Mahurangi Matters_Issue 452_10 April 2023

Manuhiri does landfill land deal

DOME VALLEY LANDFILL

All the land for the proposed mega-dump in the Dome Valley will eventually be gifted to the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust by Waste Management NZ (WM), if the landfill goes ahead.

The Environment Court heard last week that this formed part of the agreement reached between WM and the trust recently. As a result, Ngāti Manuhiri’s previous position as a vocal opponent to the tip, and appellant against the resource consent, switched to support.

The trust’s lawyer Jason Pou said during the cultural evidence sessions at Te Hana Te Ao Marama Maori cultural centre last week that one of the issues Ngāti Manuhiri wanted to achieve was “to have the land for their people to live in, in their rohe”, or territory.

“One of the things Ngāti Manuhiri agreed with Waste Management is that Ngāti Manuhiri would receive all the land, the buffer land, including land with exotic forest,” Pou said.

The WM land totals just over 1000 hectares, comprising two properties – the

Springhill Estate site, previously owned by Richard Izard and then Tony Lentino, and land largely planted with pines that was owned by Matariki Forests.

The gift of the landholding comes in addition to WM’s agreement to pay $10 million in the event of the planned landfill ever “threatening the integrity” of the Hoteo River, which runs through Springhill and out to the Kaipara Harbour.

The revelation came as Pou was questioning Te Rūnanaga o Ngāti Whātua co-chair Dame Naida Glavish, who had just spoken at length about the damage she feared the

proposed tip would do to the mauri, or life force, of the Hoteo River and Kaipara.

Pou asked her if she could see Ngāti Manuhiri owning the land as being “something worse than the current pakeha ownership?”

She said definitely not, as Ngāti Whātua could always sit down with Ngāti Manuhiri and have a good conversation.

“We can agree to disagree, but the relationship is still strong,” she said. However, when Pou suggested the fact

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The Environment Court landfill appeals moved offline from Microsoft Teams to a marae last week, as Judges Melinda Dickey and Jeff Smith (pictured), together with Commissioners Ruth Bartlett, Glenys Payne and Kevin Prime, reconvened for cultural evidence at Te Ao Marama Maori cultural centre in Te Hana.

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that the land would be going to Ngāti Manuhiri was not necessarily a bad thing for Ngāti Whātua, she demurred, saying she hadn’t seen the land, so she couldn’t agree outright. She added that she would still like to be involved so that, in the event of consent being granted, anything “didn’t come back to bite us in the proverbial”. And when Ngāti Whātua counsel Rob Enwright mentioned later that the proposition was that Ngāti Manuhiri would become the ultimate landowners of the land and engage in its revitalisation, Dame Naida reiterated her position that, as far as Ngāti Whātua were concerned, the landfill shouldn’t go ahead.

Lengthy court deliberations

DOME VALLEY LANDFILL

One of the hallmarks of the landfill appeals case has been its sheer duration.

Proceedings opened on June 20 last year and, up to Thursday last week, judges, commissioners and counsel representing Waste Management, Auckland Council and the parties appealing against resource consent had spent 46 days sitting.

Head Judge Jeff Smith has regularly reminded all parties that the case can’t go on forever, urging everyone concerned to be a brief as possible.

Last week at Te Hana Te Ao Marama Maori cultural centre was no exception as, once again, the time taken up by various cultural witnesses and their cross examination stretched well beyond what had been allotted.

Several witnesses ended up missing their opportunity to appear in person at the marae and were forced to appear when the case resumed online. Once again, and on several occasions, Judge Smith said the case needed to be concluded and urged counsel to rein themselves and their clients in.

“The time for proceedings has gone well beyond the constraints. We just can’t keep throwing time at this, it has been nearly a year-long hearing now,” he said.

Glavish delivers view on Hoteo

DOME VALLEY LANDFILL (WM), it will also degrade the whenua (land).”

First on the stand at Te Hana was Te Rūnanaga o Ngāti Whātua co-chair Dame Naida Glavish.

In a characteristically spirited performance, she started her court appearance by declaring that she would much rather have sworn her oath on the Treaty of Waitangi instead of the Bible, before telling the court that she had been brought up on – and in – the Hoteo River and explaining its importance.

“I’m the mother of three daughters and two sons, the grandmother of 19 and the great grandmother of 37,” she said. “I have a responsibility to every one of them to stand here today to protect the Hoteo for them and those not yet born.” She said her grandmothers had taught her “when you see something wrong in front of you, you are duty-bound to correct it. If you don’t, you will become like it”.

“It doesn’t make me popular, but popularity is not something I look for,” she said. Dame Naida described how the mauri, or life force, of the Hoteo and the Kaipara had already been depleted in her lifetime, with many fish and shellfish species that were once common now rare or extinct.

“The mauri is degraded now. Not only will that continue with Waste Management

When asked about WM’s assertions that the landfill’s effects on the land and environment would be negligible, she appeared incredulous.

“Negligible? How can you dump rubbish on something and say it won’t have an effect? What sort of English language is that? I don’t know how you can do damage and expect there to be no negative response to that. I can’t understand that at all.” And she said if iwi had been consulted properly, the Dome-Wayby Valley site would not have been chosen.

“If we were asked in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this court today. No mana whenua would have agreed to it at all.”

When asked by Forest & Bird lawyer Peter Anderson if WM’s proposals to install a large pest-proof fence and carry out extensive native planting would reduce adverse effects on the mauri of the Hoteo, Dame Naida said everything had its own mauri – trees, birds, the river and so on – and if even one thing went wrong, everything would struggle. “I don’t understand how it could reduce an ‘adverse effect’. It will affect whatever’s in that area,” she said. “Having Waste Management there is not going to rejuvenate our river.”

Brynderwyn work

Court sits in Te Hana

The Environment Court moved to Te Hana’s Te Ao Marama Marea Maori Cultural Centre last week for three days of cultural evidence in the appeal case against a landfill in the Dome Valley. Judges Melinda Dickey and Jeff Smith, commissioners, counsel, media and the public were welcomed onto the centre’s marae with a powhiri on the morning of Monday, April 3, with speeches from kaumatua, a karakia and waiata. The hearing then resumed with evidence from and cross-examination of representatives from hosts

Te Rūnanaga o Ngāti Whātua, plus Te Uri o Hau, Ngāti

Whātua Orakei, Fight the Tip and Ngāti Manuhiri. This stage of the hearing was due to have been held at Puatahi Marae, near Glorit, but had to be moved due to structural damage from Cyclone Gabrielle. After two days where few members of the public attended, the final day saw around 60 extra visitors at the marae, including a large Ngāti Wai contingent. The three-day session ended with waiata, karakia and speeches from both the court and hosts, expressing gratitude for a successful, cooperative and mutually respectful event. The case continues.

Witnesses question need for landfill at all

DOME VALLEY LANDFILL

The question of why a new landfill is being pursued, as opposed to more modern alternatives, has arisen throughout the Environment Court case, most recently during the planning and cultural evidence. Andrew Brown, a chartered town planner from the UK now living in NZ and working as planning manager for Ngāti Whātua Orakei, gave a snapshot of what’s happening in Europe when he gave evidence during an online session on March 31.

He said the switch from traditional landfill to alternative waste disposal streams didn’t have to be a slow process.

Brown was working for a council north west of London when a European Landfill directive came out in 1999, effectively moving the industry towards landfills being banned. He said his council was faced with an application for a new landfill, and that part of the applicant’s premise was that London was running out of capacity and waste would be piling up in the streets as a result.

“That application was duly rejected and sure enough, policy direction started to move very quickly after that and, in particular, the landfill tax was rapidly ramped up,” Brown said. “Now landfill has gone down by about 90% and residual landfill activity is really quite minimal.

“There are parallels here – this is a proposal for large landfill based on historical practices, when you’re on the cusp of a new (Auckland Council) waste strategy, signalling getting away from from landfill to resource recovery.

“From historical to new practices can

change quite quickly and this proposal for a new landfill needs to be viewed in that context,” he said.

At the Te Hana cultural hearings last week, Ngāti Whātua commercial director Glenn Wilcox, who is also on Auckland Council’s Maori Statutory Board, said he had spent time working on council’s latest waste management and waste minimisation policy.

“We stopped using steam trains in the 1960s, but we’re still using the same way to get rid of rubbish that we did then. We need to use more technology rather than just dumping it in the ground,” he said.

Wilcox said he had visited South Australia with council staff and members to look at the various ways to recycle most materials.

“Recycling is a big part of it. The building

industry has a lot of materials it could be recycling here,” he said.

Some 80% of waste currently going to Auckland landfills is from construction. Counsel for WM Bal Matheson asked if Wilcox agreed that landfill was still needed to cope with Auckland’s waste for the next 30 years at least.

“You’re looking at your lifetime and you need to look at it from the lifetime of the world,” Wilcox replied. “It’s not 30 years, not 70 years – the life of a kauri can be 700 years-plus. If you’re not going to start the process of moving away from landfill now, when are you going to start?”

During the same session, the development of a new landfill was likened to using 19th century technology in the 21st century.

State Highway 1 through the Brynderwyn Hills, north of Kaiwaka, was open during Easter, but is due to close again on April 17 for two weeks. Waka Kotahi says this will allow contractors time to complete major earthworks and drainage installation before permanently opening the road next month. Contractors have already cleared around three Olympic sized swimming pools of material from the Brynderwyn Hills, with the equivalent of another 20 remaining to clear. There are up to seven teams working through the site at any given time, clearing multiple over slips and cutting tracks to access the top of the major slip. Waka Kotahi says it will continue to closely monitor the road and weather conditions, and the road may be closed at short notice should conditions become unsafe for road users.

Goat Island repairs

Goat Island Road, which was severely damaged during weather events earlier this year, is expected to be repaired by the end of next month. Downer NZ has carried out a detailed investigation, and geotechnical investigations and design work has started. In the meantime, temporary remedial work is scheduled to happen this month. Currently there is a one lane system working. The temporary remedial works will allow two lanes of traffic to be re-established, but during the permanent works, traffic will revert to one lane at all times. The cost of the project is still being determined.

Limited access

The Mangawhai Surf Club and surrounding area remains off limits to the public due safety concerns, following the landslide behind the clubhouse earlier this year. This includes the beach directly in front of the building. Kaipara District Council has closed parts of the Mangawhai Heads Recreation Reserve, including the Mangawhai Heads lookout and public tracks behind the clubhouse, the lower carpark and boat ramp. “We acknowledge there is limited access to the area at the moment,” a Council spokesperson said. “We are reviewing the parking options available and appropriate beach access.” Meanwhile, Mangawhai Surf Club is working on the next steps for the club building. The beach is still accessible for the public by using the northern access track, across from the upper car park.

Council appointment

Auckland Council has appointed Vicki Salmon as chair of the board for its councilcontrolled organisation Tātaki Auckland Unlimited. Salmon is an experienced business manager in governance and leadership with a background as chief executive and a director in both the private and public sector in New Zealand and Australia. She has been a trustee for the Eden Park Trust, chief executive and director of publicly listed Restaurant Brands and Group Rentals, and a director of Auckland District Health Board (ADHB).

The point was made that landfills are yesterday’s solution to waste disposal.

Landfill site wrong and too risky – Ngāti Whātua evidence

DOME VALLEY LANDFILL

At least 10 representatives of Te Rūnanaga o Ngāti Whātua, who were hosting the cultural sessions at Te Hana last week, appeared and gave evidence to the court. While aspects of each presentation differed, the most common themes were that the Dome was the wrong place for a landfill and the Hoteo River and Kaipara Moana were too precious to put at any risk of further degradation.

Ngāti Whātua representative for South Kaipara and Auckland Council senior cultural adviser Richard Nahi opened his presentation by stating that the Kaipara Harbour was highly valued and should be preserved and protected from any industrial or commercial development such as the proposed landfill. He said that regardless of the “highest world technology and expertise” used in its development, Ngāti Whātua as a people and a tribe knew that eventually leachate and other contaminants would make their way through to the Hoteo River and the Kaipara Moana via underground acquifers.

“It will directly impact and devastate the natural environment, which has provided food for our people since they arrived in 1250,” Nahi said.

“Ngāti Whātua is not prepared to support the Dome landfill due to short and longterm effects.

“The area is not the right site or place, we’re not prepared to wait for the next weather event to happen, when it will be too late for Waste Management to reverse the situation.” Nahi said the power of water would never be contained, controlled or secured and there were huge risks with any major weather event that could damage or fracture the landfill.

“No amount of money is going to fix it or stop it,” he said. “Waste Management is still saying it has the technology, but we’re not prepared to gamble or compromise.”

Nahi presented an in-depth history of Ngāti Whātua and its people, and how interconnected they were with Ngāti Manuhiri and other hapu and iwi.

“We’re all in there,” he said. “We’re all linked. We don’t want our young people fighting. We have to act with integrity to make sure this doesn’t happen.”

Nahi said he wasn’t against a landfill per se, just where it would be sited.

“All the rivers flowing from the Dome are a huge taonga (treasure),” he said.

“If iwi were approached in the proper manner, this wouldn’t have happened.”

After outlining efforts made by WM to contact and consult with Ngāti Whātua, the company’s lawyer, Bal Matheson, asked Nahi if he agreed that WM had always acknowledged the importance of maintaining and protecting the Kaipara Moana and Hoteo River from any effects

from the landfill.

“The only way we have confidence in Waste Management and developing the landfill is for it not to be there,” Nahi replied. “We don’t want that to happen, it’s a risk thing when you’re dealing with Mother Earth, earthquakes, all that rain we’ve been having, whether it’s a landfill or anything else.”

Cost of fighting application takes financial toll

The amount of time, effort and expense involved in dealing with the landfill application had left Ngāti Whātua struggling, the court heard.

Chief executive Alan Riwaka said Ngāti Whātua were not resource management experts and did not have the resources of a large corporate, but at times there were so many emails or questions from WM, he’d felt like he was working for the company.

“This is a massive application,” he said. “It’s been like a rope around our neck for the last four years.

“We’re at well over $500,000 so far, and we’d far rather be building houses for our whanau, for our homeless than front this for all our hapu. This is not something I would wish on anybody.

“Half a million dollars or $700,000 might not be much to Waste Management, but it kills us.”

Riwaka added that Ngāti Whātua would have preferred to sit down with Auckland Council and discuss the wider issue of its waste strategy policy, which aspires to the creation of no more landfills and the use of other technology.

“If their processes were more clear we probably wouldn’t he here,” he said. “Whatever happens, this is going to need to be dealt with

by Auckland Council.”

WM lawyer Bal Matheson said the company wouldn’t invest in something that would lose money and it was a corporate that needed to get a return on its investment.

“But it shouldn’t be at our expense,” Riwaka replied. “Waste Management wants to put in a landfill in an area we’re really concerned about and with impacts.”

He said Ngāti Whātua had been prepared to look at other sites with WM, and he had had conversations with the council and the Ministry of Environment about how waste should be managed in future in and around Auckland, but they had led to nothing.

“We feel pretty let down really and it leaves us with the feeling why would we want to get involved,” he said. “We’re really struggling to get justice for our people.”

Judge Smith commented that there appeared to a policy void that the court was being asked to fill.

Riwaka agreed, saying, “We would encourage and participate in any policy development area. We want to get greater certainty that outcomes are adhered to.”

Discussing the Dome

The court spent some considerable time debating exactly what the Dome Valley meant in terms of its location and extent to various parties.

The exchange began when Waste Management counsel Bal Matheson was crossexamining Ngāti Whātua’s Glenn Wilcox on where he believed the Dome Valley and Wayby Valleys began and ended; the proposed landfill site sits somewhere between the two. Wilcox said he learned what areas were called from his tupuna, or grandparents, and korero, or discussion, not from a map. He added that Ngāti Whātua had a binding responsibility to say the Dome Valley was not the right site for a landfill.

