with the participation of iwi and the Navy

Matua Matt Maihi.

The Deputy Chief of the Royal New Zealand Navy, Commander Andrew Brown, addressed the residents as Devonport neighbours of the service.

He also acknowledged both Ngāti Whātua, for letting the Navy caretake its whenua – on which “many Navy families lived and thrived” – and Ryman, for investing in the community and honouring a naval hero in the village’s name.

The village, which welcomed its first residents in May 2019, is now home to 370 seniors, many drawn from the peninsula. It has 209 people living independently, 49 in serviced apartments and 112 in the care centre.

More apartments being built at the Lake Rd edge of the Ngataringa site will be completed after the middle of this year.

The Adamses arrived in April 2021, via Waiheke, although they spent many years before that on the North Shore.

Living in Devonport was a lure for Glennys, even before Ryman chose to call the village after her great-uncle. After the name was settled: “I just couldn’t resist”.

She was brought up by her grandmother, Emily Keith, who was Sanders’ sister and helped fill in gaps in his history after he died at sea in 1917, aged 34, having already won a Victoria Cross. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

Ryman has a tradition of naming its villages in Australia and New Zealand after people who are important to the area they are located in. Chalmers said in this case, the name was particularly apt given “‘Gunner Billy’ was a New Zealand hero from just down the road” and that the village was sited on former Navy land.

Commander Brown outlined the Takapuna lad’s story of service and sacrifice. He signed up to go to sea as a cabin boy on a coastal steamer at age 16, then, after being rebuffed once, he enlisted for the Navy in 1916, rising in 15 months from sub-lieutenant to lieutenant

Rock solid... Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei elders blessing pounamu brought from the West Coast to be displayed in the main village block. Below: Navy singer Rebecca Nelson, who performed; and Ryman’s New Zealand chief executive Cheyne Chalmers and the Deputy Chief of Navy, Commander Andrew Brown, unveiling a plaque. Photos by Chris Weissenborn commander, taking on U-boats in the North Sea with “matchless courage” until his HMS Prize was sunk.

Glennys said having the story told and being acknowledged before fellow residents -- some of whom had not previously realised her family connection -- was special. “It was lovely tonight, I was thinking about my grandmother,” she told the Flagstaff afterwards.

Another nostalgic touch came in a performance by Navy singer, Rebecca Nelson, who has represented New Zealand at a number of military commemorations overseas.

The former Bayswater resident, who now lives back in her hometown of Christchurch, tugged on the heart strings with the Vera Lynn classic We’ll Meet Again.

It took 2.1 million hours of work to build the village, which contains 528,000 bricks, including some original Duder bricks made nearby, said Chalmers. At the height of construction, more than 500 workers were on-site.

Ryman inherited what was the “forest” of Mary Barrett Glade (aka Polly’s Park) below the village, she said. It had also planted 20,000 perennials, trees and shrubs.

Commander Brown said: “A few of us old matelots may end up living here ourselves.”

Nelson said she had two lucky breaks in her transition from busking to professional singing: being spotted by the All Blacks while in Ireland, leading to her singing the anthem at a test for the first of 18 times; and catching the attention of the musical director of the Navy Band while she was busking on Victoria Rd, leading to her nine years in service.

DEPOT Artspace

Contemporary artist Weilun Ha returns to our central gallery in May after first exhibiting at DEPOT ten years ago.

This exhibition - Full Circle - features the high caliber works of Ha’s students, who were encouraged to embrace traditional painting techniques alongside modern materials and pop cultural references.

We’re also delighted to welcome Max Thomson into the streetfront gallery this month. A local resident for the last decade, Thomson’s moody, painterly landscapes depict Te Hau Kapua - Devonport scenery using heavily applied textural brush marks and rich finishes.

DEPOT Sound

The DEPOT Sound team is excited to run our third North Shore Schools Songwriting Competition as part of NZ Music Month 2023. We invite all intermediate and secondary school musicians and bands from the North Shore to enter.

Winners will have their song professionally recorded by our talented team at DEPOT Sound with mentoring from industry professionals.

Head to depot.org.nz/sound for more info!

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