28 July 2023 Devonport Flagstaff

AT

July 28, 2023

Interview: Veteran academic Keith Chamberlain... p22

cans Lake Rd upgrade in funding squeeze

The $47-million Lake Rd upgrade has been axed by Auckland Transport (AT).

The project was funded to start this financial year, with more than $2 million already spent on designs and plans.

But at AT’s last board meeting on 27

June, budget for the project was removed from AT’s capital-works programme update through to 2027.

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Toni van Tonder said the project was effectively dead in the water.

“The public will rightly feel frustrated,” she said. Vehicle and public transport users, cyclists and pedestrians had all been waiting a long time for the promised upgrade, which includes Esmonde Rd to the motorway.

North Shore ward councillor Chris Darby

To page 6

Shore triumphant in 150th year

Pride... North Shore Premiers rugby team captain Alex Woonton passes on his winner’s medal to son Archer after the championship-final victory over Takapuna at Vauxhall Rd. For stories and photographs of all the action, see our 16-page special championship lift-out.

No stay of execution for trust despite support

Nearly 40 supporters of the Devonport Peninsula Trust who fronted up to a crucial meeting with a 600-signature petition could not save the organisation from the council funding axe.

After listening to trust supporters for an hour of its main monthly meeting last week, the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board unanimously confirmed its defunding of the organisation.

The charitable trust has lost its annual funding to deliver community events and support services. For the financial year to last month, this amounted to $128,000.

Its three part-time staff have already been given notice. Their last main task was the coordination of local Matariki celebrations.

The trust was granted $25,000 by the board, however, after a last-ditch submission from trust chair Iain Rea, who asked for the money to help finish the year’s scheduled trust events. These include youth and senior forums, the Halloween Trail in

Bayswater and play programmes.

Member Gavin Busch asked what would happen if the trust – whose staff finish up at the end of August – could not deliver the events. Auckland Council staff said agreements required money to be returned if work was not done.

The board rejected another proposal by Rea that the trust manage the new community coordinator role the board is setting up for the peninsula.

But it voted to transfer the $25,000 for final trust activities from funding for the coordinator, who is being called a community “activator”, reducing that position’s first-year allocation to $73,000.

Outside the meeting, Rea told the Flagstaff the aim was to keep the trust going in the longer term.

The issue for its volunteer board will be to find funding.

Acknowledging the turnout of trust supporters and the trust’s years of valuable

work, local-board chair Toni van Tonder said the board had 60,000 people to think about.

Other areas needed support, she said. The funding shift was prompted by a realisation that with council budget cuts and further uncertainty still ahead, the trust model was no longer sustainable.

The new coordinator will be based at the Devonport Community House. The board has also defunded the Takapuna North Community Trust, and will establish another coordinator position at the Sunnynook Community Centre for its northern area.

Van Tonder said the board had listened to community feedback that prioritised provision of activities well below environmental restoration, water quality, arts and community programmes and services, and libraries.

Great local events had been delivered in the past by a single coordinator, she noted, hoping locals would still also aid this.

• Other budget decisions, page 34

Local board warned of what’s being lost by community

In defunding the Devonport Peninsula Trust, the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board was turning its back on 20 years of local knowledge, said trustee Ian Cunliffe.

He questioned why the board was looking to replace the vast experience of 10 people [board volunteers and three staff], with one person.

Belmont resident Claire Nikkel said local children made relationships and felt grounded in their area due to trust events. For newcomers to the area and solo mothers its free services activities such as play groups and kids athletics were a boon that she recommended.

Belmont Baptist Church pastor Andrew Page spoke of its networking benefits. “We are a welcome, connected and compassion-

ate community because of the trust.”

In tabling the petition calling for the trust’s retention, Lynn Lawton, a member of the recently formed Friends of the Devonport Peninsula Trust group, asked that the trust be given the chance to deliver on new requirements.

Signs of underlying frustration played out several times during the local-board meeting.

In the afternoon session, when only around 10 trust supporters remained in the room for the final budget vote, board member Mel Powell asked a council staff member if support would be available to ensure the wellbeing of the new community coordinator in Devonport given “the animosity to the idea”.

She was told council staff would provide this.

Later, trust supporter Linda Blincko confronted Powell about “the incredibly offensive remark”. She called on Powell to withdraw what Blincko interpreted as a suggestion Devonport people would not treat the coordinator with respect.

Member Gavin Busch later spoke of “disinformation” circulating in the community about the trust having been given just eight days notice of its defunding.

While the news in late June was indeed a shock to its staff, the option of replacing the trust with a community coordinator had been on the table with the trust for several months before this.

• Trust role at Matariki event, page 10-11

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Hauraki dairy takes nictotine-free stand

A Hauraki dairy has banned the sale of vapes and cigarettes.

Concern for the local children they get to know well as customers has prompted the move by Arun and Sejal Jadav, who have owned their Jutland Rd Superette for 25 years.

Arun Jadav said he didn’t want young people becoming addicted to vapes and wouldn’t want his own children going to stores stocking them, so decided to “play my part” by taking them off the shelves.

Even though children aren’t permitted to buy either vapes or cigarettes, the possi-

bility of an older friend or family member supplying them with the products was a concern.

The store had begun selling the vapes when they were first advocated as a way for smokers to quit cigarettes.

But when Jadav heard stories of schoolchildren getting addicted, he decided that approach wasn’t right.

“Why introduce something different that’s making people more addicted?”

Local parents have told him they see the store as a safe place to send their children to pick up a few items, since they stopped

stocking vapes and cigarettes, Jadav said. Nicotine products had been only a small proportion of the store’s sales and the business would survive without them, he said.

More than 10 years ago, Jadav took a similar stand against party pills and synthetic cannabis.

He believes the government should restrict vape and cigarette sales to specific stores, in the way that alcohol sales are restricted to licensed liquor stores.

The nearby Hauraki Corner Cellars on Lake Rd is another local outlet choosing not to sell cigarettes or vapes.

Taking a stand... Jutland Rd dairy owner Arun Jadav doesn’t want young customers becoming addicted

And they’re off... The start of the Year 7 girls cross-country at Belmont Intermediate School last Wednesday. Below (from left): Year 8 boys winner Patrick Ellis makes a sprint for the line; Year 7 boys winner Brodie Robinson leading the field; Ariana Vosper on her way to winning the Year 8 girls event.

BIS students stride out in annual cross-country

Leading results.– Year 7 girls: 1 Lucy Clentworth, 2 Taylor Travis, 3 Indi Holland. Year 7 boys: 1 Brodie Robinson, 2 Archie Fox, 3 Cooper Digby.

Year 8 girls: 1 Ariana Vosper, 2 Renee Barrett, 3 Ruby Lawton and Issy Congdon. Year 8 boys: 1 Patrick Ellis, 2 Jack Watts, 3 Max Lawton.

TGS basketballer stars for national under-16 side

Bayswater basketballer Bailey Flavell was a standout in the New Zealand side that won a bronze medal at the FIBA Asian Under-16 championship held in Jordan this month.

The Takapuna Grammar School (TGS) Year 12 student top-scored with 16 points in a tense 66-63 win against Chinese Taipei, which gave New Zealand third place. This followed a 95-73 win against China

in pool play, before a loss to Australia, 62-99 in a semi-final.

By finishing in the top four, New Zealand have qualified for the Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Mexico next year.

Flavell, who plays in the TGS premier grade team, was recently named in the Northern Kahu women’s team, to play in the women’s national league.

Head coach for the national Under-16s,

Mel Bennett, said when the Chinese Taipei side caught up after a strong start by New Zealand, it was Flavell who was pivotal in the fourth quarter, scoring nine of her 16 points for the match. She also recorded 12 rebounds and five assists.

Australia won its third straight championship by defeating Japan 80-74 in the final. Japan was the only other side New Zealand lost to.

The stars have certainly aligned for North Shore Rugby Club in its 150th year. At Easter, a well-attended weekend of events set the tone, with a celebration ball and the defeat of traditional rival Takapuna in a local derby match.

Even before that, a meticulously researched and sumptuously produced coffee-table-book history of the club was launched, with then Crusaders coach Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson as guest speaker – just days before he was made All Black coach;

The season progressed with Shore premiers vanquishing all, resplendent in their redwhite-and-green 150th-year jerseys; the club launched its first premier women’s team; and a memorandum of understanding was signed between the club and the Navy, which will allow Navy personnel to play for Shore and also play for Defence teams in international competitions.

This month, the first North Harbour championship final to be held at the Vauxhall Rd ground was watched by more than 2000 people. Shore again beat Takapuna, completing a championship double-header following the premier reserves win over their counterparts at Onewa Domain.

Max Webb, the Shore stalwart and life member who coordinated and wrote most of the club history for the book, couldn’t have scripted it better.

The premier final was an enthralling match with a massive struggle for ascendancy in the first half. Shore gradually gained control and took advantage in the second. Shore had a

By Rob Drent

seasoned forward pack, and made fewer errors than Takapuna as the match went on. Mistakes can emerge through tiredness, and Shore seemed the fitter side, a tribute to its dedicated trainer, Dean Rice. Shore also looked like a happy team – playing for each other.

One thing for sure, Oscar Koller, the Shore first-five, who scored two tries in the final and was the side’s top scorer for the season, is a man to watch. From a promising junior at Takapuna Grammar School pre-Covid, he has emerged as one of the best club players in North Harbour after two seasons with Shore, and now has a North Harbour NPC contract.