Judge Smith said that, as a boy from Whangarei, he had always understood the Dome started at the Hoteo River bridge going south on State Highway 1 and continued through to the top on the hill going down towards Warkworth. There then followed considerable discussion and looking at maps in a bid to decide exactly where Wayby Valley and the Dome Valley started and finished, though many present agreed with Judge Smith’s belief that the whole area was simply known as the Dome, or Dome Valley. There was also some debate on what parties meant when they referred to the Hoteo – whether it was just the Hoteo River, or its wider catchment area.

Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Manuhiri and Te Uri o Hau all claim to have interests in, and responsibility for, the land in question, or all or part of the Hoteo catchment.

Plea for common sense from respected Kaiwaka kaumatua

DOME VALLEY LANDFILL

If the landfill is consented, people from the Kaipara Harbour will stand strong and say ‘No’ to Waste Management and the dump. That was the message to the court from Te Uri o Hau kaumatua Ben Hita when he appeared before the court at Te Hana. He said he had been born and brought up on the Kaipara and could see the damage that had already been done to this “gem” of a harbour.

“I hear all the korero [discussion] saying it [damage from the landfill] won’t happen, it might happen, yes it will happen, but can anyone give me a full guarantee, a 100-year guarantee that it won’t happen?” he asked. “Cyclone Gabrielle wasn’t going to happen, but it did and we’re still clearing up from that.”

He said Te Uri o Hau and Ngāti Whātua were trying to help restore the harbour, and he acknowledged the many organisations working “to tidy up what we as humans have messed up”.

“For God’s sake, somebody do something or we’re not going to have a Kaipara Harbour,” he said. “Think about what we are doing to the environment.

“Please, everybody, think about what we’re doing and use some common sense. The Kaipara Harbour is the largest harbour in the southern hemisphere, yet we can abuse it in the way we do. Are we really that stupid? Surely we’re not.”

Hita added that he didn’t believe any water

that flowed over the landfill, even after it was closed and the land restored, would ever be pure and he wouldn’t allow people to fish the waters into which it flowed.

Long time champion of the Kaipara Harbour Willie Wright told the court that he and many groups had been working since 1996 to slow down the rate of sedimentation into the harbour and its effects.

“700,000 tonnes of sediment flows in every year,” he said. “The mauri of the harbour is at a tipping point. It will take more than repair and planting to restore it.”

Wright said the landfill was “another headache” in the already complex problem of trying to repair the harbour.

“My concern is where it is – it’s highly erodible land,” he said.

“Kaipara Harbour is the Hoteo River, the Hoteo River is the Kaipara Harbour. It’s all connected.

“My role is to protect, better and enhance the harbour and I have no guarantee that the proposed landfill won’t harm it any further. If something goes wrong, whether it’s tomorrow, in 100 years or 1000 years, any further degradation would be devastating.

“The thought of a waste site within the catchment in unthinkable,” he said.

Wright said the recent floods and the fact that such events seem to be becoming more frequent and severe, and how such events might damage the landfill liner or site itself, were a cause of concern for him.

Local food and drink producers strike gold

Locally made chocolate, pizza kits, kefir, olive oil and smoked fish have all won gold in this year’s Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards.

The five winning producers are Foundry Chocolate from Mahurangi West, Puhoi’s Momojo Kefir, the Matakana Olive Co-operative, Matakana Smokehouse and Perfectly Imperfect Pizza, also from Matakana.

Almost 300 food and drink products were entered in the awards this year, which were judged in Auckland just after Cyclone Gabrielle had struck. Head judge and Mahurangi Matters food columnist Lauraine Jacobs said that while the awards were one of the most satisfying yet to assess, the storms hit entries and producers hard.

“It wreaked havoc for many of our farmers and food producers and, most unfortunately, meant some outstanding foods could not be included,” she said. “The team of expert and well-qualified judges want to extend sympathy and encouragement to all those affected.”

She said she hoped all those affected could “revive, recover and return to continue to feed our nation” with their food products.

Jacobs added that there were still nearly 300 entries in this year’s awards, including 54 products in the new ‘Free-from’ category – food made and marketed to meet special dietary requirements, such as vegan, gluten-free, carb-free, meat-free or keto.

“The 2023 entries of this, the seventh year of our awards, was one of the most satisfying array to judge to date,” Jacobs said. “I am proud of our food producers and truly honoured to continue to lead a team of outstanding judges to seek New Zealand’s most outstanding foods.”

All Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards gold medal winners are in contention for Category Champion and Special Awards, which will be announced at a party in Auckland on April 18.

Gold Medal winners

Foundry Chocolate: Pinalum, Malekula Island, Vanuatu 70% bar; Soconusco, Chiapas, Mexico 70% bar; Mini Chocolate Eggs – Kilombero Valley, Tanzania 70%; Mini Chocolate Eggs – Pinalum, Malekula Island, Vanuatu 70%.

Momojo Real Kefir: Vanilla, Mango

Matakana Olive Co-operative: Matakana Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Perfectly Imperfect Woodfired Pizza Kits: Vegetable; Meat

Matakana Smokehouse: Cold Smoked Salmon; Hot Smoked Warehou

Landfill case delays sand hearing start

The ongoing Dome Valley landfill case is having repercussions for the Pakiri sand mining hearing in the Environment Court, which was originally set down to start in next month.

On the question of hearing dates, Judge Jeff Smith, who is presiding over both cases, says there needs to be sufficient time to do preliminary evaluation and drafting in relation to the landfill case, as well as a proper reading of the evidence in this [the sandmining case] case.

In a court minute, Judge Smith says the evidence for Pakiri has already been subject to a number of applications for extension, and it is clear that the parties are having some difficulty in preparing and filing their evidence in the timelines given.

Applications for extensions relate to the applicants’ late provision of data, and another to counsel and a witness being involved in the extended landfill case.

The likely starting date is now July, with three-week long sittings in August and September, and finishing in early October.

As a consequence of a later hearing date start, the court is also considering an extension to evidence deadlines, which is feels should give adequate time for mediation.

The court will hear appeals against all three decisions on whether sand mining should or should not continue off Pakiri and Mangawhai beaches. The appeals deal with a decision to refuse McCallum Brothers resource consent to continue to mine sand inshore and offshore along the Pakiri and Mangawhai embayment, and a decision to grant conditional consent for them to take sand from a midshore area north of Te Arai Point.

The parties involved in the case are McCallum Brothers, Manuhiri Kaitiaki Charitable Trust, Friends of Pakiri Beach, the Director General of Conservation, Auckland Council and Pakiri G Ahu Whenua Trust.

Les Miller & Jackie Woolerton - Webster Malcolm Law

Lauraine Jacobs headed the judging panel.

Riverbank housing case argued

A two-day hearing into an application to build 49 houses between Sandspit Road and the Mahurangi River was heard at Warkworth Town Hall last month.

Developer Denis Horner wants to build the new homes at 34 and 36 Sandspit Road, a non-complying activity under the two sites’ current Future Urban zoning. The properties are also part of a significant ecological area and feature natural and historic heritage overlays.

A panel of three independent commissioners, chair Karyn Sinclair, Nicki Williams and Cherie Lane, heard that Auckland Council consultant planner Andrew Miller was recommending that the application be refused.

However, barrister for the applicant Jeremy Brabant said there were a range of positive effects arising from the proposal, including new reserves, pathways into Warkworth town centre and public access to historic riverside lime kilns.

He said the mixed housing development was “efficient, effective and appropriate” for the site, which he said was unlike any

other and already in a residential area, and he encouraged commissioners to approve the application with conditions. More than a dozen submitters were in favour of the planned development, since it would provide public access to the northern side of the riverbank and provide a range of housing within walking distance of the town centre. Eight people raised objections, largely on traffic safety and congestion grounds. There were also concerns over the stability of the land, stormwater issues, a lack of parking, the heritage kilns and how the development might affect the local landscape and ecology.

The hearing was adjourned on March 28 pending receipt of additional information, which the panel will consider between themselves, since the public part of the process is finished. A decision is expected by the end of the month.

A private plan change application has also been submitted to rezone the land as Residential Mixed Housing Urban, and to alter heritage and outstanding natural landscape overlays.

Local Board delays bowling plan

Bowls Warkworth has received a setback in its relocation and development plans.

The club had hoped the Rodney Local Board would agree to its proposal to develop the reserve in Glenmore Drive without calling for Expressions of Interest (EOI) from other parties who might have an interest in the reserve.

However, Auckland Council staff have recommended that the Board go through the EOI process. A Board spokesperson says that where land is available for development, the standard practice is to undertake an EOI process.

“A report is being prepared for the Local Board recommending the EOI, which includes advertising that a community

lease is available for land at Glenmore Drive Reserve. The report will come to a business meeting for the Board’s decision in the next couple of months.”

Bowls Warkworth vice president John Hurdley says that after working on the project with council for two years, it was disappointing to face yet another delay.

He says the club has made it clear that it has the means to finance the project without calling on any financial support from council.

If the Glenmore Drive lease is approved, the bowls club plans to build a world-class bowling facility on the land, funding it through reserves and the sale of its current clubrooms and greens in Mill Lane.

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The hearing was held in the Warkworth Town Hall.

YouSay

Kaipara farming defence

As a fourth-generation daughter of “the denuded Kaipara Hills farms”, referred to by Mark Newcomb (MM March 27), here is my reply:

He says he is not denigrating farmers, yet he aims loaded comments such as “generations of irresponsible denuding”. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong “generations” to criticise.

Yes, parts of these hills should never have been stripped of virgin native forest. My brother and nephew (5th generation) plan to retire some sections back to trees. Ironically, it makes more financial sense to earn carbon credits by tree planting than it does to produce food.

Their plan is to plant natives, not pines despite the fact that they earn two to three times more carbon credits and, in 30 years, would provide a cash crop, but also a source of more slash and erosion.

In the 1960s, my Kaipara Hills farmer father was one of five founding members of the Farm Forestry Association, an organisation ahead of its time promoting trees on farms. He was a conservationist before it became trendy, a respected source of knowledge on all native flora and fauna, and an active member of Forest and Bird. My mother and he spent many voluntary hours doing some of the first replanting on our Hauraki Gulf islands, among other places. He spent his lifetime strategically planting our Kaipara Hills farm, being a pioneer of using poplar poles to prevent erosion.

In following generations, my sister-inlaw has propagated thousands of native seedlings, bush remnants are fenced, my nephew and his wife are active members of the Forest Bridge Trust, do extensive pest control, constantly review their farming practices with an environmental lens and in 2018, they won the Ballance Farm

Environment Award, which celebrates sustainable land use.

Would recent damage have been “less catastrophic if better land management had been practiced?” – some of the worst damage to the farm was from pine slash. It washed down from the neighbouring property (recently harvested), gutting creek banks, stripping replanting and destroying re-fencing. Slash is a first for the farm. There is more to come – it clogs the Pinui Creek and Hoteo River – ready to do further damage.

Ironically, the worst damage was from trees. I am glad my father is not here to see his lifetime’s work so devastated. One hillside he planted when a young man went down like dominoes. There are also slips in areas of mature natives, taking down good-sized trees. These recent storms were a 100-year event. (In 1924 my grandfather recorded 14 inches of rain in six hours. The farm suffered equal devastation.) The record rain softened ground, which was followed by a cyclone. Trees went down, triggering landslides.

When you whakapapa to the land, it is heartbreaking.

So yes, Mark Newcomb, at the moment my nephew needs moral support. Perhaps you would like to donate to a re-fencing fund or volunteer at the next planting day on the farm? It’s great you care.

Alice Sullivan, Kaipara Flats

Raised crossing opposed

I find it hard to justify the cost or need for a raised crossing outside Warkworth Primary School. There are warning lights well before and after the crossing during morning and afternoon use, an area coated with anti-skid and crossing monitors. It works really well and has done for the 33 years we have lived on Hill Street.

Hill Street has got increasingly busier with many trucks, day and night (and probably more in the future as the subdivisions go ahead), private cars, metro and tour buses that are quite low, motorbikes especially on the weekends, and emergency vehicles that must use Hill Street to avoid traffic on the main road.

The noise and exhaust pollution created as they all brake, navigate, thump off the hump and then chop through their gears to get up Hill Street will affect residents and the school.

The community that needs to be consulted must include the people who have to drive over the crossing.

Please don’t raise the crossing. The raised crossing in Woodcocks Road is a hazard and hated by all who navigate it.

Clara Forno, Warkworth

Political expediency

I was disappointed to read (MM March 27) that just a couple of weeks after the region has experienced several catastrophic climate change induced weather events, that two of the youngest members of the Rodney Local Board have been lobbying to reallocate money destined for the shuttle bus trial for Warkworth and instead channel it into roads.

Surely those who have far longer to experience the bad affects of climate change than us older citizens (who actually welcome this convenient form of public transport) have a responsibility to future generations to support getting CO2 emissions down.

Cutting out sensible public transport options is not going to help with that. Without doubt there is a vocal and very active roads lobby in the Rodney Local Board area, so quite frankly this looks like political expediency and protecting votes.

Neil Anderson, Algies Bay

Early bird gets the win

It’s barely April and already we have an entry for our Quote of the Year Award that we really can’t see being beaten. It comes from Jenny Bartlett of Snells Beach, who has been shaving her head and tattooing her scalp to raise funds for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ for the past 10 years. On hearing that her head was now completely covered in inked images of native birds and flowers, Mahurangi Matters naturally asked if she would be tattooing anywhere south of her skull in future? “No,” came the resounding reply. “Two birds on the head are NOT going to lead to one in the bush!”

Driven to drink

One of the many perils for city folk venturing out of the CBD and taking SH1 to Warkworth were revealed during a recent planning hearing at the Town Hall. After the panel chair had called for a swift 10-minute break on the first morning, barrister Jeremy Brabant made a heartfelt plea for an extra five minutes, although it wasn’t to consult his client or check his briefs. “The traffic was so bad I didn’t have time to get a coffee before we started,” he admitted. His wish was not only granted, but panel chair Karyn Sinclair made sure all was well on the second day, as well. “Have you had a coffee this morning, Mr Brabant?” she inquired, before ending the first session.

Sniff test lesson

Some of the legalese being used by counsel in the Dome landfill case in the Environment Court has most ordinary people’s eyes glazing over. But it got even more baffling when one of the judges said that what was really needed to test odour levels was someone with a “calibrated nose”. Apparently, odour sensitivity declines with age so there is a test that is done to make sure the ‘calibrated nose’ is within the 20-90 ppb detection threshold for n-butanol, and can be relied upon to represent an ‘ordinary, reasonable person’ for the purposes of odour management. Who’d have thought!

Religious conversion?

There was the merest hint of rueful irony in the air at the Environment Court recently, in the wake of Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust’s recent switch from fighting to supporting a regional landfill. When DOC’s planner, Andrew Riddell, was asked by Waste Management NZ barrister Bal Matheson if he had read the new evidence from trust chair Mook Hohneck, Riddell replied that he had, but added, “I’m not sure they’re singing from the same hymn sheet.” After the briefest of pauses, Matheson commented that he wasn’t certain they were even in the same church.

Viewpoint

Ivan Wagstaff, Rodney Local Board ivan.wagstaff@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Supporting communities

Over the last three months, as a community we have faced several extreme weather events, including heavy rain, flooding and landslides. These events have tested the resilience of communities in Rodney and highlighted the unique challenges they face in responding to and recovering from natural disasters.

Living in Rodney, I have witnessed firsthand the impact of these weather events on the community. Many rural communities have been cut off from essential services, including healthcare and transportation, due to damaged roads and infrastructure. Farmers have lost crops and livestock, and many families have been forced to evacuate their homes due to flooding and landslides. Despite these challenges, I have been inspired by the resilience and adaptability of rural communities in Rodney. Local residents have come together to support each other, providing food and shelter to those in need and volunteering their time and resources to help with recovery efforts. The many support networks that exist throughout our communities have played an important role in connecting local residents and providing a platform for sharing information and resources. These weather events have also highlighted the importance of funding resilience in our communities. It has become clear that Auckland Council and government

need to take action to support our communities to prepare for and respond to emergency events. This includes investing in infrastructure to improve access to essential services during disasters and supporting community-led initiatives to build resilience.

