20 September 2024, Devonport Flagstaff

Closing the doors at Vic Rd Kitchen... p3

September 20, 2024

Cat kidnapper makes off with family pet... p5

Lake Rd action finally coming, says MP... p8

New creative hub gives artists fresh canvas

A creative hub for 16 local artists is being set up in the historic Devonport Borough Council building on Victoria Rd.

The artists move into the upper storey of the building on 1 October, under the auspices of long-standing community arts facilitator the Depot.

Depot director Amy Saunders said the creation of the hub would not only provide security of studio space for the artists, but also “help promote Devonport as a creative destination” – something which had waned in recent years.

The hub, divided up into nine spaces,

would include established artists and members of the Depot’s youth collective, Pigeonhole.

Opening a gallery downstairs in the building “was a long-term possibility”, Saunders said, but the first step was creating

To page 7

Down and dirty at Mud Run

Mud, glorious mud... Olly Ostergaard at the Stanley Bay Mud Run. Photo spread, pages 10-13.

Public pressure forces AT to cut parking costs

People power has led Auckland Transport to cut the price of parking at the ferry terminal from $1.50 an hour to $1 an hour within a month.

Reducing a proposed zone for residential parking permits around the Devonport town centre is also under consideration by Auckland Transport (AT).

“Where we’ve landed is in direct response from drop-in sessions and feedback,” AT’s parking design team lead Jonathan Levell said last week.

A mid-year consultation had drawn 329 submissions, with 60 per cent against a parking zone and 37 per cent in support, he told a Devonport-Takapuna Local Board workshop. After considering people’s differing views on problem areas and concerns about costs, Levell said new plans were to:

• Reduce the park-and-ride fee of $1.50 an hour to $1, due to lowered occupancy since it was first introduced at 50c.

• Introduce residential permits on King Edward Pde to Church St and along Queens Pde, but not proceed with plans for a permitted zone on the side streets running up from the waterfront.

• Continue a long-standing permit scheme for Anne St residents, but align it with those to apply on the parades.

• Install parking meters on the parades and Anne St, to charge non-resident parkers $1

Briefs

Ombudsman investigates

Eke Panuku’s refusal to release valuations and reports into its $2 million sale of 3 Victoria Rd to Peninsula Capital in October 2022 is under investigation by the Ombudsman. No timeline for the results of the review has been given.

rather than $2 an hour to manage demand and encourage turnover.

• Consult with Devonport Heritage to ensure meters and signage blend as best they can with the area’s heritage character.

Parking in other areas of Devonport will remain free, but as is the case on the main street, Victoria Rd, some other key central streets will continue to carry time limits.

Feedback from the board, the Navy, the Devonport Business Association and large employer New World had also helped influence Auckland Transport’s views, said Levell.

He said AT would talk further with Devonport Heritage, saying that while it understood its visual concerns, “we’ve still got work to do to bring them on board”.

AT had to meet minimum signage obligations under legislation, but it could use decals and wraps on meters and poles so they were less visually intrusive.

Board members were mostly positive about the revised plans, although member Gavin Busch said the initial parking review proposals had always been “a solution looking for a problem”.

Deputy chair Terence Harpur suggested the ferry park-and-ride hourly charge be cut to its original 50c, not $1.

Chair Toni van Tonder liked the idea of a $5 daily parking fee cap in Devonport, say-

ing businesses were worried about workers driving down Lake Rd and having difficulty finding parking spaces.

Busch said ferry commuters should not be discouraged by charging, or they might go to Auckland city by road, adding further to traffic congestion.

Van Tonder called for transparency from AT on any parking fee charges and reviews.

Levell said AT aimed for a balance in street parking, looking to manage it when average levels of around 80 per cent occupancy were reached.

At the ferry terminal, the park-and-ride had slipped from “full, full, full” pre-Covid to around 60 per cent, adding to pressure on Queens Pde and its side streets.

“We don’t want full streets and we don’t want empty ones either,” he said.

He said AT was able to action a ferry parking reduction quickly and would put this in motion in two to three weeks. Setting up residential parking permit zones takes several months at least, because these plans have to be signed off by Auckland Council’s Governing Body.

“We’re still not settled on anything firm at this stage,” Levell said.

AT will phase in the changes, possibly over six months, and will then be able to monitor the impact of reduced ferry parking charges on Queens Pde.

Council probes tree poisoning

A tree on a council berm has been poisoned and an investigation launched to find the culprits.

The mature tree on the corner of Cracroft and Church streets, outside number 10 Cracroft St, was cut down a couple of weeks ago. But last week the mystery surrounding the tree deepened when a council notice stating it had been poisoned was placed on what

was left of the trunk.

“This tree has been unlawfully poisoned... It is a breach of the Reserves Act 1977 to damage trees on council land.

“This offense carries a fine of up to $100,000 and/or two years imprisonment.”

• If you have any information that could help, contact Auckland Council at 09 301 0101

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Kitchen closure: signature restaurant departs Vic Rd

News that Devonport’s best-recognised restaurant, Vic Rd Kitchen, is closing has surprised many locals, but its owners say they remain invested in delivering hospitality in the village – despite the many challenges.

Bookings from regulars have “gone bananas” since Harriet and Ian Shields announced less than two weeks ago that their final service would be this Saturday night, 21 September.

“A lot of people have been really saddened,” says Ian. But Harriet adds: “I’m kind of more sad for Devonport than for us.”

The couple, who have two preschoolers, say rationalising in today’s market makes sense for them, allowing a focus on their wine bar a few doors down the road and The Kestrel at the ferry terminal, which they run in partnership with Manuka owner Pete Reeves.

Vic Rd opened in 2018 and Ian believes it will leave a gap in the local market. The chef is proud their food-to-table philosophy earned a place in Cuisine magazine’s list of top New Zealand restaurants for the past three years running.

They say destination dining in Devonport has its challenges, including an ageing population and Lake Rd putting off patrons.

“It’s an expensive suburb to live in and I don’t think we have the younger generation coming through,” says Ian. He points to busier Mission Bay and even nearby Milford, as places with new apartments bringing in younger people.

“Lake Rd is a huge issue,” says Harriet. “It is so notorious... we have wine suppliers from Marlborough commenting on it; people wanting to do deliveries in the morning because they have heard how bad it gets.”

The Narrow Neck couple say they are realists, and are looking ahead. They see prospects in trialling their successful wine bar model elsewhere. They are also looking forward to having more time with their “hospo babes” – four-year-old Sophia and Jack, aged

two, who attended his first wine tasting with Harriet at just six days old.

Takapuna-raised Harriet, who studied wine science, first met Liverpudlian Ian when both were working on Waiheke. In Devonport, she handles front of house, with Ian in the kitchen. One thing they are particularly proud of, and wish they had made more of, is operating at near-zero food waste levels.

Early good reviews, including from broadcaster and food critic Jesse Mulligan in Viva, put them on the map.

“We’ve had really good weeks and really bad weeks, but it never got back to pre-Covid levels,” says Ian.

When they opened, some clients were nearing retirement age but still working. Now many had sold up and left the area. Others

had understandably cut back spending.

They first thought of closing late last summer, but decided to “try everything”, says Harriet, including early-bird menus, happy hours and special themed menus. But rising rent, food and wage costs made the decision to close inevitable.

The restaurant has around 10 staff, four of whom are permanent. One is transferring to the wine bar. The others are mostly local, young casual workers.

The menu for this final week includes old favourites. One dish that has been on the menu from the start is beef carpaccio; one that will return is truffle fries.

A few staff drinks will follow the final service, but then, says Harriet: “We’ll close the door, go home and relieve the babysitter.”

