Mahurangi Matters_Issue 245_19 February 2014

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February 19, 2014

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Puhoi • Warkworth • Snells • Matakana • Omaha • Leigh • Pakiri • Wellsford • Port Albert • Kaiwaka • Mangawhai

Mahurangi River polluted with concrete, say witnesses Auckland Council is investigating claims that a contractor deliberately polluted the Mahurangi River in Warkworth early this month by piping wet concrete into it.

Staff at Curtain Specialists in Warkworth say they became aware of the pollution when they saw a man putting a pipe down the bank into the river from a nearby property. Soon after, wet cement started flowing from the pipe.

Barbara Just of Curtain Specialists says there are fish, ducks and eels in the section of the river that might not survive.

“We see the eels everyday. We are just really concerned for their lives.”

An Auckland Council spokesperson says an investigation is underway and it will not be clear whether charges will be laid until the investigation has concluded.

It is also unclear whether there will be lasting damage to the environment, but the Council will not be bearing the clean-up cost.

Septic tank contractors were operating a pumping device the day after the incident to pump out polluted water and remove the continued page 2

Matakana unleashes Fruitloop mayhem

America’s Cup skipper Dean Barker will miss Fruitloop next month, due to overseas commitments, but the father of four says his family are keen cyclists and supporters of cycleways.

They regularly holiday in the Matakana area and hope the community gets behind the walkway/cycleway fundraiser. Dean is pictured with his son Matteo, 3, and father, Ray. Bikes are a new addition to this year’s Fruitloop programme.

See story page 7.

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Mahurangi Matters

inside Lotto windfall

February 19, 2014

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contacts

$500,000 won at Woody’s Winners

page 7

Real estate feature

7 pages of the latest news

General enquiries: Call 425 9068 PO Box 701, Warkworth 0941 17 Neville St, Warkworth 0941 Editor: Karyn Scherer 021 622 550 editor@localmatters.co.nz

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Mahurangi Matters is a locally owned publication, circulated twice a month to more than 13,000 homes and businesses.

Views expressed in Mahurangi Matters are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher.

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It is uncertain if there will be lasting environmental damage after concrete was dumped into a tributary to the Mahurangi River.

Concrete spill

from page 1

concrete. However, it is unclear who paid for the clean-up.

“Council is not engaging the contractors to clean the discharged concrete wash water. This will be an action for the responsible party,” the spokesperson says.

When Mahurangi Matters visited the site last week, all of the concrete was gone from the stream.

The owner of the property says he had employed contractors to do work on a concrete driveway and had no idea they were polluting the river until

Council representatives showed up and stopped the work.

“The contractor was a registered drainlayer so he should know better.

This shouldn’t happen,” he says.

The contractors have not finished the job as they have not finished clearing the top layer of concrete which needs to be blasted back and haven’t offered an alternative which would avoid polluting the environment, he says.

Mahurangi Matters has been unable to reach the contractors for comment.

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February 19, 2014

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Kawau Island Yacht Club threatened with closure A piece of local maritime history will close in April if funds can’t be found to address urgent maintenance issues.

The Kawau Island Yacht Club, in Bon Accord Harbour, is owned by the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron which has given the public until February 28 to lodge suggestions on other uses for the clubhouse. If someone isn’t interested in leasing or buying the property, the doors will close and the building will be mothballed.

Squadron Commodore Steve Burrett, of Warkworth, says he’s had a long association with Kawau and the island is “very dear” to his heart.

“However, at the end of the day, the squadron can’t keep pouring money down a hole,” he says. “We’ve had to make some hard decisions.”

At the club’s annual meeting in December, Mr Burrett said squadron members were subsidising the club with administration of its accounts alone costing $40,000 a year.

“Apart from the successful 60th anniversary races, no boating activities have been carried out by the club for many years and turnover from the store, bar and fuel sales have been falling year after year. Additionally, the number of people residing on the island has dropped over the last 10 years from about 400 to around 40, according to the last Census.”

Mr Burrett says the demise of the club has been caused by a combination of many things, including boats

Bus service to continue The Kowhai Connections bus service has been extended for another year.

A 12-month trial of the service, which runs between Warkworth, Snells Beach and Matakana, was launched in March 2013 and the viability of the service was to be reviewed this month. The service is currently carrying 1000 passengers a month and is funded by Auckland Transport and the Hikurangi Foundation.

Regattas of yesteryear The Kawau Island Yacht Club, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2011, is understood to have held its first regatta in November 1951.

The subsequent New Year’s Day regattas became a social event on the island’s calendar. In their heyday, they were large family affairs with dinghy, sculling and swimming races for boys and girls, and men and ‘ladies’, as well as sailing races in several different classes and power boat races.

Early supporters of the club were the Lidgard family, whose family home in Smelting House Bay is now owned by the squadron and made available to members for holiday rentals.

Chris Robertson, a nephew of the Lidgards, says that at the time the club formed, there were a number of boat builders living on the island including Brin Wilson and some keen yachtsmen.

“It was the Lidgards who built the clubhouse, although it’s been added to over the years,” he says.

The clubhouse, which was the venue for last year’s Anzac Day service on Kawau Island, will be mothballed if it can’t be leased or sold.

becoming more self-sufficient.

The squadron has held talks with both the Mayor Len Brown and Rodney Local Board representatives to make them aware of the situation. However, it’s been told that on the list of Council projects, the Kawau clubhouse would be a low priority.

Squadron general manager Joe Goddard says the building has become a safety risk and is in need of urgent repair.

Among the items listed for maintenance are the sewerage system, which could cost up to $250,000, the refrigeration system and the building itself.

“It’s difficult to put a precise figure on repair costs because any estimate depends on what’s deemed ‘acceptable’.

I’m sure if we spent millions upgrading it to a five-star operation, visitor numbers would increase but that isn’t an option. Just getting it to an acceptable safety standard is more than we can afford.

“We’ve made our position clear to squadron and yacht club members, as well as home owners on Kawau, and if we don’t get any alternative suggestions, then the clubhouse will be closed.”

The current manager has already indicated a wish to retire.

Mr Goddard said he would be happy to supply financial figures to anyone interested in a plan to keep the operation running.

Info: Phone 09 360 6805; email: jgoddard@rnzys.org.nz

Starting date for Sandspit Marina postponed Construction on the Sandspit Marina has again been delayed, and Auckland Transport has declined an offer to use dredgings from the marina to repair and reinforce the Sandspit seawall in the near future.

The marina is to be built by Hopper Construction and work was due to begin on February 1.

General manager Guy Jones says he is unable to comment on construction

details, but says construction will be “imminent” following the completion of the standard paperwork.

Representatives of the Sandspit Marina declined to comment on when construction would begin, or where dredgings from the marina would be disposed.

In December the Sandspit Residents & Ratepayers Association asked the Rodney Local Board to reconsider

using dredgings, after a request was declined two years ago.

The decision was referred to Auckland Transport, which has confirmed the process would require resource consent.

Because the consent would probably have to be publicly notified, and could be contested in the Environment Court, “it does not appear possible to align the timing of such a project with the construction of the marina in any case”, says Auckland Transport.

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Mahurangi Matters

February 19, 2014

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OFF THE RECORD

Get off the grass Berms might be the hot topic in central Auckland, but in Mahurangi it’s the long grass in the region’s parks and reserves that’s been cause for complaint. A recent meeting of an Auckland Council committee confirmed that mowing had been an issue, particularly in “northern and southern areas”, but staff claimed it had now been rectified. So what’s been the problem? “Asset data integrity issues”, apparently. Oh dear.

Wesay

Viewpoint

Karyn Scherer, Editor, Mahurangi Matters

Beth Houlbrooke, Rodney Local Board

editor@localmatters.co.nz

beth.houlbrooke@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Have your say on Rodney’s future

Donation? Yeah, right February is a tough month for NZ parents whose children are still at school.

Because of our crazy national holidays, many are flat broke. They’re not only recovering from Christmas, but the lucky ones have also had some kind of family break. Some will have forked out for endless weeks of activities, and then there’s the next onslaught: school stationery, school uniforms, and school goodness-knows-what.

Now there is the added pressure of BYO electronics, which means taking out a mortgage to ensure you can keep those guys and gals at Cupertino in the very groovy style to which they have become accustomed.

Schools are becoming increasingly adept at offering arrangements that ensure parents don’t have to busk to keep the bailiffs at bay. But it hasn’t stopped a growing backlash over the so-called “donation” that most parents are also expected to pay at State schools.

The problem is more complex than it appears. Schools claim they are so cashstrapped they can’t even clean their pools (if they still have one). Many loathe decile-based funding, remain suspicious of the formula and wary of parents’ perceptions of low-decile schools. It’s an issue that could soon raise its head in Mahurangi, if latest Census data happens to show that some schools’ neighbourhoods are no longer as wealthy as they previously appeared.

Parents’ expectations are also increasing. They want more facilities, more trips, and more equipment. Many schools struggle to meet these expectations on the money they get from the Government.

New Zealand is lucky to have State schools that are the envy of many countries. But it is shameful that Kiwi parents who volunteer to sit on their boards must spend some of that time devising ways of shaming other parents into dipping into their pockets for fairly basic needs. It is even more shameful that some schools feel the need to involve children in that process, by keeping them in the hall, or excluding them from the ball, or handing out tags that identify the payers amongst the paupers.

It is true that many parents who could probably afford to pay the “donation” do not, for various reasons. But it is surprising that none of the major political parties has realised that this system is broken. There is surely political capital to be gained for the first one that comes up with a way to fix it.

It is now four months since the local body elections and I am still reeling from all there is to learn, people to meet, and organisations to visit. Portfolio areas given to me are economic development, events, communications and engagement, and recreation services (pools and multisport facilities). All these will keep me busy in 2014.

I am enjoying working with my colleagues in the Warkworth subdivision – Greg Sayers and Steven Garner. We try to share the duties of attending community meetings so there is nearly always Local Board representation, as they occur most evenings of the week (sometimes multiple meetings on the same night), and on some weekends in the bach communities. I am making a concerted effort to get to all local organisations at least once in the first six months, and on a regular basis thereafter, with some groups being more or less assigned to me – such as anything in the Puhoi community, or business-related.

Greg and I are keen to start monthly clinics in Warkworth – an opportunity for members of the public to come along and chat to us about anything concerning them in their area. The first will be on March 20 at the Warkworth Service Centre.

In light of the fact that I campaigned on issues of bureaucracy and inefficiency, I can confirm this is the most dissatisfying aspect of my new role. It is difficult to make a difference. Some internal processes seem comically convoluted for no logical reason. As part of my communications and engagement portfolio, together with board member Phelan Pirrie, we are seeking to improve communications via a better layout of the website, building social media through more regular Facebook updates, and more transparency in meetings. With transparency comes accountability.

The recent Atlas site workshop was deemed a huge success and we would like to see more of this kind of community participation in shaping Rodney. My hope is that by cutting out some of the steps (such as presenting the community with a draft plan of a facility and getting feedback, then having to redraft and come back for more consultation), we start as many processes as possible with the residents telling us what they want first and thereby arrive at the final plan in shorter time. That is why it is important for people of all ages to attend one of our upcoming expos on the Local Board Plan.

This is your opportunity to get a better understanding of what your Local Board does for you now, and to tell us what services, amenities and features you would like preserved or developed in your area to make Rodney a great place to live, work and do business.

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February 19, 2014

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Email letters to editor@localmatters.co.nz

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Sign of the times About 20 years ago the “Welcome to Leigh” sign jumped out and hit a car, smashing part of itself. The community asked me to repair it, which I did. To put my mark on it, I added Agatha Matheson, the motherly seagull that sits atop.

Well, she became a target for morons to pinch. The community adopted her as their own and at one stage, after about the sixth theft, young Leighonians spotted some out-oftowners stealing Agatha at 2am. They chased them to Orewa and returned Agatha to me.

Throughout this period the gull family had grown to include a Dad (Harvey) and three littlies — all stolen and remade several times.

Steve at the local garage suggested they be made of steel and bolted on.

This worked and they remained for some time. Then about six years ago Harvey was wrenched from his perch, assumed lost forever.

This Christmas, guess who returned, firmly bolted back? Harvey. Where he’s been those last few years I know not, but he looks well. Agatha’s happy, the community’s happy, and I know Harvey’s happy. So a big thank-you from myself and other Leighonians to whoever returned him. We enjoy the sight of the Matheson birds as we enter our town.

They bring a smile.

The problem is not confined to Leigh. I was asked to make the “Welcome to Snells” sign also, and when it decided to attack a passing car, I was asked to rebuild another, which I did and added some gulls. It took about two weeks for someone to flog them, causing one local to add a sign telling the morons who stole them to stay out of the town and

return “their” seagulls.

Because this showed me the community had taken ownership of the gulls, this Christmas I made new ones and am pleased to see they are still there.

Unfortunately all communities harbour the odd brain-dead members who only seek to destroy what brings a smile to others. But fortunately they are by far the minority.

My thanks go to the good people who do enjoy the little bits of humour, signs, letterboxes etc that I and other craftspeople try to add to our area.

Life’s not all about progress and money.

Neil Devantier (the WoodButcher), Leigh

Bike wise The bagging of NZTA and Auckland Transport by cycling advocates such as Bevan Woodward (MM, Feb 5) requires an alternative view. Why should roading authorities and motorists be made to feel guilty for not funding Rodney roads so as to make them safe for cyclists?

Statements such as “this area is probably the worst in NZ for cyclists” are also more PR emotion than fact.

One can admire Mr Woodward’s passion for cycling, but there are so many Rodney people who would love to have some of their road even sealed. And doing so would return far greater cost/benefit ratios to a lot more ratepayers than costly cycle lanes on roads that were never intended for cyclists.

There are some roads in Rodney that are relatively safe for cycling.

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Mahurangi Matters

February 19, 2014

YOU SAY

However, the Warkworth to Leigh highway is not one of them. It is a busy road primarily used to service the local and wider community. Mr Woodward’s comments on traffic volumes, high speeds and trucks are exaggerated.

Articles such as this are too often without fact and continue to promote cycling and the rights of cyclists above any point of reality, or basic economic and safety issues.

Maurie Hooper, Snells Beach I almost got squashed by a truck on the Matakana bridge on February 11 around 10.30am, while riding a bike.

It’s “Bike Wise” month and I’d just biked past a notice saying “Give Cyclists 1.5m”.

I was on the narrow bridge just past Matakana Primary School, just past a white cross at the roadside.

A subdivision on the other side of the bridge had a wider road than the main road I was on. It had a footpath, too.

Surely developers could help widen the roads their subdivisions join, as well as providing further footpaths and bridges. Their subdivisions are bringing more people to the area.

Your new reporter, George Driver, comes from an area well served with safe cycling options. Central Otago has many cycling and walking trails and they are not on a roadside. The Otago Central Rail Trail is kilometres of safe cycling along an old railway corridor.

Where are our children who learn safe cycling skills actually going to bike?

Lynne Stewart, Warkworth

Snells seawall Several months ago a strong easterly storm washed out an area of the Snells Beach walkway around a drainpipe. It was eventually repaired by our “Great Auckland Council”.

The retaining wall was removed (it did not have resource consent) and

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the bank has been sloped with sand.

