Let's get the funicular (6 March 2025)

Aucklanders have called today 'cold', Queenstown is looking to fast-track a new transport option, and people aren't happy about the closure of a much-loved speedway.

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Marcus Lush Nights podcast from News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
I'd be.

Speaker 3 (00:13):
First and foremost. Greetings and good evening. My name is Marcus.
Welcome here till twelve o'clock tonight. I hope it's good
where you arerish also too, I can tell you tonight
that the Broncos will be playing against the Roosters. That's
not in Queensland, so that will be in city that
will be fine with the weather. So that's the situation.

(00:34):
I'll bring you updates. That's the first of the NRAL matches.
That's not part of the Vegas openings. That's good to see,
so Kerrigan's team. Anyway, I'll keep you updated with that
also throughout the course of the evening. I'm just kind
of a by the way, first and foremost, or that
was first and foremost, But I was very excited to
wake up this morning and tea that we won the

(00:55):
cricket handsomely. It generally feels like a golden age of cricket,
doesn't it. So that was awesome. So looking forward to
the final of that one extremely excited because I couldn't
see the story of other jeepist creepers. Where is it.
I thought we must have lost. I couldn't see it
on the front page of the website, but anyway, went

(01:16):
to Sport and they saw it, so that was very
kind of glad and stapped to watch it because we've
been grumpy today. But anyway, I'm very heartened that that's happened.
So yes, the Golden Age of cricket and three different
codes I mean Jeepist, Creepers twenty twenty one day and
the tests, so we get more bang for our bucket.

(01:38):
We're better at it than we've ever been before. That
would be my suggestion. I'd imagine in video games you
could actually put this team against one of the other
teams and see how they compete. But I think they
do for every Well, I'm kind of slightly taken a
bit sideways, so I've just been on the ODT website
and which is fine. I enjoy stories of the South

(02:01):
because I love a for the killer, but it looks
like they seeking in Queenstown fast Track consent for a
funicular furnace from the latinicular FORNICULARI a funicular to go
from one mile round about with John the Road to
Glendorky right up Fern Hill. So there we go. We

(02:25):
haven't got many forniculas in this country that we've probably
only got the one, which would be the cable car.
So there we go. There's a fast track consent for
a funicular railway rising steeply from Queenstown's one mile roundabout
towards Fernhill, Ben Loman and Bowen Peak. Goodness may that's exciting.

(02:46):
Who doesn't want something exciting like that to happen? So anyway,
that's what tappened me. That's what I'm just reading about
and trying to work out where the map of that goes.
So I don't even know where bow and Peak is
in Queenstown. I can't find that. Apparently it's in Milford Sound,
so there must be another one. But anyway, so yeah,
mind you they're always talking about cable cars. Aren't they
going to happen? There's a hell situation. I'm sure there's

(03:06):
cable cars go across the White Mata, but that never happened.
But anyway, do get in touch if you want to talk.
My name is Marcus. Welcome HITDT twelve o'clock tonight, first
and foremost tonight. Now that I've got everything out of
the way, that I need to tell you about is
the fact that we've got the situation with the weather

(03:28):
system that's heading towards Queensland and New South Wales almost
where the two coincide. So if we have got people
listening there, and I know that we get a fair
few that ring from time to time, I'd be curious
to hear from you what the state of the nation

(03:51):
is there. Look, I know that probably the fact that
it's slowed down mean there's going to be higher rainfall.
So if you've got a progress report there how it is,
and we've seen days now of shots of showing supermarkets
with empty shelves, I'm just curious from you to know

(04:11):
how that's all going and what that's like. So you've
got some information about that, get in touch with us
about that. So it slowed down, it won't really hit
till Saturday, so it's much much slower, But that just
means as it's slower, it'll rain for longer and there
will be more rainfall, so there's more of a risk

(04:35):
of flooding. So if you've got something to say about that,
then that's what we're about to begin with tonight. Oh
eight hundred eighty ten eighty. I'll do my damn just
to keep you in focus and up to date with that,
and it toway, but it's slowed right down. It'll take
two more days before it arrives. So you've got some

(04:58):
information about that, do let us know, oh, eight hundred
eighty ten eighty and nine to nine two detext. If
you've got something to tell us about that. I suspe
and I've got no real reason to say this, but
the fact I don't know if it's not the headline
news that I expected to be, might mean that people

(05:20):
don't think it's as bad, or it's just that it's
delayed for a day, so it's going to be putting
off the inevitable. Anyway. You might want to talk about that,
particularly if you are in Queensland or Brisbane. Specifically, this
is Cyclone Alfred. There's live updates of it. The tracking

(05:41):
predicts Tropical Cyclone Alfred will cross the coast on Saturday
near Brisbane, the first storm of its size to do
so in decades, and that's the information there. So they've
been telling people in South Lisible to evacuate. A lot happening.
Is a lot to talk about with that. It just

(06:02):
kind of seems that no one really knows what's going
to happen. The other thing I want to know. That's
just a random question. Has anyone done? Has anyone done?

Speaker 4 (06:13):
Well?

Speaker 3 (06:14):
This is like a strange question. Has anyone done an
online cooking course? You know how people used to go
Tonight's school and do cooking and stuff like that. Apparently
those sorts of things have now moved online. I don't
know about this. So has anyone done a course with
a live instructor and that is online. I've got no

(06:35):
interest in doing it. I'm just free curious. It wasn't
something I've known about. So is anyone in an online
cooking course? I've got no idea how that would work,
but I'm putting it out there. That's my beginning topic
for tonight, as well as cycling Alfred. If you have
done an online cooking course or any course online in

(06:56):
real time where it's like you go to a room,
but instead of going to a room, you're just logging
onto your computer and they say welcome class, and they
take you through something. I don't even know it was
a thing, but yeah, apparently I was reading about an
online cooking course in New Orleans today well, makes perfect sense.

(07:17):
Why wouldn't you do an online cooking course or an
online language course with a live shooter, Marcus, online course
is nothing like an insurance company wanting to do a
link video assessment. They asked me questions. I see, I'm
not a builder. Their premiums is huge. They expect me
to video and send pics. Oh, well, I'm not that

(07:40):
happy with how people are using the technology. Well, they're
trying to work out what the value of your house was.
You might need to send me some more information about
that again in touch, Marcus, till twelve, you do want
to come through eight hundred and eighty online courses. Marcus,
you are correct. The center of the cyclone moving at

(08:01):
four kilometers per hour. God, that's a slow sitting on
this treadmill. Gosh, we can all do four k's prior.
That's a slow walk. So literally, it's moving that slowly thing,
stopping then going and changing direction. Apparently all the talk
on Awkland this morning was how cold it was. Kind

(08:21):
of surprises me and I don't quite know what does
it surprise me? And it does surprise me. Autumn comes
along and suddenly, even though it's an arbit tree day,
everything feels very different from that very day. You know
that we start autumn on the first of March. I
know in Europe it's on the twenty second. But even
though even that, with that arbit tree day, he sees

(08:45):
it changing. Oh yeah, it feels slightly cooler. It must
all be psychological. I'm sure of it. She hasn't got
cooler just a day. Further, I don't even know what happens.
Sun moves or something moves anyway, Scott Marcus, Welcome.

Speaker 5 (09:01):
Hi Marcus. I'm mainly calling in regards to something you
were talking about last night but picked up on today
on the podcast. Anyone had been Pakistan? Yes, and I
haven't met a lot of whore. But I went to
Karachi two years ago to watch the Black Cats.

Speaker 3 (09:18):
Was it a pleasant experience for you?

Speaker 5 (09:20):
Oh it was fantastic.

Speaker 3 (09:23):
It must have been.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
Yeah, it was.

Speaker 5 (09:26):
I mean it's not I mean possibly other places in Pakistan,
but Karachi is not someone that gets any sort of
tourism whatsoever, the like. I was there for four days
and I didn't see another white person the side of
the Black Cats.

Speaker 3 (09:40):
Because I would have imagine, just just just hang on
this case. I'll come back to you just hold your horses.
We'll get to you. Scott. Did you just speak to
others that had been before to go to games in Karachi?

Speaker 5 (09:52):
No, I don't know anyone that's ever been to Pakistan.
I mean except a couple of immigrants I know here
from the country, but I don't know any Western people
that have gone.

Speaker 3 (10:03):
So what were the challenges.

Speaker 6 (10:06):
There?

Speaker 5 (10:07):
There wasn't really any challenges. I mean, you had to
apply for a visa, but that's the same everywhere. I
just had a couple of funny incidents. When I first
arrived at the airport there, the guy said, oh, are
you playing? And I said no, I'm just going to watch.
And he can't believe it because he was kind of
looking through my passport, like's your sports visa? And I said, no,
I'm not playing. He said he you're sure, and I
said I'm sure. And then I made friends with some

(10:28):
local guys and they took me on a trip out
to the beach on their motorbike and we got pulled
over by the cops and I said, this guy shouldn't
be here by himself. Where's the security And I said,
I don't have any security. And I said, but you're
in the team. You need to have security. But I'll
tell you a funny, interesting story, though, is so that
fantastic people that focused on He's just very very very hospitable,

(10:51):
very generous. But the first morning I was here, I
kind of went for a walk around, you know, just
checking out the place. And I walked up this little
alleyway near where I was staying, and this kid ran
past me. And he's eight year old, a ten year old,
and he's wearing a Wellington Hurricanes jersey. And you know,
that was pretty much the only item of Western clothing
I saw anyone wearing for four days.

Speaker 7 (11:11):
Wow.

Speaker 5 (11:13):
I have no idea how he got I don't know
if it was sent over by a relative or it
was just the most Because I saw it the first morning,
I thought, maybe maybe I'm going to see a lot
of this kind of thing. But I basically I didn't
even see anyone else wearing a T shirt the whole time.
Let Aloner in New Zealand, Ruggy Juicy.

Speaker 3 (11:29):
Was it hard to get to the venue?

Speaker 1 (11:32):
No?

Speaker 5 (11:33):
No, I mean they've got there's plenty of transport there.
I got like a ritual kind of thing that it
was about. I mean, that part was easy, but getting
into the venue because I'm sure you're wear but I
believe in about two thousand and nine when the black
Cats were last year and there was the bombing, so
I guess everything was on high alert, like kind of

(11:55):
around the stadium was surrounded by I don't know if
they were police off theyre army. I think there's probably
a fine line there, but you know, there was there
was a guy with a there's a guy with the
garden kind of every twenty meters and there were you know,
they were checking everyone's bags. They were checking everyone pretty
closely that you know, no one was caring anything dangerous.

Speaker 3 (12:18):
And just with the timing, this was one of the
first games that started playing back in Pakistan. Is that right?

Speaker 5 (12:25):
Yeah, basically I always thought this sounds like an you know,
like I'd always just thought it would be awesome. I've
been to I've been to IPL game, and I've been
to a T twenty World Cup game in India and
that was cool. But I thought it would be cool
to go some it would be I don't know. I
guess I'd always wanted to check out other places and
South Asia. I don't know if you I don't know

(12:45):
if to say the subcontinent anymore if that successful or not. Yeah,
but I wanted to check out at the places, and
I thought, well, as the black Caps they go back
to Pakistan, it would be that would be a good
reason to go.

Speaker 3 (12:55):
And I did it great, okay, and all in all
a should you successful time?

Speaker 5 (13:01):
Yeah, I had a great time. And the second game
I went, so I got mobs for about the minutes,
just if people wanted to shake my hand and take selfies,
and you know, they never had a chance.

Speaker 3 (13:14):
Cold and Auckland this morning.

Speaker 5 (13:18):
Yeah, well actually that was the other thing that kind
of I wake up this morning and I thought, well,
this is freezing and I've had it. You know, I've
seen a few people discuss it, and apparently it's related
to the cyclone.

Speaker 3 (13:30):
And sucked the cold air up or.

Speaker 5 (13:33):
Something exactly that's pulling the southern cold air up and
so and so it wasn't like you know that we're
slightly going into autumn and every day changing incrementally, like
this morning it felt like a good five or so
degrees colder than yesterday morning in the morning before.

Speaker 3 (13:48):
So nice dear for Scott, thanks so much, Marcus. I'm
in Hamilton today I can't wait for those vape shops
to start going broke, disgusting. Do you look in places
be far better off without them, you know, I remeb
there must be reboring shops to work in a vape shop.
They always looked disinterested the times I went to. They
went't much help for me either. Awklan at midnight quite

(14:12):
warm before I am very chili. That's from Sarah Marcus.
I believe that our great and grandmother's were the best
of a cook. Who could forget the great taste cooking
roam that made us drill in my eighty seven years.
I can't copy their inherent skills. Fornicular From where to where?
From the one mile round about, up Fern Hill and

(14:34):
up Bowen's Peak. This is happening in Queenstown. The guy's
gonna build houses like Swiss chalets and the hill there's
going to be a funicular up and down. Someone said,
what is a funicular? Parnicular is like a cable car.
I think it is a cable car. I think the
word funicular means rope. That would be my understanding of that.

(14:57):
I think the cable car and Wellington is really a fornicular.
I don't know that it between a pnicular and a
cable car. It's a strong metal rope. They seem to
have them in Spain and places, and I think there
is one in la There might be a good topic tonight.
The forniculars you've been to around the world. So it's

(15:18):
got two counterbalanced it's got two counterbalanced carriages, so one
goes down the other one goes up. So I think
the one in christ and Wellington very much is a
forticular forniculus fourness from the Latin word from a rope,
So you've got two carriages permanently connected with a rope.

