Manuhiri, Maraeariki, Ngawhetu and Tawhiakiterangi, and were designed and created by Akatera Maihi and Greg Te Kanawa.
Four
Illuminated panels have also been erected on the Moir Hill Road bridge that crosses the motorway further north, with a red and black manaia motif representing local awa catchments and connections
A major new Warkworth housing development and a 219-hectare solar farm in Wellsford are among the 149 projects included in the coalition government’s controversial and long-awaited Fast Track Approvals Bill announced last week.
Warkworth South Waimanawa developer Classic Developments wants to build a new township with 1200 new homes on 160 hectares of land near Valerie Close, and was going through Auckland Council’s private plan change process prior to Fast Track.
Energy Farms Ltd plans to install a 150,000-panel, 76MW solar farm on
farmland south-west of Wellsford and applied for Fast Track Approval earlier this year, rather than applying for consent via council (MM, May 27).
The list of projects also includes an application by Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust and Te Ārai South Holdings Ltd for 420 homes, as part of an integrated development plan for the Te Arai precinct and regional park, and a proposal from NZTA Waka Kotahi to plan, design and deliver an alternative State Highway 1 route to the Brynderwyn Hills.
The Fast Track Approvals Bill is expected to
go before Parliament for its second reading in November and be passed into law before the end of the year. Each project will then be assessed by an expert panel whose members can apply relevant conditions, according to Regional Development
Minister Shane Jones.
“As we’ve publicly said before, the government is also recommending to the Environment Committee that expert panels have the ability to decline approval for projects,” he said.
“The expert panels will include members with technical expertise relevant to a
project, expertise in environmental matters (and where relevant, conservation), and the Treaty of Waitangi.”
Wellsford residents fighting the solar farm said its inclusion in the bill confirmed their worst fears.
Spokesperson Brett Montefiore said if the project were fast-tracked, affected homeowners would find it very difficult to be able to put forward their objections to the independent expert panel.
“We would’ve had a far better chance of
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being heard if we were able to submit to and do a presentation through hearings at Auckland Council if Energy Farms applied for their resource consent,” he said.
“Before it was included in the bill, at least we had our local board and councillors we could approach. Now with it being in the big machine of the government, you get very few replies from the minister. You generally just get automated responses.”
He did get one email from Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop, saying the government was “committed to making it easier to access and use our abundant green energy to achieve a low-emissions, highgrowth economy and to put New Zealand on track to meeting its climate change goals this decade”.
Montefiore said the email basically boiled
down to “the government is going to do what they’re going to do, regardless”.
He added that solar farms were “probably good”, but the location had to be right.
“It might not be good for the 60-odd households that are directly looking at it.
I can’t imagine they’ll be very happy with that at all. We’ve already had a 20 per cent decrease in property values.”
Meanwhile, groups opposing projects that had been expected to apply for fast-track approvals, but did not appear on last week’s list expressed guarded relief this week.
Fight the Tip chair Sue Crockett said members of the anti-landfill group were “cautiously pleased at this time” that Waste Management NZ’s proposed Dome Valley dump was not one of the 149 projects.
However, she said there was no guarantee
it wouldn’t happen further down the track, especially if current High Court appeals went against the company.
Friends of Pakiri co-founder Damon Clapshaw also said it was a relief that McCallum Bros’ had not applied to continue sand mining off Pakiri and Mangawhai, though he voiced concern that the company was planning to shift its operations further up the coast.
“Fast track was the big concern, so I think we have done okay. It could have been a lot worse,” he said. “But the Bream Bay offshore sand dredging proposal, without seeing the detail, appears to be a copy-rinserepeat of the flawed dredging application at Mangawhai-Pakiri, which was rejected by hearing commissioners and on appeal to the Environment Court.”
Uncertainty surrounds what’s happening with the construction of a new pool and fitness complex on land north of Warkworth Showgrounds.
In October last year, Northern Arena marketing manager Justin Byrne said its latest estimated start date was November 2023, following delays in the issuing of titles for the site off Te Honohono ki Tai Road (MM, Oct 23, 2023).
However, one year on there has been no obvious progress and Byrne was tightlipped about what was happening when approached about the latest situation.
“Unfortunately, I wish I had something to tell you, but I don’t,” he said. “No updates here from me.”
When questioned about recent local speculation that there were geotechnical
issues with the site itself or that wastewater connection issues might be causing delays, he still wouldn’t be drawn.
“Sorry, I’ve got no update. As soon as I have concrete information we will be sure to communicate,” he said.
Mahurangi Matters also approached
consultant designer Create’s director and project lead for the pool complex, Bryan Greig, but he did not respond.
The members-only pool complex design includes a 25-metre learn to swim pool, two 12-metre pools for preschoolers and babies, a gym, fitness studio, café and shop.
Watercare is looking at installing a new temporary wastewater pipe in part of Warkworth in an effort to reduce the number of overflows that regularly discharge thousands of litres of raw sewage into the Mahurangi River, forcing oyster farmers to shut up shop.
The old pipe currently runs from the north along Elizabeth Street to the pump station in Lucy Moore Memorial Park, but in recent years there have been regular sewage overflows into the street or, more frequently, into the river and harbour via the stream that runs behind shops.
The leaks have led to several cases of norovirus in the town basin and forced local oyster farmers to stop harvesting until water quality had returned to safe levels (MM, Aug 4).
However, Watercare’s chief strategy and planning officer Prihan Perera said on October 2 that a temporary solution, such as a bigger pipe, was being sought as decision-making on the new permanent sewage pipeline dragged on.
“Recognising the number of overflows we’re having, we are putting some effort into interim options to reduce the impact on the environment and businesses,” he told a Rodney Local Board workshop.
“There are a couple of aspects we’re looking at and one is an interim upsizing of the Elizabeth Street pipeline – the pipe that runs across that bridge is quite small.”
He said a team was looking at what could be done to upsize the pipe and implement controls at pump stations at either end, with designs currently being drawn up. Perera, together with other Watercare executives, met with Mahurangi oyster farmers and local MPs Chris Penk and Jenny Marcroft after the workshop, but at least one grower who attended was unimpressed, not least since a storm that night had led to yet another discharge and harbour closure.
“That night, they poured 116 cubic metres, or 11,000 litres of sewage down that pipe,” he said.
“This year, we’ve been closed up to 70 days and this one will tip it over 80. Last year it was 81 days. That’s half our money flushed down the toilet.
“We take it seriously about norovirus, but they don’t. I’m really disappointed.
“We’ve been waiting four years for them to fix it and they basically told us the new pipeline was five years away and to talk to One Mahurangi about the delay.”
Perera had earlier expressed the project team’s own frustration at the time it was taking to decide on a route for the new pipeline.
“They get a little bit frustrated at times,” he told local board members. “We’re looking at 900 metres of pipe and it’s taken us three
years to navigate this scenario.
“We’ve learned a lot, but at the same time we are going to have to make some pretty difficult decisions and sometimes those decisions will not be popular.
“We have to strike a balance between what’s right for the future and what needs to be done for now.”
He said the project was about delivering the best asset for the community for the next 100 years, not just for today.
“There’s no simple solution here. There’s pressure on other businesses, the oyster farmers and growers, and they have a different pressure – to stop the overflows.”
The workshop heard that three possible routes were currently being assessed:
Watercare’s preferred open trench down Queen Street, plus alternatives put forward by One Mahurangi – a trenchless tunnel along Queen Street, or an above-ground pipe topped with a boardwalk around the riverbank, which Perera said could take two years longer.
He said the local board and community played a huge part in influencing any final decision, as did environmental impacts, geotechnical constraints, construction feasibility and cost, but in the end, “we look for the best technical solution”.
Watercare will share the results of its current route assessments with One Mahurangi by the end of the month, before going through its engineering optioneering process. A decision is expected by December.
Meanwhile, digging the northern section of the new pipeline could lead to an eightmonth road closure between Hill Street and the community transport hub just south of Warkworth Showgrounds.
Rodney Local Board members heard that laying that section of pipe would take 13 months if Great North Road was kept open for single lane traffic, but five months less if the road was completely closed.
Traffic would be diverted via Hill Street or Matakana Road, adding just two or three extra minutes of travel time, according to Watercare project manager Michael Zhou.
“If we could close off this section of road, the
construction crew can go faster and we can probably save half the construction time and it will be 15 to 16 per cent cheaper,” he said.
“Full road closure is faster, cheaper and safer for both the construction crews on the site and also for the public, plus we can keep the footpaths open all the time.”
Zhou added that as a result of community feedback, construction materials and work crews would not use Shoesmith Domain or Kowhai Park as bases, as had previously been proposed.
He said sites just south of the community transport hub and at the showgrounds would suffice.
Damage and delays have more than doubled the budget needed to finish upgrading the Mahurangi East Community Centre and Library to almost $4.5 million.
Rotten roof timbers, inadequate fire protection and the need to completely rebuild internal walls are just a few of the unexpected problems discovered since work started in April.
Reopening has now been pushed back until the new year at the earliest (MM, Sep 30), but in the meantime, Rodney Local Board has to find an extra $2.1 million to finish the job, a workshop heard on October 2.
Area manager for parks and community facilities Geoff Pitman said while some of the blow-out might be available from a centralised regional risk fund, that would not cover all of it and other projects would need to be delayed.
Members heard six projects had been identified for potential funding deferral, including rebuilding and renewing Te Hana playground and the Rodney-wide community building refurbishment programme.
“Overall, we’re looking at a $2.1 million uplift to cover the works to finish it off,
Professional, cost effective, creative solutions to all aspects of resource management planning.
that’s $4.48 million total,” Pitman said.
“If we don’t secure the budget, obviously we would have to stop works. There’s no way of just stopping where we are, reversing and opening it up – the building would not be usable.
“Our advice would be to continue, even though it’s a large sum of money.”
Senior project manager Aaron Pickering said once work started and the roof came off, any number of issues were discovered, causing extra work that needed new designs and consents. He cited key examples.
“There was an understanding that the mezzanine floor was supported by certain load-bearing walls – it turns out that wasn’t the case. And the kitchen had no
• Consents
• Hearings & mediation
• Expert evidence • Plan changes
• Planning advice, due diligence
fire compliance for a load-bearing wall,” he said.
“There’s a very large internal wall that separates the library from the gym [hall] and when we took the lining off that, it was quite poorly constructed – certainly not seismic-compliant – and there had been works we weren’t aware of, so essentially that had to be completely rebuilt.
“It’s become a pretty significant renovation.” Pickering added that youths getting into the site after hours and climbing on scaffolding had also caused added worry and expense, requiring the whole interior to be safety-netted, together with extra expense for security guards and alarms.
Pitman said in future, more contingency funding needed to be loaded at the start, so money wouldn’t need to be “borrowed” from other board projects to fund unexpected blow-outs.
He said the team would get a report to members at their October 16 business meeting for a decision on suggested changes to the work programme, so the work at Snells Beach could be continued.
• Land development & consenting strategy
By
A Warkworth couple is hoping there is strength in numbers, after joining forces with a group of West Auckland residents fighting to get council help with slips on public land impacting their properties.
Matt and Jo Wildermoth lost a significant chunk of their garden, which backs onto a steep bank adjoining Whitaker Road, when heavy rain caused a major slip in May last year. Since then, they say they’ve been ignored by Auckland Transport, despite repeated attempts to engage with staff and even its chief executive.
“I sent a personal email to Dean Kimpton in June and haven’t heard a thing back,” Matt said.
“We’ve had a pretty hard year this year generally but have been 100 per cent ignored. All we wanted was to have a chat with someone. We’re just sitting here waiting.”
Recently, Stickered Titirangi Area Residents’ (STAR) group member Tony Proffit, who has been campaigning for householders affected by slips on council land, happened to drive past the Wildermoths’ slip and suggested they join their group effort.
“STAR represents property owners impacted by 2023 storm damage to Auckland Council-owned road reserve land,” Proffitt said.
“I door-knocked Matt, as I could see they were dealing with the road reserve issue too, and I suspect there are many others all over Auckland in the same situation.”
STAR took its grievances to council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee on October 3, where they appealed to councillors for an urgent solution to the problem.
STAR member Thibault Beaujot said neither insurance companies nor the council’s storm recovery categorisation work would cover repair costs for public land.
“It is important to recognise the property owners are not at fault and to recognise that the damage is to council-owned land and not private property. We argue the council has a moral obligation and the discretionary powers to find a funding solution to address the damage,” Beaujot said. Proffit said it was unfair for private property owners to need to undertake work on public land to protect their properties.
“I think it is important to keep coming back to the fact that this is council-owned land. It’s not private property, it is not our job to ask that of the government. It is the
The Wildermoths are hoping a solution can be found to stabilise the roadside bank.
council’s job to ask for funding from the government to repair your land,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson was sympathetic and said council needed to find a solution quickly.
Waitakere Councillor Ken Turner submitted a notice of motion requesting the council’s chief executive and Auckland Transport’s chief executive report back with funding options and potential impacts in a month.
Proffit said afterwards he was feeling more positive that something might finally get done, and urged any other affected homeowners to get in touch with STAR to ensure they were included in any future funding resolution.
Meanwhile, the Wildermoths were also feeling more hopeful after connecting with Proffit, having already received a phone call and apology from the Auckland flood response team.
