10 February 2023 Devonport Flagstaff

February 10, 2023

Community funding cull looms... p2

Interview:

events

hotshot

Adam Bennett, p22

Clifftops erode but old houses prove flood-ready

The traditional building methods used in the construction of Devonport’s villas and cottages may have protected the suburb from the worst extremes of recent flooding, Auckland Council’s head of building inspection services says.

Homes south of the golf course – many of which date back a century or more and are elevated above the ground on piles – were

less affected by the Friday 27 January and Wednesday 1 February floods than other parts of the city, Ian McCormick told the Flagstaff. However, the peninsula’s coastal cliffs were vulnerable to the deluge. Many local residents lost land and trees – and often property, such as fences and decks – to slips caused by the ground being saturated. Some with basements had to pump water out.

In Bayswater and Hauraki, more homes were hit, but nothing like in the numbers further north when pumps failed on the Friday and the Wairau Creek spilled over into streets and homes in Sunnynook and Milford.

By Tuesday morning, Stanley Point had five red-stickered properties (to which access was prohibited) and two white stickers (light

To page 3. More on floods, p4-12

Water hazard: Golf course turns into lake

Multiple appeals against Bayswater marina plan...p2

Likely lads… Devonport boys Luke Hollingsworth, aged 12, and Lachie Butcher, 11, saw others on the new lake at Waitemata Golf Club, so decided to give it a go on a stand-up paddleboard. Story, page 4

Board community budget set to be slashed

Cuts of $810,000 from a $1,345,000 funding pool for community events and groups need be found by the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board.

“It’s going to hurt,” says board chair Toni van Tonder as crunch time looms for board members to prioritise spending to meet Auckland Council budget cuts signalled late last year. Options range from re-jigging spending across community groups to deciding what is expendable altogether.

The board briefed the Devonport Peninsula Trust and other groups last week, leaving them grappling with the extent of the impact locally.

Van Tonder said board members were working on best and worst-case scenarios under the mayor’s draft budget proposals. The community needed to be aware of the likely impact on what support the board could offer and to join the board in making submissions to the council seeking a fairer allocation of funding for the area.

Feedback is open from late February to late March.

North Shore ward councillor Richard Hills, who chairs the council’s Planning, Environ-

ment and Parks Committee, is also urging the public to have its say.

While the council has talked about boards across the city losing 5 per cent of funding, the true figure to be slashed from the board’s discretionary or Locally Driven Initiatives (LDI) money for Devonport-Takapuna is nearer to 60 per cent. This is due to historic local-body differences in how community funding is allocated, with the North Shore more often funding groups, such as community trusts, to deliver services (for example children’s play sessions), rather than council providing services direct as happens across much of Auckland.

On top of the LDI cuts come region-wide reductions, impacting the money available for arts facilities, environmental efforts, venues, and other city services. As part of this, libraries might be closed one day a week, van Tonder told the Flagstaff.

A “slow-mow” policy also meant reserves would be tended to less often.

Locally, the board has been instructed that LDI cuts need to be “sustainable”, meaning they are expected to be ongoing, rather than a one-off. The draft budget was drawn up

before recent flooding, so does not cover costs related to the recovery.

Van Tonder said the board would review public feedback after council collated it and would then submit more of its own. It would continue to talk to groups it currently supports, including business associations that host town centre events.

The board has already put a case to the council that Devonport-Takapuna is being particularly hard hit, which took Mayor Wayne Brown by surprise. But getting the council to recognise and want to rectify differing approaches to LDI allocation by a deadline of next week, ahead of the public consultation process, may prove a challenge.

At its meeting this week, the board was expected to sign off on council staff organising a public ‘Have Your Say’ session in Takapuna next month. This is set for Tuesday 21 March from 5pm to 8pm at the board offices at 1 The Strand. Submissions close on 28 March.

A finalised budget document is required to be approved by the council’s governing body by June, for the start of the 2023-24 financial year in July.

Marina-plan critics fight on

Four organisations affected by the proposed Bayswater Marina reclamation residential development have now lodged appeals against its resource consent.

The Bayswater Community Committee (BCC), Auckland Yacht and Boating Association, Bayswater Marina Berth Holders Association and Takapuna Rowing Club all put in notices of appeal in late January.

In a decision released just prior to Christmas 2022, planning commissioners approved a plan including 78 dwellings, 20 car and boat-trailer parks, public open space of 8081 sqm and the retention of an area of 4981 sqm in a central precinct for marina and marine-related activities.

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The construction period is likely to last at least 10 years.

Under planning law, other opposing submitters can join on to the appeals already lodged in the Environment Court. BCC is planning a public workshop for residents wanting to know more about the appeal process.

Already, the Auckland Marina Users Association has said it will join the appellants. A key driver for the appeals has been the denial of natural justice, says BCC. Following the hearing of submissions, Auckland Council withdrew support for the original proposal based on council’s expert and submitter evidence.

Bayswater Marina Holdings, the landowner, then prepared and submitted a heavily modified proposal to the commissioners in its closing statement at the hearing.

The commissioners did not allow any further submissions. BCC says this left the modified scheme approved by the commissioners untested.

“The commissioners have left community organisations with no alternative but to challenge the decision through an appeal to the Environment Court and to carry the burden of those costs,” BCC said.

The continuing opposition is not directed at the redevelopment of the marina reclamation to provide housing. The appellants say they are not ‘nimbys’.

But they are adamant that the modified proposal does not achieve the primary purpose of the precinct. They say regional marine facilities are lost under the proposal, as is the chance to integrate public transport services and give better access to parking and public spaces.

Fallen tree just misses home on Takarunga slopes

A long-time Devonport resident was shocked to discover a large tree on the slopes of Takarunga had crashed to the ground just centimetres from her house.

Anne Gilfoyle was sitting in her lounge with a neighbour, Naomi Petersen, who noticed the poplar tree was no longer standing.

It fell over on Thursday afternoon after the heavy rain, blocking the well-used walking path from Flagstaff Lane to the maunga.

Gilfoyle said she has expressed concerns over the danger posed by the tree to local authorities for more than 20 years. Her campaigning to the former Devonport Borough Council got it trimmed more than two decades ago, but she says the root causes were not addressed.

The stump of the tree was rotten and held up by only a small portion of sound trunk, she said.

Two years ago, Gilfoyle advised former Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member Trish Deans of the tree’s potential risks.

Deans had sent a concerned email to the Tūpuna Maunga Authority, about the tree being “clearly unsafe”, but no action was taken.

Petersen said the tree was always going to topple eventually and it was lucky no one was walking past when it fell.

“It could’ve killed someone.”

Gilfoyle had heard nothing about when the fallen tree would be cleared.

“I’m sure there will be a huff and a strife over it because a lot of kids use the path to get to school and lots of people walk their dogs. It’s a very popular track”.

Close call...

Anne Gilfoyle (right) on her deck with her neighbour Naomi Petersen, who first noticed a large tree had fallen close to Gilfoyle’s house

Piles help keep central Devonport’s heritage homes dry

From page 1

damage, no restrictions). This was down from eight given yellow stickers (access restricted); and 18 with white stickers on Friday. Devonport had one white stickered property by Tuesday.

On the wider Devonport peninsula Belmont

had one red stickered property and Bayswater two yellow stickered.

“On reflection, the construction type of the buildings found in Devonport may be a significant factor,” McCormick said.

“The villas are built on a pile foundation so they are a good distance off the ground.”

A helicopter survey of the area’s clifftop sites

had been conducted and was followed up by ground inspections.

The last couple of weeks were just the start of the assessment process. Ground conditions would continue to change and stickered buildings would be reassessed as engineering and geotechnical reports came to hand, McCormick said.

Flood Fallout

Golf course twice turns into lake fit for boating

Waitemata Golf Club’s temporary transition into ‘Lake Devonport’ was a drawcard for local youngsters after floods first hit, but for golfers what followed were frustrating days awaiting a return to play.

Around 20 people turned out last Tuesday for a working bee to clear debris left by the big flood of 27 January, only to have more flooding hit in the early hours of Wednesday 1 February.

“That basically put us back to square one,”

Flood Friday rainfall

Rainfall in the Wairau Valley – one of the areas worst hit on flood Friday – was lower than other North Shore suburbs.

Auckland Council data shows Wairau’s rainfall on 27 January was 142mm compared with 208mm at Bayswater, 254mm at Mairangi Bay, 276mm at Birkdale, 282mm at Rosedale and 280mm in the city’s Albert Park which has been widely used as Auckland’s rainfall figure.

Wairau’s total was, however, still 10 per cent of its rainfall for all of 2022 (1408mm).

Simon

said club general manager David Herbert. The pumping station on Seabreeze Rd had failed in the second deluge, delaying drainage.

“When that pump is overloaded it is designed to spill out on the golf course,” Herbert said.

Council staff responded to a call to fix the pump, working until midnight, but Herbert understood there was an electrical issue for Vector to deal with into Thursday.

Fire

Instead of the course reopening, there was a further wait for the waters to recede and another working bee was scheduled. Play resumed last weekend.

Herbert said the club’s efforts in improving on-course drainage over the years had paid dividends in ground conditions, and more work was planned.“It’s going to be an ongoing battle.”

