Golf course wetland just first step to limit flooding
A water detention wetland scheme at AF Thomas Park, home of Takapuna Golf Club, approved this week, is just the first of a series of moves needed before residents get a clearer idea of the future for their suburbs in the flood-prone Wairau catchment.
The full use of the public park will be decided in the first half of 2026. It will be several years before detailed design begins on further flood-resilience works in the
Wairau commercial zone and around badly flood-prone residential areas of Milford.
For golfers, the big question remains whether 18 holes can somehow be retained at the park, with council’s Healthy Waters saying only that a design concept worked on by both parties “could allow for a nine-hole course and driving range on the site”.
Milford residents who are gathering views on what they would like to see done with
Unbroken stint has snappy end
Garry Steen will always remember his last day of more than half a century working at Westlake Boys High School, which he attended in the early 1970s and never entirely left.
The electrician has just retired after 52 years working on the North Shore – including contract work at Westlake throughout.
Somewhat bizarrely, on his last day at work last month, on his last job, Steen broke his hand while installing lights – at Westlake.
Just before the accident the school had taken a photo of him up a ladder, which they had framed as a leaving gift. Steen moved on to the last set of lights, but fell about a metre. “I slipped and then felt a crunch.”
He didn’t think much of it at first and dropped into a supermarket to get some groceries before heading home to Forrest Hill.
“By then I was feeling cold and my wife said I didn’t look too good.” A trip to the hospital confirmed the break.
Sixty-eight-year-old Steen said he wasn’t academic so he left school at 15 in 1973. He
To page 2
land from bought-out properties – mainly in the Nile Rd area – are relieved by news that Stage 1 work at the park is progressing.
“The main thing people want is not to worry when the rain comes down,” says Milford Residents Association co-chair Debbie Dunsford. Fellow co-chair Norma Bott says: “Now’s the time for getting on with it.”
With 139 Milford homes assigned CateTo pages 8-9 Winter festival set to light up the night... p5 Digging
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fall... Long-time electrician Garry Steen at home in Forrest Hill with a photo taken just before he fell and broke his hand
Newly released trout a wily foe
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Trout introduced to Quarry Lake at Takapuna proved a difficult catch for Rhys Yuan (pictured) who was visiting from Hobsonville last week after hearing about the release by Auckland Fish and Game. “I had one on the line but it got away,” he told the Observer. Licences are required for fishing at the lake beside Lake Pupuke, though under-12s can be issued one for free.
Sparkie finally leaves school, 52 years on
From page 1
took up an apprenticeship with Len Davison Electrical. The company had the contract to do Westlake Boys’ electrical maintenance.
“I left Westlake one week and was back the next [doing electrical work]... it was handy because I knew where everything was.”
“I can remember my first job (installing a wall light in Northcote) and I’ll remember my last one. Most of the stuff in between is a bit murky.”
While Westlake has undergone massive redevelopment and building work over the years, Steen was a constant, working at the school at least a couple of times a week.
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“I wasn’t involved in any of the big stuff – just maintenance work – switches
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and lights.”
He’s also done thousands of jobs around the Shore. He had a partner in the earlier days but for 35-plus years he’s been a sole proprietor under the name Davison Electrical.
Devonport-born Steen says intensification and traffic congestion are the two main changes he’s noticed during his time working on the Shore.
“I used to say I’d be in Devonport in 10 minutes, but now it takes three-quarters of an hour.”
He’s enjoyed his life on the North Shore, taking part in canoeing on Lake Pupuke and dragon boat racing. But big changes are afoot.
Steen and wife Wendy have sold their home of 40 years and are planning a move to Napier.
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Shore residents asked to dig deep for food drive
The North Shore community is being asked to support a major food drive for struggling local people.
“We know there’s an unmet need,” says Sophie Gray of the Good Works Trust in Forrest Hill.
Often this is hidden from the wider community, she says, but is impacting the elderly and families, along with individuals dealing with challenging circumstances.
Her organisation is one of the assistance providers that will benefit from the Shore Winter Food Drive, which has 16 collection points. (See panel below for details)
“It will help us survive,” Gray says.
She urges people to give non-perishable food and also keep an eye on their neighbours, steering any in difficulties towards organisations that can help with referrals for aid, such as the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), which connects people to food banks and budget advice.
The drive throughout July and August is being run by the Food Security Network and the Auckland Churches Network and Takapuna-based environmental group Pupuke Birdsong Project (PBS) providing administrative management.
The Food Security Network, set up last year, involves multiple groups working together to make a difference on the North Shore. PBS’s Grace Samuelson says the network helps coordinate approaches and give an overview of resources. These range from pātaka kai (community food cupboards) and gardens to community dinners and emergency providers.
Working together helps with tackling need and avoids duplicating resources, says Gray. “We have the potential for a food-secure future.”
The North Shore has around 10 food banks, which Gray believes is too many.
Emergency food banks do not receive Government assistance and some in Auckland have folded as demand for food boxes grows while gaining access to supplies and funding becomes more difficult. Kiwi Harvest food rescue group is a key supporter.
Gray says the politics of food aid are complex. She doesn’t give numbers of those going through Good Works Trust because she doesn’t believe responding to need is as simple as saying “three hundred people are queuing”. She believes a better long-term aim for an organisation is to make itself redundant.
