Stage one of a large housing development in Hauraki will add 61 dwellings to the area behind the local primary school.
The property arm of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Whai Rawa Development, has applied for Auckland Council consent to build on land it
owns on both sides of Marsden St. The application covers around 1.85ha, with the street also having some privately owned homes.
The Marsden St development will create a mix of free-standing, duplex and terraced homes for public sale, replacing older,
mostly single-storey former Navy housing. In contrast with recent apartment-style developments on the Devonport Peninsula, many of the new homes will be family-sized. Grant Kemble, Whai Rawa’s chief
To page 2
Cricket star meets the next generation
Future stars… Ten-year-old North Shore cricketers Harriott Rankin (left) and Jasmine Wells with White Fern and Takapuna club member Izzy Gaze, and the T20 World Cup trophy which she helped to win. The trophy was on show at North Shore Cricket Club last week for the Junior World Series. Pictures, pages 6 and 7.
Mix of houses will be sold on open market
executive, told the Flagstaff all homes would be for sale on the private market. Pricing would be decided by the market, and careful architectural design would meet community needs in a highly desirable area.
“Our Marsden St development will reflect the high-quality outcomes demonstrated in our previous developments, such as Oneoneroa in Belmont,” he said.
Construction timelines were yet to be confirmed, pending consent processes and market conditions.
“We anticipate a broad mix of buyers, similar to Oneoneroa – ranging from young professionals and established families to those looking to find a new home while staying in the area, or those wanting to move into this sought-after location.”
The consent application proposes a fivestage build, providing 31 four-bedroom homes, 24 with three bedrooms and seven with two bedrooms, with one to three levels. Each home will have at least one off-street park.
An existing pedestrian path connects Marsden St to Hauraki Primary School. The school is the largest primary on the Devonport Peninsula, with around 460 students, in a growing suburb which the Census shows is the most diverse on the peninsula.
Kemble said Whai Rawa was already in conversations with the school and the Ministry of Education. “We will look to engage more broadly to ensure the development integrates with the community.”
The planning application says designers have deliberately oriented homes backing onto the school to minimise overlooking the playground.
Existing council zoning allows up to three dwellings per site as of right, meaning as
many as 63 homes could be built across the title areas, which are at 1-12, 19-20 and 36-45 Marsden St.
Some of the development would back onto Jutland Reserve. Although increasing intensification in the area meets new government-driven zoning rules, planners deciding on the application will need to consider its impact on Shoal Bay, a Significant Ecological Area, and also coastal erosion and height variation matters.
The application details landscaping, services and rubbish disposal plans and a transport assessment which estimates the new homes will generate about 30 additional trips during the morning and evening commuter peaks and a total of 352 trips a day. It also includes a proposal to top up the
existing esplanade reserve to the full 20m width, to provide sufficient public access and for conservation of coastal ecological values.
The application is now with council planners, pending a decision. It follows two pre-application meetings in 2024 with council staff.
In December, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei announced it was selling 5.7ha of land centred on Hillary Cres off Eversleigh Rd in the neighbouring suburb of Belmont.
Summerset Group intends developing this as a retirement village of nearly 300 homes
The iwi also has 143 homes under lease to Defence in various locations across Belmont and Bayswater.
Devonport Publishing Ltd First Floor, 9 Wynyard St
61 new homes... the Marsden St site of Whai Rawa’s planned development
Three-year lease puts art on the main street
The Depot Artspace now has a permanent gallery on Victoria Rd, with a three-year lease signed for the ground floor of the former Devonport Borough Council building.
The Depot had already leased the top floor of the building for studio space, and set up a pop-up gallery at street level following floods at its Clarence St building on 31 August.
The flood and aftermath was “quite stressful”, said Depot director Amy Saunders, but it offered the chance to see if a commercial offering on Devonport’s main street worked.
The lease was signed with property owners Peninsula Capital at the end of last year and the Depot formally began occupancy at the start of last week.
The gallery has 85 artists on its books, around half of them local, including those working in studios upstairs.
Tourists and locals alike have loved the new space, said Saunders. Sales had been spread between international visitors, domestic tourists and locals.
Peninsula residents had also been employed in the shop, which further emphasised the flow through to the local economy, Saunders said.
Securing the ground floor also meant the Depot had further scope for open days, as well as hosting events and workshops, she said.
Peninsula Capital’s property development manager, Nick Turley, said the Depot’s becoming a permanent fixture at 3 Victoria Rd was part of “Devonport coming back to life and getting the local economy moving”.
As part of the building makeover, it was thought sound-reduction measures might have been needed. But once art was installed, the echoing reduced.
Historic links with the old council building include its desks being used for a counter. A large, fully functioning safe was likely to become a “destination, talking point” with some form of exhibition, Saunders said.
the Depot’s Amy Saunders
Group show launches in new gallery
A group show featuring the Depot’s Victoria Rd studio artists starts at its street-level gallery this week.
The show, Studio D3: Momentum, opens on 1 February and will showcase the resident artists’ work, including largescale world-class photography, weaving, ceramics, painting, sculpture, jewellery and printmaking.
The artists will host a floor talk at 10am on 22 February, followed by an open studio tour.
Studio D3 artists include: Fiona Mackay (ceramics), Celia Walker (printmaker), Mickey Smith (multidisciplinary), Karen Rubado (weaver), Janet Mazenier (painter), Rose Evans (jeweller) and Pigeonhole Collective including Farah Latif (sculptor), Jaymin Patel (portraiture painter), Anoushka Coulson (painter), Jack Valentine (painter), Bailey McNally (mixed media), Nathan Wilson (artist, writer and performer), Kiara Schaumkell (textile sculptures), Daniel Sisel (portraiture) and Sasha Ellis (painter).
A new era…Peninsula Capital’s Nick Turley with
Aussie bound: Local board chair bows out
Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Toni van Tonder is stepping down because she is moving to Australia with her family.
It is unclear whether the vacancy this will create on the six-member board will be filled ahead of the local body elections in September and October.
Options available to board members for replacing a departing member range from not filling the vacancy to offering it to the highest-polling unsuccessful candidate from the 2022 elections or choosing another qualifying person under council guidelines.
Van Tonder, whose home is on the market, told the Flagstaff the board’s business meeting on 18 February was likely to be her last as chair.
Her husband, an architect, had been offered an exciting work opportunity in Brisbane before Christmas. While it was not her preference to cut short her term on the board, she had put family needs first. These included her children starting at new schools.
“I’m definitely sad to say goodbye. However, I know that I will be leaving a competent board who will continue to work collaboratively and with dedication for the benefit of the community for the final six months of the term.”
Two board workshops are scheduled before the monthly business meeting, but it looks likely van Tonder will not be present for them.
Deputy board chair Terence Harpur said he would take the role of chair until another was elected.
Harpur said he was “kind of on the fence” about whether or not the board should appoint a new member at this stage of the elec-
toral cycle. “Everything is still on the table.”
He understood van Tonder had been seeking advice on council processes.
Harpur said he was keen to discuss the way forward with all fellow board members.
Board members would vote to fill the role of chair once van Tonder’s resignation is tabled.
Harpur was relaxed about waiting for van Tonder’s resignation.
But board member George Wood was unhappy with the uncertainty around timing and whether she would be replaced.
“It’s unfair to others if we’re just going to sit on the sideline and not know what’s going on.”
Wood said the seventh-placed candidate in 2022, Mike Single from Hauraki, who stood with Wood on the Citizens & Ratepayers (C&R), ticket, was keen to step up to fill the vacancy.
Second-term board member van Tonder was elected chair in October 2022 after her A Fresh Approach team won four of the six board seats. Harpur, Mel Powell and Peter
Allen made up the block. The other board members elected, Wood and Gavin Busch, stood as C&R candidates.
Van Tonder told the Flagstaff she had always intended to run only twice for the board. “I think good leaders hand over to new leaders. I was happy to bring three new people to the table on my ticket.
“This is a community job and we need to make space for new people from within the community to participate in local governance.”
Before she was first elected to the board in 2019, van Tonder had a spell as Devonport Business Association manager and was for one year a teacher at Takapuna Grammar School during the early days of her 15 years living in the area.
Her first term – as part of businessman Aidan Bennett’s team – was at a time when meetings were often fractious due to divisions between Bennett’s block and the Heart of the Shore team.
The chair’s role passed from Bennett midterm to Ruth Jackson, who along with fellow Heart of the Shore members Jan O’Connor and Trish Deans, was not re-elected in 2022.
Deans polled just behind Single, with Zane Catherall of A Fresh Approach the next most popular unsuccessful candidate.
Van Tonder’s time as chair has seen the board run more smoothly.
A less polarised board has worked well together, dealing with council budget cuts and unanimously making tough decisions about cutting funding to community groups.
Members have for the most part worked cooperatively, seeking consensus, although issues such as cycle lanes and Lake Rd continue to divide opinion.