If Koller continues to improve at his current rate and makes the most of the NPC season, he must have a chance at a Super Rugby slot –especially with incumbent Crusaders and All Blacks first-five Richie Mo’unga heading to Japan after the World Cup. Another All Black first-five, Blues player Beauden Barrett, also heads to Japan in 2024.

My coverage of the Shore premiers and reserves matches almost became news for all the wrong reasons. The premier reserves match

kicked off at Onewa Domain at 1pm, with the premiers game due to start at Vauxhall Rd at 2.45pm.

Wanting to cover both games, I parked near the Onewa exit for a quick getaway. Having grabbed a few pics of Shore’s post-match celebrations, I hightailed it to the car. So far so good. But others had the same idea.

Turning into Akoranga Dr, I had to brake sharply as a man ran across the road to his car: Buck Shelford. Can you imagine running over an All Black and club legend on the day Shore premiers and reserves both won titles to make for a triumphant 150th year? It doesn’t bear thinking about.

It was great to see Buck, one of Shore’s favourite sons, supporting both reserves and premiers. I can also happily report Buck still has a good turn of speed.

Both Buck and I arrived late to the premiers match. Lake Rd, as is now normal on Saturdays and Sundays, was clogged.

Personally, I’m not that upset the long-awaited $47-million Lake Rd upgrade has been canned. In real terms, it wouldn’t have lessened the congestion by much and the construction would have brought years of chaos. Isn’t it better to have another look at Lake Rd as part of the government’s plan to bring rail to the Shore? A tramline down Lake Rd connecting to rail would take thousands of cars a day off Lake Rd: a long-term solution rather than spending money for the sake of it.

Local board seeks mayoral help over Lake Rd defunding

From page 1

said: “It’s quite unfathomable to me”.

Even if funding was included in long-term transport plans now under review, already completed public consultation would have to be repeated due to the time lag, at further cost to ratepayers.

He wondered if AT had developed cold feet over the project as early as last year, without elected members being told.

AT’s defunding of the project follows its cancellation of the Bayswater Rd cycleway, which was meant to have been the first stage of the wider project.

Construction work on the Lake Rd corridor was expected to be staged over several years.

AT said its budget crunch and expected cost blowouts on the City Rail Link were reasons for dropping Lake Rd and several other significant road-corridor improvement projects, including Lincoln Rd in Henderson and Glenvar Rd, Torbay. Funding pinch points created uncertainty around AT’s ability to award contracts that extended beyond June 2024, it added. Without more government funding, less work would be delivered.

Waka Kotahi has queried whether the Lake Rd project delivers sufficient ‘mode-shift’ away from private cars.

AT previously told the board it could not afford to build a planned Francis St-to-Esmonde

Rd walking and cycling path, which the local board and its predecessors had funded initial design work for. It has estimated the cost at $7-9 million.

“The loss of Lake Rd makes the Francis St-Esmonde Rd corridor even more important,” van Tonder said.

The board has called for an urgent workshop with AT officials, looking at “the potential for Auckland Transport to directly fund the Francis-Esmonde link as an alternative walking and cycling route to Lake Rd”.

Van Tonder has also written to Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown about the Lake Rd decision telling him the shelved upgrade is “not a nice-to-have, but a must-have” for 30,000 daily users. The mayor has previously told AT to prioritise works in progress and have a no-surprises policy, she noted.

Van Tonder wants his support in getting an-

swers and in backing the Hauraki connection.

Decisions about Lake Rd may also have become caught up in delays in deciding a preferred Harbour Connections project, and how this will connect to local routes. On a long list of AT’s planned bus-service improvements, Lake Rd is notably left blank.

The allocation of funds is complicated by the board telling AT last month that it wanted to switch its accumulated local funding from the stymied Francis-Esmonde link to building a boardwalk through the Milford Estuary.

AT has told the board that building the Milford boardwalk for around $3 million would be for the council’s community-services section, not AT, to deliver.

It has urged the board to put its current Local Board Transport Capital Fund allocation of $1.5 million into a range of smaller local projects, rather than seeking to combine it with last year’s unspent allocation of $1.2 million to come near the boardwalk price.

The board refused to sign off on this, saying it wanted a clear answer, in writing, on whether it was able to carry over the previous year’s allocations.

Van Tonder said the board had been previously advised it was possible to squirrel away money for a strategic project. AT staff have now indicated informally this is not likely. This should have been conveyed years ago, van Tonder said.

Unhappy... local-board chair

Toni van Tonder and Auckland councillor Chris Darby

Tunnels open passage to author’s imagination

Writing sessions in the shade of a pohutukawa on Maungauika have helped produce a debut author’s new young-adult novel, inspired by what might lie beneath the volcanic cone.

Andrew Wassenaar’s Mystery Under Maungauika is a fictional tale, based around a group of young friends who become captivated by rumours of secret tunnels, and set out to explore them, uncovering much more than they bargained for.

But real-life stories of the extent of the maunga’s tunnels and what they might contain have influenced Wassenaar’s self-published project.

The inspiration for the 32-year-old’s story dates back to his first year at the University of Auckland, when a lecturer told his class about various tunnels under parts of Auckland. Wassenaar saw that Maungauika provided “a perfect setting” for a mystery story. He immediately started searching the topic online, then writing the prologue for what would eventually become his first novel.

Only when Covid arrived more than a decade later, however, did he see the chance to bring the idea to fruition. “Lockdowns presented the opportunity to me to give it a go.”

When restrictions eased, he was able to visit Maungauika, with his laptop, often settling down under a tree to continue writing his tale.

As part of his research, Wassenaar contacted Martin Butler, who published a book in 2012, investigating the theory that ammunition, and possibly aircraft, may be buried in tunnels beneath the mountain. The pair have met and since partnered in a website through which to sell both their books.

Butler’s book provided plenty of background material and inspiration for Wassenaar, who believes solid evidence supports the idea of a bigger network of tunnels beneath the maunga than is acknowledged by the authorities, and the theory that aircraft and ammunition were stored there.

Butler, a pilot, is passionate about aviation history and always wondered what happened to the first two Boeing aircraft, which appeared to have been crated and moved to the maunga (long known as North Head), for storage in the 1920s.

In the 1990s, an investigation by the Department of Conservation concluded there was no evidence of planes or ammunition under the maunga, a stance maintained by Defence chiefs even after a 2012 survey organised by Butler found evidence of a “metallic mass” in one spot beneath the mountain.

West Auckland-raised Wassenaar, who has worked mostly in marketing since university and has since early 2021 been content-marketing manager for an Auckland business-software company, says he is “definitely not a conspiracy theorist”.

But he believes there’s enough evidence to support a proper investigation into whether

ammunition remains in the maunga.

The 32-year-old father-of-one says reading his book – released under his initials, AJW – might encourage young people to look further into the evidence for more beneath the mountain than the authorities maintain.

It might also encourage more visitors to the spectacular spot. “The view alone is stunning,” he says.

Wassenaar had hoped to promote his book by running a treasure hunt, hiding copies in military-surplus satchels secreted in the publicly accessible Mangauika tunnels. However, the Tūpuna Maunga Authority told him he was unlikely to be given permission to do so, due to the commercial nature of a book launch, along with health-and-safety concerns.

He still plans to stage a treasure hunt of some kind, possibly at different locations around the city, to raise awareness of the book.

And if his novel attracts enough interest, Wassenaar is ready to continue his foray into

fiction. He sees appeal in a series of books, each based around a different New Zealand mystery, but could also continue from where he has left off in his first book.

“It does leave room for a sequel,” he says.

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Community kapa haka for young and old provides

Joining together... A Devonport peninsula community kapa haka group shows off its skills at Windsor Reserve during the Community Matariki Celebration on 15 July. The group, under the tutelage of local Māori leaders Ngahiwi Walker (below right) and wife Terehia, who organised an earlier hangi at the Devonport Community House, had been practising for several months. Below left: Restoring Takarunga Hauraki kaupapa and tikanga Māori coordinator Zane Catterall was also among the performers.

Matariki highlight during seasonal celebrations

Next generation... Devonport Peninsula Trust (DPT) community-events manager Abby Jones (left) and events coordinator Maddy Crawford led children’s activities on stage. Right: DPT general manager Nigel Bioletti with the kapa haka group.

Bottom right: Bayswater School students were among those from peninsula schools who gathered at the Devonport ferry terminal for Matariki performances. Front row (from left): Corina Chew, Maria Grieg, Hazel Singh, Juno Donaldson and former pupil Lily Hall. Back row: Ruby Jacobson, Yuna Choi, Mac Wilson, Mira Ataseven and kapa haka teacher Sasha Gillies.

The school’s annual Matariki Festival started the area’s celebrations last month. Last weekend, it was the turn of the Rose Centre in Belmont to host Matariki activities, while Restoring Takarunga Hauraki organised planting at Jutland Reserve in Hauraki. The month of events on the peninsula winds up this weekend with workshops at the Depot Artspace.

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Master plan evolves for future-proofed Navy base

A multibillion-dollar master plan is being developed for the HMNZS Philomel Navy Base, detailing how it will evolve over the next decades.

Successive governments have questioned whether Devonport is the best home for the Navy, even though it has been in the suburb in some form for 150 years.

The cost of moving the base, including the clean-up of the Devonport site next to the harbour in the middle of the city, has always been a major barrier.

In 2019, an indicative business case was put to the government recommending Devonport be retained as the home of New Zealand’s naval base. This was accepted by the government earlier this year.

A New Zealand Defence Force team from Wellington is spearheading a multi-disciplinary group working on the master plan, which will consider current buildings, security requirements and climate-change impacts at the base. Its first reports are expected in June 2024.

