Podcast: Tramlines

In a 14 minute talk from Radio Australia's Ockham's Razor series, retired chemist Dr Trevor McAllister looks at the history of the tram, from the first horse-drawn service to the technology that has created the electric trams.

 Download the 6.8 Mb mp3 audio file or read the Transcript.

Image: once again a familiar sight in central Christchurch, is this vintage tram being removed from a New Brighton garden in 1969.

Curator's Choice

Dating from the period between 1969 and 1972 is this dinner service by Crown Lynn Potteries of Auckland.

Represented here by a saucer and a dinner plate is pattern number 452, which was ornamented with a black on white map of Christchurch City. Known as the Down Town series, Crown Lynn also manufactured dinner sets featuring maps of the other principal cities of New Zealand.
An interesting progression of this concept has just come from the Los Angeles design store A+R, who have teamed up with the Japanese artist Nobuhiro Sato to produce trivets and coasters (above) that are individually cast from concrete and feature precise 1/1200 scale maps of Silverlake or Venice; the two homes of A+R in Los Angeles.

A possible emulation opportunity for a local of the arty-crafty persuasion...