closed down is probably the wrong way to put it as it sounds like it was acted upon by some outside force. Karen Q Temple closed the place on her own accord didn't she?
They have had a mixture of good and bad bands play there over the years, just like any other bar.

Karen Q Temple's official reason for closing the Temple was the smokefree legislation. Even though the Temple closed over a year ago, she predicted doom once the law came into effect.

Read the press released here:

[ external link ]

I don't think Western Springs has ever qualified as "way out west;" it is certainly not that far from the centre of the city even in the days of bullock carts.

I'm not sure how long there has been housing nearby to the stadium but the Grey Lynn/Pt Chevalier area has been home to a fair number of people for a good many years. I do know that there were plenty of houses around the area of the stadium when my dad first took me to see the speedway some 40 odd years ago. Whether there were complaints about the noise then I don't know but it seems to me to be a fairly recent phenomenon associated with the re-gentrification of the area. No-one seemd to care much about the noise when the area was home to primarily Pacific Island immigrants ...

I have difficulty accepting the view that since people have moved into the area since the speedway started then the speedway should move. If people move into an area near a stadium which it is known is used for noisy activities it hardly seems fair that their complaints about the noise get so much attention. And then of course arbitrary limits are imposed which are difficult to police given the nature of the problem.

When I first started going to speedway all the machines (cars, bikes and sidecars) had simple straight exhaust pipes with no muffler at all. A 500cc single cylinder Jawa motorbike engine makes a hell of a racket! Over the years the competitors and promotors have tried to mitigate the level of noise by requiring mufflers to be fitted to all machines. Now, I am casting back into the dim dark recesses of my memory here but I am fairly sure that they got the noise down to a permitted level a number of years back. Not long after that there were compaints about the noise and the level was arbitrarily dropped. Seems a bit unfair to me, but typical of the political processes in Auckland City.

One neighbour who never seems to complain about the noise is the Zoo which is right alongside.

//now the city's grown around it, so shouldn't the suburbs get to enjoy ordinary suburban life without the drone of such cars?

The cars were there first, most of the assholes complaining are buying the houses as an investment to be done up, lived in for a while then sold for a huge profit, which gets a shitload bigger if the area seems more genteel. Petrolheads deserve their bit of fun (Auckland supercar race exempted).

They couldn't have not known the track was there when they moved in and anyway the sort of money they pay to live in Western springs they can afford thicker glass and insulation if it offends them so much.

If its only 20 days a year, finishing at 10:30pm and the speedway has been there far longer than a lot of complaining residents it seems a bit extreme to close it down.

// 20 saturday nights a year is all it is you have 345 other nights with none,

345 other saturday nights? which calendar are you using?

a lot of people really only get saturday nights as their chance to have a lazy day and a bbq in the backyard - if 2/5ths of those days are being destroyed by background noise until 10.30pm at night, then surely that has a considerable negative impact on their leisure time.

although, I tend to agree, as I do with the debate on people moving into the inner city and then complaining about noise from bars and venues, that you should know what you're buying into, and lie in the bed of your own making.

the problem for a lot of people in the neighbourhood would surely be they *didn't* know the speedway was going to be so noisy. I watched an interview with a guy living in the neighbourhood recently, whose house was nearly 1km away from the track, but, when the wind blew a certain way, it was like it was right next door. Now, when you're buying a house, are the real estate people are going to be telling you, 'in a westerly, the backyard will be uninhabitable, because the speedway noise will get up to around 90db', or 'the speedway's nearly a kilometre away from here, most days you won't hear a thing.'

well generally i dont like to think about my grandparents having sex, possibly because my grandad is no longer with us, and secondly who thinks about that sort of stuf

wat is someting that disgusts you???

i dont like the thought of sticking a penis into another mans ass hole, can i put it any more bluntly??? i think personally its disgusting, but you people seem to be open and fine with that,
and im starting to think that most of you find that gross too but are just saying you are fine with it to prove a point,

hmmm lets see, ask anyone of my mates execpt for the gay one and they will tell you that man on man sex is gross mainly because we are straight and dont like to think about that kinda stuff,

do you often look at gay men and go " wow they have sex with each other in the ass thats awesome"???

i am fairly open minded, but just because i dont like the thought of sticking a penis into another mans ass that makes me narrow minded? mate it makes me straight, coz if i didnt find something wrong with it then id be gay, so im quite happy to say that men having sex with each other is disgusting and its no skin off my nose, judge me all you want for saying that but i garentee you if you did a survey with those who find sex with 2 men gross it would out weigh the those who didnt find it gross,

nothing narrow minded or unaccepting or homophobic about it

rdor
// What is wrong with being disgusted by something your not into?

dantheman
// id like to know what male doenst find lesbian porn cool
// two men having sex with each other is disgusting

joanna
// I think you really need to find the line between saying
// "yeah that's not for me thanks" and calling something
// disgusting, because 'disgusting' is an incredibly offensive term.

