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Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Obituary: Jones force of nature who led creative life
Rosemarie Jones July 28, 1939 — August 2, 2025 From starting life evacuating her bombed family home in Cologne, Germany, during World War 2 to ending it in the heart of Wānaka, with which she fell in love at first sight, Rosemarie Jones led a colourful and creative life. The restoration of the Cardrona Hotel in 1974 with husband Eddie Jones stands out as one of her biggest projects, but Mrs Jones had many talents, ranging from being an accomplished chef, to a fine knitter, to co-running the Wānaka crafts store. "We had her famous sourdough pancakes she would always make and so would our friends. People always shared her Sunday sourdough pancakes," her daughter, Sonia Jones, said. Rosemarie jumped on a ship to Australia where she lived for three years before heading to New Zealand for only six weeks in 1965, meeting her eventual husband. Mrs Jones went on to travel to the United States and Canada, but the pair kept in touch via letter writing. Mr Jones proposing they get married in ink. Shortly after they married in Mr Jones' home country of England in 1967, they moved to Canada and then back to New Zealand together. They were married 27 years. The couple adored their new home country from the beginning. The lived initially in Auckland and then made their way south. "When they came to Wānaka, they just loved it and bought a section within three hours," Sonia said. The Cardrona Hotel stands tall and proud today as one of the region's most iconic buildings, but it was once under the serious threat of extinction having been built during the gold rush of the 1860s. The Jones bought the hotel in 1974 and, if it were not for them, the famous hotel that will sell in the millions later this month would have been bulldozed. Mr Jones died in May this year, but the legacy of the restoration continues to be upheld by their children, Sonia and Eiko Jones. By the time the couple encountered the hotel, it had paid the price of neglect. "It's a shame to stand there and rot," Mrs Jones said in June this year when recalling seeing the hotel for the first time. "We both come from a country where houses are 1500 years, and that needed to be restored." During the project the couple wished to keep the original name, but liquor licensing authorities kicked up a fuss and wanted to remove the rights to calling it a hotel at all. A fighter, Mrs Jones took their troubles to television consumer rights show FairGo and the hotel proudly stands today with The Cardrona Hotel proudly on the facade. "They worked really hard to keep it authentic," Sonia said. She was only a small child when the restoration took place, but she remembered her parents as creative and inventive people. She had vivid memories of accompanying her parents as they went treasure hunting in demolition sites for materials and later on helping her father in the restaurant. "I was in nappies. It was amazing to grow up around all the entrepreneurs at Cardrona Ski field and our parents. It was very fascinating." One of the key elements of the restoration process was the revival of the facade. Today it is hailed as the hotel's most recognisable feature, but during the 1970s it was falling down. "So we preserved the facade forward, and we had all our friends come with their car and jacks to hold it," Mrs Jones said in June. The full restoration took about 10 years, and the hotel opened again in 1983. They sold it after 14 years living and working there. After that they moved in to Wānaka and opened up a cafe called Anatoles, named after a children's book about a naughty family of French mice. "They were phenomenal cooks. My mum was an amazing baker and chef. She did all the baking, the mulled wine and sourdough bread." She then helped set up the co-operative crafts store The Artisan Store, in Wānaka where many crafts people would sell and buy screen prints, knitware and artwork. "Lots of people have her boutiques. She learned a bit of it when in LA when travelling. Both of our parents are good at lots of skills." Mr and Mrs Jones eventually separated and she went on to marry her German childhood sweetheart, Gunter Schurger, in 1997. Both men died in the past three years, which her daughter says impacted her health. Still, Mrs Jones was making her famous sourdough pancakes right up until end, at age 86. Mrs Jones leaves behind two children, Sonia and Eiko Jones, and two grandchildren Corina and Connor. "She was a force of creativity, and a force of nature, multi-skilled with a huge cheeky smile."
The Spinoff
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
A Dog's Show is coming back – what classic NZ TV show should be next?