It is now easy prey to the first high tide with an easterly direction — a pretty poor job.

I don’t think it was done by local contractors as they would have known the local conditions and not put in a sand slope to wash out.

If the original seawall was put in by the Warkworth Town Board, or the early days of the Rodney District Council (RDC), would it not have been before the Resource Management Act was passed by Parliament?

The whole of that concrete walkway was put in by the Snells Beach Ratepayers Association, with volunteer labour and material costs met by the RDC. We could have fixed the wall ourselves at very little cost to Council and done a better job.

Harry Sutcliffe, Snells Beach

Araparera advice It may be that for its own reasons Auckland Council is either reticent or tardy (or both) in providing details of the outcome from the harvest of the Araparera joint venture trees which began in 2012 (MM, Feb 5).

This should not suggest nor warrant unsubstantiated allegations of mismanagement as stated in the article. I had first-line management oversight of the scheme from its inception in 1984 until 2001 and gave advice to the Council, as invited until 2012.

As standard practice, detailed annual financial and management accounts were kept, reported to the Council and accounted for to its equal partner, the Maori Trustee representing the local landowners.

Several times over those years I was routinely quizzed by Government auditors on various aspects of the joint venture, with no subsequent concerns expressed. Throughout the life of the joint venture the Council, and latterly the Rodney Local Board,

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has been kept fully informed and made key decisions.

Brian Mason says he was also surprised that the Auditor-General’s office was satisfied that the harvesting contractor had been selected through an open tender. I was part of the Council public procurement process for the appointment of the harvest manager.

Just because he can’t find evidence of public tender notice does not mean it didn’t happen. Is assumption the basis for the ongoing allegations by him and some of his colleagues?

I prefer to await the commitment promised by Cr Penny Webster: “that a reasonable audit process will occur and records will be made available”.

Everything comes to he who waits.

Geoff Ward, Snells Beach

Smacking children If you are thinking of voting Conservative in the election later this year because of Colin Craig’s opposition to the so-called “antismacking Bill”, please remember that before the Bill passed into law, a woman beat her son with a horse whip and was discharged without conviction because it was considered that she used “reasonable force”.

All the current law provides for is that an action that, if taken against an adult would be considered an assault, should also apply to the same action taken against a child. If an adult is smacked across the face, that is assault. The law now considers a smack across the face of a child to be assault also, and not open to the escape clause of “reasonable force”.

The police are doing an excellent job of administering the current law, according to a recent article in the NZ Herald. People are not charged with assault when delivering a short, sharp smack to a recalcitrant child.

Let’s keep the law able to prosecute those who assault children.

John Patrick, Warkworth

Pie in the sky Peter Georgetti (MM, Jan 15) asks whether Bob Scott was aware that every truck-and-trailer unit that travelled along the motorway from Johnstone’s Hill to Orewa saved 30 minutes and 53 gear changes.

I must also be stupid, as I did not know that. Only someone with ties to trucking endeavours would know that. And it is irrelevant.

NZ has net international liabilities of $150 billion — about twice our GDP. Our Government must start being prudent.

A Warkworth bypass is about onefifth the length of the 18km proposed motorway and far less than one-fifth the cost. We cannot afford a third highway.

If National were serious about “opening up the north” it could rebuild the train service. It would take at least 30 years to build a motorway to Whangarei, and cost billions, and for what benefit?

We must stop destroying our environment if life is to continue on planet Earth. And less trucks, less pollution, sounds good to me.

Those of us in the Warkworth area need relief from congestion now, not in 10 years.

A bypass will quickly eliminate most of the congestion problems. No piein-the-sky by-and-by.

At a meeting at the home of Bob Scott three to four years ago, the head engineer admitted that NZTA had no idea how to get through the Dome Valley or over the Brynderwyns.

I am sad that Mr Georgetti believes that Mr Scott “should do more than just talk about going back to the UK”.

My belief (and hope) is that if Peter were in Bob’s shoes he would not rest until he found justice.

Warkworth is too valuable to give away to special interest groups.

Joe Anderson, Warkworth

localmatters.co.nz

February 19, 2014

Lucky 13 for Lotto shop Woody’s Winners has cemented its reputation as Rodney’s luckiest Lotto outlet, with its thirteenth first division prize.

Owner Karen Lennon was thrilled to discover that the store sold one of two winning tickets worth $500,000 each in the February 1 draw.

The winner claimed their prize at another store, and Karen says she has no intention of revealing any details about them, so she doesn’t breach their privacy.

But the local gossip is that the newly wealthy winner might live in Warkworth.

Sadly, it was no one on the staff of Mahurangi Matters.

It is the third time Karen and her husband Rob have sold the top prize since they bought the store four years ago.

The same week they also sold a third division prize, and the store has also sold seven second division prizes.

It is neck-in-neck with a store in Whangarei as Northland’s top outlet, and just before Christmas was ranked in the top 60 in New Zealand, out of more than 1200 outlets.

Karen says the store has a loyal

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www.robyneggeyarns.co.nz Karen’s granddaughter, Savarnah Lennon, updates the window display at Woody’s Winners.

following from locals, and from regulars who stop there as they travel through Wellsford.

“It’s an amazing feeling knowing that we have played a part in making one of our customer’s dreams come true,” she says.

Fruitloop mayhem for Matakana Vineyards and orchards in Matakana will take on a festive atmosphere on March 1 when the district again hosts the annual Fruitloop fun run/ramble.

If the weather co-operates, organisers are expecting up to 1000 participants from across Auckland, dressed in wacky costumes. A celebrity guest will be given the tough task of awarding prizes. New to the run this year will be a bike ride designed with families in mind, which will follow a separate 11.5km route to Point Wells.

Wheelchairs and mobility scooters will have the option of a 3km return trip, through a beautiful estate with a private chapel at the halfway point.

The main course is 7km through mostly private property, including a massive mandarin orchard, which is only opened to the public for Fruitloop. There’ll be live music along the way, and stopping for wine tasting and refreshments is encouraged.

“This is a charity event, but it is also about coming together as a community and having some fun,” one of the organisers, Ras Sutherland, says.

Fruitloop is a major fundraiser for the community-led cycleway/walkway project linking Pt Wells, Omaha and Matakana. While the 6km track is nearing completion, the project hit a

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major snag last year when Auckland Transport refused to allow the use of a second-hand bridge to span the last leg of the pathway, across the Matakana River. The issue is still being discussed.

The afternoon festivities start at the Matakana Country Park with judging of the fancy costumes from 2pm to 2.30pm. The gun will be fired on the starting line at 3pm with serious runners being the first ones away.

Other wheels such as skateboards, cycles and standard pushchairs are not allowed and as it is on private property, no pets will be admitted.

The day will wind up with a Fruitloop spit-roast dinner at the Country Park, including prizegiving and live band.

Everyone is invited to the dinner, regardless of whether they participated in the walk.

Several local businesses are joining into the spirit of the day by offering Fruitloop specials. The Black Dog in Matakana is doing Fruitloop muesli, crepes and smoothies and “Fruitloop” is the flavour of the month at Charlies Gelato in Sharps Road, where they’ll be serving a strawberry gelato/raspberry sorbet mix topped with fruitloop jubes.

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February 19, 2014

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Sweetappreciation with Chocolate Brown Send your nominations to editor@localmatters.co.nz

This issue’s recipient of a gift basket of chocolates from Chocolate Brown is Bruce Goodhue of Algies Bay. He was nominated by David Mansfield of Snells Beach, who wrote: On February 7 I had my yacht come ashore, and were it not for the action of Bruce, a stranger to me, the damage could have been immense. Bruce swam out to the yacht, found an anchor in the stern locker and tried to lay it out in deeper water. After he phoned me I joined him.

The Coastguard eventually arrived and once we got back to the beach I realised Bruce had been in soaking wet clothes for twoand-a-half hours. With the stormy conditions it was a wonder he wasn’t suffering from hypothermia.

Know someone who deserves a big “thank you” for their community spirit?

Tell us and they will receive acknowledgement in Mahurangi Matters and an amazing hamper from Chocolate Brown, 6 Mill Lane, Warkworth. Send your nominations to editor@localmatters.co.nz (subject line: Sweet Appreciation) or post to: Sweet Appreciation, Mahurangi Matters, PO Box 701, Warkworth.

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localmatters.co.nz

February 19, 2014

Mahurangi Matters

9

Murals create next generation of artists NAG proposal Two young artists have gained some vital experience, and the Mahurangi region has gained two new pieces of art, thanks to a project run by the Rodney Local Board.

Mahurangi College graduates Grace Newson and Abbey Lyman have painted murals at the Sandspit playground and Warkworth Library with help from professional artists.

The students were selected after a competition was run last year at Mahurangi College where they were Year 13 students. Abbey won the competition to paint a mural in Sandspit, while Grace’s entry made such an impression she was later selected to paint the library mural.

The library mural is based on artwork from Grace’s Year 13 art portfolio and is inspired by her passion for conservation work. The work shows how native birds’ natural environment is being destroyed. She was mentored by professional Auckland artist Adrian Jackman.

Abbey helped paint the library mural, but also had help with the Sandspit toilet block from Auckland airbrush artist Jonathan Grange.

Jonathan has painted murals around the Rodney and North Shore area and says working with an aspiring student was a fantastic experience.

“She’s a great girl and has good patience and vision. I wish I had something like this when I was a kid. I’d love it if it was an ongoing thing,” Jonathon says.

Abbey was given free rein to design

considered

Professional artist Adrian Jackman helped students Abbey Lyman (middle) and Grace Newson paint a mural at Warkworth Library.

the mural, while Jonathan helped with painting and the technical challenges of adapting the design to the large walls.

The painting draws on Maori mythology.

“It’s about the Maori Gods protecting the people of the area as they go through to Kawau Island. I wanted the concept to have significance for the area,” says Abbey.

The commission was a dream come true, she says. “I’ve wanted to be an artist ever since I was little. I’ve always drawn. When I was younger my teacher at school thought I would either be an artist or a soccer player.”

Abbey has given up the soccer and is

The Sandspit toilet block mural.

now enrolled to study visual arts at AUT University.

Grace is going to Victoria University this year to study marine biology and continue her interest in conservation.

A case to separate the Mahurangi district from Auckland Council was put to Local Government Commissioners at a presentation in Snells Beach earlier this month.

Northern Action Group (NAG) chairman Bill Townson, who led the delegation, says resolving what constitutes the “affected area” emerged as the first issue to be addressed.

“They will have to make a ruling shortly as to whether we have to canvas just North Rodney or the whole of Auckland,” he says. “We put up strong arguments for the former.”

Mr Townson says once the “affected area” is identified, the commission will make a decision on whether to assess the NAG proposal and call for alternative proposals. Although the commission has dealt with four other proposals under the new law, they were all amalgamations.

Rodney Councillor Penny Webster says the meeting was an opportunity to refute some of the claims made in the NAG proposal, particularly on how much was being spent by Council in Rodney and the role of the Local Board.

However, NAG has asked that elected members of Auckland Council refrain from commenting until a draft proposal is released for public submissions. Mr Townson says Commissioner Grant Kirby has stepped aside because of a conflict of interest and the same scenario should apply to other Councillors.

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Mahurangi Matters

> BRIEFS

February 19, 2014

Deadline extended Auckland Council has extended the deadline for the public to have a say on whether Mahurangi needs a public pool, and to make suggestions about how the region’s boat ramps could be improved.

Feedback will now close on March 14, to include feedback from a public expo the Rodney Local Board is holding on March 1 at Mahurangi College.

Lifejacket deadline The public has until March 17 to comment on a proposal for a new bylaw that would make it compulsory to wear lifejackets on vessels under 6m. The bylaw would also make it compulsory to carry a communications device and would allow the Harbourmaster to prevent anyone being in charge of a vessel while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs. Info: aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/ haveyoursay

Trolley derby workshop A workshop for people wanting to build a trolley for the Warkworth Trolley Derby will be held on February 23 at the bus bays at Mahurangi College, from 10am. Info: Craig Powell 422 9936. To see a video of the course, visit http://youtu.be/yamZdRiFPIc.

Correction – mural cost The Mathesons Bay mural, which was unveiled in December, was funded by two grants from the Rodney Local Board, not one as reported in our January paper. The total amount of funding received was $7775.

localmatters.co.nz

Limelight beckons for Warkworth dancer A 15-year devotion to dance has paid off for Warkworth teenager Raegen Morrice.

On January 31, the former Mahurangi College student flew to Melbourne where she will spend a year studying at The Space, one of Australia’s leading dance schools.

At the end of the year, she’ll have the option to go on and complete a Diploma in Dance, but she says she hopes she will have secured a place with a professional company by then.

“Australia is where the international producers and choreographers look for new talent so it’s exciting to be taking this step,” she says.

“The course covers a range of dance styles, as well as fitness, nutrition and theatre production, and the guest tutors include internationally recognised choreographer Adam Parsons.”

From small beginnings …

Raegen will study for a year at one of Australia’s top dance schools.

Raegen was selected from hundreds of applicants after submitting a written application and a video, which showcased her dancing skills but also required her to sing.

“I’ve never done anything like that before so I was pretty nervous. I sang Diamonds by Rihanna.”

As far as she knows, she is the only New Zealander to have been accepted by the school this year.

Raegen started dancing as a four-year-old with Beverley Bowen, who ran a school at the Warkworth Town Hall. When Beverley died suddenly of pneumonia, Raegen joined Angela Sharplin’s Soul Movement. She later danced with Dance Dimensions but more recently, has been dancing and teaching parttime at the Talbot Dance Academy, in Morrison Drive, which is run by Carla Talbot. Carla says she’s immensely proud of Raegen’s success.

“She’s worked incredibly hard to get to where she is now and I hope she makes the most of every opportunity which comes her way in Melbourne.”

Raegen is the daughter of Madalene and Alexander Morrice.

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localmatters.co.nz

February 19, 2014

Mahurangi Matters

11

Wellsford’s top cop says goodbye to ‘great career’ She’s small and blonde, but being the boss has never been a problem for Kellie Bissett.

Wellsford’s top cop insists that being in charge of a group of older and more experienced men hasn’t been as challenging as you might think.

“You’ve got to have the right personality. All of the guys were older than me and now I’m their boss. But there’s never been an issue. If you can trust each other and respect each other and have a joke, then it works.”

However, Wellsford police will soon have a new boss, as Kellie is leaving the police after 17 years.

She and her husband Jamie, who is a policeman at Orewa, have decided that after years of juggling family life with shift work, that it is time to find a career where they have more family time.

Kellie has been at Wellsford for nearly five years after working in Auckland for 12 years, eight of which were spent with the criminal investigation branch.

One of the highlights of her career was being involved in the investigation of the triple murder at the Mt Wellington-Panmure RSA in 2001.

The investigation ended in the conviction of William Dwane Bell who is currently serving New Zealand’s longest prison term for the murders — 30 years with no parole. “I worked 17 days on the scene examination, often working 20-hour days.”

She says she copes well with stressful situations that would leave other people traumatised.

Wellsford Sergeant in Charge Kellie Bissett spent 17 days involved in the crime scene investigation of the triple murder at the Mt Wellington-Panmure RSA in 2001.

