11 minute read
Devonport News
By Shaulyn van Baaren Devonport Business Improvement District Manager
I don’t mind the
Shaulyn van Baaren. winter! Yes…I said it! But it’s really true!
Comfy layers, beanies and puffer jackets…. Warm coffees, hot toddies and soups…. Fluffies and hot chocolate for the littles….
And arriving in Devonport village feels like you’ve left the city behind; the pace, as you visit the village, seems just a little slower…as if everyone is just taking life in!
Because there’s plenty to do in Devonport village in the winter months. We have range of art galleries and studios filled with creations from New Zealand’s up-and-coming to our finest artists. On rainy days, visit Torpedo Bay Navy Museum, catch a movie at The Vic (one of Auckland’s oldest theatres), or cozy up with a book on the couches at Paradox Books or BookMark. On sunny days, give segwaying a go with Magic Broomstick Segway Tours, shop our beautiful boutique and outlet shops, or set up your picnic in Windsor Reserve where our Bean Rock inspired playground is situated. With an eclectic range of cafés and restaurants there is something for every picnic blanket and food to warm every palate.
We’re excited to welcome a few new businesses that we know locals are going to love! For the gents, we have two new barbers, White Scissor (inside the Arcade) and Indigo Barbershop (67A Victoria Road). If you’re in business, And Now digital agency and venture partner has taken up office where Cushla’s once was (38 Victoria Road). Or maybe you’re looking at starting a business or have a business idea… pop in and have a chat with Rob Vickery of Hillafrance Venture Capital (in the Old Post Office Building).
But I get it, I am secretly excited for spring to arrive. And when it does, a few events that you’ll want pre-marked in your calendar are: • PARKING DAY: Did you know that Devonport’s 2019 Park(ING)
Day event won the AT Travel Choices Award for EVENT OF
THE YEAR? Covid stuffed up our plans last year, so we’re talking with the team who delivered that award-winning event to hopefully revive Park(ING) Day in Devonport this September 17th. • GLOW@Artweek 2021: Another Covid event casualty in 2020, the DBA, Unitec and Artweek Auckland can’t wait to bring this fantastic family event back to Windsor Reserve for it’s sixth year on October 15th & 16th. • Friday After 5 Street Party: We loved the pre-summer vibe of holding this event in December so much that we’re doing it again. As a kick-off to a weekend of Christmas in Devonport, get your flip flops ready for a whole lot of festive fun in
Clarence Street on Friday, 3rd December.
Now that you too are dreaming of warmer weather, keep your eyes on Devonport.co.nz or visit our Facebook Page - @DevonportVillage - for details to come on this fantastic spring line-up!
For now though, layer yourself up, grab whänau and friends, your warm beverage of choice and make your way down to see us!
Until next time, — Shaulyn van Baaren
Devonport Community News for this month with Maria Teape, Devonport Community Coordinator, Devonport Peninsula Trust
Devonport Events in August
Maria Teape.
Devonport Community House is hosting Devonport Repair Café on Saturday 7th August, from 12pm to 4pm. You are invited to bring along toys, furniture items, clothing or small appliances in need of repair.
Devonport Repair Café is about repairing broken items together, getting professional advice, spending time with and helping your community. There is no cost and Devonport Repair Café will become a regular monthly happening at Devonport Community House on the first Saturday of the month. Contact Chris for more info - 021 380 845 or devonportrc@bravegen.com.
A newcomers book club for migrants is taking place at Devonport Library, 2 Victoria Rd, Devonport every Saturday from 7th August - 25th September, from 2pm to 4pm. The book club is for all migrants and an opportunity to study great New Zealand writers as a window to New Zealand culture. A qualified English teacher from English Language Partners New Zealand takes the group. There is no cost to join - register by email: aucklandnorth@newcomers.co.nz
The Devonport Community Network meeting is taking place on Thursday 12th August at Devonport Yacht Club. The meetings are held to promote networking amongst residents and community groups, with guest speakers joining us to talk about topical happenings. This month members of The Rose Centre's Board will talk to us about The Rose Centre's new direction. Meetings commence at 10am with morning tea and informal networking then guest speakers start from approximately 10:20am.
Make sure you see Sean Sinnott and friends singing songs of Jimmy MacCarthy at The Bunker on Takarunga, Devonport. Sean has been singing in Irish pubs for decades, and will be joined by some very special friends on Monday 16th August at 8pm. Bookings are essential: phone: 09-445-2227; tickets cost $20.
Another must-see event this month: Company Theatre presents 'Neville's Island' - a farcical and hilarious evening out. Running from 14th-28th August at The Rose Centre, School Rd, Belmont, tickets cost $27 ($22 concessions) and are available at www.iticket.co.nz. From critically acclaimed writer, Tim Firth, of 'Calendar Girls' fame, this production of an awardnominated West End comedy is the perfect entertainment for a winter’s evening at the theatre.
Mā te wā,
Maria
COVID-19 Recovery For our businesses and our community
$250k grant supports Hospice rebuild
Harbour Hospice relies heavily on the support of many individuals, businesses, community groups and Trusts to see the successful completion of its $20 million redevelopment project at 7 Shea Terrace, Takapuna.
In previous columns we’ve shared stories of some of these remarkable gifts, with the Douglas Charitable Trust being one of these generous supporters. Founded in 1967 by Sir Graeme Douglas, Douglas Pharmaceuticals supports local communities in many ways through the Douglas Charitable Trust and has generously gifted $250,000 over three years to this vital North Shore project.
Douglas Pharmaceuticals Managing Director, Jeff Douglas, says they’re passionate about supporting organisations that benefit the health of New Zealanders and acknowledges that raising such a significant amount of money is an incredibly difficult task for a charity like Harbour Hospice.
