Shakespeare under foot

Last week I received a text message from the Nissan people that my car's warrant of fitness was expired. As I have been able to ride my bike to and from work every day I've gone to work this year, the car has sat unused since before we went into Lockdown at the end of March. I arranged a convenient day (today) and drove it to the service centre, and then walked the few kilometres to the unit.

On the walk there this morning I saw a very different manhole cover and in rather low light and some shadow got a photo. Walking back this afternoon, I saw another with the same words raised within the two outer rings.

S recognised it as a quote although not its origin. I confess that while it sounds like it should be a quote I had no knowledge of it at all. Mr Google assisted as so often. It is (almost) part of a speech by Ulysses in Troilus and Cressida. 

"Almost", because what Shakespeare wrote was 
'The heavens themselves, the planets and this centre
Observe degree, priority and place'.

Pedestrians walking along Nuffield Street, one back from the main street in Newmarket, will pass over one or other of the two I photographed, as they are on opposite sides of the road. I wonder how many notice these words. Before a couple of weeks ago, I doubt that I would. 

ADDITIONAL
After posting this photo, I decided to look further, and firstly came across a blog by a visitor to Auckland from Brattleboro Vermont. It seems that this US couple took photos of manhole covers (as well as many other things including Paul Walsh street art)and included them amongst other things put up on their blog. Brattleboro was nothing to do with the manufacturer of these manhole covers.

Further searching yielded circular and frustrating results until I chanced upon a website for Boffa Miskell, a leading New Zealand environmental and design consultancy. They were contracted to develop the Nuffield Street Precinct which was completed in 2006.

The conclusion I have reached is that Boffa Miskell contrcted a foundry to make a limited number (I presume) of these covers for this specific project. They are therefore unique to this street in Auckland.