People were welcome on the course, provided they avoided greens and play, he said.

put in heroic shift during peninsula floods

crews

Devonport Volunteer Fire Brigade crews battled throughout the night to help floodstruck peninsula residents, some of its 18 volunteers putting in round-the-clock stints.

As well as dealing with call-outs locally, they were diverted north at the height of the floods on Friday 27 January to help professional crews in Wairau Valley, Takapuna, Glenfield, and Mairangi Bay.

On Wednesday, when heavy rains returned, they were out from 5.10am, attending calls to Calliope Rd, Queens Pde and others.

They also attended a death which was referred to the Coroner.

Calls were most commonly to flooded basements and lower levels of homes. “We ended up pumping out water as much as possible and then squeegeeing,” said the brigade’s principal officer in charge, Warren Tucker.

Even homes well set up to deal with flooding wiht their own submersibe pumps in basements struggled due to the ferocity of the downpours.

“People have done the right things, it was purely the volume,” said Tucker.“One place had two pumps and they couldn’t handle it.”

Tucker said garages were also the scene of a lot of flooding. “If water flows through the garage, it can often flow on to the living areas.”

Tucker was away for the long weekend, so missed the Friday deluge, returning to minor flooding at his own Bayswater home, only to see worse on duty on Wednesday.

Two other volunteers suffered significant flooding at their homes in Bayswater.

Senior volunteer Dan Brady, who worked both Friday and Wednesday, said the rain on Wednesday seemed even more intense, though did not last as long. “The destruction was more intense, because it was so sodden.”

Deputy fire chief Mark Edwards and Brady worked on Friday, from 3.30pm until 4.30am. Other volunteers were in rotating crews, including local board member Gavin Busch.

Although the peninsula had only half a dozen call-outs on 27 January, crews were diverted to more local jobs while on the road. Around Shoal Bay Rd, Brady said:

“The volume of water running down the streets was nuts.”

Near the Navy Base, water was around 80cm deep, coinciding with the high tide. In the Stanley Bay dip, it was near half a metre deep.

In his 42 years of mostly living in Devonport, Brady says has never seen such volumes of rain and can only remember the golf course flooding as badly once before, when he was a child.

“But the other thing that was a worry on Friday was the sheer volume of slips.”

The scenes further north are those that have most stuck in his mind – including Wairau Valley left looking like a tsunami had gone through it after Wairau Creek rose six or seven metres.

Looking ahead, Brady says planning for onein -a -100-year floods may no longer be enough.

Fairway turns to waterway… Bayswater 12-year-olds Mason Young (left) and Tommy Gourlay took the chance to launch radio-controlled boats, while Devonport 11-year-olds Bond Stoddart (left) and Jacob Ohlin had the skim board out. As water health risks became known, beaches and the ‘lake’ emptied out.

Authorised by Simon Watts, Parliament Buildings, Wgtn.

Your local MP, supporting you and our community

Stanley Point cliffs give way after deluge

Stanley Point was one of the areas most savagely hit by the torrential weather.

Numerous slips occurred along the coastline. Contractors took chainsaws to many trees at the bottom of cliff faces late last week.

One wing of Devon Park, the luxury apartment complex built at the point in the late 1960s, was red-stickered, temporarily forcing residents to move out.

Among other damage, a bridge linking Stanley Bay Park and the Navy sports fields was left battered and broken, and was closed by Auckland Council.

The clifftop George Bassett lookout at the tip of Stanley Point was also closed by council, as a precaution.

A large tree toppled and took out a fence next door to Ngataringa Tennis Club. Closer to Devonport, houses near the Navy’s north yard around Patuone Place were flooded.

Slips also occured around Maungauika.

Aftermath… Contractors sawed up fallen trees at the bottom of cliffs around Stanley Point (above). Apartment complex Devon Park was red-stickered (below left).

Devon Park declared safe following red-sticker scare

Residents of a wing of the Devon Park apartment complex were evacuated after a slip and the building briefly red-stickered while investigations into its safety were conducted. Around 8pm on 27 January, a slip occurred in front of the property’s West Wing, which has six apartments – four of them occupied at the time.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we moved these people out overnight.

“On Saturday morning, we reassessed the situation; the building was undamaged but some trees and undergrowth had slipped into the sea,” Devon Park’s body-corporate chair, David Rowland said.

Auckland Council inspectors red-stickered the West Wing the next day.

“At this point we had arranged hotel accommodation for our residents from the West Wing.”

Subsequently, geotechnical engineers inspected the site, “confirming that only vegetation had slipped, and the rock face was fine.”

A second visit from council inspectors has seen the red sticker replaced with a yellow sticker “restricting access to the edge of the cliff while our engineers survey and advise what, if any, remediation work is required.”

All occupants were able to return, Rowland said.

Navy base swamped as rain and tide converge

Low-lying areas of the Devonport Naval Base and its Ngataringa sports fields were left flooded by the 27 January downpour.

“There have been some slips on the base, which have been assessed to be superficial but will require removal of some trees as part of the remedial work,” a Defence spokesperson said.

Damage assessments were continuing and staff had initially been encouraged to work from home to limit travel on roads.

Problems had been most apparent which high tide and heavy rain converged.

The Navy Museum in Torpedo Bay was undamaged inside and remained open.

Navy liaison officers were deployed to help Civil Defence efforts over Auckland Anniversary weekend in Warkworth and Whangarei and crews later helped in Sunnynook and Milford. Some personnel were dealing with their own personal flooding issues, the spokesperson added.

No access… A bridge between the Navy sports fields and Ngataringa Park was damaged by floods

Bayswater hotel car park left hanging on cliff

A Bayswater hotel suffered a large slip at the rear of its site on the corner of Beresford St and Bayswater Ave on 27 January, rendering four rooms temporarily unsafe.

Ocean Breeze Hotel was yellow-stickered by Auckland Council inspectors on 28 January, due to the landslide near a rear car park.

The hotel’s gym was red-stickered after being flooded on the Friday, with ankle-deep water.

Red stickers deem a property unsafe to enter, while yellow stickers allow temporary access for the removal of property.

Four rooms on the upper and lower floors at the back of the hotel were left vacant following council advice, but occupancy was later allowed.

The car park was closed and two guests were moved to other rooms during the flood.

Hotel Manager Anil Chauhan said the damage was minor and that the accommodation remains safe for guests.

He told the Flagstaff, other than the landslip and the flooding of the gym, the hotel was largely unaffected with no other flood damage.

“There is nothing to worry about, everything is safe here.”

Rain washed away the land slowly, in

different pieces, over the course of the night. Guests awoke to see a corner of the car park hanging above the cliff and trees in the water below.

Chauhan said the hotel housed “many”

families whose homes were flooded, but added that most of them checked out after the weekend. The hotel is open for bookings, although the future of the car park and gym remains in question, pending further inspection.

Flood strikes just as previous damage repaired

The ground floor of a Bayswater couple’s home was flooded in the 27 January deluge just a couple of months after renovations repairing previous flood damage were completed.

Chris Mullane and Georgina Greville’s Bayswater Ave home first flooded in March 2021, but repairs were only finished in November due to delays caused by Covid and supply shortages.

“It wasn’t fun living in a construction site for months and months” said Greville.

The couple spent more than $6000 installing a drain in front of their garage, which at least restricted the water level in the latest flood to ankle-deep, although carpet, walls and boxes of valuable books were still damaged.

The house is at the foot of a steep driveway, down which water flows from the road above.

Mullane said the subcontractors who are responsible for maintaining the drains aren’t doing an adequate job, only checking them once a year. The Devonport RSA member said the situation is so bad he’s had to clear the gutters on his own on multiple occasions.

Greville said the stormwater drains aren’t big enough to handle heavy rainfall and believes action is needed. “If council or Watercare or whoever it is actually fixes the problem at the top, we wouldn’t have flooding”.

The couple were on a trip in Rotorua on ‘Flood Friday’. They had been aware of the heavy-rain warning, putting sandbags in front of their garage and opening back gates so water could escape. They learned of its extent via a neighbourhood social-media group.

“We were sitting there not sleeping, just

worried about what we were going to come back to,” said Greville.

They arrived home on Sunday and with neighbours got to work filling more sandbags to prepare for last Wednesday’s torrential rain, when they suffered no further damage.

“We’re lucky that the New Zealand spirit of helping your neighbour is still around” said Mullane.

The couple said their next move was to hire a water engineer to assess the property and find out what more to do to prevent future damage.

A neighbour, who did what he could to slow water entering his property from the

street and flowing down the drive, said the height of Bayswater Rd did not help. The road should be stripped back and the footpath lowered, he said.

“It’s also the lack of drainage and infrastructure” with more homes, including apartments, being built in the area. While he had previous flooding in his six years there, Friday night was a “doozy”. He had been at the abandoned Elton John concert and returned by bus and ferry around 10.30pm to find water in his home’s lower level and yard. “There was serious lack of communication by officials,” he said.

Second time unlucky... Chris Mullane and Georgina Greville believe drains near their home aren’t big enough and well enough maintained

Precarious parking... the Ocean Breeze Hotel’s rear car park was closed after a slip carried trees into the water below

Property owner unaware of deck’s quiet demise

The owner of a Bayswater property that lost part of its deck in a landslide didn’t even hear it go.

