Holy Trinity Church faces a $60,000 deficit this year and has launched a ‘Rhythm of Generosity’ one-day appeal calling for donations from its congregation.
While vicar Chris Murphy says the church is experiencing modest growth in membership, with “some green shoots” including a new young adults group, the message on
finances is blunt.
“The past 18 months have been a period of transition and change,” an appeal pamphlet says. “Several regular and committed church members have left because of the recent changes and many more new people have arrived.
“Those who have left have stopped con-
tributing financially and it appears that those who have arrived have not got around to it.”
Murphy said the biggest change was probably his arrival, with some members choosing to leave – not unlike when a new CEO arrives in a business.
“We are tracking at about $16k per quarter
Chillin’ in pink for midwinter plunge
Apartments planned for Lake Rd near Hauraki Cnr
A three-storey walk-up apartment block fronting Lake Rd is part of a development planned on a prime site a block south of Hauraki Corner.
The proposal is for 12 dwellings on the 1a Bayview Rd corner property.
Six will be two-bedroom three-storey terrace homes accessed from Bayview Rd.
Six more units are planned for the block overlooking Lake Rd, comprising a mix of a studio and one- and two-bedroom homes.
No parking comes with the apartments, but the terraces will each have a single onsite garage.
The upper-level apartments will have balconies and the other dwellings designated outdoor space.
The applicant, Yoho21 Ltd, seeks land use as a restricted discretionary activity and
Young TGS girls win cross-country title
Takapuna Grammar runners won the Year 9 girls’ three-person relay at the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Cross Country Championships held in Whangarei last weekend. Ella Blincoe, who placed sixth in the individual race, had her time over 3000m (11minutes 39sec) combined with Fritha Matthews (14th, 11:56) and Indi Holland (15th, 11:57) to finish first in the relay in 36:07. The win follows the girls’ strong individual showing in under-14 competition at the College Sport Cross Country Auckland Championships earlier in the month, when Ella was 2nd, Indi 4th and Fritha 5th.
At nationals, TGS senior student and middle-distance track star Asha Edwards was part of a four-person North Harbour senior relay cross-country team that placed second behind the Auckland team.
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unit title consent from Auckland Council because the proposal is for more than three dwellings per site and is non-compliant in some respects.
Consultants Sentinel Planning Ltd say the development should be granted as it fits within the Residential – Mixed Housing Urban Zone and that any adverse effects are minor and would be mitigated appropriately.
“The proposed development is considered to make appropriate use of an opportunity for higher-intensity residential development within an established residential area appropriate for higher intensity use,” the application said.
It pointed to nearby terrace-house developments and said greater density was consistent with the zone’s intent.
The application said separate planning consents had been granted for possible future development on neighbouring properties on either side of the Bayview Rd corner site which, like the applicant’s property, are currently occupied by single homes.
They are:
• 325 Lake Rd, which borders Medplus Hauraki and has consent for six two-storey residential dwellings.
• 1 Bayview Rd, which has consent for a total of six two- and three-storey residential dwellings.
The application for 1a Bayview Rd says its site layout and building design have given careful consideration to future privacy effects.
Planners will decide whether the consent is granted.
Fishing set to return on breakwater
Fishing will again be allowed from the Bayswater Marina breakwater once a set of protocols has been established, the Flagstaff confirmed on Monday.
Public access to the breakwater was restored in May after an Environment Court decision ruled people had the right to use it under the marina’s consents. Bayswater Marina Ltd (BML) opened the gates but banned fishing, to the consternation of many locals.
Council decided BML had not breached any of its consents with the ban, but the company’s stance has softened after meetings with council officers and North Shore Ward councillor Chris Darby.
It’s understood that while BML is primarily concerned with the health and safety issues associated with fishing, there is the secondary issue of waste, such as discarded bait, hooks, lines and sinkers being left on
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the breakwater.
On Monday, the marina confirmed it is developing a set of protocols and rules to try to mitigate its concerns. Once new signage is in place, BML will make the facility available for recreational fishing.
Cr Darby said it was a great result for the community. He thanked the executives of Empire Capital, which owns the marina, for meeting and finding a solution. “I ask fishers to hold off heading to the breakwater until the marina owner has signage and conditions in place,” Darby said.
Empire Capital CEO Sean Joyce said it had been “collaborating with Darby to develop a protocol to enable fishing in a safe and sanitary manner. New signage would be needed to ensure members of the public were aware of the risks and rules associated with fishing from the facility.”
Roof project achieves lift-off thanks to $83k grant
Harmony Hall supporters have secured enough money to replace the building’s leaky roof.
“We’ll be celebrating tonight at our Friday Night Live Open Mic session, and then we’ll just get on with it,” Devonport Senior Citizens’ Association president John Davy told the Flagstaff last week, after the association got final sign-off on an $83,100 grant from
the Lottery Community Facilities fund.
The group had already raised $51,700 but were short of the $134,800 needed for the work.
Davy praised a determined fundraising effort that began a year ago with an application to the John Stewart Booth Trust that netted $20,000.
He paid tribute to the local architects, and
an engineer who had scoped the project and run a tendering process, along with supporters in the community, including the Flagstaff.
Geoff Chapple worked with Trish Deans to make sure the organisation met all the requirements for a successful application for Lottery Grants funding.
The DSCA will decide a date for starting work after talks with the successful tenderers.
Hats off to the new roof… John Davy, Geoff Chapple and Trish Deans celebrating outside Harmony Hall last week
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Vicar optimistic despite numbers slump since Covid
behind where we expected to be. At this rate we could end up with a $60k deficit by the end of the year.”
Budget cuts for 2025, such as deferring the pruning of large trees, have already been made.
Murphy remains optimistic about the church’s financial situation and is “fairly confident we can make up the gap.” He points to a “commitment Sunday” held in August 2024 that saw the church raise $20,000 from members in one day, balancing the books for that year.