With news that A Dog's Show is being turned into a film, Tara Ward chooses five more NZ TV shows that would work on the big screen. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. Of all the local television shows I hoped would be revived in 2025, A Dog's Show was not on my list. But it was recently announced that the beloved New Zealand classic series is being made into a movie, written and directed by Alex Galvin. Capturing the rural charm of 1970s New Zealand, the family-friendly flick will tell the story of disillusioned farmer Jack (played by Outlander's Graham McTavish), who reluctantly decides to come out of retirement to win one last sheepdog trial and save his family farm. The return of A Dog's Show will tap into plenty of national nostalgia for the half-hour series, which screened on Sunday nights from 1977 to 1992. Hearing the jaunty soundtrack was always a sign that the weekend was nearly over, and the show itself was oddly captivating. It followed farmers as they competed to move sheep around a paddock, using only their trusty sheepdogs, a big stick and a piercing whistle. It was surprisingly tense and unpredictable television, and John Gordon narrated every episode with a crisp, sustained enthusiasm. In fact, The Spinoff's Jose Barbosa called A Dog's Show the best show we've ever made. 'Some would say the show's premise is simple, even wafer thin. A farmer uses his dog to put some sheep in a pen. Yet within its apparently unyielding limits the show finds true drama,' Barbosa wrote in 2014. 'It is perhaps the purest television example I can find of tension created by uncertainty in competition. Indeed, A Dog's Show is unadulterated contest. It concerns itself with nothing but the game at hand.' The circle of life continues: as we farewell our beloved Jaffas, we welcome back A Dog's Show. But what other television classics should we dig up from the TV grave? Which homegrown shows still claim a big piece of our heart and should be resurrected onto the big screen? Here's five we'd love to see again (with a few modern tweaks). Play School: This beloved educational programme entertained pre-schoolers and sick kids home from school between 1972 and 1990. On the surface, Play School is an innocent children's show where presenters wearing dungarees keep asking what the time is, but behind those square windows lies the potential for a dark, gritty drama that delves into the searing mystery surrounding Little Ted's decapitated head. Fair Go: Journalists at the long-running consumer affairs show endured a lot in their pursuit of justice, including abuse, threats and physical violence – and yet, most of us just wanted to find out how to open a jar. A film about Fair Go's most intense and complex investigation would make for a gripping, action-packed thriller that takes us deep into New Zealand's criminal underworld. Or, maybe we could just… resurrect Fair Go itself? Telethon: The characters! The scandal! The Hollywood pashes! Our obsession with making international celebrities stay up for 24 hours while everyday New Zealanders donated the $13.42 that they fundraised in a bottle drive is ripe for a heartwarming romantic comedy, even if it's just a shameless excuse for the whistling tummies to come out again. It's In the Bag: Whose bag is it? Who put it there, and what nightmares lie inside? Forget the charming TV show that saw small-town New Zealanders win a new washing machine, because a modern It's In The Bag could be a gothic horror film about the unspoken terrors lurking within an isolated rural community. The money or the bag? That's the least of your worries.
SBS Australia
31-07-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
No backer needed: Understanding Australia's ‘fair go' culture for Filipino migrants
Australia's 'Fair Go' principle ensures that employment is based on merit, not connections or influence, which might seem in contrast to the workplace culture in the Philippines. Filipino migrants in Australia have one of the highest employment rates among migrant groups, with 87% of skilled migrants in work as of 2023. While networking is encouraged in Australia, it focuses on professional references and qualifications, not personal influence or favouritism. LISTEN TO SBS Filipino 07:04 Filipino 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino
NZ Herald
30-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Concrete tradie Jason Mark Lambert accused of duping 28 clients and not paying bills
'He didn't complete any work' Police prosecutor Steve Hickey said Lambert offered concreting and landscaping services on Facebook and also answered requests for services wanted. Contact was made, and quotes were given for complainants from around the Bay of Plenty and Waikato, including Hamilton, Huntly, Te Awamutu, Kihikihi, Ngaruawāhia, and Tauranga. Lambert often sought a 40% deposit before work started, which was paid into a bank account nominated by him. On two occasions, cash was paid. 'Evidence will be given that the defendant, on most occasions, did not complete any work.' Complainants will refer to messages or conversations they had with Lambert, and some would also produce photos. Other times, a small amount of work was done before Lambert was accused of offering 'multiple excuses for not returning to the properties'. As the relationships broke down, refunds were sought, but none were given. Lambert used four different bank accounts for the complainants to put deposits into, but he was not named as an owner of any of the accounts. 'Viewed separately, it could be argued that each of these failed transactions are a civil breach of contract,' Hickey said. 'The prosecution case is that due to the number and regularity of the failed transactions, the behaviours displayed by the defendant and the lack of compensation, the defendant never intended to fulfil the work as agreed, therefore deceiving the complainants into paying the deposit sought.' Hickey said once police got involved, it was clear to officers that Lambert 'intended to cause a loss to these people'. 'There wasn't any bad faith' Co-defence counsel Johnathan Myers said all but one complaint related to 2020 and 2021, when the country was struck by Covid-19, lockdowns, and supply chain issues. He denied there was any bad faith by his client in entering into contracts. 'Mr Lambert entered in good faith and Mr Lambert had every intention to complete the work. 