While there is a plenty of real need, there are also “frequent flyers”, she says, people who go from food bank to food bank and clear out community food cupboards. “We are having to be tougher,” she says. She emphasises need is real for most people seeking help, who have often exhausted welfare grants or find their family budgets don’t stretch to cover regular costs. She
points out that the North Shore has just one school that qualifies for the Government school lunch programme, but 20 per cent of Aucklanders have household incomes below $50,000 year, equating to 24,000 households on less than half the median Auckland income.
To better target its aid, the trust works with referred clients only. As well as supplying crisis food boxes, it also runs a social supermarket, where clients can access a wider range of foods on a koha model.
Crisis aid is usually simple tinned goods and familiar food like baked beans and bread, because clients often have access only to a single heating element or microwave.
Wrap-around support and upskilling is vital, says the former food editor who went on to build a profile as the Destitute Gourmet, offering budget recipe advice, before building the reach of the trust.
Where to drop off your donations
Shore Winter Food Drive collection points in the Observer circulation area are:
• St George’s Presbyterian Church, Takapuna
• Sunnynook Community Centre
• Devonport Community House
• Grow Forrest Hill.
• Good Works Trust, Forrest Hill. Items wanted include non-perishable foods, household cleaners and personal care goods. These will go from the collectors to providers for distribution. For the addresses and hours of all collectors and for more details of items sought, see aucklandchurchnetwork.nz/ shore-winter-food-drive
Meeting a need... Sophie Gray of the Good Works Trust
Three contenders declare early for council places
The race to be elected to the two North Shore ward seats on Auckland Council has three high-profile local body figures already in the running – and one yet to make up his mind.
Sitting councillor Richard Hills is standing again, but Chris Darby, a councillor since 2013, told the Observer he was yet to decide if he would seek another term.
Both the chair and the deputy chair of the Kaipatiki Local Board, John Gillon and Danielle Grant, are seeking to join the Governing Body, but with the insurance policy of running for re-election to their local board as well. They are running as independents, as is Hills.
Hills topped the poll in 2022, with Darby second and Grant the highest polling unsuccessful candidate. Gillon did not contest the ward role that year, but like Grant, this time round he declared his interest before candidate registration opened this month.
Electors from both the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board (DTLB) area and that of Kaipatiki choose the North Shore councillors, which is handy for Grant given she now lives in DTLB territory after a move to Milford.
As reported in the last Observer, both the A Fresh Approach and Communities and
Campaigning... Auckland Council candidates John Gillon and Danielle Grant out and about in Milford last week at a flood recovery event. The friendly rivals are chair and deputy chair of Kaipatiki Local Board. With sitting councillor Richard Hills (top, right) they are early declared candidates. The other councillor, Chris Darby (bottom right) is undecided as yet.
Residents North Shore groupings, who hold all the seats on the DTLB, intend to field full tickets of six candidates each.
A Fresh Approach says it will launch its lineup this month. C&R candidates include current board members George Wood and Gavin Busch, along with Mike Single, who was the highest polling unsuccessful board
Skin Cancer: Like Icebergs, Most Danger Lies Beneath the Surface
candidate in 2022, and Kaumosi Opie, Phillip McGivern and Neil Zent. Candidate registration closes on 1 August, with voting by postal ballot from 9 September to 11 October.
• The Observer will run profiles of candidates nearer to voting time, as well as covering an election meeting to be held in Milford.
Play goes to waste
Parts of an item of playground equipment (pictured, left) at Takapuna Beach Reserve appear to be disintegrating, with micro particles flowing into drains and out to sea. A reader alerted the Observer to the potential pollution and included photos which we sent to Auckland Council. A council spokesperson responded, saying: “We will visit the playground and investigate this and consider remediation steps, if required.”
Fazerdaze and lit-up nights on winter festival bill
Musician Fazerdaze will feature in a pop-up guest performance at Takapuna Winter Lights this year, adding a new entertainment attraction to the annual sensory festival.
The indie singer and multi-instrumentalist, whose real name is Amelia Rahayu Murray, will perform at 7pm on Friday 25 July, day two of the four-day festival which runs daily from 5pm to 10pm until Sunday 27 July.
The artist – who won Album of the Year at the Aotearoa Music Awards in May for her latest recording, Soft Power – has also curated a soundtrack of her songs for Winter Lights. This will feature in another new attraction, a “silent” disco to be held on all four evenings.
Participants will don one of 150 sets of earphones to hear the tracks and groove to their heart’s content, but need to book a place in advance.
The silent disco is expected to create an other-worldy effect in a specially lit area of the free outdoor event, created by internationally acclaimed New Zealand designer Angus Muir. Along with Muir’s large light sculptures, playful interactive experiences and roving lit-up entertainers, the festival will again feature musical and dance performances from Takapuna Grammar School students.
Local event producer Dan Move and Muir have worked together for years, staging events in Queenstown, Sydney and elsewhere overseas.
Festival-goers are encouraged to wear bright clothes and lights where they can, in keeping with the event theme, “Dress Up –Be the Art”.
Some stalls on Hurstmere Rd and Waiwharariki Anzac Square will sell light wands, headbands and other sparkling accessories.
The festival is supported by the Takapuna Beach Business Association (TBBA), Auckland Council and the Devonport-Taka-
Tickets required to avoid overcrowding
Takapuna Winter Lights remains a free event, but due to ever-growing crowds, this year it is switching to ticketed entry. Tickets must be booked for a selected session at 5pm, 7pm or 8.30pm on a chosen evening from 24-27 July. Organisers say they want to avoid overcrowding, so festival-goers can enjoy the displays and activities. Tickets can be scanned at an entry booth for a draw to win $1000 to spend in Takapuna. Spaces are limited, so people are encouraged to book early at iticket.co.nz/ events/2025/jul/takapuna-winter-lights
puna Local Board, along with corporate and charity sponsors. The collaboration with Fazerdaze has attracted new corporate support from Spark and Spotify.
