PONSONBY PARK

Ponsonby Park - DECEMBER UPDATE

Things are moving once again!

Your intrepid Community-led Design group (CLD) presented to the Waitematā Local Board at their November meeting, sharing our vision of a swift restart of the Ponsonby Park development. At that meeting, we were told that the Board was scheduled to meet with Council staff on 30 November for a workshop to plan how Ponsonby Park will be part of next year's “workstream”.

With half of the budget for the development of Ponsonby Park currently available and held in Council’s coffers, we are concerned that it is devaluing and being eroded by inflation. The longer the project is delayed, the less value we get from those funds. The CLD group believes development onsite needs to start in the next financial year to maximise the existing and allocated budget. Council has many precedents where projects are commenced without being fully funded, as they are designed to be developed in stages - Te Ara Tukutuku in the Wynyard Quarter* is an example of this.

Before funds from the sale of an endowment property at 200 Victoria Street were allocated to provide half of the budget for the Ponsonby Park development, the Park was intended - and planned - to be developed in two stages. So in the interests of fiscal responsibility, meeting community needs, and good old-fashioned fairness, we think it behooves us all for physical work to commence on Ponsonby Park in the next 2022-2023 financial year.

It has already been 21 long years since the need was first identified. This is more than long enough to wait!

As 2021 draws to a close (or as many might say, as 2021 streaks by) we turn our thoughts to what we have achieved this year. Our volunteer CLD group has continued to advocate for the development of Ponsonby Park, the much-needed and desired civic space. We also remember our friend and colleague Andy Smith, whose sudden and unexpected death has been a tragic loss to our group. It is with sadness that we acknowledge that the Ponsonby Park project would have been nearing completion were it not for the impacts of Covid-19 and that Andy would have lived to see work on the project underway.

The Ponsonby Park project aligns with ALL Council objectives, plans, and outcomes be it; Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri - Auckland's Climate Plan, Te Rautaki Ngahere ā-Tāone o Tāmaki Makaurau - Auckland’s Urban Ngahere (Forest) Strategy, Te Tahua Pūtea Tau 2021-2031 - The 10-year Budget 20212031 and Mahere Huarahi o Ponsonby - The Ponsonby Road Plan. In addition, Ponsonby Park is also the Waitematā Local Board’s “One Local Initiative” project.

So let’s do this!

Clearly, we have another busy year ahead. But for now, our volunteer CLD group wishes you all a very happy holiday period and we would like to thank you all, for your ongoing support as we continue to advocate to give Ponsonby not only the amenity it needs but also the community heart it deserves.

Arohanui and stay safe. (JENNIFER WARD)  PN www.254ponsonbyrd.org.nz

*www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6Og8nDNIi8

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ALEXA LAWRENCE: SOMETHING I LEARNT WHILE 'DRIFTING IN THE MEANTIME'

Our lived world has a habit of ending every so often to remind us that we are not the centre of everything.[1]

I have spent too much precious time online lost down digital rabbit holes in that other world to which I have become addicted while waiting for life as I knew it to resume. It is a vast electronic region with its own geography, where what is important is mashed up with what is not, and it’s hard to distinguish the difference.

Lately, I’ve come to recognise that all this online activity (permitted in lockdown when physical contact is not) is creating a kind of 'meantime', a place in-between what I once knew as ‘normal’ and the unknown ‘new-normal’ that I crave. Sometimes, it feels as though how I am living now, in this meantime, is not authentic; just a slowed-down, watereddown, let-down version. It feels like a liminal space, an interval between real life past and real life future.

Am I wasting my time, waiting for real life to start again?

One morning recently, while mulling over a YouTube video of Steve Jobs’ commencement address at Stanford in 2005 (which I’d come across down one of those rabbit holes of course) I was pulled sharply into the present by a wet dog-kiss on my arm. Edie wants a walk. The quote I had been trying to recall from that commencement speech, and the yucky wetness of my dog’s plea for an actual walk came together suddenly as insight.

Isn’t that the most wonderful thing about the random intersections of ideas in time; how they turn instantly into awareness! This was the moment when I recognised that our time with Covid-19 is not some kind of 'meantime interval'. This pandemic, with its public lockdowns, bubble living, borders and masks is the real time, the actual, alive time, our one and only lifetime. So, I have now turned toward the rising sun, which I know will always rise, whether or not I see it, and I have resolved to live this pandemic life with gusto - regardless of restrictions, masks and booster shots.

Let me return to Steve Jobs, that complex, flawed personality who was both a creative genius and a total jerk.[2] Six years before he died, he was invited to give the commencement address at Stanford University for the graduating class of 2005. That speech has become an exemplar of speechwriting, for its simplicity and structure. It is worth watching.[3]

The quote I was trying to recall from that speech when Edie licked me into the now is, "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something".

