Interview: Couple who spoke out on Holy Trinity... p24-25
Not so fast: AT still keen on wider low-speed zones
Larger low-speed zones around some Devonport peninsula schools are back on Auckland Transport’s agenda.
AT wants to impose 40km/h limits in three zones in Stanley Bay-Devonport, Belmont and Hauraki.
It was earlier forced to remove 30km/h
zones introduced locally from mid-2022, when, in 2024, the government issued a national directive against blanket speed restrictions around schools.
These were replaced with a restricted speed area within 150m of school gates, with 30km/h applying only around school start
and finish times.
AT is now revisiting speed zones in Auckland that have previously been through consultation and won local board support. This includes a combined zone for Stanley Bay and St Leo’s Primary schools, and zones
To page 11
It’s a Rippa! Rugby the winner at ‘World Cup’
National pride… Enjoying North Shore Rugby Club’s Rippa World Cup last week were (from left) Otto Mallakey (7), Lulu Morgan (7), Eli McRae (9), Louis Wright (9) and Hope Wilkinson (7). More pics and story, pages 16-17.
Flagstaff and editor recognised in national awards
The Devonport Flagstaff and its editor are finalists in the national Voyager Media Awards.
The Flagstaff is in the running for the Community Newspaper of the Year award, alongside the Ashburton Guardian and Queenstown’s Mountain Scene, while editor Rob Drent is one of three finalists in the Local Journalist of the Year category.
The paper submitted four of its best 2025 papers for judging, including the 18 August edition, which had a 16-page feature covering North Shore Rugby Club’s third successive North Harbour championship.
Drent submitted three pieces for judging. They were news stories covering the exodus of parishioners from Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Stanley Bay School principal Emma Tolmie’s extended leave, and a double-page interview with retiring Takapuna lawyer Alex Witten-Hannah, which was published in the Flagstaff’s sister paper, the Rangitoto Observer.
The Flagstaff has been published fortnightly since 1992, with Drent as editor for the last 29 years. He won the Community Journalist of the Year Voyager in 2018, while the Flagstaff was a finalist in the Community Newspaper of the Year category in 2023.
“It’s great to be recognised in these national awards,” Drent said.
“The going has been pretty tough for community newspapers in recent years, as it has for small businesses generally, but we remain committed to delivering the journalism our readers want and deserve. It’s always encouraging when the paper and our stories are rated highly by independent judges.”
Another Devonport resident, Gill Higgins of TVNZ, is a finalist for the Gordon McLauchlan Journalism Award which recognises excellence in lifestyle journalism – including travel, fashion, fitness, wellbeing, food, leisure, the arts and entertainment.
The winners will be announced at an awards dinner on 22 May.
Woolworths reviews Hauraki store
The future of the Woolworths supermarket at Hauraki Corner is under review.
Approached by the Flagstaff, a Woolworths spokesperson would only say: “We are consulting with our Hauraki Corner team on the future of our Hauraki Corner store. They remain our priority and we are unable to share any public information at this time.”
Australian-owned Woolworths New Zealand also owns the Fresh Choice brand. Individual Fresh Choice supermarkets are locally owned and operated throughout New Zealand under a franchise model.
The Hauraki supermarket was rebranded from Countdown around a year ago. Woolworths NZ began phasing out Countdown signage from 2023, to align with its Australian parent company.
Some years back it was a New World. Woolworths has a larger Countdown on Barrys Pt Rd. It is facing nearby largescale competition in future from rival chain Pak’nSave, which has a site it plans to develop on Fred Thomas Dr, Takapuna. Pak’nSave is a Foodstuffs franchise brand, along with New World and Four Square.
Anzac Day services
The Devonport Anzac Day parade is at 11am on 25 April, with a march down Victoria Rd ending at the memorial outside Devonport Library where the service will be held. The Takapuna Anzac Day service will be held on 25 April at 9am at the war memorial on The Strand. Marchers assemble at Sanders Ave and parade up Lake Rd for the formalities. The Harbour Bridge will be lit in red each evening from 16 to 25 April, and between 5 and 7am on Anzac Day.
Devonport Publishing Ltd First Floor, 9 Wynyard St
Best Community Involvement: 2021, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2005
Best Sports Reporter: 2024, 2016
Best Lifestyle/Feature Writer: 2024, 2023
VOYAGER/CANON MEDIA AWARDS
Community Reporter of the Year: Winner 2018
Community Newspaper of the Year: Finalist 2017
MANAGING EDITOR: Rob Drent
CHIEF REPORTER: Janetta Mackay
ADVERTISING: Candice Izzard
DESIGN: Brendon De Suza
NEXT ISSUE: May 8
ADVERTISING DEADLINE: May 1
Hon Simon Watts
Authorised by Hon Simon Watts, Parliament Buildings, Wgtn.
Awards finalist... Flagstaff editor Rob Drent is in the running in the local journalist category at the Voyager Awards
Navy lads perform bucket duties in Anzac fundraiser
Flower power... Among the Navy personnel out in force selling poppies in Devonport last Friday were (from left) James Nelson, Max Calvert and Samuel Francis. Willow Davy (5) and Linda Williams were among their customers.
Replacing a set of five steps at Devonport Wharf has cost more than $10,000 in consultants’ reports before construction even starts.
The stairs, at the ferry car park end of the wharf, are no longer usable as their undermined piles dangle off the ground.
They have been closed for more than two years after being damaged in a storm.
A breakdown of consultant costs provided by Auckland Transport included: a construction methodology report by LDE engineering consultants, $550; a heritage impact report done by Lloyd Macomber for Salmond Reed architects, $5055; a Tonkin and Taylor coastal hazard risk assessment, $4900.
The proposed new set of 14 timber steps include stainless steel handrails. The structure will be connected into the seawall and include new footings.
No construction costs have yet been calculated but if the resource consent is approved building is expected to take place in this financial year.
An Auckland Transport spokesperson said: “Our aim has been to keep costs as low as possible while still providing asset longevity for the local community.”
Watch your steps... the existing unusable steps at Devonport Wharf (top) and the planned replacement
North Shore Cricket Club players and officials celebrating at the Auckland Cricket Awards: (from left rear) Jock McKenzie, Max Clarke, Mark Davies, Matt Browning, Freddy Birch, Rustin Langford, Jess Smith, Johanna Melhuish, Bree Wall, Ryan Arps, Angus Nicoll. Front: Brian Shandley, Jack Clough, Finn Granger, Sam Hinds, Ben Wall, Krissie Mistry, Gillian Scott and Sasindu Nanayakkara.
Awards haul caps great cricket season for North Shore
North Shore Cricket Club won numerous team and individual categories at the recent Auckland Cricket awards.
At the high-performance end, Simon Keene was acknowledged for representing New Zealand A, capping off a superb season by taking both the Plunket Shield Player of the Year and the John Morris Trophy for Auckland Cricket’s Player of the Year.
At club level, premier bowler Brandon
Mavuta was named Auckland Cricket’s Men’s Club Cricketer of the Year.
The club’s premier men’s side were recognised for an outstanding campaign, winning the Tom Hellaby Trophy and securing promotion for the 2026/27 season.