Info: Email stickeredtitirangiresidentsgrp@gmail.com
Prime real estate owned by the Catholic Church in the heart of Warkworth is now up for sale.
Located at 4-6 Alnwick Street, the 1618m² site “offers immense potential for mixed-use development, retail, commercial, or residential projects”, according to its listing with Re/Max New Zealand Warkworth.
In its consultation document, the church said the estimated value of the Alnwick Street property and vacant land next to the Catholic cemetery near the Pukerito roundabout was around $3.4 million, which was based on the CV.
The listing closely follows the church’s purchase of the former Ascension Wine Estate for an undisclosed price in July (MM, July 24).
The 6.23 hectare property at 480 Matakana Road will become the new home of the Holy Name Catholic Parish. The parish plans to open a new church and community centre at the new site.
Plans to create a new park and children’s play area in central Leigh are being reconsidered following feedback from Leigh School.
Rodney Local Board allocated almost $1 million in its work programme and budget last year for a new playground and wheeled play area on the Auckland Council reserve on the corner of Puriri and Ferndale Avenues (MM, Aug 14, 2023).
This would have entailed relocating the existing skate park and other play equipment from the edge of the school sportsfield in Cumberland Street to the reserve site, which is currently used mainly for summer trailer and boat parking.
However, a board workshop heard last month that the school was keen to keep the skate park where it was, close to its own recently installed pump track, to create a community hub for wheel play.
Council’s senior project manager, Claire Bodmin, said the school management was happy for the pump track to be used by the public outside of school hours and was planning to install a concrete path around the sportsfield perimeter as a learn-to-ride, all-weather facility as well.
She said that, bearing this and the steepness of the existing site in mind, there was scope
to split the play areas, with wheel play at the sportsfield and a new playground for younger children at the reserve.
Local member Ivan Wagstaff said the school and sportsfield were already a play hub for the community, with children using the school playground out-of-hours, as well as the community hall and school pool.
“I can’t see splitting the play areas gives much benefit really,” he said. “If we can make the unused reserve area that’s used for parking in summer all-weather, so that it can be used for other activities like year-round parking and other community events, that might be a better option. I’d be hesitant to split that play area up.” He suggested providing the school with funding to upgrade its play equipment for general use instead of installing a whole new playground somewhere else.
Michelle Carmichael said it was easier for parents and carers to go to one spot if they had more than one child with them and agreed that supporting the school to provide something the whole community could use could be a better option.
Bodmin said their suggestions would be considered by the project team and a proposal brought back to the board for decision-making later.
State Highway 1 Johnstones Hill Tunnels
Monday 21 October between 9pm and 3am
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi would like to notify the community about an emergency response exercise taking place in Johnstones Hill Tunnels.
During the emergency exercise you may hear tunnel alarm and emergency sirens or see flashing lights travelling to site through Silverdale, Orewa and Puhoi.
There will be a full closure in both directions between Silverdale and Warkworth. Motorists will be detoured via Hibiscus Coast Road and Old State Highway 1.
See story page 1
Homebuilders essential
I write in response to the articles and letters about Oranga Tamariki’s decision to stop funding Homebuilders Family Support Services.
It was a big shock to hear of Oranga Tamariki’s decision to end its contract with Homebuilders.
Homebuilders offers a wide range of services which can “wrap around” a family
We welcome your feedback but letters under 250 words are preferred. We reserve the right to abridge them as necessary. Unabridged versions can be read at www.localmatters.co.nz/opinion Letters can be sent to editor@localmatters.co.nz or 17 Neville Street, Warkworth 0910
under stress and work alongside that family and support them to create the future they seek for themselves.
Loaves and Fishes Foodbank Wellsford receive requests from Homebuilders to provide food parcels to those in our community who are struggling to make ends meet. We are also able to refer families to Homebuilders for that wrap-around support that one food parcel cannot provide.
We see the work Homebuilders does every week and cannot understand why Oranga Tamariki would choose to cut this irreplaceable essential service to the community.
The community needs more of this support not less. Oranga Tamariki should be extending its contract with Homebuilders, not ending it.
Karen Lennon, Chairperson Loaves and Fishes Foodbank Wellsford
Work is due to start this month on a new $1 million, 2.2km footpath and cycle trail from Point Wells to Matakana Country Park. The new path is the latest link in a network of tracks being planned by the Matakana Coast Trail Trust (MCTT), which has worked with landowners, Rodney Local Board, Auckland Council and central government to plan, raise funds and build the new trail.
It is being funded largely by private donations from local residents keen to give walkers and cyclists a safe refuge from traffic along Point Wells and Omaha Flats Roads, and will connect with the existing trail that runs between Jones Road and Point Wells Road from Omaha and Matakana.
Warkworth construction firm Mason Contractors will build the new trail, starting from the bend opposite Bali Gardens on Point Wells Road through to the entrance to Matakana Country Park.
The job is expected to take eight to 10 weeks and one-way traffic with stop/go signs will be needed on some sections.
The final trail network, which has just been renamed The Coastal Trail, aims to provide increased opportunities for outdoor recreation, strengthen local economies and foster a deeper appreciation for the environment.
MCTT chair Aidan
Bennett said the trust’s team of volunteers had been working for many years to make The Coastal Trail a reality.
“The vision is to build more than 100km of trail that runs from Puhoi to Warkworth, through Matakana and out to Leigh and on to Mangawhai. The trail will also link with the communities of Snells Beach, Point Wells and Omaha,” he said. “Despite the financial challenges of the past few years, planning and progress is being made.”
Bennett said special thanks were owed to local companies such as Hutchinson Consulting Engineers and Mason Contractors for providing pro bono or discounted services, as well as other local businesses that have offered donations or discounts.
He also thanked Saatchi & Saatchi NZ chief executive Mark Cochrane, a local resident and avid cyclist, for providing creative expertise in rebranding The Coastal Trail.
Bennett added that while the generosity of private donors and local businesses meant the new trail section could be built this summer, the trust still needed additional funding to meet the final cost.
Info and donations: www.thecoastaltrail.co.nz
Drilling machines have moved in and are digging boreholes on the first section of the Warkworth to Te Hana motorway, as part of the coalition government’s Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme. Around 120 exploratory holes will be sunk at depths of 20 to 200 metres along the project route between now and January. Each borehole will take between five and 10 days to drill.
NZTA Waka Kotahi (NZTA) said the investigative work would provide more information about local ground conditions, which would aid design, help them understand key risks and inform project costs.
“Over the next two years, teams are undertaking a range of activities including geotechnical drilling, mapping and surveys,” a spokesperson said.
NZTA said it was working to minimise disruption to local residents and businesses by carrying out the investigations “in discreet, safe locations”.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown said the investigative works were starting on the Warkworth to Te Hana section as it was the most advanced of the three RoNS being planned for the Northland Expressway project, with designations and consents already in place.
“NZTA is advancing the remainder of property acquisitions required along the Warkworth to Te Hana phase of the Northland Expressway in order to deliver this project as quickly as possible.
“The Northland Expressway is one of the largest infrastructure projects in New Zealand’s history that will bring significant benefits to Kiwis travelling in and out of the Northland region. Starting investigative work is a critical first step in the development of this project.”
In the report of One Mahurangi Business Association’s annual general meeting (MM, Sep 30), committee member Donna Wyllie’s name was mistakenly recorded as John Wyllie – apologies for the mix-up.
Greg Sayers, Rodney Councillor greg.sayers@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
In 2010, the government chose to establish seven substantive Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) in Auckland to deliver council services without the public’s input or consultation. This included establishing Auckland Transport (AT) as its own statutory body, granting it full control over all local roads and significant delegated powers equivalent to a regional council.
It is a misnomer to call AT a Council Controlled Organisation, as it is not controlled by elected members, but ultimately by Auckland’s ratepayers.
The chief executive of AT is accountable to a Board of Directors, who are then accountable to Auckland Council. However, this accountability is merely by way of updating the council. Basically, the Board of Directors fully governs Auckland Transport.
The chief executive controls AT’s daily operations and reports to the Board of Directors. There is no control given to the mayor and therefore no democratic control given to Auckland ratepayers.
Apart from the Board of Directors, there is another power controlling AT. Current law allows the Minister of Transport to control 51 per cent of AT’s funding and the power to dictate to the Board of Directors on which projects money is spent.
Auckland Council’s role under the law is one merely of a shareholder. It can appoint the members of the AT board and it provides it with a Letter of Expectation, which includes direction and targets, to which the board responds with a Statement of Intent. AT is “accountable” to council through these mechanisms. However, this pseudo-
accountability is not the same has having control.
Despite progress from various external reviews over the years, many of the challenges identified with the CCO model are still being observed, including concerns about public trust and confidence, strategic misalignment, ineffective democratic accountability, cost-effectiveness and duplication of services.
The question Mayor Wayne Brown is currently wrestling with is the potential for jumping from the frying pan into the fire if AT were to be brought back in-house under Auckland Council.
One of the original reasons AT was set up was to remove political squabbling between regional councillors who were wanting to achieve short-term wins, rather than thinking long-term and building infrastructure ahead of Auckland’s housing growth.
Unlike previous mayors, Brown has taken on the challenge of addressing whether AT has systemic problems that require massive structural change, or whether further adjustments to the existing model could address these problems, including taking control and accountability back to ratepayers. Curiously, and unbeknown to the mayor, New Zealand First recently introduced a member’s bill to Parliament seeking to disestablish AT. Party leader Winston Peters called AT “a failed experiment”. The bill must be drawn from the “biscuit tin ballot” in order to be considered by Parliament, however.
In the meantime, the mayor is continuing to work on his own solutions, with the goal of presenting an alternative to Aucklanders for managing Auckland Transport.
Almost all my recent visits to Warkworth have featured discussions about water issues.
In short, planned residential growth around Warkworth has meant water infrastructure investment is sorely needed. Watercare leadership advise me that they have plans to provide greater wastewater capacity in the medium to long term.
Developers are keen to contribute a solution by funding and building the necessary plant, pipes and pumps themselves.
In the meantime, though, we have a situation dangerous to public health for anyone using waterways and those farming shellfish in the Mahurangi Harbour, ie relatively frequent sewage outflows, particularly in times of heavy rainfall.
Watercare tells me that a number of measures are being put in place: removing illegal connections to the system, adding capacity for “balancing” demand through temporary storage and utilising larger pipes to reduce
bottleneck situations.
As for the medium term, few options exist for routing new pipeline infrastructure other than in Elizabeth and Queen Streets. A number have been canvassed carefully.
With local businesses having had a tough couple of years thanks to covid policies, an ongoing recession and the cost of
living crisis, it will be crucial that any such tranching works take place in a staged way that don’t preclude pedestrian traffic or parking.
I will keep closely connected to these developments. Warkworth needs the best possible outcomes where water supply and health are concerned.
Cheers, Chris Penk MP
Any rural women who could use a long lunch and a few laughs should head to the Wellsford Golf Club on October 30 for a get-together organised by Rural Support Northland and Beef + Lamb NZ.
The Refill Your Cup ladies long lunch includes a free glass of bubbles on arrival, a three-course meal, giveaways and a guest speaker – on this occasion, journalist, broadcaster and podcaster Brodie Kane. Following a spell in the army, Kane worked in many radio and TV roles, including as sports presenter on TVNZ’s Breakfast for 10 years and hosting coverage of the 2022 Rugby World Cup and 2023 SailGP.
More recently she has starred in a number of hit podcasts, including Girls Uninterrupted, Kiwi Yarns and The Fearless, as well as producing Three Gals One Beehive and Out the Gayte.
A Rural Support spokesperson said a good time was guaranteed at the recently refurbished golf club and urged local women to come along.
“We know how incredibly important social connection is for our rural communities – especially our rural women. Having a network of friends, family and neighbours can make a world of difference,” she said.
Broadcaster Brodie Kane will be guest speaker at the lunch.
“It’s these connections that help build more supportive, vibrant communities where everyone benefits.”
Tickets cost $20 each, or $75 for a table of four, and bookings are essential. Info and tickets: Visit https://beeflambnz. com/events
Popular annual art exhibition and hospice fundraiser mARTakana is being cancelled after a 19-year run by Harbour Hospice.
Chief executive Jan Nichols said that while the event had grossed more than $300,000 over the years, the decision had been made to end its run due to a growing number of competing events and the need to adapt to an ever-evolving fundraising environment.
She added that there may be scope to revive mARTakana in future, but for now Harbour Hospice was planning to run regular art exhibitions at its Warkworth base, Tui House.
As well as supporting local artists, Nichols
hoped a year-round exhibition schedule would bring in more visitors.
“Tui House was built by the community for the community. We want everyone to enjoy it and for locals to feel comfortable to drop in at any time.”
She added that hospice was deeply grateful to everyone involved in mARTakana over the years, especially the volunteers and artists who put their time and energy into the event at Matakana School.
Meanwhile, Nichols will be retiring next month after 13 years at the helm. She is being replaced by experienced hospice professional Amanda Fowler.
Senior Constable Katie Hawkins,
The annual wildebeest migration to the grasslands of the Serengeti is truly a spectacle of nature. These sociable herds trek across Africa, arriving on the grasslands to enjoy the warm climate and abundant grazing. It sounds idyllic, right? A summer walk followed by a warm rest with plenty of quality food.
