The Hobson July-August 2018

july/august 2018

remuera's got talent p dancing david local news, views & informed opinions

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The July/August Issue, No. 50 8

34

the editor’s letter

the second act

10

See that lady of a certain age standing in your store? No? Ignore her at your peril, advises Sandy Burgham

the columnists

35 the suburbanist

13 the village Potential representation reshuffles are on the drawing board for the Parnell side of the Waitematā ward, disquiet about Council plans for pathways at Ōrākei Basin, meet the Ōrākei Local Board’s new chair, and more

the councillors News from local ward councillors Desley Simpson (Ōrākei) and Mike Lee (Waitematā)

28 & 29 the politicians Dancing David Seymour — he still was at press time — and Paul Goldsmith share their updates

30 the plan That thumping sound? It’s Hamish Firth banging his head against his desk

the investment Warren Couillault offers a 101 on what to look for in an independent financial advisor

32 the auckland foundation Dellywn Stuart on feeling warm by giving

36 the neighbourhood Locals welcomed the widened pedestrian and cycling path across Ōrākei Basin —until they saw the railings

24 & 25

31

Tommy Honey feels the cold, damp breeze of uninsulated Kiwi homes

40 the artiste Edward Cowley and his alter ego, drag diva Buckwheat, are right at home in Remuera

44 the painter Remuera resident Anneke van Rijn is 93 and still painting prolifically

45 the sound Andrew Dickens laments the end of city music venues as places for young bands to find their feet

48 the district diary What’s happening in July and August

50 the cryptic Our puzzle, by Māyā. Hint: some answers are local

32 the teacher Former principal Judi Paape on the benefits of failing

Cheers to Dry July Enjoy Dry July in style, or just enjoy not drinking, with a splash of Seedlip. The world’s first distilled, non-alcoholic spirit, Seedlip is a sophisticated alternative to lolly-waters or sweet fruit drinks for the non-drinker. Developed in the UK, Seedlip is now served in swish bars globally, and is available locally at Farro. We have two packs of Seedlip and tonic to give away — email business@thehobson.co.nz by 5pm Friday July 13, with SEEDLIP in the subject line. Please include your delivery address.

The fine print: By entering this competition, you agree that your email details will be retained by The Hobson for our marketing database

the hobson 6

W

issue 50, july/august 2018 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

e've been fortunate to receive some interesting mail recently, both the kind sent with a stamp and the deliveries to the inbox.

We don’t have the physical space in the magazine to run a regular letters page, but we do love hearing from readers, even if it is to complain about a missed delivery (we report those to our distributors) or about a view expressed in our pages. Chan Hok Sum took the time to address his concerns about Warren Couillault’s June column on US/China relations, while a Parnell academic would like to see more left-of-centre views in the magazine (we do try to be representational, but our elected representatives tip heavily to blue). We appreciate the feedback and even if we can’t follow up or act on an idea, we welcome the discussion and thought-starters, so please keep them coming.

With this mid-year double issue, we’re now taking a short break before we return with new features and a fresh look in our September edition, which will also be our fifth anniversary issue. See you in the spring,

Writers This Issue Kirsty Cameron, Mary Fitzgerald, Chantelle Murray, Wayne Thompson, Justine Williams Sub-editor Fiona Wilson Columnists Sandy Burgham, Warren Couillault, Andrew Dickens, Hamish Firth, Paul Goldsmith, Mike Lee, Māyā, Judi Paape, David Seymour, Desley Simpson, Dellwyn Stuart

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

Sorry Olivia!

It was Olivia Bennett who won the prestigious Douglas Myers scholarship to study at Cambridge, not her younger sister, Greta, as reported in our June issue.

Photographer Stephen Penny Cover Entertainer Edward Cowley at his Remuera home.

Photo by Stephen Penny. See The Artiste, page 40 THE HOBSON is published 10 times a year by The Hobson Limited, PO Box 37490 Parnell, Auckland 1151. www.thehobson.co.nz F: TheHobsonMagazine I: @TheHobson Ideas, suggestions, advertising inquiries welcome. editor@thehobson.co.nz

The Fourth of Firth: Congratulations to The Plan columnist Hamish Firth and wife Donna on the arrival of their fourth daughter. Stella (the leading name choice at press time) joins Sofia, Mila and Ana. Will there be a fifth Firth?

Hamish says no, but then he did say that last time too.

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 TheHobsonMagazine on Facebook.

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

Don’t steal, and don’t borrow without checking with us first. We aim for accuracy but cannot be held liable for any inaccuracies that do occur. The views of our contributors are their own and not necessarily those of THE HOBSON. We don’t favour unsolicited contributions but do welcome you getting in touch via editor@thehobson.co.nz to discuss ideas.

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

The Hobson hosted a table at the Pink Ribbon breakfast organised by the Auckland Bowling Club. With me (centre) was Mary Fitzgerald, Angela Clatworthy, Kerryn Peters and Klara Pulceska.

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 Hobson’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

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the village

Town & Around

Waitematā ward, current urban area (blue)

WHO SPEAKS FOR WHOM Parnell residents could be voting for an Auckland Council member representing the Ōrākei ward in next year’s local body election instead of a Waitematā ward councillor, as has been the case since the first election, in October 2010, after the formation of the Super City.

The prospect of change has been raised during a review of representation. One of the questions being considered is whether people in Waitematā and Gulf ward — which covers Parnell to Westmere, and Waiheke and Great Barrier islands — are fairly and effectively represented now that the population of the CBD has mushroomed to the extent where the ward’s councillor, Mike Lee, has to look after the interests of 119,100 people. By comparison, Ōrākei ward councillor Desley Simpson represents 91,500.

The ratio of average population to elected ward members is used as a test of fairness and the electoral law allows for that ratio to vary up to 10 per cent, unless an adjustment of the ratio will split communities of interest. The Waitematā quota has risen by 43.74 per cent and Ōrākei by 10.43 per cent, compared with 4 per cent in the neighbouring ward of Albert-Eden-Roskill (councillors Christine Fletcher and Cathy Casey) and 3.81 per cent in MaungakiekieTamaki (Josephine Bartley).

In order to remedy the disparity, the councillors in the review working party are looking at the alternatives of moving the voters of Parnell and Newmarket to the Ōrākei ward, and possibly shifting Grafton voters too.

The Ōrākei Local Board has told Council that Newmarket and Grafton should stay within the Waitematā ward. However, it says Parnell shares a common boundary with Hobson Bay, so adding Parnell would help to integrate the planning and development of the Hobson Bay area and Tamaki Dr. The Parnell boundary should also be extended, it said in its submission to the working party, down to the start of Tamaki Dr to include Teal Reserve, but the port and the heliport should stay in Waitematā.

The board noted that if Ellerslie was moved from Ōrākei to even up the population quota — another option mooted — the community of interest would be split because many residents of Ōrākei ward use community facilities in Ellerslie such as Michaels Ave Reserve.

In turn, the Waitematā Local Board favours reducing the size of its isthmus ward by letting go Westmere-Surrey Crescent in the west (to Albert-Eden-Roskill) and Parnell and Newmarket, to Ōrākei. It says it has responded appropriately to the complex issues of the city centre, suburban areas and town centres, and there does not need to be separate subdivision created within the board to give the city centre its own seats on the board, which has also been pitched into the idea pool.

Both Ōrākei and Waitematā wish that instead of changing any boundaries, the Council be given the power to increase the numbers of councillors to manage the increase in population. The Act that established the Super City fixed this at 20 members plus the Mayor.

To get more members, the Council must try to get the law changed but this won’t happen in time for the 2019 election. It’s likely to ask the Electoral Commission for an interim exemption from the ratio rule until the Act is amended.

Recommended boundary change: Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

the hobson 12

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Councillor Mike Lee, who has represented Waitematā and Gulf islands since 2010, says that carving off bits of Waitematā will increase election costs and confuse electors. He has no problem with the number of people he has to represent. In fact, he says interpretation of need based on the population estimate does not take into account that only 60,685 of his demographic are voters — the rest are students, visitors or temporary residents. The figures also ignore the contribution of the members of the Independent Māori Statutory Board who sit on Council, committees and working parties.

“You should think of what the people want,” says Lee. “Why unravel what the people of Westmere or Parnell have got used to? Why change and cause a knock-on effect with Ōrākei and Eden-Albert wards and others?”

Councillor Desley Simpson, who was elected to represent Ōrākei in 2016, says: “The options before the Council at this stage mean that the councillor for Ōrākei will likely gain some areas such as Parnell and lose others such as St Johns and Ellerslie.

“Changes like these need to happen from time to time to ensure all councillors represent a relatively even number of constituents. From a personal perspective, I have previously worked with the Parnell and Newmarket communities when I was chairperson of the Hobson Community Board. On the other hand, I’d be sorry to lose any constituents from elsewhere in the ward through this process. It’s only fair to wait to see how submissions go as that’s an important part of the process.”

Parnell Community Committee chairman Luke Niue says Council must discuss options with the community before choosing any, because keeping the community of interest is paramount.

“We were happy to be part of Waitematā as was Newmarket and Grafton and we are aligned to the likes of Freemans Bay and Ponsonby. But then, somebody has said being in the Ōrākei ward ought to deliver more for Parnell than being in Waitematā has.”

Newmarket Business Association chief executive Mark Knoff-Thomas says he had an open mind to any change to the Ōrākei ward. “With the massive population growth in the CBD, Waitematā has lots of pressure — lots of mouths to feed and services to perform across that area. It makes sense in that Ōrākei would have a town centre that would essentially be Newmarket. We have a great relationship with Waitematā board and Mike Lee, as we do with Ōrākei and Desley Simpson.”

The Super City was set up with Council wards aligned with local board areas of responsibility. But the Ōrākei Local Board does not believe that changing the ward boundaries calls for a matching change in board boundaries.

“Local board boundaries are not up for review, and ultimately any decision would rest with the Local Government Commission, but we are proud to represent Parnell,” says Waitematā Local Board deputy chair Shale Chambers. “It makes sense that all city fringe areas, be they Karangahape Rd, Grey Lynn, Newmarket or Parnell, are represented under one board, because they have such a strong community of interest.”

The councillors’ review party is to report its proposals to Council’s governing body meeting on July 26. Any decisions must be publicly notified by September 8 and if there is one objection, the proposals go to Local Government Commission for a decision. — Wayne Thompson p

Local representatives, from top, Councillor for Auckland for the Waitemata- and Gulf ward, Mike Lee, Councillor for - Auckland for the Orakei ward, Desley Simpson, WaitemataLocal Board deputy chair, Shale Chambers Photo of Mike Lee by Bernard Orsman, other photos supplied

BRING HIM HOME With about a third of its Old Boy community living and working overseas, Auckland Grammar School has partnered with Fortis Travel to shout one former pupil a trip back to Auckland, as part of the school’s 150th celebrations.

Fortis is offering $2500 for travel for an Old Boy to return during the month of May next year when the 150th events will be in full swing. To enter or nominate someone you know who is now offshore, see grammar150th.ags.school.nz. The winning 200-word appeal will be selected by the headmaster, Tim O’Connor.

And for those outside of Auckland, the 150th team will be holding briefing events around the country, in Australia, Singapore, the US and the UK, between now and December. See grammar150th.ags. school.nz for details. p

the hobson 14

BARADENE LICKS THE COMPETITION A lactose-free mochaccino gelato has won a team of Baradene Year 13 students a silver medal in the Open Creative-Gelato and Sorbet category at the NZ Ice Cream Awards — an outstanding achievement given they were the only non-commercial entity who entered. Felicity Rood, Grace Taylor, Bronte Gregorio-Hansen and Georgia Robertson (pictured above, with their food tech teacher, Judi Delbridge) produced their product under their brand name, Free. (The gold was taken by Queenstown’s Mrs Ferg Gelateria pear and blue cheese gelato).

Other Baradene teams also competed, students Hannah Brownhill-Griggs and Tayla Rae creating a blue cheese, quince and candied walnut ice-cream, and a blue cheese, fig and fennel flavour. Last year the students worked to a brief from Tip Top to create lactose-free and savoury ice creams to meet increasing market demand. p

. . . AND SO DOES FARRO

Congratulations to Farro founders, Remuera locals Janene and James Draper (above), who were recognised at last month’s Retail HotList annual awards, organised by retail industry publication, The Register. The Drapers were awarded with the People’s Choice award of “Most Influential in Retail” for their successful, and growing, small-format gourmet grocery business.

Founded in 2006, Farro now has six outlets around Auckland, including locally, at Orakei Bay Village. “We love supporting independent food producers,” says Janene Draper, “and we’re delighted that our hard work in providing a great customer experience has been rewarded with this honour.” p

the village

KEEP OFF THE GRASS, LOCALS TELL COUNCIL The Remuera Residents Association has won an assurance from Auckland Council that upgrading the path on the Upland Rd side of Ōrākei Basin won’t limit public use of grassed space.

The proposed new path runs along a ribbon of green at the foot of the cliff from the boat ramp towards the Auckland Water Ski Club.

RRA committee member Lynley Olsen told the Ōrākei Local Board meeting in November that residents and path users had serious concerns about a draft concept plan. If they were asked, Olsen said, they would have pointed out its flaws.Works using rocks and plants were not a long-term solution to the bank erosion problem at the Basin, the planned path restricted access to the water, was unsuitable for a boating facility, and would be a rubbish trap that might not be kept clean.

Elements of the path design, for example, raising it and making parts of it a boardwalk, encroached on the reserve’s grassed areas beside the present path. In summer, the flat, grassed area was used for shade tents when people watched water sport events and was also space for picnics and playing games.