No fast-track for developer’s Devonport plans
Peninsula Capital’s plans for the Devonport town centre continue on a slow burn, with “high-level” concepts being worked on.
That reality is in contrast to the heat Peninsula faced after the New Zealand Herald revealed this month that the company had applied to the government to fast-track the $400 million project, potentially including 103 apartments.
Keyboard warriors soon took to social media, slagging off Peninsula for failing to consult locals and worried about heritage protection for historic buildings, while others were asking when they could buy an apartment.
Peninsula Capital did apply under the Fast-track Approvals Bill on 9 July, documents show.
However, the company was notified on 5 October that it had been turned down – a fact not mentioned by the Herald. Peninsula director Mark Hiddleston said the firm would have been “stupid not to
try” to be included on the government’s fast-tracking programme.
But, in reality, it was only “filling in a form and ticking some boxes”, he said.
Figures supplied about the project’s cost and scope were only indicative.
“There was no hidden master plan or detailed designs,” Hiddleston said. They did not exist yet.
“We applied. We did not get through. Full stop.” The project was viewed as not “strategically important to the government”.
The furore created by the Herald story had meant Peninsula Capital had to contact its tenants reassuring them of their future occupancy.
Peninsula Capital’s team of engineers, planners and heritage experts were still working on the history and archaeology of the town centre to make choices on development options.
Hiddleston said the very reason Peninsula purchased more than a dozen buildings in
Devonport was because of its heritage and the potential to reinvigorate the town centre. It made no sense to compromise the area with inappropriate development.
However, the post-Covid recession meant Peninsula was being cautious and costs and financial feasibility had to be closely considered, he said.
Small steps had been made: the Depot had taken over the former council building and was running a gallery downstairs with artists’ spaces above, after the building had been unoccupied for about five years.
“The artists love it and it’s bringing life back into the community, which is what we are seeking to do.”
The company’s commitment to consult locals and protection groups such as Devonport Heritage had not changed.
Peninsula Capital still had a long-term aspiration to regenerate the Devonport town centre to be as vibrant as parts of Sydney and St Kilda in Melbourne, he said.
Toni van Tonder
Summer Sunsetter success sets scene for sequel
The promoter of the Sunsetter festival plans to make it an annual event after a successful first run in Devonport.
Event promoter Highlife Entertainment’s director Adam Bennett said the event, which took place on 18 January at Windsor Reserve, went flawlessly apart from “needing a few more bartenders”.
Bennett, a Hauraki resident, said he plans to host Sunsetter annually at Windsor Reserve, keeping it the same size.
Being bigger comes with more issues and disruptions to the village, he said.
“It’s a nice number for the area.”
No major issues occurred at the event, said Bennett.
The music, beverage and food festival had huge local support, with Bennett estimating about 70 per cent of the 2400-person crowd, mostly 35-65-year-olds, were locals from Devonport, Takapuna and Milford.
The event has previously been held elsewhere on the North Shore, including at Smales Farm and North Harbour Domain.
Summer crowds… music returned to Windsor Reserve as some 2400 people gathered for the Sunsetter festival
PHOTOS: NORRIE MONTGOMERY
Competitive spirit shines through rain as
on show at the North Shore Cricket Club clubrooms
A visiting White Fern – and the T20 Women’s World Cup trophy she helped win –lifted spirits at a rained-off day two of the Junior World Series at North Shore Cricket Club last week.
The trophy went on a nationwide tour after the women’s national side won it last October, and instead of letting it collect dust in a cabinet, New Zealand Cricket wanted to
get it back out into the community to inspire young players, said community projects lead Olivia Clarke.
White Ferns wicketkeeper Izzy Gaze, who was a member of the winning side, was in attendance at North Shore Cricket Club talking to and taking pictures with star-struck fans.
The 20-year-old said the main aim of the
Big-hitter breaks sixes record
North Shore Cricket Club batsman and wicket keeper Riley Mudford (pictured, right) has broken the club’s sixes record, having cleared the boundary 125 times in 76 matches.
Mudford broke the record, previously held by Ronnie Hira, in a 95-run one-day match victory against Hibiscus Coast on 21 December, when he hit a half century – including three sixes and four fours – off 27 balls.
Hira’s previous mark of 123 sixes was compiled over 81 matches. Sixes records have been kept at the club since 1990.
Mudford’s form was recognised when he was added to the Auckland Aces squad in January, going on to make his debut against the Northern Brave at Hamilton on 13 January. Fellow North Shore premier players Jock McKenzie and Simon Keene are also contracted to the Aces.
Keene and premier captain Will Clarke both took their 100th wickets for the club this month, Keene in a one day loss to Parnell and Clarke in a T20 loss to Takapuna, when he claimed three wickets.
visit was to “get more young girls into cricket and encourage them to keep playing”, as well as showing them the opportunities available at high levels.
Gaze competed at the Junior World Series herself when she was younger and, despite playing for North Shore’s bitter rivals Takapuna Cricket Club while growing up, said Shore always hosts well.
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Inspiring future winners... White Fern Izzy Gaze (grey shirt) and the Junior World Series coaches with the Women’s T20 World Cup trophy,
junior cricketers chase World Series glory
So long 2024, welcome 2025!
We kick off the new year with a bit more positive sentiment as interest rates are expected to continue to fall over the next 6-12mths .....but the current reality is still pretty tough for many people and businesses. We expect the RBNZ to cut the OCR again on 19th February by 50bp to 3.75% and then again once or twice to maybe 3.25%. That should see mortgage interest rates maybe sneak under 5% in the 1-2yr bracket and anything with a 4% handle would seem good levels to fix - it’s hard to see 2 or 3% rates again but anything is possible!
Best fixed rates at present are around 5.99% for 6mth, 5.59% for 12mth and 5.39% for 18mth. Property is still pretty flat in many areas and it’s hard to see things taking off in a hurry with supply at such high levels and set to increase further as the cost of ownership continues to outpace any market appreciation........unless the Government eases up on foreign ownership rules which at the moment is confined to NZ, Australian and Singapore citizens and permanent residents. Get in touch with any debt requirements, we can invariably help.
The Junior World Series returned for its 32nd year last week, with over 160 keen cricketing kids competing in the three-day event.
After a rained-off second day, North Shore premier and Auckland Aces players Jock McKenzie and Simon Keene visited to test the kids’ skills.
Games were played at Devonport Domain, North Shore Rugby Club, Belmont Intermediate and Takapuna Grammar School. (Top left) North Shore cricketers (from left) Louis Cameron-Visser (8), Mack Insull (9), Thomas Robinson (8) and Patrick McGuigan (8) enjoy their time between matches. (Above) Louis Johnston (9) eyes up a boundary. (Bottom, from left) North Shore’s Archie Fox (13) and Marcus Dozzi (13) with Takapuna teammate Zach Griffin (13) await their go with the bat.
Horses, vintage cars, gravel, paint, stars
Filming of a big-budget Netflix television series is planned to start next month, bringing gravel roads, horse-drawn carriages and Hollywood A-listers to Cheltenham.
Netflix hopes to film the adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic novel East of Eden on a section of Cheltenham Rd between Takarunga Rd and McHugh’s restaurant, as well as small parts of Tainui Rd and Oxford Tce, under the working title Timshel, from 18-21 February.
Streets in the filming area will be covered with gravel and lined with horses, carts and old cars to emulate the late-1800s to early-1900s period, says a letter given to affected residents by the show’s location managers.
The production company has taken measures to ensure the safety of the horses and vehicles while also implementing clean-up protocols such as removing horse manure, said the letter.
A day before and after the large-scale shoot, which has a crew of about 200 people, will be spent setting up and cleaning up the set.
Filming hours are between 11.30am and 11pm, the letter says.
The seven-episode limited series set to be released on Netflix in early 2026 stars Florence Pugh and Mike Faist, as well as Christopher Abbott and Hoon Lee.
Set in California’s Salinas Valley, Steinbeck’s novel recreates the biblical story of troubled brothers Cain and Abel.
Free paint job… John O’Toole isn’t complaining about a visit from Hollywood
Work has already begun to start dressing the street, with two Cheltenham Rd houses being painted to period-accurate colours.
John O’Toole’s home is being painted
yellow for filming and then back to its original colour afterwards, at the production company’s expense. O’Toole said the company had been great to work with. “I can’t
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complain – we’re getting our house repainted for nothing.”
The company is also landscaping his garden to make it period-accurate, as the crew is planning to shoot a few shots looking out from his window, he said.
Compensation for the inconvenience has also been offered by the production company, he said.
The production team has asked another Cheltenham resident, Murray Henshall, to remove the flagpole and change the curtains on his two-storey Victorian home to better fit the period, he said.
Henshall said they had also asked to put the gravel from the street up his driveway.
Residents of another Cheltenham Rd house told the Flagstaff the production company had been in touch about covering their garage as it doesn’t match the property’s period style.
