31 May 2024, Devonport Flagstaff

Flagstaff team lands awards... p3

May 31, 2024

$50k sign proposed for Victoria Rd... p5

Ostergaard...

Vector drain block blamed for daycare flood

Flooding at the childcare centre beneath the Devonport Methodist Church in heavy rain last week is being attributed by the church to the blocking of a stormwater drain over which Vector contractors had placed a silt filter. A torrent of water caused by heavy rainfall

overnight on 20 May poured off Owens Rd and down a retaining wall to flood the lower level of the church building.

The church believes this was caused by the drain being covered by a silt ‘sock’ and filter to prevent construction debris from Vector

Fundraisers in the pink

works flowing into the stormwater system. Floodwaters carried silt and other debris into the centre, which had suffered no flooding during the severe rainfall in Auckland in early 2023.

To page 2

Rosy lenses... Helen Michell (left) and Gale Wieland get into the swing of the Bayleys Pink Ribbon Breakfast fundraiser held at Dulcie cafe last week. More pictures page 22 and 23.

Church administrator Robyn Holt said the flooding resulted from contractors having had to cover the drains during the Vector works “and unfortunately we had a whole heap of rain come through”.

A Vector spokesperson initially claimed the flooding was not caused by the drain being covered, because silt protection was placed so as to avoid drain obstruction during heavy rain and crews were instructed to remove it at the end of each workday.

However, a photograph taken the morning after the flood clearly shows silt protection tightly covering the drain.

After being sent the photograph, Vector corrected its statement to admit that silt protection was in place overnight, but still said it did not believe the flooding to have been caused by it.

Vector sub-contractors who were clearing the drains on Owens Rd pumped the debris out of the centre the following morning.

Contractors who covered the drain helped the centre’s 10 staff sweep out the water.

A father of a child who attends the daycare, Sam Young, offered the services of his fit-out company to help clear the silt and remaining debris and replace contaminated flooring. His company also cut waterlogged wallboard and framing, then repaired the walls.

The support the church received during the clean-up highlighted the supportive Devonport community, Holt said.

Holt said although it wasn’t confirmed that repairs, including drying and moisture testing, would be covered by insurance, it seemed most would be. The speed of repairs meant the daycare was scheduled to reopen on Tuesday this week, though with some sections still closed off and awaiting further work.

“My understanding is that they’ll probably do a lot of the work at night so we’re free to operate during the day,” Holt said.

The daycare, which has operated for more than 30 years, has a daily attendance of between 45 and 50 children.

Drainage fail… The Owens Rd drain with a silt ‘sock’ and filter still in place (above left), the morning after Devonport Methodist Childcare Centre (above) was flooded.

Belmont centre also flooded

A Belmont childcare centre will be closed for up to three months after a water pipe burst, flooding the building a fortnight ago.

Belmont Learning Space owner Yvonne Groot said the damage at the Preston Ave centre was severe though the full extent of it wouldn’t be known until further assessment by builders.

She was hopeful she can reopen in two months’ time, but was telling parents to prepare for three months as it was unknown how long the repairs will take.

The repairs will be fully covered by insurance and Groot said the centre

would definitely reopen.

Groot said she had been ringing other local childcare providers to find places for the children to go but many were already full.

The Devonport Methodist Church Childcare Centre, which was flooded last week but reopened this week, has offered to take some of the children from Belmont Learning Space.

Church administrator Robyn Holt said it was able to sort out its insurance and repair efforts sooner than the Belmont Learning Space due to the connections of the Methodist Church of New Zealand.

Devonport Publishing Ltd First Floor, 9 Wynyard St

Telephone: 09 445 0060

Email: sales@devonportflagstaff.co.nz news@devonportflagstaff.co.nz

Website: www.devonportflagstaff.co.nz

NZ COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARDS

Best Community Involvement:

2021, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2005

Best Special Project/Supplement: 2016, 2020 VOYAGER/CANON MEDIA AWARDS

Community Reporter of the Year: Winner 2018

Community Newspaper of the Year: Finalist 2017

MANAGING EDITOR: Rob Drent

CHIEF REPORTER: Janetta Mackay

REPORTER: Lochlan Lineham

ADVERTISING: Candice Izzard

DESIGN: Brendon De Suza

COPY EDITOR: Jo Hammer

NEXT ISSUE: June 14

ADVERTISING DEADLINE: June 7

Flagstaff team recognised at national awards

The Devonport Flagstaff team won four prizes at the New Zealand Community Newspaper Association Awards announced at the Hilton in Auckland last Thursday.

Managing editor Rob Drent was judged best feature writer and runner-up in the best senior journalist category.

The Flagstaff’s 16-page liftout on the North Shore Rugby Club premiers victory in the 2023 North Harbour championship – in the club’s 150th anniversary year – was runner-up in the best feature/supplement category.

And chief reporter Janetta Mackay was runner-up in best headline category for work in the Flagstaff’s sister paper, the Rangitoto Observer, which she edits.

Drent’s feature entry included profiles of cancer survivor Sandra Russell and Navy photographer Chris Weisenborn, a backgrounder on the Navy master plan for Devonport and an Observer spread on flood victims in Milford.

Judges said Drent’s entry demonstrated a wide range of journalistic skill over a broad range of topics, “from local human-interest stories through to in-depth investigative journalism that takes time to uncover, sift through and collate in a compelling offering”.

Included in Drent’s best-news-journalist entry were stories on Peninsula Capital’s buy-up of commercial properties in the heart of Devonport, an exclusive on Woolworth’s plans to open a direct-to-boot grocery outlet on Lake Rd, Barfoot & Thompson real estate agent (and former nurse) Tracey Lawrence’s delivery of a baby on a roadside and an obituary of architect Jeremy Salmond.

Judges said the Observer’s headlines featured “clever word play”.

The Ashburton Guardian was judged best community newspaper for 2023.

Drent, the Devonport Flagstaff editor for 27 years, said it was good to be recognised nationally in competition against bigger pa-

pers with larger budgets.

The Flagstaff had always been a tight-knit team, but had expanded over the years, with the 2019 launch of the Rangitoto Observer, to now include 10 staff and contributors (Drent, Mackay, reporter Lochlan Lineham, sales manager Candice Izzard, designer Brendon De Suza, sub-editor Bevan Rapson, proofreader Graham Adams, freelance photographer Kathryn Nobbs, writer Helen Vause and cartoonist Guy Body).

“Everyone puts their heart and soul into the Flagstaff and the Observer and it shows in the end product,” Drent said.

“All our staff live locally and that’s what it’s all about really – local stories written by locals for locals.”

2023 CHAMPIONS

News team... Flagstaff reporter Lochlan Lineham, managing editor Rob Drent and chief reporter Janetta Mackay at the Community Newspaper Association awards night. Below: the North Shore Rugby Club lift-out which was recognised at the awards.

202316PAGE RUGBY LIFT-OUT

We need you!

As many readers will know, New Zealand’s media is undergoing massive change.

In the last couple of months, Newshub has confirmed it is canning its hourly evening news show and morning AM show in July; TVNZ has dropped Fair Go and its Sunday programme; Life and Leisure Magazine has closed.

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.

The common reason for the media cutbacks and closures is declining advertising revenues unable to match 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 pages: 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 27 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.

Big sign mooted for Victoria Rd retaining wall

A $50,000 ‘Devonport Village’ sign has been proposed for a site at the top of the main street.

The large aluminium sign is envisaged for the concrete retaining wall overlooking Victoria Rd near Kerr St, which is commonly used by schools and other groups for chalk advertising of events.

The Devonport Business Association (DBA) idea is part of a wider push to improve “place-making” for the area.

DBA manager Richard Thorne said the sign plans were at an early stage. “It needs to be of a design and quality that Devonport residents would welcome.”

He hoped locals would air their views in the planning process, which will include seeking resource consents.

Thorne says the need to better identify and promote Devonport as a destination is a key focus for the association board, which has signalled a move away from funding events.

The DBA recently outlined its sign plan to the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board.

It wants to use the $20,000 in annual funding it receives from the board towards the cost, estimated at around $50,000, including design, consents and construction.

The design would be sympathetic to Devonport’s heritage character, said Thorne. It might also have a 3-D appearance.

“Aluminium might be the material, but it won’t be the look.”

Thorne said he hoped the sign might be in place within 12 months and that other new signs could be installed in the area, included at the Devonport end of Lake Rd, to indicate the way to the town centre.

