Milford News

What's NEW in MILFORD?MILFORD

Murray Hill

Milford almost back to normal

We’d like to say a big thanks to all our loyal customers for shopping local during the Covid period and particularly in February. We get retail sale figures monthly on how the town centre is performing and while the actual figure for February was -9.5% on last February, you will remember we were locked down for four days with Covid during the month this year.

So, when we adjust for those four days, Milford was in a great position of having 1.013% increase in sales on last year. Of course, we had our Vive La France event, just hours before the second lockdown of that month, and your support on that day was a contributor to our impressive post Covid comeback.

Thanks again – we look forward to seeing you regularly, as always, in MILFORD.

Christmas Tree Initiative

Calling all community groups, schools and businesses! We are about to order some unpainted Christmas tree shapes that we would like different organisations within Milford to decorate prior to November this year. These have been a fixture in one of our top tourist towns in New Zealand for some years and our Milford Business Association board has decided to purchase some with the idea that they are personalised by different groups and become part of Christmas in Milford each year.

The trees are made from plywood, will be undercoated if required and will be paid for by the association. All your group has to do is come up with a suitable Christmas design and then paint the tree. If your organisation is interested, please contact me via email manager@milfordshops.co.nz or phone 021950463.

Resolution on Village Square Tables

We finally have a resolution on these tables and stools that have fallen into disrepair. It appears the design of them is more at fault than vandalism, so in conjunction with the council parks team, we have decided to remove all the furniture and replace it with a couple more seats similar to those in the main Village Square and add some of our now ‘famous in Milford’ planters.

No timeline for this at present, but with our mighty Milford Rotarians and Mike our gardener involved, I don’t expect it to be too long.

New Business in the Milford Centre

We would like to welcome the latest fashion boutique to open in the Milford Centre – Ella and Eli. Come in and see Rayma and Deborah, who will assist you to find the ideal piece for your new wardrobe. With top New Zealand and international brands such as Blacklist, Two by Two, and Bone and Arrow – this is a great new place to shop for fashion. And guys, a new range of men’s clothing has been introduced and will be expanded upon. So grab your partner and come shopping. Open Monday to Saturday 9am to 5.30pm – Sunday 10am to 4pm.

Murray Hill, Manager – Milford Business Association, manager@milfordshops.co.nz | 021 950 463, www.milfordshops.co.nz facebook milfordshops instagram milfordnz youtube MilfordshopsTV

TITANIUM THE MILFORD BUSINESS ASSOCIATION APPRECIATES THE SUPPORT OF:

GOLD

Big contribution from Heather Smale

In late January St Pauls by the Sea Anglican Church Opportunity Shop in Milford celebrated more than 30 years of dedication from Heather Smale, who retired from working in the Shop as a Volunteer. Heather is an icon around Milford village with her blue or pink coiffure a beacon to many a shopper around the village.

Daily Heather and her husband Don can be seen walking a large squad of dogs on Milford Beach each morning and then stopping in the village on their way home for their daily coffee at La Tropezienne French Café

meet Winston Churchill when she was a child during the war. Heather emigrated to New Zealand when she was in her early 30s and her parents followed a couple of years later. Heather met husband Don on a fishing boat in the Marlborough Sounds with a group of friends. She was fishing on one side of the boat and Don was on the other and they hooked up the same fish. She says it was love at first bite! They have been happily married for 54 years and have three lovely grown up children with six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Heather has been a big part of the Heather will continue to be a very welcome visitor to the St Pauls by Opportunity Shop, when it was situated in the Sea, Anglican Church Opportunity Shop. She will also continue to Milford Road and then when it moved to the be a very active member of her bowling clubs. building beside the main hall of the church (Written by Allison Mackie). in Otakau Road. Serving customers in the shop and assisting them to buy all sorts of bargains over the years. Heather has also been a huge part of outdoor bowls on the North Shore and also Milford Bowling Club, and in particular the New Zealand Blind Bowls, representing New Heather Smale. Zealand more than four times. She has won several big championships over the years and has travelled around New Zealand with the Foundation for the Blind to many Tournaments. She is also very active with North Shore’s indoor bowling scene over the last 20 or so years and has travelled around New Zealand playing in large Tournaments representing North Harbour Indoor Bowls. Heather is a much-loved member of these bowling clubs on the North Shore.

Heather was born in the United Kingdom at Windsor in 1933 where her father was with the Grenadier Guards and she was lucky enough to Well Hung is an artisan butcher specializing in premium, NZ grass fed, dry aged and fresh meats. Delivery and click and collect service available.

Order online at www.wellhung.nz Well Hung 210 Kitchener Rd, Milford ph 09 486 0936 Well Hung at The Milford Centre, Milford Rd ph 09 486 0863

Bill and Lindsay Speedy. Lindsay and Bill Speedy with Jan Nichols (Chief Executive Harbour Hospice) Buk Sue from Rukon.

Generous donation for Harbour Hospice

When you live on the North Shore you’re always bumping into people you know. And if there are two people who are particularly well-known for their generosity, it’s Bill and Lindsay Speedy.

The Speedys are the owners of Oceanbridge Shipping Ltd, an international logistics company based in Takapuna, and they’ve been giving back to the community since founding the company in 1981. The couple is best-known for their annual charity golf tournaments, which have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for community groups and charities over the past 25 years.

