22 September 2023 Devonport Flagstaff

22, 2023

Hit list of public assets sought for possible sale

A list is to be compiled of council-owned properties the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board might want to have sold.

The board asked at its monthly meeting last week that Auckland Council staff identify community assets it could look to “optimise”.

“So you would want to be considering selling stuff to get more done?” asked council’s

northern operations manager for community facilities and parks Sarah Jones at the board’s September business meeting.

“Yes,” replied board chair Toni van Tonder.

The issue arose in discussion of funding a renovation of the heritage Claystore building in Lake Rd.

This was approved in principle, pending

staff advice on shuffling budgets and a report on “community assets suitable for optimisation if required to meet the cost”.

Van Tonder has previously signalled that council’s budget crunch will continue to eat into what the board can fund.

“We need to closely look at our asset portfolios,” she said.

Claystore plans, page 4

New principal makes a splash

Minnie Mouse outfit... New Stanley Bay School principal Emma Tolmie was in the thick of the action at the school’s big Mud Run fundraiser. She says her first stint in the mud and suds was “a lot of fun and a great day out in the sun”. More pictures, pages 10-13.

BIS football girls win big schools tournament...

Labour has delivered for the North Shore Cost of living

We’ve extended 20 hours free Early Childhood Education to two-year-olds, helping families with the cost of childcare. Reducing power bills by making homes more energy efficient with the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme, as well as helping over a million people through the Winter Energy Payment.

Safety

We’re keeping our communities safe, delivering an additional 16% more Police officers in Auckland since 2017, and expanding community policing teams across the Shore.

We’re supporting North Shore retailers via the recently expanded Fog Cannon Subsidy Scheme, and through the Retail Crime Prevention Programme which we’ve more than doubled our investment into. We’ve also expanded a circuit breaker programme targeting recidivist child offenders into Auckland City.

Transport

The Additional Waitematā Harbour Connections project will start in 2029, this is a crucial link in our community and will create up to 97,000 new jobs.

We’re permanently cutting public transport costs for young Kiwis, making public transport free for children under13s, and half price for under 25s

Health

We’ve invested in mental health locally, through opening E Tū Tanekaha, Waitematā DHB’s new 15-bed specialist mental health unit at the Mason Clinic, and helping Shore Junction support local youth aged 13–24 through the Youth Mental Wellbeing Fund.

The North Shore Hospital upgrade in 2018 saw the Government invest $200 million into a new elective surgery unit comprising of 120 hospital beds and four operating theatres.

Get

george.hampton@labour.org.nz /georgehamptonnz

Authorised by Rob Salmond, 187 Featherston

Street, Wellington.

Triumphant footballers give BIS first taste of Aims glory

The Belmont Intermediate School girls football team has made history by becoming the first from the school in any sport to win an Aims Games competition.

BIS beat St Kentigern 2-1 in a thrilling final in Tauranga two weeks ago, after playing 10 games over five days.

“The more we got into the game the more I thought we could win it,” coach Emily Couchman told the Flagstaff.

She said the victory felt “pretty incredible”, after a full-on week of games.

Belmont had only one loss, in the pool stage of the tournament, and triumphed in the final despite having a goal disallowed early on in the match.

The win didn’t come without drama before the match, with goalkeeper Lilian Carey dislocating her knee three hours before kickoff, during clean-up at the team motel.

After being cleared by the physio, she went on to play a great game in the final.

“She was excellent throughout the entire tournament,” Couchman said

Another top player, Ariana Vosper, provided the connection that led to the side getting video messages of encouragement from the Wellington Phoenix women’s team. Her sister Saskia plays for the Phoenix.

Receiving the messages before the game really hyped up the Belmont girls, Couchman said.

She welcomed the fact that girls these days have female footballers to look up to.

“To have that representation for them is so important.”

The Belmont squad was only assembled 10 weeks prior to the competition, as the school doesn’t have a team that plays regularly together.

Many of the players have played at North Shore United, with others playing at different clubs.

But two girls in the side have never pre-

Champions... Back row: Emily Couchman (coach), Romey Jewell, Ariana Vosper, Amy Simpson, Samika Harbour, Delilah Pezaro, Daniel Vosper (coach). Front row: Ruby Alpers, Sacha Curson, Margo Slade, Lilian Carey, Ruby Lawton, Renee Barrett, Ulani HeatherKrishnan. Right: Romey Jewell about to strike a free kick.

viously played organised football.

The side trained twice a week for those 10 weeks.

Couchman, a teacher at BIS, said she hopes the Aims win will encourage more girls to play football, not just at intermediate but at Takapuna Grammar School and for North Shore United too.

The Zespri AIMS Games is one of Aus-

tralasia’s largest junior sporting events, held annually in Tauranga, and this year featuring 25 sports.

The girls football tournament drew 33 teams.

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Claystore gets $1.4 million for major one-hit renovation

Devonport’s heritage Claystore building –home to a community workshop – will get a full renovation costing over $1.4 million.

This will include external lift access and renovations to open a mezzanine level to expand the building’s use.

Much-needed recladding and other weather-tightness work is included in the upgrade, along with earthquake strengthening.

The DevonportTakapuna Local Board has decided to fully fund the build over several years by juggling other project priorities, rather than only commit to a partial renovation costing $756,250.

“I’m mindful of not leaving problems for future boards... we might as well get on and do it,” said board chair Toni van Tonder, in supporting the move at the board’s September meeting.

After debate, the board decided, 5-1, to back her motion.

A total of $1,214,000 will be set aside for the project over three years, with $229,000 already spent. Other projects elsewhere will be shuffled to free the funds.

One of these might be the nearby Ngataringa skate park, said council’s northern area operations manager for parks and community facilities, Sarah Jones.

She said exploring what to do with the skate facility, including a potential relocation to Woodall Park away from its unstable home on a former dump site, meant an early start on this project was unlikely anyway.

09 445 9800

Board member George Wood voted against, concerned that other work would be pushed back. He flagged also that costs might blow out, given work on older buildings

could uncover extra issues. “In this stringent financial situation we are in we’ve got to be mindful of that.”

Wood favoured focusing on the earlier option of fixing the exterior and the downstairs and setting aside the seismic strengthening and mezzanine and lift installation.

Van Tonder said fixing half the building but leaving the mezzanine unusable would be a wasted opportunity. Community groups had expressed interest in the space. These included local artists and environmental group Restoring Takarunga Hauraki, she said. “We could get a good tenant.”

The building, which dates to 1883 and was once an Auckland Gas and Fire Brick Company brickworks, had heritage status so would ultimately need fixing, she added.

Council staff said the Claystore’s concrete superstructure was in okay condition, but the back wall needed seismic strengthening. The upper level was a 1970s addition by architecture students and not covered by the heritage status of the main building, but advice was it had merit to preserve.

It had been recommended that the building be fully painted red, to match its original colour, rather partially green as it is now.

Member Gavin Busch said he backed the board advancing the Claystore work as costs would only rise. Peter Allen said the wider site had much potential for community groups. Terence Harpur wanted the Claystore’s entrance improved to make it more attractive.

• Claystore stalwart interview, page 22-23.

Eyesore site eyed for eventual upgrade

Expanding the Claystore’s use might be a catalyst for tidying the whole 27 Lake Rd area which leads to Dacre Park, says Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Toni van Tonder.

The board and North Shore councillor Chris Darby have been keen to see the industrial area better utilised.

It could form a valuable community hub, they believe. The site already includes the Devonport Community Recycling Centre, a new Restoring Takarunga Hauraki nursery and several commercial tenants, including a timber business fronting Lake Rd.

The council-owned land is managed by Auckland Council property arm Eke Panuku, which handles leases, including those for old sheds to the rear of the site, some of which are in poor condition and vacant.

Council staff told the board this week that they understood Eke Panuku was considering demolishing some of the sheds. Staff would

liaise with Eke Panuku and were to develop a site plan, which would include parking.

The recycling centre is nearing the end of a council upgrade to facilities which will provide the operator with a larger shop, new pathways, gate and entrance. Stormwater issues have also been tackled.

New asphalt needs to be laid and the work signed off before an official opening later in the year, council’s Resource Recovery Network staff told the board recently.

Longer-term, the wider site could be considered for further waste-recovery operations, repair and education initiatives, they said.

“The more we can have a precinct of like-minded people the better,” said senior programme manager, Erik Park. This would provide the community with further convenient options for better waste management.

Van Tonder wanted a move to zero-waste outcomes and clearer goals set for recycling centres to help achieve this.

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New Bayswater ferry operator makes room for bikes

The new operator of the Bayswater ferry route is extending the deck of a vessel to accommodate more bikes.

Explore Group takes over the route from 1 October, following a decision by previous operator Fullers 360 to halt its service.

Auckland Transport (AT) has struck a deal with Explore, which will temporarily use a vessel with room for 100 passengers and 20 bikes, to provide services according to the current timetable.

AT said the Fullers vessels used on the service have had an average of around 150 seats.

Explore is sourcing from Sydney a fer-

ry with capacity for 170 passengers, for deployment on the Bayswater route from later next month.

It would have room for “significantly more bikes” than the temporary vessel, Explore’s managing director, William Goodfellow, told the Flagstaff.

He said the deck was being extended specifically for that purpose.

Goodfellow was confident Explore Group could deliver a reliable service on a run which has been affected by crew shortages.

He said Explore had enough staff to run the service well.

“By and large, we’re reasonably well staffed. We’ve got a really good core group of people that have been with us for a long time so we’re confident we can deliver on that front.”

Services over the summer would not be affected by Explore’s tourist operations in the Bay of Islands and Hauraki Gulf. “This slots in really nicely,” he said.

Goodfellow said Explore Group was working with AT to eventually increase frequency on the Bayswater run, but this would take time.

The main priority was delivering a reliable service on the current timetable.

Cricket official falls on unlit path

The elderly vice-patron of North Shore Cricket Club recently took a nasty fall on a path left unlit due to a faulty light.

Dave Ashby required hospital treatment for his injuries after the spill close to the clubrooms in Devonport Domain, on the evening of the club annual meeting on 31 August.

A light on a heritage pole at the base of the stairs leading up to Cambridge Tce wasn’t working at the time.

It is understood to have had repeated faults, which have been reported to council over several years.

Weather at the time was poor, club president Hayden Smith told the Flagstaff. He was unsure how long the light had been out of action. The club was working with council to get it fixed, he said.

Left in the dark... The pole missing its light near the cricket clubrooms at Devonport Domain

TGS rowers reach deal with Bayswater marina developers

Takapuna Grammar School Rowing Club has struck a deal with the Bayswater Marina developers, guaranteeing access to the water from the club’s training shed.

The club has accordingly withdrawn its appeal against the resource consent for the development of apartments on land owned by Bayswater Marina Holdings Ltd (BMHL).

Club president Joanna Gilbert said rowers now had certainty over ongoing use of their training facilities at Bayswater.

“What we have mutually agreed marks the end of an anxious few years,” she said.

