26 May 2023 Rangitoto Observer

Doubts loom over major road improvements

The long-planned Esmonde Rd-Lake Rd upgrade is mired in uncertainty, with Auckland Transport admitting it has “no plan B” if funding does not come through for it.

Waka Kotahi, the national transport agency, has asked AT to shore up its case for the work before releasing government funding for it.

A multi-year $48 million project budget

set in 2018 must also be updated to take in price rises.

AT project manager Andrew Mein last week told the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board that AT was keen to get on with detailed design work so construction could start promptly when approved.

Decisions on funding of $7.3 million set

Famous Five think pink

aside for this year and another $10.6m next year should be known by August, he said.

Work was being done to update a business case AT’s board had signed off last year. Waka Kotahi wanted more detail.

Nearly $2.4 million has already been spent on the project.

To page 2

a national campaign to help stamp out bullying and celebrate diversity. The school raised $700 for the Mental Health Foundation to go towards its educational programmes.

They wore it well... Milford School Year 6 pupils (from left) Ryan Feng, Lily Drury, Amelia TremainChoudhary, Janice Dong and Ethan Rootman were among those who wore pink on 19 May as part of Pink Shirt Day,

Dairy owner despairs after criminals strike again

The owner of a Sunnynook dairy feels “hurt” after her store was broken into for the second time in two weeks.

Thieves ram-raided their way into the Tonkin Dr dairy at 10.18pm on 10 May, stealing cigarettes and causing damage to stock and the shop.

This follows a break-in on 23 April and two previous incidents over the last three years.

Maggie Jiang told the Observer she was tired, due to the stress of dealing with the aftermath of the raids, and not sleeping well because of the fear that it will happen again.

“It’s not fair for us,” she said.

Jiang’s insurance excess has increased from $1000 to $10,000. She said other companies won’t insure the business as it is deemed high risk. She has not been paid out for the recent break-ins because her excess is likely to be more than the repair costs.

When Jiang came to New Zealand 20 years ago she had felt safe, she said, but now feels helpless over the recurring raids.

Police located a vehicle in Birkenhead they believe was used in this month’s ram-raid. The

alleged offenders were caught in a different car in Ōtāhuhu.

Two 17-year-old males appeared in the Manukau Youth Court on 10 May on charges relating to burglary and the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle.

In an attempt to deter thieves, Jiang has removed all tobacco products and cash from the store. She has tried to have bollards installed previously, but has not been able to get the necessary consent from her overseas landlord.

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member

Upgrade uncertainty ‘erodes confidence’

From page 1

Board chair Toni van Tonder said both it and the community wanted the project put back on track. “We don’t want it deferred – it will be three or four years down the track anyway before we see anything.”

Waka Kotahi funding for an associated cycleway on Bayswater Ave was lost recently.

Since a corridor management plan was drawn up in 2015, delays and uncertainty had plagued the Esmonde Rd-Lake Rd project, van Tonder said. The public was tired of the subject and the board felt it had been in the dark.

“It erodes confidence in Auckland Transport and Auckland Council and they [the public] think we are all full of hot air.”

Mein said AT hoped to deliver the cycleway

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still, before the main Esmonde Rd-Lake Rd construction, but was looking at ways to keep the wider budget in check.

On Esmonde Rd, the plan is to implement a T2 transit lane to link with the motorway.

Van Tonder said the board wanted to be better kept in the loop. It had learned only late in the piece of the loss of cycle lane funding.

It was last updated by AT officials in person in October and has been calling for more information since. “Today, nothing.”

The board agreed to write a letter to Waka Kotahi restating its support for the work and has given the same message to Auckland Council.

Asked what AT had in mind if the project fell out of the Regional Land Transport Plan’s staged budget, Mein said: “There’s no Plan B.” The focus was on pushing the case.

Ram-raided... The boarded frontage of Maggie Jiang’s Tonkin Dr dairy after it was targeted again by thieves

Mel Powell said dealing with the aftermath of such crimes was doubly tough on immigrants who might struggle dealing with authorities. Powell helped Jiang with a phone call to speed reconnection of Eftpos.

• Board member George Wood won support from fellow members in asking for another meeting with police over crime concerns. Wood told the board’s monthly meeting that the North Shore lacked police presence. The response to Jiang’s April break-in, when police did not attend, was also poor.

