The Hobson May 2019 by The Hobson

may 2019

with love to our mums local news, views & informed opinions

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The May Issue, No. 58

the editor’s letter

the plan

the mothers

10 the columnists

For a man schooled in urban planning, Hamish Firth is underwhelmed by AT’s approach to managing speed

Renee Liang and Michele Powles swapped notes as they raised their young families. The result is a book, When We Remember to Breathe

the village

the teacher

More green space to disappear from the east, it’s a big month for fine arts, Parnell gets its own star on Dancing with the Stars, Mike Lee updates us on his book, The Remuera Village Voice gives you all you need for Mother’s Day, and more

Time to play is key to learning and development, writes Judi Paape

the politicians

the suburbanist

MPs David Seymour and Paul Goldsmith share their updates

Train whistle blowing . . . Tommy Honey watches the end of an era for US train enthusiasts

31 the second act This Mother’s Day, Sandy Burgham is thinking of mothers bowed by grief

44 the magpie For Mother’s Day, the Magpie takes a very calm approach to gifts

46 the celebration Sunday Millar may be 103 but she’s a regular at the bridge table, and one of the stars of a new book celebrating centenarians

48 the district diary What’s going on in May

the councillor

Ōrākei ward Councillor Desley Simpson explains the process behind the grant to Eden Park

the sound

Andrew Dickens sings the praises of the music-rich new Kiwi film, Daffodils

Our puzzle, by Māyā

the investment

the portfolio

Warren Couillault spares a thought for investors in this low-interest era

What was a maternal homily that you still hold close? The Hobson finds out in our annual Mothers’ Day special portfolio the hobson 6

the cryptic

Above: Auckland Grammar School Centenary, 1969, showing the old fives courts and gym shed. Grammar celebrates its 150th this month — see The Diary, page 48

Buying or Selling? Entries always invited. A Fornasetti Table Lamp: $800 - $1,200 A David Trubridge Nanu Chair: $3,000 - $5,000 A 19th Century Chinese Rosewood Carved Side Table: $1,500-$2,300 One of two Garth Chester Atomic Side Charis: $600 - $900 (pair) A Qing Dynasty Vase: $3,500-$5,500 Laurence Aberhart, Conical Monopole: Achieved $2,400 Niagara, Get Outa My Line of Fire: Achieved $1,080

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issue 58, may 2019 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, Mary Fitzgerald, Justine Williams

This year, for our Mother’s Day portfolio we asked locals working in the worlds of “caring” to share advice their mothers had given them, that still resonates today. Many of the responses could probably be loosely grouped as “being kind” or coming under the “do unto others” umbrella, whether it’s by being generous with time, presence or the sharing of food. I asked our news editor, Mary Fitzgerald, what she’s carried forward from her mother, Barbara (they’re pictured together here). “The very best advice my mother gave me growing up, which took years for me to apply with any success, was “love many, trust few and always paddle your own canoe”. It’s good, solid advice that I pass on to my children when life bears down on them. Being able to stand strong alone is important in life, as is having a few solid people in your life you can rely on when the chips are down — and having a wider group of lovely friends who add joy and colour to your days.” As I write this, Mary and her daughter, Alice, have flown south to spend the school holidays with Barbara and the Fitzgerald clan. To Mary, Barbara, to my mother, Cheryl, and to all the mothers/grans/honorary aunties/wahine toa in our community, a very happy and meaningful May 12 to you.

Sub-editor Fiona Wilson Columnists Sandy Burgham, Warren Couillault, Andrew Dickens, Hamish Firth, Paul Goldsmith, Tommy Honey, Mike Lee, Māyā, Judi Paape, David Seymour, Desley Simpson Photographers Mary Fitzgerald, Stephen Penny Cover Mothers and daughters: Dr Renee Liang with her mother, Christina Liang, and daughter, Sofia, photographed outside the Remuera Library by Mary Fitzgerald. See our Mother’s Day portfolio, which begins on page 37 THE HOBSON is published 10 times a year by The Hobson Limited, PO Box 37490 Parnell, Auckland 1151. www.thehobson.co.nz F: The Hobson Magazine I: @The Hobson 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.

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

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. To protect against Auckland’s weather, home delivered copies are bagged in food-grade film, which can be recycled in ‘soft plastics’ bins.

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

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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 an executive director and the major shareholder of Hobson Wealth Partners, a private wealth advisory group. He is a shareholder and director of Generate Investment Management Ltd; and manager of a registered Kiwisaver scheme. Andrew Dickens (The Sound) is the host of the afternoon show 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 Hobsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s News Editor. A Mainlander who transplanted to Remuera 14 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.

the hobson 10

Auckland Council

Map

Â´ Designation 6302 (KiwiRail) North Island Main Trunk Railway Line

0.3685 ha

Designation 1620 (Auckland Tranport) Proposed Eastern Transport Corridor

0.9720 ha

2.3752 ha

DISCLAIMER: This m ap/plan is illustrative only and all inform ation sho uld be independ ently verified o n site before taking any action. Copyright Auckland C ouncil. Land Parcel Boundary information from LINZ (Crown Co pyright Reserved). W hilst due care has been taken, Auckland Council gives no warranty as to the accuracy and plan comp leteness o f any inform ation on this m ap/plan and accepts no liability fo r any error, o missio n or u se of the information. Height datu m: Au ckland 1946.

8.5

25.5

Meters

348 St Johns Road, Meadowbank Total area: 4.0842 ha

Scale @ A3 = 1:1,000 Date Printed: 17/01/2018

the village

Town & Around MORE HOUSES, LESS GREEN SPACE The patch of green space on St Johns Rd currently grazed by ponies has been ring-marked for future housing development. The 2.5ha land at 348 St Johns Rd is owned by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and currently leased by the Meadowbank Pony Club. But under government direction, any surplus land not required by Crown agencies must be offered first to the government’s housing agencies. The NZTA, nor Auckland Transport, no longer require the Meadowbank acreage and as mandated, have offered the land to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. The ministry has expressed interest in the site for housing and intends to start due diligence on the land, which has come as an unwelcome surprise to the Ōrakei Local Board, which values the open space for both its recreation use, and its part as the edge of Pourewa Creek Valley. “The land is part of the Pourewa Creek Valley, the large block of land that lies behind Kepa, Kohimarama and St Johns Rds, leads down to the Pourewa Creek and includes the Kepa Bush Reserve,” says local board chair, Kit Parkinson. “I know that space for new housing is pressing and needed, but this valley is a very important ecological area and we at the local board can do nothing to prevent the 2.5 hectare parcel of it being set aside for housing.” Parkinson’s preference was that the land be first offered to Auckland Council for purchase and become a public reserve. A sale for housing would also scuttle the master-planning underway for the Pourewa Valley. “Over time the board has been working on a holistic approach for the entire valley, looking to improve the ecological value of this important bush area that acts as a vital bird flight path. We don’t have jurisdiction over all the land in the area, but we are in discussions with Ngāti Whātua and with the Purewa Cemetery who also own land in parts of the valley.” Likewise, there is disappointment from the current leaseholders of the fields, the Meadowbank Pony Club, which grazes 12 horses on the NZTA land. The club has a six-month termination clause in its lease, but is concerned that losing the NTZA land will limit its activities which include Riding for the Disabled programs. The public can access parts of the Pourewa Creek Valley from St Johns Rd in the Purewa Cemetery, or from the Kepa Bush Reserve. This will not change with any housing development. — Mary Fitzgerald p

THAT DAMN CARPARK, AGAIN It’s been open, fenced off, closed to SUVs and vans, totally closed, reopened and now the top level of the Clonbern Rd public carpark is barred once more. In a move that caught the local business community by surprise, on Friday March 22 Auckland Transport advised the Remuera Business Association that the top deck would close Sunday March 24, until further notice. The closure removes 70 car spaces from Remuera. AT cited safety concerns in its communication to the RBA, saying that despite signage asking vehicles weighing over two tonnes — larger SUVs, van and trucks — not to use the top deck, continued use threatened the structural integrity. The top deck was closed late last year and only reopened shortly before Christmas after engineering inspections deemed it safe. The lower level of the carpark, which has 129 spaces, is not affected by the closure.

Remuera Business Association chair and owner-operator of Remuera New World, Adrian Barkla, says that there has been a 15-30 per cent decline in turnover for Remuera retailers in the weeks since the top deck was closed. Barkla calls the closure “disappointing and avoidable” and a consequence of AT taking a risk-adverse position with public safety in mind. “But the top deck is safe – it passed all the tests with flying colours that Auckland Council’s engineering consultants did in October last year,” says Barkla. “The structure was strong and safe.” To try and remedy the situation, Barkla says New World’s parent company, Foodstuffs, has written to AT offering to lease the top deck of the carpark as it is. “Foodstuffs are more than happy to do this believing the top deck is safe based on the engineering consultant test results from October.” Ōrākei’s councillor, Desley Simpson, says she’s surprised too, and disappointed that AT didn’t supply evidence to support their decision. “If it is indeed a decision based on health and safety I have to support the move, but I’m also surprised that Auckland Transport has not engaged with the Remuera Business Association before announcing the closure, to explain their reasoning and potentially look at options to further assist users following the weight restriction rules.” At the core of AT’s reasoning is the continuation of large vehicles parking on the deck. “It’s disappointing to see that a few carpark users with large vehicles have ignored the warnings,” says Ōrākei Local Board chair Kit Parkinson. “This impacts on the rest of our community. The time this was closed it had a devastating effect on the small local business turnover.” — Mary Fitzgerald p

NEW FIELDS OF PLAY Resurfaced fields at the College Rifles Rugby Union Football Club were formally opened at the end of March with an official ceremony and the first round of competition games on the new artificial surface. The replacement turf project on the two fields began in September, at a cost of $1.85 million. Councillor for Auckland for the Ōrākei ward, Desley Simpson, was on hand for the grand opening, having supported the Rifles’ application for a Council grant of $750,000 towards the project. “The capacity of our sports field network is a key issue for Auckland as we grow and need to provide facilities for people to enjoy their sport and keep physically fit,” she says. The Haast St complex is key in winter sports capacity in the area. “Without this investment we stood to lose these fields from the network and finding an alternative would not be cheap. This $750,000 investment represents great value for money for ratepayers and a significant win for our sporting community.” — Mary Fitzgerald p

PAWS FOR THOUGHT Auckland Council’s policy on dogs and their management is open for review to May 10. The revised policy and related bylaws aims to improve dog management and make it consistent across the Supercity. Add your views: aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/have-your-say p

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the village

LOCAL BOARD NOTES Both the Ōrākei and Waitematā Local Boards are calling for nominations to recognise community champions. Waitematā’s 2019 Good Citizens’ Awards celebrate individuals and groups that make the ward a great place to live. The categories are for individuals, children and young people under 24, and the community group award for not-for-profits. The nominees and winners in each category will be honoured at a Town Hall ceremony on May 16. For entry information, see aucklandcouncil. govt.nz/waitematā. Meanwhile, the Ōrākei Local Board wants to hear about good sorts for its Community Volunteer Awards. The volunteers — who can either be individual or groups — are recognised across five categories: environmental enhancement and sustainability; community and social wellbeing; arts, culture and heritage; local centre and business area enhancements; and sport, fitness and leisure. Go to aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/orakei for entry information. The awards ceremony will be held in June. More upgrades are underway at the Shore Rd and Bloodworth Park playing fields. The current suite of works include a pedestrian path along the park side of Shore Rd, traffic flow measures from the carpark including a one-way exit, and the creation of more carparks. Next, sand carpeting of the rugby fields. Waiting, waiting . . . there’s no feedback as yet to the Ōrākei Local Board’s submitted feedback on behalf of residents to the hearing panel on the proposed Freedom Camping Bylaw changes as reported in our March issue. And no news either on the future of

the jetty at Wilson’s Beach, which was damaged in a storm last year. The board has asked Council to consider the ecological impact should the structure be removed, as recommended by Council. A resident-driven request to have toilets installed at Little Rangitoto Reserve has been presented to the Ōrākei Local Board. As reported in the April issue, Anna Kydd has petitioned for the toilets and says the board “seemed to be in agreement that public toilets are needed. No guarantees though — they need to find the funding. But it is now formally in the system. I have been told not to expect things to happen quickly.” Board chair Kit Parkinson says that the next step will be to involve Council’s Community Facilities, who will workshop the options, and consider service needs, resources and costs. — Reporting by Mary Fitzgerald p

PROTECTING OUR KAURI Council funding is on its way to support the management of kauri dieback in our local parks. This funding will go toward physical works such as upgrades of tracks in parks with significant kauri ecosystems. Last year, Council approved a natural environment targeted rate to support environmental initiatives, including addressing kauri dieback. The rate will raise $311 million over the next decade. To manage the investment, a risk-based prioritisation approach has been applied across Auckland’s 350 parks containing kauri. In the Ōrākei ward, there are six parks and reserves with kauri. “In particular, Dingle Dell and Waiatarua Reserves have been classified

PUBLIC OPEN DAY 2019 SUNDAY 19 MAY 12PM - 4PM Auckland Grammar School welcomes Old Boys, current families, supporters and members of the wider community to join us for guided tours, musical entertainment and a Food Fair to celebrate our 150th year. Don’t miss this opportunity to visit and explore our unique campus.