TGS rowing has been based for decades in a large blue shed on Auckland Council land adjacent to the development site. Fears that access to the water through the site could be lost were made public late last year, when the club told the Flagstaff of its struggle to get answers over its lease from Auckland Transport and council property arm Eke Panuku. An Eke Panuku staff member informally advised the club to find a new home.

Gilbert said discussions with BMHL since then had resulted in it agreeing to vest part of the redevelopment as a road reserve – as an extension of Sir Peter Blake Pde – which resolves the club’s access concerns.

The light was completely missing from the pole when the Flagstaff visited the spot last week. The paper understands another pedestrian fell on the unlit stone stairs several years ago.

Sign-envy and beard provide points of interest at

A surprisingly low-key opening to the campaign season in the North Shore electorate two weeks ago had the event moderator pleading for the audience to inject some energy into proceedings.

After giving a quiet reception to six candidates’ opening statements at the Devonport Community House, the crowd of more than 100 was told not to be afraid of making some noise.

“I don’t want to see you falling asleep,” said moderator Lynn Lawton.

The unexcited mood perhaps owed something to the nonchalance of the incumbent in the seat, National’s Simon Watts, who carried the air of a seasoned veteran – despite being a first-term opposition MP.

Watts ran breezily through his CV of business and other experience, threw in a reference to still “jumping on an ambulance” in his sideline as a paramedic, reeled off his portfolio responsibilities and ticked off his party’s campaign talking points on the economy, law and order, and health and education, in fairly perfunctory fashion.

Perhaps, given National’s strong polling, and with a role in government so tantalisingly close, he could be forgiven for not bringing fireworks to the occasion.

Nor did Labour’s George Hampton, it has to be said. The diplomatic high-flyer and Mr Whippy owner had his own packed CV to be casually showcased and party-line points to deliver. But initially, at least, his performance hardly bristled with the energy of someone expecting to make it to Wellington at his first attempt. In his case, Labour’s poor polling might have dialled down expectations.

Still, he hadn’t lost his sense of humour, drawing attention to his “very small sign”, propped on a chair, which compared so unfavourably with the full-length roll-up models brought by the Act, Green and NZ

First candidates. A supporter later held the modest placard behind Hampton as he spoke, only partly obscuring the prominent Act sign which loomed over him.

The woman depicted on that sign, Act’s North Shore candidate and Devonport resident Anna Yallop, has her own impressive track record, ranging across business and science and innovation and including a master’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice. She seemed to have been genuinely shocked by the lack of accountability she had encountered in dealings with the public sector. At one department on a fishing industry initiative, she had dealt with 17 different people in three years. “Not one of those people wanted to make a decision.” But the impact of that personal testimony was often lost in her reading at length from notes, something she’ll need to abandon to enjoy the success in politics

she’s had elsewhere.

New Zealand First’s Michelle Warren, a former GP who retired from medicine, concerned about the centralisation of political control over health, was another lacking political chops, often reading at length from prepared material. Still, despite being her party’s Northcote candidate (no North Shore candidate has been announced), she could boast a strong association with the eastern side of the motorway, having attended Belmont Primary, Belmont Intermediate and Takapuna Grammar School.

Warren condemned both a “tsunami of state control” following the arrival of Covid and the ideology she detected in co-governance. Later, in time-honoured New Zealand First fashion, she didn’t leave it too long before mentioning her leader and his track record as a “stabilising handbrake”.

The Opportunities Party (Top) candi -

That’s commitment... North Shore Labour candidate George Hampton had his “very small” sign held up by a supporter at a candidates meeting in Devonport. Below: Top candidate Abe Gray.

muted meeting

date in the seat, Abe Gray, owner of the evening’s – surely the electorate’s – most luxuriant beard, was happy to wear his years campaigning for cannabis-law reform as a badge of pride. “I’ve been a tenacious battler, standing up for what’s right,” he said, to a murmuring of support from like-minded members of the audience.

The US native’s often wry answers had the added advantage of brevity. He declined to use the full four minutes allocated for answering some questions, a timespan some others doggedly filled long after the audience’s attention had begun to waver.

Green Party candidate Darleen Tana, who is standing for the Māori seat Tāmaki Makaurau, on the other side of the harbour, asked us to “forgive the nerves” brought on by having her husband in the audience before displaying no nerves whatsoever. Her confidence was easily the equal of Watts’ and Hampton’s, and her deft crowd work stretched to throwing questions back at the audience for rhetorical effect.

The crowd, among which grey heads predominated, eventually began to warm up, offering sporadic heckles and applause.

Overall, it may have skewed left, which could have limited the kind of anti-government outrage that tends to get these kinds of events stirred up. But it was a mixed enough audience that Yallop’s promotion of a move in support of landlords drew both boos and cheers of support.

The signs of life eventually seemed to rouse Hampton into a more combative mood. In answer to a question about local ferry services being cut, he accused Watts of inaction as the local MP. “I would absolutely be fighting for this.”

Watts wasn’t moved to respond in kind, his imperturbability suggesting he expects to soon have bigger fish to fry.

– Flagstaff reporter

Bodyline by Guy Body Election

Mass turn-out... of candidates at least

An extended line-up of 11 candidates at a lunchtime meeting in Takapuna last week drew a crowd of only around 30 people –including several from the organiser, Auckland North Community and Development (Ancad).

With the exception of the Green Party’s Darleen Tana, the candidates from the Devonport meeting were all again in attendance at the Takapuna War Memorial Hall.

They were joined by the Green candidate for Māori seat Te Tai Tokerau (which covers North Shore), Hūhana Lyndon, along with Northcote MP Shanan Halbert (Labour), Northcote candidates Leo Foley (Act), Dan Bidois (National) and Mark Donaldson (Vision), and Top’s Upper Harbour candidate Shai Navot.

Lyndon, ranked 10th on the Greens list and CEO of the Ngātiwai Trust Board, was just as articulate as Tana had been, while both Yallop

Shore rivals clash on environment

The National and Labour candidates for North Shore jousted over their parties’ environmental records at a debate in Takapuna early this month.

Hosted by Forest and Bird at the Senior Citizens Hall, the event was also attended by Act list MP Simon Court, who is standing in Te Atatu, and Green Party Epsom candidate Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan.

But the North Shore rivals were prominent throughout, trading blows over a range of environmental issues.

The sniping extended to use of the term “turbo-charge”, which Hampton applied to Labour’s goal of a shift to entirely renewable energy by 2030, and Watts subsequently used in reference

to National’s policy of reducing consent times in the same sphere.

Hampton pointed out he had got to the phrase first, repeatedly raising the topic, to the crowd’s amusement.

The pair clashed more seriously over the proposed 19 new Hauraki Gulf protection areas included in legislation brought to Parliament last month, just three days before the House rose.

Watts said it had been rushed through to tick a box, and didn’t cover sedimentation, one of the main factors in the gulf. “While we support it, absolutely, the scope needs to be broader.”

Hampton said National had plenty of opportunity to act itself when it was in government but hadn’t done so.

and Warren were more at ease than they had been at the bigger meeting in Devonport.

Certainly, neither lost their train of thought as completely as Foley did in one answer, never to recover it. Perhaps he took comfort from his tough-talking view, expressed in another answer, that “a bit of public humiliation doesn’t hurt anyone”.

The atmosphere was again mostly lowkey, with only one brief outburst of hostility, this time on the part of the usually mild incumbent MP. Responding to Labour claims on community policing, Watts animatedly accused his opponents of being “all big talk”.

The number of community constables was lower than it had been under National he said.

And just over the road, he noted was the former site of a Michael Hill jewellery store, which closed last year after a series of burglaries and ram-raids. “This Labour Party has failed our community.”

The contenders

The candidates nominated in the North Shore electorate are: Pat Baskett, Green Party; Abe Gray, The Opportunities Party (TOP); George Hampton, Labour; Simon Watts, National; and Anna Yallop, Act.

Those standing in the Te Tai Tokerau Māori electorate, which covers the North Shore, are: Kelvin Davis, Labour; Maki Herbert, Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party; Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, Te Pāti Māori; Hūhana Lyndon, Green Party; and Paturiri Toautu, Independent.

When to vote

Advance voting runs from 2 to 13 October. Election day is Saturday 14 October, with voting places open from 9am to 7pm. A list of voting places can be found at vote.nz.

Know when to fold ’em: Paper flotilla invited for festival

Local children are being encouraged to make origami boats for public display and in doing so learn more of Devonport’s ground-breaking anti-nuclear history.

Devonport Library and the Torpedo Bay Navy Museum will display the boats during Auckland Heritage Festival, which runs from this Saturday 23 September until 8 October.

The annual event has a theme this year of Peace, Love and Protest, which has prompted recollections of Devonport’s role in the anti-nuclear groundswell of the 70s and 80s.

Local resident Bruce Grant – whose father Kelvin was on the Devonport Borough Council when it voted to go nuclear free in 1981 – is promoting the origami project. Grant said many young people and even their parents did not know about this trail-blazing time.

As well as having the first council to declare itself nuclear-free, Devonport hosted peace marches and was handy for protests on the harbour.

“The role that Devonport played was very much about boats in the water,” said Gray. This had given him the idea for boat-making. “I wanted to have something children could do.”

Hopes of a flotilla of children’s boats on the water had been stymied by red tape, he said.

But children could still make them and take them to the library and Navy Museum during the school holidays, where other displays would reinforce the history.

“If we get inundated with little boats, I would love to see them displayed in one of the empty shop windows.”

Anyone wishing to make an origami boat, can find instructions at flotilla.nz.

Those visiting the library will find the boats alongside anti-nuclear memorabilia including large-scale posters. The Navy’s observation role during nuclear testing at Mururoa is part

Big plans to signpost Devonport

Locally born-and-bred software entrepreneur Bruce Grant wants to raise Devonport’s profile as a visitor destination, with technology to make it easier for tourists to enjoy their visit and connect with what businesses here have to offer.

The member of Devonport Heritage and the Devonport Business Association outlined his intentions to the Local Board recently, explaining he had found Devonport listed as just 34th of top things to do in Auckland. “We need to do much better at taking dollars out of tourists’

Part of his plan is to put QR codes on

blue discs around the village and local parks and reserves.

These could link to tourist information in a range of languages, he said. For a small monthly fee, businesses could benefit by having their special offers loaded on the platform.

Grant said he was keen to trial the plan over summer.

Board members were generally supportive of Grant’s goals, but member Gavin Busch was “a little bit concerned about the blue dots everywhere”.

Chair Toni van Tonder was wary of commercialisation of public spaces.

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Paperwork… Bruce Grant with examples of the origami boats children are being encouraged to make for Auckland Heritage Festival

We were proud to sponsor the Stanley Bay School Mud Run. It was a fantastic day for our team and the community.

Sell-out Mud Run makes biggest-ever splash

With the cap on entries lifted from 800 to 1000, this year’s Stanley Bay Mud Run was a bigger spectacle than ever. The Devonport Volunteer Fire Brigade was on hand to keep the water flowing, and Stanley Bay School’s new principal, Emma Tolmie, endured a traditional drenching to introduce her to the school’s popular fundraiser.

