17 March 2023 Rangitoto Observer

Takapuna tops local burglary index

Takapuna had the most burglaries in the Rangitoto Observer area last year, according to new figures.

Security company Auckland CCTV pulled Auckland police data from 2022 and analysed more than 23,000 burglaries.

Takapuna ranked 102nd on the list of Auck-

land suburbs, with 75 burglaries; Milford was 166th with 57; Sunnynook 197th with 48; Forrest Hill 230th with 41 and Castor Bay 346th with 17.

Hauraki, the suburb neighbouring Takapuna, ranked 201st on the list with 46 burglaries. Glenfield had the most burglaries on the

Shore, ranking 27th on the list with 126. Albany was next at 33rd with 116; North Harbour East was 51st with 102; Wairau-Westlake 62nd with 94; Greenhithe 82nd with 83; Browns Bay at 89th with 81; and Beach Haven 90th on the list with 80 burglaries.

Auckland Central, Taka- To page 2

Jump in the lake provides family fun

Milford, Castor Bay, Forrest Hill and Sunnynook

Wednesday Davis after snorkelling on Lake Pupuke during a recent awareness day about its condition. Story, more photos, page 12-13.

Shore athletes hit top form at nationals... p15

barriers finally gone from main strip... p2

‘Unruly tourists’ return as opera subjects... p23

Bye bye to barriers

Unsightly concrete barriers outside the former Michael HIll Jewellers store on the corner of Hurstmere and Lake Rds have gone in preparation for the arrival of a new retail tenant. Signage has been removed and the store is being fitted out, after sitting empty for five months following a series of ram-raids. “We’re excited to see a new tenant moving into the space,” Takapuna Business Association chief executive Terence Harpur said. He didn’t yet know who the new occupant was, but said the landlord had indicated it was a good brand. In another development on the main strip, a new Portofino restaurant is open just north of Anzac St.

Dinner date

A free community dinner will be held in Takapuna this weekend as part of Neighbours Aotearoa month. The dinner is at Takapuna Methodist Church, 427 Lake Rd, from 5.30pm on Saturday 18 March. Organisers of the nationwide Neighbours Aotearoa initiative say so far North Shore groups have been slow to register events, but there is still time to come up with activities and register them on its website. This lists what is on around the country by date. See neighboursaotearoa.nz.

Islamic art on show

Illumination – Islamic Art Exhibition will open in Takapuna this weekend, bringing paintings to the Lake House Arts Centre by leading Islamic art and Arabic calligraphy exponents Muhammad and Sameera Waqas. The Auckland artists have previously shown at the Beehive. On Saturday at 4pm they will host an opening event. Their show runs until 31 March.

Easy motorway access boosts burglary rate – business chief

From page 1

nini South and Mt Wellington were the three suburbs topping the city-wide list.

Takapuna Beach Business Association chief executive Terence Harpur said Takapuna was the first centre north of the harbour bridge with easy motorway access.

“This does tend to mean we have statistically more incidents, however we are significantly lower than other large centres around Auckland,” he said.

“We would of course love more police on the ground, more resources given to police and be at the bottom of that statistic list.

“Our CCTV network, community police team, private security companies and business initiatives do make a difference in keeping crime low and helping to solve crime that does

happen,” Harpur said. Takapuna was still a very safe place to visit, live and do business.

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board deputy chair and former North Shore police commander and Mayor George Wood said it would be difficult to get police to change their deployments on the basis of burglaries. Police talked about domestic violence being a big factor for them in considering staff placement.

Wood believed burglaries had increased locally with homeless people being housed in motels. He said more police were needed. Countries such as Australia and Ireland had a much higher ratio of police officers.

“I would like to see a higher police presence on our streets but we have been turned down so often,” he said.

Wood noted the Takapuna area had a population near double other areas cited.

Bodyline by Guy Body

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‘Need for change’ inspires school’s new approach

Sunnynook Primary School has launched a new initiative that it hopes will help better engage its 60 Māori students.

The āwhina concept introduced to the school this year takes a holistic te ao Māori approach to teaching that aims to raise awareness of opportunities and possibilities among students and their whānau.

Roseanna Baker (Ngāti Whātua), who was previously a full-time classroom teacher at the school, is the kaiako in charge of the āwhina programme.

In her new role Baker will visit classrooms across the school two days a week to assist Māori students with class activities and take them aside for separate workshops.

“Āwhina means to help, support and nurture, and that’s what it’s about, getting the students to be confident in themselves and who they are and letting them know they’re supported,” Baker said.

The workshops and activities she runs cover curriculum learning such as maths, science and writing as well as play-based and strength-based learning and whānau activities.

Baker said the new te ao Māori approach fostered traditional understandings of relationships and connections that help empower and uplift Māori students.