One of the key differences between rural communities in Rodney and those in urban centres like Auckland city is the strong sense of community and connection to the natural environment. While these weather events have created significant challenges for rural communities, they have also brought people together and highlighted the importance of taking care of each other and our waterways and natural environments.

Looking ahead, it is clear that we need to continue to work together to build resilience in our communities in Rodney and prepare for future extreme weather events. By investing in infrastructure and supporting community-led initiatives, we can ensure that our communities are better prepared to respond to and recover in the future.

The last three months have highlighted the unique challenges faced by our communities in Rodney. However, these events have also demonstrated the resilience and adaptability of local residents and the importance of strong community networks to support each other in times of need.

Hoteo ownership concerns landholders

Landholders along the Hoteo River and its tributaries were encouraged, at a meeting in Wellsford on March 27, to participate in a Māori Land Court hearing over who owns the Hoteo riverbed.

The meeting was called by Tracey Wood and Lyn Ward over concerns about the applications submitted by iwi Te Runanga Ngāti Whatua or the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust. The court is being asked to determine whether the riverbed is Māori customary land and, if it is, whether it belongs to the iwi or the trust.

The meeting was addressed by environmental lawyer Richard Gardner, who suggested interested parties consider forming a representative group, or going under the umbrella of a group such as the Landowners Coalition.

He encouraged affected landholders to get involved, but warned that participating in these sorts of proceedings could be expensive.

“The Māori Land Court hearing is an opportunity for private individuals to represent the public interest,” he said.

“Don’t rely on the government to do this as it will be representing the Crown’s interests, which are somewhat different.”

Gardner explained that the claims did not cover the water in the river, or the fish, but if they were upheld, then it did give parties a stronger interest in what was in the river. About 50 people attended the meeting and raised concerns about the lack of information being provided. Several believed their property title included ownership to the middle of the river, but this depended on whether the river was navigable or not.

Submissions closed on March 31. The Māori Land Court was unable to supply information on the number of submissions received when Mahurangi Matters went to press.

local folk

Allan Martin

Most retirees who reach the age of 96 would be content to sit in the garden and simply reflect on their luck. Not so Allan Martin of Warkworth. The former director general of TVNZ has just won six gold medals at the NZ Masters Games in Whanganui and, when he’s not out with his walking group, doing Tai Chi or writing letters to The Listener, he’s quietly preparing for the next Masters Games in Australia this October. In his time, Martin has been a pilot for the Portuguese air force, a Gold Coast ferry skipper and a stockman on a ship bound for South Africa. He spoke to Sally Marden about his long and fascinating life in television and beyond.

I was born here in Auckland, but my father had a farm at Glen Eden and swapped it for a gorse and boulder-strewn property outside of Whangarei. When I think about it, it was probably some reason for my longevity, because it was the Depression and growing up on a farm, you grew your own vegetables, you had fruit trees, you made your own bread. It was all survival stuff; everybody worked, you learnt a few disciplines and you had a healthy life. My father was killed in a tractor accident in 1940 and my brother, who was in the Air Force, came home on compassionate leave. As soon as I turned 15 and got a driving licence, he took off and became a bomber pilot in the war, so I ran the farm for five years by myself, milking 80 to 100 cows a day. I was able to convince my mother to buy a motor car, so I had a pretty wild time, even though one was working pretty hard – carrying those cream cans up the hill every morning was good physical exercise for a young boy.

I was pretty healthy, despite the fact I was smoking and drinking and doing the stupid things boys do. But when my brother came back from the war, I joined the J Force and went to Japan. There I met up with Bob Irvine, the first announcer in the armed forces in Japan and when he came back, he became the announcer at 1XN in Whangarei and I got a job there with him.

When I could, I took off overseas and did a year travelling around Europe on a motorbike. Britain was a terrible place at that stage, not long after the war, cold and dreary, so I wrote to the South African Broadcasting Corporation in South Africa and they said come on out.

There happened to be a ship going down there taking a herd of Jersey cows for a farmer in Durban and they took me on as stockman. There were stalls all down the deck on both sides and we had to muck them out every day and feed them. A couple of them calved, and when I got off,

the farmer was so pleased I got some sort of bonus. Anyway, I went on up to Jo’burg to see the SABC and while I was waiting for the interview, I came across this office for Lourenco Marques Radio, the Portuguese station in the capital of Mozambique. I thought this is interesting, never been there, so I walked in, they offered me a job as announcer, and the next day I was on a train to Lourenco Marques, not really knowing where the hell it was or anything about it.

It was a fantastic place, with white houses, great boulevards, sunshine, a wonderful climate, like a touch of the South of France on the east coast of Africa. I got married there to Joy and I also learned to fly. They had a great flying club, where the Air Force would pay for you to learn, but you had to sign up and say if the revolution, which was brewing at the time, came along, you would fly for the Portuguese Air Force, so I still have my Portuguese wings.

I then tried to talk Joy’s mother in to letting me fly to London in an old Tiger Moth with Joy and thank God she wouldn’t have it, because my navigation wasn’t that good. We moved to London and an old friend of mine said come and join Associated Rediffusion, the first of the commercial TV channels for London.

In those days it was a lot of the old boy network, the British class system was rife and the chief general manager was an ex-naval captain. He knew nothing about running a television station and I’m not sure he even wanted to, so he just ran the whole place like a bloody battleship! It was just incredible. We had upper deck and lower deck, of course – if you were producer or director, you were upper deck, if you were a technician, you were lower deck.

One day the Officer of the Watch reported to the captain’s quarters and said, “Sir, the lower deck have mutinied, they’ve gone out on strike.” They were all out the front of the building with placards,

saying we want more money. The captain turned round and said, ‘Turn the hoses on them.’ We were on the second floor of the old Air Ministry building, the hoses went out the window, they turned them on the staff and they all disappeared in about 10 minutes!

I was then offered a job in New Zealand next to Alan Morris with NZBC, as it was at that stage. I started a daily news programme, Town and Around, in Wellington, Auckland and Dunedin and a weekly programme, Compass, that became quite famous.

After three years I went to Australia and started This Day Tonight, a programme that became quite notorious. A lot of people regard it as the start of current affairs in Australia, not that I take any credit for it, because that was all started by Tonight on the BBC.

I was there for eight years or so, then NZBC was changing its structure and they offered Alan and I the chance to run the two channels, Alan took 1 and I took 2. I called it South Pacific TV as I didn’t want to be number two I suppose, but there was such an outcry from Wellington, they didn’t like the idea. I had a strong feeling we had to accept where we were as part of the world and believe in who we were and what we were doing.

We had our ups and downs at that time with Muldoon being Prime Minister – he hated me and I hated him, and he didn’t mess around, so we were in and out of a lot of trouble.

Eventually I became director general of TVNZ and then, when I retired from there, I was wondering what I was going to do and I thought I’d love to be a ferry skipper. The easiest way to get your licence was to go to the Gold Coast where they had ferries running up and down the canals, so I went over there and lived there for a while.

While I was there, I had a call from Craig Heatley and Terry Jarvis, two well-known

millionaires, setting up Sky, who said will you come back and give us a hand, so I went back to NZ and was there for four years helping to set it up.

Joy and I sat down and worked it out one day, we’ve had something like 17 houses –a bit of a bore for her every time, starting a new residence, but to me it’s all been great fun.

I gave up flying when I was about 85 – it’s expensive and not many people want to fly with an 80-year-old pilot – and went back to playing tennis and things like that. I gave up tennis when I was 95, because of my eyesight – very difficult when you can’t see the ball!

I’m having a rest after the Masters in Whanganui and I’ll start training again in a couple of months for the Australian Masters, but when I say training, it’s not exactly onerous – in the meantime, I’ve got to live that long and just keep breathing. The main thing is to have an interesting life as well as a healthy life. You’ve got to maintain an inquiring mind. My favourite expression is lux mentis, lux orbis – light of the mind, light of the world. I was always conscious of only having a high school education, so I matriculated at London University when I was there and studied for a Bachelor of Science in Economics, but missed the second year exams when I got the chance to shoot a film in Spain. So in my seventies, the opportunity came to further my education and I began with a teaching degree, then worked up to my masters and got a PhD when I was 80. I’m more proud of that than anything I did in broadcasting. Between the physical and the mental departments in your psyche, the mental becomes more important than the physical, because it’s the mental that will give you the drive to do the hard yards, the exercise. Your body will say, ‘Ooh, it’s cold, I’ll stay in bed a little longer’, but the mind will drive you to maintain the discipline and do what you have to do to stay reasonably fit.

Call for wider enquiry into forestry slash

A ministerial inquiry into land use, including forestry slash and sediment damage, in Tairawhiti should be expanded to cover the whole of New Zealand, according to a retired Kaipara landowner Jerry Rees-Webbe.

He says the impacts of clear felling forestry practices is not a problem that is isolated to the East Cape, but is a national issue.

Rees-Webbe wrote to Whangaparaoa MP Mark Mitchell this month after recent events caused extensive damage to his property on the Kaipara Coast Highway, at Mangakura.

“We have a pine plantation at Mangakura, in the Hoteo River catchment, and our property adjoins a much larger commercial forestry block,” he says.

“This block is made up of steep hills with a three kilometre, environmentally sensitive Hoteo River frontage.

“It has recently been clear felled right up to our boundary, and the forestry slash piled up on the log landing platforms. One of these piles towers over our property.

“I’m not criticising our neighbours, because everything they have done has followed the industry’s ‘best practice’ standards, but these practices are not accommodating neighbours, particularly in respect of the way slash is piled up.”

Rees-Webbe says Cyclone Gabrielle caused considerable damage on his property from “wind-thrown” trees. He estimates about 1100 tonnes of timber was lost.

“A major contributing cause of this was the clear felling up to our boundary, which removed the shelter our trees had been accustomed to.

“The loss of the timber has reduced our carbon credit income by about 20 per cent,

which we won’t be able to make up for at least 16 years.”

Rees-Webbe says a more pressing concern is the large heap of slash that is piled up on the top of a very steep slope close to his southern boundary.

He fears that in a future storm event, this timber could slide into a gully below, then into a stormwater creek that flows close to his sheep yards, through covenanted bush and under SH16 on its way to the Hoteo River.

“There are signs of erosion and subsidence around this heap and we are anxious that a future rain event will dislodge the slash and cause it to be flushed through our bush and it could possibly take out SH16.”

Rees-Webbe has already raised his concerns with Auckland Council.

“I was told that council was well aware of the forestry slash issues and since these

were established forestry industry practices, it was far too big a problem for local government to fix, but one for Central Government.”

Slash in Hoteo River after Cyclone Gabrielle.

Above, as this photo taken in Puhoi demonstrates, forestry slash is not a problem isolated to the East Cape.

Slash pile at Mangakura.

Slash pile at Mangakura.

Gull Snells Beach C-Store

Gourmet burgers, skin treatments and petrol may not have a lot in common, except for the new owner of the Gull Snells Beach C-Store on Mahurangi East Road, Kishan Nathani.

These are all businesses owned by the 29-year-old, who is also branching out into property development. It seems a silly question to ask him if he has time for any recreational pursuits.

“Not really, although I do like cricket,” he admits.

Kishan took over the Snells Beach business early last month. He said he was attracted to the business by its location, its potential and the fact that it did not have a lot of competition. He has come a long way since arriving from India 11 years ago to study business and then architecture.

“Business is really my passion,” he says. He opened Gourmet Burgers and Brew

Kitchen in Auckland’s CBD four years ago and, like the rest of the hospitality industry, struggled through the covid years. He says although things are improving, sales are still down 20-30% on pre-covid levels.

His other business was the Lasertech Cosmetic Clinic, also in the CBD, which specialises in skin treatments.

One of the biggest challenges he has faced in both businesses is getting staff and, as a result, he has learned to fill in where needed. This means that not only can he cook, but he is a qualified laser operator and he can pump gas.

Kishan says he is looking forward to getting to know the Mahurangi East community and welcomes feedback from customers on how he can meet their needs. He already has plans to expand the shop area and stock a greater range of bait and fishing gear, automotive products, fruit and vegetables, and other convenience goods in the station.

FUEL YOUR MISSION

We’re

Good Bodies

Acupuncture was a strange career choice for Chinese medicine practitioner Caity Ellett, given her fear of needles. But a desire to help people heal and manage pain made her put her phobia aside and spend four years achieving a Bachelor of Health Sciences, majoring in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

She is an ACC accredited acupuncturist, but her therapies allow for many nonneedle options, including herbal medicine, gua sha, cupping, acupressure and moxibustion.

“I think my own early fear of needles makes me empathetic when I meet clients who are nervous about the idea of acupuncture,” she says. “I can understand exactly how they feel.”

Originally from Geelong, Australia, Caity was in the music industry in Melbourne

Every

before making the shift to Auckland with her kiwi wife, Sian. They settled in Warkworth four years ago.

She says Chinese medicine follows the Doaist tradition where the underlying principles are based on balance and harmony, and the philosophical idea of Yin and Yang. She stresses that what she does is not a replacement for Western medicine, but rather another option for people seeking relief from injuries, and ailments ranging from insomnia and stress to digestive issues, women’s health and auto-immune conditions.

“Chinese medicine is about looking at a person’s whole health picture and collaborating on their health goals.” Caity says making a client feel comfortable is high on her priority list.

“Believe it or not, a lot of people fall asleep during my treatments!”

Traditional

Kishan Nathani

Caity Ellett

Caity Ellett

Popular walkways upgraded

Two local walkways are currently closed for upgrades as part of Auckland Council’s efforts to mitigate the spread of kauri dieback in Tāmaki Makaurau.

The section of the Sesquicentennial Walkway, along the Mahurangi River, is closed to allow for a boardwalk to be installed, as well as a set of stairs, to improve the track surface.

The Sesquicentennial Walkway runs along the bank of the Mahurangi River south from The Bridgehouse bar and restaurant, and passes under State Highway 1, where it can be accessed from Shoesmith Street. The work, costing just over $50,000, is expected to be finished at the end of this month.

Meanwhile, a nearly $400,000 upgrade of the Kohuroa Stream track at Matheson Bay includes a new section of boardwalk and stairs, and the renewal of a bridge at the bottom of the reserve by the carpark. Both projects are part of the regional local parks programme and are being funded by the natural environment targeted rate.

The Matheson Bay track is expected to reopen in June, subject to weather conditions.

Monica Boone MNZAS, BSc(Hons), MAud(Hons)

Monica Boone MNZAS, BSc(Hons), MAud(Hons)

The Matheson Bay walk will re-open in June, subject to weather conditions.

Southern Paprika sold

The Warkworth-based operation Southern Paprika (SPL) has been sold to Market Gardeners Limited (MG).

Established in 1998, SPL was formed by Alexander Cropping, a New Zealand business owned by Hamish and Robyn Alexander and the Levarht Family of Holland.

Featuring 27 hectares of modern glasshouses across five developments, housing up to one million capsicum plants and producing seven million kilos per year, SPL is one of the largest hothouse operations in New Zealand.

MG has acquired the full SPL business and assets, including land, buildings, intellectual property and trademark for the SPL brand. All 170 employees of SPL will remain in the business.

MG chief executive Peter Hendry says the acquisition will boost the scale of MG and will provide the co-operative with greater security of supply of capsicums.

“As a proud Kiwi co-operative, we’re thrilled to welcome another great New Zealand business of the calibre of SPL and all of its employees into the MG Group,” Hendry says.

“The purchase of SPL presents the opportunity for MG to expand its footprint in the North Island with the addition of a hothouse operation, which offers a wide range of benefits and advantages to our existing grower-suppliers, shareholders and customers.

“The SPL hothouse operation was chosen due to its location, the calibre of its people, the quality of the facilities and potential scalability.

“The acquisition supports our strategy to secure supply and enhance our presence in hothouse categories and, along with our other grower-suppliers, achieve better overall outcomes which we believe will ultimately result in greater returns to our shareholders.

“We also see enormous opportunity going forward with the capability of expanding the operation to align with future market demand for other hothouse products.