The church hopes on 22 June to raise $30,000 in one-off donations and bring about an increase in regular contributions.
It has a debt of more than $700,000 for its recently refurbished hall, which it is paying off. Parishioners are being encouraged to leave a legacy in their wills to help repayment.
The Flagstaff visited the church and its grounds with Murphy last week.
A new church gardening group has been busy, slashing back overgrown lavender at the front of the grounds and tidying up the garden of remembrance where the ashes of many past worshippers have been laid.
A new $6000-plus sound system was being installed, giving greater flexibility for public use such as weddings.
The Holy Trinity community op shop continues to make good money, with a net profit of $85,729 in 2024, according to Holy Trinity’s annual report.
Church attendance numbers are gradually rising from Covid lows, from 6237 in 2022 to 6741 in 2023 and 6988 in 2024. Before Covid, attendance reached 9712 in 2018 and 9944 in 2019.
The decline matches mainstream church attendance trends in churches across the
Western World.
The church has started a group for young adults from 18 to 25 years which has six to 10 members, as does Holy Trinity’s 14- to 18-year-old age group.
“I’m feeling optimistic about the future,” Murphy says. “It’s been hard recovering from Covid but there are signs of new growth. We’re in good spirits and looking forward to the future.”
Murphy has been vicar for 18 months. He says he is loving Devonport and has settled in well with his wife, Verity, and children Josiah, Jago and Aletheia.
Church foodbank changes focus but giving continues
Holy Trinity is reconfiguring its foodbank operation, though it continues to support initiatives such as Rotary’s Cans for a Cause food drive. While Holy Trinity will still accept foodbank donations, it plans to send them to the Good Works Trust at Forrest Hill for distribution, says vicar Chris Murphy. The trust has better systems to judge who is suffering “food insecurity” across the Shore and get food to them, he says. Donations for the Rotary campaign were flooding in at Holy Trinity from peninsula schools and others as the Flagstaff went to press, with 1067 items trucked up to Good Works last Friday.
Can-do… Devonport Rotarians (from left) Peter Smith, Rowan Renouf and president Pat O’Hagan with Sophie Gray of the Good Works Trust
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Sound plan... Holy Trinity vicar Chris Murphy (left) with Pete Costello, who installed a new speaker system in the refurbished church hall
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Hilltop hikoi... Some of the crowd who took part in the walk up Takarunga on 7 June. Below: Kapa haka performers from Hauraki Primary (left) and Takapuna Grammar School during the festival at Bayswater Primary School.
the crowds as winter solstice looms
Kapa haka at Bayswater Primary School’s Matariki Festival and a customary hikoi up Takarunga were among highlights in a packed local programme of seasonal events ahead of the shortest day this Saturday.
Haka party... Schools represented at the Matariki Festival on 14 June included (clockwise from top) Belmont Intermediate School; Bayswater Primary School, Stanley Bay Primary School and Belmont Primary School.
By Rob Drent
The Flagstaff Notes
My sources inside the North Shore Rugby clubrooms say the mood was “pretty philosophical” after the premier side lost to arch-rivals Takapuna earlier this month, ending a 34-match winning streak dating back to the 2022 grand final loss – to Takapuna.
The return of Super Rugby players – the Moana Pasifika bomb squad of Lotu and Fine Inisi and Sam Moli – bolstered Takapuna in the second half to such a degree that it sparked a 22-20 last-minute victory to the blue-and-golds.
Shore couldn’t complain too much, though, as it had two players back from Moana Pasifika as well – prop Sione Mafelio and hooker Tomasi Maka.
More worrying was the first-half exit of Shore first five and goal kicker Cam Howell, who has been in great form in 2025.
However, one of Shore’s favourite sons of recent years – Oscar Koller, who has been in the Chiefs wider Super Rugby squad – should
A drop-in centre for all current and former service personnel and their families will be held in the Takapuna Library every Wednesday 10am-12pm commencing 18th of June 2025.
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be available for the playoffs.
With Takapuna’s win, the championship race has reignited, the top two sides at least showing the ability to square off equally.
Whatever happens in the 2025 season, Shore’s 34-game winning streak should be celebrated – a great run which has already seen two North Harbour championships and, more importantly, some great team spirit and attacking rugby.
One for lovers of the red-and-white ‘toadstools’ on the top of Takarunga: with the general move by the Tūpuna Maunga Authority to return the mountain to as natural a state as possible, the Flagstaff enquired into the status of the reservoir under the mountain’s summit and the toadstools, which are in fact its painted air vents.
The authority says Watercare is in charge of the reservoir and the toadstools. “We have completed works on the Takarunga tihi and have no further projects at the tihi scheduled in the near future.” Watercare told the Flagstaff nothing regarding the colorful vents or the reservior is changing in the near future.
Lots of life has been evident around Devonport lately, despite fairly wet and blustery weather, with good turnouts to a swathe of Matariki events around the village, including the hikoi up Takarunga and the popular festival at Bayswater School. Plenty of people took the plunge at the annual Midwinter Dip, which has become a well attended local tradition. Lets hope there has been a much needed flow-on to local restaurants, cafes and bars.
Great to see some movement this week on the impasse over fishing on the now publicly acessible Bayswater Marina breakwater. Protocols are on the move,with signage soon to be in place.
Let’s get the kids back out with their rods in the next few weeks.
Shearwater saga incites sheer frustration
A three-woman rescue effort to save a protected native seabird (pictured) found lying on a street highlights the urgent need for a bird rescue facility on the North Shore, says the Devonport woman who nursed it overnight.
Michelle Androu – who volunteered for 10 years with retired Rothesay Bay “Bird Lady” Sylvia Durrant – said people struggled to find help dealing with injured birds. A publicly funded bird hospital was needed on the North Shore, she said. The recent case underlined the issues.
The bird, a Buller’s shearwater, may have crash landed due to being disoriented by street lights.