The letter dropped to residents also says cars won’t be allowed to park on the street during filming, but alternative parking has been arranged at North Shore Rugby Club, with a 24/7 shuttle taking people to their homes.
Filming dates are subject to change depending on the weather.
The carpark on the corner of King Edward Pde and Cheltenham Rd will be inaccessible to the public from 10-24 February because the production company plans to store the gravel there, the letter says.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, Screen Auckland manager Matt Horrocks said a public filming permit application for the production was being processed.
Details of the permit were last week being finalised through discussions with Auckland
Council, Auckland Transport and the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board, he said. The series would showcase Devonport’s historic village to an international audience and was expected to bring significant benefits to local businesses, he said.
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Cheltenham character… Murray Henshall’s house will also feature in the Steinbeck adaptation
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Invictus Games competitor climbs her own mountain
Nearly five years ago, Devonport servicewoman Tyler-Marie Gray was fighting for her life in a Canadian hospital. Now she will return to that country next month to take part in the Invictus Games. She sees competing as the final step on a hard-won journey – and a chance to go for gold.
“I’d love to win a medal, but gold for me is honestly just making it to the Games and competing because this is already so far outside my comfort zone that for me it is a major achievement.”
The 27-year-old Royal New Zealand Navy leading logistics supply specialist will line up in four events. Sport has been an important part of her recovery after landing in hospital for seven weeks during a 2019 deployment on HMNZS Te Kaha.
Gray had been unwell, losing weight, and thought she was just recovering from a stomach bug, but tests prompted doctors to perform emergency surgery. She was found to have a previously dormant autoimmune disease – ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation in the digestive tract. Her large and small intestines were no longer functioning.
“I was told that I had a less than 5 per cent chance of waking up from surgery, which is something no one ever wants to hear.
“They removed my large intestine completely and a large portion of my small intestine. I had some horrible post-surgery complications, so the recovery wasn’t the
do only have one.
“I don’t want to put things off, and I don’t shy away from opportunities any more. I also realised that my body is a lot stronger than I thought, so I now find new ways to constantly challenge my body to see what I can do.”
At Whistler, north of Vancouver, Gray will next month compete in snowboarding, rowing, swimming and wheelchair curling, as part of a 19-member New Zealand team
The Invictus Games, championed by Prince Harry, were established in 2013 and through sport they offer a recovery pathway for injured, wounded and ill service people. This is the first hybrid winter version of the Games.
New Zealand team participation is supported by the Auckland District RSA, Defence Force messes clubs, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, service groups and company sponsorships.
Gray is hoping to display the essence of
11:30 am to 3:00pm
White stuff... Tyler-Marie Gray will be competing on and off the slopes
By Rob Drent
Once again, the Devonport Business Association is looking for a new Business Improvement District (BID) manager with the disestablishment of the current role.
Incumbent Richard Thorne can apply for the job but if he departs it means the DBA will have its sixth manager in a decade. (Judy Grieve served from 2014 to 2017, Toni van Tonder from 2017 to 2019, Shaulyn van Baaren from 2020 to 2021, a short stint by Katherine Downs and then Thorne from 2022 to the end of 2024).
While the turnover of managers isn’t exactly a revolving door, it’s probably far from ideal for both the DBA board and the Devonport business community.
Each manager needs time to get their “feet under the desk” and get to grips with the rigours of the job, and the relatively small size of the town centre’s ratepayer base – which affects how much cash the DBA has to spend.
The DBA is fundamentally underfunded, which means the BID manager is trying to fulfil members’ long and varied wish lists without the money to do so – particularly when compared to our larger neighbours, Takapuna and Milford.
Both town centres have larger rates bases and more funds than Devonport. It is no coincidence that both have long-serving BID managers in Terence Harpur (Takapuna, more than seven years) and Murray Hill (Milford, 15 years).
Add in the reduction in Devonport-Takapuna Local Board funding for various oneoff events, Covid-related cuts to council budgets and a nationwide recession, it’s clear the Devonport BID manager’s job is no easy gig.
There’s nothing quite so forlorn as an empty house, unoccupied for years and growing ever more decrepit.
Likewise, the old Devonport Borough Council offices at 3 Victoria Rd – vacant for more than five years – became an increasingly depressing eyesore as tourists
The Flagstaff Notes
(and locals) passed it going up and down our main street, to and from the ferry terminal.
Fast forward to now and what a transformation. Owners Peninsula Capital have done some basic tidy-up work (painting and polishing the floors) but the real change is the art works now on show in a public gallery.
Add the artists working upstairs, and the building has indeed come back to life. If you haven’t checked it out already, go and see for yourself.
The native timber floors and art seem to complement each other perfectly. And how many galleries in New Zealand have a view across a park to the sea?
With the Depot taking a three-year lease on the downstairs level, it really is a bright and colourful start to the new year for Devonport.
On a short trip to Melbourne to watch some of the Australian Open tennis, I was once again impressed by the trams in the city. Easy to use, frequent and cheap, they seemed to flow almost seamlessly with cars, cycles and other modes of transport in a kind of elaborate road dance.
It may have been just me, but motorists seem to drive more slowly in Melbourne; in suburban streets and shopping centres, they often stopped to give way to pedestrians. Was this due to the traffic-calming effects of the trams?
Looking closely at the tram space on the road, it was not that wide and could be accommodated on Lake Rd with careful planning. I still hope one day such a tramline is investigated.
The legacy of Toni van Tonder, the current Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair, who is departing for Australia six months before her term ends, is difficult to quantify.
She came into local body politics after reinvigorating the Devonport Arts Festival and then two years as Devonport’s BID manager.
On A Fresh Approach ticket with Aidan Bennett van Tonder offered a fresh approach indeed – younger than many local body politicians and a mother of three. I suggested in 2019 that she would make the best chair for a board divided along party lines, but it wasn’t to be, with Bennett and Ruth Jackson sharing chair duties in an often acrimonious term full of bickering, infighting and chairs casting deciding votes.
Van Tonder got her chance in 2022, and has made a good fist of chairing duties: polished at running meetings, seeing issues clearly and advocating strongly for the North Shore.
Her time in local body politics has been difficult economically, with Covid, then a recession. Her board has had to negotiate numerous council cuts and try to lower public expectations for works and grants.
Van Tonder’s style was often working within the tent with council officers to get solutions – not one I always agreed with, preferring the more questioning methods of predecessors such as Mike Cohen and Grant Gillon, who held city hall to account.
I was also passionate about keeping board workshops open to the public and the media, something van Tonder opposed with Bennett in her first term. She changed her stance when she became chair and kept them open, a change few expected. Van Tonder also sensibly limited her social media exposure to virtually nil, an astute move in a world of trolling and personal attacks.
In addition to her local board roles, van Tonder has been deputy chair of the Tūpuna Maunga Authority, which – if you discount controversies over felling non-native trees –has succeeded in improving the overall state of Auckland’s maunga to be enjoyed by all. It seemed van Tonder’s next natural step would have been a tilt at a seat on Auckland Council – a role perhaps suited to her skills and ability to think beyond parochial lines In the short term that appears not to be on the table. So, she has had five and a bit years on a local board. How can that be compared with decades of local-body service by the likes of George Wood, Jan O’Connor, Dianne Hale, Chris Darby and Mike Cohen, through multiple recessions, amalgamations and issues.
Perhaps van Tonder leaves a feeling of potential unfulfilled.
Pre-Christmas, doing the Round the Mountain track at Ruapehu, we arrived late at a hut where no bunks were available. Some teenagers from Stanley Bay gave up their bunks for us and slept in a tent instead. Thanks so much lads. Real Devonport spirit.
This issue is dedicated to Adam Trimmingham, a friend and mentor, and long-serving journalist on the Brighton Evening Argus, who died earlier this month. Always an inspiration.
Business association looks for next BID manager
The Devonport Business Improvement District (BID) manager’s role has been disestablished and a new, expanded job advertised.
Current BID manager Richard Thorne works 25 hours a week, operating under the direction of the Devonport Business Association board, and funded through an Auckland Council levy on commercial ratepayers.
The new manager would work 30 to 35 hours a week, 48 weeks a year, with pay of $60,000 to $80,000.
The BID manager’s job has been a taxing one: whoever takes over the role will be the sixth holder of the office in a decade.
With Devonport’s comparatively small rating base, one of the BID manager’s challenges is trying to meet the expectations of business-owners with a small budget in a parttime job. DBA chair Michael Moughan said the new role was created as the association wanted to create more emphasis on marketing
and social media promotions.
Some of this work, which had previously been outsourced, would be wrapped into the new job.
While both national and international tourists were important to Devonport businesses, the DBA “recognised that local support for the BID is vital in making sure the BID thrives”, Moughan said.
A successful buy-local promotion was run last year and the BID wanted to pursue other similar campaigns. Ideas to attract more customers from the city side of the harbour were also being pursued, Moughan said.
