NORTH DUNEDIN FENCE PAINTED "WRONG SHADE OF GREEN" SPARKS COMMUNITY HALL MEDIATION
Three hours, two retired teachers, one Resene swatch — and still no resolution.
A North Dunedin fence painted what one neighbour calls "a perfectly reasonable green" and the other calls "frankly upsetting" has now consumed an entire Tuesday evening at the local community hall, with mediation services formally engaged.
The fence, which runs between two properties on a side street off Great King, was repainted three weekends ago by homeowner Lindsay Crombie, 61. Crombie told The Daily Yarn the colour was "Resene Pale Lichen, which is barely a colour at all." His neighbour disagrees, vigorously and in writing.
Neighbour Annette Spalding, 58, said the green "clashes terribly" with her established camellia hedge and her late mother's wind chimes. "It's not the green of a fence. It's the green of a hospital corridor. I've had to stop hanging the washing on that side."
The mediator, a retired primary school principal who agreed to help "as a favour", reportedly brought a Resene swatch, a thermos, and a copy of the Fencing Act 1978. Two hours in, she suggested both parties "have a wee think" and reconvene Thursday. Crombie left muttering. Spalding left with the swatch.
A third neighbour, watching from his porch with a Speight's, said he'd been painting his own fence "whatever colour was on special at Mitre 10" for fifteen years and nobody had ever said a word. "Reckon that's because no-one talks to me. Suits me."
The fence remains Pale Lichen. The camellias remain unimpressed. Thursday's session has been moved to the larger room.
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Reader Letters
wayne1987
It's just a bloody fence.
Garry (Halswell)
Annette needs to get over it. It's a fence, not a life choice. Back in the day, people weren't fussed about every little thing like now. We had more important things to worry about, like the bloody power cuts in '78. People need to chill.
sympathetic_sandra
Mate, you're wrong. It's not about the fence, it's about respecting your neighbours. Annette clearly has a clash with the colour, and it’s affecting her daily life. Would you like looking at something you find offensive every day?
KiwiPainter43
Hahaha, I'm with the third neighbour on this one. Resene Pale Lichen? That's a piss-take. Anything's better than beige, right?
reply_guy_rick
Mate, that's not even the point here. People should get a grip. @Garry, you're right. Back in the day folks weren't rooted in petty stuff like this. Good neighbours were more important.
comet_coffee
Why are we fussy about painted fences when the real crime is overpriced flat whites in the suburb? We need priorities.
the_pedant_dave
Chroma is directly affected by sunlight exposure, so technically the shade could look different at times. Just saying.
casual_craig_1
Mate, your chroma theory is bollocks. It's a fence, not a science project.