30 June 2023 Devonport Flagstaff

Events under threat as cuts bite for local trust

Long-established community events in Devonport are under threat with the withdrawal of local-board funding from the peninsula’s keystone charitable trust.

The Devonport-Takapuna Local Board has told the Devonport Peninsula Trust (DPT) that all board funding will be cut for

the next financial year, throwing the trust’s future into doubt.

The DPT runs events such as last weekend’s Devonport Midwinter Dip and a range of Matariki celebrations. It also puts on children’s playgroups and summer athletics sessions, senior and youth forums, and other

community-building exercises.

It received $110,000 in local-board funding for 2022-23, plus $18,000 in separate events funding.

The DPT board, and that of its northern counterpart, the Takapuna North Community

June 30, 2023 To page 2

Green pathway: Peninsula’s loss is Milford’s gain

A long-planned walkway and cycleway connecting Hauraki with Esmonde Rd has been shelved in favour of a boardwalk alongside the Milford estuary.

The Devonport-Takapuna Local Board voted 5-1 to put $1 million towards the Milford project after Auckland Transport (AT) failed to guarantee funding for the Hauraki-to-Esmonde route.

The decision at last week’s monthly board meeting aimed to retain $1million of funding, which AT had told the board a week earlier might not be rolled over for 2023-24.

Board chair Toni van Tonder said the board did not want to see the money disappear from the community.

It still wanted the Francis St-Esmonde Rd pathway built in the future, but the uncertainty clouding its delivery prompted her to move the resolution transferring the funding to the Milford project.

Board member George Wood cast the sole vote against the transfer. He was concerned the board was being hasty and wanted a written memo from AT confirming its position.

From page 1

He said the board had acted in good faith in trying to deliver the Hauraki-Esmonde Rd path. If this could not be done, he wanted the board’s next annual allocation of $1.5 million spent on a selection of smaller road-safety projects.

Other board members considered the Milford option was a way of advancing a significant project that had also been on its priority list over several board terms. Deputy chair Terence Harpur said: “We want reallocations, so the community doesn’t keep missing out.”

Van Tonder said the board had been able to deliver very little from its share of the transport capital fund in recent years, given $3.8 million previously allocated to the Hauraki path had been cut under the Covid Emergency Budget.

Harpur said AT had suggested it could now cost $7-9 million, up from an earlier $5 million estimate. Both that and the Milford project –estimated at around $3 million – have only had high-level costings.

The board discussed other pathway impediments and uncertainties that AT had mentioned earlier, including AT’s own tight future budgets and the need for more engagement with mana

whenua for a route that goes through a site of cultural significance.

Without extra money from AT, the board’s contribution was not enough to ensure its place on a future works construction programme, meaning money spent on more detailed design might be wasted.

Board members also raised the issue of a promised connection between the pathway and the Amaia apartment complex under development on Esmonde Rd. This link is now in doubt in revised plans for the development, which are under consideration by planning commissioners.

Van Tonder later told the Flagstaff the barriers to the Hauraki-to-Esmonde route were frustrating. “We still want this badly, but we can’t deliver it on our own.”

Pushing instead to carry over the board’s current-year allocation and combining it with next year’s money for a total of $2.5 million could go a long way towards the Milford project, she said.

“We’re just trying to deliver on one of these great opportunities.”

Environmental groups avoid funding axe

Trust, were informed by the local board late last week that the funding plug will be pulled for 2023-24. This is due to be ratified at a board meeting on 4 July.

The DPT employs a part-time manager, Nigel Bioletti, who has been in the role for 18 months; a part-time community events manager, Abby Jones; and a part-time summer events co-ordinator, calling in other help as required.

Local-board chair Toni van Tonder said the board, with less money to distribute, had looked hard at its community-development strategy and decided on a less events-based, more “grass-roots” model to better connect with changing communities.

The plan was to bolster the role of the Devonport Community House and the Sunnynook Community Centre, with a community

coordinator based at each. This would be funded with around half the money saved by defunding the two trusts.

“I feel dreadfully for the people who are impacted, when there are redundancies,” van Tonder said.

Trust staff were valued contributors and decisions had been tough, she said. Conversations with the DPT had been held over months, and those about winding down its operations were ongoing.

Auckland Council has required cuts of $126,000 to the board’s discretionary spending.

Environmental groups Restoring Takuranga Hauraki and Pupuke Birdsong Project look like being the winners in the subsequent contest for funding.

This has been partly due to community feedback that rated the environment and water quality as top priorities. The two groups also receive money from regional budgets.

Bigger arts groups that operate venues, including the Depot Artspace and Rose Centre, have been provided bridging finance from the board for the first quarter of the year, while their ongoing allocations are finalised.

The chair of the DPT, Iain Rea, said he was unable to discuss the trust’s situation, due to an undertaking that this would remain confidential until decisions were ratified. But the organisation was in any case looking at its next chapter.

A public meeting would be held on 4 July at the Devonport Yacht Club, 7.30pm to discuss its options.

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Matariki kicks off on Devonport peninsula

Power performance… Briar Cornwall of the Aru Waihirere cultural group launched Matariki celebrations in Devonport at Bayswater School last Saturday. More pictures and programme, pages 16, 17.

Sewage stench lingers in wake of floods

Steve and Geri Nielsen used to enjoy the marine life in the clear waters and mangroves around their jetty on the shore of Ngataringa Bay, where eels, fish, herons, shags and many other species were often seen. But since late January, the water has been black and often stinking of sewage – and the birds and sea life have largely vanished.

A sewerage-system failure in late January, apparently beneath or near the Navy’s North Yard facility on Jim Titchener Pde, has led to sewage flowing from a stormwater culvert opposite the Navy site, into the channel in the mudflats behind the Nielsens’ Lytton St home.

They have endured the frequent stench and potential health risks ever since. Though they were told a test by Auckland Council confirmed sewage pollution in the water – and two official warning signs were put up – the fault is yet to be located or rectified.

Steve, a semi-retired environmental consultant, said the discharge from the culvert is “classic toxic anaerobic water” carrying a strong smell of sewage and hydrogen sulphide, meaning the couple has rarely been able to open their windows or sit outside since January.

“The smell we sometimes experience at our house is nauseating, and has made us feel dizzy at times,” he said.

The Worksafe website warns that exposure to hydrogen sulphide can be fatal and that even in small amounts it can be dangerous to health.

“How will it be affecting our health?” Steve asked.

Council staff told the Nielsens that a sewerage and stormwater system has an intersection beneath the Navy base, and that a sewage pipe was likely blocked with debris, causing it to divert to the stormwater culvert.

They were told the leak was council organisation Watercare’s responsibility, but have been unable to speak to anyone from Watercare in the months since.

The couple know that the authorities have been overwhelmed with drainage issues since January. “That’s why we’ve been patient,” Geri said. “But we just want some communication, to know if we’re on the list.”

After a previous sewage leak in 2015, the fault was repaired immediately and the problem solved within a few days.

The general manager of council department Healthy Waters, Craig Mcilroy, confirmed that the council had identified wastewater contamination at Ngataringa Bay Reserve, near the Naval base, in mid-March.

Healthy Waters was conducting an investigation to identify the cause of the discharge, Mcilroy said. This involved identifying key manholes to try and isolate the source of the contamination.

“A specialist drainage contractor has visited this site, and two upstream properties, to understand if these were linked to the contamination, which they did not appear to be. We have identified a key manhole where our contractor is conducting regular sampling every few days to try and characterise the

contamination patterns.”

No blockages had yet been identified, but investigations were continuing, he said.