“We see tragedies on a regular basis that stick with other people for a lifetime. You have to be able to cope with that; it’s part of the job,” she says.

Domestic violence, drug crime and traffic-related crime make up the majority of the work in Wellsford. But the isolation of the area, and the amount of traffic on SH1, makes the work quite different, she says.

“It’s more cannabis country and meth cooking country up here. It’s more isolated so there are fewer eyes on what people are doing.”

Gang-related crime has also been an ongoing focus in the region.

But the biggest difference between policing Auckland and Wellsford is that there’s no back-up when resources are stretched, or when things go wrong, she says.

“There’s often just one person working and it’s a large area to cover. We could have twice as many staff and we would still be busy. But the staff out here are really invested in the work.”

The staff are part of the community and work hard to develop good

relationships, she says.

“It’s been an awesome time. The job wouldn’t be what it is without having great people to work with. There are great people at the station here with great experience and they make the job in the end. It’s been a great career.”

But now she is looking forward to spending more time with her 9-yearold daughter. “She’s a fantastic little thing: really sporty, really bright. But she’s about to head into those difficult years and it would be great to have more time as a family.”

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Mahurangi Matters

February 19, 2014

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12

Rodney in the spotlight

localmatters.co.nz

Tossi

Sue Crawshay, TOSSI Committee Member www.tossi.org.nz

Campers help at Tawharanui

Come talk to us about your area.

Rodney Local Board want to talk with you about our local board plan, so together we can set objectives for the next three years and into the future.

It is important the local board plan reflects our community’s needs and wishes. We want to know what is important to you, what services you think we should provide and what projects we should focus on.

There are lots of ways for you to get involved. Come along to our fun community expo, fill in the online survey or join us on Facebook.

Rodney in the spotlight expo

Venue

10am-4pm, Saturday 1 March

Mahurangi College Hall, Warkworth

Have your say to help create the world’s most liveable city. www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/haveyoursay rodneylocalboard@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz www.facebook.com/rodneylocalboard Rodney Local Board, 50 Centreway Road, Orewa For more information, phone 09 301 0101

One of the major projects for Tossi at the Tawharanui Open Sanctuary is the revegetation programme where we aim to plant at least 2ha of previously grazed pasture with colonising native plants, particularly manuka, flax, cabbage tree, mahoe and coprosma. Plants are placed approximately one-and-a-half metres apart in order to discourage weed infestation. Readers may know that planting days are on the first Sunday of June, July and August. These days have been well attended by members of the local community and we usually have a total of more than 500 volunteers attending.

In order to have these public planting days, we need a supply of trees — around 20,000 in total. For a number of years Tossi has raised our own trees, with our nursery having produced close to 150,000 trees to date. Most of the nursery work has been done by Tossi volunteers, from seed collection, to germination and potting up seedlings. The nursery group meets on a weekly basis for three to four months over the spring and summer months. However, the task of producing 20,000 trees a year is a little daunting and the group is grateful for any outside help. Fortunately one group that is always willing to help is close at hand — the campers at Tawharanui. These campers not only enjoy the experience of camping at Tawharanui but many also appear to want to give something back to the park.

We have therefore run a number of nursery sessions during the peak January period. This year these sessions have proven to be very popular and we have had 60 to 70 volunteers from the campground at a single session. Although campers are generally in a relaxed frame of mind, there are still some who appear to have a competitive edge. One group was told that the previous week’s group had set a new record of over 1500 plants potted up. Of course that week’s session could not finish until a new record was set, and by the end of the morning over 1800 plants had been potted up. Such has been the enthusiasm that half of our year’s total — over 10,000 plants — have been potted up over January.

Many of those attending the campers’ sessions have been children and hopefully many will be able to return to Tawharanui in future years and be able to admire the growth of trees that they have helped to produce.

Save the date: the next Tossi Sunday in the Park will be Sunday March 2. Meet at the woolshed for a 9.15am start. Work activities will be followed by free barbecue lunch at the woolshed.

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TAKE A KID FISHING DAY Sunday, 23rd March 2014 All boats leaving Sandspit Wharf at 11.30am and returning around 2.30pm for giveaways, quick fire raffles and prizegiving. $1 QUICK FIRE RAFFLES Registration forms available from:

Hunting & Fishing Warkworth Snells Beach Dive & Fishing or online at takeakidfishingwarkworth@gmail.com Participants need to bring their own fishing gear, appropriate clothing and lifejackets (if possible). Bait will be supplied.

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SUPPORTED BY MAHURANGI MATTERS

localmatters.co.nz

February 19, 2014

Mahurangi Matters

AC T LO C AL > ThinkGlobal

13

Heaps of events planned for Ecofest Take a kid fishing Communities in the Mahurangi area are being invited to walk, cycle, plant, listen, enjoy, participate and learn about environmental projects and issues during a month-long Ecofest, which starts on March 15.

The event, which started on the North Shore last year, will this year showcase environmental projects and events from the Harbour Bridge north to Matakana.

Kaipatiki Project Environment Centre marketing coordinator Lisa Ridehalgh says the aim is to encourage people to participate in a range of events, in the hope that they might adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.

Matakana permaculturalist Trish Allen has coordinated the local programme, which includes a mini film festival at Matakana Cinemas, a trek to the summit of Mt Tamahunga, a clothes swap at the Matakana Hall, a talk on solar power and a kiwi listening night at Tawharanui.

She says the programme is internationally diverse in the hope of encouraging “lots of participation”.

“Many of the events will be led by local experts who are passionate about their projects,” Trish says.

“As I was putting the programme together, I was struck by how amazingly rich and active our communities are.”

The local programme will start with the opportunity to tour the Sculptural Habitat garden at the Protea Patch, on Matakana Road, where storm-damaged trees have been transformed into art pieces.

For those who don’t mind getting their hands dirty,

There will be fun for all the family at the Mahurangi Family Tryathlon, which will be held at Snells Beach on Sunday March 23, from 10am, as part of Ecofest.

there will be opportunities to join two weed working bees at Kowhai Park in Warkworth or plant trees on the Matakana Omaha cycleway/walkway.

The film festival will include weekly screening of eco films such as The Last Ocean and Our Green Roadie.

A full list of events is available at ecofest.org.nz Info: Trish Allen at trishallen@xtra.co.nz or 422 9422 or 021 203 4510.

The Warkworth Lions are hoping for sunny weather for this year’s Take a Kid Fishing family fun day.

Last year’s event was deferred because of rain, but fingers are crossed that Sunday March 23 will prove to be ideal for heading out on the water.

Vice president Angela Taylor says the event gets more popular each year, with more than 100 children and their carers expected to turn up to Sandspit Wharf by 11am.

Because of the huge demand, it is vital to register for the event before March 20, as numbers are limited, she says.

Children must be under 12 years old to take part, and under 5s must bring their own lifejackets.

Boats will return to the wharf around 2pm for prizegiving at the Sandspit Yacht Club at 3.30pm.

There will be prizes for heaviest fish, secondheaviest fish, most unusual fish and longest fish, as well as plenty of spot prizes. There will also be raffles and a sausage sizzle.

The event is supported by Sanford Seafoods, as well as dozens of local sponsors, including Leigh Fisheries, which supplies all the bait and ice for each boat.

If the weather happens to be bad — again — the event will be deferred to April 6.

Info: Entry forms are available from Hunting & Fishing or Snells Beach Fish & Dive, or from takeakidfishingwarkworth@gmail.com.

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Mahurangi Matters

February 19, 2014

localmatters.co.nz

Warkworth teen wins award

Jamie Bray (left) admits her shaved head feels strange, after years of having hair halfway down her back.

Shaved heads raise $5000 Around 130 people turned up at the Salty Dog in Snells Beach on February 2 to watch their friends and family have their heads shaved for charity.

The event, named “Shave for Samantha”, was organised by Warkworth university student Jamie Bray, who came up with the idea after her close friend Samantha Wakelin, from Point Wells, was diagnosed with lymphoma. The pair are former students of Mahurangi College.

Nine people agreed to lose their hair to raise money for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ. The youngest participant was just five years old.

Jamie is still getting used to her bald head — and her stepfather’s new look. Her stepfather, Gary Heaven, shaved off his moustache, which he has had since he was 15.

The event, which included a raffle and auction, raised $5000. “It just kept growing,” says Jamie. “It was really awesome.”

Bridgette Pride (right) with the prize she was awarded from New Zealand Blue Light.

Warkworth teenager Bridgette Pride is living up to her surname, winning an award for “overall top student” at a recent camp for teenagers from throughout the upper North Island.

The week-long camp, held at the New Zealand Defence Force base in Hobsonville earlier this month, was organised by NZ Blue Light, a community policing programme that aims to reduce youth crime and build stronger communities.

Blue Light life skills co-ordinator Valerie Tiatia Seath says Bridgette beat a strong group of young people to win the

award, by showing maturity, intuition, teamwork and leadership skills.

The camps are intended to give 14- to 17-year-olds life skills and leadership training, and up to 19 courses are held each year in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. They are funded by the Lion Foundation and run in partnership with the NZ Police and NZ Defence Force.

Info: bluelight.co.nz or call (09) 475 9301 to request a brochure about the camps, or visit facebook.com/ nzbluelight

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February 19, 2014

rodney realestate

Mahurangi Matters

15

Aucklanders boost Mahurangi property market The Mahurangi property market is picking up, as Aucklanders look further afield to get more value for their money.

The housing market took a dive following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008, but in the past 12 months houses and sections have begun to move again and prices are increasing.

Staff at Bayleys’ Warkworth branch say the majority of home buyers in the area are Aucklanders cashing in on high prices in Auckland, and finding relatively affordable homes in Mahurangi.

Bayleys consultants Ben and Nola Kloppers say 80 per cent of business is coming from Auckland.

“There’s been a ripple effect out of Auckland. There’s been an increase in open homes, deals done, and multiple offers on properties, which hasn’t happened for six years,” Ben says.

There are still homes available in the mid-$300,000 bracket in areas such as Snells Beach and Warkworth, which is rare in Auckland, Ben says.

But demand in Warkworth is also pushing up prices, he says. “If you find anything in Warkworth under $500,000, it’s gone really quickly.”

The lifestyle block market, which was severely hit by the GFC with prices

Bayleys agents Nola and Ben Kloppers and Shailenne Parkes say Point Wells is particularly popular with only one section unsold out of a 20-lot development.

dropping by 25 to 30 per cent, is also just starting to recover, Ben says.

Omaha has been an exception to the trend and has been selling reasonably well throughout the GFC, he says.

It is becoming increasingly common for people to move to Mahurangi and work one or two days from home, while also keeping an apartment in Auckland, he says.

But Ben says most of the home buyers tend to be young families buying their

second home, and people buying houses ahead of their retirement.

“We get more of the 50-plus market selling up in Auckland, making the most of the good market there, and moving north.”

Home loan restrictions enforced by the Reserve Bank haven’t had much of an impact on this demographic, Ben says. New lending restrictions mean that no more than 10 per cent of a bank’s loans can go to borrowers who

have less than a 20 per cent deposit.

However, new homes have been exempted from the restriction. Ian Bensley of Golden Homes North Shore says this has had an impact in the lower end of the construction market.

People who have saved $50,000, for example, are able to build a new $500,000 home in Warkworth, he says, which is encouraging a demand for new subdivisions.

Bayleys agent Shailenne Parkes says 11 of the 13 presale sites available in stage two of the Tamahunga subdivision in Matakana have sold in just a matter of weeks. Nine of those buyers were Aucklanders.

The Jade River subdivision in Warkworth is also nearly completely sold with just nine sections left from over 100 sections.

A subdivision at Point Wells, which came on the market in 2012 with 20 sections, has only one section unsold.

Steve Haycock of Steve Haycock Construction says the construction industry is really feeling the pick-up in demand.

“Activity is really stepping up in the last year or so. Houses are going up everywhere,” Steve says.

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Mahurangi Matters

February 19, 2014

real estateFeature feature

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February 19, 2014

Mahurangi Matters

17

Historic house moves north without a hitch Millie Beddoe-Sandstrom is only 2, but she already knows a fair bit about moving house.

“She thinks it’s completely normal that you put it on a truck and bring it with you,” laughs her mother, Vanessa.

For Vanessa, however, it was a strange feeling indeed to see their 105-year-old villa cut in two and carted very slowly up SH16 from Auckland earlier this month.

“I actually caught up with it in Dairy Flat when it was on its way, and that was about 4 o’clock in the morning, but there were no problems,” she says.

The house survived the move with just one cracked window, and that was only because a tree branch got in the way. “The movers did a fantastic job,” says Vanessa. “I don’t know how they do it.”

She admits she was more nervous about the protestors who showed up to express their anger that the house was leaving its original neighbourhood in Mt Eden.

The 200sqm home, which was built for Sir Edmund Hillary’s maternal grandmother, Harriet Clark, became national news last year when an investor paid $2.6 million for the property, and revealed he wanted to get rid of the house so he could develop the land.

Because the street was not regarded as a heritage area in Auckland Council records, there was nothing Council staff could do.

“I would be probably be upset, too, in that situation, but it’s about where you direct that anger,” says Vanessa. “We weren’t the ones who made the decision to move it. We just bought it from the developer.”

The house, which was named “Whakahara” by Harriet after the town where she once lived, now sits on a prime site on South Wilson Road, and has sweeping views across Warkworth.

Vanessa, her economist husband Klaes, and their

Two-year-old Millie has scored the best bedroom in the house, according to her mother, Vanessa. “She got the front room, with the best views.”

three children have already moved in, even though the house is still in a fairly basic state.

“The plan is to use just a few rooms at first, while we get it all redecorated,” she says.

They have already stripped the “shocking” wallpaper, and plan to make some minor alterations. But they will definitely be keeping the home’s finer features, such as its intricate pressed tin ceilings.

The family has been renting in Mahurangi for the past three years, after selling their previous home in Auckland. They decided to make the move after

frequent weekend trips.

Vanessa had her eye on the Wilson Road site for some time, after travelling past it each day. “I always used to admire the view, and we had friends next door.”

Even the house itself is not entirely new to the family.

Vanessa’s uncle was best friends with its previous owner, and she remembers visiting the house as a young girl.

“It’s still hard to believe it’s finally all happened,” she says. “But we’re really excited about giving it a new life.”

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Mahurangi Matters

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Mahurangi Matters

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0800 500 123 www.mikepero.com Interest in environmentally friendly building techniques is growing in the Mahurangi region.

A new eco-subdivision is set to hit the market in Matakana, and a local business is hoping to cash in on growing interest in solar power.

Ebode sustainable homes sales manager David Wildish says the 33lot eco-friendly subdivision Matakana Green will be coming up for sale within weeks.

Located at 224 Matakana Valley Road, the development is a partnership between Ebode sustainable homes and N.V Investment Group. It claims to be the only development in New Zealand with a minimum Homestar rating of seven stars. The average new house has a four or five-star rating.

Changes to council zoning of the area have delayed the project, but it is hoped resource consent will be granted shortly, David says.

Because of the delays, marketing the project hasn’t started yet, but there has already been a lot of interest, he says.

Ebode is set to build another half dozen eco-homes in the Mahurangi region in the next year as the economy recovers.