Thorne was continuing to work for the BID in the interim, “and we have invited him to apply for the new role, but it is somewhat different to the current role,” Moughan said.
Thorne declined to comment when asked if he would be applying for the new role. Applications close on 10 February.
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Number five... Richard Thorne is the fifth BID manager in a decade
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Local body elections 2025 – incumbents line up
The Flagstaff asked current Devonport-Takapuna Local Board members and Auckland councillors if they were intending to stand at the election in September and to provide a brief statement outlining their achievements in the last term and the challenges ahead.
Standing – George Wood
The past three years have been challenging for the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. Our community has faced funding cuts, with resources diverted to other parts of Auckland, leaving the northern region under-supported. As your representative, I’ve worked tirelessly to address these inequities and advocate for our community’s needs.
Despite significant philosophical differences within the board, I’ve stayed focused on delivering results. Alongside board member Gavin Busch, I’ve taken a leading role in the representation review process, appealing to the Local Government Commission to ensure a fairer future for our area. Over this term I’ve responded proactively to community needs: managing the aftermath of the January 2023 floods; initiating more than 50 maintenance and public space improvement requests monthly; and during the term submitting 12 notices of motion — double the combined efforts of other members — to advance critical projects.
Devonport-Takapuna deserves strong, dedicated leadership. Key priorities for the next three years include: finalising council buyouts for flood-affected properties; improving stormwater management; continuing the development of local business centres; and upgrading the Lake Rd corridor. I am committed to ensuring our community receives the attention and resources it deserves. With your support, we can build a better future for Devonport-Takapuna.
Standing – Gavin Busch
In response, yes I am standing again with George and others under the C&R banner.
The past two-and-a-half years have been an eventful, challenging but also positive time. With our local board budget being impacted through the legacy impacts of Covid and then the severe storms that occurred in early 2023, many of the board’s aspirations have had to be tempered. While we have not agreed on everything all the time, I am proud that the board has worked cohesively to address a lot of these issues in a pragmatic and thoughtful manner. At a personal level, assisting local residents with the categorisation of their homes, as well as stormwater and maintenance issues, while helping to overcome frustrations with council has been particularly satisfying.
Over the term I have put forward several notices of motion. While these have not always been fully supported by other members, they are an important tool that can get traction on individual issues, such as the trees on Anne St, flooding on Victoria Rd, Henderson Park and speeding along Killarney St. Looking ahead, the board will continue to face funding pressures and have to make decisions around funding of heritage assets, community and sports groups. Ensuring you have good local representation is more important than ever.
Devonport-Takapuna Local Board members
Auckland councillors for North Shore ward
TERENCE HARPUR
PETER ALLEN
MELISSA POWELL
CHRIS DARBY RICHARD HILLS
New performing-arts group continues Bray legacy
The gap in children’s performing arts classes and holiday programmes left by the closure of the Tim Bray Theatre Company, has been filled, with a former head tutor from the company picking up the mantle.
It was a “real shock” for Rachel Constantine when she heard of Bray’s ill health. When he decided to close the company, her first thought was of the children who wouldn’t have after-school and holiday programme performing-arts classes to go to.
She got to work, creating Kea Performing Arts, which is now running the ‘Take a Bow’ programmes and classes, at the same venues, “giving the kids an opportunity to be able to still come to drama on the North Shore”.
One of those venues is the Rose Centre in Belmont, where the first holiday programme was held last week and others will be held this year. “I’m so relieved and very grateful that the parents have been so supportive of me setting up this company,” Constantine said. “We’re really lucky in that we’ve got the students that were in Tim Bray youth theatre coming back and we’ve also got new students coming in.”
The participants in the holiday programmes have a week to come up with their own original play which they perform at the end.
The Tim Bray company ran holiday programmes for seven years and the after-school classes for more than 15 years.
Constantine, a Devonport resident, was the head tutor at Tim Bray for 10 years and prior to that taught at other companies and was a stage actor in the United Kingdom.
She said the classes and programmes help the students develop life skills such as collaboration, making friends and confidence.
Weekly drama classes are held in Takapuna and Browns Bay.
Bunch of characters... Participants in the Kea Performing Arts holiday programme at the Rose Centre in Belmont last week. Below: Kea head tutor Rachel Constantine (left) and tutor Dee Landon, who both previously worked for Tim Bray Theatre Company, which has closed.
Luxury Home with Sea & City Views
Discover the pinnacle of luxurious living in this stunning luxury home in this Victorian style neighbourhood surrounded by rich history and charm. The world really is your oyster with this view and location. The master suite and two bedrooms on the north side are bathed in warm sunlight all day long. Outside the master suite the tranquil swimming pool features a dark design that maximises the absorption of sunlight.
barfoot.co.nz/903223
Becky Zhu 021 075 9200
b.zhu@barfoot.co.nz
Bob Voss 027 425 1781
b.voss@barfoot.co.nz
Circa 1910 Fab opportunity to restore & refurbish. 3 beds (configure to make 4) 2 spacious living areas. Original period features remain. Flow to private rear decking and flat back garden. On the best side of sought after Summer Street. Seize this opportunity to revitalise this grand home again!
Lisa Molloy 027 527 5020
l.molloy@barfoot.co.nz
Cathy Fiebig 021 383 149
c.fiebig@barfoot.co.nz barfoot.co.nz/904949
Barfoot & Thompson Limited
Licensed REAA 2008
DEVONPORT
37 EWEN ALISON AVENUE
Heart of Devonport. Sunlit living, master with ensuite, private deck, landscaped gardens, freehold title, and prime location.
barfoot.co.nz/903865
Kurt Piper 021 137 6450
BIRKENHEAD
13/270 ONEWA ROAD
This recently renovated apartment is in the heart of Birkenhead village. Recently renovated with tandem garaging and extra lockup storage.
barfoot.co.nz/904851
LISTING
2 1 1 2
FOR SALE
$765,000
VIEWING Sat/Sun 11.00am -11.30am
Cathy Fiebig 021 383 149
Tim Roskruge 0274 923 125
DEVONPORT
12 ST LEONARDS ROAD
Magnificent Edwardian villa. Home and income or huge family home, set on private and landscaped 642m² grounds. Motivated owner!
barfoot.co.nz/899140
$2,695,000
VIEWING
Viewing By Appointment
Kurt Piper 021 137 6450 FOR SALE
TAKAPUNA
4/24 KARAKA STREET
Two bedroom brick and tile magic ! The end unit in a block of 4 offers extra off street parking and loads of sun with immediate possession. NEW LISTING
barfoot.co.nz/905042
2 1 1
TENDER
2:00pm 11 Feb 2025 at 39 Victoria Road, Devonport (unless sold prior)
VIEWING Sat/Sun 12.00-12.30pm
Cathy Fiebig 021 383 149
Devonport 09 445 2010
Major
AVENUE
Do not miss the chance to discover this charming 1920s bungalow, nestled in the heart of the picturesque coastal suburb of Devonport.
barfoot.co.nz/905200
TENDER
2:00pm 12 Feb 2025 at (Devonport Office) (unless sold prior)
VIEWING Sat/Sun 1.00-1.30pm
Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681
Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452
ALBERT ROAD
Classic fifties home, elevated with sea views of Rangitoto and the Hauraki Gulf. Easy stroll to Devonport village.
barfoot.co.nz/901881
16 BAYSWATER AVENUE
Great family home. 1920s bungalow on a prime 607m² corner site, potential development site. Marina end of Bayswater.
barfoot.co.nz/903618
$1,899,000
Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681
Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452 FOR SALE By Negotiation VIEWING Call For Viewing Times
BELMONT 10 MOANA AVENUE
VIEWING Phone For Viewing Times
Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452
Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681 FOR SALE
10 Moana Ave, Belmont is a funky two level home, block and cedar. Offering a near-new kitchen and bathroom.
barfoot.co.nz/899726
DEADLINE SALE 12:00pm 4th Feb unless sold prior (Devonport Branch)
VIEWING Sat/Sun 11.00-11.30am
Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452
Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681
Barfoot & Thompson Limited
REAA 2008
Upston continues promise with Classic victory
Devonport’s Neve Upston was the winner of the ASB Classic boys’ singles title.
The Tier 1 national event for the U13 age group is run by the Lavie Tennis Academy.
Neve, from the Ngataringa club, was one of eight boy qualifiers: three from Auckland/Northern, one from Waikato/East Coast; two from Wellington/central and two from the South Island qualifiers.
The event was run during the men’s classic event so all the junior players were able to see the professionals preparing for their games as they shared practice courts and warm-up areas.
Neve is currently in the main draw for the boys’ U18 ITFs in Wellington. After that he is playing in the U14 Clay Court Nationals in Martinborough.
Ngataringa’s
Ngataringa tennis player Will Robson starred on centre court at the ASB Classic this month – twice.
Will caught a ball hit into the crowd and between matches he took part in a Smash for Cash competition, winning $100.