The Spirit of Cricket Award, recognising respect for the game, officials and opposition, was won by the North Shore premier women’s side.
Inflation up, Growth down...
Looks like inflation is going to increase quite significantly because of the Middle East disruption and it may not be temporary as many products are oil based and many related businesses are putting up prices because they have to - in response the Reserve Bank mandate is to keep inflation at 1-3% over the medium term........ so if they believe this will be breached longer term they may be forced to hike rates (as ANZ and others are predicting maybe 3 time this year)?
This seems madness as the economy and employment is likely to shrink quite significantly with stagflation possible... but thats the way it is and that’s not good for anyone! As a consequence some property has softened a bit along with demand for mortgage finance and we are getting more non bank lenders reaching out for “any business”!
Speak with us for any financing we can invariably help.
To cap the night off, North Shore was named Auckland Club of the Year.
“As a club that has been part of the Devonport community since 1864, we take immense pride in upholding the values of both Auckland and New Zealand Cricket,” said club administrator Gillian Scott.
“This recognition is a reflection of the collective effort across our entire club and caps off what has been a truly exceptional season.”
Families turn out for library holiday programme
Woolly thinking... Making pom-pom monsters was on the fun agenda at Devonport Library last Friday as part of its school holiday activities programme. Above: mum Alice with Martha (6) and Molly (4) Lewis. Opposite page: Alex Orwin with sons Cameron (eight months), Cooper (4) and Charlie (6).
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Her hip had other plans
Her hip had other plans
Rosemary had plans for her retirement. Morning walks with friends, afternoons in the garden, weekends chasing grandchildren around the park. Her hip, however, had other ideas.
“It started gradually,” the 68-year-old recalls. “First I’d feel it after long walks. Then after short ones. Eventually I was feeling it just lying in bed trying to get comfortable.”
She’d decline invitations, knowing she’d pay for it later. The garden grew untidy. Visits from grandchildren became something to manage rather than enjoy.
“My world was shrinking,” she admits. “I was becoming someone who sat and watched rather than joined in.”
Her daughter left a bottle of Koru FX on Rosemary’s kitchen bench after reading about the natural cream in her local paper.
“I wasn’t expecting much,” Rosemary admits. “But I massaged some into my hip and felt this lovely warming sensation, then a cooling that settled everything down.”
The activities she’d been avoiding… gradually, they returned to her routine.
“Last weekend I spent three hours at
the park with them,” she beams. “Running around, pushing swings, picking them up for cuddles. Six months ago that would have been unthinkable.”
Her husband has noticed the difference. “He says he’s got his wife back,” Rosemary shares. “I’m doing things again, saying yes instead of making excuses.”
“It’s not about being twenty again. It’s about your body not holding you back from the life you want.”
Flattened predator find raises alarm on peninsula
Protecting nature…Volunteer trapper
Vicki Birks with the dead stoat found near Narrow Neck Beach
The discovery of a dead stoat near Narrow Neck Beach has put local pest trappers on high alert.
Environmental group Restoring Takarunga Hauraki (RTH) is adding larger traps to a trapline in the area and looking to use them more widely across the peninsula.
It wants to alert the public to the risk stoats pose to birdlife and be told of any sightings of the predator species.
Narrow Neck resident and RTH volunteer trapper Vicki Birks said she was contacted about the dead stoat by a fellow resident.
It was found squashed by a vehicle on Old Lake Rd near Narrow Neck Beach. Sadly, another trapper had found a dead ruru nearby.
It is unclear if the native owl was killed by the stoat or perhaps also hit by a vehicle.
“My friend who found the flat stoat said they had been listening to the ruru for the last few days and then they didn’t hear it.”
Birks, who has been running traplines on Maungauika since last year, says more helpers are always welcome.
with watchlist hot spots around Stanley Bay Park, Ngataringa Bay, where there are already stoat traps, and further up the peninsula, including at Shoal Bay.
Across its 30-plus traplines on the peninsula, most RTH traps are sized for rats, with some bigger versions for possums.
RTH is looking to buy more medium-sized traps, known as the DOC200, because these are suited to stoats. They cost around $200 each.
Fairbairn says stoats can be identified by their black-tipped fluffy tail. They have voracious appetites and prey on birds and invertebrates. “They eat a lot of everyday birds.”
RTH pest lead Catherine Fairbairn says people most likely think of stoats in a rural context, although they have previously been seen in Bayswater. Keeping any population in check was vital to safeguard birdlife.
For Fairbairn – who was head girl at Takapuna Grammar School in 2020 – encouraging more community awareness and engagement is a key part of the role she took up a month ago.
“Stoats are the No. 1 predator in New Zealand, along with cats.”
They tended to get about via waterways,
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Weasels, another mustelid species, are smaller and don’t have the black tail tip. They have been spotted at Shoal Bay, an important area for birds.
Stamping out the pests altogether may not be possible on the mainland, Fairbairn said, but with the peninsula’s role as an eco-corridor link between pest-free Hauraki Gulf islands and the Waitākere Ranges, deterring proliferation is vital.
Fairbairn returned to Devonport from the University of Otago last year with a conjoint BA and BSc in environmental science and a postgraduate diploma in wildlife management.
Her part-time role with RTH will have her revisiting her old schools to try to inspire the next generation of environmental advocates.
She aims to encourage involvement in trapping.“I think the Hauraki to Devonport community would be surprised how many more birds we might see in the area.”
An early goal is to try to establish a new trapline in Stanley Bay Park.
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Pest focus... Catherine Fairbairn
Homes of Devonport 2026
Would you be willing to open your home for the day?
We are looking for 10 Devonport homes to offer the ticket holders a variety of homes for them to enjoy visiting.
We are looking for a mix of homes – traditional, modern, large, small, quirky, apartments, townhouses and interesting homes. Your home may have a beautiful garden or a collection of art or collectibles which would be of interest to our ticket holders.
The Devonport Rotary Charitable Trust in partnership with Bayleys Real Estate Limited is holding its seventh Homes of Devonport on Friday 13th November this year. This charity event will not only benefit the Rotary Charitable Trust, but funds will be donated to Dementia Auckland, Cure Kids and Motor Neurone Disease NZ.
Our local schools, kindergartens and clubs also benefit by selling tickets for the event and keeping more than half of the sale price as a fundraiser for their group.
Please get in touch with either Lynda Betts – 021 278 3024 | Lynda.betts@bayleys.co.nz or anyone you know in either Rotary Devonport or Bayleys Devonport for an initial chat to see if you are comfortable to be a part of this special day.
AT still seeks low-speed zones ditched by government
for Belmont Primary and Hauraki School. If reintroduced, they would apply at all times.
AT told the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board that there was still a strong safety case to have lower limits on local roads in the wider vicinity of schools. But it acknowledged 30km/h had not won widespread acceptance
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and could not be reinstated for larger zones, instead suggesting 40km/h. “We still get a good safety benefit, but communities are more accepting of it,” said Olivia Hare, manager of an AT schools road safety team.
Any change in local school zones would require further public consultation.
Asked for its feedback at a workshop last week, the board gave guarded support. It generally supported a speed drop on local roads near schools, but not applying to major roads such as Lake Rd or Calliope Rd.