This year, Olsen told The Hobson, she learned that Council’s draft concept had progressed to something more imminent and featured 56m of timber boardwalk, planted on both sides. “Noone was consulted on a resource consent. We noticed pegs in the ground the whole way round the basin, so the project is about to start and it does not follow the management plan. It is a disaster encroaching on our parkland.”

A local resident of more than 40 years, Olsen was influential in forming the Ōrākei Basin Reserve Management Plan of August 2010. She represented 60 residents on the reserve’s advisory group to the local board, until a rejig of representation squeezed out her and former board chair, now Auckland Council member, Desley Simpson. (See The Hobson July/August 2017).

RRA chair Iain Valentine took up Olsen’s concerns in a letter

to Ōrākei Local Board chair Kit Parkinson. Of the area from the public boat ramp towards the Auckland Water Ski Club, Valentine wrote: “The current level green space on the southern edge is a precious resource. It is open and level and flexible and capable of supporting a wide variety of activities. We believe the current plan and elevated path with boardwalk, planting on the bush side and planted [stormwater] channels across the open space, is expensive, over-engineered and greatly reduces usable open space. Our wish is for the best possible outcome, at lowest cost to ratepayers”.

In early June, Valentine met with Parkinson and Council project manager Johan Ferreira, who gave him an assurance that the Council would not “overbuild” and was focused on “low impact solutions” to meet concerns about the quality of stormwater runoff to the basin and flooding of the path.

Parkinson said improving drainage was a priority for the local board and the advisory group and the planned works, though conservative, would yield “a great asset”. Users would be pleased that the path would be constructed to a width of 1.8m, compared with the present 900mm, which was too narrow for walking two abreast.

Responding to The Hobson’s questions, the Council’s Parks, Sports & Recreation general manager, Mace Ward, says the path upgrade “considers and is consistent” with the management plan.

“We appreciate that Council works on public parks and spaces can attract a diverse range of views. This is why we have been working closely with the Ōrākei Basin Advisory Group who have been providing feedback and guidance from affected residents regarding the works, to the Ōrākei Local Board.”

The resource consent allows provision of drainage swales — shallow grass channels used in place of kerbs and paved gutters.

They are for holding runoff, trapping sediment and allowing water to soak into the soil. They also save the need for hand-mowing the narrow strips of boggy grass along the path. Swales won’t be on the basin side of the walkway.

The budget for works at the basin is to form concrete and

the hobson 16

compacted gravel sections, with a boardwalk over boggy patches.

The only erosion prevention work on the basin edge will be on a 6m piece of seawall at the end of the carpark, and it won’t put rocks out on the water to cause hazards for small yachts and water skiers. Council says the basin edge wall system needs further design work and will be left to another time. Ideally, this work and placing of drain outlets in the basin would be done at the same time as path construction.

The RRA believes the long-term answer to erosion is to build a vertical concrete and rock wall, with rocks placed at the water surface in front of the wall to absorb wave action.

— Wayne Thompson p For more on works at the Ōrākei Basin, see “Don’t Fence Me In”, page 36

ON FIYAH!

WHY WINTER IS A GREAT TIME TO SELL Do you think we can convince home owners that winter time is a great time to think sell? we can convince home owners Do you that winter time is a great It’s a struggle. Why? time to sell?

It goes like this. Home owners believe that to It’s a struggle. Why? sell their house the sun must be out and the garden needs look amazing.

Breaking It goes like this.toHome owners believe thatnews to – buyers don’t wait for must spring there sell their house the sun betime, out and theare buyers needs in the market a consistent basis all garden to look on amazing.

Breaking news round.

Thewait number of buyers does not –year buyers don’t for spring time, there are exponentially increase summerbasis comes. buyers in the market onwhen a consistent all Yes, round. there are more salesofmade, primarily year The number buyers does not because moreincrease home owners have decided it’s exponentially when summer comes. a good time sell. sales In short, price is driven by Yes, there aretomore made, primarily supply and demand.

In winter time demand because more home owners have decided it’s maintained is price short.isWinter aisgood time toand sell. supply In short, driven is by a greatand timedemand. to get the of buyers supply In attention winter time demand starved of options. is maintained and supply is short. Winter is a great time to get the attention of buyers starved of options.

King’s School student Lotima Pome’e, who performs under the name General Fiyah, cleaned up at the recent Vodafone Pacific Music Awards.

The multi-talented 12-year-old Year 8 student took home three major awards — the Vodafone People’s Choice Award, the New Zealand on Air Best Pacific Music Video Award and the APRA Best Song Award for his song, “Here to Stay”, and its video, where he channels a Jackson Five look, mashed up with a reggae beat.

Performing with the band Three Doors Down (which includes his dad, Rob, and uncles Sione and Charlie Pome’e), Lotima also co-wrote “Here to Stay” with his Uncle Charlie. At school he’s part of the King’s jazz band, and also the Chapel Choir. Music is a strong note in the family — little brother Sione is also at King’s and another keen musician.

“I’d like to pursue a musical career,” says Lotima. “My aim is to one day win a Grammy award. I really want to take my music to the next level — one day, I’d like to be a songwriter or a dancer. At school we play musical instruments, and I play the euphonium and the bass and rhythm guitar. I love that music is such a big part of my time at school, as well as at home. I’m also in the school production of Elf Jr, and I really love acting too.”

Catch his award-winning performance of “Here to Stay” on YouTube. p

If you are considering selling or if you’re just interested in what your property might be worth, with no obligation, phone me now, I’ll respond immediately!

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the village

St Heliers and along Tamaki Dr to Britomart. “Overall, on paper the new network has much to recommend it, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating,” says Councillor Desley Simpson. “Over the coming months we will see if AT have hit the mark in creating a network that is a real improvement on previous offerings.” More details at at.govt.nz Work on separating the combined wastewater and stormwater systems that overflow out into Okahu Bay is expected to be completed early in 2019. The work, to improve the water quality in the bay, is being carried out by Auckland Council’s Healthy Waters team. Cr Desley Simpson says the initiative will significantly improve the water quality and deliver new, improved water infrastructure in the area.

The stadium located at Selwyn College and known to many in the local area as ASB Stadium, has been officially renamed in honour of its new sponsors. The popular community facility is now Barfoot and Thompson Stadium.

The Tamaki Dr and Ngapipi Rd intersection redevelopment has moved into its next stage, with footpath and road surfacing works underway. Ōrākei Local Board Chair Kit Parkinson says because traffic volumes are too high to work safely during the day, the work has been done between 7pm and 5am. “The intersection is anticipated to be completed prior to Friday June 29, then work will be done on raising Tamaki Dr on the city side of Ngapipi Rd. AT has coordinated and communicated well with the community during this large piece of work and has made the inevitable delays as short as possible.” — Reporting by Mary Fitzgerald p

AROUND THE VILLAGE Construction is continuing to schedule on the $790m Westfield Newmarket redevelopment. Scentre Group has confirmed the project’s on track, with all key milestones over the 4.5ha site being met, including ongoing basalt rock blasting to allow excavation.

The steel structural framing has already been erected on the old Farmers’ site (pictured above) — the development will use 7100 tonnes of steel. Upon completion late next year, over 33 Olympicsized swimming pools’ worth of excavation will have been removed to make way for 190,000m2 of floor space accommodating retail, hospitality and entertainment, and 2770 new parking spaces.

Dont miss Remuera’s big French day out, when the annual Bastille Day Festival is held on Saturday July 14. This year’s event will include a dedicated kids’ space near the Library, as well as Gallicthemed fun, a treasure hunt, food and entertainment for all.

Shoppers at participating stores in the weeks leading up to July 14 also have the chance to win a trip for two to Tahiti, courtesy of Flight Centre Remuera. And the French-themed windows will also be back, with The Hobson sponsoring the prize for the bestdressed window. The festival is supported by the Ōrākei Local Board and Alliance Francaise, and runs from 11am-3pm.

On July 8, Auckland Transport will launch the new bus network across the central isthmus. The July rollout is the fourth of five new networks aimed at better connection between services around the Auckland region. The network is built around core high frequency routes, which will have a bus every 15 minutes. A trip from anywhere in the Ōrākei ward to the CBD (two fare zones) will be $3.30, using a HOP card, regardless if you transfer buses or transfer from bus to train. New key routes for Ōrākei are the new 75 bus that runs from Glen Innes along St Johns and Remuera roads through to Newmarket, the CBD and on to Wynyard Quarter; and the new “Blue Link” bus which runs from Glen Innes through

HOUSING NZ WORKS NEW RULE BOOK Upzoning rights allowed by the new Auckland Unitary Plan are to be maximised in Meadowbank by Housing New Zealand. In May, Auckland Council approved a scheme for three-storey apartments to be built in a low-density residential area, without hearing design concerns from local residents’ groups.

The HNZ application was granted by an independent resource planning commissioner who decided there was no special circumstances to warrant the application being publicly notified.

However residents disagree with aspects of the building and site design, and Ōrākei Local Board member Troy Churton says their unhappy experience with apartment schemes is likely to be repeated in other suburbs.

“This is what’s starting to happen around the city and we are going to see this landscape transition that the Unitary Plan makes possible in Kohimarama Rd and Kepa Rd ridge and Ōrākei Point.”

In its Meadowbank development, HNZ has flagged how it will use the Unitary Plan to densify its holdings in Parnell, Remuera and Ōrākei.

Across from Purewa Train Station, the corporation removed four adjacent state rental houses, two of which faced Purewa Rd and two to Puroto St. It has obtained approval to build a dozen twostorey apartments over the four lots.

However, Council says since the first scheme was approved, the zone for the site changed from Mixed Housing Suburban under the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan (PAUP), which anticipated twostorey homes, to Mixed Housing Urban under the operative UP, which would anticipate three-storey buildings.

The corporation came back with a new scheme for only the two vacant lots in Purewa Rd and this wanted 11 dwellings, within

the hobson 18

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the village

three, three-storey apartment buildings to the front of the site and two, two-storey duplexes at the back.

On March 22, the commissioner approved resource consent. The main reasons for needing consent were non-compliance with rules for height-in-relation-to-boundary, front yard requirements from overhanging balconies, vehicle access and parking, and the width and area of earthworks. The buildings met the maximum height of 11m.

In his decision, commissioner Greg Hill accepted that the scheme would result in a change to the existing neighbourhood character. However, it would provide housing of an intensity, scale, location, form and appearance that would be compatible with that anticipated in the Mixed Housing Urban zone of the UP, predominantly three-storey buildings, in a variety of forms and surrounded by landscaped areas.

“Consideration has been given to the concerns raised by the Ōrākei Local Board and neighbouring residents, but the potential adverse effects are deemed to be no more than minor in relation to public notification, [and] less than minor in the context of effects on adjacent properties.” Council planners agreed that it was an appropriate and efficient use of land which was close to shops, public transport routes, parks, schools and community facilities.

A HNZ spokesperson said the corporation did two earlier redevelopments in Meadowbank. A site between Tahapa Cres and Koa St with three houses was replaced with nine homes and another in Tahapa Cres, which had three homes, is now four twobedroom and four four-bedroom homes.

This type of housing redevelopment is fairly standard under the Unitary Plan, says the spokesperson, and allows the corporation to increase the number of homes available of a type that meets modern needs.

In The Hobson of August 2016, it was reported that the PAUP had zoned the corporation’s Parnell social housing sites in Cracroft and Bedford streets to Terraced Housing and Apartment Buildings, and also its two-storey complex on Avon and Stanwell streets. Two years later, the corporation is reticent about any redevelopment plans for its 49 parcels of land in Parnell and Remuera.

A corporation spokesperson told The Hobson that beyond the Meadowbank sites, there is no immediate plan. “However, with demand for housing remaining strong, Housing New Zealand is continually reviewing our existing housing stock to meet community needs and we may decide to undertake redevelopment in Parnell, Remuera and Ōrākei in future.”

People should not assume their community will get a say in the design of any development, advises the disgruntled Purewa Puroto Manapau Residents’ Group. Member Grant Dickson says the corporation showed a design for the Purewa Rd site at its public meeting and then replaced it with a different one which “doubles the intensity, is inferior and bears little resemblance”. Residents don’t like the artist’s sketch of this proposed addition to an upand-coming suburb, he says. “It is blocks of apartments with external stairwells, asphalt carparks and carports.”

Dickson engaged architects Urbizen to review the design, and they said the proposal “appears to lack any creativity and design merit and would result in adverse effects on the streetscape”.

Meadowbank & St Johns Residents Association chairman Tim Duguid expressed his disappointment with HNZ. “Though there may be no requirement to consult with residents, we are confident that by doing so, better outcomes could be achieved, for example, through a moderated meeting with residents, as we have done successfully with other developers and agencies.” — Wayne Thompson p

THE STORY OF . . .

Our neighbourhood is dotted with commemorative plaques, some historic, some more recent. In a new item each issue, Mary Fitzgerald looks at the story behind a dedication.

Plaque to Captain Thomas Capel Tilly, RN, at Wilson’s Beach, Remuera Thomas Capel Tilly was born in Falmouth, England in 1830. At 15, he graduated first in class at the Greenwich Naval Academy, joined the schooner HMS Viper as Master’s Assistant, and sailed for the West Indies. In 1850 he received his commission into the Royal Navy.

Between 1866-76 he commanded several ships on some 15 return voyages that brought immigrants from Scotland to Dunedin.

During that decade, he also captained several sailing ships to the South Pacific on behalf of the Melanesian Mission. After leaving the Royal Navy, Tilly joined the Mission as captain of the Mission’s vessel Southern Cross II and sailed throughout the Pacific conveying staff and supplies for over 35 years.