Observer recognised in awards

The Rangitoto Observer has been judged runner-up Best Community Newspaper in New Zealand.

The award was announced at an industry event in Auckland last Friday.

After a celebratory evening our small team remains as committed as ever to covering the stories that matter.

This week, for example, we revisit the ongoing high toll of flooding and crime, and keep tabs on big developments and council decision-making. But we also aim to offer inspiration and enjoyment.

We hope you agree with the award judge’s view of the free paper as one that “I would very much like to sit down with and devour while having my morning cup of coffee.” The judge continued: “As well as good quality and far-reaching general news stories, the Observer pays good attention to sport and the arts in welllabelled sections.”

We can only do this due to the support of our advertisers. We thank them all. For those thinking of advertising: we offer a targeted local platform – and now independent confirmation of our quality. The Observer launched in 2019. We have navigated challenging times, proudly publishing through the pandemic. Along with our 30-year-old sister paper, the Devonport Flagstaff, we are determined to continue serving our communities. Here’s to many more coffee dates with our valued readers.

– Janetta Mackay, Editor

Motorists ‘still speeding’ through low-speed zones

Motorists speeding through Sunnynook’s 30km/h zones have alarmed local daycare operators and parents.

The “phenomenal speeds” reached by some vehicles heading down Tonkin Drive posed a real risk to children crossing to the Our Family Early Learning centre, owner Debby Evans told the Observer.

Vehicles coming from Juniper Rd accelerated down the steep slope on Tonkin Dr.

“We’re worried not only about the speed of cars coming down the hill but also someone coming through the fence.”

Evans said the centre had even placed an equipment shed against the corner of the fence that faces the street as a “precaution”.

On one occasion a speeding car coming

downhill mounted the kerb next to the fence when swerving away from a potential accident, she said.

In other close calls, vehicles had nearly hit children and parents as they crossed the street.

Evans said other daycare centres in the hilly suburb shared her concern.

Auckland Transport (AT) last year imposed a Safe Speed zone around local schools and daycares, in response to residents’ concerns and its own monitoring of speeding.

But a parent, who did not wish to be named, told the Observer that after an initial drop in speeds when the lower limit came into force, motorists had reverted to their former ways.

Evans said speed humps had been installed at the other end of Tonkin Dr towards Lyford Cres,

but were also needed above her daycare centre, to slow traffic coming from the other direction.

Signage was also needed at the Juniper Rd end of Tonkin Dr.

Asked about the issue, AT acknowledged that motorists were still speeding on Juniper Rd and said that if monitoring indicated signage was ineffective it would consider additional signs or other measures.

For now, however, it had decided not to install more signs, and had no plans to install more speed humps. Most drivers in the area were locals who were aware of the 30km/h limit.

AT suggested residents who noticed speeding at particular times or by a particular vehicle could contact police, who “may choose to carry out targeted enforcement in the area”.

Speaking out... Daycare owner Debby Evans (left) and teacher Kylene McKenzie worry that speeding by motorists on Tonkin Dr in Sunnynook could cost lives

Takapuna residents want more info on ‘build-to-rent’ tower

Locals have been surprised by the scale of a 39-storey apartment tower proposed for Takapuna, says Takapuna Residents Association (TRA) chair Steven Salt.

Comments to the association centred on the tower’s height and a desire to know more about the ‘build-to-rent’ operating model proposed for a development that will add 358 dwellings to the town centre.

Student-accommodation provider Unilodge has been announced as the operator of the facility. The consortium behind it includes a New Zealand construction firm and an Australian investment company which specialises in residential and student accommodation.

The development plans for the corner site next to the Toka Puia carpark were revealed in the Observer last month.

North Shore councillor Chris Darby welcomed the development, championed by Auckland Council’s property arm Eke Panuku, as providing more housing choice in Takapuna in line with council plans for the area’s growth as a metropolitan centre,

“The arrival of build-to-rent apartments, supported by professional management, is a step-change in the availability of affordable and secure living solutions,” Darby said.

Salt told the Observer the TRA was keen to have a constructive role in the growth of a diversifying Takapuna. The devil would be in the detail of the tower plan, he said.

“We want to see that it’s high-quality accommodation with long-term tenants who are part of the community,” he said.

