Carisbrook fan drives his point home

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Wayne Squire, of Dunedin, has been documenting daily progress at the Forsyth Barr Stadium construction site from his house bus for nearly two months. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.

This is probably not surprising, as Mr Squire (60) is an ardent rugby fan and supporter of Carisbrook, its terrace and the rest of the 101-year-old ground's history.

And, every morning for the past seven weeks, he has been rolling his battered old Leyland Leopard bus up to the edge of the Forsyth Barr Stadium site to watch - and document - proceedings.

From his regular vantage point at the corner of Parry and Magnet Sts, he has spent his days taking photographs and video footage of contractors and their heavy machinery at the site.

He is the most committed of a small group of residents who gather most days to keep an eye on the stadium's early progress.

Observers park on the public side of a wire boundary fence at the corner, enjoying an almost uninterrupted view of the site, or at nearby Minerva St, on the far side of the Water of Leith.

Speaking to the Otago Daily Times yesterday, Mr Squire said the project attracted the attention of the curious, as well as from those with a commercial interest - fellow builders watching developments.

"They all come down here," he said.

"There's two old guys who come down quite a lot. They sit right beside me. They come down to see what's going on and where all their money is going."

However, Mr Squire, formerly a builder in the North Island, said his vigil was more of a "silent protest" against the stadium project, as he would have preferred an upgrade of Carisbrook.

It was a point made clear on the front of his bus, which boasted a destination sign that read, simply: "Carisbrook".

"There's a lot of people still peeved off about it," he said.

"There's nothing wrong with Carisbrook."

Mr Squire said he had no plans to use his images, but decided to document the project because he had "nothing else going on at the moment".

He bought the 32-year-old former Dunedin school bus in 2000 for $13,000, after selling his home and a rental property, and has since spent $22,000 equipping it with solar panels, water and waste facilities.

He was planning a trip up the West Coast next year, but had no firm plans to quit watching the stadium site any time soon.

"I just go day by day."

chris.morris@odt.co.nz [2]