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the hobson + the remuera village voice

A World of Choice Remuera raises the bar when it comes to choosing that extra-special gift for important occasions like Mother’s Day. The Village’s variety of exclusive speciality boutiques, on-trend retailers and specialist beauty services make it a shopping experience to remember when you need to find that perfect present for the devoted mum in your life. Whether it’s a stylish fashion accessory, a bespoke piece for the home, a new book, a meal out, a seasonal bouquet, fine jewellery or a pampering salon session, Remuera has it all. There’s a tempting world to explore in Remuera, all within easy strolling distance. Check out all Remuera has to offer with this handy Mother’s Day retail direcotry.

FASHION & ACCESSORIES Blue Illusion Browns Dove Hospice Shop Gabriella Gregory Hartleys Maman Boutique Margie’s Dressmaking Meg & Mollys Mikko Shoes Mortimers Noblesse Renew Remuera Sewing Centre Robin Pierre Succhi Collection The Dancers Wardrobe Unique Tailoring FRESH FLOWERS Iain Stephens Floral Design The Wild Bunch HOME, BOOKS & DESIGN Baksana Bed Bath N’ Table

Gracious Living Hedgerow Lighthouse Remuera Living at Home Paper Plus Remuera Photo Remuera Sgraffito Picture Framers The Sitting Room TO EAT & DRINK 4&20 Bakery 21 Coffee Bakers Delight Remuera Banque Oyster Bar & Eatery Browns Eatery and Store Buffalo Eatery & Store Cafe@Vicky One Coffee & Tea Lovers Glengarry Hai Café Hell Pizza Honey Pot Jack Lum + Co Kebab Serai Laneway Bar Liquorland Boutique New World Remuera Piccolo Café

Pita Pit Remuera Local Café Bistro Sahana South Indian Restaurant Seafood King Chinese Restaurant Sushi & Sushi Taiwanese Tree Café Thai Village Restaurant The Deli The Sushi Club Toshi Japanese Restaurant JEWELLERY & WATCHES Abbey Antiques About Time Alluvium Fine Jewellery Antheas Bilkey & Co Jems of Remuera Sanders Jewellers BEAUTY, BODY & HAIR Atelier Hair Blackford Hairworks Bodytone Studio Cherry Nails Eva Hairdressing

Forme Spa Health Acu & Beauty Centre Jarnioux Hair Studio Jeni’s Hair Studio Life Pharmacy Nailpro Christrio Nail Revolution OPSM Remuera Pilates Remuera Pharmacy Ruk Thai Massage SOHO Hair Design Sun Clinic Tan in the City The Beauty Salon Remuera Total Hair Care & Beauty Visage Beauty Clinic Vital Skin Vivo Hair & Beauty Zen Skin & Beauty

For further information about these stores and all Remuera has to offer, please visit our business directory on www.remuera.org.nz

the village

as high value kauri ecosystems,” says Ōrākei Local Board chair Kit Parkinson. “This makes kauri protection a high priority for our local board.” All six parks have been assessed and prioritised, with mitigation works at Dingle Dell and Waiatarua to include upgraded or realigned tracks. Ōhinerau Mt Hobson, Ōrākei Domain, St Johns Bush and the Waiata Reserves have a lower value kauri ecosystem, but hygiene stations (for cleaning footwear to stop the dieback spores spreading) are proposed mitigation. Further investigations by biosecurity staff and asset management experts are planned. — Mary Fitzgerald p

A BLUEJAY FLIES IN Remuera will welcome a new bistro later next month when Bluejay’s opens at 354 Remuera Rd. The eatery is a new venture for Alex Coates, for more than three years head chef at the wellregarded St Heliers Bay Bistro, and more recently at its city sister restaurant, Amano.

or boardroom for use by local businesses. So why the name? “The bluejay is an English bird that travels around. I’m English, and I’ve travelled here, so it seemed to fit.” Coates will be joined in his new venture by his wife, Bridget. Bluejay’s will open at the end of June with a party to benefit Arthritis NZ. “My wife and I have seen how that affects both our families so we were keen to do something to help.” p

WEBB’S SPREADS ITS WINGS Webb’s, the country’s longest running multi-department auction house has acquired Bowerbank Ninow, a boutique auction and gallery business founded five years ago by two former Webb’s staffers, Simon Bowerbank and Charles Ninow. Bowerbank Ninow will continue as a brand but under the management of Webb’s owners Bruce Qin and Ewen Mackenzie-Bowie. “Charles and Simon both have a history at Webb’s and we welcome them home with confidence that they will bring additional enthusiasm and passion to our enterprise,” says Mackenzie-Bowie. p

HOLD OFF THAT HOGGIN!

“I’ve been looking around for a little while and when we saw that garden, straightaway the potential was there,” says Coates of his new space, which includes an extensive garden flowing out from the restaurant. “We’ll redo the gazebo, make it all as comfortable as possible. It will be a beautiful place to enjoy afternoon tea or tapas and drinks.” As well as breakfast and bistro-style meals — much of them available gluten free — the menu will offer kids meals, take-away items and tapas-style bar snacks. Bluejay’s will also utilise the upstairs room of the building, which will be fitted out as a meeting

Work is continuing at Ōrākei Basin with the long-awaited upgrade to the pathway skirting the southern side of the basin. Thanks to the eagle eye of local resident Roy Champtaloup, the mistaken pouring of hoggin — a compactable groundcover of mixed clay, gravel and sand — instead of gravel on the pathways was stopped before too many metres of the more expensive surface had been laid. When he saw contractors spreading the hoggin, Champtaloup alerted the Ōrākei Local Board, aware that the published plans for the paths through the bush to the waterski club had indicated loose metal surfaces. “Unfortunately the contractor started laying another type of metal that was finer and had cement and lime mixed into it, “ board chair Kit Parkinson confirmed, “but our project manager and Roy Champtaloup spotted it and it has been changed back.”

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the hobson 16

The rogue hoggin path underway, left, and right, the gravel pathway, as on the plans. Photos by Roy Champtaloup

Champtaloup later wrote to the board, saying that the repaired pathway now looks spectacular. He says the correct surface cost a fraction of “the absurd 250 tonnes of hoggin” that was in the process of being laid before he stopped it going any further. “They’ve removed the hoggin and saved huge money, time and an eyesore waiting to happen. I am a supporter of our local board initiatives and their energy, however I am concerned by the costs in development works having to be redone, that should have been done properly in the first instance. The boardwalk on the other side of the basin is going to be great but it is another example of overspending . . . I think we need to see the local board putting in place tighter project management initiatives to ensure costs are kept down so that our rates go further.” — Mary Fitzgerald p

CHECKING IN WITH THE NAVIGATOR In our December issue, regular contributor Councillor Mike Lee wrote of his new book, Navigators & Naturalists – French exploration of New Zealand and the South Seas 1769-1824. A richly researched and illustrated hardback, the book has now been on sale for five months so we checked in with Mike and asked him to write an update on the sales, and the critical response to his

work. The story is both good (rave reviews from historians) and not so good (little coverage beyond The Hobson and no invitation to the Writers Festival). Mike takes up the tale. The first thing to note is that while it is selling well, especially for a hardback, apart from a Radio New Zealand interview, there has not been a huge amount of coverage. The NZ Herald did review it in a few sparse lines in its Canvas magazine, however, the Herald’s Brian Rudman was much more expansive in his weekly political column, describing it as “fascinating” and a “rollicking good read. And more to the point, it’s our history.” However, the Otago Daily Times was the only newspaper to publish a full review, political reporter Michael Houlahan describing it as “thrilling” and noting “Lee has his own insights and own voice . . . As a biologist Lee is outstanding in recognising the ground-breaking work of French botanists, zoologists and scientists. He also has the flair to bring these long ago voyages to life . . .” Unfortunately back in Auckland, the book has been rejected by the Auckland Writers Festival. But the cold shoulder from the local literary elite has been more than made up for by a wonderfully generous email sent to me by author and professor of history, Paul Moon. “I finished your book on Friday.” — he wrote to me— “and if you

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the hobson 17

the village

don’t mind, I thought I would share my impression of it with you. Production-wise, it’s wonderful, but its real contribution and worth lies in the quality of its scholarship. This is an extraordinary work in many respects. It effectively offers readers a new dimension of the country’s early colonial history, and provides a specifically French complexion as a counterpoint to the Anglo-Saxon one we’re more familiar with . . . the sheer quantity of detail means that it will become a crucial resource for scholars . . . it is not only an account of the French in the region until the early 1820s, but also is a work that shapes how the encounters between Māori and Europeans are understood more generally in the era”. I received another impressive commendation from Emeritus Professor Kerry Howe, Pacific historian, yachtsman and author. He was also generous, noting “you bring, in a sense, a fresh eye, one not pre-clouded with the academic baggage of postmodernism, or the latest political correctness. You see, and narrate, what the French saw. It remains your narrative but avoids the charge of selectivity by virtue of extensive quotations from so many different observers of the events . . . there’s a wonderful forensic quality which brings out so many new angles and so much novel information. I guess there are several historians of early NZ who are well aware of a generalised early French presence on our coasts, but nothing like the detail, and also the broader geo-political context that you are able to paint. “Then there’s the actual view from the sea and the beach. It is their words, but your understanding/empathy, your apparent intimacy with place and vantage point – esp. Doubtless Bay and the Bay of Islands. Only someone who sits on a kayak or some other small craft can get what I think is a real sense of such place . . . you capture, with your eye and use of documentation from people in those exact same places, the essence of the physical and cultural landscape. And your own naturalist background just enhances your novel/different approach. “So, a most marvellous piece of historical scholarship, but it is, to me, more than that. It’s an evocation of events that once were, but still help shape how we now think culturally, in places that still are.” — Mike Lee Navigators & Naturalists — French Exploration of New Zealand and the South Seas 1769-1824 is published by Bateman Books. Available at all good booksellers, RRP $69.99 p

WE’RE DANCING WITH STARS AGAIN Last year, our local contribution to Dancing with the Stars was Epsom MP David Seymour. Seymour, who danced on behalf of the Kidsline charity, acquitted himself well after a twerky start, and lasted — to his, and critics’ surprise — until the semi-finals. This season, another star has a local connection. Carolyn Taylor is familiar to a generation of TV viewers as the sunny host of the kids’ show, What Now?! in the 1980s. Today, she’s a familiar face around Parnell as the marketing and communications manager for the Parnell Business Association, under her married name, Keep. Taylor/Keep is partnered on the new season with professional dancer Johnny Williams. She is dancing as the Cure Kids ambassador, and has a long connection with the organisation having MC’d events for the charity and supported its Red Nose Day over the years. u

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the hobson 18

IS THIS YOU

PUBLIC MEETING 6 P M , 7 T H M AY, 545 PARNELL ROAD CA N D I DAT E S S O U G H T FO R WA I T E M ATĀ LOCAL BOARD ELECTIONS The Parnell Business Association and Parnell Community Committee are reaching out to the local community for Parnell residents who are interested in standing as a candidate for the Waitematā Local Board for the next term. Here are the reasons why:The next local election is in October 2019. As part of this process, not only will the Mayor and Councilors stand for election, but also members of the Local Boards. Parnell is part of the Waitematā Local Board. There are likely to be 3-4 vacancies on the Waitematā Local Board which covers an expansive inner city area encompassing the central city and several fringe suburbs. Inadequate representation from this side of the city could result in our specific needs being overlooked. The Parnell Plan: The local business and residential community have, over the past 6-8 months, been working together with several other stakeholder groups in Parnell to contribute to a community driven and council supported ‘local area plan’ for Parnell. It is intended that this plan, when published, will serve as a framework to guide council and delivery partners to work together to improve accessibility and connections, infrastructure and support businesses to thrive.