Over its four-year life, Winter Lights has proven a major drawcard for the area, attracting more than 50,000 people last year. It is repeating last year’s innovation of several inclusive, all-abilities bookable sessions, known as Shine, developed in partnership with Yes Disability and the charity PHAB.
“With a mission to mesmerise and inspire through multi-disciplinary art and inclusiveness, Winter Lights has become a key event on the Arts and Culture calendar of Tāmaki Makaurau,” said TBBA chief executive Terence Harpur.
It was also a boost to local hospitality businesses and the chance for community members to come together to celebrate creativity, he said. • For details, free festival tickets and separate disco bookings, visit winterlights.nz
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Chance to shine... Singer Fazerdaze will make a guest appearance at Takapuna Winter Lights. Below: a display from 2024
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Milford Motel gets go-ahead for tavern licence
The Milford Motel has been granted a oneyear tavern licence by the Auckland District Liquor Licensing Committee.
BCR Hospitality was originally granted a Class 1 restaurant licence for its hospitality venue at 1a Shakespeare Rd in mid-2023. Its application to switch to a tavern licence went before the committee at a hearing in Takapuna in May, where 11 individual objectors and the Milford Residents Association (MRA) spoke about noise concerns and anti-social behaviour fears.
Issuing a reserved decision this month, licensing committee chair Marguerite Delbet said the limited term would allow both BCR and concerned neighbours to assess the renewal and variation granted for the licence.
“Should the applicant not uphold the commitments made at the hearing, objectors
will be able to bring evidence back before the committee.”
The decision found BCR director Billy Vasdev was a suitable, experienced person to hold a licence. To try to allay community concerns, he had volunteered to cap hours below what a tavern licence permitted, avoid karaoke and bands and monitor noise.
It noted that residents’ concerns were strong and legitimate. However, no noise complaints had been received about the venue since March 2024. The police had not objected to a change of licence type and the district licensing inspector withdrew an objection.
Conditions include that the interior of the venue may only be open Monday to Sunday 8:00am to 12.30am the following day and the exterior from 8:00am to 11pm.
Vasdev had indicated that closing times
would be earlier on most days.
He and counsel told the hearing the nature of the operation would continue to be primarily a restaurant with bar, not a party-type, open-late tavern. The change in licence was largely for administrative clarity, he said, although it would allow for a more restricted menu later in the evening.
The decision noted this and said: “It allows him to operate under the new licence conditions, demonstrate that there is no adverse community impact and investigate the improvements suggested in this decision. It also gives objectors some comfort there will be an opportunity to revisit the matter if the nature of the premises’ operation changes.”
MRA has welcomed the noise mitigation measures and urged residents to report any problems to venue management or council noise control.
who was third-placed in open competition, along with standout young
North Shore Brass youngsters shine at national championship
North Shore Brass, Auckland’s reigning top band, showed its pedigree by placing third at the NZ Brass Band Championships.
Individual musicians from the Takapuna-based talent factory also shone, with Aishah Leitner winning the Open Trombone national title and four other band members claiming junior titles, for those aged 18 and under. Leitner is also a member of the New Zealand Army Band, and these days is based in Christchurch, where the nationals wound up last weekend with a street march.
North Shore Brass president Owen Melhuish said although the long-sought national title would have to wait for another year, the A-grade band’s musicians under the baton of Harmen Vanhoorne had underlined their consistency by not only placing third overall, but also for set piece and own-choice play. Wellington Brass Band were national champions, with hometown Woolston Brass a pop-
Dimitrious Koulianos (left) and Josh Curham won their junior categories
ular second at the Christchurch Town Hall. Leading the North Shore junior lineup was Westlake Boys High School student Matt Donaldson. At 17, he not only won the Junior Trombone title and was third in the Junior Champion of Champions contest, but he was also second for Open Bass Trombone.
Dimitrious Koulianos (17) won Junior Cornet and also attends Westlake; Josh
Curham (16) won Junior Euphonium and attends Rangitoto College.
Ten-year-old Sunnynook Primary School student Celine Wu, who has impressed with her Anzac Day renditions of The Last Post for several years, was also a winner. Her cornet play earned her the under-15 title and competing against older musicians she was also third in the Junior Cornet section and third for her Junior Slow Melody.
The Academy band competed in the C grade, helping to seed further talent.
North Shore Brass has around 110 musicians and two other community bands, making it the biggest musical organisation on the North Shore, involving people aged eight to 80. Its bands play at local events, including the annual Castor Bay Neighbours Day, Anzac Day and Christmas, as well as holding concerts. Holding onto its Auckland champs title will be the A-grade band’s next aim.
Bold as brass... North Shore Brass winners (from left) include the country’s top trombonist Aishah Leitner, its best junior Matt Donaldson,
cornetist Celine Wu
Future of golf course still to be decided
From page 1
gory 3 status qualifying them for possible buyout – and possibly dozens more to be added to that number – Stage 2 work there is yet to be fleshed out. After flood protection work including stream daylighting is done, new parks and playgrounds are options on the public radar.
“A lovely walkway that realises the potential of the Wairau creek,” is a vision Dunsford mentions, but she says until locals get a clearer idea of all the properties that are going, it is too early to know if such a link could be made. Both women hope Stage 1 is resolved promptly, allowing follow-on projects to progress.