(15:38):
One goes down, the other one goes up. There are
some There are some funiculars I don't even though are ferniculars.
There are some cable cars in Europe that are driven

(15:59):
by water, and there is a source of water at
the top that goes into a cavity in one of
the cable cars that takes one down and the lighter
one up where the water gets emptied. It seems amazing,
doesn't it, But that's a real thing. I think there's one,

(16:20):
and maybe where am I thinking? It's on my list
of things I want to do as the water powered
cable car. It's called a water balance railway. You've been
on one, amazing, Peter Marcus, welcome.

Speaker 8 (16:36):
Believe me, Marcus. I'll be watching the channel eighty five
Sky News and I just couldn't believe what I was
watching on that news about the storm. There are people
surfing from the Gold Coast and they were worn not
to go down there. And I just thought absolutely maddening.

(17:00):
And I said to myself, if they get caught in
a rip, get sucked out, expect to come come back again.

Speaker 3 (17:09):
And have you Peter, Peter question, what are you going
to say? I, personally just hold that phrase when you
start with eye personally remember your thought. Okay, yep, you've
a serfed.

Speaker 8 (17:22):
I have served, Yes, you do?

Speaker 3 (17:25):
You know many surfers? None where have you said?

Speaker 8 (17:32):
Seventy two? So I serve when I was in my
teens and twenty he is, you know, brighton beat break?

Speaker 3 (17:41):
Because I think I know about the thing I know
about surfers. They're always looking for the ultimate wave and
if that comes with a cyclone and then good on them.

Speaker 8 (17:50):
And if anything went wrong, they expect to be picked up.

Speaker 3 (17:53):
But no, they don't. I don't think. I think so
I think surfers always risky themselves.

Speaker 8 (17:58):
Oh well enough, that's good, but when you're told not
to go, you just don't do it. And I I
think that the storm they say it's going to come,
and they've even got a time down for it too.
I heard three fifty six pm their time, Brisbane time
tomorrow said day.

Speaker 3 (18:17):
He said day.

Speaker 8 (18:19):
Oh okay, that's that's right. I just said he three
fifty six pm. I thought, well, how the hell can
they tell a time is going to come? Come with?
It gets you, But it's going, as you said, four
K and a whatever it is. But my second thing
I want to talk about too, Western Springs Speedway. A

(18:41):
lot of people in that suburb there want it closed down.
And my answer to that is you knew it was
there when you when you bought your property. It's been
there for ninety plus years. Just get on with it
and live there. It's only one night a week, saiday,
night or what.

Speaker 3 (18:59):
I think it's more complicated than that. I don't think
it's the residents that are opposed, is it.

Speaker 8 (19:06):
I saw on seven sharp tonight, Oh yeah, okay.

Speaker 3 (19:10):
And sort the day to a story on it.

Speaker 9 (19:15):
Yeah they did.

Speaker 8 (19:16):
Yeah, it was the last it was the last.

Speaker 3 (19:20):
I'd be excited to live next to something like that
happening that I mean to me, that would be a bonus.

Speaker 8 (19:26):
Well, yeah, if you follow speedway, it's good, but follow anything.

Speaker 3 (19:29):
You know, you've got people walking past your house. We're
willing that you feel like you're part of something.

Speaker 8 (19:35):
Well, they said, I agree with you last speedway. Yeah, yep,
we're off for the speedway. And my answer the letters
that was there ninety years ago, your house. You bought
the property, you knew it was there, so don't complain.

Speaker 3 (19:49):
You can say a lot of things. You can say
that a giant old cold station was there ninety years
ago and things aren't what they once were were they?
Or the night the you know, what's the night storm?
You know the nightman. What's the guy that came around
and get the syerage called dump h the nightment. Yeah,
he could be next door or there could be you know.

(20:09):
I think people's attitudes do change, though, don't they. But
we'll talk more about speed Yeah, we'll talk more about speedway.
But I'm just on the ads.

Speaker 10 (20:15):
But thank you.

Speaker 3 (20:16):
Just trying to work out whether the train in the
Blue Mountains as a fornicular someone will know. Mark Marcus, welcome.

Speaker 11 (20:26):
With a conversation. Do we want to talk about speedway
or do we want to talk about the weather.

Speaker 3 (20:31):
Look, I've sat here for forty years and people have
always talked about speedway. And it's always a lot more
confusing than you'd think, isn't it. Do you know that?
Do you know the whys and wherefors?

Speaker 11 (20:44):
Yeah, I've lived near it, been in there, lived a
little bit away from it. It's look, my, it's boiled
down under this spectator sport. Oh man, it's fantastic watching it,
being at the back, even being involved. Oh, it's fantastic,
very exciting. The thing is summer is only twelve weeks long. Really,

(21:13):
it's only twelve or thirteen weeks long. And these guys
rise every Saturday night when you're sitting back chilling with
the family, the barbecues that set. It's summer Brown. I
lived in Parmerston North. It's the noise during that time

(21:35):
of the year on that Saturday night is unbelievable across
the isthmus of Parmison North. Lived there for three years.

Speaker 3 (21:44):
Are you Parmiston North, Because I don't think parmis the
North and ismus.

Speaker 11 (21:50):
Sorry, well, no, it's not. Sorry, the what would you
call it? The flat plane?

Speaker 3 (21:58):
Okay? Haang on now back.

Speaker 4 (22:00):
I like this.

Speaker 3 (22:01):
I like the sound you make. Do you think it's
a good thing or a bad thing?

Speaker 11 (22:06):
It should just been in an appropriate location that is
not urban or suburban.

Speaker 3 (22:16):
Is it enjoyable? Is it enjoyable sound?

Speaker 2 (22:20):
Oh?

Speaker 11 (22:21):
Man, when you're in there and you're locked it. Yeah,
it's great fun.

Speaker 9 (22:24):
Look it is exast.

Speaker 3 (22:26):
I say, if you're in there and part of it.
But if it's happening putting the kids to sleep, it's
not so good.

Speaker 11 (22:32):
If you are anywhere near where it's happening and you're
not involved in it is absolutely it's like chainsaws.

Speaker 3 (22:42):
Yeah, it's not a nice sound.

Speaker 11 (22:44):
Seven pm to nine thirty pm on a Saturday night
in the middle of summer.

Speaker 3 (22:51):
Would you rather go to the speedway or going to fornicula?

Speaker 12 (22:56):
Oh?

Speaker 11 (22:56):
Vernicular? Man of dark? Call? Aren't they aren't? Isn't raal?
It's something cool and if romantic about rail and trams
and verniculas and de.

Speaker 3 (23:16):
Mark. I think it's funicular with a with an if
not with a V. Funicular funicular. That's all right. I
appreciate you radio.

Speaker 11 (23:26):
I'm trying phonics and all that. No, look it is
there's a lot more fat, isn't there. There's a lot
more value in a chatter about transport.

Speaker 3 (23:36):
Did you see seven sharp tonight with them talking about
Western Springs? No, okay, we'll seeven. Get someone to let
us know what the actual vibe was of the story
that they are moving to waka a park where the
story has gone on forever. And I presume it's a
sport that's waning slightly. We at home playing grand theft auto,

(24:01):
aren't they. I mean, I don't know this, but gosh,
I'm looking at the Wikipedia page of nic is Gee
there's a lot. There must be abound a thousand around
the world. There's also one of the Craiger burned Valley
and the Scarya I didn't know about, so you didn't
actually got two food nickellars. Michael Marcus welcome, Hey Marcus,

(24:27):
here you go, bro good, Thank you Michael.

Speaker 2 (24:30):
Hey.

Speaker 13 (24:30):
I just I love your shows. It's a bit out there,
but I love it. And this morning I woke up cold.
It's like, what the hell is the greatest summer we've
ever had?

Speaker 9 (24:40):
And it was cold?

Speaker 13 (24:42):
Right now I'm in the Albany gas stations and I'm
cold hell and.

Speaker 3 (24:48):
That must be to do with the storm and things
coming in, right, I.

Speaker 13 (24:51):
Don't know that's Australian.

Speaker 2 (24:52):
This is New Zealand.

Speaker 3 (24:54):
I think I think it draws stuff across.

Speaker 13 (24:58):
Well, no, because our cold comes up from the fantastic.

Speaker 3 (25:02):
We get a fundy if you look hang on, if
you look at it, what's it called cycle? If you
look at a picture of cyclone Albert right, is it
Albert or alt Alfred? If you look at cycloning Alfred right,
it's messing.

Speaker 13 (25:17):
Yeah, that's it's a biggie And you know and and
you know one of what I tell you what changes
und totally one of the most amazing things I found.
I'm a demolition contract. I found a suitcase full of
Cyclone Tracy album from photos.

Speaker 2 (25:31):
Wow, blew me away?

Speaker 13 (25:33):
Wow, what's what's that work?

Speaker 7 (25:35):
Now?

Speaker 2 (25:35):
What's that about you?

Speaker 13 (25:36):
At the end of the day?

Speaker 3 (25:37):
Do you know about Cyclone Tracy apart from what's on
your suitcase?

Speaker 13 (25:41):
Well, it was done in Sidney four, wasn't it.

Speaker 14 (25:45):
Right?

Speaker 3 (25:48):
And no one died because they're all drunk, that's the no.

Speaker 13 (25:52):
A lot of a lot of people got killed by
corry and iron. You know, it was an amazing times.
But getting back to the original conversation, I just left
the Albany Dull service station and I.

Speaker 3 (26:04):
Don't know what the best one because it ever had Yes,
that would be right, Yeah, I reckon, it's you're not
got a puffer jacket.

Speaker 13 (26:13):
No no, I just had this blurro and the short
the work boots and all the boring stuff.

Speaker 3 (26:19):
What are you demolishing?

Speaker 13 (26:22):
We've just done what's we called the the Island walls
or the Tottenham walls are falling over because they did
every foundations. Just drop one of those done half a
villa and ponstanby.

Speaker 3 (26:35):
What sort of walls are or falling apart?

Speaker 13 (26:38):
Okay, so the infamous Poland walls and no disrespect to
Sotland's got to love the islanders, that's amazing. I was
brought up in CT, so I love the Islanders. But
they built these stone walls and they didn't put the foundations.

Speaker 3 (26:50):
That you're talking about stone walls, yeah.

Speaker 13 (26:55):
Yeah, yeah, so the old volcanic and bluestone walls. They
didn't put the foundations that they didn't even go down
the met so a lot of those walls are giving ways.

Speaker 2 (27:03):
So we're just abolished one and take a part.

Speaker 3 (27:05):
Okay, so I know a bit about stone walls.

Speaker 12 (27:09):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (27:10):
So does it even have a stone foundation?

Speaker 13 (27:14):
Well not really, no, doesn't even have to see it.

Speaker 3 (27:18):
So I mean, if you're if you're building a stone
wall these days, you'd put a cot, you'd build a
concrete foundation with rebar, and that rebar would go up
through the wall.

Speaker 13 (27:26):
Right, absolutely, well done, well done, bang on, But you're
what you want what's called your rises or so the
steel comes up through the wall.

Speaker 3 (27:38):
So they haven't got it. But if it's dry stone walling,
you wouldn't you. Didn't you just do an old school
wouldn't you. That's what these walls are.

Speaker 13 (27:45):
Well, you've got to put steelers, you've got to put
deep foundations.

Speaker 4 (27:50):
You got.

Speaker 3 (27:54):
Sixty six diyed cycling Tracy. People are watching the surfing
and saying it's amazing some of those surf shots of
people surfing. I've got a lot of texts. I'll get
to those in the next hour. There was a patchy hour,
but I think it's upward from here. You've seen those
walls collapse. I wonder what it's about, and I guess

(28:16):
two stone walls only don't have an infinite life. I
think probably fifty years. You going alright, of those ones
in England, I'll think about that lighter rock maybe greetings
and welcome. Someone says I worked at Albany for ten years.
It's one of the coldest places in Auckland. Would that
be right? I reckon Albany has always been quite cold,
but I've been there.

Speaker 1 (28:37):
I want to be cold.

Speaker 3 (28:40):
Know the answer to that? Marcaus. I see what people
mean regarding speedway, but this is stock cars where they
go on from thing laps lasting ages. Proper speedway is
solo and sidecast with four laps and lasts around sixty
one seconds. Brilliant family in Gladstone, that's an Australia, not

(29:02):
Gladstone road. Family in Gladstone have nothing the super at
shells and are closed for four days from today. They
are anticipating touchdown of the CyclinD today, so now its
arrival has been postponed, they are uncertain when supplies will
be back on the shelves Exel Tino before I am
Saturday's when it's going to touch down.

Speaker 14 (29:23):
Now.