“We can understand the customer’s frustration that this issue is yet to be resolved. However, this is a complex investigation, and we are working hard to find a resolution as soon as possible.”

Steve Nielsen believes the current issue has been exacerbated by the blockage of the channel from the culvert through the mangroves.

The channel was once regularly dredged by the council of the day, though that practice ceased sometime prior to the Nielsens’ arrival in 2000. It remained functional, despite silting and the encroachment of mangroves, until the floods early this year.

Since then, blockages have meant it does not empty at low tide, remaining backed up into the

culvert and the drainage system beyond. “The water never disappears,” Steve said.

Residents affected by flooding on and around Patuone Pl, on the other side of the Navy site, suspect this blockage may have contributed to their problems.

The Nielsens want the sewage leak fixed and the channel dredged. Steve said a good digger operator could do the dredging in a day or two at minimal cost.

Humans have not been the only victims of the pollution, he said. “Of equal importance are the effects of this toxic water on the fish and wildlife, and on the Hauraki Gulf itself.”

• Though Navy staff told the Nielsens informally that a sewage smell is noticeable, a Navy spokesperson told the Flagstaff: “There are no drainage issues or smells at the base, following the floods.”

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Stagnant… Even at low tide, murky water no longer drains from the channel beneath Steve and Geri Nielsen’s home on Lytton St

Cool fun! Hardy souls take the plunge

Scores of swimmers turned out for the annual Devonport Midwinter Dip off Windsor Reserve, which celebrated its 25th year last Sunday.

The brave and the bold...

(Clockwise from top left) Hester Veart and dinosaur Andrew Fraser; the original midwinter swim organiser Aja Lethaby, with mum Michelle and son Leo; Flagstaff copy editor Jo Hammer; Tangi Kailahi, flanked by daughters Mefa (left) and Mila (right), alongside Eva Herring; and umbrella man Zac Lucas.

at 25th annual Devonport Midwinter Dip

Braced for the briny… Mark Craig and Nicola Mills

Cold-water couture... Stylish swimmers (from left) Mackenzie Wagon, Katie Conroy, Anobel Gray and Julie Lancelot (all aged 11)

Briefs

Man ‘with knife’ arrested

Police arrested and charged a 44-yearold man with burglary and two counts of breaching a protection order, after an incident on Victoria Rd last week. Officers were called to Victoria Rd around 5.25pm on 19 June after witnesses reported the man had approached a person in a car while holding a knife. Police said this was a family-harm incident, and that the man was arrested on the street, after the victim had left the area. The man appeared in North Shore District Court last Tuesday and was remanded in custody.

Devon Park cliff work

A palisade wall and ‘cliff nails’ are two of the options being considered for a cliff face near the Devon Park apartments at Stanley Point, to counter the impact of adverse-weather events. Apartments in the complex’s west wing were initially red-stickered after heavy rain in February, but residents were later allowed to return. Devon Park body-corporate chair David Rowland said last week that geotechnical engineers had conducted further inspections. Options include building a palisade wall and/or cliff nails along the cliff face nearest the west wing apartments to reduce long-term regression caused by erosion or severe weather,” he said.

Officials back down on consents info

Auckland Council has done an about-turn on withholding resource consent applications, after pressure from the Flagstaff and Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member George Wood (pictured).

Until recently, the consents have been sent on by some board members to residents groups and the news media to alert them of any applications of wider public interest.

But council staff recently told board members they were sent the lists to help them carry out their duties “and it was not intended that this information be shared”.

Any member of the public, company or entity could subscribe to the weekly lists at a cost of more than $1600 a year, a staff member told the members.

Wood, who had previously passed on the lists, considered the instruction illogical.

All council information was public unless there was a reason to withhold it, said Wood, who sought further clarification.

So did the Flagstaff, which called in its 16 June issue for the resource consents to remain freely available.

Last week, a council spokesperson said the practice had been reviewed: “The resource consents team have confirmed that the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board is able to share the list of lodged resource

consent applications with you, as per your previous arrangement.”

Wood was happy the public and residents groups would continue to be informed, but remained confused over why the ruling to ban circulation was issued in the first place.

Board chair Toni van Tonder said she was pleased the situation had been clarified, but noted that resource consents were raw applications that had not been reviewed by council and could be a long way from approval.

• Wood was also on the case last week over the board’s use of confidential sessions for some of its workshops.

Though previously a supporter of closed workshops, he challenged van Tonder on why the board, having chosen to continue an open-workshop policy, was not applying it universally.

The session in question was a budget discussion with staff. Before it began, Wood said: “We’re supposed to do our business in the open.”

Van Tonder said in this case confidentiaity was needed to allow for free and frank conversations.

“We’ve been talking about stripping things back and now we need reallocations.”

Final decisions would be made at an upcoming open meeting, she said.

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Bountiful Home, Fantastic Location

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Idyllic Beachside Sanctuary

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The council U-turn on making resource consents in the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area available to the media and resident associations is a minor victory for democracy.

The long-held tradition of handing on the resource applications was put on hold after council-officer advice they should be confidential.

Local board member George Wood and the Devonport Flagstaff challenged this ruling and a different council official, further up the hierarchy, decided the practice could continue.

It probably needed to according to the law. Under the Building Act, local authorities have to provide resource-consent information on specific addresses, if asked. As far as I can see, providing a general list of resource-consent applications for an area is no different.

People have a right to know at the earliest possible time what developments are planned for their area.

Auckland Council had to reverse this decision in the interests of a proper flow of public information. I’m glad they have.

It looks like Devonport is having another scooter influx. Beam (purple) and Lime (green) were granted licences to operate by Auckland Council in October 2022. Beam scooters have been common around Devonport since then, and Lime is starting to drop scooters in the area now.

I know they are a popular mode of

The Flagstaff Notes

By Rob Drent

getting around for young people. But that convenience comes at a price, with the risk of accidents, and potential dangers and inconvenience for pedestrians, dog walkers, cyclists and motorists.

Discarded helmets and the scooters often become junk littering the streets.

Elsewhere in the city, they are sometimes picked up from streams and waterways.

I wonder if we really need these cheap, imported fleets that will quickly end up in our landfills.

Auckland Council took a cavalier approach to public safety when it failed to temporarily close off Cyril Bassett Lookout at Stanley Point after an audit found gaps in picket fencing above the cliff face, which were big enough for a small child to slip through.

The hoops residents need to go through over fencing swimming pools are legion. Is a fence on a public reserve next to a clifftop any different?

It’s highly disappointing to learn that sewage has been flowing for months into Ngataringa Bay (story page 5).

Older readers will recall the massive fight in the 1970s to save the bay from development. Devonport Borough Council voted to allow a developer to reclaim the bay for housing, but at a subsequent election the council was replaced by a group who overturned the decision. It came at a price: a special rate had to be instituted to pay costs incurred by the developer. The late Mike Pritchard, and others who fought so hard to save the bay, would be appalled that it is being polluted by sewage from council drains.

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Crack appears at landmark Stanley Point lookout

A crack appears to have widened near the cliff edge at a popular Stanley Point lookout.

The Flagstaff first observed the crack at the Cyril Bassett Lookout at the end of Stanley Point Rd on 16 June. A further visit on 21 June found the crack under fencing on the western side of the lookout, had become larger.

Auckland Council northern operations manager, Sarah Jones, said if the potential slip risk increased the council “might” consider moving the lookout fence further into the reserve.

Council hasn’t shut off access to the lookout but is monitoring the site to “check for future movement”.

A landslip occurred on the cliff beneath the lookout after heavy rain early this year.

A member of the public alerted the Flagstaff to the crack, and to the risk of a child slipping through the fence, where four pickets had been missing. The pickets were replaced by council on 20 June.