Committed to Devonport… Vic Rd Kitchen’s Harriet and Ian Shields still have two hospo businesses in the village

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Cat kidnapper takes family pet to the vet

A mystery abductor took a Bayswater family’s pregnant cat from its home, before returning the pet spayed and without its babies.

James Boucher said black-and-white tuxedo cat, Mushroom, was taken while he was at work on 6 September, by someone who took it to a vet to have it spayed and its litter aborted, then returned it to their house.

Boucher said he came home to find the outdoor cat locked inside, with the window shut.

The cat’s diarrhoea was smeared on the walls and clothing around the house, and it had damaged curtains and blinds, Boucher said.

Boucher’s son passed him the cat when he noticed a scar and the fact that its belly had shrunk, making him think the litter of kittens had been aborted.

Boucher said Mushroom was two to three weeks away from giving birth.

No antibiotics or a protective cone collar were left with the cat.

It’s not known where the procedure took place. Boucher said he called vets in Devonport, Belmont, Forrest Hill and Glenfield, but all said they didn’t carry out the operation.

Boucher suspects somebody who knows where the family lives took the cat; the fact that it was locked in the house showed someone put the animal inside through the window, then closed it.

A latch on the window was still up, indicating that it was closed from the outside, rather than the inside.

It also wasn’t open wide enough for the cat to have got in by itself, he said.

Boucher said “it’s a bit scary” that someone broke into his home to put the cat inside.

Mushroom is not microchipped and wasn’t spayed, as the family wanted to breed kittens to give to their cousins and other family members, he said.

The cat has been acting anxiously and is not her usual self since the incident, he said.

“It’s like a petrified cat.”

A vet spoken to by the Flagstaff, who works outside of Devonport, said cat kidnapping and spaying at vets was rare, but did occasionally happen.

It was even sometimes done by animal welfare agency employees, who were worried about the spread of unwanted animals.

If cats could talk... Caiden Boucher – a Belmont Intermediate School student – holds family cat Mushroom, now recovering at home after she was kidnapped and had an unauthorised medical procedure

Local opposition grows to proposed breakwater closure

Local opposition is growing to an application to close the Bayswater Marina breakwater to the public. The resistance has come from all directions, including the Bayswater Community Committee and Devonport-Takapuna Local Board (DTLB).

Community committee spokesperson Paddy Stafford-Bush said the application was “again another creeping reduction in the opportunity for the public to have access to the foreshore”.

When the original consent was approved, “the two standout community opportunities for payback [were] the granting of public access to the breakwater and the ferry terminal,” Stafford-Bush said.

“It’s gutting to again see the erosion of public amenity, from what is arguably an extension of the seabed, for the loss of the foreshore amenity at the time consent was granted.” She labelled these “creeping infringements” as “invidious”.

The local board also wants the application to vary conditions of Bayswater Marina Limited’s coastal permit rejected.

The breakwater has been closed to the public since December 2023, after a drowning near the marina.

The local board this year supported the Auckland Council’s stance, which

was that the closure of the breakwater was a breach of the resource consent, which allowed for only temporary closure. “The DTLB considers the risk to public health and safety to be less than minor.” It said the breakwater gates could be locked at night and during bad weather.

An increase in the installation of

flotation devices along the length of the breakwater was enough of an additional measure to mitigate any residual public risk, the board submitted to council.

“DTLB wishes to see this application to vary the conditions of the coastal permit be publicly notified, if it is indeed to proceed any further.”

Board chair Toni van Tonder said the original resource consent included an important condition to maintain public access.

“Recreating in our coastal marine area comes with inherent risk, whether it’s fishing off a breakwater, or walking around the rocks of Maungauika, or any other coastal pursuit that we enjoy.”

Bayswater Marina Holdings Limited could already reduce risk during inclement weather and at night, by closing the gates during those periods, she said.

“Importantly, though, they must be reopened, and access be reinstated as per their resource consent.

“Having access to our harbours for recreational purposes is incredibly important for the well being of our community and we need to trust people to make their own risk assessments when doing so. The solution should never be blocking off access in perpetuity,” van Tonder said.

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Movement on Devonport leases lifts village life

The lease of the upper floor of the old Devonport Borough Council building to the Depot will bring fresh life to the southern part of the village.

The 240 sqm of space at 3 Victoria Rd includes the old council debating chamber and about half a dozen rooms.

Peninsula Capital, the company that bought the building in October 2022, is delighted to lease the upstairs and hopes a tenant can soon be found for the ground floor as well.

The prime main-street site has been empty for more than six years, after Auckland Council vacated it in July 2018.

The Peninsula Capital purchase was just before its acquisition of a portfolio of 15 buildings from Vista Linda Ltd, with the intention of rejuvenating Devonport’s retail and tourist offering.

“The aim has always been to bring some life back into Devonport and this [the Depot lease] is a step in that direction,” said Peninsula Capital’s Mark Hiddleston.

Peninsula Capital has also succeeded in leasing the old Westpac building to the SPCA, while the Persian cafe Akdeniz is expanding from The Arcade into the retail space next to Seven Stars pub.

Vacant spaces in the Peninsula Capital portfolio now include a couple of shops

From page 1

in The Arcade, the downstairs at 3Victoria Rd and the old ASB building, which is now vacant following the bank’s removal of its ATM on 11 September.

Since purchasing the Devonport sites, Peninsula Capital has been refurbishing the buildings, completing deferred maintenance, and working through engineering and structural analysis as it puts together a

long-term plan for the portfolio.

Hiddleston said, realistically, it would be three to four years or so before “we start to see any real change”.

Asked if the slowdown in the economy and the subsequent flow-on impact on finding tenants was having an effect on developing the holding, Hiddleston said: “It’s certainly not accelerating it”.

Artists set to to thrive in main-street hub

the hub on the first floor, which gave artists the chance to live and work locally.

“When I first joined the Depot, and met local artists, I asked them what [was] the most useful thing we could do to support them, and they all said we need more studio space,” Saunders said.

The artists moving into the hub are: Fiona Mackay, ceramics; Mickey Smith, photography and jewellery; Celia Walker, printmaker; Janet Mazenier, painter; Karen Rubado, weaver; Rose Evans, jeweller. And from the Pigeonhole collective: Ailsa Coulson, oil painting and ink/gouache illustration; Jack Valentine, oil painter; Bailey McNally, mixed media; Nathan

Wilson, artist, writer and performer; Kiara Schaumkell, textile sculptures; Daniel Sisel, portraiture; Anoushka Coulter, painter; Farah Latif, material sculptor; Jaymin Patel, portrait painter.

Saunders said art and art spaces had proved successful in helping to rejuvenate town centres in England, something she hoped would be replicated in Devonport.

Inside the partially refurbished old Devonport Borough Council chambers… Mark Hiddleston (left) and Nick Turley, both from Peninsula Capital

Lake Rd action finally coming, Watts pledges

Improvements for congested Lake Rd are on the government’s transport agenda for the first time.

Lake Rd work has this month been included in the National Land Transport Plan (NLTP) under new policy directions set for Waka Kotahi / New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) by the Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown.

“That’s never happened before,” North Shore MP Simon Watts told the Flagstaff.

Watts said he understood the scepticism many Devonport Peninsula residents felt about ever seeing Lake Rd sorted.

“The key challenge with Lake Rd has been getting commitment between local government and NZTA to prioritise and fund it,” said Watts.

Now a project – “to investigate improvements on Lake Rd to improve capacity on the local road network” – is scheduled for 202427, with NZTA officials under instruction to work with Auckland Transport (AT) to make it happen and report back to the minister.

Watts expects progress and announcements much sooner rather than later in the threeyear cycle.

“I can’t commit to it being completed, but there would be an expectation it would start.”