But, unfortunately for the wildebeest, trailing behind the herds are the predators, those toothy scavengers intent on ruining what should be a happy time. We’re talking about your jackals, your hyenas, stuff like that. Cue the ominous music! So, it’s about now that I can hear you saying, “All right, David Attenborough. Just stick to your knitting. How about you talk police work and leave the natural world to folk who know about it?”
The thing is, my column writing has progressed to the point where I’m now confidently trotting out an actual metaphor. You see, spring has officially sprung and our very own annual migration is taking place. Our slice of paradise, much like the Serengeti, is a beautiful place, absolutely suitable for relaxing in the sun and blessed with plenty of good food. (I see Charlies Gelato in Sharp Road just won another couple of awards … best icecream in the country! It’s just up the road from Ravish … best breakfast burrito in the country! But I am getting severely off topic).
We too are about to experience a surge in population with the annual influx of holidaymakers. Our beaches will fill
with sun-lovers, lights will come on in the holiday homes and our carparks will overflow. The cafés and restaurants will fill with grazing herds of visitors. Welcome everyone!
Unfortunately, (cue the ominous music again), exactly like the African migration, the predators are likely to be hard on the heels of our visitors. Not jackals and hyenas this time. No, this time, it’s the opportunist scavengers who break into unattended cars and who will seize the opportunity to walk through the open front door of the holiday home while you’re bronzing on the beach. People relax when they’re away and while that’s the whole point of a holiday, it shouldn’t mean that folk should be careless with their security.
Take a second to shut (and lock) the front door. If the neighbours are away, keep an eye on their place for them and call the police if you see something not quite right. Don’t take your valuables to the beach and then leave them visible in the car for the day. If you absolutely must have valuables in the car, put them out of sight in the boot or in a locked glove box. And don’t leave your car keys on your towel, in full view of everyone on the beach, while you’re taking that refreshing dip.
I guarantee that having your stuff stolen just about ruins even the best holiday. I really hope everyone has a great summer, but please folks, don’t make life easy for the predators!
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Love life on your terms.
At Summerset there are fewer chores and more choice. So if you’re done with gardening, you can hang up your gloves. But if you’re a big fan of getting amongst the flowerbeds, there’s a community of green-thumbs just waiting to meet you.
There are a range of two bedroom homes available with flexible pricing from $802,100.* Plus, a limited number of our homes are eligible for a $20,000 cash back, so you can treat yourself with that flashy new e-bike or to book that well deserved holiday. Simply sign a sales application for a selected home between 01 October 2024 and 31 December 2024, and then settle by 31 March 2025.
Love the life you choose.
Morning Tea Tours
Thursday 17 & 31 October, 10am - 12pm Summerset Falls 31 Mansel Drive, Warkworth 09 425 1202 | summerset.co.nz/warkworth warkworth.sales@summerset.co.nz
pricing arrangements are
# Offer applies for TH165, TH148, VL151. For terms, conditions, exclusions visit summerset.co.nz/warkworth-offer All Summerset homes are sold under a licence to occupy and are subject to availability.
Christine Rose christine.rose25@gmail.com
Conservation shouldn’t be a popularity contest, even though it usually is, just like life. Conservation certainly imitates politics during Forest & Bird’s annual Bird of the Year competition. There is a chorus of lobbying. There’s rule breaking (the peka peka – a bat – won once), foreign interference (US celebrity John Oliver exerted undue influence last year), rigged votes, and it’s a nice little sideshow, but it doesn’t change the fundamental problems with the system. So this year, it was challenging for me to choose my five best birds. Every bird species has its distinctive and amazing qualities, and every individual bird’s life matters. Just like in politics, high profile advocacy campaigns and lobbying favour the glamorous, already potentially privileged and well-known birds. I try to counteract that popularity bias by voting for the ‘underbirds’, though I confess that when one campaigner implored me to vote for the skua and I didn’t think it had a chance, I didn’t vote for it. But skuas deserve recognition – and probably protection – too.
This year, the hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, was crowned Bird of the Year. The hoiho waddled home with more than 6000 of the 52,000 votes cast. Hoiho numbers have declined by 78 per cent in the last 15 years, due to predators, dog attacks and set nets. But they were endorsed by Helen Clark, Chris Hipkins and Dr Jane Goodall, so maybe that’s some sort of political poll too. In second place was the karure, or black robin, a globally important conservation story if there ever was one, with its rebound from only five
birds left in the world to an estimated 300 robins now.
Other birds in this year’s top 10 were kākāpō, kākā, kea, and kōkako, the tawaki, piwakawaka, toroa and takahe.
None of my votes made the top 10 bird hit list. My choices were mostly shy and unassuming, cryptic and crepuscular; liminal denizens subsisting on the edge of ecologies and people’s consciousness.
I voted for the shy matuku-hūrepo, or Australasian bittern, a statuesque wetland inhabitant, globally endangered along with its habitat. I voted for the pūweto, another shy wetland bird occupying the shadows, on the margins of both wetlands and survival. I voted for the southern dotterel. Southern dotterels, or pukunui, only breed on mountain tops in Rakiura Stewart Island, and feed on some Southland estuaries and beaches in winter. They were once widespread around the South Island. Now there are just 101 of them.
I also voted for the kororā, not one of the winning two penguins, and currently also losing out to car strike, starvation and predation. My final vote went to tara iti, the most endangered of them all, with only 40 birds and nine breeding pairs left, all local to us.
Birds are miracles of evolution and biology. Warm-blooded but not mammals and descended from dinosaurs. With their nest-building skills (some rudimentary), migrations, courtship rituals, breeding habits, niche occupation, feathers and flight (or waddle or walk), to me, every bird’s a winner.
Around 60 Wellsford business owners and residents met with police and security experts last month in a bid to boost community vigilance and reduce crime in the area.
The Wellsford Plus business association teamed up with the local branches of FMG Insurance and Farmlands to host the meeting, after discussions with police on how the community could best work together to prevent and solve crime.
The event came after a spate of farm vehicle thefts in the Wellsford and Tauhoa area, with four tractors being stolen in recent months (MM, Sep 16)
Wellsford Sergeant Dan McDermott said three of these had now been recovered and police were still actively pursuing the fourth. He stressed that preventative steps and prompt reporting were vital in trying to ensure thieves didn’t get away with such crimes.
“Ultimately, the safety of the community relies on the information shared among its members,” he said.
“Engaging in open communication is vital to protecting Wellsford and ensuring it remains a safe place for all.”
Wellsford Plus is currently raising funds to install a new $60,000 security camera network in town next year, details of which were outlined by CCTV specialist Safer Cities. The camera system would be set up to allow for rapid access by police, with the aim of facilitating real-time responses to incidents, and enhancing safety in the community, a spokesperson said.
The meeting also heard from FMG insurance on preventative measures that community members could take and practical tips for keeping accurate records of belongings, which could help police and expedite insurance claims.
There was also a presentation from GPS specialist business Teletrac Navman on anti-theft tracking systems and how they could be used in conjunction with police efforts to boost security.
Wellsford Plus chair Mitch Martin said afterwards the meeting had been valuable, with plenty of good advice on crime prevention.
“While crime is not always fully preventable, community action is always possible,” he said. “Participants were reminded that a cohesive community is less vulnerable to crime.”
It was standing room only at the Whangateau Hall on October 5, when Whangateau HarbourCare held a community hui on the current state of the estuary and surrounds.
Well over 120 people crammed into the tiny hall to hear from scientists, academics, council staff, wildlife experts and local residents on how the harbour system is responding to a range of changes and threats.
The meeting was opened by long-time Whangateau resident and kaumatua Bruce Davies, who said he had seen a lot of changes since he was born in 1948. Fish and birdlife had been abundant when he was growing up and there were so many pipis “you didn’t even have to get your feet wet to collect them”.
“The fish life was fantastic, the birdlife was fantastic,” he said. “And there were no mangroves then. You don’t see as much now.”
There were presentations on water and sediment monitoring, the local bird population, research on specific fish and mollusc species, and even how two former landfill sites, at Ti Point and Ashton Roads, were being monitored.
Speakers stressed the importance of Whangateau Harbour as a distinct and far-reaching ecosystem and warned that, even though it was in pretty good shape
generally, there were plenty of signs that it was under pressure and needed protection.
Marine science and aquaculture scientist Conrad Pilditch said damage or effects were often difficult to spot until a tipping point was reached.
“Water is about cumulative effects,” he said. “Change is not linear and it’s difficult to track.”
As an example, he said even a small increase in the amount of mud flowing into a harbour could have wide-reaching effects.
“And New Zealand does a world-leading job in delivering sediments to our coastal systems,” he added.
Leigh marine lab director Professor Simon Thrush said a fundamental change was required to reverse the downward shift in the health of the harbour and the wider Hauraki Gulf, because current management methods weren’t working.
“You need to allow the estuary to have a voice,” he said. “We need to flip the switch and focus on restoration and regeneration.
“Every single thing we do has to be about the restoration of the marine environment – whether that’s picking up a piece of plastic when you’re walking on the beach,
Megan Williams Director
P 09 361 5563
M 027 291 3695
E megan@swlegal.co.nz www.swlegal.co.nz
keeping your cat in at night to save the shorebirds, where you’re investing in pension funds, all who you vote for – more do-ey, less hui.”
The meeting heard from marine biologist Karen Tricklebank that while there had been some recovery in the Whangateau cockle population since its almost complete collapse in 2009, there were still no large, adult cockles present.
She said while research was still ongoing, it could be because the loss of the cockle beds had changed the character of the harbour itself.
“In large numbers, cockles stabilise the seabed, so a sudden loss could shift the ecosystem to a different state, which could have implications for cockles and for other species as well,” she said.
Biologist Jess Campbell talked about her work observing hundreds of juvenile snapper that come to the harbour to live off a reef near Horseshoe Island as they mature.
She said in the last couple of years, she had noticed a lot more jetskis and boats in the harbour and had observed fewer snapper during that time.
“When the boats were moving at high
speed, the snapper stopped feeding and fled for the reef as they would when a predator was present, so that could be having a major impact,” she said.
Campbell suggested a speed limit close to the reef could help.
Whangateau HarbourCare catchment facilitator Alicia Bullock said after the hui that, together with Leigh Marine Lab, Manuhiri Kaitiaki Charitable Trust and support from Auckland Council, the group was aiming to develop a community-led action plan to protect and restore the harbour.
“The hui was a vital first step, bringing the community together to learn about some of the major issues facing the harbour, and giving them the opportunity to share their own vital local knowledge and aspirations,” she said.
“It was evident that there is real motivation to act together. We’ll be taking an evidence-based approach to prioritise and implement actions to support the health of the harbour, and therefore the wellbeing of the community.”
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Cheryl and Malcolm Clague at home in Summerset Falls.
Warkworth couple celebrate 70 years of marriage
If you want to know what the secret to a long-lasting marriage is just ask Cheryl and Malcolm Clague who celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on October 16.
Cheryl and Malcolm, who are aged 91 and 93 respectively, agree the longevity of their relationship is down to a few key factors – communicating openly, supporting and encouraging each other, and having different interests.
“An open line of communication. I think that’s been the big thing. If I had problems, I could talk it over with Malcolm. We would support each other in everything we were doing. I think that’s been a great binding together,” Cheryl says.
“I know what Cheryl’s going to say before she says it,” Malcolm says. “We’re able to finish each other’s sentences most of the time, but we try not to do that.”
For most of their working lives, they owned and ran a farm near Wellsford together. After retiring, the couple moved to Algies Bay and later Warkworth.
Malcolm was ordained as a clergyman while Cheryl joined the Warkworth Museum as archivist, later becoming curator for three years, before moving on to become head of the display department.
“We have different interests, but then we like so many things the same. We’ve had
wonderful holidays together, we love music and poetry, and we enjoyed going to dances when we were younger,” Cheryl says.
“Now we enjoy the view together. And enjoy the place here at Summerset Falls. It’s just lovely and it’s comfortable.”
Originally, Malcolm and Cheryl are from farms in Tomarata. In fact, when Malcolm and his brothers bought the unformed block directly opposite Cheryl’s family farm, her house was literally just a stone’s throw away from his.
When Cheryl’s mum decided to invite Malcolm over for dinner, the rest, as the saying goes, was history – they were engaged six months later “which is how it worked back then”.
Not that it was love at first sight.
“He walked through the door and he sort of grinned at me and had a bit of a wink on him. I thought you cheeky thing. I don’t want anything to do with you,” Cheryl says.
Fast-forward to 2024 and they now have four kids, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, many of whom will be joining Cheryl and Malcolm to celebrate their platinum anniversary at a lunch in the Magnolia Room at Besoul in Warkworth.
We want to say a huge thank you to all our incredible clients for supporting us these past six months. Come and join our community of smiles!
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Fledgling Matheson Bay restoration project Te Kohuroa Rewilding Initiative has been given a funding boost in its bid to revive the local marine ecosystem.
A grant from Foundation North means a project coordinator can now be appointed to help founder Frances Dickinson and volunteers expand their community-led conservation work
“Up until this point our project has been run completely on voluntary efforts, so we are looking forward to expanding our team and increasing our efforts to rewild the marine ecosystem at Te Kohuroa,” she said.
