Let’s dig our way out
Martin Doyle
IT’s spring in the Capital.
And although that sometimes doesn’t mean anything to the sadistic weather gods who run our lives, at least it’s getting warmer, it’s been weeks since the last hailstorm, kowhai are blooming, and everyone seems as happy as Larry.
This moment of the year always makes me think of the opening of The Wind in the Willows where we’re told: “The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home.”: Moles are diggers. Always on the go. And spend half their lives in the soily dark using their leathery little hands to gouge out new tunnels under people’s lawns.
Last week, I mentioned my support for the council’s desire to tunnel under the Basin Reserve. Despite the setback when the Regional Council opted for the “cheapest option”, I really hope the tunnel proposal is able to resurface at some point. But even if it doesn’t, I would like to put forward something that is bigger than all of us, and has the potential to reshape and enhance the world as we know it. Yes, I think it’s time we tunnelled through the Rimutakas!
“But you can already drive over the Rimutakas,” some will say. Yes, it’s got a certain appeal, but let’s be honest: the Rimutaka Hill is like a mountain pass through the Hindu Kush, wind-lashed and misty, and only some go there. “Then take the train, damn you!” some will say. That too has its charms and the Wairarappers I know love reading, doing crosswords and singing Morningtown Ride as they choo-choo through that long tunnel. Unfortunately, both the high hill climb and the long rail trip are a bit too much for too many people. The Wairarapa, despite its immense space and potential, remains cut off, a sort of green Siberia on the other side of the Iron (or Schist) Curtain. And Wellington itself remains like a room at the end of the corridor.
However, we live in 2011 and people use cars. It’s time we dug a big car tunnel right through. “But what would that achieve?” I hear you saying. What wouldn’t it achieve! Think about it... If you could just drive through to the Wairarapa in just half an hour or so from Lambton Quay, then suddenly that whole ultramontane wasteland over there very much becomes part of Wellington, and by the same token Wellington would become a wonderful and lucrative part of Wairarapa. A decent tunnel would thus create a real region. We wouldn’t even need to worry about all that Orkish thinking about ‘super-cities’. Instead, we would have a functional, exciting relationship with a thousand vintners and olive-growers, shearers, potters and transvestite mayors (like the Loire Valley in France, Melbourne and the Yarra Valley, Shanghai and the Yangtze delta).
And all it takes is a tunnel... I feel like grabbing a pick and shovel and starting this week. But, first things first, what do YOU think?
And although that sometimes doesn’t mean anything to the sadistic weather gods who run our lives, at least it’s getting warmer, it’s been weeks since the last hailstorm, kowhai are blooming, and everyone seems as happy as Larry.
This moment of the year always makes me think of the opening of The Wind in the Willows where we’re told: “The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home.”: Moles are diggers. Always on the go. And spend half their lives in the soily dark using their leathery little hands to gouge out new tunnels under people’s lawns.
Last week, I mentioned my support for the council’s desire to tunnel under the Basin Reserve. Despite the setback when the Regional Council opted for the “cheapest option”, I really hope the tunnel proposal is able to resurface at some point. But even if it doesn’t, I would like to put forward something that is bigger than all of us, and has the potential to reshape and enhance the world as we know it. Yes, I think it’s time we tunnelled through the Rimutakas!
“But you can already drive over the Rimutakas,” some will say. Yes, it’s got a certain appeal, but let’s be honest: the Rimutaka Hill is like a mountain pass through the Hindu Kush, wind-lashed and misty, and only some go there. “Then take the train, damn you!” some will say. That too has its charms and the Wairarappers I know love reading, doing crosswords and singing Morningtown Ride as they choo-choo through that long tunnel. Unfortunately, both the high hill climb and the long rail trip are a bit too much for too many people. The Wairarapa, despite its immense space and potential, remains cut off, a sort of green Siberia on the other side of the Iron (or Schist) Curtain. And Wellington itself remains like a room at the end of the corridor.
However, we live in 2011 and people use cars. It’s time we dug a big car tunnel right through. “But what would that achieve?” I hear you saying. What wouldn’t it achieve! Think about it... If you could just drive through to the Wairarapa in just half an hour or so from Lambton Quay, then suddenly that whole ultramontane wasteland over there very much becomes part of Wellington, and by the same token Wellington would become a wonderful and lucrative part of Wairarapa. A decent tunnel would thus create a real region. We wouldn’t even need to worry about all that Orkish thinking about ‘super-cities’. Instead, we would have a functional, exciting relationship with a thousand vintners and olive-growers, shearers, potters and transvestite mayors (like the Loire Valley in France, Melbourne and the Yarra Valley, Shanghai and the Yangtze delta).
And all it takes is a tunnel... I feel like grabbing a pick and shovel and starting this week. But, first things first, what do YOU think?
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