Given the building had more storeys and only a little shorter at 140.6m than the nearby 30-storey Sentinel building, Salt wanted more information on the stud height.

The developers have said it will be a high-quality build meeting ‘six-star’ standards. They acknowledged in their application, however, that some balconies were slightly smaller

than planning rules provided for.

Under the name of Gasometer Developments Ltd, consortium partners Cedar Pacific and McDonnell Developments are seeking a non-notified consent.

Salt said if the application did not meet Auckland Unitary Plan requirements a notified hearing should be held.

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Toni van Tonder said the board had given planners its views. It backed the development as bringing rental housing and economic benefits to Takapuna.

The board wanted Eke Panuku streetscape upgrades progressed and the developer to match these on Auburn St, and said planners should look at parking provision to ensure Toka Puia and streets were not filled with residents’ cars.

On-site bike parking and waste collection were needed, the board said, as was good community liaison during construction.

Sparklers to sandals

The prime Takapuna site vacated by Michael Hill Jeweller after repeat ramraids is soon to carry the banner of big-name footwear brand Birkenstock. The store will be the second in New Zealand (after Newmarket) for the German company best known for its cork sandals. The Takapuna Beach Business Association has welcomed the arrival to Hurstmere Rd which adds to the centre’s fashion offering.

Footpath upgrade call

Footpath renewals in Takapuna should change from pavers to match the smoother concrete aggregate surface used on the upgraded section of Hurstmere Rd, the DevonportTakapuna Local Board says. It has called on Auckland Transport and Auckland Council to do this to minimise trip hazards caused by pavers being uplifted by tree roots and water.

Bike hub on the hill

Greville Reserve has been confirmed as the preferrred site for a community bike hub. Auckland Transport will open the hub mid-year, after DevonportTakapuna Local Board members backed the choice of Greville Reserve ahead of a proposed Devonport site.

Problems at pool

Takapuna Leisure Centre’s baby pool was closed and water in its main pool left chillier than usual last week after a boiler breakdown. Classes were cancelled pending repairs being done, but lane swimming was able to continue provided the water did not drop below 22deg. The usual temperature is 27deg.

Teresa Burns

Landmark... An image of the proposed tower in Takapuna

Negotiations begin on new site for memorial

Talks on relocating the Takapuna war memorial from the Strand have begun, with a site at the top of Hurstmere Green looking the early frontrunner.

If agreement is reached between parties including the RSA, Devonport-Takapuna Local Board and Auckland Council property arm Panuku, the next issue is cost, so an early decision is not expected.

But the resumption of stalled talks does mean that future Anzac Day commemorations seem likely to shift from the Strand, although possibly not by next April.

Board chair Toni van Tonder confirmed a meeting was held this week, and said any decision would involve a collaborative co-design.

Feedback she had received from being master of ceremonies at a packed Anzac Day at the Strand confirmed that while that location worked well for people seated in the plaza area, those who had followed the parade down Lake Rd and into the Strand were bunched on the road and couldn’t see or hear anything.

“We can find a spot that’s far more inclusive,” van Tonder said.

The previous local board wanted the memorial in a prominent position in a civic space, signalling this with its choice of name for the new Takapuna town square: Waiwharariki Anzac Square.

Panuku had pencilled in a position for the memorial in the square, but concern that the large structure would not easily fit into the

design led to suggestions of a reconfiguration or relocation to another site.

The board chair at the time, Ruth Jackson, noted that Panuku had only committed to paying costs of a relocation within the square. Panuku had floated moving it to the beach reserve, but the slope and lack of space meant this was not favoured.

Van Tonder confirmed a Hurstmere Rd site was being considered. This would be at the rear of the wide paved area overlooking the old Post Office side of the green. Space opposite, at the 38 Hurstmere extension of the square would be suitable for assembling and an Anzac Day parade could be held on the closed-off street.

But she said a site in the square itself was still a possibility, given Anzac Day was a major civic event.

“I think there is room for it in the town square, but it would not be the existing cenotaph.”

Preferences would be now considered. This included “what the RSA would like to achieve and where they would like it to go”.

Parade organiser Alex Koppenaal and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei were also being asked for opinions, van Tonder said.

Once agreement was reached on how to proceed, she said the proposed relocation would come back to the board for its approval as local landholder. Decisions on funding would also be needed.

Costs could fall back on the board, she acknowledged, and while this was frustrating, especially with budgets so tight, Panuku’s responsibilities were only as the square developer.

Set in stone, for now... Images from this year’s Anzac Day ceremony show the Takapuna war memorial’s distinctive sail-like structure (above) and basalt base (below). It may be reconfigured if moved to a new site.

PHOTOGRAPHS: LOCHLAN LINEHAM

Long-time local forced out as flood woes linger

A community stalwart tells Janetta Mackay about the struggle for housing as rents and demand soar

Despite being brought to despair by repeated floods, Sandra Stretton (right) is quick to say others are worse off than her. But she’s been through plenty.

Next weekend the Sunnynook local – who is sole carer for her grandchild – is leaving her home of nine years, which was yellow-stickered after flooding early this year.

That means leaving the community she grew up in and where she is a valued volunteer.

After four months of camping upstairs in her damaged rental property and futile efforts to find an affordable local alternative, she is reluctantly moving to Browns Bay. “It’s not where I really want to be, but it’s clean and dry.”

The cost of shifting is more than emotional. This month, Stretton, who is in her mid-50s, ended up in hospital. “Just stress,” she says. Now her car is playing up.

Financially, she must find more than $200 extra in rent each week. Then there’s the bond and rental advance totalling $4500 to stump up.

“It is what it is, but there have been days when I want the world to let me off.”

However she considers herself lucky to have found a home on the North Shore, after being offered emergency housing options in West Auckland or over the Harbour Bridge.

Seeking stability for her 11-year-old granddaughter, who she would like to stay at Wairau Intermediate, she kept applying for places in and near Sunnynook. But she found rents rising and unprecedented demand.

“There are 50 people going for one house.” House-hunting exhausted scant time, energy and petrol.

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member and Sunnynook resident Mel Powell says the rental shortage has seen around 40 flood-affected families leave the area since the Auckland Anniversary Day flood of 27 January.

More recent flooding has put people back on edge. One family had returned to India, Powell said. Others were in despair at delays in the settlement of insurance claims.

Stretton credits a sympathetic real estate agent with helping her find her new private rental for $760 a week. Her adult son, aged 23, is moving in to help meet costs. “He’s my rock,” she says.

Longer term, she would love to move back to Sunnynook, where she tends the community garden.

She will leave behind a garden filled with her plants.

The landlord of the house she is leaving lives overseas and has a friend acting as a property manager.

The house still needs decontamination, she says.

After the January flood, Stretton pulled up carpets and floorboards to dry things out. Water had cascaded down the section into the house and also rose from underneath the lower level.

On 9 May, water again flooded downstairs, despite sandbags, rising to 30cm. Other leaks had appeared during heavy rainfall, she said.

Hopes her landlord might recognise the flood clean-up she did, and pay her bond back early to help with costs came to nothing.

Her already tight budget has been further squeezed: a $750 emergency grant received for replacement bedding turned out to be a loan she must repay. Work and Income assistance with higher bond costs is also having to be repaid.

Milford residents plead for council to explain plan

Residents hit by repeated flooding are also suffering from poor council communications, say two Milford men who live near the Brian Byrnes reserve.

Bruce Ward and Andrew Sissons want a clearer idea of what remedial works are planned to fix stormwater deficiencies, prevent sewage overflows and come up with property exit strategies.

“Many people are experiencing huge financial loss, even the insured,” Ward told a meeting of the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board on 9 May, less than an hour before heavy rain again triggered an emergency alert across Auckland. Widespread surface flooding resulted through the wider Wairau catchment, which drains through Sunnynook and Milford.

Talk of the big 27 January flood being exceptional could not be relied on, the men had warned. In fact, if high tide had coincided with peak rainfall it would have been worse. “After 102 days we are no further ahead. It will happen again.”

Ward, who has suggested improved outlets from lower Milford to the Wairau Estuary, said it was difficult to reach council staff and get answers from them. It was also frustrating not to know when various reviews by council and

House sticker tally remains high across suburbs

Four months after the January floods, 128 Milford homes remain yellowstickered.

Milford also has two red-stickered homes and 44 given white stickers.

Forrest Hill has one red-stickered property, 20 yellow and 40 white, according to Auckland Council figures released to the Observer last week.

Takapuna has seven yellow stickers

and its arm Watercare would be reported back.

Sissons pointed to 45-year-old old infrastructure in the Inga Rd area that could not cope with the amount of development above. And on Stratford Ave, off Shakespeare Rd, where at least eight badly damaged homes had been vacated, he said a 12-dwelling development and another of six units was proceeding,

A letter tabled from Sunnynook resident Peter McNee expressed similar concerns, pointing to inadequate infrastructure and high levels of intensification, including in known risk areas, in that suburb.

“We want consents stopped until flood risks

and eight white; Sunnynook 12 yellow and four white; and Castor Bay 11 yellow and eight white.

Red stickers deem a property unsafe to enter, yellow stickers restrict entry by only allowing people to enter a certain part of the building or by allowing them to go in temporarily to remove things, and white stickers indicate insignificant damage.

in the catchment area are sorted,” said Ward. If the council kept allowing development it should take responsibility for costs and losses.

Ward reminded board members he had also appeared before them in March.

Chair Toni van Tonder told him the board was lobbying council and its arms Watercare and Healthy Waters to get action locally on what were complex problems.

Work was being done behind the scenes, she said. But the issues were complex.

Van Tonder suggested Ward take his case to the council’s planning committee “to keep the topic live”.

“It is what it is, but there have been days when I want the world to let me off.”

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TNIS cross-country champs storm home

On the burst... Left: Antoine Obbee, the Year 8 Boys winner in last week’s Takapuna Normal Intermediate School cross-country, maintains his lead over second-placegetter Cameron Gordon. Kouta Asano was third. Right: Year 8 Girls winner Elizabeth Plaistowe, who finished ahead of Reinna Yamazaki in second and Sua Lim in third. The Year 7 Boys race was won by Liam Crooks, with Lucas Bryant second and Josh Guy third; Jess Palmer won the Year 7 Girls race, with Lola Verran second and McKenzie Te Awa third.

Pipes under Auckland Harbour Bridge receive TLC from Watercare

Watercare, in collaboration with Pipeline and Civil, is undertaking a significant repair project worth $1.2 million to ensure the reliability and safety of the water pipes located beneath the Auckland Harbour Bridge. These pipes play a crucial role in supplying clean drinking water to approximately 180,000 residents on the North Shore.

Named North Shore Pipeline 1 and North Shore Pipeline 2, these twin pipelines are identical in various aspects. With a youthful age of 60 years, they share the same dimensions, stretching just over two kilometres in length and slightly over half a meter in width. Their purpose is to deliver fresh drinking water from large reservoirs on the city side of the bridge to several southern suburbs of the North Shore, including Devonport, Takapuna, Glenfield, Wairau Valley, Birkenhead, and Northcote.

Thavarajah Veluppillai, the project manager at Watercare, explains that the repair work aims to replace roller supports, bearing plates, and address corroded sections of the pipelines. This maintenance project, scheduled to be completed in July, has been timed during a period of lower network demand to minimise disruptions. The roller supports and bearing plates are essential

for protecting the lifespan of the pipelines, facilitating smooth expansion and contraction with changing temperatures between seasons.

Veluppillai emphasises the critical importance of these pipelines, highlighting that a malfunction could leave a significant portion of the lower North Shore without water. To mitigate the risk, a gradual approach will be adopted, with one pipeline being shut down at a time to allow the team to focus on crucial repairs while the other pipeline remains operational.

Watercare also will proactively replenish the reservoirs serving the North Shore before each planned shutdown, ensuring uninterrupted access to safe and reliable drinking water for residents and businesses. The repairs will be carried

out from the suspended walkway beneath the bridge, ensuring minimal disruption to traffic on the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Watercare’s dedicated team will work tirelessly, around the clock from Monday to Friday, to complete this critical maintenance project within three months. By enhancing the resilience of the network through these repairs, Watercare aims to safeguard the water supply and ensure the well-being of the communities relying on the North Shore pipelines.

For most students, the annual event was more about participation, with plenty of encouragement from fellow students and teachers. Left: Jakob Brown leads William Yang. Right: Sarah Patel.

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Local wants action on missing handrail to track

A Takapuna resident is calling on council to replace a washed-out handrail on the path down to the coastal track from Brett Ave.

