1991: Science Alive!
July 15, 2022
By AHNZ
Science Alive (1991) was certainly a phenomena of the Krypton Factor Dignity Culture era of New Zealand’s history.
A charity devoted to science education, its major traffic was in providing day-trip destination for primary school children. A cerebral attraction for a high IQ culture. It occupied the building that had previously been Christchurch Railway Station (opened 1 November 1960) until the Christchurch Earthquake (2011) put an end to that.
“As the roads become more congested, the railways will play an ever greater part than in the past.” – Minister of Railways John McAlpine as he lay the foundation stone for the building; The New Railway Station Opens, Press (1960;) Papers Past
“The fine new £1,000,000 building, rising four storeys high, and dominated by its 106 ft clock tower, will be officially opened by the Minister of Railways (Mr Moohan) at 2.30 p.m. today. Beautifully designed, and attractively coloured in red brick facing, with Wedgwood blue centre-lay mullions, the new station has been under construction since February, 1956.” – ibid
“Canterbury pioneers laid a sft 3in gauge track when they built the first railway in New Zealand from Christchurch to Ferrymead and this should have been continued throughout the country, Mr J. K. McAlpine, M.P. for Selwyn, said at the opening of the new Christchurch railway station yesterday afternoon. There had been a change to the narrow 3ft i 6in gauge and this had turned , out to be a limiting factor in the development of railways in New Zealand.” – General News, Press (1960;) Papers Past
“Science Alive is a charitable trust that was established in 1991, to inspire the public in science and technology, through interactive experiences. It moved into Christchurch’s Railway Station building on Moorhouse Avenue in 1993, but since the 2011 earthquakes, its interactive exhibits have been exported for temporary displays throughout the world or in storage.” – Out to pasture now. Ref. Science Alive.co.nz (2022)
The building project was started by National 1.0 only days before they were defeated in the 1957 election. It was completed by Labour 2.0 only days before they were defeated in the 1960 election.
The era of rail was dimming and this building was part of its last gasp. Air traffic and trucking became the new circulatory system for the New Zealand corporate organism.
Dignity Culture always morphs into Victimhood Culture: New Zealand’s Krypton Factor Dignity Culture gave way to Satanic Pannic Victimhood Culture. Interestingly, the keystone event for this new era also occurred in a government institution in Christchurch. In late 1991 a Moral Panic started brewing around the Christchurch Civic Creche less than 2k north of the new cradle of Dignity Culture learning, Science Alive. A number of early childcare workers, especially flamboyant homosexual Peter Ellis, became suspected of extreme child abuse there and then and New Zealand’s culture changed into victimhood. It would not be for another 20 years, in the early 2010s, that an era of Dignity Culture and scientific popularity would come around again.
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Image ref. JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/STUFF; Wayback Machine
5 thoughts on "1991: Science Alive!"
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“Air traffic and trucking became the new circulatory system for the New Zealand corporate organism.” Perhaps that should read “would much later become ..”. Under Muldoon, NZ Railways were very much protected. You could only use trucks for transporting up to 50 kilometers. Then there was the small matter that Auckland freight was pretty much controlled by Communist Unionists so there were forever holdups by the [non]workers. To receive airfreighted goods from Auckland to Wellington used to take 3 days! {Not much dignity involved until about the mid-80s}
Thanks for that. Interesting and important. Any references for that? I’ll want to add that in to the record.
30 mile limit for trucks
On page 4 of link “. The government stepped in, offering generous freight concessions to ensure local producers used rail. Then, in 1936, legislation was introduced preventing trucks from carrying loads more than 30 miles (48km) and restricting new trucking operators
to those that could prove a need for their services” I did not know that the restriction started in 1936.
Bill Andersen, Northern Drivers Union
The link gives a flavour of what was happening with transport regarding unions. Bill Anderson was a well known member of Socialist Unity [?] Party. From memory there was also a Sid Jackson causing mayhem.
This is from memory of working in manufacturing in Wellington in the 1970s and 80s. Most suppliers were in Auckland. Urgent airfreight – Jet-X took 3 days
2nd link didn’t get thru system ~ Bill Andersen Northern Drivers Union
Good intel. I can put that to good use. Competing interests try to get government to support them and hurt their competition.
You’ve found it in the 1930s and 1970s.
Between those times, during National 1.0’s era when this train station was built the political favoritism was toward road. Have just been learning about Minister of Works Stan Goosman because he gave us Otara. He also gave us the motorway, bending NZ toward road and punishing rail. There was no going back even if National 3.0 had a brief ‘Fortress New Zealand’ welfare plan for rail while that lasted.