Council had logged the missing pickets in an earlier audit but did not close the lookout before repairs.

Jones said parks do have hazards and the council expected the public to be responsible for their own safety, where feasible.

The park was small, mostly visited by locals who know the area, and the provision of a fence “clearly” indicated the hazard, she said.

Mind the gap... The crack at the Cyril Bassett Lookout on 16 June (above) and 21 June (below). Below left: the fence, before repairs.

Bayswater festival launches expanded season

DEVONPORT PENINSULA

JUNE / JULY 2023

Events for the community – Please feel welcome to join in.

Sat June 3, 10, 17 - Community Tree Planting & Picnics with Restoring Takarunga Hauraki. 11am-1pm

Sat June 24 – Matariki Festival – Bayswater School, 3pm-7pm

Sat July 1 - Lantern Making - Devonport Community House 12pm to 5pm. Please RSVP on our Event page at www.dpt.nz

Sat July 1 – Depot Matariki Art and Workshop Exhibition 2pm-4pm

Sat July 1 - Hikoi to Takarunga, 5pm to 8pm. Please RSVP on our Event page at www.dpt.nz

Sat July 8 - Lantern Making - Navy Museum, Torpedo Bay 1pm to 5pm

Sat July 8 - Hikoi to Maungauika - Assemble at Navy Museum 5pm-8pm.

Thurs July 6 – Matariki Workshops for Tamariki with Whaea Terehia 4pm-6pm Te Whare Toi, Kerr Street, Devonport

Thurs July 13 – Matariki Workshops for Tamariki with Whaea Terehia 4pm – 6pm - Te Whare Toi, Kerr Street, Devonport

Fri July 14 – Matariki Public Holiday – New Zealand/Auckland Youth Symphonic Winds band - Devonport Ferry Terminal at 11am

Sat July 15 - Peninsula Schools Kapa Haka RopuDevonport Ferry Terminal – 11am – 1pm

Sat July 15 – Hangi, 2.30pm-4.00pm (limited numbers, two per whãnau) Please order with terehia@rth.org.nz

Sat July 15 - Community Matariki Gathering at Windsor Reserve and Night Market at Devonport Ferry Terminal, 5pm-8pm with Market and food trucks open from 4pm.

Sat July 22 – Matariki Tamariki – Whãnau Fun Day, Devonport Community house 1pm-4pm.

Sun July 23 – Rose Centre Hãkari Matariki – Rose Centre, Belmont. Hangi (limited numbers) at 12pm.

Fri July 28 - Artist Panel Talk - artist to deliver a 1hour talk regarding their practices and the Matariki exhibition ‘Ahuru Mowai’ – 6.30pm-7.30pm

Sat July 29 – Beginners Weaving Workshop – 11am-1pm with Kiriana O’Connell at The Depot Artspace

Sat July 29 – Mãori Medicine & Rongoa Workshop –11am-1pm with Judy Henderson at The Depot Artspace

Full noise... Vauxhall School’s kapa haka group performs: (front, from left) Harry Crankshaw, Ralph Lane and Clae Schmidhalter Ward

of Matariki celebration on Devonport peninsula

The Devonport peninsula’s celebration of Matariki is set to widen this year, with lantern-lit hikoi planned for consecutive weekends, on two maunga, during a month of events.

Bayswater School’s annual festival last Saturday marked the start of Celebrate Matariki 2023 on the Devonport peninsula.

Kapa haka from local school groups were a highlight of the festival.

More events are planned each weekend throughout July, including ascents of Takarunga this Saturday, 1 July, and of Maungauika next Saturday, 8 July – both between 5pm and 8pm.

The unexpectedly large turnout for a hikoi up Takarunga last year, with people excited to gather in a specially lit-up Victoria Rd beforehand, prompted organisers to spread the load across both maunga this year.

Numbers on Takarunga last year were so great, that there were concerns of damage from people spilling beyond pathways.

This year, those wishing to participate in either hikoi are being asked to RSVP on the Devonport Peninsula Trust’s online events page.

A long weekend of Devonport events will coincide with the Matariki public holiday, which this year falls on Friday 14 July. Highlights include a performance by the Auckland Youth Symphonic Winds Band and kapa haka from local schoolchildren, at the Devonport ferry terminal; a hangi at the Devonport Community House; and celebrations and a night market at Windsor Reserve.

The following weekend, a whanau fun day will be held in Devonport and events also take place at the Rose Centre in Belmont. The last weekend of the month will centre on the Depot Artspace, where a month-long Matariki exhibition will wind up, with talks and workshops on weaving and rongoa.

• Depot Artspace Matariki exhibition, see Arts & Entertainment, pages 38 and 39.

Focused... Ollie Camburn (left) and Sunny Becker were part of the Stanley Bay School haka party. Below: Pupils from Vauxhall School performing a stick-game waiata, including (from left, faces to camera) Francesca Dykes, Jimmy Foster, Florence Raymond and Harvey Proud.

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Ex-military man offers boot camp for blokes

Retiree John Talbot has launched a men’s fitness class, tapping into skills he learned in the forces. He tells Helen Vause about his days in uniform and the need for men to look after themselves.

On Monday mornings, John Talbot can sometimes be seen jogging along Calliope Rd with a couple of companions, recruits to his new ‘Boot Camp for Blokes’ exercise class at the Devonport Community House.

Seventy-two-year-old fitness instructor Talbot is on a mission to find many more blokes to join him at the class he started

recently in a bid to get local men more active about their own health and fitness.

So far, it has been a rather slow start increasing numbers at the Boot Camp class. But he’s in it for the long haul, he says, hoping his regulars will help attract others by their example.

Talbot has spent a lifetime in sport and

fitness training.

Now in retirement, he says men in his age group are lagging well behind their female counterparts in working on their health and fitness.

“I only know a handful of men my age who are exercising. Too many are just letting themselves go.”

Veteran trainer... At 72, John Talbot is recruiting men for his Boot Camp at the Devonport Community House

Talbot walks a morning circuit of at least 10km around Devonport.

Along the way, he says he meets the same groups and pairs of women out walking, but very few men.

Talbot hatched his Boot Camp plan after he moved back to Devonport with his wife Marilyn last year.

It was on a ferry trip to Devonport, he remembers, that he suddenly decided he belonged back in the place he’d been raised. And looking for things to do in retirement, he found his way to the Devonport Community House, where he joined the volunteers there.

At first, he became one of the drivers who pick up local seniors for a weekly session at the library or a shopping trip to the supermarket.

But his background in fitness training made him the right man in the right place at the right time for the Community House to launch a fitness class for men.

While local women of all ages come and go for different exercise groups on the house timetable, few men attended those groups. The idea of a group, unashamedly just for men, was born.

In late autumn, posters for the Boot Camp went up all over the village, offering a 45-minute class to build flexibility, strength and endurance.

At $5 a class, cost can’t be too much of a barrier.

But with just two regulars since Talbot started the class in April, recruiting local men to the group is proving challenging.

“I’ve talked to plenty of guys I know around here. They’re just lazy,” chuckles Talbot. “But we’ll build this group up slowly.”

He credits his father, Reg Talbot, with guiding the direction his life took and the development of his physical and outdoor skills.

“I was lucky enough to have just the best dad. He was the best father a boy could ever hope for,” he says.

John Talbot played in junior rugby league and soccer teams, but as secondary school loomed, his father suggested switching to rugby.

He spent three seasons in Takapuna Grammar’s 1st XV. “It was all about sport for me.

Rugby, cricket, swimming and athletics.”