Then his mum Michelle won an online Facebook competition and Will got to do the coin toss for the doubles finals (which ended up as an exhibition match after Michael Venus and partner Nikola Mektic took the title when opponents Christian Harrison and Rajeev Ram defaulted following an injury to Ram).
Meeting Venus, New Zealand’s top-ranked doubles player, was a highlight.
“It was pretty cool... it was great meeting all the players,” Will said.
The coin toss was also featured in television coverage.
Will (16) plays for Ngataringa Tennis Club’s under-18s. As well as attending the ASB Classic since 2019, he also went to the Australian Open in 2024, and says his best shot is his volley.
At this year’s event he attended for three days, including the final.
Charlie Palmer, another Ngataringa junior member, also featured on court at the Classic as a ball-kid.
On centre court… Will Robson (centre) with Michael Venus and Nikola Mektic at right, and Christian Harrison and Isaac Becroft to his left
Will a winner at ASB Classic
In action…Neve Upston (above) and receiving his prize from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
Players flock to courts for Devonport Open
The Devonport Open tennis tournament at the Ngataringa and Navy courts in December attracted more than 135 entries.
Some players came from overseas, as well as top New Zealand entrants. A mixed doubles category was held for the first time. The tournament also ran an under-10s event, and a number of graded categories.
Prize winners were:
Men’s Singles S1-S6: Matthew Browning, r/u Antoine Voisin, 3/4 Damian Tairi-Barros, Bailey Sutton. S7-S10: Liam Yoon, r/u Tinnapob Srisawad [2], 3/4 Tim Yue, George Zhang. S11-S12: Matteo Yong, r/u Grayson Yang, 3/4 Enoha Veronese, Jackson Wang.
10 & Under Boys’ Singles: Xanthus Gao, r/u Evan Chansin, 3/4 Sebastian Broomby-Garrod, Victor Koelsch. U12: Peter Wang, r/u Hyeon-Seo Bang, 3/4 Max Horrocks, Darren Loux.
Action from the Devonport Open tennis tournament (above), where spectators (below) enjoyed the event’s laid-back vibe
Elegant Bell Beauty
This beautifully renovated 1910’s villa sitting in the heart of Remuera has been the family home for over two decades. The homeowners have carefully renovated and modernised this gorgeous home without compromising its heritage aesthetics, with the new kitchen retaining its status as the true heart of the open-plan living area at the rear of the home.
The design involved simple changes to the floorplan of the kitchen to improve the flow, and working with the clients to ensure the design brief was met. ‘We wanted a hand-less kitchen, so used a shark nose handle detail to drawers and doors to keep the design clean and timeless,” said the homeowners. The integrated fridge, freezer and pantry needed a handle that would blend into the cabinetry, almost disappearing, so designer Michelle Gillbanks suggested the Mardeco Mallorca in a bronze finish to achieve this.
The design choices exude a warmth and crispness while delivering hard-wearing surfaces for the busy family to enjoy in their kitchen. Resene Half Wan White was used on the base cabinets and bulkhead storage. Its winter mist neutral base, and a touch of cool chic, created a beautiful contrast to the grey washed timber.
Vertical cabinetry surfaces comprised Prime Art American White Oak planked & brushed veneer panels. It emulates the look of solid timber, with its mis-matched leaves creating a stunning planked effect, adding great impact to the project.
Towering above the kitchen cabinetry, are some very handy large storage cupboards, mainly for items that aren’t needed often, as the ceiling is 3300mm high. This
was done in a matt finish to blend into the adjacent walls. For the benchtop and splashback, Dekton Entzo was selected as the perfect accompaniment to the colours of the kitchen, inspired by calacatta gold marble with its realism and naturalness delivering golden veins as a stunning feature of warmth.
The results are a wonderful reinvention of space blending seamlessly into the 1910 villa, says Michelle of Kitchens by Design. “There was an extensive amount of collaboration and trust with this client to deliver a custombuilt kitchen, with the perfect blend of style, functionality and one that they absolutely love.”
Michelle says the homeowners are grateful for the meticulous attention to detail spanning the design, build and seamless installation, delivering a gorgeous kitchen for years of enjoyment and entertaining.
The experienced team at Kitchens By Design offers an integrated design-to-completion 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, Newmarket. For inspiration, take a look at some fabulous projects at www.kitchensbydesign.co.nz
Long-time North Shore coach and official given life
A prominent North Shore Rugby Club coach and administrator has been honoured with life membership of the club.
Chris Mitchell (pictured) was a teacher and first XV coach at Takapuna Grammar who then coached at Shore for 15 years.
He coached the under-19 and under-21 sides, before moving up to the premier team in 2006 and 2007.
He also coached the North Harbour under-21 side.
Moving on to the club committee, he organised Shore’s 140th celebrations in 2008.
membership
of clubs for 11 years and for 17 years was on the North Harbour Rugby Union board.
Mitchell was on North Harbour’s council
He is a North Harbour life member.
Since the early 1900s, 79 life members of North Shore have been recognised, the club’s 151st annual general meeting on 26 November was told.
Nineteen are still living.
The new club committee is: Laurie Margrain, Ben Browne, Dan Keeling, Gordon Stuart, Murray Brewer, Chris Tankard, Hamish Turley, Danjela Martin, Adam Batt, Pete Burgess, Suze Moore and Matt Hunt.
Shore coaches back for more
The North Shore Rugby Club coaching teams recently appointed for 2025 are essentially the same as for 2024.
Premiers: James Hinchco, Jason Ross Alan Pollock, Chris Davies.
Prem B: Wayne Ratu and Tom Weston. Women: Robert and Siobhan Todd.
U21: Max Parekura and Shaun Morrisey.
U85kg: Niwa Whatuira and Jackson Garea.
The confirmed preseason games for 2025 are: 1 March, Whangarei Old Boys (away); 8 March, Club Day at Ngataringa; 15 March, Patumahoe (Counties champions last year); 22 March, Hamilton Marist (Waikato champions); and 29 March, Ponsonby (Auckland champions).
The first round of the North Harbour competition is on 5 April.
20 years ago from the Flagstaff files
• The lease on the beleaguered Devonport Wharf is transferred to finance company Bridgecorp after the previous owner defaulted on loan payments.
• Prime Minister Helen Clark opens the There And Back exhibition at the Depot.
• Wigmore’s Pharmacy, owned by Adrienne and Peter Wigmore for 20 years, changes hands. Peter died two years previously.
• Ice It cafe offers a free lunch in exchange for information leading to the
return of a stolen table.
• Cricket players from all over the country — including Michael Snedden, son of NZ Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden — converge on Devonport for the junior world series.
• Artist Jean Day exhibits The Journey – a series of paintings — at the Depot in Devonport.
• Devonport Museum celebrates 25 years.
• To celebrate Rotary’s 100th birthday,
Devonport Rotary is offering a complimentary glass of wine with every ticket for its food and wine festival in February.
• A three-bedroom settlers cottage in Cambria Rd is on the market for $723,000.
• A replacement is being sought for the popular diving platform off Cheltenham Beach, which has gone missing.
• Bryan Jackson, owner of the Devonport Muzeum, seeks $1.9 million for his collection.
We need you!
New Zealand’s media continues to undergo massive change.
Last year, Newshub canned its hour-long evening news show and morning AM show in July, while TVNZ dropped Fair Go and its Sunday programme; among other job cuts.
In the world of community newspapers, The 50-year-old Howick and Pakuranga Times has shut down, along with the 100-year-old Wairoa Star. (Both have reappeared under new ownership.)
Last year, NZME closed 14 community titles. (Several have since been bought by local communities). Last week, the company announced 38 further jobs would go - reporting, sub-editing and production roles.
The common reasons for the media cutbacks and closures are declining advertising revenues and rising costs. Newspapers across the country have faced print bill increases of 56 per cent over the last five years.* (Our print bill has gone up $6000 per month during this time.)
At the same time, New Zealand companies are spending millions of dollars on Google and Facebook advertising. This money goes offshore, with massive impacts on New Zealand journalism and jobs.
Journalist numbers in New Zealand have dropped from 4000 to 1700 in the past 20 years.*
At Devonport Publishing, we employ nine people (full-time and part-time) across our two newspapers — The Devonport Flagstaff and the Rangitoto Observer. All live locally.
How long can community newspapers continue under the current model?
If the trends in advertising and costs continue, we are likely to run out of money — sooner rather than later.
On publication day, I see dozens of people — young and old — wandering around with the Flagstaff. It is read and valued as much today as it was when it was started
32 years ago.
Most media are now relying on donations or subscriptions in some form to survive.
I hope you are prepared to pay something towards the production of our newspapers.
Click ‘Become a supporter’ at the top of our website home page: devonportflagstaff.co.nz
Every little bit helps.
Please sign up for our email alerts for when the paper goes online and to get our weekly newsletter.
