The Bluff Hill Bowling Club proposal
The Department of Conservation (DOC) oversees the reserve. It was originally established in the 1920s for a new lighthouse on Bluff Hill, which led to the naming of Lighthouse Road. The decision to relocate the Napier Lighthouse was made due to difficulties ships faced in identifying the light beam from the lighthouse next to Napier Prison as the city expanded. Unfortunately, the construction of the new lighthouse was halted after the 1931 Napier earthquake due to unstable land conditions on the Ahuriri Bluff. The Bluff Hill Bowling Club, now leases the property from the Department of Conservation. The idea for a replica lighthouse in this historic reserve was proposed to me by Jesse Jones, who used to be the Green-keeper at the Bluff Hill Bowling Club. I thought this solution was fantastic, especially since this property was set aside in the 1920s for the Napier Lighthouse.
Jesse suggested simply turning the toolshed next to the bowling green into a lighthouse.
We wouldn’t even needed a lens reproduction in that case. We could have just used spotlights in the lighthouse for evening games. I would love to take credit for this idea, but it was Jesse’s. He was clearly attached to the property because he worked on the green most days, putting in long hours. He came up with a very practical solution to create an atmosphere for the Club and attract more business/members because of the atmosphere this lighthouse could create. Below: Jesse Jones mowing in front of his new fancy toolshed! Just imagine standing on the deck of that lighthouse with a drink after a game of lawn bowls looking into the Port of Napier.
The proposal to promote the Bowling Club with a replica lighthouse never reached the club’s committee meeting for consideration, nor was it made public or acknowledged by the club. The idea was swiftly rejected via a brief email. All photocopies of the Photoshopped pictures were promptly removed from the notice board without explanation. This response was opposite to what I expected. I realised for the first time that not everyone likes lighthouses. Some club members felt threatened by my proposal, suggesting that my Photoshopped images were disrespectful and degrading to the club. I was requested to remove the photos and the proposal from my website, which I promptly did. I would have never imagined that people at the club would feel threatened by the idea of a replica lighthouse in this reserve. It was an unpleasant and emotional experience not being taken seriously enough at the club for this proposal to be considered as a viable option to promote the club in the future.
My disappointing experience with the Bowling Club proposal suggests to me that most older people in Napier lack imagination and passion for their maritime heritage. I felt quite deflated and regretted making the proposal to the club. At least the Napier City Council and Crown Property Management gave me the time and attention to properly review my proposal to them. In contrast, the Bluff Hill Bowling Club just ignored the proposal altogether, and I felt treated like I was just a crazy person with a crazy idea. I also felt for Jesse, nobody wanted to talk about his replica lighthouse idea at this club, which was really weird. This was the most challenging experience during my five-year Napier Lighthouse research project, which aimed to restore a lighthouse on Bluff Hill. To be treated like this was just rude, considering I am also a member of this club. My only experience here at this bowling club was that good ideas seem to get squashed or brushed aside and self-serving ideas get considered with ease.
In the same year, the club proposed replacing the 70-year-old corrugated iron wind or sun shelters with second hand modern 1999 Britomart Bus shelters. However, these six recycled Britomart bus shelters, which the Club proposed, received support from everyone at the club except for myself. It was perplexing to see the contrast in excitement among all the Club members when this proposal was presented at the end of the annual AGM meeting. The proposal was not even on the AGM meeting's agenda so I was surprised to see it presented at the meeting for a vote. I was glad I attended the meeting that year so I could object immediately. Just imagine six large Auckland Britomart bus shelters plonked in a 150-year-old historic DOC reserve. Fortunately, the old shelters remain so far, but the conflict was never resolved. The six industrial shelters would have cost the Club $50,000. Jesse's lighthouse replica idea would have cost the same. Jesse's idea was fantastic and displayed innovative out-of-the-box thinking. In comparison, these six bus shelters lacked any wise forward thinking about the future or survival of the Bluff Hill Bowling Club in this reserve.
A replica lighthouse or Britomart bus shelters - Two colliding visions for the future of Napier's historic Lighthouse Road Reserve.
To be fair, the modern shelters don't look visually unappealing. (Left) The old ones are less intrusive? (Right) However the time periods don't match. This club is nearly a 100 years old. Britomart metal bus shelters are not suitable in this historic reserve. This is within the Napier Hill Character Zone. I suggested to get old school timber shelters made up, they cost the same to produce.