Some of us, without quite realising it, may have been holding out during lockdown for the anticipated new normal; for something else to come along. But Jobs’ words highlight a profound truth about the primacy of living each day well, whatever the conditions and constraints may be. Each day is a day that we have now. (ALEXA LAWRENCE)  PN

[1] These words may not be my own. I found them in my journal but can’t remember if I read them somewhere or wrote them myself. I would be delighted to know who the author is.

[2] Bill Murphy Jr. www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/steve-jobswas-a-creative-genius-steve-jobs-was-a-total-jerk.html

[3] Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yhf0wBFtvY

TALKING TRUSTS: WILL YOU OR WON’T YOU?

Grace and Robert had been married for twenty years. They had two teenage daughters and lived a lovely lifestyle between their beachfront property in Auckland and their holiday home in Omaha.

The house and holiday home were both owned in a family trust. They also had investments outside of the trust, including the share of the partnership in Robert’s architectural firm.

One day Robert came home and quite to Grace’s surprise, told her that he was leaving her. He wanted to “find himself” and he didn’t think he could do that while still married to her. Grace was shocked more than devastated. Her daughters were so annoyed with Robert they simply stopped talking to him and refused to see him.

Grace quickly engaged a lawyer, and she and Robert sorted out their relationship property and the trust property in a very civilized manner, despite the hostile situation. Grace kept the Omaha property in their current trust, and a new trust was set up by Robert for the family home which he retained. Robert retired as a trustee of Grace’s trust, but their accountant stayed on as the independent trustee. Robert also renounced any right he had as a beneficiary and the power to appoint and remove trustees was transferred to Grace solely. Their other finances were split 50/50, but Grace decided that she wanted to keep that money out of the trust and in her personal name. She felt that after all these years of Robert controlling the finances, she wanted some autonomy over her money.

Grace moved to Omaha and spent a very pleasant five years there, until the day when unfortunately she had a brain aneurism. She was rushed to hospital, but it was too late, and they switched the life support machine off six hours after she was admitted to hospital. Her daughters were devastated.

A few weeks later Grace’s daughters went to see their mother’s lawyer. They were shocked to discover that at the time of separating from Robert and sorting out their relationship property, Grace had never updated her will. Her will had been made ten years previously and left everything to Robert and then to the girls. Robert was the executor and the power to appoint and remove trustees of the trust was left to Robert. The girls were devastated. Their relationship with their father was estranged and they felt he had changed under the influence of his new partner. They didn’t think he would stand aside easily.

Grace had made the mistake of not changing her will when she had a change of circumstances. If you get divorced, then that has an impact on your will – it is read as if your ex-spouse died before you. However, if you simply separate, then that has no impact on your will. There are many couples (like Robert and Grace) who separate and then never get around to divorcing. This can have an impact when they die if they don’t address the changes they want to make via their will.

It is important to review your will at least every five years or if there is a change in circumstances. A change in circumstances includes:

· Having children – guardianship provisions should be included in your will and provision made for your children.

· Getting married – marriage revokes any previous will, so if you get married and don’t update your will, you are intestate unless you make a new will.

· Entering into a long-term relationship of three years or more – the Property (Relationships) Act gives your partner the right to choose to take 50% of all relationship property (ie assets that have been acquired during the relationship including all income, Kiwisaver and the family home whenever it was acquired) if you die regardless of what your will says.

· Separating from your partner or spouse – this has no impact on your will, as in Grace’s case.

· If a partner, child or someone named in your will dies.

· If you inherit assets, you need to consider how they relate to relationship property, whether you want to keep them separate and how this needs to be dealt with in your will.

Wills are one of the most important legal documents. Every adult should consider getting a will, and it is important to take good legal advice on how it should be drafted so that you don’t leave a mess behind when you die.

Tammy McLeod

LOCAL NEWS AUCKLAND RADIOLOGY GROUP - A LONG HISTORY WITH PONSONBY

Auckland Radiology Group (ARG) has been part of the Ponsonby landscape for 30 years and this year they showed a renewed commitment to the community when they relocated to the newly refurbished One Jervois Building, on the corner of Ponsonby Road and Jervois Road.

“There are many reasons why it’s a great place to have a presence,” says Dr Kate O’Connor, ARG Radiologist and Board Director. Our proximity to the city is such that we often see patients from Waiheke or that live in the CBD. People from the North Shore also don’t mind just popping over the bridge for an appointment - especially now we can offer even better parking options at our new location.”

Founded in 1936, ARG was the first clinic of its kind in Auckland. Since that first door opened, it has expanded to 15 clinics across North, South, East and West Auckland, ensuring people have access to a world-class imaging service wherever they live in the city.

The 282 Ponsonby Road clinic opened in 1990 and has been a busy and much-loved radiology provider since then. Although there have been recent closures of imaging at both White Cross and Ponsonby Ultrasound, there was no question of ARG not staying in the area.