The idea for a new approach to the schools teaching methods was discussed by its board

of trustees last year after it analysed achievement data and decided things needed to change. The school surveyed its student body to find all the Māori students who wanted to be a part of the programme.

The initiative is being funded by the board from money it has fundraised, not from the school’s operational budget.

The school will use observational data, feedback from students and parents and attendance data to analyse the effectiveness of the programme.

Deputy principal Rebeccah Bassett-Smith said if the initiative proved successful, the school would like to find a way to continue and expand it.

Offering support... Roseanna Baker runs Sunnynook Primary’s new initiative for Māori students

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Flood Fallout

Local politicians take aim at emergency-plan mess

The confusing state of emergency management in Auckland and locally has drawn fire from Devonport-Takapuna Local Board members.

Instead of communities being expected to come up with their own plans, more help should come from council’s specialist arm, Auckland Emergency Management (AEM), they say.

“What we’ve experienced is that AEM is not working with us,” board chair Toni van Tonder said at a board workshop last week. Communications needed to be clearer and from not so many different directions.

Member Mel Powell said the public did not understand the difference between the former Civil Defence structure and AEM. “There’s so much confusion, so some kind of directive of where we all sit would be really valuable.”

In the void, community members had stepped up and mucked in during recent emergencies.

“I’d like to see more pre-determined plans, adjusted and adapted locally,” said board dep-

uty chair and business leader Terence Harpur.

Board member George Wood said there was a disconnect between locals and the city, with people, including himself, unsure about roles since the restructuring, set off by national changes in 2019.

Similar feedback was heard at an earlier public meeting, where Takapuna Residents’ Association president Steven Salt said too much was expected of residents. Powell told that meeting AEM had been nowhere to be seen when floods hit Sunnynook in January.

The local board was briefed at the workshop by Auckland North Community and Development (Ancad), the capacity-building group it tasked and funded in 2020 three years ago with helping draw up suburb-by-suburb emergency plans.

The plans mostly remain works in progress, but the board’s frustration was mostly aimed at organisations further up the chain than Ancad.

Harpur said he was disappointed AEM’s

head of resilience for community and business, Melanie Hutton, was not present. Instead, Auckland Council was represented by advisor Michael Alofa who conceded it would have been helpful for AEM to attend.

He committed to take the board’s views back to AEM “for offline discussions”.

Ancad chair Fiona Brennan, and its community resilience co-ordinator Madison O’Dwyer ,did their best to update the board on local plan writing. Efforts are being made to use the recently completed Devonport document as a starter template for groups in Takapuna-Hauraki, who were to hold another meeting this week.

The Milford Residents Association was proving difficult to engage, having spent considerable time in the past on now shelved plans, O’Dwyer reported. Sunnynook’s four-page plan had been finished last year.

Auckland Council has launched an inquiry into the flood response, which will give the board another opportunity to give its views.

Power of advertising proven in deluge

Tanya Wheeler (left) got soaked putting up billboards for her forthcoming play, but was also able to get creative with one of them to save her house from the same fate.

During the Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods, the roof of Wheeler’s home in Greenhithe began leaking.

Without tarpaulins at hand, she dug into a pile of vinyl posters she had yet to erect to advertise her show. The makeshift arrangement saved her home from more serious damage.

Wheeler and her co-producer, Kris Jack, then spent the weekend getting soaked like “drowned rats” putting up the billboards for the play, My Year with Lorraine , which opens at the PumpHouse Theatre in Takapuna next week.

• Play preview, page 21

Devastating flood fallout continues after home

Milford man Caleb Alex likens the impact of floods on his family life to suddenly living like a refugee in his hometown.

“It’s like arriving in a new place and starting again, with literally nothing,” he says.

The comparison is one he comes to slowly in conversation with the Observer, explaining how one night in late January upended his existence. House wrecked, possessions ruined, food spoiled and nowhere to go.

“It’s quite a scary position to be in, I’m virtually homeless,” says the 43-year-old hair stylist.

Now, nearly two months down the track and with no immediate prospect of returning to the Nile Rd house in which he grew up, he says: “It’s overwhelming. Life still goes on and you’ve still got to go to work, but there’s no way to get there and you’ve got nowhere to go back to at 5pm.”

The home is a shell, all its contents – down to the kitchen sink and cabinetry – had to be dumped. Floorboards and wallboards have been stripped out, with the start of repairs likely several months away. “It’s basically a complete rebuild, apart from the frame.”

Alex’s family is scattered across the city and he is camping in a spare room at a work colleague’s home, with just a suitcase of cobbled-together belongings.

Each day he buses from Mairangi Bay to work at Servilles in Takapuna. He has barely seen his invalid father in the aftermath of the floods on 27 January.

Instead, he prioritises catching up with his 10-year-old daughter Madison some evenings and at weekends.

