Busting Dunedin’s Myths

Posted 11:30pm Thursday 4th July 2019

Dunedin. It seems that there is always some kind of local lore or big claim being made about this humble little city, usually by wheezing older men at the pub, or by drunk postgrads who believe that four years of living here has made them sheriffs of this here town. Sick of blindly believing the Read more...

Taking It To The Grave

Posted 6:08pm Thursday 23rd May 2019

Southern Cemetery: Dunedin’s first major cemetery opened in 1858, and you can see the wear in the headstones. Perched atop a hill overlooking the large flat basin that makes up most of the town centre, the dearly departed have a lovely sweeping view of the city they died in. With five main Read more...

Pole Dancing: Like Dancing, but on a Pole

Posted 9:14pm Thursday 25th April 2019

When I think ‘pole dancing’, I think a combination of  ‘strip club’ and those insane videos from ‘Somewhere’s Got Talent’, that defy the laws of gravity and human flexibility. What I ended up experiencing was somewhere in that spectrum, but also Read more...

Māori Meets Metal: Alien Weaponry

Posted 1:23am Friday 12th April 2019

The D&B that usually fills the Octagon is infiltrated by the intense throbbing of heavy metal as Alien Weaponry begin their set at 50 Gorillas. The seemingly flimsy double doors give way to a wave of deafening drums, intense riffs and language-swapping vocals. Packed to the rafters, Read more...

An Interview with the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective

Posted 9:28pm Thursday 4th April 2019

In 2003, the Prostitution Reform Act was passed, changing history and the lives of sex workers around New Zealand - the only country in the world where there is a law focusing on the human rights and wellbeing of sex workers. The New Zealand Prostitutes Collective (NZPC) is the closest equivalent to Read more...

10Bar Reopens as Catacombs

Posted 9:24pm Thursday 28th February 2019

A bright and shiny new bar ‘Catacombs’ has risen from the rotten carcass known as 10Bar. The morgue-turned-nightclub has had some serious renovations including new floors, white marble bars and some macabre decorations.  Andre Shi, the owner of Catacombs and Vault 21, drew Read more...

Another Victory in the Tenancy Tribunal Against the Elusive ‘Studio Apartment’

Posted 9:21pm Thursday 21st February 2019

Another property rented as a ‘studio room’ has been ruled a boarding house by the Tenancy Tribunal, continuing a trend of Dunedin landlords requiring tenants to sign illegal fixed term contracts when renting studio rooms that turned out to not actually meet the legal definition of a Read more...

Selwyn 4 Sale

Posted 11:22pm Thursday 4th October 2018

The Anglican Church has placed Selwyn College, one of the four independent colleges left (St Margs, Knox, and Salmond being the others), up for sale. As the oldest college at Otago, being in the possession of the Anglican Church since 1893, this is a historic event. At a recent synod (churchey Read more...

OPINION: Colleges Need to Chill on ‘Study Zones’

Posted 10:02pm Thursday 27th September 2018

OPINION: We’re heading into exam season, meaning that residential colleges around Dunedin are cracking into the dreaded “study zone”. However, the accompanying alcohol ban is likely to do more harm than good, as well as making life more difficult for both staff and Read more...

Sons of Zion

Posted 7:29pm Thursday 20th September 2018

Tucked under Union Hall, music bleeds from the vents at around midnight, occasionally interrupted by screams of scarfies. The stage is filled by six band members, belting out reggae-rock-R&B fusion. The energy is electric, with booze flowing and everyone letting loose. Sons of Zion has been Read more...