HELVETIA MAGAZINE OF THE SWISS SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2012 Y E A R 7 8 The Three Lakes Region of Switzerland Switzerland’s beautiful Three Lakes Region century during a period of prolonged drought (Drei-Seen-Land or pays des trois lacs) lies at (refer page 24). Other significant Swiss Celtic HIGHLIGHTS: the foot of the Jura mountains, comprising the finds of the later la Tène period were discov- Switzerland’s Three three lakes of Morat (Murten), Neuchâtel and ered at the northern end of Lake Neuchâtel Bienne (Biel). around the same time. Lakes Region It is one of Switzerland’s most important grow- The Jura Water Correction aimed to mitigate Organisation of the ing regions for vegetables (and let us not for- flood risk in a series of hydrological works. get the wine!). The region is at the boundary This included the diversion of the Aare River Swiss Abroad news of the cantons Bern, Fribourg, Neuchâtel and from Aarberg directly into Lake Bienne Vaud, forming part of the linguistic bound- through the Hagneck canal, and building fur- Helvetia survey ary region between French and German- ther canals between the three lakes (Broye results speaking Switzerland. and Thielle/Zihl canals). Originally a swampy floodplain of the Aare A side effect of this correction was the crea- Swiss Society Games River, chroniclers reported regular flooding of tion of the longest navigable waterway in Swit- results lakes and adjacent swamps from the 15th cen- zerland - much to the delight of modern tour- tury, at times even causing the complete ists who make extensive use of boat tours merging of the three lakes. between Solothurn in the north to Yverdon in INSIDE: The original landscape provided an ideal envi- the south. ronment for our ancestors who created lake- The area is historically and culturally rich, in- Organisation of the 3 side settlements built on piles to deal with the cluding lovely cities such as Morat (Murten), Swiss Abroad news periodic changes in water levels (pile dwell- Biel (Bienne), Neuchâtel and Yverdon. There ings). Significant archaeological remains of are limitless opportunities for walking, cycling Helvetia survey results 4 these settlements were discovered in the 19th and all manners of water transport. Swiss Society Games 5 results From the President: 6 back from the winter escape Swiss economic news 7 Embassy news 8 - 9 Health corner 10 Kids’ corner 11 Three Lakes Region 12 - 13 Swiss Club news 14 - 20 Chuchichäschtli/ 21 Garden diary Obituaries 22 - 23 Pre-historic pile 24 dwellings The three lakes of Morat (Murten - far right), Neuchâtel (foreground) and Bienne (Biel) (far left) This photograph and others in this issue are used with the kind permission of Bielersee Schifffahrts-Gesellschaft (www.bielersee.ch) www.swiss.org.nz OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2012 From the Editornew President and Editor From the Editor Mim Bueb sin Hosesack Spring is now definitely in the air. En alti Chäpslipischtole For us Auckland (and other) urban- es Portmenee, natürlich leer ites, it often takes a trip to the coun- En Bleischtift und es Stückli Chole tryside to be really convinced - lets Es Naastuech, wo gärn suber weer, face it, spring is not spring without Es gröönelig-grüens Stuck Kandiszucker, the many calves and lambs that dot En Chlee, vierblettrig und verblüet the countryside, and the green hue En Hegel und e Hampfle Chlüüre that starts to spread over trees and Es Loos, wo sicher nüme ziet, shrubs. I hope that for the farmers among you, this spring has been Zündhölzli und es Niele-Zwiigli successful and the weather not too Es Bileet uf de Münschterturm, inclement for calving and lambing. E Lupe-n und es Muulörgeli Well, we are into our second Helve- und z'underscht nu en Rägewuurm tia issue and I must say it’s already a Was sonen Chnopf – s isch fascht es Wunder nöd alles mit sich umeträit! bit easier - not in the least part due En Sack voll Gnuusch, Dräck und Plunder? to the excellent articles the Helvetia En Sack voll Buebe-Seligkäit! team has contributed. I am so Walter-Verlag Meilen pleased about their creativity and Contributed by Edith Hess penmanship, and of course hugely grateful. The Three Lakes Region is our key topic for this issue - and there is sim- Swiss Society of New Zealand Inc. ply not enough space to give it all the Patron H. E. Dr Marion Weichelt Krupski credit it deserves! For me personally, President/ Tanja Latham-Zurbruegg, 45 Kinross Street, Blockhouse Bay, it brings back memories of a Secretary Auckland 0600. Ph 09 627 8777. E-mail: [email protected] Vice President Marcel Rüedi, 25 Beverley Crescent, RD 1 Whangarei 0179 “shipwreck” - that is, capsizing in a Ph 02 7490 1836. E-mail: [email protected] sailing boat on Lake Biel one late Editor Susie Wood, PO Box 65206 Mairangi Bay Auckland 0745. and very stormy