Speaker 3 (29:27):
I don't know what I'd be doing if I was
in Brisbane. Looks windy, but if you are there, let
us know what's happening. It's going to be a long
build up for this, isn't it. Simon says, my social
media feed has been inundated with all the epic surfing
going on on Oz. It looks awesome. Hopefully some of

(29:48):
the storms swell comes our way. Also talking about fou niculars, Marcus,
the daist and incline used the waight of the loaded
coal wagons going down to drag the empty wagons up
the incline. Wellington has a two line funicular now a
single track with a central crossing loop. Yeah, it's got

(30:13):
two loops, has it? I'm hearing you, Marcus. I've been
on a funicular in Niagara Falls on Canada side to
get down to the red boats that take you out
of the waterfall. Regards Darren, Thank you, Darren. Get in
touch by name's Marcus. If anyone saw seven sharp about

(30:34):
Western Springs and the speedway. As I say, I've discussed
this so long on talkback, I've got no idea what
the issues are. They were going to move it out
to Puhnui for a long long time. That was going
to be where it was going to go. I think
they're now going to Waikaraka Park, which is on the
Monaco Harbor up between well between Mount Smart and Orni Hunger,

(30:56):
which is in an industrial zone, sounded by factories in
a cemetery. So that's a fine place for it to be.
I think it was a cam for the Americans during
World War Two. Well they're not coming back. Get in touch,
Marcus till twelve. Then something else you want to mention, Great,
it's all happening. If you are in Australia, be really

(31:17):
good to hear from you there. Also, so significant flooding
is expected tonight on the Gold Coast. If you want
to talk about that, tremendous, let's be hearing from you.
And if you did manage to see seven sharp, I

(31:39):
just wouldn't mind a bit more of a background or
about what happens with the situation at Western Springs because
it's also a business. Promoters put that on, and the
promoters are under all sorts of pressure. You got to
pay to hire the venue and the likes of that.
So I'm just saying it's pretty complicated. It's not just

(32:02):
residents saying we want you out. There's other My understanding
when I'm my guess as his all sorts of considerations
go on. Nothing's ever that straightforward. For those that don't
know Western Springs, I presume it's a volcanic coen. This
is an Auckland. It's near the zoo and we they've
had speedway for a long long time. It's also where

(32:23):
led Zepp played in seventy three, and Bob Marley played,
and you two played, and some of the great concerts
and utel history were there. Trust some richie to thinking
can stick a fornicular up bow and Peak was up
there recently, would just be ruined by something like that.
I couldn't find where bow and Peak was. If I'm

(32:44):
at the lake looking at Ben Lohman, is it to
the right of that? That wouldn't mind knowing some more
about that if you can. This is the Phniicula in
Queen's down there, planning from one mile round about up
that valley up to fern held In up to the
top of the peak. They wanted to put some Swiss

(33:04):
chalets up there. I'm sure people would love to buy those.
It's going to town. It's get the fornicular. Brilliant, self driven,
I guess, but getting touched Marcus. Still men, where's my glass?
There's a couple where's my glass of water? Beautiful? I

(33:25):
forgot to bring it in with me. That's a worry
dry as a wooden god. Anyway, Oh, someone to talk to, Andrew,
it's Marcus. Welcome, good evening, A good Andrew.

Speaker 2 (33:40):
I watched the documentary about sci Flight facty a couple
of weeks ago. And what got then was there about
a week before there was a there was speak to
me another side flight. They protected no one was going

(34:03):
to get that by silent towards them, and then right
at the very last moment it does this in sort
of went out to sea. So then on a couple
of days before Christmas they again they see there's a
cyclone coming, and the oldies always.

Speaker 3 (34:29):
Whatever, here we go again, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (34:32):
And just carried on. And of course that the flame
under the Christmas eve at night, and it wasn't pretty.
Some of the footage that I saw it looked like Hiroshima.
I never realized that the sack Dad was in nineteen
seventy four eyes I was nine, and I remember we

(34:55):
had a girl cut under our class. They must say
family or something, because they basically evacuated the whole of
Darwan that that available, and they were even there's even
as a bit going on at the time when they're
actually going to rebuild it because the damage.

Speaker 15 (35:16):
Was that day.

Speaker 2 (35:18):
There was sort of talking we'll just brought over and
move elsewhere. But I never realized the damage is actually
sad as the was.

Speaker 3 (35:31):
It said it destroyed eighty percent of the houses and
left twenty five thousand homeless, so it's a pretty extraordinary event.

Speaker 2 (35:39):
Yeah, as I say, the foot is the video footage
has looked like Hiashima. They shared you're a people power
pole and it's literally been big but about the about
six foot and it was down on foot path level
that it just foerus toy of its straight down I know.

(36:04):
I know.

Speaker 3 (36:05):
Also enter a large of kiwis went across there to workers,
roofers and things like that. A lot of people went
to help with the rebuild because I think that's when
a lot of key we started moving to Australia was for.

Speaker 13 (36:15):
That, right.

Speaker 2 (36:17):
Yeah, Yeah, that's they showing a product of It's just
a huge convoy. People just got out of the place
because you just couldn't stay.

Speaker 3 (36:31):
Where did you see that document? Where did you see
the documentary Andrew.

Speaker 2 (36:35):
There's a few on YouTube. Okay, I've sort of watched
one and then I sort of watching another one after that,
and yeah, it's really interesting. I never realized the dam No.

Speaker 3 (36:50):
I had no idea, and I've been to Dalne. I
had no idea. It was yeah, because I think they
rebuilt earthquake. Coble had no idea. It was that destructive.

Speaker 2 (36:58):
I think true story, I think I think true story
has and all the left is the foundations and I
don't think.

Speaker 3 (37:08):
I don't like to say anything as Brisbane waits for
their for their tropical cyclone to arrive, but they said,
according to Wikipedia, the storm is the second smallest tropical
cyclone on records. It was tiny compared with the others.
So yeah, it wasn't a big deal, but certainly picks

(37:31):
a punch.

Speaker 2 (37:33):
They were, of course there in the Survivors and these
people are talking about the start off in one room
and then you know they'd work out, but that room
was disappearing and they'd moved into another room, and then
that room would disappear and end up with you know,
you're basically hunted down under a under a car or something,

(37:55):
just trying to survive.

Speaker 3 (37:58):
Okay, you look nice to hear from you, and I
appreciate that everyone's got. If anyone experienced cyclone Tracy, that
would be fantastic, always part of the rebuild. I was
in Darwin, but it was ninety two, so actually wasn't
there long after eighteen years afterward. But if you've got
something to say about that, find that fascinating because of
a direct hit, because cycling got Darwin got bombed too

(38:22):
during World War two, Japanese bombed. And then of course
you've got fantastic city, fantastic place, one of the great
Aussie towns. Marcus. Have you been to see the movie Tina? No,
but I've heard a lot of people raving about it,
so people are loving that. So there we go. That's Tina,

(38:44):
that's the movie, Marcus. White Crecord Park was the best
track for stock cars back in the seventies. Only midgets
and bikes at the Springs. Check out poor Mall stock
car teams race on YouTube. Go Sam fire Brand cheers, Sue. Yes,
I've been to White Cracker Park a number of times
in my childhood. I don't think i've been to Western

(39:04):
Springs for the speedway. I wish I had. We're talking cyclone, Tracy.
If you experience that seventy four, I'll be fifty years
last year, but you might have been part of the rebuild,
or you might have experienced a cyclone. All up for

(39:27):
the discussion about that people, My name is Marcus. Welcome
league Broncos versus the Roosters. It's I think this is
still called the first round of the nare. Of course
they had the first two matches at Vegas, which I
think is a dumb idea. Fancy all those poor Warrior
supporters paying all that money. You're not going to feel

(39:51):
good about the team. Ow that that came out half
cocked crickets the support, that's what you want to get
into the golden age of cricket, the golden age of
his inling cricket with those flip right about for Nicolas
and speedway and cyclone. Tracy, Tracy without an e nineteen

(40:19):
seventy four Christmas Eve. But yep, Avery said of the
town was people were homeless. Good evening. Lynnet's Marcus, welcome.

Speaker 14 (40:37):
Good evening, Marcus. How are you?

Speaker 3 (40:39):
Oh good? Thank you Lynn?

Speaker 14 (40:41):
That's good. I heard you talking about the fornicular railways earlier. Yes,
and I haven't heard anyone mention the one that's at
the Olympics Stadium in Canada, Montreal, where yeah, where John
Walker from New Zealand won the fifteen hundred meters in

(41:01):
nineteen seventy six. Yes, we went there in July twenty eighteen,
traveled on the Metro underground to the Courtier Olympic and
the stadium is amazing. It is really a musk for
people to go on their bucket list.

Speaker 3 (41:20):
Wow. And there is a funicular there.

Speaker 14 (41:24):
Yes, we went to the top of that, which is
the funicular and it's the world's tallest inclined tower, rising
one hundred and sixty five meters at a forty five
degree angle.

Speaker 3 (41:37):
I think Vanessa's been on that because she was in
Montreal last year.

Speaker 14 (41:41):
Yeah, it's amazing. It's at the Montreal it's at the
stadium where the races were, where the Olympics were.

Speaker 3 (41:52):
And could you tell me a bit about that. I
don't really know Montreal. Is it because it's up and down?
Do they need it to get down a hill?

Speaker 14 (42:04):
I don't. I don't really know. I'm just looking at
something that I posted on my Facebook page back and
when we went there.

Speaker 9 (42:11):
But it was were you on the Facebook back then.

Speaker 14 (42:16):
In twenty eighteen years Yeah?

Speaker 3 (42:18):
Wow, she look at you your early adopter. Okay, I'm
trying to look at it now, okay, you're well.

Speaker 14 (42:23):
Yeah, so look up the Olympic. What's it called? Let
me see just looking now, it's the Quartier Olympique. Is
that it's that the stadium where the races where with
John Walker ran and yeah, it was amazing. We'd never

(42:45):
been there before.

Speaker 3 (42:46):
Of course, to look at the maps. Okay, yeah, I
didn't expec to be hilly like that. But thank you
then I appreciate that. There we go, Gary, Marcus.

Speaker 16 (42:57):
Welcome, Yes, good evening, Marcus.

Speaker 3 (43:00):
How are you Gary?

Speaker 16 (43:01):
Am okay, good mate. I just want to bring to
your attention there's a connection between Cyclone Tracy and Western
Spring Speedway.

Speaker 3 (43:14):
Oh fluck, oh yoh, this is a special okay, yep.

Speaker 14 (43:18):
Yeah.

Speaker 16 (43:19):
In nineteen seventy two there was a young guy called
Ted Tracy.

Speaker 6 (43:24):
I remember that well, yes, and he made his way.

Speaker 16 (43:27):
Up there, and when Cyclone Tracy hit in nineteen seventy four,
he actually got the nickname Cyclone Ted Tracy. True story,
and he did. He went through the pack of midget
care racing back then was phenomenabal, you know, and he

(43:49):
just went them through like a cyclone, real outstanding driver
along with there's a lot of others, you know, Barry
Butterworth and I can't remember all of them off from
Patriots and.

Speaker 17 (44:04):
Garry.

Speaker 3 (44:05):
I can just remember the ads and the Herald and
the Auckland staff for Speedway. They be massive banner ads
with all their names, wouldn't it and they you know,
like the huge letters like they were great stars.

Speaker 18 (44:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 16 (44:17):
Well, we were getting crowds of up to forty thousand
people on the big fifty lape knites down there, you know,
and it's just it's got to stay there. You know,
we're coming up one hundred years of history at Western
Springs and to me, it's got to stay.

Speaker 15 (44:35):
You know.

Speaker 16 (44:37):
They should have had a poll tonight on their hit
their head.

Speaker 7 (44:40):
On the.

Speaker 17 (44:42):
Garry.

Speaker 3 (44:42):
Can I just talk to you about that because I
didn't see it on seven sharp?

Speaker 2 (44:47):
Right?

Speaker 3 (44:50):
Do the promoters want to stay there or they themselves compromised?

Speaker 16 (44:55):
Well, yeah, you can morally say that it's a bit
of there's an investigation going on for sure about that
promotion sort about guys that are in there that I've
more or less been put in there to hike the
prices up and sort of you know, get the crowds
down low in that and chuck it out because.

Speaker 3 (45:18):
Gary, Gary, I'm just going to go to headlines, but
don't go away, Okay, I'm going to come back to you.
Is that right? You'll stay there excent some questions to
ask you. So, Gary, you're a regular You go to
speedway at Western Springs regularly?

Speaker 18 (45:32):
Is that right?

Speaker 16 (45:33):
Yes, I've been going since sixty four years. I've come
sixty seven this year. You know, I've written the bike
down there and I've driven the three quod imdget you know,
back in the seventies.

Speaker 3 (45:46):
So would it be before we have the discussion, Gary,
would it be fair to say that the sport is
not what it once was, that the attendance as well down?
Is that right?

Speaker 16 (45:57):
I'd say it is down a bit. That's because they've
taken away two of the major attractions back then, which
was speedway bikes solose yeah, and the sidecars motorbike sidecars
now and plus there's a lot of other little bits
and pieces too. The track surface doesn't suit the bikes,

(46:19):
it doesn't suit the sidecast but that could be fixed up.

Speaker 3 (46:23):
You know, if we get what is the surface, Gary,
it's clay base. Has it always been players it changed?

Speaker 2 (46:31):
No?

Speaker 16 (46:32):
No, No, it's changed since they did the revamp. I
think it was nineteen eighty four eighty six. They went
from a sort of a dirt's and the sort of
surface into clay because the midget and split car guys
were complaining about tire where so they change the surface
to suit them so they wouldn't complain too much about

(46:53):
burning up tires and that. But it doesn't suit the
bikes or the sidecars, you know, so that's basically here.
But it's got to stay, you know, you.

Speaker 3 (47:06):
Know how you're saying it's got to stay. Haven't the
council made a decision to go to work Ereca Park.
Do you think you can overturn that?

Speaker 16 (47:14):
Well, we're hoping we can.

Speaker 3 (47:16):
Okay, what what do you know? What do you know
what's required to overturn it?

Speaker 16 (47:21):
I can't go into detail about it, but there's a
lot of a lot of stuff that's got to come
through before it's finally over, you know.

