9 June 2023 Rangitoto Observer

Ex-Westlake rugby star

More venues, apartments on way for Takapuna

Takapuna’s first rooftop bar and more restaurants are coming for summer in a mixed-use revamp of a building at the corner of Hurstmere Rd and The Strand.

And in a separate major development of a nearby block on Hurstmere Rd, an Auckland Council consent has been granted for the

building of 153 apartments above retail and commercial space in two buildings of seven and nine storeys.

The projects on Takapuna’s nightlife strip are expected to contribute to a general reinvigoration of an intensifying town centre.

Local investor Elliot Knight, who is behind

the primarily hospitality-focused Takapuna Bay project at 111 Hurstmere Rd, said increased density would help transform the area.

Ground-floor tenant Premium Real Estate, which has occupied the corner site for more than 20 years, is staying on, but the project Two projects explained, pages 2-3

Axe hangs over Kennedy Park’s wartime heritage

Worried advocates... Kennedy Park World War II Installations Preservation Trust chair Chris Owen (left) and Castor Bay Ratepayers and Residents Association chair Hamish Anderson are alarmed that council officials have raised the possibility of permanently sealing off the park’s wartime tunnels and demolishing a significant heritage building. Story, page 4.

Rooftop drinks on town-centre hospitality menu

From page 1

will also incorporate four ground-floor restaurants and the conversion of top-level office space into a 680sqm brew bar.

Knight’s company Knight Crawford bought the building last year for $11 million, and plans to retain it after the redevelopment.

“I’m a long-term investor,” he told the Observer. He put the project’s end value at approximately $25 million.

In a further vote of confidence in the area, his company – which recently refitted commercial property at the front of the Bruce Mason Centre – is looking at other Hurstmere Rd opportunities.

Knight said the Takapuna Bay project’s rooftop bar will be established by the operators behind two of Auckland’s most high-profile bars.

It would feature generous decks facing the sea and others catching the late afternoon and evening sun. Escalators would carry patrons to the hospitality area. “You will get views of Rangitoto and the sun setting.”

One ground-level restaurant will occupy the Hurstmere Rd-Strand corner, and others have views back to Takapuna Beach.

Hoardings now up around the front and side of the building showed its allowed footprint, Knight said. By building out to the site’s edge, 570sqm more usable space would be available at ground level than in the existing configuration, which has a paved entrance patio.

The building’s lower level of basement car parks will be transformed into a hub for wellness and fitness tenants, including a boxing studio. It will open to the rear, facing the car park above the beach reserve.

Takapuna Bay won council planning consent in November. The building’s cladding was stripped recently, with structural work due to start soon.

Knight said the building was already 80 per cent tenanted. His builder hoped to finish the transformation by Christmas, meaning a

Telephone: 09 445 0060

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

Website: www.rangitoto-observer.co.nz

Sign up online to receive our fortnightly issue by email

Newspaper of the Year: Runner-up 2022

MANAGING EDITOR: Rob Drent

PUBLISHER: Peter Wilson

EDITOR: Janetta Mackay

REPORTER: Lochlan Lineham

PRODUCTION: Brendon De Suza

NEXT ISSUE: June 23

ADVERTISING DEADLINE: June 16

summer opening next year was likely, with staggered starts for the businesses.

Knight Crawford specialises in neighbourhood retail projects, adding value to existing buildings, and has a track record of other boutique developments in the city and on the North Shore. Knight runs the company with partner Shane Crawford, a New Zealander working in Hong Kong.

Aged 31, Knight has been in the develop-

ment business for five or six years.

Brought up in Takapuna, the former Kristin School pupil is back living in the area and a recent first-time father. He said he identified the Takapuna Bay site around three years ago. “The road will be fantastic in time,” he said.

Locals had come to appreciate the extra pedestrian space created in a recent upgrade and new residents would increasingly access town-centre attractions on foot.

Prime-site revamp... Front and rear views of the Takapuna Bay development planned for the corner of Hurstmere Rd and The Strand

Main-street development... Two apartment blocks are planned for this site (in blue) on Hurstmere Rd

Apartment blocks approved for Takapuna strip

Latest big-building plan adds to projects spawned by council moves to increase density

A 153-apartment development in two buildings in the heart of Takapuna’s bar district, one of nine and the other of seven storeys, has been given resource consent.

Soho Quarter Limited’s proposal will include retail and commercial uses on the ground floor of the 396sqm site at 138 Hurstmere Rd, with apartments above.

The current occupants of 138 Hurstmere Rd include the Elephant Wrestler, Florrie McGreal’s and Hops & Claret bars, Prudential Pacific Investment Company, Soho Works office suites and the Anytime Fitness gym.

It is unclear when building will start, but Soho Quarter has asked for the consent to last 10 years “to provide for greater flexibility in respect to the staging” of the development.

One tenant told the Observer his business had a lease till 2027, but with a demolition clause allowing early termination.

The first building in the proposal, with a front onto Hurtsmere Rd, will be seven storeys, with commercial and retail spaces including food and beverage on the ground floor and 82 apartments over six levels above.