“It’s a win for our customers, our current capsicum and hothouse suppliers, our cooperative shareholders and the community in Warkworth.”

Alexander said he was delighted to hand over the business to a New Zealand company that mirrored their values and had the resources to take the business forward.

“It was our goal to find owners like MG, with a culture and approach to business that aligns with ours, particularly around the way they look after their people,” Hamish said.

“We are thrilled to have owners with the necessary experience and complementary skills to enable a long-term focus for the business as it enters its next phase.”

Southern Paprika Limited

A business that began in a field in Matakana has grown into a large, sophisticated glasshouse operation, with nearly one million plants at any one time producing seven million kilos of capsicums a year. SPL started as a joint-venture which was formed in 1998 between Alexander Cropping Limited (ACL) and the Levarht Family of Holland. The 86ha property consists of five glasshouse complexes totalling 27ha, including 26ha at the Warkworth site and the original one hectare structure which is located at Point Wells. SPL has developed state-of-the-art glasshouses which utilise

Southern Paprika is one of Warkworth’s largest employers.

the latest innovations. The business, which employs 170 staff, has also invested significantly in automation, systems and packhouses, leading to what it believes to be the operation of the most efficient producer of premium capsicums in New Zealand.

Market Gardeners Limited

Established in 1923, Market Gardeners Limited, trading as MG, is a grower co-operative and leading fresh produce business, servicing the entire market with a full range of fruit and vegetables through a network of nine large temperaturecontrolled branches, along with two

MG Direct branches. MG partners with hundreds of growers (many of which are shareholders), along with retail and food service customers. MG is also involved in a number of complementary businesses including IP, exporting, along with holding the major shareholding in Australian business, Premier Fresh Australia and is the New Zealand partner for large international brands, including Dole and Sunkist. Also involved in farming, MG own 100% of large Nelson hothouse and outdoor growing operation, JS Ewers, and it has a 50% stake (owning 100% of the property/assets) in undercover berry fruit business, Kaipaki Berryfruits.

Chocolate shop open, café closes

The Chocolate Brown café has been put into liquidation and was due to close at 3pm on Easter Monday, April 10.

“We are so terribly sorry that it has come to this for our staff; for all of us,” owners Susan and Des Vize said.

“We are so very grateful to all of the lovely customers who have supported us, from kindies to schools, from business folk to charities, from Lions and retirees, to Mums, grandparents and visitors.

“Their patronage and kind supportive words in difficult times have been humbling and restorative.”

The closure does not affect the Chocolate Shop, which remains open. The sale of that part of the business was being negotiated with an announcement expected soon. Chocolate Brown, the business that owned the Warkworth café and award-winning chocolaterie, and the now-closed Bayside Restaurant at Snells Beach, was placed in voluntary administration last December. At the time, Susan said multiple covid lockdowns and mandate rules had worn the business down to the point where she could no longer borrow money to keep the enterprise afloat.

New arrivals to Warkworth CBD

The planter boxes were built by the Men’s Shed with paint donated by Guthrie Bowron, and plants and potting soil donated by Mitre 10.

Harcourt Coopers and Pete & Mary’s Café have sponsored the planters outside their respective businesses and the one in front of Fresh Cafe is sponsored by Matakana Plumbing. The two in front of Stirling Sports are sponsored by Stirling Sports.

Festival dates set

Constable Katie Burton was also acknowledged for her support.

One Mahurangi manager Murray Chapman says the plants will be looked after by a group of keen gardeners from the Warkworth Oaks Retirement Village.

The Mahurangi Winter Festival of Lights will be held on July 1, the first Saturday of the school holidays. The event will run from 11am until 9pm, down on the wharf and with amusements and rides in Baxter Street. The festival will be held on only one day this year, instead of over two weekends as in previous years. Shop and business owners are being encouraged to string lights along their frontages to bring the town to life. Meanwhile, the Kowhai Festival Big Day Out will be held on Labour Weekend, October 21. One Mahurangi manager Murray Chapman says that Marketview Statistics show that during these festival days, hospitality businesses report an increase of 18 per cent in customer spending.

A touch of colour has been added to Warkworth’s streetscape with the installation of planter boxes along Queen Street.

ANZAC DAY SERVICES

Where Event Start

Leigh:

Assemble 10.50am, Harbour View Rd. Service at Leigh Cemetery, Harbour View Rd.

Contact: Guy Parkes, Leigh Community Club 021352588

Matakana:

Assemble 9.45am, Matakana roundabout.

Service at Matakana War Memorial.

Contact: Adrienne Miller, matakanafokgv@gmail.com,

Facebook: Matakana War Memorial

Warkworth and Districts Dawn Parade and Service:

Service at War Memorial, Church Hill. Assemble 7.35am, Church Hill.

Contact: Chrissy Keith, manager@warkworthrsa.co.nz

Warkworth and Districts Civic Parade and Service:

Service at Church Hill.

Assemble 11.40am, Church Hill.

Contact: Chrissy Keith, manager@warkworthrsa.co.nz

Wellsford Dawn Parade and Service: Assemble 5.45am, 13 Port Albert Rd. Service at Wellsford Memorial Library.

Contact: Terry Blakemore 0274 864 137 or shirleyblakemore@hotmail.com

Updates are possible so for a full list of services, parking and road closure information please visit ourauckland.nz/anzacday or phone 09 301 0101.

Anzac Day services

TUESDAY, 25 APRIL

Warkworth

The Warkworth & Districts RSA will hold a dawn service at 6am, starting at the band rotunda in Church Hill and finishing at the RSA in Neville Street. A full breakfast will be served from 7.30am onwards, $14pp. The Civic Service will start at 10.30am where there will be an opportunity for members of the public to lay wreaths and poppies. The morning will conclude with morning tea at the RSA from 11.45am onwards. Gold coin donation appreciated.

Matakana

The Matakana War Memorial Anzac Day service will start at 10am and finish at 10.30am. The Master of Ceremonies will be Peter Burney.

Leigh

The Leigh Anzac Day service will begin with a parade fall-in in Harbour View Road at 10.45am. The parade will then make its way to the Leigh Cemetery where the service will start at 11am. At the conclusion of the ceremony, refreshments will be served at the Leigh Bowling Club. All welcome.

Wellsford

Wellsford will mark Anzac Day with a dawn parade. Anyone planning to march in the parade is asked to assemble at 5.45am outside the Wrightson Building. The short march to the memorial gates of the Wellsford Library, on Port Albert Road, will start at 6am.

Matakohe

Anzac Day will be commemorated as usual this year at the Matakohe Memorial Hall and adjacent Kauri Museum. The service will start at 10.30am with a fall-in at the hall, wreaths will be laid at the World War I monument and at the hall. A service will then be held in the Volunteers Hall. Sir Lockwood Smith will be the guest speaker at the ceremony. He will speak about the new museum being built in France at Le Quesnoy. The New Zealand Museum and Visitor Centre in Le Quesnoy includes a visitor experience created by Wētā Workshop. It will tell the unique story of the liberation of this French town by New Zealand soldiers and honour all New Zealanders who fought in Europe in WWI. All are welcome.

Hakaru

The service organised by the Hakaru and Districts Memorial RSA will start with an assembly at 10am, followed by the march at 10.30am. The programme will include wreath laying, a roll of honour call and speeches. Refreshments will be served at the conclusion.

Kawau Island

There will be a less formal, but no less heartfelt, ceremony on Kawau Island this year following the closure of the Bon Accord Bar & Bistro, at the Kawau Boating Club, last month. The service will start at midday with Pip Tabron as Master of Ceremonies. Hospitality at the club will not be possible, so attendees are asked to consider a BYO picnic. There will also be some improvisation with the flag, as the flagpole blew down in the January storms and cyclone. Everyone welcome.

WARKWORTH & DISTRICTS RSA SUPPORT SERVICES

ALL MEMBERS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR OUR SUPPORT SERVICES

The RSA offers assistance for our members on application from our Welfare Trust. For RSA members we also offer hospital/specialist appointment return trips, which is a door to door service provided by our Volunteer Drivers.

Membership is open to all, not just members of the armed forces. Ask about becoming a member at the Warkworth RSA.

Come and network with other club Members and enjoy club activities like Darts, Pool, Snooker, and Housie.

Contact: Joss Myers, wjmyers@xtra.co.nz, phone 027 415 1992

Sweetappreciation with chocolatebrown

Congratulations to Sharon Chatterton, who is this week’s recipient of a gift basket from Chocolate Brown. Sharon was nominated by the residents of Totara Park Retirement Village in Warkworth, who wrote …

Sharon is the village manager, but she is also a friend to everyone. Nothing is ever too much trouble, and she goes above and beyond to make the village an attractive and welcoming place to live. She never stops and we really appreciate the effort she makes.

Send your nominations to editor@localmatters.co.nz

Know someone who deserves a big “thank you” for their community spirit? Tell us and they will receive acknowledgement in Mahurangi Matters and an amazing hamper from Chocolate Brown, 6 Mill Lane, Warkworth. Send your nominations to editor@ localmatters.co.nz (subject line: Sweet Appreciation) or post to: Sweet Appreciation, Mahurangi Matters, PO Box 701, Warkworth. Kindly refrain from nominating members of your own family.

Cafe, Gifts, Chocolaterie

Ph 422 2677 6 Mill Lane, Warkworth

Central’s Tips

April 2023

The fruit and vegetable garden

• Continue successive plantings of brassicas such as broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. Now is an excellent time to put in celery

• An autumn crop of rocket can be sown directly. Rocket makes a good salad stalwart going into winter and is delicious stirred through a roast vegetable salad

• Empty beds? Sow a green crop: blue lupin and mustard seed can be sown in autumn. Cutting the foliage down when the crop is at knee height and leaving it to decompose on the soil adds nitrogen

• In New Zealand sowing of broad beans traditionally happens around ANZAC Day. Broad beans are cold tolerant and germinate where they are directly sown, however slugs and snails tend to like the leaves

• Autumn harvest: feijoas, passionfruit and pears are ready now. Feijoas usually fall to the ground when ripe. Pears are best stored in a cool area for around two weeks before they’re ready to eat

• Citrus trees are appearing in garden centres now. The Auckland climate is excellent for growing citrus – just ensure they’re planted in a sheltered, sunny spot

The rest of the garden

• Early flowering (sasanqua) camellias make excellent hedges and are available for planting. They begin flowering now, through to the end of June. Pruning and shaping should wait until late August

• Tall perennial grasses give excellent autumn displays of flowering plumes and seed heads. Most can go right through winter, providing some ‘upright’ interest and contrast to the dull winter garden

• If you have a windy, clay site try planting some of the tougher shrubs. Australian westringias, coleonemas and raphiolepis (Indian Hawthorn) are very hard to kill!

• Rose flowering season is tailing off and roses can be left until pruning in July. If they have developed scale on the stems, spray with Conqueror Oil

• After a heavy season of rain, it’s good to fertilise the lawn with ProLawn Lawn Booster. Sowing new lawns or over sowing bare patches is best done this month

• Sow poppy and sweet pea seeds – get them in now for great spring flower displays

Tuesday 25 April 2023

Warkworth & Districts RSA

Dawn Service 6am with parade to RSA from Church Hill

Full breakfast available at 7.30am, $14pp.

Civic Service at 10.30am at Church Hill

Then to parade to RSA 11.45am. Morning tea available gold coin donation.

28 Neville St, Warkworth, ph 09 425 8568

For further information, email manager@warkworthrsa.co.nz

Our Central Landscapes teams know all about the right lawn seed, mixes and fertiliser to get a new lawn established. Call in, or visit www.centrallandscapes.co.nz for more information and videos.

Tighter controls on helicopters

By Laura Kvigstad, Auckland Council reporter. Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.

Auckland Council staff have been asked to look at the feasibility of prohibiting helicopter activity in residential areas. The motion was in addition to resolutions for urgent implementation of the National Planning Standard 15, which would mean helicopter noise would no longer be averaged over three days, there would be clearer direction around reporting helicopter noise on the council website and requests for two reports from the Civil Aviation Authority.

Cr Mike Lee put forward a motion in support of the Aotea Great Barrier Local Board, which wants a moratorium on helipad consents.

“There are some activities that are so antisocial and have such an impact on people in communities that ‘prohibited activity’ is considered by Parliament the best way to deal with them,” Lee said.

“The raft of measures which have been recommended, a patchwork of measures, will not tidy this away. It will not end public concerns, it will not give relief to neighbours whose quiet enjoyment of their

property is going to be disturbed inevitably by a private helicopter.”

Quiet Sky Waiheke representative Kim Whitaker said it was frustrating that council staff were using the small number of complaints to justify little action. Council reported 26 complaints of noise over the last three years, eight on Waiheke.

Waiheke Local Board chair Cath Handley said council was trying to minimise the environmental impact of helicopters in the report.

“Look at what it says in that report about climate change. It says ‘oh by the way it’s only seven per cent of transport emissions so hey, that’s chicken feed’,” Handley said.

“Each helicopter produces 950 pounds of CO2 per hour and burns over 40 times the fuel of a passenger car per hour. That qualifies them as one of the most polluting carbon intensive modes of transport.”

Māori enrolment option deadlline

Māori who would like to switch electoral rolls before this year’s General Election on October 14 have until July 13 to do so.

A recent law change means that Māori can now change between the Māori and general rolls at any time except in the three months before an election.

Previously, Māori could only change rolls during the Māori Electoral Option period held every five or six years.

The Electoral Commission’s chief Māori advisor, Hone Matthews, says it’s an important choice for Māori.

“If you’re on the Māori roll, you’ll vote for a candidate in the Māori electorate you live in, and if you’re on the general roll,

you’ll vote for a candidate in the general electorate you live in,” he says.

“Whichever roll you’re on, you’ll choose from the same list of parties for your party vote.

“If you’re happy with the roll you’re on, you don’t need to do anything. If you want to change the roll you’re on, you can make the change online at vote.nz, return the letter in the information pack, or fill in a new enrolment form.”

Forms can also be requested by phoning 0800 36 76 56.

There are currently seven Māori electorates and 65 general electorates.

Dependable”

But Don’t Take Our Word For It! 10/10

Laser Electrical Warkworth always deliver as promised. They are a team of professionals who are polite, punctual and very pleasant to have on site. Always quick to solve problems and explain everything clearly, I would highly recommend anyone of the team.

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Excellent quick service, problems solved .. what else could we want?

Staff personable, ready to listen and not make assumptions. On time

Pasifika culture showcased

The colours of the Pacific came to life at the Warkworth Town Hall during a World of Cultures event on March 31.

won two awards.

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Representatives from Kiribati, Tuvalu, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Niue showcased their art and culture with displays of artefacts, clothing, mats and weaving. There were also stalls selling traditional food and lollies.

“There was a steady stream of people through the hall and by the end of the night it was standing room only,” Taboru says. “There was lots of great feedback and the Pasifika parents indicated that they would love to do it again next year, especially now that they know the format.”

E: warkworth@laserelectrical.co.nz | W: www.laserelectrical.co.nz

E: warkworth@laserelectrical.co.nz | W: www.laserelectrical.co.nz

Mahu Vision community worker Moe Taboru said the evening finished with some cultural performances, including the Mahurangi College Polyfest entry, which

The Warkworth Library was thanked for initiating the idea in Warkworth, and Taboru also thanked Mahu Vision for its support and the Pasifika parents who worked hard to bring it all together.

Learn more about our amazing sponsors

“Totally

The success of the first World of Cultures event in Warkworth could mean it becomes an annual event.

rugging up feature Libraries looking

for young

Everything from detection dogs and earthworms to wētā and wastebusting are on the menu at local libraries during the current school break.

Starting Tuesday, April 11, the theme for this holiday programme is Eco Warriors and there is a wide range of creative activities on offer that focus on reusing, recycling and minimising the things we would normally throw away.

There are also conservation crafts and a special visit to the Warkworth RSA to mark Anzac Day, plus an eco-themed reading challenge with prizes to be won.