A large pohutukawa dropped off the cliff at the rear of Raymond Dobbe’s Norwood Rd section on 27 January, taking part of the deck with it.

Dobbe was in bed at the time, oblivious to the dramatic action at the cliff edge.

“I was in bed, on my phone, looking at everybody else’s tragedies and didn’t even realise what happened until the next morning,” he said.

Water flooded his neighbour’s property, escaping down Dobbe’s driveway to saturate the land on the cliff’s edge.

Dobbe said the tree “slipped off” the cliff due to the softened soil.

He credits the house’s solid foundations for it being otherwise unaffected.

“When we built the house in 2003 or 2004, we built it according to the council’s 100-year environmental plan. But the deck

is different. We put that in later”.

Dobbe said he originally wanted to build the house closer to the cliff face, but was advised to build further back as part of the plan.

“The council can be frustrating to deal with, but in this instance it worked out.”

Dobbe has removed the remains of the deck himself and is waiting to hear back from his insurance company.

Meanwhile, he has taken in a displaced Bayswater family who are staying in his pool house after they had to evacuate their home, which was flooded and needs repair.

Dobbe told the Flagstaff he saw online that they needed a place to stay for two weeks and decided to take them in.

He said “community spirit” was needed in such situations.

Multiple properties on Norwood Road have slips on the cliff face. Shoal Bay Rd faced both run-off and a king tide. Two cars were also cut off in Bayswater when a reserve became an island.

What’s been happening?

Happy New Year to all our readers. It’s been a while since our last commentary so here’s an update on what’s been happening in the mortgage market over the summer. Since the last Official Cash Rate (OCR) hike of 0.75% to 4.25% in November, we have seen most banks raising their floating interest rates to @7.99% along with their fixed rates. But just this week we have seen these fixed rates fall back a bit to @6.50% for the more popular one and two years and even now the five-year fixed has fallen to a similar level. This is because globally markets feel that inflation pressures are easing and term rates have fallen accordingly. For example, the key market indicator, the US 10-year bond rate, has fallen to 3.50% from well over 4%, hence our longer-term rates have also fallen. The big question now is how hard does the Reserve Bank have to go in mid-February, in terms of the next rate hike. Will it be 50 or 75 basis points or will they back off and see what happens as all the forecasts point to a peak in inflation and a real slowdown in activity or even a recession?

Certainly the property market and lending have slowed dramatically, but when people feel the peak has been reached in rates, sentiment can change quite quickly!

Grateful to council... Raymond Dobbe is glad he was advised not to build his house closer to the cliff edge, after part of his deck and a tree toppled with the rain

Hauraki residents scramble to hold back floods

A Hauraki family spent hours battling to keep water pouring down into their Hart Rd home from empty sections next door, only to find it was also seeping in from the other side, due to the sodden ground

Mother and son Lisa and Tim Kleiman rigged up some old spouting out to the road to try to divert water coming into their property. But it could not cope with the volume.

Instead, water coursed down their drive, into their garage and beyond to downstairs rooms. It also spilled over into a lower house next door, flooding a room there.

“I felt like we were losing the battle to keep the water out – we had been doing it for four or five hours,” said Lisa, while cleaning up on the Saturday morning after the 27 January flood.

Local residents had stopped by to help. “People were really nice.”

In Norman Rd, neighbours also helped an elderly couple with sandbags to try stop water pouring down a driveway into their home.

To assemble these quickly, plastic bags were used.

Further down the road, a family had help bringing out sodden household items after a stormwater overflow.

Other parts of Hauraki that were hit included properties on Northboro Rd, and Harley Rd.

Residents were left facing getting insurace advice and drying out sodden interiors.

“It’s a lot of things to deal with,” said Lisa Kleiman.

The family, who have owned their home for 20 years but spent 10 of those overseas, said they could not understand why infrastructure was not better planned in New Zealand.

After neighbouring homes were removed for development (which has yet to start) they contacted Auckland Council with concerns about water run-off.

They were told drainage obligations applied to the owner of the properties when development started.

“But that could be two or three years.”

Makeshift drainage... Lisa and Tim Kleiman, pictured with dog Tintin, used old guttering in an attempt to keep water out of their house. Right: Sand-filled bags provided a driveway barrier a few blocks away

Slip spotted at rear of Esmonde Rd site

Residents in Francis St were alarmed to see slipping to the rear of the controversial Amaia apartments development site on Esmonde Rd.

The environmentally sensitive coastal site has building consent for a seven-storey development of two buildings, but developers now want to extend site coverage with more buildings up to 16 storeys high.

The matter will go to a hearing at a date to be set. It has drawn 55 submissions, most against, with nearly half wanting to speak.

Coastline ravaged by water

Auckland Council is assessing the extent of damage to its facilities and any health and safety risks posed to the community.

By late last week, council had started initial clean-ups. In the coming weeks, it will do a full cost assessment and decide on what will be repaired and replaced.

In the meantime, all parks are open to the community, except for sports fields that still need assessment.

However some areas of parks, tracks and playspaces have been closed temporarily, for safety reasons.

A step too far… the Westwell steps on the Belmont coastline were destroyed in the slips caused by the heavy rain

Setting priorities

A Devonport bar offered some humour in the face of the floods

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Rider on the storm

Devonport Flagstaff reporter Lochlan

Lineham was driving home, after visiting a mate, but had to abandon his car as waters engulfed the vehicle

I was visiting a mate’s place in Windy Ridge on 27 January when the heavy rain began, so decided to head home to my flat in Bayswater around 5.30pm, before it got any worse.

Coming down Archers Rd in my 20-year-old Camry, I realised a full-on flood was unfolding.

I veered into Wairau Rd, following the vehicles in front of me through the water flowing just underneath my car’s undercarriage.

The stream was becoming a river, so I drove into the Pak’nSave car park to turn around and try another route.

Traffic was heavy moving through the ever-rising water and floating wine bottles.

I turned left down Sunnybrae Rd and attempted to follow the cars moving through the pool of water at the intersection with Porana Rd.

Heading through the water following the people in front of me, I veered slightly to the left to avoid debris and found myself in deeper water. The left side of my car was suddenly immersed. The engine cut out, the steering wheel stiffened. I saw water seeping onto my back seats.

I knew it was time to abandon ship. Frantically grabbing the few valuables I could hold – my wallet, a phone, a pair of shoes – I turned on my hazard lights and stepped out into the rapid-flowing water, which even on

the shallower side of the car had risen to just below my knees.

A woman driving behind me was in the same situation and being helped out of her vehicle by a local car detailer.

It was mayhem. Cars were being abandoned, the water level was rising, people were scrambling for shelter, calling relatives.

It was pure chaos trying to process what was happening, while also trying to help other people and at the same time getting to safety.

The group of us taking shelter in a garage watched as Porana Rd turned into rapids.

Huge amounts of water crashed into our stranded cars at high speed.

After an hour, the Fire Service arrived, setting up roadblocks and turning motorists away from the stranded vehicles.

After around another hour, the rain eased off. I took my chance and walked up to another friend’s house further up Sunnybrae Rd, where I stayed the night.

The drama wasn’t quite over, however. Once I got home to my flat in Bayswater, I learned a sizeable section of the clifftop behind our house had fallen into the sea.

My car was eventually towed away by authorities.

While it is almost certainly a write-off, I’m left feeling I had a lucky escape.

Briefs

RSA does its bit

Devonport RSA activated a phone-tree after the 27 January floods to check on the welfare of former servicepeople. “In general, our members were okay and those who did need help were well supported by family and friends,” said Devonport RSA president Murray Kennett. The branch had donated $1000 to a District RSA support fund. This was splitting contributions between Buttabean foodbank, to provide goods for emergency centres, and to Taskforce Kiwi, which was assisting in clean-up efforts.

AT waives fines

Fines issued by Auckland Transport on ‘Flood Friday’, and the days following, are being waived. The period covered is from 2pm on 27 January until 9am on 1 February.

Schools flooded

Four classrooms and an administration area at Hauraki School were flooded, but recarpeted in time for its first day of classes on Tuesday 7 February. Principal Clarinda Franklin said the clean-up started quickly, “with the aim of being back to normal”. School rolls across the peninsula were generally similar or a little lower than in recent years, which Vauxhall School principal Gary Lawrence said reflected the numbers coming through from daycare. Vauxhall had some minor water damage in several classrooms, he said, but nothing that stopped it opening on 2 February. Takapuna Grammar School also had minor flooding in its uniform shop, in the lower main block.

Pohutukawa pruning policy needs review – MP

Auckland Council pruning policies for pohutukawa need review, says North Shore MP Simon Watts.

Having visited coastal properties in Stanley Point and elsewhere plagued by land slips, he

said half a dozen property owners had told him council had denied them permission to trim trees, which could grow weighty and become a clifftop liability. “Council wasn’t letting them touch them at all.”

Just up the road from his own Belmont home – flooded twice in the deluges – the Westwell public stairs to the beach had collapsed.

“Every slip on the beach seems to have a pohutukawa on top of it,” he noted.

PRESENTS

A MORNING WITH NIGEL LATTA RYMAN

WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 10AM

Join us for a morning with clinical psychologist and documentary maker Nigel Latta.

