The Hobson June 2020

june 2020

back in the new normal local news, views & informed opinions

So Very Well Addressed Utterly desirable from the street, this elevated Patterson designed terrace house has been rented for the last 17 years by the overseas owner. As it is just one of four units, it is an easily managed Body Corporate.

39A ST STEPHENS AVENUE, PARNELL

The owner’s new life in Portugal, means you now have the chance to own their 217 sq m apartment, that is in a prestigious Parnell location and so very close to the Auckland CBD.

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Clever separation of bedrooms create possibilities for families who need somewhere for a nanny to live.

There will be no grey days here, as the elevation of the home and the fact this is an end unit gives the interior lovely light. Borrowed vistas of surrounding elegant homes and sea views, remind you that you are living in a very beautiful suburb that has the sea and Rangitoto Island at the end of its fingertips.

This complex of terraced homes has been very tightly held by the various owners, so you may have to wait a while to get another opportunity to purchase here.

nzsothebysrealty.com Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated. Browns Real Estate Limited (licensed under the REAA 2008) MREINZ.

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FLOOR AREA: 217 sq m (more or less) FOR SALE: Auction, 4:00 p.m. Friday 19 June 2020. In offices 295 Parnell Road, Parnell (unless sold prior) VIEW: nzsothebysrealty.com/NZE11207

LESLEY MCLELLAN M +64 27 453 5070 lesley.mclellan@nzsir.com

Auckland Obstetric Centre is a unique practice in Parnell made up of six leading specialist obstetricians and support staff. Together we have many years of experience and feel privileged to be able to share in the care of women during their pregnancy. To find out more about how we can care for you and your baby call our team or visit our website.

09 367 1200 | obstetrics.co.nz

Lynda Batcheler Astrid Budden Eva Hochstein Katherine McKenzie Kirstie Peake Jason Waugh

Duravit “A bowl filled with water on a simple table,” Danish designer Cecilie Manz describes her inspiration for Duravit’s Luv series. The result is Nordic purism combined with timeless elegance, created with gentle forms and sharp geometry. Luv is a brand new design that can be interpreted uniquely to suit your individual style.

Toilets. Basins. Baths.

Tapware. Accessories.

Saunas. Showers

metrix.co.nz

155 The Strand, Parnell, Auckland

Elegance, pure and simple.

H EATHER + ROSS

34d Arney Crescent, Remuera An imposing 495m2 (approx.) family residence in a private position on the highly sought after Arney Crescent ridge. With stunning sea views and a sunny nor-west aspect offering vistas from the Sky Tower across to Rangitoto.

Meticulously designed to the highest standard with superb attention to detail - French Oak flooring, Morgan Cronin kitchen, artisan carpets, underfloor heating, two gas fire places and custom shutters throughout.

Black Group Realty Limited Licensed (REAA 2008)

6 Sale Price By Negotiation View Contact an agent for viewing details

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The June Issue, No. 68

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the editor’s letter

the investment

the resident

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The Budget. Hmmm, says Warren Couillault

Sensibly, Colin Hogg has left Wellington and returned to Auckland.

He writes of choosing to live in Remuera

the columnists

11 the village Updates on things that didn't stop during lockdown (foulled waterways, saving Robbie’s Park), a salute to a local teacher, and more

20 the politicians Updates from local MPs David Seymour and Paul Goldsmith

22 the councillor The councillor for the Ōrākei ward, Desley Simpson, shares her news

23 the plan Hamish Firth lives in hope the business practices of lockdown live on

27 the teacher Relax, the kids will get back on course, though there’s watch-outs for senior students, writes Judi Paape

28 the second act Sandy Burgham is heartened by the response of business leaders who want a better post-pandemic world

29 the suburbanist Moving house is a giant pain, and even more fraught doing it during lockdown levels, as Tommy Honey discovered

36 the magpie With all that time to fill, the Magpie made quite a list of things she would like to add to her nest

40 the sound Andrew Dickens applauds the artists who went ahead with album releases during lockdown

42 the cryptic Māyā’s puzzle of the month

30 the heritage A world-sweeping virus that shut schools and needed an emergency response? We’ve been here before.

Dr Joanna Boileau looks at the local impact of the WWI flu pandemic the hobson 6

The locked down empty city.

Photo by Stephen Penny.

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Located just 10 minutes from the city centre, and close to the bays and main arterial routes, this really is the ideal retirement destination in Auckland. From our rooftop gardens, you can also soak up the wonderful views looking out across the village and across One Tree Hill.

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issue 68, june 2020 Editor & Publisher Kirsty Cameron editor@thehobson.co.nz Art Direction & Production Stephen Penny design@thehobson.co.nz News Editor Mary Fitzgerald maryfitzgerald.thehobson@gmail.com Writers This Issue Kirsty Cameron, Dr Joanna Boileau, Mary Fitzgerald, Colin Hogg, Wayne Thompson, Justine Williams Sub-editor Dawn Adams Columnists Sandy Burgham, Warren Couillault, Andrew Dickens, Hamish Firth, Paul Goldsmith, Tommy Honey, Judi Paape, David Seymour, Desley Simpson

o here we are. Thinner (the magazine) but still standing.

What a strange, strange time.

Much of our content this month is about experiences in lockdown, and the things we discovered in the process. Tommy Honey (The Suburbanist, page 29) moved house in level three, and found out that adds layers of difficulty to an already fraught process. Hamish Firth (The Plan, page 23) discovered that the enforced press-pause on a busy life was not too bad at all, and Desley Simpson (The Councillor, page 22), had the pleasant discovery that her husband is a very good cook. I found out I can’t make sourdough bread, and that I now can’t tell you much about what went on, because it’s all become a bit of a blur.

Looking back, it’s a bit like having small children: the days are long, but the weeks fly by. Business-wise, it was one of the most stressful times we’ve ever had, with much confusion initially about what we could (print) and couldn’t (distribute) during the various alert levels.

That is why your April issue was delayed reaching letterboxes, and why May didn’t appear at all.

We kept Facebook updated and thank everyone who got in touch to say they missed us, and hoped that The Hobson wouldn’t be another business claimed by the ripples of the pandemic. We weren’t, and we’re all working harder than ever to make sure this publication remains a reliable source of news and community connection. Which of course would not be possible without the staunch support of the advertisers you see in these pages. Please do whatever you can to support them, shop local, eat local, do what you can to help our community work through this.

Sandy Burgham gathered some fascinating reflections from senior business leaders during her lockdown, as you can read in The Second Act (page 28). What she didn’t write about was another discovery she made — when lockdown gives you failed guava jelly, you turn it into a gin and guava cocktail instead. We’ll drink to that.

Photographers Mary Fitzgerald, Stephen Penny Cover A city shop window reflects signs of these strange times.

Photo by Stephen Penny

THE HOBSON is published 11 times a year by The Hobson Limited, PO Box 37490 Parnell, Auckland 1151. www.thehobson.co.nz F: The Hobson Magazine I: @The Hobson

Kirsty Cameron editor@thehobson.co.nz 0275 326 424 Facebook: The Hobson Magazine Instagram: TheHobson

Ideas, suggestions, advertising inquiries welcome. editor@thehobson.co.nz

THE HOBSON is Remuera, Parnell and Ōrākei’s community magazine. We deliver into letterboxes in these neighbourhoods, and copies are also at local libraries, cafes, and at businesses including the Vicky Ave and White Heron dairies, and Paper Plus Parnell. For more about us, see The Hobson Magazine on Facebook.

The content of THE HOBSON is copyright. Our words, our pictures.

Don’t steal, and don’t borrow without checking with us first.

We aim for accuracy but cannot be held liable for any inaccuracies that do occur. The views of our contributors are their own and not necessarily those of THE HOBSON. We don’t favour unsolicited contributions but do welcome you getting in touch via editor@thehobson.co.nz to discuss ideas.

The Hobson Ltd is a member of the Magazine Publishers Association This publication uses environmentally responsible papers.

ICG Logo CMYK.pdf 1 05/08/2015 6:19:01 AM

We have a new friend in town. Colin Hogg is an author (Going South), long-time music journo and columnist — his column at the NZ Woman’s Weekly ran for 38 years until the Weekly abruptly closed in April. Colin recently moved back to Auckland from Wellington, settling in Remuera. He shares his thoughts on the new neighbourhood, and hedges, on page 34.

The Columnists

Left to right from top row: Sandy Burgham (The Second Act) is a brand strategist and an executive coach with a special interest in midlife change and transformational behaviours. She runs a central Auckland practice. www.playclc.com Remuera resident Warren Couillault (The Investment) is chairperson and CEO of Hobson Wealth, one of New Zealand’s leading private wealth advisory groups. He is also the chair of kōura Wealth, a registered KiwiSaver scheme manager.

Andrew Dickens (The Sound) is a host on Newstalk ZB. For 13 years he was the breakfast host on Classic Hits.

He grew up in Remuera.

Hamish Firth (The Plan) lives and works in Parnell and is principal of the Mt Hobson Group, a specialist urban planning consultancy. www.mthobsonproperties.co.nz Mary Fitzgerald is The Hobson’s News Editor. A Mainlander who transplanted to Remuera 16 years ago, she is passionate about hearing and telling our stories.

Urban design critic Tommy Honey (The Suburbanist) is a former architect. The Remuera resident is a regular guest on RNZ National, discussing the built environment.

Judi Paape (The Teacher) is a parent, grandparent and highly-experienced teacher and junior school principal.

A Parnell resident, her column appears bi-monthly.

Contributing writer Wayne Thompson is a former The New Zealand Herald journalist, covering Auckland news. He has been a resident of Parnell for 34 years.

Contributing editor Justine Williams is an interiors stylist, writer and fashion editor. The Remuera resident has been the editor of Simply You and Simply You Living.

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Town & Around DRY HORRORS Signs are still erected around the Remuera shores of Hobson Bay, Waitaramoa Reserve and Newmarket Park warning that it’s not safe to enter the water. As reported in our April issue, high levels of faecal bacteria, even in extended dry spells, are entering the waterways because of infrastructure problems with old pipes, and not to mention a resource consent allowing Watercare to discharge raw sewage under certain conditions. Members of Hapua Thrive, one of the community groups campaigning to clean up the local waterways have provided this update.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and community groups such as the Remuera Residents Association, Wilson’s Beach Group, Hapua Thrive and From the Deck are particularly concerned about the poor water quality in our streams, how it got this bad and how we ensure it doesn’t happen again. And we need your help to keep advocating for the health of our waterways.

The upgraded separated sewage and stormwater tunnel completed in 2011 across Waitaramoa/Hobson Bay has not solved the overflow problems as promised. Significant spillages are happening in dry weather, before they even get to the Hobson Bay tunnel, which itself was a replacement for the old pipe that bisected the bay. Significant investment in the Central Interceptor for the western isthmus means much of the funding for infrastructure is already committed, but it is clear urgent work is needed here.

Testing of the waters continued through lockdown. As well as the places already signposted, it showed unsafe levels of contamination in the stream by Martyn Wilson Field, and at Wilson’s Beach. All the local streams tested, prelockdown and after, have showed high levels of human faecal contamination. If we were to have a separated system instead of a combined one, we would not have nearly so much contamination.