The retro Devonport sign on Lake Rd near the golf course was council-owned, Thorne said. Council staff recently tidied it up by painting the “tatty” framework.

He said one reason Devonport was pushing the Devonport village line was to differentiate

Devonport branding… the site of the proposed sign at the entrance to Devonport village

itself from Devonports elsewhere, including in Tasmania.

It wanted greater visibility in online searches and aimed to become known as a top-10 attraction for visitors to Auckland –both foreign and domestic tourists – given its appeal, including heritage charm, and easy proximity by ferry to the CBD.

Board members discussing their 2024-25 budget at a workshop last month were briefed on the proposal as part of a wider discussion about how the board area’s three Business Improvement Districts (BIDS) in Devonport, Takapuna and Milford intended to spend their board funding.

Takapuna and Milford are continuing with events, but rather than each using their allocation towards one event in their area asked if they could split the funds between two events.

Several board members wondered about whether the DBA sign proposal met cri-

teria for funding, but decided it was up to the business representatives to decide how they wished to use the money to promote themselves.

Member Gavin Busch said if Devonport’s BID spent the money on the sign it could not seek more money later for an event.

“We’ve got to be more strict on these business associations that they don’t come back wanting money through the back door,” he said.

The remark was a veiled reference to earlier criticism Busch has levelled during a series of funding discussions about support for the Takapuna Beach Business Association, host of a Winter Lights Festival.

Member George Wood said a mana whenua group that has spoken to the board about installing carved pou at the entrances to Devonport might be a “miffed” not to be involved.

Port of Auckland Community Reference Group meeting Hear from the CEO about the latest news and developments happening at Port of Auckland. Everyone is welcome! Light refreshments will be provided. Register your attendance at info@poal.co.nz

Thursday 6 June 5.30-7pm, Devonport RSA, 61 Victoria St

By Rob Drent

The on-again, off-again Lake Rd upgrade saga has become almost a touch Orwellian. The project’s inclusion in Auckland Council’s latest 10-year plan amounts to a version of double-speak.

In many cases putting works at the tail end of a 10-year plan is no more than putting them on a wish list. They are often moved off or pushed out when budgets tighten – as has happened in the past with both Lake Rd and the long-proposed Bayswater ferry terminal. Millions are often spent on business cases, and toing and froing over concepts, designs, reports and consultations.

Infometrics economist Brad Olsen, a

The Flagstaff Notes

speaker at the New Zealand Community Newspaper Association conference last week, summed up the New Zealand infrastructure conundrum: we have one of the highest percentages of GDP spent on infrastructure, but also rank among the most expensive places for building it, due to the cost of making business cases and fulfilling resource-management requirements, along with the high costs of actually building anything in New Zealand.

I wonder if the Lake Rd project should be shelved until a best-possible solution (with removal of power poles to allow options such as trams) can be found to future-proof the road .

Considering the disruption caused by the Vector maintenance work currently in progress, imagine the years of chaos involved in a comprehensive Lake Rd ‘fix’. (See Janetta Mackay’s backgrounder, page 28)

Plans for a large sign promoting Devonport on the concrete wall at the entrance to the village just north of Kerr St is sure to raise a few eyebrows.

Personally, I don’t think much of the Devonport Business Association’s idea. I’ve always quite liked the large chalk drawings notifying residents of school fairs, midwin

ter swims and the like.

Do we need another permanent sign cluttering up the village? People would be in the village by the time they see it.

The idea remains vague at this stage, with the exact dimensions, style and wording of a sign to be decided.

But the business association likes the concept enough to tell the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board it wants to spend the association’s $20,000 board grant on it. The cost of the new sign has been estimated at up to $50,000. Could this money be better spent?

I think I recall a comment from Alan Pollock of Belmont Pharmacy regarding some council proposal decades ago that bad ideas needed to be snuffed out as soon as possible. Is this plan one of those?

I was pleased our 16-page lift-out on last year’s North Shore Rugby Club championship win (Flagstaff, 28 July, 2023) was recognised in the New Zealand Community Newspaper Awards last week.

It was well supported by advertisers (providing the money to print the extra

Hubs lined up to offer support in emergencies

Seven community hubs have been identified as disaster go-to-centres in a new civilemergency plan for Devonport peninsula.

The hubs are: Belmont Baptist Church, the Rose Centre, the Air Cadets building in Achilles Cres, 1st Devonport Scouts hall, Stanley Bay Bowling Club, the Whare Toi building on Takarunga and Holy Trinity Church.

The Devonport Peninsula Emergency Readiness Plan provides residents with a community-level guide to preparing and coping with emergencies, including storms, tsunamis and extended power cuts.

It includes checklists for kits and supplies to have on hand, maps of flood-prone areas and tsunami zones and local emergency contact details.

The Devonport Peninsula Emergency Support Group would decide which of the hubs would be opened to the public in case of emergency – as the scouts and air-cadet premises were during the Auckland Anniversary floods and Cyclone Gabrielle early last year.

Core members of the group told the Flagstaff they hope locals will familiarise themselves with the 24-page illustrated plan which has just been put online at dpt.nz.

The group recommends people download and print their own household copy and keep it somewhere watertight.

It is now working on summary leaflets. Printed copies of the plan will be made available at the library soon and to those without internet capability.

The group is seeking funding of $7000 to cover printing costs.

“We need to be able to reach everybody and for a segment of the population that needs to be print,” said emergency support-group member Trish Deans.

Where responsibilities lie for civil defence continues to be an issue at national, regional and local level.

The Devonport group wants enough council support to cover its costs and ensure the plan is kept as a “living document” able to be easily updated and accessed.

Community resilience is meant to underpin an improved official emergency response after inadequacies in the country’s emergency-management structure were highlighted in reviews of the responses to last year’s weather disasters.

“The Auckland Anniversary weekend, that put everyone’s radar up,” said group member and former 1st Devonport Scout Group leader Cliff Brown.

On 27 January last year, Brown put the Allenby Ave scout hall on standby. Just over two weeks later, as Cyclone Gabrielle arrived, Flight Lieutenant Alex Koppenaal did the same at the 6th Squadron Air Cadets hall.

“We have tents, camping facilities and stoves that other groups don’t have,” explains Brown.

Thinking ahead… Members of the Devonport Peninsula Emergency Support Group (from left) Cliff Brown, Trish Deans and Nigel Bioletti. Below: A map of community hubs on the peninsula.

Both halls are likely to be at the centre of future responses, but the group wanted to ensure it had a good geographic spread of hubs that people could reach by foot, each with their own community networks.

A role for the Devonport Community House is envisaged, but it has not been designated a hub due to being in a flood-prone area. Coordination between leaders at each hub will decide which need to be open.

The group hopes to develop lists of skilled locals they can call on, such as nurses, cooks and tradespeople.

The community hubs are not intended as emergency housing or aid-distribution centres for displaced people but where locals helping other locals can provide immediate shelter, a warm drink or cup of soup and some

support and comfort.

They will also be a base from which skilled volunteers can devise plans to check on people who may be isolated in their homes.

The emergency-plan process began when the previous Devonport-Takapuna Local Board provided $30,000 for local groups, under the co-ordination and administration support of Auckland North Community and Development (Ancad), based in Takapuna.

Sunnynook is the only area other than Devonport peninsula to complete a plan, coming up with a much briefer leaflet.

Funding has now run out and both the Devonport group and the local board would like council arm Auckland Emergency Management (AEM) to offer ongoing support for work at community level.

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TAKAPUNA

North Shore in good form ahead of derby clash

North Shore are favourites in this Saturday’s local derby against arch-rugby rivals Takapuna at Vauxhall Rd.

Shore goes into the match unbeaten in seven matches this season, after beating Massey last weekend 27-20.

Takapuna also had a solid start to the year, winning its first five matches, but stumbled against East Coast Bays a fortnight ago, then lost to Northcote 38-20 last weekend.

However, Shore coach James Hinchco says the points table is somewhat irrelevant when it comes to matches between the two old foes.

A large crowd is expected, even if some supporters will be away for King’s Birthday weekend.

“Both sides will be up for it,” Hinchco said. Experienced Shore halfback Brad McNaughten is back but it could be the form of Shore’s young forward pack which holds the key.

Shore scored five tries to Massey’s three, but didn’t make it easy for themselves with two yellow cards against Sam Davies and Cam Christie, the 19-year-old New Zealand under-20 player who was making his debut for the club.