Government funding priorities were about getting people from A to B efficiently. The high volume of traffic on Lake Rd justified work being done on it, he said.

This might include technological solutions rather than large-scale construction to the corridor.

When the Flagstaff pointed out that AT staff had previously said Lake Rd was not suitable for the likes of the dynamic lanes used on Whangaparāoa Rd, Watts said AT chief executive Dean Kimpton had told him at a recent meeting that there were a number of technological solutions being looked at to minimise congestion.

Tech fixes might be the “low-hanging fruit” that could be phased in within a broader timeline, said Watts. “As the local MP, I’ve been advocating that Lake Rd is a critical road within North Shore and Auckland.”

AT has not previously been able to lock in NZTA co-funding for its proposed work, including cycle lanes. NZTA had not accepted its business case, meaning the project is languishing well down AT’s own Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP).

“AT are now operating under the new government priorities and they have to look at Lake Rd as a congestion-busting project,” said Watts. Asked where this left community aspirations for improved cycling options, Watts said tackling the congestion challenge for the peninsula meant looking at a broader system that might put bikes on routes off Lake Rd. Being able to walk and cycle safely was a positive, but funding it was not a central government priority. It rested with AT.

Watts said he supported the Devon -

port-Takapuna Local Board’s aspirations for a Francis St-Esmonde Rd pedestrian and cycle link.

On public transport, he said electric ferries were on the way next year. A second harbour crossing would also improve links to the city. Watts said government announcements on this would come later this year or early next year, but he did not indicate a preferred crossing choice.

Board chair Toni van Tonder said she was grateful for Watts’ advocacy. But there was still a way to go to get everyone on the same page – given any funding was only in the outer years of the RLTP.

She and deputy board chair Terence Harpur had been invited to the MP’s meeting with Kimpton and put local points of view. A board workshop with AT would follow.

They had reiterated that non-disruptive improvements could be made to intersections, by removing some peak-hour parking and possibly by dynamic laning to aid traffic flow.

“This is going to be the fastest and least disruptive way to gain improvement on the corridor. We’ll also take this opportunity to discuss the Belmont Centre Plan and Bayswater connections too,” said van Tonder.

Cycling was a matter on which there were differing views, including among board members, but one she would continue to promote, including making Lake Rd safe for commuters and schoolchildren. “There are about 4000 children who travel to schools either on or near Lake Road every morning and home in the afternoon. A child who cycles from Hauraki Corner to TGS will naturally cycle on Lake Road; it’s the most direct and flat route.”

Van Tonder said she was pleased Watts wanted AT to look at peninsula-wide solutions, rather than focusing on one road corridor at a time.

Dr. Shu-Jin Ee, BDS (Otago)

Dr. Lillian Hsu, BDS (Otago)

Jurka Vuletic Oral Health Therapist

Kirsty Jennings Hygienist

Jo Lee Office Manager Megan Buckley Receptionist

Christine Estacio Dental Assistant

Poisoned chalice?… Simon Watts commits to progress on Lake Rd

Clockwise from above: Livie Kerr, with friend Matilda Spencer, climb out of the mud pool; Alexis Coetzee (aged 4) finishes the race after going through the mud slide and pool; friends Milo Abraham and Tom Metcalf (both 11)

Mud Run: wet, cold, dirty – and loads of fun

Mud Run one to remember till next race in 2026

Around 950 people turned out for the Stanley Bay Mud Run last Sunday, before the popular event takes a year off.

The Mud Run isn’t going to be happening in 2025 as the lead organisers, Sarah Ostergaard and Rebecca Newman, have stepped down from doing the job next year.

Stanley Bay School intends to bring the event back in 2026, which gives it a year to explore other fundraisers, said school principal Emma Tolmie.

“It is such a great community event...it will be back.”

Ostergaard said running the event was rewarding, but it was also a big time commitment, which she can’t fit in next year.

Among those slipping and sliding at this year’s Mud Run were (this page, clockwise from top left): a soaking wet Amelia Davies with dad Jon Davies; Todd Hewitt with daughters Hazel Hewitt (aged 4) and Isabella Hewitt (aged 6); Stella Delaney with dad Mark Delaney and sister Fleur Delaney PICTURES:

Zara Travers (Left), Caroline Chapman-Smith and Emily Chapman-Smith

Thumbs up... Friends (above, from left) Alice Du, Maddie James, Zoe Smith, Juliette McCaw and Juliette James

Slip, sliding all the way to the finish line

They’re off… a section of the race starts. At right: after the bubble obstacle, Felix Hielkema feels the cold with dad Arien Hielkema; Raylan Young (aged 2) enters the ball pit; Georgia Johnstone (2) races out of the tunnel; and (below) Madison Davis, Anita Kandziora, Alise Kandziora, Ria Kandziora and Andrew Davis (father of Madison)

Thursday 26th September at 12.00pm In Rooms (Unless Sold Prior)

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More Than Meets The Eye!

Discover this spacious brick and tile end unit on the highly sought-after Aramoana Avenue, where comfort meets convenience. This property offers an expansive garden - an ideal space for relaxing, entertaining, or simply enjoying some "me time". Upstairs, we have the original two bedrooms, an open-plan kitchen, dining and living areas on polished timber floors and a veranda with a pleasant outlook to North Head and Bean Rock. Downstairs, the versatile rumpus area can be a second living space, study, and storage area. There is ample room for vehicle, boat, or trailer parking. Set back from the road, the home is a quiet and private retreat. This is an excellent entry point into Devonport with beautiful beaches, top-rated schools and various recreational facilities. This affordable and versatile home could be exactly what you're looking for!

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Discover a unique opportunity to embrace a lifestyle of convenience and comfort in the heart of Devonport. This spacious single-level villa offers all the benefits of lock-up-and-leave living without compromising space or location. Once the historic Auckland Milk Company Ltd, this landmark character building has been beautifully transformed into a delightful three-bedroom home, exuding charm and history. Thoughtful upgrades have been made, including retrofitted double-glazed windows, stylish shutters, full insulation, and attic storage. The kitchen, at the back of the home, opens out to a north-facing sun-drenched brick-paved patio creating an inviting alfresco garden space, perfect for relaxation or entertaining. Offering two living spaces and two dining areas you have flexibility and space to accommodate a family as the current owners have. It would also be an ideal location to operate a home business or Air B&B while you are away travelling! Ideally situated, this villa is just a short stroll from Devonport village, where you will find local theatres, the ferry to Auckland City, shops, cafes, and community facilities. Schedule a viewing today and see for yourself why this villa is the perfect alternative to apartment-style living!

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Gas threat on maunga put to board

The source of “volatile gases” that could explode in the Maungauika tunnels needs to be investigated fully by Auckland Council, the author of two books on North Head told the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board this week.

Martin Butler, who has investigated the tunnels for decades and published Tunnel Vision in 2012, and later Tunnel Vision Refocused, claims the Tūpuna Maunga Authority “is not owning the health and safety risks associated with deteriorating WW11 ammunition.

“And [they] have refused to permit any physical ground investigations, despite repeated requests to do so,” Butler said at a presentation to the board’s public forum.

“Failure to determine the source of volatile gases known to be present at North Head, and a refusal to undertake physical investigation into the deteriorating ammunition in the area, presents a concerning health and safety risk to the residents and well beyond,” Butler said. Council's Audit and Risk Committee needed to ensure risks posed by the sealed tunned tunnels were properly investigated, he said.

Shopping local pays off

The winner of a $1000 ‘shop local’ competition plans to share the love further – taking her work colleagues out to lunch.

Rixt Brownlow won the Devonport Business Association’s (DBA) 3/50/1000 competition, which encouraged people to spend $50 or more at three different

Devonport businesses during August to win a $1000 Prezzy Card.