A schedule of events is being planned for spring and summer, starting with a volunteer marine monitoring and kelp restoration workshop this Thursday, October 17 and Saturday, October 20.
In partnership with Experiencing Marine Reserves, the workshop aims to train volunteers to monitor rocky reef fish populations and help with kina removal throughout the summer at Te Kohuroa Matheson Bay.
The workshop will comprise an online theory session covering survey
methodology and fish ID, as well as a practical snorkel component, both of which must be completed.
Those taking part also need to be aged 12 or over, be strong swimmers and have prior snorkelling experience.
A “safari swim” around Goat Island Te Hāwere-a-Maki will be held on Sunday, October 27 with Leigh Swimmers to raise money for a GPS drop camera mapping system to help record the state of the ocean floor and any changes that occur.
As well as the swim itself, there will be spot prizes, a bake sale and morning tea.
Dickinson said a kelp restoration site had already been mapped in the bay with the help of Auckland University’s Reef Ecology Lab.
“The Te Kohura team jumped in the water last month to carry out a series of GPS photo mapping points to help define the edges of the site,” she said. “In the next few weeks we will carry out surveying to make a record of the quality of the kelp beds and general reef biodiversity, both in and outside the restoration site, so we can map the restoration over time.”
Info and registration for the workshop and swim: https://www.tekohuroarewilding.org/
The new Four Square in Snells Beach is a real shot in the arm for the shopping centre.
With an ultra-modern interior and over 900m² of retail space, the supermarket is one of the largest Four Squares in New Zealand.
It has more than 8,200 products on offer including barista-made coffee and fresh food such as hot chicken and chips.
David Whyman, who owns and runs the Four Square with his wife Helen, says whether it’s a big store or a small one, he just loves being a grocer.
“We wanted to bring the true definition of a grocer to the 7000 local residents who live in Snells Beach and create a community experience. It’s about a place to come and connect with each other,” Whyman says. “It’s a social hub that just happens to have a grocery store at the back.”
Out the front there’s a dedicated space where “people can just hang out, with two massive tables, a big bench seat, free Wi-Fi, recharging stations and stores all around”.
“On the other side there’s a full food-to-go on offer. So scoop ice cream for the 700 school kids that live out here.”
Whyman says he’s loved working with local tradespeople and suppliers to build the store and the result is a credit to each and every person who has lent a hand.
But it’s not just the new Four Square Whyman has established in the area.
“Snells is such a great place for our family, we’ve really enjoyed getting to know the community and everyone that’s already popped in to say hello and check out the new store,” he says.
Four Square Snells Beach opened on October 3.
1. Light source on old cameras (9)
7. Respond (5)
9. Japanese meal (5)
11. Sticky substance (3)
12. Prostitute (6)
13. Heart disease (6)
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22. European country (6)
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25. Pungent root vegetable (6)
27. Feeling of sickness (6)
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30. Cowboy’s welcome (5)
31. Wipe out (5)
32. Absolutely essential (9)
1. Soldier’s dugout (7)
2. Partly open (4)
3. Savage (6)
4. Salt water (5)
5. Conjurer (8)
6. Soldier’s dugout (5)
8. Jailbird (abbr) (3)
9. Of the sun (5)
10. In good health (4)
16. Having no feel for music (4-4)
18. An impressive display (5)
19. Punishment (7) 21. Reverberate (4) 22. Caress (6)
Command (5)
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Tune (3)
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Matakana School hall was packed with clever creatives and extraordinary exhibits from October 4 to 6, when Creative Fibre Northland held its biennial exhibition, Transformations.
A steady stream of visitors were able to enjoy three days of trading stalls, demonstrations, raffles and a series of workshops on all aspects of weaving, felting, spinning and knitting, as well as stellar examples of members’ handiwork.
Bags, scarves, shawls, artworks and even jewellery were on show, made using a variety of techniques, as well as a display of felted pictures and woven panels made by Matakana School students when Kowhai
Art & Craft’s spinning, weaving and felting group visited them.
Group member Rosemary Burnby said the event had gone very well and the Kowhai team had done a great job of mounting the exhibition and seeing that the workshops ran smoothly.
“Nearly half the exhibits were from first time exhibitors, including the awardwinners, which was very encouraging,” she said.
“A number of parents from Matakana School came in and their children proudly pointed out their pieces in the school display of work from August and enjoyed having a go at other things as well.”
Murray Chapman, Manager https://onemahurangi.co.nz
It feels like one minute, we’re stepping into spring, and the next, we’re right back in the middle of winter! I’ve spoken to a number of business owners recently, and there seems to be a collective feeling that everyone is just waiting – almost like we’re all in the starting blocks, waiting for the signal so we can finally get going.
I often hear that when the sun is shining, people are out and about, and business picks up. Then, we have days when the storm rolls in and everyone stays home.
But there are positive signs that we’re moving out of this frustratingly slow period. Interest rates are coming down, and local real estate agents tell me that enquiries from first-home buyers are increasing. Developers are also starting to show more interest. These are all encouraging indicators, and I believe that with a good stretch of fine weather, other businesses will see an uptick in activity as well.
So, the question is: are you ready for it? Is your stock ready? Are your premises looking their best? Are your staff prepared? Have you thought about how to attract more foot traffic?
Here are two ways you can get things moving:
Kowhai Festival, October 19
Some retailers tell me this can be one of
their slowest days, but it doesn’t have to be. Put a table outside on the footpath and offer special prices on old or slow-moving stock. If you’re not expecting people to come into your shop that day, get out into the crowd! Hand out vouchers offering a deal if they return after the festival. Make the event work for you.
Santa Parade Family Day and Carols in the Park, December 7
This year, these events are combining into one big day of celebration. The parade will start at 2pm and will finish down at Baxter Street by Lucy Moore Park for the prizegiving. After that (weather permitting), we’ll have family-friendly games, music, food trucks, and a coffee cart. Carols in the Park will kick off at 6.30pm and run until around 8.30 or 9pm. Let’s make December 7 a Market Day in town! Encourage shops to put tables out, offer specials, and get into the festive spirit. It’s a great opportunity to bring some energy into the town as we gear up for Christmas.
As always, there’s plenty happening around Warkworth. And when the sun does finally shine, our town will be buzzing even more. Let’s keep as much spending as we can right here in town: Buy Local, Employ Local, Love Local.
Following the closure of Pets North, owner of 2/6 Queen Street David Wafer has taken over the 24/7 dog wash that is at the rear of the building. Wafer says he intends to continue to operate the dog wash as long as there is a demand and will shortly introduce EFTPOS as the form of payment, which will replace notes. Coin payment will still be available. If anyone has tokens purchased from Pets North they will still work but won’t be replaced as they are used up. The dog wash is accessed from the carpark next to the public toilets.
A TCM Clinic @ Warkworth Andy 0220 789 514 andyinkiwi@gmail.com Riverside Arcade, 62-64 Queens Street, Warkworth ACC Provider
At Riverside Dental, we are proud to serve the Warkworth community with exceptional dental care, guided by a commitment to quality and compassion.
Since 2016, Dr Seena Gopi, our co-founder and principal dentist, has led our team in delivering state-of-the-art dental services, using the latest technology and equipment to ensure the best possible outcomes for our patients. Our highly skilled and dedicated team can provide knowledge of what you can do to help retain a beautiful smile. We take great pride in performing dentistry to the highest standards as we focus on safety and quality. Dr Gopi’s primary interest is Preventive, Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry. Helping Dr Gopi lead the way with a wealth of experience are associate dentist’s Dr Janith Gayan, Dr Tanya Fu, Dr Elayna Huang and Dental Implant Consultant Dr Luke Simpson. Our fantastic Hygienists Trudy and Rachelle also ensure promotion and preservation of your oral health, none of which can be orchestrated without the leadership and organization of Agnes our amazing practice manager, Alesha our energetic bubbly administration/receptionist and Alyssa our awesome Dental Assistant.
A message to our community
We understand there has been some confusion recently due to misleading information regarding our practice and rumors about us moving premises or even closing down. We would like to assure everyone that Riverside Dental is not closing. We are not relocating, nor have we expanded our business. We continue to operate from our existing location behind BNZ Bank in Warkworth and remain dedicated to offering the same great service that you’ve come to trust.
Thank you for being a part of our journey and we look forward to continuing to serve you.
Alan Davie-Martin’s rise through the ranks of the Ahuroa Volunteer Fire Brigade to deputy chief fire officer has taken commitment, courage and sacrifice.
But not just from Davie-Martin.
His family has also paid their dues, especially his wife Elizabeth (Beth), who recently passed away.
This is why when Davie-Martin received his Gold Star for 25 years of service as a volunteer firefighter last month Beth was posthumously honoured for her unwavering support with a Gold Star of her own.
He says that less than five per cent of firefighters reach the 25-year milestone, and when this is achieved that a firefighter’s husband, wife or partner is always honoured as well.
“People just wouldn’t be firefighters without the support of their family. It’s one of those prayers that your family gets behind you as it’s very time consuming,” Davie-Martin says.
“Obviously the award ceremony was a bit of a bittersweet night with Beth not being here to share it with us.”
His daughter Suzanne Nicholls says her mother’s support was vital.
“Mum was obviously a big factor, looking after us back then and supporting Dad. She made a sacrifice as well so that he could do it. Mum was really proud of him.”
Thankfully Beth was able to attend the presentation for her husband’s 21-year service award last year, which had been delayed because of Covid-19.
“The delay ended up being a good thing. It meant Mum got to be part of that.”
Nicholls adds that she and her older sister Jessica are incredibly proud of their dad, who was “like a superhero” to them when they were younger, particularly because he was working on the medical side of things and saving lives.
Davie-Martin says the highlight of his career was saving the life of a diabetic
woman who was “having a heart attack right in front of us”.
“She actually died, and we brought her back using the Lifepak Defibrillator. She was moaning about the oxygen tube in her nose as we were putting her into the rescue helicopter,” he says.
Sharing experiences like these with his fellow firefighters has seen him form some long-lasting friendships over the years.
“It’s a bond there because you both share the same highs and lows.”
Now 63 years old, Davie-Martin says at 65 you have to have a medical every year, so
retirement isn’t too far away.
Besides when Davie-Martin joined the fire service in his late 30s “you just rode on the back of the truck”.
“I guess I miss the good old days when it was a bit rough around the edges,” he says.
The vital role that wetlands play in the environment will be the focus of a free workshop in Whangaripo next Sunday, October 20.
The event is being organised by the The Forest Bridge Trust to provide information and tips from experts on how people can contribute to their preservation and restoration.
There will also be a focus on one of New Zealand’s most elusive and endangered birds, the Australasian bittern, or matukuhūrepo, which relies on wetlands for its survival.
Wendy Ambury from conservation project Love Bittern and the Bittern Conservation Trust’s Alex Flavell Johnson will describe the life and habits of these large, secretive birds, including their camouflage skills and distinctive booming call.
John Sumich from the Matuku Link wetlands
reserve in Waitākere will discuss practical techniques to help revive and protect wetland systems, while Katie Forno from Kaipara Moana Remediation will share advice on fencing and planting strategies, along with insights into funding opportunities available for conservation projects.
Hana Aicken and Sarah Dimitrijovic from marine and freshwater education group Mountains to Sea will be looking at stream life and how it can be measured and observed.
Department of Conservation scientist Kim Wright will present findings from a recent survey of fish in Whangaripo to give a better understanding of the area’s aquatic biodiversity and its implications for future conservation efforts.
After lunch, there will be a visit to a local wetland fragment to see restoration steps in action.
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Warkworth
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• 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 from $19.50.
• Pharmacy, Labtest, Physio on site.
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Snells Beach 09 425 5055 for direct connection to the surgery or our after hours service.
“ Congratulations to Leigh’s Daphne Were, secretary of the Rodney Rams Rugby League Club in Whangateau, who is this week’s recipient of a gift box from Chocolate Brown. Daphne was nominated by Dave Lawton, who wrote:
This lady is amazing. She does all sorts of jobs in our club and never complains. Our club is open every Thursday from 5pm and Daphne will always be there, serving drinks and taking meal orders at the bar. ”
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, 17 Neville Street, Warkworth. Kindly refrain from nominating members of your own family.
We look forward to welcoming you to Mahi Dental and continuing to provide exceptional dental care!
We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Mahi Veerepalli and Dr. Amna Ghazali are now full-time at our new clinic, Mahi Dental, located at The Grange. Joining them are our dedicated dental hygienists and therapists, Fiona and Sarath. After co-founding and nurturing Riverside Dental over the past eight years, Dr. Mahi and her team have embarked on a new journey to provide enhanced care in a state-of-theart facility with the latest technology.
Services We Provide:
Same-Day Crowns · Veneers · Bridges · Invisalign/ SureSmile · Root Canal Treatments · Dental Implants · Smile Makeovers · Teeth Whitening · Hygienist Services · White Fillings · CBCT & OPG · ACC/WINZ · Dentures · IV and Oral Sedation · Extractions · Free Dental care for teenagers from year 9-17 years
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The Grange, 1/11 Fairwater Road, Warkworth
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Tertiary
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Brilliance and fearlessness shine in these impassioned and powerful works. Starting with Fanny Mendelssohn’s magnificent ‘Trio in D minor,’ we then move to the contemporary power of Joan Tower’s ‘Trio Cavany’, followed by a new commission from Kiwi composer Eva Bedggood. We conclude the musical odyssey with Ethel Smyth’s impassioned piano trio.