In 1872 he purchased five acres of land in Remuera bordered by lower Victoria Ave, Shore Rd, Wilson’s Beach, and the Wilson family property with its house, Roselle, now the Saint Kentigern Boys’ School campus. Tilly named his new family home Tremough, after a Tilly house in Penryn, Cornwall. Almost 70 years later, his granddaughter, Joan Tilly, and her husband, Dick Renshaw, built their own home on part of Tremough’s land. They had four children, Margaret, John, Kathleen, and Bruce, who all enjoyed the locality and beach activities on their doorstep.

With the removal in 2010 of the Hobson Bay-bisecting sewer pipe between Parnell and Ōrākei, the scene was set for a transformation of the muddy Wilson’s Beach to be restored.

Tilly’s great-grandson, Bruce Renshaw, who by then had also set up home on the family’s property, led a group of local residents into negotiations with Ōrākei Local Board and Auckland Council to create a 100m sandy beach at the very end of Vicky Ave, for the enjoyment of all. p

the hobson 20

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the village

Meet Your Reps Since being first elected, what do you consider to be the top three things you’ve achieved?

Increasing the quality, number and condition of our sports fields and facilities, and ensuring we are achieving 100 per cent results with local parks and reserve maintenance audits.

Also, learning to be more patient, as it always takes twice as long as I think it should to get Auckland Council to achieve what it should!

I

n June, Kit Parkinson was sworn in as chair of the Ōrākei Local Board, stepping up from the deputy role he’d held for the first half of the board’s current three-year term (we profiled the new deputy, Carmel Claridge, in the June issue). A member of the board for three terms now, the Mission Bay resident has also lived in Kohimarama, Ōrākei and Remuera. A director with a history working in the banking, finance and software industries, Parkinson is the former chair of the Metrowater Community Trust, has chaired the Kohimarama School board of trustees and is now back in school as a member of the Auckland Kids Achievement Trust (the Auckland division of the Graeme Dingle Foundation), which runs youth development programmes.

Kit Parkinson spoke to Mary Fitzgerald in an extended interview about what he brings to the chair.

Why did you stand for this role?

I want to contribute to improving the neighbourhood and suburbs in which my family and I live. My experience in the business community brings a new perspective to local government, which is sometimes slanted too heavily towards academia. I represent the community I live in and take accountability for its future direction.

What board portfolios are you responsible for?

[As chair] I oversee the governance of the 10 suburbs that make up Ōrākei ward. I strongly believe Council needs to supply ratepayers with the best quality sports fields, parks and bush areas we can. My focus in the first two terms was on increasing the quality of our playing fields, so our children and grandchildren can all participate fully in team sports with no or few cancellations. In this term, I’ve continued my work on local parks and their maintenance. I am also focussing on the quality of our passive areas including our ecological bush, and eliminating pests.

I’m also an advocate for working closely with our local iwi to shape the development of our local area, and am a member of the Tūpuna Maunga Authority.

As board chair, what are your top priorities in that role?

To develop a cohesive board and work closely with the community. As a board we need to create awareness amongst the community regarding what we are doing, and why we are doing it. I am also looking forward to working closely with Councillor Desley Simpson – we will be holding joint drop-in clinics around the ward. the hobson 22

What top four things do you intend to achieve in the time remaining in your role, and why are they important to you?

1. The Gowing Dr greenways path completion — this is a project I have been working on for the last six years. Ken Baguley, our former ward councillor, initiated the project and brought it to a point where it could be achieved; it is our job now to push it, and AT, to a point where it can be completed.

2. Colin Maiden Park and Ngahue Reserve precinct masterplan implementation — two new world-class hockey turfs, a new indoor cricket and multi-sports facility, a gymnastics facility, a football stadium and supporting offices on Oceania leased land, a new Swimtastic pool on Tennis Auckland land, and a roadway connecting them all.

3. Shore Rd Reserve to Wilson Beach pathway.

4. Tamaki Dr walkway and new beach sanding.

What else would you like to see sorted out in our ward?

Two things come to mind. One is the restoration of the Waitematā Harbour’s mussel reefs. Our beaches are the jewel we have in Ōrākei, and the water quality is not what it should be. The mussel reefs that were decimated in the 40s and 50s filtered the harbour and made the water beautiful, so bringing them all back will increase our water quality and our consequent enjoyment of life.

The second is the upgrading of Tamaki Dr – this is one of our major roads and we continue to face flooding issues.

Tell us something about yourself that will surprise your community.

I have never voted Labour but have not always voted National. I broke my spine when I was in my early 20s, when a lawnmower landed on it during a vehicle accident, and was crushed under a digger in my 30s.

If you were Prime Minister, what would you do to improve Auckland?

I would re-implement the eastern link between Onehunga and Mt Wellington, and slow down the loss of parking and invasion of cycleways on Auckland’s roads.

What is your favourite escape in Auckland?

Reading a novel, sitting under a tree in one of my favourite parks in Kohi.

Tell us a little about your family, and what your hobbies are.

I’ve been married for 26 years to Kim. We have three children all at school, a dog and cat. I enjoy scuba diving, fishing, swimming, and I’m an avid reader of electronic books using the Auckland Libraries free Libby app.

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the councillors

MIKE LEE

I

t is certainly proving to be a winter of discontent within the Auckland Council. The discontent was behind the recent letter expressing ‘strong dissatisfaction’ with the secretive and non-inclusive leadership style of Mayor Phil Goff, signed by nine councillors, including myself, (the so-called ‘Albert Street Nine’).

Specifically, the letter can be traced back to the disclosure that Goff had commissioned a report into building a downtown football stadium, and kept it secret from councillors for nearly a year.

It didn’t help either that the report by PWC cost nearly $1m of ratepayers’ money. Nor that Goff only made it available to the councillors when its existence was outed by Radio NZ, and under pressure from the Ombudsman — and then in a form so heavily censored that it was quite unreadable. I have been in local government for 26 years and I have never seen redacting on this scale. Whole pages were simply blacked out. Several weeks on, Goff has finally agreed to release the report to the councillors – uncensored — but the damage has been done.

At a meeting in May called to discuss the affair, I had the opportunity to question the Mayor face-to-face. Goff confirmed that he requested the stadium report early in 2017, via the CCO, Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA), whose chairman Sir Don McKinnon and directors commissioned PWC to do the job.

The report was completed in June 2017 but according to Goff, while he was briefed on its contents, he never asked for a copy of the report. However at this briefing, the Mayor asked for further information and so a second report was commissioned, again by PWC, and this was completed in September. Same thing. Goff was briefed but according to him he never asked for, nor was given a copy. Nor, according to Goff, did he ask for or was told the price of these two reports. Again, according to Goff, the first time he received the report(s) and became aware of the cost was this April.

We have to take his word for all this, but for someone who obviously has a bit of an obsession with a new football stadium, not reading the reports you commission is certainly strange behaviour. And certainly given the secretiveness, it is unacceptable behaviour in my book.

Goff’s fixation with a downtown stadium can be traced back to late 2006 when the then-Labour government, led by Minister of Sport Trevor Mallard, came up with the idea of a ‘waterfront stadium’ for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Goff has been putting it about that the government pledged to build the stadium for free.

This is simply not true. Fortunately, as I was the chairman of the Auckland Regional Council (ARC) at the time, I have kept a file.

While there were certainly hints of government largesse, Mallard was careful to avoid making any firm commitment.

Talk of government support quickly melted away as the estimates for this very challenging project (in terms of engineering and time), quickly climbed towards $1 billion. After two weeks of intensive briefings and reports from a range of experts, in November 2006 the members of the ARC unanimously resolved against the proposal. It was my job to tell Prime Minister Helen Clark that having carefully studied the question, it was our best judgement that Eden Park was a more sensible and affordable option for the Rugby World Cup. It was a sound decision and was backed by a clear majority of Aucklanders — but clearly not by Goff.

Back to the present, and it appears that despite all the other pressing problems and costs Auckland faces, a new football stadium appears to be still very much Goff’s ambition. The final catalyst for the nine councillors’ letter was the news that speedway had been pressured to leave Western Springs, where it has been for decades, albeit with some financial incentives, to enable RFA’s goal of shifting cricket from Eden Park to Western Springs. The game plan seems to be to undermine Eden Park and thereby somehow make a new stadium (now estimated to cost $2 billion) justifiable.

It is this sort of behaviour that is causing councillors from across the political spectrum to question Goff’s leadership style and judgement. And now, as this article goes to press, we hear news of another secret report, this one on light rail, commissioned by Goff from Auckland Transport. This is why this Council is not a happy ship. It looks like it’s going to be a long winter.

Mike Lee is the Councillor for Auckland representing the Waitematā and Gulf ward

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DESLEY SIMPSON

T

he Mayor’s proposal for the Long Term Plan — the 10 Year Budget — was put to councillors for decision making on Thursday 31 May. This was a crucial meeting in Auckland Council’s budgetary cycle.

This Long Term Plan (LTP) has continued to hold the average general rates increase to 2.5 per cent for the next two years and then increase to 3.5 per cent thereafter. The Uniform Annual General Charge (UAGC ) is also set to rise by the same percentages.

This is financially beneficial for our ward, as the higher the UAGC, the lower the general rates. Ōrākei residents endorsed this approach, and I gave my vote accordingly.

Councillors also considered the mayoral proposal as to whether to deliver additional targeted rates that are ring-fenced to fund specific work programs for improving water quality in our harbours, and to improve our natural environment through expanded pest management and protection of kauri. Prior to the consultation I advocated for both targeted rates to be considered as a flat rate per property, rather than differentiated based on CV. That however wasn’t supported by the Mayor or the majority of councillors. Adding new rates is not typically something that I would instinctively or personally support, especially when they are based on property CVs. But my promise at election time (which I have never broken), was that when we ask Aucklanders what they think, my vote would reflect the majority of feedback from the residents and ratepayers of our ward. Feedback showed strong support for both targeted rates from Ōrākei, and so I supported them with my vote.

I also voted against the disestablishment of Auckland Council Investment Limited. ACIL hold the Council’s investment in Ports of Auckland and shares in Auckland International Airport. The argument for this was that we could save approximately $500,000

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per year by removing this entity and absorbing their functions into Auckland Council. The message from Ōrākei submitters was still clear — you said that POAL is operating well at present and removing the arms-length relationship via ACIL opens the ports to political interference — in other words: don’t fix what isn’t broken.

In the end the Mayor had the votes to pass this part of the budget.

Similarly, I followed the advice of Ōrākei residents in opposing the Regional Fuel Tax. This was a tricky one, as Council asked the question of Aucklanders twice: in March and in May. The May consultation results formed my vote, as it was at that time when we were able to give a much better idea of what the proposal would entail. However, my colleagues supported the Mayor in voting it through. While it is always disappointing to be on the losing side of a debate, the Regional Fuel Tax will deliver significant gains for Auckland, and is expected to raise $1.5b in revenue over 10 years.

Locally, I am pleased to advise that I have made significant progress to assist the ward in this budget. For the first time since Auckland Council was formed, the Ōrākei Local Board has had its main advocacy project funded in the LTP — the Gowing Dr linkage to the Tamaki Dr to Glen Innes shared path. Public feedback on the project has been strongly in favour and I know that once this link is built, it will be of great benefit.

Other local wins include an increase in funding for local transport projects (approximately $450k extra per year), extra funding for Colin Maiden Park, Michaels Ave Reserve, Madills Farm and Shore Rd Reserve, extra funding for the Meadowbank Community Centre, and funding for investigating how to improve the resilience of Tamaki Dr against flooding.

While not an LTP decision, I was also pleased to secure a $750,000 contribution from Council for the renewal of College Rifles’ artificial turf. With over a quarter of rugby in our area played at College Rifles, this funding means that these fields remain as part of the sports field network and accessible to the public. College Rifles will pay the balance of the upgrade cost (estimated at well in excess of $1m) and the ongoing operational expenditure.

I am proud to represent the views of those who live in the 10 suburbs which make up the Ōrākei ward. I have paid close attention to the results of consultation and used this as the foundation for my decision making.

Desley Simpson is the Councillor for Auckland representing the Ōrākei ward

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the politicians

Five Things I Learnt Dancing with the Stars

B

y the time this column hits your letterbox I will have been eliminated from Dancing with the Stars or (dreams follow), in a miracle of all-conquering democracy, the show’s judges will have bitterly handed me the glitter ball trophy at the behest of the mob texting DAVID to 3333.

In case you’ve been sensibly getting on with your life sans reality TV, here is a quick catch up. From the early 1950s, the BBC ran a series called Come Dancing. It featured people who had spent their post-kindergarten lives striving to paint dancefloors with all the colours of the wind. Having seen real professional dancers up close lately, I am sure it was impressive.

Ultimately though, it wasn’t rating. So, in 1994, someone at the Beeb asked; what if we took hapless celebrities (meaning the Corporation’s own staff, a few sports people, actors and the odd politician) and paired them with actual dancers? The result was Strictly Come Dancing. Amazingly, the concept has been franchised to 50 countries and five continents. It has been adopted from South Africa to Thailand to Italy, where the episodes are three-and-half-hours long and the producers encourage the contestants to have affairs. (How can anyone not love that country?)

Here in New Zealand it has run six seasons before this year.

Five with TVNZ, and this year is Mediaworks’ second season. I have learned a few things that may be useful.

1) Everyone needs a hobby. Nobody has entered parliament by themselves as the leader of a party, and been part of the Government on day one, for at least 100 years before me. For the first two years I never had a full week off. This was not heroic, it was silly. Nothing new but worth remembering, everyone needs a little balance, and dancing has been a valuable refresh.

2) A physical hobby is best. I got in trouble for saying that I was dancing to fight the obesity epidemic, but I was only half joking. There is a danger in parliament of waking up to realise you haven’t lifted anything heavier than a canapé since you got elected, and I wasn’t the only one starting to get weighed

down by this threat. This won’t be news to the activewear set of Hobson Bay, but we are primal beings who atrophy if we don’t keep moving. The reward for doing so is energy and high spirits.