Holiday highlights in Warkworth include a visit from Peter Caccia-Birch and his wētā hotel, where bug fans can learn all about these native NZ insects and make their own bug hotel to take home.

There’s also the chance to make balls made of recycled paper and packed with seeds that can be planted straight into a garden or pot, or gifted to friends and family.

At Wellsford, there are NZ wildlife puzzles hidden throughout the library and chances to upcycle old toys and T-shirts into new objects.

There will also be a visit from some fourlegged friends, when one of Auckland Council’s pest detection dog teams pays a visit to explain how the hounds help with protecting the region’s biodiversity.

Dogs are also a focus at Mahurangi East Library in Snells Beach, where local knitting lady Sharon Dooney will be running a project to make blankets for rescue dogs at the Country Retreat animal sanctuary in Pohuehue.

There’s also a morning with ‘garden wrigglers’ – a chance to get up close to earthworms and learn all about what they do in the soil.

What’s happening and where ...

WARKWORTH

Tuesday, April 11, 10.30am

Mahurangi Wastebusters

Join the Mahurangi Wastebusters team to learn about reducing waste

Wednesday, April 12, 10.30am

Seed Balls

Making seed balls from recycled paper to take home and plant

Thursday, April 13, 10.30am

Wonderful wētā

Learn about wētā and make your own bug hotel

Friday, April 14, 11am

Eco warrior Amazing Race

Race around the world in teams (booking essential)

Monday, April 17, 10.30am

Koinobori craft

Creating a Japanese koi fish windsock with recycled materials.

Tuesday, April 18, 10.15am

Warkworth RSA visit

Meet at the RSA in Neville Street for Anzac Day stories, activities, a tour and biscuits

Wednesday, April 19, 10.30am

LEGO time

Building and play session with brick blocks and more

Thursday, April 20, 10.30am

Upcycled T-shirt bags

Bring along an old T-shirt and make a new bag with it

WELLSFORD

Tuesday, April 11, 10.30am

Eco warrior dog team

Visit from one of Auckland Council’s pest detection dog teams

Wednesday, April 12, 10.30am

Wastebusting warriors

Games and eco-info from the Mahurangi Wastebusters team

Thursday, April 13, 2pm

Eco toy workshop

Turning old dolls and soft toys into Eco Warriors

Friday, April 14, 10.30am

Eco warrior medals

Making medals from recycled materials

Monday, April 17, 2pm

Kiwi bookmarks

Creating cute kiwi bird bookmarks

Tuesday, April 18, 10.30am

Tuna eel puppet

Using damaged books to make eel – or tuna in Maori – puppets

Wednesday, April 19, 2pm

Penguin Eco Warriors

Looking at the Penguin Place conservation project and making model penguins from recycled materials

Friday, April 21, 10.30am

No-sew bags

Making tote bags from old T-shirts

MAHURANGI EAST

Tuesday, April 11, 10.30am

DIY reusable bag

Bring along an old white or light T-shirt, use it to make a new bag and dye it

Wednesday, April 12, 10.30am

Garden wrigglers

Seeing earthworms up close and learning what they do

Thursday, April 13, 10.30am

Mahurangi Wastebusters activity time

Meet the Wastebusters team to learn about what happens to waste and join in fun activities

Friday, April 14, 10.30am

Blankets for dogs

Making and knitting blankets for Country Retreat Rescue Dogs, with Sharon Dooney

Monday, April 17, 10.30am

Nga Piwakawaka O Mahurangi Waiata

Fun te reo waiata singing session with Fleur & Friends

Tuesday, April 18, 10.15am sharp

Anzac Storytime at Warkworth RSA Family tour and Storytime with local veterans

Wednesday, April 19, 10.30am

Construction zone

Build your own LEGO creations for display in the library cabinet

Friday, April 21, 10.30am

Blankets for dogs

Making and knitting blankets for Country Retreat Rescue Dogs, with Sharon Dooney

Go As A River by Shelley Read

There’s a gentle timelessness to this story and yet at times its topics are harsh and confronting. Victoria lives on the outskirts of a small town in Colorado. Her family are locally famous for growing the best peaches in the district. Her mother, aunt and cousin died in a car accident when she was 12 and she lives with her father, younger brother and uncle, who was crippled during WWII. Victoria is heading into town with some late-season peaches when she comes across a young stranger. This meeting changes the course of her life as she falls desperately in love. The story follows Victoria’s life with all the ramifications that follow after that first chance meeting. The themes of love, loss, hate and ignorance are common and yet the story is told so well that I was totally invested and couldn’t put this book down. If you liked Where The Crawdads Sing, I would recommend this as a book to put on your ‘Must Read’ list.

The Cloisters by Katy Hays

The prologue sets the tone … death, mystery, divination and all set at The Cloisters. The story is told by Ann, who has arrived in New York in June to start an internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s the only offer she’s had since finishing college as her specialty of early renaissance minor painters is niche and not in vogue. However, on the first day, the internship is no longer on offer and Ann sees her future crumbling. Money is tight and she’s put everything on the line for this potential career move. Just as it all seems to be slipping away, she gets an unexpected offer that means she can stay.

The curator at The Cloisters, a type of medieval monastery built from the crumbling remains of 12th century abbeys and priories that have been imported from Europe, needs another assistant. Ann is to work with Patrick, the curator, and his assistant Rachel. What follows is a story about obsessions, lust and history. Well written with dark overtones.

Tracey Lawton

Monster wasp nest removed

A large common wasp nest was found in the Parry Kauri Park, in Warkworth, by Auckland Council staff while carrying out pest control work recently.

It was the size of a large single sofa chair and looked very much like an “overwintering” nest. For the safety of the public, it was removed by pest control people over the weekend using safety equipment.

Council’s senior ecological specialist Sarah Gibbs said it was good to get it before it grew further and populated half of southern Warkworth with common wasps next spring.

According to Guinness World Records, the largest wasp nest ever recorded was found not too far away from Warkworth, on a farm at Waimaukau in April 1963. It measured 3.7 metres long, was 1.75 metres across and around 5.5 metres round. And according to the Department of Conservation, New Zealand has some of the highest densities of introduced common and German wasps in the world, because they have no natural predators here, winters are mild and there is plenty of food for them.

The introduced wasps live in large colonies,

generally about the size of a soccer ball but, as at Parry Kauri Park, can become huge if they survive over winter. For reference, common wasp nests are brown while German wasp nests are grey.

The buzz on introduced wasps

• The German wasp was first found in NZ near Hamilton in 1945, while the common wasp has been here since 1978.

• The highest number of wasp nests recorded was 50 to 60 nests per hectare, the equivalent of finding 25 to 30 nests on a football field.

• Wasps have been voted as ‘most disliked wildlife’ (along with rats) because they can spoil outdoor fun such as picnics and sports.

• Wasps destroy or seriously damage eight to nine per cent of honeybee hives in New Zealand each year.

• The predation rate of wasps on some native invertebrates is so high that the probability of their populations surviving through the wasp season is virtually nil.

Source: www.tepahu.co.nz

Heating Catalogue

Councillors tiff over technology

By Laura Kvigstad, Auckland Council reporter. Public Interest Journalism funded

NZ On Air.

After a day of debate at Auckland Council, two councillors went round in circles about including the word ‘technology’ in a bit of policy.

At the Planning, Environment and Parks committee on March 30, members endorsed the significant infrastructure issues to inform the 2024 infrastructure, strategy. There were seven issues identified: greenhouse gas emissions, resilience, growth, inequity, funding gaps, te ao Māori infrastructure and environmental degradation.

Cr Wayne Walker said one issue was missing from the list – technology.

“There’s a revolution that’s happening right now … it is the phenomenal development that’s occurring across electric battery development, associated buffering, full selfdrive which is imminent within a number of years if not on the near horizon,” Walker said. “It is going to be akin to the shift from the horse to the motor vehicle.

“I would just make a plea that technology needs to be up there. If it is not, we are discounting the most significant thing that influences all the others.”

Walker wanted to include technology because it was overarching and would impact everything. Chair Richard Hills did not want to include it for exactly the same reason.

“Technology has been across everything

Museum volunteer call

since the wheel,” Hill said.

“I mean technology generally is just the use of our knowledge and skills and science for the ability to do everything council does including all the issues above.

“What you just said is happening has always happened since the dawn of time, as technology has led those issues.”

Chair Hills and Cr Walker volleyed back and forth, both arguing that technology was relevant to all council’s infrastructure issues.

Cr Shane Henderson told Hills and Walker that they were “vociferously” agreeing with each other and that the recommendation should be passed as is.

Cr Mike Lee wanted to see the item wrap up and suggested the chair placate Walker’s request.

“Would it hurt just to slip in the word technology amongst those commas and we all move on happily?” Lee said.

Cr Julie Fairey proposed a middle ground by changing the title of the item.

“Why don’t we make it ‘endorse the significant infrastructure and technology issues to inform the 2024 infrastructure strategy’. That actually elevates it and then we don’t have an eighth issue,” Fairey said. The title was changed to match Fairey’s suggestion.

Cr Alf Filipaina called the debate a farce. “We might also go through all our agendas, through all our committees and put in technology. This just seems silly,” Filipaina said.

The Warkworth Museum, beside Parry Kauri Park, is keen to recruit volunteers to help with reception duties. Manager Victoria Joule says the role involves providing a positive experience to museum visitors. “They answer questions, process admission fees and shops sales, keep the reception and shop areas tidy, and complete any associated administration duties,” she says. The two-and-a-half hour shifts are rostered to suit volunteers availability.

For more information, phone 425 7093 or email warkworthmuseum@xtra.co.nz

Discussion at the Planning, Environment and Parks meeting got slightly derailed by a debate between two councillors over technology.

through

TOSSI

Lyn Hamilton-Hunter www.tossi.org.nz

Summer storm chaos

It is hard to believe two months has passed since parts of the country were subjected to Mother Nature’s recent storms. Tāwharanui did not escape the onslaught and suffered significant damage, but got off relatively lightly compared to other places in the region and the country.

The torrential rains of Auckland Anniversary weekend brought dune damage and washed out sand ladders. There were slips, new lakes appeared and the pest fence sustained some damage. Staff and volunteers rallied the following week and most of the necessary work was done to allow visitors a safe passage for Waitangi weekend.

Who would have thought that all that remediation would be undone two weeks later! Plus, even greater damage to the park and Takatu Road, and so the park was closed. Larissa, our community ranger, describes her experience: “Along with no power or water, the park suffered some serious damage. Trees were down across all our accessways, buildings and paddocks flooded, slips took over several of our tracks, entire traplines washed away, beach accessways were decimated and the dunes took on new shapes. Staff spent two weeks chainsawing fallen trees, and clearing tracks, roads, carparks and fences,

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Wheelchair accessible vehicle available.

Total Mobility Scheme cards accepted. ACC contracted supplier.

Bookings are essential, call us today Ph: 09 217 2764 / 021 503 858 warkworth@drivingmissdaisy.co.nz

Library event raises rare disorders profile

An event was held at the Warkworth Library on March 25 aimed at raising the profile of people in the Mahurangi community who have a rare disorder and the issues they face.

The term ‘rare disorders’ covers about 6000 uncommon health conditions and an estimated one in 17 New Zealanders live with a rare disorder. About half of those affected are children.

The Angelman Network chairperson

Ursula Christel says that the rare disorders represented at the Warkworth gathering included Angelman syndrome, PraderWilli, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Fabry disease, dystonia, Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome and L1 syndrome.

“The event was a lovely opportunity for

local folk who frequently feel marginalised and isolated, to meet up and connect with others who face similar challenges in the health and education systems,” Ursula says.

“Some disorders are clearly visible, while others are not visible at all.

“The event was also about demonstrating that ‘it’s not rare to be rare’.”

The day included temporarily “tattooing’ participants with stickers showing the Glow Up & Show Up circle with the Rare Disorders NZ logo of a kōtare (kingfisher).

Ursula says there are more people and families in the community who are impacted by rare disorders, so the plan is to make the get-together and display an annual event.

“Unlike most OECD countries, New Zealand currently does not have a national

strategy for rare disorders.

“The New Zealand health, social and education systems offer no pathways to support those affected by rare disorders. There are no set guidelines for health professionals to refer to when a condition is difficult to diagnose, or how to best support a patient with a rare condition.

“There is also no rare disorder data registry to find the number of others affected by a condition, in fact not even an official definition of what is considered ‘rare’.

“This means people living with a rare disorder are essentially invisible in the health, social and education systems, and face unnecessary hurdles trying to access the support and care they need for a decent quality of life.”

For a full range of family medical care, including A&M services in an integrated system 24 hours a day, across our region, including public holidays

Grace Roberts (left) and mum Wendy at the display in the Warkworth Library.

People in the area with rare disorders, their carers and family members display the temporary tattoos, which depict the kōtare that is the Rare Disorders NZ logo.

Women’s wellbeing at heart of Warkworth workshops

A seven-week experiential workshop for women will be held at the Community Rooms (The Bridge Club) in Alnwick Street, Warkworth starting on May 12. The workshop will be facilitated by Stephanie Frost and Alexandra Winterburn. They say that as nurturers and caretakers, women’s stories can get lost in the mix.

“Through the workshop, participants will be guided to connect with their essential self, reflect on rites of passage and get in touch with the wisdom of their psyche,” Frost says.

“Many women are taught to dismiss their bodies from a young age, wishing they were different instead of honouring this deep ground of being, the body. This experiential workshop will guide women to fully embodying their experience, relating to their and others’ story through full body listening.

“When we do this together as a group of women it is healing, supportive and inspiring.”

The seven workshops will be held from 9.30am to midday, and will finish on June 23. The cost is $231 ($77 for low income).

Meanwhile, Frost will also facilitate two further events at the Women’s Centre in Morpeth Street,Warkworth.

These will be held weekly from May 2 to June 27 and include a Wellbeing Circle from 6pm to 7pm, followed by a Song Circle starting at 7.30pm.

“I’m inviting women to come along to the Wellbeing Circle and learn ways to deal with stress, then stay for the Song Circle and feel the support of sharing empowering rhythmic chants together.”

Admission to the circles is free but a koha would be appreciated.

Info: www.sacredcircleinfo.com

The Wellbeing and Song Circles will offer women ways to deal with stress.

Status quo for Kaipara waste

Kaipara Council has pressed pause on any changes to Kaipara’s waste and recycling services while a new waste strategy from central government is assessed.

The decision to maintain Kaipara’s current waste and recycling services for the time being was confirmed at last month’s council meeting. A new waste strategy for Kaipara was a key project of the current Long-Term Plan (LTP) 2021-2031.

Tattoos and full shave mark fundraising decade

Snells Beach super-citizen Jenny Bartlett has sacrificed her hair yet again to raise money for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ (LBC).

This is the 10th year Bartlett has taken part in Shave for a Cure and her efforts have raised around $35,000 over the decade. As ever, she has added her own decorative twist to a straightforward shave this year, having her entire skull tattooed with native NZ birds and flowers after the hair came off.

“Last year, I shaved just enough space for a piwakawaka tattoo,” she says. “Because the tattoo wasn’t as painful as I had anticipated, this year it was a full shave and I covered my scalp in iconic NZ fauna and flora. “I decided I wouldn’t look as bald with a head tattoo, but it’s still flipping chilly!”

Bartlett’s 10-year cancer crusade took a personal turn a few years ago, when her sister was diagnosed with blood cancer, had a stem cell transplant and experienced her hair falling out in clumps. Though she has been well since, she is now facing a new course of treatment, and Bartlett said her latest “singing and soaring” tui tattoo was chosen to represent her sister and her journey.

Bartlett had her first shave when she was working as a women’s health physiotherapist in the maternity service at North Shore Hospital.

“I believe the hardest things to deal with are the issues that are out of our control, such as the demands of new motherhood, including bladder and bowel leakage; the aftermath of earthquakes (and recent weather

No quick fix for Northland’s roads

The Northland Transportation Alliance (NTA) is warning there is no quick fix for many of Northland’s roads damaged in recent extreme weather events. Some repairs are likely to take around two years to complete and that timeframe could be extended if Northland is hit by more adverse weather. That is because of compounding damage to some sites, meaning more cost and time involved to

complete repairs.