Speaker 3 (47:31):
Because I think haven't we been in the situation before
when they're going to move it to Punui about five
or ten years ago.

Speaker 16 (47:37):
Yeah, yeah, that was right. Yeah, but that wasn't suited
because it's too close to the airport and the podcast
create quite a wind dust, you know that when that
suited the planes coming in or landing or whatever.

Speaker 2 (47:53):
You know, do you hate? Do you not?

Speaker 3 (47:55):
Is Wyk Record Park unsuitable?

Speaker 7 (47:58):
No?

Speaker 16 (47:59):
No, not for speedway racing? No, no, no, different, different
sort of than animal. It's like putting regularly League at
Eden Park. You know, it's not the same atmosphere or nothing.
So it's got to stay at Western Springs.

Speaker 3 (48:15):
Brilliant, Okay, I hope it does. But yeah, what is
Ted Tracy still alive?

Speaker 16 (48:19):
Yes, yes he is, as far as I know, he
is atle of a good driver, yes, playing Ted Tracy.

Speaker 3 (48:28):
But the Americans, the Americans would come over every year,
weren't there. There was always great tests between the Americans
and the Keys. It seemed to be that seemed to
be a big deal, didn't it.

Speaker 8 (48:38):
It still is.

Speaker 16 (48:39):
You know, we still get them down here now, and
you know they come down here and race at Western
Springs and they say it's the best track in the
world with the atmosphere and away it's set up and
the pits and everything like that and the crowd you know,
they don't see crowds like that in America for the
midget co racing closes said get would be the Chili Bowl.

Speaker 3 (49:03):
You know, so I'd like to I'd like to know
more about the chili bowlers in Los Angeles.

Speaker 16 (49:11):
Now it's an Coulster Okay coaster. Yeah, yeah, they had
that once a year. It's it's brilliant. Yeah, I'd really
like to go myself.

Speaker 3 (49:21):
Do you think you might do you think you might
be able to go?

Speaker 16 (49:25):
I'll have to check with the missus says she can
work about.

Speaker 3 (49:32):
Garry wonder what he was going to say. Marcus Speedway,
I think a couple of issues, especially for speedway supporters
as an institution, almost just like Eden Park, and speedway
supporters are no less emphatic than rugby supporters. From my

(49:58):
exper Number two, from my experienced speedway supporters, we're never
interested in White Grecord Park because it's also the atmosphe
you're at a different level of racing that Western Springs offers.
As for the local pushback, they all know it exists
in their choice of neighbored try movie and parked industrial era.
Just my two cents worth, Chris Marcus shady agenda at

(50:20):
the Springs follow the money rumors at Auckland FC are
going there. Someone says luxe and stays are numbered and
when he goes, Willis will be gone. Oh yeah, really.
Vanessa said it was being fixed when she was there
at the Montreal Fornicula. I don't know if there's going

(50:46):
to be much served to get to speculation about how
long the prime minister has got, although I've seen on
the certainly on the podcasts, that's all they're talking about it.
The moment who as I saying. I was Matthew Houghton
talking about it, saying is the worst prime minister for
in his lifetime, which all that's a big call. I
think he meant the worst Prime Minister of New Zealand
in his lifetime. Although people are into that sort of language,

(51:15):
aren't They all gets a bit sort of hyperb year
speaking of sports stadiums, and he's there in North Harbor's Jinx.
It's got to be the worst stadium in the country.
Western Springs need to stay where it is. Well, I
think Western Springs is going anywhere, but I think that's
the crowds can actually see the Springs Are there in
those ponds?

Speaker 9 (51:35):
Are they?

Speaker 2 (51:37):
Hi?

Speaker 3 (51:37):
Kathy ats Marcus good.

Speaker 19 (51:38):
Evening him and look, I know Western Springs well, and
I've never been to a speedway there, but you know
the layout of the land and if we're sing that,
it's a natural bowl, so it would be fantastic for
you know, speed carts and things like that. But it's
ironical that that has been well they're trying to get

(51:59):
rid of it because of all the houses around it.
But there's a brand new development that's currently being built
called the Hills in Remy Era, and it's built around
the land of the Alexander Racecourse because you know, like
with the funding of racing these days having gone down,
they've sold some of the land. Around the outside there's

(52:24):
a huge pond that will provide the water the water
the race track and there's really high end. It's a
little bit like a Hobsonville development with you know, three
million dollar houses built all around the racecourse and it's
going to be very functional racecourse. Kathy, which is this
It's called the Hills in Remy Era. It's on the

(52:45):
Alexander Racecourse next to a scott hospital.

Speaker 3 (52:49):
Okay, so it won't be the Alexander Racecourse. It will
be the Elsie Racecourse.

Speaker 2 (52:53):
Is that right?

Speaker 19 (52:55):
Oh, it couldn't be the elderly side.

Speaker 3 (52:56):
Yeah, I think so, I think so. I think yeah.

Speaker 19 (53:01):
I mean it's just it's going to be a working
race track and they're having events from memory for race
meetings a month and the houses. There's literally track for horses.
There's a walkway next to the track that the residents
can walk around when the races aren't on. Opposite the houses,

(53:24):
there is the stand.

Speaker 3 (53:25):
Where the stretch to call it Remoera, wouldn't it, Well.

Speaker 19 (53:30):
It's Elleslie, but because it's so close and you probably
can get more for them if you.

Speaker 3 (53:38):
Can you see the horse? Can you see the racecourse
from there?

Speaker 19 (53:42):
My sister's looking at buy a place about two years time,
and literally there's her house. There's going to be her
house because it isn't being built yet, and then there's
the walkway and the racetrack, so it's really close to
the front of her house.

Speaker 3 (53:59):
You can imagine is it Peach Parade or is it
Ladies Mile?

Speaker 19 (54:04):
A Ladies Mile? It's off when you were a road,
so it's way yeah yeah, so, but I mean they're
all high and it's going to be really no because
you'll have the loudspeaker, you know, giving you the details
of which horses first and second, et cetera. And I mean,

(54:25):
I don't know how it will tell, but if you
can do a development like that where it's going to
be really noisy, why why is there all this fuss
about them?

Speaker 3 (54:34):
It's a good point. I understand your point you're making.
I guess because I guess people. I guess people think
that the horse racing is slightly more high brow than
than But is it on is it on the racecourse land?
Because I know it's very hard with a racecourse, but
it's hard to find, you know, it's hard to get streams.

Speaker 17 (54:57):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (54:58):
Yeah.

Speaker 19 (54:58):
My My understanding is that around the outside they've sold
the land to Fletch just to do the development, and
with the money they make from that, it will help
keep the race track and the race club afloat, so
they can do up all the places where they keep
pulses and upgrade all the facilities with the money they're

(55:21):
going to make from the selling of the homes, and
there's going to be quite a few homes because they're
all you know, recently tightly damned. And because of lack
of parking, they're going to have restaurants and things, but
only the residents can go there because there's no way
for the members of the public's park.

Speaker 18 (55:43):
I don't want it's going to be a whole village.

Speaker 3 (55:45):
I don't want to make assumptions. But maybe they've maybe
it's some of the land from the steeplechase course that
they've taken that land. They still have steeple chases there,
the jumps because there was that big kind of dog
leg there. It looks like it's going in the land
there where they had the steeple chase.

Speaker 19 (56:00):
It's sort of a bank, so you get the grand
stand view right out across the race track and the
field at the moment, the actual race track, it's in
priesting condition, whether they're late new land but grass. But
it's beautiful. It's not at all. But she wants to

(56:22):
stay in remiror she wants to have a smaller house
that's less expensive to run and easy to get to
everything and all her friends and so forth. And it
just seemed to be a better option than buying another
house from Remure that might be expensive to run. And
let's say you know, because your downsize as your children

(56:43):
there and that's the stage of life that she's at,
and she wants to stay in the same sort of
area because that's what she knows. And I'm in Hobsonville
and she saw this development and I've been going on
about you know, modern houses or double glazing and insulation
and how warm they are. And you know, my water
bills are a fraction of what they used to be

(57:05):
because there are a tank under the ground, you know,
like I go on about modern building, because the houses
aren't so brasty and cold like lovely and warm was
even without aches on. So you know, why wouldn't you
want to live in a house like that as you're
getting older.

Speaker 16 (57:24):
So I don't know, it.

Speaker 3 (57:26):
Makes perfect sense, Katy. Nice to hear from you. Thank you,
good evening, Anne, Marie. It's Marcus. Welcome.

Speaker 2 (57:33):
Hello, Hi and Marie.

Speaker 17 (57:35):
Hi Marcus. I'm just bringing our son race Speedway for
years in the midgets and he is still repairing midgets
and building sprint cars. And it's an absolute shame because
it was a fabulous place for families to go, which
we took our children. Darrell was I don't know ten

(57:59):
what he race ended up racing a very better worse
people will know and it's a shame now it was
a fabulous place for family families.

Speaker 3 (58:10):
Yes, so what does he what does he think is
going on?

Speaker 11 (58:16):
The track?

Speaker 17 (58:16):
Does not look after properly? I think okay, and yeah,
I don't want to go on about it.

Speaker 3 (58:24):
But you have helping people, you kind of have run
to go on about it. I'm just kidding. So are
the promoters not prepared to pay the money for it
because the track's not worthwhile? I wonder if that's what
it's about.

Speaker 17 (58:36):
You have to ask him. I know that there's not
right and we have gone there for years and he
is still like a told you building, helping people in
the South Island with a print car and and it's
just a shame.

Speaker 3 (58:54):
Do you still go where to Western Springs?

Speaker 17 (59:02):
No, it hasn't hardly been on okay, and it's no,
it's not worth us going down to Auckland. We're not
an atand now, but we spend our whole lot. My
husband he was a pusher on midget cars and before
our son was you know, before I met, before I

(59:25):
married my husband. But I just wanted people to know
how wonderful it was for families.

Speaker 3 (59:33):
Nice to hear from you, an Marie, appreciate that. Ten
away from ten someone's texted to said about Sleepy Trip
was one of the great names of the midget drivers.
That's very very famous, Sleepy Trip. He'll be down all
the time. Great names, Sleepy Trip. Nathan Marcus, welcome, Hey Marcus.

Speaker 6 (59:49):
How are you good?

Speaker 3 (59:50):
Nathan?

Speaker 8 (59:50):
Thank you.

Speaker 6 (59:52):
Just heard Kathy talking about the old just caught there's
sort of ends of the conversation about Kathy talking about
the Allieslie Hill side of things, and I wish you
the disruption with moving in there and having races on
and so on and so forth. So I guess a
couple of things with that. From what I understand is
that the hill, the money they've made from that, they're
investing back into racing, which is why the stakes you'll

(01:00:13):
find it earnestly in the meetings these days are much
more higher to encourage more people into the industry and
those sorts of things. Fundamentally, you'll hear a few things
over on that side of the hill, But for the
amount of races that they had there throughout the winter
season and the new track that they've put in, which
isn't going to allow it to have jumps races, and
guess because the track isn't going to be heavy like

(01:00:34):
traditionally would have been in the past, it was much
better use of that land to invest back into their industry.
As for the like the speedway side of things, that
typical sort of thing. People buy houses in that area
knowing that the speedway's been there for donkeys years, as
is the zoo over by Western Springs, and yet people
saw them complain about it after they're by the house.

Speaker 2 (01:00:53):
So I'm I'm.

Speaker 3 (01:00:56):
Not seeing this. I'm not seeing this driven by the
residents though I see it's more between council and the promoters.
That's my take.

Speaker 6 (01:01:02):
Look from I guess from a council perspective, I mean
most councils these days are are screaming out for money
and cash and when you've got too essentially a white
iraka an only hunger and in the Western Springs, in
the Western Springs, why don't mean it makes sense to
consolidate and have one good track that they can alternate
weekends and racing, which is only hungers in an industrial area,

(01:01:24):
so there's less issues with people complaining about noise and
down and those things, so it actually makes sense to
consolidate that, put some money into Wye Cracker, get it
to a position where it's got good grand sensor in
good facilities, and then use Western Springs for something else
would make more See.

Speaker 3 (01:01:39):
Are you on the council, Nathan, do you work for there?
Are you with the racing board or something?

Speaker 6 (01:01:45):
No, not at all, but I have I guess through
my personal side of things. I have race sources of
shoes and racehorses, so I'm familiar with what goes on,
and I get emails about what's happening at Alsley.

Speaker 3 (01:01:57):
I just had it. Just I had a text that
someone said Aucan Racing Club and Ti Rapra looking for
trinid acres to purchase to move horse racing to the
Northern White Cutter, taking it out of all can this
racing guaranteed still in Auckland or they trying.

Speaker 9 (01:02:11):
To move it out a lot.

Speaker 6 (01:02:13):
I haven't seen or heard anything about that at this
point in time, but I mean, I guess it's like anything.
It's consolidation of areas and industries because the issue in
New Zealand is that we have like that you can
get a trainer's license and you can train five horses.
Whereas the economics of that when you're spread out in
a really geriafical nature that New Zealand is, and spread

(01:02:35):
over the countryside, it doesn't warrant having lots of small
trainers spread about. We're better off having some key main centers,
I guess, with these purpose built facilities for them to
come and train, and like you see in Australia and
overseas where they have boxes set up with owners have
them and there's place trainers have them, there's places to
spell the horses all in one location. It's more economic

(01:02:57):
sense to do that than have all these tiny little
racetracks which a huge amount of land that only get
used once or twice a year. Okaysolidation of the industry,
I guess you could say.