However the focus of the current testing is dry weather contamination — an infrastructure problem which should not happen. The good news is that our local councillor, Desley Simpson, has committed to ensuring this problem is solved in a timely manner and the Ōrākei Local Board, particularly Margaret Voyce, are in support. Our community efforts have also been offered support by local Epsom MP David Seymour, and the Green Party’s Kyle MacDonald.

Some investigations and remediation have begun as to the causes of the faults. So far, this has focused on the Newmarket end of the area and “quick wins” (after the April issue of The Hobson was published, Watercare advised that a fault had been found with tree roots blocking sewer lines in Nuffield St). Further meetings are

being held to understand the plan to remedy the dry weather faults, and the regular maintenance process.

Over the lockdown, members of Hapua Thrive looked closely at the non-notified Network Discharge Consent issued to Watercare in June 2014 for a period of 35 years. It allows them under certain conditions to discharge raw sewage into the streams and the “receiving environment”. We have engaged a barrister to request considerable additional information from Watercare and Auckland Council.

There is deep concern that there appears to be little information about the health of the bay, let alone a solid plan to improve the infrastructure and hence water quality. The current system seems to be reactive — it relies on complaints, yet it is not always clear who to complain to and remedial action is slow and complex. And despite the call for “shovel ready projects” and signals to invest in infrastructure from the government, there appears to be nothing on the table to put forward that will improve the waters flowing into the bay.

The Waitaramoa/Hobson Bay area is classed by Watercare as high priority due to the combined system, its special ecological, recreational and cultural value.

However it is difficult to see how it is being treated like one. There is a great need for people to advocate for its health and to express their desire to have clean water.

There is support from Ōrākei Local Board and Healthy Waters for a public meeting, which we will promote online. In the meantime, please stay out of the water! It may be a while before we can access the water again but if we don’t all advocate for clean water it will take even longer. p Keep up to date on the public meeting and advocacy: see hapuathrive.co.nz and on Facebook, The Hobson Magazine

DIGGING OVER THE PAST Opponents of the plan to build a National Erebus Memorial in Dove-Myer Robinson Park, Parnell, are doggedly pressing for consideration of alternative sites despite the project getting Auckland Council resource consent.

On March 18, independent planning commissioner Ian Munro approved resource consent for the $3.5 million taxpayer-funded project, saying he was satisfied no one would be adversely affected and that there would be no more than a minor impact on the park environment.

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WE’RE BACK!

Open homes are back on, as are onsite auctions, all subject to the protocols of Covid-19. It feels good to have the offices back up and running and with it a surprisingly active market place. Buyers are out and we are making sales.

During level 4 we noted most conditional agreements going unconditional. Sales numbers during that period were not surprisingly down, however it is evident house buyers remain resilient.

We are optimistic that the market will bounce back, as for where the market is going pricewise – it is too soon to say, but right now it feels like steady as she goes. From virtual tour viewings, e-flyers, online auctions and Zoom type communication, we are fully geared to tailor a safe real estate experience for all our customers in level 2.

If you’re thinking real estate please give me a call - let’s have a chat, 1 metre apart!

Philip Oldham M 021 921 031 philip.oldham@uprealestate.co.nz

LICENSED AGENT REA 2008

He said adverse effects would be appropriately avoided, remedied or mitigated by the conditions of the consent recommended by council staff. Experts in different fields had said that adverse effects would be acceptable.

Earlier Munro rejected pleas that there were special circumstances for the public to have a say on the consent, because of alleged flaws in the actions of either the project’s sponsor, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH), or the council as landowner. He said this was beyond his brief and focus on resource management issues.

Parnell residents Jo Malcolm and Anne Coney, founders of Save Robbie’s Park, expressed their disappointment at not having their concerns heard. In March, The Hobson reported their dismay that a Boffa Miskell report, commissioned by MCH and which recommended against a site in the park, was not shared with either the Waitematā Local Board as park landowner, or the public.

On May 1, they received documents they had requested under the Official Information Act to find out what information influenced the site choice, and what information was presented to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who is Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister, before she confirmed the site.

With MCH about to seek the local board’s formal landowner permission to use the park, Malcolm and Coney wrote to board members on May 5, saying documents show that Ardern was not advised of the Boffa Miskell report when she confirmed the site.

The report rated the park site as ‘poor’ to ‘inadequate’ in most criteria, ‘good’ in one and ‘excellent’ in none.

Furthermore, an August 2018 briefing document to Ardern did not say that the Parnell site was the only option available out of the five on the shortlist. Instead, it said the site seemed appropriate and was “ . . . one we know has Auckland support”.

Malcolm and Coney say they are not sure who the “Auckland” is.

The matter of the park’s selection was not presented to the whole Waitematā board until October 2018; the Auckland public were only consulted a year later — in September 2019 — after significant pressure. This feedback showed 77 per cent of those identifying as “local” being opposed to the memorial’s location, and 63 per cent of Aucklanders were opposed.

MCH’s explanation was that Boffa Miskell’s report was one of several pieces of work meant for ministry officials to consider in coming up with a site recommendation, and as such would not typically be a matter to raise with a minister.

Coney and Malcolm’s letter to board members says the ministry denied a request to see the views obtained from family members of the 257 people killed in the 1979 Air New Zealand plane crash on Mt Erebus, Antarctica. In the end, they got a summary of views from a private source.

“In reading these comments it is very clear that, other than the site being in a park-like location, there is little feedback that indicates Dove-Myer Robinson is a good choice,” Malcolm and Coney wrote. “In fact, Erebus family feedback seeks a strong link to Erebus (there is none), no picnicking nearby (it is a well-loved and used picnic and wedding spot) and a quiet and secluded space (it is noisy from the port, heliport and trains and busy, especially from November to April). The Boffa Miskell report clearly echoed the views of family members.”

The Rev Dr Richard Waugh is the spokesman for an independent group who have been advocating for a national Erebus memorial since 2016. He says it was not involved in choosing the site but having asked many Erebus families what they wanted, was delighted to learn of the selection of the park. The site is a stone’s throw from where the first flying boats arrived in New Zealand in 1937, and from the park, can you still see the poles in the harbour marking the planes’ navigation path.

Brodie Stubbs, who is leading the project for the ministry, told The Hobson that the ministry would seek the board’s landowner approval “shortly” — once all regulatory approvals required for

Te Paerangi Aaata — Sky Song as planned for Dove-Myer Robinson Park. Image by Studio Pacific Architects courtesy of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage.

construction were in place. Getting the resource consent was only part of the process, because the ministry also needed an archaeology authority to modify the site.

Bev Parslow, of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, says it is working with the ministry’s consultants on understanding the extent of effects on an archaeological site. Once accepted for processing, an application for an authority takes 20 working days to be determined, followed by an appeal period of 15 days.

The depth of information gathered by the ministry to back up both applications, says Brodie Stubbs, means that the local board will get reports resulting from “rigorous independent scrutiny” of the plans.

An example of the reports is one commissioned by MCH from Clough and Associates to assess the site for anything of archaeological significance which might affect the plans. It resulted, says the ministry, in a valuable addition to the historical record.

The proposed footprint of the structure, Te Paerangi Ataata —

Sky Song, is within what were once the gardens of Kilbryde, the home of city father Sir John Logan Campbell. The building was demolished in 1924 when Auckland City Council formed today’s park. The route proposed for a temporary construction road to the memorial site, crosses the house site.

Test digs in January near the memorial’s 97m2 site uncovered the sub-surface remains of Kilbryde’s garden pond, and within the site unearthed the remnants of a 19th century road or track between Judges Bay and St Georges Bay. The report says construction won’t affect the pond, which stays buried. The temporary road won’t have significant effects on buried remains of Kilbryde. However, a third of the old track will either be destroyed or covered with fill.

This concerns the Save Robbie’s Park group, which wants it declared a heritage park to protect it from changes. It also commissioned a report for the benefit of local board members.

The group says landscape historian John Adam’s report counters the resource consent decision’s view that the proposal maintains

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historic heritage, natural character and amenity values.

Adam reckons that the commissioner relied on reports that show a failure to understand the site’s heritage values. For example, the remains of Kilbryde’s Italianate revival garden, with views across the harbour. Its lateral terraces recreate a 19th century garden experience to visitors that will be compromised by the memorial.

Adam says Campbell cleared farmland for his garden. Famous visitors to the Campbells at Kilbryde included Mark Twain; and it was used as a hospital in the 1918-19 flu epidemic (see The Heritage, page 30). Later, the city council had notable designer T E Pearson reset the gardens with minimal changes to the pattern of paths.

— Wayne Thompson p

MEET YOUR BOARD MEMBER Long-time Ōrākei ward resident Sarah Powrie (pictured with husband Sefton) is deputy chair of the Ōrākei Local Board.

She took Mary Fitzgerald’s questions.

What is your working background?

It’s diverse. We owned a business manufacturing and selling bespoke furniture; a steep learning curve as you teach yourself new skills on the job, problem solving as you go. I used these skills to change tack and became a community development manager, responsible for planning, fundraising and stakeholder support. I loved the challenge of this role.

Tell us a little about your family I have three grown children and four grandchildren who are an endless source of joy and entertainment. The whole family has a huge interest in boating and we all seem to gravitate to the water.

[Sarah’s daughter, Olivia ‘Polly’ Powrie is a two-time Olympic medallist in sailing. With Jo Aleh, she won gold in London in 2012, and silver at Rio in 2016.]

Why did you stand for this role?

The local environment in which we live is so vitally important to our enjoyment of everyday life. The transport options have to work effectively, our parks need to be well maintained with great facilities, our environment protected and our businesses supported so they can thrive. We can make a difference to the things that really matter to how people live and enjoy their local areas.

What board portfolios are you responsible for?

Economic Development and Community, and I’m the alternate for the Transport and Environment portfolios.

What do you consider to be the top two projects you will initiate and complete in your role to directly benefit the community?

I have so many plans and projects, it is hard to isolate two and many are interconnected. However, I am interested in promoting shared pathways as viable modes of transport across the area and am nurturing some specific projects. We are currently planning a vibrant Summer in the Bays Festival, which will bring people to the bays to enjoy the America’s Cup regatta.

Tell us something about yourself that may surprise us When I was 17, I travelled over land from London to Kathmandu.

We visited so many places that are now inaccessible or destroyed, from the Bamyan Buddhas to remote areas of eastern Turkey, northern Pakistan and Afghanistan. I vividly remember the hospitality, the vibrancy, the breadth of history and the aweinspiring sweep of geography.

If you were prime minister, what would you do to improve Auckland?

I would overhaul the Resource Management Act to align and enforce urban design principles. Our unique landscape should encourage development that not just meets the needs of city dwellers; but encourages the creation of places and spaces that engage and inspire.

What is your favourite escape in Auckland?

I love the islands of the Hauraki Gulf: Motuihe, Waiheke, Rangitoto, Motutapu, Tiritiri Matangi, Rakino, Ponui. We are so fortunate to

David Seymour MP for Epsom

For an appointment, please contact me on 09 522 7464 or mpepsom@parliament.govt.nz

Epsom Electorate Office Level 2, 27 Gillies Avenue, Newmarket

Promoted by David Seymour, MP for Epsom, 27 Gillies Avenue, Newmarket

Mary Fitzgerald

have these beautiful islands, some of which are undergoing the most spectacular of transformations back to bush and birdsong.