Sun 20 October, 4pm
Warkworth Town Hall
People often seek help from Homebuilders for relationship issues, which are very common and can cause much stress and emotional pain. Maybe you and your partner are struggling with a particular relationship problem, or you want to increase your understanding of each other and of the dynamic that plays out between you. Or you may be questioning if you want to stay in the relationship. However, not everyone is comfortable talking face to face, or even via video call, which our Family Practitioners can also offer. And while one person might be keen to try couples’ counselling, it’s often the last thing their partner wants to do!
So sometimes the best first step can be to do some reading and research at home, and there are some very helpful resources available. You can always seek assistance later, from Homebuilders or from private relationship counsellors/therapists. (Please note, that while Homebuilders’ range of services is currently unchanged, we are reassessing what we can offer next year due to major government funding cuts).
Here are a few ideas for books that might be helpful, outlining three of the best-known approaches to relationship counselling, all of which are available from Auckland Libraries.
Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson (EFT –Emotionally Focused Therapy)
EFT is based on ‘attachment science’ and early relationship patterns with parents and main caregivers. EFT sees being in a relationship as our most basic need that has a huge impact on our happiness. EFT interprets the negative, rigid and recurring interaction patterns that often characterise unhappy couple relationships in terms of emotional disconnection and insecure attachment.
Watch an interview with Sue Johnson here: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=GCRy9NVPWwo
Getting the Love You Want – by Harville Hendrix (Imago Relationship Therapy) Imago suggests that we unconsciously choose our partners in order to heal childhood wounds. Therefore, we seek a partner who has many of the characteristics of a parent or caregivers. One key Imago technique is the ‘couples dialogue’ to improve communication. This is a structured way of talking to each other that is intended to provide safety and encourage each to share what is going on for them.
An interview with the founders of Imago can be found at: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=M1ZooTmIq64
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman & Nan Silver (Gottman Method)
This approach, known as The Sound Relationship House, comprises seven key aspects: love maps (essentially, knowing your partner); sharing fondness and admiration; turning towards each other instead of away; taking a positive perspective; managing conflict; working towards joint life dreams; and creating shared meaning. They also identify the four most damaging behaviours in intimate relationships: criticism, contempt, defensiveness and stonewalling. Here is a link to an interview with the authors: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=8r9bfEIOc5E
Good luck with your research, and please get in touch if you’d like support. Info: Homebuilders’ Family Practitioners: 0800 100 037 http://www.homebuildersfs.org
A Warkworth designer, who is an avid reader and loves staging events, is combining her passions to organise new themed experiences for fans of two best-selling book series.
Jess Brown is basing her Events for Book Lovers on the ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ fantasy romance books by Sarah J. Maas and J. K. Rowling’s classic Harry Potter series.
There will be A Court of Dreams evening on November 9 and a Hogwarts Christmas on December 14, both of which are aimed at adults and teenagers, plus a family Harry Potter daytime event on December 15.
All three events will be staged at the historic Masonic Hall in Baxter Street, Warkworth, which Brown, who has a degree in spatial design, promises to transform into a magical space.
“We’re trying to bring an enchanted atmosphere with lighting, music and décor,” she says.
“I’m hoping people will be impressed and transported when they walk into the hall – I’m aiming for it to be quite different and special, and not what they would normally expect.”
Guests will be welcomed with themed cocktails or mocktails, followed by a dinner with grazing platters by The Village Picnic in
creative and craft an item to take home, plus a few surprises.
Brown says she got the idea to stage the events after being made redundant, when Whaikaha, the Ministry of Disabled People, had its funding stripped by the government earlier this year.
“I love doing events and also love book or movie experiences,” she says. “I have a bit of time on my hands now and, with the cost of living and people losing jobs, I thought the chance to escape into a different world with a fun, joyous evening would be welcome.
“After all, that’s what books really do, they transport you to a different place.”
She says Warkworth Library and Paper Plus were getting behind the events by stocking and displaying the relevant books, and she was being supported by many other businesses and organisations supplying local products and expertise.
Tickets cost $95 for each evening event or $80 for 12 to 18-year-olds, while the Christmas at Hogwarts family day costs $15 per child, with adults and babies free.
There is also a Court of Dreams weekend retreat option for
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Think Twice by Harlen Coben
It’s been eight years since Coben last wrote about sports agent Myron Bolitar and fans will find it interesting to see how his life has moved on. Bolitar delivered a eulogy at a client’s funeral some years ago, but strangely this person’s DNA has been found at a recent murder scene. So how can a man who’s already dead be wanted for murder? The FBI is involved, and the time for answers is running out.
Readers unfamiliar with Bolitar will soon pick up on the way he operates. As the book progresses, suspects multiply, friendships become strained and family members close ranks until it all becomes a murky and murderous conspiracy. Twists and turns abound, with an ending both gruesome and final.
This murder mystery is a relaxing read because it can be put down and returned to without losing a beat, as the storyline is regularly re-explained.
Reviewed by Barbara Leslie
Marrying Off Morgan McBride by Amy Barry Montana 1887 and Junebug is fed up to the back teeth with the domestic chores required in her testosterone-filled cabin of brothers. More alarming is that Morgan, her beloved eldest brother and family patriarch, intends to leave for the wide open trail. Junebug hatches a plan and one advertisement, plus some carefully worded letters, is all it takes to have a mail-order bride en route with the intended groom none the wiser.
Pip, the unwitting bride-to-be, was starting to believe spinsterhood was her only option, being far from the petite, meek and mild mannered type preferred in her hometown. The ad in the Matrimonial News seemed the answer to her prayers. However, her dream of matrimonial bliss is abruptly derailed on meeting her unwilling fiancé – a cowboy yearning for freedom, after raising his siblings.
This is a humorous romp, filled with sexy cowboys, strong women, enough heat to start a campfire and simply a fun historical romance. It is the second book in the McBrides of Montana series and I, for one, am excited to see what else the precocious Miss Junebug has in store for her unwitting brothers.
Reviewed by Abby Soffe
Renowned classical music ensemble NZTrio returns to Warkworth this month for the latest performance in their Triptych series of 2024 concerts.
Somi Kim on piano, cellist Ashley Brown and Amalia Hall on violin are known for their accomplished playing, eclectic repertoire and warm and unstuffy stage presence, as well as for championing young and emerging NZ composers.
That commitment to Aotearoa-based composers continues in Triptych 3: Untamed Hope with a new piece by Eva Bedggood, which the ensemble says offers “a fresh perspective and intrinsically relevant voice”.
The programme begins with Fanny Mendelssohn’s Trio in D Minor, written as a gift for the German composer’s sister that is described as having soaring melodies and deep emotions that “offer a glimpse into the turbulent emotional landscape of its creator”.
Next is a contemporary piece by US composer Joan Tower’s powerful, yet subtle composition from 2007, Trio Cavany, followed by Bedggood’s new commission. The concert concludes with Ethel Smyth’s impassioned piano trio, written in 1880, and described as “a powerful and evocative composition that showcases the depth of emotions and creative brilliance of the British composer at the beginning of her career”.
NZTrio says all the works in Untamed Hope can be characterised as having the “brilliance and fearlessness” of their female composers shine through.
Triptych 3: Untamed Hope, presented by Warkworth Music, will be performed at Warkworth Town Hall on Sunday, October 20 at 4pm. Tickets $40, $30 for non-members.
Info and bookings: https://www. trybooking.com/nz/events/landing/11166
Many locals remember when the Kōwhai Festival in Warkworth was the event of the year.
Undoubtedly it peaked in 2019 when the festival celebrated its Golden 50th birthday, but during the covid years it was put on hold.
Last year, the festival made a welcome return but it was scaled back – now the organisers are looking to gradually return the festival to its former glory, starting on October 19 with the Huge Day Out.
stall in front of the shop, but they were a bit secretive about what they’re doing – I think it will be something cool,” Marnet says.
The Warkworth Community Shop will also be embracing the event with a shopfront stall selling a handpicked selection of secondhand goods.
And that’s just the market. There will also be a fleet of food trucks (see panel below).
Over at the bar
Run by Matakana Winegrowers, there will be a wide rangi of wines from the area, a selection of locally made beers and Bohemian Cider’s organic ciders.
There’s plenty to keep the young ones entertained with a range of amusements including a climbing wall, merry-goround, gun range, laughing clowns and lawn games.
winners will be announced – one senior and one junior.
“We approached all the local schools and gave them the chance to enter. They really engaged with the theme, vintage fashion. It’s cool seeing what the kids came up with. “All the finalists are on display in the window of the old Pets North,” Marnet says.
Fittingly the theme in 2023 was ‘Welcome Back’ – you just had to show up really. But this year, the festival committee is giving people the chance to literally dress up for the occasion with a slightly more aspirational theme, ‘Vintage Fashion –Throughout the Decades’.
“Everyone can pick their own decade and dress up as they like. We thought it might be easier to leave it very broad and make it easier for people to engage,” says Kōwhai Festival committee chair, Melanie Marnet, who took over the position from Murray Chapman several months ago.
“It’s going to be much bigger this year with the much-loved Kōwhai market returning to Queen Street due to popular demand. People said they really missed the market.”
Among the many stalls there will be everything from locally made products and organic produce to new, used and retro clothing, not to mention arts and crafts. There will be one-time-only specials for bargain hunters, and maybe even a few surprises.
“I know that The Photo Store will have a
Akemi’s Gyoza offering delectable dumplings with flavours inspired by Akemi’s grandmother’s old Japanese recipes.
Smoke Junction BBQ with delicious brisket, ribs, pulled pork and other barbeque favourites.
Bon Appétit Crêperie will be tempting punters with traditional savoury galettes and sweet crepes.
J and J Catering will be selling American street food favourites.
Warkworth Butchery aka Stubbs will be firing up the grill and putting on a traditional Kiwi barbie.
Down by the wharf a stage will be set up with live music running from 10am to 8pm (see panel below).
12pm
Jade River Ukes the festival favourites return for another set of covers and originals with ukuleles, banjos and more.
continued next page
1pm to 3pm
Mahurangi College music department the students have been wowing parents and will now perform for the public.
3pm The Mahurangi Jazz Combo will demonstrate their considerable skills with ensemble playing and improvised solos.
4pm Warkworth Big Band up to 20 musicians delivering a high-energy repertoire, everything from the swinging 1930s to Santana and Bruno Mars.
5.15pm Rumpus Machine a sibling rock and roll band from Auckland’s North Shore with a setlist of classic rock hits as well as original songs.
Buses
There will be two shuttle buses running throughout the day from Mahurangi College to the festival with parking available at the college, as well as the usual Route 999 link bus, which departs every 30 minutes.
Marnet says with so much variety at this year’s Kōwhai Festival people can expect a great day of entertainment for the whole family.
A huge day even. See you there!
Melanie Marnet says the Kowhai Festival on Saturday, October 19 is a huge day out, but stresses there are several more parts to the event:
The Great Debate
This kicked off the festival at the Warkworth Town Hall on October 11.
Combined church service
The day after the Huge Day Out, on Sunday, October 20, there’s a combined church service from 10am at the Mahurangi Hope Church in Mansel Drive with all denominations welcome.
Warkworth Wharf Market Day
The Warkworth Wharf Market Day rounds out Kōwhai and takes place the following Saturday, October 26, from 9am to 1pm with car boot sales and stalls.
6.30pm to 8pm
After some 14 years as Kōwhai Festival committee chair, Murray Chapman vacated the role around a year ago – but not for the first time.
“I actually stepped down after the 50th celebration festival in 2019 but then covid hit and the next two chairs didn’t manage to put a festival on because of that,” Chapman says.
“Subsequently both resigned so I came back for the festival last year just so we had something. Most of our committee had also resigned so it was a really inexperienced group – then and now. They are doing a great job with limited knowledge.” Chapman is still involved with the festival but now as a mentor for the new chair, as well as the new committee, as he “can’t seem to get away”.
His successor Melanie Marnet has a steady hand on the tiller and brings some muchneeded experience to the position, having been on the committee since 2018.
“Last year I was mainly just looking after all the social media. As the new chair I’m now doing a bit of everything,” Marnet says.
There’s been a slow but steady revolution at the bottom of School Road in Wellsford over the past couple of years, thanks largely to the mahi of one determined gardener.
Andrew McLennan has spent most his life in the music industry and still spends much of his time writing songs and recording – he’s currently in the throes of finishing a second album with former Split Enz keyboard player Eddie Rayner.
However, after a quiet spell in 2022, McLennan also took on the role of caring for the neglected Wellsford Community Garden as a day job and has been bringing the space back to life ever since.
“I’d been on tour, a long trip through the US and the North Island, and when that was over I had nothing to do,” he says.
“Based on previous experience, I didn’t just want to sit on my hands.”
The former Coconut Rough and Pop Mechanix singer-songwriter heard that the Coast to Coast Hauora Trust was looking for someone to revive its community garden, so thought he’d give it a go.