The Department of Conservation (DOC) oversees the reserve. It was originally established in the 1920s for a new lighthouse on Bluff Hill, which led to the naming of Lighthouse Road. The decision to relocate the Napier Lighthouse was made due to difficulties ships faced in identifying the light beam from the lighthouse next to Napier Prison as the city expanded. Unfortunately, the construction of the new lighthouse was halted after the 1931 Napier earthquake due to unstable land conditions on the Ahuriri Bluff. The Bluff Hill Bowling Club, now leases the property from the Department of Conservation. The idea for a replica lighthouse in this historic reserve was proposed to me by Jesse Jones, who used to be the Green-keeper at the Bluff Hill Bowling Club. I thought this solution was fantastic, especially since this property was set aside in the 1920s for the Napier Lighthouse.
Jesse suggested simply turning the toolshed next to the bowling green into a lighthouse. We wouldn’t even needed a lens reproduction in that case. We could have just used spotlights in the lighthouse for evening games. I would love to take credit for this idea, but it was Jesse’s. He was clearly attached to the property because he worked on the green most days, putting in long hours. He came up with a very practical solution to create an atmosphere for the Club and attract more business/members because of the atmosphere this lighthouse could create. Below: Jesse Jones mowing in front of his new fancy toolshed! Just imagine standing on the deck of that lighthouse with a drink after a game of lawn bowls looking into the Port of Napier. The proposal to promote the Bowling Club with a replica lighthouse never reached the club’s committee meeting for consideration, nor was it made public or acknowledged by the club. The idea was swiftly rejected via a brief email. All photocopies of the Photoshopped pictures were promptly removed from the notice board without explanation. This response was opposite to what I expected. I realised for the first time that not everyone likes lighthouses. Some club members felt threatened by my proposal, suggesting that my Photoshopped images were disrespectful and degrading to the club. I was requested to remove the photos and the proposal from my website, which I promptly did. I would have never imagined that people at the club would feel threatened by the idea of a replica lighthouse in this reserve. It was an unpleasant and emotional experience not being taken seriously enough at the club for this proposal to be considered as a viable option to promote the club in the future.
My disappointing experience with the Bowling Club proposal suggests to me that most older people in Napier lack imagination and passion for their maritime heritage. I felt quite deflated and regretted making the proposal to the club. At least the Napier City Council and Crown Property Management gave me the time and attention to properly review my proposal to them. In contrast, the Bluff Hill Bowling Club just ignored the proposal altogether, and I felt treated like I was just a crazy person with a crazy idea. I also felt for Jesse, nobody wanted to talk about his replica lighthouse idea at this club, which was really weird. This was the most challenging experience during my five-year Napier Lighthouse research project, which aimed to restore a lighthouse on Bluff Hill. To be treated like this was just rude, considering I am also a member of this club. My only experience here at this bowling club was that good ideas seem to get squashed or brushed aside and self-serving ideas get considered with ease. In the same year, the club proposed replacing the 70-year-old corrugated iron wind or sun shelters with second hand modern 1999 Britomart Bus shelters. However, these six recycled Britomart bus shelters, which the Club proposed, received support from everyone at the club except for myself. It was perplexing to see the contrast in excitement among all the Club members when this proposal was presented at the end of the annual AGM meeting. The proposal was not even on the AGM meeting's agenda so I was surprised to see it presented at the meeting for a vote. I was glad I attended the meeting that year so I could object immediately. Just imagine six large Auckland Britomart bus shelters plonked in a 150-year-old historic DOC reserve. Fortunately, the old shelters remain so far, but the conflict was never resolved. The six industrial shelters would have cost the Club $50,000. Jesse's lighthouse replica idea would have cost the same. Jesse's idea was fantastic and displayed innovative out-of-the-box thinking. In comparison, these six bus shelters lacked any wise forward thinking about the future or survival of the Bluff Hill Bowling Club in this reserve.
A replica lighthouse or Britomart bus shelters - Two colliding visions for the future of Napier's historic Lighthouse Road Reserve.
To be fair, the modern shelters don't look visually unappealing. (Left) The old ones are less intrusive? (Right) However the time periods don't match. This club is nearly a 100 years old. Britomart metal bus shelters are not suitable in this historic reserve. This is within the Napier Hill Character Zone. I suggested to get old school timber shelters made up, they cost the same to produce.