“There is also a need to meet funding requirements, including in-depth geotechnical investigation and design aspects,” NTA maintenance and operations manager Bernard Petersen says.

“Before Cyclone Gabrielle there were 1126 recorded and monitored under slips across 1110km or a quarter of our network. Identification, recording and monitoring

events); and the unexpected diagnosis of a chronic, possibly terminal, illness,” she says “Knowing I could choose to lose my hair and this would prompt people to support the LBC cause was an easy step.”

The next year, Bartlett shaved her hair to a bright pink mohawk on the day she retired from North Shore and has continued to Shave for a Cure ever since.

“I shave my hair off to remember loved ones and support cancer patients. I want to help find more effective treatments to save lives and help those who don’t choose to lose their hair cope with the shock of it.”

She has raised more than $1300 so far this year and has a year-matching target of at least $2023. To donate, go to www. shaveforacure.co.nz/jenny-bartlett

of the balance of the network is a slow ongoing process – based upon funding availability. That is an average of one slip per kilometre. Cyclone Gabrielle and the extreme Mangawhai storm resulted in 302 over slips and 343 under slips (84 new under slip sites not previously recorded in our database).

“The estimated repair cost for 116 of these slip sites alone is over $36 million so we are

Staff are now working to make sure any proposed changes to waste and recycling services in Kaipara align with the government’s new road map for waste management and minimisation.

Kaipara’s waste is currently managed by two contractors – Kaipara Refuse operate east and west collections as well as the transfer station in Dargaville, and Northland Waste is contracted to manage the Hakaru refuse station. Their contracts were set to expire in October, but will now extend until July 1, 2026.

It is expected any updated waste strategy will be implemented in July 2026, subject to the LTP 2023-2034 (including community consultation).

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talking big money and a massive amount of work and that is just the start. That means work is ongoing to estimate the complete repair and recovery costs.

“Most of the jobs we are currently working on involve repair costs of less than $100,000 but there are several complex sites where the repairs will cost millions of dollars to complete over the next couple of years.

NEW PATIENTS WELCOME

WARKWORTH

SNELLS BEACH

WE PROVIDE

Covid and Flu vaccinations available

Surgery at 11 Alnwick Street

• Wide range of doctor and nurse led services including accident and medical services, immunisation, minor surgery, vasectomies, immigration, dive and insurance medicals.

• Wide range of visiting specialists.

• Warkworth is open Monday to Friday 8am-5pm and Saturday 8am-12 noon.

• Snells Beach is open Monday to Friday 8am-5pm.

• Low Cost access for enrolled patients under 14 free, young people $13, adults $19.50 (ACC costs differ).

• Pharmacy, Labtest, Physio on site.

• Free Covid-19 testing available.

Doctors • Kate Baddock • Stephen Barker • Bruce Sutherland • Amy MacBeth • Clinton Anderson • Andrew Du n • Jing He • Mette Johannesen • Ed McDonald • Simon Tricker

Surgery at Unit 2/347 Mahurangi East Road

To baldly go – Bartlett’s radical fundraising look came from Flames Barbers and Laura at ECM Tattoos.

Homebuilders

Penelope Arthur, Family Support Worker www.homebuildersfs.org

Supporting the bereaved

One of the biggest stressors in anyone’s lifetime is the death of somebody close. Intellectually we know that everyone dies, but day-to-day, we mostly don’t think about it. So, particularly with a sudden, unexpected death, we are jolted into confronting mortality, and the irrevocable loss of a person we love.

It can be surprising how physical reactions to grief can be. You may be unable to sleep, you may lose your appetite, you may feel turbo-charged by adrenalin. You may ‘go to pieces’, or find yourself being incredibly strong, supporting others and organising everything, only to wonder later who is supporting you. You might feel disconnected from your emotions, or you might find random and unexpected emotions bubble up, such as the impulse to laugh at inappropriate times. You are not going mad, nor are you weird or heartless. You are human, and these are all common responses to grief.

Bereaved people are often operating in shocked survival mode so please remember to be kind to yourself, not to harshly judge your own reactions, feelings or lack of them. You’ll also need to be extra conscious of looking after yourself – it’s easy to neglect your own wellbeing, particularly if you are caring for and comforting family members.

Grieving needs time, and although we might be tempted to push it aside because it’s too painful, that may just defer the emotional processing for later. Aside from the supports you may already have within whanau/work/friendship/faith groups, at some point you may want to find some

extra support. Your GP may be helpful, and the Grief Centre runs regular support groups to learn more about grief and grieving, with others who are experiencing it https://www.griefcentre.org.nz. They also have specialist grief counsellors.

It can help to revisit memories of the person who has died in ongoing ways – spending time in places with shared meaning, lighting a candle on significant dates, sharing memories with others who knew them, or making time to sit and remember special times and shared experiences. These can all help in a small way to hold them in your heart as you go forward.

You may also find that in times of grief and loss, many other aspects of life feel more difficult because your resources and emotional resilience are stretched. Parenting and relationships may get challenging, as might your ability to cope with work, household tasks or other responsibilities. Or you may feel ‘stuck’ in the process and want help coping with your feelings. Our family support workers at Homebuilders can help.

Finally, don’t forget that it’s not only death that can leave us with huge feelings of loss. A painful estrangement from a child or parent, a break-up, leaving your homeland and beginning again in an unfamiliar country and culture, being made redundant – these are all major shocks that we often need help to come to terms with. Please reach out.

Homebuilders Family Services, www. homebuildersfs.org 425 7048 or call free 0800 100 037 email: homebuildersfs@ gmail.com

Council budget draws huge feedback

By Laura Kvigstad, Auckland Council reporter. Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.

There has been an overwhelming response to Auckland Council’s Annual Budget 2023/24 with submissions expected to triple last year’s consultation numbers. Additionally, a total of 28,850 online submissions were received, breaking the previous record of 21,000 from the Emergency Budget 2020/21 during Covid-19 lockdowns.

Chief financial officer Peter Gudsell said he was pleased with the results “There are some tough choices ahead and

these are important decisions that will be made on behalf of Aucklanders, so it’s great to see we’ve heard from so many,” Gudsell said. A week before submissions closed, council flagged that the diversity of submitters was a concern.

New Zealand European’s made up the majority of submitters, representing 82 per cent of the total early submitters.

In early submissions, Māori accounted for seven per cent of responses, Pasifika six per cent and Asian 14 per cent.

The Governing Body will consider the feedback from submissions in workshops throughout May and June.

CTE issue hits home for McClennan family

The potential impact on health of repeated blows to the head in sport has been in the news recently, with confirmation in February that rugby player Justin Jennings was the first New Zealander to be diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) – a form of dementia. It is a subject of intense personal interest to Hibiscus Coast resident Brian (Bluey) McClennan who, along with his late father Mike, and son Regan, received significant concussions while playing rugby league. In 2019, Bluey’s father Mike, who had dementia, went missing from an Orewa rest home and was found deceased in dense bush, a week later.

Bluey says although they will never have scientific proof of it, the family is certain he had CTE.

“He had clots on his brain, which is a sign of CTE,” Bluey says. “Our family knows and feels that the bad concussions he had when he was playing as a fullback were the cause of his dementia.”

Bluey’s son Regan has stopped playing league after some severe concussions.

“It was his call, thinking about the future and having seen with his own eyes the effects,” Bluey says.

Since his father’s death, Bluey has focused on his own health.

“I am looking after myself better now – diet, fitness and cutting out alcohol –because I have to look after my family,” he says. “I had some serious knocks and blacked out a number of times during my playing years. In the early 1980s we got up and kept playing. We know a lot more now – but more research is needed. For example, what kind of head trauma leads to CTE? And what is the impact of things like diet and alcohol on dementia?”

He encourages players of contact sports to consider donating their brains to advance the science. This has to be stated in the donor’s will, because of the time involved.

The former league player and coach says while he has full faith that contact sports are endeavouring to do as much as they can to adapt the game, following the science is key.

“I disagree with lowering the tackle as an option,” he says. “I have seen more people knocked out going low – such as making head contact with another player’s hip –then high. The more research we can do that will help sports such as rugby union, league, boxing and MMA, the better.”

Bluey is back at Hibiscus Coast Raiders’ trainings this season, liaising with team coaches and the club chair but staying in a background, advisory role.

He says that things such as having an independent doctor on the sidelines to monitor players is easier at higher levels of the game, but that clubs are heading in the right direction with stand downs.

“Coaches and managers need to accept responsibility for the health of their players,” he says.

Brian (Bluey) McClennan, left, says he will be keeping a close eye on head knocks during Raiders rugby league games this season. Above, Mike McClennan’s family believe he had CTE from head knocks that he received during his long league career.

Despite the risks of contact sports, Bluey has no doubt that the advantages outweigh them.

He says if he had his time again, knowing about CTE, he would still play league –“every day of the week, and so would my father”.

“Our family is passionate about league and the value of sports in general. As a community we are getting less people playing team sports and they are so beneficial. It’s vital to get younger ones in, as they learn to be part of a team and also part of the community. Everyone deserves to have the information so they can make a decision for themselves about what sport they play.”

Bluey says if he sees any Raiders players getting head knocks that he is concerned about, he will be taking them aside and making them aware of the dangers.

“I will encourage them to do further research themselves, so they can make their own decisions.”

Santa Parade and Surf Sounds separate

Since 2016, the Surf Sounds concert and fireworks have been the evening finale to an afternoon spent watching the Orewa Santa Parade pass by. Both events are run by business association Destination Orewa Beach – the Surf Sounds in conjunction with Orewa Surf Lifesaving Club. With the growth in popularity of Surf Sounds, recently the decision was made to separate it from the Santa Parade in future, and let it be an event in its own right.

Destination Orewa’s operations manager, Hellen Wilkins, says Surf Sounds was created in 2016 to keep the vibe in Orewa going after the Santa Parade ends, but both events are now so big that running them on the same day comes with many complexities.

Those include the logistics of road closures and the loss of both events if it rains on the day.

In addition, there is a surf carnival on the same date, impacting the surf club’s ability to take part in the parade, provide patrols at beaches outside Orewa, provide Santa Parade volunteers and fundraise at Surf Sounds. Having both events on the same day also puts huge demands on the small team at Destination Orewa. As a result it has been decided that this year, the Santa Parade will run as usual, on the last weekend in November and there will be rides and food trucks on Orewa Reserve from when the parade concludes until early evening to keep the good vibes going.

The next Surf Sounds, with bands, food and fireworks, will be on March 30, 2024, “ending our event season with a literal bang,” Wilkins says.

The Botanic is the Hibiscus Coast’s newest, resort-style retirement village, designed to offer a great lifestyle surrounded by nature and world class facilities.

Novel draws on African life

A fictional country in Africa is the setting for the debut novel of Warkworth resident Mari Bennett.

Head of the Calf tells the story of a British wife and mother who follows her husband on a three-year posting to a country and a life that couldn’t be more different than the one she has been living in London in the 1980s.

“The story is drawn from personal experiences,” Bennett says. “I spent 15 years as a British ex-pat in Africa and like the main protagonist Kezia, experienced the events that led up to her failed marriage.

“I felt a need to tell my story, which I think will resonate with women who were also wives and mothers during the 1980s.

“It was a strange time, because we had just gone through the whole sexual revolution with outrageous clothing and lifestyles, and then somehow marriage knocked us right back into the box, and all our freedom and self-determination ended.”

Bennett says when women became wives and mothers back then, they gave up their own aspirations and focused instead on supporting their husbands and caring for their children.

“There was no further advancement for us and I felt cheated by that. Some women accepted it, like I did, or they became quite angry and involved in the feminist movement.”

Bennett says the story has feminist aspects to it.

“Modern women know that they don’t need a man to live a full life, but we didn’t back then.”

Bennett says the other theme in the book is that “it’s okay to be ordinary”. Bennett moved to NZ in 2018 where her two sons now live. She says the covid

Author Mari Bennett with her debut novel. The cover was designed by Colin Stables, of The Photo Store in Warkworth.

pandemic and lockdowns gave her plenty of willing readers and she benefited from the critical eye of good friends, including her writing group back in the UK. She is now working on a new book chronicling her journey through a cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Copies of the Head of the Calf are available from The Photo Store and 8.55 to Cairo in Warkworth, and The Nook Bookshop in Wellsford.

Book giveaway

Mahurangi Matters has a copy of Head of the calf to giveaway. To be in the draw, just email editor@ localmatters.co.nz with Calf in the subject line.

Flood damage liability questioned

By Laura Kvigstad,

Auckland Council reporter. Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.

Auckland Council staff say that queries have been received over council’s liability in recent flood events.

Governance director Phil Wilson mentioned the enquiries about liability at the Governing Body meeting on March 23, when he updated councillors about the recovery from recent flood events.

“People are challenging whether council is liable for costs associated with private property damage that is adjacent to council land,” Wilson said. “We are seeing the start of a process that will probably carry on for quite some time.”

Wilson did not have much information about that aspect available for councillors but said he would be looking to give more

in the coming weeks.

Council was approached for clarity on whether it had received any formal legal challenges as yet, but did not respond by the time of publication.

Council is also conducting reassessments for stickered properties.

“There is most certainly a judgement to be made about whether those properties are viable going forward,” Wilson said. He said being able to identify where it was unwise to rebuild properties gave council a good base for discussions with Government and insurers about compensation.

Mayor Wayne Brown said he was glad Wilson was “treading carefully” around conversations of managed retreat.

“That is definitely tricky. We are taking a financial risk because some people chose to take a physical risk,” Mayor Brown said.

Cement works stories wanted

The Warkworth Museum is putting out a call to long-time locals whose families may have had a connection to the Wilson Cement Works.

The abandoned works, at the end of Wilson Road on the Mahurangi River, operated from around 1882 to the 1920s and, at the peak, employed nearly 200 workers.

Museum manager Victoria Joule says that while there is quite a bit of information about the works, and its founder Nathaniel Wilson and his family, the museum is keen to expand on this with stories from the workers and others who might have had an association with the works.

The museum is compiling the information ahead of an exhibition, which will go on public display later this year.

“We know that there were strikes and accidents, and that the works would have had a big impact on the town, both during

its operation and when it closed down,” Joule says.

“It’s these stories that we would like to hear.”

As an example of the sort of information the museum is seeking, Joule cites an essay written by Betty Wyatt, the daughter of Walter Chessum:

“Dad worked at the cement works travelling there by dinghy as did the neighbours on either side. I would’ve been three years old when one day my Dad took some visitors on a sight-seeing trip to the Cement Works and I went along, too. I was terrified – all that machinery, wheels going round, the noise and the dust-laden air. It was enough to frighten any small child and that is probably why I remember something that happened when I was so young.”

Joule can be contacted by email at: warkworthmuseum@xtra.co.nz or phone the museum on 425 7093.

Can you recognise anyone in these photos? They were taken at the cement works and the museum is trying to put names to faces.

History

Early shipbuilders

George Darroch, his wife Nicholas and their five children arrived in New Zealand from Clyde, Scotland in 1842. They travelled on one of Auckland’s first immigrant ships, the Jane Gifford.

George, an apprentice shipwright, and his sons began boat building in Victoria Street in Auckland. The boats were launched at high tide into the tidal creek, which emptied into the Waitemata Harbour. George found his niche constructing small vessels for the local Maori, who found them better than the traditional waka to bring their produce to the rapidly growing Auckland market.

The family moved to the Mahurangi area in 1850 to be closer to a readily available timber supply. They set up at a small bay just inside Dyers Creek, on the western side of the Mahurangi River, and continued building ships.

Warkworth, at that time, was dependent on the river and coastal routes to move goods and people, primarily to Auckland, their nearest market. Roading was minimal and often impassable, and the most reliable transport was by sea. For the Darroch family, ship building became their livelihood for the next three generations.