Speaker 3 (01:03:09):
So racing's not leaving Yellows anytime soon.

Speaker 6 (01:03:12):
Well not with the amount of money they've just invested
into this new track. And so the new track they've
put and has costed them a pretty penny of course,
and it's designed to be an all way of the
surface so that they can get a delue to rain.
They've got the biggest race day coming up this Saturday.
That new Zealand's ever seen that?

Speaker 3 (01:03:30):
What does that mean? You pay for your slot? What's
that about?

Speaker 6 (01:03:34):
Look, it's something that started out of Australia, I guess
is in a race called the Everest and then they
decided to do a similar thing over here to attract
international horses to New Zealand. There's been a big injection
with money and stuff into the industry with how.

Speaker 2 (01:03:49):
Much being involved?

Speaker 3 (01:03:50):
How much do you pay to start?

Speaker 6 (01:03:53):
Look that? So it's not like a normal horse race.
So an individual or a stable could buy a slot
and I think they range anywhere from seven or eight
hundred thousand per slot, and then they can find a
horse to run in it. So I could have bought
a slot and then I could go to an owner
or a trainer and say, I like your horse, I
want to use it in my slot for this race,

(01:04:13):
and then you negotiate between you and the trainer what
each person's cut would be out of the out of
the purse.

Speaker 3 (01:04:19):
But okay, I'd like to talk more about that. I'm
just one use, Nathan, but I have enjoyed some of
your expertise, Marty Marcus.

Speaker 16 (01:04:25):
Welcome you, Marcus.

Speaker 18 (01:04:28):
I've got a roundabout update for you're the latest roundabout news.
The eagle has landed. At about midnight on Tuesday night,
they put in the fifteen meter hawk.

Speaker 3 (01:04:37):
Oh, this is at the roundabout, Tino. What's it called?

Speaker 18 (01:04:39):
What's the roundabout called the Priory roundabout?

Speaker 3 (01:04:43):
How's that spelled?

Speaker 2 (01:04:45):
P I A R E R E.

Speaker 18 (01:04:48):
I'm probably not pronouncing it right.

Speaker 3 (01:04:50):
At least you gave it a go and you spelled it.

Speaker 16 (01:04:52):
Right, yepot.

Speaker 18 (01:04:55):
Anyway, it's a big hawk. But it's super interesting because
the family who's fence got smashed into most he went
on seven sharp and complained about it about six years ago.
Guess what their last name is?

Speaker 3 (01:05:09):
Hawk?

Speaker 13 (01:05:10):
Ye, the hawks?

Speaker 3 (01:05:12):
Why would you put a hawk? What is with these
animals and roundabouts?

Speaker 18 (01:05:16):
It's to pay homage to the Hawk family?

Speaker 3 (01:05:19):
Is it really?

Speaker 18 (01:05:20):
I don't know. I'd say it will be a local
Maori consultation that's gone to figure out what it is.
Because in Hamilton and Cambridge you've got eels and you've
got other things.

Speaker 3 (01:05:33):
With the roundabout. Because we've done shows on roundabouts roundabout
sympathetic people want to hide visibility. They don't want a
hawk because I think they've just put they've done something
with that Dan and the motorway extension up through Wilsford,
haven't they what's gone up there?

Speaker 18 (01:05:49):
Totem Pole.

Speaker 3 (01:05:50):
No, No, you're swimming.

Speaker 18 (01:05:55):
I'm going to sparkle overlooking the roundabout, I can see
the cars going around it.

Speaker 3 (01:06:04):
If you moved house, I've moved to it.

Speaker 18 (01:06:07):
From from one farmhouse to another farmhouse. And this one
looking it up with the hawk. Yeah, the previous one
was just looking over sheep paddocks, have you.

Speaker 3 (01:06:19):
Okay, there's another one. There's a a giant eagle is
on the roundabout and the new motorway, the who are
to walk with motorway they've got an eagle there. That's
why I was asking about that.

Speaker 18 (01:06:32):
Okay, I'll course one a hawk then, because of the
Hawk family.

Speaker 16 (01:06:36):
Yeah.

Speaker 18 (01:06:38):
And also the other thing they've announced that doing the
big Carrapiro extension. So once this, once this Hawk roundabouts
finished down here, that I'll start getting into that. The
the Carrapiro to piriy Fau Lane holiday one hundred and
ten k highway.

Speaker 3 (01:06:53):
Is that just the main motorway they're widening.

Speaker 18 (01:06:56):
Yes, but I think they can take it through the
hill and make it straight and fast Becau it's a
bit windy. It is a bit scary the old one.

Speaker 3 (01:07:04):
How will I get a picture? So the Hawk got
helicopter to day.

Speaker 18 (01:07:07):
Did it on Tuesday night. I got They have to
think of the biggest higher crane you can imagine. You
need two of those loftless thing. It's all steel, will
be like five mill plate. You know if that's a
rusty steel, it's already rusty's.

Speaker 3 (01:07:24):
Look they're going for that way.

Speaker 18 (01:07:26):
Yeah, it's like industrial Maori Hawk.

Speaker 3 (01:07:31):
Where can I see an image of it?

Speaker 18 (01:07:33):
I'd say people haven't been taking that when you it's
pretty fresh and and they're still like concrete it and stuff.
It's not quite finished yet, but there should be people
just putting it on Facebook because they'd go around on
their phones and looking at where they're driving.

Speaker 3 (01:07:52):
So tell me about your If you sold your house.

Speaker 18 (01:07:55):
No, no, we've we've had we've moved from one house
to another because my in laws have left the farm
that have taken over a different house, and my manager
is going to move into our old house. And fortunately
he didn't want to take his sparkle into matter matters.
I've inherited this spar pool which overlooks the Hawk.

Speaker 3 (01:08:17):
You're pretty braggy about your sparkle like ringing from it
and then loudly splashing. It's not like you to walk
with things, and I thought you'd be more humble.

Speaker 18 (01:08:25):
No, well I like that what I'm doing when I'm
calling you usually.

Speaker 3 (01:08:29):
Yeah, okay, what do you want to say about? What
do you want to say? In New Zealand?

Speaker 18 (01:08:34):
But the old guy's leaving and I heard him the news. Yeah,
they really need to focus on a bit of domestic
domestic stuff. Hopefully the new guy will focus on some
domestic travel rather than just focusing on international brilliant.

Speaker 3 (01:08:51):
Okay, okay, any other thoughts you get us to touch?
Any other thoughts with the sparkle? Matey, Nice to hear
from your fourteen past ten? What how's your heathen?

Speaker 20 (01:09:02):
Is it.

Speaker 11 (01:09:04):
Market?

Speaker 2 (01:09:05):
What there you're going, Marcus?

Speaker 12 (01:09:10):
I was just singing about the Western Springs or mix
a psyca speedway rider?

Speaker 3 (01:09:15):
Are you the swinger?

Speaker 12 (01:09:17):
No, I'm a writer.

Speaker 3 (01:09:18):
Oh go yeah, okay, good.

Speaker 12 (01:09:19):
Yep, and of race, I've done it for a lot
of years and hear what's happening at Western Springs is
quite a travesty.

Speaker 3 (01:09:34):
So you guys they said the surface has changed its clay.
Other speedway riders happy with the clay.

Speaker 12 (01:09:41):
Oh mate, we wrote on any surface too?

Speaker 2 (01:09:47):
Do you.

Speaker 12 (01:09:51):
You should come down and have it go sometimes?

Speaker 3 (01:09:53):
Marcus, have you been to the speedway? And in v Cargo.

Speaker 12 (01:09:58):
No, I've only done the North Oland.

Speaker 3 (01:10:01):
He starts beginning on the South. I mean they do
have it down here too. That's the last time I
wish you should give a man. I was asked, but
it's not really my thing. But anyway, what's your understanding
of what's happened?

Speaker 12 (01:10:17):
I know there's a lot of controversy going down at
the moment. Can I can I give a plug to
a site trying to stage the weekend Spring Speedway. It's
called SABL Speedway. I think it's Sable Speedway dot co
dot inz Okay is it will be a shame to see.

Speaker 3 (01:10:38):
On Do you stay with the same swinger or do
you go through them?

Speaker 12 (01:10:43):
Well, I've had a couple of my tom I've done
it for a lot of like I've done it for
about twenty odd years yep, And yeah I've had a
few in my time. Actually I haven't done it for
ten years, but I'm I'm getting back into it again
in a better weeks time.

Speaker 3 (01:11:01):
So is the speed Wow is the speedway still at
Western Springs.

Speaker 12 (01:11:06):
Yeah, but they don't have the bikes even more unfortunately.

Speaker 3 (01:11:09):
So where are the where are the bikes now?

Speaker 12 (01:11:13):
Are more an Orkan Rosebink Road. Rod Evandale was, Yeah,
that's our home track.

Speaker 3 (01:11:22):
That doesn't look much. That always looks a bit sort
of amateur.

Speaker 12 (01:11:27):
Oh, come and here we go and see how I
ammture it is?

Speaker 11 (01:11:32):
What's been up and not?

Speaker 3 (01:11:34):
What's your website called save our Springs?

Speaker 2 (01:11:36):
Is it?

Speaker 12 (01:11:36):
Did you say save our Speedway?

Speaker 3 (01:11:39):
Okay, save our Speedway? Is it a Facebook page or
that's a website.

Speaker 12 (01:11:45):
It's a website brilliant for the serious flod office is
actually involved in it now because there's been a lot
of untowards stuff going on.

Speaker 3 (01:11:55):
Okay is that fact or is it speculation?

Speaker 9 (01:11:57):
No, that's fact.

Speaker 3 (01:11:59):
Okay, I'll look into that, Hayden, thank you. Yeah, she's
a story. I can even get to the bottom to
have a look at that website. That might explain something.
But yeah, as long as I've been in this show,
people have gone on and on about that, about the
speedway and why it's moving from Eden from Western Springs.

(01:12:19):
We're Auckland first got its. Actually it's not I think
Auckland when it was first got its water from the
ponds at the domain. Then they got its sweat water
from Western Springs. Six four Brisbane. Paul Marcus. Welcome, Hey
Marcus here, you're going good. Thank you, Paul.

Speaker 21 (01:12:36):
Hey, look on Speedway and I don't know a lot
and I'm glad I'm out of the loop. But there's
a lot of blokes that I hang out with, and
I've been the speedway since I was sixteen, but pretty.

Speaker 11 (01:12:49):
Much in the know.

Speaker 21 (01:12:51):
The one thing I've called you about is that a
lot of media have turned their back and don't actually
want to bring this to before even those seven sharps
tonight and I didn't see it. But what I'm hearing
from a lot of commentary that it's a done deal.
Let's move on, forget about it. It's ninety five years.

(01:13:14):
To the best of my knowledge, the Western Springs and
the zoo was gifted to the council a long time ago.
As long as the zoo in Western Springs stayed there.
That's what I understand.

Speaker 3 (01:13:34):
That that doesn't sound right, that doesn't pass that, No, no.

Speaker 21 (01:13:40):
I'm hearing you, but there's something there. So what I
think very accurate what you said before the promoters and
that there's a whole lot of muddy borders. What I'd
ask you to do is just hold your interest on it,
even though I know that you've had a gaps ful
of it because you've been talking about.

Speaker 3 (01:14:02):
Maybe Paul, I want to be really clear with you.
My favorite thing is passionate. I like people are passionate
about stuff. I haven't had a gutsful of it. I've
just said, the discussions on gone on for a long view,
for a long time, and I've never found this. I've
never found the discussion that clear cut. There's always sort
of other things that you don't hear about.

Speaker 1 (01:14:23):
So yeah, yeah, that's so.

Speaker 3 (01:14:25):
It's it's not like someone can bring me up and say, Marcus,
these are the four things. This is the reason. But
seems to me it's a council owned venue and they've
decided to go, so it's out of their hands. I mean,
councils can do that with their venues, can't they.

Speaker 21 (01:14:40):
Yeah, as I understand they can. But there's something really
strange about this. There's something that is underlying that people
know about and that's why they've engaged council and obviously
are taking it further. I just believe that there's a lot,
there's a lot of stuff that's been taken away from Auckland.

(01:15:03):
And I know you might see that as a bit odd,
but we've had so many changes the city doesn't even.

Speaker 11 (01:15:09):
Look the same.

Speaker 3 (01:15:10):
What do you think has been taken away?

Speaker 21 (01:15:14):
I think I think the attraction of Auckland has been
able to get around for a start, and you can't
do that anymore.

Speaker 3 (01:15:20):
Okay, But there aren't events that have been taken away.
It seems though there's got more events. You've got Auckland.
If so, you've got football, you've got other stuff you've
got you know.

Speaker 21 (01:15:28):
Okay exactly, But Marcus at Speedway and if you go
and have a look, it's not run every week, it's
like twice a month. So they've been cut right back.
But they get eight to ten thousand people that the

(01:15:48):
Blues might get six thousand people. And that's Eden Park.
That's a big operation. And do we need another soccer
stadium when we've got a stadium sitting there in North
Harbor that no one uses all the.

Speaker 3 (01:16:06):
Sense there's also the sense that it's the working class
sport and they've been put I mean, so I imagine
amongst that it's easy for them to whip up conspiracies
and say they're out to get us because we're not
the Hoy twenties and stuff like that.

Speaker 21 (01:16:18):
So here and you yeah, but also the promoter has
interests and other other race venues, and and they're stock cars,
they're not speedway. Speedway is completely different. And eleven million dollars.
If the council are going to give you eleven million
dollars and you run White Iracor Park.