The second, to the rear, beyond a central

courtyard, will also have commercial and retail on the ground flood and 71 apartments over eight levels above.

Between them, the two buildings will have 40 one-bedroom, 68 two-bedroom, 39 three-bedroom and six four-bedroom units.

A single-level basement will provide 96 car parks, 153 double-stacked bicycle spaces and service areas for all apartments and commercial tenancies.

Upper-level views from the buildings will

take in Takapuna Beach, Lake Pupuke, Gulf Harbour and the Auckland CBD.

Significant trees on or near the site, including a holm oak and large pohutukawa, would not be affected by the new buildings, arborists for the applicant said.

A key aim of the design “is to improve public connectivity between the proposed central courtyard and the existing link to Killarney St (Beatson Way)”, the application said.

Auckland Council Resource Consents team leader Nick McCool, in his March 2023 decision, said: “The proposed development will fit within the anticipated spatial characteristics of the neighbourhood it is located in, and in particular with the high-density, high-rise development anticipated on the lots adjacent to the subject site, Hurstmere Rd and Killarney St.”

The surge in development flows from Auckland Council’s Unlock Takapuna strategy, being steered by its property arm Eke Panuku. This includes the town-square construction and a deal it struck with Willis Bond to build apartment blocks on its fringes, and a proposed 39-storey development at 14 Huron St which is subject to planning approval.

Intensification... An artist’s impression of the Soho Quarter planned for Hurstmere Rd

Demolition threat alarms fortification fans

Residents and military history guardians are up in arms at threats to the future of Kennedy Park’s World War II-era fortifications.

Options put up by Auckland Council staff include permanently sealing off the site’s tunnels and demolishing a unique but dilapidated former barracks building.

This suggestion has blindsided the Castor Bay Ratepayers and Residents Association and the Kennedy Park World War II Installations Preservation Trust.

The groups have jointly launched a public petition to save the installations, which include two gun emplacements. They have also written to Heritage New Zealand and the Minister for Arts and Culture.

“We’re really disappointed to get to this stage,” said association chair Hamish Anderson. “We’re talking about a Heritage-listed site, Category 1.”

Trust chair Chris Owen, who runs tours of the tunnels and has long lobbied to better protect and promote them, is similarly dismayed. The men learned the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board was presented with options at a recent confidential workshop. Taking place against the background of council budget cuts, council staff talked board members through choices from closure to what Owen described as at best benign neglect, with necessary maintenance left on hold.

“Long term-heritage decisions should not be made for short-term budget reasons,” Anderson told the Observer. Any move to demolish the barracks would require a resource consent, which Owen said the trust would oppose.

What especially stings is that the current predicament follows what Anderson and Owen say has been years of inaction by successive local boards and councillors. Maintenance has not met promises and the installations have significantly deteriorated.

Both are realistic that a costly full restoration of the fenced-off old barracks at 139 Beach Rd is unlikely in the short-term, but they want its exterior made watertight and leaks in the tunnels tended to.

“It’s about legacy and we don’t want to be the ratepayers association who sit by and watch these things run into the ground,” Anderson said. The park was loved and well-used by locals and had the potential to be a significant visitor attraction. Yet it appeared to be the forgotten fortification

Tour the tunnels

The next chance to see inside Kennedy Park’s tunnels is on Sunday, 11 June.

Tours run between 11am and 2pm and last about 30 minutes.

They are held monthly and include an outline of the history of the fortifications by trust members.

Gold coin koha is collected, with money raised going towards the trust’s operations. Find out more at www.kennedypark. org.nz

compared with the better-known ones in Devonport on Maungauika and Takarunga and at Fort Takapuna, Narrow Neck.

Owen said: “A bottom line in my perspective is to not take any action at this stage that would preclude preservation in the future.”

The barracks was designed to resemble a house, in an example in military heritage of so-called deception architecture and is now believed to be the only one of its kind left in New Zealand and rare internationally. It was later used as a state house, with council then acquiring the land it stood on to add to the heritage precinct at Kennedy Park.

Anderson said he remembered the “huge excitement” when North Shore ward councillor Chris Darby told the association’s annual meeting in 2017 that confirmed funding had been set aside to restore it. This amounted to $900,000.

“Not enough maintenance work has been done on the house and tunnels and now they’re in very poor condition,” Anderson said.

The men were briefed by local-board chair Toni van Tonder on the options raised by staff. While they appreciated her reasoning that budget discussions be held in a confidential meeting, Anderson said it was “a bit of a kick in the guts” discussions were not held earlier.

Van Tonder said no decisions or any posi-

tion had yet been taken by the board.

She told the Observer members had called for “a lot more information” from council staff. They expected to discuss this at another workshop expected early next month.

Heritage assets were a testing issue, particularly in this area which had a lot of them, she said. They also included the PumpHouse in Takapuna and the Claystore in Devonport. Getting more council or private support to preserve such assets would be ideal because the board’s own budgets were already under cost-cutting pressure and had to stretch many ways to service community needs.