And finally, what did you learn in lockdown?

The power of Zoom and Houseparty to keep in touch with friends and family, and the pleasure of pottering around at home. p

ROLE CALL In a new story each month, we spotlight a teacher at a local school, who the school community believes goes that extra mile.

For our first teacher-in-the-spotlight, Mary Fitzgerald spoke (prelockdown) to Judi Delbridge, Head of Faculty for Technology at Baradene College of the Sacred Heart.

Judi Delbridge is a creative and passionate teacher always on the lookout for new ideas and ways to inspire her students and her team. ‘Mrs Delbridge’ to her pupils, Auckland-born and raised Judi first started teaching 37 years ago, after qualifying as a primary school teacher. She says she has always had a creative nature. “If Mum and Dad had let me, I would have been a window dresser or a florist. But teaching is a really neat job to be in – I’ve been teaching technologies for 15 years.”

“Teaching allows me to be ‘the creative me’ and to be a risk taker. A lot of how I feel about teaching is about this school – it’s really an amazing space to work. Our principal [Dr Sandy Pasley] is incredibly supportive of creativity and new things. There is always more to learn, and here I can have responsibility and a great team working with me. This makes a great support network, and the teaching environment is collaborative and productive.”

For several years Delbridge taught at Ellerslie School, which is a full primary, to Year 8. It was there she became interested in the technologies curriculum, and started to specialise as a technologies — food, soft and hard materials — teacher. From Ellerslie, she went to Dio, revamping Years 7-9 tech. “I wanted to find interesting ways to teach the kids, so I started to look at what was current, like Nadia Lim’s My Food Bag, and Garden to Table. I created teaching programmes along those lines.

In 2015 Delbridge joined Baradene as assistant head of faculty and this year, was appointed head of faculty. The faculty teaches students from Y7 to Y13 in construction and materials technology, food processing technology, design and visual communication,

Academic.

Wholehearted.

No Limits.

coding, creative design processes and production. Students get to work creatively and analytically to identify and trial and evaluate potential ideas, and put these into place.

“My department is exceedingly team orientated and we each have our own specialty areas — my particular passion is food technology, and construction and materials,” she explains.

“Everybody’s creative, it’s quite noisy, people talk quite fast. That’s wonderful, I love it — ideas flow and then we work together to try and include the ideas within the curriculum.”

Students from Year 7 through to Year 9 are taught a general tech programme. At Year 10, the curriculum diverges into four different areas: construction and materials, food and processing, computer science, and design and visual tech.

Delbridge ran a Wearable Arts programme one year, Trash to Treasure another year. Last year, Year 8 tech students focused on paper fashion, using newly-acquired skills to design and make a white garment suitable for a formal occasion. Yes, very creative, but there was a catch – the brief demanded toilet paper as the fabric.

“This program with its approach to technology is very

Early Learning | Primary | College

Open Day Saturday 20 June 9.30am–1.30pm Caleb Probine, Alumni Cambridge Award Winner

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the village

current,” says Delbridge. “We try to base all of our programmes on authentic, really robust current stuff - that paper fashion programme was based on the Kleenex Cottonelle design competition run by NZ Fashion Tech. Their fashion tech students follow through on the exact same brief as the one we have done.”

In the other classes there are equally inspiring learning projects.

“Year 12 students enter events like the NZ Ice Cream Awards and we have achieved a couple of silver medals with that.

“The students are passionate and incredibly interested. In our department the kids are lined up before the bell goes because they want to be there – they’re excited, and when they leave class, they thank you every time. That’s so inspiring for a teacher. They have just totally embraced [learning], and that for me is key.”

And teaching a constantly-evolving subject is rewarding too.

“Technology is one of the most interesting and exciting career pathways, and we just find out more and more. You only have to walk into a supermarket and see what’s on the shelves, you only have to walk into a fabric store and see the sustainable stuff going on; how people are selling through blogs and online. I think that it’s just such an exciting world, and to have a part in inspiring the girls is wonderful for me.” p Do you know a teacher you’d like to nominate for a story in The Hobson? Contact editor@thehobson.co.nz

LOOKING BACK

ISSUE 8 2020

WAIPAPA TUNNEL LOST HOUSES OF PARNELL AUCKLAND’S EARLIEST HOSPITAL

FRASER’S FOUNDRY, STANLEY STREET PHARMACY IN PARNELL ERNEST AND MARION DAVIS LIBRARY

AND OTHER STORIES FROM PARNELL’S PAST PARNELL’S ELECTRIC TRAMS

Parnell Heritage will shortly publish the eighth edition of the Parnell Heritage Journal. Articles in this issue include the Māori hospital in Judges Bay, early industry in Stanley St and a study of three lost houses of Parnell. That list will shortly include another early villa: demolition consent has been granted for a 150-year-old house with a rich history at 57 St Georges Bay Rd. The application for demolition and the building of five townhouses was lodged at Christmas and escaped the notice of both the Waitematā Local Board and Heritage New Zealand, which must grant approval for the demolition of any pre-1900 building.

The Journal will be on sale at Paper Plus Parnell, and at the White Heron Dairy in Gladstone Rd, RRP $15. Copies can also be ordered and posted out: please email enquiries@parnellheritage. org.nz with inquiries. p

the hobson + miranda smith homecare

Let's Talk!

Why it’s a good time to have a chat with your ageing mum or dad about in-home care

Carer Stacey and client Paul in Paul's home, left.

Above, founder Miranda Smith. "With our private care model, the care can change as needs change," says Miranda.

I

t’s never an easy conversation, says aged care expert Miranda Smith. But the sooner you discuss your parents’ future care needs with them, the better equipped you’ll be to assist. “It’s about preparing early, planting the seed and discussing what their wishes are for any care they might need now or in the future,” she says.

“Your mum or dad might already have clear views or, in light of recent events they may have changed their mind about what they want. Retirement village and rest home care isn’t for everyone, but it can take talking to find that out.”

Miranda leads the team at Miranda Smith Homecare, which provides tailored, private in-home care New Zealand-wide, including right across Auckland. She acknowledges it can be easy to put “the care conversation” off. In fact, research undertaken by Colmar Brunton* shows that a staggering 80 per cent of us have no clear idea what our parents’ care wishes are, and a third have never had a conversation with their parents about the matter.

“What we see at Miranda Smith Homecare are often the consequences of these missing conversations,” says Miranda.

“During a major health event, families can be completely caught off guard, with no idea what to do or what their parent would like to happen next.”

She says the benefit of care in the home is that it’s totally scaleable — from just a few hours a week to round-the-clock care. And arrangements can be flexible to suit changing requirements. “We might see an increase in hours when a client is discharged from hospital and facing recovery at

home. Or we pare back if a son or daughter is staying.

We work with families to get the level of care just right.”

Carers get to know their clients well, Miranda says “because 95 per cent of our carers will see just one client, not multiple carers visiting multiple sites.” Families tell her that’s of particular comfort as New Zealand emerges from under the cloud of Covid-19. “Our carers have all undertaken rigorous infection prevention training, too, which includes a visitor sign-in sheet at each home, mandatory hand-washing and wiping down commonly used surfaces at the beginning of every shift.”

With two decades of experience caring for our older people, our vulnerable, and those experiencing a life-limiting illness, Miranda says it’s important to sort out care wishes for loved ones earlier rather than later. Her tips? “Have the conversation somewhere Mum or Dad feels comfortable or calm, a relaxed setting. Jot down some ideas on paper — a bit of an outline to organise your thoughts before you begin. And be sure to empower your parents to make their own choices.

Centre the discussion on their freedom, their safety, and their peace of mind.”

For further information visit mshomecare.co.nz, email info@mshomecare.co.nz, call 0800 600 026 or see mshomecare on Facebook

*Colmar Brunton research: 500 NZers surveyed aged 40-69

the hobson 17

Images randomly selected from Remuera Business Association articles previously published in The Hobson. Photographer Vanita Andrews.

the hobson + remuera

the hobson 18

We’re Back!

Your favourite local retailers are back and open in Level 2, delivering the range of professional services, hospitality and shopping experiences that make Remuera unbeatable.

See you soon!

the hobson 19

the politicians

Paul Goldsmith

W

hat a relief that The Hobson has survived the Covid-19 crisis; a little piece of localism nipping through to elude the giant hammer blows of a global pandemic. I spent the lockdown at home with my family in Remuera. Like many, I suspect, I found it a special time. Sure, I was busy on endless conference calls and zoom meetings, but we got back to the basics – lots of good food, exercise and family time.

I even cooked beef cheeks.

Some things were different – the top of Mt Hobson was crowded most times I went up. Some things didn’t change – the council does odd things. Every time I walked down Remuera Rd I’d be overtaken by cavalcade of empty buses, roaring and belching toxic fumes.

There was a serenity and sense of national purpose.

The unfolding economic disaster, however, drained from the pleasure. I felt especially for small (and medium-sized) businesspeople who have borne so much of the pain. Told, in the national interest, to close, but in many cases struggling to survive and seeing a lifetime’s work imperilled.

I’m writing this the day after the Budget. In it we see the cost of the virus — $140 billion in projected extra debt (around $80,000 per household), as many as 160,000 made or to be made jobless and a big mountain to climb.

I’ve every confidence that we’ll bounce back. Kiwis will make new plans; find new opportunities. But the challenge is serious. The two over-riding questions are: How do we avoid making the economic disaster worse than it needs to be? And how can we get back on track?

We’ll reduce the damage by opening up the economy as quickly as we safely can. Concentrating not so much on what we can’t do, but on what we can do. It quickly became obvious that our lockdown was too tough – in comparison to Australia where construction continued and the health outcomes were the same. We needed more speed. Even now, in level two we should be doing everything we can to open up the trans-Tasman bubble as soon as we can, and getting international students

through quarantine to sustain that important industry.

Given the scale of the problem we need to avoid low quality spending. The Budget includes a large number of big spending items – but very little detail or accountability for what it was to be spent on. Then, to reduce job losses, we needed to get some cash into the hands of struggling small businesses, to cope with costs such as rent.

Incredibly, given the scale of the spending in the budget, we saw nothing there, beyond the welcome extension of the wage subsidy, which of course flows to employees. Looking out, the key to getting on top of the debt and to bringing back jobs is to get the economy firing again.

Pragmatism around the one-metre rule will help. If we spend the next six months with our productivity hobbled by excessively rigid rules, enforced by clipboard Charlies, we’ll struggle.

Then, unlocking private sector investment is the key to growth and innovation. We won’t rely on Wellington committees to reinvent the economy; we’ll trust Kiwis to work out how to get back on their feet. We’ll keep taxes low, we won’t regulate firms to death or keep changing the rules, and we’ll back them to succeed.

Finally, we’ll use the government’s balance sheet to invest in quality infrastructure – like National did with ultra-fast broadband – in upgrading our skills, turbocharging the innovation sector and in improving the quality of public services, such as health. It’s one thing to have grand announcements, such as for KiwiBuild’s 100,000 houses, light rail down Dominion Rd and a host of other things; it’s another thing to deliver them.