The new location, on Level 1 at One Jervois, provides much needed extra space in a beautiful new environment. They now have extra capacity with a third ultrasound room and large x-ray room, as well as space for ARG radiologists and specialist booking administrators.

“We get to care for patients of all ages - from in the womb and beyond!” says O’Connor. “When Covid restrictions allow, we do a lot of imaging to meet immigration requirements for new and aspiring New Zealanders. Monday is always a busy day at the branch; locals, being active Kiwis, have their fair share of ‘weekend warrior’ thrills and spills. Our staff maintain excellent relationships with our local and loyal referrers and really do their best to find what works for all patients.”

“We are committed to offering the highest quality and most comprehensive radiology services using the latest equipment. Our team looks forward to providing new and existing patients a friendly caring experience, and we warmly invite you to visit us,” adds Dr Stephen Merrilees, ARG’s Medical Director.

Ask to be referred to: ARG at 1 Jervois Road, Ponsonby, T: 09 529 4850; www.arg.co.nz

We Have Moved

You can find us at our brand new clinic, conveniently located at ONE JERVOIS (corner of Ponsonby and Jervois Roads).

With better car parking and more ultrasound capacity, we are the perfect local choice for all your ultrasound and xray needs.

We’re near you. With 15 convenient locations across Auckland, you are never far from an ARG clinic.

LOCAL NEWS PONSONBY U3A: NOVEMBER 2021

Hawaiian Music and Sound Travels.

An unusual presentation delighted Ponsonby U3A members at their November meeting.

Dr Andrea Eden Low is Associate Curator, Contemporary World at the Auckland War Memorial Museum and has just curated the Pacific content for the new permanent exhibition at the Museum, Tāmaki Herenga Waka-Stories of Auckland. She treated members by Zoom to a taste of her PhD (Anthropology) thesis, Sound Travels, which brings together aspects of archival studies, ethnomusicology, Oceanic and Hawaiian history, photography, fashion, biography, jazz and decolonial studies.

Members were charmed by Andrea’s story connecting her mother and grandparents and the musical group that evolved to their roots in Fanning Island (now part of the Republic of Kiribati) and subsequently to Ponsonby and Herne Bay. When the island sold in 1907 the Greig family settled in Hamilton Road and the four children went to Ponsonby School.

In 1910 they started a band, the Waikiki Hawaiians, which toured around even the smallest towns in New Zealand, and later a jazz band called the Hili Duo, which became the highest grossing genre in American music at that time, touring India and Australasia. In 1925, Tuavivi Greig met Ernest Kaai, a master of mandolin and ukulele, forming The Hawaiian Troubadours. The musical combination of jazz with Hawaiian themes had a massive impact on New Zealand musicians.

Famous for bringing melody into ukulele playing, Ernest asserted one could play anything on a ukulele. Andrea’s interest in ethnomusicology was spurred by the massive collection of photos and albums she inherited. These photos depicting as they did the stylish clothes and up-to-the minute hairstyles sported by the musicians, epitomised the fascinating couture of the twenties, thirties, and forties.

Ponsonby U3A member, Glenda Fryer told tales of her life in local government. Glenda has a wealth of Auckland Council and governance experience as a councillor and local board member. But her path has not been easy. Hers is a story of resilience and persistence as she contested various elections. In 1974 at 23 years old, she started standing for local boards and the City Council.

After university, she became a union organiser and then senior lecturer at Auckland University of Technology. In 2001 she stood for Auckland City Council and after an event-filled period in local government, she left in 2019 to try her luck on the Waitematā Local Board. Recently, following a resignation, she has been appointed by the Board to help with their work until the next elections. Ponsonby U3A will be convening by Zoom until the end of the year. If you are comfortable with Zoom, we would be delighted to welcome you as a visitor until we can meet you properly in person. You may be new to the area, in need of a stimulus or a bit lonely, but there is always a welcome at Ponsonby U3A. Guests are invited to attend monthly meetings held on the second Friday of each month but beforehand, please call President, Philippa Tait (027 452 3108).

The meeting features a guest speaker drawn from every discipline and, as well, a member gives a short presentation on their life and interests. Members are encouraged to join at least one of about 30 special interest groups held mainly in people’s homes. This is where the shared learning and the friendships are made.

Our final meeting for the year in December will celebrate the end of the year. Ten-minute speaker Bronwen Hughes will tell members about the time she and her husband spent two unforgettable years living in France.

Andrea Kelland, casting director, comedienne, tutor, and actor will entertain. Seen on television most days, you’ll know her when you see her… and you will smile! (CHRISTINE HART)  PN

NEXT MEETING: By Zoom at 10am, Friday 10 December

RECONVENING: 11 February 2022

ENQUIRIES: Philippa Tait, President, Ponsonby U3A M: 027 452 3108, www.u3a.nz

Dr Andrea Low

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