She is living with her mother Tara, next to his in-laws in Te Atatu – three bus rides away – and missing her sleepover room in Milford. Thankfully, she wasn’t there on Flood Friday and is doing well.

“Mostly she’s worried about Daddy,” he says.

Alex moved back to his family home last year to help care for his 73-year-old father, Andre, who suffers from Huntington’s, a degenerative brain disease. After a post-flood health assessment, he has been placed in respite care in Epsom. Alex’s brother, Jotham, who was also living with them, has found temporary lodgings in Dairy Flat.

“My father hasn’t been back to the house in Milford. He wants to, but he isn’t going to. He doesn’t really understand,” says Alex.

On the night of the flood, after helping with leaks at Tara’s, he drove her car home to check on his father. Alex got to the top of the road around 7.30pm and was shocked to be told he could go no further. An hour later he decided to wade and swim in. The water was up to his chest. Inside the raised wooden bungalow on a back section, he found his father on the couch, watching television, with his legs swung up on the sofa to avoid lapping waters. His brother was in his room, but had not twigged that out on the streets rescue boats were being deployed to get neighbours out. His car had been submerged. “I said: ‘You’ve got to get out of here. Everyone is being evacuated’.”

Neither wanted to leave. Alex turned the power off, fearing for their safety.

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A Milford resident describes the ongoing consequences of the floodwaters that flowed through his home to Janetta Mackay, as the Observer continues to track the disaster’s aftermath

“It’s overwhelming. Life still goes on and you’ve still got to go to work, but there’s no way to get there and you’ve got nowhere to go back to at 5pm.”

inundated in terrifying deluge

“I was standing in the water in bare feet. The multi-plug was actually under the water and it was boiling and I was standing in it, in jeans that were drenched, I don’t how I didn’t get electrocuted.”

Alex says he won’t easily forget the scenes in his street that night, of an inflatable boat bringing out kids, the elderly and pets. And cars with their fried electrics, with windscreen wipers and lights randomly going and horns and alarms sounding.

The next morning, after his father and brother stubbornly stayed on, the grim task of ripping up carpets and dumping furniture began. Water had receded to beneath the house, but insurance company advice to dry things out was futile.

Alex spent a couple of nights in the yellow-stickered house, even though it was unsafe and contaminated. He wanted to salvage what he could, but mould set in, claiming the last possessions.

Throwing out the likes of a shirt collection amassed over 20 years was one thing, but much harder is the loss of treasured family items.

His mother, who died a few months ago, had kept a journal of her three children’s daily lives. He picked this up, only to have the ink run off the page.

Now his once busy stretch of Nile Rd is eerie to look in on. “Everyone was there initially, now there’s no one there apart from tradesmen

and the odd person coming and going.”

Financial stresses have quickly mounted. While the insured trio were able to spend two nights in a city hotel and then in serviced apartments, “we had to find that and they pay it back.” After a week staying with his sister, Alex gratefully accepted his colleague’s offer to let him stay nearer to work.

There has been no pay-out for contents yet and masses of time spent collating what has been lost.

Alex, 43, worries how they will recover. He wants to find a place to be with his daughter. He considers the flood was a freakish event, and says when it is fixed he would return to the home his parents bought more than 30 years ago, and from which he then went to Westlake Boys High School.

But he has questions about why the flooding was so bad and so localised.

“We’ve never had any flooding issues whatsoever. Not so much as an inch on the lawn,” he says.

Although the Wairau Creek is nearby, he said, the water in Nile Rd wasn’t a torrent from it. He is curious why flooding did not occur further down its channel. “The water just wasn’t going anywhere, there was no current.”

He wonders if delays in upgrading the Alma Rd pumping station contributed to pooling in his neighbourhood.

“Something happened that slowed down the water getting away.”

After the flood... Caleb Alex, who wants to return to his family home when it’s repaired, says for now he’s “virtually homeless”

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Pest busters... Pupuke Birdsong Project volunteers Hilary and Boyd Miller with the pod of an invasive moth plant, which are sometimes mistaken for chokos. The Pupuke Birdsong Project volunteers have also campaigned for 14 years about pest plants, including advising residents on get rid of them.

in the correct ways to work with harakeke

Flaxing lyrical... Shelly Bell (right) schooled would-be weavers

Bird brigade... Displaying their woven handiwork are (from left) Peggy Edwards, Larissa Lovell and Nellie Edwards

Stall team... Takapuna Primary School community group members (from left) Kate Waterworth, Cherrie Gao and Xiang Song

Hundreds take chance to learn about Pupuke

An estimated 500 people attended the Discover Pupukemoana day this month, taking the chance to learn about the environmentally degraded Lake Pupuke’s history and its place in the local ecosystem.

The Sunday 5 March event emphasised the need for the lake to be protected, with educational stalls providing information about the flora and fauna that live in and around it, and about ways of eradicating invasive pests.