We need a champion for Parnell on the Waitematā Local Board and are reaching out to the electorate for suitable candidates to stand for election so that we may have a voice at this important local level of council. We are holding a public meeting on the 7th of May at the Jubilee Building, 545 Parnell Rd, in which interested candidates can present themselves and then still have time to prepare for the formal application process. (If this sounds like you, please register your interest to present with Cheryl@parnell.net.nz) Formal Candidate nominations open on 19 July and close on 16 August 2019. Link for full information is; https://www.aucklandcouncil. govt.nz/about-auckland-council/elections/ elections-2019/Pages/stand-for-council-bea-candidate-in-2019.aspx

the village

“I love working alongside those who care about helping others feel good, and I’m passionate about the work Cure Kids does,” says Carolyn. “When I started in TV it was all about the kids, so it’s great to be able to represent them again with Cure Kids. I feel like Dancing has given me yet another chance to unleash my inner child and bust out a few moves for a good cause.” Last year’s almost-champion, Seymour wishes “the unofficial Hobson entrant lots of luck. Caro, you are a wonderful part of our community for the work you do at the Parnell Business Association. You will discover muscles you didn’t know you had, and that you never needed as much sleep as you thought. “You’ll discover there’s no faster way to learn a dance than knowing you have six days before you perform it for 400,000 people. You’ll find a lifetime bond with your partner, a little bit like the bonds that shipwreck survivors form. Most importantly you’ll raise a fortune for Cure Kids from all the people texting your name to 3333, and I’m sure you’ll discover how supportive our community is when you’re engaged in a national contest of epic proportions. Good luck!” Dancing with the Stars returned to Three in April and continues though May. p

THE STORY OF . . . THE REMUERA LIBRARY Mary Fitzgerald’s ongoing series looking at the stories behind plaques and installations in the community The Remuera Library has been an important community centre since it opened 93 years ago. As borne out on the brass plaque at its north door, the library opened on its present site on July 31, 1926. In 1928 the building design, by William Gummer of Gummer and Ford Architects, won a gold medal from the NZ Institute of Architects. When you walk through the main doors and vestibule of the library you enter into a large open space, not typical of library design of the time. Gummer’s design created an innovative open-access model, which provided a blueprint for more modern libraries. By removing walls and glazed partitions, the open-plan design delivered greater flexibility, spaciousness, and light throughout the building.

Gummer was born in Auckland in 1884. He had a distinguished architectural career working in Auckland, then in Britain where he studied at the Royal Academy of Arts, and subsequently became an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architecture. He also worked in Chicago. After his return to NZ in 1913 and war service, he established his practice with Reginald Ford. Gummer and Ford works include the Auckland Railway Station (1926), which won a gold medal, several WWI memorials, the Dilworth building (1925) and various libraries. The neo-Georgian-style library was refurbished in 2002, removing alterations made during the 1950s and 60s. The primary design intention in the 2002 upgrade and refurbishment was to emphasise and enhance the existing character of the original design. Following that refurbishment the library was awarded a NZ Institute of Architects Regional Award (Heritage) in 2004. It’s a measure of the design’s enduring success that its basic design can still accommodate a modern library service. The Remuera Library is on Heritage New Zealand’s register as a Category 1 building, meaning it’s considered a building of special and outstanding historic, cultural significance or value. It is also listed on the Auckland Council Schedule of Historic Heritage as a Category B building. p

EREBUS DESIGN CHOSEN A design that includes a walkway projecting outward to the horizon has been selected for the new National Erebus Memorial to be constructed in Parnell’s Sir Dove-Myer Robinson Park. Announced by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of a convened design selection panel, Te Paerangi Ataata - Sky Song, by

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the village

Artist renders of the winning design for the National Erebus Memorial. Inset, the design will feature names of the deceased; steel snowflakes will be presented to the families

Wellington firm Studio Pacific Architecture, jointly with designer and artist Jason O’Hara and musician Warren Maxwell, has been selected from six finalist designs. “The design reflects the enormity of the tragedy and provides a strong sense of connection and loss,” said PM Jacinda Arden in a statement. “The design has a strong narrative to engage visitors and provides a sanctuary within its walls, evoking the great emptiness experienced for those who lost their lives. “As the memorial is created, some 257 stainless steel snowflakes will be cut out and given to the families, connecting them to the site and providing a symbolic keepsake that can be passed on to others. The design was chosen after feedback from family members of those who died, those who worked on the recovery operation and in consultation with Auckland Council.” Planning will now begin for construction. The memorial is expected to be unveiled in May next year. Mayor Phil Goff welcomed the progress being made on building the memorial and said it was long overdue. “With Flight 901 having left from Auckland and many of those on board residents from our

city, it is appropriate for the memorial to be built here. “The memorial in Dove-Myer Robinson Park, overlooking the Waitematā, is in a beautiful setting, which I hope will provide comfort and solace to those who lost family and friends on Erebus.” The design team at Studio Pacific Architecture are honoured to contribute to the making of this special place of remembrance for those who lost their lives. “It is a privilege for us to contribute towards a memorial experience that captures their adventurous spirit,” Studio Pacific Architecture founding director Nick BarrattBoyes said. p

ALL’S FAIR FOR ARTY KIDS The Auckland Art Fair returns to the Cloud this month. As well as the halls of major works and new discoveries from the Pacific region offered for sale by more than 40 different galleries, the weekend will also offer two special workshops for kids. On Saturday May 4, children are invited to create their own masterpiece in the style of Gavin Hipkins. The workshop will be hosted by the Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery, West Auckland’s regional gallery. The budding creatives are invited to drop in between 10am-4pm, on the mezzanine level. On Sunday May 5, the mezzanine will again host a children’s workshop by Arts

David Seymour MP for Epsom

(and Mt Eden, Newmarket, Parnell and Remuera) To contact me for an appointment please call 09 522 7464 or email mpepsom@parliament.govt.nz

Epsom Electorate Office Level 2, 27 Gillies Avenue, Newmarket Promoted by David Seymour, MP for Epsom, 27 Gillies Avenue, Newmarket

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4 Us, where, guided by specialist arts therapists, the participants will a make a multi-media work that reflects how they’re thinking and feeling. Arts 4 Us is part of the Dance and Arts Therapy NZ charitable trust, which works extensively with at risk/low income communities and those with disabilities or special needs. Entry to both workshops is by gold coin donation. The Auckland Art Fair runs from May 1-5. Tickets and details at artfair.co.nz p

UPDATE: VENUE CHANGE FOR PARNELL MEETING The venue for the public meeting for those interested in considering standing for the Waitematā Local Board has changed since our April edition was published. It will now be held in the Jubilee Building, 545 Parnell Rd, not at the school. The date, May 7, and time, 6pm, remain unchanged. p

LETTER TO THE EDITOR The Hobson encourages responses to our articles. If you would like to comment on something in the magazine, please email editor@thehobson.co.nz. Letters may be edited for length or clarity. To the editor Glad to see our rates are being spent prudently. Page 18 of the March edition of The Hobson informs us that 98 timber bollards will be installed along the Upland Rd side of Little Rangitoto Reserve, at a cost of $55,798. THAT’S $569.37 PER BOLLARD! — Malcolm Clark, Remuera p

THREE DECADES OF ART WITH HEART It’s attracted works created and donated by the famous — Sir Ed’s signed drawing — and celebrity auctioneers, back in the day (a young Tim Shadbolt, right). This month, the ever-popular Baradene Art Show celebrates its 30th anniversary with a bonanza of more than 130 artists showing and selling more than 800 works. From classic styles of painting to modernist glass, ceramics, photography and more, the works are by established and emerging artists shoulder-tapped for the show, ensuring each year’s event builds on the success of the last. u

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the village

While some things have not changed over three decades — the Art Show’s opening event is always a well-attended community get-together — a celebrity auctioneer is no longer part of the event. Baradene College of the Sacred Heart’s major fundraiser each year, the art show opens with a ticketed gala fundraiser on Friday May 17, and continues over the weekend, with free entry. For gala tickets and information about the artists, see baradeneartshow.co.nz. p

Clockwise from top right: Lucy Gauntlett, Aoteroa Mandala, photography/mixed media gilcee print, $975; Lee Dewsnap, L’amitie, oil on Belgium linen, $5700; MIchelle McIver, Blue Pools, acrylic on board, $895; Stephen Bailey, Red Vessel, stoneware ceramic, $175; Guy Harkness, New Chums, oil on canvas, $2450; Paul Herbert, Long Bay Kauri & Waders, acrylic and pastel on canvas, $1500; Annie McIver, In Search of the Acheron, porcelain, steel pins, wood, $1200

Councillor Desley Simpson To learn more about what’s happening around the Town Hall table, please join my newsletter at: desley.co.nz/newsletter Or join me on Facebook: desley.co.nz/facebook

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the politicians

David Seymour

Paul Goldsmith

he theme of this Hobson issue is Mother’s Day and I wish every mother in the Epsom electorate all of the respect and gratitude mothers deserve on, as my own mum once sardonically reminded me, the second Sunday in May. Each of us receive special gifts from our mothers that shape us for life, and if you’ll forgive a little indulgence, I’d like to share a personal story about a gift I received from mine. French, Latin, history, English and a couple of other artsy subjects were circled in the option lines of my deep blue, glossy fourth form Grammar diary. I took this proposal to my mum and, long story short, I graduated high school with physics, chemistry, calculus, statistics and English. Bio missed the cut only because English was compulsory. My mother’s life was shaped by science. She was one of the last New Zealanders to suffer the slings and arrows of polio. How? She was born in the year that the Salk virus first arrived in New Zealand, she missed it by months. The early polio virus was a miracle of its time. People queued at the airport hoping to get their hands on a vial when it arrived in the country. As a point of curiosity, it was grown on the kidney cells of monkeys. About 1500 monkeys had to be sacrificed to produce every million vaccines. In the pragmatism of the age, it was easily seen as a worthwhile sacrifice. Contrast that with the curious modern phenomenon of parents who have benefited from a century of breathtaking advances in medical technology, but eschew vaccination for their children on a range of tenuous bases. Not only do they put their own child at risk, but also those few others who genuinely can’t sustain vaccination and must live in a world where once-banished diseases reemerge. Today, even with the modern polio vaccine, there is about a three-in-a-million chance of infection. It’s been so effective at preventing the disease, though, that these cases outnumber the ‘wild’ ones, partly explaining the modern phenomenon of antivaxxers. Once the evil of the disease is banished, the vaccine itself becomes the focus. Someone who knew the reality of pre-vaccination life was never so sanguine. My mother was a pharmacist and my brothers and I probably resembled voodoo dolls as children, such was her enthusiasm for the process that she narrowly missed. This was her gift to us — that reason, science, and some statistics are valuable weapons in life, even if you have some bad luck along the way. Each of our mothers give us their own unique gifts, products of who they are and the circumstances that shaped their own lives. One gift of mine is a lifelong reverence for science and reason. I hope that everyone finds time to reflect on the gifts they have received this second Sunday in May. I finish with my usual incantation that as your local MP I am here to help you and your family. If you do business in the Epsom electorate I may be able to help with that too. Please feel free to get in touch with any feedback or issues you may have via david.seymour@parliament.govt.nz or call 522 7464 if you’d like to see me at my 27 Gillies Ave office.