Nigel is an author and award-winning television presenter known for his critically acclaimed television series “Beyond the Darklands” and “Politically Incorrect Guide to…”.

Other projects include a documentary series which screened on TVNZ that investigated some of the important issues within our society including alcohol, education, sugar/obesity, poverty and inequality, crime and punishment.

Nigel will talk us through his career highlights in his usual thought provoking manner.

Refreshments will be provided.

Spaces are limited and RSVP is essential.

Call Dell or Scott on 09 445 0909

WILLIAM

SANDERS

RETIREMENT VILLAGE

7 Ngataringa Road, Devonport

By Rob Drent

The way civil-defence emergencies are handled in Auckland needs close consideration – and probably an overhaul.

Auckland Council’s response to the rapidly emerging disaster on 27 January was sluggish and poorly managed. Gaps exist locally as well.

Areas such as Devonport used to have civil-defence coordinators, plans and clearly identified emergency centres at places like school and churches, where people could go for help or shelter when an emergency occurred.

With modern-day life increasingly controlled online and from a centralised council, these local touch points have been sidelined to such a degree they are virtually anonymous. Certainly they are underfunded and not publicised.

Superficially, the response across the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area seems to have been left in the hands of emergency services (dealing with immediate needs), local councillors and community board members, plus volunteers trudging the streets assessing damage and offering help, and community centres, such as Sunnynook’s, opening up to help an area in need.

It all seemed reactive rather than preplanned. What would have happened if the flooding had been even worse or, in the event of a tidal wave, if whole areas were cut off, for example?

Local government spending is being cut and I wonder if the no-doubt diminished

amounts allocated to local civil defence is a false economy, which could cost lives.

Two men drowned on the North Shore during the recent floods. Could they have been saved by better ongoing messaging around the danger posed by flood waters?

As a tennis-playing journo, I’ve got to tip my cap to Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown.

In the middle of a citywide emergency, with floods and slips causing homelessness and chaos, and the loss of four lives, Brown was annoyed he had to postpone a hit with his tennis mates (who communicate through a ‘Grumpy Men’ WhatsApp group) to update “drongo” journalists. Good on you, Browny, for calling getting your priorities right and giving the media a serve at the same time. I had to give up any thoughts of tennis that day too, as we at the Flagstaff were working to cover the story for our readers.

Some media figures – including Stuff’s CEO Sinead Boucher – seemed a bit miffed by the use of the term drongo.

I don’t really know what they are complaining about. Brown is a gift that keeps on giving. A bit like the gaffe-prone Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, Brown will be a source of copy for as long as he stays in office.

His tennis remark is also gold for any drongo cartoonist looking for a quick line on the mayor, with the inevitable double faults, mishits and attempted smashes to come.

I can even imagine a Brown caricature complete with John McEnroe headband, mouthing the immortal words: “You cannot be serious.”

In the meantime, Wayne, I’m happy to fit a game of tennis in around my busy schedule. One grumpy old man versus another. Watch out though for my drongo backhand.

The reliability of the Auckland-Devonport ferry schedule has become so bad some users are getting back in their cars to ensure city-side appointments are met.

This is a shame as the ferry was once a bastion of regularity– particularly when the Kea was serving the route, chugging the 10-minute crossing like an old workhorse. For a variety of reasons – staff shortages at Fullers, the great catch-all: operational causes – 2023 has been particularly bad, just as tourists return in greater numbers.

On many occasions, several buses have been queued up at the Devonport ferry terminal waiting on late ferries, with frustrated drivers knowing that they are now running late themselves.

Ferry lateness or cancellations are now vying with Lake Rd congestion as the leading living-in-Devonport gripe. Social-media pages are full of it, but while it can be good to vent frustrations, as far as getting things done, it’s shouting in the wind. I don’t think the bureaucrats at city hall really pay much attention to clamouring online. It raises its head one day and then disappears into the ether the next.

Is it time then to establish a Devonport Ferry Users group to advocate for patrons and act as a conduit for the discussion of issues, ideas and improvements? It could be an independent group, like Devonport Heritage or even Bike Auckland, which both have a real say in how changes and problems are dealt with.

Auckland Transport has taken over the management of the service and seems to be placing a lot of faith in new electric ferries coming online, with more design-specific solutions to the Devonport-Auckland route. But this is at least a couple of years away.

A Devonport Ferry Users group (also covering the Bayswater route) could press for real action now.

Devonport 70 Seacliffe Avenue

Prime clifftop position - stunning harbour views

Classic 1956 original brick home on a block base sitting proudly on 1368sqm site offering huge potential. The cliff has been reinforced so it’s ready for you to renovate or demolish to build your dream home. The location is wonderful – you will love the beach lifestyle where you can wander down to Narrow Neck Beach for a swim plus your children will be able to walk to excellent schools close by. The generous lounge has big picture windows with sublime views to the sea and Rangitoto. There's a double garage underneath. Your family will live the dream here. So rarely available, this is an opportunity not to be missed.

bayleys.co.nz/1470590

bayleys.co.nz

3 1 2 2

Auction (unless sold prior)

1.30pm, Thu 23 Feb 2023

28 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland View Sat/Sun 11-11.45am & Thu 5-5.30pm

Lynda Betts 021 278 3024

lynda.betts@bayleys.co.nz

BAYLEYS

Franklin G ardens and Maintenance

We are a landscaping company with a wide range of services to offer!

• Lawn-mowing • Hedge-trimming

• Weed-removal • Weed-killing

• Tree-rounding • Other odd jobs Call Tyler Franklin on 020 4142 2513

I’m a Devonport local and I’m at your disposal!!

Want to fight climate change?

Try reducing your whinging footprint

Now that we have seen some of the impacts of climate change for real, perhaps we could start taking this carbon-emissions thing more seriously.

The three things most people suggest you can do to help reduce emissions are:

1. Eat less meat and dairy

2. Cut back on flying

3. Drive less

I would suggest a fourth: stop whinging. Stop whinging about changes to streets that slightly inconvenience motorists. How else are we going to get people to drive less if we don’t make streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists and reserve space for public transport to make it faster and more reliable?

Stop whinging about density done well. Modern, dense, well-engineered developments

like Hobsonville Point and Stonefields house thousands; yet they can easily handle what were previously known as “100-year” floods.

Stop whinging about roadworks. How do you think the stormwater is going to be fixed without civil works?

Stop whinging about paying taxes and rates. Who’s going to pay for this if it’s not the people who can afford to?

Stop whinge voting. Don’t vote for people who promise to magically fix everything without spending anything. All they do is defer capital works, reduce maintenance and cut budgets for “non-essentials” like emergency management.

Get off Facebook and go for a ride or take a walk – you might enjoy it.

Chris Werry

Flood relief through fun

A community festival in Belmont is promising to provide some muchneeded fun following last week’s floods.The Rose Centre’s Aroha Festival features a range of activities to entertain the family, including food and market stalls, magic and circus acts, and live music from local artist Apera. Rose Centre Operations manager, Geoff Allen, says he sees the festival as something positive for people in the community to enjoy after a hard week.

“It’s a sort of gift to the community, so people can come down and have a bit of fun after the floods”.

Local schools are involved with Bayswater School, Belmont Primary and Belmont Intermediate all having stalls selling crafts and finger foods. The festival is on Sunday 12 February from 10 am until 12 pm

Crew cut to coffee cup

A barbers on Lake Rd, opposite Takapuna Grammar’s front rugby field, wants to turn itself into a coffee shop. Samira Javanshir has lodged an application with Auckland Council for a land-use consent for the business at 223 Lake Rd. The business would be small scale and operate seven days a week from 6am, within the existing building. Hot and cold beverages and ready-made food would be sold, with no more than two staff anticipated.

Licensed REAA 2008

DEVONPORT 1/24 NGATARINGA ROAD

Competitively priced, astute buyers should view, if you are looking for a character home you will recognise value here!

barfoot.co.nz/841364

FOR SALE

3 1 2 1

FOR SALE

$1,599,000

VIEWING Sun 2.00-2.30pm

Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681

Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452

DEVONPORT 4/32 NGATARINGA ROAD

This brand new stunning double level residence provides the low maintenance & simple living lifestyle in central location.

barfoot.co.nz/839750

FOR SALE

4 1 2 1

FOR SALE

By Negotiation

VIEWING

Phone For Viewing Times

Alex Kou 021 885 918

Sam Leong 022 046 0868

BELMONT 7/14 WILLIAMSON AVENUE

Warm and dry! 4 beds, 3½ bathrooms. Very spacious with full sized lift and top quality fixtures. Garage and fantastic views. Luxury living!

barfoot.co.nz/842006

OPEN HOME

FOR SALE

By Negotiation

VIEWING

Sat/Sun 1:00-1:45pm

Lance Richardson 021 796 660

Suzy Wang 022 199 7808

BELMONT 11/14 WILLIAMSON AVENUE

BEST OF THE LOT, URGENT ACTION NEEDED!