Ready,

go...

make more careful progress through the tyres.

Making waves... New Stanley Bay principal Emma Tolmie slithers down a muddy water slide

set,

Competition was intense at the start gate (above). Below: Aimee Leverne helps daughter Gia

Taking the plunge... (from left ) Belle, Penelope and Cam Allison tackle a water hazard. Below: Emily Levine (left) lines up a soft landing, while Elliott Hawken enjoys the bubbles.

In the swing... Dad Uni Leung gives anna (left) and Sophie a spin

Good clean fun... Sophie Sickling (left) and Olivia Chapman-Smith

Smile-inducing... Ellie Rose Arnold (above) looks on the bright side. Below: (from left) Edward and Eva Foster, Chloe Southwell and Florence Ashcroft provide mutual support

Summer of dredging looms for Rangitoto channel

Beachgoers will be in for a less picturesque view of Rangitoto this summer, while the channel is dredged to allow bigger freight ships into the country.

The Rangitoto Channel is being deepened from a minimum depth of 12.5 metres at low tide to 14 metres.

Work is scheduled to begin before the end of the year and is tide and weather dependent. It could take more than a year to complete.

Ports of Auckland head of communications Julie Wagener told the Observer ships using the channel can today carry 5000 20-foot containers, but shipping lines want to start bringing in vessels with 6000 to 7000 containers in the next two to three years.

In the future, Auckland will have to accommodate new ‘Panamax’ ships – a description related to size limits for ships travelling through the Panama Canal – that can carry around 12,000 containers, she said. Another stage of dredging will be required to accommodate them.

Wagener said a digger on a barge will be used to deepen the channel. The seabed was mostly soft material, such as mud, mudstone, sandstone and gritstone, which do not require blasting to dredge.

Dredgings will be disposed of at a deep-water site near Cuvier Island in the Coromandel.

The Hauraki Gulf Forum chief executive, Alex Rogers, said the dredging would have a large impact on the environment in the channel, but worse outcomes were risked if it didn’t go ahead.

Leaving the channel as it is could result in a bigger ship running aground and spilling oil. “That wouldn’t be good for us or anyone.”

The channel has been dredged multiple times before, making it one of the most degraded areas of the Hauraki Gulf, Rogers said. While the impact wouldn’t be as bad as dredging a coral reef, it would still be significant.

The dredging plans caught the attention of Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member George Wood, who alerted his fellow board members to the impending work.

The board has sought a presentation from Auckland Council ma-

Clearing the way..... A map shows where dredging is planned to allow larger ships a clear passage to enter the Waitematā through the channel between the North Shore and Rangitoto

rine-protection staff and the Auckland Harbourmaster on the likely impact to people using the area, the impact on marine life, plans in place for unexpected incidents and the ability of residents to report concerns and a timeline for when it will begin.

Driver in fatal cycle crash ‘could have done no more’

Counsel for the truck driver charged over the death of a cyclist in a collision on Lake Rd in 2021 has asked that the case against his client be dismissed.

Simei Mose was charged with careless use of a motor vehicle causing the death of cyclist Warrick Jones in 2021. Mose’s truck and Jones collided when Mose was turning left into Montgomery Ave from Lake Rd as Jones was coming downhill on his bike.

In the North Shore District Court, Mose’s lawyer, Justin Harder, said Mose had indicated his turn 100 metres before Montgomery Ave, checked all of his mirrors including the left mirror twice, checked by turning his head before starting to turn and slowed down to almost a standstill when turning. “Simply there was no room for him to have done anything further to prevent the incident.”

Harder said that Crown evidence had suggested Jones was riding his bike recklessly – going downhill with his head down to gain

speed. In the expert crash report it was found that Jones’ Garmin device recorded him going at a top speed of 54-58 km/h during his ride. Harder sought a ruling that there was no case to answer.

For the prosecution, Sergeant James Gallagher rejected the suggestion the cyclist wasn’t visible and said that even if he was at some fault that wouldn’t clear Mose of his carelessness.

On a road with a clearly marked cycle lane, Mose should have anticipated the approach of a cyclist, Gallagher said.

He said Mose passed two cyclists before reaching the main Belmont intersection, meaning he was aware of their presence and should have taken extra care.

The defence disagreed that Mose passed any cyclists. Judge Bennett will review the CCTV footage submitted as evidence earlier in the trial to determine the issue before giving a decision at the end of the month on whether Mose has a case to answer.

Devonport 09 446 2030

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Located in a quiet cul-de-sac this home is ready and waiting for the next family to move in and enjoy it just as the current owners have. A stunning new kitchen finished in the latest on-trend green with stone bench tops and brass fittings makes a statement in the open-plan living and dining area. There are two good-sized bedrooms and a third large room that could be used for additional living space. The bathroom has a separate shower and bath with the toilet in another room. There is a shed in the back garden which is ideal for the additional toys and storage or could be converted as a separate office or man cave! A utility room behind the roller garage door at the front of the house has a small gym set up but equally has various uses. Filled with light and sunshine, this home is ideal for a first-home buyer, young family or as an investment opportunity.

Diana Murray 021 911 522

diana.murray@harcourts.co.nz

Devonport 09 446 2030 Proud Sponsor Of North Shore Rugby Club

Devonport 2/10 Merani Street

Auction

Thursday 28th September at 1.00pm

(Unless Sold Prior)

View

Saturday/Sunday 11.00am - 11.30am harcourts.co.nz/L24353158

Devonport 21 Ariho Terrace

Auction

Thursday 28th September at 1:00pm

In Rooms (Unless Sold Prior)

View Saturday/Sunday 12.00pm - 12.30pm harcourts.co.nz/L24372679

Location and Style on Merani

This stunner of a home not only delivers on location but also on style. Located at the beach end of desirable Merani Street, it is a short walk to Narrow Neck giving you the luxury of having the beach at your doorstep. The interior of the home is a relaxed blend of stylish and beachy, making every day feel like a holiday at home. Upstairs is a newly renovated open plan kitchen, dining and lounge plus bedroom with ensuite all of which feature gorgeous views of Rangitoto. Downstairs there are two more bedrooms and a kids' sitting room and bathroom plus huge rumpus room perfect as a home office, kids' play area or 4th bedroom. This leads out to the back deck with spa pool nestled into an established and tidy garden with enough backyard space for a family game of football.

Jemma Glancy 021 246 5300 jemma.glancy@harcourts.co.nz

The 19th Hole

Tucked away down a quiet lane is this north facing 3-bedroom home overlooking the pristine park-like grounds of the Waitemata Golf Club. The perfect home for entertaining - there is plenty of space for weekend BBQs, evening drinks or 19th hole Gin & Tonics. The large open plan living space opens through French doors to a sun-drenched elevated deck looking out to the lush golf course and beyond. Built on solid block brick with timber cladding, this home is perfect to just move in to and enjoy. And for astute buyers with an eye for renovation this home has so much potential and possibility. The full site in a desirable and tranquil location gives buyers the perfect opportunity to invest now and make great capital gains in the future.

Jemma Glancy 021 246 5300

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Price by Negotiation

View Saturday/Sunday 11.45am - 12.30pm harcourts.co.nz/L24194455

Idyllic Waterfront Apartment

Experience unique island living in the historic Heritage Hotel building, one of only six apartments in a 1920s colonial-inspired complex. Recently refurbished with new flooring and a fresh coat of paint, the apartment boasts lofty ceilings and inviting French doors and windows, blending timeless appeal with a modern aesthetic. The upper level features an open-plan kitchen, dining, and lounge leading to a sunny north-facing deck. It also includes a master bedroom with ensuite powder room, a second bedroom and a tiled bathroom. The lower level offers flexibility with two extra rooms, a second bathroom and a TV/games room. Convenience is key with ample interior and lockable, exterior storage plus designated parking for the Sealegs and another vehicle. Enjoy easy access to waterfront restaurants, public transport and world-class vineyards.

Gred de Marigny 021 266 1671

greg.demarigny@harcourts.co.nz

McMahon 027 572 9659 karen.mcmahon@harcourts.co.nz

Karen

Development supersizing to 16 storeys approved

An expansion of the Amaia apartment development on Esmonde Rd – with extra blocks of up to 16 storeys – has been approved by an independent hearings panel.

The decision, following a hearing in May, is despite an Auckland Council planner recommending the site height should not exceed 12 storeys.

It allows greatly expanded coverage of the old Harbourside Church site, with developer KBS Capital planning extra blocks in addition to those already under construction, which range up to seven storeys. Heights will peak at the centre of the site.

The scale of the development drew multiple objections, with traffic and environmental concerns among issues raised.

Hauraki residents, the Takapuna Residents Association (TRA), the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board and Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society were among 58 submitters after the plans were notified last year.

The developer sought a new precinct to allow the expansion (depicted in the above graphic). It was approved by the panel, chaired by Peter Reaburn, with a few mod-

AT stance snuffs out last hopes of large local projects, including Francis St link

Auckland Transport (AT) has put the kibosh on any last hopes of funding for bigger local projects, including a connecting path between Esmonde Rd and Francis St.

While this has been signalled for some time, not only are accrued allocations from the Local Board Transport Capital Fund not being carried over, but the fund itself has been reduced by more than a third, due to wider Auckland Council budget cuts.

The cuts were confirmed in a memo sent to Devonport-Takapuna Local Board members. Across Auckland, local boards will share $7 million from the fund each year instead of $11 million, to be allocated to projects they advocate for.

AT’s head of stakeholder and elected member relations, John Gillespie, told board members in a second memo late last month

that based on budget reductions, the indicative budget for Devonport-Takapuna over the next three-year term would be reduced from $1.5m to $992,000.

For several terms now, Devonport-Takapuna board member have preferred to squirrel away their allocation towards a bigger project rather than spend it all each year. The Esmonde Rd pathway was first choice for years, with the board’s money accumulating for initial design, but when AT said this year that it had no budget for construction, the current board requested a Milford estuary boardwalk project be bankrolled instead, only to then be told it was out of AT’s scope.

The board will this month consider which smaller local projects the fund will be spent on, given it has not been permitted to accrue past funding.

ifications.

A boardwalk around the coastal edge of the site has been amended to provide a clifftop path instead.

The panel considered public access around the coast and to non-residential activities on site were provided for.

The “island-like” nature of the site, proximity to Takapuna, access to public transport and the plan giving effect to a government intensification push all made it appropriate for greater intensification, the panel said.

Stepped design and separation from other homes would “offset potential adverse effects of building height and mass”.

A period during which appeals against the decision can be lodged closes on 20 October.

Arrests over car crimes

Police arrested a 14-year-old and a man, aged 27, after a car was stolen from Narrow Neck last week, and two teens after an attempt to break into a car in Hauraki last Sunday morning.

After the Narrow Neck incident on 13 September, police found the missing vehicle on Kawerau Ave, then spotted two people fleeing in another stolen car. This was abandoned in Northcote and two people found nearby. They appeared last Thursday in the North Shore District and Youth courts, charged with theft.