raffic congestion is always in the top two or three issues raised by locals in our regular surveys and at our public meetings. Why? Because it fundamentally effects our quality of life. We’ve all got places to go. We want to get around — maybe pick up kids from sports practice on the way home from work, go to the beach on the weekend, get to meetings confident of arriving on time. So, for me, as National’s transport spokesperson, it’s relatively simple. The purpose of transport policy should be to enable Kiwis to get around – quickly, efficiently and safely. That requires investment in roads – because most people still like to use cars – and in public transport, so that people have choices. Which is what we did in government, such as through the Waterview Tunnel, which has been transformative, and through the electrification of the rail network and the City Rail Link, which will be transformative for those who live along the rail routes. The shocking thing, however, is that the current Labour/Green priorities are very different. Reducing travel times and congestion has been explicitly removed from the Government Priority Statement (GPS), which directs and drives government investment. The priorities now are safety and what is called ‘mode-shift’, which is getting people out of their cars and on to public transport. They are both important things, but if they are the total focus, it leads to very different outcomes. Michael Stiassney, the chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency, put it disarmingly frankly in a select committee discussion we had. He told us, “There is no doubt that the way the GPS has been written is more about safety, and the time spent from A to B is no longer a priority for us. The outcome of that will be, I think we could all agree, that it will take longer to get from A to B in a lot of places and there will be more congestion.” Taken to its absurdity, Phil Twyford and Julie-Ann Genter in theory should not be worried about people sitting for hours on the Southern Motorway, or crawling to get through the Greenlane roundabout because (a) they’re safe, and (b) they will be highly motivated to get out of their cars and into public transport. This explains the very strange decisions being made. Instead of expanding the road network’s capacity in areas where there is massive growth, such as south and north of the city, the proposal is that the largest and most expensive transport project should be light rail down Dominion Rd. That is a road already well served by public transport. Even Jon Reeves of the Public Transport Users Association has concluded “basically the tram is going to be a very slow, very costly project and it is seriously going to be a waste of taxpayers’ money”. AT, meantime, is deliberately frustrating motorists at every turn, such as through the narrowing of the critical arterial on Quay St without practical alternatives, and by its proposed 30km/h speed limits on arterial roads. Good government is about making people’s lives easier, not deliberately frustrating them. Auckland is not a huge city; it’s relatively small in global terms. We can continue to enjoy the freedom that comes with having access to all transport options if we focus on the right things.

David Seymour is the MP for Epsom

Paul Goldsmith is a National list MP based in Epsom

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the councillor

Desley Simpson

n my nearly three years around the Town Hall table, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more heated discussion than the Finance and Performance committee meeting debate on Eden Park funding. To a large degree, media coverage of this has been slight due to its timing only four days following the Christchurch mosque tragedy. But it was an important debate. First, some background. Eden Park is not owned or managed by Auckland Council. Therefore, unlike other stadia such as Western Springs, QBE (North Harbour) and Mt Smart, Eden Park does not come under the suite of facilities managed by Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA), a Council-controlled organisation tasked by the supercity legislation to manage Council-owned facilities. However, it can’t be ignored as it’s an important stadium for Auckland — the biggest, capacity-wise, we have. It’s been this Council that has finally made the decision to collaboratively work with and include Eden Park — along with others we don’t own or manage such as Spark Arena and ASB Tennis Centre — when we get to discuss the details of what our stadium strategy should look like, for our region as a whole. But it has come into the mix with some serious financial limitations. A longstanding debt of $40 million arose from its redevelopment for the Rugby World Cup in 2011, which the city’s former councils agreed would be great for Auckland. But when the financial ask was actually made, the councils did not contribute one dollar. It was only the former Auckland Regional Council (ARC) who did. It’s worth noting that some of the current councillors did serve on the legacy councils. One of the Eden Park Trust’s objectives is, as written, “To promote, operate and develop Eden Park as a high quality multipurpose stadium for the use and benefit of rugby and cricket (including under the organisations of ARU and ACA respectively pursuant to their rights under this deed) as well as other sporting codes and other recreational, musical, and cultural events for the benefit of the public of the Region”. The Trust was left with its Rugby World Cup debt on behalf of Auckland. It has understandably struggled with it, and as Council was the guarantor, we had no choice but to take over the debt. In doing so we have saved Eden Park some money in interest payments, as our interest rates are more favourable. Council resolved (with my support) to continue to charge our interest rate plus a bit more, which was still better for the Trust than what they had with the bank. It’s a lot of money, and we need to be prudent too. So why has Eden Park been unable to pay off their debt? To date, interest payments on the debt have been costly, about $15 million since 2011. Council itself hasn’t helped either. We charge them rates and these aren’t significant, and yet Wellington’s Cake Tin, the Westpac Stadium, doesn’t pay rates, nor in fact are rates charged on any of the Regional Facilities Auckland stadia. Thanks to Unitary Plan rules, Eden Park can only hold a maximum of six concerts a year as a discretionary activity. Concerts make money for stadia, but our rules and the time around consenting for concerts is long, costly, arduous and not at all guaranteed.

This needs to change and there is work happening around that. So why did the majority of Councillors, led by me, agree a grant and not, as the Mayor suggested, a loan to the Eden Park Trust? First, trust and confidence. Up until less than a week before the meeting where we were to resolve the issue, our Council staff had agreed with Eden Park representatives that there would be extra money in the form of a grant. This had been worked on for many, many months, and followed a resolution passed last year. To change our mind from a grant to a loan at the ninth hour, wasn’t, in my opinion, working in good faith. The second reason — it’s what we usually do with other organisations and community facilities that qualify under Auckland Council’s Recreational Facilities Partnership policy. These grants are supported with funding agreements which stipulate details around those grants, rules to follow, accountability etc. Previous grant examples include those to Vodafone Events Centre, Trusts Stadium, the ASB Tennis Arena and even our Ōrākei ward’s own Hyundai Marine Sports Centre (the newly-built Royal Akarana Yacht Club building). The third reason was advice from the Auditor-General. The Auditor-General designed a good practice guide titled, “Principles to Underpin Management by Public Entities of Funding to Non-government Organisations.” This document clearly gives guidance for funding and talks about grants, not loans. In fact, it specifically talks about sustainability of funding — remember Eden Park already has a big debt problem, it is not therefore helpful or good practice, to add to it. And the document also refers to fairness (see second reason). So was the grant a gift? No. Like all grants it comes with rules and stipulations with which the chief executive, through his staff, complies. These are packaged up in a development funding agreement. The actual resolution said ‘authorise the chief executive to agree a grant to fund capital expenditure of up to $9.8 million over a threeyear period from 1 July 2019 under a Development Funding Agreement.’ It’s a grant up to $9.8 million over three years. It’s not a set amount per year, it’s a funding envelope available to be applied for specific capital spend. I know one priority is turf replacement, which is twice its ideal seven-year age limit for use. So in conclusion what I proposed was fair, was based on months of understanding, usual Council practice, aligned with guidelines from the Auditor-General and will go a long way to getting Eden Park over its credit crunch, so it can get on with its business of running events and wiping its financial face. It’s only for three years, and whilst adding Eden Park into our stadium portfolio, and their hosting of events potentially saves ratepayers hundreds of millions in refurbishment of our own venues — such as the upgrading work needed at Mt Smart and Western Springs — it also doesn’t preclude a bigger discussion in the future around building a new stadium somewhere else. Desley Simpson is the Councillor for Auckland representing the Ōrākei ward

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the investment

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SBC recently introduced a two-year fixed rate mortgage “special” at 3.69 per cent — one of the lowest that they have offered in the New Zealand market and certainly a mortgage rate I never thought I’d see in NZ in my lifetime. This offer from HSBC has seen Kiwibank follow suit and lower its mortgage rates across the board. And I’d anticipate more of this type of behaviour as we see the inevitable competitive response from the other major trading banks. On the surface, this is a great outcome for mortgage holders, as the cost of servicing household debt continues to go lower, despite the constant commentary and speculation concerning the prospect of higher interest rates, which ultimately hasn’t eventuated. However, the cost of borrowing forms only one half of the equation. For investors that are reliant on an income stream from their investments, this latest ‘leg down’ in interest rates becomes increasingly problematic. In essence, if banks are lending money at 3.69 per cent, then they in themselves are having to borrow at even lower levels still, which in turn leads to downward pressure on the rates the banks will or can pay for retail bank term deposits. If Mum and Dad investors are faced with gross yields of less than 3 per cent, then allowing for any tax deduction and inflation, clearly there isn’t a lot left over. So where do investors turn for income and what are their options? The buoyancy in the residential property market has been a key driver of investor sentiment in New Zealand this cycle, but this appears to have peaked if not turned, particularly in Auckland. Investor returns in this sector are likely to become more challenging, and with the potential for a capital gains tax looming, this is adding yet another layer of uncertainty. Investors are now having to think more about their allocation to growth assets. Conventional wisdom and prevailing portfolio theory recommends reducing your allocation to growth assets as you reach retirement age, thereby preserving your capital from risk. The problem with this strategy, however, is that we’re all living longer and those timeframes are in many cases being extended. Ultimately, the size of capital needed to maintain a given lifestyle is going to have to be larger, to last that much longer. Furthermore, having a capital target that also takes into account lower levels of interest rates and the reduction in income that this may have once produced in other interest rate cycles, would suit this change in longevity. This ‘new’ interest rate environment is causing a rethink across the entire investment industry. Companies with the ability to innovate and grow will be better positioned than those sectors that stagnate and fail to adjust to the new economy. Investors and managers of money are also going to have to evolve and change, in order to drive better returns and ultimately better outcomes for the end investor. So in an environment of low interest rates and moderate growth, it seems the frequently used catchphrase ‘evolve or die’ has never been more poignant for investors. — Warren Couillault

the plan

Driving Us Mad

y the time you’re reading this, the delayed submission period for the Auckland Transport Speed Limits Bylaw will have closed. I personally oppose the bylaw as it is written. I would prefer a more targeted, staged approach which may get better public buy-in and provide a better balance between compliance and safety. It appears AT has adopted the ideology of ‘slower is safer’, without asking the question of where the line should be drawn as to risk. Under the proposed bylaw, by November next year around 10 per cent, or 700km, of Auckland’s roads will have a speed reduction imposed. For mainly urban users, the effect will be a speed limit of 50km/h being reduced to 30km/h. The scale of pace and change feels like too much, too fast. I fear that there will be a public backlash in the same way there was against the poorly implemented West Lynn cycleway. I would suggest that before any steps are taken to reduce speed limits, AT should explore all possible steps to modify the roads so that they can be safely driven at the existing speed limit. This could include pedestrian overpasses or underpasses, treatments designed to separate cars and vulnerable road users, or better designing the phasing on pedestrian crossings to discourage jaywalking. There appears no evidence of this happening on a wider scale. Auckland Council has a policy to complement the 40km/h speed limit around schools. But it’s hard to see evidence AT is implementing the policy. It is also ironic that 40km/h is deemed safe for the most vulnerable of users — our kids — but a blanket roll-out of 30km/h is ‘safer’ for the adult cohort, who more frequently may use, say, the CBD. There is already a Speed Management Guide (SMG) that was developed as a nationwide document by the Ministry of Transport in 2017. It was adopted by AT to help identify and prioritise the parts of the network where better speed management will contribute most to reducing deaths and serious injuries, while supporting overall economic productivity — this by identifying the top five to 10 per cent ‘high benefit’ speed management opportunities. The ‘blanket approach’ proposed by AT seems to take a different approach from the recommendations of the SMG and

