Category: 2010s

Wakachangi on George Street

Named for their favourite beer, this flat sign is inspired by the Wakachangi brand logo which utilises the linked script style of typeface. The residents (pictured below) feature on the Wakachangi website.

Wakachangi, is an interesting name from an onomastic perspective. Aside from being the name of the beer, the word was created by comedian Leigh Hart, aka, ‘That Guy’, (creator of Moon TV, and well known for his ubiquitous media presence as a global purveyor of Heller’s meat products) while on Sports Cafe, and refers (in a somewhat random and meandering way reminiscent of the linguistic development of words themselves) to the Waikato River.

“I was doing a thing on the Waikato River and I was trying to come up with a name for it. I started calling it the Ol’ Misty, the Old Wakatoomba, the Old Lady, the Old Wakachangi and eventually got to the Waikato. It’s just a word that’s always resonated.”[1]

The beer is aimed specifically at the student demographic, it’s advertising hits all the notes of members of this age group who like to get together and talk rubbish over a few beers (the “lads and laughs” market [2]). The advertising takes the art of storytelling to the extreme with its claims to be “a South Otago beer with North Canterbury flavours brewed by a West Coaster with the ol’ misty waters of the Waikato.”[1] Hart confirms it is all about “bullshit”:

“All your best laughs and all the bullshit you spin tends to be over a few beers, and that’s kind of what it’s all about. … It’s not a regional thing, it’s not an age thing, it’s about fun and bullshit,” he said, referring to the beer’s demographic.” [1]

Wakachangi was launched in Dunedin at Re-Ori week in 2013 at Leith Liquor.[3]

The crew from Wakachangi:  Jamal Poland, Callum Greig, Nick Boote, Connor Labudde, Hugh Mooney and Cameron Keelty.

New Wakachangi box branding – taking story telling to the extreme.

[1] Would you drink That Guy’s Beer? News Wire – 14/08/13

[2] Foy, Warrick. Daily Brews. Taranaki Daily News Online – 3/12/13

[3] Wakachangi Beer Launch – Critic – Issue 16 2013

Bag End on Ethel Benjamin Place

At the end of Ethel Benjamin Place, Bag End can be found. The sign depicts the circular green door of a hobbit’s home, the lettering of the sign (and the accompanying party business sign hanging from the front door) is written in the style we’re now familiar with as that of Middle Earth.

In Tolkien’s world of Middle Earth, Bag End was the home of Bilbo Baggins, then his nephew Frodo Baggins after him. Bag End was in the village of Hobbiton in a region called The Shire.[1] While it is reasonable to suppose the residents are fans of Tolkien, it’s worth noting the name is apt for another reason, Ethel Benjamin Place is a cul-de-sac which translates as ‘end of the bag’.


Dunedin North has a history of Tolkien inspired flats (Hobbit, Hobbit’s Hovel, The Shire, Helm’s Deep, Queer Lodgings) – additionally, in the 1990s, there was a bookshop at 13 Frederick Street known as Bag End Books (1991-2004). Here’s an illustration David Mitchell drew for Bag End Books which was published by Radio 1.

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References

[1] see the interactive map of Middle Earth

The Grand Stand on St David Street

Originally owned and utilised by the Otago Polytechnic, this house has recently become a student flat. It’s name reflects the grand stand inside, useful for watching games on TV and through the window at Logan Park.