The price of installing solar power has reduced dramatically recently, so building an eco-home has become cheaper, David says.

“Four years ago a 1.5 kilowatt system cost $20,000. Today a 3 kilowatt system costs $10,000.”

However a Warkworth business owner says more can be done to make solar power more affordable.

Solar Power Alternatives owner Chad Ranum started his business last year after being involved in the solar industry in Australia for three years.

“We are slowly taking on board renewable energy ideas. But it would be helpful if the Government got on

board like in other countries,” Chad says.

Australia has subsidies for solar electricity production which knocks about $1000 off the price of installing a solar system, he says.

New Zealand used to offer subsidies for solar hot water, but the subsidy has since been scrapped and two Government reports have questioned whether the technology is sufficiently reliable to be cost-effective.

Chad has been developing his own solar system to cut down on the price and reduce the difficulty installing systems.

“After being involved with other systems I thought ‘I can build something a lot cheaper than that’.

I’ve been making it from stuff you can buy at your local hardware store.”

He is still working through a prototype of his design, but hopes to be finished in a month’s time. It will be ideal for people looking to provide power to a garage or shed without having to connect mains power, he says.

Steve Haycock of Steve Haycock Construction says a lot more people are becoming aware of solar power, and the technology has improved. He believes solar panels will become standard in homes in the next five years.

“A few years ago double glazing was seen as an optional thing. Now it’s standard. I think the same thing will happen with solar power and other eco-initiatives in a few years’ time,” Steve says.

Development in LED lighting in the past couple of years also looks promising for lowering power usage, he says. LEDs use far less power than conventional lighting so you can run lighting off a much smaller set of solar panelling. The lights have become softer and more pleasing on the eye, while prices have come down, he says.

A O SS N EE TV N

David Wildish says the cost of installing solar power has halved in the last four years.

Andrew Steens 021 968 405 (09) 422 7067 Omaha, Matakana, Point Wells, Leigh Valerie Hunter 027 289 9532 Mahurangi East, Algies Bay

Angela Wain 027 493 6800 (09) 422 7067 Omaha, Matakana, Point Wells, Leigh 027 621 3765 09 425 7131 Kaipara Flats, Warkworth

Debra Fokkema 021 168 1821 (09) 423 9577 Wellsford, Port Albert, Pakiri

Carol Kaye 021 474 232 Matakana, Rainbows End, Takatu.

Ian Bateman 027 599 9077 Puhoi, Mahurangi West

Sally Brown 021 068 3721 Puhoi, Mahurangi West

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20

Mahurangi Matters

real estateFeature feature

February 19, 2014

Massive Brethren church underway in Warkworth Construction of what will be Warkworth’s largest meeting place has started on the corner of Mason Heights and Woodcocks Road.

The Mason Heights Gospel Hall Trust, run by five local trustees, is building the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church with tiered seating for several hundred people. There will also be terraced carparking for 200 vehicles and extensive landscaping.

The trust hopes to have earthworks, the building platform and retaining walls completed by April this year with a completion date for the entire project set down for 2016. Significant volunteer input is expected for the project.

The first Plymouth Brethren families moved to Warkworth in late 2003 and there are now 37 Brethren households spread throughout the town. Warkworth members operate nine businesses between Albany and Wellsford.

Church elder Barry Pinker says the new building has been designed to be as unintrusive as possible.

“It’s important to us that we don’t inconvenience our neighbours,” he says.

The building will comprise a round central auditorium and large foyer. It will be used for communion, Sunday preachings, prayer meetings and Bible discussion groups. Air-conditioning is a special feature as it won’t have windows.

The church presently meets in a

An artist’s impression of how the building may eventually look.

A stormwater pit at the foot of the property will eventually be covered over for carparking.

hall in Golf Road, Warkworth, which it purchased in 2006.

The trust also hopes to get the go-

ahead for a small subdivision on an adjoining 3.5 hectares, which was declined by Rodney District Council

in 2010 on the grounds that it would have an adverse effect on the rural character of the area.

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Feature real estate feature

February 19, 2014

Mahurangi Matters

21

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Real estate agents furious over Trade Me fee hike Local real estate agents are not planning to boycott Trade Me, despite a decision by the popular website to hike its fees for property listings.

Most say they will continue to offer ads on Trade Me to vendors, although some are planning to pass on new charges of almost $200.

But some believe the industry’s own listings site, realestate.co.nz, could eventually overtake Trade Me as NZ’s most popular property site if boycotts do go ahead.

The stoush has led to threats of legal action, and has already prompted Trade Me to ramp up its own marketing.

Ray White director Ken Bogue says his agency will continue to offer vendors free listings on Trade Me “for the foreseeable future”. But he believes Trade Me has made a mistake, and could eventually backtrack.

“I guess it’s a commercial decision that Trade Me have made. But I’m not sure it’s the best one.”

Ken says New Zealand is lucky that it has competition for online listings.

Across the Tasman, Australians pay “a fortune” for online ads because there is only one major player, he says.

Trade Me is still the biggest here, but that could change if some agencies go ahead with a boycott, he says. “Eyes will follow where the most properties are advertised.”

Local Mike Pero owner Andrew Steens says his firm’s head office has recommended agencies pass on the extra costs. “For our local area though, we are not going to bother. We will do it as a normal free website listing, along with all our other listings.”

Andrew says his firm still gets most of its enquiries through Trade Me. “We were disappointed to see it come in because it certainly does change things. To be quite honest we will probably reduce the amount of additional marketing we do on Trade Me, but the net effect on our costs is that it will probably balance out.

So it just means that there’s less free marketing available for clients to use.”

Local Bayleys owner Mark Macky says his agents will be passing on the new Trade Me fees.

“They’re putting their prices through the roof, which is a shame, and I think it’s basically just greedy.”

But Mark doubts agencies will go ahead with a boycott. “I think it’s crazy. We’re still talking to vendors about Trade Me all the time. But we also need to bear in mind that Trade Me is just one of many websites, and websites are just one of many ways to find buyers for a property. It’s not the be-all and end-all.”

He says the stoush will be a chance for realestate.co.nz to prove its worth “or not”.

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Grant Neill Architects has joined with award winning architects Pacific Environments NZ Ltd. Our Warkworth office is now open at 16 Mill Lane.

Make a time to meet us there, or at your site, for a free no obligation first meeting.

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22

Mahurangi Matters

Local Life

February 19, 2014

> LocalLife

HEALTH • BEAUT Y • FA M ILY • LEI S URE

Quiz night planned to help Parkinson’s disease It took a while before Maureen Lupton realised something was wrong with her right foot. Then friends noticed she wasn’t swinging her right arm when she walked.

“Everybody thought I’d had a ministroke, and I knew I hadn’t,” she recalls.

When her GP put her on Sinemet, a drug that boosts dopamine in the brain, her co-ordination dramatically improved. It was a strong sign that she had Parkinson’s disease.

“I was officially diagnosed last year, but I reckon I’ve probably had the symptoms for three years,” she says.

“It just crept up on me.”

For Gill Le Serve, it was a slight tremor that alerted her to the fact that something wasn’t quite right. “I was diagnosed in 2008. It started with my thumb and has gradually progressed to my right hand and arm but, touch wood, I am one of the lucky ones because that’s the only major symptom I have.”

The pair met through a local support group for people with Parkinson’s, and have become firm friends.

They are both relatively new to Mahurangi — Gill emigrated from England about a year ago, and Maureen moved up from Auckland.

Gill Le Serve (left) and Maureen Lupton are grateful to businesses such as The Pottery Café, and Morris & James, for donating prizes for their quiz night.

But they are already well entrenched in their local communities, and are jointly organising a quiz night next month to raise money for Parkinson’s NZ. The quiz night was Gill’s idea, but she admits to being a novice fundraiser, and has been blown away by the generosity she has encountered. “I thought we’d have to pound the pavement for ages for prizes, but we’ve had such a fantastic response that we’ve decided to hold a raffle and an

auction as well.”

The event will be held at the Omaha Beach Golf Club on March 6, at 7pm.

Tickets are $10 each, and items up for grabs will include a return train trip to Wellington for two people, a trip in a Ferrari, a voucher for the InterIslander, and a two-hour paddleboard tour for a family of four. There are also meal vouchers, book vouchers, wine, pottery and much more.

While Parkinson’s New Zealand

appreciates the fundraising, it is even more grateful the pair are raising awareness of the disease.

“We’ve been very pleasantly surprised and very grateful for people’s generosity because Parkinson’s isn’t seen as a sexy thing,” says Gill.

Actor Michael J Fox and Auckland Councillor and athlete John Walker both have Parkinson’s, but Maureen stresses that symptoms vary greatly, and not everyone has a tremor. One of the symptoms she finds most difficult is clinical depression, but this is not necessarily common.

Both are encouraged by the progress scientists are making in understanding the disease, which gradually worsens as nerve cells in the brain die. The average age for diagnosis is 59 but it can be as young as 18.

Around 1 in 500 people has the condition but research is improving “in leaps and bounds”, says Maureen. “I used to work in cardiology in a big way, and NZ has always been at the forefront of cardiology. But my neurologist is very keen to say that neurology is the new cardiology. That’s the one that’s moving forward now.”

Info: Maureen 422 9121 or 021 412 905; Gill 425 6213 or 027 940 7892.

SummerSet fallS – love the life!

Great people make a great retirement village.

Nowhere is that truer than at Summerset Falls.

We have a warm and welcoming community where the greetings are friendly and the smiles are genuine. We’re here to enjoy life – whether it’s the organised activities or just getting together for a cup of tea and a chat.

There are so many things to do here – but it’s always up to you which activities you choose to enjoy.

For more information about all the choices we can offer you, please call Steven Garner on 09 425 1202. We’re at 31 Mansel Drive.

Final release of villas Make an appointment to view the plans for these lovely homes with two bedrooms, study and garage.

Local Life

February 19, 2014

Mahurangi Matters

S E E CE FR VI R

SE

ARE YOU PREGNANT?

23

Our ur experienced midwives will care for you from conception to 6 weeks after the birth of your baby. We work from Whangaparaoa to Maungaturoto Coast to Coast.

The Rodney region is the third busiest in NZ for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

Rescue helicopter praised for ‘fantastic’ response Trevor England had no reason to think that December 4 last year would be different to any other workday.

He was walking across the forecourt of the Caltex service station in Wellsford to pay for some petrol when he suddenly collapsed. The 67-year-old had suffered a massive heart attack.

His wife Pam, who was at her job in West Auckland, took a call from her son that the Westpac Rescue Helicopter was on its way. In a panic, she headed to the hospital, arriving about the same time as Trevor.

“When I left for work he was absolutely fine,” she says. “Neither I nor our family ever thought anything like this would ever happen. Trevor is a very fit and healthy man. It was just so unexpected.”

Doctors were initially uncertain what the outcome would be. But Trevor had triple heart bypass surgery and one month on, is feeling great. Doctors say he has recovered so well because of the speed of his rescue and because he was so fit.

Pam is particularly grateful that Caltex staff acted so quickly to get help.

“The fire, ambulance, and then the Westpac helicopter all turned up to help Trevor.”

Intensive care flight paramedic Russell

Clarke was working on the helicopter that day and communicated with Pam while she made her way to hospital.

“He was so fantastic,” she says. “He kept advising me what was happening to Trevor and was just so reassuring.”

Trevor doesn’t remember anything of the incident, or the first few days in hospital, but knows he is lucky to be alive. “I never thought it would happen to me,” he says. “I had no signs or symptoms before it hit me.

On paper, I shouldn’t really be here.”

The couple has already made a donation to the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter and they are telling all their friends and family to as well.

“The community involvement we had is incredible,” says Pam. “Without all of them Trevor would not be here today and people need to realise what wonderful services we have, particularly the helicopter.”

Trevor is one of 89 rescues performed out of the Mahurangi/Hibiscus Coast area last year — a 38 percent increase in missions compared to 2012.

In the past fortnight, the helicopter has made at least two trips to Mahurangi, including one for someone with serious heart problems in the Dome Valley, and another to rescue a man in Tapora who was crushed by hay bales.

$50,000 in prizes up for grabs The Leigh Family Fishing Contest is a crucial fundraising event for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

This year’s event is on March 8 and there are some fantastic prizes up for grabs, worth a total of $50,000.

Surtees has again donated a 4.8m Workmate boat, which will be powered by a 60hp four-stroke Yamaha, as the prize for the adult average weight snapper. Wharehine Contractors is sponsoring the kids’ competition.

Tickets are available from Lynn &

Keith at the Leigh Fishing Lodge on 422-6780, or visit Hunting & Fishing in Warkworth. You can also register online at leighfamilyfishing. co.nz If you cannot make the event but would like to help towards funding the helicopters, text ‘chopper’ to 5339 to make a $3 donation.

The event raised $40,000 last year and the trust says it is grateful for every cent.

Sally Wilson 09 425 8127 0274 977 745

Kathy Carter-Lee 09 425 6749 021 425 115

Sue Wynyard 09 425 8912 0274 934 491

Lydia Miller 09 425 7555 027 555 1629

Nicky Snedden 09 425 8249 021 662 393

Rebecca Hay 09 425 9805 027 453 6992

Louise McLaughlin 09 422 3750 027 242 8830 Photo, left-right, Sally Wilson, Sue Wynyard, Kathy Carter-Lee, Lydia Miller, Rebecca Hay, Louise McLaughlin, and Nicky Snedden.

Contact one of the midwives or the Warkworth Birthing Centre

09 425 8201 • www.warkworthbirthcentre.co.nz

Kowhai Surgery would like to welcome aboard their newest doctor, Dr Susanne Krueger.

Some of you will have already met Susanne - a local girl who still lives in the area and attended Mahurangi College.

We are delighted to have Susanne back with us now as a partner replacing Dr Shanali who is taking a break from full time General Practice.

Shanali will still be a familiar face at Kowhai Surgery as she will be filling in for our regular doctors when they are on leave.

Dr Susanne Krueger’s Bio: “I was born in Germany but moved to New Zealand aged four and grew up in Warkworth. I qualified in 2009 from the University of Auckland and then moved up to Whangarei where I worked for a couple of years at Whangarei Base Hospital.

I took some time off to get married and travel around Europe for a few months before starting my General Practice training at the end of 2012, during which I worked at Kowhai Surgery and Wellsford Medical Centre (Coast to Coast) for two half-year placements.

I enjoy the variety that General Practice brings and the opportunity to have an ongoing relationship with patients.

Outside of work I like horse riding, gardening and enjoying the outdoors that this great area has to offer.”

10 Percy Street, Warkworth P.O. Box 285, Warkworth Hours: 8am-5pm Weekdays Late night: Tuesday to 8pm

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p 425 7358 f 425 9932

24

Mahurangi Matters

February 19, 2014

Gardening

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Good weather for herbs & hibiscus

Wellbeing for the Body & Mind Madhu Chandra • Neuromuscular Therapist (BHS, Dip. CNMT) 25 Lilburn Street, Warkworth • Ph: 021 418 068 email: mchandra@slingshot.co.nz www.naturaltherapypages.co.nz/therapist/3612

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In late summer, battling “the dries” can become a gardener’s greatest challenge.

