It interests me how politically correct Auckland's Monopoly board game is, and how, if there was to be a Wellington region version, would we fare.
I guess the political correctness shouldn't be surprising. Most of us are familiar with the English version of the board game, featuring London streets and railway stations in an order of hierarchy. It is a long-winded stroll around the English class system, in which players can (briefly) aspire to climb above.
In the 1930s, people probably weren't too concerned about naming particular streets at the bottom of the pile. Old Kent Road and Whitechapel might only be a stone's throw from the high-powered corporate banks of Bishopsgate and Liverpool St, but they still retain a decrepit charm.
But in New Zealand, it would be amusing, albeit commercially disastrous, to literally rank a particular street at the bottom of the board. Which is why, I suspect, Auckland's version has gone for landmarks (and some significant sponsorship and naming rights), with Auckland Domain taking the place of Old Kent Road. A picnic day out on the Domain, after all, isn't too pricey.
So how would the component parts of our region be ranked around the board?