Chairs of the Devonport-Takapuna and Kaipātiki local boards say flood safety in the Wairau catchment is the priority. The boards are expected to get a fuller joint briefing on plans for AF Thomas Park late this month.
Healthy Waters told the Observer it was yet to begin geotechnical and groundwater assessments of the park land. That work could start as early as next week and is expected to take at least three to four months.
“We’ve produced a design concept that allows for sport and recreation, including potentially golf,” said Tom Mansell, council’s head of sustainable partnerships for Healthy Waters and Flood Resilience.
“This is still to be determined and will be decided by the Kaipātiki Local Board in consultation with the community, and the only provision is that it cannot jeopardise the detention of stormwater.”
Golf course representatives say they are confident more collaborative work with council and the board can result in the popular course remaining at 18 holes, while still meeting council detention targets. These are designed to hold up 30 per cent of water from flooding lower down in the catchment.
Golf project consultant Phil Jaggard, a director of specialist infrastructure and development business MPS, said he believed this could be done without delaying the project. Design work could progress while the geotech tests were going on, he said.
“This is not about golf. This is about finding a credible, collaborative and compassionate solution to the challenges of climate change,” he said.
“If the same stormwater storage volume can be achieved and the recreational golf course retained – why wouldn’t we?”
The course and driving range attract a total of 200,000 people a year. Retaining the golf business also ensured council continued to get revenue and was spared redevelopment costs and maintenance on its area of park.
Kaipātiki board is the local landholder, so with council staff advice it gets the job of deciding whether to renew the golf course’s expired lease. It will also workshop ideas for
Waters converge... This artist’s impression of council’s plans for stormwater detention in AF Thomas Park shows wetland areas in the south-eastern portion bordered by the Northern Motorway, with key facilities including North Shore Hospital across the road and Eventfinda Stadium at the bottom of the park. Golf is contained to the Northcote Rd end of the park, with open space dryland detention to the south-west. Below: The latest golf course proposal claims the same stormwater storage capacity with a similar layout, while adding extra holes into floodable open space area. It also features public paths around the site.
recreational use of the roughly two-thirds of the park which would not be a core part of the main wetland detention zone.
Kaipātiki chair John Gillon said the board had heard from golfers, but was expecting other sport and recreational interest. At its August business meeting it would decide options, which would go out for public consultation, with a report coming back early next year.
Healthy Waters is aiming for a business case to go to council in April, to then lock in the Government’s 62 per cent contribution to Auckland Council’s $760 million Making Space for Water Programme.
Citywide property buyouts eat into the bulk of the money. Stage 1 at the park and concept design only for Stage 2 is estimated to take $57 million. Other work is unfunded.
Physical work at the golf course isn’t expected to start until 2027 and will take two years. Milford work will follow, although concept design will begin late this year.
Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Mel Powell said the community wanted action and certainty.
“Safety has to come first.”
Gillon said he was mindful AF Thomas Park had been gifted to the community by former Takapuna Mayor Fred Thomas for recreational purposes.
“Golf is really important to the community, but we have other thing to be considered.” Basketball, for instance, headquartered at the neighbouring Eventfinda Stadium, was badly hit in the January 2023 floods, and needed more courts.
Expressions of interest might come from other groups, including a rival golf company, and the process needed to be transparent. Gillon understood wetland work costs would cover installing boardwalks, but said funds had not been allocated for other new public recreational facilities. “We’d almost be wholly reliant on [getting] money from the Long Term Plan.” he said of future funding.
Flood Recovery
What do you think?... Paul Regtien encourages a fellow Milford local to share views on future use of flood-prone land, once extremely at-risk homes are removed. He is one of a number of community volunteers helping at a series of awareness-raising events that will help shape the suburb’s flood recovery. This one was held outside the New World supermarket, whose owners chipped in for a sausage sizzle, which proved popular with young and old, many of whom stayed to talk and check out the flood storyboard or enter a kids’ map trail.
Residents urged to have their say as house toll mounts
This weekend two more community events will give Milford locals a chance to contribute to the future shape of the suburb.
Designed to be a fun and friendly way to get plenty of public input to guide council flood-recovery plans, the informal get togethers are being fronted by local residents.
The Milford Residents Association and other community volunteers, want a wide range of views to ensure outcomes that will enhance the area worst hit in the Auckland Anniversary floods of January 2023. It’s still a great place to live, they say, but helping repair the trauma by enhancing its worst hit areas once homes are removed will be a step forward. Find out more on.–
• Saturday 12 July from 10am to noon inside Milford Shopping Centre by the storyboard near Woolworths.
• Sunday, 13 July, 10-11am, at the Milford Reserve, Craig Rd, between the Cruising Club and the playground.
• Sunday 27 July, 2-4pm at the Milford Senior Citizens Hall for a workshop-style session and afternoon tea.
The Milford area currently has 139 properties assigned as being at Category 3 risk, qualifying for a buyout, with 87 already settled. Neighbouring Forrest Hill has nine Category 3 properties and as does Sunnynook, with three and five settlements respectively to date.
Score!... This young lad had no luck with school holiday fishing at Lake Pupuke, but snagged a snarler at the Milford flood display.
Still no real action on flood risk in hard-hit valley
On 27 January 2023, catastrophic flooding struck Sunnynook, Forrest Hill, and areas downstream along Wairau Rd, through Wairau Creek to the Milford Marina and Milford Beach. Hundreds of homes were inundated, and more than 140 have since been condemned under an agreement between Auckland Council and the government. This was, and remains, a human disaster of immense proportions.
