North Dunedin flat insists their street sign is actually a Napier roundabout now
Barry Hoskins reports from Castle Street, where geography is negotiable.
A Castle Street flat has declared its front-yard signpost the honorary equivalent of a Napier roundabout. The two are 1,400 kilometres apart. One of them is a wooden pole.
The flat, known as "The Cheviot", held a meeting on Sunday and voted 5-1 to rename the signpost after a local legend named Dazza. Dazza once carried a full keg from the Gardens to the flat without stopping. The dissenting vote came from a flatmate who was there for the pasta bake.
"We saw the Napier thing on the news," flatmate Hamish Petersen, 20, told The Daily Yarn. "We've got a legend too. Haven't got a roundabout though. We've got the pole out the front. Close enough."
Dazza, contacted at his current flat two streets over, said he was "pretty stoked." He conceded the pole was "just a pole, ay." He also admitted he'd put the keg down twice on the walk. Once outside the Gardens dairy. Once because he needed a wee.
A council spokesperson said they were not aware of the renaming. They had no plans to recognise the signpost, the roundabout, or Dazza. Reminds me of 1974, when a bloke in South Dunedin tried to rename his letterbox after his father-in-law. Didn't take then either.
The flat is now taking submissions for a plaque. Dazza has asked that it be laminated, on account of the weather.
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Reader Letters
★ Garry (Halswell)
Bloody students, always up to nonsense.
tim_85
Mate, it's just a laugh. No harm in a bit of harmless fun—let them have it.
Sandra McKenzie
Garry, if this was Australia, they'd turn it into a theme park. Consider that before you judge.
JoannePetone
If young folks want to call a pole a roundabout, then let them. O-Week brings out the creativity, doesn't it?
wayne1987
Honestly, this whole Dazza thing sounds like a great tradition waiting to happen. Maybe he'll get his plaque nailed to the pole!
★ Margaret_F
What a load of rubbish! In our day, Gerald wouldn't have stood for such silliness. The youth today have no standards.
★ Margaret_F
If Gerald were here, he'd probably have some choice words about naming a signpost. Standards, people. Standards.
couchgremlin
Geography must have munted itself or something. That's all I've got to say about that.
★ Trev_Hornby
Back in Hornby, we'd just call that a piss-take. Good on them for having a laugh and keeping the spirits high.
HelenK
Dunedin has always had its quirky side, you can't deny that. It's part of the charm!
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