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Aotea Square, Auckland
Aotea Square is a large paved public area in the CBD of Auckland, New Zealand. Officially opened in 1979 by Sir Dove-Myer Robinson next to Queen Street, it is used for open-air concerts and gatherings, and markets and political rallies. In November 2010, a major redevelopment of Aotea Square was completed. The square was redesigned to make it appropriate for use by crowds of up to 20,000 people. Its name is derived from ''Motu Aotea'', the Māori name for Great Barrier Island, which is the largest offshore island of New Zealand, approximately 90 km from downtown Auckland. History Construction The square was created in 1979, with a large part of it being the former end of Grey's Avenue, which used to connect directly to Queen Street – a large underground carpark with 930 spaces had been erected underneath in 1975. In 2000 a competition for a redesign was held, but in 2004, before the winning design by Ted Smyth and Associates (including Rod Barnett and Dr Dushko ...
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Art Installation - Aotea Square - 01 (5145560096)
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of what constitutes art, and its interpretation has varied greatly throughout history and across cultures. In the Western tradition, the three classical branches of visual art are painting, sculpture, and architecture. Theatre, dance, and other performing arts, as well as literature, music, film and other media such as interactive media, are included in a broader definition of the arts. Until the 17th century, ''art'' referred to any skill or mastery and was not differentiated from crafts or sciences. In modern usage after the 17th century, where aesthetic considerations are paramount, the fine arts are separated and distinguished from acquired skills in general, such as the decorative or applied arts. The nature of art and related concepts, such ...
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Dave Dobbyn
Sir David Joseph Dobbyn (born 3 January 1957) is a New Zealand musician, singer–songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash. Since then he has released the majority of his recordings as a solo performer. Early life Dave Dobbyn was born on 3 January 1957 in the working class area of Glen Innes, Auckland, the third of five children to tour-bus driver Terry Dobbyn and Molly. He was influenced by music from a young age, ranging from the Irish songs his father listened to, to the music of the church across the road, to the various radio stations he was able to pick up on the family radiogram. While his family had a piano at home, he was the only member to not receive piano lessons, something he was grateful for in retrospect as it meant he was able to come to it without memories of strict lessons. He, along with his three brothers, attended the local Catholic college Sacre ...
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Auckland Civic Theatre
The Civic Theatre is a large heritage combination performing-arts theatre, live-music venue, and cinema seating 2,378 people in Auckland, New Zealand. First opened on 20 December 1929, it underwent a major renovation and two-year conservation effort in the late 1990s, and was reopened on 20 December 1999 (its 70th birthday). It is a famous example of the atmospheric theatre style wherein lighting and interior design create the illusion of an open sky complete with twinkling stars, giving the audience the impression of being seated in an outdoor auditorium at night. The Civic is managed by Auckland Live, a business unit of Auckland Unlimited. Significance The Civic is internationally significant as the largest surviving atmospheric cinema in Australasia and was the first purpose-built cinema of its kind in New Zealand. It is also known for its Indian-inspired foyer, which includes seated Buddhas, twisted columns and domed ceilings. The main auditorium is of a similarly exoti ...
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Terry Stringer
Terry Robin George Stringer (born 3 September 1946) is a sculptor from New Zealand. Biography Born in Redruth, Cornwall, England in 1946, Stringer became a naturalised New Zealander in 1979. He received a Diploma of Fine Arts from the Elam School of Fine Arts in 1967. Many New Zealand galleries and collections feature works by Stringer and he has completed a number of public commissions. Stringer has been the recipient of a number of New Zealand art awards and scholarships and has been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council Scholarship three times. In the 2003 New Year Honours, Stringer was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to sculpture. Major public commissions Stringer has been commissioned to complete a number of sculptures for high-profile public sites. These include "The Risen Christ" (1999) in Cathedral Square in Christchurch, "Mountain Fountain" outside The Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland Holy Trinity Cathedral is an Angl ...
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Kiri Te Kanawa
Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa , (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a retired New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". Te Kanawa had three top 40 albums in Australia in the mid-1980s. Te Kanawa has received accolades in many countries, singing a wide array of works in many languages dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries. She is particularly associated with the works of Mozart, Strauss, Verdi, Handel and Puccini, and found considerable success in portraying princesses, nobility, and other similar characters on stage. Though she rarely sang opera later in her career, Te Kanawa frequently performed in concert and recital, gave masterclasses, and supported young opera singers in launching their careers. Her final performance was in Ballarat, Australia, in October 2016, but she did not reveal her retirement until September 2017. Personal life Te Kanawa was ...