Thankfully, we appear to have got through the worst of the health crisis – and with good testing and tracing we should stay there; the task now is get the economy back on track.

Paul Goldsmith is a National list MP based in Epsom and the Opposition spokesman for finance

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the politicians

David Seymour

M

ost of us alive today are lucky about the kind of whole-of-society events we’ve known.

Whereas our grandparents and greatgrandparents could speak of world wars and the Great Depression, most living New Zealanders would point to the comparatively minor Springbok Tour or the Global Financial Crisis. For the latter, unemployment peaked at rates the French and Spanish would be thrilled with at the best of times.

Now we’ve got our own whole-of-society event. Here, I share five reflections on the lockdown period that you may or may not agree with. As always, being your local MP, I welcome your feedback.

We are blessed to live in this place. It’s said that the land is the one common denominator for our diverse and harmonious society. With walking the only unconditionally permitted outdoor activity, it was a good time to rediscover our volcanic cones, Cornwall Park, and the sun rising and setting over the harbours and hills. In contrast, it’s also alerted us to the water quality issues seeping onto the waterfront (a subject for another column).

New Zealanders are fundamentally good people. We had one of the bluntest, most severe lockdowns with some of the most relaxed enforcement. Amazingly, it’s transpired that the lockdown may not have even been legal but people followed it nonetheless. To give credit where it’s due, this soft compliance is partly due to the communication skills of the Prime Minister, but mostly it reflects the public spiritedness of New Zealanders.

Tall poppyism is alive and well. Mass voluntary compliance also revealed a darker side of our national character. People took up the government’s invitation to snitch on their neighbours with frightening enthusiasm. Meanwhile, those who criticised the government’s response — including journalists performing their essential constitutional role — suffered social media pile-ons and abuse at a shameful scale.

Government can deal with only limited complexity.

Stay home, save lives is a simple commandment that

required little planning. However, as governments who’ve tried to plan economies through history have found, complexity is their friend. There’s an old parable about the difference between a frog and a bicycle. You can pull a bicycle apart completely, lay each piece out separately on your garage floor, put it back together, and it works perfectly. Don’t try that with a frog.

The business world is much more like a frog than a bicycle, and trying to shut down parts of it according to a central plan rapidly created absurdities. Why, people wondered, did we have to drive past perfectly good butchers, bakers, and fruit stores (in danger of bankruptcy for being closed), so we could be with 50 other people in a supermarket (or Fruit World, which the government deemed a supermarket)? I haven’t covered the Budget in this column, but this really basic failure is a cautionary tale for those who want bigger government in the economic recovery.

Parliamentary democracy matters. Being a member I am probably biased, but I thought the Epidemic Response Committee did a good job of getting alternative perspectives into public discourse. It appeared to force the government to take testing more seriously and issue clearer guidelines in the form of a second Section 70 notice when it became clear the rules were not being followed. However, the ERC paled in comparison to the return of Parliament proper, with its Question Time and debates. Many, perhaps most, people in the world would love to live in a stable Westminster democracy.

I’m proud to represent you in our Parliament and I hope I’ve done a good job of reflecting your concerns in Wellington through this extraordinary period. Under level two conditions, my Newmarket electorate office is open again. As always, if you have feedback on my performance or would like my help with a governmentrelated issue, please don’t hesitate to email mpepsom@ parliament.govt.nz or call 522 7464.

David Seymour is the MP for Epsom

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the councillor

Desley Simpson

O

n the morning of May 14, we came out of hibernation and began the process of slowly returning to the life we knew.

While no one has escaped the impacts of this Covid-19 pandemic, it is true that across our diverse city, we have all felt those impacts in different ways. There are those of you working in the important frontlines of health; those of you working differently, unable to work or who have lost their jobs; and everything in between. I’ve heard from parents that they have a newfound respect for teachers, and from those older residents living alone who although being able to talk by phone, have missed the interaction of regular community group meetings.

Council has been able to continue to meet by video-conference from our homes across the region and make decisions virtually. I’ve stayed connected to my fellow elected members and staff across the organisation and have shared weekly updates with the public with those who have signed up for my newsletter.

Working virtually has not been without its challenges and has involved a steep learning curve for the less tech-savvy among us.

There have been plenty of comedy moments too — “Can whoever is doing their dishes in the background please mute your mic!?” or watching those who have forgotten to turn their video off eat, or perform some aspect of personal hygiene. But it has worked and brought new thinking to what a new ‘normal’ could look like.

The most difficult aspect of the lockdown for me has absolutely been keeping my distance from family. Knowing it was the right thing to do did not make it any easier to be apart from my three wonderful grandchildren for six weeks. Mother’s Day was tough for me too, the first year I have spent it apart from my two children.

On the other hand, my husband and I normally lead incredibly hectic lives, so it has been a real treat for us to spend so much time together, based in the same home office. We have loved eating dinner together every night, something our schedules rarely allow, and I’ve found he’s quite the chef when given the opportunity.

I have also enjoyed taking a break from driving. Being based at home has meant I can start my day with a walk in my neighbourhood and local park rather than a stressful commute.

Fewer cars on the road and outstanding weather has meant walking and cycling around our local streets has been easy and loved by so many of us. Our strong sense of community spirit has also been visible, from those volunteering to shop for vulnerable older people to homemade signs in windows thanking frontline health workers.

Thousands of teddy bears in windows and messages of support chalked on driveways have made the neighbourhood walks extra enjoyable too.

Spending more time in my local area has reminded me of how much we rely on the hardworking people who run our local businesses — the cafes, hairdressers and grocery stores that are the backbone of our community. Many of these small businesses have been hit hard by the lockdown period and I am committed to supporting them even more through the recovery period.

At time of writing this, council is putting together an Emergency Budget to manage our recovery and get Auckland’s economy back working again. It’s challenging, as like others we have lost considerable income. However, we are cutting costs, working to be more efficient and make even more savings, all while trying to continue to invest in infrastructure still desperately needed. There will be multiple opportunities for you to have your say on the draft budget and as always, I encourage you to do so. I will endeavour to keep you all updated during this process through Facebook and at desleysimpson.co.nz.

What we do next is critical as we are not out of the woods yet.

So please wash your hands, support local, save water, keep positive and stay in touch.

Desley Simpson is the Councillor for Auckland representing the Ōrākei ward

Yes, even Mahé needs a navigator.

J U S T N O T O N T H E W AT E R

GUIDING, GROWING, AND P R O T E C T I N G YO U R W E A LT H

H O B S O N W E A LT H .C O. N Z | 0 8 0 0 74 2 7 3 7 Hobson Wealth Partners Limited (FSP29782), is an NZX Advising Firm. The disclosure statement for Hobson Wealth Partners is available upon request, free of charge.

the plan

Solitary Thoughts

W

e now have a small feeling for what solitary confinement must be like and why it is used as a punishment. However, I get the sense if the lockdown had gone on much longer the family would have built me a kennel for living, sleeping and eating purposes and it would have been outside.

On the day of lockdown I wrote an out-of-office email that went: “Well this is different but for the best. Still shuffling paper, just now at home. Anything you need let me know.”

And how different it has been. Never in any of our lives have we all had a‘holiday’ all at the same time. Yes it was enforced, and no, it was not a holiday, but it was a time to pause, take a deep breath and not have to breathe out because something or someone was waiting to take the place or any spare gap in the day or night.

We ceased to rush, as there was nowhere to go. We lived more sustainably as we worked out what we needed, especially when we had a stockpile of food and wine. For some absurd herd-like reason, we even dedicated a spare wardrobe to a second pantry. Thankfully, the fear and panic subsided, and it now lives semi-permanently on my hips and buttocks.

We walked more — one client reported they were walking 25kms a day. We biked more and lived more local. But it took an enforced lockdown to do it. We got to know neighbours and we had‘stop and chats,’ updating on the new cases and street gossip, where before a rushed wave was all we gave. We compared e-bike accessories and the merits of water-blaster attachments, while keeping an eye out for the narks who became a vigilant force.

There was less pollution and no congestion, except for the queues to the supermarket and for McDonald’s on the dawn of level three. But time was on our side.

What may fall out from these weeks may raise stress levels, but during the period of lockdown we at least had time to think, and that reset felt good. That time to reflect or even switch off was almost therapeutic, the feeling of being in Fiji on day four, in the pool, cocktail in hand.

As we hit level three, the phrase “shop local” not only became a slogan, it turned us off Uber Eats, with many restaurants organising their own deliveries. Even the future head of the UN told us to shun the service and instead, click and collect (Uber Eats belatedly rethought its fees).

Road deaths and accidents were down, murders were down. Baking and eating were up, but we walked more. We embraced technology, and now those weekly

Wellington meetings which took five hours to get there and back for only 40 minutes face time can be traded with a Zoom meeting. We are doing more by doing less.

Genius. This technology was here the whole time, but we had carried on the habitual path.

The rats in the reserve kept breeding, oblivious to the lockdown, but now my poison came to the front door as an essential service, instead of me having to drive through traffic, battling to find a carpark across town. We became more efficient, even though we had all the time in the world.

And then we come back to reality as rates need to be paid and resource consent timeframes ticked on, even if Auckland Council doubled them because of Covid-19 (never waste a crisis). Council has bowed to public pressure and given an option on the proposed 3.5 per cent rates rise. No not zero per cent, but a 2.5 per cent rise.

They turned down Ralph Norris’s approach to do a review of the business. If only the councillors who decide really understood that the productivity of the staff is so low that cutting 30 per cent of them and upping the output of the rest would lower the wage bill and get more bang for our buck. Pigs will fly first. I suspect they have Stockholm syndrome. Yes, parking revenue is down and yes, the airport will not issue a dividend, but you cut your cloth, and you look within, and now is the time to do it.

Environment Minister David Parker urged councils to address the consent backlog so projects that employ people are not further delayed once Covid 19 regulations are relaxed. Should this not be the case all the time? We should not waste this crisis without serious reform of the red tape business.

An example. My business is involved with a Shane Jones ‘pork barrel’ project. A roundabout near his house has taken two-and-a-half years to get consent. I could tell you more stories than you have had hot dinners on how the NZ Transport Authority delays, delays, delays.

There is no urgency or requirement to actually build the infrastructure in an agreed timeframe. And there is nothing special about this project. It’s just a bog-standard roundabout. And so it goes on.

As individuals and families, we have had a great chance to look at life differently and I hope we take a lot of the positives into our new lives. My wish is the government does the same thing, and unshackles us from gatekeepers who dictate what we can and cannot do by their interpretation of the rules, not the rules themselves.

— Hamish Firth

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the hobson + lucerne residences

A Place in the Sun A boutique townhouse development in Remuera offers architect-designed contemporary living at an attractive price

T

here are many stunning new homes built in Remuera, but typically, the price tag is well north of $3 million. Considering the possibilities for a large, sunny site on the ridge of Lucerne Rd, the team behind Lucerne Residences initially considered large, standalone homes but ultimately decided that an enclave of well-designed townhouses would offer value and affordability not often found in the neighbourhood.

Lucerne Residences is eight townhouses, each on its own freehold title. Architect Phillip Matz of award-winning Matz Architects has designed the boutique development with not only modern living in mind, but also bringing to it what he loves about Remuera. A local himself, Matz wanted to foster a sense of community amongst Lucerne Residences’ owners.