There was simply “not enough money” to do all it might wish. “We’re going to have to make some tough calls.”

Van Tonder suggested sorting out the future of the barracks should be a priority, given how rundown the building looked. “In a better world we would restore it and open it up.”

Anderson said the barracks had potential to become a community facility, given the building is larger than the park’s two-storey Observation Post, which is already used by groups as a council-owned meeting venue for hire.

“We don’t have for Castor Bay a safe local evacuation and meeting point in case of emergency. If 139 [Beach Rd] was restored, it could fulfil that purpose.”

Call to action

Heritage campaigners are calling on those interested in preserving the Kennedy Park military installations to sign their petition. This can be read at change.org/p/savekennedy-park

Deceptive... An old photo shows one of the gun bunkers when it had a false roof, so from above or at distance it looked like a house

They are also urging people to email Auckland Councillors for the North Shore ward, Richard Hills and Chris Darby, and local board representatives, copying the residents group at cbrra@gmail.com and following its campaign online.

Speaking out for heritage... Castor Bay Ratepayers and Residents Association chair Hamish Anderson (left) at the former barracks building at Kennedy Park, and Kennedy Park WWII Installations Preservation Trust chair Chris Owen in a gun emplacement bunker when

Landmark Takapuna market closing in August

Takapuna’s popular Sunday market will be held for the last time in its current large format on 27 August.

Long-standing operators Trish Keith and Ess Jenner have decided against renewing their lease for a new reduced space to the southern end of the old central car-park site and on public space leading off it to Hurstmere Rd

“The main reason is it would be very difficult to manage,” Keith told the Observer. “It’s very sad.”

Auckland Council property arm Eke Panuku showed them several weeks ago the proposed new site in the town square it is developing. They declined the offer to take it up under new conditions, informing stallholders last week.

Keith said stallholders would lose the ability to operate from their vehicles. This would make things tricky for the likes of big fruit-and-vegetable and flower sellers. Access to unload goods before the market started would be via a service lane beside the cinema. Traffic management for this would likely require the women to employ staff to cope, she said.

The shift is needed to free up the northern end of the site for private redevelopment.

Keith said Eke Panuku told them the new site would fit around 84 stalls, down from around 130 they have currently – already reduced from 200-plus due to site works.

Eke Panuku plans to seek permission of the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board at its June business meeting to call for expressions of interest for new market operators.

“We recognise the Takapuna Sunday market is an important and valued part of the community and as such there has always been provision for a market in the planning and construction of Waiwharariki Anzac Square,” a spokesperson said.

Not for us... Trish Keith and Ess Jenner are exiting the market

Keith remembers early opposition from locals to what is now an institution, attracting many regulars and visitors to the area.

“We probably bring more people to Takapuna on a Sunday morning than are there all week, to be honest,” she said.

It began as a flea market in Shore City’s car park in 1987, spilling onto streets, before moving to the central car-park. Covid restrictions closed it for five months, but it has bounced back.

Ess and her husband, Bruce, were the founders, with Trish and her husband, Fred, joining them two years later. Both of the women are now widows, and after 34 years of working together and with both now living out of Auckland, Keith says maybe it is time for a rest from early starts every Sunday.

A few stallholders have been with them from the start. Goodbyes would be tough.

Eke Panuku’s spokesman said: “It’s an end of an era for sure, but they will be there for the next couple of months.”

Extra estuary effort

Milford residents are seeking volunteers to join them in pulling on the gumboots to get among the mangroves for another working bee in the Wairau Creek and Estuary. The latest post-flood rubbish clean-up will take place this Saturday 17 June from 11am. If you can spare a couple of hours, gather on the beach in front of the Craig Rd toilet block. Bring gardening gloves if you have them.

Constable’s patch grows

Takapuna community constable Brent Stewart is covering for the Devonport area as well while Devonport’s constable, Glenda Peri, works in investigations for several months. She returns to her local role in August. A police spokesman said another North Shore community constable would help Stewart with the peninsula from late June.

Tax case stayed

An application by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue to put KBS Construction Ltd, which is building the Amaia apartments project on Esmonde Rd, into liquidation was discontinued at the High Court at Auckland last Friday. A court registrar confirmed the two parties had come to an arrangement.

Consultation open

Public consultation is open until 21 June on Takapuna Boating Club’s plans to lease out parts of its heritage Bayswater building for commercial use. Auckland Council staff are holding a drop-in session for people wishing to find out more at the clubrooms, 17 Sir Peter Blake Pde, Bayswater, on Thursday, 15 June from 5-7pm. Feedback can be given online via the council’s ‘Have your say’ page.

BRAND NEW APARTMENTS AVAILABLE NOW

LUXURY LIVING AT ITS FINEST

Nestled amongst peaceful surroundings in Devonport, apartments at William Sanders Village feature stunning views across Auckland City, the Harbour Bridge, Rangitoto and Mount Victoria.