Next up his father pointed the high-energy young man in the direction of the army. “Dad thought it would be the right place for me at that time in my life. And once again, he was right.”

As a recruit at the Waiouru Military Camp, Talbot loved the hurly-burly and challenges of army life.

sources around them, and found food.

“Possums are good eating and they were all around,” says Talbot, who goes on to describe a rudimentary trap with a rope that would somehow snare the leg of a passing possum. No trouble from there, says Talbot, to skin, gut and quarter the catch for the pot. As he recalls it, every hungry man got his hot feed of possum.

After a couple of days with Talbot in the bush, he hopes they’d learned plenty about survival in the wild.

Later, with a focus on survival techniques in a very different environment, he found himself with the late Sir Edmund Hillary in an Air Force Iroquois helicopter landing on the unwelcoming slopes of Mt Cook.

The two would spend a couple of days together in “brutal” weather, during which time the conqueror of Everest taught his eager companion about alpine survival and how to build a snow cave – lessons Talbot later passed on to military air crew.

“He had much to teach me,” Talbot recalls. “But he was a man of very, very few words, and it was an amazing experience. He said so little though, it felt like being on my own.”

When it was mooted that Wellington would be the next base for his career journey, Talbot decided his 14 years in the armed forces had come to an end.

He saw and grabbed the chance to become a physical-education instructor, and switched forces, with the prospect of more advancement, to join the Air Force.

In his early 20s, he progressed into what he recalls as the most exciting role of his career. With New Zealand troops active in the Vietnam War, he became responsible for working with air crew on survival training, escape and evasion, and unarmed combat.

The New Zealand terrain is similar to that of Vietnam, says Talbot. He mocked up an exercise in which men were dropped into the bush and left them to cope with limited resources.

His eyes light up at the memory of 50 years ago – dropping out of an Iroquois helicopter with a handful of eager air crew into the waters off Great Barrier Island, then swimming ashore into the cover of dense bush. They built shelters from the bush re-

Back on civvy street, he went first into sports publishing and later into working in recruitment all over the world.

Now fit and energetic and loving retirement in his recently rediscovered home town, he wants to take others with him on the path to maintaining great health.

“It’s well known that women invest more in taking better care of themselves. And even if by retirement age men feel they’ve reached a good level of fitness, maintaining that is the important thing.

“I know getting men to keep fit at this age is a problem everywhere. There seem to be a lot of reasons why they are slower to get out walking and get to the classes like their wives are doing.

“Some of it is just apathy. But I want to reach them in this community and help them get going. It will just take time but I think it will happen.”

“I know getting men to keep fit at this age is a problem everywhere. There seem to be a lot of reasons why they are slower to get out walking and get to the classes like their wives are doing.”

House News

Get ready to embrace the spirit of Matariki as the celebrations kick off in full swing throughout July Join in the vibrant festivities cultural experiences, and community gatherings as we honour the Māori New Year and celebrate unity tradition and renewal under the enchanting southern skies of Aotearoa, New Zealand Ngā mihi nui, Devonport Community House Team www devonportcomhouse com

What's New?

Devonport Community House School Holiday Programme

Monday 3 July-Thursday 13 July

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

MATARIKI LANTERN MAKING

Saturday 1 July 12 pm-5 pm

We will give one lantern per family for free (until they run out) or you can purchase them for $8 each Make your booking at www.dpt.nz

MATARIKI HANGI

Saturday 15 July 2 30 pm-4 pm Come and enjoy a hangi with your whānau Limited numbers, so please book by registering at terehia@rth.org.nz

MATARIKI TAMARIKI WHĀNAU FUN DAY

Saturday 22 July 1pm-4pm- FREE

Devonport Community House

Island Interiors is proud to support Devonport Community House

Ph: 09 445 6667 islandinteriors.co.nz

Table time... Fifteen-year-old Carrie Guo has already won an impressive collection

of titles

Table-tennis prodigy aims high

Top table-tennis player Carrie Guo is off to Sydney in the school holidays to play in the Australian national championships.

At just 15 years old, the Takapuna Grammar School (TGS) Year 11 student, who recently won the Auckland Junior Open, has already accumulated an impressive collection of titles, including last year’s North Island women’s open championship.

“After that, Table Tennis New Zealand contacted me,” she says. She’s now on the radar for national development programmes.

After Sydney, she will set her sights on doing well at the New Zealand nationals later in the year. With fellow TGS students, she will also compete at the national secondary school championships in August.

Carrie played table tennis only briefly in China before moving here in 2018 from Qingdao in Shandong, as an international student, with her mother and older sister. The family lives in Hauraki, with Carrie’s father remaining in China.

She trains in her sport daily and also runs for further fitness. Breathing technique, good focus and quick movements are important in table tennis. Competition games typically last 15-20 intense minutes.

“When you play table tennis, you need to think about what your opponent is thinking and you need to be tactical.”

That appeals to her, as does the pace of the game: “The speed is very fast. I like that.”

TGS Chinese Dean Lijun Qui says Carrie stands out among the centre’s 150 students for her sporting achievements. “She is the best. She

has a very lovely personality and gets on well with other students. She has integrated very well and is academically excellent.”

Having been at Belmont Primary in her first year in Auckland, then at Belmont Intermediate before starting at TGS, Carrie has a good group of friends. Last year, she was a school librarian, but sport and study now keep her busy.

Though she admits to missing some Chinese foods, she enjoys the New Zealand landscape and fresh air.

Her sister, Yutong, now studies architecture at the University of Auckland, but Carrie is not yet sure what her own future holds. She likes chemistry, biology and history, but might pursue sports science later.

What she is certain of is that she wants to see how far she can go in table tennis.

“I don’t think I’m that good,” she says humbly, but she wants to find out. “I’d love to play for New Zealand.”

China provided good initial training, but it is here her game has flourished. She also enjoys the Kiwi lifestyle, so it is the black shirt, rather than the red one that she aspires to.

She used to play for the Auckland Table Tennis Association, but last year she switched to the North Shore association, based behind the YMCA on Akoranga Dr.

Table tennis could eventually give Carrie a pathway for permanent residency, through talent-visa categories.

“My very big goal is to go to international stages – Oceania and the Olympics,” Carrie says.

North Shore earns week off after unbeaten run

North Shore Rugby Club’s premier side finished pool play undefeated in 12 matches, with a 30-0 win over Silverdale away last weekend.

Shore topped the competition, meaning it has a bye in this week’s quarter finals.

Coach Rua Tipoki said the side would be working harder than ever to prepare for its semi-final match against either Northcote or Silverdale.

Shore’s emphatic win over Silverdale was achieved without star first five-eighth Oscar Koller, who strained a hamstring several weeks ago.

Tipoki said Koller, who has signed for the North Harbour NPC side, would definitely be fit for the semi-final to be played at Shore’s home ground at Vauxhall Rd on July 8.

“He could have played against Silverdale, but he’s a young football player and it’s our responsibility to look after the young fellas.”

Replacement players Cam Howell and Hunter Rice had performed excellently and also had strong games at the North Harbour trials, Tipoki said.

Shore also hoped to have classy prop Sione Mafileo back for the semi-finals now that his season with the Chiefs Super Rugby side had ended.

But the real strength for Shore was the number of local players coming through the ranks, Tipoki said.

“We’ve got a lot of depth through the squad, which shows how well Takapuna Grammar and other local schools are feeding into the club.”

Club trainer Dean Rice was very experienced and the young players coming into the under-19s and under-21s, then progressing through to the Premiers, were “instilled with the North Shore ethos, which is hard work,” Tipoki said.

