T-shirt throws a bucketful at Newtown (contains swearing)

Newtown - it's a bit shit. At least that's the message from t-shirt designer Tom Lynch, of WorkShy, whose latest design depicts the Newtown council flats alongside that caption.

The shirt is for sale at Cuba Street shop Miss Demeanour, which Tom part-owns, and is proving a popular buy in spite of its hefty $55 price tag. More than 20 have been snapped up already.

Tom, a long-time Newtown resident, says the shirt began as a bit of a joke. "I originally did the shirt as a joke for a friend for his birthday. We have both lived in Newtown for 20 years on and off. I love Newtown," he says.

"There's been a big trend recently for Wellington's suburbs to have t-shirts designed using the name and my friend said 'Newtown really is a bit shit'. It was a bit tongue in cheek. Newtown is a bit like the rough part of the diamond," says Tom.

He says he whipped up the shirt "really quickly" and took the photo for it from the door of his workshop. His friend wore it at his Thorndon cafe and got "a strong reaction, 80 to 90 per cent of it positive", says Tom. "A few people were offended by it and I can see why."

But Tom says he wears it around Newtown. "One in 10 people say "that's a bit rough". 

Wellington City Council's communications adviser Richard MacLean says Newtown residents would probably think the shirts were "a bit naff".

"The fact you don't see too many people wearing them around Newtown is a good indication as to what they [residents] think about the shirts.

"Whoever designed them was trying to be a bit too clever and is a bit of a plonker. There is no real reason for the shirt to be produced except someone trying to be ironic and postmodern.

"Come and take a walk down the street in Newtown on a Saturday and see how far you get without an earful."

And what do Newtown residents think about their suburb and the t-shirt?

The proprietor of a popular Newtown shop near the council flats didn't want his critical assessment of Newtown published for fear of reprisals from disgruntled locals.

Newtown flats' resident of two years Susie Edwards says she has tried to get the council to move her to a safer environment.

"I am scared to come out of my flat at night," she said.

She described how she had recently shown a large knife to an unwanted visitor "to scare him away".

She said the flats are full of swindlers, drug dealers, gang-members and people who owed  the council back rent.

"They don't do any checks", she said.

Mr MacLean says the council regularly checks the flats and if issues such as gang presence, drug dealing and unpaid rent arise, people are evicted.

"We have those cases from time to time. It's a well-known fact that Newtown Park [flats] has its problems. That's why we are spending very large amounts of money to transform them."

Lepa Manuao liked the t-shirt. "Yeah, it's cool", she said. Would she buy one? "I don't know, I can't afford it", she said, admitting that she lived at the flats because it was cheap.

Asked if there was any trouble at the flats, she said sometimes but it's usually "pretty quiet" with only the occasional party.

She was unaware of gang members living there.

David (who did not want his second name published) said that Newtown was "the safest suburb in town" and that "people just don't know Newtown".

Myra Latimer, a council employee said the t-shirt is "a bit rude" and "a slap in the face".  After closer inspection she said "it's disgraceful, it's ignorant".

Councillor Rob Goulden says t-shirts like this tend to make people think their area is bad when maybe it isn't so bad after all. "I think we all know that the council's Newtown flats have some problems and that is what the multi-million dollar upgrade is all about."

Councillor Andy Foster says most Wellingtonians are proud of their city and "we are keeping moving forward on that front".