It’s a complex process, needing to take into account the coastal environment, the fact the base is located in a residential suburb and its core purpose as a defence facility.

Key dynamics under investigation include:

• Providing well-designed, reasonably priced accommodation for personnel.

• Addressing car-parking concerns in and around the base.

• Retaining historic sites, while building new structures needed for a modern base.

One of the big unknowns of the plan is the effect of climate change and the risks of seawater inundation, especially in the North Yard bordered by Jim Titchener Pde.

‘Defend or depart’ issues abound. Can measures be put in place to safeguard Te Taua Moana Marae, the Sea Safety Training Squadron and Damage Control School, Recruit Training Squadron and fleet gym, for example?

Infrastructure that is most likely to be retained includes the dry dock, the tunnel that connects the South and North Yards and St Christopher’s Chapel. The wardroom and the former Naval Hospital may be replaced.

The best use for the Navy’s Narrow Neck facility will be considered. Should it be used for officer training, recruit training and accommodation, or something else?

Navy base commander Julie Simpkins, who began her tenure just as the Omicron

Covid outbreak started, and this year has been involved in Civil Defence operations in which personnel were deployed to Northland and the Air Force base at Whenuapai, is excited to be part of something more positive: moving the base into the future.

Naturally, given the base is a defence facility, it works to an annual plan, with maintenance upgrades and the like. But during the various investigations into moving the base out of Devonport, new developments and restructurings have been put on the backburner.

“The master plan will allow the base to be future-proofed to the mid-to-late 2000s,” Simpkins said.

One of the more interesting changes could be around the naval housing. Up until a decade ago, ratings were housed on the base, and for others, Navy housing was available locally, in blocks largely on the Bayswater peninsula and at Wakakura, where the Ryman retirement complex is now located. However, when the housing land was sold to Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei as part of a Treaty settlement, much of the housing for young couples disappeared.

Even two decades ago, young Navy people could afford to buy houses on the North Shore. But with the Auckland property boom this is often no longer the case. It is now relatively common for Navy staff to own houses in other parts of the region and the North Island. Some commute to Auckland during the week or stayed on the base and went home at weekends, Simpkins said.

However, living in locations distant from work did not suit everyone. Greater accommodation options on base – some possibly in multistorey blocks – are under consideration, Simpkins said. More accommodation options for young couples and families on the base could also help with attracting and retaining staff.

As part of the master-planning process, input will be sought from Auckland Transport, Auckland Council, Ports of Auckland and iwi.

The workings of overseas naval bases will also be looked at for ideas and innovations that could work in Devonport. While no naval base duplicates Devonport exactly in size and scope, Sydney and Singapore were similar, Simpkins said. “Understandably, everyone in the Navy wants to know what is happening and I’m as excited as everyone else to see which piece will come first. But it’s very involved and needs to take time.”

Changes to the base will be staggered over years, but Simpkins is optimistic now the budgets for the works will be set in government planning.

Navy base commanders are generally redeployed to other posts after several years, so Simpkins, who will have served two years in the job next March, is realistic she will not necessarily be around to see the changes take place.

But she feels lucky to be part of the planning. “I hope I will be welcomed back to see the results.”

The Navy is staying in Devonport after decades of ‘will they stay, will they go?’ uncertainty, with suggestions of moves to Whangarei, Port Chalmers and even the Firth of Thames. Rob Drent reports on major changes in the pipeline.

Preparing for change... Base commander Julie Simpkins is excited at the prospect of coming investment

Navy’s Calliope Rd houses worth nearly $100 million

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has a portfolio of 25 properties on Calliope Rd, valued at almost $100 million.

The addresses are between 45 and 145 Calliope Rd.

The properties have cost $2 million in maintenance over the past five years, according to documents released to the Flagstaff under the Official Information Act.

Most of the properties are used as ‘married quarters’ accommodation.

Houses at 53, 101, 105 and 115 Calliope Rd are used for transit accommodation, as needed.

A house at 117 Calliope Rd, valued at $7 million, is set aside for VIP accommodation and used as required.

The Navy also has six houses within

Devonport Naval base facts at a glance

Property (Defence Force land in Devonport)

South Yard 14.3 hectares; North Yard 8.1 hectares; Ngataringa Bay 9.2 hectares; Narrow Neck 3.2 hectares (leased from Ngati Whatua for 150 years).

People

Around 2500 work on the Navy Base, a mix of regular-force personnel, reserves, civilians and contractors.

Of all the services, the Navy has the highest percentage of female regular force personnel, at 27.9 per cent women.

Regular-force ethnicity: NZ/NZ European 52.2 per cent; Māori 18.4 per cent; European 14 per cent; Pasifika 7.1 per cent; Asian 3.9 per cent; Other, 4 per cent.

Public pool access could be restored

Community use of the Navy pool will be investigated as part of the master plan.

The Navy pool was a popular community asset for more than two decades, being used by members of the Devonport Swim Club for training and coaching.

But its licence was suspended due to Covid restrictions from 2020 to 2022. The suspension has continued to allow safety and

security reviews.

Part of the review of the Navy site will include looking at where the Navy boundary lies.

An option might be to position the fence so the pool is outside the base and can therefore be accessed more easily by the public, Navy base commander Julie Simpkins told the Flagstaff.

the base.

Two of the Calliope Rd properties and a vacant section are subject to Māori land claims.

They are included in the Marutūāhu Iwi Collective Redress Deed.

All the properties were assessed for potential damage following flood and cyclone events earlier this year.

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Staying put... The HMNZS Philomel Navy Base from above, overlooked by the Naval Hospital, and Defence Force and other housing on Calliope Rd

All aboard! Railway model helps fund Scout trip

Devonport’s Matthew Holt has fast-tracked his fundraising to get to the Scout movement’s national Jamboree.

The Belmont Intermediate student spent his Matariki public holiday with other model-train enthusiasts hosting an exhibition at the Devonport Methodist Church that drew a steady turnout of spectators, including to a special lit-up evening session.

Entry fees to the show have covered the cost of the 12-year-old 1st Devonport Scouts member attending the Jamboree in Hamilton at the end of the year.

Scouts around the country are fundraising by holding sausage sizzles and cake stalls to raise the $1500 each needs to attend.

For Matthew, the train exhibition provided a way to make the money in one hit. Although he had to spend six months preparing his model for the show, run in conjunction with the Auckland Märklin club, which his father Andrew belongs to.

Märklin is a popular German brand of trains.

Club members set up their tracks, tunnels and scenic backdrops on large display units at the church.

Matthew says he enjoys creating a miniature world for the trains to run on.

“I just like being able to use imagination in designing it and all the scenery work and then seeing it coming together,” he says.

He created a model around two metres long and one metre wide, showing an alpine

village scene, complete with lighting.

Unlike others on show, it used an English Hornby train and tracks.

Matthew’s mother, Robyn, who managed the door at the show, says it was inevitable her three sons would pick up on their father’s interest in trains

She says the hobby helps with a host of core school subjects.

Matthew, a keen drawer, is interested in architecture and design.

Working out the gradient for slopes is all

part of the model-making process, he says.

The Jamboree begins after Christmas and runs into the New Year.

Matthew, who started Scouting aged five as a Kea, and is looking forward to the range of activities at the first gathering since 2019, which is expected to draw around 1500 Scouts.

From the 1st Devonport troupe, 17 Scouts and two leaders are attending, with a further small group going from the Calliope Sea Scouts.

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Train fan... 12-year-old Matthew Holt with the railway model he created and displayed at the Devonport Methodist Church recently

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2023 CHAMPIONS

Congratulations to our Premier 1 & Premier 2 Teams

North Shore winning the premier rugby final to celebrate the 150 year centenary.

"The North Shore, what a great place to live!"

- Martin Cooper

Photo credit: Simon Harmer

North Shore teams dominate old foe

A crowd of more than 2000 watched North Shore beat Takapuna to win the North Harbour rugby championship

Shore went into the final undefeated and duly proved too strong for a young Takapuna side, but the North Harbour championship wasn’t won without a fight.

In a torrid first half, Takapuna dominated for the first 30 minutes. However, in the last 10 minutes of the half, Shore’s uncompromising pack gained ascendency and cracks seemed to appear in Takapuna’s resolve.

Shore went into the sheds with a 6-3 lead, then came out firing. Gang-tackling around the edges and two to three men out from the ruck knocked Takapuna back again and again, with their dangerous number eight Lotu Inisi seldom breaking the advantage line.

Pressure built and the mistakes from the blue-and-golds mounted: knock-ons and breakdown penalties, and the odd missed touch by Takapuna’s classy first-five Jack Heighton, allowed Shore to dominate field position. And that was all Oscar Koller needed to keep the ball ahead of his forwards, deep in Takapuna territory.

Thirteen minutes into the second half, skipper Alex Woonton was driven over. Koller converted and a couple of minutes later made a clean break to score wide out for an 18-3 lead.

Takapuna muffed the kick-off, and the pressure continued to build. After 27 minutes, another ruck penalty 40 metres out was kicked by Koller for 21-3, and the trophy seemed all but in the cabinet.

a fend

Replacement Takapuna lock Tristyn Cook scored a try against the run of play, which

Experience backbone of Shore pack

Experience counts for a lot in sport and no more so than in North Shore’s victory over Takapuna in the North Harbour final.

The Shore forwards, led by Alex Woonton, with 132 premier caps, had more than 500 matches between them – and that included rugged flanker Hone Haerewa, who only debuted for Shore in 2023.

Seven of the winning side had played in the 2021 championship-winning team: Alex Woonton, Edgar Tu’Inukuafe, Donald Coleman, Sione Teu, Tyler Beary, Trent Luka and James Fiebig.