“It was also important for us to design a series of homes that proportionally and architecturally complement the neighbourhood and also create a sense of individuality for its residents,” says Matz. “We’ve selected a limited material palette to ensure we achieved a building that was calm and welcoming. We are very excited to be involved in a project of this nature in our neighbourhood.”

With the Upland Rd and Benson Rd shops just a short walk away, the homes offer proximity to Meadowbank School, the Remuera shops, Orakei Bay Village, public transport links, the Remuera Golf Club, and the area’s favourite walks and cycleways, such as around Ōrākei Basin.

Strong yet elegant forms create an architectural rhythm to Lucerne Residences’ street façade that reflects its domesticscale neighbours. Inside the gates of the three street-facing homes, private, landscaped courtyards flow to the open plan living rooms. Below this level are internal access twocar garages, with storage. Upstairs, two bedrooms and two bathrooms provide luxury accommodation. Bathrooms include frameless glass showers, Italian tiles, underfloor heating and Hansgrohe Raindance showers and tapware in gunmetal finish. On the main living level, a third bedroom provides the flexibility to be used as a media room or study.

Beyond a green wall featuring Kentia palms and extensive native landscaping are residences four to eight. The layouts of numbers four to seven are very similar, including direct entry into the mid-level living floor. Fully enclosable elevated loggias face north, giving a sunroom in winter and indoor-outdoor flow in the summer. Residence Eight enjoys the striking roof angles which tie back to the street façade.

What is carried across all eight homes is the thought and ‘good living’ detail of the design. The kitchens feature luxury stone benchtops and high quality appliances, such as top German brand Neff induction hobs and ovens. The Liebherr fridge and Neff dishwasher are hidden behind integrated custom cabinetry (with Blum hardware), the no-handles, negative detail providing a clean, timeless look.

Light and dark colour schemes for the kitchens, bathrooms and décor are offered. Early purchasers will have the flexibility to make custom changes, something not always available in developments.

The developer has chosen David Reid Homes to build Lucerne Residences, having worked with them on another luxury townhouse project. Utilising much of the same team and early coordination adds value, allowing Lucerne Residences to be priced very competitively, and gives both the purchaser and vendor significant confidence on the quality. Resource consent is held and the building consent process is well advanced. It is expected that construction will start in September, with completion by late next year. A 10-year Master Build guarantee is provided as standard.

“Developments like these are exactly what we want to be building,” says Brett Christie for David Reid Homes. “It utilises our skills and knowledge to add value, and to provide a very high quality of built form in line with our reputation. We are proud to be involved, and to stand behind these homes.”

Buyers can be assured that all materials have been selected for quiet enjoyment and low maintenance living. The structure consists of concrete block to the ground level, with steel stud floors and LVL timber frames. A concrete intertenancy wall system is insulated throughout to provide acoustic and temperature comfort in excess of the current New Zealand Building Code requirements. The exterior materials of elegant brick, vertical timber weatherboards, fixed aluminium louvres and metal tray roofing will make Lucerne Residences immediately at home in this Remuera neighbourhood.

Special pre-construction pricing from $1.495m is available for a limited time. See lucerneresidences.co.nz For further information, contact Andrew Wallace, 021 148 7679, andrew. wallace@bayleys.co.nz; Gary Wallace, 027 498 8585, gary.wallace@ bayleys.co.nz; Vicki Wallace, 021 988 585, vicki.wallace@bayleys.co.nz

the hobson 24

Artists impressions only, see lucerneresidences.co.nz

Lucerne Residences are oriented for maximum sun and light.

With no body corporate fees, a pet-friendly environment and proximity to schools and popular amenities, the homes will suit buyers of all life stages.

the hobson 25

the investment

OpEx v CapEx

M

ake no mistake, we are in the midst of a self-induced economic and therefore social catastrophe. A catastrophe that New Zealand should have been more than able to avoid had sensible decisions been made earlier this year. Someone panicked and grossly over-estimated the hospitalisation and mortality rates of Covid-19 – based on what, I am still trying to determine – and shut down our economy with seemingly no thought or understanding of the consequences.

And so, we find ourselves emerging from months of restrictions, and what I think are breaches of our human rights, to be confronted with sharply declining economic activity, declining national income and, sadly, steeply rising unemployment. Which brings us to the government response to the financial and economic crisis (and I thought its health response was bad!). The May “rainy day” Budget delivered by Finance Minister Grant Robertson should have been called the “brainless Budget”. No vision, no direction, no inspiration; just borrow, spend and hope really.

But the Minister of Finance at least in the meantime did not completely fail. He didn’t reduce government spending, although increasing it this coming year from $87 billion to $114b might be argued by some to be something of an excessive increase. And thank heavens he didn’t increase taxes – a no-no in a recession.

Although that’s not saying that he won’t be tempted to do so in the near future, because the Treasury’s economic projections show the government running a deficit for at least seven years with government spending staying above the $114b indicated for this year for the next five years. Government debt will therefore increase from the pre-Covid level of $58b to $200b, and that has to be repaid somehow.

The phrase “drowning in debt” comes to mind. And what of the quality of this additional spend or its effectiveness? Capital expenditure is generally preferred over operational expenditure mainly because you get something permanent for it. The vast majority of the increased spend in this budget is operational. And all expenditure must make economic sense, regardless of it being capital or operational in nature.

Although it’s possibly a little too early at this stage to properly judge the allocation of the spend-up. I’d say it does not look

all that promising. The capital expenditure that has been announced needs to start right now – not sometime in the distant future. The Infrastructure Industry Reference Group, having been requested by the government, has identified nearly 2000 projects worth a whopping $136 billion that can commence within 12 months. And the government additionally allocates just $3b to infrastructure in this Budget . . . and who has faith in the government to deliver on its rail and housing targets in this budget? Remember Auckland’s CRL? Remember KiwiBuild?

Remember light rail by 2021?

There’s some money allocated to training and to create environmental jobs whatever they may be. There’s an extension to the wage subsidy scheme to try to stave off the inevitable rise in unemployment but, at best, that can only be temporary.

There’s an embarrassingly trifling amount of $400m specifically for the tourism sector — part of which, laughably, is to be spent on a marketing campaign something along the lines of “don’t leave home till you’ve seen the country”. Who are these domestic tourists? People don’t have any money, Grant!

And I didn’t see anything in the budget to structurally assist businesses and help with costs. The only way to fund that amount of persistent government spending and deficits is by driving growth. A strong, growing economy generates tax revenue which funds spending and nothing in the May 2020 Budget is a growth driver, rather just one big income transfer.

This economic calamity ought to have inspired some serious growth initiatives. Here’s a couple of ideas: first and foremost, there should have been an urgent establishment of trans-Tasman travel. It is safe for goodness sake. Second, given NZ’s negligible incidences of health-damage from Covid-19 people from all around the world will want to come and live here – we still have a clean, green global brand and demand to emigrate here will only accelerate. We should take advantage of that and look to attract at least one million new citizens over the next ten years. And use that massive immigration flow to fund necessary infrastructure.

Fingers crossed that when the government sees this spend-up not delivering the level of economic growth we need that it’s not tempted to further worsen things by raising taxes.

— Warren Couillault

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the hobson 26

the teacher

Experience as the Teacher

U

nderstand that knowledge brings responsibility which leads to commitment and action.” This statement from the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) underpins its teaching programme, in a way that leads a student to understand not only their own life-long learning journey but also teaches them how to become an active and compassionate ‘world citizen’.

There will be many lessons that will come out of the pandemic that will affect our lives forever. It’s up to us all now, like never before, to work together to assure a safe and healthy outcome, in every respect, that will prevail for future generations to come.

All students will have experienced this unprecedented lockdown very differently and being mindful of the health and safety of every one of them will be in the forefront of teachers’ minds as schools return.

For some students it will have been an easy transition from classroom to remote learning but for others who are perhaps not so technical or less interested in learning, this experience will have been a challenge. However, challenge can be a motivator and I know there has been a lot of help offered, from individual schools and from the government to support our most vulnerable learners.

As a past teacher I want to give a huge ‘shout out’ to what our teachers have been asked to do under the circumstances of lockdown. It has been over and above what normally is expected, and my respect for them has more than tripled over this period — delivering lessons from their living room as well as having to home school their own children learning remotely from a different school. Not to mention all the other tasks that keep a household running smoothly.

I also acknowledge the input of parents supervising children on a daily basis, as well as having to juggle their own workload, and the support they have been to schools. This is how efficient teams work, and if we continue to work as a healthy parent/teacher community team, students will not have lost too much of their learning. Remember that this has also been a huge and new learning experience for every student. I want to assure you that our younger students will pick up anything they have lost or forgotten very quickly as they return to school; we just need to get them back.

It’s a different story for our senior students, as there has been little information to erase their fears of how they can ensure they will still achieve the qualifications that will give them entry to their university of choice.

These are the students who will feel the effects of this experience more than any other year groups, and these are the students mature enough to understand that they need and want answers as quickly as possible to allay their fears and anxiety.

My bubble included two senior students, one a leader in her final year of school. I asked her to comment on

what she felt the effects have been for her. “There have been positives and negatives that have come out of it for me,” she said. “As a student with a leadership role, I have felt more connected with the students I lead. This has been because of social media and the number of students that could be reached through this at one time. Not only this, I feel that my year group has become closer as we understand that we are all in this together. I feel our school community has become stronger as we no longer feel scared about asking for help, and it’s allowed us to become more empathetic and understanding of others’ needs.

“But on the negative side I feel my future academic successes could be affected, as the pandemic may have compromised my understanding of what I have been studying. It has become very individual, which is great for those who understand and can charge ahead, but if you’re struggling it sets you back further. Understanding becomes a lot clearer with a teacher in front of us.”

There will be many questions asked and answered about how this will work for all of us; teachers, students and parents alike. It will be important that we all work together do the very best we can to keep our students motivated and learning. It will no doubt be this generation of students that will probably have to pay for all of this in the future, therefore we need to make sure they receive an education worthy of them all.

A positive result of this experience of online instruction is that schools now have an excellent knowledge of how remote teaching works and how effective it has been. A real teacher in front of a class cannot be replaced with a computer, however this experience has been a great opportunity to test this way of teaching.

One issue with the growth of online learning is the possibility of it not being suitable for all learners, especially those who need to, and learn better, face-toface with skilled classroom teachers. It will be interesting to see how these students have fared during lockdown.

I can foresee strategies needed to recover some of the learning that these students may have missed.

I know I can speak on behalf of all teachers when I say they will work very hard to help and support all their students, your children, to catch up. Depending on what year level your child/children are in, I can assure you that wise decisions and serious discussions are being had to get all students through this. I also know we will be looking to others in the global academic world for advice and for good examples as we all recover.

I wish you all well as you recover from this unprecedented situation and encourage everyone to stay calm and kind as we return to the classroom and take on the challenge of some inventive ways of teaching and learning together. — Judi Paape

the hobson 27

the second act

The New World is Calling

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n my work, I help people and organisations consider reinvention, from a personal, professional and especially, leadership viewpoint. Well before the term Covid-19 was coined, the acronym VUCA was being used to describe the globalised economy that we were operating in: volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Every sector was being disrupted and people were scrambling to digitise, globalise, monetise, mobilise, downsize, centralise, decentralise or whatever else it took to ‘remain competitive’.