Shore women’s rugby premiers show promise in first season

The North Shore Rugby Club’s women’s side is taking plenty of positives out of a challenging inaugural season in the tough Auckland-wide women’s premier competition.

Though the team had plenty to learn –with more than half a dozen players who hadn’t played the game before – it notched three wins, improved through the eightgame Coleman Shield season, and helped showcase players for opportunities at a higher level.

Two Shore players, midfielder Holly Williams and fullback Mikayla Suluape, were picked for a Black Ferns camp held in Auckland earlier this month.

Coach Robert Todd, a former professional player and ex-coach of the club’s men’s premier side, has pledged to take the reins of the women’s side again next year to try and build on the gains made so far.

Clear signs of progress emerged in the side’s last game for the season, a quarter-final against women’s rugby powerhouse Marist.

Though beaten 25-34, Shore were behind by just a point with eight minutes to play. Marist – the incumbent champions – complimented their much less experienced opponents by opting for a kick at goal in the final stages.

Marist, which has a proud history of women’s rugby dating back to the 1980s and has produced 33 Black Ferns, beat Shore 48-19 when the sides first met early in the season.

The Shore squad came from many different sporting backgrounds, including netball, and faced a steep learning curve in its first season, Todd said. “There was a lot of learning of rugby IQ.”

On

Among the diverse group was Commonwealth Games gold-medal winning hammer-thrower Julia Ratcliffe, who, after her athletics career, wanted to try a team sport.

Todd, who stepped into the main coaching role mid-season, said the other teams in the grade were well established, with well-developed player bases. “We’d like to build our team and player depth.”

Shore wanted to create an awareness among women players that “we’re a club worth coming to play for”.

Shore is among clubs tapping into the interest in the women’s game created by the Black Ferns win in the 2022 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

“Just locally, we’ve got huge participation and numbers,” Todd said. “If we can make

a pathway, so they stay at the club, that will strengthen our numbers.”

In partnership with North Shore Cricket Club, the rugby club plans to provide improved facilities for women players in the former Devonport Bowls Club building in Cambridge Tce.

Todd hopes it will be available by next season. “The club’s right behind the team,” he said.

He was pleased that Williams and Suluape had been chosen for the national camp. “Some of the results didn’t go our way, but their talents were recognised.”

Several North Shore players are also expected to feature with the North Harbour Hibiscus in the upcoming Farah Palmer Cup season.

the burst… Holly Williams, pictured in action against Silverdale, was one of two Shore players picked for a Black Ferns camp

Back for the semi-final... star Shore first five Oscar Koller

School project produces mini forest on clifftop

Plant posse… Year 12 students (from left) Sascha Letica, Kathryn Reid, Eve Couwenberg and Monique Jermy at their pocket forest near the George Gair Lookout

A ‘pocket forest’ of native trees has been planted by Takapuna Grammar School (TGS) students as a school project they hope will endure for decades.

Sascha Letica, Monique Jermy, Kathryn Reid and Eve Couwenberg came up with the idea for the forest near George Gair Lookout in collaboration with Restoring Takarunga Hauraki (RTH) community coordinator, Lance Cablk.

The students worked on the design, sourced the plants and recruited extra hands to help with the planting.

Kathryn said the forest was designed in a way that meant it wouldn’t obstruct the view at the lookout and that the cliff would be strengthened by the roots of the plants.

The biggest plants are at the back of the site to allow the smaller ones to get enough sunshine and protect vulnerable plants from wind damage.

The forest will need regular maintenance, including weeding and watering, for the next three years.

Among more than 10 species planted are kōwhai, manuka, harakeke and pūriri.

The group is happy their project provides something for future generations to enjoy.

Their work on the forest was an element of the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum that requires students to complete self-driven projects involving creativity, activity and service (CAS).

The forest was officially opened at a recent

school CAS day, along with other community-service projects.

The school’s head of IB, Maria Blanco, told the Flagstaff CAS was about “addressing issues of global significance at a local level”.

Many other groups decided to work with RTH for their projects, after science teacher and CAS coordinator James Lawton invited the group to speak at the school before the projects began.

Other projects included students making a park bench that will be placed at the Wakakura Reserve, in Mary Barrett Glade; an in-class irrigation system to grow plants for science lessons; and installing a rat-trapping line in the Philomel Reserve, Bayswater.

Ferry staff numbers still too thin for normal services

Ferry crew shortages are easing, but normal services for Devonport and Bayswater are still some way off, says North Shore ward Auckland councillor Chris Darby.

“I wouldn’t see us going back to a 20-minute service any time soon, but we’re aiming for it,” Darby said.

Instead of being 45 crew down, as it was before Christmas, operator Fullers was 24 short as of last Monday, in need of 14 skippers and 10 deckhands. Skippers typically take a year to train.

“We’re not there yet. We’ve still got a

long way go to until we’re covered,” Darby acknowledged in a briefing to the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board last week.

The remark came just a day before another round of the peak-hour ferry cancellations that regularly frustrate commuters.

Darby said he and fellow North Shore councillor Richard Hills had lobbied the government on immigration settings, which had helped Fullers in its recruitment overseas. They were keeping a close handle on ferry operational issues, “but it’s an enormous daily challenge”.

Capacity was an issue on the Devonport run, but bigger ferries were not always available, he said.

Crew cover wasn’t sufficient to free up staff for training in how to operate the larger vessels.

As more staff arrived, the expectation was for a more reliable service and to build weekday patronage.

More ferry use was being seen at weekends, Darby said, with passenger numbers up 25 per cent on the Devonport and Waiheke runs compared with pre-Covid figures.

Vote against safety plan not unanimous Children

In your 16 June edition, you reported on a special meeting of the Devonport Business Association (DBA)/Business Improvement District (BID) about the Auckland Transport (AT) zebra crossing upgrades in Devonport, and that the members “voted unanimously against the plan”.

I don’t know if you attended the meeting or if you read the minutes, but I did attend and the voting was not unanimous.

The voting was by show of hands for and against each of the proposed crossing locations. I voted for (not against) several of the crossings to go ahead as planned, especially the one on Victoria Rd just before Calliope Rd, where the school crossing is set up every school day.

I think this is called a “majority” vote. Even then, it can hardly be called a majority of the membership of the DBA, when only 20 per cent of members attended the meeting.

You call the vote on these resolutions “something of a rearguard action” and I agree.

The DBA with its BID has been missing in action for quite some time.

Perhaps they could focus attention on getting Auckland Council to increase the frequency of clearing the drains around the village before the next deluge? That way, business members who pay the targeted rate each year could at least say that money was going down the drain in a good way.

Peter Raos

DBA stance puts local loyalty at risk

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the recent stance of the Devonport Business Association (DBA) on the proposed traffic-calming measures in our neighbourhood. It is disheartening to see its opposition to these safety improvements, as it seems to prioritise financial interests over the well-being of our community.

By rejecting the project in its entirety, the DBA is opposing the safe crossing across Kerr St for the children of Devonport Primary School. Surely, this is not its intention?

We have all heard stories of close calls and near accidents around the crossing adjacent to the Patriot. It is unfortunate that the DBA appears to disregard the potential risks, as if death and serious injury are mere collateral damage in the pursuit of profit.

As members of this community, we should strive for a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.

By opposing these safety measures, the DBA risks eroding the loyalty and support of local residents. Personally, I find it disappointing to witness such a disregard for our well-being, making me question whether it’s worth supporting local businesses when I can find better prices, quality and variety elsewhere.

I urge the DBA to reconsider its position and prioritise the safety of our community, especially our children. Together, we can create a neighbourhood that thrives both economically and in terms of safety and well-being.

