Takapuna Sunday Market is under pressure to abide by council time restrictions and improve its rubbish and recycling operation. And those running other events near the expensively upgraded Waiwharariki Anzac Square are being warned to keep vehicles off its paved areas.
Devonport-Takapuna Local Board has called for a crackdown on users of the area, enforcing compliance with permitted packdown times and recycling rules.
“Stop being nice,” board member Gavin Busch told a representative of Auckland Council property arm, Eke Panuku.
The market operator, Matt Jones, should enforce lease conditions with his stallholders, Busch said, and if necessary penalise them financially to incentivise better compliance.
Deputy chair Terence Harpur said he was concerned a waste disposal regime sought To page 6
New whare welcomed by school and visitors
Meeting and greeting... Westlake Girls High School head prefect Julia Wilkins shares a hongi with Northcote Intermediate principal Phil Muir, one of the guests from neighbouring North Shore schools and the community at the opening of the high school’s long-awaited new whare. Story, more pictures, page 3.
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NZ COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARDS
Newspaper of the Year: Runner-up 2022
MANAGING EDITOR: Rob Drent
EDITOR: Janetta Mackay
ADVERTISING: Candice Izzard
PRODUCTION: Brendon De Suza
Our team also works on the long-standing and award-winning Devonport Flagstaff newspaper.
NEXT ISSUE: May 30
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WRITE TO US: We welcome letters. Please limit to 300 words on local topics. Noms-de-plume or unnamed submissions will not be printed. Email news@rangitoto-observer.co.nz
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Rangitoto Observer writers land community newspaper awards
Rangitoto Observer journalists won five categories in the national Community Newspaper Association awards last weekend.
The paper’s owner and managing editor, Rob Drent, won the best sports journalist and best feature writer awards for portfolios of stories published in 2024.
His work included Observer stories on damage to ancient lava flows on the coastal walkway between Takapuna and Milford and a profile of North Shore squash club legend Gary Duberly, plus an eight-page feature on the North Shore vs Takapuna 2024 North Harbour championship rugby final which ran in sister publication the Devonport Flagstaff.
Drent was runner-up in the best news journalist and best headline sections.
Observer reporter Lochlan Lineham, now in Asia on his OE, was runner-up in the best
junior reporter section.
Judges said: “Rob’s winning portfolio showed his long-standing community connections, a reason many of his interview subjects agreed to talk to him and trusted him to tell their stories.”
They said Lineham’s “lively writing pulls the reader to the end. His pieces show the value of following up news tips... he also tackled meaty issues well.”
Lineham’s entries also featured work published in both papers.
Rangitoto Observer editor Janetta Mackay said: “Putting a paper together is a real team effort and driven by our commitment to quality journalism to inform and engage our community. We hope readers see this in the recognition of Rob’s experience and Lochlan’s enthusiasm – and in our future issues.”
Lava-damage inquiry continues
An investigation into damage by concrete infill to ancient lava flows on the coast between Milford and Takapuna is ongoing, a council spokesperson said last week. A remedial plan submitted by owners of the property was still being assessed.
Auckland Council previously served the owners with an abatement notice requiring
remediation of the lava. The flows are part of the Takapuna Reef Fossil Forest, described as “one of the best examples of lava-preserved forest in the world”.
Around 60 metres of concreting was done at the seaward edge of 19 O’Neills Ave, Takapuna, beside the Takapuna-Milford coastal walkway.
Councillor fronts up on flood issues
North Shore councillor Richard Hills will update residents on Wairau catchment flood-prevention plans and buyouts at the Milford Residents Association (MRA) annual meeting next week, and also address concerns about development in flood plains. A question and answer session is planned at the meeting on Tuesday, 20 May, 7pm, at St Paul’s Church, Otakau Rd.
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The next evening, Auckland Council’s Healthy Waters department will go into more detail on blue-green network design in a meeting at Eventfinda Stadium, Wairau Valley, from 6.30pm.
Healthy Waters recently backgrounded flood-related issues in a frequently-asked-questions document on the council website.
Authorised by Hon Simon Watts, Parliament Buildings, Wgtn.