Two and a half years have now passed. Yet it feels as though we’re trapped in a bureaucratic time warp, still waiting for meaningful action to increase the capacity of the concrete flood channels in the Wairau Valley – something essential given the increasing frequency of extreme rainfall events.
In just the past few months, there have been at least two more flooding incidents at the intersection of Wairau and Porana Rds near Pak’nSave. These recurring events show just how vulnerable the Wairau catchment remains.
Residents across the area urgently need reassurance that Auckland Council is taking decisive action. The constant fear of another atmospheric river hovering over our community feels like the sword of Damocles — an ever-present threat hanging by a thread.
Two and a half years is far too long to wait for permanent upgrades to our antiquated stormwater infrastructure. From the upper catchment through to Milford Beach, the system is no longer fit for purpose.
A few years ago, a group of concerned citizens — including myself — formed the Wairau Estuary and Environmental Protection Society (WEEPS) to push for improvements. Sadly, we found Auckland Council too difficult to work with, and our efforts stalled.
Now more than ever, local councillors and board members must stand together and press Mayor Wayne Brown to prioritise funding for critical upgrades. Our community deserves a stormwater system that is safe, modern and capable of handling the climate realities we now face.
Max Whitehead, Forrest Hill
Letters to the Editor
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Email to news@rangitoto-observer.co.nz or post to Rangitoto Observer, PO Box 32 275, Devonport
Kids’ theatre stalwart
Tim Bray dies
Tim Bray, a leading light of theatre on the North Shore and beyond, died last Saturday after battling a rare form of cancer. He was 61.
For more than 33 years, Tim Bray Theatre Company produced professional theatre for children, with founder Bray writing, staging and directing original works, often inspired by well-known children’s books. Bray was also an early advocate for accessible theatre. His diagnosis was publicly shared in late 2024 when the company announced its closure. Its last show was Christmas institution, The Santa Claus Show, staged at the PumpHouse theatre in Takapuna.
The company was a regular at the PumpHouse for 21 years, booking it for up to 16 weeks every 12 months. Cast often rehearsed in local halls, although the company was city based and toured widely. A special North Shore link was with the Becroft Foundation, providing seats for children to see theatre.
Peter Winder, the company’s chair said: “We extend our heartfelt condolences to Tim’s family, friends, and all who were touched by his remarkable work.” Bray received a Queen’s Service Medal in 2017.
Big new Pak’nSave four years away
The large Pak’nSave planned for Takapuna will open in 2029, says owner Foodstuffs North Island.
When completed, the 6461sqm supermarket is expected to create more than 200 jobs. It recently gained resource consent from Auckland Council.
The supermarket will be built on a 9826sqm corner site on Fred Thomas Dr and Des Swann Dr, opposite Lake House Arts.
Large vacant sites were rare in the area, said Foodstuffs North Island’s general manager of retail and property, Lindsay Rowles.
The new store would be well located to serve the growing Takapuna community and the wider North Shore.
News of the new supermarket was first revealed in the Rangitoto Observer in February. Foodstuffs said it would not be Pak’nSave’s largest, as has been incorrectly reported elsewhere.
The development will have 197 car parks, with the shopping floor above, due to its location on a flood plain. The site is said to have a one per cent chance of being flooded in any given year and has two overland flow paths.
“This is a thoughtfully designed development that responds to the site’s constraints,” Rowles said. An escalator would carry customers from the car park to the supermarket above. Engineering solutions will help manage stormwater and flood risk, he said.
Takapuna tower on infrastructure ‘long list’
The build-to-rent development planned for the old Gasometer corner site next to Toka Puia public carpark in Takapuna is on a national infrastructure pipeline “long list”.
The project was not among the 17 mostly public projects chosen for prioritisation last month in the Infrastructure Commission’s draft 30-year plan.
Those projects included facilities renewal at the Devonport Naval Base, along with Defence housing upgrades around the country.
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Remaining on the long list, with McConnell Development’s build-to-rent high-rise accommodation tower, are additional Waitematā Harbour transport connections now under investigation by NZTA.
Unfunded extension stations on the Northern Busway; Watercare projects (including works in the Wairau Valley); and Auckland Transport’s ferry fleet decarbonisation programme and landside infrastructure for electric ferries, are also long listed.
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Sport
Squash champ does it again as locals watch and learn
Kiwi squash number one Paul Coll packed the gallery right from his first match at the national championships, which got under way at the North Shore club in Takapuna last Friday.
The world number three played two matches on day one, two on the Saturday and one on Sunday to claim his eighth New Zealand men’s title.
Coll couldn’t believe the humid conditions in Auckland in the middle of winter.
He’d been in his hometown of Greymouth the day before and said up here he “could hardly get the ball to the back wall”.
His first-round opponent, Finn Goodson from the Herne Bay club, said he enjoyed playing Coll, a former world number one.
But Goodson added: “It’s hard out there man – he hits the ball so early.”
All in a day’s work... New Zealand’s top squash player took time out from playing in the national champs at the North Shore Squash Club in Takapuna to meet his young fans, including 11-year-old Quyntus Apu. Below: Among those intently watching was Masters squash champion and local club member Gary Duberly (in grey).