Chris Werry

miss out due to Navy pool unavailability

The Devonport Navy Swim Club operated for over 25 years at the Navy Base without incident. With so many drownings in Auckland, this (“Swim Club told to look for alternative to Navy pool”, Flagstaff 2 June) is such sad news for our community .

I note that for the most part it is our children who are missing out. A healthy number of adults now swim from our beaches.

The club provided quality lessons for our local children, which were affordable, accessible and convenient.

Jenny Le Noel

Thanks for winter dip and great day

I wanted to publicly thank Devonport Peninsula Trust (DPT) for the midwinter-swim event on Sunday. Well done to everyone.

We came over from Waiheke. It was a great day out and all credit to the DPT.

If wasn’t for them we wouldn’t have visited Devonport and had such a lovely day. We enjoyed Vondel’s coffee and the pub lunch at The Patriot. The discovery of the fire in the library was a real treat.

Thank you DPT and may you continue to host many more perfect village events.

Andrew Crawford

Funding strangely stripped from long-planned project

Re the walkway and cycleway from Francis St to Esmonde Rd:

Last week, I witnessed something very unusual at the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board meeting. The board chair brought a members’ report to the meeting revoking the decision made in 2021 to put $1.3 million into exploratory work towards a project to build a bridge for cyclists and pedestrians from Francis St, Hauraki to Esmonde Rd. Chair Toni van Tonder’s motion directed that the funding will now instead go towards a walkway/cycleway project through the mangroves in the Wairau Estuary. How Auckland Transport (AT) reacts to this decision will be interesting.

The Francis St to Esmonde Rd project is a safer direct walking and cycling route from Devonport to Takapuna; a link to the Akoranga transport hub; and a link to the wider walking and cycling network. It will link into the Patuone cycleway and walkway, which goes right into Takapuna. The local

board started pushing for this bridge across the estuary in 2015, so planning has been underway for some time. I know it has been a long journey to get where we are, but I was feeling confident that this project is now becoming a reality.

During the Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions over 2020 to 2022, the Francis St-Esmonde Rd project saw little progress. AT completed a “Feasibility Assessment Update and Concept Report” in November 2019 in an attempt to restart the project. At that stage, there is no mention of iwi engagement having been undertaken.

With the new local board elected in 2022, there was a comprehensive briefing of board members in November on this Francis St-Esmonde Rd project. At that stage, AT recommended the local board engage with mana whenua. This would have to take place in 2023; then there would be public consultation in 2024, when the resource consent application would have been lodged and heard,

no doubt, by independent commissioners. In 2024/2025 the budget for construction would be confirmed, and then construction would have commenced. That timeline is now up in the air, with the local board’s decision to withdraw its funding.

It is interesting that an additional motion was put up by a board member, which the chair incorporated into her motion, which restated support for the Francis-Esmonde link. This means the local board has taken away the funding for the preliminary work but still wants the Francis St-Esmonde Rd project. It is hard for me to fathom out this new position.

I am concerned as to how AT will react to this funding withdrawal, which I voted against. The previous boards have pushed the case for this combined walkway and cycleway since 2015.

George Wood Member Devonport-Takapuna Local Board

Takapuna and Devonport snaffle bulk of board grants

Grants doled out to support community activities and events in the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area are skewed in favour of groups based in Takapuna and Devonport, a check has found.

An assessment of allocations by the board last year has found northern suburbs received less than central and southern areas (see top chart).

“You can see, there is some disparity,” council board adviser Rhiannon Guinness said in presenting the data, which was requested by the board.

The central area – centred on Takapuna and including Hauraki – did best, netting 44 per cent of $189,000 in funding. The vast majority went to groups based in central Takapuna or for events held there.

Close behind was the southern area, receiving 39 per cent of funding, for groups mostly based in Devonport. While a number of these groups service residents of the wider peninsula, including Bayswater and Belmont, Devonport town centre was a big beneficiary when compared with the northern area, which includes the larger Milford town centre.

The northern area, including Sunnynook, Forrest Hill and Castor Bay, as well as Milford, received just 13 per cent of funding.

The remaining 4 per cent of funding was to groups from the wider North Shore that provide benefits to people in the board area.

Board members said the report would prove useful for the next financial year’s funding rounds.

“The information will help us be more directed,” said board chair Toni van Tonder.

The slant towards the central and southern parts of the board region was partly explained by these being well-established areas, with groups used to lobbying council.

DTLB Grants Share

Approved Grants By Region

Feedback used to shape the board’s draft Local Plan showed the community had environmental initiatives at the top of itspriority list, and this should be reflected in grants, Powell said.

Over several recent workshops allocating amounts of money under $2000, a tightening of future grants criteria has been signalled to meet reduced budgets.

Repeat applicants in one year are likely to face more scrutiny than in the past. Groups already getting alternative board funding will be considered lower priority.

Grants are not meant to fund the likes of school or church groups. But board members plan to continue using their discretion over some fundraising events, such as the biennial Sculpture OnShore, which also offer a visitor-attraction benefit or bring people together.

In the case of Takapuna, deputy chair Terence Harpur, who is also Takapuna Beach Business Association chief executive, was quick to point out it was the biggest centre and also played host to a number of organisations that covered the wider area, such as North Shore Budgeting Service, Auckland North Community and Development (Ancad) and the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Member George Wood said, based on population, the north was not getting as much, but it also had fewer incorporated societies with a track record of making applications.

Member Mel Powell noted the northern region’s ethnic make-up, saying some cultures did not like to ask for money. Their participation had to be encouraged.

The board will emphasise support for activities that deliver wider community benefit; so the days of sports groups asking for money for limited-use items, such as tennis balls or small coaching courses, are over. However, applications for upgrades to clubrooms, such as with heat pumps or dishwashers, are still allowed.

The board noted the high cost of traffic-management plans required by Auckland Transport, but because this was a factor for many groups staging events, member Gavin Busch urged against paying costs towards this, cautioning: “If we do for one, we do for all.”

Powell said she would like events the board supported to include a “healthy choices” clause, so the likes of fizzy drinks and baking were not available, and for organisers to be made accountable around events being waste- and smoke-free.

The board offers a range of grants, from $500 to $5000, and in the current financial year will have two grants rounds, one in July 2023 and one in January 2024.

Family home close to Devonport village available for 6 wks 18/9-30/10. Three bedrooms. Reasonable rent. Contact Rob 021 040 7703.

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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 $5 per visit. Each visit I feed your pet and can play with them for about 10-15 minutes each visit if they are comfortable with me. I also send you pics of them so you don’t miss them too much! I always visit with one of my parents. Devonport only please! Text/call: 021-270-7677.

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

120 people dipped on Sunday. Numbers were down because it was a reasonably fresh morning, but it was the same fun vibe as always. Our very own, but world famous Druid alerted the gathering to the fact that this was, he understood, the 25th Year of the Dip, before the ‘Brave and the Bold’ charged into the water.

Our thanks to: 1st Devonport Scouts; our kayak patrollers and Auckland Coastguard, who kept watch on proceedings, the team at Officers’ Mess for truly delicious pumpkin soup; Suzanne Stickney and family; Iain and Ruth, Aloi, and of course, our Druid. Well done Abby and Suzannea great community event.

Matariki - Go to www.dpt.nz to see the range of events being staged across the Peninsula. Windsor Reserve - July 15th at 5:00pm - a community gathering - to celebrate Matariki with a welcome, karakia, kapa haka, Indonesian dance, song, stories, Carl, our local musician, Devonport Market on the wharf, and food trucks to supplement local eateries.