3) The Kiwi psyche is the best in the world. I knew I wasn’t the best dancer, and nobody cared. In Australia I’d have been taken out and shot for my awkward moves, but how is that ruthless spirit working for the lucky country of bad bankers and cricket ball tamperers? Kiwis could see I was aware of my faults, was giving it 110 per cent, and doing it for a charity I love (0800 Kidsline) who got the proceeds of text voting and my appearance fee. My dance partner, Amelia McGregor, and I were humbled by the support, knowing we live in the greatest little country on earth.

4) Show people what you stand for. Too many contestants who could dance much better than me thought their intrinsic goodness would have them home and hosed, then they got sent home. But the audience pays the bill, so the show is about hearts, minds and votes. We wore our Kidsline t-shirts from day one because we wanted to show it was about charity. People said they voted for us because we supported a charity. Every contestant had a charity, but they didn’t show people.

5) You’re nothing without your team. I am proud to have incredible staff — Kristen, Brian, Jun — working in my office at 27 Gillies Ave. They normally cover all manner of my faults, making sure that we give the best service to Epsom electorate residents, but while I’ve been on the show they’ve stepped up another gear. If we can ever help you or your family, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on 522 7464 or david.seymour@ parliament.govt.nz This was supposed to be a ‘five things’ column but I have to pay tribute to my long-suffering partner, tutor, and now friend Amelia. She had the hardest job in the world and she did it with aplomb. Thank you Amelia.

David Seymour is the MP for Epsom

the hobson 28

PAUL GOLDSMITH

O

il and gas exploration might not seem like a local issue.

We can be pretty confident of never seeing an oil rig in Hobson Bay. But, of course, it’s highly relevant to all of us. We all have an interest in where we get our energy and how much it costs. And we have a keen interest in the way we are being governed.

There’s been a great deal of chatter about the topic since the Prime Minister announced an end to new permits for offshore oil and gas exploration to a university audience, the day before she headed to Europe, where she would make a great play of it.

What’s become clear since then is the total absence of economic and environmental analysis that went into the decision. Initial, high level, reports from officials uncovered that no other country in the world, except France, which relies on nuclear power and imports all its hydrocarbon needs, had taken such a step. No other country.

Not Australia, where minerals extraction drives much of the prosperity that has attracted so many Kiwis across the Tasman.

Not the USA, Canada or UK, all of which are sophisticated, serviceled economies, but which still derive an important part of their economic prosperity from oil and gas extraction and exploration.

But us, apparently because we are more virtuous or because uniquely we think our economy is so strong that we don’t need it, we have decided to pull the pin.

About 8000 high-paying jobs in the industry are directly at risk.

The cost and reliability of energy has much wider consequences.

And, as we’ll see, the decision could perversely have negative environmental consequences. We have been told not to worry because earlier permits won’t be cancelled and there is still a huge amount of area available for exploration. But that is nonsense.

Government decisions send powerful signals. And the signal sent to the global industry that invests in oil and gas exploration, and which has many many choices about where to invest its next dollar, is that NZ has a big question mark over it. It’s uncertain.

Particularly, given the process — which skipped Cabinet, skipped due process, skipped any analysis, wasn’t part of any election manifesto — was simply agreed between party leaders.

Future investment of any kind is less likely, and in order to keep gas flowing in NZ, we need to keep investing and finding new fields.

We have 10 years of known gas supply left. We haven’t had a gas discovery for eight years, and existing exploration has a 10-15 per cent chance of success. When a discovery is made, it will take a further 10 years of development before gas is available for market.

Just do the maths, and add in the chilling effect on investment the Government’s decision has created.

With every fifth day of our electricity generated from fossil fuels, mostly gas, we have a problem. When demand increases because of electric vehicles, we have a compounded problem. Wind and solar energy might contribute, but both are intermittent. With gas possibly gone, and any shortfall in renewables, we’re left with coal to keep our lights on. In that scenario, emissions will rise rather than fall.

This is a serious issue that demands very careful thought and consideration. It astounds me that the Labour-New Zealand FirstGreen coalition would be so cavalier in their decision-making.

Paul Goldsmith is a National list MP based in Epsom

the plan

Our Rates, My Pain

O

ver the last month or so you have read that Auckland Council has: 1) Installed expensive speed cameras and not commissioned them 2) Underestimated holiday pay to the tune of $20m 3) Charged $69,000 in building consent and water connection fees for a 70m2 unit, then taken six months to issue the CCC, and then justified it all in a PR puff piece So really it is just another month in the life of the long-suffering ratepayer. I have to admit job satisfaction has been low for the past few months and I am using this forum as a cathartic release.

Don’t get me wrong — the paper is being shuffled at a record rate, and I enjoy the challenge of getting a plan from concept to the tick of approval. However, the dark clouds have been descending and the blame is with some Council planners. I will now refer to some of them as receptionists, although that is a discredit to those hard-working people.

There is a new breed of Council officer – they are trained to not think outside the square, not to have an opinion, and not respond in a timely manner. And if they do not meet their obligation in the required statutory time, who really cares? We have recently had this exact response from a planner on a consent that was late: “Don’t worry you will get your discount.”

Now that discount was the “penalty” the last government put in if councils were late in processing a consent. Almost a reality check on performance. Council now treats it like the panacea to poor performance, that’s it’s ok to miss the deadline, as the applicant will get a reduction on the total invoice, and who doesn’t want a discount?

I want you to pause on this for a moment. Where do you think the discount comes from? Yes, your rates. Your rates pay for poor performance. This is the world we live in, and change will not come from my rants. It must come from the leadership within Council itself, and they think they are doing a great job.

You as a home owner often only see the pointy end of a proposal – when it hits the media, your boundary fence or when you have to

get a consent yourself.

You don’t see the endless, pedantic requests from Council officers for more and more information. One of the latest across my desk was for a renovation to a family home that has the space for two laundries. There was to be a second laundry by the garage for the kids’ sports gear and Dad’s work clothes (he’s a builder).

Council deemed that as there were two laundries, there was a chance that two families might live there and that might mean this renovation was actually a second home unit.

We gave up arguing. We’ve deleted the second laundry and the owners will install it later on. It may be unusual to have two laundries, but in my own home, we’re adding a second, smaller washing machine. We have four kids, who seem to change three to four times a day. We will put it in the existing laundry, so no consent required.

The problem is the Resource Management Act is permissive, the Unitary Plan is permissive, but the planners (“receptionists”) are the gate-keepers who focus on the minute and irrelevant.

The latest section (104(1)(ab) of the RMA was enacted to address all the semantic definitions and distinctions we spend so much time on. But we still go around in circles because the planner does not like something, or is on leave for two weeks.

The RMA takes a huge kicking — there are reports that generally say that the RMA has failed to deliver for environmental outcomes as well as economic outcomes. But when you get down to it, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the Act, rather it’s in the way that it is interpreted, applied and administered.

There’s an inherently conservative approach at Council, where “we know best” responses are defended with a view that often misses the big picture. There needs to be an enabling attitude to achieving environmental outcomes.

If something does not change in the halls of Auckland Council soon, no amount of PR staff will save them from the reality that while in their minds they are doing the best they can, their customers share the opposite view.

— Hamish Firth

the hobson 30

the investment

The Independent Financial Adviser

W

hen you’re unwell, you visit your doctor. You meet with a lawyer if you have a legal issue, and when you need to borrow money, you go to your bank. So when you need financial advice, you should seek it from an independent financial adviser.

A financial adviser is a professional who provides financial guidance to clients based on their needs and goals. In the NZ context, they typically provide clients with access to various investment products and services, planning or advice related to retirement, mortgages, estate planning, taxes and more. Financial advisers are required to meet a fiduciary standard and must always place client interests ahead of their own. They will take a holistic approach in making investment recommendations independent of outside influences and make recommendations based on reasonable discovery of the client’s investment objectives.

This means they need to know when you will need to use your money, and for what you will use it. They must gather certain personal and financial data about you and take the time to understand your tolerance for risk, your expectations regarding investment returns, and your financial capacity to incur any investment losses. An independent adviser will use this data to analyse any and all of your existing investments, and make recommendations about what you should do into the future.

An independent financial adviser will tell you what to invest in (securities, index or active funds and/or direct assets including real estate), what risks are associated with each investment, what expected return you might receive from your investment portfolio, what income if any your investments will generate and, among other things, what taxes you might incur. All in the context of what’s best for you, your circumstances, investment objectives and attitude towards risk. And of course, this is a constantly moving landscape that your adviser will monitor on an ongoing basis.

Providing solid financial advice takes a lot of work and there is much involved. The term “legwork” could be used to describe the large amount of research, distillation and distribution of information and paperwork. To get great investment and wealth management results, your adviser will do all of this for you as part of the service and for the fees you pay.

All good advisers will bring any relevant changes to their client’s attention, highlighting any value potential, having analysed the options. Yes, much of the “legwork” involves providing advice on suitable securities, investment products, funds, risk, asset allocation etc, but there is also a lot of work required to keep on top of everything that surrounds the advice. Only close contact with your adviser can ensure your portfolio is optimised as things change.

The truly independent financial adviser is impartial, unbiased and as unconflicted as possible. They shouldn’t really be affiliated with a product manufacturer (usually a bank, insurance or investment company) as they would typically be paid to “sell” you one or more of their companies’ products.

And the independent adviser shouldn’t receive selling commissions of any sort, unless refunded in full to the client. After all, if an adviser recommending a product to you either works for the company manufacturing that product and/or receives a commission for selling it, are you really sure that that is the best product for you, your circumstances and your objectives? I don’t think so. Just as you want a doctor who will provide an objective diagnosis and make the best recommendations, so too do you want an independent financial adviser with your best interests at heart.

— Warren Couillault

Stay up to date with Councillor Desley Simpson

This ad has been personally funded by Cr Desley Simpson and is at no cost to ratepayers.

the auckland foundation

the teacher

Warm Wishes

Better for our Mistakes

T

C

ats stalk to the door, scurry back to the fire. Outside it’s achingly bright. Crystalline.

Huddled into coats, headed for coffee. Toast. Warmth.

Yes, winter is upon us and on bright, clear days it is a source of joy. Less so when the relentless Auckland rain of winter falls. Wet, damp days to endure. Endless sniffles and colds. For many of us though we live in a warm, well-insulated home. We can afford to switch on a heater, buy wood for the fire and keep ourselves and our loved ones warm and dry.

Sadly this is not the case for many and each winter approximately 1600 deaths in New Zealand are attributed to damp, cold houses. Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable.

For the first time this year, the New Zealand government has introduced a new winter energy supplement for those on the super. Over the winter months it will top up payments, so there is a little extra for those winter energy bills.

This bonus is not targeted and many of us who may have no need for assistance with winter warmth, will still receive it.

If you find yourself in this category, we can help you get this small bonus to a family that does need it. We’re working with the Salvation Army to identify people who are struggling to keep their homes warm, especially where there is illness and vulnerability.

Gifting it is simple. Go online to aucklandfoundation.org. nz/donate, and select “SuperWarm”. If you’re still a bit young for the super, but would like to give, you can donate online too. We’ll direct your generosity straight to where it will help.

It’s a small gesture, to pass on a windfall, to gift a few hundred dollars that you don’t need. But it’s a gesture that may improve your health and wellbeing too. Being generous, compassionate and kind triggers a flow of healthy hormones that impacts health and disease. We’re just beginning to understand how a reduction in stress hormones such as cortisol, and an increase in production of oxytocin and dopamine, the ‘happy hormones’, leads to better health outcomes and even a longer life!

Scientists have shown that altruism is a basic human need.

These behaviours are thought to be reinforced by positive feedback from dopamine, which is stimulated by giving and selflessness.

When researchers looked at people who donated money to charity and examined their brain with MRI scans, they saw the parts of the brain that activated were the areas responsible for basic or primal instincts. This explains in part why being generous or donating makes you feel so good.

Show some kindness. We’ll get your small winter windfall to someone who’ll benefit from it, and you will have the warm afterglow from the joy of giving.

— Dellwyn Stuart, CEO, Auckland Foundation

o avoid situations in which you might make mistakes may be the biggest mistake of all”, wrote author Peter McWilliams. Allowing our children to fail at anything is not easy for many. From a low test result at school, to losing a sports game, making a mistake can be a real challenge for some children, and often for some parents.

Many of us (like me) will have grown up in a culture or a family where learning from mistakes was a daily occurrence. I can’t say I loved the feeling, but I do know that because of being put outside my comfort zone — and as long as it was handled very well by the supervising adult — I was able to better develop my learning skills.

Many of you will be able to identify with this. However, today’s children seem to experience few opportunities to fail, robbing them of one of their greatest learning tools on the way to becoming a resilient learner.

In my view, a very important role for teachers in classrooms is to build into their programme an opportunity for students to experience failure. It concerns me that we may be raising a generation of children who are terrified to fail at anything. Don’t get me wrong, failure can be detrimental in some instances. But I am referring to the everyday learning for younger children in classrooms and on the sports field, where learning from simple mistakes can be a huge personal advantage, academically as well as socially. I am noticing that in today’s culture there seems to be a growing intolerance to children not being ‘perfect’.

Of course, we all want our most prized and valuable possession (children) to be perfect and we try to provide as much as we can for them to be successful in their learning. But often the most valuable lessons that can be learnt from making a mistake are those that are common, everyday occurrences at school, home or play.

“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” I read this on a Year 8 classroom wall recently, and it was great to see. If students are afraid to make mistakes, then they are afraid of trying something new, of being creative, and of thinking outside the square or in a different way; all hugely valuable skills to nurture as they head into the unknown future.

