Huia.
Equally commanding is his dramatic work outside the Regent Theatre, where a dainty dancer faces off against the steely gaze of a tuatara. Then there is Numbers, a whimsical, joyful piece, comprised of a series of stainless-steel cubes joined in a loop, to which random numbers in sheet bronze have been riveted on.
Kids love the giant beetles crawling over the walls of Te Manawa, the city’s landmark Museum of Art, Science and History. This cultural heavy-hitter is a storehouse of the region’s story and taonga, beautifully displayed in the Manawatu¯ Journeys gallery. The adjoining Art Gallery showcases a vast stash of works, with regular visiting exhibitions and a space devoted to emerging talent from Massey University.
Complementing Te Manawa’s treats is the neighbouring NZ Rugby Museum, a compelling shrine to the heritage and glory of our national religion. It was established 40 years ago as a tribute to the founding father of New Zealand rugby, Charles Monro, who is immortalised in bronze, on the outside forecourt.
Home to one of the world’s largest collections of rugby memorabilia spanning 40,000 items, the treasures include the first ‘fern’, the oldest All Blacks jersey, our oldest rugby ball and Dan Carter’s boots. Another star feature is the “Have a Go” area, where you can put your rugby skills to the test, from pushing in a scrum and tackling, to sprinting and kicking.
Kids love it — I was pretty useless. Foodie finds are thick on the ground in the heart of town, particularly along the hospo sweep of Broadway Ave, which beckons like the world on a plate. I joined the effervescent
Friday-drinks crowd who flock to Brew Union after work, which has cultivated a red-hot reputation as a trendy social nexus.
It was absolutely cranking. This ebullient industrial themed brewpub boasts 21 taps of NZ craft beers alongside wood fired pizza, house-pressed burgers and lipsmacking sharing plate options. Add to that, a dizzying array of 100 gins. I ordered up a Brew Union Golden Ale, which was delightfully crisp with a hint of grapes and citrus, alongside a sensational Buffalo Prawn pizza. Hand stretched to order, Brew Union’s wood-fired pizzas have a crisp and slightly smoky crust, a chewy bite and artfully topped with super-fresh ingredients.
Where to stay? I bedded down at Distinction Coachman Hotel, a landmark establishment that’s an easy walk from The Square and the go-to hotel for celebrations.
I love its lodge-like design, schist exterior and graceful timber features inside, while the expansively sized accommodations are particularly generous.