Speaker 3 (01:16:44):
It's confusing all the different sorts of there's speedway, there's midgets,
there's what's the other one?

Speaker 21 (01:16:51):
Because they're different cars. Yeah, they're different, they're different to watch,
they go faster and I go to White I recker.

Speaker 3 (01:17:00):
But the two is why Ereka stock cars? It always
used to be what's it?

Speaker 11 (01:17:05):
Now it's it's with stock cars.

Speaker 21 (01:17:08):
And then they want to take sprint cars and midgets
to Western Springs and my understanding is that teams and
drivers won't go there.

Speaker 3 (01:17:16):
What what what's the surface at work Erecord Park.

Speaker 21 (01:17:22):
I don't say it's not the same surface. I know
that it's clay based, but it's mixed. But they're heavier
cars as stock cars.

Speaker 3 (01:17:31):
But how many do they get how many do they
get there?

Speaker 8 (01:17:35):
Pull?

Speaker 2 (01:17:35):
Not that many?

Speaker 11 (01:17:36):
Okay.

Speaker 21 (01:17:37):
So here's the other point. So even with the upgrades
at what iraker, you're going to get a maximum And
my understanding once again is five to six thousand people,
you're not So they're not going to be able to hold.
Even if they had a big event for sprint cars
and midgets at White Corecker, you're not going to get

(01:17:58):
those people there. They won't fit.

Speaker 3 (01:18:01):
So Paul, I like the way you communicate. I like
your yeah, the energy you're coming with it at is
it not a done deal?

Speaker 21 (01:18:09):
And my understanding as far from it.

Speaker 3 (01:18:11):
Okay, because the other thing I said I had, thank you, pardon.

Speaker 21 (01:18:18):
I said, I love you. Keep your ear to the ground.
You're a great journalist because I'll tell you what if
it's if Western Springs goes and even though we mightn't
go there every week or every month, that's that's a shame.
It's got so much history.

Speaker 3 (01:18:38):
Okay, I'll keep talking about hopefully we'll get we'll get
to the full sense of what's going on. Because yeah,
when I was on this show doing it might be
eight years ago. They're going to move to Puanui, there
was that guy that promotes Aaron. It was all a
done deal. But yeah, and we're too busy now to
follow all the news stories to read exactly what's going on.

(01:18:59):
And the media is not covering stories as much as
they did because they're strung out, so you haven't got
the so it's quite complicated to find out the whole story.
I wish i'd seen the seven sharp story about it.
If anyone could actually give me a bit of a
sum up of that, that would be of interest. One
of the one of my favorite shows I've done on
this session right in the last ten years or nine

(01:19:20):
years or whatever, was talking about Speedway and christ Church
in the fifties and sixties where the local tracks everyone
would walk to, and that I thought, Gee, that was
the stories and just the subway basis of that was phenomenal.
And that's kind of why we like Australia because we've
got their sports of local venues and I think it

(01:19:40):
is important to eden parks like that you can just
walk to that good evening. Graham, it's Marcus, welcome.

Speaker 9 (01:19:48):
Your Hi Marcus, enjoying your show about the Speedway. Your
last caller was correct with Western Springs being given to
the council pretty much the Motion family gave back to
the council. The last time that deed was seen, I

(01:20:10):
think from memory, was when Willie Kay was a promoter
at Western Springs and there was a deed which basically
read something along the lines of as long as the
speedway track is a speedway track, it belonged to the
council to run, and then if it's ever closed down,
then that would no longer be viable. So that is

(01:20:34):
all true and correct. Now they offered him seventeen million
dollars to go to White Cracker Park, but all the
grandstands at White Cracker Park are all buggered. They all
need to be replaced, and also a toilet block and
all that sort of stuff, and all that funding that

(01:20:55):
they're going to give them has got to build all
these new bits and pieces. So you're probably going to
be out of money there anyway. There's another thing also,
the difference in the track serves is way different. Like
the guys said before, the cars are heavier, all that
sort of carry on.

Speaker 3 (01:21:16):
And basically, did you see the seven Sharp story tonight?

Speaker 16 (01:21:22):
Yes?

Speaker 6 (01:21:22):
I did.

Speaker 3 (01:21:23):
What was the what was the guts of.

Speaker 13 (01:21:24):
That well.

Speaker 9 (01:21:28):
Pretty much. I think it's just showing you how popular
Western Springs actually is and how big a crowd they
can get.

Speaker 3 (01:21:35):
Okay, is there is there a Is there a sentiment
from locals they want it gone? I haven't heard that.
But have they been petitioning to get.

Speaker 18 (01:21:43):
Rid of it?

Speaker 9 (01:21:47):
Well, when Bill Buckley was a promoter, Yes, they basically
got it down to about one or two people complain
They've got the noise level right down to your your
deathbell readings, which is where it needs to be at
ninety four deathbels. I think it is. So basically they're

(01:22:07):
all compliant with what it is.

Speaker 3 (01:22:10):
Bill Buckley was a bit of a legiend, right, he
was a successful businessman. He also read as have I
got that one right?

Speaker 9 (01:22:15):
Yeah? Well now he runs our ones he run.

Speaker 3 (01:22:18):
Didn't know that, okay, thank you.

Speaker 9 (01:22:19):
So basically Bill Buckley used to race sidecars here years ago,
and his sons used to race speedway and his I
think his nephew, Travis Buckley races midgets and sprint cars
and stuff like that as well. So there's a lot
of history there. In the old days, they used to
run around twenty meetings a season and then as the

(01:22:43):
council got more and more control with all you carry on,
with noise and all this sort of carry on. They
basically whittled it right the way down till you get
to like ten race meetings a season if you're lucky.
And it's very interesting how the councils say that was speedway.
It's costing them money. It's cost them not there's a

(01:23:07):
million and a half or any of that the speedway
to be there. It's interest and they can say how
much speedway costs to be there, but they've never mentioned
how much it costs for when rugby there as in
light Pompy Rugby Club at Western Springs Speedways. That's their
home ground now. They don't say any losses about that.

Speaker 3 (01:23:28):
Is the sports still healthy? Is it grassroots? Are the
young people involved in Auckland? Is it still a lively
and with drivers or riders as well?

Speaker 9 (01:23:40):
Well, Hey, you at the end of the day, pretty
much most of your competitors there are raplayers, don't they Yeah, But.

Speaker 3 (01:23:48):
They come from all today. They don't come from further
Afield to race. They're mainly locals that are racing.

Speaker 9 (01:23:53):
There's there's a lot of locals. There's a lot of
people come from all over the country and race like
yeah Shane ben Disbury, everybody knows that he is. Yes,
well he flies back here at Christmas time and he
raises a sprint guard. Now, like you know, you've got

(01:24:14):
people like him and going there. He actually started there
back in the day in the little Kiwi kids things,
Sames like Michael Pattins and all these sorts of people.

Speaker 3 (01:24:24):
The council voted to move it. Is it now going
to litigation to stop that?

Speaker 9 (01:24:29):
Well it really should be, because it's very underhanded what's
happened there. I don't think there's really been any consultation
with your competitors as such as like the council. From
what I understand is you've got you Auckland soccer teams. Okay,
they train over the North Shore, but they don't play

(01:24:50):
any games there. But the billionaire guy who owns a team,
he's expressed interest in Western Springs. So all of a sudden,
as soon as he's express interest, well speedway's got to go.

Speaker 12 (01:25:05):
You know.

Speaker 9 (01:25:05):
That's that's pretty much how it's rolled. And Wayne Brown
used to support speedway, was what he said. He was
going to support the Speedway group and all that's got
to carry on. Now he's done a U turn on
that and he wants it done as well. So I
think the council of their own agenda, is it a
bad thing.

Speaker 3 (01:25:24):
If a new sport goes there? Is this a bad
thing of football? Suddenly? Even football? May do they put
that there?

Speaker 7 (01:25:29):
Is it?

Speaker 3 (01:25:30):
I guess it is for you? I mean things change,
don't they put?

Speaker 4 (01:25:34):
Well?

Speaker 9 (01:25:35):
How I see it is? Okay? It'd be like hypothetically
you turn around and say that we want eating parks
for something else, so awesome Blues can bugger off out
of there, and why aren't you move in with the
Warriors and just use this their stadium because it's more convenient.
And you guys just figure out how you're going to
run the rugby and the NRL out of the same park.

(01:25:57):
That's exactly what you're doing to Western Springs along with
White Iraka Park.

Speaker 3 (01:26:02):
But I guess the councilors has pressure to get the
most rent they can for their facilities, right if they've
got Because does it does it feel like the AWKFC
are going to go there? Is that what you've heard?

Speaker 9 (01:26:12):
Well, that's that's what some of the talkers around the place.
It's really confusing exactly what's going to go.

Speaker 3 (01:26:18):
There, Okay, I agree, wouldn't surprise me.

Speaker 9 (01:26:23):
Like if you look at the land mass you've got
there at Western Spring's okay, if you can kick the
people out of there from speedways. They did say they
want to use it for cricket at one stage and
that's sort of gone by the wayside now they're talking
about using of a soccer. Well, if you can get
rid of the people out of there for the motorsport
and or any sport for example, look at the car
parking space there a city landfill for some housing and

(01:26:45):
stuff like that. Yeah, you know, I think there is
a hell of a lot more to the agenda with
the council than they are actually telling. You know, like
speedway's been there for a hell of a long time.
It's got a lot of history. You've had a lot
of famous people come through the place, you know, over
the years, so you know, there's a hell of a

(01:27:07):
lot of history. It's sort of like telling you all
blacks to pack your bags and bugger off somewhere else,
and you know it, we'll just put you somewhere else
in the country, all black ors you you know, whatever.

Speaker 3 (01:27:17):
What's your what's you're involved in, Graham, Not that I
think you're underhanded, but are you a driver or just
to reget a punter or just someone that's interested.

Speaker 9 (01:27:25):
Well, I grew up in Kingsland and I've been in
a certain way since I was about probably five years
of age, yep. So I've been going there for years.
Back in the day when you had either major and
all those sort of poppies in and riders you come
over and race solo bikes and all that sort of stuff.
So I've been interested in speedway. I've helped guys with

(01:27:45):
your race cars, whether it's ridgets or sprint cars or whatever.
I've worked on them for years. So you still go,
then I still go. It's horrendous at the moment it's
gone up to like fifty dollars to get.

Speaker 2 (01:28:04):
In the gate.

Speaker 3 (01:28:05):
Fifty dollars.

Speaker 16 (01:28:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (01:28:07):
And the promoter that you got there and the other
call has seed before. Yes, he's got other interests as well.
So the guy who's your promoter has got the speedway
down at partisan North, he's also got Wiker Record Park,
and he's also got Western Springs, and that's why he's
just sort of just falling over, you know, I'm saying

(01:28:29):
that Western Springs can go and we're just taking the
Whiker record party.

Speaker 3 (01:28:32):
What's to stop What's to stop another promoter coming in
and doing their own story. How come he has the
rights to be the provider just because it's a business
when he's put the package together, is that right?

Speaker 9 (01:28:43):
Well, basically I think he out did Buckley because Buckley
was still interested.

Speaker 6 (01:28:48):
In doing it.

Speaker 3 (01:28:48):
And okay, okay, so two other guys taken over. It's
a business.

Speaker 9 (01:28:56):
Well, yeah, at the end of the day, you have
to run it as a business at the end of
the day. But like the other caller said about how
many times you can have a meeting at Western Springs,
well you get all odd ball day. So it's really
hard for Speedway to get a decent flow on.

Speaker 3 (01:29:11):
Yeah, so I'm betlieve it even Thank you, grab story
to cut you short. Oh it's Marcus.

Speaker 20 (01:29:16):
Welcome, good evening, Marcus. I'm just calling in support of
Western Springs Speedway saying where it is. To give some context,
I was born and raised in Western Springs. We used
to go to Speedway. We used to go to fireworks
displays there once a year, and we also used to

(01:29:39):
go to there when occasionally they had the military tattoo there,
which was marvelous. And as a local, the speedway was
never an issue. You know, it stops ten o'clock at night,
just a noise that you used to do and we're
really did never a problem with it. The concerts that

(01:30:02):
they held at Western Springs was a lot more anti
social in their ha everywhere, and I've under broken glass
and occasional broken let of box in that. But there's
a lot of tradition there now I can understand. And
moving the guy just slays away because the star shows
came off currently made that giraffe fault one time and

(01:30:24):
ran into a fence and heard or killed himself and that,
and you know, we don't want that the season important
play that's in that general area too. But I think
that people are moving to the area and complain about
the noise, should really move next to a motorway or
an airport and complain about that instead.

Speaker 3 (01:30:41):
Oh and I haven't noticed that it's been about the
resids complaining. It seems to be about counsel about the promoter.
Doesn't seem to be about the resins to me.

Speaker 20 (01:30:49):
Yeah, No, that's that's a fair. That's a fair point.

Speaker 3 (01:30:52):
I think that's just my understanding. I think last time
it was more so. But they seem it's been a bit. Yeah,
that's what.

Speaker 2 (01:30:57):
Yeah, But we we.

Speaker 20 (01:31:00):
Loved it and it was very much a fan very
much a family thing. And I don't think you'll have
the same atmosphere white or what to be honest, I
think white Crackers and more of a sort of a
heavy But it's plenty of fun you can have there too,
but and you also have the track surface is different

(01:31:20):
for different kinds of vehicles and the Orkan spere Ware
Roders Club is out at Rosebank Park because the track
at Western Springs was always very sticky track and it's
not really suited to bite which neither really good surface
for sliding. Yes, but I just think it'll be a
real shame receiveto almost one hundred years it's been.