Chair Trish Deans said the zone for Stanley Bay and St Leo’s had been too big and she would not wish to see this fully reinstated. Excessive signage was also an issue.
“We’re really keen about speed limits around schools, but want to look at the extent of it – 30km/h didn’t work.”
AT suggested Vauxhall Primary School might also benefit from a zone.
Hare told the board when the zones were in place, AT had recorded a drop in death and injury crashes across Auckland of 20 per cent. While 30km/h was considered the survivable speed limit for pedestrians hit by
a car, there was still a 50 per cent reduction in deaths when crashes at 40km/h were compared with those at 50km/h.
Her team’s principal traffic engineer, Adam Moller, said restrictions of 150m around schools did not cover people coming to school outside normal hours, for the likes of after-school sport or recreation at the weekends. “Schoolchildren are the primary target, but there’s a lot more people walking in residential areas who could benefit.”
AT also floated the idea of dropping speeds more consistently on local roads with high pedestrian numbers to 40km/h to avoid confusion for drivers, who might transition from a 50km/h arterial road into a local school zone and then back to 50km/h on other local roads. Board members saw some sense in traffic in residential streets being slowed, but wanted a consistent approach.
In wider discussion, board members Scott Macarthur and Garth Ellingham cited Northboro Rd in Belmont as an area of safety concern and congestion.
AT said it had a separate investigation into options for Northboro Rd under way.
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Podcast host named as Labour candidate for Shore
Serious concerns about priorities at North Shore Hospital, the state of the Hauraki Gulf and public transport are three local issues being highlighted by the newly selected Labour Party candidate for North Shore.
Sam Collins, who has a background in media and communications and has run a podcast co-hosted by former cabinet ministers Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson, has already posted clips of himself out and about in the electorate talking about the issues he intends to campaign on.
They show him in Devonport, Takapuna Beach and Sunnynook Park, although the 39-year-old family man owns a home in Long Bay, in the East Coast Bays electorate.
“If the unthinkable happens and I overturn North Shore, I’ll aim to move,” he says.
North Shore is a long-standing true-blue National Party seat held by Simon Watts, who in 2023 won a 16,330 majority over Labour’s George Hampton.
For Collins, increasing the party vote for Labour will be a priority. Its share of the party vote in the seat slumped to less than 18 per cent in the last election.
He says Labour’s pillar issues – jobs, health and homes – have wide appeal as people look for long-term thinking and answers to the cost of living crisis.
Collins says along with his use of so-
filming a pop star, by afternoon a politician, where he noted some could be slippery beasts.
Back in Auckland, where he had completed a Masters in Public Policy after an initial broadcasting degree, he soon became involved with Labour, helping with campaigns and in backroom roles.
For the last two years he has chaired the party's Auckland-Northland Regional Council.
The Cross Party Lines podcast he has run with Goff and Finlayson interviews politicians of all ilks in an attempt to add to democratic debate.
Nine months ago he launched his own podcasting-advice company, Audio Advisory, and says starting a small business has given him first-hand experience of the struggles involved.
cial-media channels, he plans town centre appearances and plenty of old-school door-knocking.
“I just want to talk to as many people as possible. I’m a bit like a labrador,” he says. “I just love connecting with people.”
Collins spent seven years in the UK, which is where he says his interest in politics grew during the Brexit debate.
He had a job as head of video for media company Global. By morning he might be
His parents also ran their own business in Hamilton.
As a child he visited Devonport with his parents when the family was staying in Auckland.
His time out these days often involves taking his eight-year-old son to Shore playgrounds.
Collins senses a mood for change across the country. “We have an opportunity to make history by restricting this chaotic coalition government to one term.”
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Dogged style... Sam Collins says he’s “like a labrador” in his love for personal connection
Shore sides at home for feast of Anzac Day rugby
An Anzac Day bonanza of rugby at North Shore Rugby Club will feature all the club’s senior men’s teams.
Shore’s premiers, reserves, under-21s and under-85kg teams will all play against Kumeu at Vauxhall, starting at 1pm.
The premiers, reserves and under-21 sides all had wins last Saturday to lead their respective competitions.
The premiers beat Massey 38-21, the reserves beat Massey 48-22 and the under -21s beat Takapuna 52-26.
For the premiers, Oscar Koller continued a rich vein of form, scoring two of the side’s four first-half tries and kicking five from five conversions along with a second-half penalty. Star fullback Hunter Rice marked his return from injury with a late try.
On 11 April, the premiers and premier 2 sides notched wins against Takapuna at Onewa Domain.
The premiers won that match against their old foe 42-22, although a late try flattered Shore, while the reserves squeaked in with a last-minute try giving them a 36-31 victory.
In the premiers derby, Shore started strongly with rapid-fire attacks seeing the three-in-a row championship winners jump to a 13-0 lead. It looked like the visitors might run away with the match, but Takapuna mounted a committed comeback, trailing only 16-15 at the break.
Shore flanker Liam Sturm scored immediately after halftime, putting Shore ahead 23-15. Takapuna replied with a converted try to close the gap again
Then a scintillating 40-metre Koller break led to a converted try and Shore leading 3422. But given the seesaw nature of the game, anything seemed possible.
A last-minute converted try gave Shore a flattering score-line in what was a highly competitive and entertaining match.
Explosive... North Shore’s Rory Taylor puts the foot down in a break against Josh Smith-Bain of old foes Takapuna at Onewa Domain two weeks ago
For Shore, captain Donald Coleman had a powerhouse game, leading from the front with many bullocking charges. Koller and Cam Howell, playing at fullback, offered great attacking options. On debut, halfback Brian Leolifano and hard-running centre Amalini Taiala both had excellent matches.
And it was also great to see North Harbour player James Fiebig have a solid second-half stint at lock, coming back after a long injury break.
A crowd of more than 1000 saw plenty of good young talent coming through to ignite the 2026 title race.
In a thrilling premier two match, North Shore beat 2025 grade champs Takapuna 36-31 with a last-minute try after Takapuna, led by two points with two minutes to play.
• North Shore is without a premier women’s team in this year’s Auckland competition.
“We had a couple retire after last season and some went over to the Aussie league. We weren’t able to get enough to form a team this year, which was a shame,” said club manager Callum McNair. However junior players were coming through from Takapuna Grammar, which should translate into a senior team soon, he said.
ANZAC DAY COMMEMORATING
Saturday April 25 | Navy Museum
64 King Edward Parade, Devonport
Seasoned writers offer workshops at community house
The first “Little Lit Fest”, a month-long celebration of creative writing, is being held at the Devonport Community House in May.
The series of events aims to bring experienced New Zealand authors into a grassroots community setting to work directly with local writers.
On the programme are two well-known writers, Judith White and Dominic Hoey.
An established novelist and short story writer whose work has been widely published and broadcast on Radio New Zealand, White has also spent over 20 years teaching and mentoring writers across Auckland. She will be running a weekly creative writing workshop on Wednesdays from 5 to 26 May.
Hoey, an award-winning Auckland poet, novelist and performer, known for books such as Iceland, Poor People With Money, and 1985, will be running an intensive novel-writing workshop on Saturday 16 May. His “Learn to Write Good” workshops have a strong following for their accessible, no-barriers approach.