Finally, a massive thanks to our advertisers who continue to support us, and to those readers who have already made donations.
Rob Drent
Devonport Flagstaff Owner and Editor for 28 years
*Source: Koi Tū: University of Auckland Centre for Informed Futures. A position paper on New Zealand’s news media. Author: Gavin Ellis. Released May 2024. HOW TO HELP US: Go to devonportflagstaff.co.nz and click to ‘Become a supporter’ at the top of the page
Fisheries looks into use of set net Free help on offer as Citizens Advice comes to Devonport library
A fishing net which was set off Cheltenham Beach last week appeared to be illegal.
The Fisheries New Zealand district manager for North Harbour, Glen Blackwell, told the Flagstaff that from a picture posted online on 23 January, the net seemed to be secured with stakes, which is illegal, and didn’t appear to have any permanent markings on the float to identify the owner, which is required under fishing regulations.
Two fishery officers attended the beach the day the photo was posted, by which time the net had been removed.
The officers spoke with several locals at the beach about the set net and their concerns.
“We are looking into the matter,” Blackwell said.
The Citizens Advice Bureau is holding its second session in Devonport on Monday, 2 February.
The Takapuna branch of CAB is sending a co-ordinator to the library each week to run a morning session for anyone who is seeking advice.
The first was held on 20 January, attracting three local residents.
Branch manager June Bartlett expects demand for its services to increase once word gets out, after the weekly sessions took a break this week for Auckland Anniversary Day.
She expected a similar mix of queries to those fielded at the Takapuna office, which has been busy since reopening three weeks
ago after the annual break.
Tenancy and other housing issues, employment matters and relationship breakdowns are the main issues dealt with by the free service. Questions about wills and power of attorney are also topics that crop up frequently.
“There’s various areas of demographics between Takapuna and Devonport,” said Bartlett, which was likely to bring forth a range of concerns.
Appointments are not required to seek CAB assistance.
Signs inside the Devonport library point to the meeting area, left of the main desk, with the service open from 9am to noon each Monday.
Peninsula pupils tackle contraption projects together
One hundred students from peninsula primary schools tested their practical and creative skills by making contraptions with moving parts late in 2024.
Year 5 and 6 students from Devonport Primary School, Stanley Bay School, Vauxhall School, Bayswater School and Belmont Primary School were given the opportunity through a Steam (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths) day put on through the Kāhui Ako programme under which peninsula schools collaborate.
For the annual Steam event, Year 5 and 6 students are grouped with a Year 8 student from Belmont Intermediate School and a Year 10 from Takapuna Grammar School who work with them on a project encompassing the Steam fields.
This year they were asked to make Christmas-themed automata, contraptions with moving parts not powered by electricity.
Kāhui Ako across-school lead and Takapuna Grammar School visual arts teacher Linda Sew Hoy said the projects helped the older students learn leadership skills as they guided the younger pupilss through their projects.
She said the younger students saw the older collaborators as less removed from them than adult teachers, so often responded better to them and were more engaged.
The groups made a range of automata, including Santa coming up and down a chimney, a spinning Christmas tree, and moving reindeer on Santa’s sleigh.
Concentrated effort... Year 6 Belmont Primary School student Miguel
working on the background for his group’s automaton
Teamwork... (from left) Belmont Intermediate student Oscar Woodhead, Vauxhall School students Wolf Schroder, James Tucker and Max Mckenzie and Year 10 Takapuna Grammar School student Ana-Maria Denton, who made a sleigh automaton
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Trades & Services
Junior Prizegiving 2024
Congratulations to the following major award winners.
Year 10 Special Awards
James Frizelle Aroha Cup
Robert Brant Armstrong Cup
Elaine Zhang Donnell Cup
Keely Shaw Year 10 Madeleine Ngira Smith Cup
Frankie Webb Cree Cup
Year 10 Premier Awards
Connor Brady Al Cameron Cup
Zara Hayward Linda Geary Cup
Ben Young Peninsular Cup
Cooper Johnson Patsy Zohs Cup
Amanda Zhang Patsy Zohs Cup
John An June Spooner Awards
Year 9 Special Awards
Ben Young Peninsular Cup
Year 9 Premier Awards
Junior Citizenship Award in Special Education
Excellence in Debating
Contribution by a Junior Student to Music
Commitment to Co-curricular Endeavours in Year 10
All Round Excellence & School Spirit in Year 10
Junior Sportsman of the Year
Junior Sportswoman of the Year
Excellence in Performing Arts at Junior Level
Academic Excellence in Year 10
Academic Excellence in Year 10
Academic Excellence in Year 10 Accelerate
Excellence in Performing Arts at Junior Level
Freddie Jones Esplin Trophy All Round Excellence & School Spirit in Year 9
Zoe Farmer Esplin Trophy All Round Excellence & School Spirit in Year 9
Freida Peart Aaron Hill Cup
Louise Pickering June Spooner Award
Lisa Murat Guiterrez June Spooner Award
Academic Excellence in Year 9
Academic Excellence in Year 9 Accelerate
Academic Excellence in Year 9 Accelerate
WHAT’S ON @ Devonport Library
Ngā Mihi o Te Tau Hou/ Happy New Year
2025 starts with Marvellous Mondays bringing four helpful services all together in the library. Citizens Advice Bureau 9-12, Digital Seniors 10-12, Justice of the Peace 12-2. Plus our help with printing, copying and scanning. Monday mornings. Get things sorted. Start the new year well.
DIGITAL SENIORS
Are you a senior who would like some free help with your digital device? Digital Seniors volunteers are available to help you in the Community Room. All of our friendly, patient volunteers are police vetted. Book by calling 0800 373646 or drop by Mondays 10am-12 noon.
CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU
Confidential questions about tenancy, debt, immigration, employment, family or neighbour issues will be tackled by a trained advisor to get you the help you need, Drop by Mondays 9am-12 noon.
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
Any documents to be witnessed and verified can be done Mondays 12 noon2pm.
LIBRARY BUS
Do you know a senior struggling to get to the library? Ask about the community bus service, door to door on Thursdays 1:30-3pm
TAMARIKI TIME!
As the wonderful school holiday events conclude, we can restart our Rhymetime Thursdays 10 am and Wriggle and Rhyme Fridays 10am. Huge fun for little ones.
DO YOU LOVE ROMANCE?
Look out for a special prize draw for romance readers in February. Plus blind date with a book is back. What a start to our 10th birthday year.
Hari Huritau ki a tātou Happy Birthday to us all
Shore MP Watts’ star on the rise
North Shore MP Simon Watts gained two new portfolios in Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s Cabinet reshuffle this month.
The Climate Change Minister, who is seen by supporters as a safe pair of hands, had Energy and Local Government added to his duties, which were reallocated in role changes for the government’s National Party MPs.
“Both areas have significant reform agendas and will play a major role in enabling New Zealand’s economic growth,” he said.
The second-term MP is also Revenue Minister.
Watts said he was “very honoured” by the extra responsibilities, excited by their challenges and keen to get on with work in his new areas of responsibility.
Those challenges – including potential conflicts between climate change and energy policy settings – were underlined last
week when the Extinction Rebellion group staged a protest outside the MP’s electorate office in Takapuna. Around half a dozen protesters presented a Fossil of the Day Award to the office, demanding real action on climate change.
“As ordinary citizens we are driven to take such actions,” said spokesperson Caril Cowan, who said decades of awareness raising had not prevented a climate crisis.
“The government had a war on nature,” she said, citing its Fast-track Approvals Act, deregulating freshwater protections, removing biodiversity safeguards, emphasising motorways and not public transport, removing electric-vehicle subsidies, allowing seabed mining, removing monitoring cameras from fishing vessels, renewing oil and gas exploration, not addressing agricultural emissions, nor methane emissions, and altering the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Ferry fare hikes hit Devonport, Bayswater
Devonport and Bayswater-to-city ferry fares are rising sharply in Auckland Transport’s annual adjustment, applying from Sunday 2 February. An adult AT HOP/contactless payment trip in the inner-harbour zone will increase by $1.40 from $6 to $7.40 — up by 23 per cent.
Ferry fares are rising across the city. The average overall weighted increase is 5.2 per cent across the ferry network, with individual trips rising by between 20c and $1.40.
Cash fares in the inner-harbour zone jump from $8 to $11.50 and monthly passes rise from $180 to $195.
AT’s Public Transport and Active Modes director Stacey van der Putten says the fare review was needed to offset substantial increases in operating costs.
“When we consider fare changes like this, we aim to strike a fair balance between the share of public transport costs our passengers pay and the share paid by ratepayers and taxpayers.”
Ferries have also been put on a separate pricing schedule from buses and trains, so AT can make adjustments to fares proportionate to their costs, without affecting bus
or train fares, which have an average rise of 15c to 25c.