Department of Conservation (DOC) officials who picked up the bird from Androu’s home the day after it was brought to her, said Buller’s shearwaters were a native, protected species that only bred in New Zealand. They are not endangered, but their population is in decline, a spokesperson said.
Takapuna retiree Sharon Holloway found the bird lying in the middle of Blomfeld Spa, near its junction with Lake Rd, taking it to her home nearby. “It was just lying there and I thought I couldn’t just leave it.”
On her behalf, the administrator of the nearby Takapuna Methodist Church, Cathy Fraser, phoned DOC, who referred the duo to volunteer wildlife rangers, who could not
be raised. They then phoned around some vets, until one in Belmont suggested she contact Androu. When Androu identified the bird from photographs as a shearwater, DOC suggested it be taken to a bird-rescue centre
in Green Bay. Androu agreed to pick up the bird and keep it safe overnight for DOC to collect, as by then it was out of hours for the rescue centre.
“We appreciate the care shown by all involved in this rescue,” a DOC spokesperson said. DOC’s advice is that in most cases people report injured birds rather than intervene in their care, unless they are in immediate danger.
Androu said that only underlined the need for more easily accessible care and advice.
She said it was understandable that DOC focused its resources on helping endangered species, but with the amount of coastline and seabirds around the North Shore, having facilities locally would be a big help.
Androu, who learned a lot helping Durrant, said people sometimes phoned her for advice, often because they could not get through to authorities, but that she was not an expert or in a position to take in birds.
For people unable to get to Green Bay, Androu says another option is to contact the 24-hour Animal Referral Centre vets at Schnapper Rock.
She hoped authorities would one day fund a dedicated centre, ideally in Takapuna or Milford. She also suggested DOC might run a workshop to build community knowledge.
Androu worried what would happen if there was an environmental disaster, such as an oil slick, without anywhere to take seabirds. And she is concerned that more common species fall through the cracks.
DOC agreed with Androu that more facilities would be helpful, in particular those prioritising native and protected species. It said its work focused on the most threatened species as well as wider habitat conservation to preserve whole populations and species.
The Hauaraki Gulf was considered by many to be the seabird capital of the world, DOC said. It had dozens of different species.
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Anne St tree saga set to drag on
Anne St residents who won local-board backing for the removal of two trees causing flooding and slip hazards in their street now face fresh opposition.
The Tree Council has launched a petition opposing the trees’ removal after the board last month recommended they be replaced by more suitable specimens.
So far, the change.org online petition has attracted more than 200 signatures.
Auckland Council staff say further steps are required before the mallet flower trees can be removed.
Despite the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board asking staff to act speedily, an early end to the matter now seems unlikely.
Council’s Ngahere/Urban Forest arboriculture and ecology manager, David Stejskal, told the Flagstaff council staff were considering next steps. A resource consent would be required to remove the trees, he said.
“A decision on whether and how to proceed with a resource consent application has not yet been made.”
The consent is needed because the removal of any tree greater than four metres in height or more than 400mm in girth in the road corridor is a restricted discretionary activity under the Auckland Unitary Plan.
“Should a resource consent be pursued, staff will provide expert input as part of the
process,” Stejskal said.
Disappointed Anne St resident Peter McNab said “democracy has had its day” with the board’s vote. This should be followed through. Meanwhile, the stress and fears of further damage to property after heavy rain remained.
The Tree Council petition seeks to have council publicly notify any consent application. Local environmental group Restoring Takarunga Hauraki has joined the Tree Council in urging supporters to sign it.
Notification would allow for evidence and submissions to be presented to counter the residents’ view, the petition page says.
It describes the unwanted trees as “two rare umbrella trees”, though arborists who identified the trees as Queensland umbrella trees in 2023, last year told the board they were instead mallet flower trees.
The page also claims the trees do not cause flooding. “Removing these trees will not prevent Anne Street from flooding. It is a flat, flood-prone floodplain who’s stormwater drain is prone to backing up when the tide is in.”
In fact, council department Healthy Waters acknowledged in 2024 the large leaves and fruit from the trees were causing problems. It said as well as the street being low-lying, its drains became blocked and flooded due to the trees.
Hauraki Corner bar robbed again
The Rudder on Hauraki bar was hit by another aggravated robbery shortly after 7.30pm last Saturday, three months after two similar incidents. A man was arrested in central Auckland later that night and appeared in the North Shore District Court on Monday. Police opposed bail.
Police say a lone offender entered the bar, threatened a staff member and fled with cash, leaving in a waiting stolen vehicle.
Diners at neighbouring Hauraki Corner restaurants were shocked to see police converge soon after, two police vehicles mounting the Lake Rd pavement and around 10 officers being seen in the shopping centre carpark area.
Waitemata Crime Squad Detective Senior Sergeant Megan Goldie said on Monday that “the offender was allegedly carrying a weapon”. The arrest came after a stolen vehicle was detected travelling into central Auckland. Police found it parked in Mt Eden and were waiting when a man returned to the vehicle from a nearby venue.
He was arrested over the stolen vehicle before police “located a large amount of cash on his person”, said Goldie. Officers, who were aware of the Hauraki robbery, questioned him further before charging him.
“The staff member in the bar was uninjured but was referred to Victim Support,” Goldie said. The bar was also targeted in March.
More than 200 swimmers braved wet and windy conditions for the Devonport Midwinter Dip from Windsor Reserve on Sunday. Hot drinks proved popular afterwards
Nice and icy... Preparing for the plunge (above). Left: Master of ceremonies and Devonport Druid Chris Mullane couldn’t believe Richard Harri was warming up for the event with an ice cream.
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(clockwise
Mixed messages
There are mixed messages on the economy which seem to be stalling the RBNZ from lowering interest rates much further [than the current level 3.25%] as they seem to be taking a conservative stance at the last OCR meeting with one committee member suggesting no cut at all. Seems they are nervous about the tariff/inflation situation and the buoyant agri sector while at the same time many sectors of the economy are seeing some of the worst trading activity in their lifetime, particularly in the construction space. Most feel rates should be lower!