Often, in a classroom, children are reluctant to raise their hand when they are not sure of an answer, or faced with a difficult problem.

With a fear of being wrong, they will default to a teacher or another student for help. This can be a good thing, as asking for help is also a very important skill to have. However, a great teacher will know their students well enough to know when this is one of those magical ‘light bulb’ learning moments, and will nudge a reluctant student in the direction of finding the information out for themselves.

Some children absolutely thrive on challenge after challenge, owing to the fact they have mastered the knowledge that making a mistake is an inevitable and helpful part of the process of learning. They are not afraid of making errors or putting up their hand in class to have a go at the answer. I always love this enthusiasm and like to encourage students to have a go.

Between us, as parents and teachers, let’s never allow a child to become a ‘victim of excellence’. By not allowing them the privilege of being able to be wrong, or to make mistakes, we are depriving and stealing from them a very valuable life skill experience.

Bill Clinton wisely said, “If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit”. — Judi Paape For additional reading, I recommend Better by Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong, by Alina Tugend

the hobson 32

the hobson + edmund hillary retirement village

“It’s not a Retirement Village . . . it’s a Resort!”

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They both feel it’s important to keep up activities outside the village too, with Shirley still catching up with her quilting group, where they make blankets and shawls for charity.

And then of course there’s spending time with their three children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, who all live locally. It was a family experience that motivated them to move into the village in the first place from their four-bedroom home in Kohimarama. Shirley’s mother lived with the family until frail health saw her move into St Helier’s Grace Joel village for respite care.

“We always said we didn’t want to be reliant on our children,” says Shirley. “We loved Mum to bits and she was so easy-going, but we just wanted to be independent. Here we can go through all the stages of care if we need to. I think a lot of people leave it too late to come in and then they don’t get to enjoy the benefits as much.”

The couple know a few friends who’ve just blossomed since they moved into the village. “It’s not long before they are mixing with other people and they seem to generate a whole new life,” says Laurie. “It’s that kind of place. We love it, from the social life, to the gardening to the management, it’s really very good. It’s the whole shebang!”

Edmund Hillary Retirement Village provides independent living in a townhouse or apartment, assisted living in a serviced apartment, and resthome, hospital and dementia care.

Independent apartment

available now!

Don’t miss your chance to secure an apartment at Edmund Hillary Retirement Village.

For more information please phone Becky on 570 6432 or Pauline on 570 0072

221 Abbotts Way, Remuera 8319

here’s no need to be bored!” says Shirley Campbell, as she describes life at Ryman Healthcare’s Edmund Hillary Retirement Village.

It’s hard not to disagree, especially when you take in the stunning view from their sun-drenched fourth floor apartment. Laid out before them is a bowling green, croquet lawn, petanque court and a three-hole putting green.

“It’s not a retirement village, it’s a resort,” laughs her husband of 66 years, Laurie, who has tried out most of the sporting facilities. “We both enjoy playing bowls. And if my son is visiting we’ll sometimes have a wander around the putting green.”

The Campbells have lived at the village for more than a decade now, and are two of the original group who moved into the first apartment block. They’ve enjoyed creating friendships with fellow residents as they established the new routines of their life in the village.

Every month there’s a gathering for everyone on their floor of the block, organised by their 90-year-old neighbour. On Wednesdays, Laurie mans the bar in the village centre, where he also helped set up a snooker club. And he is ‘semipresident’ of a historical architectural society (pub club!) with a group of like-minded fellows.

“The idea is to go to a pub every month, usually it’s just the golf club across the road, and we have one beer and something light to eat and just enjoy a bit of companionship.

It’s very nice indeed.”

He’s also tried his hand at something new by joining the Scribblers group, which is with fellow residents who enjoy writing. The couple both share a love of walking, and try to get out early most mornings. Laurie often works out at the village gym, while Shirley likes to attend the in-house exercise class, Triple A, which stands for Ageless, Active and Aware.

the second act

May I Speak to the Manager?

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noted with some interest a new research report out of the UK, and picked up by media in NZ, that women start to feel invisible as they age. Really? My friend in her mid-50s has indeed complained for some time that she increasingly notices people not noticing her, particularly in cafes and retail outlets, where staff prefer to serve younger women, as if she’s a blind spot in their field of vision. “Surely, you notice it, particularly with younger, male staff?” she asked. No, I said, worrying that it was those high self-esteem issues playing up again. It was not until I was blanked recently by a sales assistant at an upmarket furniture store that I felt her pain.

Admittedly there were some other variables. The assistant was perfectly groomed, and it was midday Sunday, and I was in my activewear (not Eastern Suburbs-go-to Lululemon, more your schlepping-around/dog-walking-gear). But here’s the thing — there was no-one else in that area of the capacious store. And she was a 30-something female, so it’s not just young guys who may have selective sales vision.

After forcing her to talk to me and almost begging her to sell me the furniture I wanted to buy, I got a little tired of the whole performance. I marched out of the store and texted a friend to not only tell her of my ordeal, but to instruct her not to shop at that particular store.

Hell hath no fury like a mid-life woman scorned. One thing about being a woman over 50, is that, bolstered by our “can I speak to the manager” haircuts, we have no trouble voting with our wallets, or complaining to management about shitty service, or sending food back to the kitchen, and generally taking our business elsewhere, despite our children cringing beside us at the “scene” we’re making. “OMG stop it, no-one cares,” they cry, as I give staff helpful tips on how to retain custom.

One friend, a successful and influential business owner, has gone sour on Air New Zealand on the basis that the minor celebrity in the latest safety commercial insists on pronouncing “Antarctica” as “Ant-ardica”. Maybe these very peculiarities in our particular set of high standards is why no-one wants to do business with us!

This is a pity, since female labourforce participation in the 45plus bracket keeps getting stronger, while male participation is leveling off. In the USA, some observers have dubbed females over 50 “prime time women”, since once the kids’ college bills are paid, they spend 2.5 times what the average person spends, and are primary buyers of computers, cars, banking and financial services.

In fact, every fifth adult in the US is a female over 50, and they control a net worth of $19 trillion. I’d expect the overall trend to be very similar here, as we have an ageing population.

So back to that British research report on women’s “invisibility” that global media so eagerly shared. As I started to read it, I assumed it would be about the hidden purchasing power, or perhaps the gender pay gap in the workforce, or the lack of women in leadership roles.

Instead, it was a tragic exposé on the two-thirds of a sample of 2000 women who feel they no longer “turn heads” when they walk into a room, and find there is a drop in the amount of “unsolicited attention” from men.

Oh puhleeze – this is the research that counts as news? Who are these sad women? Those surveyed began to notice a waning in male attention once they reached their 40s, with the decline becoming more noticeable at 45. The poor things were apparently “filtering or deciding not to post images on social media because they are self-conscious of how they look”. I almost gagged.

So who commissioned this sad set of insights? Oh look, it was a male “advanced Facial Cosmetic and Plastic Surgeon”. While the good doc does profess that men have similiar issues with ageing (dissolve to balding male with medallion and sports car), “they seem happier to let nature take its course”. That’s probably because the media bias tips towards more reporting on women’s insecurities.

Tell a woman she is invisible and she will start feeling it. But tell her she is increasingly important to your business, the economy and society as a whole as she matures, and everyone wins.

In the meantime, get to the back of the queue — we are coming through. — Sandy Burgham

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the hobson 34

the suburbanist

Winterising is Coming

T

here are times when our temperate climate is more curse than blessing and winter is one of them. There is something deep within our collective DNA that has conditioned us into thinking that our weather never gets bad enough or so cold that we need to mitigate its effects with heating or insulation. My mother bought me my first pair of long pants when I was 11; my parents built our house with beautiful – but uninsulated – Matai flooring. The walls and ceiling were also uninsulated and for years we got by with one two-bar electric heater. But we didn’t get by, really. It was freezing cold for much of the winter: “put on another jersey and stop your complaining”.

In New Zealand, insulation came late to the party, in the 1970s, and even then, it was seen as an option and a luxury. Central heating of any kind was seen as profligate and excessive, or worse, a sign of weakness. We were made of sterner stuff than our northern hemisphere namby-pamby cousins. We still got colds in the winter and sunburnt in the summer. Ignorance is blistering.

Those parts of the world where the extremes of the seasons are more pronounced have a more pragmatic – and healthy – approach to comfort. They don’t have a choice. In North America, houses have cellars, not just to create sites for scary movies but because they are an integral part of how they stay warm.

Traditionally, this is where they would house their furnaces or boilers to heat their houses. Contemporary heating systems are more compact and efficient and don’t need a whole room, but cellars also provide another function – they create a volume of air, acting as insulation between the often frozen earth and the living areas. I’ve never seen a cellar in a New Zealand house — basements, garages, rumpus rooms, yes, but never a cellar. Here we perch on the land; we don’t dig in.

Over the last 50 years or so we have seen the evolution of ways we heat our houses and we are now, perhaps, less Calvinist about how we value heating, but our houses themselves are still quite resistant to our efforts. We’ve tried all sorts of things that have been inefficient, dangerous or both, from oil-fired heaters to unflued gas heaters that starved our houses of oxygen, while replacing it with water that stayed inside making our homes damp and our children sick. Every year, the big box stores have a new range of electric heaters to tempt us into another form of largely inefficient and costly heating. Various governments have implemented schemes that subsidise insulation, but sadly it is not reaching enough of the homes that need it most – those of the poor and the tenanted.

It takes generations for our housing stock to turn over and so poor decisions at the time of construction stay with us for a long time. We watch Grand Designs and marvel when Kevin McLeod visits a German factory to see triple-glazed windows being made — but say we’ll never need those here. The NZ Green Building Council promotes Homestar, a cost-effective way to accelerate the delivery of warmer, drier and healthier homes but for most of us this is seen as a nice-to-have, rather than a must-have. Perhaps we should be trying to exceed instead of simply meet the bare minimum of insulation. One way to do this would be to build smaller – surely a super-efficient compact house is preferable to a large and draughty one.

Americans talk of “winterizing” their homes as the seasons change. Just because our seasons are less well-defined is no excuse for a lack of preparedness, whether it is at the coming of winter or when we build. It is time to add a verb to our vocabulary and start winterising. — Tommy Honey

Help others be super warm this winter.

A new winter energy payment is being introduced by the NZ Government from 1 July as a supplement to the NZ Super.

It will total $450 for a single person, and $700 for a couple and aims to help older people stay warm and healthy throughout winter.

If you already live in a warm, well-insulated house and can afford to switch on a heater when you need it, you may be keen to join our supporters. Please donate your payment and we’ll get it to someone in Auckland who needs help to stay warm this winter.

Visit aucklandfoundation.org.nz/superwarm for more information about helping someone be #superwarm

How to donate to the Super Warm Fund Call us on (09) 366 1523 Email info@aucklandfoundation.org.nz Visit aucklandfoundation.org.nz/donate

aucklandfoundation.org.nz

#superwarm

the neighbourhood

Don't Fence Me In Stephen Penny

High metal railings installed on the shared pedestrian-cyclist pathway across Ōrākei Basin have residents and local authorities stunned by the visual impact — and not in a positive way, as Wayne Thompson writes

“As I walked along the boardwalk beside the railway track, early yesterday morning, admiring the sun on the water and bush on the southern side of the basin, I came across a woman gasping and saying out loud, ‘this is insane, this is an eyesore, it can’t happen.’

I then realised she was referring to the beginning of the construction of a hideous new 1.4 metre metal ‘prison cell’ wall that looks ridiculous in this environment and obstructs the view. I agreed.”

- Roy Champtaloup, Remuera resident

C

osting $4.9 million to widen for cyclists and pedestrians to share, the path along the railway line at Ōrākei Basin has been dubbed the “cattle race” or the “rat run” by some residents since June, when they first saw its shoulder-height steel safety barriers.

Built in 2010 by Auckland City Council Parks as part of a walkway round the volcanic feature of the basin, the boardwalk ran for 650m, was 2.5m wide and became popular with walkers and runners. However, once the cycling boom hit the city and the Government became interested, the boardwalk was bundled into a proposed 7km shared path between Glen Innes and Tamaki Dr. The boardwalk’s enlargement only six years after being built hinged on getting a slice of a $200 million Urban Cycleway Programme delivered by Auckland Transport (AT) and NZ Transport Agency (NZTA). AT publicity promised the route would be an “amazing, scenic journey for people walking and on bikes, while minimising the effects on the environment and private property”.

On June 5, as the 1.4 metre-high grilles were being bolted onto the boardwalk for Stage 3 of the shared path, a shocked local resident demanded to meet representatives of Auckland Transport and Ōrākei Local Board in an attempt to get them to stop work and consider a design change.

Resident Roy Champtaloup raised the alarm. Living near the basin for 20 years, he says he loves being on the path with “children, pets, cyclists and watching the fish jump and the ducks swimming around.” Before he saw the new balustrading, he had thought the project to widen the popular boardwalk would not change the look of a mellowed timber structure that allowed views over the saltwater lake to a bushy park beyond. He assumed the original 1.2 metre-high wooden barrier and walkway materials would be reused in the enlarged structure.

When Champtaloup saw the cattle crate-like sides go up, he told The Hobson the design was over-the-top for safety, and a tasteless block to viewing such a “beautiful natural environment.” the hobson 36

The community was not consulted about changes in materials such as galvanised steel being used in a marine environment, because objections would have been raised well before work began, he says. “You are not allowed to use [galvanised steel] that close to the foreshore if you are building a house, because it will rust. Though the sides are only 200mm higher, the visual impact is massive as you walk in there. It’s like entering some rat run. We are grumpy that the local board was not aware of this and it’s slipped below the radar. You can understand this height of balustrade being used on the cycle path 50m above Spaghetti Junction, but not here. Imagine if they put up a 1.4 metre fence along Tamaki Dr. We just hope that sanity prevails.”