I agree with Joanna here. We've established that you're not into gay homosexual sex, but you're quite happy with lesbian sex. But rather than not being into it, in the same way, perhaps, someone else might not be into oral sex, gay male sex disgusts you. As joanna says, disgust is a pretty strong word to describe the way two other people express their love for each other. It would seem that, given your gay v. lesbian attitude, that your specific problem is anal intercourse between two men. Does anal sex between a man and a woman gross you out as much? Does two lesbians sharing a dildo give you grief? Is, perhaps, your problem with anal sex, as opposed to gays?

dantheman...
// do you often look at gay men and go
// "wow they have sex with each other in the ass
// thats awesome"???

but earlier...
// well generally i dont like to think about my
// grandparents having sex, possibly because my
// grandad is no longer with us, and secondly
// who thinks about that sort of stuf

that's more like it. 'who thinks about that sort of stuff'. No-one looks at people in the street and thinks about their sex-life. Or should, anyway. But you do. To the point you're disgusted. Why?

// 20 saturday nights a year is all it is you have 345 other nights with none,

//345 other saturday nights? which calendar are you using?

I don't think the post was every implying there are 345 other SATURDAY nights, but 345 other nights in general.

In terms of people not quite being aware of the noise factor, if I were going to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a home, I would certainly do my homework and talk to neighbours about noise levels. But that's just me.

I went to Speedway for the first time ever just a few weeks ago. I was dragged there against my will and expected to hate it. To my surprise, I really enjoyed it. It was a real family atmosphere that reminded me of events I attended as a child that you don't see around much anymore.

I have also lived within earshot of the track. A few hours of noise on saturday nights over summer didn't bother me at all. It obviously bothers some people and I would support them entirely if the track had just been established, but as most of you have said - it's been there for 75 years and if you move into the area without considering the noise that comes from the track, then that's your problem.

no i dont look at people in the street and think about their sex life, i asked if you did,

i dont think about that kinda stuff, its teh same if you see a man kissing another man in public or at a bar which i have seen and i think its gross, but then thats just my straight view on two gay men kissing who are enojying it,

i also said that most "lesbians" in lesbian porn arent lesbians at all, i like watching two girls kiss, but i dont like seeing two males kiss so what does that make me a bad person? NO just human, sure other people might like watching two men kiss and not to women so what exactly the same just opposite way rounds,

i prefer to watch "lesbian" porn and or man and female porn to gay porn that doesnt make me a bad person does it? i dont think so

i dont like tomato either i think its disgusting so what?
dont see anyone kicking up a fuss about that but the minute i say that gay sex is disgusting oh hear how the preach to the hills and cry bloody murder,

its a preference my way i choose to live my life, i dont have a problem with gay as we have already established, just dont man on man anal sex to me it is disgusting, SUE ME

it my choice, you choose to not think its so bad meh i dont give a shit, you probly like tomoto too i dont give a shit, nothing you say can convice me its not as bad as i think it is and its the same with anal sex, sure it may be a act of love or whatever dont mean i have to like it,

and its got nothing to do with being narrowminded or unable to accept others sexual orientation either just the thought of it grosses me out, geez im sorry if my straight ways have caused you harm forgve me for not thinking anal between two men its a wonderful and beautiful thing, like eminem says "its just the way i am"

//If I was rich, I'd want to buy a house in Kingsland

That's the big problem/danger with Kingsland right now. Down come the lovely old houses and up go the shitty apartments. There's even a fucking pet accessory store that has just opened.

That's a death rattle for a suburb if ever I heard one, much as I hate to say that about my beloved home.

// no i dont look at people in the street
// and think about their sex life, i asked if you did,

enough with the cyclical questions! I answered that question, and most of the others you've put my way. You refuse or haven't read closely enough to be able to answer many of my questions to you. Your only answer to the 'why does gay male sex disgust' you boils down to 'because' which is an answer befitting a four year old, but does nothing to explain to me what mental process is going on in your brain to make you have that reaction, when you've admitted that lesbian sex doesn't bother you. Go away and have a think about it, and come back when you've got an answer.

// nice work noziboy, you have proven to me
// that you do infact just like to twist my words
// around and love to take my posts totally out
// on context jsut for the fun of it,

You've only just figured that out now? I also tend to genuinely disagree with you on a lot of things. But if I don't have any firm feelings on a matter (like this), then, yes, low-level trolling can be amusing.

maybe you havent been reading my posts closely enough,

i said i dont like it because men having anal sex with each other for one isnt my thing, and 2 i think that it is gross(but you didnt answer my question, does that make me a bad person does it?)