In a further continuation of a recent spike in local vehicle crimes, police took two youths, aged 13 and 15, into custody in Hauraki on Sunday morning

The pair were referred to Youth Aid after an attempted break-in of a car parked on Jutland Rd.

Petition growing in alarm at coastal walkway threat

A petition urging Auckland Council and Mayor Wayne Brown to safeguard the Takapuna to Milford coastal track had attracted more than 4000 signatures by early this week.

It was launched by the Takapuna Residents Association (TRA), prompted by concern in the wider community, and wants access to the full length of the track guaranteed.

This follows a threat by a lawyer acting for beneficiaries of the Firth estate to close a section of the track, where it crosses their land at Black Rock, from 29 September unless council deals with matters first raised years ago.

The threat stood, lawyer Alex Witten-Hannah said last week. He is dismayed at receiving no substantive council response, despite beneficiaries offering to gift a 1.5-metre strip of coastal land to the council.

TRA chair Steven Salt said the depth of the feeling in the community had prompted the petition on change.org. The TRA recently

met with the Milford and Castor Bay residents groups, both of which shared concerns about coastal access and maintenance generally.

Milford Residents Association co-chair Debbie Dunsford, a keen local historian, said people had been walking the coastal track between the suburbs for at least 100 years. “There’s been an informal track there for forever,” she said. “I just cannot believe we are sitting here with the option on the table of closing that.”

The Flagstaff’s sister newspaper, the Rangitoto Observer has previously revealed the track crosses 73 private properties, which opens a can of worms in regard to ongoing public access and maintenance.

The council manager for northern area operations, Sarah Jones, said: “Auckland Council is responsible for maintaining limited sections of this informal walkway – the concrete path near Milford and the hoggin [limestone] path at Takapuna.”

Repairs to damage in these sections was being investigated, she said. “If major work is required, it will be included in the next paths and walkways renewals project.”

But the Firth land and other areas do not fit into this category. Maintenance along the track has previously been raised by property owners, who in some cases have land boundaries stretching to or beyond the tide line – often with fences separating the bulk of their properties from the shoreline path.

Dunsford said losing public access to the track would fly in the face of council goals. “The politicians are just going to have to wake up and get behind this.”

Witten-Hannah wants a heritage listing on the property removed, so the beneficiaries can sell it. If genuine talks began then action on the fence might be staved off, but the ball was in council’s court, he said. “Because there has been no approach from council, planning is under way to create a robust fence.”

Lighting a focus for Stanley Bay Park spending

Lighting and path upgrades will be prioritised at Stanley Bay Park ahead of restoring its cricket pavilion.

But options to install public toilets should be costed, the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board told Auckland Council staff. This would save park visitors, including children playing sport, from having to cross the road to use the public toilets there.

Completing all the proposed work at the park would cost $1.5 million, which is nearly $250,000 more than what had previously been allowed for.

With the grounds often too sodden for sport, its future may be more for passive recreation, board members said.

The park was discussed at a workshop this month, with a focus on what to do with the pavilion, sited beyond the tennis courts.

Senior project manager Steph Westmore said a condition assessment had found its interior to be in a poor state. “It’s not about to fall down, it’s just not suitable for use,” she said.

An option was a new floor plan to add decent changing facilities for junior football and cricket game days.

Public toilets, accessible from the outside, could be part of an upgrade, Westmore suggested.

Staff had spoken to the North Shore sports clubs, Stanley Bay School (which uses the playing fields for sports days) and Ngataringa Tennis Club, which has its own

private clubroom facilities.

Feedback included a desire for better facilities at the pavilion, especially toilets, but also calls for improved lights and paths.

Board members noted reports of an attack in the park in early 2022 had contributed to public safety concerns and the need for better lighting and improved sight lines. Repairing a damaged bridge near the Navy playing fields was also discussed.

Upgrading the pavilion alone would cost around $600,000, said Westmore. The building had good bones, but its roof and interior needed replacement.

A cheaper alternative to doing the pavilion work now might be to install a stand-alone, off-the-shelf toilet block by the pavilion, she suggested. But being on a flood plain, challenges obtaining consents for a new building were flagged.

Board member Gavin Busch said he was not a huge fan of the pavilion project, despite many years of involvement in cricket at the park, because the fields were so often out of action. “The whole area is an issue – the Navy playing fields too.”

Money spent now might be found in 10 to 15 years to have been wasted on facilities that would have to be abandoned, he said.

Busch he did not want to see the pavilion become derelict, in which case demolition might result. He suggested part of it be walled off to less expensively create an area to leave gear, with an outside tap installed.

SIMON WATTS

GET NORTH SHORE

Chair Toni van Tonder said extra bench seating outside might suffice to keep gear bags dry. Westmore said if the path was kept it could be widened, providing sports watchers with a dry place to stand.

Busch asked if paths could be made permeable. Westmore said limestone paths posed maintenance issues when compared with asphalt.

Summing up, van Tonder said lighting was critical, as was restoring degraded main paths and the bridge. She questioned how vital a path behind the pavilion was, although some park users liked it for access to the courts.

Westmore said: “My preference would be no path behind the building, because it is a pinch point and it’s a safety thing as well.”

But she said installing lighting on the path downhill from Glen Rd would be worth doing. These could be set on low bollards rather than tall poles, so as not to disturb residents.

Van Tonder said with council budget pressures “it would be unwise to do something fancy in Stanley Bay Park, when we are facing a lot of difficult decisions.” Peter Allen wondered if a staged approach meant the work might never get done.

Final decisions will be made when more information on costs is provided.

Council staff told an earlier workshop that siting extra courts the tennis club wants on the park would be problematic.

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Claystore stalwart seeks to pass the mantle

George Crook and other long-time volunteers at Devonport’s community workshop are keen to attract new blood into the organisation. He tells Helen Vause about a local institution where ‘every day is different’.

At 88 years old, George Crook is in a vigorous discussion about a website.

Should a community organisation close to his heart, the Claystore workshop in Lake Rd, be online?

It’s the kind of question Crook has long experience of pondering. Though he selfeffacingly bats off any suggestion that he runs the place, he has been the key contact point in it for many years.

Anyone wanting to know anything about the workshop has been advised to ‘ring George’, who is well known for patiently answering all the questions as the ‘front man’ of a local institution.

Crook has these days slowed down a little since he first wandered into what would become one of his happy places 22 years ago. Since then, it has been the setting for many friendships with local blokes around his age.

The workshop was set up in the 80s in what had been an Auckland Gas and Fire Brick Company building. These days the building is owned by Auckland Council.

Crooks says he’s lost count of the times council people have come with clip boards and gone away again to mull over the future of the place.

It’s the future well-being of the beating heart of people within that concerns him and the core of older men who tend to keep the productive community collective alive.

Some of the oldest hands are retired tradesman, but many walks of life are represented.

Between them all, they have a great depth of skills and experience. They work on their own projects and according to their own talents, but collectively they volunteer to share their wealth of knowledge with anyone who rolls up looking to use the workshop and wanting some guidance on a project.

A glance around suggests plenty are nudging their 80s, though ages range either side of that.

Everyone has their story. Englishman Crook first landed in this country after having served with the British Merchant Navy. A scientist by training, he found work in the defence forces, working in oceanography.

Based in the Navy’s research laboratory, he worked in underwater acoustics related to the detection of submarines, making his

home in Devonport in the mid-60s.

His work took him to the United States in 1968 as a ship’s scientist. After docking in San Francisco, he met his Polish wife, Aniela, in a pub in that city.

“We are getting up there in age a bit,” he says. “It’s been an enormous privilege for me to be associated with this place. Personally I’m starting to feel my finishing line might be in sight.”

The group would love to have some younger blood – men and women – becoming part of the place and carrying on its work.

“We are not a men’s shed,” Crook says. “We like to have women and girls come here and learn if they are keen.”

Times have changed, however, with fewer people coming in who want to fix things such as furniture or lamps – favourite items in need of repair.

Fifty-five years on, with most of that time spent together in Devonport, Crook beams at her and says, “I am just so very lucky to have her.”

(Aniela’s story of wartime deportation from her homeland as a very young child, and her family’s gruelling fight for survival in labour camps, was told in the Flagstaff, 18 October, 2019.)

He recalls times when his phone ran hot with calls related to the ClayStore.

But the place isn’t as busy as it once was. Crook and his friends in the workshop are talking about what they might do to inject new life. A website seems a definite possibility.

Crook’s says his interest has been woodwork and he can’t remember how many chairs he has repaired. But he is very clear about where he feels life at the Clay Store is at with the current volunteers.

“Maybe some who would have come here are now the generation living in Rymans,” he says. “These days a lot of people would be far more likely to throw things out and just go off to K-Mart or somewhere and replace things.”

Crook acknowledges that the slide in numbers started with the Covid lockdowns and has continued since then.

The workshop still hums, however, with all manner of machinery for working with wood or metal, some of it sourced from the dockyards or purchased and maintained by donations.

The premises are open for the public to use from nine to noon, Monday to Saturday. Ideally, the volunteers like to help and guide others with their projects, rather than find themselves doing all the work.

Nevertheless, there have been countless occasions when they’ve done the lion’s share of a project.

Twelve of them are rostered on two at a time, and many of them are there more often.

“We are not a men’s shed. We like to have women and girls come here and learn if they are keen.”

Time out... George Crook takes a break, while other Claystore volunteers (at rear) help out a community member

On the tools... George Crook says he can’t remember how many wooden chairs he has repaired in his 22 years at the community workshop

Props have been built for productions at the Rose Centre, and many special structures have been put together for schools and preschools.

The centreboards from a local fleet of Optimist sailing dinghies were sanded down and revarnished, while making rat traps is ongoing to meet demand.

Children have come in with their skateboards looking for help and the means to repair them.

Boat owners needing help with wooden or metal fittings have been regular visitors, as have younger people wanting to fit out a van as a home on wheels.

“We guide these young visitors on what they want to do, keep an eye on safety in the workshop and wave them on their way. Some of them keep in touch with us,” Crook says.

Aircraft parts have been built in the workshop and another special memory is of popular volunteer and centenarian Tom Stead sitting at a machine drilling holes in the timber to be assembled into 40,000 white crosses for the Fields of Remembrance for fallen soldiers.

“Every day is different here,” Crook says.

“But we urgently need more volunteers. People often seem keen to become part of it but it’s a question of pinning them down.”

Band of brothers... Tom Stead is another Claystore regular. George Crook and others at the Claystore workshop ensured the Hauraki resident’s 102nd birthday was celebrated in style last month. Local Waterwise volunteer Clare Nikkel made the cakes in thanks for his hours of help with projects. Stead was the subject of a Flagstaff profile for his 100th.

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Upgraded Patuone Walkway now open

North Shore walkers and cyclists can now experience one of the area’s most unique natural environments as they travel the newly upgraded $2.6 million Patuone Reserve Walkway funded and developed by the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board and Auckland Council.

