GREBE GRABS GREATNESS
Never heard of the Puteketeke or Crested Grebe until fast talking, fact amassing comedian, John Oliver of the American network, spluttered about the grebe a couple of weeks ago.
It is a kind of duck and not seen in the North Island for ages and only a 1000 survive in the bowels of the South Island.
Oliver has done me a favour. The annual NZ Bird of the Year is a bit of a farce and so when it came to the NZ Bird of the Century which promised to be equally farcical, along comes Oliver, whom I have a great admiration for, and dug the knife deeper into farcical.
Every year we are virtually told by NZ Forest and Bird whom to vote for in Bird of the Year or at best given a list of maybe three birds and advised who could be favoured. The idea is to spread it around the dozens and dozens of birds that grace our lands. So it is a joke this annual public voting. It is just a publicity stunt.
And who can forget that two years ago Forest & Bird promoted a non- bird for the Bird of the Year and of course sheep-like voters complied and the animal ( a bat) won.
Be that it may, we were told to select who we like as NZ Bird of the Century but to really go for the North Island Brown Kiwi.
In steps Oliver and proclaims on his televised weekly show that the Puteketeke nestled in Australia, NZ and in some other Pacific islands should be honoured with the title and not the little Brown Kiwi.
The Kiwi is reserved, rather dour, colourless, quiet and a night-time-only prowler. The Crested Grebe is the opposite. Colourful, quirky, well adorned and can make a splash.
Oliver's choice and his organisation's promotional costs won out by a landslide - over 290,000 votes to the 12,000 allotted to the NI Brown Kiwi.
if you have never before heard of John Oliver you have now. Thank you John. NZ Forest & Bird just might feel compelled to change the way they promote animals that live in NZ in future.
STILL IN THE GAME
The Hurricanes fell short a few metres shy of the finishing line. An inspired Chief's team and three forward passes - with two of them perhaps not so - cost us the Super Rugby Pacific grand final at a packed out Sky Stadium against the Blues.
The weekend was not the best thing happening for Wellington as the Pulse went down in extra time to the Tactics in Christchurch to give up the lead in the netball championship and the Saints move up the basketball championship ladder was halted by the Bulls - also after extra time.
Well in 2024 Wellington in the best regarded domestic and Pacific sport championships still has done and is still doing very well and overall is almost certainly the leading province in NZ sport for 2024.
The Phoenix team stretched their season in the A-League right through to the semi finals. Wellington Firebirds (men) won crickets prestigious 4-day Plunket Shield for the 2023-24 season and the Wellington Blaze (women) won the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield for one-day cricket for yet another season.
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Poll: Is it still rude to wear a hat inside?
Times have changed and perhaps so has our societal rules around taking off hats when indoors. What are your thoughts?
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74.9% Yes, take them off indoors
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24.1% No, it's not anymore
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1% Other - I'll share below
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