17 minute read
Devonport News
By Katherine Downs Devonport Business Improvement District Manager
Plenty to celebrate in Devonport!
Katherine Downs.
We’re operating under Red Light but there’s no stopping us having fun.
Kloozo is open in Devonport! www.kloozo. nz. Kloozo is a fun urban treasure hunt that turns sightseeing into a game using your smartphone. It's perfect for families looking for a Covid-safe outdoor activity. Come down to Devonport and discover its hidden treasures!
Three Kloozo Quests to choose from ranging from approximately 1 hr to 3 hrs:
• The Devonport Village Quest is the easiest challenge with no hills to climb. • The Takarunga Mount Victoria Quest includes a walk to the summit of Takarunga Mt Victoria to see one of the best views of Tāmaki
Makaurau. • The Maungauika North Head Quest is a more challenging route that includes a walk to the summit of Maungauika North Head to explore old military fortifications including tunnels and gun batteries!
Chinese New Year @ Vic Road Kitchen - Tuesday 1st Feb - Saturday 5th February
To celebrate Chinese New Year Vic Road Kitchen will be running a special Chinese inspired menu with the same high quality produce and dishes but with an Asian twist. Plus great drinks specials and cocktails. Vic Road Kitchen, 57 - 59 Victoria Road, Devonport Open Tues – Sat 4pm til late. Tel 09 445 9797 or follow @vicroadkitchen on Instagram
International Rosé Day (Week) @ Vic Road Wine Bar & Cellar - Friday 28th Jan - Sunday 6th Feb
International Rosé Day is on Friday 5th February but one day is not enough! So Vic Road Wine Bar & Cellar have extended it to a week with a great line up of glass pour rosé to taste, as well as food specials. Vic Road Wine Bar & Cellar, 53 - 55 Victoria Road, Devonport, open every day from 12pm. Tel 09 445 0194 or follow @vicroadwinebar on Instagram
Valentine’s Day @ Vic Road Kitchen - Monday 14th February
Vic Road Kitchen is taking bookings for dinner now. Choose from a special “Lovers’ menu” aimed at sharing or a “Trust the Chef” set menu. Vic Road Kitchen, 57 - 59 Victoria Road, Devonport, open Tues – Sat 4pm til late. Tel 09 445 9797 or follow @vicroadkitchen on Instagram
Devonport Village is YOUR seaside escape.
Visit: www.devonport.co.nz Devonport Community News for this month with Maria Teape, Community Programme Manager, Devonport Peninsula Trust Devonport in February
Maria Teape.
Kia ora koutou! We hope that you and your whānau have had a great summer so far. The time spent at orange level has been greatly valued by our team and no doubt by the wider community.
The move back to red level has come a little earlier than hoped and affected some events, but the good news is others are still able to continue for now.
Unfortunately Folk in the Park which was scheduled for Sunday 13th February has been cancelled and the Devonport Business Association’s Devonport Street Festival, planned for Friday 18th and Saturday 19th February has been postponed.
On a brighter note, Raumati/Summer Fun Tamariki (0-5) Play mornings will still be held on Tuesdays at Windsor Reserve, Devonport and on Thursdays at The Rose Gardens, Belmont. At both locations, sessions start at 9:30am and finish at 11:30am. Attendance is casual and caregiver supervision is required. Sessions are also weather dependent. The health and safety of our attendees and staff is our top priority and our events are Covid safe. Participants aged 12+ are required to show their vaccine passes before entering the event area and we remind participants to please scan the contact tracing QR code or use the paper-based contact tracing forms on site. Please also wear a face mask and maintain one metre social distancing. Please stay home if you are feeling unwell. Any updates on event Covid protocols from Auckland Council will be closely monitored and actioned accordingly. Please follow us on Facebook to keep informed of any updates.
Kids' Athletics Series is planned to commence on Tuesday 15th February and all going well will be held on consecutive Tuesdays until 22nd March. Sessions run from 4pm-6pm and are held at Vauxhall Sports Reserve, also known as the North Shore Rugby Club grounds. Attendance is casual and registration takes place on site each session. This event is also Covid safe, so our staff will be asking participants and/or caregivers aged 12+ to show vaccine passes at registration and all other Covid safe protocols will be followed to as per Tamariki Play. Kids' Athletics gives primary/ intermediate school aged kids the chance to have a go, in a fun, non-competitive environment. Younger siblings are welcome.