S TAT E

imposes speed limit reductions on roads where a high risk has not been identified. The proposed 30km/hr speed limit is mooted for six town centres around Auckland. However, only one of those zones – St Heliers – sits in the top 10 per cent of high-risk Auckland roads. This goes against the emphasis in the top 10 per cent of high-risk roads, and against AT’s self-stated ‘primary focus’ on those roads. Looking at St Heliers, in my view it would be better to look at engineering improvements, then looking at a variable speed limit of say 40km/h from 6am – 9pm and then 50km/h overnight. Following analysis of this deemed highest-risk area — and provided there is a clear strategy and methodology — further proposals by AT to lower speeds in Auckland’s town centres for safety and amenity reasons in line with guidance from the SMG (which in town centres typically entails 40km/h and 50km/h limits) could be rolled out. In terms of the CBD, the vast majority of streets will have a blanket 30km/h speed limit imposed. This approach is again at odds with the SMG, and in my mind will lead to further alienation of the public to AT. With no engineering changes, many people will ask why this is occurring and if the road is deemed as low risk, what is the point? As an alternative approach, perhaps a 40km/h speed limit could be introduced to the CBD, excluding roads like Nelson and Hobson St, and shared zones like Fort St, which should come down to 10km/h. This better corresponds with the safe and appropriate speed recommended under the SMG, and makes much better sense than a blanket speed limit, given the mix of road environments and functions in the city. A 40km/h limit would still in many cases provide safer and appropriate CBD speeds and a much more comfortable fit than 30km/h, and would deliver on the ultimate goal of improving road safety by getting public buy-in. Time will tell, but I expect Council will all but ignore the submissions calling for a slower, more staged and evidence-based approach. Then there will be outrage from the public, and Council will say “but we consulted you”. — Hamish Firth

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the teacher

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lay for children is a very important and essential learning tool for them to be able to develop and grow into empathetic and intelligent adults who can better manage themselves, their relationships, their careers, and every other decision they will need to face. Mother’s Day is always a very special day children love to share. A playdate with Mum on this special day brings with it many happy times and memories. I recall vividly being woken up (pretending to be asleep so as not to spoil the fun) with a cup of tea (cold!) and a Mallowpuff, given a home-made card (the best) with beautiful words written by hand, and very colourfully decorated. No matter our age, the child within us needs to be honoured and unleashed every so often. The journey into adulthood is an exciting one but we can often forget that we all have a playful side that needs to be respected and allowed to be encouraged and nurtured, and what better time to do this than with our own children. I am lucky in my job to be able to observe children learning through play from a young age, to observing adults who are now grandparents and who still have that lovely childlike, fun-loving way about them. Life can be a bit serious at times, so for our own mental health and wellbeing, having some fun along the way can be very healthy. We all love to hear the uninhibited squeals of delight, giggles and laughter from children when they are out and about playing. There are very many reasons why play is so important for children, and this has been well researched. Play opens children up to learning how to be creative, and also helps in the nurturing of critical thinking, two key developmental stages during the formative years. I’ve seen too many children robbed of their childhood because of the pressure put on them to perform academically, on the sports field or in the arts. Don’t get me wrong, there are children who really do enjoy achieving and work very hard to make sure that happens. But I do wonder whether there is a part of their lives they miss and how that may affect them in the longterm. Time for play has been markedly reduced for some children because of our very busy, increasingly pressured lifestyles. A balanced lifestyle that includes time for playing is essential for all children (and us). Experts would say that play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social and emotional wellbeing of children. In fact, ‘play’ is so important to optimal child development that it has been recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, as a right of every child. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them. Play allows children to create and explore in a world they need to master, as they learn to conquer their fears and at the same time, practice adult roleplay. Play helps children develop new competencies that lead to building resilience, to share, to be socially accepted and to negotiate, just to mention a few of the important competencies they require. Teachers, particularly in primary schools, are well aware of the importance of play, and plan in such a way as to include it as a component in a lesson plan. Play at school is more than ‘playtime’ or recess. It can be any activity, in the classroom or out, that fascinates the brain contributing an integral and valuable part to the academic environment. In secondary schools where the curriculum is more prescriptive, teachers find it more difficult to experiment with including a ‘play’ component because of time limitations. However, there are fabulous, creative teachers in our schools who are planning their class lessons that include a play component. Believe me, those students never forget what they have learnt or the teacher that taught them. Surely, at its heart, if learning is fun and memorable then that is the best learning we can give our students. — Judi Paape

the second act

Peace be Upon You

y mother used to instruct me not to take life too seriously, to be really present every day, as you never know when something unexpected could occur and end life as you know it. For her it was a blinding flash of light, the bomb that destroyed her school, many friends, and in fact her whole city of Hiroshima. Just one random day. And of course for so many New Zealanders and people around the world, on March 15, it was a gunman. Someone said to me recently that it will take 21 days for New Zealand to get over the Christchurch massacre, and that after that point there will be an urge to resume normal transmission. That had been his experience in similar traumatic incidents in India. We both found this a devastating idea, that New Zealand could just move on and by the time this column is published, there would be some sense of normality in our country. I don’t want to write a friendly Mother’s Day column for this edition; I don’t want the issue to go away and be relegated to becoming some sort of recent ‘unpleasantness’. I want us to keep going on about it, keep hugging people, keep weeping over various media reports, keep mulling it over, and keep grieving. Rather than relitigating the horror, many might prefer to focus on the supreme job that our Prime Minister has done, on a global scale. She has said herself that being a new mum allowed her to feel her grief more acutely. I commend her for wearing a headscarf, her reasons being not about political tokenism but in solidarity for those Muslim women who felt unsafe wearing their hijab to express their beliefs. I love that our Prime Minister is a new mother — whose own mother moved in to her household to help care for her baby — and for that she has now joined the club of the forever-vulnerable human being who will only ever be as happy as her unhappiest child. But that’s not the mother I want to acknowledge. All I want to do this month is acknowledge the mothers who suffered the most as a result of the massacre. Husna Ahmed died after protecting the children of the Al Noor Mosque and then, returning to look for her disabled husband Karam Bibi, who came to NZ recently with her husband to see her son, and was gunned down. I am sure there are more. There are more mothers who lost a son, daughter, husband, father, sister, and brother that terrible day. Saud Abdelfattah Mhaisen Adwan, who died literally of a broken heart, mourning the loss of her son Kamel Darwish. The wife of Mohsin Al-Harbi, and mother of Sazada Akhter, who both suffered heart attacks when hearing their loved ones had been shot. I am sure there are more. I wonder how the mother of three-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim is coping. I send her love. Assalamu alaikum. Somewhere out there is the mother of four-year-old Alen Daraghmih, struggling at Starship. I send her love. Then of course there are those people who have lost their mother or mother figure and remain bereft, bewildered and no doubt drawing deeply from the well of their faith to remain a functioning human being. Assalamu alaikum. And finally, there is the mother of the gunman, currently under police protection for an undisclosed period of time. What goes through your mind? What maternal guilt has flooded every crevice of your brain, leaving you incapable of dreaming that you will ever feel normal again? How much love do you have left for your son? How much compassion do you have for yourself? If “they are us” and “we are one”, then assalamu alaikum to you. Whatever your faith, beliefs or family rituals, this Mother’s Day, make time to light a candle for those mothers who feel it the most. Perhaps one day, peace will be with them. — Sandy Burgham

MAY UPDATE

There’s no question that the dynamics surrounding the market have changed. Talk of Capital Gains Tax, the foreign buyer ban and changing attitudes towards funding from the major banks have together (among other things) created a change in sentiment. Add the confusion over CVs and you have a recipe for a Mexican standoff between buyer and seller and a slowing in sales numbers as a result. The good news is that there are plenty of buyers looking to enter the market, particularly first home buyers looking to take advantage of low interest rates.

In short every situation is different. If you’re wondering what a property is worth please give me a call at any time.

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

LICENSED AGENT REAA 2008

the suburbanist

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s we find ourselves in the midst of a micro-mobility, tinywheeled revolution with electric scooters about to outstrip electric bikes as the mode de jour, spare a thought for those for whom the romance of rail is under threat. Not in New Zealand of course, where rail means more about stock movement and the busiest passenger rail service is actually a ferry; no, in the US, private railcar owners are having their wings clipped – as it were – by Amtrak, the national carrier. There’s a hobby for everything and when it comes to trains, the UK are world leaders at spotting them. Britons are specialists at watching the world go by – just look at Brexit, for example. In the US, observing is not enough – they need to own things. Everything. Including trains. Rail enthusiasts worldwide club together to preserve trains, maintaining them on a disused siding and meeting in weekends to stoke the boilers and polish the brass. In the US, it is not enough simply to own a train; the real status comes from touring in it. Aficionados don’t buy the whole train, they purchase a railcar and then pay Amtrak to tag along on one of their established routes. The US used to have a network of private railroad companies that operated freight and long-distance passenger and commuter rail service on their lines around the country. As air travel became more accessible and cheaper, passenger rail became uneconomic and Richard Nixon created Amtrak, a government-owned service that bought up passenger lines effectively creating a national carrier. There are about 80 people in the US who not only own their own railcars, but are also certified to operate them on Amtrak lines across the country. The hobbyists have an association — of course they do — the American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners (AAPRCO) and they mostly collect pre-Amtrak railcars from the ‘40s and ‘50s. They go to auctions around the country buying up old railcars and restoring them. Then, when the mood takes them, they hitch a ride on the back of an Amtrak train and off they go. Until recently, when Amtrak started cutting back on the opportunity. They have been charging US$3.67 per mile (about NZ$3.38 per kilometre) and this only equates to $4 million of their $3 billion annual revenue. The real difficulty is in the time it takes to couple the train, and potential delays for their paying customers. Were this available here, it would cost a little more than $2000 to go from Auckland to Wellington; but, bear in mind, you could take 25 friends with you, if you were lucky enough to have a Salisbury Beach sleeper car which has four bedrooms, six ‘roomettes’ and six seating areas. But the costs don’t stop with the hitching fees with Amtrak. The railcars are huge, heavy and expensive to buy, maintain and store. Most of the railcars will set you back anywhere from $150,000, with a fully restored one costing $500,000. You can pay as little as $25,000 but you will be up for a serious amount of restoration. And unless you have railway tracks on your property that hook up to an Amtrak line, storage will run to $1800 per month. A hobby then for the seriously wealthy and seriously committed. Or you could just catch a train like everyone else. Some years ago I took the train from Vancouver to Toronto. Three-and-a-half days wending our way through the Rocky Mountains and across the Great Plains. After a day in the prairies the train slowed to a stop in the middle of nowhere. About 500m away stood a lone house, on fire. We watched as two fire engines arrived and doused the flames. Then, after half an hour, the train slowly started to move away. I wondered then, as I still do, whether this was purely a coincidental occurrence, or if it happened every day as a kind of environmental theatre. — Tommy Honey

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the sound

A Bouquet to Daffodils

f you haven’t heard, there’s a New Zealand musical in the cinemas, the first in many decades. It’s called Daffodils and it’s a very entertaining piece but, even more so, it’s an inspiring artefact of New Zealand creativity. Daffodils started in the imagination of playwright Rochelle Bright as a story based on her parents’ lives together, and apart. So it’s a bittersweet tale of love and divorce, of a couple who meet in the 60s and divorce in the 80s. So far, so familiar. By the 2010s, of course mortality is knocking and people look back with fondness, love and naturally a little regret. Bright’s genius was to make the whole thing a musical, and her real genius was in the songs she chose. Songs that are completely familiar to a New Zealand audience and songs that fit a natural narrative. “Counting the Beat”, “Bliss”, “Anchor Me”, “Drive”, “Fall At Your Feet”, “Not Given Lightly”, “Language”. You’re already with the programme, aren’t you? Bright involved Stephanie Brown and her musical collective LIPS, and wrote versions of the classic New Zealand songbook that one moment were delicate and stripped down, and at other times epic. They could be performed by a three-piece band. For the play, the acting was given over to the Bullet Heart Club crew, with Todd Emerson and Colleen Davis playing the leads, Eric and Rose. You know, Emerson is quite a thing. I’ve seen him in the plays Hudson and Halls Live and Apollo 13. You may know him from insurance ads but he really is part of a groundswell of entrepreneur actors who are the new wave of Auckland theatre. The play debuted in 2014 and was an instant underground smash hit. It is to my great shame I never went to Q Theatre to see it, even though everyone I knew who had seen it was gob-smacked. It was two actors, two mics and a band, but critics were blown away. Metro said the play, “resonates so strongly as a piece of our mixed-up, precious culture, it should be our new national flag”. Settle down! Australians loved it and then it went to Edinburgh, where it won the Fringe First Award in 2016. So the wheels moved and now it’s a film. Rose McIvor plays Rose. Todd Emerson got the heave for a Home and Away actor called George Mason, who plays Eric. Kimbra plays their daughter, Maisie. Kimbra is the narrator and tells the story of her parents falling in and out of love after talking to Dad on his deathbed. How good is this? The box office returns are solid. The play has paid wages for five years. It was a lucrative client for the old Avalon