Match-winning moments… James Fiebig takes one against the throw, beating up-and-coming Takapuna 18-year-old Tristyn Cooke to the ball. It was one of two lineout steals by the Shore lock at key stages of the second half.

Tough battle… Takapuna centre Tika Lelenga puts

on Shore’s Cam Howell in the premier final against North Shore

Simon Watts MP for North Shore

Authorised by Simon Watts MP, Parliament Buildings, Wgtn.

to write fairytale ending to 150th year

was converted to trim to lead back to 21-10. But a rampant Koller had the final say with a runaway try in overtime for 26-10.

A wag in the crowd yelled “time to go back up Lake Rd, Takapuna”.

It was a mighty team effort, with Shore’s pack worthy of a joint man-of-the-match award. Woonton, in his 132nd game, led from the front, Sione Teu was massive at number eight and James Feibig again excellent at lock, stealing two lineouts against the throw when Takapuna tried to rally. Young fullback Hunter Rice, who has made great strides in 2023, was safe under the high ball and on defence. Halfback Brad McNaughten was also rock-solid, as he has been all season.

North Shore has won the North Harbour championship eight times since the union’s founding in 1985, and been runner-up 12 times. The premier reserves team, which also beat Takapuna on 22 July, has won the grade 14 times and been runner-up six times. The club has only twice before, in 1987 and 2014, won both premier and premier reserve titles. The premier final was the first held at Vauxhall Rd. In 1985 and 1986, it was at Onewa Domain, and since has been at North Harbour Stadium. This year the stadium was unavailable, due to the women’s football World Cup.

SEASON STATS

14 14 0

PLAYED WON LOST

538

157

POINTS FOR POINTS AGAINST

69 47 16

TRIES CONV. PEN.

TOP POINTS SCORER: Oscar Koller (97)

TOP TRY SCORER: Tyler Beary (8)

GAMES BREAKDOWN

Pool play: vs East Coast Bays, won 37-7 vs Takapuna won 41-33

vs Marist won 59-19 vs Silverdale won 37-16

vs Mahurangi won 43-10

vs Northcote won 26-3

vs Helensville won 78-3

vs Massey won 17-10

vs East Coast Bays won 39-7 vs Takapuna won 25-17

vs Marist won 60-7

vs Silverdale won 30-0

North Shore finished top of pool play and had a bye into the semi-final.

Semi-final: vs Northcote, won 20-15

Final: vs Takapuna, won 26-10

match

Stern defence... Shore hooker Donald Coleman goes low against Takapuna’s powerful Moana Pacific number eight Lotu Inisi, who was well contained all

Forward power... barnstorming Shore number 8 Sione Teu smashes into Takapuna in one of many carries

Title legacy

North Shore Champions

The final: how the match unfolded

FIRST HALF

18 minutes : Takapuna first-five Jack Heighton lands a penalty after sustained pressure. Takapuna 3-0.

32 minutes : Shore first-five Oscar Koller slots a penalty. 3-3.

38 minutes: Penalty Koller. Shore 6-3.

Half-time: Shore ahead 6-3

SECOND HALF

13 minutes : Shore captain Alex Woonton scores after an all-in forward drive. Conversion Koller. Shore 13-3.

16 minutes: Sustained Shore pressure leads to a clean break by Koller, who

scores wide out. Shore 18-3.

27 minutes: Takapuna infringes at the breakdown. Koller goals from 30m. Shore 21-3.

40 minutes: Slightly against the run of play, replacement Takapuna lock Tristyn Cook scores. Converted by Jack Heighton. Shore 21-10.

43 minutes: Shore knuckles down, looking to close out the match, before Koller scores in the corner after another slashing break and 30-metre sprint to the line. With time up, Koller hands over conversion duties to Edgar Tu’inukuafe. His missed attempt is the signal for celebrations to begin.

Full-time: Shore wins 26-10

North Shore’s North Harbour reps

Five North Shore premiers players have made the North Harbour NPC squad.

They are: Sam Davies, James Fiebig, Oscar Koller, Sione Mafile’o and Vita Mafileo. Cam Howell and Rex Pollock were named as North Harbour development players.

Twelve North Shore premier women made the North Harbour women’s team: Danielle Mellow, Mikayla Suluape, Avalon Strang, Armani Lam, Claudia Hanham, Ava-Lee Jericevich, Latisha Trigwell, Hailey Beale, Jade Wong, Tenaija Fletcher, Holly Williams, Meriana Te Nana.

Historic match draws club’s biggest crowd

What a huge weekend for our club in our sesquicentennial year.

To win the prem and prem 2 championships on the same day was a dream come true for the club.

There was a big turnout for the prem 2 game against Takapuna, played up at Onewa Domain, with the team winning 22-15.

Then down to Vauxhall Rd for the prem game, also against Takapuna, in front of probably the biggest crowd we have ever seen at the club, for us to win 26-10.

We couldn’t have scripted the day any better. We would just like to thank our local community for its support, getting in behind the club. There sure were a lot of locals who were at the game on Saturday.

The ground was alive with young kids dressed in green and white. It was indeed a wonderful day.

Our club prizegiving will be held on 5 August, when we will acknowledge some of the top players of the season.

Chris Tankard Club Captain

North Shore Rugby Football Club

Ka mau te wehi North Shore Rugby

Oscar’s star turn worthy of an award

All smiles… Oscar Koller on the way to his second try, late in the match, leaving his opposite number Jack Heighton in his wake – and Takapuna supporters feeling glum

Two tries, three penalties and a conversion. If it was a movie, North Shore first five-eighth Oscar Koller’s 21-point haul in the final would have been an Academy Award-winning performance.

After a break late in the season due to a hamstring injury, and a quietish game against Northcote in the semi-final, Koller

was back to his brilliant best against Takapuna.

His only missed kick – an attempted conversion of his first try – hit the post.

In addition to his points scoring, Koller was a powerful defender and his positional kicking was excellent, particularly in the second half, keeping Takapuna pinned in

its own half for extended periods.

A top-performer with the 2020 TGS Ist XV, Koller (22) has come of age in 2023, in his second season with North Shore after a stint in Canterbury.

He has a North Harbour contract, and some pundits were last weekend picking that a Super Rugby slot may not be too far away.

Top form… Koller on the way to scoring his first try (above) and slotting a first-half penalty (right)

Under control… The Shore forward pack mounts a drive. Below right: Ballgirls Issy Peacocke (left) and Ema

North Shore Champions

Championship cones tradition to savour

The tradition of free ice-creams at White’s Dairy in Vauxhall Rd after a North Shore premiers championship win continued, with club sponsor Gill and Gundry funding 152 cones last Sunday.

Shores the Pride

PROUD TO SUPPORT THE MIGHTY PRIDE

Lucia Balgarnie (10), who plays in the forwards for her Shore team, watched the premiers final. She then got to enjoy a free ice-cream from White’s Dairy last Sunday.

Polished performer… Shore halfback Brad McNaughten had a top game

Below: Flying the flag at the big match were (from left) Matt Hunt, Hoppy Hopwood and Justin Clarke

NORTH HARBOUR

and

enjoy the

the final. The

Sweet victory...The North Shore premiers squad

supporters

moments after

starting Edgar Tu’inukuafe, Hone Haerewa, Sione Teu, Brad McNaughten, Oscar Koller, Cam Howell, Tyler Beary, Jericho Asi, Calum Smyth, Morgan Reedy, Rob Harris, Manahi Tipoki and Ben Kennedy.

Coaches and support staff: Head Coach, Rua Tipoki; Assistant Coaches, Chris Davies and James Hincho; Managers, Mike Warmington and Mike Simpson; Trainer, Dean

CHAMPIONS 2023

XV were Sione Mafile’o, Donald Coleman, Alex Woonton (captain), James Fiebig, Rex Pollock, Asi, Rory Taylor and Hunter Rice. On the substitutes bench were: Josh Third, Trent Luka,

Dean Rice; Gear, Clive Kelly and Ray Yeung; Ball Kids, Issy Peacocke, Zoe Farmer, Ema Wilson; Physios, Natalie Parlane and Sophie Rhodes.

Pride of the union… (clockwise from top left) Shore supporter Baz Gundry in the grandstand; jubilation for the premiers after the final whistle; and reserves flanker Ethan Shergold (left) congratulating premiers centre Tyler Beary after the double championship win by North Shore.

Family support at the heart of Shore success

Go Dad… Paige Turley with son Lochlan Luka and his father Trent Luka. Above right: Shore captain Alex Woonton with son Archer.

Right: Sione Mafile’o with Mia, Blair and partner Lucy Eskridge.

CONGRATULATIONS! from FlagstafftheTeam

Proud to report on North Shore rugby for thirty years.

North Shore Champions

Shore prepared for ‘dark places’ – departing skipper

North Shore’s Captain Fantastic Alex Woonton announced his retirement after Shore’s epic premiership win in its 150th year.

“That’s enough for me,” he told the Flagstaff, after notching 132 games for the club.

It was his fourth North Harbour championship for Shore.

“I could not ask for a better way to go out – apart from a call-up from the All Blacks,” he laughed.

“It’s a pretty cool way to finish.”

Fitness played a huge part in Shore’s success, he said.

“We prided ourselves on breaking down teams in the second half.”

He noted Shore had come back from 12-0 down against Northcote in its semi-final and had a torrid tussle with Takapuna in the first half of the final.

“A lot of credit needs to go [fitness coach] Dean Rice for helping make us comfortable when we go to the dark places in matches.”