Speaker 3 (01:31:42):
There, sort of white Cracker Park. It's sort of it's
sort of a no means land a.

Speaker 20 (01:31:50):
Yeah, and you know, who knows it could workout, but.

Speaker 3 (01:31:55):
God for saken, I had to drop my car off
there because I've got it, put my car on a
train to move it in Voicago, had to go to
where the rail depot was he had to walk right
along that road to the get to the airport. And gee,
she's a she's a pretty brutal stretch of a light
industrial area, that one. I mean, it's pretty it's she's
pretty full on. It's not like or anything, is it.

(01:32:17):
It's like it's it's real industrial, that's right.

Speaker 20 (01:32:21):
But any noise you make near the water there, it
travels right across because the White Cracker is right just
to the edge of the money Cow.

Speaker 2 (01:32:28):
And well, I haven't lived over.

Speaker 20 (01:32:30):
The other side to hear the noise. I hear noise
go across water and other settings. And occasionally if the
wind's flowing from either White Iraka, which is an unusual
and it's not prevailing them, but from why Corraca, I
love further west, but from White Iraka or from even
if there's something a big event at Mount Smart, well

(01:32:53):
we'll hear it. So I don't imagine see where it's
going to add anything to it, any noise to what
the stock cars.

Speaker 3 (01:33:01):
Kind of, Yeah, I don't really understand stock cars. I
used to go but blood when I I don't really
understand what goes on there.

Speaker 20 (01:33:09):
Yeah, I'm not. I'm not knowledgeable in that area. Either
I'm a personally I'm a bike man. But we used
to enjoy the midgist and the supermodifiers and that they
sing some of the great race there very batter, worse
than Ted Tracy. And then there was Sleepy Trup. Sleepy
do you remember Sleepy Trup?

Speaker 3 (01:33:26):
Yes, free much, very much.

Speaker 16 (01:33:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 20 (01:33:28):
Well, he was also a very good flat track motorcycle
racer and he come out and raced its brows. Big
park promotors didn't like him using his name there because
you stayed to bring more away out here. So he
would race under the name Dario Rester, which is the
name of a motorcycle the car racer from years ago,

(01:33:49):
and he was he was a very very good rider.
The only guy who could keep with him was Kai Nemi,
who was the the Danish b World champions.

Speaker 3 (01:34:00):
I remember, probably five or ten years ago. What's that
guy's name that used to run Berry. That's a silicon
chips and magnets that ran Western Springs. What was the
promoter's name?

Speaker 20 (01:34:09):
Oh yeah, yeah, the name will come back to me
in a second.

Speaker 9 (01:34:15):
Talking remember his.

Speaker 20 (01:34:16):
First company was I've come back anyway. I know who
you mean. Years he's got been into his business once.

Speaker 3 (01:34:23):
Bill Bill Buckley, right, Billy, So about ten years ago
he had the World Speedway Champs there with people from
around the world, different countries. Do you remember that.

Speaker 20 (01:34:34):
No, I wasn't. I wasn't following it at that point,
but it rings a.

Speaker 3 (01:34:38):
Bell because internationally, I mean, we're not in that, We're
not We're not up there anymore. And it always seemed
to be the Eastern European riders. But boy, that was
worth watching. There was a phenomenal event. Just trying to
think about speedway or all these motive buggets, it's sort
of the success of it is already about the promoter,
is that there's good of promoters that build up sports
and they I think all sports tend to ebb and

(01:35:03):
flow a bit. And I'm thinking about soccer and Auckland
because I know a lot about soccer or football in Auckland.
And I've talked to you about this before, because football
in the seventies in Auckland was huge because they had
a venue called New Market Park, which must have run
for about I know when it ran from mid sixties

(01:35:26):
to the early eighties till it slid down. The valley
was off Air Street in Auckland, and that was huge
venue for football, and then a lot of English football
teams came across and played and there was a tremendous
New Zealand club competition and football was huge mainly because
of their venue. It was such a fantastic venue with
an auckland. Then it slid down the bank with an

(01:35:50):
old land for Old Tip. Then they moved football to
Mount Smart. Well, it's not the same because there was
the racetrack. There was a running track there THENU that
was between you and the audience and it felt wrong.
And now of course football's come back after probably a
thirty year Hi artist with a football kings with here

(01:36:10):
a little bit. But yeah, so some sports come and
then they go, they come back again. I don't know
what this has got to do with speedway, but I
kind of feel that it's no sport by right, it's
going to be around forever. That's not how I take
it anyway. But then we always come back to the
example of rugby, which has always been an even part.

(01:36:32):
But yeah, probably not for much longer. I mean, you
look at all the financials from rugby, with TV rights
and everything like that, it doesn't seem to be a
sport that's going to be guaranteed, because when you look
at the players salaries and you look at number of
people turning up and the it just doesn't seem sustainable

(01:36:55):
to me. But I wouldn't say that there Rugby and
Eden Park in twenty years. I think it would be
highly likely that it wouldn't be there. But yeah, I
think probably there are some injustices with Speedway or with
Western Springs, but also I suspect probably there's a little
bit of paranoia there as well. But we'll keep going

(01:37:15):
talking about it. Good evening, Jamie, Marcus, welcome.

Speaker 7 (01:37:20):
Heyware you go Marcus.

Speaker 3 (01:37:21):
Good Jamie.

Speaker 7 (01:37:23):
Well, there's not been much going on back home. My
mates have been sending me photos of this morning blue
sky and then yeah, I've had a birthday party with
the neighbors for the six year answers a birthday American Shimmon.
So I've been pretty h normal up in Disland, but

(01:37:45):
I've been wet. I'm just south from Sydney and it's
been raining all the way down all day, which is
pretty uncommon. So yeah, I thought that's interesting.

Speaker 3 (01:37:56):
Where have you driven down south from to get to Sydney?
Where were you overnight?

Speaker 12 (01:38:02):
Hi?

Speaker 2 (01:38:02):
I was round the.

Speaker 7 (01:38:04):
Tough Tavor this morning, okay, and then I'm just I've
been just driving all the way down past me today.
So yeah, it's been pretty much on and off rain
all days from hivy, some not so hevy, but yeah,
it's been been an interesting days, very like driving on
a public holiday. Right even north of Sydney, there wasn't

(01:38:28):
many people on their own. It's been yeah, sort of
really sort of funny sort of a day really.

Speaker 3 (01:38:34):
And I wonder what people's attitude will because whether it's
will it be delayed, I guess some people will extrapolate
that and think it's not going to each whether it's
not going to be bad, but it still looks like
it could pack of punch. That's my take. What's yours?

Speaker 7 (01:38:46):
Yeah, I'd say so.

Speaker 2 (01:38:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (01:38:47):
I think they're you know, start on like Facebook pages
on on and the local ones on home. They're starting
to get a bit complacent.

Speaker 3 (01:38:55):
I think, you know, yeah, has your wife got enough
food till till Sunday?

Speaker 7 (01:39:03):
Yes, you're be a right. She went back to the
Sigmatic today. I thought I could closed yesterday, but she
said they closed today at five kims. So she went
back there today and got a whole lot of party for.

Speaker 2 (01:39:13):
The young fellow.

Speaker 7 (01:39:14):
She had the neighbors around. They seemed to be having
a good time.

Speaker 3 (01:39:17):
So there's plenty of stuff. There was plenty of stuff
in the supermarkets.

Speaker 11 (01:39:21):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (01:39:22):
Yeah, she's got enough year. She thinks, right, okay, and
I should get home. I'll put my finger out. I'll
get home tomorrow night. It might not be home Saturday morning.

Speaker 3 (01:39:34):
So that should be with When are you arriving Saturday morning?

Speaker 7 (01:39:38):
Yeah, probably Saturday morning time, probably about nine am.

Speaker 3 (01:39:44):
Americon, it's supposed to arrive full board at four am.

Speaker 7 (01:39:49):
Oh yeah, I'll probably be right on the list of it.
That'll be interesting.

Speaker 3 (01:39:53):
You take care, Jamie. Nice to hear from you. Hello,
Shirleyett to Marcus, good evening.

Speaker 10 (01:39:58):
I've just want to talk about speedway because my son
he actually built midgets and he's been building them for years,
and we used to go watch speedway right back in
the days. And he started racing when he's eighteen, and

(01:40:19):
then he grew up to build midget's like now, and
he used to travel up there all the time. And
now he's got two boys and they started racing the
last three years. And his name's Mike Robbins who does
the building, And yeah, he just loves it. And we

(01:40:42):
used to go and watch them go right up to
Auckland all the time. We used to take friends, since
a great interest for young ones.

Speaker 3 (01:40:49):
And we we'reabouts were you living, Shirley.

Speaker 10 (01:40:54):
We're living in the Plymouth. Then we're living in the
Bell Block in your Plymouth.

Speaker 3 (01:40:59):
And did you Plymouth have a course?

Speaker 10 (01:41:03):
No, they didn't have much of a course.

Speaker 5 (01:41:06):
He but.

Speaker 10 (01:41:08):
Now well he goes to Keyhi too. Who's been to
Keyhi a lot? And also Bay Park and now he
starts going down to wan Minui and Palmerston.

Speaker 3 (01:41:19):
Okay, oh, you'd be driving up and down a lot
if you were going to Western Springs all the time.

Speaker 12 (01:41:25):
Oh, I know.

Speaker 10 (01:41:25):
And we used to take Pregny Lunt to go friends
and you know, stay up there in the night and
come back. And the Kendall's then used to race Mike
Kendall and I'm Fabeesh. And we used to watch Sleepee
Tripp as well, all those and they loved it.

Speaker 15 (01:41:44):
And the first problem was.

Speaker 10 (01:41:45):
Now was Western Springs. He used to say that the
house that people moaned, you know about the noise. Yes,
but they're all finished by ten o'clock. You know, it's
not like all nice and there was a great family thing.
It used to keep the kids off the streets and everything,
and even still now while he's building and my two sons,

(01:42:09):
so they've got three or four other boys there, you know,
and often stay the night. They just love it and
he will take who he can with them as well.

Speaker 3 (01:42:17):
I haven't heard anything about people complaining about on this show.
I haven't heard anything about the Rezards. It seems to
be mainly about the council. I didn't realize there was
a speedway trek in Ki. Do they get many people there?

Speaker 2 (01:42:29):
Oh?

Speaker 15 (01:42:30):
Yeah, they get a good crowd there, a really good crowd.

Speaker 3 (01:42:33):
Well I suppose it's quite close to Hamilton.

Speaker 2 (01:42:34):
Isn't it.

Speaker 15 (01:42:35):
Yeah it is, yeah, because a lot of the racing
men Bill Carsey too, so it's yeah, yees.

Speaker 3 (01:42:44):
So there's tracks of Fan and Luis k Bay Park
and well Western Springs up till.

Speaker 10 (01:42:50):
Now Yeah, and Palmerston's.

Speaker 3 (01:42:55):
It's a good sport.

Speaker 12 (01:42:57):
Yeah.

Speaker 10 (01:42:57):
And he went down to and on the weekend and
one of his voice got a food and a riper
charge or something and he got trophy. Yeah, he's only
twenty two, really is it fairly safe. Oh, it's really safe.
It's the best safe sport because you've got all the

(01:43:18):
got bars, like the piping protects you. You've got to
have the piping higher than your head.

Speaker 3 (01:43:24):
Okay.

Speaker 10 (01:43:24):
And they wear a helmet too, and they have all that.

Speaker 16 (01:43:28):
They have to wear.

Speaker 10 (01:43:30):
A suit under their suit so that doesn't catch fire.
You know, the only thing is that it catches fire,
you know, So you've got your suit underneath that's fireproof.
And it's a really Yeah, it's really safe. It's very
really any way and gets really hurt.

Speaker 3 (01:43:49):
Do you don't worry about them?

Speaker 10 (01:43:51):
I mean, he's spun his car in the air, and
I've seen them trip over and over seven times. One
person who come from America and they spun seven times
on a year and they never and they walk away.

Speaker 3 (01:44:04):
Okay, nice to hear from me, Marcus. I was looking
at Mount Gambia, South Austraia when Cyclone Tracy struck. We
didn't really know what we didn't really know for a
while as news ZN was instant, not instant like now
and was Christmas. Then on the fifth of January, you
remember the Tasman Bridge disaster happened just after you will
like this fact record at the time for most people

(01:44:27):
on a seven seven four seven Quantus evacuating after cyclone Tracy,
six hundred and seventy four people. Wow, that is fascinating.
One of theo's footage of that six hundred and seventy four.
There's a lot to unpick from that email. One is
the record on A seven four seven. I'm like to
see a shot of that. And the other two was

(01:44:48):
the Tasman Bridge disaster. I think a ship had it.
I think that's the situation. Although that's what happens with
bridge disasters, doesn't it. I didn't realize it was so
clo in time to cyclone Tracy. Yes, the fifth of

(01:45:12):
January nineteen seventy five, so the week after in Hobart,
the bulk carrier Lake Elawara, going up the deer went,
collided with several pylons of the Tesburn Bridge and caused
a large section of the bridge to collapse. Twelve people
were killed, including seven crew on the Lake Elahwara and

(01:45:35):
the five occupants of four cars which fell forty five meters.
The ship's mast was officially penalized for an attention and
faded to handle his vessel in a seaman like manner,
kind of on the on the cusp of my memory.