Almost completed executive townhouse.

barfoot.co.nz/841525

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

$1,485,000

VIEWING

Phone For Viewing Times

Kurt Piper 021 137 6450

Sue Evans 021 448 977

Barfoot & Thompson Limited

Devonport 09 445 2010

Major sponsor for the North Shore Cricket Club

Photo Indicative Only

DEVONPORT

27 SHOAL BAY ROAD

A haven for modern living. Our vendors have left no stone unturned in creating this exceptionally stylish three-bedroom character villa. A must view!

barfoot.co.nz/842250

FOR SALE

By Negotiation

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

Sue Harrison 021 909 549

Toni Gregory 021 044 3663

DEVONPORT

50A NGATARINGA ROAD

This home must be sold. This is seriously smart buying - Don't be that buyer that later says 'should of - would ofcould of' call us now.

barfoot.co.nz/843671

FOR SALE $1695000

VIEWING Phone For Viewing Times

Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452

Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681

DEVONPORT

17 OWENS ROAD

This lovely entertainer's home is just a short stroll to the beaches, Devonport Village, cafes and ferry. Join us at our open homes or view by appointment.

barfoot.co.nz/841841

3 2

FOR SALE

$1,930,000

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

Lance Richardson 021 796 660

Suzy Wang 022 199 7808

DEVONPORT 42 CHELTENHAM ROAD

- Two back from beach

- 4 double bedrooms

- Grand formal lounge

- Ornate ceilings

- Indoor/outdoor flow

- Land approx. 906m2

barfoot.co.nz/825746

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

By Negotiation

VIEWING By Appointment

Sue Harrison 021 909 549

Toni Gregory 021 044 3663

Devonport 09 445 2010

Major sponsor for the North Shore Cricket Club

Barfoot & Thompson Limited Licensed REAA 2008

Events maestro brings the party back

Hauraki School old boy Adam Bennett has carved out a career in events. He tells Helen Vause about his unconventional path to success – and bringing an event back home.

An Electric Picnic is coming – and just the name generates a happy frisson of excitement.

Adam Bennett, who is powering up the upcoming event at Hauraki School, is known to his many connections as the man who sure can throw a party.

Leaning on the wall of the school where it’s all going to happen at the end of the month, Bennett is excited about the prospect of a new event incorporating music, food and family fun coming to life right where his own education started.

The legendary organiser of parties and events, big and small, is very much a local lad. And he says he gets a kick out of bringing home some of the entertainment scene he’s associated with for friends and families he’s known forever.

The picnic is a charity fundraiser he hopes will grow and become an exciting annual festival that’s great for his local community and for the school’s coffers.

Bennett started his business, Highlife Entertainment, barely into his 20s. Now in his 40s, many of his childhood peers are likely to have been to at least one of the 300-plus parties or events he’s run.

At the Electric Picnic, he hopes to see many of them returning through the school gates, with their children, and maybe their own parents too.

After Hauraki School, he went on to Takapuna Grammar (TGS), but left early, keen to embark into the adult world.

Establishing and running a successful events business has been colourful and challenging, but the young Bennett set off out of the school gates with plenty of fire in his belly.

When the Flagstaff arrived a few minutes early for this interview at Bennett’s large Hauraki Corner home, he was outside, having a workout on his boxing bag, taking a break from

the home office he shares with his wife, Joanna. Family and community have played a big part in getting onto the right path to building a successful business, he says. “School just wasn’t for me. Well it was more the classrooms. I was an incredibly social kid, and I always loved seeing everyone and being part of our social scene outside school. Everyone knew I was up for a party.”

He says he remembers feeling that some of his teachers at TGS would have been glad to see the back of him and expected him to get into trouble, even if they never said so.

“I just couldn’t stay at school and I left at the beginning of the fifth form. But I suppose the naysayers from my teenage years stayed with me a bit. I know I wanted to prove them wrong. Show them I could be someone and be successful.”

His parents, he recalls, were supportive of him leaving school so young, provided they could see he was working towards a future.

He found work in hospitality as a waiter, a cook and a porter. “ I remember picking up a lot of chewing gum off a lot of carpets. But of course, I was learning lots about the way the hospitality trade worked too.

He also remembers there was “lots of mischief”. But at 20, he says, he had to make up his mind what path he would follow and how he would make money to support his ambitious plans.

He worked three jobs, and his parents gave the fledgling promoter and event manager an office at home, under their house, to get started.

He learned hard lessons early on about the many moving parts, and the tricky juggling of them all that can make or break businesses like his.

In his second year in operation, Bennett lost $90,000 – a sum that would have flattened many 24-year-olds.

But somehow he was able to keep trading, and with other gigs on the board he carried on. He’s proud to say he paid everyone back.

“It was a big event out at the Trust Arena. I had made some serious miscalculations and it was a total disaster for me. But in terms of lessons learned, that was the best 90K I’ve every spent.”

Growing up, parties, entertainment and helping others to have a great time were the world he knew and loved. His father, Graham, is an internationally recognised magician and illusionist. Mother Gail is a singer and a magician’s assistant to Graham. On a normal evening at their place, the couple would be all dressed up for a magic show where dad would appear to saw mum in half before an excited audience. The Bennetts, like their son, have entertained thousands.

Though Covid was a long-running nightmare for events and promotions businesses and clients, with angst and cancellations and many going to the wall, Bennett has had a lot of luck to supplement the management skills honed over decades.

He says that sometimes when weather and Covid shut others down, he simply had the good fortune to have events that were able to go

Social animal... Highlife Entertainment’s Adam Bennett says even as a schoolboy, everyone knew he was up for a party

to school

ahead. “We got in five out of six of the events we had planned. But of course we know many people got hit pretty hard. This is a business of big financial risk and plenty of stress.”

For his operation, last year was a good one, with New Year festive parties the successes he’d anticipated – even if Hauraki School’s event in December was temporarily quashed by rain.

For Bennett, the successful business approach has been to have fewer dates on the calendar and make more of the events he is doing.

“Because there have been so many cancellations and postponements, there’s also been the issue of people trying to stage stuff that’s been held over for ages. Then you could be looking at far too many events trying to squeeze in for it all to be viable.

“You just have to be very realistic about the environment we’re working in: the pandemic, inflation, weather patterns, supply shocks and labour issues. Covid hasn’t gone away and whenever we’re doing something there’s always someone sick at the time. You can’t guess on that, you just have to roll with it.”

He also predicts a reduction in people’s spending. “Less people are going to be confident to be spending money on having a good time. But people love entertainment and they love to go out. More so maybe in these crazy times we are living in.

Having a night out to look forward to can be

a big thing for a lot of people.

“I’ve been making my living by making things happen for big crowds of people for a long time. I know I’ve had good luck but I am known in this sector for bringing venues the sort of good people they want.”

Bennett is a father of two – Orlando-Cruise (8) and Zoe-Rose (3). Fatherhood, he says without hestitation, is the best thing that has happened to him and the hardest job he’s ] had.

Being able to bring his skills to his son’s school and hopefully establish a long-running, successful annual event, is an exciting prospect, says Bennett. He takes pride in being able to reel

off a list of North Shore charities and causes that he has been able to support.

Joanna, who comes from an event and marketing background, works with him. It’s a busy household, these days, especially with one eye on the weather. But Bennett says it’s the dream job for him.

For Halloween, they managed to squeeze in a party at home and, like a lot of his gigs, he knows it’s one the guests will long remember.

“It was just fantastic. Dad was there cutting off people’s heads in the driveway.” Or at least that’s what it seemed on the night – thanks to a large dollop of the old family magic.

Dream job... Bennett is putting on Hauraki Primary’s ‘Electric Picnic’ as a fundraiser for his old school

“Having a night out to look forward to can be a big thing for a lot of people.”

Nigel Bioletti General & Fundraising Manager

Phone 027 445 6211

nigelbioletti@devonportpeninsulatrust.nz

WHAT IS THE DEVONPORT PENINSULA TRUST, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?

We are a Charitable Trust, established in 2011, independent of the local board/council, governed by a Trust Board. We are, however, funded by the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board, to deliver programmes across the peninsula (activities, networks, community meetings, forums – senior and youth) and to support the activity of other groups – such as the Mid-winter Swim community. We have relative independence in choosing these programmes.

Our mission: ‘Building Community’ – by enabling and empowering groups to provide community opportunities. We receive a small grant from Auckland Council for the delivery of specific events of our choosing – such as Bayswater Halloween Trail. We provide umbrella governance for ‘Restoring Takarunga Hauraki’ – policy, oversight. We provide umbrella governance support for the Devonport Arts Festival Trust, and helped revitalise the Devonport Art Trail in 2021/22.

We offer our support for initiatives that will benefit this community – eg. our involvement in the development of the ‘Devonport Emergency Resilience Guidelines’, now available on our website home page. We publicise events and activities for Peninsula organisations through our E-News and social media. We welcome the support of the community – financial and voluntary – email nigelbioletti@devonportpeninsulatrust.nz

ROTARY KIDS ATHLETICS – FREE

Our long -unning Kids Athletics programme – kindly sponsored for 2023 by Devonport Rotary.

When: 4pm to 6 pm, 14 February to 21 March at Vauxhall Sports Reserve/North Shore Rugby playing field – open to all children on the Peninsula. Register your children on 14 Feb Navy Park on Vauxhall Road.

COMMUNITY NETWORK MEETING

10:30 am, Wednesday 22 February at Devonport Yacht Club – sharing of local information, a chance to raise concerns, seek solutions.