One and two bedroom options, with a range of layouts to choose from Priced from $870,000

Plus, purchase any Ryman independent apartment or townhouse by 30 June 2023 and receive a $20,000 credit on settlement.

Terms and conditions apply. $20,000 credited on settlement.

Call Scott or Dell on 445 0909 for more details or visit rymanhealthcare.co.nz

7 Ngataringa Road, Devonport

Ex-Westlaker enjoys step up – and eyes Olympics

From schoolboy star to All Black Sevens, New Zealand U20s and the Blues – what’s next for Caleb Tangitau, asks Lochlan

Former Westlake Boys High School first XV star and current Blues player Caleb Tangitau has Olympic-sized dreams to return to sevens in Paris next year.

Tangitau’s journey to international success started when he was called up for a twoweek trial with the All Black Sevens after impressing scouts at the Ignite7 development tournament in 2020, his last year of school.

After the trial, Tangitau was invited to train with the team for a month. He impressed and at the end of 2021, the then 19-year-old was offered a full contract with New Zealand Rugby and selected for the 2022 World Series and Commonwealth Games squads.

“It was pretty buzzy when I first got the call from Clarkie [Sevens coach Clark Laidlaw] because me and my dad back in the day used to watch sevens quite a lot.”

Although he was the youngest in the squad, Tangitau wasn’t there for experience alone. With his pace and power he scored 17 tries in 21 games in the World Series and collected a silver medal at the World Cup.

He also won bronze at the Commonwealth Games in the UK.

Tangitau’s breakout year “all happened so fast” as he went from schoolboy rugby to playing at the highest level of international sevens in less than two years.

“Just being in that environment with boys like Tim Mikkelson and Joe Webber those boys I used to watch. Yeah it’s pretty surreal.”

Tangitau said another highlight was following in the footsteps of his father, Vaea Fefeka Tangitau, who played for the Tongan sevens side.

Though Tangitau has a three-year contract

with the Sevens, it allowed him to leave for a season to join the Blues.

Tangitau and his agent had a long discussion about the best move to make and decided it would be good to familiarise himself with the 15-a-side elite game, as he has dreams of one day becoming an All Black.

He had to readjust to the game. “I forgot how technical and slower fifteens was.”

But he began his return to union with a bang, winning the U20 Super Rugby competition with the Blues, scoring two tries in the final against the Hurricanes.

Tangitau also made his full Super Rugby debut this season, coming on as a substitute against the Rebels in Melbourne.

“I didn’t even know I was going to debut until they read the team. I saw my name in the lineup and I was like, ‘What the heck?’”

Travelling with the Blues and making the field ticked off another childhood dream.

Winger Tangitau said talking to players such as Caleb Clarke and others in his position has helped him grow his confidence.

The physicality of the game once pro-

gressing out of youth ranks in both sevens and 15s was tough to adjust to at first. “But I’ve sort of got used to it now.”

Last weekend in Wellington Tangitau further underlined his potential, scoring two tries as the New Zealand under-20 team edged the Junior Wallabies, 19-18, to square a two-test series.

He plans to return to the All Black Sevens once the Super Rugby season ends, aiming to win gold at the Paris Olympics next year.

“Hopefully I’ll make that squad or at least the travelling squad.”

After the Olympics, he plans to return to the Blues and to chase that All Black dream.

Despite his fast-tracked success, Tangitau’s family keep him grounded and motivated to keep improving. When he’s not training, he enjoys relaxing by playing Fortnite or NBA 2K on PlayStation.

And his three seasons in the Westlake first XV, mostly at fullback, haven’t been wiped from his memories – his school coaches still call to catch up and congratulate him on his success.

Lineham

Fast mover... Caleb Tangitau has progressed quickly from Westlake’s first XV to training (above) and playing with the Blues and for his country. He has even higher honours in his sights.

MAIN PHOTO: BLUES RUGBY

Takapuna rugby club centurion keeps teammate in mind

Takapuna Rugby Club lock Jamie Winks, who played his 100th game for the club’s premier side on Saturday against Northcote, recalled a late teammate as he reflected on his achievement.

Viliami “Willie” Halaifonua, 27, collapsed and died in July 2013, just after coming off the field at the end of a senior rugby game for Takapuna.

“When things aren’t going so well I always think of Willie,” Winks told the Observer.

“I was in my second year of premiers when it happened. He was a great guy…

“I can still play. Things could be a lot worse.”

Winks played junior rugby for East Coast Bays and then two years for the Rangitoto College First XV before starting with Takapuna in 2008.

He played three years for the under 21s then three seasons with the premier side before moving to Scotland, where he had a three-year stint with Edinburgh Academical.

He credits his Takapuna under-21s coach Kenny Addison – the newly appointed North Harbour NPC coach – as instilling a deep love of rugby. “We had a really good time as a team – it was a great group of boys.”

Winks (32) played most of his early rugby as a loose forward: open side or number six.

In recent years, a glut of loose forward talent at Takapuna has led to him moving into lock.