Hence mortgage rates have hardly moved at all with 1 to 3 yrs fixed rates only 5 to 10bp lower around 4.90% and the 6 mth rate still around 5.30% - this is not really helping a pretty soft property market with flat to negative prices, although activity is still there. We see the latest council CV valuations are out but relate to data from May 2024 which is pretty outdated now - the more accurate up to date valuations can be seen on Valocity and Corelogic platforms that we have access to - their relevance is that the banks use these for their internal valuations.
Speak to us about any financing requirements you may have, we can invariably help.
In the swim...
from top) The mad dash into the briny; trying it on as the long arm of the law are Iwona Hosking (left) and Linda Meyer; and family fun for Tiina Carryer and son Aldo.
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Versatile author enjoys second publishing hit
Bayswater’s Hannah Tunnicliffe struck success with her first foray into writing and seems to be onto another winner with a recent children’s-book collaboration. She talks to Helen Vause.
Burnt out in a chaotic job and hitting 30, Hannah Tunnicliffe decided to leave corporate life behind and take a life-changing punt. She thought writing could be her last trick in the bag in terms of career choice.
So she sat down at home, in Macau where she lived at the time, and hit the keyboard. She thought, maybe, she could write something that would at least work as a Christmas present for her family.
It took a while, and a rejig or two, but after the final full stop she felt she probably had something better than she’d hoped for.
She sent it off to big international publishers Pan Macmillan.
What happened next was way beyond any expectations. “I was only cautiously hopeful that my book might get picked up and at first I didn’t grasp the significance of their interest or really what might happen with the book if they published it.”
Not only did Pan Macmillan say yes, they also wanted a second book from her.
Tunnicliffe’s first novel, The Colour of Tea, was published in 2011. Sales took off, with publication in eight languages.
Giant American retail chain Walmart had such success with it that they named it Best Book of the Month.
Tunnicliffe was awed – but realistic – as she worked her way into writing her second book.
By then she was also mother to her firstborn, Wren (now a 15-year-old Takapuna Grammar School student), and says she struggled to stay focused with the demands of a baby in the mix.
Her first book earned $60,000 a year for three years, a figure that would be enviable
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Mixing it up... Author Hannah Tunnicliffe has plenty of ideas for future writing projects, but also dips back into HR and co-hosts a podcast
to many well-established in their craft.
It seemed she had successfully transitioned into her new career without taking the now common route of writing courses.
Tunnicliffe grew up in Campbells Bay. From Westlake Girls High School she went to the University of Waikato, where she majored in psychology.
She went into human resources, a career that took her to Melbourne, London and then with her Kiwi husband to Macau, one of the world’s gambling hotspots.
She’d taken a job in the casino sector where staff turnover was high. “I was so young and there was always an issue with language. It was more than full-on and I was working ridiculous hours. The casino I was working for was looking at putting on another 4000 more staff in six months.” In her HR role, she says, that promised to be months of living hell to implement so much change.
“I had painted myself into a corner. I couldn’t see where I could go other than working for another casino.”
That’s when a belief that she had some talent for writing was put to the test. “I just decided to take the risk and see how it went.”
Her book was an exotic tale of food and romance set in Macau. She’d been living and exploring there long enough to give her scope for characters and her work a feel of authenticity. Setting the story in that bustling, colourful location was a conscious choice to pitch for wide appeal.
Her next books in what she calls her romantic-foodie genre were Season of Salt and Honey (2015) and A French Wedding (2016).
She also had two more children, Noa (13) and Bonnie (9), which meant having less of the headspace and time she’d enjoyed as a beginning author.
The writing wasn’t coming as easily, and she wanted to move away from that first genre, to explore other things.
Looking back on the journey, Tunnicliffe, now living in Bayswater, says she has learned to become more focused and strategic.
As a writer who continued to attract reg-
ular and robust book deals, it hasn’t always been as easy as that first publication may have made it feel 15 years back .
“The first three books were great, then I got a bit lost. For a time there I felt I was wandering blind in the woods.”
She had false starts, she says, and yes, a few flops.
But with a background in business, Tunnicliffe says she believed that to make a life as a writer, her work would have to be at least sufficient to give her a core income.
From time to time, she says, she needs to scaffold her writing career by dipping
“I was only cautiously hopeful that my book might get picked up and at first I didn’t grasp the significance of [Pan Macmillan’s]interest or really what might happen with the book if they published it.”
back into human-resources related projects. Income, she says, can still be hard to project.
“It’s still a gamble for me, to put anything out there. To me, it’s absolutely imperative that I remain clear-eyed all the time about what I am doing.”
But so far, so good. The road ahead in the book world is looking exciting, although “I think more people get rich from Lotto than you do from writing books”.
Tunnicliffe is delighted with the success of her latest work, the Detective Stanley series for children.
Its’s a collaboration with local mother and illustrator Erica Harrison that was born out of a fundraising idea with its origins in
Central Otago.
The pair wanted to create their own version of a challenge for kids to problem-solve puzzles, riddles and mazes they’d find on an exploration route around Devonport.
They’d envisaged an activity book as a fundraiser for their children’s school, Stanley Bay, and pitched it to a publisher of children’s books in the UK, Flying Eye Books. The publisher loved their work but wanted them to turn Detective Stanley into a story-book series.
Tunnicliffe and Harrison scored a threebook deal, with their colourful, graphic tales of Detective Stanley the dog at the centre of the stories.
Detective Stanley and the Mystery at the Museum was released earlier in the year in the Northern Hemisphere and in New Zealand in April.
The second in the series will be published next year and the third is scheduled for 2027. While they’re waiting for sales figures, it’s looking like a winner for Harrison and Tunnicliffe. This month they were excited to hear the first in the series had made its way to the shelves of the exclusive old English-language bookstore in the heart of Paris, Shakespeare and Company.