Water-stressed plants suffer cell collapse which may permanently disable their roots, reducing vigour and disease tolerance.

Water conservation is also an issue of increasing concern, and using less of it also saves time and money in the garden. With commonsense and forward planning, the garden need not be parched and lifeless just when we want to enjoy being outdoors. The best way to prevent moisture escaping is to mulch. Easier weed control is a bonus. Pebbles, shell and stones make a decorative finish, and work well with heat-loving succulents. They don’t enrich the organic content of the soil but they do prevent water loss. On the downside, pebble/shell mulches can be difficult to keep clean when there’s lots of leaf litter about, and if next to lawns, stray pebbles may be a hazard at mowing time.

Organic mulches such as bark, woodchip and compost improve soil structure (and moisture-holding ability) as they break down. However, because they break down they need to be replenished once or twice a year.

February is a hot and humid month and can bring with it the fungal disease powdery mildew. This can attack all sorts of plants, from pumpkins and zucchini to hydrangeas, roses and petunias. Leaves look like they’re dusted with powder.

Better air circulation is one solution, but in our area we do need to spray. Remove any badly affected veggies because it’s probably too late for them, and clear away any debris around the area to avoid the disease spreading. Any fungal spray at two-weekly intervals should keep it at bay, or for an organic control try mixing 1 dessertspoon of baking soda to a litre of water.

Roses need extra special attention this month with this high humidity. Keep up a regular spray programme fortnightly, alternating with Yates Bravo and Shield. Keep dead-heading spent flowers and fertilise with rose fertiliser or a side dressing of sheep pellets.

Hibiscus is one plant that flourishes in this weather. It relishes the warm tropical conditions and in return provides lush foliage with an abundance of vibrant flowers, from soft pinks through to hot orange and red hues.

Summer is when herbs are at their most bountiful and there is no excuse for not being able to grow them. They will grow in pots, hanging baskets, or in the flower or vegetable garden. Thyme, oregano and marjoram all make amazing groundcovers.

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Local Life

February 19, 2014

Mahurangi Matters

25

History

Lyn Johnston, Albertland Museum www.albertland.co.nz

Food, not-so-glorious food Marcus Wilkins was born in 1854 in a little village just outside Coventry.

When he was two, his father moved into the city and, with his father and two brothers, carried on a large building business. At that time Coventry was booming with the silk and ribbon trade.

However, about 1860 fashion changed.

Ladies began wearing feathers instead of ribbons, which caused a terrible slump in the Coventry silk industry.

This also meant no new factories or other buildings were needed.

There was a good deal of talk at that time of emigration to the colonies and when Mr W R Brame came to Coventry lecturing on New Zealand he found a field ripe for his harvest. Marcus’ parents, with several other families, decided to join the Non-Conformist Party. In his memoirs, Marcus remembered the tug boat towing their ship, the Hanover, down the river to Gravesend where she anchored for two or three days until being towed out to the English Channel. He was eight years old. After that it was a blank until they got over their seasickness.

When their appetites returned there were bitter complaints of the quality and scarcity of the rations supplied.

Marcus commented: “People who travel nowadays have no conception

of the conditions endured by the emigrants of 70 years ago.” Rations were doled out once a week, in a raw state. The beef was fearful stuff, the pork was better but there was very little of it. Small amounts of preserved meat and soup and bouillon were served out.

The flour allowance was minimal.

There were biscuits so hard noone could bite them. Some of the passengers pounded them in a pestle and mortar, while some made coarse graters and grated them. Mixed with a little flour they made bread. Some soaked them and made puddings, but all the time they had a bitter taste.

Preserved potatoes were supplied, and coffee beans were served green and had to be roasted and ground. Marcus’ people had a coffee mill that was in great demand.

A little oatmeal or rice would have been a great boon, but could only be had by buying from the purser. An allowance of fresh water was served out each morning for drinking, but a share had to go to the galley for their tea and coffee. Seawater was used wherever possible for cooking.

There were two galleys – one for the captain and crew, and the other for the passengers. There were two men in each galley, and you can just imagine

U Beauty cial February Spe

two men cooking for over 300 passengers. If anyone was particular, they had to bribe the captain’s cook to do little things for them.

Their food was carried up to their cook. Passengers had to attend at noon when their meal or puddings were hooked out of the boilers and thrown into a trough. Each parcel had a wooden label tied to it and the cook called the name. Everyone had to wait their turn to use the ovens.

Besides carrying sheep for mutton,

the ship carried two cows that were supposed to be for the young children.

But the captain’s table had the first pull. Marcus’ mother had one child under eight months and one who was two years old, but she got very little of the milk.

As Marcus wrote: “That will give anyone a little idea of the feeding of emigrants in those days.”

The Wilkins family was among those who took up their land at Port Albert, but that’s another story.

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Mahurangi Matters

26

Local Life

February 19, 2014

Homebuilders Maria Collins, Help Desk Advocate www.homebuildersfs.org

Checking your entitlements

Spark their imagination You’ll notice something different about your local AKA kindy... a new look to capture the magic and excitement of an authentic kindergarten experience.

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Christmas and New Year are now over and summer is in full swing. As it is the beginning of a new year, it may be a good time to check your welfare entitlements, whether you are on a benefit or not. Homebuilders Family Support Services advocacy can help you check that you are receiving your full and correct entitlements on a Work and Income benefit, or if you are on a low income, for example in part-time work or on a low wage.

We can check that you are receiving the Accommodation Supplement, especially if you have recently moved and your rent has changed or you have a border. We often find that people on low incomes and who are not on a benefit miss out on this extra support. If you are applying for the Accommodation Supplement for a mortgage, your mortgage repayments, rates, mortgage protection insurance, house insurance (not contents), and house maintenance on a weekly basis, can all be included in the formula to access what you may be entitled to receive. The Accommodation Supplement is also available to people who are not on a benefit, but on a low income.

Work and Income use a formula to work out how much each person may be able to receive based on what their accommodations costs are, how much they earn before tax, how many people live in the property and where they live in the country.

We can also check whether you or any of your children are entitled to receive a Disability Allowance. The Disability Allowance is often payable if you have ongoing medical costs or disability that is likely to continue for more than six months. This allowance is also available for people who are on a low income who fit the general criteria. Our advocates can check that you are receiving the correct Family Tax Credits, especially if you are working part-time or full-time. If you are working, we can make sure that you are receiving the correct amount of Working for Families tax credits. In some situations we are able to act on your behalf with various Government agencies. By signing an “authority to act” form, we can support you by dealing with Work and Income, Inland Revenue, and other Government services.

Homebuilders works with a wide range of local services and with your permission we can network with them on your behalf to make sure that you are receiving all the support that you need. Our advocacy service is free to access and offers practical advice and information for a wide range of issues. We can help link you with other services that you may require such as free legal advice and help with Inland Revenue. The advocacy service is open from 9am-midday, Monday to Friday, at Homebuilders Family Support Services, 5 Hexham Street, Warkworth or you can ring us on 425 7048.

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Local Life

February 19, 2014

Wine

Ben Dugdale, Chairman, Matakana Winegrowers Assc. mardale@clear.net.nz

Watching the weather This time of year is the most nerve-wracking for winemakers. We nervously pace the vineyard looking at grapes changing colour – called veraison – which indicates a growing maturity. White grapes go from a distinct pea-green colour to a light green, then pale gold colour. The skin gets a little translucent and the flavours change from green and acid through to various sweet, ripe fruit characters. Red grapes change into red-purple and finally almost black.

We look at the leaves and try and spot any signs of disease that we may have to spray to get rid of. We consult charts and programmes to determine what we can use. There are strict rules and regulations concerning the application of chemicals upon grapes in this modern era. Nothing is applied without checking that we are using best practice and NZ’s very high health and safety standards.

We spend hours on the internet looking at weather websites trying to figure out if that sub-tropical low peeling off the Queensland coast is going to build up a head of steam and crash into us for three days of wet and wild rain, coupled with warm temperatures.

We net the grapes to prevent birds dining on our income. Netting is preferred as shotguns and noisy muffler-less motorbikes aren’t terribly sociable. Birds can eat a colossal quantity of grapes, as the grape itself is designed to be eaten by a bird (hence the handy dandy beak-sized little packet of sugar/water) which then disperses the non-digestible seed via the end of the bird not capable of facial expression.

We march up and down the rows, tasting the grapes (to see where the flavours are – green, apple, ripe apple, pear, ripe pear, nashi is generally the progression in something like chardonnay), chewing the skins (to see if the flavours from the skins and the physical structure of the skins are ripe –most skins get thinner and become paper-like when chewed and ripe), and looking closely at the seeds (nut brown seeds indicate ripeness) then carefully biting them as well (a brittle seed is ripe, tough is not).

We then wait for the flavours and ripening characters to appear, knowing full well that at any given day a big wet thunderstorm or hail event or plague of starlings could ruin a year’s worth of work. But that’s the great thing about growing grapes and winemaking – you never quite know what’s going to happen, apart from the fact you will learn a little bit more for next year. And with grapes, you never stop learning.

Mahurangi Matters

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Rural Life

February 19, 2014

RuralLife 28

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CHERI SHING OUR LAND

Who should be in charge of protecting the trees?

Wellsford farmer Gordon Levet applauds the changes to the Resource Management Act regarding tree protection.

Christine Rose is scathing of the Government’s changes to the Resource Management Act, which removed the blanket protection for trees that were not specifically designated as having “heritage status” (MM, Jan 15).

I also have a love of trees, and have personally planted many thousands and financed the planning of tens of thousands over a period of more than 60 years. Many have been for timber.

However, many have also been planted for erosion control – particularly along stream edges. Others have been planted for aesthetic reasons, to beautify the landscape on our rural property.

Before tree legislation existed, people planted trees and nurtured them, but removed them when they became a nuisance or became a threat to life and property. Invariably replacement trees were planted.

More recently, legislation empowered local authorities to identify “heritage” trees for special protection. It also empowered them to protect many other trees of lesser merit, which made it difficult for landowners to remove any trees. For the first time in New Zealand, so far as trees are concerned, the “public good” principle took precedence over “property rights”.

There is no doubt that one’s property rights suffer when overridden by the common good concept. In some instances, this may be justified. But in the case of trees, this should not take precedence over the rights of the private landowner who bore all the costs of establishment and nurture.

When one drives through city suburbs where property rights exist, there is an abundance of trees and the pride in the area is obvious to all. In contrast, where people have no property rights – notably State housing areas – there is generally a lack of trees and gardens. No blame

should be attached to the people; they are living under the wrong system.

I strongly believe that property rights are the cornerstone of any democracy and any erosion of these rights is detrimental to its quality. Sadly, property rights are constantly under attack, especially by planners and other bureaucrats. For example, there are proposals in the draft Auckland Unitary Plan to remove property rights from people living in the proposed Coastal Zone.

Under the proposed plan, officials will be given the right to determine

where buildings should be placed, the materials that are used, and the colour they are to be painted. This has nothing to do with environmental values, but is about the “common good”, or what officials consider is a pleasant view. If ratified, this plan will ensure a flow of money from the productive sector into the coffers of those who produce paperwork.

It would be remiss of me if I did not mention two conditions that property rights must meet. First, an individual’s rights should not disadvantage any other property owner. Secondly, the application of one’s rights must not result in environmental damage.

I applaud the Government’s changes to the RMA with regard to tree protection as it goes some way to returning property rights from officialdom back to those who care for and own property. This change in legislation should result in a reduction in Council staff and reduction in rates. I hear you say: “Dream On.” Gordon and Trish Levet farm a 1500 acre property 5km west of Wellsford.

Part of the farm was developed from bush by Gordon’s grandfather in the 1870s. Gordon is the vice chairman of the Landowners and Contractors Protection Association.

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February 19, 2014

CountryLiving Julie Cotton

The urban divide Life in rural Rodney, or dare I say the SuperCity, most certainly presents itself with an amazing array of wonderment and challenges. These trials and tribulations that manifest themselves on a daily basis often have me in a mix of hysterical laughter, aggravated frustration and sheer delight.

Most of us rural folk tend not to give a great deal of thought to these matters, what with our “can do” and “let’s just get on with it” attitude. We are basically a placid, cruisy mob. However, I have a farmstay on my farm frequented mainly by Aucklanders and the occasional international visitor. These visitors serve as a timely reminder of what is the good, the great and the bad of rural life.

Although I feel as if all my guests walk away much richer for the experience, there most certainly seems to be two distinctly different classes of guest experience. The first types, aka the “entrenched urbanites”, have a desperate need to experience the rural/rustic side of life. It seems almost like a bucket list mentality.

We always get the pleasant and polite cries of “the roads are so terrible”, “the mud is disgusting”, “the flies are unbearable” or “why does the hot water always run out?”. Do they not sell hot water cylinders in the city?

I wonder if those glossy country living magazines are doing real rural life a disservice. These types tend to pay their tariff and with a courteous “thank-you and goodbye”, jump in their cars and high-tail it out of here with a cemented knowledge that city life is much better for them.

The second type of guest, like the family I had over New Year’s, clearly have never read those magazines. The unmistakable joy on their faces over our daily lives gives me immense pleasure. The city children catching eels in creeks, collecting oysters on the harbour, playing hide and seek in the bush, doing ‘bombies’ in the dams and screaming their heads off, remind me of all that is magnificent about rural life.

These types of guests are very reluctant to leave. You can almost hear them planning their new life in the country and you can picture the “for sale” sign going up on their Ponsonby three-by-two. Yep, life on the land sure is interesting.

Would we swap it? Most certainly not (if we had some decent roads).

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Mahurangi Matters

February 19, 2014

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Rural Life

Rachel Blackie, Wellsford Vet Clinic www.vetsonline.co.nz/wellsfordvet

Lifeproof your puppy “Inadequate training and lack of control are major causes of dogs being abandoned, neglected or a cause for public concern.” This is from a book written by Professor Kevin Stafford, one of my animal behaviour lecturers at Massey University. One thing he taught us is that we have a six-month window with young dogs for optimum socialisation. When a dog is well socialised and is exposed to all sorts of different noises, vehicles, animals, people, and places before the age of six months, they remember this experience throughout their adulthood. A committed approach to socialisation at this time is very important to produce a calm, unafraid, well-adjusted dog that is far less likely to cause public concern.

Apart from socialising your puppy, everyone would agree that there are certain “goals” that should be trained. Stafford writes that these are: that a dog should always come when called; sit and stay; lie quietly; understand “no” and “be quiet”; and should walk beside you, generally ignoring other people and dogs.

There are many books written about how we can achieve these goals and, in my opinion, the “come, sit, and stay” commands are the most important to achieve at any time, anywhere, with any distraction.

With these in place we can get a puppy to come away from a dangerous situation, or be still enough to clip a claw, get a stick out that’s wedged between teeth, a prickle in the foot, or a fishhook stuck in a tongue. These are all real-life situations that occur, and without stillness (“sit and stay”) then we have to use other forms of restraint such as muzzles and anaesthetics, to help an animal.