Studios in Wellington. Even my son, who’s studying film and photography in Wellington, got some cash out of it, as he played an extra in some 70s scenes. He’s had a haircut since! This is the trickle-down in practice in the creative arts. But the thing I’ve taken out of the whole journey is the quality of New Zealand songwriting. There’s always been debate about whether there is a New Zealand sound, but wherever in the world I am, when I hear a Kiwi song I can almost always smell New Zealand in the mix. New Zealand artists have always valued songwriting above trends. There are strong bones in structure — grunty choruses, interesting verses and bridges. But it’s the honesty and humility and forthrightness in the lyrics that bring so many of the great New Zealand songs together, which is always surprising for a people who are often portrayed as pragmatic and gruff. Daffodils has pulled out some of the best. “Anchor me in the middle of your deep blue sea” is nothing that Ariana Grande would sing. Neil Finn has always had a knack for exposing the belly of the Kiwi and “Fall at Your Feet” is a song of devotion that DJ Khalid could never imagine. Rose McIvor’s version of “Drive” is beautiful as is the lyric that Bic Runga wrote in her teens: “I know it’s late now, I know I ought to go. Ride in your car now but please don’t drop me home. My head’s so heavy, could this be all a dream. Promise me maybes and say things you don’t mean. Rainfall from concrete coloured skies No boy don’t speak now You just drive.” But the song that stood out for me throughout the film and play is Dave Dobbyn’s “Language”. It’s a song from 1994’s Twist album that was ranked as the 35th best New Zealand song of all time, but it’s disappeared from the radio in recent years. It fits perfectly as the lament of a New Zealand male who is unsure of himself, but has no idea how to explain his inability to communicate and relate. A song that stood unrecorded for a decade as an acoustic number before Neil Finn suggested a rockier treatment. When Dobbyn and the character Eric wail ,“When I needed you most I couldn’t find the worrrrrrds”, we’re left frustrated and heartbroken and bereft. Daffodils is a fine work and it’s a reminder too how the fine art of New Zealand songwriting is very fine indeed. — Andrew Dickens

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“At Auckland Obstetric Centre we understand that pregnancy and childbirth is the most important time of your life and that you and baby should have the highest standard of care.” – Jane Patten, Clinic Manager

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the portfolio

Good Choices & Kindness Sunday May 12 marks Mother’s Day, a day set aside to say ‘thank you’ to women who raise, nurture, care for those in their nest, and beyond. For our special portfolio this year, The Hobson asked women in professional or volunteer ‘caring’ roles what advice their own mother’s gave them, and how that resonates now. Following our portfolio, we are also delighted to have an exclusive extract from When We Remember to Breathe: Mess, magic and mothering by Michele Powles and Renee Liang. The book is a collected series of reflections, commentary and laugh-out-loud moments recorded by the friends over the first five years of their respective parenting journey. Enjoy that, from page 41. And first, words from the wise.

“My mother always reinforced to me the importance of children making choices when they were little. Children who practise making ‘little’ choices when they are little are more skilled at making ‘big’ choices when they are teenagers. Children need practice at making choices right from the start, and they need to know the consequences of the choices they make. My mother told me a 2-year-old should make two choices per day, a three-year-old three choices per day and so on. By choice, I mean choices of things which are appropriate and acceptable to you as the parent. Not “do you want to go to bed?” Rather, “would you like your bedtime story here or in the bedroom?” Other examples of choices young children can make are things like “Would you like to wear the Thomas T Shirt or the Paw Patrol T shirt?” “Are you going to wear your raincoat or put it in your bag? Would you like a big cup or a small cup? It’s important to acknowledge the consequences of the choices children make. For example, “I’m glad you chose to read in bed because now we have read the book you are all snuggled up in bed” or “remember yesterday you decided to put your raincoat in your bag and you got wet running inside to kindergarten? Would you like to wear it today?” And if they still say no, and they get wet again – it’s not the end of the world! If they say yes, acknowledge their decision and say “I think that is a good decision.” — MICHELE MORRISSEY-BROWN Head teacher, Uplands Kindergarten, Remuera photographs by mary fitzgerald, stephen penny & supplied

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the portfolio

“My mum tended not to give big life advice, her advice was more along practical lines such as wash your fruit, don’t make a fuss or stand up for yourself — typical of women of her generation — be elegant and so on. However what she didn’t say, she showed in her actions. My mother shows her love by making food for us and even now when I go to her place there is dinner waiting which she has gone to great effort to make. I have done the same in my projects - where I always make sure actors and creatives are well looked after in mind and in body. Apparently I am known for feeding people, and I’ve amassed catering equipment over the years. I have taught my children too to respect and value food, and to communicate through nurturing others.” — RENEE LIANG Author, paediatrician, playwright, poet, raised in Remuera, where her parents still live. Pictured outside the Remuera Library with her mother, Christina,and six-year-old daughter, Sofia

“I am one of four girls and our mother often used to say to us, “Always treat others as you would like to be treated — it costs you nothing to be polite.” I’ve found this advice to be really helpful, and even now I can hear my Mum saying this to me as I deal with sensitive issues. She used to say” learn to be accepting of others as it takes all sorts to make a world.” I have often repeated these messages to our children and to people in the workplace when faced with emotionally charged situations. Mum was so right, being polite costs us nothing and helps people to feel valued and heard. Sometimes when differences can seem confronting, I’ve heard my mum saying these words, and it has created tolerance when sometimes there has been none.” — HELEN MARTELLI General Manager, Rawhiti Estate retirement village, Remuera

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One piece of advice my mother often gave me was “to always treat others as you would like to be treated”. This is certainly applicable in our work environment, where we do our best to look after the people we serve in our local community. Our work nowadays extends way beyond books. We are fortunate to be able to serve a community so diverse in age and ethnicity and I love the fact that we get to know our customers so well and can treat them as friends – from the babies in our Wriggle and Rhyme programmes through to the people in our book clubs, classes and programmes, those who attend events and even those who are unable to physically come to the library any longer. Our work environment truly is a hub in the community where we serve others. — SUE JACKSON Head librarian, Remuera Library

Friends Leanne Hegan and Helen Jackson (also well known as the foodie behind foodlovers.co.nz) both live in Remuera. Fifteen years ago they created Guardian Angels, which helps families who have a terminally ill child. Support is usually at a practical level, with groceries, food for the freezer, or utility payments. “We’ve been truly humbled by the strength, resilience and courage shown by our families in very challenging and often sad circumstances,” says Leanne. “We often say to each other what a great privilege it has been to help in any small way we can.” Helen: “Mum was very much someone who encouraged us to “be nice always”, particularly when it came to people who were perhaps facing challenges. More importantly though, was her generosity of time for those who needed it and that is something that hopefully I am passing on to my own children.

Most of us have the ability to help others in one way or another, with Mum it was time that she selflessly volunteered, and interestingly, my lovely late motherin-law did the same. I hope that my children grow up to pass this on to their families, no matter what cause it is that resonates with them.” Leanne: “My mother, my grandmother and my aunt are without doubt the kindest people I have ever known. Throughout my life they modelled for me the importance of humility, of being grateful, of being kind and of giving back. They encouraged me to aspire to being the best version of myself. If I were to pass on anything to my daughter it would be the importance of kindness. Just a little can go a long way.”

— HELEN JACKSON & LEANNE HEGAN (and Milo, Helen’s dog) The Guardian Angels

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the portfolio

My Mum would say, “the key to a good life is balance”. She taught us from a young age that there are really only two driving forces in this world, love and fear, and that both exist and need to. Actions and reactions driven by love always win over those driven by fear, regardless, although she would hastily remind us that fear has its place too. She would say that fear will nudge you, (if you haven’t passed out already!) to move away if needed! She also role-modelled and advised my brothers, sisters and me that there is an important space before a response and/ or reaction, so to keep updating your knowledge so that you choose lovingly and wisely in that space. She taught me to learn to discern and know peoples’ responses are their responsibility! — ALEX RYAN Owner/manager Poppies Kindergarten, Remuera

“The best advice my mum gave me was to be humble in my parenting. That means that I should never put down or judge others, particularly children. If she hears someone being talked about negatively, she always says “Who’s to know what my child will do tomorrow?” She is right. We can love and provide for our children, and teach them the best we can, but there’s only so much about their personalities and behaviours that we can control from moment to moment. Our kids will make us feel shame, as well as pride, sometimes on the same day, and being a parent is riding that wave, whichever direction it is going.” — AMRIT KAUR Psychologist, with a former practice focused on children and families, and for several years, a parenting columnist for The Hobson. Photographed with her daughters, Piaree, 9, and Saachee, 1

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the mothers

When We Remember to Breathe When friends Renee Liang and Michele Powles were both expecting their second child, they made a pledge to write a paragraph each week to each other. They wrote between loads of washing, on laptops at 3am during breastfeeds. They shared observations, small moments and large, the strategies of different households. The resulting book is peppered with poetry, wit and warmth about the small moments, the disasters, the guilt trips and the glory, as their families expand and their kids grow, and flourish. A second-generation Chinese New Zealander, Renee Liang is a poet, playwright, paediatrician, medical researcher and writer, and the mother of a daughter and a son. Appointed a Member of the NZ Order of Merit in 2018 for services to the arts, her commissioned work with composer Gareth Farr, The Bone Feeder, was part of the Auckland Arts Festival in 2017. UK-born, NZ-domiciled Michele Powles has been a dancer, producer and writer across the globe. She has two boys. She was NZ’s 2010 Robert Burns Fellow, and her first screenplay, Tenderwood, is currently in development.

Adulting Michele I asked a group of people what it meant ‘to adult’. Their definitions varied wildly. Mostly, they were concerned with letting people know that it sucked, but that it wouldn’t always suck. Fair call. My sample was, however, made up entirely of parents and I think they were confusing parenting with adulting. Adulting has the wild blush of possibilities still attached: booze, drugs, rock and roll. Parenting has less: nappies, self-deprecation, constructive (and deconstructive) conversations (on every topic) and wading through the morass of ways you can mess up your kid. I sometimes yearn for the days when I was able to adult. To be grown up, with responsibility only to myself (and my partner, if we go that far ahead). To have time. And money. And space. And a career that I didn’t squeeze around other humans. But, of course, I would never go back. Of course. The things I long for will come again when the children are older and then I will yearn for a small hand to wind its way into mine and long dark lashes to bat against my cheek like a butterfly, Mumma. I am a parent. It’s an irreversible affliction-ailment-gift-joy. And so, now I, like my strictly scientific sample of opinion providers, have merged adulting with parenting. So, what of it? Can I define it? It is the slow implosion of life, I guess. A reversal, of sorts, in which you see your children grow and, supposedly, hopefully, become more permanently fixed to the earth. But it doesn’t follow that we parents shrink, or grow lighter. No, I am not reassured that the dirt under their feet holds my children here. My worry that they will lift off and disappear into the clouds of impossibility whence they came is not deadened. Rather, I am only shown my own huge fragility. Shown the weight that watching them take off into life places on me. I worry for them more. About how they will go from staggering to walking without cracking their tiny skulls on our inappropriate metal coffee table (that I will never get rid of). About how they will avoid being hit by a car when they run free and alive and shouting with glee away from me, taking my fast-flapping hands for encouragement rather than

as a plea to stop. About how their friendships will grow them or shrink them, or change them and make them doubt who and how they are. As they grow, I am less convinced by my own parenting smarts. And yet, I am required to continue, and to hope and trust that I get part of it right. So, a definition of parenting: it is hope, and trust and fear and sweat and swearing and messing it up and doubt. It is looking into tiny, huge eyes that are so full of the world you forget to doubt yourself for a moment. It is chasing rainbows till you all fall into a giggling, breathless heap and it is your heart beating so hard in your chest every day that it will surely burst. It is what I am stuck in at the moment. It is extreme and sometimes it is everything. To breathe a little lighter would be a thing, wouldn’t it? Like letting rain come without commenting on it.