Rice emphasised quality training rather than quantity, an approach that suited older players with families as well as younger

team members, Woonton said.

He plans to continue on in some capacity with the club, “which has given me so much”, and may look at coaching in the

future.

In the meantime, the Woonton name will continue on the field with his five-year-old son Archer playing rippa rugby.

Final moments... Alex Woonton acknowledges the crowd as he leaves the field during the second half of the final. Below: fitness coach Dean Rice (left) and Shore coach Rua Tipoki

North Shore Champions

Premier reserves win opens North Shore’s big day

A superb defensive effort by North Shore premier reserves, plus a few earlier golden touches by fullback Cameron Dalzell, secured the green-and-whites a 14th North Harbour reserves title against Takapuna at Onewa Domain.

With Shore up 22-15, the match went down to the wire. Takapuna was hot on attack for the last 10 minutes – even crossing the line but having a try disallowed.

Shore started strongly, scoring two tries to one in the first half, for a 17-8 half-time lead.

But it was a bit of magic by Dalzell that turned the match. Midway through the second half, he made a scything break, then put in a kick towards the Takapuna goal line. It rolled to a stop near the corner post and Dalzell won the chase to score.

Takapuna scored a converted try immediately afterwards, but could not again break through the Shore defence.

The win was an upset – Takapuna was undefeated in 11 games going into the match, while Shore had lost two matches in the first round.

It was a solid all-round team effort, especially by the Shore pack.

At Shore’s club rooms that evening, reserves captain Niwa Whatuira was honoured with a blazer for having played more than 100 games for the side, an occasion marked with a haka by club members.

The North Shore Premier Reserves final team: Jackson Garea, Dan Sinclair, Sione Kanatea-’Ofa, Tristen Read, Matthew Broadbent, Niwa Whatuira, Ethan Shergold, Dylan Du Plessis, Jackson Rice, Elliot Bryers, Eli Tuavera, Zane Douglas, Bronson Siilata, Kauri Harema, Cameron Dalzell. Reserves: George Masdin, Lino Ma’asi, Pierce Bryers, Max Tu’inukuafe, Cole Carey, Grant Thompson, Jimmy Faulafo, Moriki Read, Jake Coleman. Coaches: Clinton Hemopo, Wayne Ratu, Darren Watt, Hayden Campbell. Managers: Glenn Whiting and Andrew Farrell.

All-out effort… Shore captain Niwa Whatuira is bowed over with exhaustion as the final whistle blows. Other players rejoice in victory, including (right) Tristen Read (number 4) and George Masdin

Thumbs up… Try scorer Cameron Dalzell (left) is congratulated by teamates Kauri Harema and Zane Douglas

Evenly matched… the premier reserves final between Shore and Takapuna was in the balance until the end

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Veteran academic follows interests old and new

After a career of pioneering research in health psychology, Keith Chamberlain has taken up new pursuits – gardening and croquet. Not that he’s quite retired, reports Helen Vause.

Kerry Chamberlain grew up in Otago in a family of nine children. He still remembers the day when a reporter from the daily Dunedin Evening Star came to see his parents for the story of a family from which all but one of the kids had gone to university.

This educational advancement was something new in the Chamberlain family history, as it was for a lot of big working-class families of the day.

Turning 80 this month, Chamberlain is a Professor of Psychology who still has a passion for learning and inquiry. He currently has doctoral students under his wing and a line-up of demanding projects on his desk in Devonport.

He’s formally retired as a Professor of Social and Health Psychology at Massey University, where his research interests included health in everyday life and understanding disadvantage. But the work keeps coming in; looking back with the Flagstaff on his journey meant juggling commitments in a typically busy week.

With his academic workload diminishing when Chamberlain came to Devonport five years ago, he grabbed the chance to fill his ‘retirement’ leisure time outdoors, on the local croquet lawns and at the Ngataringa Organic Garden.

At the garden, he found himself becoming chair of the society before he’d barely turned over his patch of dirt.

At the croquet club, he proved pretty proficient at the game – and at manoeuvring the machine that paints the crisp white lines around the lawns. At their best in honour of visiting competitors recently, Chamberlain’s fresh white lines were noted as the finest and straightest painted at the club for a long time.

Quick to laugh and see the humour in most things, Chamberlain modestly says he’s just “a willing lacky who helps out” at the club.

His post at the volunteer-run community garden eventuated after the newcomer came up with far too many questions and ideas at

one of the first meetings he attended.

His ventures into psychology too had a rather random beginning, he recalls, giving the short version of another good yarn.

“I had this girlfriend in Dunedin in my last year at school and I used to go around to her place for dinner on Sunday nights. I found a psychology book there and I took it home to read it. I thought it would be pretty cool to be a psychologist and so that’s what I started to say I’d be doing next. Not that I understood much of the book.”

When he got to the University of Otago, he found he’d been thwarted in embarking on his chosen vocation because courses and timetables weren’t aligning, so he joined the ranks of aspiring medical students.

The following year, he transferred to the University of Canterbury, and began his studies in psychology there.

At just 20, the penniless student married

his girlfriend. They soon had two children and followed up with two more.

Big families, having no money and juggling lots of work were a theme of his early life, both in early academic positions and as a young public-service psychologist, working in traditional mainstream psychology.

Later, at Massey University, he would take a new approach in his field, and take his place nationally and internationally as a critical health psychologist prominent in promoting qualitative research within health psychology – psychology relating to physical health rather than mental health.

He worked with academics worldwide, exploring a relatively new qualitive approach to their research.

This led to Chamberlain and his fellow researchers informing their published work with the real stories of people they interviewed in depth.

Digging in... Kerry Chamberlain at the Ngataringa Organic Garden, where he chairs the society

They gathered the context of their subjects’ lives, gained insight into their perspectives and experiences, and uncovered underlying reasons for people’s behaviour.

In other words, rather than working with the individual in isolation from their everyday world, Chamberlain and fellow qualitative researchers were putting context into the picture of each subject, including factors such as their environment, access to healthy food and social connections.

At Massey University, Chamberlain started the first course in health psychology and worked with other researchers using the qualitative approach to learn how everyday life impacts well-being.

It’s a style that can and does throw up many one-off answers. “My mantra with my students has always been, ‘Yeah, it’s complicated’,” says Chamberlain.

On sabbatical, he was eager to get to Europe and mix with his peers there.

In stints working for the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the mid-1980s, he was an early member of a team developing the WHO quality-of-life index, designed to be a tool for getting a bird’s-eye view of people and populations in any place.

That snapshot would be taken from responses to a few simple questions, such as whether respondents felt in good spirits, the quality of their sleep, how active they were, and what sort of day they’d had.

Chamberlain has been a recipient of and a leader in teams regularly awarded Marsden Fund grants from the New Zealand Royal Society, which backs the country’s best and brightest researchers.

Though he’s retired from Massey University, he was co-leader of a national team that was awarded Marsden money three years ago for a new study that will throw light on the background stories of cancer survivors.

On this project he is working through Victoria University, where he’s now an adjunct professor.

The study, Exceptional Trajectories: transforming understanding of cancer survivorship, began in 2019.

Researchers have gathered the stories of 81 people who had survived cancers when

they’d effectively been told to go home and prepare to die. They are people who have mostly won their battle after treatment for lung or brain cancer, when their situation had seemed unsurvivable.

In recording their stories, Chamberlain and his team want to know about the whole

funded clinical trial.

Alongside this current project, Chamberlain is an editor of the academic journal of the European Health Psychology Society.

He has many other ongoing projects on his radar.

He mentions an approach for support from a university in India just this month, seeking input from this ‘world expert in well-being’. He grins and shrugs.

When will he fully retire? The gardening and the croquet lawns are beckoning.

“Well, you don’t get any less busy. It doesn’t really ever stop, because there’s always another interesting thing that comes up.”

Chamberlain doesn’t want to give any advice on well-being, but he does share a mainly vegetarian lifestyle at home with his partner Vivienne Lingard.

context of their lives and all the factors around their cancer journey.

They’re fascinating stories, says Chamberlain, and they’ll provide the research team with rich material for future publications.

He says the researchers confirmed the dilemma of the ‘postcode lottery’: where cancer patients were living at time of diagnosis had a significant impact on accessing treatment or being able to be part of a

And buying an apartment in Victoria Rd simply made it a sensible idea to find himself an allotment to keep those all-important fresh vegetables coming.

“I reckon it’s the vegetables that have kept me in good health and kept me going, but of course I really don’t know that,” he chuckles.

But as the garden chairman makes his way through the thriving veggie patches, chatting to gardeners and then checking out progress on kitchen repairs – or heads out with his croquet mallet – the expression ‘the good life’ comes to mind.

Tell us what’s important, Devonport-Takapuna

Our local board has come up with a three-year plan outlining the key initiatives we want to focus on.

Now we need your help to check if we’ve got it right.

Submissions must be received by 4pm Monday 14 August.

For more information go to: akhaveyoursay.co.nz/localboardplans

“You don’t get any less busy. It doesn’t really ever stop, because there’s always another interesting thing that comes up.”

I t ’s your place. Your voice.

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Clean-up needed

Keep your dogs away from vulnerable seabirds

Cheltenham Beach particularly, and also Torpedo Bay, Duders Beach and Devonport Beach, have a large tidal movement, which makes them ideal for seabirds to rest and feed at low tide.

This can only occur if they are left undisturbed by people and animals.

It seems the majority of dog owners are either unaware of, or ignore, the leashing requirements of dogs whilst walking on the beach.