Birdsong provides soundtrack to whare opening
The official opening of Westlake Girls High School’s new whare last week was made more atmospheric by a dawn chorus of native birdsong.
“In an extraordinary touch, almost the entire formal part of the proceedings was accompanied by both a tūī and a kererū, who sat in plain view in a nearby kauri tree – as if watching over the ceremony,” said principal Jane Stanley.
Staff, students, whanau and guests gathered pre-dawn for the opening of a cultural space for learning, reflection, celebration and connection, where te ao Maori is honoured and all cultures are welcomed. It will be in daily use and can also function as a marae.
Stanley said what had started as a concept 14 years ago was now standing proudly at the heart of the kura. It occupies the site of the former staffroom.
Dubbed Whare Āhuru Mōwai (A Safe Place for All), the building was given an additional name by iwi Ngāti Pāoa of ‘Te Manawa o Hine Kahukura’ (The heart of a female leader).
Deputy head girl Anahera Petera told the gathering the whare was a symbol of cultural revival and a recognition of a place designed for Māori in education.
“I am standing here today to represent all of our grandparents and tīpuna, who sacrificed so much to give us the lives they couldn’t have,” she said.
“Our new whare is a place where our students can learn, grow, and be at home.”
Stanley said the whare had been a journey of collaborative planning and learning and was a reminder that some successes unfolded slowly and quietly.
The ceremony, led by Ngāti Pāoa, included waiata from the school’s kapa haka group and was followed by a gathering and kai in the event centre.
Worth the wait... Westlake Girls High principal Jane Stanley welcomes guests at the opening of the school’s new whare. Below: Deputy head prefect Anahera Petera (left) and kapa haka member Kaia Jamieson
PHOTOS: BC PHOTOGRAPHY / DAVID ROWLAND
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Long-standing swimming group wins big
Members of the ‘Hit It or Quit It’ social Takapuna Beach swimming group lived up to their name by winning a slew of medals in the national Ocean Swim Series.
In the overall results, of swimmers from around the country, Ian Gunthorp and Trevor Mouldey were first and third respectively in the men’s 75-79 long course division. While Jenny Stark was second in the women’s 6569 section. Keith Drummond was first in the mid-course men’s 70-plus division
The series comprised courses at Nelson, Rotorua, Taupo and Mt Maunganui, as well as the Auckland Harbour, Rangitoto to St Heliers, and Paihia to Russell crossings.
The group has been swimming off Takapuna Beach on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings for the best part of 20 years, forming initially as part of Johnny Friary’s triathlon training squad.
Group members also train at Milford and at other beaches around the Shore and are regulars at the Takapuna Beach Series swims on Tuesday nights.
Friendly rivalries have emerged: “Trevor and I and go pretty much head-to-head in all the races,” said Gunthorp.
Romance has blossomed as well. Stark and Drummond married after meeting through the swimming group.
Hitting it, never quitting it…(left to right) Jenny Stark, Keith Drummond, Trevor Mouldey and Ian Gunthorp
Board fears vehicles will damage square paving
From page 1
by the board in approving the market lease was not being followed. “Zero waste is not happening.”
Event holders had to provide three-point recycling bins and a waste management plan, but the market seemed to be operating under different rules, he said.
Market hours were changed to 7am to midday from 4 May, starting and finishing an hour earlier than previously. The central public car park area is meant to be vacated by 12.30pm. Site clearance has typically been taking longer than half an hour, however.
Eke Panuku northern priority location director Kate Cumberpatch told board members more enforcement was planned. Trucks and other vehicles were setting up on the square for events, which was not meant to happen, she added.
Board members feared the paving would become degraded from vehicle use and the cost fall on the board for future maintenance.
The square, which cost more than $15 million, opened in August 2023 after 19 months of construction.
Member Peter Allen, who is the board representative on the Takapuna Beach Business Association, said businesses and the Takapuna Beach Cinemas wanted access to the car park at the agreed time.
He called for more updates from Eke Panuku on what was being done to deliver this.
Board chair Mel Powell said enforcement staff should be in place for the next six to eight weeks to ensure rules were being followed. She and board members were fielding complaints and wanted matters “cleaned up”.