Our February quarterly community network meeting is taking place on Thursday 10th February, 10am at Devonport Yacht Club. The purpose of the meetings is to give residents and community groups the opportunity to network and also hear from guest speakers on topical matters. Covid protocols will be in place so please bring your vaccine pass, wear a face mask and please stay home if you are feeling unwell.
Mā te wā,
Maria
By Teresa Burns, Doctor of Audiology. Director and owner of Teresa Burns Hearing Ltd.
Independent hearing care
Teresa Burns.
Hello! My name is Teresa Burns and I am a Doctor of Audiology. I am the Director and owner of Teresa Burns Hearing Ltd, located at 215 Wairau Road, across the street from Southern Cross Hospital, inside Health I-Care Medical Centre.
This month marks the seventh anniversary of my business, and I am pleased to say that although lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 were a challenge, my clinic is continuing to grow and thrive. I love working with people and technology, so audiology is a perfect fit for me. I am originally from the USA (Connecticut) but moved to New Zealand in 2000. I think the North Shore is paradise and you can often find me, my husband and our teenage son at one of the many beautiful beaches.
In my 25+ years career I’ve worked at public and private clinics and on the hearing aid manufacturing side as a sales manager and technical specialist. Hearing aids are my specialty and am proud to offer all major brands, along with personalised service and experienced care. I am also part of a network of independent, owner operated audiologists – so if you are out and about in New Zealand and need help there is always someone I can recommend.
I offer hearing evaluations, hearing aid fittings and repairs, tinnitus consultations, micro-suction wax removal and custom hearing protection. I am fully certified to offer hearing aid funding such as ACC, VANZ, hearing aid subsidy and can help you apply for Enable ‘full’ funding.
I’ll be writing monthly columns here offering tips on protecting your hearing and information on the latest in hearing aid technology, hearing health and tinnitus. So, watch this space! If you have any questions or would like to discuss your hearing, or hearing aids, please do get in touch. Have a wonderful summer and all the best for 2022!
Teresa Burns Hearing 215 Wairau Road, Wairau Valley, Auckland (09) 475 9849 admin@teresaburnshearing.co.nz www.teresaburnshearing.co.nz
By Dave Donaldson, President, Seniornet Bayswater.
Helping senior people become IT savvy
Dave Donaldson
While Covid-19 makes headlines around the world and in New Zealand, the issue of becoming more up to date with the use of our mobile phones and computers (IT) becomes even more important.
Many of us will have found that re-registering a car, for example, is next to impossible if we only have cash and no internet access.
Seniornet Bayswater welcomes you to attend informal classes starting in February (Covid willing) at our excellent venue that we share with the Belmont Racquets Club at 133 Bayswater Road, Bayswater.
Seniornet Bayswater at the Belmont Park Racquets Club.
We do not charge for attending classes but ask for a modest membership fee of $40 per year, once you are satisfied that the tuition and new skills you acquire are of value to you. They will be. Once you understand more about the internet then a whole range of things will become much easier for you. That is the experience of other Seniornet attendees.
You’ll really enjoy the social aspect of Seniornet as well.
If Covid-19 means we can’t meet in person, we offer Zoom sessions on a variety of subjects, and again, these are free if you are a member of Seniornet.
We look forward to your company and of working together to help resolve your IT issues.
Please visit seniornetbayswater.nz for further information. If there are any particular topics or issues you would like assistance with, please let us know via email: bayswatersnrnet@gmail.com
NOTE: The Seniornet Bayswater AGM will be held on 16th February at 12.30 pm on at 133 Bayswater Ave ( our new home The Belmont Racquets Club). Reece McVinney is going to do a short simple presentation at our AGM on how seniors can have a paperless office, so it will be an interesting, thought provoking session. This AGM may change to be postponed or go online should Covid-19 intervene.
Local Life
In Channel Magazine we love highlighting people in our community who make a difference. Two local Devonport Peninsula people, Kate and Lauren, have created ‘Local Life NZ’ a social media entity doing similar online. We love what they do, so we’re now collaborating with them to include content in Channel Mag. This month they profile Ron Child, Koru Koha Studio, and Isaac from Win the Day.
Ron Child
Ron Child is turning 101 in May and he still manages to climb the stairs at the RSA in Victoria Road twice a day without missing a beat. He drinks only pre-boiled water, prefers a Mediterranean diet, and swears by a cap of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water every day as one of his secrets to longevity. That and banishing the negatives.