afternoon just off Ph 09 4736098. E-mail: [email protected] the Island of St Peter, losing all our Treasurer Carmen Fitzi-Gordon, 2 Coldham Crescent, St. Johns, Auckland 1072. Ph 09 528 0903. E-mail: c _and_ [email protected] valuable possessions including wal- Riflemaster Ernst Lanz, 23 Hawaiian Parade, Arkles Bay, Whangaparaoa 0932. lets in the process - only to be res- Ph 09 428 5687. Email: [email protected] cued by a fancy boat with cocktail party on board. Talking about the Delegates to the Swiss Abroad Conference in Switzerland bedraggled among the glitzy! Delegate Othmar Hebler, 9 Larlin Heights, RD 15, Hawera. Ph 06 278 6878 Deputy Delegate Emanuel Zust, 41 Cheltenham Drive, Kapiti Village, Paraparaumu 62 among you have taken the oppor- Ph 04 905 0017 tunity to participate in the Helvetia survey - thank you all very much. Secretaries of the Swiss Clubs This is really valuable information Auckland Heidi Wilson, 53 Rothesay Bay Road, Rothesay Bay, Auckland. which we will consider in adjusting Ph 094789751. E-mail: [email protected] the content of the Helvetia. Hamilton Anita Zuber, PO Box 24061, Hamilton 3253. Mob 027 498 5170. E-mail: [email protected] Have you ever wondered why the Taranaki Marianne Drummond, 508 Salisbury Road, RD 24, Stratford. British National Anthem sounds Ph 06 7628 757. E-mail: [email protected] vaguely familiar? Our Ambassador Wellington Odile Stotzer, 24 Fitzherbert Street, Alicetown, Lower Hutt 5010. Marion Weichelt sheds some light on Ph 04 586 3095. E mail: [email protected] to this conundrum (page 6). Now I Swiss Government Representatives am very curious about the alternative Embassy of Level 12, Maritime Towers, 10 Custom House Quay, Wellington 6140. anthem! Wishing you a very enjoy- Switzerland E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.eda.admin.ch/wellington able spring. Consulate Peter Deutschle, 3 Marine Parade, Herne Bay, Auckland 1011. of Switzerland Ph 09 366 0403. E-mail: [email protected] HELVETIA P A G E 3 Organisation of the Swiss Abroad Report on ASO conference in Lausanne 17-19th August 2012 (by Othmar Hebler) 330 people from 40 countries at- the world. This means travellers tended the congress, 70 of them have to take a lot more responsibility SWISS KONDITOREI BERN elected representatives. 700,000 for their own travels and actions. Swiss live outside Switzerland, that’s Bakery & Pastry There were two guest speakers at nearly 10%. The ASO is pushing the conference. One was Elmar Do you feel like eating real Swiss/German very hard to get e-voting imple- Mock, the inventor of the Swatch, breads, tasty and healthy? mented, hopefully by 2015, and is who talked about how Swatch turned German Sourdough, Butterzopf, also trying to make the Swiss abroad around the misfortunes of the Swiss Walliser Bread, Kibbled Rye, Walnut Bread, the 27th canton of Switzerland. Tasty White Bread, Basler Bread, watch industry. The other speaker or chose from a wide range of rolls, Swiss banks are continuing with was the Nobel Price Winner of inclusive Laugenrolls. charging or even closing the bank chemistry 2002, Mr. Kurt Wüthrich. In the sweet range we offer accounts of Swiss abroad. ASO is He talked about the mutations of the Blackforest Cake, Bienenstich, working very hard to get some reso- Bird and Swine flu. Chocolate Truffle Cake, Quark Cheesecake, Fruit Flans, Patisserie, lution on this for their members. The Lots of political parties attended in seasonal specialities and much more. Aargauer Kantonalbank, for exam- order to try and enrol new members. We are using local and often ple, is charging accounts with less organic ingredients. After the conference, I visited with than 150,000 Sfr. 40.00 per month. my parents the” Auslandschweizer Now with lots of money flowing into Retail sale at our bakery Platz” in Brunnen on the edge of the Switzerland and interest rates his- Thursday, Friday and Saturday 7am-2pm “Vierwaldstättersee”, a place well torically low, you can get mortgages 5/448 Rosebank Rd, Avondale, Auckland worth visiting if you’re ever in Swit- Tel: (09) 828-5860 Fax: (09) 828-5861 for a ten year term for 1.6%. zerland. www.swisskonditoreibern.co.nz Bundesrat Didier Burkhalter (head of If you like any more information on Swiss abroad) was talking about the conference, visit closing more Embassies around the www.swissinfo.ch. world, as the internet makes it a lot faster to communicate anywhere in A bit of background information ASO stands for Auslandsschweizer still have a link with Parliament Organisation or Organisation for the thanks to the inter-party parliamen- Swiss Abroad (OSA). According to tary group "The Swiss Abroad", its website, 135,000 Swiss nationals which has about 100 MPs and is living abroad are registered on the sensitive to the cause of the Swiss electoral roll, allowing them to exer- living outside the country.