Christie, usually a lock, slotted into number 8 and “was awesome for us”, Hinchco said.

Christie may not be available against Takapuna, however. The latest New Zealand

under-20 team is named this week and if selected he may be shielded from club play.

Sam Davies was a powerhouse at prop, Hinchco said, and in the absence of North Harbour lock James Fiebig (out with concussion), Kauri Enoka at lock showed power and poise beyond his 20 years.

Hunter Rice (19) had a another strong match against Massey, and “North Harbour is having a serious look at him” to be included in the provincial squad, said Hinchco.

• A Hairy Goats lunch is being hosted by Shore from noon Saturday, before the derby game: $30 for a roast lunch; former All Black, Kiwi, Warrior and North Shore life member Frano Botica is the speaker.

Mate-against-mate rivalry endures for 90 years

Takapuna and North Shore rugby clubs have always had a close and competitive relationship.

Takapuna was in fact a breakaway club from Shore, establishing itself in 1934.

The players were all well-known to each other as in those pre-Westlake days almost all of them had been to Takapuna Grammar School.

Takapuna is the only North Harbour club to win Auckland’s Gallaher Shield championship, which it has done twice: in 1940, during World War II; and in 1980.

Briefs

Voyager media winners

Three Devonport journalists won major prizes at the national Voyager media awards held in Auckland last Friday. Photographer Brett Phibbs won best sports photographer and Newshub reporter Michael Morrah won best coverage of a major news event for work on Cyclone Gabrielle. Gill Higgins was part of TVNZ’s Fair Go team which won the best editorial campaign or project.

Carrie dominates open

Table tennis player Carrie Guo, a Takapuna Grammar School Year 12 student, won the Women’s open, under-19 and under-17 singles titles at the North Shore Open, and was also in the winning open and under-17 doubles combinations.

Ayris pushes for Paris

Former Takapuna Grammar School student Imogen Ayris has met a qualifying jump standard in a bid to lock in her provisional selection for the Paris Olympics. The Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, aged 23, this month jumped a personal best of 4.57m when competing in Paris.

North Shore won the Auckland championship in 1899, before the Gallaher Shield was established (in 1922) to honour former All Blacks captain Dave Gallaher.

Takapuna is North Harbour’s most successful club, having won the championship 13 times since the union was formed in 1985, including seven titles in a row between 1994 and 2000.

North Shore has won the title nine times, including last year as the club marked its 150th anniversary.

Takapuna has had nine All Blacks to

Shore’s seven.

Max Webb, North Shore life member and co-author of C’mon Shore: 150 years of the North Shore Rugby Football Club, said “Takapuna and Shore are Harbour’s predominant clubs...

“Our relationship is possibly one of the closest in world club rugby.”

Nothing in local club rugby other than a final brought such drama and intensity as the derby between the clubs.

“There’s always a lot at stake, mate against mate. Don’t miss it.”

Belmont Primary’s plots thicken with tasty edibles

Garden-to-table school plots are thriving across the North Shore. Rob Drent popped into Belmont Primary School to check out what the young horticulturists are up to.

Composting, planting, building raised beds: Belmont Primary School’s garden is a hive of activity on a bright and sunny autumn Wednesday morning.

Worms, however, are the understated stars of the show – in the worm farm and in the beds. The kids love weeding when there are worms to be discovered. Ruby St John (8) squeals with delight as she unearths one.

Belmont Primary has had an outdoor garden for decades, but it has really taken off in the last five years, with a Garden to Table programme.

Around 160 kids take part in the programme each year.

School parents built an outdoor shelter in 2019, during Covid, which means young gardeners can work rain or shine. Only two days have been cancelled in the programme over the last two years due to bad weather, says the school’s Garden to Table coordinator, Natalie Denton.

Irrigation and drainage have been installed, and raised beds have replaced open beds to make the garden more user-friendly.

Plant food... August Downer (8) and Scarlett Wright (8) prepare to transfer to the compost heap

Watch out for worms… Bel Taylor (8, left) and Harper Pope (8) take on weeding duties

Garden to Table digs in

Trevor

During the Flagstaff visit, students use drills to help build new raised beds, under the supervision of parent helper Bruce Parkinson and sponsor Trevor Dean from Hammer Hardware.

Others work busily across the gardens, alongside parents and wider whanau helpers.

Produce grown in the garden provides a variety of food for the table, including broccoli, chives, capsicum, onions, carrots, bok choi, rhubarb, passionfruit and a range of herbs. Among the fruit trees are feijoa, lemon, mandarin, and fig.

After the gardening, the kids harvest pumpkin, spinach, coriander and spring onions, and student cooks make spiced pumpkin pancakes and vege nachos.

Other favourites have been vegetable stir fries, feijoa crumble and all manner of soups.

At 10.30am the shared meal begins – completing the Garden to Table cycle.

The programme’s regional co-ordinator, Becks Kelleher, says demand for it increased during and after Covid, when food security became an issue.

“It’s great getting kids outside in nature… and seeing how food is actually produced.”

Denton said Belmont Primary was lucky to have strong parental support for the garden, along with the backing of Hammer Hardware, which provided all manner of help, from gloves to garden tools, seedlings and timber.

The Garden to Table school programme has been booming on the North Shore, and elsewhere in Auckland and New Zealand. Nationwide, 319 schools have signed up: 120 in Auckland and 17 within the Devonport–Takapuna and Kaipatiki local board areas. Garden to Table regional co-ordinator Becks Kelleher says only six schools were in the programme in 2018, when she started overseeing schools in the two board areas.

They know the drill... Tessa Ashby (8) and Bodhi Price (8) construct a new raised garden bed under the watchful eye of Bruce Parkinson

Heading to the compost bin to load up… (front to back) Marley Gate (9) and Tessa Ashby with helper Renn Price.

Right:

Dean of garden sponsors Hammer Hardware and Belmont Primary School Garden coordinator Natalie Denton working alongside the students

New youth facility provided for peninsula teens

A new youth space aimed at providing a study and recreation area for 13- to 17-year-olds was launched at the Devonport Community House last week.

The upstairs room at the centre has been repainted and provided with furniture and board games, as well as a PlayStation and smart TV.

Community house manager Gemma Dickinson said it was great to finally open the space after months of searching for funding and renovation.

The centre received $2000 from the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board, which is going towards funding a youth worker. A donation was also received from the Neidlinger family.

The space will be open every Tuesday and Thursday, 4-7.30pm, with a study session for the first hour and a half, followed by time for general recreation.

A youth worker and other adults will be at the centre during the sessions to supervise from a distance and deal with any issues, Dickinson said.

While planning the space the community house consulted with youth advocacy groups Younite and the Devonport Youth Forum, which made suggestions.

Devonport Youth Forum member Rhian Gates said it was good to see her suggestion of supplying board games had been taken up.

Younite member Molly Turner welcomed the creation of a dedicated youth space in Devonport. She said Shore Junction in Taka-

Younite members (above, from left) Molly Turner, Brodie Crowther and Taylor Daji all welcomed the new youth space at the Devonport Community House. Right: Devonport Youth Forum members Alfie Murray and Rhian Gates at the opening of the facility.

puna was a great facility but that Devonport peninsula students don’t often make use of it due to the distance, with congestion on Lake Rd making travel there even more difficult.

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Howard Walsh 027 373 4700 howard.walsh@harcourts.co.nz

Investor Says - Must Be Sold!

Our instructions are clear, this property must be sold! Step into a contemporary two-level home crafted with Cedar weatherboard just a stone's throw away from Devonport Village. This affordable family property promises modern comforts and a fantastic location for its next lucky owners. Inside, you will find a comfortable layout consisting of a beautiful modern kitchen, living and dining space with wrap-around decking, complete with privacy, trees and greenery, and your own sanctuary nestled in one of the best streets in Devonport. Ascending the stairs, you'll find three generous bedrooms. The master bathroom and family bathroom have been tastefully renovated. One of the bedrooms could be a work-from-home office, with verandas connecting the inside and outside like no other. Additionally, the property has a garage with internal access.