Devonport Community House manager Gemma Dickinson said: “What feels particularly important about this is that the festival is entirely participant-supported, so it really relies on local people getting in behind it.
“With fewer accessible creative opportunities around at the moment, we’re hoping this helps create a space where people can actually commit to developing their writing over time, not just try it once.
“We’re also tying it in with the timing of the wider Auckland Writers Festival, but offering something much more local and hands-on here in Devonport.”
Tickets are available from the community house website.
Big chance at little festival... Dominic Hoey and Judith White (inset) will give workshops in Devonport
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Whole world of fun: Youngsters flock to fly
Just over 170 children took part in North Shore Rugby Club’s annual Rippa World Cup early last week. The fun tournament, in its sixth year at the Vauxhall sports fields, was open to Years 3 to 8. Money raised by the event goes towards North Shore’s end of year ‘leavers’ trip, which marks the departure of junior players, many to play for their secondary schools before hopefully returning to Shore on leaving school.
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Friendly rivals... Eleven-year-olds Lucia Morrison (left) and Maddie Burn represented South Africa and England respectively. Right: Coach Keely Shaw had her hands full with Team Ireland 7-year-olds (from left) Maggie Mulligan, Maeve Poole, Luella Mulligan and Izzy Strang.
the flags at North Shore’s Rippa tournament
Full Irish... Brax Doddrell (left) and Seb Peacocke played for Ireland in the under-13 grade
Try time... Livvie Palmer (above) and Georgia Roberts (below) race away for the under-12 New Zealand team
By Rob Drent By Rob Drent
Leafing back through the Flagstaff files looking for background on current stories, I occasionally come across news items of things that never happened. Often these can be great ideas or projects that are canned for one reason or another.
One of the most unfortunate in recent times was the planned – and approved – $3 million upgrade of North Shore United’s football fields. A resource consent was granted after a public hearing and it seemed all go in 2018 when Auckland Council plans were signed off by the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. On 23 February 2018, the Flagstaff revealed the council had spent more than $200,000 on 13 reports.
Then Covid came along and the redevelopment was put on hold by the cashstrapped Auckland Council. It was a great loss for the club and the wider community. The future of the land alongside the soccer ground remains unclear. An upgrade
of the Claystore has been budgeted but what happens to the rest of the council land under a variety of tenancies is somewhat up in the air. And the old Mobil petrol station site at the front of the block remains empty. Woolworths had planned to turn the building into a direct-to-boot outlet but this idea was dropped. Asked by The Flagstaff what plans Woolworths had for the site, we were last week told there was “no update”, which I suppose means nothing is happening. Overall, that Lake Rd block is a bit of an eyesore at the entrance to Devonport. Should council be taking more of a lead to sort it out?
The horse has already bolted on this one but the old Devonport bus shelters discussed in our story on page 31 of this issue could have been used as pick-up spots for the AT Local rideshare scheme, an electric-vehicle service that operated in Devonport on a two-year trial from 2018. People liked the service but at one stage it was costing $11 a ride. I always felt the vans should have run circuits around Devonport rather than sitting at various spots for hours waiting for rides. A similar on-demand service now operates in Timaru.
Garden Design Devonport
Ultra-marathon swimmer Jono Ridler, who recently completed a 1400km swim down the east coast of the North Island ,started his ocean swimming career in Devonport. His first race was the Auckland Harbour crossing from Bayswater to the city in 2011.
He had another slightly unusual aquatic link to Devonport: In 2022 he was the first nude swimmer home in the Round North Head Classic from Windsor Reserve to Cheltenham Beach.
Call for Expressions of Interest
The Trustees of Devonport Peninsula Trust (CC45350) regretfully give notice that they intend that the Trust will be wound up. In accordance with the Trust Deed, the Trustees intend that all surplus assets will be given to other charitable organisations on the Devonport Peninsula. The Board welcomes expressions of interest from such organisations to further the stated purposes of the Trust which are available on its website, www.dpt.nz, or on request by emailing the address below. Without prejudice, the Trustees particularly invite expressions of interest from organisations intending to continue the Annual Kids Athletics Event and Kids Play Programme.
Expressions of interest should be submitted by email to board@devonportpeninsulatrust.nz by 8 May 2026.
The Trustees thank the many members of the community who have contributed generously to the goals and aims of the Trust over its many years of service.
Local players share in brass band’s first national title
It took more than 100 years, but North Shore Brass is finally able to revel in the title of the nation’s best band.
Several musicians from Devonport were key contributors as the band secured top spot at the New Zealand Brass Band Championships in Wellington this month, unseating the seven-times-in-a row national champion Wellington Brass Band. “We were celebrating into the wee small hours,” band president Owen Melhuish told the Flagstaff. “I’m super proud, it’s been a long time coming.”
Individual successes were also toasted. Among them was 17-yearold Dimitrious Koulanis from Devonport, who won the Junior Slow Melody title at the champs. The cornet player, who attends St Peter’s College, also placed third in the overall Junior Champion of Champions section.
Another Devonport resident, Murray Borthwick, was principal horn in the winning band. Dominic Cornfield, a cornet player from Devonport, was also involved in the big weekend.
Seven North Shore Brass players had the added honour of performing in a National Band of New Zealand concert after the championships. Six were from the winning A-grade band, the seventh being 11-year-old Celine Wu, an invited soloist on cornet from the Academy Band, who won the U15 Slow Melody.
Celine, from Sunnynook, will be at the Anzac Day parade in Devonport this week, playing the Last Post. North Shore Brass will lead the Takapuna Anzac parade.
Originally known as Takapuna Brass Band, the organisation celebrated its centenary with a concert at the Bruce Mason Centre three years ago. Its top band won the New Zealand Championship Gold Cup under a guest conductor, Nigel Weeks from Nelson, against competitors from across the country, Australia and Tonga.
Melhuish said Weeks’ contribution was part of a planned transition, with its conductor of recent years, Harmen Vanhoorne, intending to return to Europe. Under his baton, the band has come close to national titles before, including third place in 2024 and 2025, and is reigning Auckland champion.
Going all the way this year was something Melhuish put down “to a little bit of extra effort, hard work and graft, and good music choice”.
The “own choice” selection – one of three works each band is judged on – was A Brussels Requiem, nodding to Belgium-born Vanhoorne.
The band’s percussion section was named best section overall for its test piece performance.
Individual winners: Aishah Leitner, who is now based in Christchurch as a member of the New Zealand Army Band, slipped
back into her North Shore blue jacket to win a title she has been chasing for five years, winning the Invitation Slow Melody competition. She was also Open Trombone Champion; cornet player and band linchpin John Sullivan from Birkenhead claimed the overall Masters Champion title; Nigel Weeks was recognised as conductor of the champion band, in what was his seventh A-grade victory, but the first since 2004. He was also best conductor of the test piece section.
Teen bandsman... Devonport’s Dimitrious Koulanis won the Junior Slow Melody title at the New Zealand Brass Band Championships
37A EWEN ALISON AVENUE
If you are looking for perfection, this is it! There is nothing more to spend other than the purchase price, how amazing is that.