Experience Marine Reserves took 110 keen snorkellers and 48 kayakers out on the water during the day, informing them about the effect weeds and pest fish are having on the lake.

A weaving workshop was also held and a fundraising stall was hosted by Takapuna Primary School.

Pupuke Birdsong Project environmental coordinator, Tabitha Becroft said the event, hosted in collaboration with the Takapuna North Community Trust, was a major success, winning plenty of positive feedback from attendees.

“Everyone said please do it again next year, so we’re looking to see if this is something we could do annually,” she said.

Co-creators... Sarah Spurway and daughter Indie Douglas (7), with the woven bird they made during the Discover Pupukemoana event

On the water... Scores of people took the chance to explore the lake by kayak or in scuba sessions

Wheely good fun... Claudia Schmidt with children Cooper and Braxton Tui who were on scooters at the event held outside the PumpHouse Theatre

Raising awareness ... Pupuke Birdsong’s environmental coordinator Tabitha Becroft with a display case of feral wildlife

New Nanny Academy opens in Takapuna

Ashton Warner Academy is delighted to announce it has opened a new Nanny Academy Campus in Takapuna.

The Ashton Warner Nanny Academy had been operating from its current campus in Stanmore Bay for many years.

With the lease due to expire, we took the opportunity to establish a contemporary learning space at a new location in Takapuna. We’re welcoming new and existing students to the site at 51 Hurstmere Road this month.

New students now have the option of studying the NZ Certificate in Early Childhood Education and Care (Level 3) and the NZ Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care (Level 5) from the new Takapuna Campus or at Royal Oak in association with our local partner campus, Future Skills Academy.

Marketing Manager, Kavi Sewdayal, said a number of factors were taken into account when selecting the new Takapuna site, including transport options, size, disability access, and potential for expansion.

“Takapuna presented as one of the best locations with easy access to transport, a great feel of the campus, access to local amenities and student accommodation, attractive lease options, and immediate availability,” he says.

All staff and students have been consulted about the move and support will be provided to ensure a smooth transition.

“Once the Takapuna site made it to the shortlist, we did a survey with staff and students at Ashton Warner including the prospective students for our 2023 cohort and we received a great response from everyone for the selected site address in Takapuna,” says Kavi.

Another bonus of the campus is that we already have great relationships with schools on the North Shore and our new campus will bring us closer to our school-leaver community, he says.

Ashton Warner Nanny Academy’s Early Childhood Education programmes are great for those who want to contribute to the education and care of infants, toddlers, and young children and make a difference in the lives of tamariki.

Our graduates go on to work in a range of roles including as nannies, babysitters, and early childhood educators. They work in New Zealand and all over the world through our relationships with nanny agencies abroad.

National titles aplenty for Takapuna and Shore athletes

Takapuna Athletics Club members shone at the national athletics championships, led by Jacko Gill beating the odds to claim the men’s shotput title from13-time holder Tom Walsh.

The pair – who won silver and gold respectively at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year – have long been close rivals. But Devonport-raised Gill has not held a national title since his teenage years, battling injuries and a heart condition.

The games last year served as a reminder of his class, with his victory a confidence booster ahead of international competitions. Gill threw 21.08m to defeat Olympian Walsh, who holds the national record of 22.90m.

The club’s running stocks were also on display with James Ford winning the men’s under-20 400m and 800m, the latter in a personal best of of 47.94. The Kings College student won further gold in the 4x400m relay, in a team that included fellow club member Thomas Cowan.

Cowan, who goes to Westlake Boys, also had individual success, placing second in the under-20 800m and third in the 400m.

Another Westlake student, Alfie Steedman, aced his middle-distance races despite stepping up age groups this season. The Year 12 talent, who recently turned 16, won the under-18 men’s 1500m and 3000m national titles. Steedman competes for the Harbour Bays Club and has in the last year picked up a host of titles in secondary schools cross-country. He has

Quick cuts from Razor

Popular Crusaders rugby coach Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson is guest speaker at the launch today (17 March) of a book marking North Shore Rugby Club’s 150-year anniversary.

C’mon Shore: 150 Years of the North Shore Rugby Club was written by retired journalist Jim Eagles, who died midway through the project, and finished by Max Webb. Club anniversary celebrations are planned over Easter Weekend.

been picked for the New Zealand Secondary Schools team to compete at the Australian Junior Athletics Championship in April.

Takapuna club’s Noa King completed the 200m and 400m U16 double and placed second in the 100m.

Young all-rounder Connor Brady won gold in the U16 javelin, silver in the U16 shot put and bronze in the U16 300m hurdles.

Thrower Kate Hallie, who trains with Gill and is coached by his father Walter Gill, placed second in both the U18 shot put and U20 discus. The Takapuna Grammar School (TGS) Year 12 student was earlier named in the national Secondary Schools team.