Gary Potter 021 953 021 gary.potter@harcourts.co.nz

Ben Potter 027 953 0210 ben.potter@harcourts.co.nz

Devonport 09 446 2030

Sale Sunday 2nd June at 4.00pm (Unless Sold Prior)

Saturday & Sunday 11.00-11.30am harcourts.co.nz/L27736846

Nestled in the heart of the ever-popular Hauraki neighbourhood, along the sought-after Harley Road, awaits a home embodying comfort, style and convenience. With its enviable location just a leisurely stroll away from the sandy shores, this property offers the best of lifestyle living. This home provides ample space for families or those seeking room to grow. Characterised by its comfortable layout and meticulous upkeep, this abode exudes warmth and charm at every turn. As you explore further, the allure of the property becomes increasingly evident. Vaulted ceilings lend a sense of grandeur to the living spaces, while the beautifully appointed kitchen is a testament to style and functionality. With abundant storage options and a double garage for added convenience, every aspect of daily living has been carefully considered.

Ben Potter 027 953 0210 ben.potter@harcourts.co.nz

Gary Potter 021 953 021 gary.potter@harcourts.co.nz

2 Tainui Road, Devonport

Rented within 5 days for $1850pw $1750pw

Listed on 8th of May First viewing on 11th May Tenancy Agreement completed on 12th May

This charming rental opportunity boasting 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, offering the flexibility of being fully furnished or unfurnished to suit your needs. Nestled just a short stroll away from the picturesque Cheltenham beach, this home presents an idyllic coastal lifestyle. Inside, you'll find a stunning, very spacious living area complemented by an entertainer’s kitchen, perfect for hosting gatherings or simply relaxing in style. Don't miss out on the chance to make this beautiful space your own.

Over 41 years our owner has enjoyed here.

1B/18 KING EDWARD PARADE

2 1 1 1

VIEWING Saturday/Sunday 12:00-12:30pm

This iconic 1970's apartment block has been somewhat of a landmark for the Devonport locals and always admired for its absolute blue chip location. The views are the envy of many, sweeping across the Hauraki Gulf from downtown Auckland city across to the Eastern suburbs and beyond. Either by day or night the constantly moving vista provides endless hours of enjoyment.

Cathy Fiebig 021 383 149 c.fiebig@barfoot.co.nz

Anna Lin 021 043 7690 a.lin@barfoot.co.nz barfoot.co.nz/891955

Barfoot & Thompson Limited Licensed REAA 2008

DEFINITELY DELIGHTFUL

Well located, being close to many amenities, is this well designed, attractive, low maintenance, 3 bedroom, replica cottage.

barfoot.co.nz/891034

FOR SALE By Negotiation VIEWING Saturday 12:00-12:30pm

Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681

Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452

Main house has 4 bedrooms. Apartment downstairs has 2 bedrooms. Cottage has 1 bedroom. Opportunities galore, a must view!

barfoot.co.nz/890929

TENDER 2:00pm 29 May 2024 at Devonport Branch (unless sold prior)

VIEWING Sat/Sun 1:00-1:30pm

Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452

Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681

IMAGINE LIVING HERE!

Do not miss your opportunity to be the proud new owner of this beautiful heritage home, with a stunning pool.

barfoot.co.nz/848903

$3,200,000

VIEWING

Please call for appt to view

Tracey Lawrence 021 172 0681

Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452

Affordable good size freehold family home just minutes walk to Narrow Neck Beach and top schools. Beachside living & lifestyle with a 'Sleep Out'

barfoot.co.nz/862721

DEADLINE SALE Closes 2pm 19 Jun Branch Office (unless sold prior)

VIEWING Sat 11:00-11:30am

Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452

Tracey Lawrence 021 172 0681

Barfoot

Devonport 09 445 2010 Major sponsor for the North Shore Cricket Club

Devonport 09 445 2010

Major sponsor for the North Shore Cricket Club

WATERVIEW ROAD

With both its quality and finish, this outstanding five-bedroom villa underpins the very essence of excellence. Go online to see the video.

barfoot.co.nz/864614

Sue Harrison 021 909 549

Toni Gregory 021 044 3663 5 2 3 1 FOR SALE By Negotiation VIEWING Sat/Sun 1:00-1:45pm

Bags are Packed, trucks are in the driveway. Present your offer. Motivated vendors on the move. Buy now in this location you will love!

barfoot.co.nz/864520

AUCTION

10am 20th June 2024 at The Promenade Takapuna (unless sold prior)

VIEWING Sat/Sun 12:00-12:45pm

Patricia Hinchey

Discover the hidden charms of this gracious Old Lady. Fab location, perfect bones but needs a little TLC. Vendors have moved North, don't delay!

barfoot.co.nz/891530

AUCTION

1:00pm 30 May 2024 at 39 Victoria Road, Devonport (unless sold prior)

VIEWING

Viewing By Appointment

Lance Richardson 021 796 660

5/53 VAUXHALL ROAD

After 20 years my retired vendor is keen to move on. Located so close to the beaches, local shops, fields and transport. Add you own style and flair.

barfoot.co.nz/865490

TENDER

2:00pm 19 Jun 2024 at 39 Victoria Road, Devonport (unless sold prior)

VIEWING

Phone For Viewing Times

Patricia Hinchey 027 222 3367

Barfoot & Thompson Limited Licensed REAA 2008

Wig out! Pink always in fashion at annual

Around 80 people attended the Bayleys Pink Ribbon Breakfast at Dulcie last week. In its 14th year, the event organised by breastcancer survivor Lynda Betts raised $5000 to help fund breast-cancer research, education and support.

Well-suited... former Devonport ballet teacher Christine Snowball with daughter Kim Snowball, of retailer Fitzgerald Taylor. Below: The next generation, represented by (from left) Isla and Jura Fletcher-McGrevy, and Charlotte and Finlay Robertson.

Chloe Mann and Nathasha Pretorius from Bayleys with Emma Pretorius (1).

breakfast fundraiser for breast-cancer charity

Colour conscious... (clockwise from top) Nicola Robertson, Amber Carran-Fletcher, Diana Poor and Gail Carran donned matching wigs; Susan McSweeney and Andree Sabourin; Jo Iremonger and Donna Sheridan (below)

Community House shared lunch

A Pink Ribbon shared lunch and raffle at the Devonport Community House (DCH) raised another $1000 for the Breast Cancer Foundation.

Right: DCH activations and volunteer coordinator Rixt Brownlow with DCH volunteer Aloi Moatanne.

Far right: Alex Twidle from Depot Sound and Mack Potter from Depot Artspace

Council should be clearing leaves

The basic services for which I pay in my exorbitant rates are being denied me and my fellow residents in the Cheltenham beach area. We need help from the Auckland Council.

Autumn leaves from liquid amber trees and maples are blocking drains, roadways and footpaths, and a street sweeper – man or machine – has not been seen in the area for some time. Every heavy rainfall the leaves cause flooding on Cheltenham Rd as the water pours down Jubilee Ave, Takarunga Road and others. Cheltenham Rd where it joins King Edward Pde is a classic example of neglect in autumn conditions.

In Macky Ave it’s a different scenario. After Christmas the numerous pōhutukawa trees, after the flowers bloom, continue to dump dead leaves, seed heads and tiny seeds from then until now.

I don’t dislike the trees, only the constant residue which ends up in drains, gardens, houses and guttering, for half a year. It’s an annual problem that has been alleviated in the past by street maintenance and household

care. But no longer.

To add to our woes, the stormwater drains to the beach are blocked and have been for many years.

The recent heavy rain poured down the pathways and gouged out huge parts of the beach below the cul de sac and along Cheltenham beach. If no action is taken the only pathway to North Head steps will be at low tide as the pathway is now seriously narrow, Already, due to Cyclone Gabrielle, the little bay has been so changed that people are climbing over the gun emplacement and along the narrow scoria wall to continue their walk as deep water covers the lower steps. There are no signs to warn of this problem at the top of the stairway.

I appreciate the council is financially strapped and dealing with much bigger problems, but what about us, the ratepayers in this area? How about using manual labour to do the leaf clearance. Years ago a man with a shovel and cart would do the job very well.

Chris Eagles

Hackles raised by antenna safety claims

I’m writing to express my concern over a mail drop recently received from One New Zealand informing me of proposed 5G smallcell antennas to be mounted on a power pole outside my home in Stanley Point.

The ‘safety information’ assures me that there is no risk to me and my family’s health. They provide studies to back up their claims, without reference to studies that contradict their narrative.

Their talk about ‘safe exposure’ immediately gets my hackles up. The ‘safety standards’ in New Zealand are amongst the least protec-

tive in the world. The government is giving technology precedence over health, overlooking the results of thousands of peer-reviewed, scientific studies that go against their claims.