With special thanks to the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board for funding the Devonport Peninsula Trust.

shorejobs

shorejobs

Café Chef

Compass Group Is looking to fill several hospitality related roles located at the cafes and stores located on the Devonport Naval Base.

Available positions include: Kitchen Hand / Food Preparation, Cafe / Kitchen assistant, Catering Assistant / Front of house staff.

All roles require some food preparation and general kitchen duties and some roles require some customer interaction.

The ideal candidate is likely to be a local resident who would benefit from working school hours 9.30-2.30 or 9-3pm etc. Part-time or full-time positions available.

Compass Group is New Zealand’s leading and largest provider of food and support services across multiple industry sectors including Business and Industry, Education, Defence, Offshore and Remote, Aged Care, Hospitals and Senior Living. These industry sectors are managed by our sub brands Eurest, Chartwells, Restaurant Associates, Medirest, and ESS. We specialise in turning ordinary acts of service into extraordinary experiential moments for our clients. With innovative and talented teams across New Zealand, we transform experiences from being GOOD to GREAT.

You must be able to satisfactorily pass a police clearance.

HOW TO APPLY

Send your CV and Cover Letter to Roger.Pearce@compass-group.co.nz or call 027-257-0163 for more information.

Weighbridge and Recycling shop staff & Yard Operations Staff

We are after strong, capable, hardworking individuals who are comfortable talking with customers and aren’t afraid of a bit of grime or a hard day’s work. We have two positions we need to fill as soon as possible, full or part-time, Weighbridge and Recycling shop staff & Yard Operations Staff

Enquiries for Volunteering in the shop are also welcomed.

The Devonport Community Recycling Centre, Reuse shop, and Landscaping yard is open six days a week, with staff working together to receive, price, sort, up-cycle, and sell goods and materials suitable for reuse. We divert waste from landfills, assist our community in becoming more sustainable, and run a thriving landscape supply company. We are looking for environmentally conscious individuals to join our team.

Please submit your resume to richard@devonportrecycle.co.nz or call 021 0831 0025.

Fitness Trainers Wanted North Shore-based Functional Fitness Studio is searching for passionate, Experienced and/or Qualified Specialist Instructors to join the team.

1. Personal Trainer, Functional Strength Coach to teach small-group classes and 1-to-1. Will take-over an existing client base, no PT rental agreements. Hours/week depend on applicant. Job-growth opportunities for the right person.

2. Instructors –Spin, Boxing, TRX, Kettlebell, Barre, HIIT Classes, and Kid’s/Teen Kick-Boxing Classes.

3. Assisted-Stretch Specialists for 1-to-1 sessions.

Pay up to $65/hr.

SoulSprite Fitness Studios has been in operation for 9 years and is in big growth-mode. We’re located in the heart of Devonport Village, have a strong committed community of members and (for now) have only 5-star ratings online. Please email your CV and cover letter to: info@soulsprite.co.nz or contact Ben on 0220599605.

Atto hopes to fly the Kiwi kart in Europe

Narrow Neck go-karter Atto Bailey has dreams of racing in Formula One and in 2023 aims to build on his top-class results last year.

In 2022, Atto (10) won the City of Sails two-day challenge and Rotorua point series, placed second in the National CIK trophy and was fourth in the KartSport Rotorua club champs.

The wins and high finishes saw him take out the KartSport Rotorua Club’s Junior Driver of the Year 2022.

Atto’s ultimate goal is to make it to Formula One or the GT3 series and he wants to take his karting to the next level by racing in England.

His dreams don’t come cheap. Attos’s parents, Sharon and Graeme, spent close to $50,000 last year supporting his karting.

Costs quickly rack up: a set of slick tyres costs $280 and a set of wet tyres $320. Each can only be used for two or three race days, before losing performance.

Kart engines can cost $3500 new, while chassis are around $5000. With travel and upkeep costs on top, Sharon says without sponsorship it will be hard for Atto to stay at the front of the grid.

She said sponsorships allow drivers to better maintain their equipment and get the latest and most innovative gear, which assists them on the track.

“For some, they can buy and try out different engines until they find the best one. With a lower budget you can’t really do that”. The former primary school teacher said sponsorship can also help Atto get more coaching and time in the kart, which will help improve lap times.

Sharon works at the Devonport Commu-

nity House as the play group coordinator and says she often takes time off work to get Atto to races.

“When you’re making big trips to races, it usually means at least a Friday off. If the annual leave is there it’s fine, but if not it

becomes a bit of a struggle”.

Atto has recently notched his first sponsorship – Blackhawk Gazebos. But Sharon said he needs more if they are going to race in England this year.

Email atto@attobailey.com.

Boy racer… Atto with his collection of trophies (above) and on the race track (below)

20 years ago from the Flagstaff files

• A massive sail signed by hundreds of Devonport people is laid out on North Head in support of the New Zealand America’s Cup team.

• Devonport glass artist Peter Raos raises $900 for the team with a specially designed paperweight (one of a pair) bearing the legend ‘Loyal’.

DEVONPORT COMMUNITY RECYCLING CENTRE

Garden waste, General waste, Recycling, Landscape Supplies and Reuse shop

OPEN 6 DAYS 27 LAKE ROAD

OPEN 6 DAYS Closed Mondays OPEN 8am-4.30pm Tues-Fri, 9am-4.30pm Sat-Sun — Call 09 445 3830

• The Devonport Community Board’s decision to chemically spray Devonport Domain could see a repeat of vandalism to the cricket ground, say anti-spray campaigners.

• Andy Brown, a former policeman turned teacher at Devonport Primary, uses a traffic light with red, orange and green signals to control noise in his class.

• Complaints by local councillors about the standard of asbestos removal from Navy housing and buildings have been rubbished by the Defence Force.

• North Shore City planning commissioners decide the reclamation on Bayswater Point should be a “community and marina-oriented place with a focus on recreation, public transport and boating activities”. Earlier, Bayswater Marina Ltd, had applied to build a huge village on the land.

• Negotiations continue with a potential buyer to save the Devonport Cinema. A save-the-cinema group is formed.

• Rod’s Ramblings history column looks back on the glory days of the Victoria Theatre.

• Polly Pollock – the woman who almost single-handedly created a bushy glade beside Ngataringa Bay – designs a new

national flag that she hopes will be waved by children during the America’s Cup racing.

• Devonport Primary announces plans to cover its pool.

• The late Mick Gannaway, a former Devonport Community Board deputy chair, will be remembered with a plaque at Torpedo Bay Wharf, which he ensured was rebuilt.

• Michael Yoffe (74) exhibits at the Depot with fellow artists Eliza Sagar and James McDonagh.

• More than 100 people turn out to soprano Clarissa Dunn’s European fundraising concert at Takapuna Grammar.

• Takapuna Grammar Rowing Club draws a crowd to New World car park when it holds its monthly training session on the asphalt.

• Star halfback Ben Meyer returns to the North Shore rugby premiers for the 2003 season.

• A four-bedroom home on Seacliffe Ave is on the market for $659,000.

• Denis Henderson, the Navy’s community organisation head, is the Flagstaff interview subject.

Bayswater 3/110 Bayswater Avenue

Elegant new townhouse with sea views

This new, super townhouse has been thoughtfully designed for you to move in and enjoy easy living in the private, sun-filled living spaces both inside and out. Open plan lounge, dining and designer kitchen flow to a safely fenced courtyard garden perfect for entertaining family and friends. A second living room upstairs provides flexibility for all situations. There is a luxurious master bedroom suite with private balcony, there are two large bedrooms and fabulous storage throughout. This new home includes high-quality appliances, double glazing, ducted air conditioning/heating and floor-to-ceiling windows to maximise sea views. A quiet suburb close to excellent schools, amenities, the ferry, and the motorway. You must see this home now. bayleys.co.nz/1470594

3 2 2 2

Auction (unless sold prior)

1.30pm, Thu 16 Feb 2023

28 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland View Sat/Sun 10-10.45am & Wed 5-5.30pm

Lynda Betts 021 278 3024 lynda.betts@bayleys.co.nz BAYLEYS

Devonport 2 Flagstaff Terrace

Rare opportunity in the village

This family home built in the early 1960s offers you the perfect opportunity to refurbish or demolish to build your dream home. Designed by renowned architect Albert N Goldwater, this timber and brick home is full of light and sits on an elevated freehold site of 569sqm over the road from the Devonport beach and waterfront. Located in the heart of the village with all amenities, beach and parks on your doorstep. Step out for a swim, coffee or take the short ride on the Devonport ferry to the city. There is huge potential to renovate this sizeable home with open plan living flowing to deck and balcony, two more living rooms, three bedrooms, sea views through the trees, two bathrooms, a lift and plenty of off-street parking. You will want to see this – the possibilities are endless. bayleys.co.nz/1470588

3 3 2 3

Auction (unless sold prior)

1.30pm, Thu 2 Mar 2023

28 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland View Sat/Sun 2-2.45pm

Lynda Betts 021 278 3024 lynda.betts@bayleys.co.nz

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

bayleys.co.nz

ACCOMMODATION

I’m looking for a mature woman to share my home in Ascot avenue. It offers a double size bed with linen. It’s about a ten minute walk to Devonport and the supermarket. There is also an another single room for use as a study if needed. Wifi and Netflix are included but I do ask for a half share of the winter heating utility bill. $225p/w. Call Fay on 445-3256 and please leave a message if no answer.