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22 STANLEY POINT ROAD
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Overseas vendor wants this sold and will look at offers over $800,000. This is exceptional buying in central Devonport. Call me today.
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Barfoot & Thompson Limited Licensed REAA 2008
So our local board has approved a plan of “quick wins” for improvements to Lake Rd at Belmont? There have been many such proposals over the years and I cannot think of one that ultimately was a “win”. The board would have been better spending its time trying to find a suitable location to build a home for deranged and delusional planners.
The northbound two lanes of traffic in Lake Rd begin at Roberts Ave and end 100m later at the lights, where they return to a single lane. Somehow, moving the resulting congestion a further 200m down the road by implementing a two-hour no-stopping zone, removing six carparks permanently and sticking the southbound bus stop on Lake Rd, is the answer to all our prayers. Well, it’s not.
God protect me from tinkerers! The proposal for a two-hour no-stopping zone in the mornings has already been extended from one hour. Are we expected to believe that AT will not quickly move to include a further two hours in the late afternoon? They suggest that only two businesses are open at that time
of day anyway. Completely untrue. This morning at 8.30, the dairy was busy checking Lotto tickets for those who wanted to be sure they had to go to work today; to cover those “ too late to make it now” lunches, the bakery was selling buns, the fruit shop selling apples and the sushi shop selling, of all things, sushi. The laundromat was busy with young people trying to disguise the weekend “stay over” when mum and dad were away, and the money machine had a queue of older folk waiting to refill their purses after gifting a few coins to the grandchildren who visited on the weekend. All this before the Belmont Pharmacy is ready to open at 9.
Ah! I think I have a solution. If the entire community started referring to affected car parks and bus stop as the “heritage car parks” and “heritage bus stop” then we could guarantee their preservation. Including the word “heritage” in its name, certainly worked for the stale-urine-smelling bus shelter on the corner of Lake and Clifton, not very far away.
Gerald Sheehy
I feel totally outraged that a correspondent should compare the vicar and congregation of Holy Trinity Devonport with Destiny Church (Flagstaff letters, 10 April).
Some people have made a choice and left Holy Trinity, which also happened when Charmaine Braatvedt became vicar. That’s life. Move on.
Jenny Renouf
Go to devonportflagstaff.co.nz and click on ‘Become a
Although we are users of the 806 bus, we have not received a letter detailing the proposed bus stop deletions and additions and so have no idea of the rationale for these changes.
If they are meant to improve the speed of the service, they seem entirely unnecessary, since the buses only usually need to pull into very few stops between Stanley Bay and the end of Calliope Rd.
The main challenge to the timeliness of buses and their coordination with ferries (a very welcome if surprisingly recent innovation) is the Calliope Rd intersection. This expensive piece of hazard maximizing transport engineering invariably holds up ferry-bound buses that have to give way to turning traffic and traffic coming up the hill. It is also a source of confusion to all vehicles turning into and out of Calliope Rd and a real danger to cyclists and pedestrians. The safety and convenience of all these users would have been infinitely better served (and at far less cost) by a set of well-designed traffic lights.
John Morrow
First Peninsula Schools Hockey Zone Day a hit
Takapuna Grammar School recently hosted its first Peninsula Schools Hockey Zone Day, bringing together 100 enthusiastic primary‑aged players.
Students from Belmont, Bayswater, Stanley Bay, and Hauraki primary schools took part in the event, which was organised by the TGS Hockey Committee.
Years 3 4 played at TGS and the Belmont Intermediate School turf was used for years 5 6.
TGS hockey players stepped into coaching and umpiring roles, creating a fun, welcoming environment and encouraging participants of all abilities to give hockey a go.
Teacher in Charge of Hockey at Takapuna Grammar School, Steve Heard, said the Zone Day was a resounding success.
“Our recent TGS Peninsula Schools Zone Day brought primary students together for a fun tournament that allowed kids to jump in and experience hockey for a day,” he said.
“Superbly coached by our own TGS hockey players, the tournament was a fantastic success, and we hope it will act as a catalyst for future involvement in the sport.”
Excitement builds as Legally Blonde rehearsals enter final stage
Rehearsals for Legally Blonde: The Musical are now in their final phase, with TGS preparing to take the production to the stage in early May.
More than 250 students from across the school are involved, both on stage and behind the scenes.
Audiences can expect strong singing, acting and dancing performances, supported by a large backstage team working on sets, props and costumes.
Co‑Director Campbell MacKenzie said student commitment has been clear
throughout the process.
“It’s been wonderful to see our cast and crew so passionate about making Legally Blonde the best it can be. It’s shaping up to be a great season, and we can’t wait to share it with audiences in May.”
Legally Blonde will be performed at the Bruce Mason Centre on 5 and 6 May, with four shows scheduled, including two matinees. Tickets are selling fast and are available via ticketmaster.co.nz.
PHOTOS: NOAH STOHR‑WALDREN
School sports coordinator Grace Chapman said students were eager to participate and quickly picked up new skills throughout the day.
The Zone Day is one of several initiatives led by parents in the TGS Hockey Committee, alongside “Give Hockey a Go” sessions delivered in schools across the peninsula, and a student coaching programme where around 25 TGS students coach younger teams while receiving ongoing training to further develop their coaching skills.
TGS art students soak up Big Apple creativity
Takapuna Grammar School art students have spent the school holidays on a fast‑paced cultural tour of the United States, beginning with four packed days in New York City.
The group of 30 walked under Central Park’s spring blossoms, rode the subway, took in a Broadway show and immersed themselves in some of the world’s most influential galleries The Met, the Guggenheim, MoMA, the Whitney Biennial and the American Museum of Natural History. A visit to the 9/11 Museum, where students viewed the final steel column removed from Ground Zero, was a powerful moment.
There was also time to cross the Brooklyn Bridge, explore Times Square and Chelsea Market, and make the essential stop at Crumbl Cookie.
From New York, the group travelled by Amtrak to Washington, DC, visiting the National Gallery of Art and taking part in a hands‑on junk‑journal workshop at the Hirshhorn Museum, before heading to the Udvar‑Hazy Center to see the Space Shuttle and Concorde up close.
A final flight to Los Angeles delivered a high‑energy finale: a 17‑hour Disneyland marathon, complete with the Disney After Dark event and an Imagination Campus workshop where students designed their own theme park.
Bayswater
Holy Trinity direction leaves couple lamenting
David and Margaret Allis are among the parishioners who have left Holy Trinity Church over the vicar’s conservative views on LGBTQ issues and women. They spoke to Rob Drent.
David Allis is setting up a national website where people can easily see where a church stands on contentious issues.
Based on similar sites overseas, it will use AI to look at the transparency provided on issues such as those related to the LGBTQ community and the role of women in the church.
The planned site, which he hopes will be in operation in six months, is one of his responses to a conservative shift at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Devonport under vicar Chris Murphy.
Allis feels a series of philosophical shifts at the church were introduced without the necessary transparency.
His view was shared by many others. Figures are unclear, but up to 70 members may have left the church.
Some have laid complaints with the Auckland Diocese, which Allis feels have been handled poorly.
Allis believes the church complaints procedure, reset after the inquiry into abuse by state and faith-based institutions to handle certain kinds of complaints, is poorly suited to dealing with the divisions affecting Holy Trinity.