Brownlow, a Community House employee and longtime Devonport resident, told the Flagstaff she plans to spend the money shouting her Community House colleagues to lunch.

Lawyer remembers the real Fred Dagg

Well-known Devonport human rights lawyer Tim McBride has a cameo role in the upcoming TVNZ series National Treasures and has flashed across our screens recently in promos for the show.

“It just so happens that I’m the only person, living or dead, who was at primary

school, high school and law intermediate at Vic with one of our true national treasures – John Clarke (aka Fred Dagg),” McBride said.

He was interviewed 21 months ago for National Treasures, which is screening on TV1 on Tuesdays at 7.30pm.

ENROLMENTS FOR TERM 4 2024

Enrolment for Out of Zone Students for 2019

Enrolment for Out of Zone Students for 2019

Devonport Primary operates an enrolment scheme, details are available from the school office.

Devonport Primary School invites applications for out of zone enrolments in Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 for 2019

Devonport Primary School invites applications for out of zone enrolments in Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 for 2019

Applications close: 17th Oct Ballot Date (if required) - 24th Oct

Application for out-of-zone places, across all ages, are invited for admission from 14 October with a deadline of 13 October. If required, a ballot will be held, and parents notified on 14 October. Multiple out-of-zone enrolment ballots may be held throughout 2024. If planning to enrol later in 2024. please contact the school as soon as possible to assist our planning.

Please contact the school for application forms, or an opportunity to visit 445 0183

Applications close: 17th Oct Ballot Date (if required) - 24th Oct

office@devonport school nz www devonportschool nz

Shop local winner... Rixt Brownlow being handed her prize by Devonport Business Association chair Michael Moughan

Esplanade maintenance concerns Coastal heritage highlighted in festival events

Devonport’s coastal heritage features in the upcoming Auckland Heritage Festival, this year subtitled Moana Oceania – the great connector.

Tours of military fortifications, paintings of local landmarks and the connection between troops from the Pacific Islands and Narrow Neck are among items on the programme.

The festival, which runs city-wide from 28 September to 13 October, explores links between Pacific nations and Tāmaki Makaurau. More than 130 free or low-cost events are on the programme, with some family-friendly offerings coinciding with the school holidays. This is the 20th year in which Auckland Council has put on the festival of talks, walks, exhibitions, performance and workshops.

Devonport events include:

• Pioneer Battalion: World War I Pasifika soldiers in Devonport. Sunday 6 October and Wednesday 9 October, from 11am to 12pm.

Local expert Dave Veart shares his research on the experiences of the men brought to Fort Takapuna to train in support of the New Zealand war effort in 1914-18. Many succumbed to an influenza epidemic and got no further than O’Neill’s Point Cemetery. He discusses where they came from and tracks local reaction to their presence, as well as highlighting sites of significance.

Meet at Devonport Museum, 33a Vauxhall Rd. Koha appreciated.

• Tour of historic coastal defences on Maungauika on 28 and 29 September, and 5 and 6 October, at either 10am or 2pm for a two-hour tour.

Walk and talk over North Head’s historic Victorian coastal defences, installed during Russian war scares in the 1880s. Tour gun positions and tunnels and hear stories that have swirled for years of hidden flying boats and ammunition in sealed-off sections.

Meet at the Navy Museum, 64 King Edward Pde, Torpedo Bay. Book at info@ navymuseum.co.nz or phone (09) 445-5186. Pay by any donation.

• William C. Daldy Heritage Steam Tug open days from Saturday 28 September to Sunday 13 October, from 10am to 4pm.

The iconic heritage steam tug, moored at Victoria Wharf, worked for the Auckland Harbour Board from 1935 to 1977 and is now tended by a preservation society. The history of the ship is displayed on board and society members will be on hand to show visitors around, including the impressive engine room. If the weather allows, there may be live steam days!

Meet boatside. Pay by donation.

• The full festival programme can be seen on the Our Auckland website.

The continuing decay of the Esplanade Hotel – Devonport’s most prominent historic building – may be brought to the attention of Heritage New Zealand.

Earlier in 2024, Devonport Heritage wrote to the hotel’s owners, alerting them to their responsibilities to maintain the heritage building.

“We haven’t [had] any reply to our letters

to the owners regarding the condition of the Esplanade,” Devonport Heritage chair Margot McRae told the Flagstaff last week.

“The state of it is definitely a worry,” McRae said.

“We will send off another letter and then consider writing to Auckland Council and Heritage NZ that both give the hotel the highest heritage listing.”

Following our article last issue on the end of ASB Bank operations in Devonport after 120 years, John Cameron of Belmont got in touch with some interesting facts about his great-grandfather, Richard Cameron, who was instrumental in setting up the ASB in Auckland.

I was interested in your article in the latest Flagstaff about the ASB’s exit from Devonport after 120 years.

While the bank’s physical presence dated back that far, the very first manager of the Auckland Savings Bank was a prominent Devonport resident. He was my great-grandfather, Richard Cameron.

He arrived in Auckland (in his mother’s womb) on the first immigrant ship to arrive in Auckland – the Duchess of Argyle – on the morning of 9 October, 1842.

Other ships had arrived before then, in Wellington and Nelson, for instance, but none previously in Auckland – which had just been named the capital.

The second ship, the Jane Gifford, arrived later that afternoon. The passengers reportedly waded through thick mud to the sandy shore of Mechanics Bay, and raupo huts on the foreshore.

The voyage must have been terrible. Leaving Greenock, near Glasgow, on 9 June, it took exactly four months. The ship sailed with 172 men, 171 women and 192 children. Thirty-four people died (including one Cameron child) and 19 were born in those four months.

“Richard Cameron the banker” was born two months after their arrival. He was educated in Auckland, and later was one of the early pupils at Nelson College. His father (also named Richard) must have had good money to send him there – his father did travel on one of the 30 or so ships that sailed from here to the California goldfields, so maybe he struck gold there.

My great-grandfather Richard Cameron joined the Auckland Savings Bank as a clerk in 1864, and in 1872 took control of the bank’s affairs. In 1875 that position was first

Looking Back

Early days... the arrival of the Duchess of Argyle and Jane Gifford in Auckland, 1842 with Devonport in the background. Right: Richard Cameron, banker.

designated as “Manager”. He retired from the bank after almost 50 years’ service (through ill-health) in 1913, and died in 1914.

One of his most stressful moments came in 1893 when, apparently sparked by a mentally unstable woman, there was a serious “run on the bank”.

He apparently stood on the bank’s front steps (in Auckland City) and managed to calm the crowd enough to avoid a riot.

As a proud Devonport resident, I’m sure he was instrumental in establishing the bank’s first physical presence in the town.

He was a member of the Devonport Borough Council from 1886 to 1896, when he decided not to seek re-election, according to records held at Devonport Library.

In 1896 he is recorded as chairing the first annual meeting of the Devonport Bowling Club as its president and was re-elected.

I’d be interested to know where he actually lived in Devonport.

I know he had three wives – all of whom died before him, the third the year before he

died. He had eight children (one of whom was my grandfather, who I never met) with his first wife, who died at 37.

His second wife was Emma Lucy Duder. She was born in 1842 and died in 1902. They had one child. He had two children with his third wife.

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By Rob Drent

It’s great news that the old Devonport Borough Council building is getting a new lease on life, with the Depot taking over its top floor for artists’ studios. The prime main-street site has been empty for more than six years.

Two decades ago, the building was the North Shore City Council’s Devonport area office, before becoming the village’s Visitor Information Centre – a lively little hub, with the Devonport Community Co-ordinator upstairs and a history room housing a Devonport Museum display.

