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Downsized Takapuna Market returns
Lake safety gear audit underway before drowning
Investigations into how many lifebuoy rings are available at Lake Pupuke had begun prior to a man drowning in the Takapuna lake this month.
The man and his friend were swimming on 1 January about 9.15pm when one got into diffculty, police say. Despite efforts by his friend to save him, the man did not resurface and emergency services were called.
Due to rough conditions, his body could not be found that night. It was recovered late the following day.
The matter has been referred to the Coroner. Authorities have not named the man. It is understood the family has requested the Coroner to not release his identity.
Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member Toni van Tonder told the Observer an Auckland Council audit of safety equipment around Lake Pupuke had already been under-way, with “an intention to ensure that there’s an appropriate amount of life-saving equipment around the lake”.
New life rings had been bought for Quarry Lake and Henderson Park prior to the drowning, she said. A life ring is usually located at the jetty near the PumpHouse Theatre, but it is understood this was found to be missing the morning after the drowning. It is not known whether it was used in the search efforts or had already been missing. An alarm system to monitor it is being considered.
“We can’t criticise what [safety gear] was there already until we see the coroner’s report,” van Tonder said. “The increase in popularity of our open spaces has led to a greater need,” she said.
Pupuke is more than 50m deep in places and sometimes murky. As a freshwater lake, it does not provide the buoyancy of salt water.
A number of drownings have occurred there in the last 20 years. In July 2011, Daniel Waata Stoneham, 33, and Tyrone North, 37, died during dive training and in December 2010 Raphael Alualu, 16, drowned after jumping from a cliff in Smales Quarry. Previous drownings occurred in 2008 and 2004.
Takapuna Sunday market reopens this weekend, after six months out of operation due to Covid-19 concerns.
Many other markets had reopened so “we thought we would give it a go,” said co-operator Trish Keith. “We’re just going to hope for the best.”
Stallholders would have to hold vaccine passes and wear masks to set up, Keith said. This meant she had lost a few unvaccinated stallholders.
Getting clarifcation on operating conditions had been diffcult, she said, with government departments referring her from one to the other.
She had closed down with the August lockdown last year, after also being disrupted February and during the long 2020 lockdown. Late last year, with the change from alert levels to the traffc light system, she decided to stay shut, despite some other markets reopening. She said then that this was due to the size of the Takapuna market and its multiple access points meaning checking vaccine passports would be diffcult.
“It’s been a one-sided thing. Across the
road, the Shore City mall, they’re not checking anything,” she said last week. “Sylvia Park has thousands of people walking in” – many of whom were not scanning in. Keith said returning stallholders were keen to get back to business. But numbers would be down on peak trading pre-Covid, The temporary market site fts 125 stalls, but with some operators taking double spaces, the total number of stallholders will be less than that. At its peak, the market could accommmodate nearly three times that number of stalls, she said, although generally in recent years capacity was only reached around Christmas. Stalls will be positioned at the Anzac St end of the central Takapuna car park – away from where work to create a town square has begun. The market will move further south into the completed Waiwharariki Anzac Square in around 18 months’ time. The car park will then be completely closed to the public to allow the construction of highrise buildings to begin in development deals set to be struck soon by Auckland Council property arm Panuku. Bodyline – by Guy Body
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