Harpur suggested a way of getting more of the market off the car-parking area – which Eke Panuku has sold for future apartment
development – would be to encourage stalls to spread out to Hurstmere Green on the other side of Hurstmere Rd. This would help with vehicles being able to use loading bays on Hurstmere Rd, which could be closed to through traffic during market hours.
“The market could flow through the town centre a lot more,” he said.
Jones said he was not at the board meeting so did not want to comment on matters raised there. “As far as I’m aware, I’m not breaching any conditions.”
He said he would need to talk to Eke Panuku before responding.
Meanwhile, Cumberpatch said Eke Panuku was working on adding road markings, signage and speed warnings for the service lane beside the cinema.
A removable bollard would be installed later to support closing the lane for safety during the market and other events.
Mayor’s hit parade lacks local flavour
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown rattled off his greatest hits as guest speaker at the Takapuna Residents Association’s recent annual meeting.
Brown said the city’s rate rises were below those of other big centres, budgets and council organisations were being reined in and a $50 weekly cap had gone on most Auckland Transport (AT) commuter fares.
“I’ve been guilty of doing things I said I’d do,” he told the 50-plus audience.
He took a whack at Wellington telling Auckland what to do while wasting money itself, and criticised over-engineered infrastructure projects – including steps to the beach in Milford – and councillors from “Albania” (Albany).
The populist message mostly went down
well, although it was light on local detail.
Brown said he wanted AT to look more at dynamic lanes, including for Lake Rd, where locals know traffic out is as heavy as traffic in during the late afternoons. On flood mitigation, he said progress was coming, but “we might have to have a couple of golf courses go”.
He praised Takapuna as one of Auckland’s nicest suburbs but said more mixeduse development was best done where services already existed. If people didn’t like that they could move to Kerikeri where he had land, he joked.
TRA chair Steven Salt welcomed a greater police presence in the area and joint work on homeless issues, but said more public say was needed on development matters.
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Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Mel Powell (left) stops for band Red
From the north... A trip from Whangarei brought (from left) Rachel and Ralph Cruz and five-year-old Erie south especially for the festival, along with Klaire Sulit, Jane Basilia and Mae Umingli
More visitors to Takapuna... (from left) Candy Ortiz and dog Toffee came from Te Atatu; German visitor (left) Frieda Lueddeche (16) with Sophie Wilson (14) from Greenhithe; and Sapna Swami and son Shiva (11) from Birkdale
Kai time... Barry Warne and Laura Jarvis from Takapuna tucking in at the Filipino Festival where stallholders were kept busy, including a cook (right) from Frey’s restaurant in Hamilton and others who used traditional hot coals
Takapuna’s Filipino Festival a tasty treat
People from across Auckland and beyond joined locals on Waiwharariki Anzac Square on a sunny Saturday to enjoy dance, music, snacks and socialising. The popular second annual Filipino Festival on 3 April was organised by Forrest Hill resident Jade Ceres-Munoz.
PICTURES: KATHRYN NOBBS
Takapuna residents Ryan Condino and son Edward, and (right) 18-year-old friends Gabriella Holmes and Lila Vicker
Group outing... Michelle Adapon (left) got together with friends Beverly R Ebora, Joshua Rollon (rear) and John Romien Buenaflor
Briefs
Big wins for first XVs
Early-round results in the North Habour secondary school rugby competition read more like cricket scores – with both titleholder Westlake and Rosmini first XVs putting half centuries on their opponents. Westlake beat Rangitoto 52-0 and Rosmini thrashed Takapuna Grammar School 75-0. In the second round last week, Rosmini beat Mahurangi 67-6 and Westlake defeated TGS 60-8. On 17 May Westlake plays Orewa College and Rosmini takes on Massey, with TGS to face Rangitoto College.