Some longer land-based trips will become cheaper, after a review of the zone structure to simplify it led to a reduction in the number of zones from 14 to nine. Bus or train travellers will only be charged for travelling a maximum of four zones across the city, even if they pass through more zones.
Combining the Upper North Shore and Hibiscus Coast zones makes travel from Albany to Whangaparaoa or from Whangaparaoa to the city considerably cheaper.
For commuters using a HOP card, the $50 seven-day fare cap remains unchanged.
“We have approximately 25,000 customers who are close to reaching the $50 fare cap each week and this may help mitigate some of the cost increase for those frequent users.”
A 10 per cent off-peak discount to manage capacity at peak times is being removed because van der Putten said it did not have the impact that was hoped for.
Details, including child and concession fares, are at at.govt.nz/farechanges
New pipeline to bring water to the peninsula
A two-year project is planned to replace the second of Devonport’s water mains to better secure supply to the lower peninsula.
Watercare has advised council the major project, involving a 4.5km pipeline replacement, will probably take place from mid-2026 to mid-2028.
The impact on Lake Rd traffic movements has yet to be quantified.
The work would support the Devonport water-supply zone, which serves around 12,300 people through 5622 metered connections, including the suburbs of Narrow Neck, Devonport, Stanley Point and Cheltenham, said Watercare’s water network planner Suresh Mudliar.
The zone has two water mains, with number one renewed in 1997, by slip lining the existing pipe which reduced its capacity. Should there be a problem with the second water main, it would struggle to maintain full supply to the area, said Mudliar.
“This [next] replacement aims to improve network resilience, reduce maintenance needs and increase capacity,” he said.
Mudliar said the second water main — made of asbestos cement — had reached the end of its serviceable life. It was installed in 1960 and was in poor condition.
Replacement with a 450mm diameter pipeline was in the design stages, with the preferred plan to follow and connect to the existing network. This would be cost-effective and minimise disruption to private and environmental sites, he said. It would also use the road corridor for future maintenance access.
During low-demand periods, the two water mains fill the Mt Victoria Reservoir*, which is drawn down during the day in periods of peak demand.
Mudliar said the first water main was
originally a 310mm cement-lined steel pipe, but when it was renewed, a 280mm diameter pipe was installed through it. By decreasing reliance on this main, future disruptions in supply would be reduced.
Doing the mains work would also allow for maintenance to take place elsewhere on the network, including the reservoir.
This was the only storage reservoir and secondary supply available for the Devonport water-supply zone, Mudliar said.
“The reservoir has a storage of approximately 3.41 ML. It was constructed in 1896 and will require maintenance soon.”
* The reservoir sits beneath the air vent “mushrooms” on the tihi of Takarunga.
The preferred route for the new water main
$15,000 penalty for cutting pōhutukawa
Tree pruning at a Belmont reserve and on private property that looks to Rangitoto resulted in Auckland Council taking a con tractor to court and issuing a general warn ing about breaching tree-protection rules.
A fine of $15,000 was imposed on Ren olution Ltd (also known as Thomas A Tree Services) late last year for unauthorised trimming of a protected pōhutukawa. The offence, which was admitted, occurred on 2 August 2023 at Winscombe Cove Reserve and 2 Seacliff Avenue, Belmont.
Excessive trimming of a pōhutukawa tree took place on the private property within a Significant Ecological Area (SEA). The activity was in breach of the Auckland Unitary Plan’s environmental protection rules and was not covered by the required resource consent.
A member of the public had alerted council when they saw the tree-cutting being done.
In the Auckland District Court, Judge Jeff Smith acknowledged that Renolution director Maele Maele had attempted to seek clarification from Auckland Council about the rules governing SEAs and noted that “greater clarity regarding private property within SEAs is essential for consistent application of these rules”.
Judge Smith fined the company late last year. He ordered Maele to complete 100 hours of voluntary work with an environmental organisation in lieu of a personal fine, due to his financial circumstances.
Auckland Council’s team leader of investigations, David Pawson, emphasised the importance of compliance with environmental rules to safeguard Auckland’s natural heritage.
“These rules exist for a reason — to
protect our unique ecosystems and ensure the long-term health of our environment.
“Actions like unauthorised tree-trimming can cause significant harm. Everyone, including arborists, have a responsibility to follow the rules and seek appropriate permissions.”
Action was not taken against the property owner, with a council spokesperson saying the owner had relied on the arborist to understand and comply with the relevant rules, but had now been educated.
Judge Smith noted: “While I recognise the difficulties in navigating these regulations, this case highlights the need to respect ecological protections. Unauthorised activity, regardless of intent, can have lasting impacts on our environment.”
A council spokesperson said three other tree-related clifftop issues had been investigated on the Devonport peninsula last year. One prompted a warning, a breach was not identified in another and a culprit could not be found for the third incident.
Dream Job Alert: Devonport Needs YOU!
Applications are still open for the role of DBA Manager.
In case you missed the announcement before Christmas, the Devonport Business Association is on the hunt for an energetic and passionate DBA Manager to take the reins of a newly revamped role. If you love Devonport and have big ideas for bringing positive change and fresh energy to our village and community, this could be your moment to shine! Think you’ve got what it takes (or know someone who does)? Now’s the time to dust off your resume, flex those creative muscles, and make 2025 your year to make a difference.
The deadline for applications is 10 February 2025, so you’ve still got time to apply!
For more information visit devonport.co.nz/jobs
Illegal chop… the protected coastal pohutukawa
Price of Vauxhall safety project is plain crazy
So it should spark concerns! I refer to your article (“Million-dollar safety project sparks concern”, December 13) regarding pedestrian crossings near the corner of Vauxhall and Tainui roads. Have Auckland Transport and our local council gone mad?
Yes, over the past century there have been some “ near misses” here. But the $1million pricetag for a couple of pedestrian crossings is thrown out there like it’s no big deal.
I’m sure we could get Gill & Gundry or Coleman Construction to do the job at a fraction of the price.
But of course AT will cone off the whole of these two roads during the job and pay an extraordinary amount to a consultant (that mucked up the crossing at the corner of Kerr and Victoria streets).
In my opinion, the best bit of construction done in my 60-plus years living in Devonport was the creation of the groynes in Torpedo Bay. This could have been enhanced by completing a walkway around the base of North Head.
Instead, there’s no money to fix the walkway that is currently closed, yet alone extend it. No money because we accept the insane costs of installing pedestrian crossings!
Ross Iremonger
Rotten railing raises hackles
I’ve contacted Auckland Council about the rusted and broken railing on King Edward Pde (pictured, opposite No 40).
We all enjoy the walk along our waterfront, as do many visitors – this result is due to a lack of basic maintenance.
It’s good having pretty garden areas and parks, but a rotten railing on our waterfront?
Grrrr.
Barry Watkin
A Lake Rd solution
Here’s my very simple solution to get cars moving on Lake Rd. Usually, after Bardia St, the traffic speeds up as one lane has gone into two, with the left turn into Winscombe.
So why not make the left turn easier?
George Stead
Man rushed to hospital after collapsing
A man was taken to North Shore Hospital in critical condition last week after collapsing on the Ngataringa Bay sports fields.
Hato Hone St John was notified of the incident at 9.22am on 21 January. A rapid response unit, ambulance and operations manager attended.
A Devonport local in her early 20s saw the man fall and fetched a defibrillator from
the Ngataringa Tennis Club, which was used on him.
Barbara Grant, who lives nearby, said her partner saw the man and called 111. She said the response was “amazingly fast”, with an ambulance arriving 11 minutes and 13 seconds after the call.
The man who collapsed is believed to live near the fields.
THE NAVY COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER
HMNZS AOTEAROA HEADING TO ANTARCTICA
HMNZS Aotearoa, the Royal New Zealand Navy’s maritime sustainment vessel, is on its way for a supply mission to McMurdo Sound.
These supply missions, which provide food, domestic supplies, engineering products and fuel for Scott Base and the adjacent American McMurdo Station, can only be undertaken during summer. It is Aotearoa’s second deployment to the ice.
Commissioned in 2020, Aotearoa is a Polar Class 6 vessel, meaning it has a higher grade of steel plating to withstand cold temperatures, and thicker steel to protect its hull from ice. It has heating and other systems fitted to operate in temperatures down to minus 25 degrees Celsius. It is the largest ship our Navy has ever operated.
The ship will call into an oil refinery at Geelong, Australia, to load up with
low- emission Antarctic grade fuel for the bases, before heading south to rendezvous with United States Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star. Polar Star’s mission, if sea ice is significant, is creating and maintaining a channel through the ice to allow ships to arrive and depart from McMurdo.
Commander Rob Welford, Aotearoa’s Commanding Officer, says he and his ship’s company are excited to be travelling to a part of the world few people get to experience.
“It will be a challenging deployment, but one that the crew will remember for a lifetime.”
Devonport Naval Base security reminder – for the safety of the community, please take care and remain outside the 60-metre perimeter of the Naval Base at all times. This includes when swimming, diving, kayaking, fishing and sailing.