“You’ve got to work on the positives,” he says. “And I have a lot of those in my life, including my three wonderful daughters.”
Ron has just spent the past month with his eldest daughter Nadine in Whitford, helping repair and paint a cabin in her back garden.
Not one to sit still, Ron says he’s been so busy lately – still catching up with well-wishers after his 100th birthday last year – that he’s let his daily exercise regime slip. But he says his resolutions for this year include adopting an early-to-rise regime and making sure he gets a decent walk in every day. He’s adamant that revising his priorities will help prolong his already-full life.
“I’ve had such a fabulous life, packed with good memories,” he says.
“I’m here for the long haul and the hard yards.”
We certainly hope so.
Koru Koha Studio
Koru Koha Studio, which is tucked away in a garage on Devonport’s Rattray Street, celebrates whānau in every respect. The entire Taylor family, dad Jason, mum Shaarina, and their young adults Siobhan and Sophia, is represented in the gallery, with works ranging from elaborately carved wooden sideboards and artisan furniture, abstract landscapes and hand-crafted jewellery to quirky knitted toys.
The garage cum studio is alongside their distinctive purple-hued home which has been in the family for the past 60 years. Shaarina’s parents – Eric and Sheila Boyd – were well known in Devonport and started their married life there, across the road from the former police station and Pentlands maternity hospital. It’s a special pocket of Devonport history.
The wood for Jason’s wood carving comes from the community. “Everyone gives me their off-cuts and everything I use is repurposed and recycled,” he says. “I’m never short of timber with all the renovations going on around Devonport.”
A landscaper by trade, Jason is adamant his woodwork is just a hobby but they’re a family who work hard to incorporate their passions and past lives into everything they do. Jason and Shaarina are former DoC rangers who met through work and who have adorned the pavement outside their home with brightly coloured chalk drawings of native birds for passers-by to vote on. And when the gallery closes at the end of every weekend, the display shelves are hoisted to the ceiling and the space becomes a studio for Shaarina’s weekly Qi Gong classes.
@korukohastudio
Isaac and Win the Day
“I’ve been wearing op-shop clothes for most of my life,” says 25-year-old Isaac Madsen who runs the vintage and coffee shop Win the Day in a row of garages behind the Belmont Baptist Church on Lake Road.
Isaac thought nothing of being kitted out in charity shop finds at a time when his mates wore logos head to foot – he attributes his love for vintage and second hand clothing to his mother who dragged him around Auckland’s op shop circuit. “She’s got a great eye,” he says.
Win the Day – previously known as Mufti – also satisfies Isaac’s other love for coffee, and he’s a mean barista, honing the skills first learnt as a social worker when he made coffees on an old machine for his charges at Springboard Community Works in Snells Beach.
Isaac and his wife Anna (they were married in thrift shop finds) run the local Baptist youth group, and give 10% of their proceeds back to the church. Community is all-important to them and Win the Day has become an informal hang-out for skaters, surfers, snowboarders and students who come to chew the fat over a flat white, sit in the sun and browse the painstakingly curated racks of tees, jeans and flannel shirts.
Isaac has plans to extend the shop to include the neighbouring garage, featuring vintage posters, furniture and mirrors, alongside local artwork and craft. He’s keen to share the spotlight with as many locals as possible, but in the meantime he’s focused on serving up the best (and cheapest) coffees in town.
@winthedayvintage, Win The Day Vintage & Coffee, 3 Westwell Road, Belmont. Hours: 8am-12.30pm, Tues-Sat
If you have a story you would like to share or know of a local hero, contact Kate Dobbin & Lauren Lulu Taylor at hello@localifenz.com Follow Local Life NZ on Facebook and Instagram – @LocalLifeNZ
Foodie Finds is a monthly column by Kate Dobbin and Lauren Lulu Taylor which profiles local food producers and their products in the Devonport area. If you have suggestions of products or producers for us to consider, please email Kate on kdobbin7@gmail.com or Lulu at Lulu@secretkiwikitchen.com
Whiling away time in wine bars
You could be forgiven for thinking you were in the charming back alley of a rustic London or Brooklyn hostelry when you sit in the garden of the Vic Road Wine Bar with its gritty brick wall surrounds and views of the sparkling cityscape.