, how more bluntly would you like me to put it? google gay anal sex and im sure you will find billions of pictures for you to scroll over and look at to your hearts content of men having sex wtih each other, and anyone of those pictures you find iw ill tell you is disgusting in my eyes anyway.

you seem to find it ok, thats you view mine is i think its gross, i just dont see how two men could do such a thing, but then again im not gay. you could say im one of those "male macho types who drink beer and play rugby you and tell everyone to harden up" if you want but im not,

i find men having sex gross... so fucken what? nothing you say is gona change that, some people like havign sex with dogs i think that gross and disgusting too but they dont give a shit, some people show affection by peeing on each other, most people find that disgusting too but they dont,

its a prefrence here people everyone is entitled to their own, its an opinion everyone is entitled to their own,
but just because i dont like something someone else does it doesnt make me a bad person

dantheman, the problem is that you mentioned that you think "homosexuality is gross and disgusting" in direct response to the discussion regarding civil unions. Whatever backpedalling you do now, about gay sex not being your bag, each-to-their-own, whatever, the "disgusting" angle is obviously the overriding factor in the way you view gay men. Every opinion you hold on political and human rights issues regarding homosexuality is tainted by this "disgusting" kneejerk mental picture of men engaging in anal sex.

...and that's exactly what all gay protests, including the hero parade, are trying to counter. You're by no means the only person unable to see past the yuk factor. Making the hero parade into a regular normal activity, introducing gay characters on TV shows, introducing legal same-sex unions are all results of normalising *and attempts to further normalise* the gay lifestyle; it's the only way that people overcome the yuk factor.

By complaining that "gays are different, they act different so they should be treated different" you're just encouraging a form of apartheid - you're encouraging people to keep viewing gays as "men that indulge in disgusting anal sex" - objects of abhorrence - merely the sum of their gyrating parts.

// civil rights bill,

your views on homosexuality are massively different to my own.

// the cricket

brett lee is a chucker.

// so tell me what do we disagree on???

so, to recap: homosexuality (and the grossness thereof), the jfk 'conspiracy', brett lee, and the difference between low level humour and low level trolling.

ok your right whatever you think. im obviously not entitled to any opinion,

how many gay friends do you have ????
i am able whether you think this or not, to get passsed that "yuk factor" when around this person, and i dont care about it, i treat him like anyone else straight or otherwise, but that doesnt mean i dont think they act of two men having sex isnt gross,

someone may like brocolli, you may think its gross, now matter how many people protest about it, how many civil rights bills get passed for it, or whatever the govt does to try and legalise two brocolli stick to have kids you will still think its gross,

just because the govt passes a bill to say its ok for gay people to adpot or wateva doesnt mean people are automatically going to go "oh the govt says its fine it must be alright",
the smokers dont,
apatheid doesnt have anything to do with this, i dont discriminate against gay people, i dont treat gay people any different to straight people,
i just dont like the thought of two men having sex with each other, is anyone actaully listening here???
which is why i generally distance myself from anything relating to men having with with other men.

jo im going to choose to ignore that comment, because you obviously have no clue what the hell you are talking about,

dont need sex lessons from you, do you even know HOW to have sex jo or even what it is??? or are you one of those feminists who think they are too good for it??

// jo im going to choose to ignore that comment

Please don't. Your average arguments are providing me with some semblance of entertainment on this dull Tuesday morning. And as for questioning Jo's knowledge of sex - don't display your ignorance. (Yeah, I realise I'm quite late with that comment.)

You're perfectly welcome to your opinion, but I think you need to own up to ramifications of your opinion.

//i am able whether you think this or not, to get passsed that "yuk factor" when around this person, and i dont care about it,

So why bring it up at all? Why feel the need to tell everyone that you think homosexuality (or more specifically anal sex) is gross and disgusting? If you really didn't care then it would never have been mentioned, much like the sex life of your grandparents.

//just because the govt passes a bill to say its ok for gay people to adpot or wateva doesnt mean people are automatically going to go "oh the govt says its fine it must be alright",
//apatheid doesnt have anything to do with this,

What I'm saying is that people tend to get used to what they're exposed to. That counts as much for society as it does green vegetables. If the government legislates division then eventually society develops an "us and them" mentality, which invariably leads to discrimination against the weaker side. If the government legislates unity then eventually people don't even notice that there was ever a difference. I'm not talking about "getting over the yuk factor" so much as after a while people don't even realise there was a yuk factor to get over. Most of what you've said, devil's advocate or not, has been to discourage any changes that unite gay and straight communities, so therefore you're encouraging division, and ultimately discrimination.

//just because the govt says brocolli is nice doesnt mean you are going to start eating it does it now???
you say its stupid, you clearly missed the point of it, and you say i dont listen,
replace brocolli with homosexual and you wont think its so stupid, so whats the difference with taking out homosexual and putting it tomoto or pototo, or beans , just subsituting on example with another,

Okay, since you're so keen to talk in vegetable terms, have you ever heard the term "let's compare apples to apples" ? Gay people aren't vegetables, nor are they dogs - people are (rightly) much more invested in people than they are in objects, and therefore your comparison is wack.

////just because the govt says brocolli is nice doesnt mean you are going to start eating it does it

And again, NO ONE HAS SAID THAT YOU HAVE TO BE GAY NOW, all we're saying is show a little respect.

//she said lesbian sex wasnt for her...

Actually no, I said most lesbian porn wasn't for me. But thanks for caring.

// jess does the word hypocricy [sic] mean anything to you?

ahaha! err, yes. probably only me that found that funny.