Apparently, as our rates rise by double figures, we can pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for unnecessary pedestrian-crossing ‘upgrades’, but don’t find it necessary to keep our environment clean and healthy.

Alan Gibb

Dogs actually have greater free access to the beach than in the past.

The former requirements around leashing had a six-month summer (more time required to be leashed) and a six-month winter period.

The summer period is now only three

Why not give someone a ride?

Recently, I dropped our car in for servicing in Fred Thomas Dr. “I’ll get the bus home,” I said to my wife confidently.

However, having got there and checked the timetable, it looked like a 45-minute experience. “I’ll walk then,” I thought to myself, and did so successfully, even avoiding the rain.

As I was strolling along Lake Rd towards Belmont, I noticed how many cars were travelling towards Devonport. They’d be doing the same thing all day. I then passed a bus stop, with a lady sitting there waiting for the bus. A car with one occupant was stopped in the traffic adjacent to her. It struck me – why doesn’t the car give this

lady a lift? Why couldn’t they give me a lift?

The car was going in the same direction, it had plenty of room, so why not? It would save time, save cost, help save the planet and perhaps start a friendship.

So why don’t we do it?

I’ve done it a few times without hassle, and it has been very appreciated. Yes, the people looked “normal” and not a prospective axe murderer. Is that probably the issue? We don’t trust anyone any more?

But if we could, what a great system this could be around Devonport.

Walk out on to the roadside and there’s always someone going your way.

Neil Bailey

months. And this, alongside significantly increased levels of dog ownership, means dogs are impacting on bird life like never before.

It is very distressing to see dogs running at resting or feeding birds, barking and chasing them away, with owners either oblivious or enjoying the spectacle.

Cheltenham beach is a necessary and valuable resource for seabirds. It used to attract several groups of oystercatchers, who have now disappeared. Wildlife is under great pressure, and this is their environment too. We need to care for them.

Please, dog owners: respect the leashing requirements and at all times keep your dogs away from the birds.

Judith Ashton

Gain from roadworks pain not far off

The roadworks underway on and around Victoria Rd are continuing to attract adverse comment.

People living on streets affected by the traffic diversions have been inconvenienced, and many others still question why the changes are needed.

These responses are understandable. There’s been a lot of noise and traffic disruption, and it’s not finished yet.

The changes are not unique to Devonport. They’re a citywide response to increasing numbers of serious injuries affecting people walking, cycling and scooting to public transport and travelling around the city.

Living on Kerr St and cycling around the village has made me aware that contracting crews work around the clock and in all weathers. Many live on the edge of Auckland and have long commutes to and from contractors’ depots before and after work.

Their work is not just about improving road safety, but also upgrading street drainage. They’ve been amazingly positive in our conversations about the long hours working in the cold, wind and rain, and say they’re focused on meeting tight deadlines for the project.

I’ve met people fed up by the road changes, who also mention they find crossing village roads so dicey they’re reluctant to come shopping.

Parents and grandparents bringing young

Progress... Workers laying concrete for a new crossing at the eastern end of Calliope Rd

children to watch machines delivering and pumping concrete, and digging up and moving heavy loads, also express relief the changes will make trips to school safer.

I’m already noticing vehicles slowing for the new raised crossing just up from the Calliope Rd intersection.

We have a bit more pain to bear before the works are completed. Here’s hoping we’ll all benefit as people arriving in the village by bus to join others walking, scooting and cycling on and around Victoria Rd feel safer and more welcome.

Barbara Cuthbert

RUNWAY READY? Direct from the catwalks of Paris, Montréal and beyond…

Celebrate our first birthday in style with an impossibly chic new winter wardrobe ensemble.

House News

Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated Matariki with us at the House and around the peninsula We really enjoyed making lanterns, sharing a hangi and putting on a Matariki Tamariki day this year Thank you to Auckland Foundation for their funding support. Thanks to our volunteers, DCH team and committee members for all your help A huge thank you to Māreikura Terehia for your guidance, hard work and for helping bring the community together for this special time of year

The term three schedule has started and we are really enjoying all our regular and new faces back in the house! Make sure you check out our website for updates and current information

We have some working bees coming up in the House in August If you could spare some time and help out, then please get in touch Email rixt@devonportcomhouse co nz Ngā mihi nui, Devonport Community House Team www devonportcomhouse com

What's happening?

Digital Help

Every Friday 10 30 am-12 pm

Free service and no booking is required, just bring your device and our specialist team is here to help you.

Newcomers Meet-Up

Every Thursday 9.30 am-10.30 am

Our weekly House meet-up for our newcomers to connect with fellow newcomers, share experiences and learn about our community. Anyone welcome Tea and coffee provided

Events

Parakai Hot Pools Seniors Trip

Monday 9 August

The Devonport Community House is always trying to encourage good wellbeing and mental health within our community Contact rixt@devonportcomhouse co nz

Island Interiors is proud to support Devonport Community House Ph: 09 445 6667 islandinteriors.co.nz

DEATH NOTICE

Petford, Lesley Margaret (Lovely Lesley) Passed away peacefully on Wednesday 19 July 2023 after a brave and courageous battle with cancer. Loved mother of Richard and Anna; motherin-law of Hannah and Nick; and a kind, thoughtful, proud and supportive Gran/Granny-Panny of Luke, Jacob, Jonty and Hugo. Lesley touched the hearts of so many and will be particularly missed by her loyal circle of friends. Please join with family and friends to celebrate Lovely Lesley’s life at Milford Cruising Club, 24 Craig Road, Milford on Friday 28 July 2023, 1.30pm.

SERVICES OFFERED

FixIT Handyman - excellent work, practical budget, most jobs welcome, interior/exterior free quote. Josh 021 261 8322.

SERVICES OFFERED

Need someone to feed your cat and other pets at your home while you’re away? I love animals and would love to help you! I am 12 years old and live in Devonport. I charge $10 per visit. If you want me to visit twice a day, it will be $15 a day. Each visit I feed your pet and can play with them for about 10 minutes each visit if they are comfortable with me. Devonport only please! Text/call: 021-270-7677. Section Services. All tree work & section tidy ups. Insured. 027 222 1223.

WANTED

Pass on your wisdom to children. Teach chess! Training provided. Own transport reqd. Phone Paul at Chess Power on 021 0271 5577 or email paul@ chesspower.co.nz.

Vehicles wanted Dead or Alive, cash paid 0800 333 398.

Nigel Bioletti General & Fundraising Manager

Phone

MIHI MAHANA!

LOCAL BOARD DECISION

Regrettably, on Tuesday 18th, the Devonport Takapuna Local Board confirmed its plan to cease funding Devonport Peninsula Trust, in favour of a Community Activator position based at Devonport Community House. Thanks go to all of those people who spoke up for the Trust before and during the Local Board meeting, asking for a reconsideration of the Local Board’s intentions, but it was not to be. The Trust Board is now having to make decisions on the future of the Trust. It is possible that it will have to be wound up.

MATARIKI LANTERN MAKING

We had two fantastic lantern-making workshops during Matariki - one at the Community House, and one at the Navy Museum. Both were really great occasions, and everyone, the staff at both, and two wonderful volunteers at the Community House, worked full-on to help children and parents to produce beautiful lanterns. Here are the lantern makers at the Navy Museum.

TE

HAU KAPUA KAPA HAKA RŌPU ON STAGE

The ro - pu performed admirably on Saturday evening. Ma - reikura

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Walker had led the group with skill and aroha, through the waiata, haka, reo, and tikanga. It was amazing to have that happen in Devonport. Well done everyone.

EVENTS YET TO COMEALL AT DEPOTARTSPACE

Friday 28th at 6:30 pm - Artists Panel Talk.

Saturday 29th 11 am - Kiriana O’ConnellBeginners Weaving Workshop

Saturday 29th 1:30 pm - Judy HendersonMa - ori Medicine and Rongoa - Workshop

shorejobs

Police called to unrest in Devonport

A 59-year-old man was taken into custody by police last Wednesday after an incident in Devonport. The man was reported have been threatening and abusive towards staff at a commercial premises. Further threats were made by the man as he was trespassed from the premises at 9.02am, which resulted in a lockdown, police said. The man was released later that day but will appear in court in September on unrelated charges.

20 years ago from the Flagstaff files

• Devonport Cinema reopens after being closed for several months. The building is for sale.

• Takapuna Grammar performs The Sound of Music as its 2003 production.

• Locals were alarmed that a brothel was said to be opening on Calliope Rd, in the former Porterhouse Blue Restaurant building. A sign advertising a brothel was put up by new occupants Salmond Reed as a joke, to lighten the stress of renovation work.

• Harcourts announces it will enter the Devonport real-estate market, setting up

an office in the village.

• Car-badge thieves hit Devonport, with a Corvette, BMW, Holden and Ford Fairmount targeted.

• Engineering investigations are launched into how to retain sand at Torpedo Bay.

• DoC places donation boxes on Maungauika.

• North Shore City Councillor Joel Cayford is concerned about the Depot gaining a “cultural monopoly” in Devonport if it takes over the Wikitoria building on Takarunga.

• Portions of four Navy tunnels, which run beneath private properties on Calliope Rd, are to be filled in, to allay residents’ fears about property subsidence.

• North Shore loses to Silverdale 25-23 in the North Harbour premiers championship final. Its premier reserve team loses its final 14-3 to Massey.

• North Shore Cricket Club contracts English import Tim Hancock, who has played 166 games for Gloucestershire.

• Artist Tim Turner is the Flagstaff interview subject.