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Myers Park (Auckland)
Myers Park is a narrow park in central Auckland, New Zealand, running parallel to the upper part of Queen Street. It is characterised by steep, grassed slopes and canopied with a mixture of large exotic and native trees, including an alley of large palm trees. A playground, benches, and various artworks (including a marble copy of Michelangelo's sitting ''Moses'' statue) are features of the park. Paths cross the park connecting to Queen Street, K Road, Grey's Avenue and Aotea Square. Opened in 1915 Myers Park is sometimes referred to as Auckland's oldest park, which is incorrect as several parks predate it: the Auckland Domain (1842), Western Park (1875), Albert Park (1884), Victoria Park (1905), Point Erin Park (1911) and Parnell Park (1913) (now Dove-Myer Robinson Park). History Running downhill from the northern slope of the Karangahape ridge, the park was formed in 1914-15 out of an overgrown gully facing towards the Waitematā Harbour. The gully was the start of the ...
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Auckland Town Hall
Auckland Town Hall is an Edwardian building on Queen Street in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand, known both for its original and ongoing use for administrative functions (such as Council meetings and hearings), as well as its famed Great Hall and separate Concert Chamber. Auckland Town Hall and its surrounding context is highly protected as a 'Category A' heritage site in the Auckland District Plan. History Building Opened on 14 December 1911 by Lord Islington, Governor of New Zealand, the building is one of the most prominent heritage structures on Queen Street. Costing £126,000 (approximately $21 million in 2017) to construct, it was designed by Australian architects, JJ & EJ Clarke, their Italian Renaissance Revival building design being selected from among 46 proposals. The five-storey building was specially designed to fit the wedge-shaped piece of land that had been acquired for it in the 1870s at the junction of Queen Street and Grey Street. It bears a striking resemb ...
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Aotea Centre
The Aotea Centre is a performing arts and events centre in Auckland, New Zealand. Located at the western edge of Aotea Square, off Queen Street, the centre provides a cultural, entertainment and conventions venue space in the heart of the city, and is managed bAuckland Unlimited(which also operates the Auckland Town Hall and The Civic, both in the vicinity of the Square). The origin of its name is Motu Aotea, the Māori name for Great Barrier Island, which is the largest offshore island of New Zealand and approximately 90 km from downtown Auckland. The main construction of the centre was finished in 1989, having cost NZ$128.5 million. The centre officially opened the following year. Designed by the City architect Ewen Wainscott in 1974, the building was not actually built until more than a decade later. It won the NZIA Silver Medal award. Costs escalated greatly during construction resulting in several features being omitted. Due to poor acoustics, the main auditorium requi ...
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Auckland Council
Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009, which established the council. The governing body consists of a mayor and 20 councillors, elected from 13 wards. There are also 149 members of 21 local boards who make decisions on matters local to their communities. It is the largest council in Oceania, with a $3 billion annual budget, $29 billion of ratepayer equity, and 9,870 full-time staff as of 30 June 2016. The council began operating on 1 November 2010, combining the functions of the previous regional council and the region's seven city and district councils into one "super council" or "super city". The council was established by a number of Acts of Parliament, and an Auckland Transition Agency, als ...
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Occupy Movement
The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of "real democracy" around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and economic justice and different forms of democracy. The movement has had many different scopes, since local groups often had different focuses, but its prime concerns included how large corporations (and the global financial system) control the world in a way that disproportionately benefits a minority, undermines democracy and causes instability. The first Occupy protest to receive widespread attention, Occupy Wall Street in Zuccotti Park, Lower Manhattan, began on 17 September 2011. By 9 October, Occupy protests had taken place or were ongoing in over 951 cities across 82 countries, and in over 600 communities in the United States. Although the movement became most active in the United States, by October 2011 Occupy protests and occupation ...
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Peter Mahon (lawyer)
Peter Thomas Mahon (1 November 1923 – 11 August 1986) was a New Zealand High Court judge. He led a Commission of Inquiry into the 1979 crash of Air New Zealand Flight 901 into Mount Erebus. His assessment of the airline's witnesses having engaged in "an orchestrated litany of lies" is one of the most well-known quotes in New Zealand, brought him offline with the establishment and made him a national hero. Early life and family Born in Christchurch on 1 November 1923, Mahon was the son of Agnes Helen Mahon (née Tankard) and Cecil Owen Mahon. He was educated at St Bede's College and went on to study law at Canterbury University College from 1940. After two years at university, Mahon enlisted in the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, seeing active service in Italy and rising to the rank of second lieutenant, and then serving in J Force after the end of the war. He subsequently returned to complete his Bachelor of Laws degree and was admitted to the bar in 1947. Early legal ...
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