Brady and Hallie attend TGS, along with Sascha Letica, who took silver in the U18 women’s 3000m and Jodie Nash, who was in the bronze-medal winning Auckland U18 4x400m relay team.

A talking point of the meeting held in Wellington between 2 and 5 March was the thrilling comeback of Eliza McCartney, six years after the Devonport resident last won a national title. An Olympic bronze-medallist in 2016, McCartney has since endured a long battle with injuries. She pipped last year’s champion, Olivia McTaggart, on a countback after both cleared 4.61m, 33cm short of McCartney’s best, set in 2018. Both women compete for Harbour Bays. McTaggart has since thrown 4.71m, a world championship qualifying distance, putting the acid back on McCartney.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist and Takapuna club’s Imogen Ayris, was third.

Like McCartney and Gill, Ayris attended TGS. Another former pupil, Ruben Vogel, won the U20 men’s pole vault with a personal best of 4.68m.

Raw power... Jacko Gill in action at the national athletics champs

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Cricketers playing to avoid relegation

Takapuna Cricket Club premiers are facing relegation from Auckland’s top division for the first time in more than a decade.

The team lost to Auckland University last weekend, leaving it bottom of the table with one match to play in the Hedley Howarth two-day competition. To stay up, it would need maximum points, playing away to Cornwall on 18 and 25 March.

Coach Neil Fletcher says the side will go on attack in its last match, having nothing to lose.

Takapuna has not had a lot of luck in the weather-affected season. Twice it was leading matches when the second day was called off, with points shared making it “hard to move up the table”, he said. It also won the toss only once in the 2022-23 season – luck that was needed when poor weather forecasts had major bearings on so many matches.

The side has been without five of its stars, with Danru Ferns, Robbie O’Donnell, Will O’Donnell, Ross Ter Braak and Quinn Sunde all in the Auckland Aces team.

Mike Schlanders has also spent much of the season with the Auckland As, and Jordan Sussex has been injured.

Fletcher said the club wanted to provide a pathway for players to reach higher levels but this put its depth to the test.

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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.

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Takapuna stars otherwise occupied as season looms

Defending North Harbour club rugby champions Takapuna start the season missing close to an entire starting line-up of players who are either overseas or have been selected for higher honours.

Fine and Lotu Inisi (Moana Pacifica) and Bryn Gatland (Chiefs) are playing Super Rugby; promising first-five/halfback Jack Heighton is playing in New York; Moses Leo is with the New Zealand Sevens team; and former All Black prop Karl Tu’inukuafe left at the end of the 2022 season to take up a contract in France.

Prop Jay Fonokalafi and lock Harrison Mataele are playing in Sydney’s Shute Shield – a professional club rugby competition.

Wing Tika Lelenga is trying out for the Warriors.

Promising young players just out of Westlake Boys High School Tristyn Cook (who made the New Zealand Secondary Schools team in 2022) and Jack Lee are in the Blues under-20 squad.

Coach Aaron Katipa says: “I’m facing one of my biggest challenges in the year ahead to be honest.”

It was fantastic Takapuna players were good enough for higher honours, but “we get the life stripped out of us,” Katipa said.

Takapuna travelled to Hamilton last Sat urday for the first of its preseason matches,

Takapuna took a squad of 21 to Hamilton but it “included a lot of Bs players in the group”, Katipa said.

“It’s massively challenging at the moment with so many players being able to be paid to play club rugby in Australia and the US.

“Our team will be younger than ever with the average age dropping by probably two to three years.”

Even Takapuna’s director of rugby, Paul Feeney, is temporarily off the scene, working as assistant coach for the Chiefs.

On the positive side, Takapuna has recruited promising lock Finau Paea from East Coast Bays.

“I’m hoping for some great things from him this year,” Katipa said.

And in his late 30s, first-five Jon Elrick is back training with the premiers, after a season with Northcote.

A point-scoring machine over more than 15 years with Takapuna, Elrick was hoping to notch 250 games for the club, Katipa said.

The North Harbour club season starts

Tree bliss... The Kevin-Katie band with (from left) Katie Nayler, Serene Boulton and Kevin Miller performed classics with a personal touch at Castor Bay Reserve

Get on the grass... Joy Burnett and daughter Amy enjoying the live entertainment

Close to home... John Brodie walked just 400m to the residents’ day to cook sausages for attendees

Residents enjoy fun in the sun after year’s wet start

A Castor Bay residents’ get-together provided some welcome fun and relaxation after a rocky beginning to 2023.

Castor Bay Ratepayers and Residents Association president Hamish Anderson said it was great to get locals together at the beach reserve on 5 March, after the suburb was hit hard by flooding in late January and early February.

Water got up to waist height on Beach Rd,

and Braemar Rd was closed for days.

The event wasn’t held in 2022 due to Covid restrictions.