Tēnā koutou, welcome to 2025, and with it another big year ahead at DEPOT!
DEPOT Artspace
DEPOT Artspace is excited to host two exhibitions at our 28 Clarence Street galleries in February, featuring the abstract impressionist paintings of Kate Serebrianskaia in ‘Beyond the Surface’ and Mei Ling Lee’s sculptural installations in ‘Personal Archive M59.’
DEPOT 3 Vic Road
DEPOT 3 Vic Road’s first exhibition of 2025 is a group show featuring our local studio artists - ‘Studio D3: Momentum’ is one not to be missed! Visitors can expect to see a range of creative mediums on display, surrounded by the beautiful architecture of this heritage building.
Visitors can also browse the DEPOT Shop | Toi Toa collection at 3 Victoria Road, including our Maker of the Month for February - Kitchen Artefacts.
Kitchen Artefacts is the shared creative enterprise of the very talented Tom Muir and Louise Armstrong who live in the beautiful Waikato region. All their wares are made of salvaged native timber that has been ethically sourced from around New Zealand.
Self described as 'heritage cookware', each piece is unique and designed to function well for generations.
Visit depot.org.nz for more info and stay up to date by subscribing to our e-news!
Ngā mihi nui, Amy Saunders
Director | Kaiwhakahaere, DEPOT amy.saunders@depot.org.nz
Teen theatre director
A group of talented current and former Westlake students has spent a good chunk of summer rehearsing an old-school whodunnit play to be staged at the Rose Centre next week.
Clue on Stage, based on the board game Cluedo, is an entertaining romp with the sort of characters Agatha Christie lovers will also relate to.
The enthusiastic teenagers – spearheaded by 18-year-old first-time director Arlo Feeney (right), who has been acting since childhood — promise a slick and affordable show. Its staging in New Zealand is a first, inspired by Clue, a movie from 1985, which overseas is something of a cult classic.
“Everyone knows the board game, right,” says Arlo, who says he learned of the “really fun film” of the game from a friend. He immediately thought it would make a good play too, later finding out there was already a stage adaptation to which he secured rights. (In the United States, the game Cluedo is known as Clue, hence the name of the film, which included Rocky Horror star Tim Currie and other character actors of the day. The play shares the Clue name, whereas Cluedo is more familiar terminology in the United Kingdom and here.)
Making the murder mystery particularly appealing to stage was its setting, said Arlo. “Everything takes place in one location, in the one house. It’s tense and funny.”
He has gathered a cast and crew of around 16 people, all aged from 16 to 18, drawn from students involved in plays and musicals put on by the drama and music departments of Westlake Boys and Girls High Schools. The schools combine each year for large-scale productions, with a number of the productions picking up Showtime Awards for secondary school excellence.
A few of the school-leavers are going on to study drama at university, including Arlo himself, who is undertaking a double major in drama and media at the University of Auckland. Madoc Bradley-Bridge, who
plays the role of butler Wadsworth, is bound for the South Seas Film School.
Auditions for Clue on Stage were held last May, with the idea of staging the play after final senior school exams, but with pre-Christmas proving such a busy time, an early 2025 slot proved a better bet.
Arlo had to convince his chums to be in town over the high summer lead-in to the three-night season, but he says they were keen to cap off their high-school drama days together before the Year 13 leavers dispersed around the country for tertiary studies and younger students returned to class. After a December break, they resumed rehearsals several weeks ago.
Although Arlo had an idea of the various components involved in staging a show, he found directing a new learning experience. Self-funding and organising the play was a challenge. Arranging a suitable venue, costumes, lights and publicity all had to be considered. “There’s a lot of responsibility; when you’re an actor you just worry about your part.”
Arlo’s parents – professional actor Peter Feeney, a familiar face on New Zealand
Whether you are planning a garden refresh or a full renovation, let us work with you to define your vision so that you can proceed with a plan.
than a few clues
screens, and magazine graphic designer Nicola Feeney, who lent her skills to Clue on Stage’s striking poster – were encouraging. So too, the head of drama at Westlake Boys, Dr Nick Brown, but Arlo had to find his own ways to raise more than $2000 for the venue and rights to the play.
A crowd-funded Kickstarter campaign and support from sponsors and the families of cast and crew made this possible. The students also sold advance tickets at Takapuna and Long Bay markets.
“Everyone is very supportive, it doesn’t feel like just me.”
Backstage talent includes Aliza Buckman from Devonport, who is returning to Westlake Girls for her final year. She is the play’s costume and props manager and has a small role.
Arlo, who lives in Castor Bay, says the intimate Rose Centre theatre in Belmont fits the bill nicely as a venue, seating 110 people and coming with an accommodating management. He hopes Devonport Peninsula residents, including families, will come along, joining the wider Westlake community.
“It’s a play for all ages,” he says. The fast-paced production is 80 minutes long, without an interval.
He sees his foray into directing as an extension of his passion for acting, which he hopes to pursue further, both during his tertiary studies and when he graduates. He is already off to a good start, having clocked up screen credits since he was seven or eight years old. Appearances include as a zombie kid in 2016, in the Ash vs Evil Dead television series, and as the lead in the pilot of Blind Bitter Happiness, a TV series his father devised that screened in 2023 but began as a Covid project.
“There was no push, but Dad being an actor made me want to do it,” he says.
Arlo has a guest role coming up in The Brokenwood Mysteries in May, in which he is one of a group of teens who become crime suspects during a school camp.
At school, he took the lead in The Government Inspector in 2002, played Orlando in As You Like It in 2023, then last year had a main role, as Aramis in The Three Musketeers
He also enjoys shooting and editing video. Despite having amassed plenty of stage experience, he is particularly drawn to the subtlety of screen roles, saying: “Film often times zooms in very still on your top half; you show things through your face.”
“That was why Clue was a nice change of pace for me, because I usually do things that are realistic.”
• Clue on Stage, 2-4 February, 7pm, at the Rose Centre, Belmont. Tickets cost $20 from actorslabs.co.nz/clue or at the box office.
MOVIES & SPECIAL EVENTS
Babygirl (R16) 115min
Companion (R16) 97min
The Haka Party Incident (E) 90min
A Complete Unknown (M) 141min
The Brutalist (R16) 215min
We Live in Time (M) 108min
Anora (R16) 139min
Dragonkeeper (PG) 99min
Wolf Man (R16) 103min
STARTING WAITANGI DAY
Frida. Viva la Vida (E) 97min (First Thursday)
September 5 (M) 95min
Some of the young cast rehearsing Clue are: Hunter Wilson (who plays Mr Green), Alastor Spear (Colonel Mustard), Iasonas Newson-Grigorakis (Professor Plum), Zoe Turner (Ms Peacock), Layla Sofia-Whiteside (Ms Scarlet) and India Smyth (Ms White).
Council rubbish bin collection changes
Aucklanders on the North Shore will no longer need to use prepaid bin tags from 3 March 2025 as council rubbish collections will be funded by residential property rates.
The North Shore is moving from pay-as-you-throw collections to rates-funded as part of a regionwide move towards a standardised waste service for Auckland.
Auckland Council General Manager Waste Solutions Justine Haves says that standardising waste services across Auckland will give everyone access to the same service and at the same cost, wherever they live.
“Having everyone on the same collection services, including recycling and food scraps, gives us the best chance to influence waste minimisation and reduce emissions as we work towards Auckland’s goal of zero waste by 2040,” says Ms Haves.
“We want to do what is best for the environment while keeping
CONTACT US: aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
FOLLOW US: Facebook.com/devonporttakapuna
costs for Aucklanders as low as possible. A universal ratesfunded rubbish collection helps us to deliver a more consistent and cost-effective service and makes it easier to engage with Aucklanders on how we can all reduce waste.”
“A regionwide rates-funded service will also be less expensive than keeping two different systems in place or switching everyone to pay-as you-throw,” says Ms Haves.
The targeted rates charge for a property’s rubbish collection will depend on the size of the bin. With a choice of three bin sizes,
Rural rubbish options
Aucklanders can choose the size that best meets their individual household’s needs.
“Prior to the introduction of the food scraps collection, waste audits found that up to half of the weight of rubbish bins consisted of food scraps. By using your food scraps bin and recycling bin correctly, most Aucklanders will find that a smaller rubbish bin than they have now will work for them,” says Ms Haves.
Bin tags will be accepted on council bins until Friday 28 February on the North Shore.
After this date, North Shore residents can get a refund from local libraries for any unused bin tags for a limited timefrom Saturday 1 March 2025 to Wednesday 30 April 2025.
Anyone living in a rural zone who would like to continue using bags should email ratesfunded@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz. Rural residents will still have options on the number of waste bags they would like to use, depending on their household requirements, and this is reflected in the targeted waste rate for each household. For more information, including how to request a refund for unused bin tags, please visit aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/ratesfunded