Then came the closure in July 2018, with visitor information moving out and later morphing into a caravan at Devonport Wharf, and the other occupants moved on as well. Auckland Council cited required earthquake-strengthening as a major issue.

Various options were put forward for the site in a consultation – including a community hub with space for artists including Depot members and also room for the Devonport Senior Citizens Association.

The Flagstaff Notes

One option put forward was to sell off the back of the site, plus Harmony Hall in Wynyard St, with the funds used to pay for the earthquake work. Auckland Council effectively dropped all the options in the toohard basket and put the building up for sale.

In a last-gasp effort, the Depot, then under the management of Linda Blincko and Lynn Lawton, put forward a plan to keep the building in public ownership. This was rejected as well.

Peninsula Capital bought the building in October 2022, the first of 15 commercial purchases around Devonport, as part of a strategic move to reinvigorate the village.

The building has taken a long time to find a tenant. And it’s somewhat ironic that the Depot has taken up the top floor. Community art spaces or the like were part of the plan put forward when the building was still in public ownership.

Years have been wasted, and now the Depot is paying commercial rates – even if they have been discounted. Looking back, the council bean counters are probably happy a problematic building has been removed from its balance sheet.

However, the village’s founding fathers would be pleased to see the spirit of Independent Devonport (the borough council lasted from 1886 to 1989) will continue through the work of the artists – some with studios in the old council debating chamber.

The 31-townhouse Unispot development (above) next to Belmont Park Racquets Club on Bayswater Ave is now completed, with homes on the market, and by all accounts proving difficult to shift.

According to locals spoken to by the Flagstaff, the end product has confirmed their worst fears aesthetically, with its boxlike construction and tiny outdoor spaces out of kilter with what is generally seen on the Devonport Peninsula. Possibly though, this is a glimpse of the future, with larger sites purchased and the building footprint maximised by smaller housing.

The land was once home to St Luke’s Catholic Church, and I still feel the site was a lost opportunity for Devonport’s elderly.

Eke Panuku sold the Handley Court retirement village in Handley Ave for more than $2.8 million, just before the Bayswater Ave site came onto the market, with the proceeds to be spent on the North Shore.

Given the size and flat nature of the Bayswater property, it would have been an ideal place for new retirement housing.

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Claystore safe despite need for wall fix, says council

The Claystore is safe to use while a plan is made to sort structural issues with its rear retaining wall, according to Auckland Council.

The heritage building’s structure was above that of a dangerous and insanitary building as defined under the Building Act, said Auckland Council’s area operations manager Sarah Jones, in response to Flagstaff questions about the Claystore’s safety and that of its tenants.

The more detailed information was supplied to the Flagstaff following news in the paper’s last issue that council had discovered issues with the wall that could require a fix costing between $500,000 and $1 million. The work is set to delay plans agreed by the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board to spend $1.2 million to renovate and upgrade the community workshop building, including opening up a mezzanine floor for wider use and installing a lift.

Jones said the wall behind the Claystore met current seismic safety standards and was not considered “seismic prone” under existing legislation.

However, a Detailed Seismic Assessment (DSA) had determined that the retaining wall had a seismic performance rating of 37 per cent of the New Building Standard.

Complications with refurbishment budget… but Claystore still OK to use in the meantime

“The primary concern is its vulnerability to ‘overturning’ due to seismic loads.”

But she said it was important to note that the Claystore was not considered “seismic prone”, since it was above the building standard’s 34 per cent threshold.

A structural engineer had recommended the wall be strengthened either along its

entire length of about 50 metres below Abbotsford Way, or for a minimum of 33m. This would extend the reinforced portion either side of the length of wall that forms the rear of the Claystore.

Specifying the minimum length as 33m was due to the proposed addition of the stairs, walkway and lift structure, which needed to be protected, Jones said.

The Flagstaff also asked council about Restoring Takarunga Hauraki’s (RTH) nursery, which has been set up to the rear of the 27 Lake Rd site, which is shared with the Claystore and other buildings leased out by council.

“The RTH nursery site is safe and can continue to be used,” Jones said.

The nursery also has a concrete retaining wall behind it, but this is not joined to the wall behind the Claystore.

Jones said the cost estimates for the Claystore wall fix were based on detailed architectural and structural engineer’s design work, and grouting.

Timelines for any work will be reassessed by the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board when it is provided with more information by council staff.

Jones said this information would include detailed design, retaining wall structural results and budget implications.

BELMONT HAS ARRIVED!

From fielding high-powered legal queries in London, to helping Devonport’s senior citizens, librarian Jicca Smith has made a huge change – and a good one, she tells Helen Vause.

In March 2021, as the city was creeping cautiously out of Covid and community gatherings may have seemed like wishful thinking, Jicca Smith was exploring her new role as programme and events librarian at Devonport’s public library.

For Smith, a returning expat, it was the late-career job made in heaven. And after a few years, she seems to be everywhere in the village, wherever there’s something going on that brings locals together in the heart of the little town Smith now loves to call home.

“I feel so lucky to be here, in this job that I love, in this beautiful building. I couldn’t have found a place I’d rather be living,” she says, reflecting at home on her good fortune, just a couple of hundred metres from her workplace.

Smith came to the job with a long and varied resume, and some exacting times in the lot of a library and research buff. She grew up in Canterbury in the 1960s and started her working life as a teacher in a small community. That was probably the first time community and connection would resonate as something she wanted – and would much later actively seek out.

Curious and independent, she took off far from the small towns of home as a solo traveller at 23 years old, finding work as she moved around – “travelling by myself in good faith and just those little blue aerograms home to tell about my travels [the thin, lightweight pages then used for airmail]”.

She came back home to Canterbury, although far from done with travel, and worked towards getting into adult teaching. As she worked, she also did a remote degree from Victoria University – not the last time Smith would be studying on her own time after a day’s work. She also met her partner, who would later get a postdoctoral scholarship to Boston, and the pair left home and headed off to the United States.

Different strokes... Jicca Smith and Benjamin the library cat – now immortalised in bronze – are each helping people in their own ways

When they moved on to London, Smith was once more able to pursue education and her passion for libraries and research. Again working while she studied, she embarked on

her Master’s degree in medical law and ethics. She was working for a group of leading health and social-care lawyers in London and later, with support from colleagues, took on a law degree, studying alongside her day job.

Her future could have gone in many directions, but the law librarian’s work suited Smith. Hers was a key role with high demands and high stakes. “The lawyers had to learn over time to trust me to have checked every tiny detail in my answer back to them, so they could rely upon it in court,” she says.

On the day of the 9/11 attack in the US, Smith had the technology at her desk to make her the communications hotspot for the legal minds whirring in overdrive over the events.

London life in Hampstead was exciting enough and regular swims in the famed Hampstead Heath pools were a summer thing. But home was calling this Kiwi after decades away.

“I was finding it harder and harder to leave every time I came home. The time came to move back to New Zealand.”

As luck would have it, there was a job at the library in Devonport, and Smith seized the chance to settle here. “I know how lucky I am,” she grins, thinking of her role in her new community, a job that demands engagement far beyond the bookshelves.

Smith’s job is replicated in libraries and communities across Auckland, but to some extent the make-up of the Devonport community gives a lead to the events and programmes she helps bring to life.

“Devonport in particular is a very creative community and a place where there is a lot of interest in writing, and there are many writers.”

Those who identify with that part of the community were among the earliest of her now multiple local networks, and she likes to be part of maintaining what she calls “the amazing Devonport literary ecosystem of readers, writers, books and writing.”

She’s proud of the regular author talks, book launches and literary events on the local library calendar, but is also the connection for much more that happens in this library, from heritage and family history activity to workshops and kapa haka.

“And if I started to think more about what could happen at our library, there would be so many good ideas it would be impossible to do it all. I don’t have to go looking because people just come to us looking for support for their events.”