I urge residents to visit safertechnz.co.nz to view alternative information that lays out contradictory peer-reviewed studies and research that refutes their ‘safe and harmless’ claims.

If you have any concerns or feedback based on the one-sided views expressed in their mail drop, they can be voiced at: communityrelations@fortysouth.co.nz

Scott Wilson

Housing expansion threatens civil safety

Now it has been confirmed that the $48 million Lake Rd upgrade has been shelved, will the high-density Bayswater Marina apartment development and the other high-density apartment developments on the Devonport peninsula also be automatically, permanently shelved for the sake of ensuring that emergency vehicles including fire engines, ambulances and police vehicles can reasonably access the peninsula when the next weather bomb, tsunami or earthquake hits?

Bruce Tubb

Reserve boardwalk is a slip hazard

As winter approaches, a word of warning to all users of the path across Windsor Reserve. The boardwalk portion adjoining the children’s playground becomes treacherously slippery when wet. Having walked without incident on the paved portion of the path in a light rain last Friday, upon taking a few steps onto the wooden boardwalk, my foot slid on the wet surface and I ended up on my back. Anecdotally, I understand others have shared the same fate since the boardwalk was installed. I trust the Council, having been alerted to it, can find a means to swiftly remedy this danger.

Cam Calder

Future of maunga plinth and plaque still unclear

Decisions have yet to be made on the fate of a small plinth and a commemorative plaque on Takarunga.

A meeting in late March between Tūpuna Maunga Authority (TMA) representatives, plinth designer Richard Tong, Devonport RSA president Muzz Kennett and Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Toni van

brass topographical relief map of Devonport with a larger map of Auckland was not feasible. He wants the plinths to remain free-standing.

“This thing has attracted a great deal of local interest and the thing I’m most often asked is ‘Why?’” Tong said.

Since news of the possible removal, donors to the original plinth project had been in touch with him to find out what was happening.

He was yet to receive detailed plans of the TMA’s proposed work on the maunga,

he would be sent them.

Kennett said RSA wanted the VE Day plaque on the maunga retained, but would consider it being resited.

The plaque sits under a thicket of scrubby trees by the small car-park on the tihi, some of which will be removed to enhance views to Rangitoto. The small car park is being retained for emergency and service vehicles, with the larger car park to be returned to grass.

Landscaping and tree planting is also

Enjoy constructing and deconstructing?

Like hanging out with kids?

Staff needed for July School Holiday Programme at Resource Recovery Devonport

Email CV to  hi@annlangisplay.com

Global spin-class star brings fitness focus local

When Sarah Murdoch was growing up in Pakuranga, she loved riding her bike.

She discovered the love of freedom on two wheels, and where her bike could take her.

And once she joined the local cycling club in her early teens, she discovered a competitive streak that would put her on a pathway to a career in cycling, and later in fitness and wellbeing.

Not that her two-wheeler journey didn’t encounter a couple of hiccups.

In the late l980s, she was rising fast through the ranks of young cyclists, reaching the front of the pack for her age group nationally, with international competition in sight.

When the day came for the national secondary schools race, she was expected to win, but didn’t.

The impact of that disappointment was so profound, she walked away from the sport.

“I was just so totally gutted, but more importantly I had no idea how to deal with it. I had no tools for coping with the emotions I was experiencing.

“Back then, I had no one to guide me through and I just gave up on it. Now you’d be encouraged to learn from the experience and work with it.”

What she went through then, as a teenager, has ended up having a strong influence on the way she works today.

For a few years, however, she was lost to the sport.

She left school and completed a Bachelor of Health Sciences to become a nurse.

But health and fitness were still a big part of her life and, eventually, she started cycling again.

She also enjoyed her gym sessions, which came with an additional attraction in instructor Glen Ostergaard, who she’d taken a liking to. “I signed up to as many of his classes as I could.

“Eventually he asked me out.”

By the time the pair married, Sarah was well back into competitive road cycling, racing for New Zealand as Sarah Murdoch.

She raced internationally in the Northern Hemisphere, but in the back of her mind harboured a fear of having a bad accident during a race.

She wonders if that might have been a brake on her racing performance.

It didn’t stop her competing with the top riders. In the European summers of 2007 and 2008 she competed in all the big races in France, taking on the top female riders

“I could see a need in the community for a class that was accessible for mothers and somewhere they would feel comfortable.”

from across Europe and the world.

In her late 20s by now, she experienced long, hot days on the road in big packs of riders.

But in the south of France in 2008, that bad crash she worried about actually happened.

She had an accident she still blanches to recall or share the details of.

“It was pretty bad. I had to have a few surgeries when I got home,” she says pointing to various scars on her legs.

And that really was the end of her top-level road-racing career.

To this day, she’s not keen on riding on

the roads, but with encouragement from her husband and family still gets out on her bike from time to time.

Family photos often frame them on their bikes together. “Roads to me seem like dangerous places but I do get out just locally sometimes with the kids.”

Back home in New Zealand after her accident, bikes still had a big part to play in her life, even if road-racing didn’t.

Husband Glen is widely known in the fitness industry as the director, developer and often the face of group-fitness programmes at Les Mills.

He had been fine-tuning an RPM workout in which participants ride fixed bikes hard and fast to a choreographed programme.

The result was what is widely regarded as a world-class, high-intensity programme, with the Les Mills approach sold to clubs all over the world.

The Ostergaards worked together to refresh and change up the RPM programmes regularly for the international market.

They shot videos, and Sarah became the face of the programme, pedalling up front on version after version

“I was the woman’s face of RPM to about 75,000 instructors around the world.”

With lights, makeup and control over filming technology, becoming something of a celebrity in the RPM world was a long way from sweating it out in road races.

“I loved the connection with people and I realised that was one of my strengths in the fitness business.”

Communicating with her 20,000 social-media followers was a big part of the job.

By the time she finished at Les Mills in 2021, the Ostergaards had a full-on family life in Stanley Bay, with their three children, Lily, now aged 12, Oliver, 9 and Ella 6.

Juggling work and family commitments, Sarah sensed the need for a change of

Letters to the Editor

direction, maybe closer to home.

What happened next evolved from experimental forays into leading fitness and exercise classes with friends and family in Devonport.

At first it was just a couple of women in her street. She would take them through an exercise routine on the playground at Stanley Bay School. That went so well others wanted to join in.

“I didn’t know quite what was ahead for me but the idea of working with mothers in my own community appealed to me,” she says.

From small beginnings her ‘Mum Squad’ grew into classes twice a week both at the school where she’d started and at the Devonport Community House.

Some who turned up came by word of mouth. Many realised their good fortune in having an instructor of her calibre offering small-scale classes locally.

“I could see a need in the community for a class that was accessible for mothers and somewhere they would feel comfortable.

“Starting at the gym or getting back to it when you’ve had children can be intimidating.

“As women and mothers my age find ourselves heading into perimenopause, it’s important to be knowledgable about our bodies, healthy and physically fit.

“After having children women sometimes need to find themselves again. And selfcare is something that’s talked about more these days.”

With the Mum Squad pumping, Sarah turned her sights on their mothers – older women and grandmothers into their 70s or older.

Once again, the idea grew from small beginnings.

“Mum and Dad had moved here, just down the road.

“As they aged, I felt they could be in better shape. I started working with them and it went from there.”

Now she has as many as 20 older women exercising – sometimes pretty vigorously – to music two mornings a week in the

Community House, right after the younger mothers have done their classes.

“It’s been so rewarding to see these women getting the benefits of the class.

“I saw a gap in the market for this generation. I don’t think we are doing enough to keep our older people active and fit.

“It’s been a real connection for me and for everyone in the class too. We are all going

from strength to strength together.”

An accredited provider of exercises designed to prevent falls, Sarah works these moves into her seniors classes.

And downstairs at home, she has a stationary bike set up, filming classes to post online for various audiences.

The bike-mad kid from Pakuranga still loves making those pedals spin.

Face of fitness... Sarah Ostergaard went from fronting a global spin-class programme to launching a ‘Mum Squad’ exercise routine at Stanley Bay School, and the Devonport Community House. These days, she has classes for older women, too.

Lake Rd project back on the unfunded wish-list

Janetta Mackay sums up the latest chapter in the drawn-out saga of Lake Rd

“It’s meaningless to me,” says Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Toni van Tonder of the inclusion of work on Lake Rd in Auckland Council’s latest 10-year transport plan.