Former Ferns stumble
The new Swish netball team, stacked with former Silver Ferns, had a rocky start to its debut season in Netball North Harbour’s premier one grade. Its first game was called off before half-time due to slippery court conditions, which scuppered round one for all eight teams. At the time, Swish was ahead against last season’s winner Collegiate. Games will be rescheduled. In round two last week the new side, which did not have its full complement, was well beaten by Shore Rovers 1, recent winners of the Aucklandwide Super 12 competition. Among those watching were former league star Shaun Johnson, whose wife and former Fern and Mystics defender Kayla Cullen is in the Swish lineup, alongside Anna Harrison, Adine Wilson, Paula Griffin and other top players.
Sport
Volleyballer calls for more courts
Rosmini College student Andreas Macabuhay is campaigning for more volleyball facilities in the Takapuna area where he lives.
He wants outdoor courts set up on parks to support the growing sport.
“I think there’s not enough accommodation for volleyball compared with other sports across the Shore,” the Year 13 student told the Observer.
The keen volleyballer says it is an ideal social sport and one he would love people to be able to easily access for free.
Andreas (pictured) put his case to the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board this month, suggesting good spots for volleyball might be on the Takapuna Beach Reserve, at Taharoto Park or on Auburn Reserve.
Board members were impressed by his initiative in finding out he could make a submission to the local board.
They noted public volleyball facilities on the grass at Milford Beach Reserve and on Woodall Park in Narrow Neck were popular and that options for free play facilities in Takapuna were worth considering.
The sloping and busy Takapuna Beach Reserve was not favoured, but other sites, including Killarney Park or Shore Junction were mentioned by member Gavin Busch.
Andreas said he was keen to work with the board to get any idea for a volleyball court in Takapuna off the ground.
Board chair Mel Powell suggested the 17-year-old also contact the Takapuna Beach Business Association.
Andreas told the Observer that his friends and schoolmates supported the call for more facilities. “I wanted to be a voice for the people,” he said. “I felt listened to.”
To back his case, he has recently launched a change.org petition, which so far has a few dozen signature from among his peers. “I want to try to get more community support.”
Andreas, who is in the Rosmini Senior A team, says sports facilities are busy across the North Shore, but believes more beach volleyball nets would encourage beginners to give the sport a try.
• A week after Andreas put his case, Powell asked council property arm Eke Panuku to consider siting a temporary volleyball court on the flat grass area of a future development site by the Takapuna bus station.
Takapuna District Cricket Club prizewinners for 2024/25
Auckland Cricket Association Community Awards
Carson Cup for Volunteer of the Year: Lisa Kent; Men’s Club Cricketer of the Year: Matt Jones; Women’s Super Smash Player of the Year: Lauren Down; Men’s Super Smash Player of the Year: Danru Ferns.
Takapuna District Cricket Club (TDCC) trophy winners
Harry Adams Memorial Trophy for most ACA points: Matt Jones; Dr Morrow Cup for Club Spirit: Denise and Don Kingi; Onewa Cup for One Day MVP: Yatin Patel; Jim Shepherd Cup for Best One Day Batter (all grades): Corey Taylor; Bill Hadley Cup for Best One Day Bowler (all grades): Tiny Thomas; J M McDonald Cup for Most Wickets (all formats): Matt Jones; P J Coutts Trophy for Most Runs (all senior grades): Corey Taylor; Mutual Holidays Trophy for Team Spirit (for the team that has lived the TDCC values best): Presidents Gold; Jack Russell Cup for Most Dismissals by a Wicketkeeper: Flynn Goodley-Hollister; H K Sumpter Cup for Most Dismissals by a Fielder (non-wicketkeeper): Austin Jones; Upton Slogging Trophy for Highest Strike Rate Across the Season: Yatin Patel; Overall Club MVP (all senior players): Matt Jones; A J Jensen Cup for Premier Men — Most Runs in the Season (all formats): Tristan Van Ingen-Kal; TDCC Premier Bowling Cup for Premier Men — Most Wickets in the Season (all formats): Matt Jones.