The Vic Road Wine Bar, which was set up in an old shoe shop on Devonport’s main drag just as the Auckland lockdown was coming to an end, offers a unique combination Outside at the Vic Road Wine Bar & Cellar. of on- and off-licence sales where customers can purchase wine to take away, or drink on site. Wine bottles are lovingly curated and displayed on wooden shelves, redolent of an old-style bookstore, with handwritten neck tags indicating manager Alastair Bryan’s recommendations. Two big communal tables inside encourage informal dining and host regular wine tastings.
Outside, in a sunny courtyard, the garden bar smacks of al fresco good times with its large umbrellas, high stools and live music. You can feast well on appetisers, including house made hummus; pickled octopus with capers, red peppers and olive oil; smoked snapper and kawhai pate with pickled vege on the side; and a beef tartare with truffle crisps, served cleverly in a Torres chips packet. There are wooden platters of delicious morsels for meat eaters and non-meat eaters alike, offering house-cured meats, Spanish tortilla and a host of delicious cheeses and pickles, all of which you can package up to take away. The house-made truffle brie is a particular stand-out.
The drinks menu boasts wine, beer and cider from around the world, with constantly-changing specials on offer to tempt you away from the usual favourites. There’s a rioja blanco, a viognier, an albarino, a tempranillo and a Provençal rose – but also the excellent Kumeu Estate chardonnay to remind you what’s so good about New Zealand-made wine.
If you're venturing outside Devonport, try the Stafford Rd Wine Bar in Northcote Point for a great selection of wines, tapas and craft beers in its beautifully restored corner site. Further up the bays, Milford’s East Coast Road features the excellent Stanley Avenue Wine Bar & Bistro run by brother and sister team Matt and Kathryn Aitchison, while back in Milford village Cave au Vin on Kitchener Road offers some of the best French-style food in Auckland, paired with organic wines.
Vic Road Wine Bar & Cellar, 53 - 55 Victoria Road, Devonport: Hours: Open every day from 12pm. Tel 09 445 0194 or follow @vicroadwinebar on Instagram
Stafford Rd Wine Bar, 41 Queen Street, Northcote Point, 09 480-2690 or info@staffordroadwinebar.co.nz. Hours: Mon-Wed 4pm-10pm, Thurs 3pm-11pm, Fri and Sat 2pm-11pm, Sunday 3pm-10pm.
Stanley Avenue Wine Bar & Bistro, 52 East Coast Road, Milford, 09 410 0066. Tues, Wed - snacks available from 3pm, then main menu available from 5pm Tues - Sat. Lunch. Menu available from 12pm - 3pm Thurs-Fri. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Cave au Vin, 146 Kitchener Road, Milford.
For bookings:info@caveavin.co.nz. Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 3pm -
late; Friday, Saturday, Sunday 2pm-late.
By Justine Kinsella
Devonport Community House
Justine Kinsella.
Well, here we are! A big HELLO and happy new year from the Devonport Community House.
2022 is well and truly under way and we're excited to be open! Our school holiday programme kept the House buzzing throughout January and there's nothing better than seeing some hustle and bustle after a very quiet last few months of 2021.
Some of you may have noticed that we’ve been giving the House a bit of a refresh inside. We’ve had some painting done and new noticeboards installed. We’re also working hard to give our mezzanine area some love, transforming this space into a comfortable, relaxing community lounge for everyone to enjoy.
We have some awesome plans in the pipeline for 2022! To kick things off, we have our babysitting workshop going ahead this month and are working on a ukulele workshop series for beginners that we’re very excited about. Our regular timetable is shaping up to be a goodie too; we have classes for yoga, art, meditation, mums' fitness, pilates, tai chi, karate, jiu jitsu, salsa, knitting and more! We also host the awesome Sports 4 Tots classes and the Devonport Toy Library on a weekly basis. Make sure you keep an eye on our website and social media pages for updates on what we have coming up.
Have an idea for a class or workshop? Or want to host an event? Get in touch! We’d love to help make this happen.
We have a variety of rooms available for hire, and some great community rates available. We have an amazing central location, off-street parking, accessible entry, a fully equipped kitchen and a fenced courtyard.
BIG DREAMS START SMALL ... Want to run a workshop or class? Or host an event? Now is your time! We have: Location right in the heart of the village A variety of rooms available Fantastic rates for our community Awesome facilities www.devonportcomhouse.co.nz