Her candid response – albeit while speaking to the Flagstaff when under the weather at home with a nasty case of the flu – captures the scepticism of many on the Devonport peninsula. Promises of a major upgrade have come and gone over nearly a decade, along with funding for them.

Auckland councillor Chris Darby was more the practised politician speaking about the road’s inclusion in the draft Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP), on which the public is currently being asked to have a say.

Darby welcomed it being included on a priority list, saying this came after perseverance on the issue by him and fellow North Shore ward councillor Richard Hills.

But he conceded: “There’s a very long way to go in seeing it become real.”

Darby says locals can now “back us up, back the project up, give their own nudge, by making a submission in favour of the Lake/ Esmonde upgrade and also the proposed new Bayswater Ferry Terminal.” (See story below.)

The RLTP draft has Lake Rd improvements well down the list of priorities, at number 58, with just $1.1 million of funding pencilled in for 2026-2027, and more substantive work to follow from 2027-2029. Given the lag since previous designs were drawn up and changes in council and government roading priorities, work will need to be rescoped for government co-funding to actually proceed.

The previously planned $48-million upgrade was put on ice by Auckland Transport after national transport agency Waka Kotahi questioned the business case.

Darby noted the coalition government’s subsequent axing of the Regional Fuel Tax took away identified funding – “with the stroke of a Wellington pen” – leading to the reset of Auckland’s transport priorities.

After analysis, Lake Rd is back in play, but long-term funding is never assured.

Still lobbying... Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Toni van Tonder (left) and councillor Chris Darby are among those backing a Lake Rd upgrade

“Identifying the funding line in the draft RLTP is a key formative step in the scheme of things – a glass-half-filled step,” said Darby. “We have quite an innings in front of us to see the Lake/Esmonde project realised.”

Van Tonder says the board will decide its feedback at a meeting in late June after considering public input, which closes on 17 June. The board wants action, but, after years of frustration, she isn’t holding her breath.

Board members, like the public, have varying views of exactly what an upgrade should achieve.

Member George Wood is already urging people to have their say against the possibility of concrete cycle-lane separators.

The board is united, however, in wanting to see the Bayswater ferry terminal upgrade progressed, and peninsula bus services and flows improved.

It wants pedestrian and cycle-lane connections from Francis St to Esmonde Rd and may sound out the public’s appetite for a local targeted rate to pay for the improvements.

The difficulty with the Lake Rd upgrade is that it has in recent years moved away from early plans for what would have primarily been a congestion buster, which is what many car drivers hoped for.

While traffic flow improvements are part of the work, AT’s focus has been increasingly on safety and getting people out of cars onto buses or bikes. AT’s latest summary of the project is blunt: “A corridor upgrade to improve active modes, safety intersection optimisation and support public transport.”

But AT now faces a political environment

where money for cycle lanes and raised crossings has moved down the list of priorities, despite support for lanes from local schools, particularly on Bayswater Ave.

Dynamic traffic lanes – being pushed by Mayor Wayne Brown as a solution on some roads – have already been ruled out by AT for Lake Rd, given the traffic flow out of Devonport in the late afternoons and early evenings is as heavy as that of commuters coming home.

Fitting in extra lanes, beyond a stretch planned for buses from Hauraki corner to Eversleigh St, is also considered unfeasible, with no appetite for costly property acquisition. Undergrounding of power lines to create more space has gained little traction and would take coordination across agencies.

Efforts to have AT look at smaller intersection fixes in lieu of waiting for the main upgrade have been rebuffed. Resident Gillian Smith recently lobbied for better phasing of the lights at the intersection of Lake Rd with Bardia and Winscombe St.

The Flagstaff asked AT about this suggestion and was told “the intersection has been optimised from a signal perspective”.

With no immediate funding, AT says “the team needs to discuss all these ideas with the local board and then look at whether we can fund them before anything happens”.

Frustrated Lake Rd users will know better than to expect progress any time soon.

• Submissions on the RLTP are open online until 17 June through the Auckland Transport (AT) Have Your Say process. The draft plan will be finalised in August.

Bayswater ferry terminal also on AT’s 10-year to-do list

A ferry terminal for Bayswater has made it onto Auckland’s long-term transport plan, following years of local calls to have the existing pontoon arrangement replaced.

With a large apartment and townhouse complex to be built on privately owned marina land and growing intensification in the wider area, the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board has long lobbied for greater certainty over public-transport provision at the end of

the Bayswater peninsula, including a terminal and guaranteed bus access to it.

Auckland Transport (AT) has included a Bayswater terminal in its draft 10-year transport budget.

Construction work is set down for between 2027 and 2030, but the project is ranked well down the list of priorities for future spending.

AT says a terminal, costing around $40 million, would be designed to accommodate

larger low-emission vessels and charging equipment. It also wants to “address wharf arrangements in the marina”.

The old public wharf to the east of the marina area, near a council-owned public car park, would likely come into play for a terminal, unless some deal is struck to extend a lease arrangement on the current site. Dredging could be a problem near the wharf in what is a sensitive coastal area.

31 May 2024

Year 13s & Staff roll up their sleeves for NZ Blood!

On Friday 3 May NZ Blood ran their annual Save Lives, Give Blood mobile campaign in schools. Throughout the course of the day we had 100 Year 13 students and 30 staff in the chairs (a very high number for high schools we’re told!) giving blood to this important organisation. Well done to everyone who got involved!

TGS Women in Engineering

WEN (Women in Engineering) from the University of Auckland Engineering Faculty visited our Science and Engineering Club on 8 May. Engineering students shared their experience of studying engineering and students had the opportunity to ask questions and gain information about the various engineering courses at UoA. WEN then presented our students with an engineering design challenge of creating a dessert whilst sitting on a couch. Our students came up with some outrageous creative designs.

Pink Shirt Day

This week our Special Education superstars hosted both our Senior Leaders and Board of Trustee’s for a delicious morning tea that students grew from garden to table and showed their skills preparing barista style coffee’s. It was great to see Special Education along with the rest of the school showing support for Pink Shirt Day by wearing something pink to stand up against bullying.

Coats for Kids Donation Drive

Our Peer Service Team is proud to have supported the Bald Angels ‘Coats for Kids’ community drive. Each year Bald Angels organise the ‘Keep Our Kids Warm’ campaign in partnership with different schools. The goal is to collect as many warm second-hand clothes (all ages from toddlers to young adults) as possible to hand over to Bald Angels partners.

This collaboration is a great and innovative way for students to return and connect with the wider community by helping the same generation, by donating winter goods that are indispensable to those who

TGS Rocked it!

We Will Rock You was an absolute blast! Our singers, actors, musicians and dancers owned the Bruce Mason stage as they brought their characters to life and wowed audiences with their talent. The crew behind the scenes were superstars too. From costume design, stage management, sound and lighting, hair and makeup, props, graphic and website design through to photography, our students 100% nailed their brief.

may not be as fortunate. Takapuna Grammar School had an amazing collection of coats donated this year. The Peer Service Team is truly grateful to all those who donated and connected with such a wonderful cause!

Even though everyone is still catching their breath after all the excitement and long hours of We Will Rock You, Bruce De Grut’s attention is already turning in a new direction.... What will Takapuna Grammar’s next school production be?

TGS students and audience members alike will be waiting with excitement for the answer!

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• Two Takapuna Grammar students are attacked as they walk along Lake Rd on a Saturday night. One is admitted to hospital with a brain injury.

• A tree is planted at Takapuna Grammar in memory of student Angus Cuddidy who collapsed and died at the school from a congenital heart condition.

• The idea of a youth centre for Devonport is put to the Devonport Community Board.

• Daniel Roberts (15) of Devonport Siedo Karate becomes one of the club’s youngest black belts.

• Pat Gundry, a journalist at the North Shore Times for 25 years and its editor for 15, dies aged 84.

• Richard Loseby, author of Blue is the Colour of Heaven, is the Flagstaff interview subject.

• Two crashes on the corner of King Edward Pde and Mays St in the space of six weeks spark a safety investigation..

• Musician Jordan Luck records a video for his latest single in Devonport.

• A proposal to build three terraced apartments in Clarence St is turned down by Devonport Community Board hearings commissioners who cite a negative impact on heritage values and neighbourhood attractiveness.

• Devonport businesses entertain travel writers to promote the suburb as a winter destination.