By next year Tunnicliffe will have published eight books. She says she has a head full of ideas for future work and says she’s likely to make a shift from her latest adult themes of ‘domestic noir’.
“I want to put more heart into it. More drama and maybe less crime.”
Beyond writing, she co-hosts the ‘Bod Almighty’ podcast, on which she is disarmingly frank about weight and body issues. Chatting openly about her own battle with body image, she wants to be the ‘body acceptance guru’ to whoever may be her followers.
Zumba classes at Holy Trinity Church hall are a regular date, and early on Wednesday mornings she’s down at Narrow Neck Beach swimming with a group of women friends out to a buoy and back.
Now flying solo after separating recently, she says her female friendships are very important in maintaining her full-on life.
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Where’s spirit of generosity in writers’ centre rent hike?
The Michael King Writers’ Centre (MKWC) is no doubt reeling from the Tūpuna Maunga Authority’s (TMA) proposed $26,000 annual rent for the historic Signalman’s House on Takarunga (Flagstaff, 6 June). I haven’t asked the centre, but as a former trustee I know how hard it is to fund the writing fellowships, let alone rent.
Since 2014, when the TMA took over administration of the 14 Auckland maunga, there’s been pain as it moved away from peppercorn leasehold rentals. I remember a fuss about new rents for the Takarunga Playcentre and the Depot’s Whare Toi. Yet the annual rents for those two – $6,060 and $3,600 respectively – seem positively benign compared to this huge hit on the
MKWC. Why haven’t we, as a community, had a chance to debate it?
In 2022, the Appeals Court scolded the TMA for its plan to cut down all exotic trees on Owairaka/Mt Albert. The court ruled the TMA had a duty to consult with the community. The TMA did so, was swamped with submissions, and amended the plan.
The TMA recently offered to appoint a special panel to hear submissions from Onehunga Mangere United Sports Club (Māngere maunga) and its community, also Mt Wellington Roller Sports Club (Maungarei maunga) and its community, on new rents.
The MKWC was established in 2005 to honour King, a national figure who dedi-
cated his life to understanding the Māori / Pākehā interface. It has become perhaps the most important writers’ retreat in the country, and, appropriately, one with designated Māori Fellowships. Shouldn’t it and its supporters be offered the same courtesy to comment?
The TMA has done some great work on caring for Takarunga, but I see no spirit of generosity in this decision, nor even much care. In the Hui 99 minutes of May 2025, we see TMA management referring to the centre as a “club” then later as a “Playcentre”.
The MKWC deserves better, and I’d ask the TMA to hold off on its 1 July deadline until we’ve all had a chance to be heard.
Geoff Chapple
No need to waste money on new crossing Tree vote shows board hypocrisy
The configuration of the road either side of the existing pedestrian crossing at Narrow Neck beach means traffic is naturally slowed.
The crossing is already festooned with signage.
It is used safely without incident daily.
Auckland Transport (AT) has already squandered $3 million on ill-conceived works on our local roads and adversely impacted the aesthetic of our village in so doing.
There is absolutely no need for AT to waste another $300,000-$400,000 of borrowed money to alter the status quo at Narrow Neck.
Perhaps if they had chosen to inform the public of their intentions via the Flagstaff, they may have received more responses pointing out these salient facts.
Cam Calder
Monstrous hypocrisy is on display as the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board agreed to destroy rare, mature trees in Anne Street while publicly endorsing an “Urban Ngahere” street-tree programme.
The local board succumbed to pressure from locals who want the trees gone, and agreed to spend $7800 of our money to indulge them.
At the same time, the board contributed a puff-piece on Auckland Council’s website claiming support for more street trees: “The
A Devonport Flagstaff report quotes the chair of the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board describing the Anne St tree standoff as “ideological polarisation, between greenies and the wealthy, essentially” (Flagstaff, 6 June).
It seems to indicate that Mel Powell has an erroneous view that only wealthy people reside in Devonport.
If this is correct it then brings to mind
board is serious about growing our urban forest for everyone to enjoy...”
Anne Street locals, having failed to get the trees removed on flooding grounds, now claim they are a safety risk to pedestrians. The Local Board has swallowed this. The cost to remove the two trees is half of their budget to plant new street trees.
The fate of the trees now rests on a petition to the council, or the restoration of sanity on the part of the local board.
Charles Palmer
We’re not all ‘wealthy’, Mel Powell Takapuna Grammar School
her fitness to sit on the board, let alone be chair of the board.
Surely any board member should be acting fairly for any resident that presents a problem to the board, not making assumptions if residents are wealthy or otherwise, depending on where they live, before the board will deign to consider their problems worthy of help or otherwise?
Lynette Deerness
All prospective IB students and parents are invited to attend Wednesday 16 July, 6pm, Te Poho School Hall
Early-70s rugby bonds revisited at Takapuna Grammar
Members of Takapuna Grammar School’s 1st XV rugby teams of 1971 and 1972 recently returned to enjoy a tour of the school and swap stories from the glory days on the front field.
Now mostly in their late 60s, the men were brought together by Rex Trebilco, a former wing three-quarter and head boy.
Trebilco successfully gathered most surviving team members for the special occasion. Attendees included coach John Beck, 1972 vice-captain Gary Cunningham – who went on to become an All Black in 1979-80 – Alasdair Sutherland, who had an All Black trial, utility back Kim Quinn, prop and captain Bruce Hopkins, prop Craig Johnstone and flanker Charles Dobbie.
Their tour was accompanied by former deputy principal Brian Wynn.
The reunion was a trip down memory lane for the men, who recalled the highs and lows of their school rugby careers.
Rivalries with local schools were remembered, with tales of “a bit of skulduggery” with the boys at Westlake Boys High School.
One story involved arriving at a home game in 1969 to find the TGS posts painted in Westlake’s distinctive green, white and red.
The 1972 side was the first school team to tour Australia, a trip that required hard fundraising.