If you or your child(ren) would like to present a small item to the gathering - perhaps a Matariki story or poem you/they have written, or a song they would like to sing, please email abby@dpt.nz

Our thanks to Pub Charity for supporting the July 15th event with staging, medic, litter control, and our thanks to Auckland Council and Devonport Takapuna Local Board; The Navy Museum of New Zealand; Devonport Business Association for the funding that helped enable the 2023 programme. Email nigel@dpt.nz if you wish to make contact.

shorejobs

Maddy Crawford, Abby Jones, and Nigel Bioletti with the Druid

Support your paper for the price of a cup of coffee.

20 years ago from the Flagstaff files

• The proposed sale of Bayswater Marina has created strong interest in New Zealand and overseas. The marina operations are valued at $8 million.

• North Shore United hope to advance to the last eight of the Chatham Cup when they play West Hamilton.

• Taggers target Devonport Primary School.

• A fire alarm is set off at a barbecue outside the Devonport Community House, held to raise money for the Save the Cinema campaign. The fire bridgade waives its $500 call-out charge, but the alarm-monitoring company won’t budge over a $197 fee, which has to be subtracted from the $1000 raised by a fancy dress ball.

• A discounted entry coupon for locals in the Flagstaff is being considered by Devonport Food and Wine Festival organisers. Next year’s festival will be the first for which admission is charged. Previously, entry has been free, with wine glasses sold for people to use in buying drinks from stallholders.

• Devonport Library is rated in Auckland’s top 10 by the Sunday Star-Times

• A stuffed alligator called Colin is still missing from the On Bourbon Street restaurant. A thief exited out of a toilet window with the reptile.

• A quilt called ‘Tears from Heaven’ is made by Mary Williamson, in honour of her husband Miles Williamson, a

long-time Devonport GP.

• The annual Devonport Community Creche ball raises $6500.

• Su Fippard and Sue Wakelin exhibitions Back and Forth and Reflection show side by side at the Depot.

• A 100-year-old cottage in St Leonards Rd is on the market for $405,000.

• Traffic on Esmonde Rd could rise to 60,000 cars per day in a couple of years, according to North Shore City Council engineers.

• Devonport writer Geoff Chapple wins the Environment category at the Montana book awards with Te Araroa: The New Zealand Trail. The book’s first print run of 3000 sold out.

• Plunket is holding a Masquerade Ball at McHugh’s. Spot prizes include two international airline tickets.

• More than 100 swimmers turn out to the Devonport midwinter swim at Windsor Reserve.

• Award-winning author Lynley Dodd is to meet kids at the Devonport Library as part of the Devonport Community House school holiday programme.

• In an up-and-down season, North Shore Rugby premiers lose to Massey 20-18, after squandering a 15-0 lead.

• Navy commander John Martin is the Flagstaff interview subject.

AT rejects business-group criticism

Auckland Transport has hit back at criticism from the Devonport Business Association that it did not consult properly over town-safety improvements.

The business association (DBA) voted at a special meeting earlier this month to reject the Auckland Transport (AT) Devonport Town Centre Safe Speed plans in their entirety.

“It is unfortunate that some of the DBA membership does not currently support the proposal,” AT’s Chief Executive Officer Dean Kimpton says in a letter to DBA chair Dianne Hale.

“However, we contest that Auckland Transport did not allow members of the DBA to input into the consultation process.

The project team “consulted exhaustively with the DBA” throughout the community work-group process. Kimpton said.

AT set up a project website page, placed advertisements in local newspapers, deliv-

international

ered 13,000 brochures to households, held drop-in sessions and open days and doorknocked local businesses about the plan.

Substantial changes to the project were made to take in DBA concerns, he said.

“In response to these concerns, considerable work by the project team has resulted in a 50 per cent reduced construction timeframe, revised methodology and a revised scope of work (putting off a raised crossing outside The Patriot) to take into account the most disruptive section of the project for the businesses,” Kimpton said.

Safety statistics show that Victoria Rd had logged 24 crashes, which included two serious and seven minor injuries. All of the injuries were suffered by pedestrians or cyclists.

“Unfortunately, this represents a current situation that puts Devonport in one of the higher-risk town centres nationally,” Kimpton said.

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The stone’s the star

The starting point for the look and feel of a new kitchen often revolves around the choice of benchtop material. There are seemingly endless options available these days, making it a bewildering task, not only in terms of which material will suit your needs but also in finding the perfect blend of pattern and colour for your tastes.

For the kitchen illustrated on these pages, Phil and Yolanda, who live in a large modern home on Auckland’s North Shore, engaged the experience of multi-award-winning Kitchens By Design to help them with the journey to their new kitchen. The brief was to open the new kitchen to the sea views and provide a bar area for entertaining, along with spacious benchtops and plenty of storage. But what about the colour and material palette?

For inspiration, Richard Cripps from Kitchens By Design reached out to his stone supplier and asked them for something special for Phil and Yolanda. And they certainly delivered, he says. “We managed to secure the last two slabs of Patagonia Quartzite – a stunning and unique stone from Brazil. It’s hard, strong, and incredibly resistant to scratches and stains, making it a good choice for a kitchen benchtop.”

“Phil and Yolanda immediately fell in love with it – and what’s not to love?” says

Richard. “We wanted the stone to be the hero, so we complemented its earthy, natural tones and patterns with subtle fluted battens made from American white oak. These battens follow the soft curves at the end of the island. The rest of the kitchen was kept white – not to compete with the island but to highlight it.”

Richard says Phil and Yolanda’s new kitchen gets good airtime with their friends and visitors. “The highlight for us is hearing how pleased they are with their new kitchen – and that it is the topic of conversation at social occasions.”

The experienced team at Kitchens By Design offers an integrated design-tocompletion service. If you’re looking for a new kitchen, please call (09) 379 3084 to make an appointment with one of their designers. Kitchens By Design’s showroom is located at 9 Melrose Street in Newmarket. For inspiration, take a look at some fabulous projects at www.kitchensbydesign.co.nz

Takapuna Grammar

UN Youth Club Attends MUNA 2023

Nine Takapuna Grammar students represented Austria (Mila White, Olivia Lin, Leonard Mahlstedt), Kazakhstan (Sienna Kerr, Paloma Touchaud, Charlie Chen) and Egypt (Yolanda Chai, Scarlett Murphy, Peter Surge) in the annual Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA). Students delivered a two-minute speech that reflected their country’s perspective on issues such as

FROM THE SPORTS DESK...

We have recently celebrated successes for a number of our students across a diverse range of sports.

Izzy Fox and Audrey Melhuish have been selected for the Auckland U22 Indoor Cricket team. The team will compete in the Indoor Cricket NZ provincial championship, which will be held in Wellington in July.

Our boys 1st XI football team defeated Auckland Grammar in the Knockout Cup. This progresses the TGSteam to a quarter-final match against St Kents which will be played in July.

Hurley Wong, playing for the Auckland Little League Seniors Baseball team, which is representing New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region, will compete in the Little League Senior World Series held in South Carolina, USA.

Our 1st XV rugby team is sitting second on the league table, after a tight

JUNE 30, 2023

the environment, clean water access, and the Ukraine-Russian war. Muna 2023 was a success, students attending were able to improve their public speaking, meet new friends, and overall have a blast! The TGS UN Youth Club would like to thank North Harbour Rotary for orchestrating this amazing event full of awesome opportunities for North Shore students.

win against Rangitoto College and our 1st XI hockey girls team narrowly lost the North Harbour final to St Mary’s College.

Our squash teams have had an excellent Auckland Teams tournament. The boys went down narrowly in the final against Auckland Grammar 2-3 to claim silver medals. Meanwhile our girls went through the competition undefeated, beating Westlake Girls in the final to take out the gold medal.