At a local level, Allis and his similarly disaffected wife Margaret thought about seeking a special general meeting of the church, but felt their concerns would be deflected by the parish hierarchy.
The Narrow Neck couple instead wrote letters to the Flagstaff (10 April) outlining their views.
When Murphy arrived at Holy Trinity at the end of 2023, the couple and others in the parish had no reason to believe the church would not continue under the broad and inclusive principles of previous vicar Charmaine Braadvedt. “I was naive,” David said last week.
He and Margaret felt Murphy either wasn’t open about his traditional views when he sought the job or had become more conservative subsequently and hadn’t been completely open about that development.
Under Braadvedt, Holy Trinity was inclusive, with two gay youth leaders. The church had moved with the times, different lifestyles were tolerated, and LGBTQ issues were not “a big deal”, David said.
The Allises had been in the Holy Trinity parish for nearly a decade, but Margaret’s family history dates back to the early 1970s, when her parents were members and she was in the church youth group.
They said some of the other unhappy members – including David Claridge, who also wrote to the Flagstaff – had been at the church their whole lives and their families before them.
Initially, Murphy “was nice to us – quite respectful”, David said.
But the tone of the church changed. Margaret felt it most acutely in the way other people were treated.
People who had been “pillars of the church” were sidelined. Women who were in leadership roles in their careers were not being treated with the respect they were used to.
The couple also didn’t like the way the church had begun to move away from community involvement and outreach: for example, its foodbank was outsourced to a third party, and pastoral care for those in need had dropped away.
By 2024, when David tried to get clarity on the church position on key issues, he said he began to run into resistance.
In late 2024, others had also begun to feel uneasy. A loose group of disaffected members had met but it wasn’t an “out to get Chris” movement.
Clarity was sought. Formal questions were put at the church AGM in 2025.
By then, people had begun to leave. The wider community became aware of dissatisfaction, with many people contacting the Flagstaff over “trouble at Holy Trinity”.
David is happy to debate. He has a theology degree from the Melbourne College of Divinity. He said Murphy may have seen
that as a threat.
In the 1990s and early 2000s he was a minister at the Equippers Church in Auckland’s CBD. He ran a bible college and an alternative education programme for longterm truants. In 2004, the Allises set up a home church at Narrow Neck which ran for 12 years.
It was perhaps inevitable that the Allises liberal views would run up against Murphy’s conservative interpretation of how a minister and church should operate.
The couple feel Holy Trinity has gone from a values-based, broad church under Braadvedt to being narrow, divisive and simplistic.
The approach was that “people are sinful and the only hope is through Jesus”, said David.
It was a “heaven or hell” mentality, when real life was much more complicated.
The couple have six children, one of whom came out as gay when he was 12.
In navigating that, David sought understanding. He said he “read 30 books on the topic”.
Holy Trinity had appealed to the Allises as an accepting place. They were friends of Braadvedt, as well.
“Gay kids would not be welcomed now,” Margaret said.
Leavers... Margaret and David Allis, who were part of the Holy Trinity community for nearly a decade, now attend Ponsonby Baptist Church
Although in theory the church remained open to all, Murphy had said the bible did not countenance gay sex, which in practice meant the LGBTQ community was alienated.
In her letter to the Flagstaff, Margaret said: “While LGBTQ+ people are told they are welcome, the church effectively condemns same-sex relationships by barring those within them from leadership or marriage.”
With suicide high among young gay males, she said a natural consequence of a church not being totally open to all was that vulnerable young men were put at more risk of self-harm.
David used an analogy of a farmer sitting down to a breakfast of museli, eggs or bacon with his hen and pig. What he ate was of no real consequence to him and of some consequence to the hen but could have massive consequences for the pig.
The couple feels Murphy’s views on women in leadership were also at odds with the New Zealand Anglican Church’s history of gender equality – allowing the ordination of women since 1977 and electing a first woman bishop in 1990.
Holy Trinity’s direction was not in keeping with the modern Anglican way, David said. “Anglicans are not like that.”
He adds: “Focus on beliefs divides, focus on values unites.”
The couple’s values-based Christian beliefs form part of their wider life and work. Running a business making barcodes, they each earn a salary, but profits go to a charitable trust which donates to various projects outlined on the Better World (betterworld. nz) website.
David is working on an app that can identify cafes and restaurants which offer ethical coffee, free-range eggs and the like.
Some of those who have left Holy Trinity have gone to Belmont Baptist Church. But many are travelling out of Devonport for their religious observance, some to the Anglican Church at Northcote run by a former Holy Trinity youth leader.
The Allises have settled on Ponsonby Baptist Church. It has an ongoing relationship with a housing trust that aims to serve at-risk and low-income tenants.
“It’s a good example of a church doing good things,” David said.
“We like change, are happy with change, but [it needs to be] good change, healthy change”
Margaret said departure from Holy Trinity had been hard on those with relatives memorialised in the church remembrance garden.
Some parishioners were committed to the new vicar and others were “hanging in there”, but this did not mitigate some of the damage being done, Margaret said.
Common decencies appeared to have been ignored. The practice of sending emails to parishioners letting them know when a member died appeared to have been “ditched”, so some didn’t know Margaret’s father John Watson had died until after his funeral. He had been part of the church for
50 years, while Margaret’s mother Carol Watson had spent years managing the parish opportunity shop.
Margaret said Murphy seemed to adopt an almost missionary-style attitude toward Devonport.
But it wasn’t a deprived or undeveloped area – it was a beautiful church with a renovated hall and functioning congregation, she said
David said that once the direction of the church became clear he had “many sleepless nights” working out what to do.
He still felt that people belonging to or considering belonging to a church deserved a level of clarity and transparency about where it stood on issues.
“People have a right to know and choose.”
The couple felt the direction the church was moving in was “proving harmful”.
While the Allises said they still had friends within Holy Trinity, the hardliners had labelled the leavers who had been outspoken as “persecuting Chris”.
David said he initially took Murphy at face value. But looking back, he didn’t know why Murphy didn’t take a job in his home country of England.
Margaret added that Murphy’s ideal job would be as a lecturer in a conservative Bible college.
David said they were not opposed to new blood coming to the church.
“We like change, are happy with change, but [it needs to be] good change, healthy change.”
Margaret said she had come to appreciate that the church community was much bigger than its buildings.
She still met church members for coffee or dinner and will chat when she “bumps into them in the supermarket”.
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• Far-reaching planning rules are to be introduced to restrict infill housing in Devonport’s Residential 3 zone south of the Waitematā Golf Course.
• Geoff Allen is Jesus, while Sam Welsh carries the cross as several hundred people march up Mt Victoria in the combined churches’ procession of witness.
• Ella Gordon-Latty and Yonel Watene receive awards from the New Zealand Children’s Art House Foundation Trust.
• Prime Minister Helen Clark opens Devonport’s new civil defence centre at the St Paul’s Presbyterian Church.
• Other ferry operators in addition to Fullers should be encouraged to service Devonport, according to North Shore councillor Chris Darby.