'However, while Mr Lambert was not new to concreting work, he was new to running his own business and all the pitfalls that come with that. Concrete contractor and fraud accused Jason Mark Lambert pictured in the Hamilton District Court this week. Photo / Belinda Feek Myers said 2020 and 2021 'were some of the most challenging years'. The defence counsel said the police had tried to elevate the allegations beyond what they were, 'a civil dispute about contract work'. He reminded the judge that she would need to be sure that Lambert made false representations or that he was reckless as to whether they were false, and that there was an intention to deceive the victims, and that he was aware that some loss was likely to occur. 'I saw him featured on Fair Go' Gerald Fieten dealt with Lambert in October 2018 when he was suggested as a contractor to do a small concreting job at his rental property at Murphy Lane, Taupiri. He was given Lambert's details by a Versatile garage representative after asking for a recommendation to do a small concreting job. 'We asked him if he could do it, and he said he could do it. He had a look at the job and texted us a quote.' That quote was $2800, of which he asked for a 60% deposit. Fieten paid $1500 and was told it would be done a couple of days later. 'Did he?' Hickey asked. 'No, he didn't,' Fieten replied. Lambert asked him to pay the remainder of the money in December, but Fieten refused, because the job still hadn't been completed. 'I didn't think it was wise to do that.' By February 2019, Fieten began asking for his deposit back, and Lambert agreed, but nothing was ever paid. Lambert's co-counsel, Kerry Hadaway, put to Fieten that Lambert had visited the property and prepared the area for work. 'He didn't get it ready. I had to get it ready myself,' Fieten said. 'Didn't Mr Lambert put the timber edging in?' Hadaway asked. 'No,' he replied. 'Didn't he box the area and get it ready for concreting?' she asked. 'No,' he said again. He also rejected her suggestion that Lambert had spent four hours at the property. 'But you can't be sure of that because you didn't live there,' she put to him. 'I can be sure of that because I put the boxing down myself to get the job done,' he replied. He eventually made a complaint to the police after seeing Lambert featured on Fair Go in 2021. 'He never, ever paid' But it's not just clients who were unhappy. The court heard Lambert also failed to pay his bills. Karl Sinclair, of Kowhai Hire, testified that initially, when Lambert hired goods from him in early 2020, he paid each time. 'He seemed like a real nice guy, trustworthy guy at the time.' However, by March of that year, the payment of invoices stopped. 'He just continued to hire quite a bit in a short period of time, probably like two months or whatever. 'They were not paid for. 'It was never disputed that he didn't owe the money, but they were never paid.' The total money owed from three unpaid invoices was about $4000, Sinclair said. He said Lambert was always good at responding to requests for payment, but he 'never, ever paid'. 'He told me again and again over different times that he would pay. Sinclair eventually sent the claim off to the debt collectors, but then finally realised 'it's a waste of our time'. The trial is set down for three weeks. Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.
Newsroom
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsroom
The secret diary of .. Ryan Bridge
MONDAY Good morning to everybody in New Zealand especially the estimated 17 viewers who have tuned into the brand new morning show Herald Now. It's great to be back on TV and talking to you once again from a TV studio although I suppose it isn't really TV, it's a video livestream on the NZME website, and it's not really a TV studio, it's a desk someone knocked up in the weekend and chucked in a corner of the Herald newsroom. The paint's still a bit wet and I had to borrow a chair. They will probably want it back. That's the beauty of live TV. You just don't know what's going to happen next. Or if anything is going to happen. It could go either way. But it's exciting to work out of the Herald offices, where morale is at an all-time high. Look, there goes a newspaper journalist behind me, probably on his way to breaking a major news story. He's walking past with a cup of tea. He's sitting down at his desk. He's looking into the middle distance with what appears to be a look of utmost despair. It's that sense of excitement I'm hoping to channel as the host of Herald Now. TUESDAY Good morning New Zealand, especially our two new viewers. Many of you have been asking after the health of that journalist we saw yesterday. Well, he's back, and right now he's banging his head on the desk. Well, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. You may remember me as the presenter of a morning TV news programme on Newshub until the whole network went belly-up. It was a failed business model. I'll be joined on Herald Now sometimes by Herald reporter Michael Morrah, who worked with me at Newshub, and I'll also be talking with Garth Bray, who used to work at Fair Go until it went belly-up over at TVNZ, which declared programmes like Fair Go and Sunday were failed business models. It's all just part of the exciting new direction of Herald Now. WEDNESDAY Good morning New Zealand, especially Prime Minister Christopher Luxon who is my guest today. He's looking great, isn't he. He's looking every inch the leader of a centre-right coalition government which is holding firm against the dire threat of a communist take-over by the Labour Party, aided and abetted by the loonies from the Green Party. They want to release violent criminals. They want us to take the bus to work. They want to take your hard-earned money, and spend it on hospitals and schools. We must never allow this to happen. We must fight evil in all its manifest left-wing forms. Thank you Prime Minister for taking the time to appear on Herald Now. I understand you went to see the new Mission Impossible last week. Did you enjoy it? THURSDAY Good morning New Zealand, especially Steven Joyce, who takes up his new position as head of NZME next Tuesday. Steven, if you're watching, I want you to know that Herald Now is set to transform the way Kiwis get their news—in record numbers. The audience has grown to over two dozen this week and the feedback we're getting is that many viewers are wondering whether the paint on my desk has dried yet. I think I'm just going to keep that a bit of a mystery. FRIDAY Good morning New Zealand, and no, do not adjust your set. I'm not sitting behind a desk. I'm standing behind it. The person whose chair I borrowed has taken it back. I asked that journalist you saw earlier this week if I could borrow his chair but he bared his teeth, picked up the chair, threw it through a window—and then jumped out after it. He must really have valued that chair. Have a great King's Birthday Weekend, everyone!
