Decade in review: 10 New Zealand scandals that rocked the nation

From unpaid teachers to match fixing and rogue clamping, these are the news stories that outraged New Zealand in the 2010s. Paul Henry The decade in NZ scandal started out strong thanks to TV and radio host Paul Henry (for the edification of younger readers, he was like Mike Hosking, but with a louder laugh … Read more

Bashford Antiques, Part VI: Of Course This Would Happen – the state clamps down

David Farrier has been writing about clamping enthusiast Michael Organ for nearly three years. In this latest installment, the logical thing finally happens: the New Zealand government rolls up its sleeves and changes the law. Catch up with the extraordinary saga of the clamp-happy Bashford Antiques: Parts I to V are here When Michael Organ … Read more

Bashford Antiques, Part V: Revenge of the Prince

The bizarre story that started back in 2016 just won’t leave David Farrier alone. The saga now includes the courts, the police and a very stylish velvet suit. It’s just over a year since I wrote the conclusion to my Bashford Antiques saga. That four-part series focussed on an Auckland antiques store that had turned … Read more

The clamps fall silent: a eulogy for Bashford Antiques

Eighteen months after David Farrier first reported on the strange antics of Bashford Antiques, he returns a final time to bid it farewell. Catch up on parts one, two, and three of the Bashford Antiques saga. It was shocking, seeing that removal truck in the driveway. I pulled over immediately and hopped out of my … Read more

The Bashford Antiques saga, part III: $760 for a half hour’s parking

A Sunday night in Ponsonby revives the Bashford Antiques saga, with revelations it’s still unlicensed and still clamping – now for a scarcely believable amount. David Farrier investigates. I was reminded of the Bashford Antiques Saga™ (you can find that here and here) when I was driving past Bashford Antiques at around 10pm on Sunday night. I … Read more

WTF is going on at Bashford Antiques part two – a mysterious Organ

Yesterday we dived into the murky world of Bashford Antiques and the clamp-mad Michael Daniel Albert Organ. Today David Farrier and Hayden Donnell reveal the origin story of the mysterious Mr Organ. It was meant to be a story about some weird Facebook messages. Bashford Antiques had featured in a Story story after clamping every person who’d suffered a stray thought about parking outside … Read more

The incredibly weird tale behind the Bashford Antiques clamping story

The owners of Bashford Antiques are in the news for aggressively clamping cars outside their Ponsonby store. But this story is much, much stranger than a simple parking dispute. David Farrier reports. Click here for part two of this weird saga. The only tweet I’ve ever been “forced” to delete was about Bashford Antiques. It happened about three years ago, when I was … Read more