Travelling north from Esmonde Road, the path takes users along the edge of an estuary, through mangroves then up through native treeline to emerge in central Takapuna at Auburn Reserve. Users can also exit the

path at Greydene Place behind the Takapuna Countdown.

Local Board Chair Toni van Tonder feels the walkway is a great asset for the North Shore. “This beautiful walkway shows off some unique environments that people may not be aware of in Takapuna while improving our sustainable transport options for those who need them,” she says.

Development of the walkway, which was in disrepair, began in 2018 and designs were greenlit by the board in 2021. Local mana whenua were consulted

throughout the design process. The $2.6 million project also takes in the walkway’s surrounding environment with invasive plants removed and over 1500 natives planted with help from local community groups since the walkway opened to help establish local bird life.

Design of the walkway has also been futureproofed to accommodate plans to improve nearby stormwater infrastructure, including adding pollutant traps to reduce contamination of the estuary.

FOLLOW

Peace breaks out in Heritage Festival nod to protests

The Auckland Heritage Festival opens next week, with lots of opportunities to learn about our past being laid on locally.

The festival theme this year is Peace, Love and Protest, marking 50 years since nuclear-free protests were embraced by the nation. This is particularly relevant to Devonport – as shown on pages 28-31.

But the festival also presents the chance to learn about other aspects of local heritage:

Historic coastal defences of Maungauika

Some of Maungauika’s defence structures were built during the Russian War scares of the 1880s. Tour the gun positions and tunnels while hearing all the secrets and stories, from suggestions of flying boats hidden in secret tunnels to a rumoured hidden ammunition dump. When: Saturday 23 September-Sunday 8 October, Saturdays and Sundays. Tours at 10am and 2pm. Where: 64 King Edward Pde.

Stories of protest and peace

Archeologist Dave Veart shares his knowledge of Devonport’s rich history, from the first human settlement in 1350 to protests and campaigning against nuclear intrusion and much more. When: Wednesday 27 September and Sunday 8 October, 11am-12pm. Where: Devonport Museum.

A timeline of protest

Track Devonport’s role in the country’s nuclear-free stance, through displays at Devonport Library, from 23 September. Historical photographs and information will be exhibited on the windows of the library’s north-facing corner and be visible from outside. Further information and photographs will be displayed inside. Origami boats, made by local school children to represent the on-water anti-nuke protests, will also be on display inside.

Devonport’s

Further north, Takapuna, Milford and Castor Bay also have activities planned.

PumpHouse poetry

The PumpHouse invites you for a night of poetry at one of Takapuna’s most iconic heritage sites. When: Sunday 1 October, 3pm-4.30pm. Where: 2a Manurere Ave.

Lake House saved by art

Lake House Arts presents an interactive tour telling the story of how a plucky bunch of locals prevented the destruction of the then-Coach House in the 1990s. When: Tuesday 26 September-Saturday 30 September, 2pm-3.30pm. Where: Lake House Arts, 37 Fred Thomas Drive.

Colonel Tibbert’s mother’s first two names were Enola Gay Enola has a clean domestic ring. It delivers a message of bleach, polish, disinfectant. And Gay’s a chirpy word So when the good Colonel Took to the skies he named his superfortress after her. and, when he got to Hiroshima to unload himself of his secret burden, he felt enabled in all conscience to leave a sunburst of flame, and a large hole in the ground where a city had stood Enola Gay got him through. She was a spruce and perky instrument of deliverance, her name a touching Good-bye sign of mother-love.

Celebrating a century

View a century’s worth of photos and memorabilia documenting the history of the Milford Cruising Club. When: Saturday 7 October - Sunday 8 October, 10am-4pm. Where: 24 Craig Road, Milford.

Kennedy Park and Rahopara Pa

Tour the historic gun emplacements and tunnels of Kennedy Park and visit one of the last remaining headland pā along this stretch of coast. When: Thursday 5 October, 10am-12pm. Where: 43 Beach Rd.

A full list of events can be found on the Auckland Heritage Festival website: heritagefestival.co.nz

A large crowd attended the celebrations

Poet Kevin Ireland and his poem Enola Gay recited (below)

Former borough councillor Mike Pritchard

Former Devonport deputy mayor Trish Joughin (left) and organiser Ruth Combes

Colourful nuclear-free posters, murals and banners adorned the walls of St Paul’s church hall

nuclear-free history in flags and posters was displayed at St Paul’s Church hall in 2007, 20 years after New Zealand declared itself nuclear free. The library will host a similar display this year.

Devonport boasts a proud heritage worth

Auckland Heritage Festival,

of

Peace and protest have played a major part in Devonport’s modern history.

The Devonport Borough Council is long gone, but will always be remembered for becoming New Zealand’s first nuclear-free local authority in 1981.

The nation followed in 1987, a step celebrated heartily in Devonport 20 years later, when the late Trish Joughin, who was deputy mayor of the borough in 1981, recalled the initiative’s beginnings.

The idea was “fertilised” by the intellectual rigour of Mike Pritchard, Richard Tong and Stephen Mills, she said. But in the end it was a simple idea that was embraced by the Devonport community.

Basic or not “it was a simple message that touched New Zealand like nothing else,” she said.

That 2007 commemoration, held in the St Paul’s Presbyterian Church hall, was a flashback to the days of 1970s and 1980s protest.

T-shirts were hung across the hall in a washing-line tribute to New Zealand’s nuclear-free status.

Black-and-white photos of marches and demonstrations, school posters, banners and art had been collected from around the city – history gathered from sheds, cupboards and attics, set aside but too precious to throw away. The life raft from the Rainbow Warrior – the Greenpeace boat bombed in Auckland harbour by the French in 1985 –hung above the stage.

It all seemed somehow personal, heartfelt, grassroots and gritty – as it had been in 1981 and before.

Bunny McDiarmid of Greenpeace, who was involved in many challenges to French nuclear testing in the South Pacific, was among those who lauded the work of the Devonport Peace Group in creating a nuclear-free climate in the suburb.

In the 1980s, New Zealand had 180 peace groups. Pritchard, who has also since died, recalled Devonport locals pitching up on Kings Wharf to play the “Star-strangled spanner” at full blast while the crew of a visiting US Navy vessel were parading.

Pritchard believed Devonport’s stand had helped turn a minority anti-nuclear sentiment across the country into a majority. By 2007, he reckoned 80 per cent of New Zealanders backed the policy.

North Shore became a peace city in 2009, following Auckland and Waitakere.

When

doves fly... Children have often been part of Devonport peace actions

with its 2023 theme

Peace, Love and Protest, resonates in a village where those goals helped define a ground-breaking anti-nuclear community.

Flying the flag... A Women’s Peace Forum banner at Windsor Reserve circa 1983, the same year as a Women for Peace March (below) to the Navy Base

recalling as the city celebrates activism

Peacenik has kept the torch burning for 40 years

Ruth Coombes first joined the North Shore Peace Group in the early 1980s – and has been active ever since.

Awareness of peace and related issues is just as vital today as it was 40 years ago, she says, as has been illustrated by the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.

She believes New Zealand’s nuclear-free history is given too little attention in schools.

She previously shared some of her memories of the nuclear-free movement in an interview with the Flagstaff in 2007, when she was among the organisers of a 20th-anniversary celebration in Devonport of New Zealand’s 1987 nuclear-free legislation.

Coombes, who joined the Devonport Peace Group in the early 80s, recalled in particular a large fair held locally in 1985 to greet the Rainbow Warrior as it arrived in Auckland.

As part of the event, Labour politician and activist Sonja Davies planted a rose in Windsor Reserve.

The night before the Rainbow Warrior was bombed by French

government agents, Coombes was on board, invited in her capacity as a volunteer in the peace-forum office in Auckland.

She later heard the explosion of the bomb from her home on Calliope Rd.

Devonport had no shortage of people willing to become involved in the anti-nuke campaign. Dave and Carol Mountford and former Mayor Jim Titchener had been part of the Peace Squadron, Coombes said in the Flagstaff interview.

“Sally Vincent had organised a huge banner, ‘This is a nuclear-free zone,’ which stretched right across North Head. You couldn’t miss it.”

After New Zealand declared itself nuclear free, Coombes said supporters took a breather. Coombes joined WILPF (the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom)

“My strong belief is peace is more than the absence of war so you don’t just stop the fighting, you look at all the related issues like poverty and encouraging peaceful conflict resolutions.”

Anti-nuclear protesters marching past the Victoria Cinema in Victoria Rd, Devonport, in 1982

Sign of the times... a demonstration on Maungauika to mark the arrival of the USS Texas in 1983

Twenty years nuclear free: a 2007 milestone

Devonport resident Tim Finn performed a stirring version of ‘Six Months in a Leaky Boat’ when locals gathered in 2007 at St Paul’s Church to mark the 20-year anniversary of going nuclear-free

posters,

Colourful nuclear-free posters, murals and banners adorned the walls of St Paul’s church hall

Colourful nuclear-free posters, murals and banners adorned the walls of St

Colourful nuclear-free posters, murals and banners adorned the walls of St Paul’s church hall

Devonport – first in New Zealand

Colonel

mother’s first two names were Enola Gay Enola has a clean domestic ring. It delivers a message of bleach, polish, disinfectant. And Gay’s a chirpy word So when the good Colonel Took to the skies he named his superfortress after her. and, when he got to Hiroshima to unload himself of his secret burden, he felt enabled in all conscience to leave a sunburst of flame, and a large hole in the ground where a city had stood Enola Gay got him through. She was a spruce and perky instrument of deliverance, her name a touching Good-bye sign of mother-love.

Colonel Tibbert’s mother’s first two names were Enola Gay Enola has a clean domestic ring. It delivers a message of bleach, polish, disinfectant. And Gay’s a chirpy word So when the good Colonel Took to the skies he named his superfortress after her. and, when he got to Hiroshima to unload himself of his secret burden, he felt enabled in all conscience to leave a sunburst of flame, and a large hole in the ground where a city had stood Enola Gay got him through. She was a spruce and perky instrument of deliverance, her name a touching Good-bye sign of mother-love.

Pauls

A large crowd attended the celebrations

A large crowd attended. Also among the performers was Don McGlashan (left), who sang ‘Nature’, the Fourmyula song later covered by McGlashan in the Muttonbirds.

Former borough councillor Mike Pritchard

Former Devonport deputy mayor Trish Joughin (left) and organiser Ruth Combes

Poet and writer Kevin Ireland (left) recited his poem ‘Enola Gay’. Also to the fore were (from left) former deputy Mayor Trish Joughin, event organiser Ruth Coombes and former borough councillor Mike Pritchard.

Former borough councillor Mike Pritchard

Former Devonport deputy mayor Trish Joughin (left) and organiser Ruth Combes

Paul’s church hall

A large crowd attended the celebrations

Poet Kevin Ireland and his poem Enola Gay recited (below)

Former borough councillor Mike Pritchard

Former Devonport deputy mayor Trish Joughin (left) and organiser Ruth Combes

A large crowd attended the celebrations

Poet Kevin Ireland and his poem Enola Gay recited (below)

Former borough councillor Mike Pritchard

Former Devonport deputy mayor Trish Joughin (left) and organiser Ruth Combes

Colourful nuclear-free

murals and banners adorned the walls of St Paul’s church hall

Tibbert’s

A protester on top of the American submarine Haddo in 1979, with others in the water around the vessel and Devonport in the background

Shining a light on commercial property funds

Oyster Property Group’s retail investment manager Rich Lyons reveals the qualities that attract investors to commercial property.