Champtaloup showed the work to Ōrākei Local Board chair Kit Parkinson, saying money was being wasted on ripping out existing 1.2m high wooden fences facing both the basin and railway lines, and replacing the wooden floor planks with a glass fibre, non-slip surface. Champtaloup headed overseas, arranging for a fellow resident, Paul Clarke, to attend a meeting the next day on the project site with Parkinson, Ōrākei ward councillor Desley Simpson, and an AT representative.

Parkinson’s predecessor as chairman, Colin Davis, said on August 4 last year that the board was “delighted to be partnering with Auckland Transport” on the urban cycleway programme, but Parkinson told The Hobson it was a poor partnership.

“It’s not what we were presented with a year-and-ahalf ago. It’s a huge Government-funded engineering project, it’s like paint on a house; you look at it, not the structure underneath.”

Parkinson said the lack of communication between the NZTA and AT about what they were building on the shared path contrasted sharply with the free-flow of information between AT and the Ōrākei Local Board over the project to widen the intersection of Ngapipi Rd and Tamaki Dr. On June 7, the local board met and passed a motion asking the project team to stop all works on the handrail and replacing the boardwalk timber footplates until further consultation with the board. The board noted that AT is required under its statement of intent to Council to update the local board on projects such as the shared path project, including regular updates and communications on progress and changes.

Another Ōrākei leader who was surprised and disappointed was Desley Simpson. “When I heard about this I was upset,” she says. The first thing I asked AT was ‘what updates have you given the local board on this project?’ And the answer was not one word on this subject.

“I can’t believe that AT can co-fund such a significant investment, and didn’t see any need to communicate with the local board or its ward councillor to progress the design implementation in this Council term.”

Chair of the Ōrākei Local Board until her election to Council in October 2016, Simpson was also chair of the OLB’s forerunner, the Hobson Community Board, which had the original boardwalk built as an Auckland City Council Parks project for a walkway around the basin. The boardwalk opened in December 2010 after weathering controversies over fencing off the railway track, and the refusal of AT and Kiwirail to provide for boardwalk users to pass under Ōrākei Bridge and on to the station. That was, until the Hobson Community Board gave $100,000 towards the foundations being widened to make room for a path. Simpson called for a rethink on the use of galvanised steel railing chosen without formal consultation. “It is going to rust and doesn’t match other networks around Hobson Bay. It is not a natural product in a volcanic feature in a natural environment.”

Local resident Paul Clarke is a director of Studio2 Architects who walks his dog at the basin, and says that moving aside for the ‘one or two cyclists’ has never been a problem. “But why are they doing a 1.4 metre high handrail in the unlikely event that a cyclist might catapult themselves off the bridge? If the metal handrail is going to cause a [rusting] problem in five or six years, why are they doing it? We should be designing something to last 50 years. the hobson 37

Look Ma, no railings! Cyclists and pedestrians share a canal-side path in Shoreditch, London.

Photo: Roy Champtaloup

the neighbourhood

“It’s like, c’mon, there is a whole lot of money potentially wasted here, let’s stop and get it right without any more cost, and get a fluency in the way we are dealing with infrastructure and the design and let’s try to use some Kiwi-made product. Let’s think about something that is environmentally-friendly and that meshes into the fabric of the community.”

Tim Duguid, chairman of Meadowbank and St Johns Residents Association, says the project team’s engagement with the community had been inadequate. “The residents association have never received any detailed drawings. Boardwalks and bridges are things that locals feel ownership of once they are built and they need to feel that they have had some appropriate input.”

Duguid says people will feel “cooped up” when they enter the boardwalk with a 1.4 metre-high fence either side. “That is ridiculous for that location. A nice thing about the boardwalk is when you come off the road onto it and all of a sudden there is no traffic.”

He preferred the example of the shared path at Westhaven, where the harbour fence is stainless steel with a wooden rail on top and horizontal stainless steel wire with open spaces, which is easy to see through.

“I’m not aware of anyone falling off the path.”

Similarly, the footbridge over the railway line and Judges Bay at the Parnell Baths has low parts for people to enjoy the views. Likewise in Brisbane, shared path users can see the water via horizontal clears. “The basin is not such a high-profile marine environment and there is no need for it to be closed in the full height,” says Duguid.

Duguid says he is concerned that the project team’s choice of fence would be repeated in the building of the remaining two sections of the Tamaki Dr-Glen Innes shared path. Stage 4 of the path follows the eastern edge of Hobson Bay to the Ngapipi Rd intersection with Tamaki Dr, and Stage 2 goes over the railway and through Purewa Valley.

“I would like to see more community engagement on those parts’ fenced sections.

You would want views across Hobson Bay and there will be bridges going across the railway and the valley up to Kohimarama and those bridges are going to be cool lookout points. You don’t want to be caged in and the kids not being able to see over the top and see the kingfishers diving.”

The Glen Innes to Tamaki shared path was first mooted in 2013 by Bike Auckland.

The widened Section 3, the boardwalk, or “Broadwalk”, is two-and-a-half-times the width of a car. However, Bike Auckland unsuccessfully asked NZTA designers to make it half a metre wider than that in order to allow for an anticipated increase in eastern suburbs’ cyclists travelling at 25 km/h, and electric bike riders at 35 km/h. Bike Auckland also asked designers to put pedestrians to the water side and cyclists to the rail side. Cyclists will have to weave their way round sightseers because the lookout space at the half-way mark has been removed in the enlarged boardwalk.

“The design of the boardwalk is in keeping with the surrounding environment while ensuring it is safe for people walking and cycling,” says NZTA Senior Manager Project Delivery, Chris Hunt. “The side barriers will be 1.4m high to keep people riding bikes safe on the path in the event of a fall or collision. This is the standard for safe cycling infrastructure and it has been installed to existing standard, such as Austroads and Local Path Guidelines.

“Steel railings, topped with a wooden handrail, are being constructed as part of the boardwalk within Orakei Basin. These steel railings will be narrower than wooden ones, which will lighten the overall appearance of the boardwalk. The vertical railings are spaced at 100mm,with no cross bars, which is in line with the building code.”

At the time of going to print, the Ōrākei Local Board was waiting for a second meeting with NZTA and AT representatives on the project, following its motion that all work be halted. p the hobson 38

- Pathways built by the Orakei Local Board around inner Hobson Bay have the more aesthetically harmonious timber balustrading. Photos: Stephen Penny

The AT/NZTA installed railing across the Ōrākei Basin shared pedestrian/cycling path is galvanised steel 1.4m high, replacing 1.2m wooden railings

• The shared path at Westhaven and the Viaduct is 1.1m high

• On the Grafton Gully shared

path, fencing ranges in height from 1.3m, to 1.8m alongside the Port exit of the motorway • KiwiRail requires a fence of 1.2 to 1.8m between a pathway and a rail corridor

the hobson + farro

Meals to Make you go mmm . . .

T

ake it slow with this winter-warming dish of lamb shanks, or make it quick and easy with Farro’s foodkits, fresh from the chefs who create our Farro Kitchen range. We also have a range of winter salads too, available in our deli section.

They’re a perfect lunch, dinner side or can be a meal in themselves.

And don’t forget, from July, we’re going plastic-bag free so please remember to bring your reusable bag when you shop instore at Orakei Bay Village, Lunn Ave, Dominion Rd or any of our Auckland locations.

Winter Warmer Recipe: Lamb Shanks with Sweet & Sour Caramelised Onion Serves 4 Prep time 20-25 mins Cooking time 4-4 ½ hrs

Designed by our in-house chefs, a Farro foodkit has all the ingredients for you to make a delicious meal in less than 45 mins, that will generously feed either two or four people.

Foodkits combine the best of Farro's favourite produce, free-range meats and specialty grocery products. From family favourites to gourmet tastes (like Chicken Thighs with Kimchi Smashed Potato and Wilted Rocket, below), they’re priced from $30 for a twoperson serve, to $50 for four. And check out our winter salads too (top) in the deli — more creative creations from our chefs, made with the freshest seasonal ingredients.

Ingredients 1 tbsp olive oil 4 Fresh Meats hind lamb shanks, approx. 2kg 1 tsp caster sugar 375ml red wine 500ml Foundation Foods Beef Stock 3 garlic cloves, peeled, finely chopped For the caramelised onion 40g butter 2 red onions, peeled, thinly sliced 50g soft brown sugar 60ml Romulo Sherry Vinegar For the sauce 20g unsalted butter 1 onion, peeled, finely chopped 1 celery stalk, finely chopped 1 tbsp plain flour 1 tbsp Mutti Concentrated Tomato Paste 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, roughly chopped Method Preheat oven to 140C. In large oven-proof casserole dish, add the oil and heat over a medium heat.

Add the lamb and cook on all sides the hobson 39

until browned all over. Add in sugar, wine, stock and garlic, stir to combine and bring to a boil. Cover the casserole and place in the oven.

Cook for four hours, turning twice.

As the lamb cooks, make the caramelised onion. Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook for 15-20 mins or until browned and soft, stirring often.

Add the sugar and vinegar and stir to combine. Cook for about 15 mins or until the onion is caramelised.

Remove casserole from the oven.

Take the lamb from the casserole, set aside, cover and keep warm.

Pour pan liquids into a jug. Return the casserole dish to the cooktop, and heat over a medium heat, add the butter and melt. Add the onion and celery and sauté, stirring until just tender, about 5-8 mins. Add in the flour and cook, stirring for 2 mins. Add the reserved pan liquids, tomato paste and rosemary, stir to combine and bring to the boil.

Reduce to a simmer, stirring for 10 mins or until the sauce thickens.

Strain the sauce to remove the rosemary and any lumps.

Serve the lamb with the sauce and onion, ideally accompanied by a white bean puree and broccoli.

the artiste

Edward Cowley at his Remuera home in front of Reuben Paterson's Kao. Koa, Koa Ki te Aorangi, 2016, a gift from friends for his 50th birthday that year.

Opposite, Cowley dressed to thrill as Buckwheat. Portraits this page and over by Stephen Penny, other photos courtesy of Edward Cowley

the hobson 40

Sharing the Joy One of NZ’s leading entertainers is right at home in Remuera. For Edward Cowley, it’s his peaceful place, a relaxed world away from the dazzle of his night job. By Kirsty Cameron

E

dward Cowley and Peter Browne’s Remuera home is washed in sun, as those heartland northern slopes houses are. There’s elegant furnishings, art, and personal style touches that stand above current-hot-right-now-décor cliches. In Cowley’s case there’s tapa, and tivaevae cushions that refer to his Pasifika heritage, as well as purpose-built shelving to house his collection of 27 mid-century chalkware Hawaiian maiden busts — “my ex-showgirls.” The bookcases are well furnished with reference and art books, novels, Dora the Explorer jigsaw puzzles and the Dr Suess ouevre, belonging to Cowley and Browne’s pre-schooler daughters.

It’s a modern family home — Browne’s brother lives right next door with his family, and there’s an open door for the cousins when Cowley and Browne’s girls are staying. The littlies, Tuatapu, 3, and 10-month-old Vaimoana live mostly with their two mothers on Auckland’s west coast, but when they’re older, Cowley expects they’ll spend more time with their dads. The entire family has just returned from a holiday to the UK, to visit grandparents.

Cowley is feeling remarkably chipper given he’s been travelling with youngsters out of their usual routines.

A long-time public health professional, Cowley’s day job is with a consultancy which trains staff for program delivery — he’s a Pacific Is communities specialist. A current project is typical: working with the Tokelauan government, which wants the island nation to be smoke-free by 2020.

That’s the day job. Come Friday and Saturday nights — and corporate events, 21sts and 50ths inbetween — he transforms as if under the wand of a fairy godmother, dazzling in sequinned gowns, lashings of feathers, miles of lashes. This is when Edward Cowley becomes the grande dame of the drag stage, Buckwheat.

“I see my role as Buckwheat as sharing joy,” he says, with his ready, wide smile. “And of course ensuring the vision for the evening meets the brief. Buckweat is warm and friendly, and welcoming — it’s so important to create a welcoming environment, to make people feel comfortable.”

He and Browne, a physiotherapist, have lived in Remuera for close to 20 years, nine of them at this address. Apart from the light and views, the townhouse also boasts a full basement, perfect for the mirrors, lighting, shelves and racks

needed to accommodate the current rotation of Buckwheat’s extensive wardrobe. When he’s working as Buckwheat, Cowley leaves home after two hours of rigorous preparation with his Buckwheat face on, his costumes in the car beside him. A handsome Samoan in full drag makeup has not surprisingly caused some side-eye at the lights.

“People are funny things,” he laughs. “If you don't respond, they don’t respond. But the minute you smile, they respond.

Their face will light up, or they’ll give a bit of a look, and a wave or a chuckle. Their interactions are really important for me. But I’ve noticed that actually if I don’t do anything, they don’t do anything.

Then the minute you instigate the joy, all of a sudden, the response is there immediately, which is a great thing.”

Buckwheat and her “House of Buckwheat and Bertha” co-stars both MC and star at Phoenix (formerly named Encore) in K Rd. Where back in the day they traded witty ripostes with a mostly gay crowd, the club audience is now broader, the show being a popular girls’ night out — it’s a safer environment than many other venues, as well as being, as Cowley says “a celebration and a visual spectacle”.

“It’s a whole new audience in terms of the appreciation of drag and who wants to come. They’re coming with groups of other girls, but also, they’re coming with their mums. Which, for me, is amazing to see because often, young girls don’t want to go anywhere with their mums! When I see someone out with their mum, I’m ‘hey, mum, how are you doing?’ to celebrate that, because I know the relationship is strong.”