Briefs
B’ballers China bound
Harbour basketball graduates set to play for the Tall Ferns in the Asia Cup in China this month include Bailey Flavell, who finished at Takapuna Grammar School last year and will next month take up a US college scholarship at the University of Hawaii. Joining her are two returning US college graduates who both attended local schools until 2019. Like Flavell, Emme Shearer (WGHS) and Tayla Dalton (Carmel College) have been playing most recently in the Australian women’s league.
Westlakers at Blues camp
Six Westlake Boys High School 1st XV rugby players were in a Blues under-18 camp during the school holidays. They were Kaiva Tulimanu, Harry Cornelius, Solomone Tuitupou, Travis Findlay, Niko Jelas and Matt Fleming. School head coach Rob Mildenhall is also part of the Blues coaching lineup. The U20 squad features more current Harbour and former Westlakers and former Rosmini College player Riley Tofilau. Meanwhile, Rosmini leads Westlake going into the later stages of the Harbour schools competition.
Breakers to Lakers
Sam Mennenga, who attended WBHS until 2019, is bound for the Los Angeles Lakers, to play for the glamour franchise in the US Summer League. The 2.06cmtall New Zealand Breakers centre impressed after a stint in the Costa Rica league and hopes to break through to the NBA. After three years of college basketball in the US, he left to play professionally in the Australian NBL, first with the Cairns Taipans and for the past two seasons with the Breakers.
Yachting has new boss
Yachting New Zealand has appointed Steve Armitage as its new chief executive, starting in September to replace Hauraki resident David Abercrombie, who spent 14 years in the role. Armitage has been chief executive of Hospitality New Zealand for two years, before which he led Auckland Council’s events and development arm, Tataki Auckland Unlimited.
Gaming grants made
Among grants from the New Zealand Community Trust, Castor Bay Tennis Club has received $7000 for court resurfacing and Westlake Girls High School $5000 for basketball team accommodation at nationals. North Harbour Rugby Union received $145,000 for community rugby operations and salaries.
Takapuna premiers’ shock loss sets up surprise semifinal match
The Takapuna premiers rugby side faces a surprise semifinals trip out to Massey this weekend after a shock 44-22 loss to East Coast Bays last Saturday.
Bays dominated the home side at Onewa Domain to create a fascinating twist to the North Harbour 2025 premiership title race.
Takapuna and Shore, as the two top qualifiers, were destined to meet in the final. And while Shore thumped Mahurangi 50-3 in one quarter-final, Takapuna lost to Bays – a team it had beaten twice this season.
Bays came to play last weekend and were up 30-0 after 30 minutes. Takapuna never recovered and had the added blow of hooker David Meki, one of its most consistent players this season, leaving the field in the second half with a broken forearm.
“We were out-enthused ... Bays played good direct, structured rugby,” said Takapuna coach Nick Elrick. A potential comeback was thwarted by “the bounce of the ball, which didn’t go our way at all”.
However, as the highest ranked loser from the quarter-finals, Takapuna still qualified for the semifinals.
A high point of its season was a 22-20 away win over North Shore, on a day which saw the return of its Moana Pasifika players Lotu and Fine Inisi and Sam Moli.
Fine Inisi has now left the country for a contract in Wales and Lotu is involved in negotiations with overseas clubs, with Elrick
Back in play... Sam Moli is returning, taking David Meki’s place at hooker
saying he is a doubtful starter this weekend. However Moli, who was missing from the team last weekend, is back. He will take Meki’s place at hooker.
Takapuna is still hopeful of making the final – another most likely another showdown with Shore.
Tennis centre on post-flood high
open for the 2025-26 season.
The new elevated Tennis Northern clubhouse at the Forrest Hill tennis courts, to replace old clubrooms destroyed in the 2023 Anniversary Weekend floods, is almost completed and should be
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Stuffed: Once-proud North Shore paper coldly binned
As a community news journalist for the greater part of my life, I’m pretty sad about the closure of the North Shore Times. Not for the skeleton of the paper it is now, but for the great paper it once was.
When I worked for New Zealand News in 1987, the Times was published three times a week – with up to 64 pages an issue. Turning it into a daily paper was under serious consideration by its then bosses.
The paper’s journalists lived locally and had real community engagement – no better exemplified than by its long-time editor Pat Gundry, a Devonport local.
Gundry was with the Times for 25 years from 1959 to 1985, building it into the most successful community newspaper in the country.
Such was its connection to the community, it even had a signwritten caravan it lent out to community groups for events and
fundraisers.
The paper’s decline had been gradual, with some of its community connection weakened as the Shore grew, but accelerated over the last two decades, with owners Fairfax and latterly Stuff emphasising digital.
I remember sitting in a Devonport-Takapuna Local Board meeting a decade ago alongside a Times reporter busily working away on her laptop. Numerous contentious issues were going on at the meeting but the reporter was filing an update a cat injured by a car. The story was getting a lot of clicks so the reporter was filing multiple updates over the course of a day.
In recent years, the Times has had no North Shore office and then no dedicated Shore reporters at all. A couple of years ago I kept a log and counted three months of issues which didn’t have a picture of a local person.
When I’ve asked North Shore residents
what they thought of the Times, they would universally say “there’s nothing in it”.
The Stuff announcement last week about closing a number of its community titles across New Zealand, lumped the North Shore Times in under the banner of “Auckland Community Newspapers”.
The Times began in Devonport in 1949, merging with a Takapuna-Milford paper in 1966 to become the North Shore Times Advertiser
To consign a once-excellent paper with a 70-year record to the dustbin of history without even mentioning its name is an insult to those who worked there and its journalistic record.