This year Harbour Hospice was a very grateful recipient of a donation of $25,000, which was raised at the event. However, in addition, the Speedys have made a significant pledge to Harbour Hospice, to be used towards the redevelopment of our North Shore hospice facility.

This multi-million-dollar project, on which construction began in March (as we wrote about in last month’s issue), will feature a state-ofthe-art community centre where patients and families can visit health professionals, attend support groups, day programmes or receive complementary therapies. There will be a modern 15-bed in-patient unit and whānau space where families can stay overnight and be cared for while they support their loved one during their final days of life.

For the couple, who’ve been married 45 years, our North Shore facility holds a special place in their hearts because it’s where two of their dear friends, North Shore locals Gwen Anderson and Nola Joyce, were cared for towards the end of their lives. Explains Lindsay, “When Bill and I got married I moved to New Zealand from England and didn’t know anyone. I was only 23 and Gwen was our neighbour. She lived across the road, and she completely took me under her wing. I don’t know what I would have done without her, and when we started our family and I became a new mum, she was always there.”

“They were like mother and daughter,” Bill smiles.

Gwen, who died 24 years ago at the age of 73, already had breast cancer when Bill and Lindsay met her. “But she was amazing, she never let it stop her from doing anything,” Lindsay says. “She was this really great tennis player and everybody knew her. She didn’t need hospice care until right towards the end, then she was in and out of the in-patient unit, and I would go there and stay with her.” Bill has fond memories of going for runs past the hospice and stopping to knock on Gwen’s window. “She was always keen for visitors and she would signal for me to come in.”

The parents of three and grandparents of five were moved by the level of compassionate care they saw Gwen receive during her final stages of life. And they saw it again when their dear friend Nola went into hospice care some years later.

This is one of the reasons they’ve given so generously to Harbour Hospice, and Lindsay also volunteers at the Milford Hospice Shop. You’ll never see her out in the shop front though. “I like to stay in the background and sort the donations,” she says shyly. The couple has always felt compelled to give back to their community as much as they can. Says Lindsay, “I’m a former nurse, so it’s just there, that urge to help. If you can do something to help others, then do.”

“It was my brother, Pete, who also worked for Oceanbridge and who died from prostate cancer five years ago, who started the golf tournaments,” Bill reveals.“We’ve carried them on because they’re such a great thing to do, and everybody who participates feels good about themselves too. We don’t come from a wealthy family, but my dad and mum held very strong Christian values and I think they’d feel proud about what we’re doing. I would encourage any business to give back if they can.”

With the support of corporate supporters like the Speedys, we’ve raised $5.6million towards our $10million fundraising target. If you’d like to support our North Shore redevelopment project please contact our capital campaign manager, Kate Thompson, on Kate.Thompson@harbourhospice.org.nz.

Progress report:

We catch up with Rucon site project manager Buk Sue to find out how the redevelopment is progressing: The construction site is now fully shrink-wrapped and weather-proofed. All scaffolding is up. The former concrete tile roof on the facility has been removed and replaced with a stainless steel longline roof. The concrete floor slab for the whānau area is down and drainage has been completed. The timber framework for the clinical area has gone up.

Trans-Tasman travel bubble

By Mary Buckley, Owner/ Director of helloworld Travel Milford and Browns Bay

Last month New Zealand entered a new era of travel with the start of a Quarantine Free Travel (QFT) arrangement with Australia. Air New Zealand has a regular schedule of “green” flights to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Sunshine Coast, Cairns, Hobart and Perth.

The travel professionals at helloworld are available to help you navigate this new international travel environment and ensure you book the approved QFT flights.

What does the travel bubble arrangement mean for you? For some, you have been ready to burst your bubble and can't wait to visit family and friends you haven't seen for so long. For others, you will be looking forward to planning your first overseas holiday for over a year now. Maybe even book a trip for the next school holidays?

How can we help you?

We can book flights only to Australia so you will be able to visit family and friends. We can also help you redeem Air New Zealand credits. We can package up a holiday to the many Australian holiday spots you may want to visit that includes flights, accommodation, sightseeing, cruise, rail travel and much more.

You can book with confidence with our travel specialists who are knowledgeable of Covid travel requirements, and available 24/7 to assist if travel plans change. We are Fair Insurance Providers to ensure you have adequate cover and provide expert, personalised travel advice to help you plan your next holiday.

Is the Pacific travel bubble next?

We are preparing for the Pacific travel bubble to Islands that have been free from Covid-19. The Cook Islands has not had any reported cases since the start of the pandemic. Their economy relies heavily on tourism so they would welcome back visitors. The Cook Islands is logically the first Pacific Island to open to New Zealand visitors. In preparation we are booking accommodation from June onwards for customers who are planning a winter escape to a sunny island destination. Flights can be added following a government announcement of bubble dates. Contact our travel professionals to hold your accommodation so that you have an Island holiday to look forward to in 2021.

Thank you for your support during the past year. We look forward to helping you plan your next New Zealand or Australian travel adventure, or a Pacific Island winter escape. Please continue to support our local business and contact our team of passionate and experienced travel professionals to book your next holiday.

Mary Buckley.

Phone (09) 489 2597 or email: milford@helloworld.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND FAMILY TRAVEL

Book your next Family Adventure with Helloworld Travel Milford: