5 July 2024, Rangitoto Observer by Devonport Flagstaff

Shop Win Shop Win

AT safety plan will worsen Forrest Hill queues

A pedestrian-safety upgrade planned at the intersection of Forrest Hill Rd and Tristram Ave in Forrest Hill will add to the commuter tail-back, Auckland Transport (AT) admits.

Peak-time queues on the busy feeder-route to the northern motorway would likely double from around 90 metres to 180m, said AT road-safety engineering team lead Andrew

Garratt. Up to 26 seconds would be added to waiting times.

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board members who were briefed about the plans at a workshop last month fear the impact may be worse than AT has indicated.

Board members with local knowledge of the area pointed out motorists already faced

long peak-time queues on Forrest Hill Rd. “The queue coming north in the afternoon is back to Forrest Hill Primary already,” said George Wood. Residents were worried it was worsening.

AT intends to remove the left-turning northbound slip lane and traffic islands. To page 6

Chill out! Swimmers brave the briny

Brrrilliant fun... (from left) Trine Romlund, Cherie and Isabella Drummond with Kate Bingham on their way to warm up after an early morning plunge at the Castor Bay winter-solstice swim. More pictures, page 17.

Pedestrian seriously hurt

A person was taken to North Shore Hospital in a serious condition after a crash involving a car and a pedestrian on East Coast Rd near Castor Bay Rd around 5.20pm on Monday this week. Police blocked the road, advising commuters to take other routes. The serious crash unit was alerted.

Fire damages house

A house was badly damaged by fire in Castor Bay on the eve of the Matariki holiday weekend. Appliances from Takapuna, Albany, Auckland City, Devonport and East Coast Bays responded to a callout near the bottom of Heathcote Rd at 6.15pm on Thursday 27 July.

One NZ exits

One New Zealand is leaving its Smales Farm building for a new office in Wynyard Quarter. Around 1200 staff will be moved into the new building late next year. One New Zealand moved into Smales Farm in 2017, basing 1800 staff there.

Toka Puia extends hours

Takapuna’s Toka Puia parking building will be open on Sunday evenings under new extended hours. Auckland Transport (AT) said lobbying from the Takapuna Beach Business Association led to the change, which took effect this week. It would help facilitate special events, including the Winter Lights Festival later in the month, an AT spokesperson said. Monday to Tuesday, the building is open an hour later, from 6am to 10pm. Wednesday to Sunday hours are 6am until midnight. Weekend parking remains free under an initiative to boost weekend occupancy, which remains low.

Talks begin over possible sale of property where track blocked

Talks are being held with one of two parties who put in a tender to buy the Firth property at Black Rock on the Takapuna-to-Milford coastal track.

Precision real estate agent Andrew Dorreen, who is handling the sale of the property for its inheritors, said it was not under contract, but negotiations had begun with a prospective buyer.

The dilapidated heritage house on a prime site has been at the centre of an impasse over the Takapuna-Milford coastal track. A fence at the property has severed the popular path since last September.

“We do have an interested party who is interested in renovating the property and opening up the walkway,” Dorreen told the Observer last week. That person was a local resident, he confirmed.

Due to the complications inherent in the heritage-listed property and the site, a lot of due diligence was involved, Dorreen said.

The fence at the property was installed after Auckland Council declined the owners’ offer to provide an easement across the land in return for council lifting the heritage on the house.

For years after a council bridge was washed out, informal access across the property was granted by Colin Firth. But the beneficiaries of his estate and that of his sister Ann want to sell up and move on.

Community calls for council to step up and secure public track access in perpetuity came to nothing last year. Council asked the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board (DTLB) to explore options, but without available funds of its own to purchase and maintain the property the board decided buying it wasn’t possible.

Dorreen said the owners had always hoped to respect family wishes to reach an arrangement giving public access around the

coast. As a Milford local who valued using the track, he said he had been doing his best to help with this.

The owners were considering what to do if a sale allowing for continued access could not be struck.

“We’ve focused on opening the walkway, but the family may look at offers from people who may want to renovate the property and not keep the walkway open.”

Dorreen attended the annual general meeting of the Takapuna Residents’ Association (TRA) last week, where the guest speaker was Auckland Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, who heard chair Steven Salt express concern at the loss of such an important community feature. The TRA organised a petition, signed by 7500 people, calling for track access to be restored last year. It twice took its case to council’s governing body. The Milford Residents Association also submitted to councillors.

Simpson told the meeting community pressure remained the best option to get elected representatives to act. North Shore ward councillors Chris Darby and Richard Hills had to secure enough other votes on council for any centrally funded purchase to be advanced. “Two councillors have to find nine friends,” she said.

DTLB chair Toni van Tonder told the TRA meeting there had been differences of opinion between the property owners and council over its value. But the main impediment to the board buying and maintaining the property was it did not have the funds to do so without selling assets or introducing a targeted rate. The processes to proceed with either course of action “take for ever”, she said.

Dorreen told the Observer he hoped to talk again with van Tonder “to keep the lines of communications open”.

• TRA meeting, page 7

Telephone: 09 445 0060

Email: news@rangitoto-observer.co.nz sales@rangitoto-observer.co.nz

Website: www.rangitoto-observer.co.nz

of the Year: Runner-up 2022

MANAGING EDITOR: Rob Drent

EDITOR: Janetta Mackay

REPORTER: Lochlan Lineham

ADVERTISING: Candice Izzard

PRODUCTION: Brendon De Suza

NEXT ISSUE: July 19

ADVERTISING DEADLINE: July 12

WRITE TO US: We welcome letters. Please limit to 300 words

Takapuna Primary pupils help light up Matariki

Seasonal showcase... Takapuna Primary School’s kapa haka group were among the many young performers in action at the Bayswater Matariki Festival on 22 June, with more community activities held this past holiday weekend North Shore community groups step up diverse celebrations of Maori New Year

After three years of having a public holiday to celebrate Matariki, the North Shore is getting into the swing of things, finding plenty of local ways to mark the Maori New Year.

In Sunnynook a daytime community bike ride round the park was followed by the chance to congregate with neighbours over hot soup. Takapuna turned on the twinkle, with light sculptures set up in the town square, and at the Lake House Arts Centre a mellow vibe was set with musicians playing on the back lawn while scores

of people listened and others explored studios and stalls. It was a cross-cultural crowd, all keen to participate in the uniquely New Zealand holiday, spiced up with an internatioal food selection.

Pupuke Birdsong Project is extending its night-time tours of reserves into this month. And it’s also not too late to get the kids making lanterns for star-gazing, with six 30-minute sessions coming up at the Milford Senior Citizens Hall (behind New World) on Saturday morning 13 July. Sessions costs $6, book at Humanitix.

New hospital building open but far from fully staffed

North Shore Hospital’s new $317 million building, Tōtara Haumaru, promises to deliver more surgeries using state of the art care, but isn’t expected to be fully operational or staffed until this time next year.

Opened by Minister of Health Shane Reti last Sunday, the four-storey facility will in time take 150 patients in eight wards. On Monday, 13 surgeries were scheduled and one ward was open. Four of eight surgical wards have been fitted out.

In its first year, 2000 elective surgeries are planned, which will grow to 8000 annually over time, plus 7500 endoscopy procedures, said Brad Healey, Health New Zealand director of operations for the hospital.

A high throughput of the likes of prostate, colonoscopy, gastroscopy and gynaecology procedures will reduce the number of public patients diverted to the private sector. Using the latest robotically assisted surgery will make for less-invasive procedures.

Healey said a staged opening was always planned. Diversion of services into the new facility from elsewhere in the hospital and away from private providers would happen in the short to medium term, he said. “A greater mix of cases can be carried out at the more modern facility, which means some patients whose care is considered too complex to outsource will be able to have their surgery at Tōtara Haumaru.”

Hospital head of surgery Dr Diana Ackerman said having booked procedures in a facility separate from acute care meant there was less likelihood of treatment being postponed because of acute demand.

Reti was quizzed about how much Tōtara Haumaru could deliver – and how soon – in the face of staffing concerns expressed by nurses and surgeons. The opening was delayed by several months and some staff have been brought from other areas of the hospital. It has 140 staff now, 36 of them new, with more than 250 required when fully open.

Workforce shortages remained a challenge worldwide, Reti said.

The project has been nine years in the making. It was originally envisaged as a small-scale surgical unit expansion of 40 beds, but plans were twice upsized to cope with population growth. Sited west of the main hospital tower, the building adds 19,600 sqm of floor space to the hospital.

With the advent of Health New Zealand, in place of separate DHBs, Tōtara Haumaru took on a more regional focus. It has an operating budget of $30 million a year.

The exterior is utilitarian but thanks to fundraising led by hospital charity the Well Foundation, the atrium features a plant-filled “healing garden” for patients and visitors, along with whanau rooms.

Tōtara Haumaru was gifted its name by community leader Dame Naida Glavish of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei in a nod to a tōtara tree that stood on the site. Timbers from the tōtara were turned into a carved pou in the atrium.

Inside To - tara Haumaru

When fully commissioned the $317 million, four-storey building will feature:

• Eight new operating theatres.

• Five new wards, adding 150 inpatient beds.

• Four-room endoscopy suites for colonoscopy and gastroscopy procedures.

• Whanau rooms enabling families to restup close to loved ones in care.

• Healing garden respite space in central atrium, viewable from wards.

• Extended sky bridge connecting with the Elective Surgical Centre and main hospital tower block for easy patients transfers.

Open for business... (clockwise from top) Health Minister Shane Reti flanked by North Shore MP Simon Watts (right) and Northcote MP Dan Bidois; musicians entertain at the garden opening; Rotary district governor Neil Murray with Well Foundation ambassador Tom Abercrombie; and foundation chair David Downes.

Takapuna GP’s contribution recalled in support for garden

David Tetro remembers hours sitting in the family car in the North Shore Hospital car park waiting for his father Dr Gaby Tetro to return from seeing a patient.

“We didn’t see a lot of him growing up,” recalls the retired stockbroker of his late father, the sole practitioner who spent decades tending to his Takapuna patients, delivering hundreds of babies and making countless house calls. “He loved medicine.”

Without the back-up of after-hours emergency clinics “it was a different world” for GPs, David says.

His mother, Sally, juggled four young children and was instrumental in running her husband’s Lake Rd practice.

He was on-call 24 hours a day. “Imagine bath-time, when the phone rings,” says David, when children were rapidly bundled out of the water so she could take an emergency call.

“Dad would see frequently over 100 patients a day.”

Tagging along on his call-outs was a way of snatching back some precious time together.

Dr Gaby had a coronary and died “too young” in 1993. He would often get by on one meal a day and dosed up on black coffee and cigarettes.

“People still ask after him and talk about him,” says his son.

“None of us went into medicine,” he notes of siblings Marcus, Joel and Sara. But all were united in wanting their father’s contribution to the community remembered.

Through friends and fellow locals Craig Donaldson and Liz and Paul Blackwell they learned about the Well Foundation’s plans to build a healing garden for North Shore Hospital.

Sally, now aged 87 and still living in the family home in Hauraki, says: “I thought this would be perfect.”

The Tetros became key early donors to the

project and on Sunday a number of family members attended the garden’s opening inside the atrium of the new Tōtara Haumaru surgical building.

Among them were Sally, David and his two sons. One of them, Daniel, aged 31, who lives in Forrest Hill, is pictured in his grandfather’s arms as a toddler in a photograph accompanying information about the GP.

“To be able to put Dad’s name to a place where he worked much of his life is some-

thing we’re very proud of,” David told the Observer.

In all, $2.6 million was raised by the Well Foundation over three years for the garden, coming from the community and trusts.

This included more than $100,000 from Rotary clubs.

Foundation chief executive Ruth Morse said research backed the idea that green spaces or outlooks in hospitals helped people recover.

Daniel Tetro and grandmother Sally stand beside a photo of him as a toddler held by his grandfather, the late Takapuna GP Dr Gaby Tetro

Longer Forrest Hill delays ‘won’t be noticed’ – AT

From page 1

“The delay on the north lane won’t be noticed, because it’s already congested,” Garratt said.

The board asked AT traffic planners to look again at the impact of their intended changes, particularly on vehicles trying to get out of side streets to the south, including those turning right from Nile Rd.

“There’s a lot going on there, especially if you’re doubling queue lengths,” said member Peter Allen. Blakeborough Dr and Bond Cres were other roads members said were hard to exit from.

Wood wondered if people coming out of Nile Rd and attempting to move from the centre lane to the left-hand side of Forrest Hill Rd to get onto Tristram Ave would find this harder in future.

The board was generally supportive of work to make it easier and safer for pedestrians to cross at the corner. But chair Toni van Tonder said there was “a whole network of possibly domino effects” to be considered.

AT said eight accidents were recorded at the intersection from 2018-22, one of them a pedestrian fatality in 2021. “That’s the [accidents] we know of. There may be others,” Garratt said.

Work will include realigning and extending road markings approaching Tristram Ave on the northbound side of Forrest Hill Rd. A bus-stop will be relocated a little further from the corner.

On the southbound side of Forrest Hill Rd, three parks will be lost near where vehicles turn out of the intersection.

Member Mel Powell asked about cycle safety. No specific changes were coming

for cyclists, said Garratt, but they would be safer not having to cross to traffic islands.

Powell said she was a little bit nervous that drivers who were waiting longer at the intersection might push their luck with the traffic lights, thus endangering school children and others on foot or cycling.

Deputy chair Terence Harpur said drivers trying to get through as the lights were changing already often blocked the intersection. He feared this could worsen if further delays increased driver frustration.

AT said it was considering yellow hatch markings to more clearly deter drivers from entering the intersection when they should not.

It said it would consider the board’s feedback then later run a public consultation process before finalising designs. Work could begin in the 2024-25 financial year.

Local schools losing low-speed safety zones

Low-speed zones established around primary schools for safety reasons will be rolled back under a central-government policy reversal.

Under Ministry of Transport proposals, Sunnynook Primary School will lose its full 30km/h zone. The school was one of the first in the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area to have a zone applied two years ago.

Takapuna Primary School and the Age School on Lake Rd will also be affected, but to what extent is unclear, given their central locations and the other restrictions in force in the town centre. Four schools on the Devonport peninsula will also lose their zones.

The changes, ordered by Minister of Transport Simeon Brown, will cut the zone

Safe Speed Programme from 2020, the National-led coalition’s reversal, which is open for public feedback at consult.transport.govt. nz until 11 July, has drawn little community awareness or debate.

But DTLB chair Toni van Tonder is among those opposed to zone removal. “Personally, I don’t support the changes to speed limits where they have been widely consulted upon and changes have been executed,” she said.

Van Tonder said safe-speed zones around schools and in town centres sent a signal from the community that pedestrians, children and cyclists were important and needed protection. “Any travel-time savings gained by increasing speed limits in these areas will be negligible and the difference can mean life

Wood about the Sunnynook Primary zone being too large and round-the-clock limits too disruptive to traffic were included last week in board feedback to AT’s Long Term Plan.

Across the Auckland region, AT says 118 schools with Safe Speed zones will be affected by the government changes. A roll-out to another 359 schools was put on hold in May, awaiting the government’s draft speed rule, which AT says it is still reviewing.

“AT will continue to follow legislative requirements,” a spokesperson said.

Van Tonder said the new government was looking to apply a cost-benefit analysis to changes. “And in the case of speed limits where changes have recently been made, there will be a negative cost-benefit ratio.”

Local boards were briefed on the changes last month. Van Tonder said DTLB members

Concerns raised by board member George

AT and Waka Kotahi, the New Zealand Transport Agency, have both cited research showing the speed limit that greatly reduces the chances of a pedestrian being killed or seriously injured is 30km/h.

Deputy mayor told of fears over Takapuna intensification

Intensification is a sensitive subject for local residents, judging by the line of questions from the floor at the Takapuna Residents Association (TRA) annual meeting.

The future of the Takapuna-Milford coastal track and crime were also hot topics at a well-attended meeting late last month.

Many of the ratepayers in the room were in attendance to hear what Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson had to say on a range of contentious issues.

Simpson was upfront about Auckland Council rate rises – at 6.8 per cent they were lower than any other major city, she said – and put the case for selling airport shares. But she was also adept at deflecting responsibility for housing regulations to central government.

Question time revealed local unease at the extent of both section-covering terrace housing and high-rise buildings, which are permitted in central Takapuna under council’s Auckland’s Unitary Plan (AUP).

Simpson urged residents to make their voices heard to their local-board representatives and call for consent applications to be notified, so the public could have a say.

She also cited the coalition government’s rolling back of medium-density residential standards as good news.

But due to more permissive intensification allowed under the AUP, this doesn’t help in the case of Takapuna’s metropolitan zone.

One member of the audience of more than 50 noted the cost of individuals trying to oppose planning applications was huge. He advocated for a special character area to protect the land between Lake Pupuke and the coast.

Increased impermeable surfaces from concrete surfaces increased the risk of flooding of homes along the coastal strip

“Intensification is going to cover all of

Takapuna,” said another. Zoning under the AUP meant extra intensification was allowed from Minnehaha Ave to Hauraki, he said.

TRA chair Steven Salt said in his annual report the group would continue to engage with the planning process to support and enhance community amenity. “For example, the former Colmar Brunton site is to be developed with a suggestion height limits could be extended, raising the possibility of shading on Gould Reserve.”

Salt told of the TRA’s battles to maintain coastal-track access and to retain as a public area a designated pocket park the Spencer on Byron wanted to retain for car parking.

It was keeping tabs on concern about crime in the area and safety at roundabouts along Auburn and Burns Rds.

And it had opposed any merger of the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board with another board.

“The TRA feels there is limited listening to the community as it is and the loss of the DTLB would further exacerbate the problem,” Salt said.

Looking ahead, Salt said the TRA wanted to support a growing and diverse community and ensure Takapuna had a sound business and economic base.

“The council’s haphazard approach to parking and capricious decisions by AT and Eke Panuku remain a concern.”

Delays in building apartments around the town square due to economic conditions disguised the extent to which the area in public use today for the likes of markets and festivals would be reduced in future.

The TRA also wanted to see more facilities for teenagers in the area, such as a skate park or basketball court.

To improve its own profile and grow membership, the association plans to use a local-board grant to improve its website.

Grove boardwalk to go but other issues unresolved

The southern section of Te Uru Tapu Sacred Grove above Takapuna Beach will remain closed to the public and the boardwalk through it removed, under decisions made by the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board last month.

Public access to the lookout under the stand of large pōhutukawa trees will continue.

The decisions – opposed by board member George Wood – follow years of contentious and inconclusive debate about the official way forward for the grove.

And questions remain about safety, tree management and when the area will be cleared of invasive weeds and rubbish and other work will begin.

The grove’s condition was “heartbreaking”, said board chair Toni van Tonder, expressing one of the few points of agreement among local residents, mana whenua, environmentalists and elected representatives.

“Can we not just get in there to clean up the litter?” she asked Auckland Council staff at the June meeting.

Staff said dead wood would first have to be removed to make the area safe to work in, though even the scheduling of that task is unclear. Arborist Steve Skajal said staff wanted first to consult with mana whenua.

Wood, who asked that his dissenting view on the grove decisions be recorded, said he could not see how spending money on removing the boardwalk and its piles could be justified.

He also questioned the board’s requests for council staff to investigate extending the so-called “stairs to nowhere” down from the lookout to connect to the beach below and to extend the seawall to better protect the roots of two trees from coastal erosion. “The public will go spare if there’s a promontory [on the beach] there, he told the meeting.

Lack of funds meant it was also “pie in the sky” to investigate a high-tide passage at the

base of the seawall, Wood said.

Deputy chair Terence Harpur said while he was upset at how long matters had taken, it was now time to look forward and to protect and celebrate the significant site.

The board had been between a rock and a hard place over the boardwalk, Harpur said. “If we keep the boardwalk open someone could die.”

Extensive tree pruning to make walkers safe would fail to gain resource consent, staff had advised.

Allan Morris, a representative of residents living in apartments overlooking the grove, told the Observer after the meeting they were “very disappointed” with the outcome. It ignored the wishes of locals to see the boardwalk reopened to allow controlled pedestrian access. This would guarantee high-tide access along the beach and was the wish expressed in a public petition, signed by 2500 people three years ago.

He questioned the logic of safety risk being used to justify removing the boardwalk, when nothing was being done to protect and manage the trees overhanging the beach.

“Until someone gets killed we won’t have any proactive action.”

The meeting had also provided no definitive answer on building the needed seawall.

Morris said residents’ only options now were to await the opportunity to have a further say if future work involved consultation, or to see if a different board might take a different stance. “They swear an oath to represent the local community.”

At a community forum held before the board’s deliberation, Morris spoke on behalf of Mon Desir residents. Tascha Rosan spoke for those from The Sands, which has had a fallen pōhutukawa from the grove on its lawn for two years, while they seek a council resource consent to remove it.

Both said the views of residents needed to be heard alongside those of mana whenua, as

both groups wanted the area respected. Since a 2007 tree report was done, seven trees had failed, Rosan noted.

The closed-off area was now in a sad state, used by people who had damaged partitions to gain access, she said.

“The boardwalk enabled everyone to enjoy the area while protecting the ground below.” she said.

Morris and Rosan’s views were applauded by most of around 20 members of the public in attendance.

A Pupuke Birdsong Project representative, Maisie Ramsay, urged protection of the grove’s eco-system, which she said was the only accessible remnant of its type on the Shore. The group had volunteers keen to help care for the reserve, she said. In support of keeping the boardwalk closed, Ramsay noted an arborist believed the pruning needed to make the area safe for walkers would likely kill trees in five to 10 years.

Wood asked Ramsay what supported previous claims the trees were 300 to 400 years old. She understood this was from an ecologist’s report.

“I don’t think that’s right,” said Wood, citing a University of Auckland report on one fallen tree that put it at 170 to 200 years old.

The site and trees on it were used historically for funerary rites, say mana whenua.

Margaret Field, a former Takapuna Community Board chair, said an 1860 newspaper report had described them as “24 splendid pōhutukawa trees”.

Under the board’s decision, educational elements will be installed at the northern end of the site. Improvements to a stormwater outlet to the beach at the south of the site will be investigated and under-storey natives planted. Mana whenua representatives will be further consulted on design and community stakeholders on ecological restoration. The continued use of tree props and bracing will be further discussed.

Fizzer Huron St garden has silver lining for youth hub

A local youth centre has repurposed planter boxes and picnic tables from a failed urban-garden project in central Takapuna.

The planter boxes, previously part of a community garden on Huron St, were relocated to Shore Junction in Northcote Rd by Auckland Council property arm Eke Panuku.

Shore junction youth-development manager Conin Bowker said the centre ran a gardening workshop and was planning to set up a gardening club prior to receiving the planters. “It just sort of worked out nicely that [Eke Panuku] found us.

“I was mentally preparing to build heaps of planters so it’s very relieving when we got the news that we’d be able to have them,” he said.

Eke Panuku said the boxes and tables had first been in a temporary public space at 38 Hurstmere Rd, before being transferred to the community garden being trialled at the council-owned site in Huron St. “However, after 18 months, it was agreed the garden was no longer feasible in that location, due to limited interest from the community in the venture and the site being quite shaded and windy,” an Eke Panuku spokesperson said.

“Eke Panuku is delighted to be able to donate these items to Shore Junction.”

The boxes and tables have been installed around the former bowls green next to the Shore Junction building. The centre got the lease for the site last August.

Bowker said the centre hopes to expand its gardening club by connecting with fellow community organisations. The centre planned to collaborate with Grow Forrest Hill and Pupuke Birdsong, so young people could learn gardening and conservation skills.

“We’re giving young people opportunities to actually go out into the community and do stuff, but then we’ve got opportunities here where they can practise their skills.”

Shore Junction plans to turn the former bowls clubrooms into a band room and photography studio.

Trending in Takapuna

Wonderful new eateries and beauty bars and fresh options for pet pampering are among a swag of new attractions in beachside Takapuna. And, just quietly, we hear Fiji is nice this time of year…

Seems like it’s time for dessert, don’t you think? Brianna Pastry is baking up a storm with distinctively French cakes, tarts and slices – you just can’t look at that elegant layering without your mouth watering. And if there’s a loved one’s birthday coming up, why not order a cake with a personalised message?

Where: The corner of Lake Rd and Como St.

Brand new Hong’s Korean Restaurant is hitting the spot with authentic Korean cuisine.

Try their jjajangmyeon (noodles in a banging blackbean sauce) or jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) and see why the reviews are absolutely raving. And with a frankly enormous menu, you could be eating here for months trying out all that Korean goodness. Where: 62 Hurstmere Rd, down the arcade connecting to Potters Park.

Rubbina’s Beauty & Brow Bar is the newest addition to Shore City. Rubbina is a day spa industry veteran, and an absolutely ace brow artist. As well as the full gamut of beauty treatments, she also runs yoga classes. Where: Shore City, Level 2 by Glassons.

Want that K-beauty look? Hikoco has what you need, with an unbelievably deep and thoughtful range of Korean beauty, skincare and makeup products, including the sought-after Innisfree brand. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out the Hi Society blog for tips from the team on what’s trending. Where: 61 Hurstmere Road.

Coming soon!

We’re looking forward to filling our bellies at Dosa Palace and Hanoi Haven, coming soon to Takapuna. And while you’re out and about…

Did you hear about the Fiji Shop & Win?

Spend just $20 at participating businesses in Takapuna, register online, and sit back and dream about a week-long dream holiday in sunny Fiji. Three nights on the Explore Blue Lagoon Cruise, four at the Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort, plus return flights. Shop, register at ilovetakapuna.co.nz and be in to win.

Wok’n’Noodle have brought their delicious Thai-style noodle bar to Takapuna, and we’re delighted. Order up the classics (pad thai and pad see ew) and maybe venture out further for a delicious whiskey duck or a spicy drunken fried rice.

For us, it’s a no brainer – anywhere with a good tom yum fried rice is a certified hit. Where: The Strand, at the Lake Rd end.

If we’re looking fabulous, our four-legged friends surely deserve the same.

Previously a favourite in the city centre, Masami Dog Salon has moved to Takapuna to primp and pamper all the good boys and girls on the North Shore. Professionally trained and using premium Japanese care products, Masami will have your pup looking their absolute best.

Where: 122 Hurstmere Road.

OFP Grooming has just opened on Huron St, and are offering some amazing opening specials, perfect for your little mate, and your wallet. Treat your best friend to a visit sometime soon.

Where: 5 Huron Street.

www.ilovetakapuna.co.nz

Hong’s Korean Restaurant

Wok’n’Noodle

Brianna Pastry

Masami Dog Salon

Environmental champion wants Shoal Bay protected

A North Shore environmental activist who has been recognised for 30 years of service says Shoal Bay is an important ecological asset in need of greater protection.

Richard Hursthouse was given Forest and Bird’s Old Blue award on 22 June for his services to conservation in Auckland and New Zealand.

He is a long-time member of the organisation, serving on its North Shore Branch Committee since 2007, and as chair from 2011 until 2019.

The Campbells Bay resident of 37 years said Shoal Bay was a “site of special wildlife significance” which hosts many important and rare bird species.

“It’s an under-appreciated and extremely fragile area that needs protection.”

The 68-year-old has been involved in helping protect it himself, being instrumental in Forest and Bird opposition to a cycleway proposed for the seaward side of the motorway.

Hursthouse also opposed the Patuone Walkway, saying other options that would have avoided going through the mangroves would have been less impactful to nesting bird species.

A retired doctor, Hursthouse said his passion for the environment started when he was growing up in Hawke’s Bay, spending time outdoors and “appreciating nature for what it is”.

Later, he began taking note of the negative things happening to the environment and decided to do something about it.

He first actively participated in conservation work when he helped restore the Campbells Bay School community forest in the mid-1990s. His involvement has grown from there.

Hursthouse helped establish the network of local-board affiliated conservation groups, starting with pest-free Kaipatiki and

Restore Hibiscus and Bays, which set up the framework for more local groups to start.

He said it was incredible to see how the network had taken off, with groups all across the North Shore making efforts to conserve their local areas.

He said the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area had fewer forests and reserves than others on the North Shore but because Devonport was a peninsula it had the poten-

tial to become predator-free.

This would aid wildlife and potentially lead to more kereru and kaka migrating to the area.

While working as a GP, Hursthouse helped establish the Shore Care 24-hour clinic in Takapuna, which he said had allowed him to put more time into his environmental efforts as he didn’t have to be on call as much.

Happy place... Richard Hursthouse says he began to appreciate the natural world when he was growing up in Hawke’s Bay

Local MP joins sporting fray for a good cause

the

fits...

Politicians leave rivalries in Wellington for cross-party Takapuna fundraiser

North Shore MP Simon Watts captained the parliamentary rugby team against a North Harbour Invitational side last month, while women MPs squared off against former Silver Ferns in a double-header fundraiser at Onewa Domain.

Watts, playing as a flanker, said afterwards he could do with some physio. The handful of MPs in the side, including Watts’ Cabinet colleague and prop Mark Mitchell, were supplemented by parliamentary staffers in their match against former Harbour representatives and club players, including a good number from Takapuna which hosted the after-match function and charity auction in its clubrooms.

Team stalwart and Labour MP Greg O’Connor said from the sideline the encounter against a very willing opposition was a good game to be out injured for.

Counting the score in either game was deemed less important than the $38,000 raised for the Tania Dalton Foundation, set up in memory of the late former Silver Fern and TV commentator.

Duane Dalton said the Takapuna-based foundation had committed more than $1.5 million to help disadvantaged girls progress in sport, since it was set up after his wife’s death, aged 45, in 2017.

Three of its products were going to the Olympics, and others had graduated to the Black Ferns and national soccer teams.

The MPs play about half a dozen times a year.

cap

Simon Watts MP (right) prepares to enter the murky world of a breakdown at Onewa Domain

Sideline supporter... All Black great and Milford local Ian Jones towers over Watts (left) and colleague Mark Mitchell. Next time, play me, Jones said.

Official eye... Match referee and National MP Tom Rutherford. Right: Former All Blacks medic John ‘Doc’ Mayhew was among attendees.

Local lasses... Labour MP Barbara Edmonds (left) captained the Parly Ferns against a Tania Dalton Foundation team put together by former Silver Ferns captain and Milford resident Adine Wilson (also shown shooting at right). Like Dalton, the now Wellington-based Edmonds attended Carmel College.

Sisters in arms... Shore Rovers premier-grade player Theresa Russell (left) with former Silver Ferns Anna Harrison and Adine Wilson all had fun playing out of position against the Parly Ferns at the Netball North Harbour arena. The evening raised funds for the foundation named for the trio’s one-time team-mate Tania Dalton, who alongside her international career was a regular at the local netball centre. Wilson said the game was her first experience of ‘pick and mix netball’, whereby the lagging opposition came up with a politically savvy strategy at half-time of getting players to pull random bibs from a bag.

Rolling subs... New Zealand First MP Casey Costello (above) takes a welcome break. Left: Cross-party managers on the sideline – Act’s Nicole McKee (left) and National’s Louise Upston.

Young North Shore rising talents recognised

A soon-to-be Olympian, a music prodigy and an opera singer were among seven local young people who received AIMES awards from the North Harbour Club last month.

The awards are given annually to recipients aged between 13 and 25 who show excellence in the fields of arts, innovation, music, education, sport and service to the community.

The awards, which have been given since 1995, come with grants to support the recipients achieve their goals.

Twenty-year-old kayaker Tara Vaughan received an emerging talent award and a $7500 cash grant. Vaughan and her New Zealand team won the Canoe Sprint World Championships K4 500m last year, earning qualification for the Paris Olympics.

Westlake Boys High School student Shan Liu became the youngest-ever recipient of an Emerging Talent Award when he was recognised for his achievements in music.

The 14-year-old has appeared as a soloist

with orchestras such as the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and this year was selected for the prestigious Morningside Music Bridge programme in Boston.

Arthur Adams-Close, a former Westlake Boys student, received $15,000 with his Arts Award. The 25-year-old has been accepted into a prestigious opera school in Stuttgart, Germany, where the grant money will help support his full-time studies.

Cecile McNeill (23) also received an Arts Award and a $15,000 grant for her achievements in music.

At 14 years old, she was the youngest person to be accepted into the NZSO National Youth Orchestra but her success took a further leap when she headed to the United States to pursue a Master of Music degree at the University of Southern California.

Since arriving there the violinist has been recognised with a viola fellowship at the Music Academy of the West and secured a

Former Westlake ace signs for Auckland FC

Former Westlake Boys High School student Finn McKenlay has signed a scholarship contract with new A League football club Auckland FC.

The 18-year-old’s signing was announced by New Zealand’s newest professional sports team last month.

The midfielder was a member of last

year’s Westlake first XI side which won all four trophies it contested, including a national title.

This season, he has been playing for Eastern Suburbs in the upper North Island’s top-flight Northern League.

Auckland FC play their first A League match in mid-October at Mt Smart Stadium.

fellowship with the Aspen Music Festival Conducting Academy orchestra.

Laura MacLean, a homeschooled musician, was recognised with the Ross Finlayson award and an opportunity to go on Outward Bound or a similar leadership course.

The 20-year-old founded Creative Youth NZ when she was just 15 and has continued to support youth on the North Shore in her current role as youth music and events coordinator at Shore Junction in Takapuna.

Anna O’Reilly, who grew up in Milford, received a Scholarship Award and a grant of $3000. She is the number-one ranked under-14 female skier in the country and national champion in slalom, giant slalom and super giant slalom for her age group.

Haifeng (Charles) Xing (13) received a scholarship award and a $3000 grant for achievements in music. Last year he won the New Zealand preliminary round of the Vivace piano competition, which earned him a spot at the final round in Paris.

Community heroes: many to mention

Winners of the first Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Community Volunteer Awards – including Milford environmental champion Bruce Ward and Sylvan Ave-based New Dawn – featured in the 21 June Observer. Here is the full list of nominees:

Collaborative Volunteering: Owen Melhuish, president of North Shore Brass, who wears many hats, promoting and managing the organisation and this year organised its 100th anniversary celebrations and concert; Joanna Steele and Jenny Hamlin were nominated separately, but both for providing short-term practical and emotional support for families with babies and preschoolers; and Trish Deans, for long-term dedication to heritage, social and creative volunteering.

Environmental Heroes: Norma Bott, for dedication to Milford, including in pest control and as cochair of the residents association; Grow Forrest Hill community garden volunteers including Andy Parker, its foodie and plant-based champion; Scott Litherland, compost champion; Helen Porter, gardening guru with a horticultural background; and Doug Allen, all-round helper, and Restoring Takarunga Hauraki community volunteers, for ecological restoration and eco-literacy mahi.

Community Leaders: Malcolm Iodine, leader of gardening volunteers at Lake House arts centre; Simon Watson, for long-time leadership of the Sunnynook Community Centre management committee; Trucy Qin, for helping deliver the Milford Sea Scout programme and empowering Chinese community members; Cliff Brown, for 10 years as leader at 1st Devonport Scout Group; Marguerite Spencer, of Calliope Sea Scouts, for six years as group leader and 10 as a leader; Siobhan Yurak, chair of the Rose Centre, for good governance and community engagement; and Trish Deans for heritage preservation advocacy.

Youth Champion: Jamie Vukovich, Nabeel Khan, and Kira Sharrock, for dedicated coaching of Takapuna Grammar School Rowing teams.

Diversity and Inclusion: Trish Deans, for work protecting heritage and promoting causes important to Devonport; Belmont Park Bowling Club board, for club and community volunteering.

Takapuna hosts rugby quarter-final

After an up-and-down season so far, Takapuna Rugby Club premiers believe they’re coming into form heading into the first knock-out round of the North Harbour Championship on Saturday.

After finishing fourth on the table due to a narrow 24-32 loss to Massey last Saturday, Takapuna will host fifth-placed East Coast Bays in a quarter-final at Onewa Domain.

And although they lost narrowly to Bays at Mairangi Bay in mid-May, they are confident they can progress to a semi-final against traditional rivals North Shore a week later.