Property of the week

13 ONEILLS AVENUE | TAKAPUNA New Nautica Masterpiece

Designed with euphoric living in mind this brand new home has just been completed. Excellent architectural design, quality craftsmanship by House of Nautica and exceptional interior design by Julia Holman have created this awe inspiring property in one of North Shore’s finest Avenues.

Set on a sunny street front freehold title this home offers lovely open plan kitchen, living and dining areas on the ground floor which flow seamlessly to alfresco outdoor entertaining areas and the living rooms are complete with a double sided gas fire place. The kitchen offers a large island, scullery, quality appliances and plenty of storage.

Superb attention to detail with purposebuilt, bespoke fittings and finishes found inside and out, engineered American oak timber flooring, central air conditioning system and generous stud height throughout. Four generous bedrooms plus study, three stylishly

tiled bathrooms (inc ensuites) plus guest wc. Fabulous master bedroom enjoys sea views, walk in wardrobe and gorgeous ensuite. The home is well equipped for storage with a large walk in linen cupboard upstairs and two additional cupboards which would allow provision for a lift to be installed if required. Double Garage with internal access and separate laundry.

Properties of this calibre in this location are extremely rare and hard to come by - enquire for viewing options.

PREMIUM.CO.NZ/80391

RICHARD MILNE 021 770 611 RichardMilne@premium.co.nz

ROBERT MILNE 022 011 24 94 RobertMilne@premium.co.nz

TAKAPUNA: 09 916 6000

He made the North Harbour B side in 2022 – the first time he had been selected for a North Harbour team since playing for Goldfields and Roller Mills teams when he was at Northcross Intermediate.

Last season was a highlight for Winks. He was part of Takapuna’s North Harbour premiership-winning team, which beat North Shore 29-19 in the final. He had previously lost one under-21 final and one premier 2 final against Shore, “so it was great to finally win a final against them”.

“We had a great team of players from the starting 15 right through all the reserves,” he said. “Anyone could have taken to the field.”

Winks, who says he has scored around 10 tries in his premier career, has no plans for retirement. He believes he might be still to reach his peak as a lock.

“I’ll keep going till my body gives out or I get a major injury.” If anything Winks says he is more focused and committed to playing than when he was younger.

Takapuna is missing a swathe of top players away overseas or playing super rugby, and has lost a few matches this season.

But Winks reckons the side is still a threat come finals time.

• Takapuna beat Northcote 22-20 moving to third on the Harbour table. It plays North Shore at home this Saturday.

Century up... Jamie Winks in action for Takapuna

Milford women narrowly defeated in tennis final

The Milford Alvarium Angels team (pictured) narrowly lost to Northcote in the final of the Women’s Chelsea Cup North Harbour Tennis premier competition.

The tie was drawn, with both teams winning two singles and one doubles match each for a 3-3 finish. But Northcote was declared

the winner after a set countback. The two teams have won the last 10 Women’s Chelsea Cups between them, usually playing each other in the final. Northcote now holds a 6-4 lead over Milford. The Milford line-up (shown from left) was Boidehi Ukil, Sadheera Weerapperuma, Taleia Tuatao, Poppy Loutit and Katie Oliver.

BELMONT | 52 SEACLIFFE AVENUE

Superbly located just moments away from the sparkling waters of beautiful Narrow Neck beach and set amongst some of north shores finest homes, this substantial 1391sqm (approx) freehold land holding constructed with a palisade wall is a rare find. Gorgeous views to Rangitoto, Tiritiri Island and the Hauraki Gulf are front and centre stage. This substantial 430sqm (approx) home features a delightful open plan kitchen, living and dining area upstairs which flow to a generous covered outdoor deck and separate balcony. Fabulous master bedroom enjoys panoramic views, a walk in wardrobe and ensuite Comprising four large bedrooms, two bathrooms plus guest wc and spacious second living area downstairs. Garaging for three cars, plenty of off street parking, a large home gym/workshop room beside the garage and a wheelchair accessible lift which can be accessed from each level. Just a short stroll from shops, cafes and restaurants and all that this location has to offer. premium.co.nz/80411

VIEW | SUN 11 - 11.30 AM OR BY APPOI NTMENT

EXPRESSIONS OF INTER EST | 22 JUNE 2023 AT 4 PM

Memorial needs changes for move

Moving the Takapuna war memorial into public space from its privately owned site on The Strand will require it to be modified to fit on either of two sites under consideration.

The aim of a shift is to provide a better overall location and more certainty for future Anzac Day public gatherings, says the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Toni van Tonder.

Updating the Observer on a recent meeting that involved the RSA, the parade master, local board members and council staff, she said the working group would continue to work towards agreeing on a new site that suited Anzac Day formalities, while also allowing the public to more easily interact with the memorial.

“None of us consider there to be any major urgency on relocation, so we’re all happy to continue delivering the service in its current format until we understand the full scope of works and cost of relocating,” she said. Due to council budget constraints this could be some years away.