In 1853, the family bought six lots of land in Te Kapa inlet, on the eastern side of Scott’s Landing. There they built their home Cantyre and a new shipyard. For the next 15 years, George and his eldest son James turned out a new schooner every year.

Then began the era of the scows – the work horses of the new settlement. Scows were flat-bottomed, could navigate the tidal estuaries and would sit flat to allow

stock and freight to be loaded. James’ youngest son David Mackey Darroch (Davey) became the most notable builder of the family. Before branching out on his own, he worked for John Meiklejohn at the upper shipyard, near Quintal Road. He built his first scow Una in 1883 there, but his masterpiece was the three-masted topsail schooner Eunice built at the yard in Birdsall Road, Big Omaha. He married Vida Meiklejohn and they had 13 children. Among the 32 scows he built at his yard in Birdsall Road was the Jane Gifford, named after the ship that had brought his grandparents to New Zealand. This restored scow is moored on the Mahurangi River at Warkworth and is a poignant reminder of the vital role these early shipbuilding families played in our local history. Information boards about the area’s shipbuilding days have been erected at the site of the shipyard in Birdsall Road and the nearby bridge.

Pet of the Month

&

Pets Vets Corner

Sherlock the Beagle

This month’s bravery award goes to Sherlock, an 11 year old Beagle. Sherlock recently underwent three major abdominal surgeries with us here at Warkworth Vets.

Being a typical Beagle, Sherlock is very partial to food and is determined to find any possible morsel within his reach. Unfortunately he is also tempted to eat other things, with his most favourite nonfood snack being socks.

When he lost his appetite and was vomiting recently, a sock had been missing for a few days so we had a strong inkling that this may have been the cause. A radiograph (X-ray) showed us not only a suspicious area of concern in his small intestine, but a stomach blocked with some long stringy material and also a large tumour on his spleen!

Sherlock went to surgery that day where he had a part of his small intestine and the sock removed, his spleen extracted and around one litre of long grass blades taken out of his stomach.

We saw him back last week to take out the sutures from his surgery and he is looking great, his appetite is well and truly back and the old dog has a new spring in his step.

Vets: Jon Makin BVSc, Danny Cash BVSc and Associates

0800 582 325 | marja.lubeck@parliament.govt.nz

5/62 Queen Street, Warkworth

Marja Lubeck

Labour List MP based in Kaipara ki Mahurangi

Authorised by Marja Lubeck MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

The David Darroch Shipyard, in Birdsall Road, Big Omaha, with the Southern Isle under construction, circa 1900.

Anne Ronaldson, Warkworth & District Museum www.warkworthmuseum.co.nz

Hauraki Gulf snapper in dire straits

The Warkworth Gamefish Club is calling on Fisheries NZ to take a serious look at the condition of snapper in the Hauraki Gulf and Bream Bay.

Club delegate Terry Creagh says the fish are starving.

“Snapper with white mushy flesh have been a hot topic over BBQs, bait boards and beers for some time,” Creagh says.

“In search of answers, LegaSea lodged an Official Information Act request last December and Fisheries New Zealand responded last month.

“Their analysis showed that the fish are safe for human consumption but, alarmingly, the main cause points to chronic starvation.”

Creagh maintains that destructive commercial fishing techniques and environmental degradation are compounding the problem. This is resulting in the large-scale depletion of important food sources that have historically sustained snapper and other finfish populations.

“Fishers are used to seeing ‘spent’ fish after the snapper spawning in spring. The fish normally take a few months to recover. What is unusual now is that people have been catching mushy fleshed snapper since before the spawning season. Now, coming into winter when the fish should be in good condition, there are still lots of mushy fish about.

“It’s shocking that the evidence points to the fact our snapper are literally starving. If we want snapper populations to increase we need to start by protecting the food sources. And, we must start paying

Tree clearing funds

Starvation has been identified as the cause of mushy fleshed snapper in Hauraki Gulf. Photo, Rikki Taylor, NIWA.

attention to the signals that our marine ecosystems are collapsing.

“The results are particularly concerning because snapper are an incredibly hardy species that eat almost anything. The Hauraki Gulf used to be one of the most productive marine environments but years of dredging, bottom trawling, and land based runoff have destroyed shellfish beds, crab and seabed populations. These are vital species which are important food sources for a variety of fish, sea birds, and marine mammals.”

LegaSea lead Sam Woolford says the first step starts with the removal of bottom trawling, scallop dredging and Danish

Targeted rate to roads opposed

A suggestion that the Rodney Local Board Transport Targeted Rate should be redirected from local bus services to road repairs is not being supported by the board chair Brent Bailey.

The idea of re-looking at the committed projects under the targeted rate was first put forward by board member Geoff Upson, and then taken up by Warkworth representatives Ivan Wagstaff and Michelle Carmichael.

“While I understand the attractiveness of this in response to the very real needs of residents waiting on Auckland Transport (AT) to attend to storm damage and potentially beef up the maintenance program for rural roads, I do not support this approach,” Bailey says. “In my view, AT will have pretty much reached capacity to deliver these works and just throwing money at them may not improve response times.

seining fishing methods that cause damage to habitats and marine species.

“In the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, people currently have the opportunity to remove these damaging fishing methods,” Woolford says.

“If we show the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries that we’re a united front on this issue, we’re confident we can get them out once and for all. Please, if you haven’t already, sign and share the petition calling for an end to all bottom trawling and dredging in the gulf.”

The petition can be found here: haurakigulfalliance.nz/petition/

Northland Regional Council has allocated $500,000 to help remove trees in rivers and will prioritise areas where there is the highest risk of river blockage and subsequent impacts. “We aim to commence these works as soon as possible to enable as much clearing of trees as possible before the winter wet weather hits us,” chair Tui Shortland says. Council is in discussions with central government agencies about the possibility of additional government funding. “We’re aware that the funding we’re providing will not be sufficient to remove all trees from all rivers.” Also on the funding front, the council was looking to make up to $300,000 of land management funding available to support landowners, marae and hapu to rebuild riparian fencing damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle.

“Further, any delay in delivering the projects already started will result in them needing to be re-scoped as inflation erodes the delivery budget. Construction costs are going up at more that 30% per annum at present and with an additional $400 million of work needing to be undertaken in Auckland over the coming couple of years this price pressure is likely to get worse in the short term.”

Bailey says that in Sweden there are over 140,000kms of roads that are privately owned and operated by Private Road Associations.

“My challenge to the groups that feel that taking control of road maintenance back from AT, and giving decision-making and budgets to the homeowners that live on them, will deliver better value for money.

“Further, I urge the people of Warkworth to make deputations to the Local Board in support of the pedestrian safety and public transport projects that may be about to be paused. There is a real risk that these will be compromised by well-intentioned but misdirected attempts to undertake road maintenance work that will be being undertaken by AT.”

Community Support Worker

Full Time, 40hrs | $22.70 - $28.25 | Snells Beach location

At Spectrum Care, we provide support for adults and children with intellectual and/or physical disabilities to live great lives.

We are looking for people to support a young man living in one of our homes at Snells Beach . He is very keen to go on community outings to interact with the locals, make new friends and doing well, “blokey stuff”.  He enjoys coffee time, music, watching and playing sport. Your role will be to support him to extend his social networks and skills, develop relationships and explore what the world has to offer. He is in his early 20s and therefore the ideal support person will be vibrant, fun, self-motivated, innovative and a good listener. He needs someone he can connect with, someone who wants to help him grow, make informed decisions and sometimes take considered risks as he develops his independence. You will ideally have:

• Experience supporting people with disabilities, mental health issues, and/ or behaviours that can be challenging is desirable but not necessary

• Reliability, commitment, and passion for working with people with disabilities

• A full New Zealand driver’s licence

• Able to pass a NZ police check

• The ability to use a computer effectively, including programs such as Word, Internet Explorer, and email

Make a difference to the people in your local community and get paid for your time. Apply today! Your Community needs you!!

Please visit us at https://careers.spectrumcare.org.nz/search. Job Reference: 27251. For more information please email rebecca.lee@spectrumfoundation.org.nz

Sculpture park tour opportunity

Restore Rodney East is inviting the public to enjoy a day at the Gibbs Farm Sculpture Park, at Makarau, on April 27, and help fund their conservation work at the same time.

It umbrellas one of the highest densities of groups working towards achieving pest free status in NZ.

The Gibbs Farm is an expansive, open-air sculpture park located on the on Kaipara Harbour.

Visitors will be able to wander at their own pace across manicured fields to view the giant sculptures.

The park boasts a series of major sitespecific commissions and has the greatest collection of large-scale, outdoor sculptures in the country. Many of the works are by some of the world’s most renowned artists. The walking tour normally takes around four hours. Visitors need to make their own way to the park and are encouraged to take a picnic lunch.

Comfortable walking shoes are recommended, along with all weather gear and a hat, sunblock and water.

Anyone with mobility issues who would like to attend, should email facilitator@rre.org.nz

Gibbs Farm is a private property open by appointment only on scheduled monthly visitor days.

There are large lakes and ponds that will require supervision with children (if applicable), as will encounters with various animals at several locations on the property.

Entry to Gibbs Farm for ticket holders will be via the main entrance (2421 Kaipara Coast Highway).

There are $75 early bird tickets available until 11pm on April 15. General admission for tickets purchased after the above date and time will be $85.

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The iconic Jacob’s Ladder.

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by Mahurangi Matters

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Info & tickets: https://www.eventbrite. com/e/gibbs-farm-restore-rodney-eastfundraiser-tickets-602062534247

Gardening

Andrew Steens

Autumn – a time of plenty

As I’ve probably mentioned before, autumn is my favourite season, even though it is the harbinger of winter, my least favourite season. With the mostly sunny days and cooler weather I can get a lot more done each day without having a meltdown, fortunately, as there are plenty of tasks to keep me busy.

Autumn is a time of plenty, with many crops ready to harvest, assuming of course that they survived our horrible summer. We have a reasonable harvest of apples and loads of feijoas this year, but our normal abundance of pumpkins, beans, tomatoes, peppers, corn, grapes, figs and more have been pretty dismal. Later this season I’m expecting to lift some pretty good crops of turmeric, galangal, Kra Chai and ginger, as the growth on these tropicals has been better than normal. Likewise, the bananas have done well with still a couple more bunches fattening up and the early mandarins are looking good.

The cooler weather makes autumn a good time to plant new crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, lettuce, and other leafy greens, as well as herbs like parsley, coriander and chives. With the soil still relatively warm and moist, now is a good time of year to plant new fruit trees, too. They will establish their root systems over the coming months, ready for a burst of growth in spring.

This is also a good time to prepare your vegetable beds for the next growing season. Any beds that aren’t being used for cropping can have compost, manure or other organic matter added to improve fertility. Mulching the garden beds helps protect the soil from

the cooler temperatures and helps improve soil condition also. I use whatever I have at hand, including leaves, straw, woodchips, seagrass, or even cardboard (ideal when putting a bed to sleep) to mulch the beds. Another worthwhile technique if you’re not planning on planting anything in your garden beds over winter, is to consider planting a cover crop. Cover crops can help prevent erosion, add nutrients to the soil, and improve its structure. Common cover crop options include clover, barley, ryegrass, lupin and oats. These are tilled into the soil a few weeks before planting the new crop, to give time to break down and release their nutrients.

Early autumn is a good time to prune plum trees and berry fruit, with other trees and shrubs following on as we come into winter. As the leaves of deciduous trees start to fall, it’s a good idea to rake them up, compost or burn them or mulch them into your lawn with the mower. This will help reduce diseases and pests for next season. Likewise, mow over or gather up and destroy any fallen fruit that are infested with codling moth or guava moth. Autumn is the perfect time to plant bulbs for spring flowers such as tulips, daffodils and hyacinths. Make sure to choose a location that gets plenty of sun and has well-drained soil sprinkle some bulb fertiliser and put a tag in the ground so you don’t forget where you planted them! I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve mown over or double planted a bulb planting. Whether you’re harvesting, planting or preparing your soil, autumn is a great time to get outside and enjoy your garden.

Matt on mental health tour

TV host turned sheep and beef farmer Matt Chisholm will be in Wellsford on Saturday, April 15 to talk about the importance of mateship and mental health in rural communities.

The evening show at Wellsford Community Centre is part of a national Time Out Tour by Chisholm in his role as ambassador for the Rural Support Trust. He will share the good, bad and the questionable experiences he’s faced during his unpredictable life and career journey and things he’s learnt along the way to cope with mental health struggles and getting through them. There will be stories from his TV life on such shows as Sunday, Survivor New Zealand and Celebrity Treasure Island, and from his farming and family life in Otago.

Chisholm says he’s just telling his own story in the hope it might help others, and showing how easy it is for pressure to build up to dangerous levels if people

don’t ask for help.

His Rural Support Trust tour follows the publication of a memoir in 2021 describing his struggles before moving back to rural Otago, called Imposter – On booze, crippling self-doubt and coming out the other side.

The Rural Support Trust has partnered with Chisholm to help rural communities start the conversation about the importance of mental health, wellness and resilience in these challenging times.

The Time Out Tour is being supported by ANZ, Bayleys, BDO, Datamars Livestock, Fonterra and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

Doors open at 6.30pm and there will be nibbles, tea and coffee before Chisholm takes to the stage at 7pm. Entry to the event, which is strictly R15, is free.

Info: www.rural-support.org.nz/Time-OutTour

Chisholm might have seemed happy on TV, but he was battling many demons.

Whangateau targets moth plant

A working bee targeting the invasive moth plant was held at Whangateau on March 25. The event was organised by Kevin Weston after he noticed a plant that appeared to be taking over certain areas and strangling the native plants.

“After some research I found out this plant is the dreaded moth plant that is one of the most noxious plants in NZ,” he said. “The plant needs to be eradicated as it spreads quickly and will dominate native vegetation. Sprays won’t kill it and each pod has up to 2000 seeds.”

Weston says the working bee targeted mainly plants around Tramcar Bay.

“We know this enemy is very cunning and will be back, so although we have won the battle, the war is far from over. Another working bee is planned for later in the year.

“I am grateful to all the residents at Whangateau who volunteered to help especially knowing they did not have the moth plant growing on their properties right now. They were smart enough to realise it’s only a matter of time before this enemy arrives on their shores.

“I would encourage other communities to get together and help fight the moth plant.”

Residents were given a helping hand by members of the Society Totally Against the

It will take vigilance to keep the moth plant at bay.

Moth Plant (STAMP).

The moth plants that were removed were disposed of at the Redvale landfill.

Storm recovery package from KMR

Farmers and landowners affected by recent floods and storms may be eligible for free support from the Kaipara Moana Remediation (KMR) programme.

The government-backed decade-long restoration project focuses on working with landowners on planting and fencing to reduce sediment going into the Kaipara Harbour in Auckland and Northland.

The KMR team says after recent extreme weather events, landowners around the Kaipara have been badly affected, especially in the Auckland region.

“The road to recovery will also be a long

one in some areas,” a spokesperson says.

KMR is offering to help landowners it has been working with by repairing, replacing or relocating completed fencing and planting projects damaged by the floods and cyclone. Help may also be available for landowners working with KMR on new projects, such as ensuring fencing and planting plans reduce erosion risks and protect against future flood damage.

KMR is also connected to other agencies offering support, and may be able to help landowners seek other sources of funding.

Info: Email hono@kmr.org.nz

Mangawhaifootball

Fun Football and First Kicks will start on May 20. Players will be running onto the field in the club’s brand new kit sponsored by New World Mangawhai and Barfoot and Thompson Mangawhai. Fun Football (for those who turn seven or eight this year) will start with Thursday afternoon practices with Rod from April 13, from 3pm-4pm at the Domain for those who are around in the holidays.

Wellsford Junior players - Grades U9’s and u13’s

Northland Rugby will be hold a Tackle Box Clinic for all U9 players and those who have not played tackle before, lead by development officer Matt Moulds. The clinic has been established to teach rugby players to position their heads in the correct position when making a safe and correct tackle. It will be held at the Kaiwaka Sports Complex on Sunday, April 23, starting at 11.30am, and is open to all players in the Rodney Otamatea Junior Sub Union.