• The North Shore premiers rugby side are beaten 56-14 by Silverdale, whose star player and future All Black Luke McAlister scores 30 points.

Octogenarian seeks to trial his ageing advice

A Ryman resident is seeking participants for a trial of his new health programme, which is aimed at helping people age better.

In 2002, Leigh Elder launched the ‘Eat for Keeps’ programme, aimed at assisting people with their weight-loss goals.

He wrote two books about his findings from that programme, but his latest endeavour has a broader scope on physical wellbeing.

The 81-year-old has created a new programme combining nutrition and hydration education with a fitness regime centred around balance, agility, flexibility, fitness and strength (BAFFS) to improve overall health and resilience.

Elder says a few small lifestyle changes, combined with a good diet, can lower someone’s biological age.

Elder is looking for people over the age of 40 to take part in a three-month trial study to see how his new programme affects their physical wellbeing.

He said he provides a framework which, with his assistance, participants can use to make the changes which will work best for them.

“Participants need to be ready to make a few key permanent lifestyle changes and find their own solutions to their lifestyle challenges.”

Elder has already tested the programme on 10 Ryman residents but is seeking more participants.

One resident, Gail Young, said her mobility had improved, while another, Sherilyn Hurman, said the programme helped her realise the areas of fitness she needed to work on.

After the trial Elder will test the programme on 1000 people in collaboration with a health-supplements company, which is entering a team into a global competition seeking research on how people can age better Elder is also writing a book about how people can increase their years of healthy life.

Anyone wanting to take part in Elder’s programme or find out more about it can contact him on leigh@eatforkeeps.com or 027 294 1980.

Volunteers wanted... Leigh Elder is testing a programme aimed at helping people age better

Museum man recognised for 45 years of service

After more than 45 years as a key driver of the Devonport Museum, Rod Cornelius was last Sunday formally recognised for his contribution.

Cornelius, aged 85, has stepped down from the museum committee but will continue as a volunteer for the organisation each Thursday morning.

Museum president Alastair Fletcher lauded his long committee involvement, which included two terms as president. He presented Cornelius with a metal sculpture of a kereru for his garden.

Cornelius wrote a history column for the Flagstaff for around 15 years from the late 1990s.

A keen collector, with music boxes a particular interest, he was in 1977 among a small group involved in the project to create a museum for Devonport. The former Devonport Presbyterian church, dating to 1890, was relocated to house local collections at the Vauxhall Rd site on the side of Mt Cambria in 1978. The museum opened in 1980. Its gardens were landscaped the year after, during Cornelius’s first term as president. He served a second term from 1989 to 2009.

Fletcher, who has been president since Cornelius returned to committee duties, noted Cornelius’s wife, Helen, was among returning committee members. He said it was encouraging to see volunteer interest from younger retirees and one of the museum’s bigger annual meeting turnouts.

Stalwart steps down... Rod Cornelius (seated), with Devonport Museum president Alastair Fletcher

A drawcard was local journalist and writer Geoff Chapple, who gave a recap of his career and more challenging assignments, including the Springbok tour. He also traversed his role in founding the Te Araroa Trail.

Fletcher said the museum had weathered a cut in Auckland Council funding last year,

but faced upcoming building-maintenance expenses. He reported plenty of interest from local schools seeking to arrange visits.

A key recent project has been the ongoing digitising of the museum photographic collection. Images are occasionally featured in the Flagstaff.

Rufio’s final act: popular Rose Centre cat leaves life’s stage

Rufio, the Rose Centre’s beloved theatre cat for many years, has died aged 18.

The tabby frequented the centre before moving to Pt Chev in 2019.

He even made an appearance in a play, Off the Hook, put on by Phoenix Theatre in 2015.

Rufio decided that the couch in the scene was a great place for him to have a little snooze.

He didn’t like it when an actor sat on his couch and exited stage right.

The audience was in hysterics, which was okay, as the play was a comedy.

Rufio first found a comfortable base in

the leader of the Lost Boys in Peter Pan When the family moved to a home across the Belmont Primary School fields from the Rose Centre, Rufio discovered the theatre, where there were plenty of people, offering pats and snacks.

“He’d come home to eat, then he’d ‘go to work’ at the Rose Centre,” Shanahan said.

When she shifted to Takapuna, Rufio moved to Pt Chevalier with family members, living out his final years with three boys and a chocolate labrador.

Shanahan, a former owner of Vanilla Cafe in Belmont, contacted the Flagstaff to let readers know of Rufio’s death.

2 - 4pm Lantern + Crafting and Kapa Haka @ the Devonport Community House

430pm Meet at Te Whare Toi (Mt Victoria) for a lantern hikoi up the Takaranga (Bookings Essential)

6pm Hangi Hākari @ the House + live local music - (Bookings Essential) EVERYONE WELCOME AND FREE!

scan to register or email matariki@devonportcomhouse.com Limited spaces for Lantern Making, Hikoi and Hangi www.devonportcomhouse.com

One-woman show raises funds for film adaptation

Well-known New Zealand actor Morgana O’Reilly is bringing a solo stage show to the Rose Centre, with hopes of raising enough money to turn it into a film.

O’Reilly’s Stories About My Body is a solo show about the Mean Mums actor’s struggles towards acceptance of her own body through different stages of her life.

“It is essentially kind of a love letter to 12-year-old me, who hated her body so much,” she told the Flagstaff.

The show was created as one she herself needed to have seen.

“All social beauty standards are a reflection of a collective opinion. What happens if you unpack that a bit, unstitch it and maybe give yourself a chance to add a different opinion to that?

“You don’t need to feel your body is wrong, or your face is wrong for not looking like it has an Instagram filter on it.”

O’Reilly has been performing the show around New Zealand and Australia for the past three years.

She decided making it into a film would mean the message could be passed on and made accessible to more people.

The Rose Centre has given free hire of its theatre for the fundraiser show, where O’Reilly is aiming to raise a further $10,000 to add to the $30,000 she has already raised.

The show features O’Reilly directly addressing the audience, telling stories about her struggles and eventual acceptance of her appearance.

Although it deals with serious topics and themes, the show is full of laughs, she says, becoming moving and “hopefully quite profound” towards the end.

O’Reilly and Rose Centre engagement manager Abby Jones are good friends, which is why the actor decided to bring the show to Belmont.

As the two performances are fundraisers, the tickets, at $50, are more expensive than they would usually be.

The bar proceeds from both evenings are going towards the Belmont Primary

School PTA.

• Stories About My Body (R15, nudity, sexual themes and discussion of body dysmorphia), the Rose Centre on 6 and 7 June. Tickets, $50, from iticket.co.nz.

RAISE THE ROOF CAMPAIGN

Multiple performers lined up for ‘D-Day’ blues show

A ‘D-Day for the Blues’ concert will be held at Harmony Hall (4 Wynyard St) at 7pm on 6 June, the 80th anniversary of the 1944 invasion of Normandy by Allied troops.

Musicians on the bill include Neil Billington, Carol Bean, Dave Alley, Shayn Wills, Neil Finlay, Peter Parnham, Steve Cournane and Craig Bracken and the Flaming Mudcats. Tickets $20 on the door. BYO drinks and snacks.

• More than $50,000 is still needed for Harmony Hall’s new roof.

An estimated $60,000 is needed to replace the hall’s roof, gutters and downpipes.

The hall has been having a boom in usage, but a leaky guttering system on one side of the building is putting sound and musical equipment at risk.

Former broadcaster Neil Billington, who has become an internationally known harmonica player will be on stage at Harmony Hall on 6 June.

New 10-year council ground lease granted for Harmony Hall

Devonport Senior Citizens Association has been granted a new 10-year ground lease on Harmony Hall in Wynyard St.

The building, which the association owns, is used for its own meetings and by a number of other community and social groups. It is also rented out for singing, music and dance events.

Seniors chair Iain Rea said the group represented 400 members, when combined with the 200-plus who belonged to the University of the Third Age (U3A), which holds regular talks in the hall.

The Devonport-Takapuna Local Board agreed to the lease at its May meeting, along with a 10-year right of renewal, taking approved occupancy through to 2044.

• Council staff have been asked to look at repainting the parking lines in front of the hall on Wynyard St, to replace three vertical parking spaces with one space parallel to the road.

Concerns have been raised over protruding vehicles hindering pedestrians on the footpath, a route for commuters heading to the ferry.