Van Tonder said the group had viewed potential sites: one off Hurstmere Rd, above Hurstmere Green, and the other in Waiwharariki Anzac Square. “Both sites require an alteration of the existing memorial so the next step is for council to look at what can be engineered and what it will cost.”

If the Hurstmere Rd site is preferred, the local board would need to find a way to fund that, whereas a location in the square could fall under the remit of council property arm Eke Panuku, which is transforming the old central car park into a mix of public space and private developments.

Van Tonder said relocation was desirable. “Currently, the memorial is located on private land, and it’s not in an inclusive space that accommodates all those who attend. The current placement also requires the cadets who lower the flags to traverse through garden beds and this isn’t ideal. We will be able to address those design faults in a new location.”

Shifting the memorial to council-owned land provided better control and certainty for the future, she said. More discussions would be held when information became available, she said.

As well as van Tonder, the meeting was attended by board deputy chair, Terence Harpur, and member George Wood, along with Devonport RSA president Muzz Kennett and members Chris Mullane and Ron Turner, the Anzac Day parade master Alex Kopenall, North Shore Brass president Owen Melhuish, representatives of Eke Panuku, and staff from the local board and council’s civic events and parks teams.

Makeover to promote use of Milford hall

The Milford Senior Citizens Club Hall is undergoing a makeover in an attempt to make itself more known. A Milford-themed mural will be painted on its exterior, depicting the beach and the estuary.

The president of Milford Senior Citizens Club (MSCC), Norma Bott, says she hopes the “bright and cheerful” makeover will make more locals aware of the hall, which is behind the New World supermarket. Signage is changing to the club’s initials, to better represent it as a private club with

community ideals, says Bott, who wants more members and more groups to hire the hall.

Raising funds would allow the MSCC committee to tackle other work, including roofing and curtaining.

“There’s been lots of people stopping and saying it’s going to look fantastic.”

Bott hopes to extend the hours of a community library opened in the hall nearly a year ago to Saturday mornings. In time a children’s storytelling session was an aim.

Veteran politician O’Connor still lobbying on park

Former Devonport-Takapuna Local Board deputy chair Jan O’Connor has written to Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown berating the council over the state of Potters Park in Takapuna.

A member of the Friends of Potters Park, O’Connor believes too much of the reserve is fenced off. After council parks and local board staff could not explain why, she also approached council property arm Eke Panuku.

She said nearly an eighth of the park, given to the public by Frederick Seymour Potter 94 years ago, has for more than a month been fenced off, limiting green play space.

“This illegal fence must be removed immediately,” she wrote to Mayor Brown. At press time had not yet received a reply.

O’Connor – who was defeated in last year’s local body elections – fought while on the board last year against a temporary toilet being sited on the playground corner of the park during Eke Panuku’s ongoing construction of the town square which required the old concrete block toilets to be demolished. She and her Heart of the Shore colleagues cited the park’s Deed of Gift, in voting against a request for the board to approve the temporary toilet, but later reversed their position after public comments that users would be caught short.

New permanent public toilets will be built in the square eventually, near the playground, but this could take several years.

The Observer asked Eke Panuku last week what the fence was for. In an email response to O’Connor, also copied to the paper, a spokesperson said: “Currently there is safety fencing installed in Potters Park while the interface between the park and the edge of the square is built and some drainage works completed.”

The fencing was for safety and to protect trees, said the email. It would remain for the next few weeks, allowing grass to re-establish.

Trades & Services

Choked waterway cleared up as flood fix plans pending

Culvert and drain clean-up work to clear flood debris has identified a series of bridges on Sunnynook properties apparently built in contravention of council rules.

Before-and-after shots (right) show one such structure, with at least half a dozen now identified as compliance issues behind homes on Sunnynook Rd and a slip lane leading off it.

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member Mel Powell, a Sunnynook resident, said she had been on a mission to have stormwater drains in the suburb cleared to hinder future flooding.

A “slammed” Watercare had put workers on the job in recent weeks, clearing rubbish and plant matter from waterways, she said. But they also found rubbish caught up on structures residents had installed at the rear of their properties, bridging open culverts. Among larger items cleared away were plastic rubbish bins.

Powell said in some cases residents owned the land on either side of the culvert.

Some house occupants had bridged the divide to access gardens or play areas. The crossings ranged from planks to actual bridges. Her understanding from Watercare was this was not permitted and that compliance officers were investigating.

A shipping container required removal by a crane from where it was left lodged

Before and after... Debris and weeds have been cleared from drains after being washed on 27 January from a property bordering the waterway under the south-eastern overbridge to the Sunnynook bus station. The slip road here flooded again last month, causing damage to cars parked by commuters.

Responsibility for waterways care became a point of contention when Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said residents should do more to clear out drains bordering their properties. This caused a backlash, with residents noting it was physically impossible for some to clamber into deeper culverts or remove large items washed downstream.

Streets not being swept more regularly of leaves from trees on public land also remains an issue.

Local board chair Toni van Tonder told

the Observer that Auckland Council had undertaken to increase street sweeping and that street drain sumps were now to be cleared twice rather than once a year, with problem areas examined three times.