The American CL Hull, a well-known behavioural scientist of the early 1900s, reported that it is best to train new behaviours in sets of five to seven repetitions, but it can take thousands of sets to make the trained behaviour “bulletproof” under all circumstances. Bear in mind that the genetics of your puppy — the behaviour genes passed down from its mother and father — can have a huge effect on the time it takes to achieve the training goals you have set. But they will reach them with repetitive, logical, well-timed training of the basics outlined above.

A fear behaviour can quickly change to an unwanted behaviour, such as snapping when you lift a paw, and is very likely to become habit unless the appropriate steps are taken early on. Retraining fear-driven behaviours can be extremely difficult. So, if there is a problem occurring during the training of your puppy, give us a call, pay a visit to puppy preschool or dog obedience, and lifeproof your dog now.

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Feature

February 19, 2014

Mahurangi Matters

31

NORTHLAND FIELDDAYS 27 FEBRUARY - 1 MARCH 2014

Contracting

Locals head to Dargaville Local businesses are getting ready for the Northland Field Days after a mixed season for farmers, with high milk prices but low rainfall in some areas.

Matakohe farmers Peter and Sheryl Tonkin are heading to the Field Days for their products Dam Weed Guard and Advantage Feeders and have been going to the event for nearly 25 years.

Although business has been going well, drought continues to affect the region, Sheryl says. The stock still haven’t recovered from the last drought, and Northland has missed out on a lot of rain.

“It’s not as bad as last year, but on top of last year it’s really having an effect,” Sheryl says.

The couple visit Field Days events around the country and they would like to see more done to improve the Dargaville event. They are concerned that high ticket prices may be deterring some people.

However, Chapel Olive Oil, based in Paparoa, is happy to be going to the event for their fourth year.

Verity and Barry Baines say it is a great chance to get out and sell some oil.

“We did quite well last year, and people will be looking out for our stall again. And we now know some of the other food stalls who go along every year. It’s a wonderful day, as long as it doesn’t rain,” Verity says.

Last year was a bumper olive season, but this year’s crop looks a little down after a windy summer, she says.

NZ Solar Northland will be showcasing how solar can help you save on power around the home and out on the farm. Warren and Wendy James started the business in Wellsford in January, taking over distribution for

the Northland area for NZ Solar.

Solar can be used in a variety of rural settings, Warren says, from water heating for milking sheds, powering irrigation pumps, through to powering electric fences. And with good milk prices and a better season than last year, hopefully farmers have a bit to invest in making the switch to solar, he says.

“We are talking to farmers and stock agents all the time and they’re certainly a bit happier this year,” Warren says.

Water Flow NZ, based in Maungaturoto, is heading along to the Field Days to showcase its sewerage system.

Marketing manager Dean Hoyle says the system uses worms to break down sewerage so doesn’t use any electricity and has low maintenance costs, and the grey water from the system can be used on the garden.

Warkworth Stihl will be showcasing the Canycom climbing mower at the Northland Field Days.

Owner Ra Bremner says the mower is especially designed to climb steep terrain and can cut through anything from gorse bushes through to small trees.

The mowers are made by a company in Japan that once made Samurai swords, and this heritage has been passed through to the mower blade, she says.

Ra and her husband Mike bought the business in 2012, not long before drought began to affect the region.

“That was a tough time to start out.

We had ordered in the season of stock and it sat there. Grass just wasn’t growing. But we got through that and this year’s better. The community has been really supportive,” Ra says.

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Mahurangi Matters

fielddaysFeature feature

February 19, 2014

Possums and ponies will feature at Northland Field Days People heading to the Northland Field Days, from February 27 to March 1, will be able to eat a possum burger, pat a miniature horse, and race a lawn mower, among a host of activities on offer for the weekend.

Northland Field Days president Lew Duggan says the committee has been working hard to make sure there is something for people of all ages.

Mini possum burgers will be served at the Northland Regional Council’s marquee, continuing the tradition of serving wild food treats — most made from pests — as a fun way of attracting visitors. Previous years’ wild food treats have included wasp larvae ice-cream, possum and goat meat pies, possum pate and wild rabbit sausages.

The regional council’s events and partnerships coordinator, Natasha Stubbing, says the meat is sourced from about 100 possums trapped in the Maungakaramea area near Whangarei. The possums are being sent to Whangarei’s O’Dwyer’s Butchery for boning and mincing in a process expected to yield about 40kg of meat — enough for roughly 1400 mini burgers.

The burgers are a way to boost visitor numbers to the council marquee to view displays and speak with staff about the more serious side of the regional council’s work, Natasha says.

“Council specialists across a range of fields will be available to offer advice or chat about land-related issues people may have,” Natasha says.

Mr Duggan says there will also be

plenty of things to see and do with competitions including lawnmower races, dog trials, and tractor pull and logger sports, and a number of new events are scheduled.

“There is so much to see and do. It doesn’t matter what age you are, where you come from or what your interests are, you’ll see something that appeals to you.”

On Saturday March 1 radio station Classic Hits will be running gala games near the headquarters, allowing visitors to take part in a range of family competitions from wife carrying, dunking for apples, to sheep racing and more.

Children, and the young at heart, will be able to pet and feed animals including turtles, chickens, ducks and a miniature horse, or ride around the event on a cart pulled by a team of Clydesdale horses.

The Tru Test Group site will hold a live auction three times a day and Radio Hauraki will also have the “Win your weight in meat” competition.

The Northern Wairoa Vintage Machinery Club and chainsaw carvers will also have sites.

Jamie Mackay, host of The Farming Show on Radio Sport, will be broadcasting live from the Field Days on Friday.

Free parking is available close to the showgrounds with regular public transport running to and from the event.

Info: northlandfielddays.co.nz.

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Feature feature fielddays

February 19, 2014

Mahurangi Matters

33

SEE YHOEU AT T SHOW Popular events such as the tractor race and the Clydesdale draw carriage will be heading back to Northland Field Days this year.

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Mahurangi Matters

Local Entertainment

February 19, 2014

LocalEntertainment

Flamenco concert at Leigh Sawmill Fun for the Kiwi composer Claire Cowan will be collaborating with touring Spanish Flamenco dancer Isabel Rivera Cuenca at the Sawmill on March 9.

Claire has worked with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, has composed scores for TV dramas including the Billy T James movie Billy, and her works have been performed by soloists and ensembles throughout the USA, NZ, Europe, Japan and Australia.

Claire and Isabel met in Auckland last year. “I had been studying flamenco dance for the past year-and-a-half, and was really keen to collaborate and write compositions in the style,” she says.

She says the influence of flamenco rhythms are already finding their way into other works.

“It’s a bit of a change. All of the rhythms are very different, very Spanish, and different to anything I’ve done before. But it all comes naturally to Isabel who has absorbed it growing up in Spain.”

Flamenco dancing is a family affair for Isabel and she been dancing since she was five.

She came to New Zealand last year in the first leg of a world tour, intending

whole family

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to stay just one month, but loved the country so much she’s stayed on.

The band consists of Claire on piano and cello, Alex Taylor on violin and saxophone, Eric Scholes on bass and Isabel providing the rhythm through dance. The group played two packed concerts in January and, buoyed by the

Spanish Flamenco dancer Isabel Rivera Cuenca will be dancing at Leigh Sawmill as part of her world tour.

success, planned a North Island tour.

Claire’s other music project, Blackbirds, involves bringing orchestral music to new audiences, and she hopes to play in Leigh again before the end of the summer, she says.

Tickets cost $25 on the door or $20 presales from undertheradar.co.nz.

It might be called Children’s Fun Day, but teenagers and adults are also welcome at a family sports day being held in Wellsford next month.

The annual event will take place this year on March 2, from midday to 4pm at Centennial Park.

The acting co-ordinator of the Wellsford District Sport and Recreation Collective, Lynette Gubb, says plenty of fun activities have been organised for families, including obstacle courses, family competitions and inflatable games, as well as bouncy castles, water walkers, rides, face painting and a lolly scramble.

There will also be spot prizes, giveaways, a sausage sizzle and drinks for sale.

The aim of the day is to celebrate national Children’s Fun Day, and to promote physical activity.

Activity cards will cost $3 each for up to 10 activities, but early birds can get two tickets for $5 from Woody’s Winners, Clever Endeavours, and Wellsford Sport and Leisure.

Info: Wendy 423 8194.

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From 2pm, Saturday 1 March 2014 • Matakana Country Park

A 7km charity fun run/walk (not suitable for pushchairs, skateboards & scooters) or an 11.5km cycle or a 3km wheelchair/mobility scooter through private vineyards, olive groves and orchards, with live music, costumes, and spectacular views along the way, finishing back at the marquee.

After the walk, run, cycle, wheelchair exertions the festivity continues with food/refreshments and entertainment will continue at Matakana Country Park. A seated spit roast dinner is a new feature this year.

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Local Entertainment

February 19, 2014

Exciting year for music

This year a seven-concert season has been organised by Warkworth Music, catering for a range of musical tastes.

The season begins on March 22 at 7.30pm in the Mahurangi College hall, with Rangitoto Trio, a lively young group comprising Amalia Hall on violin, her brother Callum on cello and John-Paul Muir on piano.

On Thursday May 15 at 7.30pm, also at Mahurangi College, the well-known solo pianist John Chen will perform a recital in what is expected to be a very well-attended evening.

Performances requiring use of the society’s grand piano are to be held at Mahurangi College, with venues of more suitable ambience being used for other concerts.

On June 8 at 4pm at Ascension Winery, the popular Auckland Youth Choir returns to present another concert. This group goes from strength to strength and always presents an interesting and excellently prepared programme.

The fourth concert features Antithesis Quintet, a group comprising clarinet, violins, viola and cello in a programme spanning Anthony Ritchie to Mozart.

They perform at Ascension Winery on July 18 at 7.30pm. A further quintet, The Koru Quintet, this time comprising flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn, also performs at Ascension on Sunday August 24 at 4pm.

The well-known pianist Stephen de Pledge presents a recital entitled “Tell Me the Truth about Love”, at Mahurangi College on Sunday

Mahurangi Matters

35

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The season concludes on Sunday October 12 at 4pm at Matakana Village Hall with a programme of blues, swing, ballads and jazz, presented by The Troubles.

The society believes it has something for just about every type of serious music lover and a subscription for the whole series can be purchased for $125. A payment of $20 membership to Warkworth Music will provide members with the usual concessions.

Door sales for individual concerts this year will continue to cost $30, with student entry being free.

Info: 425 7313. The annual brochure is also available at Matakana Cinemas and the i-Site in Warkworth.

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Warkworth Music present their

2014 Concert Series Sunday 22nd march @ 7.30pm Rangitoto Trio Thursday 15th may @ 7.30pm John Chen Sunday 8th June @ 4pm Auckland Youth Choir Friday 18th July @ 7.30pm Antithesis Quintet Sunday 24th August @ 4pm Koru Quintet (wind) Sunday 14th September @ 4pm Stephen de Pledge Sunday 12th october @ 4pm The Troubles (Jazz group)

PlEASE noTE TimES & vEnuE CAREFully: 22nd march, 15th may, 14th Sept – mahurangi College 8th June, 18th July, 24th August – Ascension Winery 12 october – matakana village Hall For more information visit www.warkworthmusic.org.nz or phone 9-425-7313 or 9-425-7015 See article thiS page Tickets at door: Adults $30 • Students FREE Discount for members Brochures at: Warkworth i-SITE and Matakana Cinemas

Art Gallery NEW WORKS Louise McRae GIRLS BLOUSE Vicki Fanning 22nd February to 23rd March 2014

39 Omaha Valley Road, Matakana, RD5, Warkworth 0985, New Zealand Phone +64 9 422 9995 Email thevivian@thevivian.co.nz www.thevivian.co.nz OPEN: Daily 11.00am - 5.00pm or by appointment

36

Mahurangi Matters

Feature

February 19, 2014

Celebrating

1 - 9 March 2014

Celebrating Local boatbuilder makes waves with new design The use of foils got heads turning at last year’s America’s Cup and now a locally made fishing boat has harnessed the technology to cut through the swells of the Hauraki Gulf.

The boat is made by VMG Boats and director John Morgan says his hull design and optional foils are completely unique.

“No one else is using foils, and that’s what I know is going to make a big difference,” he says.

Nearly all of the boat’s components are made locally, with Mahurangi Sheet Metals being particularly helpful in sorting out the prototypes and getting it produced, he says.

Mahurangi Sheet Metals is based beside Core Builders Composites, which was the main building base for America’s Cup winner Oracle Team USA. John says it’s been a very supportive environment to work in.

“Businesses around here work together. Hopefully Core Builders Composites are going to do some of the cutting for us on their equipment.

But everybody from the printing guys, to Core Builders, has been really helping out,” he says.

John has been designing boats for nearly 30 years, working between New Zealand and the USA. But recently he decided it was time to settle here permanently and moved to Snells Beach with his partner. “It’s a really good area to build in, with the natural harbour, and obviously boating is pretty popular here,” John says.

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He spent two years training and coaching New Zealand’s Olympic yachting team, including current world champions and gold medallists Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie. He also trained Olympic silver medallists and current world champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, who have just signed with Emirates Team New Zealand for the 2017 challenge.

But in late 2012 he retired from coaching and founded VMG Boats, with the aim of producing a powerboat

made by locals, to suit local needs.

Through consultation with local boaties, John found they wanted something that was more fuel efficient and more stable than what was currently available.

Months of design and testing lead to a unique trimaran hull, which is more stable and fuel-efficient than anything of its size, he says.

“It uses aerodynamics rather than horsepower to lift the hull, which also

cushions the ride. And because it’s a skinny hull, it slices through the waves with minimum resistance.”

Yamaha donated a motor to help accurately test the new hull, and a full-sized prototype was completed in December.

VMG is currently taking out clients to showcase the new boat and is making the boats to order. “We’ve had amazing feedback. I’m blown away. We’ve just got to build more boats now.”

Vote for an ocean champion As part of Seaweek, the public are being encouraged to vote for an “Ocean Champion”. Over 20 nominations have been received and voting to find the winner takes place until the end of February.

The winner will be announced on March 3 by MP Nicky Wagner and Auckland Mayor Len Brown.

Seaweek national co-ordinator Mels Barton says the aim of the initiative is to celebrate the individuals, groups and organisations who work so hard to look after the marine environment. The theme for this year’s Seaweek is “Our fragile, finite taonga”.

Seaweek is coordinated by the New Zealand

Association for Environmental Education and supported by ASB Community Trust, Department of Conservation, NZ Marine Studies Centre at the University of Otago, Auckland Council, and the DSP Print Group, as well as local sponsors.

Info: seaweek.org.nz

INGS BOOK IAL T ESSEN

Phone 422 6334 / 0274 97 97 64 www.glassbottomboat.co.nz

Feature

February 19, 2014

Mahurangi Matters

37

The

Green Machine 100 COMING SOON Honda Marine is proud to announce two new HP models, the BF80 and BF100 outboard engines which coincides with Honda’s 50th anniversary of being a major supplier of quality outboard engines.

The lightweight and compact design of the new BF80’s and BF100’s feature a 1.5L, SOHC, 16-valve, inline four-cylinder engine with all of the standard feature such as BLAST, ECOmo, and VTEC (on the BF100). Both engines are NMEA2000 compatible and feature a refined high-performance gear case which enhances hydrodynamic efficiency, while engine exhaust is even further reduced - inline with Honda’s unwavering commitment to the environment. An optional Trolling control function is also available.