“ I feel so lucky to be here, in this job that I love in this beautiful building. I couldn’t have found a place I’d rather be living.”

It’s not a private space or a commercial place, but somewhere that people can just be. It has a real role in connecting people, she says.

Today’s challenges seem a long way from resolving the curly questions that were her daily work in the London law office, but the queries that come her way at the Devonport Library are every bit as important in their own way, says Smith.

“Each query matters and can make a huge difference to someone’s life,” she says. No two inquiries are the same, from printing documents, accessing the right form for a pension transfer, to finding an email address for a long-lost friend.

Or finding someone a supportive book

about some newly diagnosed medical condition.

The examples tumble out of her: “connecting someone to courses and volunteering opportunities to work with native birdlife; helping someone living elsewhere to find a relative’s grave in the Bayswater cemetery; using the local history collection.

“A book about shells for a child who wants to identify an unusual one found on the beach…copying a favourite photo to the correct size so the pet can be painted...or letting a disoriented cruise passenger know what day of the week it is.”

And the famed library cat Benjamin, now cast in bronze outside the building, features in her connections too. Photos of him in his changing outfits, with stories to match, were a way to help dementia patients build new memories, she says. She missed knowing Benjamin in his furry glory, but she’s a fan of his permanent iteration.

A current local library initiative has been one of her favourite models for making successful connections. Her fireside group, she says, has brought together a small group of older people. They are regularly picked up from home by the Community House bus and brought to gather with Smith at the library fireside. “They have a cup of tea and a chat and over 18 months I’ve seen them really blossom, making new friendships and finding new interests.”

Coming home to New Zealand has given Smith the chance for another step in her personal and professional development, too. She is loving learning te reo and is an enthusiastic performer with the adult kapa haka group that’s come together locally in recent years.

“This has opened up new knowledge and understanding for me and it’s connected me to our Māori community.

“This is where I live and I am very invested in the welfare of this community,” says Smith, flourishing in her “gem of a job”.

Game, set and match for new players

The Devonport Peninsula Primary Schools Tournament attracted 56 players at Ngataringa Tennis Club on 10 September, with the aim of getting more children playing tennis. St Leo’s Catholic School took out the competition, with Vauxhall School coming second, Stanley Bay School third and Devonport Primary School fourth.

Court contest... clockwise from top this page: Vauxhall School students Olivia Delaney (left) and Beatrix Service (both 10) said they enjoyed playing against other schools at the tournament; St Leo’s student Alec Robertson (8) with Stanley Bay School doubles pairing Caleb Thumath (11) and Toby Porter (11); Theo Malcolm (left) and Nico Lampen (10) show off their stances.

Opposite page (clockwise from top left): Caleb Thumath going for a forehand shot in the semi-final match; Stanley Bay School’s Milly Seaburg (10) lines up a shot; Cavelle Ikenasio (11) from St Leo’s goes for a backhand shot; St Leo’s doubles pairing, nine-year-old Grace Rumble (left) and Freya Jameson (10).

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WHAT’S ON @ Devonport Library

Maria Teape Community Coordinator

445 9533 | maria@devonportpeninsulatrust.nz

Tēnā Koutou Katoa

Kia Kaha Te Reo Māori

September – Mahuru we celebrate Te Reo Māori - Māori Language and send aroha to everyone on the beautiful journey of learning it. Devonport has a fabulous collection of Te Reo books on display. Plus a chance to win Whanau Kai – a gorgeous bi-lingual cookbook. Grab an entry form, hunt out the reo words displayed and enter the draw. Ka pai e hoa. EVENTS COMING UP THE DEVONPORT PENINSULA EMERGENCY PLAN – ARE YOU READY?

Tuesday 24th September

Listen to a panel including Police and FENZ discussing local readiness in the case of a major event. All welcome at this Devonport Library Associates evening. Drinks and nibbles 7pm, speakers from 7:30pm. Koha appreciated.

TESSA DUDER

Sunday 29th September 2pm - 3:30pm

Tessa on her latest research into the story of Auckland’s Founding in 1840, the subject of two of her books so far, including The Sparrow. This is our Auckland Heritage Festival Event. Full programme in the Library. FOR TAMARIKI IN THE HOLIDAYS...

PŪREREHUA (TAONGA PUORO): EXPLORE MĀORI MUSIC

Tuesday, 1st October (10-11am)

CASTLE CREATIONS: BUILD YOUR DREAM FORTRESS! Thursday, 3rd October (10-11am)

OLD SCHOOL TOYS: CRAFT AND PLAY TOGETHER Tuesday, 8th October (10-11am)

ROBOTICS WITH ARIEN: CODE, BUILD, RACE!

Thursday, 10th October (10-11am)

SCOTT BAINBRIDGE

Sunday 6th October 2pm - 3:30pm Scott launches The Heist about the Birkenhead Foodtown Robbery. An untold tale, meticulously researched by New Zealand’s expert on true crime. Ma Te Wa.

Colourful characters at St Leo’s

Colourful costumes abounded at St Leo’s school earlier this month when pupils took part in a book character dress-up day. Above: Tweedledum and Tweedledee (Charlotte Robertson and Freya Jameson), with Alice (Grace Rumble)

The Harry Potters…(from left) Grace Egenes, Sophie Hunter, Easton Ikenasio, Oscar Flynn-Christie, James Edhouse and Luis Warner

Share your ideas for a Takapuna community hub

The North Shore community are being asked to share their ideas on the facilities and services they want to see incorporated in a new community hub right in the heart of Takapuna.

The Takapuna Community Hub consultation is open until Monday 7 October 2024 and is part of a project by the DevonportTakapuna Local Board to renovate the Takapuna Library into a combined library and community hub to meet the needs of the North Shore’s growing and changing population.

The board is considering options to either renovate the existing two-level building, or to renovate the existing levels while adding an additional third smaller level. Both options will provide parking. In this consultation the board is asking:

• What you and your whānau would like to do at the community hub?

• What types of spaces and

CONTACT US: aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

FOLLOW US: Facebook.com/devonporttakapuna

facilities you would like to see at the hub?

Feedback from this consultation will help to develop a proposed design for the new community hub. Once initial designs are complete, a second consultation will be held for the community to give feedback on the designs.

Local Board Chair Toni van Tonder is keen for all residents in Takapuna and nearby areas to think about the kinds of things they would like to see in the new space.

“Our vision is to create a space where everyone in our community feels welcome and safe. A place where events could

How to have your say

be held, public meetings can take place, where people can create, study, read or simply enjoy the company of others.

“Te Manawa in Westgate has sound recording studios and quiet puzzling corners, while in Takanini they have bookable sewing machines and a slide that goes from the top level to the bottom in the children’s area. Why do they have these things? Because their communities asked for them. So, what does Takapuna want?

“We’re designing this hub for you, and with you. So, we need all of your great ideas, aspirations and dreams for this space. So have your say this month and together we’ll build something amazing for the residents of today and tomorrow.”

To have your say online, go to akhaveyoursay.co.nz then “Takapuna Community Hub” to fill out the online feedback form. You can also complete a paper copy of the form at the Takapuna Library or come to our drop in session at the Takapuna Market on Sunday 22 September, 9.30am-12.30pm.

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Leonessa Shines at Big Sing Finale

Congratulations to our premier treble voice choir, Leonessa, for their beautiful performances in Wellington at the prestigious Big Sing Finale. These hard-working young women were wonderful ambassadors of Takapuna Grammar throughout the event, representing the school with pride both on stage and off.