MVP Cup for Presidents: Darrin Crook; Presidents Batting Cup for Most Runs Scored — Presidents: Darrin Crook; The Baumgartner Family Trophy for Team Spirit (Individual) — Presidents: Stu Jensen; Presidents Grade Bowling Cup for Most Wickets in Presidents Grade for the Season: Rhys Henderson; R J Barnett Cup for Most Outstanding One Day Player — Presidents: Parthiban Saminathan. A J O’Neill Cup for Most Runs — Reserve Grade: James Murray; PR Bolland Cup for Most Wickets in the Season: Austin Jones; Takapuna Rugby Team for One Day Most Outstanding Player — Bandits: Harry Thurman; Cowan Cup for Grade Cricket MVP: Kishan Modi; TDCC One Day MVP: Yatin Patel; TDCC T20 MVP (Most ACA Points): Prakash Joshi; Mike Franich Trophy for Best All-Rounder: Yatin Patel; Brian McKay Trophy for Inspiration in the Club Community: Rob Jones; Unstraightables Trophy for Ben Beecroft; Business House League — Division 1 Cup: Barry’s Battlers; Business House League — Division 2 Plate: The Late Cutters.
Scrimgeour Batting Cup for Premier Reserve Women Batting Cup: Sasha Dudding; Michael Banks Bowling Cup for Premier Reserve Women Bowling Cup: Gisele Naidu; MVP for Premier Reserve Women Most Valuable Player: Sasha Dudding; Premier Women Batting Cup: Monique Way; Premier Women Bowling Cup: Kaitlyn Halliday; Premier Women Most Improved Player: Mya Kingi; Premier Women Most Valuable Player: Kate Irwin; Coach’s Trophy for Premier
Women’s Sportsmanship: Nellie Chapman. TDCC Girls Cup for Outstanding Junior Female Cricketer: Dorothea Waldron; Cachopa Trophy Outstanding Future Award: Amber Fawkner; Lomas Cup for Junior Batting: Samuel Wells; TDCC Cup for Junior Bowling: Max Fyffe; Logan Ferguson Cup for Excellence in Wicketkeeping: Isaiah Shaikh; TDCC Junior Cup for Services to Junior Cricket: Liam Henderson; Peter Gardner Cup for U11 Girls: Quinn Wiltshire; Junior Volunteer Cup for Volunteer Contribution to the Club: Arthur Nanayakkara.
Year 5 Cup for Most Valuable Player: Baliharjot Singh; Year 5 Spirit Cup: Evin Nanayakkara; Year 6 Cup for Most Valuable Player: Blake Premadasa; Year 6 Spirit Cup: William McMenamin; Year 7 Cup for Most Valuable Player: Amber Fawkner; Year 7 Spirit Cup: Arthur Hannan; Year 8 Cup for Most Valuable Player: Max Fyffe; Year 8 Spirit Cup: Fletcher Macmillan; U13 Girls Batting Cup: Isla Kristiffor; U13 Girls Bowling Cup: Evangeline Geldenhuys; U13 Girls Most Valuable Player: Lucy Clentworth; U13 Girls Team Spirit Cup: Ayuni Rajapaksha.
Future Hearts Batting Cup for U16 Girls Batting: Sasha Dudding; Future Hearts Bowling Cup for U16 Girls: Amelia Devlin; Future Hearts MVP for U16 Girls: Natalia Ross; U16 Girls Team Spirit Cup: Mahia Stead.
Moyle Cup for MVP for Outstanding Future Award: Dorothea Waldron; Gaze Cup for Junior Girls Wicketkeeper: Sophie Fox.
Better accessibility at Milford reserve carries $196k cost
Improved paths are on the way for Milford Beach Reserve next summer, but details of how they will be funded are yet to be confirmed.
The Devonport Takapuna Local Board wants to ensure children, older people and those using wheelchairs and pushchairs can more safely use the reserve.
This follows community lobbying for improved accessibility by North Shore disability advocate Kimberly Graham, who pointed out specific difficulties for wheelchair users.
The board is keen to provide two new paths, though they could cost double the available budget of $92,000.
Council staff are looking at tapping into some Auckland Transport funding available for “local active modes”.
Even if this does not come through, enough money can be made available by adjustments to the work programme, says the manager for area operations, Eloi Fonseca.
The plans are to put a new concrete path across the grass from the playground to the toilet block for $60,000 and to spend $136,000 to improve the poorly marked footpath that runs in front of cars parked along the reserve side of Craig Rd. path could lower the cost.