Coach Nick Elrick said after a mixed season, with key players out through injury at various times, most of the squad was fully fit and ready for the play-offs.

He expected a close tussle on Saturday. “It’s quarter-finals. Everybody grows an extra leg,” he said. “It will be very close.”

Takapuna went five games unbeaten at the beginning of the season – including against Massey – before a mid-season slump, with

the loss to Bays followed by defeats to Shore and Northcote, who finished in first and second respectively and will have this weekend off before the semis.

The home side will be without three star players in Lotu and Fine Inisi and Aisea Halo, who all played Super Rugby for Moana Pasifika and will be on international duty for Tonga as the local play-offs begin.

Elrick said that while it would have been nice to have the trio available, the club had always known when the international window fell. “We always planned not to have them.”

With a largely injury-free squad, the side was well-placed for Saturday, and potentially beyond that. “I think we’re hitting our straps.”

Having been beaten by Shore in last year’s final and losing a tight game to the old foe this season, Takapuna would be due a win should they reach the semi in Devonport.

“It’s definitely doable,” Elrick said. “It’s do-or-die footy.”

Netball rivals face tight battle

The second round of Netball North Harbour’s club competition started this week, with a tight tussle ahead for the Premier 1 title.

Last year’s winner Collegiate and Shore Rovers 1 were just a point apart at the top of the table after the first round, with improving AUT and Commodores also in the top four,

Dear Owner/Vendor

Ze Build here, are you thinking about freshening up your home in preparation for putting it on the market?

We are here to help!

As a reputable local building company serving the local area, Ze Build is eager to offer our expertise and support in bringing your vision to life.

With years of experience and a commitment to quality solutions, we have established ourselves as trusted partners in delivering diverse construction projects and have been recognised in our recent accolades awarded by Deloitte.

At Ze Build, we understand that embarking on a building project involves multiple decisions and considerations. From concepts to completion, our dedicated team is here to guide you through every step of the process, ensuring seamless results.

We appreciate the opportunity to introduce Ze Build and would love to jump at the opportunity to talk more.

You can scan the QR code below to book a time with our team to come visit you on site or give us a call on 09 884 0107.

We are committed to marking your house the most desirable on the market. From The Team at Ze Build

ahead of Rangitoto and, surprisingly, last year’s finalist, Westlake 1, back in sixth.

Bottom teams Westlake 2 and Shore Rovers 2 both won mid-season promotion/ relegation games last week to stay in the top grade, dispatching the top two teams in the Premier 2 grade, Carmel Marist Blue and Westlake 3.

Sports Briefs

Rosmini topples WBHS

Rosmini College’s first XV upset table-topping Westlake Boys High School last weekend, winning 25-19 at home. Westlake, which has won the North Harbour competition for the past four years, was previously unbeaten this season, having defeated Rosmini 41-8 in an earlier round. Rosmini takes on Manurewa High School this Saturday, while Westlake was due to play Takapuna Grammar School on Thursday.

Westlake skier takes gold

Westlake Girls High School student Georgia Marshall won gold in the girls dual slalom race at the Auckland Secondary Schools Skiing Championships on 20 June. The year 10 student came second in the timed junior girls GS race and finished third overall at the competition at Snow Planet. Another Westlake competitor, year 12 snowboarder Meadow Mauger, came second in the slalom, dual race and slopestyle race events.

Squash success

Westlake Boys’ squash team won the Auckland Secondary Schools Team Championship late last month. The Westlake Girls’ team were runners-up in the girls division to Takapuna Grammar School.

Northcroft Street improvements completed

Thank you to the businesses, residents, and users of the street for your patience while improvements were made. The street is now open again, and you’ll see:

• Better street lighting

• A safer street crossing

• New trees and plants to improve the environment.

Working on behalf of Auckland Council, we’re leading the urban regeneration of Takapuna to ensure the neighbourhood thrives and makes the most of its beautiful sea and lake location. Further development is planned –check our website for details.

Dozens make midwinter splash at Castor Bay

Around 80 brave souls took an early morning winter-solstice plunge at Castor Bay to raise money for a men’s health charity. Regulars from the Castor Bay Sea Rise group, who meet for a daily dip, were joined by others keen to support a good cause.

More than $400 was raised for the Movember Foundation’s annual appeal.

Enjoying it... Swimmers Kate Bingham and Sonya Bartlett said the water was “fantastic”, if chilly.

Class act... Campbells Bay School teachers (from left) Gaynor Hockin, Jo Haslemore, Taryn Ramsay and Sheryl Rogers said the water was beautiful.

Dawn dippers... Regular Castor Bay sea swimmers (above, from left) Andrew and Emma Charlesworth and Gayle and Clayton Coplestone. Left: Fellow locals Jon and Susan Bowden, with dog Bertie.

Trades & Services

R E N E G A

g a r d e n s p e c i a l i s t R E N E G A R D E N I G

T r e e p r u n i n g

E N I G

T r e e p r u n i n g

H e d g e t r i m m i n g

T r e e p r u n i n g

i n f o @ r e n e g a r d e n i n g c o n z a n d m u c h m o r e a g a r d e n s p e c i a l i s t R E N E G A R D E N I G

r e e p r u n i n g

T o p i a r y

H e d g e t r i m m i n g

T r e e p r u n i n g

H e d g e t r m m i n g