“It’s really great to see everyone out enjoying themselves especially after the start to the year we’ve had,” Anderson said.

Residents and visitors enjoyed performances from local musicians and the North Shore Brass Academy Band, a free sausage sizzle and more.

Sunday club... Resident Tess Bos (left) and her friends Gayle and Clayton Coplestone and Marko Klign

Relaxing tunes... The Academy Band from North Shore Brass set up in the shade to entertain

Trap man... Stu Wilkie used the day to spread the word on pest control

Shady spot... Rick McKinley, Liz Adams (centre) and Kathleen Sando relaxed out of the sun

Staff-room encounter spawns play about friendship

North Shore screenwriter Tanya M. Wheeler has drawn on personal experiences to come up with a “quiet little play” with a focus on female friendship.

My Year with Lorraine tells of how a lonely and pregnant Kiwi relief teacher working in England was sustained by the support of the school’s tea lady. In turn, the teacher sets out to help Lorraine improve her literacy and ultimately her life choices.

Wheeler was that teacher. “The only person who talked to me was the tea lady in the staff room and that was Lorraine,” she recalls. “I was new to the town and she was my only friend.”

Suffering from fainting spells, the pregnant Wheeler, along with other relievers in the unfriendly work place, were routinely ignored by staff teachers. But intuitive Lorraine was a godsend.

“We had nothing in common, nothing... and yet we became the best of friends.”

What others considered an unlikely friendship soon built into mutual support and respect, as Lorraine dealt with an invalid husband while struggling to get by on a low wage. “She never stopped working. And she taught me a lot.”

Wheeler also juggles work and family. On her return to New Zealand she built a successful career scripting for the likes of internationally successful television series Power Rangers. She works part-time from her home in Greenhithe, so she can care for her teenage son, who is autistic.

My Year with Lorraine, her third play, is being staged at the PumpHouse Theatre in Takapuna, as was her first, Persuasion, based

A tale of two friends... Elizabeth Tierney (left) plays tea lady Lorraine, while Verity Burgess plays lonely relief teacher Kate her, she says. A recent award-winning short film she wrote, directed and produced was a horror movie, Means to an End. That was aimed at an entirely different audience than those who she thinks would enjoy the play.

“It’s one of those plays you would take your mum to, or your aunties or a friend,” she says.

The gentle humour in it includes cake-making Lorraine getting creative in what she serves up for a hen’s party.

Encouragement from actor Jodie Dorday set Wheeler to work on the script. Dorday pointed out there was a dearth of roles for women her age and was lined up to be in it until Covid delays last year meant by the time

a theatre slot became available this month, she had booked other work. The lead roles are now being played by Verity Burgess, as teacher Kate, and Elizabeth Tierney as Lorraine.

Wheeler is pleased with how rehearsals are progressing. She says the play takes some artistic licence beyond just her character having a different first name.

Without giving too much away about how things pan out, the good news is that she and Lorraine remain close, years down the track. And Lorraine is no longer a tea lady.

• My Year with Lorraine, 22-26 March, with matinee and evening performances. Tickets, $31.50 for adults, with concessions available, from www.pumphouse.co.nz.

MILFORD CLINIC NOW OPEN

WHAT’S ON @ Takapuna Library

World of Cultures 2023

Welcome to World of Cultures, a 21-day multicultural festival celebrating the vibrancy of Tãmaki Makaurau and its people. Join us at Takapuna Library for the following events:

Multilingual family fun time - Tuesday 28 March, 10am-11. A multilingual family fun session with rhymes, waiata, music and movement for all!

Japanese storytelling and calligraphy experience - Saturday 1 April, 10.30am11.30am. Hear a Japanese story then try your hand at Japanese calligraphy. Recommended for children 5 years & over.

Korean tea ceremony - Saturday 8 April, 10.30am-12pm. Join us for a traditional Korean tea ceremony performed by the Yemyong-Won Institute of Korean Tea. The ceremony will include music, traditional costumes and a brewing demonstration followed by tastings

Author Talk

An evening with Gloria Masters

Wed 19 Apr 2023, 6:00pm–8:00pm

Did you know that 1 in 3 adults in New Zealand are survivors of child sexual abuse? Our goal is to show these survivors that there is a way of finding hope and a way through the trauma.

There is a way to navigate the trauma and Gloria shows what worked for her in her second book “Flightpath to Healing”. Come and hear how Gloria navigated her own flight path to healing and how her wisdom and learnings can help others.

RSVP to Lee 022 6577 815 by Wednesday 12 April

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY Kathryn Robertson

Residential Sales 021 490 480

Leading bandsman comes to sound off

North Shore Brass will be joined by top cornet and flugel horn player Kevin Hickman for its Stars of Brass concert in Takapuna next week.