It was a massive job – from a thriving allotment space a decade ago, the number of gardeners tending their plots had gradually dropped off. Then came the arrival of covid lockdowns and the garden was largely abandoned. Weeds and kikuyu grew unchecked, covering the entire garden area and turning it into a wilderness.
The sheer scale of the task might have put many people off, but not McLennan, who exudes a sense of calm that suggests not much perturbs him.
“I’ve got no more gardening experience than the average home gardener,” he says.
“I have a lot more now, though.”
Bit by bit, the weeds and rubbish have been cleared, old plots unearthed and new beds laid down, planters built and fruits, vegies and flowers harvested once more.
McLennan has created several separate garden areas – the original allotment sites for community use to the west of the site, and a new area to the north for growing produce for local foodbanks, rest homes and charities. He has also cleared, tidied and partly replanted the roadside entrance
area, to show passersby that change is afoot.
“My idea was to make it look like there’s something happening here – attraction, not promotion,” he says.
There is also small garden area and greenhouse set above the main site, at the rear of the trust carpark and next to the garden’s HQ, the former Te Waka youth hub building.
This is where two classes from nearby Wellsford Primary School head every week for a few hours of gardening fun and singing, too.
“I’ve written songs for them and built them a garden and it’s been an absolute joy, they sing their hearts out,” he says.
“It’s a perfect, lovely, mentally beneficial, symbiotic relationship that has grown.”
Out of all the digging, weeding, planting and singing going on, the students are united in their favourite activity, however.
“There’s very little I say or do that can beat the sheer excitement of digging for worms,” McLennan admits.
He has written the children at least half
a dozen songs about worms, silverbeet, bumble bees, scarecrows and suchlike, and is planning to stage a garden concert for family and friends at the end of term, as well as a possible album.
“The songs and the kids singing them, that will never get old for me. They’re all based around gardening and there’s a lesson wrapped around everything we do. There’s a lot of learning goes on here, and a lot of laughter and fun – it’s all very positive.”
McLennan also gets regular visits from Department of Corrections work crews doing community service.
“We have some very good days here. On a good day, these guys and girls make a difference. I don’t want to sound too Pollyanna-ish, but it’s not lost on me that to see them laughing, singing and telling jokes – well, it’s good for them.”
He cites an example of two young women who initially had no desire at all to be there.
“They just didn’t want to know and I was at the end of trying to figure out what to continued next page
get them to do. In the end, I gave them a couple of kids’ fishing nets and told them to go catch the white cabbage butterflies. They were brilliant at it – they caught about 13 and they just lit up. Things like that make everybody feel good.”
While it’s taken a long time for McLennan’s efforts to bear fruit, literally in some cases, he is now not only seeing the garden begin to thrive, but also attracting the community back in.
“For the longest time it was a real drought, there was really very little involvement from anybody, but that has now changed. We’re starting to get people coming in and staking a plot.”
There is no charge to take on an allotment, just basic registration at the start so McLennan and trust staff know who is coming in and out. Non-gardening visitors are welcome, too.
“There’s a lot on offer here, we can really help people get going – we have tools, seeds, mulch and a friendly gardener who will help you,” he says.
“You can have your own plot, or even lose the plot and wander aimless, watching the bumblebees in the sunflowers or sit under a shady tree. It’s a gorgeous space.”
He’s determined to continue the mahi to make the garden even more of a shared community space.
“There’s so much scope here, with so much space, there are all sorts of possibilities. I just see this place as an absolute oasis,” he says. “I want to have concerts, Sunday afternoon picnics and barbecues and I’m determined that will happen.
“I really do care about the garden; I’m ambitious for it. I would love to see it fulfil its potential and I believe it’s on the right track.”
Anyone who would like to visit the community garden, learn more or donate time, tools or anything else – fruit trees would be particularly welcome – can call in between 9.30am and 1.30pm, Monday to Friday, or call 09 423 6006.
To see a video of Wellsford School students singing as they garden, visit https://bit. ly/4ds264s
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The Mahurangi Land Restoration Programme would like to thank everyone who has worked with us since 2020. Together we have reduced sedimentation entering Mahurangi Harbour by:
Protecting 48.8ha of private land and 13ha of public land
Planting 299,561 native plants
Installing 11.5km of fences
If you’re a rural landowner or group in the Mahurangi catchment you can apply for funding and get in on the action. Funding will cover up to 60 percent of costs for activities that help reduce sediment run-off to the Mahurangi Harbour.
Funding is available for:
buying native plants & labour fencing materials & labour site preparation & maintenance alternative water supply stream bank erosion mitigation fish passage improvements (fully funded)
Scan for funding guide
An applicant's contribution can include in-kind / voluntary labour, cash, or funding acquired from another source. Next funding round closes 30 November, and winter 2025 will be the last planting season for the programme.
Visit www.ngatimanuhiri.iwi.nz/mlrp for more information or contact Holly Fleming to discuss funding. Holly can arrange to meet you on-site, help you scope the project, and compile the information you'll need for your funding application Mob: 021 548 818 Email: hollyfleming@terrapura.co.nz
The Mower & Equipment Recycling Program Daniel Cleaver got going about a year ago isn’t just an environmental initiative, it’s a way to give back to the people who helped him get his chainsaw and mower business, up and running.
“I feel like the community really supported me. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have got to this point in my life and been successful and bought my commercial property. And now it’s flipped over, the community is struggling,” Cleaver says.
“We see a lot of customers come in that have lost their jobs and their stuff’s broken and I just say to [head mechanic] Glen Hodson, let’s help these people.”
Help could be in the form of fixing a lawn mower for someone in need but he also donates money he’s made from stripping parts to charities such as Harbour Hospice Warkworth Wellsford.
First and foremost though, Cleaver’s recycling project, which is separate from his business, is an initiative that’s “there to benefit the environment”.
No assignment, it seems, is too big or too small – it could be as simple as recycling hydraulic hoses dropped off at his yard or he might need to pull a broken-down digger out of the bush.
“A lot of people just abandon machinery in a paddock and it rusts away, or they bury it. Out of sight, out of mind, but the problem is still there. We’ll be digging down on a site and find tractor tyres and bicycles and then comes asbestos.
“I’m thinking, how do we stop this? Or how do I make a difference? How can I start doing something that’s going to benefit the environment in the long run?” If his yard at Chainsaws and Mowers is anything to go by, Cleaver is doing more than his fair share, with boxes of parts, scrap metal, miscellaneous plastics, piles of tyres, two big bulldozers and a corroded engine block all on display.
Either dropped off to the yard by the public or salvaged by Cleaver and his team, continued next page
nearly all of this flotsam and jetsam will eventually be recycled or restored and sold.
“Then you get a little bit of money back, which can go towards covering my mechanics’ time to strip it down. If we have a month where there was a profit, then we give that profit to a local charity that operates in the community.
“Or we could use that money to expand. At the end of the day, it’s like a not-forprofit organisation. We keep a record of what we’re doing so that people can see that we’re legitimately trying to help.”
Over the past six months the project has had “some serious traction”.
Cleaver recently sent out a newsletter to his customer base and reached out on Facebook to offer people an opportunity to recycle their old mowers as a way to contribute to the local community and promote sustainability.
He says in five years’ time “it could be a proper organisation”.
Given his enthusiasm for recycling, it’s
perhaps not surprising Cleaver has been recovering and refurbishing things since he was a kid.
He built his first computer from 10 or so discarded computers that he had salvaged from the now-discontinued kerbside inorganic rubbish collection.
“I’ve always been technically minded and loved fixing machinery. I excelled at it better than other subjects anyway. They say you need to practice something for 10,000 hours to become an expert. I’m 38 now and I’ve been doing this since I left school,” he says. Recycling remains a big part of his life and Cleaver says he just wants to get the community involved as much as possible, which makes sense. After all these are the people who helped kickstart his career. And now he’s humming. Like a well-oiled machine.
If you’d like donate to the Mower & Equipment Recycling Program feel free to drop by Chainsaw and Mower Services at 17 Gumfield Drive, Warkworth or call 09 945 0090.
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Andrew Steens
There is a saying in the gardening world that you should never go back to a garden that you created and have sold, as it usually ends in heartbreak. I’m a bit more pragmatic about it, as inevitably the new owner will make some changes to suit their lifestyle, suit their taste in plants or even bulldoze the whole lot for a development of some kind. I don’t really think about my last garden once I’ve moved on – it’s done; time to start a new project.
This is all on my mind right now as, once again, my ornamental garden is on the move and I have my own new project to think about. I’ve done this many times in the past and each time it involves the movement of literally thousands of plants.
One epic move involved about 25 doublestacked van loads of plants. Another involved hiring a crane to lift a massive Butia, or jelly palm, from a second floor apartment balcony.
I have so many plants because I am a committed (my wife Angela would say I need to be committed!) collector of the rare and unusual, tropical and subtropical.
Some shifts have been carried out with little lead-in time, so I’ve lost precious plants, useful labels and incurred some serious grunt work. This time, though, I’ve had lots of notice as we started the process about a year ago, which gave me the opportunity to dig up and pot a lot of the plants that need to be shifted. At the same time, I’ve been engraving longlasting aluminium labels for each variety so I can identify them no matter how they are looking after the move.
Now we are less than six months away from moving house, so the laborious job
of transporting the plants into their next location has started. I’d like to be able to plant them straight into their final position, but the new property will be undergoing extensive renovation, and I know from experience how big a destruction zone that builders and other tradies need. There’s nothing like some lengths of timber, a trailer load of gravel or size 10 work boots wreaking havoc on your tender treasures. Fortunately, this shift is literally next door; the property almost directly behind ours is the old Point Wells Church that we bought some years ago and have been running as holiday accommodation ever since. I managed to convince Angela that we couldn’t live without some extra garden continued next page
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from previous page
area, so a boundary shift has added 500 square metres of land to the property, which coincidentally is where my food forest and veggie garden already lives. I must admit, that was a cunning plan. So, all the potted plants are being shifted by wheelbarrow and hand-truck (some of those pots are really big and heavy) across the new boundary into any spare space in the food forest. This means I currently have the unusual sight of bromeliads growing under the plum trees, orchids growing next to clumps of rhubarb and bird of paradise alongside a bed of oats and chickpeas. Aesthetically, it is a mad jumble, but at least I know that the food forest is still producing and the plant collections will be safe until I can create my next, and hopefully last, garden.
The couple behind Organic Herbs & Seedlings, the nursery that supplies countless plants to local supermarkets, shops and markets will be guest speakers at the next Warkworth Library Garden Group meeting on Wednesday, November 6.
Mandy and Craig Purvis will talk about their Dome Valley gardens and greenhouses at the former council offices next to the library, starting at 6.30pm.
The library garden group meets every month with guest speakers covering a broad spectrum of horticultural and associated subjects.
Organiser Katie Mitchell, the library’s senior community engagement assistant, says the aim is to keep meetings interesting, engaging and educational.
“Our speakers this year have included talks on composting and worm farming, Japanese indigo dying, winter herbal remedies, Stihl garden tools, a Botanical Adventure around Hauturu, and a hands-on Easter activity making flax baskets,” she says.
This month’s speaker was Christine Phippen, an expert on edible weeds, or wild greens as she prefers to call them, who shared her extensive knowledge of which ‘enemies of the gardener’ could be eaten and how best to prepare them.
The library group is also actively supporting local efforts to develop a community garden in Warkworth, a venue for which is currently being sought.
The group meets on the first Wednesday of each month, entry by koha. All welcome.
Info: Email Katie Mitchell at warkworth. library@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
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Tickets to the first Harbour Hospice Homes & Gardens Tour since 2018 sold out in just days when they went on sale in August, but there is still another chance to enjoy the day and help the cause.
That’s because while around 300 lucky ticket-holders are off touring some of Point Wells’ finest properties on November 10, Hospice is setting up a hub for the day at the community hall that’s open to everyone. From 9am to 4.30pm, there will be coffee and food trucks, morning and afternoon teas, a wide range of stalls selling everything from cakes to clothing, plus raffles and silent auctions.
One of the highlights will be a stall selling plants grown and donated by local flower farmer Lisa Bindon, who grows blooms for her Flora floristry and pick-your-own flower businesses in the fertile peat-rich soil just outside Point Wells village.
In recent weeks Lisa, along with hospice supporters and volunteer helpers, has been
busy potting-up dozens of dahlias, asters, petunias, zinnias, tomatoes, capsicum, popcorn and more, the proceeds from which will all be donated to hospice. She says she was more than happy to help the charity, which cares for one in three people who die in the community, as her grandfather was cared for by hospice some years ago.
“It’s a wonderful community service and we never know when we might need hospice ourselves,” she says.
There are some impressive silent auction prizes on offer during the day, such as a trip to Arrowtown including accommodation and flights, or a four-hour boat cruise, donated by Tawera Group. Auction items also include two rounds of golf at Omaha Golf Club and a print signed by artist Craig Primrose, who has a gallery at Takatu, while raffle prizes include gardening equipment and children’s toys. Stalls will be selling Christmas cakes, candles, art by local artists and a selection of quality clothing, vintage and homeware items from Harbour Hospice’s three Warkworth retail outlets – the Hospice Shop and Tickled Pink in Argyll Angle, off Queen Street; and the Garage Sale shop, under Tui House in Morrison Drive.