Deputy board chair Terence Harpur asked Rea about the problem.

“It clearly can’t go on with cars blocking the footpath,” he said.

“Would you be happy with one parallel park, not three vertical ones?”

Rea acknowledged the issue, but took the chance to say the footpath could do with resealing.

He said the hall faced businesses sometimes using its spaces. It needed a park for loading and unloading sound equipment and for drop-offs for people with mobility issues.

• Friday Night Live open-mic evening, 7pm. Hear and play music and singing. Bring a plate and BYO.

• Ukulele Monday Nights at 7pm. Chord charts and lyrics provided.

• Sunday singing from 3pm. Lyrics on the large screen. Email dellgraham@ gmail.com for song lists each week. Wine and cheese at 4 pm.

• U3A has guest speakers on the second Wednesday of each month at 10am. Join for $30 a year. Contact: Sam Luxemburg 027 802 3766.

Porcelain shards inspire process of creation

Eleven photographs, eleven pieces of jewellery and eight objects feature in a Beatrice Carlson exhibition at Devonport’s Satellite2 Gallery from 4 June.

Devonport-based Carlson, a 10-time World of Wearable Arts finalist, often used to style her entries with jewellery, sparking a move into the medium seven years ago, and training as a silversmith.

The object, the photo, the story exhibition illustrates Carlson’s creative process, capturing aspects of New Zealand’s history at the same time. She picks up pieces of porcelain from parks, beaches, and rivers. “The porcelain has come from England and is the type found in everyone’s homes.”

Her exhibition pays homage to the background of these fragments and how they end up as pieces of art often adorned with raw sapphires, freshwater pearls and recycled sterling silver. It is Carlson’s first exhibition aimed at showing this artistic process.

While recycling and upcycling is important to her, she emphasises the exhibition has a lighter side. “Its creative and fun – a bit like me.”

• The photo, the object, the story Beatrice Carlson at Satellite2 Gallery, 61a Victoria Rd, as part of the Auckland Festival of Photography, 1-23 June. Opening 1 June 2-4 pm, then 10am-2pm Wednesday to Sunday.

Lithuanian Film Festival in Devonport

The Lithuanian Society of New Zealand proudly announces the third annual Lithuanian Film Festival in New Zealand, which will be held on Sunday, 23 June 2024, at The Vic Theatre in Devonport. This year’s festival promises a captivating lineup of films and activities celebrating Lithuanian culture and cinema.

The festival opens with “Nelly Jelly World,” a delightful children’s programme based on Lithuania’s most popular kids’ book series. This film brings the beloved character to life, enchanting young audiences and parents alike.

Following this, a key feature of the festival is “Periodical,” a compelling new documentary by Emmy-nominated director Lina Lyte Plioplyte, known for her documentary “Advanced Style.” “Periodical” delves into the marvel and mystery of the menstrual cycle, featuring stories from prominent figures like Naomi Watts, Gloria Steinem, soccer champion Megan Rapinoe, and more. The film tackles the taboo subject of menstruation with insight and sensitivity, making it a must-see for every woman and girl and, of course, men.

“Acid Forest” offers a thought-provoking documentary exploring a surreal landscape devastated by cormorants, providing a unique perspective on the interaction between nature and humans. This film invites viewers to reflect on environmental changes and our role within them.

Another highlight is the romantic drama “Slow,” the winner of the Directing Award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. This poignant film follows the deepening bond between contemporary dancer Elena and asexual sign language interpreter Dovydas, examining the complexities of intimacy and modern relationships.

Supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Lithuanian Foundation, and Foundation North, the Lithuanian Film Festival in New Zealand offers a rich cultural experience, showcasing the best of Lithuanian cinema. Join us for inspiring films, engaging activities, and a celebration of culture.

Please visit Facebook @LithuanianFilmFestival and @TheVicDevonport for more information and tickets.

LITHUANIAN

Film Festival in New Zealand 2024

DATE: SUNDAY, 23 JUNE

Time: 10:00am onwards

Location: The Vic Theatre (48 Victoria Road, Devonport, Auckland)

TIKETS: thevic.co.nz

PROGRAMME:

On show... Beatrice Carlson’s latest exhibition reveals her creative process

Muso taps into magic for rock show at PumpHouse

A Cheltenham musician helps bring a combination of music and magic to the PumpHouse Theatre next Friday.

Mark Taipari (pictured at left), who has teamed up with illusionist Andre Vegas and magician Felicity Rogers to create Rock Magic, says the show is unlike any other.

It combines glam-rock hits from the 80s and 90s, as well as some of Taipari’s original songs, with Vegas and Rogers’ illusions and magic to create a spectacle, Taipari said. “It’s an extravaganza, it’s a spectacular show that just goes and goes.”

The trio have previously created and performed a Neil Diamond-tribute show, but the latest production had “that hard rock feel”, Taipari said.

The illusions performed by Vegas, one of the country’s most wellknown magicians, helped create a full-on performance. “We’ve got dancing girls, we’ve got the illusions, the great costumes, the lighting, the pyro.

“It’s hard when you’re playing, actually, because you’re singing and watching this amazing stuff trying to focus on what you’re doing.”

The idea for the Neil Diamond and rock shows came when Taipari and Vegas were performing at the same variety show a few months back. Taipari proposed that they work together, and within three weeks they had their ideas planned.

“We have 80 years of experience between us, you know,” Taipari said. “So we know how to put things together.”

A professional musician for more than 40 years, Taipari grew up in Thames but has lived in Cheltenham for the past four years.

He regularly plays around local pubs and bars, performing covers as well as original songs.

Taipari said he plans to grow Rock Magic, with hopes of taking it around the country alongside the Neil Diamond show and an INXS-tribute version the trio have also created.

• Rock Magic is at the PumpHouse Theatre on 7 June at 8 pm. Tickets are $39 at pumphouse.co.nz.

BOOK YOUR OWN CINEMAS

Flagstaff contributor’s shots part of Takapuna show

Ka-boom... Kathryn Nobbs (right) took this image of the Royal New Zealand Navy’s 21-gun salute in Devonport for the anniversary of the Coronation of King Charles. It is one of the images included in a North Shore Photographic Society exhibition at the Lake House arts centre.

Devonport photographer Kathryn Nobbs –whose images of local events and people regularly appear in the Flagstaff – is among photographers holding an exhibition in Takapuna as part of the Auckland Festival of Photography.

The works of around 30 members of the North Shore Photographic Society have been curated for the show at the Lake House arts centre next month.

A range of styles will be represented. “Anything from portraits to landscapes or abstract,” says Nobbs, who has had two images selected for the exhibition, a botanical shot and an image taken recently in Devonport of a Navy gun salute.

Nobbs has been a member of the society for around four years and, as a committee member, is active in arranging monthly workshops to help expand members’ skills.

The society’s 120 members range from amateur hobbyists to professionals.

“It’s for anyone with an interest in photography – even mobile phone users,” says Nobbs.

Coming up next month is a session on photographing movement that Nobbs has arranged.

Local black-belt martial-arts expert Mat Iliohan will be the subject to be photographed in action.

A previous still-life workshop drew on the expertise of Devonport Flowers staff, who provided a bouquet to be photographed.

Another session included a piper from the Navy Pipes and Drums Band and some Scottish dancers.

The society meets in Murrays Bay but has members from across the North Shore.

Nobbs says it provides the opportunity to have works critiqued by experts as a learning exercise.

Another valuable aspect is just being with

like-minded photography enthusiasts in a supportive and social way.

Her own motivation for joining, despite having already successfully established herself as a photographer, was to learn more.

She says the exhibition, for which works were selected by society president Anna Arrol, was a chance for members to display

the range of skills they had.

Nobbs hopes it will also help encourage other people to join up.

Like other community groups, the society is keen to rebuild membership post-Covid. • North Shore Photography Society exhibition at the Lake House Arts Centre, 37 Fred Thomas Dr, Takapuna, until 21 June.

Freud’s Last Session (M) 109min

The Garfield Movie (G) 101min

Copa ‘71 (E) 91min

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (R16) 149min NEW

IF: Imaginary Friends (PG) 104min NEW

Joika (M) 112min NEW

COMING SOON

Bad Boys Ride or Die (R13) 116min 6 JUN

First Thursdays Artist Film: Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present (M) 102min 6 JUN

The Watchers (TBA) 13 JUN Lithuanian Film Festival 23 JUN

events@thevic.co.nz

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