• Introducing parking charges at Devonport Wharf and using the money to run feeder buses to the Auckland Ferry should be investigated, says a Devonport Peninsula Travel Study by the Auckland Regional Transport Authority.
subject.
• Firefly Light and Design establishes premises in Wynyard St, renovating the old Splinters paint-stripping workshop.
• Pete the female cockatiel is returned to room 12 at Devonport Primary after a swoop by board of trustees members Callum McNair and Tim Deane. Pete was discovered to be a female after he fell in love with another cockatiel at a local home in the school holidays. Pete produced five chicks; while his host wanted the pair to stay together, the school wanted its bird back.
• A new Devonport craft market is nabbed for illegal signage on Lake Rd promoting the event.
• One thousand daffodil bulbs are planted outside Belmont Intermediate School, with Andrew Coshan, Billy Goodard-Worthington and Liam Ryan doing the gardening.
• Bayswater resident Joe McCallum kicked off the Beresford St party with his bagpiping. A welcome was offered by Devonport Druid Chris Mullane.
• Popular Devonport group The Checks plan a farewell concert at the Masonic Tavern as a final gig before the fivepiece band departs for London.
• Bayswater Marina owner Simon Herbert is the Flagstaff interview
THE NAVY COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER
SCHOOL TO SEAS CAMPS UNDERWAY
Devonport Naval Base is hosting two Royal New Zealand Navy School to Seas camps this year, with students from around New Zealand given a taste of what a salt-water career can offer.
The camps are designed to empower young people with confidence and curiosity about careers in our Navy and the wider maritime industry.
The first camp was for Year 12 and 13 female students, followed by a second camp for male students.
Experiences included practical activities with physical training instructors; tours of Navy vessels and talking to sailors about life at sea; meeting a ship’s boarding party, getting up close with remotely operated underwater vehicles and discovering the history of our Navy at the Torpedo Bay Navy Museum.
Students got an appreciation of how many trades are involved in the Navy, and the skills and qualifications gained from a career at sea.
Devonport Naval Base security reminder – for the safety of the community, please take care and remain outside the 60-metre perimeter of the Naval Base at all times. This includes when swimming, diving, kayaking, fishing and sailing.
If the paint is becoming patchy and chalky, if small cracks, gaps & peeling are starting to appear especially in the joinery , if there is any timber swelling, then it may be time to repaint those specific areas. Regular maintenance painting of isolated areas where this sort of paint degradation is occurring, will defer the need to paint the total house.
Specific areas to look out for are where movement occurs or where moisture sits making those areas prone to premature paint failure - areas such as steps, window sills, deck doors, deck balustrades and deck floors. You may even notice that the timber is soft in these areas and that indicates rot may be occurring.
Painting smaller or isolated areas that need immediate attention or progressively repainting on a side by side basis is an effective way of managing the cost of a repaint.
On this house, it was only the French doors & stepovers that needed repainting due to wear and
tear, So JBL was asked to recoat them. It saves money to repaint areas like this while it is still a small job rather than wait for it to become an expensive major rectification job.
If you would like advice on whether any areas of your house should be repainted, please feel free to call John Bisset Ltd on 09 445 8099 or info@bissetltd.co.nz
Wanted to write for the award winning Devonport Flagstaff and The Rangitoto Observer Immediate start. Hours flexiblecould be part-time
Send CV to Rob Drent Managing Editor
The Devonport Flagstaff and Rangitoto Observer
Dignitaries and a silver trowel: When TGS story began
It is 100 years since the foundations were laid for one of the North Shore’s most recognisable landmarks – the red-brick main building of Takapuna Grammar School on Lake Rd.
The school’s foundation stone was laid on April 16, 1926, at a time when Auckland was expanding rapidly and the need for local secondary schooling was urgent.
With the Harbour Bridge still decades away, local teenagers faced the long journey by ferry, tram and on foot to schools across the harbour.
The stone was laid by then Minister of Education Sir James Parr using a ceremonial silver trowel inlaid with pounamu, gifted by architect W. A. Cumming.
The occasion was described as “highly optimistic”, with speeches by local leaders including the Mayor of Takapuna and Deputy Mayor of Devonport.
Minister of Defence Sir Heaton Rhodes, also in attendance, predicted the new school would “rank among the country’s finest.”
Recorded on the foundation stone alongside Parr’s name is that of Sir Algernon Phillips Withiel Thomas, chairman of the Auckland Grammar School Board. A prominent educator and scientist, Thomas played a pivotal role in shaping secondary education across the city and provided the push that enabled the establishment of Takapuna Grammar School.
After the ceremony came 10 months of dust, noise and disruption.
Local commuters passing the Lake Rd site observed the gradual emergence of a striking and imposing building with its tower and high parapets.
The school officially opened in February 1927, welcoming 218 foundation pupils –100 girls and 118 boys.
Early conditions were challenging. The initial building remained unfinished for two years and the land surrounding it was compared to “a wilderness of clay and corrugated grasslands”.
Writing in the school magazine in 1927, then headmaster CM Littlejohn described learning as “arduous”, with lessons often competing against the “din of ongoing construction work”.
A century on, the school is a very different place.
Once surrounded by semi-rural land, Takapuna Grammar now serves more than 2200 students and is one of Auckland’s largest and most diverse secondary schools.
The careful restoration of the historic main block in 2020 ensured its heritage remains central to school life, while supporting contemporary teaching and learning. The dust and disruption is a thing of the past.
Current principal Mary Nixon said the centenary was a moment to reflect on both the school’s history and its future.
“It’s a privilege to lead the school into such a significant milestone,” she said.
“This is a special time for Takapuna Grammar School, and we would love for all former students, teachers and members of the community with a connection to our school to come along and mark this occasion.”
That invitation will extend into 2027, when the school celebrates 100 years since opening its doors to students.
Over Easter Weekend next year, past and present students, staff and community members will gather for what is expected to be Takapuna Grammar School’s largest reunion to date.
The centenary programme will include official welcomes, performances, guided tours, exhibitions, guest speakers, alumni sports games and social events, alongside the release of a commemorative centenary book and merchandise.
To register, go to takapuna.school.nz/ centenary
Big birthday... School principal Mary Nixon beside the foundation stone laid in 2026
Built to last... Takapuna Grammar School’s main block under construction in the 1920s
Repair comes in under budget as formal heritage
Repairs to the heritage bus shelter damaged in a car accident on Lake Rd near the Clifton Rd corner cost $32,472.
Auckland Transport (AT) initially told the Flagstaff the restoration could cost between $50,000 and $100,000.
But the work, which was completed this month, came in at $7902 below a contractor’s estimate of $40,375.
That included traffic management fees and a repaint of the traditional green and cream-yellow paint job.
Devonport-Takapuna Local Board members had requested a restoration to retain the shelter’s character, rather than having the shelter replaced with a more modern design.
Standard bus shelters cost around $50,000.
The repaired shelter was originally built as a tram stop on the line from the Bayswater ferry wharf via Takapuna to Milford in the early 1900s.
It served as a bus stop on the TakapunaDevonport route for around a century.
AT told the board last week that contractor Eco Maintenance had retained the shelter’s heritage character, reusing some of its original timbers and the corrugated-iron roof resting on decorative curved brackets.