Because that’s what people wanted to do — stay in versus opt out of a system that, despite being difficult and occasionally soul destroying, and despite niggling thoughts that the gap between the haves and have-nots was widening, was serving them rather well. In essence, they wanted to reinvent without giving up the safety net of their current reality. But somewhere deep inside, another way of being was calling.

To transform any group, be it a family, community, team or business; someone — not necessarily the designated leader — will have to do their own inner work in raising their consciousness. In so doing they will be able to view the situation, including their own life, quite differently and a hell of a lot more expansively. And they will hear what is calling more clearly. A few brave souls and courageous organisations were up for some different sort of professional development, where they would firstly learn how to ‘get over themselves’ before being able to truly reinvent.

Today we no longer have a choice. We are not reinventing our lives by design, but by default. The whole world is about to consider its Second Act, not just the few of you who may have considered a “word of the year”, as I suggested in my January column, or a ‘theme of the decade’ as I mooted in March. (My own word was ‘movement’ and my theme was the ‘Decade of Doing’.

How interesting that I was forced into two months of stillness, which helped me consider what I and the world might be doing differently in the years ahead.)

The organisation I founded has a growing community of alumni, mainly senior executives from a vast array of organisations across Australasia. They have all done rather well in their lives. In the last days of level three, we asked this community, “what is the change you want to see in the world?” My colleagues and I were inspired and quite overwhelmed not only with how many responded, but also how strikingly similar the themes were. This is what these business leaders wanted:

A shift toward ‘humanity’ in leadership A continued sense of collaboration for the collective good A prioritising of a healthier planet A greater sense of equity - closing the gap between the haves and the have-nots A new definition of progress and success A ‘less is more’ approach to consumption Rather than simply rebooting the economy so things can get back to normal, there was a clear sense that not only could ‘normal’ not happen, but they didn't want it to. It is time to regenerate and reimagine for the future.

We summed up the responses into three clear values: empathy, equity and earth.

So what about you? One of the dichotomies in wanting to create a different kind of world is that the previous regime is one in which you might also have prospered.

So, if you too want the world to eventually be different, better, enhanced — then it is important to consider how you might use your privilege to influence. And also to what degree you are prepared to give up some of that privilege if it’s better for the total picture.

The research that underpins our work shows that it is a lot easier to be driven by fear rather than pulled by vision and purpose. To hold a hopeful vision for the world while attending to the less than hopeful matters that present themselves daily requires patience and some practice. To be a principled person in a world anchored by the tenets of equity, empathy and a deep reverence to earth, might initially make you feel like a lone wolf. You might be accused of being an idealist, or have to endure the patronising assertion that you do not understand this thing called “the economy.”

But remember, most people are socialised into getting their sense of identity from their status in the external world, rather than identity being informed by their inner compass. It is well established in research that around 80 per cent of adults have not yet fully experienced the liberation and sense of possibility that comes from being truly self-authored. But it is in this space that leadership influence has double the impact. And that goes for bottom line business profitability as well.

A different way of being is calling. It’s up to you to choose perhaps not what just what you are going to DO in the post-Covid world, but what kind of person you are going to BE. — Sandy Burgham

the hobson 28

the suburbanist

A Moving Tale

Y

ou’ve got a lot of stuff. I mean. Wow.” “Yes. We know.”

“It’s . . . Have you thought about reducing? Getting rid of some . . . things?”

Well, yes. Doesn’t everyone? There’s a reason we’ve never parked a car in the garage, but being stuff-shamed by Raymond, the guy assessing our possessions in readiness for moving is not unexpected but is startling – shouldn’t he be pleased? The job just got bigger and so did the cost. I have downloaded an app, on his instruction, and I am walking through the house, room by room with the iPad, scanning from left to right so Raymond can estimate the quantity; they usually do this in person, but we’re in alert level four where moving house is not essential but you can take a total stranger on a virtual tour of your bedroom.

“Have you thought about getting a storage unit?”

“What? A second one?”

Back in March we were house-hunting. We had sold our house and the settlement date, at the end of April, seemed ages away.

We had looked, liked, and lost at auction, a couple of times.

Our technique was sharpening when we saw the house for us – literally on the day it was listed. On Saturday, we went to the open home, and the country heard about the alert system – we were in level two. On Sunday the agent called to say that the auction was brought forward to Thursday. On Monday we went to level three and the auction was brought forward to Tuesday. By midnight Wednesday we would be at level four 4, which was due to end on April 22, 36 hours before our house was due to settle; the clock was ticking and suddenly our distant settlement appeared immediate and sharply in focus.

Nervous that we might miss at auction again, we awoke Tuesday with four houses we could go for if we had to — including one we saw for the first time that morning, before it was even listed. At midday the auction was held in a room empty except for the auctioneer and five agents on phones to bidders. With the phone on speaker, the sound quality was such that we were never quite sure where our bid was until our agent congratulated us. We had a house! but we were flying blind – along with our lawyer, the Law Society and countless others – about when we could settle and move in. The week before we knew when we had to move, but didn’t know where; now we knew where we were moving to, but didn’t know when. We had bought the mansion of love but not possessed it.

On Wednesday I cleaned out Mitre 10 of their cardboard boxes and made a serious dent in Bunnings. We would use the lockdown to pack our things at our leisure. This was our first misapprehension about the lockdown, moving and the concept of leisure. One day we will understand how when you have all the time in the world, you have no time in your life.

Eventually we made a start; then a few days later, another.

Then another. We secured a booking with a moving company but we couldn’t tell Raymond exactly when; he proved to be a vessel of calm on our turbulent sea, offering flexibility and sage advice. The settlement date became a moveable feast as we tried valiantly to align it with that of the house we were moving to.

As level three seemed imminent – when we would be allowed to move – the packing pressure mounted, the settlement dates, like wayward planets, slipped out of their cosmic alignment and we lost whole days to emails and phone calls between lawyers, vendors, purchasers and movers. Raymond estimated it would

take a day and a half to move us because he couldn’t allocate extra resources for a single day move, such was the backlog.

We would go to level three at midnight on Monday and move on Friday; Raymond’s team couldn’t start on Thursday because of their backlog and he suggested we ask our purchaser if we could finish the job on Saturday. We asked, and waited. After several days, the reply came: no dice. This was our Rubicon and we had nothing to cast.

What did we learn about moving in a lockdown? There is no leisure. Time is your enemy. When you think you can do it all yourself, you quickly discover you can’t. In normal times, friends and family might offer – or be coerced – to pitch in, if only for a day or so, but you can’t pack boxes via Zoom. But the lack we felt most keenly was not the physical assistance but the chance to have someone else take the kids off our hands for the day, leaving us free to have a good run at packing. Or the help on the day, followed by fish and chips and a glass of wine with friends on a bare floor. Our bubble never felt so small.

We also learned (or remembered?) that moving is a good time to shed, to move on those things you don’t need; to sell or give away some of the excess (if only to make Raymond happy). So you sort into keep, give away, trash – until it dawns on you that you have to take it all with you and wait until later to get rid of the surfeit; packing china and glass vases that you don’t want, at 4am because, lockdown.

Facing the prospect of spending Friday night on the berm with a third of our possessions because the Saturday option was off the table, Raymond came through. He found a second crew that could join later in the day, with a second truck. He also, patiently and carefully, suggested that he store some of our things, for a month or so, at such time when we have unpacked (and divested) some of what went with us, he would return the stored items to us, when we would wonder if we missed them at all.

Who knew that when the time came to break our bubble it would be with six burly movers? (Two weeks later, symptomfree, I can attest to the excellence of their health.)

The day of the move is a blur. For me, literally. On Saturday, still exhausted, I struggled to recall how I spent the day before. I know we moved, and I was there, but what was I doing, moment to moment? My watch told me I had done 37,000 steps, walked nearly 26km, without leaving the house, but what had I done? I vaguely remembered the previous evening – was it 8.30? 9pm?

– putting the last things in the car (squeezing in two vacuum cleaners, three fishing rods – I don’t even fish! – and two bean bags), the movers long gone; sweeping the garage, wiping down the bench, then, sitting, on the floor of our house, in that eerie evening lockdown quiet, absent the comfort of street sounds, one last moment in a house we loved but were ready to leave.

And so, Saturday, sitting on the floor of our new house, sun streaming in, surrounded by boxes (Raymond, right, of course) with an advanced case of Covid-tigue, my mind – at once both empty and full – has deleted Friday, to make room for today and the days to come. Is that so bad?

T.S. Eliot started the last stanza of The Waste Land with ‘I sat upon the shore.

Fishing, with the arid plain behind me.

Shall I at least set my lands in order?’

But I don’t fish . . . — Tommy Honey

the hobson 29

the heritage

The Great Pandemic Covid-19 is not the first pandemic the world has faced. At the conclusion of the Great War, a fatal flu swept the globe. In New Zealand, large homes became pop-up hospitals, Parnell’s Kilbryde amongst them, as historian Dr Joanna Boileau writes

L

ooking back to the worldwide influenza pandemic of 1918-19 helps to put the difficult times we are experiencing during the current Covid-19 pandemic into some perspective.

The influenza pandemic reached New Zealand in October 1918, at the end of World War I. Although it was called ‘the Spanish Flu’, it did not originate in Spain. In the war, Spain was neutral and the free media there covered the outbreak from the start.

Meanwhile, Allied countries had wartime censors who covered up news of the rapidly-spreading illness to keep morale high. Historians now believe the pandemic was related to an outbreak of swine flu in an impoverished district of Kansas. It is likely that American soldiers were first infected there, and carried the virus to Europe early in 1918. Returning troops brought it back to New Zealand, first to military camps such as Featherston and Trentham, then spreading it around the country as they returned home.

As nearly a third of our doctors were in the armed forces and hundreds of registered nurses were volunteering overseas, local health services were severely under-resourced to meet the challenges posed by the pandemic. Between October and December 1918, approximately 9000 New Zealanders died, despite the selfless efforts of many volunteers. Māori communities were severely affected; their overall death rate was more than eight times that of Europeans.

In Auckland, temporary hospitals were set up around the city. They included Kilbryde, the former home of Sir John Logan Campbell in Parnell, the Seddon Memorial Technical College in Wellesley St (now part of AUT), Vermont St School, Myers Kindergarten, the Sailors Home in Quay St and Newmarket Infants School.

Convalescent homes were also established for recovering patients, such as St Joseph’s Catholic School in Grey Lynn, and at Ellerslie racecourse.

By early November 1918 schools had closed, church services were cancelled, and shops, hairdressing salons, refreshment rooms and other businesses were closed.

Many public events were cancelled or postponed and public gatherings were not permitted. Local committees were established to coordinate relief efforts, and areas were divided into blocks or districts, each with its own administrative depot or bureau.

All over the country teachers, nurses, shop assistants, typists and librarians as well as mothers, grandmothers and young single women responded to a nationwide appeal for ‘lady volunteers’ to aid and nurse the sick.

Men also made their contribution; provided with disinfectant sprays, they were given tasks such as removing daily refuse from temporary hospitals, and mattresses from private homes for burning.