Change on way... Cars overhang the existing footpath at Milford Reserve
vehicles from pedestrians were creating a safe walkway “at all”, council staff said at a board workshop last month. They said even an improved footpath by the road would not necessarily divert people at the playground from going directly across
playground directly to the toilets.
They noted the existing footpath was narrow and uneven, making it tricky to navigate. Cars sometimes overhung the path. Some drivers also found backing out of the parks difficult, they said, when rear wheels rested in the street drain.
Member Peter Allen said children exiting the playground could not be easily seen. He asked if a barrier gate could be installed and for an extra disability car park.
Board chair Mel Powell wanted an overview of future work to improve accessibility at the reserve.
The issue was not only about people in wheelchairs, but also recognised an elderly demographic for whom trip hazards and health issues raised challenges. They too should be able to get about the reserve, with a long-term goal to easily link across to the marina side. Seating by the basketball and volleyball areas would be good for families. Accessible bench seating by the playground was recommended.
Deputy chair Terence Harpur urged staff to look for “small wins” on accessibility and consider including a small amount for this in next year’s work programmes
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Out, damned pots! Unloved planters under attack
Remaining “untidy” planter pots on Huron St – from an unpopular street project – should be removed, says the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board.
The call for their removal came as council property arm Eke Panuku gave an update last week on its “place-making” activities in Takapuna, saying nothing more was likely to be done to the central Takapuna street for two more years, to tie in with planned town centre stormwater upgrades.
“They should have been removed years ago,” said board member Gavin Busch.
Board deputy chair Terence Harpur said not only should the planter pots go, the coloured paint on the road which was part of the same project should be removed and angle parking restored.
Eke Panuku’s northern priority location director Kate Cumberpatch said removal could be looked at, but she cautioned this would cost “probably a couple of hundred thousand dollars to put it back to the original street”. She was unsure if there would be the current budget to do this in Takapuna.
Busch said any costs should be met by Eke Panuku. “No one wanted them there in the first place.” Member Peter Allen said if they were going to be removed in the long-term, they should go sooner.
Immoveable objects... Eke Panuku is unsure if the budget exists to return Huron St to its former layout
Similar street fixtures were removed from Northcroft St when Eke Panuku pulled back on a street makeover there that drew public opposition. It finished work on Northcroft St last year, after installing tree beds and a crossing, but Huron St’s pots have been left, which Busch said was a “disgrace”.
Cumberpatch said some of the Huron St plants had been trimmed back, after complaints that they were obstructing views from business driveways and loading zones.
She told the board Eke Panuku was also looking at new stop-gap options for the small development site at 14 Huron St, next to the Toka Puia public car park. This might be used as a learn-to-ride space, she said, after it failed to thrive as a community garden and had been criticised as looking unkempt. The land would be put on the market after the stormwater work was finished, she said.
Busch suggested if it was not put to use, it could be made tidier by boarding it up with a fence and a mural, as is the case with the large corner development site on the other side of the carpark.
Cumberpatch confirmed current market conditions meant the big build-to-rent tower planned for the corner site, along with Willis Bond’s plans for apartments on the Waiwharariki Anzac Square, were on hold.
“The property market is not fantastic,” she said. Both developers were engaged and willing to continue, but had asked for extensions on their consented projects to commence marketing later. “It’s just a matter of timing,” she said.
Harpur asked whether there a sunset clause in the purchase agreements for the public land they bought from Eke Panuku should the developments not proceed. “Yep,” said Cumberpatch.
Jobs and donations give hope to fire-struck Abilities Group
Some Abilities Group workers from the recycling facility destroyed by fire last month are being offered other work placements.
Resource Recovery Devonport has taken on several of the workers temporarily, as has the Porana Rd community recycling centre and a bike repairer.
Other workers are helping with the site clean-up at Hillside Rd, Wairau, following the fire on 24 April.
The Devonport centre manager, Richard
Linthwaite, said it was eager to help, having worked with Abilities for more than 10 years. “They’re a crucial part of the recycling network in Auckland.”