Holidaysquash

The Warkworth Tennis and Squash Club will hold a school holiday programme during the second week of the holidays on April 17, 19 and 21, from 9am-noon. There will be squash, fun games and a mini-tournament. Suitable for children aged eight to 15 years. Cost $60, To book, contact Kaye Jackson on 021 135 7574.

Warkworthgolf

The Warkworth Golf Club will hold a Black & White teams Day on Wednesday, April 12, supporting the Black and White Golfers Trust. Local golfers will play alongside members from various clubs in teams of four. 18 holes – multi tee start at 9.30am.

Congratulations

Wellsford Golf Course club captain Roger Dunning came second in the stableford at the All Abilities National Championship held at Windross Farm Golf Course, Papakura, at the start of the month. Dunning finished with 74 points, behind winner Mitchell Brown, of Great Barrier Island.

31 Woodcocks Rd, Warkworth 09 425 9100 splashwater@xtra.co.nz

Pumps & Filters

AERIALS

REDDING ELECTRONICS

Freeview Installs, Satellite Dish, UHF Aerial. Installation & Repairs. Ph Dave 09 422 7227 or 027 458 5457

CARPET LAYING

CITY CARPETS

Carpet laying, Vinyl laying, Carpet repairs, Carpet re-stretch. Over 30 years’ experience.

Call Dexter 027 4956 436

Lake Tomorata pest fish removal

Auckland Council is carrying out pest fish control at Lake Tomorata (Tomarata) from 17-21 April. People should not swim or boat on the lake during this time. Nets will be set on the lake floor and will not be visible on the surface. Please plan your trip to Lake Tomorata around these dates. The reserve will still be open over this time. All nets will be removed before the weekend. Signage and Auckland Council staff will be at the lake to remind lake visitors.

Find out more: phone 09 301 0101 or visit aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

DVD

DVDS & VIDEOS VIDEOS TRANSFERRED to

DVD/hard drive. Phone or txt Tetotara Video 021 777 385

FOR LEASE

FARM FOR LEASE

80 hectare grazing property near Wellsford. No house, good farm infrastructure. Initial expressions of interest and lease detail.

Email: ray@gracefarm.co.nz

Please provide a personal brief.

PUBLIC NOTICES

Alcoholics Anonymous meet in the Warkworth.

If you want to drink, that is your business, if you want to stop, we can help. Phone/text 0275 773 689

www.aa.org.nz | www.12steps.nz

8242

Supported by Mahurangi Matters

www.localmatters.co.nz

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2023

The Algies Bay Residents & Ratepayers Assn AGM will be held on Saturday 15th April 2023, 10am, Betty Paxton Room, Mahurangi Community Centre. admin@algiesbay.co.nz

RODNEY AND OTAMATEA SOCCER ASSOCIATION (ROSA)

Public meeting on Sunday 23rd April 2023 at 4pm at the Port Albert Football Clubrooms, Port Albert Football Grounds on the corner of Wellsford Valley Road and GM Gibb Road, Port Albert. Purpose of the meeting is to determine the future of the Port Albert Football Clubrooms. Option 1: Raise $60,000 in Community funds to bring the clubrooms up to current standards. Option 2: Transfer the building ownership to Auckland Council.

JUSTICE OF THE PEACE SERVICE DESKS

Warkworth, at the Council Offices

Monday 10am – 2pm

Matakana, Cinema Complex

Tuesday 11am-1pm Snells Beach, at the Library

Friday 10am – noon

Warkworth RSA

Fridays 4pm to 5pm

No appointment is needed. There is no cost.

Supported by Mahurangi Matters

SITUATIONS VACANT

Job Vacancy: Predator Control Community Trapline Support

Based at Omaha Flats, with travel within our work area as required. 32-40 hours a week –negotiable. Indicative salary: $65k, pro rata.

Tēnei tūranga / About the role: This new role at TFBT combines working as a team member of our predator control team to extend and maintain our operations but also taking a key role alongside our Volunteer Programme Coordinator to support of our growing number of volunteer-maintained traplines in the area.

Ngā pūkenga me ngā wheako/ Skills and experience:

Experience in trapping / predator control, with a good level of physical fitness

• Experience or ability to train volunteers in safe use of traps and trapline auditing (training provided).

Excellent personal communication skills, with a friendly and helpful approach.

He Kōrero Mō / What We Are Looking For:

• Someone who can be our bridge between the TFBT predator control team and our Volunteer Programme Coordinator. Ability to be flexible with work hours and work occasional evenings or during weekends to meet and train volunteers.

Please contact Anne for a Job Description / Application Form on admin@theforestbridgetrust. org.nz. Applications close 24th April 2023

CHURCH NOTICES

CATHOLIC CHURCH

www.holyname.org.nz

Holy Mass Timetable:

WARKWORTH

Holy Name Church, 6 Alnwick Street

Saturday Vigil: 6.00pm

Sunday: 10.30am

Phone 425 8545 PUHOI SS. Peter & Paul Church

Sunday: 8.30am

The deadline for classified advertising for our April 24, 2023 paper is April 19. Send classified advertising enquiries to design@localmatters.co.nz

5 Pulham Road, Warkworth Phone 425 8861 www.mahu.org.nz

Sunday Services 9am & 10.35am

Over the last few weeks you may have seen quite a bit of press around the issue of declining literacy in New Zealand schools. The evidence is clear. By any metric, be it international comparisons through the likes of PISA, or using our own nationally generated data, it is clear that literacy rates have fallen markedly. As a sector we have to take responsibility - we’ve taken our eye off the ball, focusing on new and shiny things, none of which are necessarily inherently bad, but what they do is to take our focus from what should be our core. Literacy is critical to success and advancement, in many ways the master skill of schooling. As Dr Seuss extols so wisely, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

While some students struggle to read at all, much more common is that many have weak reading skills, using a combination of context, sight words, insecure phonological awareness, and guessing to give the ‘illusion’ of reading. This can allow students to ‘get through’ school, but as text complexity increases, these students increasingly flounder, often resulting in disengagement from school.

Thankfully (although somewhat frustratingly, because the education sector is slow to adapt) we have the answers. Once students have been taught to decode, then building knowledge in a structured, sequenced way is key. This approach supports all learners, but especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, or those with learning difficulties. Worldwide, there has been a significant swing to ‘structured literacy’ which is based on the science of reading, and is no longer contestable. The reading wars are over, or should be - the evidence is so secure. So-called ‘balanced literacy’ is now discredited. The techniques used in balanced literacy (such as 3-cueing and predictable or levelled readers) are not supported by Science, and essentially amount to malpractice. We need to ban these approaches.

So, what can parents do to support their children in reading? Firstly, become a strong advocate for structured literacy. In early years you should expect that your child is engaged in a quality synthetic phonics programme, for 30 minutes per day. If you’re not sure, ask your school. Secondly, your children need to see

you reading, daily. We can not expect our children to become good readers if we have our noses buried in smartphones! Use whatever combination of bribery, coercion and incentive to encourage your child to read - start small, and then look to build the habit and love of reading. One of the very best things you can do is to read aloud to your child, and have them read aloud back. As Napoléon Bonaparte stated, “Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.”

For the first time in our history, Mahurangi College entered Polyfest, incredibly placing 2nd for the Diversity Stage Fusion Award and 3rd for the Oceania Continent Award. Our Year 13 leaders were outstanding, coordinating the team

MITRE

10 ACHIEVER OF

HEAD GIRL Member of Kapa Haka Academic Blue for Excellence

Level 1 & Level 2 NCEA Sport Prefect

Tony Giles - PRINCIPAL

Pictured with Hannah McCarthy Garden Centre Manager

Grace Richards

Juniors golfers play Futures

Wellsford Golf Club recently hosted the first round of a new Futures Junior Golf Shield Series.

The Futures series is about encouraging young people to learn the game of golf at their own pace and meet new friends, and it provides opportunities for young people and families to learn and play together. Teams from Wellsford, Warkworth, Omaha and Mangawhai competed, with players ranging in age from eight to 16 years.

The format allowed for all types of golfers, girls and boys, beginners and experienced players, with teams of four playing matchplay against each other.

The Warkworth team took the shield in a closely fought battle.

Sponsors SCE Stone & Design and the Wellsford Golf Club were thanked for their support, as well as Martin Worthington for setting the shield series in motion. The teams are looking forward to the next shield matches at Mangawhai in term two.

The winning Warkworth Shield Team, from left, Oliver Woodcock, James Mordaunt, Charlie Church and Ryan Mordaunt.

What’s on

11-21 Library school holiday activities, (see story p23)

13 Kowhai Park guided walk with the Forest Bridge Trust, part of Eco Fest, 10am-noon. RSVP: www.ecofest.org.nz/2023-events

13 All About Wētā, with Peter Caccia-Birch and his wētā hotel, Warkworth Library 10.30am. Free

13-16, 19-21 Warkworth Theatre presents a Plethora of Plays, Warkworth Town Hall, 2pm and 7pm shows. Info: wwtheatre.co.nz (see ad p33)

14 Late Night at Matakana Estate, 5-10pm. Live music, free entry.

14 Rothko Tasting Series with Pernod Ambassador Jacob Walker; Sculptureum, Omaha Flats Road, from 6pm

15 Time Out Tour, with Matt Chisholm, Wellsford Community Centre, Doors open 6.30pm (see story p38)

15&16 Kawau Bay Art Exhibition, old Masonic Hall, Baxter Street Warkworth, open from 10am

16 Market Day, Leigh Community Hall, 10am-1pm. $10 a table. Info: Email leighhallauckland@gmail.com or contact 027 286 8625

16 Kaipara Wool & Fibre Festival, Maungaturoto Country Club, 85 Bickerstaffe Road, 10am-3pm. Yarn from independent growers and dyers. Free entry

17 Warkworth Men’s Rebus general meeting, Shoesmith Hall, 10am. Ron for details: 422 3111.

17 Low Vision Support Group, Summerset Falls Village, Warkworth, 1.30pm. All welcome. Info: enquiries@mcdonaldadams.co.nz

20 Forest & Bird Warkworth area branch annual meeting followed by a talk by Ellen Rykes entitled, ‘Behind the scenes at NZ’s most important election: Bird of the Year’, 7.30pm. Note: New meeting venue – downstairs meeting room, Warkworth RSA. All welcome.

20-29 Penalties, Pints and Pirouettes, Coronation Hall, Waipu. Play by Neil Troost, directed by Blair Strang. Tickets from www.trybooking.com

21 Bowls Warkworth fundraising auction, Mill Lane, from 6pm. $10 includes live music and nibbles

21 Superbugs, Salmonella, E.coli, Legionella: A National Research NetworkDevelopment of Greener Commercial Biocides, a talk by Professor Ralph Cooney at the Besoul meeting room, 12 Gumfield Drive, Warkworth, 2-4pm. All U3A members and members of the general public welcome.

21 Open Mic Night, Warkworth RSA, from 6.30pm

21 Blame the Cats, rockabilly, rock n roll and country, The Mangawhai Club, 7.30pm. Free

22 Smoke on the Coast Barbecue Festival, Whangateau Holiday Park, 10am-4pm

22 White Chapel Jak Endless Summer Tour, Warkworth Town Hall, 4-7pm

24 Advanced care planning, Warkworth Library, 10.30am-12 noon. Presented by Paddy Sullivan, Age Concern Rodney.

27 Auditions for Warkworth Theatres production, The Ghost Train, Warkworth Town Hall, 7-9pm

27 Gibbs Farm Tour, fundraiser for Restore Rodney East, 10am-2pm (see story p37)

28 Tea & Talk: 100 Years of Warkworth’s Temperance Hotel, Warkworth Museum, 10am. All welcome; $5 entry. Bookings essential: Warkworthmuseum@xtra.co.nz

29 Les Voisins presented by Warkworth Music in partnership with Chamber Music New Zealand, Warkworth Town Hall, 4-6pm (see ad p33)

29 Auditions for Warkworth Theatres production, The Ghost Train, Warkworth Town Hall, 10am-12pm

29 30th annual Lifeguard Longboard Nationals, Mangawhai Heads, from 8am. Must be a qualified lifeguard to take part.

30 Puhoi Village Market, Riverside Park, 9am-1pm. Live music, stalls, treasures, food and the Community Table produce and plants. To book a $20 stall space, phone Jenny on 020 4020 6154

CHARITY SAUSAGE SIZZLE

IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT MORE LOCAL, THEN WHY NOT JOIN US!

OMAHA BEACH SURF LIFESAVING CLUB

In the last year, generous Aucklanders like you have helped Aucklanders in need ...

The club's primary purpose is to prevent drowning and injury through lifeguard services and education. The club is comprised of highly trained volunteers and supporters who are passionate about water safety, the beach environment and are willing to contribute their time and skills to the local community.

Saturday 22nd April, 10am-2pm next to Warkworth Butchery

SPCA FUNDRAISER EVENT

Professional Pet Photography

Create a memory with your fur-baby by coming down and having your own special photo moment. All proceeds being donated to the SPCA.

Saturday 15th April, 9am-1pm 7 Queen Street, Warkworth

GIVEAWAYS PRIZES FREE TREATS FREE COFFEE

3 Warkworth Liaison Group meeting, downstairs meeting room at Warkworth RSA, Mill Lane, 7pm start

6 Matakana Wellness Hub Connections Day, Matakana small hall, from 1pm. Meet your local therapists and try some free mini sessions

8 Enduring Power of Attorney/Residential care transition, Warkworth Library, 10.30am-12 noon. Presented by Paddy Sullivan, Age Concern Rodney.

Weddings • Commercial • Landscapes

Supporting the team

The Due Drop Hope Challenge team is asking people to share their website (https://www.gumbootfriday.org.nz/ hope-challenge) with friends and family, and come out and give them a wave when they pass by. The team is stopping at 16 towns along the way where they will hold discussions about mental health and how to inspire young people. Details about these discussions, which will be held from 4.30pm to 5pm each day, will be on the website. This is also where you will find a link to donate to the cause.

Youth mental health motivates relay team

At least one member of the Due Drop Hope Challenge team, which will pass through the Mahurangi region this week, will be on familiar territory.

Omaha real estate agent Richard Hart is one of the six athletes who together are attempting a 16-day relay to swim/bike/ run the length of the North Island.

The challenge is the first of its kind and has been organised to raise awareness about the struggles young people face accessing counselling, despite a $1.5 billion investment by the current government.

The team is due to leave Cape Reinga tomorrow (April 11) and is expected to do a swim leg at Omaha on Friday (April 14) around midday.

Hart says there is a calendar on the Due Drop Hope Challenge website and a tracker so people can follow the team.

“The plan is to swim from Ti Point to the Omaha Surf Club en route to the Auckland CBD,” he says. “We will be hard to miss as there are huge logistics and sign written support vehicles.”

Other members of the team include former All Black Ian Jones and former world triathlon champion Rick Wells, as well as David Mitchell, Geoff Evison and Karim Rostrami.

The event will conclude with a hīkoi to Parliament led by I Am Hope and Gumboot Friday founder Mike King. King will meet with a government representative to convey the group’s concerns regarding the critical need for leadership and decisive action on improving youth mental health in New Zealand.

King says the wait times for kids to see a mental health professional are getting

longer and there is a growing reliance on medication to fill the void.

“This challenge is the ideal opportunity to promote our free counselling service Gumboot Friday and inform Kiwis that there is an alternative to these excruciatingly long wait times and medication,” King says. Hart says he was motivated to join the challenge to support the I Hope charity. “We have all seen how bad the state of our mental health system in NZ is and the damage it does to families, from suicide in particular,” he says.

“It’s not all just about raising funds, but also about talking to people about the issues. “Alongside this, it is also a way of challenging ourselves (the team members), as we get a little older and on the wrong side of 50, to keep creating personal goals.”

The team has been training for several months trying to average around 300km a week in a mix of swimming, biking and running.

Hart says the challenge was meant to happen in February but was delayed after Cyclone Gabrielle hit.