Well-travelled ball bounces through local club

A footballing equivalent of the Olympic torch has passed through the Devonport peninsula, carrying with it the desire to use the sport as a means for achieving better social outcomes.

A single ball has been taken around the world during the buildup to the Women’s Football World Cup, on a tour of clubs and other organisations in 19 different countries.

In each location, an educational presentation has been given and the ball signed by everyone involved.

More than 10,000 people have signed it on its travels.

Everyone who signs it pledges to “make the world a better place”.

Last week, the ball arrived at Allen Hill Stadium during North Shore United’s holiday programme.

Non-profit organisation Spirit of Football is the custodian of the ball, responsible for organising its journey and creating its related educational programmes.

Its founder, New Zealander Andrew Aris, told the Flagstaff the layering of signatures on the ball was a “potent symbol”.

He said there have been a range of pledges made. A football club in Thailand, for example, promised to do clean-ups of its local beach.

The ball’s journey started in September last year at London’s Battersea Park, where the first official game of football was played in 1864.

On its visit to Devonport, players on the holiday programme played a game of ‘fair football’, in which teams are made up of players of all skill levels; dribbling and tackling are not permitted and music is played.

Aris said fair football allows players of

all skill levels to participate evenly and get an equal amount of enjoyment.

Giving young players more time on the ball allows them to build confidence and gets them thinking about playing as part of a team rather than as individuals.

Aris, who is from Auckland, played one season for Shore’s first team in 1996 before going on a sporting scholarship to play for Notre Dame in the United States.

He said he started Spirit of Football to use the “the global language” of football

as a tool to promote positive social change. After Devonport, the ball was travelling around other clubs in Auckland and Wellington before heading to Australia for more visits.

North Shore Women’s first-team coach, Jack Collinson, said its Spirit of Football pledges had been to send the same number of women as men on New Zealand Football Federation coaching courses, and long term to grow its women’s game player and coaching base.

On the ball... (from left) Harvey Proud, Fletcher Ansley, Harrison Proud and Charlie Brown after making their pledges

Signed and delivered... Spirit of Football founder Andrew Aris gives a group of North Shore United holiday-programme players a round of headers

Bye-bye bricks in pump-station fix

The familiar brick exterior of the wastewater pump station at Seabreeze Rd near Lake Rd has been replaced with reinforced concrete as part of an earthquake-strengthening programme.

Watercare is spending $5 million to future-proof 15 critical assets around Auckland against earthquakes, including the Seabreeze Rd facility (pictured) , where contractors started work in April.

“Most of the work we’ve done at Seabreeze Rd has been replacing the external brick walls, which have a high safety risk, with steel-reinforced concrete,” said Watercare project manager Tom Lyne.

“The new external concrete walls have also been fixed to the internal brick walls using steel fasteners to improve the stability of the entire above-ground structure.”

The work provided greater resistance to earthquakes and other natural disasters, such as floods and fires, Lyne said

“We’ve also been improving the strength of the foundations by extending the footings and introducing new structural steel elements.”

Once the wall works were complete, the building’s exterior would be painted “a similar colour as before”, so the structure blended well with its surroundings.

The seismic works were on track to be finished this month. It is one of many projects Watercare is undertaking as part of a broader $18.5 billion programme to build, renew and upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure over the next 20 years.

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Takapuna Grammar

SCHOOL NEWS

JULY 28, 2023

International Alumna returns to Inspire

Takapuna Grammar School, welcomed back Stephanie Wang (2015-2017) to speak with students. Stephanie was a top scholar during her time at TGS and in 2017 received our firstever 45 top mark in the International Baccalaureate Diploma.

Stephanie was offered university places at UCL, Cambridge, Melbourne and chose Hong Kong University to study. Stephanie spoke with students about her time at TGS and how it influenced and prepared her for the future. She recounted experiences, highlighting her challenges and the pivotal moments that shaped her path towards success.

Stephanie now works for UBS Investment Bank in Hong Kong, within investment banking. She emphasised the

importance of taking opportunities and making choices relevant to your personal ambitions. Her words resonated deeply with the audience and one of the most inspiring aspects of Stephanie’s visit was the interactive session that followed her speech.

Stephanie’s appreciation of the school’s nurturing environment was evident and she recalled how TGS had provided the foundation for her future accomplishments.

Spirit of Football is Alive and Kicking

The Takapuna Grammar School Sports Council and First XI Football teams had the privilege of meeting the amazing people behind the non-profit organization, Spirit of Football, in the build-up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Taking part in a workshop and training session, we found out about the ‘The Ball’. The Ball is football’s equivalent to the Olympic Torch, travelling to over 20 different countries. Every four years, it kicks off from Battersea Park, London, where the very first game of modernrules football took place its destination was the opening ceremony of the World Cup. For the first time ever, The Ball has travelled with the FIFA Women’s World Cup instead of the FIFA Men’s World Cup.

The Ball unites people within nations and across borders with a common call to action: one ball, one world. These calls to action are solidified through signing the ball and making actionable pledges to support the sustainable development of our communities. So far, there have been over 10,000 signatures!

The Ball adds value to a cause that simultaneously extends community reach, enhances identity and promotes action so each World Cup journey develops around a central theme and reveals the ability of football to transcend boundaries, borders and stereotypes. The theme for the 2023 World Cup is equality, with the goal to fight for anyone to participate in football, regardless of gender, race, faith, talent, sexual orientation or intellectual capacity: The Ball is for all.

Student’s were able to engage with The Ball, head it, sign it, kick it and help it along its way with a personal pledge. We thank the Spirit of Football for letting us be a part of football history!

BY YEAR 13 MAIA SCOTT

MAIA SCOTT, 1ST XI CAPTAIN

AI deployed to track declining tree cover

Artificial-intelligence (AI) technology is being used in a pioneering trial to assess treecanopy coverage in the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area.

Auckland Council’s Urban Ngahere (Forest) unit hopes using AI to more precisely interpret aerial photography will improve its understanding of tree distribution on both public and private land in the board area.

Earlier surveys have put tree coverage at 16 per cent, below the average of 18 per cent for urban boards and well shy of the ambitious citywide target of 30 per cent.

Howell Davies, Urban Ngahere senior adviser, told board members at a workshop last week that the Auckland-first trial would provide a picture of changes since the last survey work, comparing 2013 and 2016-18.

The area’s tree-canopy coverage on private land – which was just over half of the area’s total coverage – fell by 1.15ha between 2013 and 2016-18.

Subsequent housing intensification was accelerating the loss, particularly in some neighbourhoods, he said.

“Future development… would pose a significant threat to urban ngahere, especially tall trees, leading to long-lasting environmental impacts and loss of tree canopy cover.”

Davies said tree-planting in parks and on roadsides had helped contribute to a small amount of total canopy-coverage growth in some suburbs.

Work using AI had begun to measure changes in tree-canopy cover between 2017 and 2023.The case study using this new technique would be reported back to the local board in October. More data would be taken in 2024. The area was the first in Auckland to be assessed with the new technology, he said.

Use of drones for photography will be compared with the former use of lidar (light detection and ranging), using laser technology. A recommendation will be made to council next year on whether to adopt the AI method more widely.

Davies said Devonport-Takapuna was chosen for the trial because it was in the middle range for tree coverage across the city.

Asked if the results would capture tree loss caused by this year’s summer floods and slips, Davies said the aerial photography for the survey had been done shortly before the major weather events.

Local-board members noted there had been significant loss of coastal trees, including those damaged by storms and removed later.

Davies highlighted the absence of significant large trees in the area. Devonport-Takapuna was among less than half of Auckland’s boards without trees above 30m tall. But it

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had a growing number in the 3-5m range. Davies outlined to the board the regional Urban Ngahere Strategy adopted in 2019, aimed at adapting to climate change and making the city more liveable.

Canopy coverage over 30 per cent was common in European cities, he said.

Snapshot in time

Tree-cover statistics broken down for the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area (shown in the map above) come from the council surveys taken in 2013 and 2016-2018. New results are expected later this year.

• Westlake and Takapuna west have the lowest tree coverage, followed by Forrest Hill west, Milford west, and Belmont, Milford central, Bayswater and Hauraki.

• Takapuna south, Devonport, Cheltenham, Narrow Neck and Takapuna north have the highest coverage.

• Tree coverage fell fastest in Castor Bay – from 25 per cent to 23 per cent.

• Public-park tree coverage increased from 24 per cent to 27 per cent.

• Tree coverage along roads increased from 11 per cent to 13 per cent.

• Kaipatiki has 30 per cent tree-canopy coverage, partly due to its steeper, less easily developed terrain.

Briefs Library reprieve

Seven-days-a-week library services will continue in Devonport and Takapuna, it was confirmed at the DevonportTakapuna Local Board’s monthly meeting last week. The Devonport library was closed last Thursday 20 July, but only due to unforeseen staffing issues. Evening hours in Takapuna, now open until 7.30pm on Thursdays, are not guaranteed, but the decision will be an operational one, with a schedule of 56 hours service over seven days now locked in. Reducing library hours was raised as a cost-cutting measure in the proposed Mayoral Budget.

BID grants trimmed

Devonport town centre is getting $10,000 less from the DevonportTakapuna Local Board towards the Business Improvement District (BID) managed by the Devonport Business Association. Like the Milford and Takapuna centre BIDs, it will receive $20,000 for the 2023-24 year, to be used to undertake one significant event. Takapuna’s budget has been cut the most, down by $17,000 from $37,000 last year. Milford’s reduction is the same as Devonport’s.