Many of those nursing the sick also caught the flu and died. Along with others who succumbed, their bodies were collected at the temporary mortuary set up at Victoria Park and taken by train to Waikumete Cemetery.

While there were mass burials, there were no mass graves; each grave was numbered for identification.

Named for his family’s baronial castle in Perthshire, Scotland, Kilbryde was an Italianate mansion built by businessman and politician Sir John Logan Campbell, an early migrant and a founding father of Auckland.

Campbell had intended to build a grand home on his farm at One Tree Hill, but his wife, Emma, insisted on being closer to the city, so Parnell it was (Campbell gifted his farmland to the people of Auckland, renaming it Cornwall Park). Campbell died in June 1912, and Kilbryde and its surrounding gardens was purchased by Auckland Council in 1915.

The council in turn offered the house to the government as a hospital or convalescent home for returned soldiers. When the influenza pandemic arrived in October 1918, Kilbryde was quickly made ready as an auxiliary hospital to treat the flood of patients which threatened to overwhelm the general hospital.

The neglected house was transformed into a modern hospital, under the charge of Dr W. Fairclough and Sister Bennett, assistant matron of St Mary’s Home in Ōtāhuhu.

The dining room, music room, drawing room and even the verandah were turned into wards filled with beds for the sick and dying. By November 11, there were 50 patients at Kilbryde and it had room for only a few more.

Five days later, all 65 beds were occupied.

Janet Hancock, a nurse from St Mary’s who went to Kilbryde to assist Sister Bennett, was one who lost her life in the pandemic. She was visiting Kilbryde when the first patients began to arrive, and seeing sick and dying men and women arriving more quickly than the staff was able to cope with, she threw herself into nursing

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Sir John Logan Campbell at Kilbryde,1905. After his death, it served as a flu epidemic hospital, was neglected and then demolished. Its grounds became part of what is now known as Dove-Myer Robinson Park, which includes the Parnell Rose Gardens.

Photo: Henry Winkelmann, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1-W1497

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the heritage

Sir John Logan Campbell in his study at Kilbryde, early 20th century, oil on canvas by Louis John Steele.

The work is on loan to the Northern Club from a private collection.

the sufferers. After four days of labour with little rest, she contracted the influenza and died. A memorial service was held for her and she was buried, as she had requested, near the graves of the children she had nursed for over 10 years.

A report in the Auckland Star on November 14 described the transformation of Kilbryde, and sounded a note of optimism that the worst of the pandemic had passed.

“Kilbryde is known to the many as a dark, shuttered, tenantless, great house in Gillies' Park [renamed Sir Dove-Myer Robinson Park in 1981]. Cobwebs hung in the windows, the whole big place was dusty and dreary.

To-day it is as bright a hospital, as clean and cheerful a place as could be possible. The dance-hall there, with its whole side of glass opening upon lawns, a fountain and flower-beds, is now a cheery ward, where man and boy patients fill a long line of clean beds. The whole atmosphere of Kilbryde is wonderfully cheerful now, for carpenters have been at work, and everything is arranged with ordered exactitude as a hospital. The dark days of terrible rush are going, and almost every one of the patients is on the fair road to recovery. The cleanliness and order there are noticeable. The staff is small, but it is almost sufficient now, so nicely has everything been systematised.”

In the three weeks of the pandemic’s peak, between November 7 and 29, there were 121 admissions to

Kilbryde and 52 deaths. From October 20 to November 29, there were 1532 hospital admissions and 407 deaths recorded in the Auckland region. Many of the patients in Kilbryde came from Parnell, where the pandemic had raged — over 200 homes had been affected. Volunteers provided medical and nursing care to the less seriously ill at home, and a depot was established in Parnell to supply households with food.

In our current efforts to control the spread of Covid-19 by introducing four levels of lockdown, crucial decisions have had to be made by the government about how and when we should move through each level of lockdown in order to prevent a recurrence of the spread of the virus.

The debates have focused around both public health and the economic impact of the lockdown. The same debates occurred in 1918, when similar decisions had to be made. On November 25, 1918, when there were signs the pandemic was easing, the Auckland Star reported: “Such a decided improvement is occurring in the health of the community that the time is in sight when all the restrictions made necessary by the epidemic will be removed by the authorities, and within a short time the auxiliary hospitals will become unnecessary. In fact, this morning Dr Frengley issued notice removing the restrictions placed upon hairdressing saloons and refreshment rooms, but the Minister for Public Health has seen fit to countermand this order, so the rooms and saloons affected by the restrictions have had to be closed

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On November 23, 1919, at the height of the pandemic in NZ, the Auckland Star featured four of the temporary hospitals set up for flu patients. Children were treated at Myers Park Kindergarten (1), one of the Kilbryde wards "has a long glass front, and is well suited for convalescents" (2), Vermont St Hospital (3), and St Joseph's, Grey Lynn (4). Newspapers of the day also carried public notices about closures of facilities during the outbreak, and advertisements for epidemic-fighting household cleansers, and 'remedies' such as peppermint oil.

again. Nevertheless, it is almost a certainty that within this week the curtailments will be shifted, provided the Minister consents.”

By early December it became clear that the pandemic was waning and by mid-month churches, shops and other organisations had re-opened. Vermont St temporary hospital was closed earlier in December, and the Kilbryde hospital had no patients. A sure sign that the situation had eased for the overworked staff at Kilbryde was when a large picnic was held on Motutapu Is, on December 14. The public was invited to join the staff on the ferry Peregrine, and all proceeds were given to the Epidemic Relief Fund.

In the aftermath of the pandemic there was a major reorganisation of New Zealand’s health system, in the form of the 1920 Health Act. Historian Geoffrey Rice, author of Black November: the 1918 influenza pandemic in New Zealand, describes this as ‘the most useful legacy' of the pandemic. While there were still cases of influenza occurring through 1919, people began to return to their ordinary lives.

Although the other temporary hospitals were closed, the Auckland Hospital Board decided to keep Kilbryde open as an emergency hospital. It was cleaned and fumigated in case of a resurgence of the pandemic. By 1921 Kilbryde had fallen into disrepair, and its fate was in the balance. The house was condemned by Auckland Council and was finally demolished in December 1924.

This was the end of a magnificent mansion, which had not only hosted the Campbell’s dances and musical soirées attended by prominent Aucklanders and honoured guests, but also played its part in the global influenza pandemic.

Sources for this article include 1918 reports in the Auckland Star, New Zealand Herald, Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Taranaki Herald; ‘Influenza Pandemic 1918’, Paula Legel, Auckland War Memorial Museum; and NZ History Online, nzhistory.govt.nz

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the resident

Remuera the Long Way Writer, author and columnist Colin Hogg is a new arrival to this part of town. So far, so good . . .

I

came to Remuera the long way. Not the wrong way, nor the hard way. But certainly the long way to a suburb I’d long harboured secret desires for. And when I say desires, they’re nothing to call the authorities about. They’re just the usual architectural envy and socio-economic issues.

I first came to Auckland from Invercargill a long time ago, immediately and forever dizzied by the possibilities of our biggest city. Over the decades I moved around quite a bit, but mostly in the western zone of inner Auckland.

I knew about Remuera, of course. Auckland’s establishment, like the man whose family owned the daily newspaper I worked for in the ‘70s and ‘80s, lived in Remuera. Having neighbours like that never really figured as a possibility for me back then and, of course, I never mentioned my secret desires to my bohemian friends on the west side.

But as the years clicked by and Auckland’s house prices rose up like a one-way tide, the desire never died.

Remuera’s mystery and unattainability still tugged at me, though realities continued to conspire. Particularly, I thought, after work moved us to Wellington six years ago.

We sold up and tripled what we’d paid years before for our elderly villa in Mt Albert, allowing us to trade up to something grander in an old Wellington suburb called Wadestown. When I asked locals where Wadestown stood in the capital’s suburban scheme of things, I was told “it’s Wellington’s Remuera”. Which, I figured, was probably as close as I’d ever get to the real thing.

But I was wrong. It was actually a sign of things to come because, here I am, living in the long dreamed-of place – a suburb I could now describe to someone from Wellington as “Auckland’s Wadestown”.

Though getting here wasn’t quite as simple as that.

There wasn’t a thought even given to trying for Remuera when we started plotting our return to Auckland. Getting back into the place at all required some sort of miracle, which was duly delivered when Wellington real estate obligingly went through the roof, while Auckland’s began to lurch a little.

Emboldened, we tried at first to move back to our old familiar part of town, but things had changed in Grey Lynn. Its pavements were now taken up by young men with beards pushing prams. I didn’t want to be the neighbourhood old coot.

And, besides, we didn’t really want to live in a revived under-sized old bungalow on a half section with no parking for almost the same price as we could have

something substantial in a classy part of town, which is, minus all the small print, how we landed in Remuera.

And, as I say, it’s a dream come true, though I still feel awkward saying that out loud. After all, I haven’t been here at the new address long enough to feel I might fit in.

If there’s a Remuera dress code, I’m not sure I’m hitting it. But I am minding my manners and trying to keep my hedges tidy, though I have trouble with straight lines.

Hedges, I notice as I explore the nearby streets, are quite a thing in this part of town. Round here, they’re often sculpted to within an inch of their lives, given close shaves and stretched over walls and garages. Those hedges speak to me as I mooch past, though I’m not sure what they’re saying.

They might be mentioning that I’m new or didn’t they see me coming past just the other day, or they might be mewling “help” with the little strength they have left after their latest shearing.

Of course there wasn’t much topiary done during the Covid-19 level four lockdown that shut down the fun just a week or so after we moved into our new house. One minute, we couldn’t turn right into Remuera Rd at the top of our street for the unbroken river of traffic and the next we could have safely walked down the centre line with our eyes closed.

Remuera was pausing while we were absorbing our first impressions, though, as mentioned, we did have a week or so before everything went still and the new locale did seem perfectly wonderful. I even enjoyed the police helicopter. There’s nothing like the sound of a low-flying chopper to make you feel you’re living in a civilised place.

And we did manage to meet some neighbours. Penny next door dropped by with her two little boys, a bottle of wine and a welcome-to-the-neighbourhood card. And I met a lovely older woman who I nearly ran over as I was learning to reverse out of our steep and tricky new drive.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m new to the drive. We’ve just moved in.”

“Congratulations,” she said and I could tell she meant it.

Though that might be wishful thinking on my part. There is a little insecure part of me that feels a bit Beverley Hillbillies about being here, though we’re not in the best part of Remuera. “Of course, you’re on the wrong side of the ridge,” someone said, probably in response to me gushing too much about being here.

But I don’t care. I like to look south. It reminds me of where I came from.

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The author at home in Remuera, by a south-facing window. Photo: Stephen Penny.

the hobson 35

Inner World What did The Magpie do in lockdown?

