The Lost City

Olympos, Turkey, April 2003: While the US and allies were invading Iraq in April 2003, I was making my own sort of invasion route to neighbouring Turkey for the first time. It was a rather circuitous route, island hopping from Athens down to Crete- a long and very rough boat ride east to Rhodes- and […]

St James

Newtown, Wellington NZ, March 2012: When it comes to abandonments, it’s hard to beat the forlorn look of a derelict church. The St James Presbyterian church in Newtown was built in the late 19th century, the foundation stone laid in 1900. It’s exterior suggests this place of worship has been left for the dogs, but […]

Burnt Place

Hawera, Taranaki, NZ, June 2012: Another fire gutted building, this time in the town I grew up in, Hawera. The town has seen many major fires over the years, in pre-colonial times and during the early days of “Pakeha” settlement in particular. This led to the building of Hawera’s iconic concrete water tower. The Maori […]

Bush

Dublin, Ireland, 2004: At an Anti-Bush rally in Dublin, anger and frustration was very evident across a broad section of Irish society, with Bush’s upcoming visit and the EU-US summit at Dromoland Castle. A lot of criticism was directed at the Irish government for allowing the US access to Shannon airport for the refueling of […]

Dorset

Seatoun, Wellington, October 2011: Fort Dorset battery was a former coastal artillery station, built to defend the entrance to Wellington Harbour from a possible naval attack. Construction began prior to the First World War- it was occupied and operational through both wars and up untill the mid 1950’s.

PTA Pt.1

Patea, Taranaki, NZ, December 2011: The Historic former Patea Hospital (c.1880) still stands in it’s dilapidated state, 22 years after its closure. When the hospital finally closed its doors on December the 5th 1990, it had served the Patea District for over century. Locals have been complaining for years about the eyesore, demanding the […]

Damascus

Damascus, Syria, November 2005: With the escalating crisis in Syria and it’s spiral into civil war, it’s about time I posted some more images from Syria in 2005… Of the seven countries I visited in my late 2005 Athens to Cairo overland trip- over half are now going through dramatic changes… Lebanon was once again […]

Summit

Midhurst, Taranaki NZ, March 2012: The neglected “Summit-Quinphos” building was a former Taranaki Dairy Company milk powder factory that operated for a brief time in the mid 1970’s. Current occupiers are unknown- the factory seems to be now only used to store fertiliser. The site was virtually abandoned when I dropped by in March…

For Sale

Greytown, Wairarapa, NZ, April 2012: The long-derelict former Greytown Hospital is up for sale. Buildings on the historic 1.5 hectare site date back to 1890 and followed the old Florence Nightingale open-ward plan. Most of the asbestos has now been removed and the main building earthquake strengthened. The hospital (which closed in 1995) had originally […]