(01:45:56):
But some of you will remember it. Wow, But I
didn't know that about the record number of the seventh
for seven. Were they standing? It's pretty amazing trying to
get everyone out. I'll see if ie find an image

(01:46:16):
of that. But do get in touch. You want to
talk on air Marcus till midnight and all the texts
are coming through now, so that's good that do some
maintenance on the text. I don't even know what that
would mean. Yeah, Queen's Quantus bowing seven four seven helps

(01:46:40):
evacuate Darwin. That's pretty amazing. I'm just going to say
ione finds some images of that, because that's something I
never known about. That is a fact I'd like, I did,
like I do like. Overall, Quantus evacuated four nine and

(01:47:05):
twenty five residents from Darwin in a mix of the
Boeing seven seven and seven for seven aircraft. The airlift
operation remains the largest in Australian history. It's pretty amazing
story that I didn't know about that airlift. I just

(01:47:25):
thought people would have driven out, like I said, lost
their cars, would they? I guess that's a situation at
the time. Quantits pilot Dinah Howe, we flew the first
Jumble to Darwin for the Mercy Mission record how much
of the city's power had been wiped out and when
he arrived in the aircraft it felt like the one

(01:47:47):
ray lights were all that were left working in the city.
Good story, Good evening, niel As Marcus. Welcome, Hi Marcus.

Speaker 4 (01:47:59):
Just how'd you talking about the after the sai quon
s and Christmas in eighteen seventy four about the Jumble? Yeah,
I had the most people on it. Yes, about forty
odd years ago. But no, but forty years ago I
was living in Darwin and my girlfriend at the time
obviously my ex girlfriend. He was on that plane as

(01:48:21):
a child. He was one of the ones blown out.

Speaker 15 (01:48:24):
Wow.

Speaker 4 (01:48:25):
Yeah, and the stripped everything and I think they stripped
the seats, so they stripped all the weight off that completely,
and you know, they just had the normal they strip
to seat, certain things that they put. I remember they
was just sitting on the floor, that's the way she
Linda told me.

Speaker 3 (01:48:40):
I wonder how they would have done I wonder how
they would have done that. They has done that quite quickly.
I guess they were limited flights because of Christmas schedule.
They got a flight just took all the seats out landly. Yeah,
it's kind of amazing.

Speaker 4 (01:48:50):
Yeah, I suppose it can take them out quite easy.
Count they can just get the guys on boats.

Speaker 2 (01:48:55):
In the boat.

Speaker 3 (01:48:58):
Because it would give them a lot more white too.
They get more people. And from a white point of view,
way did they the whay did they go?

Speaker 2 (01:49:06):
Oh?

Speaker 4 (01:49:06):
I oh, what did you say it went? I think
a night have been down to Sydney and one of
the southern.

Speaker 3 (01:49:13):
Actually did they end up going back to down or
they leave for good?

Speaker 4 (01:49:19):
No, they went back to Darwin. When I lived there,
he parents were there.

Speaker 2 (01:49:22):
Another thing.

Speaker 4 (01:49:23):
In fact, father who was a lovely guy called Ross Fers.
He was an engineer at the Darwin airport. It was
handset and on the planes. And he told me that
there was six ties was it sixty six people died?
And I don't know how true. I'm only going by
what he said. He said there was more than that.

(01:49:43):
And he said because he stayed behind. You know, all
the men were a lot of the men were asked
to stay behind to help you know, security lutors things.
And he reckons that there was quite a few taking out,
quite a few luthers taken out. I don't know how
true that is when he's working nonsense at Mark, but
he reckons there was a few luthers killed as well,

(01:50:05):
a few what looters and things like that. That's yeah,
but I don't know how to I can't verify that,
you know. I mean, I'm just gonna know what he
told me. He said, no, there was a few luters
taken out as well.

Speaker 3 (01:50:21):
Did you spend that, Neil, Did you spend a long
time in Darwin?

Speaker 16 (01:50:26):
Not really.

Speaker 4 (01:50:26):
I was on there there for a couple of years.

Speaker 9 (01:50:28):
It was a couple of years up there.

Speaker 3 (01:50:30):
It's a pretty special place. It's a pretty special place,
isn't it.

Speaker 4 (01:50:34):
Oh, it's an amazing place, and especially your in the eighties,
and as you know, you can still see old gun emplacements,
you know, for when the attacking Darwin, and you know,
when you went down to the port and things like that,
and you see these gun emplacements there from from the
war and things like that. And she was I mean,
I've seen videos of it nowadays and it seems a

(01:50:56):
lot more sophisticated place than it was then. But it
was a rugged she was a rugged place in those days,
you know what I mean, it wasn't that sophisticated then,
you know, since it was rough and ready, and you know,
even my girlfriend Linda, I mean it was it was amazing,
like we get it something wrong with the car and
you just got underneath a bonnet and start fixing the territory.

Speaker 16 (01:51:18):
Girl. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, get out the road.

Speaker 4 (01:51:22):
He's useless, you know, sort of like blah blah blah that.
And then you didn't want to mess with her because
you know it could flatten a few men.

Speaker 2 (01:51:30):
You know.

Speaker 4 (01:51:31):
It was just just the racers brought up I think.

Speaker 11 (01:51:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:51:34):
And the clock. I mean the time I was there,
the clout was amazing. It always felt like it was
part of aisy with the beach markets and stuff like that,
because it felt very tropical, that's right.

Speaker 4 (01:51:44):
Yeah, and the very to be very humid in the
wet season though you said, you know, monstery, humidy human.
You know there's that you needed an air condition I
mean that was another problem Linda and I had. We
had a two bedroom flat and she didn't want air
conditioning act and I was just like, you're going to
kill me. And we had the air condition in each
room and in the other room and sleep in the

(01:52:05):
other room. She didn't want sn't want to know. They said, no, no,
that's that's my fairies. That's why you know, weak people.

Speaker 3 (01:52:13):
You know, it sounds like a hard shot.

Speaker 9 (01:52:19):
Just pretty good looking girl, which was rough as he and.

Speaker 4 (01:52:25):
Anyway, argument started in the bar speaking for.

Speaker 3 (01:52:30):
Yeah, it's sort of drinking climate. You spend a lot
of time with the pub there. I would imagine it's
got that sort of climate to it.

Speaker 4 (01:52:36):
Definitely definitely spend some time in the in the pub there,
and and I know you haven't got much time. I
could tell you a study and a few characters I
met up there. There was certainly some characters, you know,
they had run up from the Southern States.

Speaker 2 (01:52:49):
They got away, I think.

Speaker 3 (01:52:50):
You know, I think that's an everyone's got got out
there to get away from child support and stuff. So
there's everyone reinventing themselves and all sorts of stuff and
those sorts of towns.

Speaker 2 (01:52:58):
That's right.

Speaker 4 (01:52:59):
Yeah, that was some other They will tell you the
story I got. I got a very good friend and
he introduced me Bob Hawk and Bob Hawks. Bob Hawk's
numb me.

Speaker 3 (01:53:13):
Sorry, what what I just mistake what did you say.

Speaker 4 (01:53:17):
I had a very good friend, a guy called Terry Fletcher.

Speaker 3 (01:53:20):
Yes, and Terry.

Speaker 4 (01:53:24):
He uh. We used to talk politics all the time
with top politics, top politics, drink top politics. And he
phoned me up one time he says, you want to
go to a labor party dinner. I said, yeah, yeah,
why not? And he said, well, Bob Hawk's gonna be there,
And so I went along and Bob Hawks, I said,
you had a big black eye from a ticket, that
sort of thing. Anyway, he comes off the stage and

(01:53:46):
he sees Terry and he goes.

Speaker 9 (01:53:47):
Terry an Fletcher.

Speaker 16 (01:53:49):
I don't believe it.

Speaker 4 (01:53:50):
In the two my cuddling and numbers and I didn't
know any new and would you call it so Terry,
and he said, this is Neil came introduce, introduced me
to him, and he looked up, looked me up and
down and gave me the biggest work for his handshake
over and then turned his back on Oh yeah, too
much of a pro for the Labor prime minister and

(01:54:11):
yeah yeah so and later but Terry was gambling. Shoot
started gambling huge. It was a start of accountant and
he started gambling huge amounts of money in the casino
where I worked, and the manager said to me one
day at this time, I was at one point I
was hearing the house on it is this Terry Fletcher.
Turn your house, you turn your flat. And I said,
I said, well you better watch because he's spending a

(01:54:32):
lot of money here. So just in case, you know,
he's gudy. So I went, I left that job, went
down to Adelaide casino, and then all of a sudden
someone came in one night and I said, he know it.
Terry Fletcher said, what, there's a cias in nineteen eighty seven,
the CIA, So the same CIA, a special police in
the industry or whatever you know, deal with fraud and

(01:54:54):
all that. She walked in and arrested him in the
casino and his company was there. He's embezzled a bit
four he is embezzled about four million dollars from them. Wow,
And I went, what, oh my god. So anyway, I
went away to I haven't a way to would you
call it South Africa. I spent a year over there.
Came back and I'm standing on a table and time

(01:55:16):
I was talking to the bill and I says, you're
a minute. I was back to Adelie, and I said,
you know, you remind me of a guy called Terry Fletcher.
And I don't know why I said it. Five minutes later,
who's standing beside me. Terry Flexer went, I don't believe that.
So he says, Oh, come on, Jerry, let's go for
a drinks. Coming Jimmy, you know, let's go for a drink.
So we went on a bender for about three days.

(01:55:37):
They stayed in my house. I took him back to
the airport and then I go home and then he
phones met and he says, and we never talked to
I never mentioned the fact that I knew you'd been jail.
He never mentioned the fact that his in jail. It's
like one of those things you both know it, you know,
and and would you call it? So I says, I
need to come back to the airport, and I says, why, sister,
just come back, just get a tax. Said, we'll have

(01:55:57):
a drink, and I want to ask you. I want
to ask you something that's just strange. So we go
back to the airport and have a drink. I says,
what is it you want? He says, can you give
me your astral passport? He said, what it says, yeah,
I've got houses up and a mountain parole. He says,
but I've got houses up in Israel somewhere up that
I've bought, so absolutely must have put the earnings from

(01:56:19):
the theft. And I said really, and he says, I
can't leave the country. He said, but you give me
your passport. I'll take your photograph and put mine in
and he says, and I said, I can't do that,
and he says, oh no. He says, wait, I got
on the plane, and then you go and tell the police.
I stole it, I said, talking and he said no.
He says, good, tell me. And then and then if

(01:56:40):
he got that desk, he says, I'll give you twenty
thousand dollars. This is nineteen ninety one or something, you know.
I said, you're joking, and not ninety one year, but
ninety one. Yeah, And I said no, I mean it
was a lot. It was quite a bit of money
at that time. But I said no, no, the police
will see you right through that, and they'll see right
through it. And he says, no, I won't. I'm really dumb,

(01:57:03):
you know. The police are not that bright. And I
only do and I said, no, no, Terry. Sorry, sorry smorning,
I said, I'm really sorry to let you down, but
I'm not doing that. And he jumped on the plane.
That was the last ever Sam again, but that was
half me.

Speaker 3 (01:57:16):
You heard what happened to him.

Speaker 4 (01:57:19):
I haven't heard since that day. Now, I don't know
since that day he jumped on the plane. He jumped
on a plane in Melbourne. So I don't know how
he got out of the country because he said that
was he couldn't get out because he wasn't allowed to
passport because he was in paroles. And last I saw him,
he jumped on a plane in Melbourne and that was that.
I don't know what happened from then on.

Speaker 2 (01:57:38):
What was his name?

Speaker 3 (01:57:39):
Neil Terry?

Speaker 14 (01:57:39):
Who?

Speaker 4 (01:57:41):
Erry Flexera, Erry Fletcher. The Motrow story is that that
was a politician's friend.

Speaker 3 (01:57:48):
You know what I mean, Well, it sounds like it
sounds like he had a gambling problem.

Speaker 4 (01:57:54):
He did have a big gambling problem. Yeah, a big
gambling problem. His wife left him for another man and
he never got over it. He never got over it,
and you know, it just it just turned really weird.
And then all of a sudden they started him bazling
the money.

Speaker 3 (01:58:11):
Did you did you meet him first at the case.
Is that where you made him when you were at
the casino?

Speaker 4 (01:58:16):
No, I met him when I first arrived in Darwin,
and I stayed in these like a keep motel thing,
you know, I had a swimming pool and all that,
and he had been he had been he was doing
accounting work for them or something like.

Speaker 9 (01:58:31):
He used to save at the bar.

Speaker 4 (01:58:32):
And then yeah, we started to get into the week
general and of course we're both left wing labor supporters,
so we started to have something in common. And of
course they used to sit there talking, you know, talking
about the revolution and things like that's what we're going
to do.

Speaker 2 (01:58:49):
You know.

Speaker 3 (01:58:50):
He sunds, like, what it sounds like a good character.

Speaker 4 (01:58:54):
Oh yeah, I mean, I'm just what I mean.

Speaker 17 (01:58:56):
He was.

Speaker 4 (01:58:57):
He was a good seventy eight years old and me
so it must be about seventy seventies. He was seventy three. Yeah,
and I wonder if he's still alive.

Speaker 3 (01:59:04):
Yeah, we'll find out us to talk. Neil enjoyed that muchly.
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:59:08):
For more from Marcus Slash Nights, listen live to News
Talk zed B from eight pm weekdays, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio