Contents

COVER : Ron “Sparrow” Sparks has been hewing the underground seams for 32 years. Although increasing amounts are being extracted in vast opencast operations, surface mining fails to generate the camaderie that binds together those who struggle, sweat, and occasionally die together at the underground face.
CONTENTS - Features :
OLD MAN KAIPARA [A Century ago, the Souther Hemisphere’s largest harbour was a major waterway, the main access to the lower north. But its vast kauri forests have long succumbed to fire and the plough, and its bustling towns have slowed. Around its estuarine shores the past is never far away, and life continues solid and steady, not flashy;
WAGING PEACE : THE NEW ZEALAND ARMY IN BOSNIA [The carcass of Yugoslavia is being torn apart in a brutal fight that has set neighbour against neighbour. In an attempt to preserve life and decency, the United Nations has placed 40,000 peacekeepers among the warring factions. We provide a background to the conflict, and examine the lot of the New Zealand contingent based at Santici.
PAPER WASPS - GUESTS OR PESTS [Gardeners in warmer parts of the country are increasingly encountering small, grey, comb-like insect nests tucked under protective branches on their plants. In summer, a cluster of spindly, fine-striped wasps will be busy with brood. Their curious trolling flight is also distinctive, but are these insects an asset or a menace]
THE GLORY OF CLOUDS [Sometimes pale wispy lashes against the rule of cerulean aloft, later a flock or surreal heavenly sheep on their way to some hidden evening fold, clouds are not only an everchanging wonder and inspiration, but they announce the upcoming weather. What would our nightly satellite photos be without them?];
COAL ON THE COAST : BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE [Scrabbling deep underground amid dust, darkness and the danger of explosion, miners have struggled to extract coal on the northern section of the West Coast for over a century. Production is expanding, but with new automated mining methods, is the traditional miner in danger of extinction?];
CONTENTS - Departments :
LETTERS; EDITOR’S COMMENTS; GEONEWS [of turtles and dung beetles]; SPACE [a new guide to the galaxies]; OPEN COUNTRY [mystery of the abandoned boiler]; PLACES [Taurange Harbour]; SALUTE; COMING UP [What’s in store]; MINI ADS;