Australs - The debating venues.

I suppose that is a good a place to start as any.

There were 3 debating venues in all, but we only got to see two. Small matter though. Our briefings were done in building number 3, so we got to see quite a lot of it anyway. I think the main building housed the top debates, and we weren't quite good enough to be there.

So, where did we debate? In the old government building and the railway station. Both very quirky places, really. The old government building used to house New Zealand's administration, and is the biggest wooden building in the southern hemisphere. (A fact that the Victorians were mighty proud of). Now its the law school. And also a tourist centre. As debaters, we got access to places that were normally off limits to non-students of Victoria University. We debated in their tutorial rooms and their lecture halls, and after that, we got to walk around and see the place. There were photos all over the place, but the one I remember best was one of the Nazi visit to New Zealand. It showed a facist parade in the streets of Wellington. I had never thought of New Zealand as having any facist links.

The building also had pretty cool lifts. One of those old close your own door kind of lifts. The three of use took it for a ride like the jakuns we were. The stairs were engeneering marvels in their own right. They were like suspension bridges built out of wood. With no supports. There was plenty of empty space under the stairs because of the absence of support beams. The architect who did that was mighty proud of it, and rightfully so. I'm more impressed with the engineer who ended up building it.

Then there is the railway station. Debating there is weird because to get there, we have to go thru a subway of sorts, and we will end up in a railway station. Literally. With commuters buying tickets and people waiting for their ride. Enter one door, and you are in Victoria University. I have never seen anything like it. Half a building for education, and the other half for public transport. Talk about being resourceful.

The main building (which we didn't debate in) was new and completely stand alone and not queer in any way. But it was still pretty cool. We had breifings and lunch there and it felt totally new. (Probably because it is. Heh.) Cool, but just like every other uni building. Nothing to shout about.

The venues were heated, thank god. I cannot imagine debating in temperatures below 10 celcius.