More about the Bra Fence!!

[Pulsarblu]

Cardrona residents survey wants bra fence to stay
13 February 2006
By LIN FERGUSON

A Cardrona Valley ratepayers and residents association survey had come out in unanimous support of the valley's iconic bra fence to stay as it is, chairman John Scurr said yesterday.


A letter from the association asking that the bra fence be allowed to stay would be on Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Clive Geddes's desk today, Mr Scurr said.

"We've asked for it to stay as long as there is some caretaking of the fence. We don't want it getting higher, longer or suddenly being filled with boots and knickers as well. But it should stay because it's become part of the valley."

A row over whether the fence, with hundreds of bras tied along it, has been brewing for more than a year.

This was after lone objector, Andre Prassinos, an American who lives part of the year in Wanaka, started his solo campaign to get the council to remove the fence, saying it was a "potential traffic hazard" , Mr Scurr said.

Within a few months of his (Mr Prassinos') objection the council organised the building of two traffic lay-bys so that motorists who wanted to take pictures of the fence could pull off the road safely.

Fence owner John Lee said the two lay-bys were not funded by ratepayers.

"It cost $12,000 and $6000 was from a special Transit New Zealand safety fund and the other $6000 was paid by me," he said.

The lay-bys had now been in place for more than a year, he said.

But last week Mr Prassinos urged the council again to get rid of the bra fence, saying it was "a growing eyesore" , Mr Lee said.

Two weeks earlier, Mr Lee's Queenstown lawyer, Warwick Goldsmith, had told council the fence wasn't actually on Mr Lee's land; that it was 8cm inside public road reserve.

Mr Lee said he was now being asked by council to apply for a licence to have the fence on the road reserve.

But a year ago, when the row first blew up after the complaint, he had been asked by the council to apply for resource consent for the fence, he said.

"That's when they thought it was on my land," he said.

About three or four years ago Mr Prassinos, who owns property nearby, had asked him for free access to a road on his (Mr Lee's) property but he had declined, Mr Lee said.

"And I won't comment about it any further just now."

Mr Scurr said the bra fence had started in the new year of the new Millenium.

"Four Wanaka women who had been at the Cardrona hotel celebrating decided the millenium should be liberating for all women so took their bras off and hung them on the fence across the road," he said.

Since then hundreds more bras had been draped along the fence including some from a farmer in the Maniototo whose wife had died. He sent a parcel with four bras in it to John Lee to "be hung in memoriam to his wife"

[Glenda]

Good on them!

That American objector should chill out or move elsewhere!

:icon_lol:

[selchie]

Amen! The bra fence item even made it into the SF Chronicle. I didn't realize the bra fence started only recently.

Now and again I come across a shoe tree in some rural area. Another quirky and intriguing public art form.

[jamesthecarman]

Good on them!

That American objector should chill out or move elsewhere!

]

Agreed. I saw the term American in there and somehow thought it'd be a good thing!!


Whoops


;)

[Glenda]

Nothing personal, James.

America is a big continent with lots of different countries.

If it was a Brit involved I am sure they wouldn't hesitate in pointing that out either and I would say the same - chill out or move!

[MotherBear]

 

Police called as bra fence suffers snip, cut and burn
22.04.06
By Marjorie Cook

Hundreds of bras from Cardrona's famous bra fence were in the possession of the police last night and others have been burned, after a daring daylight raid by local resident Natasha Anderson. The fence, decorated with discarded bras since 1999, has become something of a local landmark. But while the hundreds of undergarments made it a popular tourist attraction, the fence also drew complaints that it was offensive and a distraction for drivers.

Miss Anderson was seen removing the bras with a pair of scissors yesterday by members of the public, who alerted fence owner John Lee. He called the police. Mr Lee said Miss Anderson had not been in touch with him directly about her opposition to the fence but he understood her family was 'hot and strong against it'. She said she felt the bra fence had 'passed its use-by date' and was a traffic hazard.

Constable Emma Fleming said about half the 800 bras had been removed by the time she got there. Miss Anderson and Mr Lee had been interviewed and last night police had yet to make a decision how to resolve the matter. However, charges were unlikely.

Miss Anderson said she was at the bra fence for about 3 1/2 hours. She was careful not to damage the fence and only to cut the bras. After 2 1/2 hours her scissors broke so she went away to get another pair and later burned some of the bras. 'I had to stop because the police came,' she said.

But she was surprised it had become a police matter. 'I didn't see the point in wearing a balaclava and sneaking out in the middle of the night.'  Miss Anderson said she had also removed men's underwear, socks and tampons   from the fence.

The attack on the bra fence came a day after the Queenstown Lakes District Council's property subcommittee decided to approve Mr Lee's application for the fence to occupy a road reserve, on the condition the fence looked like a farm fence and all the bras were removed.

The subcommittee said the bra fence was 'not visually appealing and there were traffic hazards relating to the display of bras'.

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES

[Pulsarblu]

ahhh...!! I am sure it (the fence) will survive this ordeal...

[selchie]

Somebody always has to be a party pooper.

Lets face it, if you saw that woman cutting bras off your fence, you wouldn't argue.

[MotherBear]

Must admit to thinking along the same lines, that is, after I tried to decide whether it was, in fact, a woman. With a name like Natasha, I finally had to concede that it was.