Doctor, mother, candlestick maker Renee People ask me all the time how I do it: How do I fit in being a mother with being a doctor and then also being a writer? My answer varies according to mood. If I’m feeling compartmental, I answer, ‘I use silos.’ If I’m feeling defensive, I say, ‘Oh, but all these things just use the same skill set!’ Often, I just say that I have good help, which is true. I am not the only one parenting my children, so there is space for my brain to step outside sometimes. I think I am lucky; I have never felt that I have been in a place I can’t get out of, like many parents I meet in my day job. In my younger days of flatting, I expanded to fill the available space. Give me a room and I would stick to buying a bed; give me a whole house, and I would soon acquire sofas and whiteware. But expanding to fill three roles is harder, especially when one of them is the black hole of motherhood. It is true that the skill sets are transferable. Being a shiftworking junior doctor destroyed my body clock, enabling me to sleep and wake in random fashion. More worryingly, I am used to making decisions when fatigued and I’m good at faking alert conversation. At medical school, I honed my ability to take lightning naps – deep, dreaming sleep, taken in the library between lectures, waking to full alertness with no alarm after five minutes. I don’t need to explain further how

the hobson 41

the mothers

this translates to the skills of motherhood. (It also translates well to the arts world, especially during production week.) I realised that my skill wasn’t universal when breastfeeding for the first time. In those early, heady days, I used to wake painlessly as the baby was just starting to make her first waking snuffles, take her into the next room, feed her, return both of us back to bed and pass out, ready for the next cycle three hours later. In the morning, I’d wake refreshed to see the husband looking haggard. Later on, he learned to sleep through our nocturnal snufflings and, by the time baby number two arrived, his body clock was as fluid as mine. Filling the emotional spaces is harder. As I flow from role to role through my day, eddies and pockets of turbulence appear. ‘What? You’re going out again tonight?’ the husband says. ‘I told you two weeks ago. My show is on, I have to go.’ ‘But you opened last week!’ ‘I like to be in the foyer as much as possible.’ ‘You’re going to tell me it’s work.’ ‘Well it is work. I’ll come straight home as soon as the show finishes’, I say, thinking of the conversations – about work – that I’d been planning to have afterwards. He gives me a look. He knows me too well. The children are even more brutal. Leave them for a few days and they’ll transfer their snuffly, clingy, affections elsewhere. Even if I offer them the ultimate enticement of reading them a book. And when they turn me down – turning their heads away and holding their arms out for someone else – a deep, yawning hole appears in my soul and I contemplate giving up everything just for the certainty of a hug when I come home. I dance over rocks trying not to lose balance I catch rainbows in treacherous waters

Cleaning Renee I, too, am not a cleaner. I am not proud of this, but nothing in my genetic heritage or upbringing has inclined me to domestic perfection. My mother – a stay-at-home mum in the 1970s – probably felt the social pressures more than I do today. A phone call heralding the arrival of visitors would prompt a flurry of cleaning, during which the flotsam around the house got swept into bedrooms and the doors closed, my mother lamenting the inclement visitors all the while. ‘But why didn’t you just tell them not to come?’ was my grumpy teenage response, when she told me off for not being more tidy. In our house, homework always came before housework. I worked out how to iron my dad’s shirts – he was possessed of the inaccurate notion that, because I was a girl, I would instinctively understand ironing – but my mother was curiously possessive of the washing, the cooking and the dishes. She had special procedures that she didn’t trust anyone else with, so my sisters and I just shrugged and went to our rooms to study. It was my first boyfriend who showed me how to cook. To this day, I do a mean fried rice the way he taught me. Subsequent flatting taught me how to cook edible meals to budget. A competitive streak with boyfriend number two, who was in the hospitality industry, honed my latent gourmand skills. And I’m relatively fast at doing the dishes. But even now, I dislike ironing

and have never understood the point of making a bed (what’s wrong with duvets?) just to mess it up again. Yes, vacuuming and cleaning the bathroom I can see the point of, but the will seems to be weaker than reason. Luckily, my husband has a higher dirt monitor than me. When I hear him fire up the vacuum cleaner, I might get up and half-heartedly ask him what else needs doing. But often, the weight of words pins me to my desk. There are other behaviours that frustrate my husband. He must sometimes feel like he’s the only grown-up in the house when food and I and the kids mix. The baby realised the comedy potential of food early; he slurps and squishes and smears his food, and I laugh. His sister, herself no food puritan, sees what he is doing and raises him one. And I – developmental clinician that I am – am likely to join them in investigating the length of noodles that can be slurped in one breath or how thinly jam can be spread on a table top. My husband, meanwhile, dives for the wet cloth in order to scrub out any stains on the carpet of our rental house. When he bought those insecticide squirty-things because the summer flies were invading our house, I bombarded him with scientific articles and studies about how these things, despite the advertising, were likely bad for children. Anyway, the kids and I like house spiders. We find their webs and keep tabs on the best catches. I still meet women in my clinic who are house-proud. They want to keep a spotless house having just had twins. I tell them there are better things to do with new babies than wield Jif. I tell them to spend more time gazing into their babies’ eyes or having spaghetti fights.

Sliding doors Renee We’re in a new house again. This happens so often (approximately every ten days) that the children just treat it as normal. Some of them are new-old houses – in that we’ve been in them before – so we just have to remember their individual quirks: where the light switches are, whether there’s a stick blender, which bed we put the toddler in last time. (The baby is easy. He goes in the cupboard, generally.) We move cities for my locum work so often that we’ve even found a kind of rhythm. About twenty-four hours beforehand, hubby starts prepping – hovering near the suitcases, coiling baby clothes, ticking off items on a neatly handwritten list of things to pack. This is all the more amazing because my husband doesn’t write neatly. He claims he can’t even spell. It is because of this, that he makes me write all the thank-you and Christmas cards, including the ones to all his relatives. But I digress. The morning of the day we’re due to leave, we’re in a kind of alert-but-lazy mode. We try to relax, to let the kids enjoy their grandparents, but we’re also aware of our date with the plane. As the time gets closer, it becomes the familiar tug-of-love, whereby the in-laws stall – to my jaded mind, deliberately – baking the toddler’s favourite treats or bringing out a fabulous new toy they just couldn’t resist buying. Meanwhile, I politely mention the time once or thrice, while privately wondering if it’ll be one of those times when I stuff the baby, all chubby arms and legs, into the front pack while bolting for check-in. It’s a relief once the boarding passes are safely printing. Miss Two-and-a-half likes to ‘help’ by pulling out the baggage tags as they’re spat out. She’s caused more than one ‘smart’ ticket machine to jam. We have car seats, so, usually, after offloading the

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Partners in creative works, Renee Liang, left, and co-author Michele Powles

suitcases, it’s a trek to the Fragile and Oversized counter, which is inexplicably always at the other end of the check-in hall. Then, if there’s time, we try to go to the Koru Lounge, which is useful mostly for the free food. I try to be subtle, but some days, like today, all pretence is dropped, as we load up on sandwiches, fruit and muffins for lunch, stuffing some into mouths and the rest into a New World chiller bag I just happen to be carrying (honest). It’s hard to be discreet in the Koru Lounge with a bobbleheaded baby on your chest, and a recalcitrant toddler doing orbits and demanding olives. Hopefully, the politicians and suits are deep down just like me and they get it. On the plane, I offer the baby the vomit bag (crunchy paper is wondrous), while hubby pulls out the pile of tattered Mr. Men books. We can measure the length of a flight in Mr. Men books. (Auckland to Nelson? Eleven, plus three cookies, a tantrum about seatbelts and a lollipop.) Both our children are seasoned travellers. Miss Two-and-a-half can even pre-empt the exact moment on a flight when the chocolate chip cookies are served, and refuse to go to sleep accordingly. There’s another thing about all this arriving and leaving. People notice us changing faster than we do ourselves. (Maybe Einstein would have something to say about this; have we been living on the edge of a black hole all this time without noticing?) ‘Oh! Her hair has grown’, they say, approvingly. ‘He has four teeth now’, we point out, proudly, in reply. Ah, teeth. I started out this post intending to write about teeth. The baby left Auckland this morning with four teeth, but now he has five. He woke just now, inconsolable with this fact. And now he’s asleep, with my right nipple clenched painlessly but firmly between those five teeth. While we skate around the circumference of a black hole, our baby has been measuring time with his teeth. And when we return from orbit, he, at least, will be able to show that he has aged. the hobson 43

Extracts reprinted with permission from When We Remember to Breathe, by Michele Powles and Renee Liang, 2019. Published by Magpie Pulp, available from May 1 at good booksellers, RRP $25

the magpie

Calm Your Marm

The Magpie finds things to soothe and destress for Mother’s Day 1. Fine jewellery has a very, very calming effect on The Magpie. These Pasquale Bruni Bon Ton earrings are studded with amethyst for that little bit of extra zen. $10,500 from Hartfields (available tax free for travellers). 327 Parnell Rd or hartfield.co.nz 2. Soothe a monkey brain with a herbal tisane from Harney & Sons. Chamomile has been served for centuries as a calmative. Each luxurious pyramid sachet of tea contains handpicked Egyptian flower heads and a special honey blend. RRP $19.95 at Farro, Orakei Bay Village, or harneyteas.co.nz 3. For redness caused by skin sensitivity (rather than say resting very angry face) this brand new Dermalogica Redness Relief Essence visibly reduces redness and helps reduce sensitivity. $80 at Life pharmacies stockists, or dermalogica.co.nz from May 3 4. Sip positivity with Tribeca Skin Tonic’s Crystal Elixir water bottles, in rose quartz, clear quartz and amethyst. The makers say the energies of crystals positively charge your water, promoting detoxification and healing. Whatever, they’re really pretty, and we’re vibing the rose quartz to lower stress and anxiety. $89, tribecaskin.co.nz

Think of it as the friend who, instead of just saying that everything’s going to be okay, shows you how to make it so. RRP $34.99 from good booksellers 9. Chunky is the new black for sneakers. Puma’s RS-X Reinvention sneakers in lavender and black sing of this season’s key footwear trend, while riffing on an ‘80s classic. $190, theiconic.com.au 10. Orchard and wild fruits with a complex spice, savoury and herb tastes are the tasting notes for the 2014 Terra Sancta Shingle Beach Pinot Noir. Also noted is that this wine has ‘impressive composure in its youth, but the best rewards will be for those enjoying 2020-26’. We say good luck holding out that long. $45.99, Fine Wine Delivery Company, 42 Lunn Ave, or finewinedelivery.co.nz

11. The Bird + Knoll Wanaka scarf will take the wearer to a calmer place. Wear it here, wear it in Wanaka or Wellington, and feel transported. Cashmere blend, woven in Italy. $345, birdandknoll.com

5. Mother Magpie loves this fun and fabulous sleep aid. The ritual of spritzing teases a smile from the most weary or wound up. thisworks deep sleep pillow spray, $44 from Mecca Cosmetica, meccabeauty.co.nz

6. Keep mama forever young with this ‘80s referencing Isabel Marant ´Etoile Nansel cotton-blend jersey and twill hoodie. US$406, net-a-porter.com 7. Cool for super cool mamas, Rag & Bone’s State of Mind slogan t-shirt has velvet lettering. Fancy. Approximately $168, from shopbop.com 8. How could you not love a self-help book called Calm the F**k Down? Bestselling author Sarah Knight (The LifeChanging Magic of Not Giving a F**k) is back with a guide that’s 100 per cent practical and zero per cent Pollyanna.

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7 8

10 11

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the celebration

A Diamond Player You’ll need to play a good hand to best Sunday Millar’s experience at the bridge table, as Mary Fitzgerald discovers

his year the Eastern Bridge Club turns 60 and is in celebration mode. The Remuera-based club opened in 1959 – the same year as the Auckland Harbour Bridge. With a core membership of 65, the club’s weekly meetings attract beginners and competitive players, and no-one’s ever left without a partner. One of its long-term members is Parnell centenarian, Sunday Millar. The glamorous 103-year-old attends weekly, and plays at the Auckland Bridge Club as much as she can too. “The game of bridge is a wonderful way to keep your mind active and to have fun,” she says. There’s also the socialising and camaraderie bridge offers. “You do not have to be a wonderful player to belong. When I’ve travelled, I have played bridge anywhere I have gone in the world. It helped me to meet new people and make new friends. Great friendships can be made through playing bridge.” Barbara Hayes, a former Eastern club president and member for almost 40 years, concurs. “People who play bridge enjoy the social interaction and keeping a mental sharpness. It’s like playing mental gymnastics for fun, and helps ward off illness like dementia.” While Sunday is adored by her fellow players, her fame has more recently spread wider, due to her inclusion in Keepers of History: New Zealand Centenarians Tell Their Stories. The new book by author Renée Hollis is a compilation of the stories of 120 people over the age of 100, Kiwis who, as the author puts it, “have gone from horse and cart to Skyping their grandchildren.” From opera singers to farmers, freedom fighters and war veterans, the recounted histories in Keepers of History traverse a century of massive change. Here, in an exclusive, edited extract, is Sunday Millar’s story.