“We got house-painting and section-clearing jobs,” recalled Trebilco. “The whole team would turn up, pail and brush in hand, to repaint an entire house exterior.”
On one occasion, the weather was so bad that the boys’ fathers had to finish the job for an elderly woman in Mission Bay.
The bonds formed in those years have endured.
“The friendships you make in those teams are for life,” Trebilco said. “It’s the experiences you share.”
Quinn is still one of Trebilco’s closest friends. He made the trip from Houston, Texas, to be among former teammates he has maintained contact with.
Before undertaking the school tour, the old boys headed to the Poenamu Tavern for a pre-game catch-up, then cheered on the current 1st XV as they took on Rangitoto College.
“We all went down to the North Shore Rugby Club for a post-match drink and a really good catch-up,” Trebilco said.
The team paid special tribute to their coach John Beck, aka, JB, at the aftermatch function. “When JB coached us he did it by himself and had his own young family,” Trebilco said.
“The huge commitment he made to the 1972 Australian tour was immense.”
• The legacy: 1971 team – played 21, won 10, lost 8, drew 3 (including Westlake 3-3); 1972 team – played 25, won 15, Lost 8, drew 2.
Fond memories... Some of the members of Takapuna Grammar’s early 1970s first XVs (and friends): Front, from left: Kevin Hodgson, Rob Young, Kim Quinn and Don England. Behind, from left: Chris Parsons, Craig Johnstone, Rex Trebilco, Alasdair Sutherland, Brett Evans, unknown, Jon Davies, John Tito, Peter Weinstock and Laurie Cochrane. Weinstock and Cochrane were not members of the 1st XV but both played 1st XI cricket.
Tourists... the 1972 TGS 1st XV who travelled to Australia. Future All Black Gary Cunningham is in the front row with the pennant.
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IB students dig in with planting and paths at Oneoneroa Reserve
Year 12 IB students rolled up their sleeves for the third annual CAS Day joining forces with Restoring Takarunga Hauraki (RTH) to help restore Oneoneroa Reserve between Egremont and Bardia Streets.
The day is a highlight of the IB programme, which requires students to log hours in Creativity, Activity, and Service. Under the guidance
organised activities from planting and weeding to signage and catering.
Local support came from Daily Bread and Belmont Park Racquets Club, while Bayswater Primary and Vauxhall School pupils helped create wildlife signs for the reserve.
Geographers explore Tarawera's explosive past
Our Year 11 Geography students recently visited Rotorua to witness the volcanic forces shaping Tarawera. Due to strong winds and heavy rain students couldn’t head up Mt Tarawera as planned but instead got to explore and ride in genuine WW2 amphibious vehicles on the Rotorua Duck Tour. The students rode on land and lake in the six-wheel vehicles which splashed down on Lake Tikitapu and Lake Okareka.
Our geographers learned about the thriving tourism industry that existed in the 1800s and how the eruption of Mt Tarawera changed this landscape. They visited the Buried Village of Te Wairoa which was submerged under metres of ash during the 1886 Tarawera eruption and traversed Waimangu Valley which is full of geothermal features formed in the Tarawera eruption. Our budding geographers returned to Auckland
Record numbers attend Junior Semi-Formal
It's School Ball season for the seniors but the juniors at Takapuna Grammar School don’t miss out on the celebrations. The school hall Te Poho was recently transformed into a scene from the silver screen as more than 160 students danced the
The event saw the entire IB1 cohort working alongside RTH’s Lance Cablk and team, strengthening community ties and making a real difference to the local environment.
Scan to watch the IB Cas Day documentary by students Jude Caudeville and Theo Andrade.
with a newfound appreciation for Ruaumoko’s fury.
night away at the Junior Semi-Formal.
Students embraced the theme of Hollywood Glamour and dressed to impress with a record number of sales made by the team of prefects who hosted the event.
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New date for ‘Our Devonport’
A second session of the 60-minute ‘Our Devonport’ programme of short talks and slide shows will be held at the Victoria Theatre on 23 June at 6pm.
The initial show, organised by Devonport Library Associates, on 30 April proved so popular the doors at the RSA in Victoria Rd had to be closed half an hour before the event’s start time as the venue was full.
Just on 150 people packed in for seven presentations by Dave Veart, Trish Deans and Margot McRae, Tina Frantzen, Helen Pollock, Colin McRae, Lynn Lawton and Linda Blincko, and Julie Stout and Ken Davis. Twenty slides and six minutes 40 seconds of speaking time were allowed for each presentation.
The event will be followed by a screening of The Vic: A Love Story
Tenants leave houses
Tenants are moving out of a cluster of state houses in Kerr St as Kāinga Ora moves to sell them. Last week the government agency confirmed tenants had moved out of three of the six homes. Two houses are already on the market.
“We are continuing to try to work with the remaining residents to support them into alternative Kāinga Ora homes,” it said.
In April, tenants – some of whom had lived in the houses for decades – were given 90 days’ notice to leave.
20 years ago from the Flagstaff files
• Stanley Bay bus services have been slashed to peak times only and most fares have gone up by 25 per cent.
• Makeup artist Carla Franks lands the job of creating the best public face for Prime Minister Helen Clark leading into the election.
• Devonport-based Home Business New Zealand is named a finalist in the Vero Excellence in Business Support awards.
• Police charge a Navy sailor with drunk driving after a late-night high-speed crash leaves seven vehicles damaged in the ferry car park.
• The Victoria Theatre holds family nights at the movies on Fridays and Saturdays.
• Lyndsay Brock collates the work of her daughter Kirin Cerise (who died aged 32) in a book, Feels Like Thunder, which was launched at the Depot.
• Stanley Bay School uses a computer programme to encourage students to read books.
• Kevin Johnson Boatbuilders of Wynyard St is concerned the street’s light-industrial zoning will be eroded by buildings being turned into apartments.
• Bruce Cunningham becomes principal of Belmont Primary School, taking over from Terry Jobling.