SERVICES OFFERED

FixIT Handyman - excellent work, practical budget, most jobs welcome, interior/exterior free quote. Josh 021 261 8322.

SERVICES OFFERED

Need someone to feed your cat and other pets at your home while you’re away? I love ani mals and would love to help you! I am 11 years old and live in Devon port. I charge $5 per visit. Each visit I feed your pet and can play with them for about 10-15 minutes each visit if they are comfortable with me. I also send you pics of them so you don’t miss them too much! I always visit with one of my parents.

Devonport only please!

Text/call: 021-270-7677.

Section Services All tree work & section tidy ups. Insured. 027 222 1223.

Landscape Design

Takapuna Grammar

SCHOOL NEWS

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

School opens for our Year 9s

After a slightly delayed start, due to the Auckland state of emergency, we opened the gates on Friday, 3rd February, to start the 2023 school year.

Students new to Takapuna Grammar were welcomed into Te Poho (school hall) with a po - whiri led by our TuTangata students who performed waiata and the school haka Te Karanga Pakanga, with pride. Principal Mary Nixon addressed the cohort as did head prefects Liam Arthur Hunt and Lily Murphy, who gave them a warm welcome. We wish all these students all the very best for the coming year and look forward to embracing them into the TGS wha - nau and culture and watching them grow and develop into confident seniors over their time at TGS.

Year 10 Sports Institute camp

Prior to the start of the school year, the Year 10 Sports Institute cohort of 2022 set off to the Hillary Outdoors Education Centre in Tongariro. Here they spent the week doing a range of outdoor activities that would challenge their comfort zones, engage their strengths and weaknesses and, most importantly, create environments where teamwork is essential. These activities included: scaling Mt Tongariro, rock climbing and abseiling on Mt Ruapehu, an 8m waterfall jump at Tawhai Falls, ziplining, caving, high-ropes challenges and an overnight expedition planned and led by the students themselves. It was amazing to see our students thrive in such high-pressure situations, particularly how supportive they were of one another. Many students surprised themselves with what they were able to accomplish, memories they are sure to hold onto for a long time to come.

TGS Cricket on the international stage

Takapuna Grammar cricketers, past and present, have had success over the Christmas break. Anna Browning (class of ‘21) competed for New Zealand at the U19 Cricket World Cup, held last month in South Africa. Anna now continues her season with the Auckland Hearts, then returns to her studies at Otago University.

Year 12 student Rishika Jaswal represented Auckland at the New Zealand U19 regional tournament, where she was the top wicket-taker. Rishika has also played in Auckland A games over the summer. Year 13, Izzy Fox, was selected for the Auckland U17 team and Christian Scott, who is also year 13, was selected as a non-travelling reserve for the Auckland U19 team. Alumni (class of ‘21) Max Clarke and Jack Clough also secured representative honours at U19 level. Max is attending Lincoln University on a cricket scholarship, with Canterbury, and Jack, is studying medicine at Otago University, with Otago.

The school season starts on 11 February and there has been a record number of junior boys signed up to play this year. Along with the 50 junior boys, we will have senior boys and girls competing across six boys teams and two girls teams this term. TGS prides itself on having a team for every student who wants to play the sport. At the premier level, both the Boys and Girls 1st XIs compete in Auckland’s premier grades.

Another fantastic addition to the school’s cricket programme is the junior academy, RaionaTaiohi, which develops well-rounded athletes and helps them on their pathway to success throughout their years at TGS.

Be heard on Auckland Council’s annual budget

Aucklanders can soon make submissions on Auckland Council’s proposed Annual Budget when public consultation opens in late February.

The proposal includes consulting on significant reductions in council group spending to help balance the budget, and a range of other measures such as increasing general rates, prudent use of debt and the sale of Auckland International Airport Limited (AIAL) shares to counter some extraordinary economic conditions.

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board

Chair Toni van Tonder says it’s important that people in the community engage in the consultation and share their thoughts, as this helps inform the board’s decision-making when developing their response to the budget. Periods of budget constraint

are an especially crucial time for communities to share their feedback.

“For the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board, the current draft budget proposes that we cut our local discretionary spending by $810,000. This is money we use to support our local arts organisations, community and youth programmes, environment and climate response, library hours and services as well as local event delivery.

That’s why now, more than ever, we need to hear from you about what you can and can’t live without and we need your direction on how to prioritise our limited local budgets.

“We accept it’s time to be more targeted in our approach, or that we may need to consolidate, reduce or discontinue some services. However, these decisions must be made

alongside the community because they will impact you.”

Some topics have already been agreed upon for consultation so that Aucklanders will be able to have their say on a range of options.

The mayor’s proposal outlines changes that would increase rates for the average household by around 4.6 per cent or about $150 a year - $3 a week. It includes a 7 per cent rates increase that is lowered by reducing targeted rates for the environment and water quality.

Consultation will include selling the airport shares for around $1.9billion to repay debt, keeping the shares, or retaining a smaller holding.

Keep an eye on akhaveyoursay.nz/ budget for the latest consultation information.

CONTACT US:

aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/devonporttakapuna

FOLLOW US: Facebook.com/devonporttakapuna

Junior world series sees top turnout

Around 160 keen players turned out at Devonport Domain, Takapuna Grammar and Belmont Intermediate grounds in the 30th year of North Shore Cricket Club’s Junior World Series

Bowled over… teams from the North Shore Cricket Club’s Junior World Series gather for the prizegiving at the end of the tournament held in late January.

NSCC’s

Olsen clocks up 3000 runs on Domain

TGS student leaders ready for 2023

Michael Olsen (pictured) scored his 3000th run for North Shore Cricket Club premiers on Devonport Domain, in a match against Waitakere on 29 January.

Olsen joins two others, Graeme Beghin and Danny Todd, to have passed 3000 runs on Devonport Domain.

Olsen has played 119 games and 133 innings for Shore on its home ground, with 20 not-outs and a batting average of 26.55.

He now lives in Nelson, but travels north every Thursday to play for Shore, before returning late on Sunday.

Olsen captained the side from 2015/16 until last season, leading North Shore in 89 matches and to 51 victories.

Lily Murphy and Liam Arthur-Hunt are Takapuna Grammar School’s head girl and head boy for 2023.

Liam says he’s a hard worker who enjoys overcoming challenges. The cricketer and rugby player says he’s looking to connect with his fellow students after a Covid-disrupted two years.

“This year I want to unite Takapuna Grammar School after the last couple of difficult years due to Covid.”

Lily said it was an “absolute honour” to be named head girl. She is keen to get started.

She takes part in a multitude of extracurricular activities, such as Enviro Club, Unicef and Amnesty, plays netball and tennis, and was previously the student representative on the Board of Trustees.

The Year 13 student says she plans to further develop her leadership skills by working with different leadership teams across the school.

“I look forward to working with Liam and the prefects to plan exciting events and promote pride and a sense of whanaungatanga at TGS,” Lily said.

Creating functional, beautiful and timeless residential interiors is the goal for the team at Island Interiors Devonport.

Focusing on residential interior design, Island Interiors Devonport has been busy since the opening of their showroom at 67 Victoria Road Devonport in July 2022.

“Having a showroom for our clients to visit in Devonport has been fantastic for us. Often potential clients are unsure of the scope of an interior designer and what we can do to help them in their home,” says Susannah Matheson, owner and Principal Designer at Island Interiors. As a team of qualified, professional interior designers, we love when we can have people in our showroom to talk through what they are trying to achieve or how we can help them achieve it.

by our clients for all levels of projects – we have designed full renovations, single rooms, kitchens, bathrooms and more. We really adapt our services to our client’s brief, and we can also help arrange and manage trades so that our clients don’t have to. It’s a very flexible process, but with every project our aim is create functional, beautiful and timeless interiors that our clients love. One of the best compliments we can have is not only that they love the space we have created, but they enjoyed the process and found it very straightforward.”

Transparency and communication are very important to the team, and this shows with the level of repeat and ongoing clients.

for your window and your budget. We do everything from initial advice, measure, manufacture and installation. Knowing Devonport and the Shore as well as we do means that we know exactly what the right solution is for you. Window treatments can make such a difference to the aesthetic of your home; but also they need to function well for our changeable Auckland environment. Our years of experience means we will talk the options through with you and how we think you can achieve the best result in your home.”

Island Interiors Devonport is open Monday to Friday, 9am–3pm, but we are always out in the community.

“I’m a Devonport local, having been born and raised here. We initially opened our interior design studio on Waiheke after seeing a gap in the market. After five years, and the completion of many wonderful projects, we found we had a lot of clients contacting us from Devonport to update their homes. It was a natural progression for me to come home and open a showroom in Devonport and I’m so happy about how well it has been received.”

The team at Island Interiors is made up of interior designers, project managers and showroom managers. They have experience in full renovations, kitchen and bathroom design, furniture schemes, window treatments and much more.

“We have been so lucky to have been trusted

“We have clients that we have worked with for years. We may be updating room by room, or after initially helping them with their main home we then update their holiday home. Its such a great feeling for us to be trusted and to establish these long-term relationships by creating spaces that our clients love.”