“Organisations like hospice aren’t able to meet this demand and raise such significant capital costs without help,” Douglas says.
Douglas has a strong connection with the work of Hospice having been a trustee for Hospice West Auckland, where he’s now the patron. Harbour Hospice works closely with the West Auckland service, supporting patients who need inpatient care. “By working together, they help more patients who need beds, which is a really crucial part of its care.”
With one in three people in our community needing hospice services, Douglas acknowledges that almost everyone has a friend or family member that’s been touched by hospice at some point in their lives. “The work they do is absolutely vital, and we want to support the work of hospice to enable them to look after more patients at the end of their lives, as best as they can.” Harbour Hospice Chief Executive, Jan Nichols, says that without the support of Trusts like the Douglas Charitable Trust, this vital community need wouldn’t be met. “With the rapidly growing number of patients and families needing support, and our Inpatient Unit at North Shore needing an urgent reclad, we simply couldn’t do this major project without them,” Nichols says.
“It’s an honour to be associated with one of New Zealand’s most iconic and innovative healthcare businesses. Douglas Pharmaceuticals provided many of the medications we used in my early days at hospice and were generous sponsors of training and family caregiving resources,” Nichols says.
“We’re incredibly grateful to the Trust for acknowledging the impact we have in our community and for helping to secure our future as the needs of our community become more complex and urgent.”
To date the North Shore redevelopment project has raised more than $8 million towards its fundraising goal of $10 million. To find out how you can help, and to keep up to date with progress visit harbourhospice.org.nz/shore-project
Rochelle and Brian.
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KiwiHarvest – Our journey By Janice Blomgren
From small beginnings (December 2016, and my brainwave!), a food rescue service for the North Shore! The initial feeling was that the North Shore was too affluent, we wouldn’t get the community’s support, how would we pay for it? As they say, the rest is history.
It started as a project with a small group of enthusiasts from Takapuna North Rotary Club. The KiwiHarvest parent had started three years earlier in Dunedin, and we adopted their practices and disciplines on food standards and structures, which was a great help. From the outset we have been different, depending 100% on volunteers with low operating costs, working closely with our recipients and suppliers. The key is to balance each day’s demand with available supply so that the food is always fresh and wholesome.
We started deliveries in May 2017 with three recipients and a volunteer’s Highlander station wagon. Volumes built quickly, and we realised a station wagon could not cope. Two of our volunteers funded the purchase of a refrigerated van and this went into service in late June. We built up eventually to 30 volunteers, 30 recipients and 12 supermarkets with support from five local sponsors. We worked three days a week, 8am to 2pm. We were lucky enough to have a shed and a yard to house the van and provide a small amount of chilled and frozen storage. The aim was an empty van at the end of the day. It was busy, rewarding and at times tense!
Four other Rotary clubs then joined Takapuna North to fund the van purchase, repaying the original seed funding. The arrangement was formalised with KiwiHarvest in a Memorandum of Understanding that provided for the operation to cede to them, including ownership of the van. In September 2018 that duly took place. By this time our area
KiwiHarvest's two tonne refrigerated truck at the Rosedale warehouse.
covered most of the North Shore up to Orewa and the Whangaparaoa peninsula. Suppliers included local supermarkets, food kitchens and local manufacturers. We proved conclusively that there was a real need for supplementary food to those needy areas on the North Shore, and that the community responded wonderfully through volunteers driving and assisting in the van. In 2019 the scale of the KiwiHarvest service had grown to be national, North Shore continuing in its volunteer based retail service as one of five branches, with the rest of the country moving to a bulk distribution wholesale business. As part of this change, we employed a professional driver, moving to a five days a week service. With the onset of Covid-19 in March 2020 this proved to have been a life saver. We were deemed an essential service. However, with the majority of volunteers aged over 70, we could now still continue, but with very
OWN A CROSS-LEASE? limited volunteer involvement. With lockdown, demand for food sky-rocketed. Government funded a national bulk food distribution
ADD VALUE TO YOUR PROPERTY TODAY. business that was complementary to KiwiHarvest, and in addition provided us with significant short term operational funding. In February 2021 we moved into a large warehouse in Rosedale with ample chilled and frozen storage space. The Hiace van has been replaced with a two tonne refrigerated truck, and we now have the logistics for a central bulk supply with direct delivery to the North Shore. It is a major change. The region we supply has now extended to Wellsford in the north and Helensville in the west. The role for volunteers is less, but with the physical demands of a near doubling of food demand, better materials handling and a greater focus on eliminating food waste, the change is positive. We are always looking for ‘robust’ volunteers! To date the North Shore has delivered more than 290,610kg to food hubs, mainly churches, marae, foodbanks and community centres.We convert cross-leases to fee simple. So we have come a long way. My abiding memory is of the smiles from the children at Belmont Primary when we made the first delivery Why should you convert to free hold? of bread and apples. Also that of Francis, the Milford New World + Avoid neighbour disputes logistics manager, when he heard we were delivering to The Fono, + Add value to your home the Pacific Islanders food bank in Northcote. It’s been a great and rewarding journey.Why you should use Good+Title: Special thanks to our sponsors who have made this all possible: + Free no obligation proposal Partners Life, Benefitz, Pak'nSave Albany, Countdown, and the New + Fixed price survey & legal fees Worlds, as well as many in-kind supporters. We could not have helped so many families on the North Shore without your support. 0800 XLEASE www.goodtitle.co.nz If you have any interest in joining our team, either as sponsors or hello@goodtitle.co.nz volunteers, please contact me, Janice Blomgren at 0800 601 609. 17 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Visit: www.kiwiharvest.org.nz
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