Black-flag alert

A 12-hour black-flag warning was raised for Devonport Beach last Wednesday due to a dry-weather overflow on Victoria Rd. Watercare crew found the overflow had likely been caused by debris dumped in a manhole. The debris was removed with the help of a vacuum truck and sewer lines flushed.

In the swim

Replacement pontoons off Cheltenham Beach and Stanley Bay have been funded to the tune of $45,000 this financial year, although they may not be ready to be installed by council staff in time for summer.

Green vote

Restoring Takarunga Hauraki (RTH) will receive $70,000 to fund its work on the Devonport peninsula. Its northern counterpart, Pupuke Birdsong Project, will receive the same amount. A focus for RTH will be waterways that feed into Ngataringa Bay and Shoal Bay. The DTLB’s environmental services work programme will also include $20,000 towards Wairau Estuary enhancement work.

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Clarinettist hits high note with orchestral backing

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER

A local musician will have his “dream come true” this Sunday when he performs with the Devonport Chamber Orchestra (DCO)

Frank Talbot is excited to be playing Carl Maria von Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No.1 in F minor with the orchestra, which will also perform the composer’s Symphony

“It is kind of a big moment for me,”

“This has kind of been a dream for a long time – to perform a concerto with an

He’s played the concerto before, for assessments at university, but only with a piano accompanist, not the full backing of

Talbot said the piece is an absolute favourite of his for the way the orchestral parts interplay with the clarinet, and for the musical themes running through it.

He also appreciates the reserved nature

Where others can put a focus on “how fast you can play”, it comes together as a complete piece of music, he said.

board@rosecentre.co.nz facebook.com/rosecentre

The former Takapuna Grammar School student played occasionally with the DCO before going to Wellington to study for

a Bachelor of Music at the New Zealand School of Music, Victoria University.

He compares the feeling of returning to play with the orchestra to “visiting your old school”.

As a professional musician – largely in the jazz sphere – Talbot doesn’t often get nervous before a performance, but admits to being a little on edge before this one.

“Mostly the nerves being for myself and that this is the opportunity to do it, and I don’t want to let myself down on that.

“This is a piece I hold very dear. It’s like my favourite work in the clarinet repertoire and I really want to do it justice.”

It won’t only be himself he’s eager to impress. Conductor Warwick Robinson – the head of music at Westlake Boys High School – has a masters in clarinet performance and will be well aware of any mistakes, Talbot said.

Although the DCO performance is at the forefront of his mind, Talbot also has upcoming concerts across the country with his jazz band, the Franktastic Four.

His debut album, Mundane Life Updates, which was released in February, has been well received.

• Devonport Chamber Orchestra, Holy Trinity, 30 July at 2pm.

We're growing & evolving. If you're passionate about Arts, Community, Events & have strategic development experience, then come join us on our journey!

Clarinettist Frank Talbot at Holy Trinity Church, where he will perform with the Devonport Chamber Orchestra on 30 July

Depot Te Whare Toi

DEPOT Artspace

In our Central gallery, “Material Instinct” explores the intersecting practices of Hulita Koloi, Malaki Peter Lakisoe Aiono, Ana Garcia, Llenyd Price and Ken Khun.

In our Streetfront gallery, Ji Ben Ou’s “Suspended Ink 悬浮油墨“ is a vibrant observation of the natural world at its ripest, drawing from a decades-long practice in Chinese ink and watercolour painting.

DEPOT Sound

DEPOT Sound are delighted to announce the winners of our North Shore Schools Songwriting Competition!

INTERMEDIATE DIVISION:

Winner - Sienna Fitzgerald

Runner up - Maia Potter

HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION:

Winner - Lily Williams

Runner up - Elias Matheson

Runner up - Caleb Wright

Congratulations to our winners and runners up, and thank you to everyone who entered!

DEPOT Futures

We’re thrilled to open up applications for our next Wayfind Creative cohort. If you’re a local creative looking to take your career to the next level apply today!

Visit depot.org.nz for more information!

Amy Saunders General Manager, DEPOT amy.saunders@depot.org.nz

Local couple finds musical

Plenty of people nurse a desire to develop their unexplored musical talents in later life, but few end up as bandmates of some of the country’s most highly regarded gigging musicians.

That’s what has eventuated for Devonport 60-somethings Brian and Debbie Stewart, whose talents have in recent years been developed and showcased in collaboration with a group of accomplished music professionals, including virtuoso guitarist Nigel Gavin.

This weekend, they, Gavin and the other members of covers band Tainui Tuesdays –named for the Stewarts’ Tainui Rd address – play at the Devonport Yacht Club, in the second of four Sunday-night performances at the venue over winter.

Brian will be bringing his guitar and vocals and Debbie her keyboards and accordion to a couple of eclectic, crowd-pleasing sets from the group’s wide-ranging repertoire.

Having lived in Devonport for more than 30 years, raising their family of four and living in First Ave and Albert Rd before landing in Cheltenham, the Stewarts will have plenty of friends and supporters in the audience.

But music lovers generally will also

be attracted by a line-up that includes French-American folk singer Sonia Wilson, veteran musician-of-all-trades Mal McCallum on bass and seasoned drummer Sean Rundle, who’s well-known in Devonport.

How did the Stewarts, grandparents-of-seven and still with their day jobs – Brian as a lawyer and mediator; Debbie as a counsellor – come to be part of the group?

Brian had played guitar off and on since his university days, “but not particularly well,” he hastens to add; Debbie learned piano growing up in Horowhenua, and came from a musical family – but the couple hadn’t ever gelled as a musical duo.

Though they wanted to play together, “we could never quite get it together,” says Brian.

About a decade ago, Brian began playing with a local friend, who suggested he take some lessons with Gavin, whose credits range from playing with guitar legend Robert Fripp to founding multi-guitar ensemble Gitbox Rebellion.

It so happened that Gavin was playing a regular slot at Corelli’s in Devonport, which the Stewarts began to attend, meeting Rundle among others. Talk turned to the possibility of a jam session at Tainui Rd.

“We weren’t thinking of forming a band

niche among accomplished performers

or anything,” says Brian, but from what became fortnightly jams, Tainui Tuesdays was born. “It just grew,” says Debbie.

The musicians enjoy food and wine together, along with the pleasure of playing music. “It’s a little bit like a family,” says Debbie.

Performances have followed over the last six years or so, with Debbie along the way taking up the piano accordion, an instrument perfectly suited to a French flavour embraced by Wilson and Gavin in their work as a duo, and the French selection included in Tainui Tuesdays’ typical setlist.

She and Brian have found their playing lifted by their encouraging professional bandmates, and Debbie has even been called on to perform with Wilson and Gavin at gigs around New Zealand.

Fitting around the other commitments of its members, Tainui Tuesdays have played at various venues, including Devonport’s Harmony Hall and a regular Saturday afternoon spot at the former Hemingway’s restaurant in Rattray St, along with fundraisers and private birthday parties.

“Debbie and I are good enough now not to let the side down,” says Brian.

The set list for this Sunday includes favourites by the likes of Bic Runga, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Van Morrison, the Pogues and the Rolling Stones – along with a trio of French numbers.

Debbie says she still has to pinch herself about having the opportunity to play with such accomplished musicians. “We are spoilt, the talent that we get to play with,” she says.

“It’s just magic,” says Brian.

• Tainui Tuesdays, Devonport Yacht Club, on 30 July, 27 August and 29 October, 5-7pm. Entry $20 (DYC members free with membership card).

Late bloomers… Brian and Debbie Stewart at their home in Tainui Rd

BELMONT | 52 SEACLIFFE AVENUE

Prime Freehold Waterfront Opportunity

Superbly located just moments away from the sparkling waters of Narrow Neck beach this substantial 1,391sqm (approx) freehold land holding constructed with a palisade wall is a rare find. Gorgeous views to Rangitoto, Tiri Island and the Hauraki Gulf are front and centre stage. 430sqm (approx) home, four large bedrooms, two bathrooms plus guest wc and spacious second living area downstairs, 3 car garaging, gym/workshop.

premium.co.nz/80411

VIEW | BY APPOINTMENT

PRICE | BY NEGOTIATION

ROBERT MILNE 022 011 24 94

RICHARD MILNE 021 770 611 | OFFICE 916 6000

TAKAPUNA | 2004/3 NORTHCR O FT STREET

H aven of Panoramic P e r fec tion | The Sentinel

Discover refined luxury at The Sentinel, where security and convenience take centre stage Enjoy exceptional amenities, including a heated pool, spa, gym, and BBQ stations. This immaculate 124sqm apartment offers breathtaking views, 2 ensuited bedrooms, and a sun-soaked deck. With 2 carparks, storage, and a prime location near cafes, restaurants, and the beach, this is an unrivaled living experience.

premium.co.nz/80427

VIEW | BY APPOINTMENT

PRICE | $2.095M

ALISON PARKER 021 983 533 | OFFICE 916 6000

WAIHEKE ISLAND | AWA AWAROA ROAD

Wai h e ke Isla nd Winery for Sale

Poderi Crisci is a beautiful 7.7ha (almost 20 acres) property in two Titles with around 2.5ha planted in vines, a 4 bedroom farmhouse with attached winery, and the acclaimed Poderi Crisci Italian restaurant and La Locanda deli/wine bar at its romantic heart. Poderi Crisci will transport you to idyllic Tuscany with its parterre and potager gardens, elegant pencil conifers, olive trees and rows of grapevines rolling.

premium.co.nz/80439

VIEW | BY APPOINTMENT

PRICE | POA

CHRIS PALMER 027 473 4721 | OFFICE 916 6000

PREMIUM PARTNERSHIPS | PREMIUM RESULTS

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