It also doesn’t augur well for any community connection by Stuff to the North Shore, no matter how loudly it trumpets its good intentions online.
Rob Drent, Managing Editor
Serving local residents is part of building healthy communities
When I moved to Hauraki 25 years ago, I read the North Shore Times to gain a sense of my new suburb and the wider area. That came in handy for settling in and also helped me better appreciate the role of local news and views from a reader point of view. Working at the time at the New Zealand Herald, I was surprised, by how little North Shore news it ran.
The Shore may be considered a sleepy backwater cityside, but we residents know it is not immune to urban issues of crime and accelerated development, and for its decision-makers to be accountable.
But there is also much to celebrate, from a rich heritage to growing diversity and our business, sport, recreational and creative opportunities and talents.
We need
New Zealand’s media continues to undergo massive change with job losses in all sectors.
The common reasons for the media cutbacks and closures are declining advertising revenues and rising costs. Newspapers across the country have faced print bill increases of 56 per cent over the last five years.* (Our print bill has gone up $6000 per month during this time.)
At the same time, New Zealand companies are spending millions of dollars on Google and Facebook advertising. This money goes offshore, with massive impacts on New Zealand journalism and jobs. Journalist numbers in New Zealand have dropped from 4000 to 1700 in the past 20 years.*
At Devonport Publishing, we employ nine people (full-time and part-time) across our two newspapers — The Devonport Flagstaff and the Rangitoto Observer. All live locally.
In short, the stuff of thriving communities. As Observer editor for nearly five years, I’m convinced there’s an ongoing need for our local stories to be told. None bigger than Milford being the suburb hardest hit in the 2023 floods, which it took us to spotlight. It’s a tough media landscape, but we aim to stay with you, telling Shore stories. Janetta Mackay, Observer Editor
Most media are now relying on donations or subscriptions in some form to survive.
I hope you are prepared to pay something towards the production of our newspapers. Click ‘Become a supporter’ at the top of our website home page: devonportflagstaff.co.nz Every little bit helps. Please sign up for our email alerts for when the paper goes online and to get our weekly newsletter.
Finally, a massive thanks to our advertisers who continue to support us, and to those readers who have already made donations.
Rob Drent Managing Editor
The Rangitoto Observer
Go-kart race and high tea to mark school’s centenary
Earlier days... A go-kart grand prix at Campbells Bay Primary School in the 1960s and (below) the original one-room school. This classroom dates to 1925 and was later incorporated into the structure of an office block and new entrant rooms. PICTURES: SUPPLIED (TOP) AND AUCKLAND LIBRARIES COLLECTION
Campbells Bay Primary School is looking to recreate a go-kart event of the 1960s as part of its centenary celebrations next month. It is also hoping to attract plenty of former pupils and teachers to socialise and check out an assembly of today. Among former pupils are yachtie Dean Barker and AJ Hackett, of bungy-jumping fame.
The school on Aberdeen Rd has grown from what was “pretty much a rural school” when it was founded with 16 pupils in 1925, to one of New Zealand’s larger primaries with a roll of around 800, says PTA member Milly Mackintosh, who is helping organise the centenary.
This will feature a school tour and high tea for former pupils and staff on Thursday 28 August, with an open day to the wider community on the Friday.
Students of today will perform at a special assembly and Year 3s will be involved in a recreation of a “trolley grand prix”, in which 1960s pupils built go-karts and raced them around the playground. Seeing photographs of the event had been a prompt to come up with a modern-day equivalent, said Mackintosh. “Our teachers have picked up on that and hope to recreate a race.”
In the evening, a ticketed cocktail party with a band will double as a fundraiser to wind up the celebrations in style.
Proceeds will go towards building a new school playground, as will money raised at a school fair planned for warmer weather later in the year.
Mackintosh said the school already had interest from former pupils living in Australia keen on returning for the centenary. Around 50 people had signed up for the high tea and it was hoped to get 300 or more people to the cocktail evening.
• Details of events and how to register to attend can be found at campbellsbay.school.nz
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The Devonport-Takapuna Local Board’s plan to transform the Takapuna Library into a community hub, adding a partial third floor, has come to a grinding halt. It was patently obvious at the onset of discussions and the planning stage that the plans were impractical. Yet the “Room with a View” of the ocean concept was dangled in front of the public. It was touted as a low-cost project in 2023. Eke Panuku led the charge, undertaking a six- month feasibility study to evaluate two options.
Their report was due to be released in May 2025. This report needs to be made public as it will help residents piece together how we got to this point. It is a debacle.
Auckland Council has confirmed that “As of 15th March 2025, $117,102.00 has been spent on architects and consultants for the Takapuna Hub project”.
What the public needs to know when this proposal resurfaces is that Auckland Council will seek community feedback on the funding options, including a targeted rate.
The public needs to ask who would the targeted rate be imposed on and how much would it be?
Trish Deans
President, Grey Power North Shore
Favourite book characters coming to Bruce Mason
Some famous fictional dogs – and cats – take centre stage in two special interactive Hairy Maclary’s Greatest Hits children’s concerts at the Bruce Mason Centre late this month.
The shows feature singer and storyteller Jackie Clarke and music from the Auckland Philharmonia, bringing alive the beloved four-legged characters from New Zealand author Lynley Dodd’s long-time favourite story books.
The National Youth Theatre Children’s Chorus will join in as Hairy Maclary and his doggy friends from Donaldson’s Dairy entertain. Cats Slinky Malinki and Scarface Claw and duck Zachary Quack also feature.