• Stanley Bay School holds a comedy night featuring Paul Ego, Jeremy Corbett and Terry Williams.
• Devonport’s Soundhouse music shop changes hands and is renamed The CD and DVD Store under the ownership of Cindy and Jody Garrett.
• Historian Rod Cornelius chronicles the history of the Devonport Methodist Church.
• Top gymnast Georgia Cervin is the Flagstaff interview subject.
• A Maxx ferry-and-bus pass is launched to get people from Devonport to the city and back.
• Writer David Hill returns to TGS, where he taught “English and rugby” from 1967 to 1974, as part of the Storylines festival.
• Mike and Linda Geers from Art by the Sea gallery hold a series of exhibitions to celebrate three years operating in Devonport.
• North Shore United beat Albany 3-1 to make the fourth round of the Chatham Cup.
• The Devonport playcentre on Vauxhall Rd is broken into and a stereo and chocolates stolen.
• The Mariners, a new rugby league club, forms at Bayswater Park, two years after the demise of the North Shore Albions Club.
• North Shore Rugby Club premiers lose to Takapuna 44-33 after coming back from 29-9 down at halftime.
Stanley Bay Petanque Club hosts major ‘melee’
After three months of hard work converting a redundant bowling green for petanque, which included hundreds of volunteer hours, the Stanley Bay Petanque Club held its first major tournament, “The Inaugural King’s Birthday Melee”, on its 18 new international-sized pistes. Seventy-four entrants from across Auckland and the South Island took part in beautiful conditions and on a big day for the club. Plans are already being laid for next year’s event. The winner of the melee was Lynn Gibbs from Hibiscus Coast Petanque, who is also a Stanley Bay member.
Covid strolls inspire art project
Admiring other people’s homes while walking around the neighbourhood is a common pastime in Devonport, but for two artists it has led to an uncommon exhibition.
Paola King-Borrero and Paul Chapman have collaborated on Framing Devonport, which shows old homes in a new light. He takes photographs and digitises them, heightening and cropping the images. She does cut-outs and collage from the images shown in backlit lightbox structures.
They then choose specially sourced picture frames to match the mood, playing up features they perceive in the homes.
“I have a fascination with boxes and the home,” says King-Borrero. “More as a concept – what happens in the home.”
Six of the works are on show from this week at Satellite2 gallery in Victoria Rd.
Alongside familiar structures such as the former Devonport Fire Station are several heritage homes, one with a fountain out front in Stanley Bay. The image chosen to promote the show is a more modest house on Calliope Rd, but something about its lines caught the eye of the artists.
The frames came from a sale at the Auckland Art Gallery, where she works.
Chapman is a digital archivist at Auckland Library. For him their ongoing project is partly driven by “cataloguing”, says King-Borrero. She lives in an 1887 heritage building in the heart of the village and is keen on preservation too – but also interpretation. An earlier exhibition she did created lightboxes of a room at Katherine Mansfield House in Wellington.
Help building the Devonport light boxes came from local carpenter Seb Pryor, using old kauri from a closed boat builder.
Gilt-edged... A Calliope Rd home featured in Framing Devonport
The two artist friends first came up with the idea of working together during walks taken in Covid lockdown times. From commenting on the neighbourhood’s cute homes and features such as stained glass and their architectural lines, they moved on to shining their own light on around 100 of them.
To date, only a small number have been given the full transformative treatment. They hope the exhibition brings a new understanding to the characteristics of the area’s homes and that perhaps some homeowners may be interested in commissioning their own home depicted in miniature.
“There’s a time of the day when people turn on the lights in the houses and there’s a special light in their home – it’s dusk and that intrigues me as well,” she says.
• Framing Devonport, at Satellite2 gallery, 61A Victoria Rd, until 6 July, with an artists’ talk on 21 June from noon until 3pm.
Laugh Club brings comedy to TGS
Star comedians will feature in a “Laugh Club” evening hosted by the Takapuna Grammar School PTA on 2 August. MC’ed by Nick Rado, the event will star award-winning comedians Wilson Dixon, Justine Smith and David Stewart. A live auction of items, including a painting by Greer Clayton, will be held on the night, which starts at 6.30pm. Tickets, $58, including a welcome drink, are available through Kindo or by contacting pta@tgs.school.nz.
Tēnā koutou. We’re excited to showcase a host of exhibitions, workshops and events, including our annual Matariki exhibition, an architechtural exhibition series and a pounamu-based Maker of the Month in the DEPOT Shop | Toi Toa. Read on to find out more!
DEPOT Artspace
In support of DEPOT Artspace’s current Matariki exhibition, ‘RuaruawhetūWeaving Design Celebrating the Stars,’ we are hosting several raranga (weaving) workshops.
Featuring work from 17 artists spanning individual and collaborative raranga, this exhibition is on until 26 July so be sure to stop by for a visit, and visit our website to register for a workshop!
DEPOT
3 Vic Road
DEPOT 3 Vic Road’s upcoming exhibition, ‘Urban Adaptations - Devonport Tomorrow,’ opens 16 July, 6-8pm and shares creative propositions for the future development of Devonport Village.
‘Takarunga: A Natural History’ by Tate Agnew opens 19 July 10am-12pm, and delves into the ecological and social history of Takarunga through a series of paintings.
3 Vic Road visitors can also browse the DEPOT Shop | Toi Toa Maker of the Month for July - Hawaiiki Pēpi, showcasing a range of Māori designed products and blankets for babies.
Visit depot.org.nz for more info and stay up to date by subscribing to our e-news!
Ngā mihi nui, Amy Saunders Director | Kaiwhakahaere, DEPOT amy.saunders@depot.org.nz
Grave subject matter produces comedy-drama
Kristyl Neho reckons she’s been to around 1500 funerals.
Drawing on her experience of growing up in a family business dealing with death led her to create a one-woman show, Tangihanga, which she is bringing to the Rose Centre in Belmont this month.