Free guided snorkelling will be available at Tawharanui on March 8 with wetsuits and snorkels provided as part of Seaweek. Photo, Experiencing Marine Reserves.

330 Mahurangi East Rd Snells Beach Phone 425 5806

Opportunity to unravel the mysteries of our oceans A free guided snorkel day at Tawharanui and a marine survey programme at Leigh are being held as part of Seaweek, from March 1 to March 9.

The week is intended to encourage the public to understand more about the marine environment.

The snorkel day at Tawharanui on Saturday March 8 is intended to lure the public into the water, while guided walks will be run to showcase the ecoreserve. Local iwi Ngati Manuhiri will also have their “Taonga on the Move” art exhibition on show, including interactive weaving, and displays of art and film, all displayed from their mobile shipping container.

DOC ranger Sue Cameron says the day is about unlocking the mystery of what lies under the ocean.

An experienced guide will show snorkelers around the marine reserve and anyone aged over 5 can join in, with wetsuits and snorkels provided.

“Just bring your swimming attire, something warm to pop on for afterwards, and lots of enthusiasm,” Sue says.

It is the first time the snorkel day has been run from Tawharanui after being held at Goat Island in previous years, but usually around 120 people turn up.

Guides will run 20-minute sessions with groups of six, so people get a good introduction without being herded through in huge groups.

“People come out with these huge smiles and they just can’t stop smiling.

Especially those who have never

snorkelled before,” she says.

Tawharanui Open Sanctuary Society Inc (Tossi) and Auckland Council will also be running guided walks around the eco-sanctuary.

Visitors get a stamp from events, and those who visit all three events (“Taonga on the Move”, the guided snorkel and the guided walk) will go into the draw to win a trip for two adults and two children to Tiritiri Matangi.

The Marine Metres Squared (MM2) programme on Saturday March 1 will involve a survey of the shore of Leigh Marine Reserve in a fun treasure hunt style. Participants will survey a square metre area with a chart of the marine life likely to be found and will tick off species as they find them.

The idea is that people will be able to replicate this on their own and survey other coastlines. Information can then be uploaded onto the MM2 website which will form a database of the marine life of the New Zealand coast.

The day is part of a nationwide programme developed by Otago University to encourage the public to be involved in providing scientific data.

The programme is inspired by the idea of creating citizen scientists and making people more aware of the life on the coast, Sue says.

“The rocky shore is really indicative of what’s going on in the ocean. If you survey what’s going on over a period of time you will begin to see changes, either of marine life recovering and numbers rising, or of something unhealthy going on,” Sue says.

1 - 9 March 2014

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Mahurangi Matters

38

Local Sport

February 19, 2014

LocalSport

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Senior tennis players based at the Warkworth Tennis & Squash Club won a swag of gold and silver medals at the national championships in Nelson last month.

Six senior players from Lower Northland Tennis Senior Club, based at Warkworth, competed at the event from January 22 to 26.

David Theyers won two gold medals in the 70+ division. He and Murray Billington teamed up to take the Men’s Doubles title and he partnered North Harbour’s Janice Larmer to win

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Omaha Beach Golf Club has a busy month ahead, with some of NZ’s best players, and some overseas pros, gracing its greens.

Just last week it hosted the NZ Senior Men’s Championships, and this weekend it has the Mondiale Pro-Am, followed by one of the last qualifying rounds for the final places for the NZ Men’s Open.

This year there is a record prize purse for the professionals in the Pro-Am of $25,000. Mondiale Freight Services is the major sponsor, with Peugeot as the main supporting sponsor.

Neil Van Vliet, the resident Omaha pro, has been working with a small volunteer group who will be spotting on holes, serving on the barbecue, and helping with administration. Omaha residents will also be billeting players.

Neil, who is from South Africa, became a resident at Omaha shortly after playing the Pro-Am for the first time in 2012. He is keen to make this year’s event the best ever.

“I had been in Whangarei for 10 years

the 70+ Mixed Doubles.

Gloria Wilmot retained the 70+ Singles title, which she has won for the past three years, and was also runnerup in the 70+ Women’s Doubles.

Bev Billington picked up a gold in the 65+ Women’s Doubles, playing with Sandra Glennie from Wanganui, and a silver in the 65+ Mixed Doubles partnering her husband Murray.

Kaye Jackson (65+Women’s Doubles) and Penny Smith (55+ Mixed Doubles) also collected silver medals.

and had decided to make a change and was looking for opportunities. I would not have known about the gem of Omaha without the Pro Am,” he says. “I want to make this more like the events we see on TV.” Spectators are welcome, with the most popular holes likely to be the 17th, to see if the car prize is struck, and the 12th.

Many of the pros will use the tournament as preparation for upcoming events in NZ and Australia.

Defending champion Steven Han, Richard Lee, Grant Moorhead, and some Australian professionals are just some of the players who will be there.

In addition to the Pro-Am, some of the pros will be staying on to compete in a qualifying tournament on February 24 for the NZPGA New Zealand Men’s Open event to be played at The Hills and Millbrook in Queenstown next week.

Several Omaha players and volunteers will also be flying south on the same flights to volunteer or view the NZ Open.

Local Sport

February 19, 2014

39

Mahurangi Matters

ScoreBoard Sponsored by

TOTALSPAN RODNEY A roundup of sports activities and events in the district Junior swimming The Mangawhai Heads VLS team. Photo, Tony Baker

Kowhai Swimming Club meets each Tuesday, 5.30-6.15pm, Mahurangi College pool, $20 per child per term. Info: Ruth 422 9349 or kowhai. amateur.swimming@hotmail.com.

Mangawhai Heads lifeguards dominate long-distance races

Junior rugby

Mahurangi Junior Rugby Club registration days are on Saturday February 15 from 11am-3pm and Thursday February 20 from 4-7.30pm. Girls and boys welcome from ages 4-13. Free gift with each registration, fees $75. Info: mahurangirugbyclub.co.nz.

By Tony Baker

The Jackman Waterman Classic longdistance paddle race took place on Saturday February 1. Lifeguards from Mangawhai Heads VLS, Waipu Cove SLSC and Omaha SLSC clubs took part in the 12km race, in honour of Muriwai lifeguard Dave Jackman.

Due to surf and weather conditions, event organisers chose to run the paddle starting in Mangawhai Heads and finishing at Waipu Cove. With a strong south-east tail wind and increasing easterly swell of 1.5m, individual paddlers and canoe teams enjoyed the time on the water.

The Waipu Cove Junior Men’s team of Cain Watson, Matt Jensen, Marco Rodrigue and Sam McNamara won the Canoe Division with a solid time of 1hr 5 minutes. In the Board Paddle it was young Mangawhai Heads lifeguard Hannah Williams who took out her division with a near record time of 1hr 39minutes.

Winners were: Canoe (U19 male) Waipu; Canoe (Masters male) Waipu; Canoe (Mixed) Mangawhai; Board (U19 Female) Hannah Williams; Board (U19 Male) Jamie Peterson, Omaha; Board (Master Male) Dan Russek, Mangawhai; Board (Open Male) Brad Kehoe, Mangawhai; Board (Open Male) Tim Gibb, Mangawhai; Board (Master Male) Tony Baker, Mangawhai; Board (Open Male) Ross Young, Mangawhai; Board (Master Male) Scott Macbeth, Mangawhai.

The Mangawhai Heads club also recently received a donation from Coastguard of night vision goggles, boat towing ropes, jumper leads and a stretcher, which will be used for after-hours rescues.

Powercraft officer Murray Dix was excited to be able to learn how to use the equipment.

Mangawhai Heads lifeguards will be patrolling weekends and holidays until Easter.

Netball

Warkworth Netball Club Muster Days will be held on February 23 and March 2. Feb 23 is Year 2 to Year 6, 1-3pm; Year 7 up, 3-5pm; Senior Ladies 5-6pm. March 2 is Year 2 to Year 6, 1-3pm; Year 7 up, 3-5pm; Senior Ladies 5-6pm. Venue to be advised. Registration forms available at warkworthnetball.com. Info: warkworthnetballclub@gmail.com Squash

Squash Inter House has begun at Warkworth Squash & Tennis Club. Nonmembers welcome for coaching and games. Junior Squash will begin in Term 2. Info: Kaye Jackson 425 6965.

List sports news FREE by emailing editor@localmatters.co.nz

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4:53am 0.7 5:33am 0.7 12:21am 3.1 1:06am 3.0 1:56am 3.0 2:54am 3.0 3:58am 3.0 5:04am 3.1 6:07am 3.2 12:37am 0.5 1:34am 0.4 2:28am 0.3 3:19am 0.3 4:08am 0.3 4:56am 0.4 5:44am 0.5 12:34am 3.3 11:16am 3.2 11:56am 3.1 6:16am 0.7 7:04am 0.8 7:57am 0.8 8:57am 0.9 10:01am 0.8 11:05am 0.8 12:07pm 0.7 7:06am 3.3 8:02am 3.5 8:55am 3.6 9:46am 3.6 10:36am 3.6 11:24am 3.5 12:12pm 3.4 6:33am 0.7

Tide 5:18pm 0.7 5:58pm 0.7 12:39pm 3.1 1:25pm 3.1 2:16pm 3.0 3:13pm 3.0 4:16pm 3.0 5:24pm 3.0 6:29pm 3.2 1:06pm 0.5 2:02pm 0.4 2:55pm 0.3 3:46pm 0.3 4:35pm 0.3 5:23pm 0.3 6:10pm 0.5 1:00pm 3.2 6:57pm 0.6 7:31pm 3.3 8:27pm 3.4 9:20pm 3.5 10:10pm 3.5 10:59pm 3.5 11:46pm 3.4 6:41pm 0.7 7:28pm 0.7 8:22pm 0.8 9:23pm 0.8 10:30pm 0.7 11:36pm 0.7 Times 11:41pm 3.1 6:56am 8:13pm

Sun Fishing Guide Moon

6:57am 8:12pm

Best At

G

4:03am 4:26pm

6:58am 8:10pm

Best At

G

4:50am 5:14pm

6:59am 8:09pm

Best At

G

5:38am 6:03pm

Best At

G

Set 10:35am Set 11:34am Set 12:35pm Set Rise 10:12pm Rise 10:48pm Rise 11:28pm *Not for navigational purposes.

G

7:00am 8:08pm

6:29am 6:56pm

7:01am 8:07pm

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7:23am 7:51pm

Last Quarter

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Best At

G

8:20am 8:49pm

7:03am 8:04pm

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G

9:18am 9:48pm

7:04am 8:03pm

Best At

G

10:18am 10:47pm

7:05am 8:01pm

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G

11:17am 11:46pm

7:06am 8:00pm

Best At

B

12:14pm

7:07am 7:59pm

Best At

B

12:42am 1:10pm New Moon

7:08am 7:57pm

Best At

B

1:37am 2:04pm

7:09am 7:56pm

Best At

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2:31am 2:57pm

7:10am 7:54pm

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B

3:23am 3:49pm

7:10am 7:53pm

Best At

B

4:14am 4:40pm

7:11am 7:52pm

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B

5:05am 5:31pm

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5:56am 6:21pm

1:36pm Rise 12:13am Rise 1:05am Rise 2:03am Rise 3:07am Rise 4:15am Rise 5:25am Rise 6:36am Rise 7:46am Rise 8:54am Rise 10:01am Rise 11:05am Rise 12:06pm Rise 1:05pm Set 2:37pm Set 3:36pm Set 4:32pm Set 5:24pm Set 6:12pm Set 6:56pm Set 7:36pm Set 8:14pm Set 8:52pm Set 9:30pm Set 10:10pm Set 10:51pm Set 11:35pm B F Good Fishing Fair Fishing Not So Good www.tidewiz.com www.tidespy.com www.ofu.co.nz Graphic supplied by OceanFun Publishing Ltd.

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40

Mahurangi Matters

February 19, 2014

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Mahurangi Matters

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Mon to Fri 7am-3.30pm • 50a Morrsion Dr Warkworth Phone 4222 541 • Txt 021 150 7366

Specialising in all painful conditions, sinus/hayfever, asthma, fertility issues Over 30 years experience

Lavender House

27 Lilburn Street, Warkworth 09 422 3729 or 09 480 2255 martingreenleaf@xtra.co.nz

The Tree

Bears Tree Trimmers

Hedge TRIMMING • tree removal insured - 300mm chipper • free quotes General Tree Work Phone mark 021 492 939 AH 09 425 0252

RON BROUWER REGISTERED ELECTRICIAN House wiring & general maintenance New installations & contracting Underground/overhead services Warkworth 09 425 9412 • Wellsford 09 423 9412 Mobile 027 497 3353

ronbrouwerelectrical@xtra.co.nz

WG

Domestic and Commercial Glazing Glass Showers Splash Backs Mirrors • Cat Doors Windscreen Replacement and Chip Repair

arkworth lass & lazing

20 Glenmore Drive, Warkworth 09 425 8678 • 021 952 077 wwglassandglazing@xtra.co.nz

42

Mahurangi Matters

February 19, 2014

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

fOR SalE haY - NEW SEaSONS Top quality,

no kakuia, $10-$12 a bale. Phone 09 4257479 or 0274970980.

PlaNTS, Quality groundcovers, shrubs and trees. Large and small grades.

Wholesale direct to the public. Contact growing and pre-orders welcome.

Liberty Park Native Tree Nursery, 90 Jones Road, Omaha 09 422 7307.

Take control of your future and run your own rewarding business

• Low start up costs • Ongoing support & training • Build equity in your business • Proven, easy to operate business

Franchises available in Warkworth covering Warkworth and Maungaturoto To find out more:

m. 0800 FASTWAY e. carl.compaan@fastway.co.nz

IcONIc BOOkShOP fOR SalE

Open since 1989, this Warkworth bookshop is well known for it’s great prices, and HUGE range of pre-loved and new books. With great atmosphere and comfy chairs this bookshop is loved by all who visit.

Do you love books & want a change?

Phone Martin 0222 762 333

2pm, Furniture - pullout couch/bed, dining table & chairs, lazyboy, drawers, bookshelves, upright freezer, tall filing cabinet. Entertainment - 5.1 Hi fi system, TV, PS3 games, records, sports gear, books. Women’s clothes, shoes, bags and more.

MaUNgaTUROTO 2ND haND ShOP maybe interested in buying

your garage sale goods. Phone 09 431 8440 or 021 125 1576.



Family Fun Scenic farm & forest rides Quiet horses & ponies • Birthday rides Lessons • Suit beginners & experienced riders & people with Disabilities Social, Language & School Groups



Book Now 1hr $45 • 2hrs $80 Phone 09 425 8517 42 Kaipara Flats Road, Warkworth Google: Horse Riding Warkworth 1 hour ExErcisE class to thE BEst Music EvEr

movement is life Mondays 10am - Matakana Hall Commencing Monday 4th Feb 2013 Mondays 12 midday - Matakana Hall NEW CLASS - Targets people post stroke, arthritis, breathing problems. Give it a try!