Hickman has been a member of the New Zealand Army Band since 2010 and is now its Drum Major.

He also holds the flugel horn seat in the National Band. He is travelling from his home in Christchurch for solos with the award-winning local band at an afternoon concert of brass-band standards. The show on Sunday 26 March will include beautiful tunes, such as “Ave Maria” and “Hymn for Diana”.

North Shore Brass president Owen Melhuish is keen for locals to to enjoy the high-calibre line-up and support a band which relies on revenues from playing to fund its activities. This is the band’s centennial year and it has a busy programme ahead, with an Anzac performance next up.

The North Shore Brass Academy Band for up-and-comers is having a separate fundraiser, playing at the premiere of Red, White and

Brass, a film beginning its season at Event Cinemas Albany on Thursday 23 March.

Hickman played cornet as a junior in Feilding, then joined the Whanganui band. After time in London, he settled in Christchurch and joined the Woolston Brass Band.

As a cornet soloist Hickman won the New Zealand Junior Champion of Champions title and also cornet titles here and in Australia. He has also won the New Zealand Open Flugel title and been named New Zealand Champion of Champions once, and runner-up twice. Plus he won the Federation of Australasian Brass Bands Aria contest once and the New Zealand Invitation Slow Melody contest twice.

Until joining the Army Band as a full-time musician, Hickman also worked as a printer. • Stars of Brass, 2pm Sunday 26 March, St Peter’s Anglican Church, 11 Killarney St, Takapuna. Tickets, available at the door: $20 for adults; $15 for seniors and students. Bookings available by email (owen@mortgagesupply.co.nz) or phone (021 281 0405).

Educating

Rita

15-19 MARCH

One of Willy Russell’s best known comedies.

My Year with Lorraine

22-26 MARCH

A new play by local playwright Tanya M. Wheeler. Sugung-ga

26 MARCH 11am

Auckland Arts Festival presents this traditional Korean puppet show.

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch

1-22 APRIL

Much-loved NZ stage adventure for the whole wha - nau!

E: Kathryn.robertson@bayleys.co.nz

W: kathrynrobertson.bayleys.co.nz

Brass star... Kevin Hickman on flugel horn

‘Unruly tourists’ return to Takapuna in operatic form

Takapuna will host the world premiere of opera The Unruly Tourists this month, a satirical production that cuts close to home.

To be staged at the Bruce Mason Centre, the ground-breaking Opera New Zealand performances are a highlight of the Auckland Arts Festival programme. They will also be a test for the taste of North Shore audiences for opera, as the company seeks to broaden its reach.

With an opening scene set on Takapuna Beach, The Unruly Tourists is as much an exploration of how New Zealanders responded to the shenanigans of a visiting family of UK travellers as it is about the group who littered, stole and swore their way around the country until they were deported in 2019.

Director Thomas de Mallet Burgess describes the opera as “a very irreverent comedy”.

Just 90 minutes long and sung in English, it has a 15-strong cast drawn from both the classical tradition and musical theatre.

“One of the reasons we chose the story is we were looking for something that reflected our time and place in Aotearoa,” he says.

Cue Takapuna residents Michelle and Louise lounging on their beach bemoaning in song the accumulation of seaweed upon it and wondering why the council doesn’t sort out the mess.

De Mallet Burgess slyly notes that the tourists said in their own defence that they thought the council would pick up the rubbish they left behind, sparking outrage during their visit to Takapuna.

This began a saga that took them through the country, with the media that dubbed them “unruly” hot on their trail.

The opera was written by stand-up comics Livi Reihana and Amanda Kennedy, a duo also known as The Fan Brigade. They were commissioned to come up with the libretto and work with composer and music director Luke Di Somma.

“There is in the story aspects that relate to te ao Māori,” says de Mallet Burgess. A fictional lead character is a young Māori journalist who has suppressed her cultural values in the bid to make a name for herself. As she chases the story, this raises troubling aspects of the nationwide pursuit beyond its being a sensational yarn.

De Mallet Burgess notes that when the saga erupted it provoked a range of reactions among New Zealanders. He hopes audiences will enjoy having this explored, even if it might poke fun in unexpected places.

“The tourists are the catalyst for chaos in the story but it’s a satire and no one is spared. It’s not only about their bad behaviour, but our response to it, and the media response.” Other stories were sidelined as this one dominated headlines for weeks.

To ensure the production did not take advantage of the tourists in how they were portrayed as being from the traveller community, cultural consultants were on board.

Mixing singing styles of performers was employed not just to aid approachability for audiences, but to underline the different styles of the opera’s characters.

They are clad in colourful costumes by Tracy Grant Lord.

An ensemble cast of singers includes Matthew Kereama from Milford, who has featured in a previous Observer for his work with Auckland Theatre Company, and acting

grand dame Jennifer Ward-Lealand

Staging is in the round, with a mix of cabaret-style seating at tables ringing the action, and more traditional rows. To achieve this the theatre is first being stripped out in rock-concert mode, says de Mallet Burgess.