Island Interiors also offers a full window-treatment service from its Devonport showroom. It includes drapes, blinds, shutters, thermacells and more.

“As we are able to offer types of window treatment services we will really be able to advise you of the best solution for your home. We offer a free measure and quote for all window treatments and will come to you, with product examples and advise you on the best outcome

“Please do feel free to pop in just for a chat. Olivia, our showroom manager, is more than happy to help, or we can visit your home for an initial discussion. You can also see our website islandinteriors.co.nz or our instagram @islandinteriorsnewzealand for more information on how we work, past projects or to contact us.”

DEVONPORT-BASED INTERIOR DESIGN PRACTICE

We are a professional design practice who create beautiful homes in Devonport and throughout Aotearoa.

Our expertise includes interior design, renovations, kitchen & bathroom design, furniture and much more. We work on projects alongside architects and builders to bring new builds and renovations to life or work with you directly to help plan the home of your dreams.

Our free measure-and-quote service is offered for all window treatments, including drapes, blinds, shutters and more.

67 Victoria Road, Devonport  | 021 343 299 or visit islandinteriors.co.nz

DEPOT Open Day 2023

After a tense week waiting to see if the weather would be on our side for our first opening of the DEPOT Artspace curated gallery programme, we were excited to be able to go ahead on February 4 with two stunning shows that showcase the work of four wāhine artists at different stages of their careers.

Now we’re working hard to bring you a truly magical first DEPOT Open Day. Please join us on Saturday February 18 from 10am (formalities from 2-4pm) at 28 Clarence Street for live music, inspiring art and for a chance to see what we get up to in our newly refreshed galleries and sound studios.

Amy Saunders General Manager, DEPOT

February Exhibitions

Zena Elliott & Tia Barrett: Muramura of Protest

4 - 28 February 2023

Muramura of Protest is a collaborative and multidisciplinary exhibition that highlights the importance of having a presence and voice from a mana takatāpui and wāhine position.

Sandra Bushby & Natalie Guy: BLUE FLEUR

4 February - 1 March 2023

BLUE FLEUR incorporates painting material entwined with emergent painting processes and stained-glass as sculptural translation in response to poetic language across boundaries.

Facelift as Depot enters new era

The Depot Artspace is adopting a bold new look this month. Exterior changes to its building on Clarence St will include a dark paint job that shows off its new logo, part of a rebranding that also includes a more modern website.

It’s all part of signalling that the Depot is a multi-faceted space determined to connect more with the community, says its general manager Amy Saunders.

“A lot of people think we are still a community arts gallery.”

These days, the Depot’s walls are no longer available for hired exhibition space, but instead an annual programme of shows is curated.

And although the Depot has a long and proud history championing the arts locally, some people are not aware it is there, Saunders says, reflecting changes in the make-up of the peninsula’s population.

Others are unaware it also has sound studios and runs creative programmes.

The Depot has moved to connect with schools about its facilities and plans to work with seniors to let them know they can record oral histories there. Cooperation with other arts and community groups is being fostered, including with the Devonport Community House next door.

A review enabled by a Creative New Zealand grant in 2021 has helped the Depot to make the changes.

Saunders said: “That’s allowed us to look at how we can best serve the community,” including future-proofing its operating model in a challenging environment for the arts. After Covid hiccups, the review is now being put into action.

The most visible sign will be the Depot’s repainted frontage, where support from the Local Board has already seen a canopy replaced, but there’s plenty more in store.

From March, in conjunction with The Vic cinema, it plans to start a programme on the first Thursday of each month, starting with an artist talk at the Depot at 6.30pm followed by a movie at The Vic. Saunders hopes a local bar might get involved too, to make a creative night of it. Similar programmes are run overseas to broaden the reach of arts groups, and one has been started on Karangahape Rd, in Auckland.

Devonport could become more of an arts destination too, she says, drawing people to shows, training and spending in the area.

“I think Devonport has been off the map a little.” But the area has a strong historic connection with the arts and music and this can be reinvigorated, Saunders says.

“We’re leaning into its bohemian heart.”

• On 18 February, the Depot is holding an open day from 10am to 4pm. This includes a look at its studios, new exhibitions and music.

Back in black... A design render gives an impression of the new look coming soon to Devonport’s Depot

Prizewinner

Bayswater author Josie Shapiro is in for a big year – and the next two weeks at the Michael King Writers Centre are key to it.

She will work on her second novel at the centre, on the slopes of Takarunga, as she steadies her nerves about the publishing of her first.

“Being local and being able to stay there is really exciting,” she tells the Flagstaff.

It means if needs be she can pop home and see how her two young daughters are doing – or better yet, she can meet them and her husband in Devonport. “I don’t feel like I’m abandoning anybody.”

But she also has visions of writing in peace, getting up early and working late, with visits to the village for coffee, or perhaps an evening glass of wine. “It is really going to be freeing for my creative mind.”

Her stay under an emerging writer’s residency award begins next week. Shapiro says it will be a welcome distraction from nervous excitement about her first book going to the printer in late February for a New Zealand launch in May. It is likely to attract plenty of attention: the manuscript for the book has already won the inaugural Allen & Unwin Commercial Fiction Prize.

Shapiro, who was born in Australia and grew up in New Plymouth, says: “I’m one of those people who wanted to write from when I was a little kid.”

Always a keen reader, she wrote stories

Next please... Bayswater’s Josie Shapiro will work on her second novel while her first – already a prizewinner – heads to the printer

A play WRITTEN & DIRECTED by Geoffrey Clendon

staying local for novel writing getaway

as a child and in her teens, but by her early 20s, despite a degree in English and philosophy behind her, she was experiencing something of a crisis of confidence about her writing abilities, so shelved her efforts.

In 2008, after a couple of years in London, she returned to New Zealand, settling in Auckland and finding work she loved as a book publicist.

“Once I had my girls in my 30s, I thought it was really necessary to show them how to work hard to meet your dreams.”

She wrote a short story and was accepted into the University of Auckland’s Master of Creative Writing programme in 2018.

She went on to review books for publications including the New Zealand Listener and the New Zealand Herald. Early in the pandemic, she blogged about New Zealand fiction. “It was an eye-opener to see the depth of talent coming out.”

Assessing other people’s writing was beneficial, she said, but it was important to hone one’s own aesthetic and to craft skills. “In the end the only way is to just write it.”

Her debut novel, set in Auckland, is about a young athlete’s search for the spotlight. Originally called Mickey Bloom, it is being published as Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts

Last year’s competition win came with a $10,000 advance against royalties along with the book deal. At the Michael King

centre, she will return to a novel begun earlier than Mickey Bloom but set aside.

“It was ambitious and I realised I didn’t have the skill set then – so I switched.”

Describing it as a “sort of a love story and a bit science fictiony”, she hopes to get deep into a second draft during her stay. She wants to restructure the story and make it more sophisticated.

Ideally, it will be ready for someone to assess later in the year.

As part of her Allen & Unwin prize, the publisher has first dibs on what she completes next, meaning she could potentially have two books on its roster in one year.

For Shapiro, who worked for the publisher before having her children, there’s a pleasing synergy in renewing the association, albeit on the other side of the table.

A fan of international authors including Canadian Emily St John Mandell and Aus-

House on the hill... Michael King Writers Centre on Takarunga is a peaceful spot

tralian Tim Winton, she says this year also promises another strong showing by New Zealanders.

“Big names like Emily Perkins are coming out and there’s five or six exciting debut novelists.”

Being one of them is clearly a buzz for the hot-yoga enthusiast, who also likes regular walks up Takarunga.

These take her past the old signalman’s cottage that houses the Michael King centre, though she has only been inside once before.

Soon it will be her home from home. Just up the peninsula, daughters Willa, aged 8, and Marnie, 6, will be at Bayswater School, with her husband, Lee, working from home during her residency, so he can manage the after-school activities.

“I’m so excited for them growing up here,” says Shapiro.

BY THE BEACH | MON

1C is a spacious 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment in the sought after Mon Desir complex. You can enjoy a stroll to the many cafes and restaurants, the Sunday market, shopping mall, Bruce Mason theatre and supermarket. Everything is at your fingertips. With 2 secure parallel carparks and a storage locker in the basement, this is a true lock and leave option, ideal for downsizers, business people, semi or retired couples.

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PRICE | BY

| 4/4 JUTLAND ROAD | GREAT PRICE | WALK TO THE BEACH

Elevated with sparkling sea views from the upper level, this stunning north facing terraced home is just a 5 min walk from restaurants, shops and the sun and sand of Takapuna Beach. 4 bedrooms (or 3 bedrooms and second living), all with built-in wardrobes plus a family bathroom and 2 beautiful ensuites ensure space and separation. Why wait? Make the most of the vibrant Takapuna Beach lifestyle and be in for Summer!

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Hidden away is your own private 12.9-hectare (approx) sanctuary, which sits snugly on the ridge looking out to an amazing stand of established pine trees. The home consists of 5 bedrooms, or 4 plus an office, 3 bathrooms, incl 2 ensuites. You definitely have options with this property, ideal for those scaling back from a larger acreage or looking for a complete lifestyle change.

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TAKAPUNA