Teacher: Carol Wade (Bagot Stack Diploma) 09 478 9183 or 0274 751 463 Freephone 0508 224 687 www.thefitnessleague.org.nz Cost $7 per class • Annual Reg $15

fOR lEaSE

SMall UPSTaIRS OffIcE TO lET Central Warkworth location.

Phone 027 430 8440.

First Floor 143m close to the Warehouse. Carpet, kitchen and toilet.

Suitable for professional offices. Fitout negotiable. $1,400/month+opex+GST. Phone Jim (owner) 021 621 124.

Advertise your classifieds and church notices here for only

MaRkETS

TUITION

PUhOI faRMERS MaRkET, 6th Birthday, Feb 23rd, 9-1, Spot prizes 9.30-12.30, Face painting, Pony rides, balloons, Lolly scramble, Best Tomato Competition, Clown & much more! Next market March 30th. Ph 0217 222 66

gUITaR lESSONS Patient & flexible to suit your needs. Ph Martin 422 3037.

PhOTOgRaPhIc & DIgITal PRESERVE YOUR MEMORIES

Videos, slides & old 8mm films all on to DVD. Ph TeTotara Video (09) 422 5710.

PUBlIc NOTIcES

BINgO, BINgO, BINgO!

Come and join the fun, 1st Monday of month, Upstairs New Masonic Lodge, Baxter Street, Warkworth, 7pm.

Proceeds to Warkworth Museum.

BNI VISITORS DaY

PhOBIaS? STRESS? aNXIETY?

hOME MaINTENaNcE

TEPORa BIRD DaY Located at Tepora School, Friday 7th March, 9am to 12.30pm. All welcome. Phone Rodney 09 422 1970.

haNDYMaN – ThE MaINTENaNcE MaN Your one stop fix-it-man. Phone Jim 422 3725 or 021 254 2048 or visit www.themaintenancemanjim.co.nz

STEVE’S MaINTENaNcE lawns, hedges, waterblasting, rubbish removal, section clearing, property maintenance. No job too big or small.

Phone Steve 029 770 7101 or 09 425 9966. Serving Warkworth, Snells, Matakana, Sandspit.

WaTER fIlTERS Underbench filters & whole house Ultra violet filters – Kill and remove ecoli/bacteria. FREE site visits. Ph Steve 09 945 2282 or visit www.purewaterservices.co.nz WaTER PUMPS Low water pressure?

Get it sorted. Sales, service and installation. Work guaranteed. Steve 09 945 2282 ww.purewaterservices.co.nz

localmatters.co.nz

$2.95+GST per line or $8.85 per/cm+GST for boxed adverts.

Increase your business through “word-of-mouth” advertising.

Attend Visitors Day BNI Warkworth, 26th February, 7-8.30am. Call Lisa now to book a place 09 422 1098

Hypnotherapy with Scope Hypnosis.

Phone 0508 SCOPE ME (726 736) or email: lisa@scopehypnosis.com

Horse riding WarkWortH

SNEllS BEach

gaRagE SalES 14 hIll ST, lEIgh, Sat 22 Feb, 8am-

hEalTh SERVIcES

fITNESS

Fitness League

RaWlEIgh Products. Ph Pat 425 8851

Thank you to the Mahurangi community Piers Barney (aka Norma Jean Charters) and first mate Skip would like to thank everyone for their help during the recent crisis, when Skip ended up in the Silverdale pound.

“The response from everyone, including people on Facebook, was amazing.”

PIaNO TUITION including practical & theory, all grades. Warkworth based.

John Wilkins 09 425 9669 (evenings preferred)

TV SERVIcES & SalES

aERIal & SaTEllITE DISh INSTallaTIONS

Professional Installation of Satellite Dishes and Freeview UHF Aerials.

Wall mount TV Installations, Multi-room Solutions. Audio and Home Theatre. TV Tuning Services.

Phone 425 5431.

all fREEVIEW INSTallaTIONS Dish, Aerial, Additional Outlet ..

ThE TV MaN IS ThE ONE! fREE QUOTE Call JIM THE MAINTENANCE MAN 021 254 2048 or visit www. themaintencemanjim.co.nz fREEVIEW TV, Audio, Installation, Faults & Supply. Andrew 021 466 394 or 422 2221.

TV SERVIcES Freeview, dishes, aerials, boxes. Sales, installation and repairs.

Phone Gavin 027 476 6115.

SITUaTIONS VacaNT

chEf REQUIRED

Enthusiastic chef required for Matakana Cafe.

Phone Rebecca 021 141 5647.

TUITION

lINE DaNcINg

Starts February 2014.

Learners and all levels welcome.

Classes in Warkworth (evenings) and Wellsford (day).

Phone Jan 422 5191.

hEalTh caRE aSSISTaNTS

Due to our clients demand we require experienced Health Care Assistants to work in aged care facilities. Call today.

Phone 09 476 0501.

laWNMOWINg & SEcTION MaINTENaNcE SERVIcE Rubbish removal, weed control, water blasting, decks, drives, paths, fence painting & repairs. Warkworth - Matakana & Beaches. Jeff is reliable and punctual.

Phone 027 425 7357 or 425 7357.

lEaRN ShaOlIN kEMPO Self Defence, Self Discipline, Self Confidence & build your fitness - for kids and adults. Tues & Thurs 5.30-7.30pm, Matakana Primary School Hall. Phone Shane 021 959 073.

hOUSESITTINg

ESOl TEachER

SEcOND haND gOODS - Glenfield Trading wants to buy second hand goods.

Servicing surrounding Warkworth area.

Ph Graham on 09 443 6013.

M.A., DIPTESOL, Dip. Teaching

WORk WaNTED

hOUSESITTER aVaIlaBlE Mature, non smoking, experienced, short term OK. Phone 022 380 9807.

MaRkETS MUSEUM SUMMER MaRkET 1st Saturday of the month, 8am, Old Masonic Hall, Baxter Street, Warkworth.

Enquiries Warkworth 425 8391.

TUITION Jennifer Mckay

• Teacher of English to Speakers of other Languages.

• Individual & group tuition available.

• 20 yrs experience in NZ & overseas.

Contact: Jennifer McKay Mobile: 0211790576 Email: jenimckay1234@yahoo.com.au

WaNTED

caRPENTER Small jobs, decks, fences etc. Ph 09 431 3101 or 021 025 76521.

REID EQUESTRIaN ENgINEERINg, Wellsford. Float rebuilds, horse truck conversions, etc. Dog kennels made to measure. Quality work. Ph Ron 423 9666

localmatters.co.nz

what’s on February 18

20 22 22 23

23

23 25 28

For links to more information about some of these events, as well as listings through to the end of the year, visit the What’s On calendar online at www.localmatters.co.nz

Garden Party and Dahlia Show, 54 Woodcocks Rd, Warkworth, 1.30pm. $10pp on entry. High tea on lawn. Garden Party clothes, $100 best dressed. Bring Dahlias for display. Fundraiser for books for Warkworth Primary School. Info: Fay 425 8356.

Health night for men and women, Mahurangi College Hall, 7.30pm. Organised by Warkworth Lions Club.

Lifeguard Longboard Nationals, Mangawhai Beach.

Wellsford/Warkworth Vintage Car Club annual Swap Meet at the clubrooms on Satellite Station Rd, from 7am, admission $5, children under 12 free. Info: 423 8122.

Community weeding/releasing day, Old Cementworks Walkway, Warkworth, 10am-noon. Come and help clear around the 2500 natives planted over the last two years. Info: Tony Dunlop (Forest and Bird) 422 3110.

Sparkling Acres Appaloosa Stud Open Day, 1165 Whangaripo Valley Road, 11am-3pm. Meet gorgeous spotted Appaloosa stallions, mares and foals. Lunch provided. Info: 423 9552 or coolheads.co.nz for directions.

Workshop for people wanting to build a trolley for the Warkworth Trolley Derby, meet at the bus shelters at Mahurangi College, from 10am.

Bridge lessons, Warkworth Bridge Club, Alnwick St, 7.15pm.

Info: Jenny Robinson 425 8909 or Nadine Stubbs on 425 8205.

Auckland draft Unitary Plan submission period closes.

March 1 1 1 2 2 6 7 8

8 8 8 8

Rodney in the Spotlight Expo: Hear about what projects community organisations and your local board are planning to deliver in your area. 10am-4pm, Mahurangi College.

End of summer BBQ, Hoteo North Hall, 6pm start. All welcome, BYO food and drink. Info: Caroline Marshall 423 7191.

Matakana Fruitloop Charity Fun Run (see story p1 &7).

Children’s Fun Day, Centennial Park, Wellsford, noon-4pm.

Info: Lynette Gubb 0272 767161. (see story p34).

Volunteer planting day at Tawharanui regional park. Meet at the woolshed for a 9.15am start. Work activities will be followed by free barbecue lunch.

Quiz night fundraiser for Parkinson’s New Zealand, Omaha Beach Golf Club, 7pm. Tickets $10 from Gill on 027 940 7892 or Maureen on 021 412 905 (see story p22).

Tapora Bird Day at Tapora School, 9am to 12.30pm. Learn about native birds and conservation. All welcome.

Warkworth Business and Professional Women’s breakfast meeting, speaker Diane Vivian from Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, 8.30am at the Bridgehouse. All welcome but please book by March 1. Info: Sally Smith 021 425 407.

Northland Axemen Grading Day, Kaipara Flats Sports Club, from 11am. All the best axemen from the north will be competing, as well as guest axemen from Auckland.

Leigh family fishing contest, entertainment and fish auction from 3pm at Leigh Hall, tickets $50 adults and $5 for under15s. Info: leighfamilyfishing.co.nz (see story p 23) Warkworth Primary School Twilight Fiesta, 3.30pm-7.30pm.

McKinney Hall’s 100th Birthday Celebration. All past & present Kaipara Flats Community & Kaipara Flats Playgroup members welcome to attend the cutting of the cake at 10am at McKinney, which will be open 9am-1pm. Info: sommai. hudson@yahoo.co.nz

Email your events to editor@localmatters.co.nz

February 19, 2014

43

Mahurangi Matters

Kowhai Connection Local bus timetable

Adults

$3

Stude n $1.50 ts

per tri

p

Warkworth • Snells Beach • Matakana

Plus on-request pick-ups and drop-offs to:

Algies Bay • Sandspit • Point Wells • Omaha Weekdays Leaving Warkworth Warkworth

(excluding public holidays)

AM

Weekends (and public holidays)

PM

AM

PM

7.00 8.30 10.00 12.00 2.00 3.40 5.10

9.00

10.30

12.00

2.00

3.30

7.10 8.40 10.10 12.10 2.10 3.50 5.20

9.10

10.40

12.40

2.10

3.50

R

R

R

R

R

9.30

11.00

1.00

2.30

4.10

R

R

R

R

▼

Snells Beach ▼

Sandspit & Algies

R

R

R

R

R

R

R

▼

7.30 9.00 10.30 12.30 2.30 4.10 5.40

Matakana ▼

Omaha/Pt Wells Whangateau

R

R

R

R

R

R

R

R

R

AM R

R

R

R

R

R

R

R

R

PM R

R

9.50

11.20

1.20

2.50

4.30

R

R

R

R

R

8.10 9.40 11.10 1.10 3.10 4.50 6.20

10.10

11.40

1.40

3.10

4.50

8.20 9.50 11.20 1.20 3.20 5.00 6.30

10.20

11.50

1.50

3.20

5.00

Return to Warkworth Omaha/Pt Wells Whangateau

AM

PM

▼

7.50 9.20 10.50 12.50 2.50 4.30 6.00

Matakana ▼

Sandspit & Algies

R

R

R

R

R

R

R

▼

Snells Beach ▼

Warkworth

R = Request a pick-up or drop-off

Freephone 0508 KOWHAI (569 424)

3 ways to catch the KowhaiConnection 1. From a bus stop 2. Hail a ride 3. Request an off-route ride 5 6 9 4 24

0508 KOWHAI • www.kowhai.org.nz

Proudly supported by Barfoot & Thompson Warkworth and Mahurangi Matters

44

Mahurangi Matters

Local Sport

February 19, 2014

Local athletes win gold and silver at Special Olympics A group of disabled athletes who won a string of medals at last year’s Special Olympics is pleading for more help from volunteers.

The Hibiscus Coast Special Olympics team, which includes several athletes from Mahurangi, struck gold at the national summer games in Dunedin last year.

But coach Kathy Woomack says the group may not be able to compete in the next games if more volunteers are not forthcoming.

Kathy says all their hard work paid off. The team of eight swimmers and equestrians brought home a range of medals from the national games, which were attended by over 1200 athletes.

Matakana twins Reid and Quinn Simpson both won swimming medals.

Quinn won the freestyle, and Reid came second in the butterfly.

Warkworth swimmers Richard Haddow and Lucas Butler took out the top two places in the backstroke: Richard came first and Lucas came second.

Erin Gale won in the equestrian working trails event, Ariel Knight won the dressage and equestrian English equitation, Rebecca Wootten won her section of the equestrian working trails, and Jessica Woomack won the freestyle and the backstroke.

“Everyone got medals. You cannot ask for more. We all burst into tears,” Kathy says.

“Everybody was really serious.

Richard was training three times a week. They were swimming their little hearts out.”

The sport helps create a community among the disabled, she says.

“It’s a great way for parents and caregivers to network, and it’s great for the athletes because they get to make friends that are similar to themselves.

It’s really supportive. It gives them such a sense of achievement.”

The numbers from the Hibiscus team have doubled since the last games four years ago, but the organisation nearly collapsed last year as volunteers are in short supply, Kathy says.

“We’re desperate for volunteers.

Even if you can just volunteer once a month, we welcome that.”

The 10-pin bowling group missed out on going to the games because of a lack of volunteers, she says.

The group also overcome the challenge of funding, raising $8000 from a range of organisations for plane tickets and uniforms.

“It came through in the eleventh hour.

We were very, very lucky.”

The next Special Olympics National Summer Games will be held in Wellington in 2017, but in the meantime the team is training for local events held around the country.

Info: If you would like to volunteer for the Hibiscus Coast Special Olympics team contact Kathy Woomack on 09 4264008 woomack@xtra.co.nz

The Special Olympics is a great way to create a community among the disabled, Hibiscus Coast Special Olympics team coach Kathy Woomack says.

For a full range of family health care, including A&M services in an integrated system 24 hours per day, across our region, including public holidays For further information and new enrolments, please contact any of our clinics Wellsford 220 Rodney St (Cnr. SH1 & Matheson Rd) 09 423 8086 ALSO AFTER HOURS Snells Beach 145 Mahurangi East Road 09 425 6666

Matakana 74 Matakana Valley Road 09 422 7737 Mangawhai 4 Fagan Place 09 431 4128

Maungaturoto 138 Hurndall Street 09 431 8576 Paparoa 1877 Paparoa Valley Road 09 431 7222

Wellsford Birthing Unit

Full 2 bedroom birthing and post natal care facility with your own LMC & Registered Nurses 24/7 in attendance. Birthing pool, FREE baby car seat with admission.

218 Rodney St, Wellsford Health Centre, Wellsford • Enquiries Admin 09 423 8745

PHONE 09 423 8086 FOR 24/7 AFTER HOURS URGENT SERVICE