Kawau’s Cornish pumphouse
Just two years after Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson RN did his thing at Waitangi, a thin copper lode was discovered on Kawau Island. Four years...
Cologne’s convivial mosque
In 2007, German Muslims commissioned the building of a large central mosque in Cologne. About 12% of the population of Germany’s fourth largest city...
The simple dignity that is Avebury
Avebury has always affected me deeply. I saw its standing stones first in 1973. It wasn’t their immensity, nor their simple grandeur — rather,...
Australia’s Parliament House turns 25
In 2013, our Aussie neighbours are celebrating more anniversaries than you can poke a stick at. A number of bicentenaries relate to the opening...
Getting glassy-eyed in Cairns
In June 2009 the Cairns Regional Council conducted a limited competition for the design of a new visitors centre for the Cairns Gardens. Among...
The colossus of Leshan
While watching a documentary called Rediscovering the Yangtze, I found — as a geologist in a former incarnation — the geomorphology mind blowing. There...
If you seek his monument, look around
This is no mere superb construction — it is a work of art and is most easy on the eye. The good burghers...
Christchurch salutes the Deans
AMI Stadium is the latest incarnation of what was once Lancaster Park that began life in 1880 under the auspices of the Canterbury Cricket...
Yurt 4 U?
In Old Turkic, yurt is the homeland, the dwelling place. For the nomadic people living on the steppes of Central Asia, it described their...
Sydney’s Necropolis Receiving House
In the mid-19th century Sydney had a grave issue. The city had run out of cemetery plots. To resolve the matter, the City Fathers...