Joy ‘Sunday’ Inez Millar (née Stratford) was born in Auckland on December 5, 1915. I rang and spoke to Sunday about a time that would suit her to be interviewed. This was a little tricky to organise as Sunday has such a busy social life. We finally arranged a time, although Sunday said, ‘Can you please come to the house late in the afternoon? I have a bridge tournament on all that day!’ I was warmly welcomed into Sunday’s home and we had a lovely chat. I enjoyed looking at Sunday’s paintings, especially the ones painted by her mother. As I was leaving, Sunday walked me out to my car. I noticed that her garage door was open and I mentioned it. Sunday said, ‘Oh, yes. I am heading out again soon!’ When I was nineteen I ‘came out’ at Government House. They used to have debutante balls where you were presented to the Governor General. I had to learn how to curtsey properly. My godmother presented me. It was a very grand occasion.

The military were there in all their dress uniforms. They had lovely dinners and parties there; I used to go to lovely balls at the town hall for visiting guests. The cocktail parties were wonderful. We would wear hats and have a cocktail in one hand and a cigarette in its holder in the other, pretending to be film stars, like Greta Garbo. I grew up in the city of Auckland, in Princes St. My father was Albert James Stratford, MBE. He was a JP, Head of the Federation, and a Vicar’s warden. My father received his MBE in 1950 for services in connection with the Justices of the Peace Association since 1918. Father was also the President of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Protection of Women and Children. That was way back in 1927. Then it became the Royal SPCA, and Government welfare took over from Protection of Women and Children. He liked to do things for other people. My father was 60 when I was born. My mother Mabel was born in Christchurch and was an artist. Mother painted, and died when I was 11. She had cancer. As a young girl we used to be able to walk into Queen St through Albert Park and we didn’t have to worry about anything. We enjoyed watching the cowboy movies. There were only a few cars around. The trams were wonderful — I would take a tram to school. We would ride our bikes to the Parnell Baths. In those days you could dive over the side of the Parnell Baths and into the water. We had a wonderful childhood and went on many holidays to Waiheke Island for Christmas. We would go to Rotorua and, during the school holidays, I would stay with friends on their farm in Whanganui and loved riding horses. I went to Diocesan School for Girls, and my brother Orton went to Auckland Grammar. With my father being the Vicar’s warden, we jolly well lived at church, which put me off a bit. We attended St Paul’s. It is an Anglican church at the top of Wellesley St. Father also enjoyed cooking and would make huge amounts of sweets for church bazaars. He also made lovely Christmas puddings and cakes. When the war broke out I was a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment). I worked for the hospitals. We all had to do something. It was great fun, really. We not only had the public hospital, but I would go around with the district nurse. My brother Orton joined up early on in the piece, but he didn’t go overseas until later on. He was attached to the Fiji Forces. They were trackers through the bush looking for any Japanese. Orton was killed in Bougainville. He is buried at the Bourail New Zealand War Cemetery in New Caledonia, along with all of the other people that died during that time in the Pacific. They all have a headstone. The locals look after it and it’s very beautiful. I have never been there, but I have seen photos. The war interfered with everything more or less. So many friends went and were killed. I got married to Eric Millar in 1941 and then we moved to Herne Bay. He was an engineer for Millar, Paterson [Metals]. Millars was a company that was started by my father-in-law

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in 1903. I think it’s one of the oldest private companies that is still going in New Zealand. My two oldest sons still keep it going; the third generation. We enjoyed yachting and skiing together. I am an associate member of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. I lived in Herne Bay for 40 years. It was a wonderful place for the children to grow up. After Eric died at 71, I met a lovely man who was a retired doctor, and we were together for about 20 years. We travelled the world and played bridge. I have belonged to the Auckland Bridge Club for a long time, and I also play at Eastern Bridge Club. I have got used to using the computer now and like getting the scoring immediately. I play in tournaments and play three days at Auckland and one day at Eastern each week. Well, I haven’t got much else to do. I don’t have many of my friends left and we will all be gone soon. I was captain and president of the Titirangi Golf Club. But I haven’t played for about twenty years. I have been a JP since 1949. I think I am the oldest in New Zealand. I had someone come over last night and I signed a document. I have 14 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. My youngest great-granddaughter is called Sunday! I enjoy seeing my family. My daughter rings me each morning to make sure that I am still breathing.

Sunday Millar, photographed at the Eastern Bridge Club by Mary Fitzgerald. Right, her father, Albert Stratford, and her mother, Mabel.

Keepers of History: New Zealand Centenarians Tell Their Stories by Renée Hollis is published by Exisle Publishing. Available at Paper Plus Parnell and Remuera, and other good booksellers. RRP $39.99

Eastern Bridge Club plays out of the Auckland Bridge Club rooms on Remuera Rd, every Tuesday from 10.30am. New members are always welcome, call club president Joan Caldwell on 09 625 5200

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the district diary

May 2019 1-5 The Auckland Art Fair opens tonight, through to Sunday. More than 45 galleries from around the Pacific rim will be exhibiting the work of 150-plus artists, there’s artist-run spaces and kids activities too. For times and tickets, see artfair.co.nz

entry, iticket.co.nz. Ellerslie Racecourse, 9am-12pm 13-19 The Auckland Writers Festival is once again bringing the world’s words to Auckland, with more than 200 public events and 230 of the world’s best writers and thinkers. Visit writersfestival. co.nz for programme of events

Every Wednesday from 10.30am-1pm, get to know your neighbours and help tend the spray-free Ōrākei community garden. Ōrākei Community Centre, 156 Kepa Rd

15 A collaborative work from Witi Ihimaera and Kenneth Young, Man, Sitting in a Garden examines the nature of love and overwhelming grief. The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra performs this world premiere, inspired in part by the garden paintings of Karl Maughan. Auckland Town Hall, 6pm, ticketmaster.co.nz

2 The Best Foods Comedy Gala heralds the start of the 2019 NZ International Comedy Festival with two-and-a-half hours of hilarity, headlined by some of the genres finest. Civic Theatre, 8-11pm. R16 event, ticketmaster.co.nz

17-19 Baradene celebrates 30 years of fundraising art fairs this evening, with the gala opening of the always-well anticipated Baradene Art Show. The show continues through the weekend, with free entry and a café on site. See baradeneartshow.co.nz for info on artists and the range of works. At the school, Vicky Ave

4 ACG Parnell College welcomes you to join them at their open day at 2 Titoki St, 9.30am1.30pm. Meet the principal, speak to teachers, parents and students. parnellcollege.acgedu.com Auckland Museum is partnering with Corban Estate Arts Centre to celebrate the great big wonderful world of ANIMALIA. A free event for the family, a fun day of exhibitions, workshops and live performances. Bring a picnic lunch or visit one of the food trucks, 10am-4pm, 2 Mt Lebanon Lane, Henderson (a short walk from the train station) 5 Inspired by the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, Forest Therapy supports healing and wellness through immersion in natural environments. Join Yaki for this two-three hour walk around Cornwall Park that begins with guided meditation and ends with a tea ceremony. Free entry, meet at Huia Lodge, on Michael Horton Drive, 9am-12pm 7 Is Parnell close to your heart? The call’s gone out for candidates

to represent the neighbourhood on the Waitematā Local Board. Come along and learn what’s involved in both standing for election and being on a local board. 7pm, Jubilee Building, 545 Parnell Rd 8 Head along to the free composting basics workshop at the Ōrākei Community Centre and learn about cold compost, bokashi and worm farms, plus receive a $40 discount towards a composting system that suits your needs. Bookings essential, compostcollective.org.nz, 156

Kepa Rd, 10am-12pm with shared lunch afterwards 9 Somervell indoor bowls is a great way to have fun while staying warm and dry. Beginners welcome, $5 membership and $3 per week. Somervell Presbyterian Church, cnr Greenlane and Remuera Rd, 1.15-3.45pm 12 Happy Mother’s Day. If you’re feeling active, support the Heart Foundation at the Jennian Homes Mother’s Day Fun Run/Walk. Free t-shirt with

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18 Revert back to childhood at Cornwall Park’s Autumn Leaves Day and run, jump, draw, photograph, throw – whatever takes your fancy. There will be huge piles of fallen leaves on the left-hand side of Pohutukawa Drive. Weather pending, so fingers crossed for a fine, crisp autumn day. Free, 11am-2pm 19 Grammar opens its gates to all as part of the school’s 150th anniversary celebrations. Old boys, current families, supporters and the wider community are invited to join in guided tours, entertainment and a food fair at the Mountain Rd campus. Midday-4pm

From top: Hannah Melville, Maenad, acrylic on board, 2019, Black Asterisk gallery, Auckland Art Fair; Karley Feaver, Benjamin, mixed media sculpture, Baradene Art Show

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the cryptic by mĀyĀ

Set by Māyā. Answers will appear in our next issue (June 2019). Can’t wait, or need help? Visit https://thehobsoncrossword.wordpress.com (This month’s crossword has a bit of a 4 down theme) ACROSS 1 See 24 6/19 4 wears peachy ensemble for medical treatment (12) 9 After 4, panto character goes to pieces about nothing (5) 10 Van you loaned is called “Defiant” (9) 11 Segregates out the seasonal confectionery (6,4) 12 After 4, large vessel of sin? (4) 14 Louse from the right could be on a vessel (3,3) 15 Brands disfigure heads (8) 18 Leaves in a vessel when gels and son sicken (4,4) 20 Owner of a knot matching Cupid’s bow? (6) 23 Cockney bloke to backstitch sheepish 4s, perhaps (4)

24/1 Brian’s lovely children were roughly shaken by William (3,7,4,2,3) 26 Comes to being concerned with river, and understands (9) 27 4 of which is a shiny layer left by fruit (5) 28 Day he rashly made animal feed (5) 29 After 4, heads of convents sue Priors unlawfully (9) DOWN 1 Sticks film in vehicles after satchel (9) 2 Visits insignificant compared to the ocean (5,2) 3 Sexy idea you almost developed: giving a flower! (5,5) 4 The greatest lepidoptera catcher of all? (6) 5 Recently created island addressed in song by the Village People? (5,3) 6 Regular doses of culture may suggest an

answer (4) 7 Butler’s place is before the good Doctor No (7) 8 Panto characters running hot and cold? (2,3) 13 Video caller raised storylines set in tall building (10) 16 Sinister manipulators leaving influence aboard vessel (9) 17 Angle screens towards underwear (8) 19 See 6 Across 21 City lady takes goods on vessel, say (7) 22 Listener’s bills posted? That makes sense (4,2) 23 Before or after 4, a deity who’s beneath us (5) 25 After 4, ancestral home’s also left at the start (4)

APRIL CRYPTIC CROSSWORD ANSWERS ACROSS: 1 Major Tom, 5 Wallah, 9 Red Queen, 10 SkIIng, 12 Ideal, 13 Athenaeum, 14 Messiahs, 15 Siren, 18 Retie, 20 Stingily, 23 Reappoint, 25 Negri, 26 Goitre, 27 Dukedoms, 29 Émigré, 30 Cedar oil DOWN: 1 Merlin, 2 Judgement, 3 Roubles, 4 Ode, 6 Askings, 7 Loire, 8 Hegemony, 11 The Saint, 13 Anaïs Nin, 16 Religioso, 17 Prorogue, 19 Emperor, 21 Gunnera, 22 Missal, 24 Alibi, 28 Use The answers with bold contain a baby name that the Department of Internal Affairs rejected in 2018

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