Their time in Wellington involved multiple performances, including a collegial warm-up concert with four other schools at the stunning St Mary of the Angels Cathedral, as well as three days of performances at the Michael Fowler Centre. The event culminated with the highly anticipated Gala Concert, where Leonessa was awarded Silver - a fantastic way to top off a year of high accolades and, more importantly, personal growth and choral development.

Tree Planting on Motutapu Island

Earlier this month a group of 10 international students took part in a tree-planting event, dedicating their day to the meaningful tasks of planting trees and removing weeds. With the weather being pleasantly mild, the students not only engaged in environmental stewardship, but also had the opportunity to take in the stunning vistas of Motutapu Island. Following the event, the island’s management staff expressed its gratitude by presenting certificates to the participants, recognising their contributions. A special note of appreciation goes to former Deputy Principal Brian Wynn for his valued presence and support throughout the day.

Thank you to Leonessa Director Elise Bradley, accompanist Matthew Spooner, TGS Director of Choirs Keani TaruiaPora, and HoF Lauren Raby for their leadership, passion and support not just in Wellington, but throughout 2024.

Tū Tangata getting out amongst the people

Kua hinga te totara i te wao nui a Tane - The totara has fallen in the forest of Tane.

Te Kingitanga’s Funeral was a recent historical event celebrating the passing of the recent Māori King, Tūheitia. Held at Tūrangawaewae, Takapuna Grammar was lucky enough to go and see the tangi. As one of the akonga that got to go, I can recognise first-hand the quality of the korero me whaikorero and the powerful mana of the event. However, In a way, Tūheitia’s funeral was far greater than just celebrating him: it woved together Māori across the motu and across the world.  – Maui Hitchens

Our Tū Tangata group visited Wilson School to perform and celebrate their Pasifika day. They performed waiata and the school haka, with many students from Wilson School joining in our last waiata to sing and dance together. Our Tū Tangata whānau had an amazing time with students from Wilson School, breaking into groups, singing and playing games. It was a great experience, which we will cherish. This visit brought our school much closer to our friends at Wilson School. We hope to spend more time with them in the future. Nui te aroha to all the amazing people we met during our visit at Wilson School. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou to our kaiako from Tū Tangata. This experience wouldn’t have been possible without their dedication to the Tū Tangata whānau. – Sina Keeling

Poacher line first port of call

The editorial on the Devonport Flagstaff’s page 22 of September 6, 2024 reported illegal shellfish harvesting at Cheltenham Beach. A founding member of Cheltenham Beach Caretakers suggests people discovering such illegal behaviour immediately report it by phoning 0800-7622437 (0800-POACHER).

It may be courteous, but it is not necessary to have first spoken to the offender.

It is not uncommon that offenders may claim they “don’t understand”, they

“haven’t seen any signage”, become difficult or aggressive, etc.

You are NOT required to give them any warning that you are reporting them and it is good practice to send 0800-POACHER a photo of the offender committing the offence.

It is worth knowing that Cheltenham Beach is not only protected by a rāhui, but is also is the subject of a Regulatory Closure under Section 186A of the Fisheries Act 1996.

Chris Mullane

A black-and-white safety issue for pedestrians

I think it’s time the black and white paint on the poles at the two pedestrian crossings on Victoria Road – one by the the Patriot and the other by the Victoria Theatre – were repainted.

As they are, the poles are barely visible to someone driving, especially those not familiar with Devonport.

M.Thomson

20 years ago from the Flagstaff files

• Locals will be able to buy a seat at the Vic Theatre if a fundraising plan for its redevelopment goes ahead.

• All Whites star Wynton Rufer entertains Vauxhall School pupils with a variety of football tricks during a visit.

• Irish black comedy A Skull in Connemara is at the St Paul’s Presbyterian Church as a fundraiser for restoration work.

• A community monitoring programme of Ngataringa Bay mangroves is investigated by the Auckland Regional Council.

• A fuse-box fire at the Devonport visitor information centre on Victoria Rd forces the evacuation of the building.

• Jean Day is featured as one of the Devonport Leisure Painter artists

showcased in the Our Way exhibition at the Depot.

• Departing Devonport Community co-ordinator Pam Chapman looks back on five years in the job, which included landmark work educating locals on the problem of methamphetamine.

• Nine candidates stand for the Devonport Community Board in the local body elections. Only four stood in 2001.

• Three teenagers are taken to North Shore Hospital with minor injuries after a car crash outside the Masonic Tavern.

• An apartment in Cheltenham is on the market for $449,000.

• Stanley Bay School’s new hall opens.

• Gaf Ferner’s In Absentia exhibition at the Depot draws on his experiences

with the justice system, including nine months in prison.

• A crackdown on local body election signage has the unexpected effect of some sports-club signs being found in breach of council regulations.

• A free pass to gain access to the beach at Windsor Reserve will be offered by the organisers of the fencedoff Devonport Food and Wine Festival.

• Devonport Lions plans a second Christmas parade down Victoria Rd after the success of the first parade in 2003.

• Boardsailer Tom Ashley finishes 10th in the Mistral class at the Athens Olympics.

• Husband and wife Tim and Jane Hawkins win the men’s and women’s Devonport Squash Club titles.

Letters

Waste company hasn’t found viable alternative to flexi bins

I’m writing on behalf of WM New Zealand regarding the advertorial with the heading “Are flexi bins the worst invention to hit the recycling industry in 30 years?” (Flagstaff, 6 September). We appreciate the opportunity to provide additional context and clarify some points about our FlexiBin service.

We’re always looking for ways to improve our waste management practices and reduce our environmental impact. While our FlexiBins are currently single-use, we have researched reusable alternatives that meet our rigorous safety and integrity standards and have yet to find a viable alternative. We look forward to introducing these innovations as soon as they’re viable.

Efficiency is a key focus of our operations.

Our FlexiBin collection process allows for multiple pickups per single trip, reducing trucks on the road and carbon emissions. Skip bins require multiple trips to collect the bin, drop to a customer’s premises, pickup to take to the recovery and disposal location and send the bin to the next customer or a bin park. We’re currently conducting an environmental impact comparison between FlexiBins and skip bins over their total lifecycle to better understand and improve our environmental outcomes.

We are also committed to responsible waste recovery. Waste collected in FlexiBins is sorted at our transfer stations in west, north and central Auckland. Materials like timber, metal and green waste are recovered and sent

Firm still gaining from marina decisions

It is very disappointing that after 40 years Bayswater Marina Limited (BML) is still apparently continuing to financially gain from dubious decisions by various public authorities including:

1. Land Information New Zealand agreeing to preferentially allocate the Bayswater Marina and reclamation to BML without an open public tender process.

2. Auckland Council agreeing to change the zoning of the reclamation to allow

high density apartments to be constructed, despite it being common public knowledge that the reclamation was only to be used for marine-related purposes including haul-out and chandlery.

This was the justification for the reclamation when it was first approved.

Now BML wants to permanently block public access to its breakwater.

Who said lightning doesn’t strike twice? Bruce Tubb

for processing. All the garden waste in green FlexiBins is transformed into organic compost at our Living Earth facility on Puketutu Island in Māngere, which is sold at many garden centres across Auckland.

We welcome open dialogue about recycling and waste-management practices and are always eager to engage with the community on these important issues. If readers have questions or ideas about improving waste management, we encourage them to reach out to us directly. We’re working hard to serve our community while protecting the environment.

