Chelle FitzgeraldChelle Fitzgerald

Chelle Fitzgerald studies geology full-time at the University of Otago and works as the features editor for Critic Magazine. She strives to someday be a science communicator by day and a geologist by night.

Students, start your engines: A short history of the Undie 500

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Summer reissue: By the end it was was best known for the drunken brawls that marked its conclusion each year, but for a time the Undie 500 was a (relatively) innocent Christchurch-to-Dunedin lark. Chelle Fitzgerald met up with Undie 500 founding member Matt McCloy for a nostalgic look back. This is an edited version of … Read more

Students, start your engines: A short history of the Undie 500

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By the end it was was best known for the drunken brawls that marked its conclusion each year, but for a time the Undie 500 was a (relatively) innocent Christchurch-to-Dunedin lark. Chelle Fitzgerald met up with Undie 500 founding member Matt McCloy for a nostalgic look back. This is an edited version of a story … Read more

What it’s like to be sober at New Zealand’s drunkest university

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Being a student means exam panic, crappy flats and getting wasted, a lot. So what does that mean for non-drinkers? Chelle Fitzgerald talks to Otago University students who gave up the drink. This story was first published in Critic, the University of Otago student magazine. In late 2016, I decided to become one with wellness … Read more

Beset by debt: What happens when you have a student loan and leave NZ

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Moving overseas post graduation? Be prepared for your friendly interest-free student loan to become an out-of-control debt monster, writes Chelle Fitzgerald. Out of sight, out of mind. That’s how I found myself an additional $12K in the hole to IRD. It’s a tale as old as time (the ’90s), and many a former student will … Read more

A brief history of Dunedin’s wildest student riots

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Students and police who were present at the three most famous Dunedin riots of the last 30 years share what they remember about how it all went down. This piece was originally published in Critic Te Arohi, the University of Otago student magazine. 1990: Saturday 22 April – Easter Tourney “Easter Tourney” saw students from … Read more

Summer reissue: Celebrating the heyday of Dunedin student pubs

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It might seem unbelievable to today’s students, but it’s true: once upon a time students regularly drank in bars, lured there by cheap drinks and a crude culture of excess. Chelle Fitzgerald looks back on the student pubs Dunedin has loved and lost, and talks to Marc Ellis, the celebrity sportsman who tried to resuscitate … Read more

Dollar drinks on the dancefloor: the heyday of Dunedin student pubs

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It might seem unbelievable to today’s students, but it’s true: once upon a time students regularly drank in bars, lured there by cheap drinks and a crude culture of excess. Chelle Fitzgerald looks back on the student pubs Dunedin has loved and lost, and talks to Marc Ellis, the celebrity sportsman who tried to resuscitate … Read more