Kiwis have long favoured residential property as their go-to investment and a means of securing their financial future, believing it’s “as safe as houses”. But for some, owning a property, whether to live in, or as an investment, is out of bounds due to the hefty deposit or high levels of maintenance, or both.

That doesn’t mean you should rule out property as an investment option altogether. While not as widely understood as residential investment, unlisted commercial property funds also provide investors with a similar tangible, bricks and mortar investment, minus the admin and high barriers to entry.

In a nutshell, investing in an unlisted property fund allows investors to buy commercial property in “bite-sized” amounts alongside other investors.

Oyster Property Group is one of New Zealand’s leading unlisted commercial property fund managers and has been providing retail and wholesale investors with access to quality commercial property investment options and consistent returns for more than 20 years.

With approximately $1.9 billion in assets under management, its experienced team of property experts purchase quality properties of significant scale in the office, industrial, and large-format retail sectors, which are then managed in-house

by a team of dedicated property managers with deep sector knowledge.

The firm implements active fund management strategies, and an in-house investment relations team provides regular updates and reporting to investors.

Working to a robust buying criterion, Oyster looks for commercial properties in sought-after locations, close to amenities and transport links, where appropriately zoned land is in tight supply.

Our investment philosophy is to target quality commercial property with enduring occupier demand, that’s well located and close to

amenities, and has reputable tenants.

Stability is a big drawcard for our investors. Generally, commercial property isn’t subject to the same sentiment-based volatility investors can experience in the share market and has proved its ability to weather periods of major economic instability.

We’re proud to provide thousands of New Zealanders access to both wholesale and retail investment opportunities that offer longterm investment returns, backed by strong fundamentals and the resilience of the commercial property asset class.

Oyster property fund, Millennium Centre, Ellerslie

House News

Thank you to everyone who came along to our Mental Health Awareness Week Open Day! Thank you also to Devonport Rotary for their support for this event, it was wonderful to see so many of our community come and try something new.

Our Term Three timetable has ended and Term Four will commence on Monday 9th October So see you all then!

Ngā mihi nui, Devonport Community House Team www.devonportcomhouse.com

What's New?

Devonport Community House School Holiday Programme

Monday 25 September-Friday 6

October

Next week is the end of term two here at the House. Our school holiday programme will be running again over the term break. Our holiday programme is always jam-packed with fun activities for the kids. Bookings can be made through our website or for further info or enquiries email kids@devonportcomhouse.co.nz

Events

Caring for mum helped inspire village manager’s career move

Personal experience of looking after her own elderly mother helped put new William Sanders retirement village manager Fiona Colbert on the path to her latest role.

Belmont-resident Colbert’s early career experience focused much more on younger age groups. She was initially a nurse and midwife in the UK, and worked for a year in a children’s burns unit in Canada, before moving to New Zealand with her Kiwi husband and two young children in 2000.

Here, she ran the Meningitis Trust, then helmed the TYLA youth development trust for five years.

But taking time out to look after her elderly mother for six years at home and when she needed full-time care in a retirement-village hospital brought a change of focus.

“I was with my mum nearly every day for her final year in the retirement-village hospital.

“When she passed away I decided to go back to uni to do my masters in business studies.”

lovely stories, the background and the histories.”

The mother of two adult children did her master’s thesis on retirement villages, looking at what it means for elderly people to move their homes and lives into a retirement facility, then had a year-long stint helping set up Digital Seniors on the North Shore before taking the Ryman Healthcare role in Devonport.

“Life feels like it has aligned for me,” she says.

She has had seven weeks in the job, arriving as the mammoth construction project of the William Sanders village winds towards a close.

The final Neptune block of apartments at the Lake Rd end of the site is expected to be finished by Christmas, and final paving around the building is being completed at the western end of the site.

The one-way road through the village will soon be open.

Island Interiors is proud to support Devonport Community House

Ph: 09 445 6667 islandinteriors.co.nz

Colbert says that looking after her mother was “absolutely influential” on how her career has since developed.

Her mother’s time in the retirement village gave Colbert the chance to observe the life of the village and get to know other residents.

“I realised how I loved hearing all the

Colbert has been made to feel welcome by residents, many of whom are well linked into the local area.

In her first week in the job, she went for dinner in Devonport and bumped into some village residents.

“They do like the fact that I’m a local,” she says.

Nearly complete... William Sanders village manager Fiona Colbert has arrived as the massive construction project comes

to a close

NEW LISTING

Devonport 26 Jubilee Avenue

Beautiful bungalow on Jubilee Ave

Sitting at the base of majestic North Head, Jubilee Avenue is recognised as one of Devonport’s best addresses, just footsteps from Torpedo Bay and a short stroll from Cheltenham beach. Number 26 has a captivating, picture-perfect street presence and timelessly elegant interiors which will enchant all who enter this beautiful bungalow. Renowned local architect Geoff Richards, worked his magic to redesign the flow of this home, creating expansive, family-friendly spaces including two living areas that open out to the west-facing landscaped garden beyond. It also offers options galore with four generous bedrooms, two of which can equally be used as even more additional living, or a great space to work from home, and the upstairs master suite has its own balcony. bayleys.co.nz/1470631

4 2 2

Auction (unless sold prior)

1.30pm, Thu 19 Oct 2023

28 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland View Sun 12-12.30pm

Linda Simmons 027 459 0957

Emma Lynskey 021 803 873 emma.lynskey@bayleys.co.nz

BAYLEYS REAL ESTATE LTD, DEVONPORT, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz

Takapuna Grammar

IB Visual Arts Exhibition

Shine at Dance Nationals

Our IB2 Visual Art students showcased a coherent body of work that had been produced over their two-year course. The pieces were produced in a multitude of media, including paintings, installations, sculptures, photographs or ceramics. The themes were extremely thought provoking and encouraged us to reflect on time and transitions, coming of age experiences, the entropy of capitalism, and the cyclical nature of the patterns of history.

To view photos of the student’s art work, please scan this QR code.

Shave for a Cure Team raises $8.5k...and climbing!

This month ten keen students were cheered on by a supportive audience as they lost their hair for Leukemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand. Shave for a Cure has become a staple of the school calendar and this year’s event was an incredible success. So far $8,639 has been raised. The funds will be donated to families dealing with blood cancer across the country. Seeing students so courageously forgoing their hair in front of their encouraging peers and families was a beautiful sight which provoked an emotional response from the audience.

A big thank you to all the students who shaved their heads and to everyone who supported the event finan-

cially or otherwise. You can still donate now via this link so show your support and help us get to $10k! A special mention to brave Sofie Perkinson (pictured) - who has raised over $2,000 this year being the biggest contributor to our school total!

Auckland Secondary Schools Teacher Training Programme

Takapuna Grammar School is asking for expressions of interest for our inhouse Teacher Training programme. If you hold a University degree and are interested in exploring a career change to become a teacher, then this training programme could be for you. During the year, coursework is completed remotely with the University of Waikato whist you work on-site at Takapuna Grammar School. The on-site training provides mentoring by experts in your subject-area specialisation. This new immer-

sion track takes one year, pays the programmes university fees, provides a stipend and gives you industry experience in a top secondary school for the whole year of training to then transition into your teaching career. Visit https://www.schoolbasedtraining.org/ for further information and application details.

Cactus Dance Company had an amazing time competing in the school teams event at the Dance NZ Made Nationals in Palmerston North the weekend of September 9-10. They delivered their best team performance of the year, and they had a fantastic time doing it! Special thanks to students Hayley Macduff, Sophia Walker and Heidi Cairncross for their choreography and leadership of Cac-

tus throughout the year. Several TGS dancers had also been selected to compete in the solo and duo sections of the event too. Well done to soloists Samantha Lathwood and Audrey Roberts who both performed beautifully, and a massive congratulations to our Tap dynamos, Samantha and Jessica Lathwood (pictured above), who won their Open Duos & Trios section, and placed 4th Duo/Trio overall.

Merit Badge Awards Presentation

Annually our Year 12 & 13 students are recognised for the substantial contribution a student has made to their activity or sport. These students have performed with distinction, exhibiting excellent leadership and strong commitment. This year we congratulated nearly 200 students who received a Merit award. Nine students (above) also received a gold merit award for their contribution in four or more individual activities or sports.

Dancers

To view the list of Award Winners, please scan this QR code.

To view photos from the Ceremony, please scan this QR code

Sweet treats fuel Sea Scouts jamboree fundraising

Skills learned cooking at home and at Belmont Intermediate School are helping a young Calliope Sea Scout tempt locals with sweet treats to raise money for a trip with her brother to the national Scout Jamboree.

Gretta-Rose Henderson, aged 12, and older brother Monty, 13, who attends Takapuna Grammar School, are combining some Saturdays to stock and staff their fundraising stand at the corner of Victoria Rd and Clarence St.

Among Gretta-Rose’s speciality is a chocolate dulce de leche bar, which is creamy caramel. Biscuits are also on offer.

Mother Briony lends a hand with ingredient planning and budgeting, but she says it is Gretta-Rose who is the dab hand in the kitchen. “She often cooks for the family.”

Gretta-Rose won a prize as the top Year 7 food-tech student at BIS last year. The siblings have a target of $1500 each to attend the national Scout Jamboree near Hamilton at the end of the year.

Monty joined the Sea Scouts in 2017 and Gretta-Rose a year later, but due to Covid this is the first chance they have had to go to the Jamboree, which was last held in 2019. Both are looking forward to activities such as rock-climbing and training towards attaining badges.

The siblings are two of three members of the Calliope Sea Scouts who are attending, with a bigger local contingent from the 1st Devonport Scouts also fundraising.

Devonport 43 Stanley Point Road

Superb living on Stanley Point

If you love the hallmarks of the classic Devonport villa but seek an easy care, low-maintenance lifestyle with no lawns to mow, this gorgeous replica villa will delight you. Built over two levels, this substantial home has generous living areas, views to the harbour bridge from the master suite and brilliant family spaces for all ages and stages. Wonderful character features throughout, leadlights, ceiling roses and a private north facing sheltered outdoor courtyard to relax and entertain all year round. The perfect "lock up and go" when you travel, enjoy this wonderful location, with beaches, parks and Devonport village all nearby. bayleys.co.nz/1470630

3 3 3 2

Auction (unless sold prior)

1.30pm, Thu 12 Oct 2023

28 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland View Sat/Sun 1.15-2pm or by appointment

Prue de Bie 021 521 242

prue.debie@bayleys.co.nz BAYLEYS

Combined effort... Brother and sister Monty and Gretta-Rose Henderson at a cake stall in Devonport where they are fundraising towards a trip to the national Scout Jamboree

New nursery nurtures natives

Over the past year, dedicated Restoring Takarunga Hauraki volunteers have been hard at work creating a native plant community nursery right here in the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area.