Work was ongoing on bigger infrastructure solutions, but “our area is not being forgotten”, she said.

Managing stormwater through Sunnynook, which includes water channelled from Totaravale on the western side of the motorway, is a key issue for authorities.

The Milford Residents Association recently added its voice for more to be done to ensure flow onward through the Wairau Valley to Milford. It wants a large pond in Link Rd, below the Danske Mobler showroom, dredged more often.

Some officials front up, but questions linger on AEM plans

Our area has finally had the public meeting it deserved months ago, providing straight answers from emergency-response groups about their handling of recent events, rather than another derisory exercise in deflection.

But many questions remain about preparedness for future floods or natural disasters.

The takeaway message from the session in Takapuna two weeks ago was again that communities should plan their own response in case of major emergencies, but this came with a better underpinning of why this is the case. What ongoing support will be provided for this, especially from Auckland Emergency Management (AEM) is still not clear.

Senior leaders from police and fire, along with radio-communications and local groups, spoke about how the 27 January floods and Cyclone Gabrielle in February had played out and what had been learned. Around 35 people attended the session convened by the Auckland North Community and Development group (Ancad), with Auckland Council specialist adviser Michael Alofa chairing proceedings.

They came away with a clearer picture than from a farcical earlier session, at which a representative from council department AEM invited people to participate in a

whiteboard planning exercise. Several of those who turned out in March, expecting some explanations, walked out; others stayed on bemused and irritated or trying to understand how organised civil defence had devolved to self-help.

The latest meeting fostered better awareness of the issues, even if the what to do next is clearly still a work in progress. Key services said communication channels and plans had already improved, including with AEM, though that organisation did not itself attend the meeting.

Revelations about the response included:

• Police had just three incident cars with two staff in each, along with a couple of desk sergeants on duty on the North Shore, when the 27 January floods struck. They rallied to deal with two deaths and hundreds of priority-one calls.

• Fire and Emergency New Zealand dealt with 400 calls in the Waitemata area, while its own Takapuna station in Wairau Rd was flooded, along with the homes of a number of staff and volunteers. It has only recently moved back into the station’s ground floor.

• Auckland Radio Emergency Communications (AREC), which is based in Sunnynook, helped with search and rescue in South Auckland during the floods, but was left unsure why AEM did not make contact, as it did for the later cyclone. AREC found AEM reliant on business systems not emergency systems, and said it had to come up

with a plan for when Auckland power might fail and cellphone coverage lost.

AEM’s handling of the floods was faulted in an Auckland Council-commissioned report by former police commissioner Mike Bush. Alofa told the meeting changes were coming to how the organisation functioned, based on the report, and these would be fed back through local boards.

Concerns about what leadership AEM is offering remain, particularly from residents involved in groups drawing up suburb response plans, which Ancad has been helping deliver in the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area. Board chair Toni van Tonder said it was pushing to get council funds.

Neighbourhood Support told the meeting it had only just employed a North Shore co-ordinator when the floods struck. Its data base needed building back up, but existing members had helped on their streets.

North Harbour Community Patrol, a volunteer group which works with police, activated a 25-member quick response team, helping move cars in the flood and liaising with police over looting in Wairau Valley. A frustration for the volunteers was council’s unwillingness, on privacy grounds, to provide the addresses of red and yellow-stickered properties, so patrols could keep an eye on vacant sites.

The meeting ended with talk about building personal resilience, but also calls for a greater duty of care for the vulnerable.

Janetta Mackay reports on a meeting that was overdue to answer community concerns

Neglected ‘major’ North Shore artist wins overdue

North Shore artist Pauline Thompson is the subject of two retrospective exhibitions, one in Takapuna, showcasing a vision it is surely time to celebrate.

Although her paintings gained respect in the art world before her death, aged 69, in 2012, including a place in the Auckland Art Gallery collection, their themes from her days at Elam arts school onwards were outside prevailing modernist norms, says curator Peter Shaw.

Thompson was a descendant of the Bounty mutineers, and Fletcher Christian’s Tahitian wife Mauatua. This Pasifika background, along with cosmic and spiritual themes, informed her work.

Portraits in domestic settings and Tāmaki Makaurau land and skyscapes – including the Matariki constellation, which was important to her – feature strongly.

Shaw and his wife own two of her paintings, including a local orchard scene which is on show at Takapuna Library’s Angela Morton room, along with miniatures made as gifts for friends and family, notebooks and studio artefacts. Across town at the Pah gallery, her larger paintings feature across its entire ground floor.

Shaw began research pre-Covid, keen to pull together an exhibition to help rectify what he describes as the “terrible neglect of a major artist”. He later learned that the Arts House Trust based at the Pah Homestead in Hillsborough was also interested in Thomp-

son, leading to him helming the exhibitions that opened last week.

When her daughters, who live in Birkdale, were contacted, they said: “We’ve been waiting.”

The family willingly provided material which Shaw combined with works held in other private and public collections to make up the two shows.