John Struthers requested the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board support his call for action for safety’s sake, but was told the handrail was likely to be on a long list of work waiting to be done after recent floods.

Struthers said since what was a new handrail washed out last year, a woman had slipped on the path. He understood she had broken her pelvis.

The railing was poorly designed and manufactured, he said, and had only lasted a week, whereas the one it had replaced was solid, galvanised steel.

At a board community forum this month, he told members he had raised the matter with Auckland Council and was told last November that it was investigating, but nothing had been done.

“Hopefully through this forum, we can get action on it,” he said.

Struthers also raised other issues about maintenance of the popular Takapuna to Milford coastal walkway, which forms part of the nationwide Te Araroa trail.

Erosion and wave action was scouring out private land it crossed or bordered.

Rocks were also being undercut along sections, including south of Brett Ave.

The former North Shore Council had inspected the track every two years and used concrete in places needing stabilising, he said.

Board member Mel Powell wondered if a community group could help care for the track, after Struthers said landowners such as himself that were affected should be able to expect council help.

“Am I expected to maintain it at my expense when it is [used as] a public walkway?” he asked.

Board chair Toni van Tonder noted the track crossed around 70 properties. “By the good grace of the owners, access is ena-

bled.” She hoped this would not be lost and thought Powell’s suggestion of community help could be a “wonderful outcome” given elderly residents in particular might find tending their area challenging.

The volatile coastal environment was a difficult one for Auckland Council to manage, she said. In some areas managed retreat might need considering.

Struthers said the bulk of private landowners were not experiencing major problems, only those on a small number of properties, and they did not want to see the track closed.

But he believed the council should find the resources to help them.

Van Tonder said the board would refer the matter of the path handrail to the community facilities team as there was a coastal renewals budget, though this was being prioritised for flood fixes.

Deputy chair Terence Harpur asked that the issue of loose rocks also be investigated.

Reserves reclassified in paperwork update

A host of public spaces, including parts of Milford Beach Reserve, are being formally classified to better safeguard their status as public land under the Reserves Act.

Pockets of unclassified reserves across the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area are to be given reserve status in a legal tidy-up.

In some cases, multiple titles will still apply in some reserves and along esplanades, due to the history of their acquisition.

The Milford Reserve is a case in point, with some lots already recreation reserve and now two other previously unclassified chunks of it to be given the same status.

The 6.64ha Greville Reserve in Forrest Hill is the largest area affected. Other blocks of land being added to existing reserves are as small as a 29sqm lot attached to Brian

Takapuna Residents Association welcomes all locals to its AGM

Wednesday 21st June 7:00pm at Takapuna Senior Citizens Hall (next to library)

An overview of our recent work and mission will be outlined

by Chairman Steven Salt

A former military property at Kennedy Park is among public spaces being reclassified

Byrnes Reserve in Milford.

The board last month signed off on a list of around 90 classifications, which has been worked on by council staff for several years.

The former board wanted more land given Reserves Act status, rather than being under the Local Government Act, believing this would offer greater protection from sale. Classification is also a

statutory requirement prior to the adoption of a Local Parks Management Plan, which is being prepared for the area.

Board members asked staff to include 139 Beach Rd, a property that is part of the Kennedy Park military site, among the reserve classifications.

Areas along beach fronts and coastlines, beside Wairau Estuary, and around Lake Pupuke, include multiple titles, most carrying an esplanade or access-reserve classification, rather than being recreation reserve.

Title amalgamation is generally not being pursued. In some cases, separate titles offer a benefit for council in its leasing arrangements, said council staff. Sports fields can be leased on one title, with a hall or playground in the same reserve able to be separately titled.

Letter

Amaia already an eyesore

Just read your article on the Amaia development in Esmonde Rd (Observer, 12 May). This development is already an eyesore as can be seen by the photo of the first stage which is only six storeys. Imagine if it went even to 12 storeys – it would be awful.

I suggest the developers wanted 12 storeys all along and that is why they sought approval for 16 storeys. Watch them get their way by offering to pay for the walkway connecting to Francis St. They said that the increase in traffic would be minimal, with 550 residents.

Jock MacVicar

Rotarians provide sensory kits for Wilson School

Takapuna Rotarians have led the way in a project helping students of the Wilson School in Hauraki.