The Hospice Homes and Gardens Tour, which is sponsored by Barfoot & Thompson, is a biennial event that was last held in 2018 – the 2020 and 2022 tours didn’t go ahead due to the covid pandemic. All proceeds raised from the self-guided tour of more than a dozen homes and gardens will go towards hospice patient and family services in Warkworth and Wellsford. Info: https://harbourhospice.org.nz/
ainlaying + Earthworks
ainlaying + Earthworks
Scott a’Beckett 021 027 95745 ynamicpipeworks.co.nz www.dynamicpipeworks.co.nz
Scott a’Beckett 021 027 95745 tt@dynamicpipeworks.co.nz www.dynamicpipeworks.co.nz
Variety, as they say, is the spice of life.
The popular proverb is the inspiration behind the much-anticipated ‘The Spice of Life’ Community Variety Show, which runs from November 7 to 10 at the Warkworth Town Hall.
Event coordinator and director LeeAnne Scarth says ‘The Spice of Life’ will feature a rich mix of talent and offer a little something for everyone – from stunning performances to unexpected surprises.
Putting the “variety” in variety show is the fact it won’t just be the Warkworth Theatre Group stepping onto the stage – this year a call for performers went out to the local community via Facebook and the group’s newsletter.
“Normally we do a play, but we wanted to create a show that celebrates the wide range of talent in our community. Pretty much everybody was welcome,” Scarth says.
This means audiences can expect a diverse lineup of performers each bringing their own unique flair – everything from hip hop and high-energy dance numbers to poetry and side-splitting comedy sets.
“We’ve got a couple of people who have joined forces and created something different. We’ve got the Spice Boys, Smooth Dark Chocolate, the Jade River Ukes and the Razzler Dazzlers. We’ve got line dancing, some classical, right down to a good old sing-along.”
Scarth encourages people to support local businesses by grabbing some dinner in town beforehand and making a night of it.
“Then come along, grab a wine and enjoy some light-hearted entertainment,” she says.
“It promises to be an unforgettable evening.”
The Spice of Life Community Variety Show runs from November 7 to 10 at the Warkworth Town Hall.
Drainlaying + Earthworks
Drainlaying + Earthworks
Drainlaying + Earthworks
Scott a’Beckett 021 027 95745 scott@dynamicpipeworks.co.nz www.dynamicpipeworks.co.nz
Scott a’Beckett 021 027 95745 scott@dynamicpipeworks.co.nz www.dynamicpipeworks.co.nz
Scott a’Beckett 021 027 95745 scott@dynamicpipeworks.co.nz www.dynamicpipeworks.co.nz
Mediation is a proven form of alternative dispute resolution where your input determines the result. It can be quick and it is a relatively inexpensive, private and confidential process. The honest open airing of feelings in a controlled confidential setting can reveal the true issues, and can assist with reaching an agreed outcome. Importantly, relationships can be preserved, even enhanced, by mediation.
For more information call or email Phil Sheat on
027 275 2122 | phil@akaranalegal.co.nz
Thomas F. Errington Dip. Arch. ARIBA
ThomasF.ErringtonDip.Arch.ARIBA
Architectural Designer
ThomasF.ErringtonDip.Arch.ARIBA ArchitecturalDesigner
P 09 425 0512
Warkworth
Ph 09 425 0512 Fax 09 425 0514
M 0274 532 495
E ttedesigns@xtra.co.nz
0274 532 495
W www.ttedesigns.co.nz
“We’ve
AERIALS
REDDING ELECTRONICS
Freeview Installs, Satellite Dish, UHF Aerial. Installation & Repairs. Ph Dave 09 422 7227 or 027 458 5457
APPLIANCE REPAIRS
A SMART REPAIR Service for F&P smartdrive washers, F&P/ Simpson dryers. Prompt service 021 168 7349.
Free Quote for Steam Cleans, Carpet Repairs, 35 years experience https://carpetadvice.co.nz/ Dwyane 027 499 7929 CARPETS
CARPET ADVICE
DRIVEWAYS
MAINTENANCE Grading, rolling & metalling for rural Driveways. No job too BIG or small. Contact Trevor tlc.trev@hotmail.com
DVDS & VIDEOS VIDEOS TRANSFERRED to DVD/hard drive. Phone or txt
Tetotara Video 021 777 385
HOME & MAINTENANCE
Blue Skies Cleaning
Window Cleaning, Soft Bio House
Wash, Gutter Clean, All Exterior Cleaning, Water Blasting, Roof Treatment, Local Professional service. Ph Pat 022-646-5849
COLLINS ELECTRONICS
HAVE YOU LOST CHANNELS? Or need your Freeview box tuned for the new channels?
Freeview installations & new Freeview boxes for sale. TV repairs & installation, microwave oven repairs. Ph Paul 027 29 222 04
HOUSE WASHING - Soft Wash / Low Pressure / Chemical Wash
Also Window Cleaning / Gutter Clearing / Decks / Concrete. Careful service, reasonable rates. qualitywash.co.nz 021 057 9743
WINDOW CLEANING/ HOUSEWASH/GUTTER CLEANING Local professional service. Ph Pat 022-646-5849. SECTION SERVICES Trees: BIG, small, difficult. Pruned. Removed. One off section tidy-ups. Hedge reductions. Insured. Experienced. Ph or text for a quote. Dom 027 222 1223
TRIM & PROPER SOLUTIONS
Hedge trimming • Fruit & orchard pruning • Trees: Formative prunes, View restoration • Free Quotes 020 4027 6200 trimandproper@outlook.co.nz
FURNITURE REMOVAL
Experienced Owner Operator 30 years. Single items Flat/ House lots. Silverdale based. Ph Gavin 0274 973 867
MAHURANGI RUGBY CLUB
Tuesday, 19th November, 6pm, at the Clubrooms, Warkworth Showgrounds. Tammy 027 247 1736
MANGAKURA BOAT CLUB
October 20, 3pm at clubrooms. All welcome.
Tuesday 29th October 2024, 1pm to 3pm, 311 SH1, Te Hana (Wharenui Nga Whetu o te Rangi)
Contact Mereana, 09 423 8701 or tehana@xtra.co.nz
PEST CONTROL Eradication of rats & mice. Competitive Rates. Ph 426 2253 Ph 027 286 7321, www.noratsandmice.nz
URGENTLY NEEDED TO DELIVER THE MAHURANGI MATTERS NEWSPAPERS in Warkworth and Wellsford Contact Tanya Milford 021 066 0838
New Zealand Diving is looking for a scuba diving instructor to join us for the coming summer season. This is a great opportunity for working in the Hauraki Gulf teaching students to dive or guiding experienced divers. You will need to be prepared work long days and often teaching evenings and weekends. Minimum of 40 hours per week at $26/hr. Fit, healthy and non-smoker. You will be required to have the following certifications: SSI OW Instructor • SDI OW Instructor • First Aid Instructor • Air Filler certification Various instructor specialities including: Deep, Navigation, Wreck, Performance Buoyancy plus more. Minimum of 3 years’ experience working professionally in the dive industry. Driving licence required. Technical dive certifications required - Sidemount, Decompression Procedures, Freediving Level 1. Would suit somebody within easy travel distance to our dive centre. Please send your cv to dive@nzdiving.co.nz
When the Sandspit Yacht Club youth team competed at the inaugural Toyota Kiwi Cup Regatta recently, it was a unique experience in more ways than one.
Not only did the team get to race in stateof-the-art Elliott 7 keelboats, they also got to stay at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS) base in Auckland for the duration of the event, along with the nine other crews, who made up the field.
From September 30 to October 4, around 50 kids called the RNZYS home with tents set up in the ballroom to house them – it was like school camp, Sandspit team manager Colin Ingham says.
RNZYS performance sailing manager Zak Merton says the sailors had three days of training and then the two-day regatta in the Emirates Team New Zealand Elliott 7s. “I’m so proud of the 10 teams. At the start of the week a lot of these kids hadn’t sailed together or been in keelboats before,” Merton says.
On day one of the regatta, Sandspit found themselves at a disadvantage racing in heavy winds as they only had four sailors on board their Elliott 7, whereas most of the other teams had five.
Ingham’s daughter and sail trimmer Lucy Ingham says the team soon realised they were one short.
“We were a slightly lighter team. We
invited four thinking that we’d get along fine. Then the racing started on Thursday, and that’s when we realized that five people on our boat might have been a bit better,” she says.
“In the heavier winds, and with the heavy tide of the Waitematā, you needed more people on board to keep the Elliott 7 down. So on the first day we were at the back of the fleet.”
However, with light winds on the second
day, Sandspit was far more competitive.
“We had lighter winds so with our lighter crew, we went faster. I noticed a lot more pushiness amongst the boats, more aggressive sailing, more competition. We got a lot of thirds that day, bringing us up to fifth place overall,” she says.
Colin Ingham says it was a worthwhile experience and an opportunity for the young crews to learn new sailing skills and get out on the water in the elite Elliott 7s.
“It was a chance to spend time with their peers from around the country and create friendships and bonds.
“Just like any sporting fixture, it’s the people you meet and are involved with. They’re as big a part of the picture as the actual event itself.”
RNZYS general manager Sarah Wiblin says the Toyota Kiwi Cup was an opportunity for the squadron to support the next generation of sailing talent”.
MeloYelo is a very different type of ebike company, selling via agents who will take the time to come to you, offer long test rides, rider training and all the advice you need to raise your confidence on an electric bike.
Graham Tivers is the local franchisee for Warkworth and Northland, and everyone who takes a test ride with Graham by 22 December is in the draw to win a MeloYelo Townee ebike. He is coming to the Warkworth RSA and all are welcome.
Graham will be in the RSA Gallipoli Room (downstairs) at 28 Neville Street, Warkworth on Saturday 26th October at 9am
Seven of the youngest members of Red Scorpion Martial Arts in Warkworth gained new belts at the end of last term. Five of the Little Stingers went from grade three red belts up to the next level yellow belt, while two with starter level white belts
gained their first level red belts.
The students all attend weekly classes for five to 13-year-olds at Red Scorpion Martial Arts, which is based at the Warkworth Showgrounds every Tuesday evening in term time.
One of the instructors, Becky Varty, says the latest belt winners had done well.
“They were all so amazing and tried so hard,” she said. “This has been a great confidence boost for all our kids and it is a wonderful discipline for little bodies and minds.
“We take it seriously, but we have great fun and lots of games, and we are always looking for new kids to come and join our family.”
Info: Contact Becky Varty on 021 269 4219
It’s not every day you see a 98-year-old competing in track and field.
So it was something special for spectators at the IMGA Pan American Games in Cleveland, Ohio when Warkworth local Allan Martin took his place on the starting line.
Despite being the oldest athlete at the event and many attendees wanting a selfie, an autograph or simply to shake his hand, he didn’t see what the all the fuss was about.
After all, Martin wasn’t there for novelty value, he wanted to compete. Indeed, he ended up taking home a gold medal in each of the five events he entered – the 100m, 200m, 400m, javelin and discus. It wasn’t Martin’s fault the other athletes in his age group were no-shows.
“There were others registered, but they didn’t turn up. I competed in the 85 to 90 category instead. I finished last in all of them of course but I still got the golds. If I was good enough I would’ve won,” he says. Martin says it was “hellishly hot in Ohio” and because his training was done in much cooler temperatures it made it that much
harder on the day.
“There was no break between the 400m and the discus. My hands were shaking and I could hardly throw it, but I did it.
“I completed each event, which was very satisfying. That’s why you do it, the challenge of each event. What else is there to do at my age? It’s about the next challenge, and to keep fit.”
Martin says the trip wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for his son, who acted as his manager and drove him down to Ohio from Milwaukee.
Back in New Zealand it’s Martin’s wife Joy who fills the manager role, shuttling him back and forth to the Warkworth Showgrounds where he trains.
And it seems Martin won’t be putting his feet up anytime soon. Next on his list are the New Zealand Masters Games, which takes place next February in Whanganui, and then the 2025 World Masters Games in Taipei.
Any events lined up for when he turns 100?
“That may be tempting fate,” Martin says.
TOTALSPAN RODNEY PROUD SPONSORS OF
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Fishing competition
A memorial fishing competition will be held for the late Nord (Crumb) Noyer over the weekend of November 8&9. Anyone who knew Crumb is invited to join. Weigh-in will be held at the Warkworth Fire Station on Sunday, November 9, from 3.30-4.30pm with prizegiving and a BBQ to follow. Categories include Snapper, Kahawai, Kingfish & Other. Tickets $10. Info: Sam 021 152 8715
Bar staff
Mahurangi Rugby Club is looking for someone to run the bar during the upcoming touch rugby season. Hours required are Thursday nights from 4-10pm. Info: 0272 471 736 or email admin@ mahurangirugbyclub.co.nz
Ladies golf tournament
Omaha Beach Golf Club’s annual Ladies Teams Open Day Golf Tournament will be held on Thursday, November 7 from 9am. Entry fee $40 for members or $75 for non-members.
Info: https://www.facebook.com/OBGCNZ
Ladies pool
The Rodney Rams League Club is searching for ladies to join its new Ladies Pool Team. Practice games are held on Thursday evenings from 5-7pm and begin on Thursday, October 17. Games are played on the last Sunday of each month from 2-4pm. Membership costs $10.