Ingrid Cronin Knight, Chief Growth & Sustainability Officer, WM New Zealand

Letters to the Editor

We welcome letters on local issues that are not overly long. Noms-de-plume or unnamed submissions will not be printed. Email to news@rangitoto-observer.co.nz or post to Rangitoto Observer, PO Box 32 275, Devonport

Dose of the blues benefits Harmony Hall roof fund

Half-way house... Chris Priestley and Nigel Gavin (at rear) were among performers at a blues music night that raised more than $4000 for Harmony Hall’s new roof. The fund now stands around $30,000, half of the more than $60,000 needed by the hall committee to replace the Wynyard St building’s roof, guttering and down pipes. Other crowd-pleasing artists who performed for the fundraiser were singers (below) John Thompson (at right) of JT+Agnostics and Linn Lorkin (left), along with Peter Wood, Rick Roff, David Powell, John Davy and David Mills and Neil Finlay.

PICTURES: KATHRYN NOBBS

Top teenage violinist to perform with local orchestra

A talented 14-year-old violinist will be a guest soloist at a Devonport Chamber Orchestra (DCO) concert at Holy Trinity Church this Sunday afternoon, 22 September.

Hayden Chiu, a student at Auckland Grammar School, has been a member of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Orchestra since 2022.

At the DCO concert at Holy Trinity Church, he will play under the baton of Mark Bennett in a performance of the popular Bruch Violin Concerto in G Minor.

The orchestra will also perform Beethoven’s Second Symphony.

Chiu is a rising talent, who next month will feature as an NZSO Emerging Artist at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington.

The concert, which will be recorded, will have six young musicians playing as soloists and side-by-side with the NZSO to celebrate the next generation of young performers.

A career highlight for Chiu to date was when he performed at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2019, as winner of an international competition.

He has since won various other competitions in New Zealand and overseas, has auditioned successfully for the Piccolo Violino Magico international violin competition in Italy and is the Manukau Symphony’s youth scholar..

• Tickets for the DCO at 2pm on 22 September are sold at the church door, 20 Church St, Devonport. Eftpos is not available. Adults $20, seniors and students $15, children under 12 free.

Take a bow... rising talent Hayden Chiu will play with the Devonport Chamber Orchestra

Bookmark rated best secondhand bookshop in Auckland

Devonport’s longstanding secondhand bookshop has been named the best in Auckland by the Spinoff website.

“Bookmark is a mix of some of the best things in all the other secondhand bookshops,” said reviewer Shanti Mathias, a Spinoff staff writer.

“It has some stunning leatherbound tomes kept in a cabinet like at Books on High, the pleasant untidiness of Hard to Find Books, the interlinked rooms of The Open Book, and the excellent contemporary fiction of The Green Dolphin.”

She spotted a full set of Olga Tokarczuk’s Text Publishing editions – and took one home.

The homely friendliness of Bookmark was a strong point.

“The employee manning the shop in the quiet afternoon not only complimented my jumper and showed me her knitting project, she also found me her favourite leatherbound book to admire – a century-old book about Dutch history, written in French.

“One very much gets the sense that Bookmark has benefited from the collections of downsizing Devonport retirees,” Mathias said.

Volumes of Enid Blyton and Boy’s Own annuals sit cover to cover with more contemporary books.

“I have complained extensively that De-

vonport is just too far away to ever go to, but a visit here reminded me that actually it’s just a 10 minute ferry (a budget ‘Pacific cruise’ as the bookstore employee told me) from the city, and browsing Bookmark for an hour is probably worth the trip alone.”

Another of Bookmark’s attractions was its extensive collection of military books, as well as lots of military memorabilia.

“Maybe it was the summery winter day, maybe it was the books outside on footpath tables, maybe it was the expansive feelings of all the spines stretching out beyond me, but Bookmark was such a delightful surprise that I’ll be getting on the ferry more often,” Mathias said.

Depot flood gives added meaning to

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Cash for Schools 2024

Watch a movie, enter the draw and earn your school cash!

Watch any movie during the T3/T4 school holidays at Takapuna Beachside Cinemas. Fill in the online form, and we donate $1 to your school and put you into the draw to win one of three $100 gift cards. At the end of the holidays, we will total up the entries, donate money back to your school and draw our three prize winners.

Book Tickets NOW

Devonport artist Celia Walker says a flood at the Depot has underlined the climate-change themes of the Sponge City exhibition she helped organise.

Water coursed down the gallery wall, damaging prints and swamping Depot Sound’s studio after a sudden downpour on 31 August, putting the facility out of operation for two days.

When the Flagstaff visited last week, fabric-covered sound baffles were propped against exterior walls in a bid to fully dry them in the sun.

Inside, video footage of the flood was playing on a television screen.

The footage shot by gallery worker Juno Wangford shows bubbles of water about two-thirds of the way up the wall bursting, sending water cascading down the wall and across the gallery floor.

Walker has incorporated the sudden misfortune of the flood into Sponge City. “It seems apt,” she said.

Key words such as “Inundate” and “Saturate” were already stencilled on the wall, but Walker decided to add extras: “Flood”, “Overflow” and “Soak”. She also created paint trickles to depict the passage of water.

Walker said works by artists Bridget Burnett and Di Smallfield had been damaged,

Michael King writers residences oversubscribed

The Michael King Writers Centre’s 16 residencies for 2025 have been announced. Established writers to receive residencies are: Andrea Hotere, Ash Davida Jane, Emma Neale, Kerrin Sharpe, Marianne Schultz, Matariki Williams and Tina Shaw.

Emerging writers awarded a residency are: Ashlee Sturme, Hannah Marshall, Isla Huia, Jack Remiel Cottrell, Jason Gurney, Kerry Sunderland, Kirsteen Ure, Michelle Duff and Sam Orchard.

More than 100 applications were received for the residencies at the centre on Takarunga.

Centre board of trustees chair Mel Winder said a continuing trend was the high number of applicants in the emerging-writers category.

“We were energised and impressed by the quality of writing across a wide variety of projects; the future of New Zealand writing is looking brighter than ever,” she said. All residencies are supported by Creative New Zealand.

For the first time, the emerging-writers residencies will also be supported by Allen & Unwin and Hachette.

Flood amplifies art… Celia Walker

exhibition’s climate-change themes

along with a collaborative piece by the pair.

“The artists are being very forgiving and accepting the damage as part of the story of the work,” she said.

Luckily, all the work that had been sold before the flood was untouched by it, she said. Burnett had been in negotiation to sell one of her damaged prints, which would now need touch-ups.

Other prints were undamaged, being hung from the ceiling and standing free of the flooded wall, or on other walls or panels.

Walker said before the flood, people had looked more at the prints as beautiful art works.

“I definitely think they now are getting the message a bit more than before.”

This was apparent one evening when Tom Mansell, a council water management expert spoke.

“That made the talk more pertinent and the message more urgent,” Walker said.

Depot director Amy Saunders said people seemed more engaged with the show since the flood. A group of seniors from the University of the Third Age (U3A) had visited from the city and were very interested in its themes, staying for two hours.

Damage costs and repair timelines are still to be determined, she said, with the insured recording studio hit worst.

It suffered equipment, ceiling and wall damage, but a second studio was available. The gallery was functioning fully. • Sponge City runs until Saturday, 28 September.

Water works… words and paint trickles were added to the Depot walls after the flood. Many works (including that below) were undamaged

NOW SHOWING

Ice Maiden (E) 101min

The Substance (R16) 142min

The Three Musketeers - Part 2: Milady (M) 114min

Encanto: Reo Māori (PG) 103min

Humanist Vampire Seeking

Consenting Suicidal Person (M) 91min

Marguerite’s Theorem (M) 114min

Speak No Evil (R16) 110min

Transformers One (PG) Previews 20-22 Sep

The Wild Robot (PG) 102min Previews 21-22 Sep

COMING SOON

Harold and the Purple Crayon (PG) 90min 26 Sep

Megalopolis (TBA) 138min 26 Sep

Runt (PG) 92min Previews 30 Sep-2 Oct

The Vic Open Mic Night 26 Sep

events@thevic.co.nz

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