Through its own efforts and by encouraging other Rotary branches to help out it, the Takapuna group has been able to support the North Shore students with special education needs by providing 17 sensory kits.

These included noise-cancelling headphones, fidget toys and weighted blankets that can be used for their calming effect on students with conditions such as autism.

Wilson School principal Neil Kefford welcomed the support at a presentation event last week.

Rotary club president Barbara Morgan and member Marilyn Glover – herself a former Takapuna president who served for many years as chair of the school’s board of trustees – were among those who attended.

Glover said it was satisfying to be able to help. Since moving from Takapuna to Northbridge Retirement Village in Northcote, she has activated a team of knitters there to help make woollen items that have been supplied to the school. These included balls, glove puppets and teddy bears in different coloured jumpers.

“When you’ve got a child on the autism spectrum who finds it difficult to communicate, they can hold up a teddy,” she explained. The colour chosen could be used by the children to convey different emotions.

Glover said she had always been interested in special needs, having had family members living with disabilities.

For Morgan, a retired teacher, working with schools is something she wants Takapuna Rotary to do more of, partly as a way of bridging the generations and encouraging new members.

At Takapuna Primary, Rotary helped with

reading prizes and maintenance on the school’s memorial gates, she said.

It had also begun working with the independent Age School in Takapuna, and had other schools nominated for its assistance from time to time.

Glover’s knitters are being kept busy on another project she spearheads – providing baby items to hospitals.

The women told the Observer they were keen to do more with the Wilson School,

having reactivated an association built by Glover in its early years when Takapuna Rotary helped fundraise to build a playground.

Members had also helped with gardens on the site, which is shared with the Wilson Trust and the rehabilitation-focused Wilson Centre.

For the sensory kits, financial support also came from Rotary branches in Milford, Devonport, East Coast Bays and Birkenhead, along with the Rotary Trust.

In total, $8700 was raised.

Takapuna cafe trainees are flourishing

in employment

All four graduates from the Project Employ training programme at Flourish Cafe in Takapuna have found jobs.

Under the programme created to help disabled people prepare for and find full-time work, trainees spend six months learning transferable working skills while making coffee, cleaning tables and chatting to customers.

Three of the graduates are working full time in hospitality while one works at Chemist Warehouse.

Programme lead at Flourish Cafe in Como St, Hannah Sykes, told the Observer that working in a functioning cafe provided programme participants with the chance to develop social skills along with work skills.

“The social side of things is also a huge positive. They’ve made a message group and they’re going to the movies, going bowling. They’ve made a real friendship group that they didn’t really have before.”

She said the training programme will call in trainees for shifts at the last minute and get them to interact with new people so they are prepared for real-life work situations. “Communication, teamwork all the things we take for granted that these guys need to be taught.”

Learning the ropes... Trainees Damian West and Phoebe Latimer say their favorite parts of working at Flourish Cafe are operating the till and talking to customers

Trainees also learn key skills such as CV writing and how to present themselves in interviews.

After nine months’ operation, the cafe serves a steady stream of customers, while the training programme has a waiting list.

Dynamic duo... Rotarian Marilyn Glover (left) and Takapuna Rotary president Barbara Morgan spearheaded helping Wilson School

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Former Westlaker gives up e-sports to hit the beat

From a career in video gaming, former Westlake Boys High School student Henry Blackmore has switched to dealing with real-life scenarios as a police constable.

Newly graduated from police college in Wellington, Blackmore is back on home territory, having been assigned to start work in the Waitemata District this month.

It was in his teen years on the North Shore that Blackmore first got into gaming, going on to be the first person to represent the country in the FIFA football e-sports video game.

He competed at the world championships in 2019, when he was aged 22, finishing fifth. He won his place in the final of 16 players, from more than 20 million entries.

Blackmore, who graduated from the University of Auckland with a degree in commerce and arts, went on to combine travel and playing for a living, competing at events in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, Qatar, Singapore, Canada and Australia.

“Although gaming is amazing, policing is the career I’ve always wanted,” he says. “I enjoy helping others and I find people are comfortable sharing and asking me for help.”

He has retired from e-sports, although his playing name, FUTWIZ Honey Badger, may follow him round.