Buckwheat burst into life after Cowley had completed his BA at the University of NSW, while living with his brother in Sydney. Back in Auckland he had taken a job, and then part-ownership in Staircase, a gay nightclub in Fort St. It was the late 80s, and homosexual law reform had just passed.

The gay community was coming out of the suburbs and into clubs like Staircase. The club, they realised, needed some kind of MC, someone to welcome the punters, and have some fun too before the headline acts. Thirty years on, Buckwheat still performs with friends Bertha (Harold Samu) and Tess Tickle (Anthony Hotere), the trio mentoring a group of more fledgling performers under their feathered wings.

Over the decades, Buckwheat’s star has risen with a changing society. Cowley has travelled widely, performing

the hobson 41

the artiste

in Venice as part of the dance Biennale, arts festivals in Europe, the US and Asia, to pulling out some serious rhinestone power to MC the NZ Embassy ball in Thailand earlier this year.

Third youngest of To’i and the late Su’a’s three sons and five daughters, Cowley grew up in west Auckland. As he grew, so did his hair, outwards, earning him the nickname of Buckwheat, the lushly thatched character in The Little Rascals.

“I’m the most handsome boy and the prettiest girl in the family!” he says with that grin. So the siblings are good with that?

“Well, there is photographic evidence.”

His mother, To’i, took some time to relax about the adult Buckwheat, fearful that her boy Edward may either be on his way to a sex change, or that the character could draw unfriendly attention in the city after dark. “I don’t think my mother at first grasped that Buckwheat was a character of entertainment.”

Cowley has a Samoan chiefly name — he’s Lealailepule Edward Cowley. Lealailepule comes from a Samoan phrase that translates as “the path to leadership is through service” and he does appear indefatigable on his path, whether it’s his social sector works, Buckwheat or managing family commitments — as well as co-parenting the little girls, he has an older daughter, 28-year-old Eliana, who is studying public policy in Wellington (“she hasn’t fallen far from the tree really”).

It all takes discipline and no small amount of physical stamina. Cowley has competed in bodybuilding events, and even a charity boxing match (against Miss Ribena.

He won). He’s also found an arm wrestle to be helpful in

settling belligerent blokes at the odd gig.

“I workout six days a week. That probably gives me the energy that I need. I’m up at 4.30 every morning and at the gym by 5.15. I’ve got a personal trainer, who I’ve had for 24 years, which is hilarious, because we’ve lasted longer than two of his marriages.”

Buckwheat demands next-level fitness.

“Some of that costuming is extremely heavy.

And it’s often really uncomfortable if you’re also in a corset. And you’ve got all of that makeup on, and the heels.

“It’s not something for the faint-hearted,” he says of drag. “People think, ‘I’d like to do that’. And they do it for a little while, and then they sort of realise how difficult it is to maintain and to actually create, and the time and energy that goes into that, even before you step in front of an audience.”

Time off is spent with family and enjoying the quietude of home. Cowley and Browne enjoy the local cafes and like most parents with young children, spend a decent amount of time at the Little Rangitoto playground.

“I love living in this area,” he says. Friends have been a little surprised he’s not based somewhere more pacy, like Ponsonby, but,“I find out when I go there, it’s too busy for me. The restaurants are all full, there are people everywhere.

“I suppose after years and years of entertaining, and being entertaining for people, and being part of events where there are lots and lots of people always around, I kind of like quietness, the solace really.”

That’s not to say the couple isn’t social — they’re close to their families and have a wide circle of friends. And

the hobson 42

Opposite: Little Edward; and in his dressing room, which houses a sliver of Buckwheat's gowns, wigs, hairpieces and acccessories. He has around 650 costumes, which he designs and has made in Thailand. He recently donated several to the Auckland Museum collection, which will include them in a new exhibition, Tamaki Stories, next year. This page, Buckwheat at work; and with partner Peter, when Buckwheat was hosting Air NZ's "pink flights" to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Buckwheat's also a regular MC at the Remuera New World Christmas party. "Edward's an honest, caring, professional," says store owner Adrian Barkla. "He's an all-round good guy."

there may be a very special party when he and Peter celebrate their 20th anniversary together in 2020. They plan to mark the occasion by marrying. They had discounted the idea when samesex marriage passed into law in 2013. “For people our generation, [marrying] was never an option. So it was just something that we never entertained.

“Pre-1986 [homosexual] law reform, we had to compartmentalise a lot of our lives and be resigned to the fact that there things that we were never going to see, like marriage.

“So actually there’s come a time now where it’s sort of gone from no, it could never happen, or no, that’s not for me, to actually, I can see it happening for other people and they’re happy with it, that’s great; to actually no, this can be for me, and this will be for me.”

Society and audiences have evolved, and Buckwheat has ridden the wave from pre-Priscilla gay club act to the person you book to MC your embassy ball. And as Buckwheat, Cowley’s now far less likely to be flagged down driving home, post-gig.

“Years ago, if you saw a police car going in the opposite direction, I’d be going, ‘Five, four, three, two, one . . .’ And the car would do a U-turn, and the lights and siren would go on, which was a really interesting dynamic — it’s only because someone has hair and makeup on! You’d have a chat about what you were doing, where you were going. That was what it was like.

“And then, maybe two years ago, there was a checkpoint on Shore Rd and I’m coming along, on my way to a Christmas function. I wind down the window when I get to the breathalyser.

And the policeman goes, ‘Oh, Buckwheat, hello. How are you?

Off to a gig?’

“The way that people react to drag now or to the character, Buckwheat, has completely changed.”

It is, Cowley surmises, “interesting” how the world has shifted.

It’s certainly a happier place for him, his mother, and for all who get to experience his bedazzling brand of joy. p

the hobson 43

the painter

A Portrait of the Mature Artist Anneke van Rijn returned to her paint brushes at the age of 72. Two decades on, she is still painting and attending weekly art classes near her Remuera home. Born in the Netherlands, Anneke moved to New Zealand in 1953 with her late husband, Lucas. It was not until her seven children had grown up, and after Lucas’s death, that she returned to art.

She tells her grand-daughter, and regular Hobson writer, Chantelle Murray, about her love for painting.

A

s soon as you enter my grandmother’s house, you are greeted with a bright array of canvases stacked against the walls. No doubt you will find her upstairs in her conservatory, a sun-soaked space smelling of turpentine. There she will be, all 145cm of her, listening to classical music and holding her paintbrush. She looks to be in her natural habitat.

Seeing her there so often, I still find it surprising that my Oma, now 93, did not start to paint seriously until 1997. There may be few specific dates that remain memorable for Oma, but the death of my Opa delineates time for her like no other event.

Many of her phrases start with “before Opa died,” or “after Opa died,” even if she is talking about something 50 years earlier.

“I had to fill the space when Opa was not there anymore,” she tells me, “and so consequently I tried to focus on something else to keep my mind occupied. That is basically the reason why I started painting.”

One of Oma’s paintings captures this feeling perfectly. It depicts a grieving woman dressed in red robes, her skin a sickly tinge of green and tears lining her eyes. The pure emotion in this painting, no matter how many times I have looked at it, always makes my heart sink. From my understanding, this is one of the few paintings my Oma has done without a pictorial reference for the face. It was painted just one month after Opa died suddenly in a car accident.

It is not unexpected that the robes and colours of the painting draw from Christian art, as Oma began her late-blooming painting career by taking art history classes at Holy Trinity in Parnell.

“I always had an interest in painting,” Oma says, “although I didn’t realise it myself.” As a young girl in Amsterdam, she and

another girl in her class were allowed to paint on the chalkboard every year to celebrate Christmas and Easter. This was despite the fact that she was a “so-called naughty girl” because she could not sit still. When she was 19, her brothers bought her a paint box for Christmas, which had been owned by a wellknown painter who had died. The wooden box, now dark with age, still sits on her desk in her Remuera conservatory.

My Oma had a tough life, and the difficulties of life as an immigrant and with seven children meant she never had much time to herself. However, since picking up a paint brush again, she has never looked back. She has created hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of artworks since then. Collectively, they make up who my Oma is: lively, vivid, intelligent and sensitive.

Oma’s works are completely spontaneous – she no longer even sketches first – and centre heavily on colour. “The best thing of my paintings are the colours,” she says. “I love yellow to brighten everything up. I love burgundy to warm them. Green!” she exclaims.

She has perfected her style by going to art class every Thursday in the Remuera West Scout Hall on Platina St. “Ja,” she says. “They are very encouraging and everybody is very friendly to me. When I come they straight away ask, ‘Anneke, would you like a cup of coffee, a cup of tea?’” Oma loves her painting classes – they always challenge her to produce something to keep her on her toes.

I ask my Oma if she sees painting as a kind of salvation.

Oma nods immediately, her eyes wide. “Absolutely,” she says seriously. “I would be terrible if I really had nothing to do.”

As she told me before, my Oma always did have trouble sitting still!

Anneke van Rijn at her Remuera home. The work she painted in 1997, shortly after her husband's death. Photos by Chantelle Murray

the hobson 44

the sound

Play it Sam, but Where?

H

ey! Wanna go to a band this weekend?” Imagine that.

When was the last time someone said that?

After all it’s not like you've given up on music. You went to Ed Sheeran at Mt Smart or The National at Villa Maria.

You got all edgy and saw The Killers or Imagine Dragons at Spark Arena. Maybe you supported local music and saw Neil Finn at Silo Park, or Fat Freddy’s at the Town Hall.

But ask yourself, when did you last go and get hot and sweaty at a small, packed venue in town with a band, on a Friday or Saturday night?

When I was young, you’d pick up the Auckland Star on a Thursday and look at the band listings and try to decide what to do. There was that much choice. For any given Friday or Saturday night, there would be ads for five or six venues, 10 or 12 bands.

The Rumba Bar or the Reverb Room? XS Cafe on Fanshawe, or Island of Real on Wakefield? Blues at The Globe, or rock at the Windsor Castle? Dole Day Thursdays at DeBretts or Rock n’ Roll Ponsonby at the Gluepot? Or catching the ferry to the bacchanalia that happened overseas at the Mon Desir or the Esplanade in Devonport.

Such fun. Such choice.

Such bands. Many never made it big but they sure put on a good time. Johnny Havoc and the Hurricanes. The Willie Dayson Blues Band. The Blue Asthmatics.

Penknife Glides.

So go on. Let’s do it again. Pick a venue and let’s rock the night away this Friday. Well, you can’t.

It’s dead and gone. This year we saw the end of the Kings Arms and Golden Dawn, the last two bars I’ve rocked out at in the past decade. The Powerstation and the Studio soldier on. But it’s not the same, as they’re dominated by overseas acts.

Underage venues are very much gone. Back then, it was the unlicensed Island of Real with their infamous Irish coffees; or Russell Crowe’s The Venue in Symonds St. Today there’s nothing for the kids, and that’s a pity.

I have a very strong memory of being cajoled to see a hot teen band out of the Shore at XS Cafe in Fanshawe St. It was an unlicensed venue, with a load of kids who I'd never seen before from the North, who didn't look anything like us pasty Goths from the inner city. And so I first clapped eyes on the Screaming Mee Mees, the band that went on to get a Number One and produce a very fine and ambitious album. Where would that happen today?

Venues are important for honing your skills. Sure, you can sit in your bedroom these days and produce high quality records,

but if you can't go out and perform your songs to the public you’ll only get so far.

My younger son plays occasionally in bands, and a summer ago he started disappearing off to $5 gigs in warehouses and industrial spaces. Some kids had convinced Dad to give up work spaces, in return for the chance of their bands having a crack.

By all reports the events were small but they were fun, so the young entrepreneurs are still out there. So I was impressed by a little series of gigs that has just wrapped up at the Ellen Melville Hall in the CBD. So impressed, I interviewed organiser Savina Fountain. Savina runs the Ignite programme, which aims to encourage young people to see music (mostly behind the scenes roles, such as promotion, management etc) as a viable career path.

She said that one of the key problems facing the industry, and an issue she has raised with the PM, is a lack of decent music venues in the major cities. It’s an issue for young emerging bands and it’s also an issue for young gig goers, particularly those who are under 18, as strict liquor licensing laws prevent them from attending gigs. She says a new generation is missing out on a rite of passage, so in June — NZ Music Month — they held a series of all-ages shows.

The teen participants of Ignite had to organise the bands and raise $3000 to cover venue fees, band fees and security by themselves.

Most used Give A Little and the result was four differing shows, at 10 bucks a pop, with all profits going to charity.

First up was the Frick Yeah Festival featuring djs and bands like Asian Cigarettes, Blu Fish and the Daffodils. Later was Jams on Toast, featuring Rosie Robinson, Riffs ‘n’ that and The Biscuits.

The rock night had bands called Skinny Hobos, Silence The City, Coridian, Dead Beat Boys, Quinn The Human, Violet Highway and Maurice And The Men. It’s a hard ask naming a band. The month wound up with Hideaway, featuring a name that was actually known but struggles to find venues to play to her fans and that’s Jamie McDell.

It was a buzzy little month, and the participants finally did their thing in front of the people they want to do their thing for. If the PM has been listening, then maybe there might be a chance for funding to get a regular venue going.

And here’s a thing too. If the kids would have a geriatric like me in the audience, I’d love to go to a venue that’s not awash in booze to see the stars of tomorrow.

— Andrew Dickens

Back in the day — The Scavengers at Parnell's Windsor Castle hotel. Photo: Stephen Penny

the hobson 45

the magpie

She’s a Modern Bird

1

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The Magpie nests with styles from, and sympatico with, mid-century modernism 1. The handwoven Gala rug in “Marcel” is made from 100 per cent NZ wool. Available in custommade sizes, from Artisan Flooring, 31A Normanby Rd, Mt Eden. artisanflooring.co.nz

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2. Three-tier Ritz Drinks Trolley, $249; 3. Lobby Chair in Ritz Ink, $999; 4. Arroyo vessel, small, $16.95.