Abilities trucks regularly collected polystyrene and e-waste from the Lake Rd centre for processing.
Rotary is supporting weekly meetings aimed at keeping the 120 workers with disabilities and their families informed and connected. They and 30 support workers were
left distraught by the loss of the facility.
Abilities managing director Peter Fraher is looking for temporary premises to get some operations up and running.
“The support from the community is just overwhelming and that’s what keeps us standing.”
A Givealittle online appeal has raised more than $180,000. The money would go towards replacing equipment for staff, Fraher said.
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Tadpole and director Prast return with sharp comedy
The 21st play to be staged by Tadpole Productions at the PumpHouse in Takapuna aims to maintain the entertaining standards audiences of the company have come to expect over the last 13 years.
Three Little Words is a biting comedy centred on long-time friends facing a bombshell announcement.
Four experienced actors play the main characters who are aged in their 40s and suddenly forced to navigate their interdependence.
They are under the direction of theatre and screen veteran Simon Prast, back for
a fourth time working with Tadpole, most recently on last year’s sell-out season of Roger Hall comedy Taking Off
Three Little Words , penned by internationally acclaimed playwright Joanna Murray-Smith, explores the complexities and upheavals of navigating modern life.
It focuses on friends of more than 20 years: Bonnie (played by Jacque Drew), Annie (Michelle Blundell) and their mates Tess (Anna Jullienne) and Curtis (Sam Bunkall).
The quartet have shared lunches, brunches, art exhibitions, aspirations and trips. Their reaction to change in this cosy ar-
rangement is both funny and relatable. Tadpole was set up in 2012, with the mission of bringing top-quality theatre to the northern region of Auckland. Takapuna resident Hall – Sir Roger – is its patron. Over the years it has staged 20 plays and two readings locally, starting with The Lion in Winter
By employing professional actors in leading roles, while giving opportunities to young talent and backstage crew training, it aims to build a sustainable theatre culture. • Three Little Words, at the PumpHouse until 25 May. Bookings online or at the theatre.
Tadpole team... Familiar faces from stage and screen in Three Little Words are (from left): Jacque Drew, Anna Julienne, director Simon Prast, Sam Bunkall and Michelle Blundell
Call Girls nets award and wider interest
North Shore playwright James Carrick has had his play Call Girls picked up by the Playmarket organisation, which licences staging rights to theatre companies in New Zealand and overseas.
After its premiere at the PumpHouse theatre in Takapuna last October, the play was named Most Outstanding Comedy of 2024 at the recent Auckland Community Theatre Trust Awards.
The play, centred on a fictional retirement village in Beach Haven, sold out for six of its nine performances by Phoenix Theatre.
For Carrick (pictured), who ramped up his writing efforts during Covid lockdown, the accolade adds to previous ACTT awards he has won for acting for both Phoenix Theatre and Company Theatre.
The English-born Devonport resident had three comedic cameo roles in Call Girls, including as an Irish priest. These earned him a supporting actor nomination in the community theatre awards.
But it is having his plays represented for wider performance by Playmarket that is most satisfying.
Already, two New Zealand companies have signed up to stage Call Girls: Dolphin Theatre in Onehunga and the Te Puke Repertory Theatre.
His earlier one-act play, Welcome to Hellansville, which was staged at the Rose Theatre in Belmont in 2022, is also on the Playmarket books.
Carrick, who has a background in stand-up comedy, is already working on other plays.
Theatre has big kids gap to fill
The PumpHouse wants to attract children’s theatre companies to fill the huge hole left in its schedule by the demise of the Tim Bray Theatre Company.
It is calling for expressions of interest from groups keen to secure coveted school holiday seasons for 2026.
The decision by Bray and his company’s trust to wind up the crowd-pulling company due to his ill health left a gap of around $100,000 in PumpHouse annual bookings. Its business manager, James Bell, said the loss of about 20 per cent of its income was keenly felt. The Takapuna venue wanted to canvas North Shore groups this month, before looking further afield. “We’re hoping to hear from new theatre companies and producers keen to bring professional theatre for children to the PumpHouse.”