Blackmore is one 31 new recruits deployed to the wider Auckland area from the May graduating wing. His aim is to be a detective, where those computer skills might come in handy.

“I believe there is no more rewarding career than policing,” he says.

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From screen to street... Henry Blackmore recently graduated from police college in Wellington

Singing competitions open theatre’s feast of music

June will be a month of music for the PumpHouse Theatre, which is hosting a prestigious singing competition followed by a series of musical shows.

The North Shore Performing Arts Society’s 69th annual Senior Vocal Competitions will be held on King’s Birthday weekend, culminating in the Becroft Aria final on Monday 5 June.

This will be the 21st year of Becroft-family sponsorship of the aria competition.

Twenty singers will compete for eight spots in the aria final, with the chance to win a $5000 prize for first place, $3000 for second or $1000 for third.

Event organisers hope to have internationally known helden-tenor Simon O’Neill present the awards.

After the Becroft weekend, a Tunes in June festival kicks off at the PumpHouse, which hosts a range of musical acts and shows from 8 to 11 June.

“There is something for everyone,” promises PumpHouse business manager James Bell.

The idea for a festival stems from a push by promoter Peter Thomas from Orchestrated Events to have more musical shows at the theatre.

“We wanted to build on [the Becroft Aria] and kick off June with a strong musical element,” Bell says.

The vocalist for prog band Outside In,

Seeing double… A screenshot from the music video The Strangest Dream, for the debut single of Mikey Videotape (above) which shows two different versions of the artist crossing paths

Mikey Videotape (pictured above), will be debuting his first solo works with a show on 8 June. Some feature all-electronic production while others are built on more traditional arrangements.

A tribute to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby and Michael Bublé will be held on 10 June. Called Hits of the Crooners, it features vocal talent Elijah Taula and the

Blue Smoke String Quartet covering classic songs with their own bespoke arrangements.

Other shows include a Kiwi-Italian duo performing polonaises and folk songs by Frederic Chopin, and a Taylor Swift tribute featuring string quartet and piano instrumental covers of her biggest hits.

For more information and tickets, visit pumphouse.co.nz

Doggy diary date in Takapuna

NOW SHOWING

57min

Meet Me in the Bathroom (E) 105min

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen (E) 118min

Fast X (M) 141min

Beau is Afraid (R16) 179min

Book Club 2: The Next Chapter (M) 108min

Close (M) 104min

Bank of Dave (M) 107min

The Big Bike Film Night 2023

SPECIAL EVENT

26-28

Encore screening 28 MAY

Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse (TBA) 120min

COMING SOON Bank of Dave (TBA) 107min

Dog lovers are invited to lead their favourite four-legged friend to Takapuna on Saturday 10 June for the return of the Dog Day Out Market.

From workshops to stalls, plenty of attractions are promised on Hurstmere Green between 9am and 3pm.

Last year’s event attracted dogs and owners from all over, with its main attraction being the Dog Runway pageant show. For details, go to the I Love Takapuna website.

Young musician earns MP’s appreciation

Sunnynook girl Celine Wu – seen showing her skills on the cornet at Anzac Day last month – has won an MP’s award.

The eight-year-old musician impressed North Shore MP Simon Watts when she played the Last Post at Anzac parade in Devonport on 25 April.

“She’s a remarkable young person. She demonstrated remarkable confidence and is a talent to watch for the future,” he said.

After finding out Celine was also in North Shore Brass, he presented the precocious talent with a North Shore MP’s Certificate of Appreciation.

It recognised her community service at such a young age and was presented at an assembly at her Sunnynook Primary School last week.

The president of North Shore Brass, Owen Melhuish, said Celine was its youngest member. She had been playing for just over a year and had developed a sound and technique to the level where she could play in two of its bands, North Shore Youth Brass and North Shore Brass Community Band, the latter alongside her mother, Lisa.

The two bands have been going for 10 years and act as training grounds for brass and percussion musicians aspiring to a place in Auckland champion band North Shore Brass.

For Anzac Day, Celine was coached by Colin Clark, a professional musician in the Royal New Zealand Navy Band, who is also a player and life member of North Shore Brass.

“We are proud that she got to perform,” said Melhuish. Sounding

off... Celine Wu performs

PHOTOGRAPH: ROB DRENT

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