Sad as it was that Tom Beard had to give up blogging when he joined Wellington City Council as a planner, it’s great to see that the void left by the demise of Tom’s WellUrban has been quickly filled by Eye of the Fish.
Eye is already covering similar topics to WellUrban. In the past week it has carried articles on developments in narrow Tory St, light rail, the proposed Ohariu Valley wind farm and the boutique Ohtel opposite Watangi Park, among others.
That Eye is carrying on from where Tom ended is made explicit: “We are a fledgling blog that was created to continue the legacy of Tom Beard’s superb WellUrban. Our aim is to further discourse on Wellington’s urban environment, as well to as report on the other aspects of life in the capital. Tom has set certainly high standards for us – but hopefully we will be able to live up to them.”
Eye has a number of contributors and is inviting more. I like the name, as it was chosen for a similar reason to why this blog is named Poneke, which is the Maori transliteration of Port Nicholson, the original Wakefield settlers’ name for Wellington.
“Eye of the Fish refers Wellington’s location on Te Ika-a-Māui, the Fish of Māui,” the introductory post says. “We wanted a name that was unique and memorable, with a deep-seated connection to our city. In addition to the history, the name can be read as having a few more contemporary references that represent some our scope and interests.”