She describes the show as a comedydrama, but admits this can be hard for some people to accept. “People in the Māori community said that seems a bit tapu – and then they would tell me all those funny stories of funerals and family dramas.”
Although Neho promises lots of laughter and tears from the show, she says the underlying message is life-affirming and universal. It’s also pertinent for Matariki, a time when past, present and future are recognised. “Because Matariki is about reflecting on our loved ones, it’s an opportunity to have the conversation about death and dying.”
Tangihanga has evolved from a shorter stage version that dates back to 2009. Additional scenes and characters now see experienced actor Neho play a whopping 32 characters over 75 minutes.
It’s quite a feat, but she enjoys immersing herself in a story of a whanau gathering for a tangi on a marae. By the end, she says: “I feel quite exhilarated and peaceful.”
Audience feedback from earlier shows across the North Island has been gratifying, with performances in Sydney and possibly further afield still to come.
Neho puts the positive response down to the universality of dealing with death. While cultural traditions differ, she says Pākehā audience members have been as immersed in Tangihanga as Māori. “It’s quite beautiful to know that it touches people.”
Tangihanga is also intensely personal for Neho (Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kahungungu). She was brought up by her grandparents,
Mani and Ansie Neho, who ran a funeral directors business in Hawke’s Bay.
As a youngster she helped out with everything from tending bodies to setting up for services. As an adult, she realised the respect so many held for the couple she considered her parents.
On hearing her last name, strangers tell her stories of how Mani supported them in times of grief. “He was an amazing funeral director with a real love of people. He created a nurturing atmosphere.”
Tangihanga came out of wanting to reflect on that and how differently people deal with grief. Messages relate to “how you make people feel safe and comfortable in the uncomfortable”, and of the need to share stories
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Neho, who has worked variously as an actor, director and producer, prefers the storyteller moniker.
She attended Toi Whakaari drama school in Wellington and also trained at the New Zealand Film and Television School in Auckland. These days, the solo mother runs a charitable trust and juggles business and mentoring, but despite the busy schedule finds “when I get to go into the [Tangihanga] role, it’s a total break.”
She says aspects of the show will be made into a short film at the end of the year. • Tangihanga, at the Rose Centre, Belmont, 7pm Friday and Saturday 26-27 June, with a 1pm matinee on Friday. Adult tickets $35.
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Versatile... Actor-director Kristyl Neho plays 32 characters during the 75 minutes of her one-woman show about a whanau gathering for a tangi on a marae
Weavers showcased in Depot show for Matariki
The power of weaving to bring people together is at the heart of an exhibition at Depot Artspace, says guest curator and Te Hau Kapua resident Terehia Walker.
Walker and fellow Devonport resident Cathy Denne are among 17 artists from across Tamaki Makaurau whose work is part of the group show, timed to coincide with Matariki. Ruaruawhetū – Weaving Design Celebrating the Stars opened last weekend and is on for six weeks, with spin-off workshops in July.
Entering the exhibition in the Depot’s Clarence St gallery, the eye is drawn to woven birds hanging from the ceiling and stars forming a pattern on its western wall. A traditional kite with dyed decorative elements, made by Clara-Mae Tukerangi, is suspended near a series of striking wall panels by Tereana Shortland. Wearable items are also on show.
A small framed work is by noted wānanga weaving tutor Amber Fonua. It took months of work, using fine “silk” fibre harvested from inside harakeke leaves.
After dabbling in learning the basics of weaving, Walker wanted to expand her skills, so she enrolled for raranga studies at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa last year.
“To weave is not just about harakeke, but our culture, our whenua,” she says.
Along with Denne, she is a member of local environmental group Restoring Takarunga Hauraki. Through its native planting, Walker says her appreciation for the natural world and its bounty has strengthened.
She has found great harakeke for weaving around the peninsula foreshore. The plant is a fantastic sustainable resource, she says, yielding not just fibre, but also oils used in rongoa or traditional Māori medicine.
Denne started making woven flowers –putiputi – with Walker two Matariki ago and kept learning as part of a local raranga group.
Walker has used facilities at the Lake House in Takapuna for dyeing fibre and has organised weaving courses there and at the Rose Centre in Belmont, with further classes in Sunnynook, Milford and Mairangi Bay. From these, several North Shore people were attracted to try their hand at the Depot exhibition, alongside students Walker studied with at the wānanga.
“People who didn’t believe in themselves, believe in themselves now,” says Walker. “The idea that your ‘fingers do the weaving’ as a natural progression is a beautiful metaphor for how our experiences and connections shape who we are and what we do’.”
• Ruaruawhetū – Weaving Design Celebrating the Stars, Depot Artspace, 28 Clarence St, until 26 July. On Saturday 5 July a Curator’s Kōrero with Terehia Walker will run from 11am to noon. The following three Saturdays, 12, 19 and 26 July, weaving workshops will be held from 10am.
For details see depot.org.nz, with bookings through Humanitix.
SHOWING NOW
28 Years Later (R16) 126min
Elio (PG) 98min
Kōkā (M) 100min
Merchant Ivory (M) 112min
How to Train Your Dragon (PG) 126min
Materialists (M) 116min
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (R16) 125min
The Surfer (R16) 100min
Bring Her Back (R18) 104min
The Phoenician Scheme (M) 101min
Lilo & Stitch (PG) 108min
SPECIAL EVENTS & NEW RELEASES
Matariki at The Vic (E) 60min - Live Event 20 Jun
Karate Kid: Legends (PG) 94min - Promo Screening 21 Jun
The Doctor’s Wife (E) Fundraiser for Palestinian Children Relief Fund 22 Jun
Our Devonport - Pecha Kucha Night 120min 23 Jun
Potluck - A Live Improvised Comedy Soap Opera 27 Jun
For more info on films & events go to thevic.co.nz
Thanks to our partners and supporters
Flaxy time... Clara-Mae Tukerangi (left) with a kite she is exhibiting at the Depot, and local weaving tutor Terehia Walker
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