George Street and Wall Street in Dunedin

I turned onto Dunedin’s main street which has recently been upgraded at a cost of over $100 million with the aim of creating a people-friendly space in the city centre by way of adding new paving, street furniture, lighting, public art and a playground. Realising that I hadn’t actually done the area justice by way of a proper look, on my way home one day I decided to park several blocks away and walk to the main street for a closer inspection.

I walked along this newly developed section of street now which was rather charming and inviting. The redesign had created an atmosphere that encouraged ambling and strolling instead of traffic dodging. I passed familiar shops and buildings  that had received a fresh coat of paint, American style hamburger and pizza joints, restaurants featuring Asian cuisine along with cafes, clothing shops and all other manner of business you’d expect to see on the main street of a small city. As I strolled, I passed a series of malls, more clothing stores and eating establishments to name a few. Places I’d forgotten even existed. It was about this time that I crossed the road and started making my way back from where I came as music came thumping from a speaker, somewhere in the distance. While the foot traffic could best be described as light, I couldn’t help but notice not many people seemed to be carrying purchases. 

I began to wonder how these businesses even survived when I couldn’t help noticing a man sitting not far from me, in the very direction I was heading. He was short in stature with toothbrush style moustache wearing a brown suede leather jacket with the lettering WA studded into the back. Completing the ensemble, and the reason why I spotted him was of the round, black bowler hat that sat snuggly on top of his head. I had to admit, it looked quite stylish and rather fetching. Feeling annoyed that I hadn’t thought to wear my on top hat, I continued past the traditional outlets like Starbucks and McDonald’s, when suddenly a Subaru Legacy sped past in a blur of noise and speed in what  I could only assume it was an attempt at setting a land speed record down the main street of Dunedin. Next, a Toyota Ute came barreling past and judging by the good natured obscenities that were being exchanged between the two vehicles, I deduced the ute must have been the support vehicle in the attempt.

As calm settled to the shopping district once again, I noticed that not only had some vehicles forgotten about the 10 km speed limit but a lot of the University students seemed to have forgotten their clothing and while it was an unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon, there seemed to be an awful lot of midriffs, arms, legs and spray tans on show from both genders. I continued to walk feeling a little overdressed when it occurred to me that the music coming from the far end of the street seemed to be getting louder. I could see that it was being controlled by a man with a large afro and a black leather jacket, who was rolling a cigarette next to a trolley which I assumed was his. As I got closer and the ending notes of Dire Straits ‘Sultans of Swing’ made their way down the street, he started fiddling with an ipad which was connected to one of the largest speakers outside of a concert venue I had ever seen. What was even more impressive was his ability to stack and balance items on top of each other. In no particular order on his trolley was the very large speaker and ipad but also a tarpaulin, blanket, microphone, roll-up foam mattress, sleeping bag and what looked to me to be a blender! As I moved away and started to turn the corner I left him happily puffing away on a cigarette as the opening riff of Britney Spears ‘Baby One More Time’ came blasting out of the speakers. He seemed very happy I thought to myself as I turned the corner.