When he spoke to the Observer, the production was several weeks into rehearsals, with stage rehearsals on set at the theatre to come in the week leading into opening night.

“We’re looking to build an audience, not just in [younger] demographics,” he says. Regional tours and satellite venues are part of this, along with innovative programming. A recent example is the collaboration with Devonport-based musician Tim Finn, for The Navigator which was performed in Manurewa and Petone.

“It’s the first time in quite a while we’ve been up in the North Shore,” says de Mallet Burgess. Touring The Unruly Tourists would be an aim, though it is an expensive business. He hopes the experimental subject matter and combination of music, text, stage action and comedy, will prove a winner.

De Mallet Burgess says it is up to local audiences to book seats if they want more opera on their doorstep.

“If they turn out, we will come again, with a more classic opera.”

• The Unruly Tourists by Opera New Zealand, Bruce Mason Centre, 22-26 March. Tickets from nzopera.com.

(M) 129min

(M) 124min

of Sadness (M) 147min

All Quiet on the Western Front (R16) 148min Special Screenings 17&18 MAR

Redemption of a Rogue (R16) 95min Previews 17-19 MAR

Dungeons & Dragons (M) 134min

Members Only Preview 19 MAR

John Wick 4 (R16) 169min

Night Before Preview 22 MAR

COMING SOON

John Wick: Chapter 4 (R16) 169min 23 MAR

Red, White and Brass (PG) 85min 23 MAR

Redemption of a Rogue (R16) 95min 23 MAR

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (M) 134min Previews 24-26 MAR events@thevic.co.nz

Digital communication... A young boy was among a visiting family who hit the headlines in 2019

TAKAPUNA

248A HURSTMERE ROAD

A Family Find with Fabulous Lake Views

Superbly situated on the “Golden Mile”, this home is a level walk to both Milford and Takapuna shopping areas, beaches, cafes and restaurants. Featuring 4 bedrooms, 3 utility rooms, 3 bathrooms with direct access to the Lake, Jetty and Reserve. Suitable for various home business and family situations this is the perfect lock up and leave.

premium.co.nz/80368

VIEW | SAT/SUN 2 - 2.45 PM OR BY APPT

SET DATE SALE | 14 APRIL 2023 AT 4 PM

UNLESS SOLD PRIOR

PRUDENCE FOSTER 027 486 7783

EMMERSEN FOSTER 021 261 8231 | TAKAPUNA 916 6000

TAKAPUNA

1A/7 THE PROMENADE

“The Rocks” | On Takapuna Beach

You have a one of a kind chance to live in an urban apartment on one of NZ’s most beautiful beachfronts when you choose to live at “The Rocks.” This is a unique find in Takapuna that is seldom available. An extremely desirable apartment with some amazing features rarely found. Featuring 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 3 carparks and a storage room. Truly a lifestyle to be envied!

premium.co.nz/80367

VIEW | BY APPOINTMENT

SET DATE SALE | 14 APRIL 2023 AT 2 PM

UNLESS SOLD PRIOR

PRUDENCE FOSTER 027 486 7783

EMMERSEN FOSTER 021 261 8231 | TAKAPUNA 916 6000

TAKAPUNA

802/3 NORTHCROFT STREET

Window on the Waitemata | The Sentinel

The lifestyle that the Sentinel offers is unique, secure and resort like. With swimming pool, spa, gym, sauna and friendly concierge. 802 is on the 8th floor facing north east, the apartment and has a nifty 2 bedroom 2 bathroom layout. You can enjoy your breakfast on the sheltered deck. Excellent security is paramount and there’s even a rubbish chute for extra convenience. 2 secure carparks plus storage.

premium.co.nz/80403

VIEW | SUN 21 - 12.30 PM OR BY APPT

SET DATE SALE | 30 MARCH 2023 AT 4 PM

UNLESS SOLD PRIOR

ALISON PARKER 021 983 533 | TAKAPUNA 916 6000

HERNE BAY

4A SARSFIELD STREET

Urban Sanctuary

An urban sanctuary in one of Auckland’s most desirable neighbourhoods, this sophisticated home enjoys an elevated and sunny position. Thoughtfully considered open plan living - including an entertainer’s kitchen - flows beautifully to multiple lush green outdoor spaces. 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and double garaging complete the picture. Walk to schools, the Marina, Ponsonby Road and Jervois Road cafes.

premium.co.nz/10127

VIEW | SAT/SUN 1 - 1.45 PM OR BY APPT

SET DATE SALE | 29 MARCH 2023 AT 3 PM

UNLESS SOLD PRIOR

SONIA DUFTY 021 0244 0536 | THE POINTS 480 0209