We started by ensuring safety with fencing, clearing and preparing the ground with mudstop and weed mats to accommodate our native plants. As our volunteers continued their efforts, we began potting up the young plants from our propagation area. All of this was meticulously overseen by our project manager extraordinaire, Chris Lucas, who led the charge on soil-storage bins, irrigation systems, pot-washing facilities, and an impressive, covered potting-up area. We have received machinery support from the generous Simon Gundry, who loaned equipment for levelling the area and mulching the plants. Funding has primarily come from Devonport Recycling Centre, Auckland Foundation, Rotary, and Ryman.

This area, once a bustling brickworks, now boasts a brick path paved with locally sourced bricks from various historical Devonport operations. Many remnants of the old works, including concrete structures used for pulleys and cranes, have been carefully preserved on the first level.

We’ve transformed this site into a space capable of nurturing up to 15,000 native plants annually, most of which will find their home on the North Shore. Our seed sources are local, and the plants we cultivate reflect the region’s historical vegeta-

tion, as confirmed by pollen analysis.

Native and endemic plants in a thriving ecosystem unique to Aotearoa-New Zealand play a crucial role:

• Providing sustenance and shelter for birds, insects, and reptiles.

• Enhancing climate resilience by shading the soil, conserving water, and fostering fungal mycelium networks.

• Sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, storing it in branches and roots.

• Reducing urban temperatures through shading and transpiration.

• In traditional uses, especially for rongoā or health purposes.

Spring Day of Action

Our nursery is part of a network of iwi nurseries, promoting knowledge and mātauranga Māori. We are also involved in the urban ngahere (forest) programme, with the goal of increasing tree cover in our cities from 18 per cent to 30 per cent.

Come and see first-hand what we’re accomplishing and consider dedicating a few hours a week volunteering to help us nurture these plants. We gather twice weekly, on Tuesdays from 1pm to 3pm and Thursdays from 3pm to 5pm, not only to work but also to share camaraderie and laughter as we tend to these precious plants.

Please connect with us at www.rth.org.nz if you would like to purchase plants or volunteer.

12:00 noon – Free sausage sizzle (provided by Devonport Rotary)

Signs of spring set off flurry of activity

Planting and enjoying the outdoors are sure signs of the season – and getting stuck into home projects is another.

Longer, brighter days inevitably have us looking to enjoy the outdoors, and residents of the Devonport peninsula have already been treated to springtime sightings of dolphin, orca and now kākā.

The native parrot, relatively rare on the mainland, has been spotted several times recently, around the Waitematā Golf Club course, Belmont and various local backyards.

But for those locals not too diverted by the wildlife, there is a good chance free time is being spent on gardening, spring cleaning,

landscaping and home maintenance.

For help with these, consider supporting local, by hiring a tradie, from the selection on these and following pages.

And for inspiration on greening your community, look no further than Saturday’s open morning being held by Restoring Takarunga Hauraki (RTH) at its native plant nursery next to Allen Hill Stadium (event details, opposite).

RTH-led pest-trapping is restoring the environment for native birdlife – including those most-welcome kākā.

Sash windows a problem?

Feathered friends... Keep an eye out for kākā, which have been spotted recently around the Devonport peninsula

Trades & Services

20 years ago from the Flagstaff files

• A North Shore City Council employee who opposed the removal of a protected pōhutukawa from a King Edward Pde property will give evidence against the council in an Environment Court hearing.

• Devonport band Six Day War (James Reid, Will Bellerby, Chris Keeling and Gavin Raymen) make the Battle of the Bands national finals.

• Takapuna Grammar accounting teacher David Arthur resigns after a video emerges of him fraternising with students. He was later charged with supplying class A drugs.

• Several New Zealand records are broken at national youth indoor rowing champs held at Takapuna Grammar, one of them by Henry Poor, who set a new mark in the under-14 boys 2000m.

• Harcourts opens a new real estate branch in Devonport, with Kevin Hill appointed manager.

• Justin Pohipi is named North Shore Rugby Club player of the year for 2003.

• Takapuna Grammar filmmakers Meg Wilson, Sophie Burton, Hannah Craig and Elena Gubay make a video introducing new students to school life.

• A three-bedroom architecturally designed home across the road from the Waitemata Golf course is on the market for $600,000-plus.

• The installation of speed humps on Mozeley Ave has increased traffic in Patuone Ave as motorists seek to avoid the obstacles.

• Belmont Intermediate students Charlie McNaughton, Sam Blood and Dan Kelly win prizes in the North Shore Historical Society essay-writing competition.

• Former White Ferns allrounder Claire Nicholson visits Belmont Primary School.

• Davis Cup player James Shorthall and ex-Federation Cup player Rewa Hudson lead the Belmont Park tennis teams into the Chelsea Cup season.

• Volunteers at the Claystore are profiled in the Flagstaff interview.

Classifieds

SERVICES OFFERED

FixIT Handyman - excellent work, practical budget, most jobs welcome, interior/exterior free quote. Josh 021 261 8322. 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 if they are comfortable with me. Devonport only please! Text/call: 021-270-7677.

SERVICES OFFERED

Sash window repairs. Renew cords, adjust weights, balancing for even running – any problem with your sash window. Work done on Saturdays only. Hubert 021 274 4191.

WANTED

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

WANT TO ADVERTISE?

Devonport Flagstaff Classified Advertising. It really works. To make a booking please email us at sales@devonportflagstaff.co.nz

Live local. Work local.

ShoreJobs.co.nz

Kerr & Associates Ltd Chartered Accountant

We require a senior accountant for our chartered accountancy practice in Devonport on Auckland’s North Shore. The applicant must be a member of the Institute of Chartered Accounts of Australia & New Zealand and have sufficient experience to independently manage a large portion of the practice fees.

Please send your C.V. to The Director at  wackrowstreet@gmail.com

Kerr & Associates Ltd Office Administrator/ Receptionist

We require an office administrator/ receptionist for our chartered accountancy practice in Devonport on Auckland’s North Shore. Duties would include all the usual office functions plus the management and maintenance of practice clients and their relationship with IRD, Companies Office and ACC. Previous CA office experience is preferred but not essential.  Hours of work are flexible.

Please send your C.V. to The Director at  wackrowstreet@gmail.com

Chef

Belmont Learning Space is looking for a new chef. Monday to Friday 7:30am - 1:30 pm to provide fresh, age appropriate, and delicious meals. We are a privately owned centre licensed for 39 children.

This role will involve you planning for and cooking a designed menu for the children each day including morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea. You’ll need to be organised, energetic, have great communication and an excellent knowledge of whole foods that promote good nutrition and healthy eating.

Previous experience cooking for large groups is advantageous and a food handling or safety certificate is preferred but not necessary.

This is a busy role, it includes dishes, so good health is necessary.

Send your CV to yvonne.groot@thelearningspace.co.nz or call Yve on 0274879116

Club Manager - North Shore United Association Football Club

Full-Time Flexible Hours - Independent Contract Role

The oldest Club in NZ is seeking a Club Manager to oversee our administrative and hospitality operations of managing all things a Football Club needs.  The successful candidate will work with Volunteers, the Football Development Manager, Team Managers, Coaches, Northern Regional Football, Council and hospitality staff to ensure the overall smooth functioning of our Club.

Reporting to the board via the Chair and Treasurer, you will be able to work independently, have strong interpersonal skills

and good written and verbal English language skills.

You would ideally have proven experience in administration or operations management, preferably in a sports organization or football club, excellent organizational and multitasking abilities, proficiency in XERO and accounts payable, database management, hospitality and bar licence (or work to obtain one), exceptional communication and interpersonal skills and of course a passion for football would be advanta-

geous to ensure a commitment to the success of the club.

This is a contract role where you will be responsible for your own taxes, costs and supply your own laptop. The role is based at Allen Hill Clubrooms and surrounding Club areas but when required working from home is easily balanced with this.  A club mobile phone is provided for use for Club phone calls and internet access.  Training and handover support will be provided by the outgoing Club Manager.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their resume and a cover letter outlining their qualifications and relevant experience to office@nsu.org.nz. Please include “Club Manager Application - [Your Name]” in the subject line.  Applications will close on 6th October however NSUAFC reserves the right to close applications earlier if a suitable candidate is found before this time.

Join us in ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of North Shore United Association Football Club, and be part of a community that is dedicated to excellence and the love of football!

a

Inter-school tournament serves top tennis talent

Forty-eight local primary school children took to the Ngataringa Tennis Club courts last week for a lower-peninsula school tournament – with silverware on the line.

The annual tournament was the first in which a trophy was offered, with Vauxhall placing best across the year-four, -five and -six divisions.

Tennis coach at Tennis Plus and tournament organiser Trudy von Huben told the Flagstaff the event is designed for kids to be able to engage in tennis while still having fun.

“The sport needs more players, especially girls.”

The teams from Vauxhall, Stanley Bay School, St Leo’s Catholic School and Devonport Primary School all played a minimum of

three doubles matches.

Match-ups were set according to age and experience to achieve “the best possible experience”, von Huben said.

The tournament, is organised by coaching team Tennis Plus and hosted by Ngataringa Tennis Club. It is a continuation of coaching the organisation does at local schools during term three to give pupils a taste of tennis.

After the coaching sessions at each school, two boys and two girls in each year group are selected to participate at the tournament.

Von Huben said tennis was enjoying a resurgence in participation following the Covid pandemic. Covid helped families realise tennis was a sport they could play together, she said.

Eyes on the prize... Stanley Bay School’s Reef Somerville (10) watches his forehand shot fly over the net, while St Leo’s pupil Charlotte Robertson (9) dispatches a rally-winning two-hander

Raising

racquet... Vauxhall School’s Clara McPherson (8) and Olivia Delaney (9) were among junior players who descended on the Ngataringa courts for a schools tournament

North Shore Rugby Club junior prizegiving results

North Shore Rugby Club’s 150th season wound to a close with the 2023 junior prizegiving complete with a cake (pictured below) to commemorate the anniversary.

Attitude Cups

Roy Buchanan Memorial (fair play J1–J4, U11, U13): Zoe Farmer; Trevor Lyall Cup (fair play J5–J8, U9): Ciara Walker; Colin Harvey Trophy (the energetic player who was always in the game): Isaac Ryder; McKenty Family Award (hardest-working forward): Angus McCrory; Colin Parry Trophy (most loyal to the club): Lachlan Butcher; Gartside Cup (most conscientious player): Connagh McClintock.