There is a simple and pretty quality to the paintings, making it easy to see why Thompson was a misfit at art school, where

the bold strokes and masculine views of Colin McCahon benchmarked New Zealand art.

“She was apart from the primarily modernist teaching that prevailed at the time,” says Shaw. After 18 discouraging months, she quit her studies, going on to marry and have three children. But she always kept painting and drawing, reading and thinking.

Nowadays, her exploration of the indigenous and women’s experience has gained ground in art discourse. It couples with a style Shaw calls “challenging, alluring and mysterious”.

Shaw met Thompson in the 1980s, when her work was shown by prestigious dealer Denis Cohn and other galleries, but this is the first time it has been exhibited since her death.

NOW SHOWING

Jos (E) 45min

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

(M) 108min

Bank of Dave (M) 107min

The Boogeyman (R13) 99min

Maybe I Do (M) 95min

Spider-Man:

Across The Spider-Verse (PG) 141min

The Little Mermaid (PG) 135min

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (M) 119min

Members Preview 11 JUN

The Flash (M) 144min Previews 13-14 JUN COMING

SOON

The Flash (M) 144min 15 JUN

Elemental (PG) 102min Previews 16-19 JUN

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (M) 119min Night-before Preview 21 JUN

SPECIAL EVENT

“Pauline was a woman of conviction and determination, she continued to forge her own way,” he says.

“She had one of those minds that wanted to find linkages between the here and now

events@thevic.co.nz

Starry, starry night... Skyscapes fascinated artist Pauline Thompson

Close to home... An orchard view by Pauline

(right) has an air of mystery

and the everyday and the cosmic.”

Better understanding her Tahitian and English background led her to visits to Norfolk Island, where Bounty descendants are numerous. She also delighted in depicting her home town, from night views of Rangitoto to city-centre scenes.

Both exhibitions will be open for three months, with the Takapuna show best seen as an insightful adjunct, in keeping with the educational purpose of its venue.

Shaw says the Angela Morton Room is a “godsend” for Auckland, with its collection of books on art. The noted art writer and curator even travels from his home in Pirongia in the Waikato to use it.

“It is absolutely invaluable because it has everything you’d want in one place to research.”

• Pauline Thompson: at Takapuna Library’s Angela Morton Room until 27 August.

Wayfinder... Themes of mythology and cosmology imbue the artist’s work, along with her deep knowledge of Polynesian history and a conviction the spiritual pervades nature and humanity. This painting, part of a retrospective at two venues, is on display at Pah Homestead

Milford / Takapuna Tides

Thompson

TAKAPUNA

13 ONEILLS AVENUE

New Nautica Masterpiece | O’Neills Avenue

Indulge in euphoric living in this exceptional new home. Architecturally crafted by House of Nautica. Open-plan living, double-sided fireplace, alfresco entertaining. Four bedrooms +study, three stylish bathrooms. Master suite with sea views. Meticulous attention to detail.

premium.co.nz/80391

VIEW | BY APPOINTMENT

PRICE | BY NEGOTIATION

ROBERT MILNE 022 011 2494

RICHARD MILNE 021 770 611 | TAKAPUNA 916 6000

TAKAPUNA

2004/3 NORTHCROFT STREET

Haven Of Panoramic Perfection - The Sentinel

Nestled on the 04 north western corner of the building, this apartment provides a spectacle that will leave you in awe all while enjoying the spacious 124sqm two ensuited bedroomed immaculate apartment complete with private sun soaked deck, separate powder and laundry room.

premium.co.nz/80427

VIEW | BY APPOINTMENT

PRICE | BY NEGOTIATION

ALISON PARKER 021 983 533 | TAKAPUNA 916 6000

TAKAPUNA

1 2 /12 BURNS AVENUE

Boutique New Penthouse - Skyloft

Brand new ready to move in! Positioned on the northern corner of this boutique project. Two storeys, two bedrooms, fab master bedroom suite, walk in wardrobe, opening to its own private deck. 92sqm internal plus outdoors. Strata freehold title, pet friendly on application. BC Fee $4,775 approx

premium.co.nz/ 80397

VIEW | SUN 1 - 1.30 PM

PRICE | BY NEGOTIATION

ALISON PARKER 021 983 533

GERRY PETRIE 021 923 352 |

TAKAPUNA 916 6000

TAWHARANUI PENINSULA | M ATA KANA

9 2 3 TAK ATU ROAD

Award Winning Coasta l Oasis

Set in 2.2 hectares on the stunning Tawharanui peninsula, overlooking Kawau Bay and the Hauraki Gulf, this awardwinning home is New Zealand’s dream lifestyle, close to the vibrant, artsy village of Matakana. 357sqm home with 4 bedrooms, passive solar heating and heated swimming pool.

premium.co.nz/90105

VIEW | BY APPOINTMENT PRICE | $4.2M

LINDA SMITH 021 470 175

ROB MATULICH 021 634 059 |

MATAKANA 09 422 9280