The family show is a musical take on Dodd’s stories, devised by Jan Bolton. The Philharmonia will be conducted by Reuben Brown.
Clarke promises plenty of laughs.
“It’s an absolute blast to sing these iconic stories featuring Hairy Maclary and all his rapscallion canine pals. I’m especially pleased that Scarface Claw and Slinky Malinki get a cameo too, because after all, what is a dog without a cat?”
Adding live music to favourite stories was a great addition, bound to entertain tamariki, she said. The show is suitable for children aged from two to 10.
Orchestra brings classical works and more
Auckland Philharmonia is bringing its Community Classics: Beyond the Stars concert to the North Shore next week.
The orchestra will play at the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna on Saturday 19 July at 3pm as part of an Auckland-wide outreach programme.
Familiar pieces feature, including Debussy’s Clair de lune, Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte Overture and Richard Strauss’s stirring Also sprach Zarathustra, which served as the movie soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Contemporary New Zealand compositions and arrangements from Salina Fisher and Lucy Mulgan are on the programme as well, with Mulgan’s offering including a medley of pop songs from Bic Runga, Dragon and Fat Freddy’s Drop, with vocals from Jessie Cassin and Rutene Spooner.
Community Classics is supported by Auckland Council to help bring orchestral experiences to a wider audience. It is presented by performer Nick Hall.
• Tickets are $10 for adults and free for those 17 and under. Book through aucklandphil.nz/CCN25
and
• Hairy Maclary’s Greatest Hits, the Bruce Mason Centre, 11am and 2pm on 26 July.
Tickets at aucklandphil.nz
SHOWING NOW
Smurfs (G) 90min
Superman (M) 129min
The Great Lillian Hall (M) 110min
Jurassic World Rebirth (M) 133min
F1 The Movie (M) 155min
Karate Kid: Legends (PG) 94min
M3GAN 2.0 (M) 120min
28 Years Later (R16) 115min
Elio (PG) 98min
Kōkā (M) 100min
How to Train Your Dragon (PG) 126min
Materialists (M) 117min
SPECIAL EVENTS & NEW RELEASES
FIZZ - Live Improvised Comedy 11 Jul The House Within (E) 71min 17 Jul
Animal capers... Lynley Dodd creations Hairy Maclary
friends. Right: Singer and ringmaster Jackie Clarke.
PICTURE: DAVID MEREDITH
Threaded together... Helping preserve their Romanian culture at a display of traditional blouses in Milford are (from left) New Zealand-born Heidi Costache with mother Adina and North Shore resident Mihaela Enache
Hand-crafted Romanian blouses help bring community
North Shore Romanian New Zealander Mihaela Enache is helping keep her home country’s cultural traditions alive through the medium of embroidery. She is one of around a dozen women, ranging in age from 16 to 97, who meet regularly to preserve the skills and stories behind a distinctive peasant-style blouse that has been copied by designers and fast-fashion chains – and adopted by royalty.
Enache and Adina Costache, co-founders of the Antipodean Ia in Auckland group, outlined the history of the ia blouse they love at a recent display of group members’
work and vintage pieces held at the MSC hall in Milford.
An audience of around 40 people learned the blouse has been worn for centuries, with symbolic patterns and colours varying by region. Made from linen or hemp, it features a distinctive stitched shoulder piece in silk thread and a gathered neck.
The Auckland women are far from alone in their efforts to preserve the craft, with Enache explaining that expatriates around the world celebrate an annual ia day in late June. They also pay tribute to Queen Marie of Romania, a granddaughter of
Queen Victoria, who was a champion of the national costume, encouraging it to be worn as court dress during her husband’s reign, ending in 1927.
Under communism, the blouse fell somewhat from favour, but it has been part of a cultural renaissance. Intricate versions can sell for up to 2000 euros (NZ$3870), with examples also held in museums. Visitors to Romania might find vintage blouses, but should beware of mass-produced imported copies.
“The easiest way to get a traditional ia is to make it yourself,” says Enache. But this
Corina Ulmeanu’s elaborate ia blouse includes sequins on its side panel
together
takes many, many hours of work, she says.
The group’s fortnightly sewing sessions double as catch-ups and a chance to speak Romanian, but all people are welcome.
Costache’s daughter Heidi attends and is bringing her own Kiwi interpretation to ia, inspired by vivid pōhutukawa flowers.
Enache, an AUT lecturer in early childhood teaching who has lived in New Zealand for nearly 25 years, says the North Shore has a substantial cluster of Romanian residents. Sharing their culture retains links and builds bridges. “The main goal is to pass it on to our children.”
Whodunnit season expands
An extra week has been added to this year’s run of Shoreside Theatre’s popular annual mid-winter season of Agatha Christie.
The mystery thriller And Then There Were None is on at the PumpHouse in Takapuna from Friday 18 July until 3 August.
“Let’s give people what they want,” is how the PumpHouse business manager, James Bell, puts the theatre company’s decision to stage a three-week season this year.
Christie is a proven crowd-pleaser and this production is another of the English writer’s classic whodunnits, this time set on an island. Strap in for a suspenseful evening or matinee session as the cast of 10 dwindles and the intrigue intensifies.
• Tickets $32 for adults, with bookings at the PumpHouse online or box office.
www.takapunamovies.co.nz Facebook and Instagram @takapunabeachsidecinema 09 666 0714
11am & 2pm
Saturday 26 July
Bruce Mason Centre
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