Take a Virtual Tour of our School

We are excited to announce the launch of our new virtual tour tool, which allows parents to explore our school campus from the comfort of their own homes. With this innovative tool, parents can navigate through the various classrooms, facilities and grounds of our school using their computer or mobile device. This tool will provide an immersive and interactive experience for parents to get a first-hand look at the school campus and all it has to offer. We hope that this tool will help parents get a better understanding of our school and its resources. We encourage all parents to take advantage of this exciting new feature and experience our school like never before. Simply scan the QR code with your mobile phone camera.

Midwinter chill worth it for Jetta and Stevie

Two Belmont Primary School students are doing their part for ocean conservation, raising $5000 for an environmental foundation.

Eight-year-olds Jetta Webb and Stevie Reid love the ocean and decided to do something to protect it by last week participating in Live Ocean’s annual winter dip at Takapuna Beach.

Live Ocean is a foundation started by world-renowned sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke. It partners with organisations, scientists and other marine advocates to lobby for action in support of healthy oceans.

“It feels very important to me because I love spending time out in the ocean,” said Jetta. She worries “all of the creatures might become extinct and also the world wouldn’t look as beautiful as it is now” if action is not taken.

The girls made a promotional video that was shared online by Jetta’s mother, Charlotte Parkhill.

They also gave a speech at a school assembly, which motivated around 30 other students to join them on their winter challenge.

Jetta said she was “excited, nervous and scared all at the same time,” but those feelings disappeared once in the water. Most of the participants stayed in much longer than the 30-second minimum plunge time.

Football club makes plea for Bayswater upgrade

North Shore United Football Club is pushing for upgrades to the facilities it leases at Bayswater Park.

The club outlined to the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board last week how heavily the park was used, and said it had members volunteering to help upgrade the inadequate and rundown changing-room facilities.

The club wanted to work with Auckland Council community facilities staff to improve what was on offer to the hundreds of players regularly using the park’s two grounds.

“The park is a very high-use facility and is an important community asset that deserves better facilities,” said club board member

Phillip McGivern.

It lacked enough changing space to cope with the number of teams and also had open showers that had to be passed to get to toilets. “If you’re a lady you don’t want to go there.”

McGivern, and club chair Mike Fox, said the club had 43 teams of players aged nine years and up. Usage of Bayswater Park was all day Saturday and on four evenings a week. The club also ran mixed primary-school tournaments there and a summer football league that attracted 78 teams.

“The park is in use as soon as we can get our hands on it,” said McGivern. It is also used for cricket.

Around 500-700 people were there on Saturdays for a football season of 20 games.

The club’s single field at Allen Hill Stadium in Devonport is used primarily for the men’s and women’s first teams and the men’s reserve grade. Fields at Stanley Bay are out of action most of the winter due to being waterlogged.

Board members suggested the club look to tap into grants funding for upgrades, including from Auckland Council’s regional sports fund.

Speaking to the Flagstaff later, McGivern said he would like to think there was some cost-efficient way the club could contribute in a bid to get an upgrade done.

Dipping for a good cause… Year four Belmont Primary students Jetta Webb (left) and Stevie Reid, moments before their midwinter dip at Takapuna Beach

Authorised by Karen Chhour MP, ACT List MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington.

Depot Te Whare Toi

DEPOT Artspace

We’re excited for July - a time of renewal and reflection. We’re thrilled to be hosting a number of events in support of our annual Matariki 2023 exhibition; Āhuru Mōwai, including workshops on weaving and Māori Medicine & Rongoā. Check out our website for full details!

In our central gallery, Āhuru Mōwai features the works of fifteen artists skilled in a variety of media such as whakairo, raranga, rongoā, painting, sound, and textile.

In our streetfront gallery, Te Tira Wahine elevates and celebrates the creativity of our wāhine. Artist Mei Hill’s cast-glass mosaics featuring Māori designs are anchored in kaupapa that resonate with her as she tries to find the poetry in all her works.

DEPOT Sound

Judging is underway for our North Shore Schools Songwriting Competition, keep an eye on our socials for winners announcements. Our recording studios remain open for bookings, so visit our website to secure your session today!

DEPOT Futures

If you or someone you know is a creative looking to develop their professional career, explore our two no-cost Creative Careers programmes on our website.

Visit depot.org.nz for more information!

Matariki show aims to engage

Making Matariki meaningful for all – that’s the aim of guest curator and exhibitor Louise Davis, one of the team behind a month-long show opening at the Depot Artspace in Devonport this Saturday.

The show’s name, Āhuru Mōwai, means a calm and sheltered haven. It draws from the understanding of nurturing human life from the womb on, Davis says.

“It’s making Māori visible to an audience so they have more of an experience of our world,” she says. From this, she hopes greater understanding of the values of Matariki will grow, including caring for the land and each other.

The fibre artist wants gallery visitors to feel at home in the transformed space on Clarence St. “We’ve made a temporary whare to provide a holistic, temporal experience for the audience.”

This involves introducing elements to engage the senses, including plants to see and smell from rongoā Māori kaiako (Māori healing teacher) Judy Henderson, and a soundscape from Murphy Wiperi.

Davis says: “I want it to be an experience for people to walk in and have a feeling of warmth and nourishment and substance.”

Work from 17 contemporary artists forms the exhibition, including from whakairo/master carver Natanahira Pona – a driving force in the growth of Matariki celebrations in the area as well as resident artist at the Lake House Arts Centre – and others from the North Shore, including weaver Kiriana O’Connnell and painter and te moko artist Ben Thomason.

Return appearance... Natanahira

Pona, at the Depot Artspace during last year’s Matariki exhibition, is back with his carving

Davis (Ngati Raukawa ki te Tonga and Ngati Maru ki Hauraki), who was born and raised on the North Shore, is of Māori and Scottish descent.

She was asked by Pona to be involved in the Depot’s Matariki show last year, but was unable to participate then. This year, she got back in touch with him and put up a proposal

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

the senses

to bring in other Auckland weavers and artists she works with.

After studying fashion at the then Auckland Technical Institute (ATI) now Auckland University of Technology, she worked in the fashion industry, including styling big shows. She recalls a young Rachel Hunter, when she made an early appearance on the runway at the Benson & Hedges Fashion Design Awards. Working with fibre became a passion. She learned traditional weaving skills with Tainui women and her weaving has been featured in film and television productions.

“I do more art now and tutoring,” she says. The mother of four children, with two still at home, these days lives in rural Henderson Valley.

Sometimes, she teaches at the nearby Corban Estate, where flaxes from around the country are cultivated for weaving. Woven kete from the Corban’s Weaving Circle are among pieces on display at the Depot.

Matariki celebrations provide a good way of generally imparting Māori ways, says Davis. Its adoption as a national holiday is something she regards as a turning point.

“It’s beautiful for Māori because it’s a time when we can shine,” she says.

It is a time to restore and reflect. “We all get this extra day, when we can get our family together.”

Rather than head to the bach, people can simply cocoon together at home, drawing close.

Connecting to the rhythms of the natural world is also an important aspect of what Matariki offers everyone, she says. “We need to be aware to protect our whenua, our land, to stop cutting down our trees and to protect waterways.”

• Āhuru Mōwai, at the Depot Artspace from 1 July to 1 August, with an opening this Saturday from 2pm to 4pm. In late July, the gallery will host other Matariki events – details on depot.org.nz.

Nourishment and substance... Curator and exhibitor Louise Davis celebrates nature’s bounty

Pattern-maker .... Kete woven by Kiriana O’Connell will be on

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