All from Freedom Furniture, 77 Broadway, Newmarket. freedomfurniture.co.nz 5. Ercol pebble nesting tables, $1225; 6. Hineri Psychedelic Bowl, $220; 7. Shell lounge chairs by Niko Kralj, $895 each; 8. Gidon Bing Aegean Bird Sculpture on ceramic plinth, POA; 9. Arne Norrell leather sofa for Coja, $2950.

All at Mr Bigglesworthy, 15 Williamson Ave, Ponsonby. mrbigglesworthy.co.nz

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10. Vintage Danish leather sofa, with plump down-filled squabs, $3500; 11. Teak tallboy, made in Denmark circa 1960s, $1800. From The Vintage Shop, 359 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden. thevintageshop.co.nz 12. Peacock credenza with solid walnut and etched brass doors, by Organic Modernism Brooklyn, $3950; 13. Solid American walnut Elbow chair, $595.

Homage, 30 Broadway, Newmarket. homage.co.nz

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14. Apelle-chic side tables by Midj Italy. Available in different sizes and finishes.

Sarsfield Brooke, Level 2 , 155 The Strand, Parnell. sarsfieldbrooke.co.nz 7

15. Chromatic Landscape No 6, acrylic on linen by Adrian Jackman. 305 x 610mm, $1650. nkb Gallery 455 Mt Eden Rd, Mt Eden. nkbgallery.co.nz

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16. VZOR 58 was designed by Roman Modzelewski in 1958 and is available in a range of fabric and leather on a fixed leg or swivel base. From $1450; 17. 1950s George Nelson for Herman Miller Bubble lamps and pendants, from $1040; 18. In 1962 G Plan made what they claimed to be “the most comfortable chair in the world”.

Relaunched a few years back, it’s available in a range of fabric and leather, from $3700; 19. Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller lounge chair and ottoman (1956), $9590.

All at Karakter, 10 Melrose St, Newmarket. karakter.co.nz

the hobson 46

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the hobson 47

the district diary

July/August 2018

JULY 6 Last day of term for most local schools 7 Back by pop-ular demand, Pop Kultcha is a glorious celebration of pop culture. So pop along to the Ellersie War Memorial Hall for new and pre-loved goodies, toys, action figures, comics and more. Tickets $5, kids under 5 free, 138 Main Highway, Ellerslie, 10am-3pm 8 Highwic is hosting a winter vintage high tea today, with sweet and savoury treats served on Royal Albert china with Rodd silverware, and all the other essentials to make it a special occasion. Two sessions, 10.30am and 2.30pm. Tickets $45, phone 524 5729 to book, 40 Gillies Ave, Epsom A popular event in the Matariki Festival (a 2017 festival event pictured above) Manu Aute Kite Day celebrates the tradition of kite flying across Tāmaki Makaurau, with events happening simultaneously in Ōrākei, Puketāpapa (Mt Roskill) and Manurewa. The sky will fill with kites of all shapes and sizes, symbolically connecting heaven and earth. Ōrākei event 10am4pm, Takaparawhau Reserve, Bastion Pt Hear young voices soar when the Auckland Girls’ Choir joins with

Musyca, direct from the US. 3pm, at the Community of St Luke, Remuera.

See details, right.

Building, 545 Parnell Rd. U3A meets every third Wednesday, join up by emailing david@goldkorn.net

9-15 The Pop-Up Fun Park will give maximum school holiday entertainment value with minimum effort required by mum &/or dad! Rides are priced from $2-$4, or buy a $15 discount card (12 rides) or a $25 wrist band for unlimited rides.

ASB Showgrounds, 10am-4pm daily

21 It’s the last night for the twinkling fairy lights of the Matariki Light Trail at Maybury Reserve, and for the grand finale a spectacular fireworks display will signal the end of this week-long Maori new year celebration. Set to Maori and Pasifika music, the display will kick off at 9.15pm (full event starts 6pm). Te Oro, 98 Line Rd, Glen Innes, everyone welcome

14 Remuera’s Bastille Day Festival kicks off at 11am with music, entertainment, food, markets and more! Of particular note – from 10am-3pm. Alliance Francaise will run a treasure hunt, with a gift basket of goodies from Remuera retailers up for grabs The Auckland Mama Market is holding their Winter Market from 9.30am12.30pm, with a range of stalls selling clothing, toys, must-haves, activities and decorative items for babes and toddlers, Ellerslie War Memorial Hall, 138 Main Highway, free entry 18 Historian David Veart speaks about NZ’s culinary history and John Corban talks about the wine-making family at today’s meeting of Parnell U3A. 9.30am, Jubilee

the hobson 48

Also part of the Matariki Festival, the Matariki Starlight Jazz Concert will raise funds to support mental wellness causes. Whirimako Black headlines the concert, which is a blend of Pakeha and Maori artists, singing in Te Reo Maori and English. Holy Trinity Cathedral, 7.30pm10.45pm, iticket.co.nz 21-22 Calling all petrol-heads ... fuel your passion at the CRC Speedshow. Cars, bikes, race cars, classics, hot rods, muscle cars, custom creations, motorsport celebrities plus activities for the kids.

Tickets from eventfinda.co.nz, 9am-6pm (Sunday till 5pm), ASB Showgrounds 23 Back to school for most local public schools

28 Interested in co-ed education for Years 1-13? Visit the ACG Parnell open day. See parnellcollege.acgedu.com for details

AUGUST

MUSYCA CHILDREN’S CHOIR

3 Discover what a St Cuthbert’s education can do for your daughter at the school’s open day. See stcuthberts.school.nz for registration details 3-5 Skating into Spark Arena this weekend, Disney On Ice celebrates 100 years of Disney magic with a parade of your favourite Disney characters, exciting moments from all the Disney classics, and an iceskating spectacular that will leave you dazzled! Spark Arena, 42 Mahuhu Cres, CBD, iticket.co.nz 8 For good quality, used clothing; the Somervell Op Shop supports a range of community needs and projects. Open every Wednesday and Thursday, 9.30am-12.30pm, and Saturdays 9am-12pm 11 Experience the future at the EVworld NZ Electric Vehicle Expo.

Ride/drive experiences, displays and seminars; electric and hybrid cars, bikes and scooters. ASB Showgrounds, 9am-5pm, free entry 13 Quickstep your way to Somervell Church, where MP David Seymour is hosting a morning tea with special guest His Excellency, the Ambassador of the United States, Scott Brown. Cnr Greenlane and Remuera roads, 10.30am-midday. RSVP by 10 August to mpepsom@ parliament.govt.nz or 09 5227464 14 Remuera Library holds an adult book group the second and fourth Tuesday of every month, 11am-12pm. Hear about new titles and share what you’ve been reading over a cup of coffee. There’s also a teen book club the first Thursday of every month, 4-5pm 18 Fundraising for our coastlines and waterways, the Sustainable Coastlines Let’s Get Cleaned Up Charity Ball kicks off with drinks and canapes, a three-course dining experience, live and silent auctions, and the beats of Sola Rosa Sound System and DJ Murry Sweetpants. Pullman Auckland Hotel, Waterloo Quadrant, 6.30-11.55pm, eventfinda.co.nz. R18 event

Sunday 8 July, 3 pm

The Community of St. Luke, Remuera with the

Auckland Girls’ Choir

Straight from California on their debut tour of New Zealand, don’t miss this world-renowned choir in concert. Having appeared on television, film & recordings with Rihanna, Camila Cabello, Rita Moreno & Zedd, MUSYCA shares the stage with New Zealand’s own Auckland Girls’ Choir.

$20 at the door, Under 16 free

PAUL GOLDSMITH

NATIONAL LIST MP BASED IN EPSOM A

107 Great South Road, Greenlane PO Box 26 153 Epsom, Auckland 1344

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09 524 4930

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paul.goldsmith@parliament.govt.nz

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www.paulgoldsmith.co.nz facebook.com/PaulGoldsmithNZ

23 King’s School is all about the needs of boys. Visit today, meet teachers and tour the facilities. Register at kings.school.nz 25 The Parnell Farmers’ Market is on every Saturday in the carpark behind the Jubilee Building, 545 Parnell Rd. Coffee, fresh fruit, veges, meat, flowers, bakery and deli, 8am-12pm. Also today the Craft Harvest Market, with high quality handmade arts and crafts, inside the Jubilee Hall, 8-11.45am 26 The largest display of vintage textiles and garments in Australasia, the Vintage Textile Fair also offers buttons, lace, books, handbags, shoes, accessories, jewellery and furs. Free parking, tickets $10 at the door, Alexandra Park Raceway, Greenlane Rd West, 10am-4pm

Funded by Parliamentary Service and authorised by Paul Goldsmith 107 Great South Rd Auckland

the cryptic by mĀyĀ

ACROSS 1 See 24 Down 5 They destroy old but insufficiently valued members of the community taking tea at home with chestnuts (9) 10 Regret, the Parisian way (3) 11 Initial rotary action lacks sense (13) 12 Employers of rotary action to trim 5 are sometimes said to be the new ones (10) 13 Avoid Dunedin location, going west to grind food (6) 15 Breaking, for example, part of leg? Use a drug (3,4) 17 One Barry lit goes off in a huff (9) 19 Crown Middle Eastern one the Maori way (5) 21 Maya is involved in retrospective account of port in the Middle East (5) 22 Public transport? Parking? Walk! (5) 24 What’s left after Red Queen entertains Principal (9) 25 Type of 33 found in a skinny tube (7)

27 Where a 33 guards what it doesn't want (6) 29 Underwear incorporated test for sea dweller (5,5) 32 Without vessels, wandering cart valuer taking cross around Middle East (13) 33 Do-gooder starts to fasten hatch (3) 34 Porters hold I read about 33s (9) 35 The most supercilious form of dissent (7) DOWN 1 An extremely portable flare? (4,5) 2 Drench you and I in open (7) 3 Lingo of fool getting time off for maiden (5) 4 Forget clothing, I have helical ribs! (5,7) 5 They’re found on tanks and leaves (11,6) 6 Hello, here’s a small coaster vessel (4) 7 Approaches organs from the north (5) 8 Seed I put under magazine’s midsection in sober organisation, causing a fear of buzzers (9) 9 Recoil when G.B. follower eats your head?

Yes (3,4)

14 A kingdom like Ekland, say the French aboard space station (7,5) 16 Terrorists’ panel game from the Middle East (5) 18 Worthless stuff brought to Otago University for a giant armadillo (5) 20 Carpet, then almost sack politician?

Not I! (9) 23 Before taking off judge in a fix . . . (9) 24/1A . . . I overrule Mina’s coarse slang term for 5 (7,7) 26 One game is cut short (7) 28 Kevin rejecting tax department’s antelope (5) 30 Big bird returned how much sugar for a 33? (5) 31 Party thrown for a 33? (4) reducing by 50 per cent? (7)

Set by Māyā. Answers will appear in our next issue (September 2018). Can’t wait, or need help? Visit https://thehobsoncrossword.wordpress.com/

JUNE CRYPTIC CROSSWORD ANSWERS Across: 1 Niagara, 9 Upholster, 10 Pooka, 11 Iota, 12 Archbishop, 14 Islands, 15 Prancer, 17 One-eyed, 19/23 Hauraki gulf, 21/5A/24 The Parnell Waiters' Race, 25 Pitch, 26 Imitators, 27 Sea slug, 28 Greaser Down: 1 Nautili, 2 A white lie, 3 Axle, 4 Antares, 5 Warship, 6 Imprimatur, 7 Epoch, 8 Snapper, 13 Andy Warhol, 16 Crapulous, 17 Octopus, 18 Denying, 19 Halving, 20 Infuser, 22 Extra

the hobson 50

Each office is independently owned and operated. Browns Real Estate Limited (licensed under the REAA 2008) MREINZ. nzsothebysrealty.com/NZE10526

The International The Ultimate in Penthouse Luxury The International is rapidly becoming New Zealand’s most iconic premium lifestyle residence. Behind the original Grand Hotel façade, Dominion Construction is building 90 freehold apartments over 17 levels, including 6 expansive, exceptionally designed penthouse apartments offering floor areas from 263m2 to 328m2 and 3.2m ceilings. With breathtaking views, three bedrooms and bathrooms, Boffi kitchens and wardrobes, Sub-Zero fridges, electric blinds, priority lift and two carparks, these dwellings offer world class luxury in the heart of Auckland’s CBD. Amenities also include a private dining room, cinema, library, basement wine cellar and storage facilities. Call our sales team today.

9 Princes St, Auckland theinternational.co.nz 0800 20 20 90

Jason Gaddes +64 21 994 921 jason.gaddes@sothebysrealty.com Ross Hawkins +64 27 472 0577 ross.hawkins@sothebysrealty.com

FOR SALE

222 VICTORIA AVENUE, REMUERA, AUCKLAND

5

Property Ref. NZE10885

5

3

Private Architectural Masterpiece Situated down a private avenue this substantial masonry residence delivers the ultimate family living environment.

On the ground level multiple living areas both inside and out integrate to the lush surroundings and 19 metre pool.

The upper accommodation level is well appointed with two separate wings; at the Eastern end is the kid’s wing while at the western end the master suite boasts a secondary living area and private balcony.

An architectural showpiece delivering on all levels.

Price by Negotiation.

Ross Hawkins M +64 274 720 577 ross.hawkins@sothebysrealty.com nzsothebysrealty.com

National Top Performing Licensee 2013 - 2018

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