Team cups

(MIP: Most improved player, MVP: Most valuable player, PA: Pride Award)

J1 Green – MIP: Romeo Fata; MVP: Angus McCrory; PA: Jonty Waddams and Taj Crowther. J1 White – MIP: Dominic McGill; MVP: Levi Gillies; PA: Dylan Morris and Liam Furlong. J2 Blue – MIP: Harlem Kistler; MVP: Jake Mawson; PA: Charlie Richardson and Luca Gray. J2 Green – MIP: Connor O’Neill; MVP: Poppy Porter; PA: Gus Myhre and Ben Hindle. J2 Red – MIP: William Crawford; MVP: Connor McAlister-Wilby; PA: Henry Ryder and Joseph Dowd. J3 Goats – MIP: Wilde Meredith; MVP: Will Christian; PA: Chester Vernon. J4 Blue – MIP: Seb Tyler; MVP: Tom Congdon; PA: Ollie Wilkinson. J4 Green Machine – MIP: Jordi Hinds; MVP: Boston Marsh; PA: Luke Colhoun. J4 White – MIP: Liv Gibson; MVP: Harry Crankshaw; PA: Brax Doddrell. J5 Green Machine – MIP: Cianna Matautia; MVP: Viktor Havranek; PA: Toby Avery. J5 Hairy Goats – MIP: Ed Luxton; MVP: Baxter Scott; PA: Franco Hansen. J5 North Shore Hulks – MIP: Cason Maxcey; MVP: August Downer;

PA: Rishi Davidson. J6 Green Machine –MIP: George Creelman; MVP: Liam Donnelly; PA: Toby Colhoun. J6 Young Guns – MIP: Easton Ikenasio; MVP: Roman Featherstone; Alec Robertson. U13 Girls

Rippa Blue – MIP: Lila Stee; MVP: Ella

Waddams; MVP: Arna Tripodi; PA: Jaime Smith. U11 Girls Rippa Gold – MIP: Scarlett Smith; MVP: Clementine Powles; PA: Milla Holland. U11 Girls Rippa Green

– MIP: Indi Arnott; MVP: Mackenzie Burrows; PA: Charlotte Robertson. U11 Girls

Rippa White – MIP: Chloe O’Neill; MVP: Ellie Williams; PA: Isla Fletcher-McGrevy. U9 Boys Rippa Nuggets – MIP: Solomon Hamilton; MVP: Miller Duncan; PA: Elliot Fry. U9 Girls Rippa Kaka – MIP: Maddie Eagles; MVP: Makaia Anesi; PA: Violet Wilkinson. U9 Girls Rippa Kea – MIP: Bel Tyler; MVP: Olivia Delaney; PA: Neve Ballard. U9 Girls Rippa Tui – MIP: Greta Smith; MVP: Mackenzie France; PA: Rosa Balgarnie.

Five-year medals

Ryder; PA: Ella Dibble. U13 Girls Rippa Green – MIP: Cate Steckler; MVP: Paige Burrows; PA: Anika Savou. U13 Girls

Rippa Red – MIP: Scarlett Westgate; MVP: Millie Ison; PA: Indi Holland. U13 Girls

Rippa White – MIP: Wren Ballesty; MVP: Izzy Congdon; PA: Hazel Wilson. U11 Girls

Rippa Black – MIP: Jaime Chambers; MVP: Nella Jones; PA: Katie Conroy.

U11 Girls Rippa Blue – MIP: Zara

Elliot Ashwin, Toby Avery, Lucia Balgarnie, Lulu Beech, Cory Billot, Isla Cameron, Hadley Christian, Luke Colhoun, Izzy Congdon, Ollie Crankshaw, Will Creelman, Finn Darragh, Rishi Davidson, Joseph Dowd, August Downer, Alexis Edmonds, Romeo Fata, Juliette France, Alex Hallie, Saoirse Harrington, Austin Hayde, Milla Holland, Luke Hollingsworth, Cavelle Ikenasii, Eddie Ison, Millie Ison, Georgia Kingston, Zara Kozenof, Ben Logan, Boston Marsh, Sophie Masters, Jack McDonald, Dominic McGill, Archie McRae, Benicio Mitchell-Pala, Ava Morreau, Reid Myhre, Connor O’Neill, Seb Peacocke, Clementine Powles, Milly Seaburg, Jasper Somerville, Chloe Southwell, Stella Stephens, Ella Te Whiu, Chester Vernon, Leo Vivian, Beau Vivian, Tommy Watters, Parker Weekes, Georgia Westgate, Ollie Wilkinson, Leni Williams.

Top performers... Twenty-seven teams and their supporters packed the North Shore clubrooms for the recent junior prizegiving. Below: A colourful cake marked the club’s 150-year anniversary.

Fast-improving TGS basketballers off to nationals

Takapuna Grammar School’s top girls’ basketball team is heading to nationals next week, capping a remarkable first season in premier competition.

The young side, promoted from Senior A grade, came a very credible fourth in the hotly contested Auckland competition during the regular season.

They went into a playoff series at the beginning of the month to determine spots for the nationals, again coming fourth and qualifying as one of six sides from Auckland heading to Palmerston North to compete from 25 September to 1 October.

Coach Katelin Noyer says the aim is to build on the season’s strong foundation. “It would be great to come in the top six,” she told the Flagstaff.

The side boasts a number of North Harbour age group players and New Zealand under-16 representative Bailey Flavell, who has also been building her top-level experience in the women’s semi-professional Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa league, playing for the champion Northern Kahu.

But it was the one Year 13 student in the side, Mackenzie Mackereth, who got the team

into the Auckland premier semi-finals in a nail-biting contest in the final round against Mt Albert Grammar School (MAGS) that went down to the wire. “She got an offensive rebound to get us over the line,” said Noyer.

The hard match showed the sort of resilience the side would need at nationals, with 10 games to play over five days, she said. Top scorers for the season were Amy McKenzie, Flavell and Mackereth.

Team manager Pippa McKenzie said the girls had been holding sausage sizzles and running basketball camps for younger players to help raise funds for the trip. They would be one of 24 sides competing.

The semi-final also showed what the team would be up against when it was well-beaten by Westlake Girls High School, which went on to win the Auckland title for a third season in a row. Their opponents were MAGs, who will also be at nationals.

In other basketball this season, the open girls’ side playing in the North Harbour competition secured a bronze medal. The senior boys’ side had a tough season, but junior teams showed promise in what is a fast-growing sport at TGS.

Cricketers head for Aussie ahead of big summer

Thirty-six cricketers from Takapuna Grammar School are heading to Australia for pre-season tournaments during the school holidays to ready themselves for a big season ahead.

The girls’ and boys’ first XIs and a boys’ development team have been in training ahead of 21 T20 games to be played in Queensland across 10 days.

They will spend time on the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane, competing against school and club sides from 24 September to 4 October.

TGS school sports co-ordinator Gillian Scott said the tour would prepare the students for the Auckland schools competitions which start from mid-October, with the reigning champion girls having an added incentive to polish their play. “The tour will be especially beneficial for the girls’ first XI in their leadup to representing Auckland at the Gillette Venus Cup,” said Scott. This will be held in December at Lincoln in Canterbury.

The girls’ return from tour to start their mid-week Auckland competition from 18 October. Play for the boys’ first XI begins on 21 October, with an away game against St Peter’s College.

A number of TGS players are also involved in club, North Harbour and Auckland squads. Three current players and two who finished school last year are also in the 2023 Auckland Cricket Academy, underlining the strength of the school programme in fostering rising talent. Year 13 Christian Scott

is in the under-19 male squad while former pupil Riley Mudford is in the Auckland A academy. Year 12 Rishika Jaswal and old girl Emily Handyside are both also in the women’s Auckland A academy and Year 13s Izzy Fox and Maia Scott are in the women’s development squad.

Canoe club wins $800k for Pupuke clubrooms project

The North Shore Canoe Club has picked up $800,000 of council funding for its $1.2 million clubrooms-extension project on the shores of Lake Pupuke.

Under the project, the club on Northcote Ave, Takapuna, will be extended at both levels, with bathroom and changing spaces upgraded and remodelled for gender balance. Roofing and joinery main-

tenance will also be undertaken and asbestos cladding removed.

The money comes from $13 million allocated to 17 projects across Auckland from a sport-and-recreation facilities investment fund. The canoe club was the only grants beneficiary in the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area, and one of only three on the North Shore.

Outta my way... Mackenzie Mackereth on the charge during a game in the TGS gym

Academy picks... Christian Scott, Izzy Fox, Rishika Jaswal and Maia Scott are current TGS students in Auckland academy squads

Artists fund local events around te reo celebration

Local artists have banded together to raise funds for creative events marking Māori Language Week.

Carvers Natanahira Pona and Ngahiwi Walker, digital artist Lily Kaukau and others donated pieces to raffle to help pay for a series of events in collaboration with the Depot Artspace being put on at various Devonport venues throughout September.

Administrator and kaitohutohu at the Depot Terehia Walker says the idea came about when she was talking to her husband Ngahiwi, a Navy cultural advisor who manages the Navy marae. They decided raising funds through the community would be a better option than going to the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. “I find when I go to the powers that be they either don’t have the money or just don’t agree with what we want to spend it on, which is fine, but I just thought let’s do it ourselves this time.”

Walker was blown away by the support, saying not a single artist hesitated to help.

As well as workshops and activities, the money raised will go towards a kai cooker that will be used by a number of groups for community meals.

Raranga (weaving) and rongoā (Māori medicine) workshops a fortnight ago were the first funded events. Walker was impressed by how eager people were to join in.

“Seeing different ethnicities come together from across the peninsula and outside of the peninsula was beautiful really.”

The participants were welcomed with a formal mihi, then climbed Takarunga with a blessing to harvest harakeke to make kete. Some who didn’t finish their weaving that day returned the next and asked for a further blessing to harvest more flax.

Last weekend, the Devonport Kapa Haka community group that formed before Matariki celebrations performed at the library as part of the celebrations.

They performed their own original song ‘Te Ti Pea’, which is about introducing people to Devonport, that they hope to have playing on the ferry speakers in the near future to welcome visitors as they arrive.

The particular local focus of Maori Language Week this year is on Takarunga, highlighting what it has to offer, including the harakeke and other plants, and the call of tui that Walker says relates to the sound of traditional Māori musical instruments.

Ngahiwi Walker will give a demonstration of Māori instruments at Whare Toi this Saturday. Walker, who is also an artist and instrument carver, will be playing the pūkaea (long trumpet), pūtōrino (flute), kōauau (flute) and other instruments, explaining their uses and how they’re made and played.

Other events include poi-making and a live carving session in which two carvers will start a piece depicting the history of Takarunga and Devonport for permanent display at Whare Toi.

Here’s how... Whaea Jan Mason, a Devonport local, prepares harakeke for a weaving session she led at Te Whare Toi in Kerr St. The flax was gathered from the slopes of Takarunga for the purpose.

Flaxy-time... Jesse Dixon was among those taking part in the weaving session at Te Whare Toi in Kerr St. He was there with his daughter Rose Tuhura, 16, helping her make a basket.

Roald Dahl’s The Twits

16 September-7 October

Presented by Tim Bray Theatre Company

Boy Afraid // Rushing Woman

19-24 September

Unmasking mental health through stories of strength and solidarity

Can I Get an Underground Location and a Mythical Creature?

30 September

Dungeons & Dragons Live on Stage: Special Fundraiser Show

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