Info: Noeline on 021 0849 8564.
Motorcycle club
Kaipara Motorcycle Club has announced a schedule of events for its upcoming 2024/25 season. The season’s first ride will take place at Lance’s Farm in Whangaripo Valley on Sunday, December 8. The purpose of the Kaipara Motorcycle Club is to provide premium offroad motorcycle events in the Kaipara Flats and Matakana areas and to promote and encourage junior and family riding. Event fees are $50 for a Senior (16 years +), $30 for a Junior (under 16 years), or $120 for a Family (2 Seniors + 3 Juniors, same family). For more info ring Warkworth Motorcycles on 09 425 8535 or Bevan Holmes on 0274 719 548, or visit Kaipara Motorcycle Club on Facebook.
Social running
Matakana Village Pub is hosting a casual 5km Fun Run every Monday evening from 6pm. Meet at the pub beforehand.
ToTalspan Rodney 229 sTaTe HigHway 1 waRkwoRTH pHone 09 422 3149 a Roundup of spoRTs acTiviTies in THe disTRicT
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WARKWORTH PHONE 09 422 3149 0800 TOTALSPAN (0800 868 257) WWW.TOTALSPAN.CO.NZ
To be the best you have the beat the best.
That’s exactly what the Rodney College basketball team did when they took down their arch-rivals, Tauraroa Area School, in the Northland Premier League 2024 finals to win the inaugural competition.
In front of their many supporters at McKay Stadium Kensington in Whangarei, Rodney put in a convincing performance for their fans, in the end dispatching Tauraroa 93 to 74.
What made the title win even sweeter was the fact Rodney went through the whole season in the premier league undefeated.
Coach Kalem Tana says their success was the result of lessons learned from last season and “putting in the hard yards”.
“I would say we were probably working a lot harder than other teams, trainingwise. All those early mornings before school, training in the offseason. All those sacrifices. It was worth it. All that work paid off,” Tana says.
Having plenty of experience in the squad also helped propel the team forwards. “We had nine players from the previous
year in our team this season, so we had a lot of experience. They understood the format better and what it would bring, and how to perform in pressure situations.”
Like last year, their line-up was built around Tana’s three star players - Jeremiah, Alex and Jack – but in 2024 their opposition was no longer shutting down the rest of the team.
“Not every player has the same ability so instilling confidence in the boys that needed it was key. This year the whole team stepped up, which allowed our stars to really punish our opponents,” Tana says.
Unfortunately, many of the players are in Year 13, which means the journey for this make-up of the Rodney College basketball team roster will soon be coming to an end. Tana will also be moving on and is hoping to coach at Otamatea High School in Maungaturoto, Northland, which is where he went to school.
“We all knew it was coming, it’s the end of an era really,” Tana says.
At least they got to sign off their final season together in style.
4:10pm0.3
11:26pm3.3 5:24am0.3 11:51am3.4 5:55pm0.6 12:18am3.2 6:14am0.5 12:43pm3.2 6:51pm0.8 1:11am3.0 7:07am0.7 1:39pm3.1 7:51pm0.9 2:07am2.9 8:04am0.9 2:38pm2.9 8:53pm1.0 3:05am2.7 9:07am1.0 3:38pm2.8 9:54pm1.0 4:06am2.7 10:12am1.0 4:37pm2.8 10:51pm1.0 5:07am2.7 11:12am1.0 5:30pm2.8 11:43pm1.0 6:03am2.7 12:04pm1.0 6:19pm2.9 12:30am0.9 6:53am2.8 12:49pm0.9 7:03pm2.9 1:12am0.8 7:37am2.9 1:30pm0.9 7:44pm2.9 1:52am0.8 8:18am3.0 2:08pm0.8 8:24pm3.0 2:29am0.7 8:55am3.0 2:45pm0.8 9:02pm3.0 3:06am0.7 9:32am3.1 3:22pm0.8 9:40pm3.0 6:33am 7:40pm 6:32am 7:41pm 6:31am 7:42pm 6:29am 7:43pm
11:35am0.9 6:03pm2.9 12:01am1.1 6:18am2.8 12:21pm0.8 6:47pm3.0 12:45am1.0 7:06am2.9 1:05pm0.7 7:29pm3.1 1:29am0.9 7:51am3.0 1:47pm0.6 8:11pm3.2 2:12am0.8 8:35am3.1 2:29pm0.6 8:53pm3.3 2:56am0.7 9:18am3.2 3:11pm0.5 9:36pm3.3 3:40am0.6 10:02am3.2 3:54pm0.5 10:21pm3.3 4:26am0.6 10:47am3.2 4:40pm0.5 11:07pm3.3 5:12am0.6 11:34am3.2 5:29pm0.6 11:56pm3.3 6:01am0.6 12:24pm3.1 6:22pm0.7 12:47am3.2 6:53am0.6 1:20pm3.1 7:21pm0.8 1:42am3.1 7:50am0.7 2:22pm3.0 8:25pm0.8 2:41am3.0 8:53am0.7 3:28pm3.0 9:30pm0.9 3:45am3.0 9:58am0.7 4:33pm3.1 10:33pm0.8 4:50am3.0 11:02am0.7 5:34pm3.2 11:32pm0.7 7:16am 5:39pm 7:15am 5:40pm 7:14am 5:40pm 7:13am
See www.localmatters.co.nz/whats-on/
15 Warkworth Quilt Club Meeting, Shoesmith Hall, 10am-2pm. Guest speakers, demonstrations and help with quilting. Meets on the third Tuesday of every month. New members and guests welcome. Info: Jenny Warren 09 422 4046
16 New Zealand Diving club night, Unit 2/23 Morrison Drive, Warkworth, 5pm. All welcome, sausage sizzle. Special guest Paul Caiger will talk about his recent book, Fishes of Aotearoa.
17-19 Captured: A Photographic Time Capsule of Warkworth, Southgate Room at The Oaks
17 BrainCharge, Warkworth Library, 10.30am. Games and activities to develop brain resilience and mental fitness. Every Thursday during term time.
18 Tomarata School Show Day, 9am. Lamb & calf judging, student-created gardens, guest speaker, Pony Poo Bingo, art exhibition, shared lunch, activities & more.
18-19 Pink Ribbon Street Collection, Warkworth and Matakana. Breast cancer fundraiser.
19 Kowhai Festival, Queen Street and Wharf Street, Warkworth, 9am onwards. (see pages 25-27)
19 Wellsford School Ag Day, 9am-12.30pm. Activities, games, food and drink, calf and lambs on show, plant sale and more.
19 Love Square XL featuring DJ Sandy Mill, Leigh Sawmill Cafe, 8pm. R18. Tickets: www.undertheradar.co.nz
19 Brenda Rawlings Memorial Fundraising Concert, Warkworth Town Hall, 7pm. Leonard Cohen experience performed by nine-piece band Imperfect Offering. Tickets & info: http://www.imperfectoffering.co.nz
20 Hopetoun Brown And The Genius Of Finn Scholes, Leigh Sawmill Cafe, 4pm. Adults $29, 13 and under free. Tickets: www.undertheradar.co.nz
20 Mad Mel Movement Breast Cancer Walkathon, Wellsford Rugby Club fields, Centennial Park, 9am. 5km walk for Pink Ribbon, lunch and speakers. $20 donation to enter, $2 for children. Info: email madmelsmovement@gmail.com
20 Wetlands Workshop, Whangaripo Hall, 10am-3pm. Free workshop on the vital role wetlands play in the environment. BYO lunch. RSVP: https://www.eventbrite. co.nz/e/wetlands-workshop-tickets-998087726257 (see story p18)
20 NZTrio, Warkworth Town Hall, 4pm; presented by Warkworth Music. Members $30, non-members $40. Info: www.warkworthmusic.org.nz (see story p23)
20 Folk guitarist Dave Alley at Absurdistan Hall, Kaiwaka, 3pm. Tickets $20 at door or $15 for early birds. Email yatrabe@gmail.com or call 021 237 7678
20 Dementia Friendly Sunday, Warkworth Library, 11am-12pm. Support network for people living with dementia and their carers. Chat, activities and a cuppa.
20 Loulou, The Tahi Bar, 4-6pm. A blend of folk and indie music.
21 Warkworth Men’s REBUS monthly meeting, Shoesmith Hall, 10am. Guest speakers. Retired and missing your mates, or feeling isolated? This could be for you. Visitors welcome. Info: Ron 422 3111
21 Community Singing, Warkworth Library, 5.30-6.30pm. Sing songs in a friendly atmosphere. No audition or experience needed. Gold coin koha.
23 Paint & Sip, Bridgehouse Warkworth, 7-9pm. No experience necessary. Includes use of art materials and canvas to take home. $39, drinks extra. Tickets: https://www.creativemoments.co.nz/
26 Lizzy Killers, The Tahi Bar, 7-10pm. High-energy rock band to kick off Saturday night.
26 Country Fair & Calf Club, Tauhoa School, SH16, 9.30am-2pm. Stalls, games, raffles, food, etc., plus lambs, calves and chickens. Info: 09 422 5722
26 Holistic Health & Wellness Day, Bridge Clubrooms, 2 Alnwick Street, Warkworth, 11am-2pm. Free mini sessions & information from local health & wellness practitioners. All welcome. Info: www.wellnesshub.nz
26 Elvis Show, Matakana Village, 12-12.30pm. Free.
26 Nip N Kwik Sale, Snells Beach Community Church, 325 Mahurangi East Road, 8am-12pm. Plants, cafe, produce. Car boot spaces available. Bookings: Gary 022 658 5700
26 Tomarata School 90th Reunion, Tomarata School, 11am. BBQ lunch & dinner. BYO drinks. Tickets $20, under 15s free. Info: office@tomarata.school.nz
26&27 Art Sale, Studio 22, 22 Muncaster Road Snells Beach, 10am-4pm. Work from five local artists. Paintings, watercolours, photography, jewellery, and ceramics. Ample parking up driveway.
27 Jan Preston & the Piano Boogie Circus, The Tahi Bar, 3-5pm.
27 Snells Beach Community Market, Snells Beach School, 10am-2pm.
emailing
to online@localmatters.co.nz
events online. Visit www.localmatters.co.nz/whats-on
The basketball career of Warkworth teenager Keidis Watts is following the same upward trajectory as one of his three-point throws.
He recently made the Kaipara Elite Boys Under 18s, but what makes this even more impressive is that he was trying out for the Under 16s – at just 15 years old, he’s the youngest player in the squad.
“Keidis was only 14 when the selectors first scouted him,” his Mum and manager Penny Watts says.
Practice makes perfect and he’s getting plenty of it being part of three teams – he plays for his school, Horizon College, in Snells Beach, he started his own 3x3 team called Happy Feet, and he’s now in the Kaipara Under 18s.
Mostly he plays as a small forward, which is an offensive and defensive position.
“My skill level keeps improving, even from where I was at the start of this year. My understanding of the court and just the movement with the whole team,” he says.
“Reading the plays and the defenders, looking for their tells, where they’re going to throw the ball and if they’re going to bounce it or fake it.
“If you can read people on the court and read what the ball is doing and how everyone’s moving, that’s the biggest thing. That’s the key to winning games.”
Needless to say, Watts’ schedule is pretty hectic, with a lot of travel involved.
Twice a week his mum drives him from Warkworth to Otamatea High School in Maungaturoto to train with the Kaipara Under 18s, which is an hour each way – once for a 6am morning session, then he’s back up there for an afternoon session later in the week.
None of this would be possible without
Keidis Watts with his mum and manager Penny Watts on the Leigh School courts. Watts’ mum, or the many fundraisers she organises (such as the recent Queens of Drag Revue Show at the Leigh Sawmill Café) that are needed to pay for uniforms, tournaments and, of course, gas money.
Watts’ older brother Tisyn has also been an important part of his story, having introduced him to basketball when he was just seven or eight years old.
“He’s been a huge basketball fan all his life, loves Steph Curry, and I looked up to that.
I started shooting hoop with him at Leigh School, then I started playing for school teams, like Mangawhai Beach School and I loved it.
“At the time I was a lot taller than the other kids so that gave me confidence.”
His brother is also a massive music fan. He came up with the name Keidis, which is an alternative spelling of Kiedis, as in Anthony Kiedis from rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers, and is pronounced “kai-dis”.
Keidis Watts actually got to meet his namesake when the band toured here last year.
“Flea wanted to know why he wasn’t named after him,” says Penny Watts.
Music as it turns out is Keidis Watts’ first passion, though basketball is a close second.
“I’ve been playing music all my life. Quite a lot of jazz and R&B, but I’m getting more into production. Me and my brother came up on stage at the Leigh Sawmill for the Happy Feet fundraiser. We were a guitar and piano duo,” Watts says.
“Basketball is also a big, big part of my life and it’s taught me heaps about self-control, working hard and seeing that pay off. It’s a great feeling.”
Next for Watts is the SAS Australasian Slam 2024 from October 26 to 28, which is an opportunity to get in front of major basketball scouts.
He also might try out to represent New Zealand against the United States through the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
So, for now at least, basketball is taking centre stage, or rather, in Watts’ case, centre court.