Found new things for her nest, of course

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the magpie

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1. Bianca Lorenne commissions these stunning Mia Throws from the artisan dyers and weavers of Ezcaray, in the Rioja region of Spain. The tactile blend of 60 per cent wool and 40 per cent mohair will be treasured for generations to come. $385, from biancalorenne.co.nz 2. No wonder it’s called the Mojo Collection — the Magpie would certainly have her mojo restored with a soak in these gorgeous sculptural baths. Designed by renowned Australian creative

Jo Irwin, the Marblo® solid surface material makes it chemical and stain resistant, easy to clean and extremely beautiful. $9562 from Metrix, 155 The Strand, Parnell. metrix.co.nz 3. Cooking for the flock is never a chore when you have a Gaggenau Frameless Flex Induction cooktop. It’s a masterful experience, whether you’re a five-star home chef, or taking fledging steps. See it in action at Kouzina, upstairs at 155 The Strand, Parnell. kouzina.co.nz

the hobson 37

the magpie

5

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4

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8

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9

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4. Level four gave plenty of time for a thorough sorting of the linen cupboard. Out went the tatty old facecloths, in came Bianca Lorenne’s Lavette knitted 100 per cent cotton washcloths and hand towels. Washcloths $29 for set of three, handtowels $29.50 each from biancalorenne.co.nz

of retro cool colour fabrics and leathers on an oak frame, it’s from $899 at freedomfurniture.co.nz 9. This Nest Medium Pendant modern chandelier in brass would light up anyone’s nest. So chic, so must-have. $3329, from JI Home, 36 Pollen St, Ponsonby. jihhome.co.nz

5. Studio Four Outdoor Square Poufs are super cool and versatile in their snappy rope finish. Patio, terrace, poolside or indoors, they’re waiting to be of service as seats, footrests or even as a table for that tray of drinks. From $439 to $1199, available only from Design Warehouse, 137-147 The Strand, Parnell. designwarehouse.co.nz

10. Waikato-based Margi Nuttall has been working with clay for more than 20 years and her skill is apparent in every one of her beautiful Objects. The Magpie spied them on a fly past Simon James. Obsessed! From $160, simonjames.co.nz

6. Cheers to something – surely there is always a reason, right?

Maybe this is The Magpie’s version of practicing gratitude. The Champagne Coupe Set is $50 for a pair, from Karen Walker Playpark in Balm St, or karenwalker.co.nz

11. Beautiful? Useful? Both. Nel Lusso and Mood brand homewares tick the boxes: cool, desirable things that raise the bar. Nel Lusso Hors D`oeuvres Stick Set, $42.90, and Mood Floral Doorstop, $35, are both at Hedgerow, 371 Remuera Rd. hedgerow.co.nz

7. Bodha Smokeless Ritual Incense Sticks bring a subtle fragrance to the air in the nest. The Magpie is partial to ‘Ground’ (think grounding your mind, body and spirit, not the dirt type) with its notes of hinoki, cedar and frankincense. $59, from slowstore.co.nz

12. “This series of work is me standing in my studio, looking back over the last 20 years of my painting. Everything is upside down, obscured or ready to be destroyed,” says artist Gavin Hurley of his latest works. Standing With Jess 2020, $5500 framed from Melanie Roger Gallery, melanierogergallery.com

8. You say ‘Freedom Den Armchair’ and I say I’m already seeing it take its rightful place in the family home. Available in a range

the hobson 39

the sound

Sounds of the Times

I

the release forward. Good call. Let us all dance in isolation. worked through the Great Time of Sickness and visited the Then there was Fiona Apple. A spiky woman who first came to deserted city with an essential service letter in my pocket. our attention in 1996 with an album called Tidal. She’s the sort of It meant I saw things that people should never see. High St woman where questions are often asked about her mental health. empty. K Rd empty (apart from the homeless guy who still held This is because she’s lippy, but also fallible. She's very publicly up a sign asking for cash in a show of eternal hope). H&M empty. human. Shame on her.

It was all a vision of hell.

Her first album in nearly a decade was called Fetch the But in my heart of hearts I knew this was just the lull. The Bolt Cutters. Perfect huh? For lockdown. Yes. Critics fell over eye of the storm before the real turbulence starts and the themselves calling it magnificent. Because it is. I think she’s great shakedown begins. Who has the real stuff? Who has the playing stuff but she also appears to be hitting it. The anthem is resilience? Who will we see again this time next year?

“Under the Table”. It’s about a dinner party where a feisty woman But in this lull there was great peace and great music. It’s no takes on the big-voice alpha male against her boy’s wishes. “Kick secret. Two weeks before the lockdown I moved to Devonport. me under the table all you want, I won’t shut up,” she sings. “I Such a stroke of luck. Exploring a new suburb on foot and bike would beg to disagree, but begging disagrees with me.” It’s great. that included five beaches, two mountains and a naval base.

Play it at your next Vicky Ave dinner party.

There’s a lot to see for a professional pandemic moocher in Then there was Hayley Devonport.

Williams, the lead singer and One week of the lockdown, driving force behind the band high tide coincided with Paramore. She released her midday. Swimming was not debut solo album, Petals For banned yet. My boy and I would Armor. Paramore is a cool ride a bike to Cheltenham. We’d American pop/punk band. swim in April waters tempered The sort of band who found by drought. Unnaturally, themselves on Twilight film naturally clear waters. We’d soundtracks. Hayley is blond emerge in time to hear the and pretty and feisty and Ashley Bloomfield show at 1pm. spent the last 10 years being Ashley’s litany of fear coming leered at and spat on by out of a bluetooth speaker hormonal male brat punks in nestled in the shelly sand in the mosh pits. That’s the album middle of a paradise. It was a title right there. Petals for disconnect.

Armor.

And then there was music.

To cap it off she’s just While we waited for 1pm, we’d turned 30 and got divorced listen to Spotify playlists and from a serially unfaithful there was one that stood out. man. Her album is a quiet It’s called Acid Jazz and it’s banger. She has a small voice a compilation of the music Steering a new path: Dua Lipa forged ahead with the release of Future Nostalgia. that can wrap around a lyric that came out of the 90s that sensationally. Check out combined jazz and dance “Simmer” for a song about how a wrong-done-by 30-year-old music. Subtle, funky and technical stuff. The fact that it reminded woman can seethe. me of my time living in London was one thing. For my 21-yearAnd finally, The Strokes got their act together. The New York old son, he was struck at how that sort of vibe has been picked up darlings of the 90s led by the unfathomably cool drunk with the by modern rap like Anderson .Paak and Kendrick Lamar. ridiculously ripe name of Julian Casablancas came back with It’s always nice when generations bond over music from 30 an album called The New Abnormal. Quoting 80s sounds from years ago. Meanwhile I was still reviewing music for ZB. But Billy Idol, Modern English and Joe Jackson, they add an ennui artists kept pulling their release schedule. I have no idea why. from 2020 New York to produce an edgy yet approachable slice of When the world is trapped in their apartments, why not give modern life. them something to enjoy? For some reason Jon Bon Jovi delayed So there’s four albums that are worth the price of admission.

Bon Jovi’s much anticipated 20th album to great disappointment.

Unfortunately that price of admission was a global pandemic.

Obviously I’m joking. But the people who did release proved I wonder if anyone would have paid as much attention to these themselves to be brave and the albums were great, if a little artists if it was business as normal. If not, that would have been a challenging for some. pity.

Dua Lipa is probably the biggest. The daughter of Kosovan These are gutsy artists as opposed to the Bon Jovis of this world refugees who fled to London, Dua relased a funk and pop who delayed releases due to financial concerns, I guess. They masterclass. The bass in “Break My Heart” is the sort of stuff you'll don’t get that at times of crisis, people crave artists and to be remember from Chic, but the melody and the performance and taken away from the present. If only for a moment. the attitude is pure 2020. She toyed with delaying the release of — Andrew Dickens Future Nostalgia and then thought better and actually brought

the hobson 40

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CURTAIN CALL

2,500 curtains needed for homes this winter!

The Parnell Rotary Club is helping Habitat for Humanity to put curtains into homes that have no curtains and need the extra warmth.

What we need Curtains

Curtain Fabric

Time

The curtains need to be in reasonably good condition.

To be made into curtains at the curtain bank.

If you are a keen sewer, volunteer your time to help Habitat for Humanity repurpose the curtains.

How you can help Contact Avis Nelson avisnelson@xtra.co.nz or 021 289 7893

the cryptic by māyā

Set by Māyā. Answers will appear in our next issue, July 2020. Can’t wait, or need help? Visit https://thehobsoncrossword.wordpress.com ACROSS 8 Tolerate trim wildcat for a 1 (8) 9 Almost startled to hear wee calculator (6) 10 Bill singularly objects to mine entrance (4) 11 Inventor of a type of 1 has diamond riding crop (10) 12 Remove offensive content from organ, say (6) 14 A couple of places where this might be heard (but only if they’re 1 ones!) (3,5) 15 1’s two times a goddess (4) 17 “It’s a 1 for the shows!” (5) 18 Argue with opinion (4) 19 A 1 later overturned in court (8) 20 Pilots of Thunderbirds? Ace chaps to have around! (6)

22 Expert’s dissertation on, for example, a dental 1 (10) 23 Pen cross letter to gloomy 3? (4) 24 The whole lot’s been eaten by a friend of Dorothy (2,4) 25 After 1, they positively ascend (8)

DOWN 1 Middle eight in “The Lady in Red” (Chinese version) (6) 2 Measure a type of 1 (4) 3 About to gobble up cream (6) 4 Careworn sophist failing to revere the dead (8,7) 5 Cutting edge sound effect during wash cycle (3-5) 6 Might not one be allowed to use a beam

and pivot to move a type of 1? (10) 7 Could become inflamed (like a 1, perhaps) (8) 13 A type of 1 is, in other words, stolen from Susie at the boarding house (10) 16 A type of partner (not 1) knocks back the band (8) 17 Coin half broken by something like a scimitar (8) 20 Potential purchaser of the 8 1 gets less grand possessions (6) 21 Gloomy pessimist good at dropping 23 across, say, from a 1 (6) 23 Decline a central character from “The 1” (4)

APRIL CRYPTIC CROSSWORD ANSWERS Across: 1 Slick, 4/35 Dormouse, 9 Upstart, 10 Bollard, 12/5 White rabbit, 13 Adits, 17 Knight, 20 Hookah, 22 Elapse, 24 Asset, 27/16 Caterpillar, 29 Curia, 31 El Greco, 32 Martini, 33 Sinus. Down: 1 Stung, 2 Install, 3 Knave, 4 Dotard, 6 Below, 7/11 Amazing grace, 8 Dodge, 13 Aroha, 14 Ictus, 15 Skeet, 16 Pah, 18/34/19/27D/6A The men on the chess board, 21 Octagon, 23 Purlieu, 25 'shroom, 26 Etymon, 28 Reefs, 29 CD-ROM, 30 Alice.

the hobson 42

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MOVE IN Q4 2020

Extraordinary water views from Horizon’s final north-facing penthouse This is your final opportunity to secure this luxury residence featuring three bedrooms, an open-plan living area and a spacious balcony with stunning views toward Rangitoto Island, this penthouse at Horizon in Mission Bay offers unsurpassed style and design. The exceptional residence offers a range of high-end finishes, Gaggenau appliances and Italian porcelain tiles in the kitchen, ample storage, a butler’s pantry, two secure car spaces and a variety of convenient automated features, including blinds, lighting and audio.

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Each office is independently owned and operated. Browns Real Estate Limited (licensed under the REAA 2008) MREINZ