The damage was caused when a car with a sole occupant ploughed into the shelter early in the morning after New Year’s Day.
Eco Maintenance chief operating officer David Yandell said its team had enjoyed working on the project. “Thank you for the opportunity to help preserve this small piece of our history,” he said in a report to the board.
Yandell said cost saving was possible because existing materials were carefully salvaged for reuse.
Repair work included reconstruction of the wall framing, installation of new V-groove internal linings to match the existing, heritage-matched finishing trims, replacement seating, and a full repaint in the original colours.
“Rather than undertaking a full demolition and rebuild of the roof framing, our team was able to prop the existing roof structure clear of the damaged walls, carefully straighten, support and strengthen the existing framing, and then shunt the entire roof assembly, including all cladding, back into its correct position.”
The structure was cranked back to square, rebraced and reconnected, allowing the preservation of the original roof framing, flashings and spouting.
Original quotations were based on a full demolition.
Heritage preserved… (from top) the repaired Lake Rd shelter; before repairs; and a period photograph of a similar stop on the Bayswater-Milford tram line.
protection is sought for bus shelters
Heritage protection for the special-character tram and bus shelters of the Devonport peninsula and Takapuna is being sought by local board chair Trish Deans.
She plans to ask the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board to request an assessment investigation by Auckland Council’s heritage team.
Deans told the Flagstaff she had long been concerned about safeguarding the wooden shelters, and the need for this was further underlined when the Lake Rd shelter near Clifton Rd was badly damaged in January.
While delighted at the restoration by Auckland Transport, Deans said without formal heritage protection there was no guarantee this would always be the case. “It’s like any heritage building – once it’s gone it’s gone, and you miss it because it’s telling you something about your past.”
Because of their character and age, many people assumed the shelters had heritage protection, but this was not the case, she said. Future funds for maintenance and damage repair could not be taken for granted.
The area has 11 remaining original wooden shelters. Some, including the repaired example, date to the tramline that ran from Bayswater to Takapuna and Milford from 1910 to 1927. Others were built in similar style in the 1930s as dedicated bus shelters.
Deans said the Devonport-Takapuna area was the last in Auckland with so many original shelters, although there was one similar example in Mt Eden and another at Motat. “The rest of Auckland has lost theirs.”
She understood the local pre-WWII bus shelters cost £40 to build, with bus companies contributing £5 of the cost.
Among the surviving local shelters, two are decommissioned. One in Wicklow Rd has been repurposed as a community library; the Wesley Rd shelter features a colourful mural.
In her past roles with Devonport Heritage, Deans said she had sought to engage council’s heritage team in considering a case for protection, but had been told they were too busy to do the assessments. She hopes with board backing, the process will be given more urgency.
The remaining wooden shelters:
• Vauxhall Rd, at Albert Rd corner
• Vauxhall Rd, south of Narrow Neck Beach
• Old Lake Rd, at Narrow Neck Beach
• Wicklow Rd, Narrow Neck (decommissioned)
• Old Lake Rd (one on either side of the road) by Lake Rd corner
• Wesley Rd, near Ryman (decommissioned)
• Lake Rd, near Allenby Rd
• Lake Rd between entrances to Hanlon Cres
• Lake Rd near Clifton Rd
• Hurstmere Rd, near Brett Ave corner, Takapuna
Window on history... Local board chair Trish Deans at the Lake Rd stop near Clifton Rd.
Below: the Narrow Neck shelter
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Bits of books bloom once more in crafted collage
A childhood spent with his nose in a book has inspired Devonport resident Max Newton to find a creative way to repurpose old book pages into new visual stories.
He makes three-dimensional collages by cutting up and layering nostalgic illustrations from unwanted books. Some of his lovingly crafted images will go on show at Satellite2 gallery next week, in his first exhibition.
“In a way, I just wanted to save books from being forgotten,” he says.
The works range from a charming selection of collages in box frames, comprising figures carefully chosen from vintage children’s fairytale books, adventure stories and comics, to a separate series with a spare contemporary aesthetic, using material drawn from atlases and marine charts.
One example overlays circles of specific places on a road map, with its wavy red lines forming a backdrop of retina-like veins.
“From a distance it’s quite abstract, but as you come [closer] in you can explore places,” he says.
As a child, Newton says he delighted in getting lost in books. Favourites were “adventure stories – anything that was in a desert island or a jungle”. He mentions Robinson Crusoe and the adventure series by Willard Price.
He finds the books he works with at op shops and recycling centres and says those that have pages falling out already are a good starting point.
“I go through the book and see images I like and cut everything else away.” He reassembles the images into his own careful compositions, featuring familiar characters from fables, superheroes and animals.
The map-remaking is another aspect of his fascination with the distant and exotic. Newton has acquired a New Zealand atlas he intends to use in future works.
The Englishman moved here a year ago with his Kiwi partner, settling in Devonport because she was born here. “The big move” hasn’t been all plain sailing. He struggled to find work, despite his background of 15 years as a producer-director and editor across film, television and advertising.
But the downtime allowed him to delve deeper into his collages, which began as a hobby in the UK.
Now with a job as a content creator sorted and his exhibition opening, he’s feeling more at home. The couple enjoy hiking and the proximity by ferry to the city.
“It’s been nice to get back to nature,” he says, although a recent outing to the Waitākere Ranges left his arm in a cast after a fall.
He always has the books to delve back into. Newton says he is a born collector, with vintage toys a focus.
He has always been a maker, from playing with Lego in his younger years, to trying art and deciding he wasn't a skilled drawer or painter when things didn’t turn out as he hoped.
Making collages became an artistic outlet. “I’m a cross-stitcher as well.”
Composition skills learned in his day job helped hone his eye for what he creates.
He hopes the end results will appeal visually and connect emotionally with other people, especially those who treat books as an escape and value the hand-made.
In the age of AI, with its impact on the creative industries, he says working in three dimensions may handily make his works harder to replicate at the click of a button.
“I am interested in creating something tactile and irreplaceable.”
Carefully composed... Max Newton with one of his collage works using old book illustrations. Below: Maps and atlases have provided the raw material for a work showing cities on discs arrayed next to cut-outs from charts of the sea.
Stunning ‘landscapes’ an artful indoor creation
North Shore artist Chris Melville is a visual trickster whose art photography has all the attributes of a haunting landscape.
“A lot of my images are from sea, looking at a landform,” he says.
Some echo Devonport and his childhood memories of the convergence of sea and sky.
But his are not actual landscapes, instead being curious compositions built to combine colour, texture and movement.
“People are surprised they are not literal landscapes,” he says.
Instead, they are created by passing his camera over layers of fabrics, artfully arranged and exposed to form the sculptural foundation for his works.
“I’m not saying I want to express my image of Rangitoto – but what eventuates is an image that might look like Rangitoto,” is how he explains what he depicts.
At the opening of his exhibition at Depot 3 Vic Rd next week, Melville will talk about his approach and field questions, but says he won’t reveal all of his in-camera processes.
“Some of the magic I want to keep hidden.”
He has developed his methods in the last few years, exhibiting at Art in the Park since 2023, but this is his first exhibition in Devonport.
In preparing for the show, Melville found himself casting his mind back to being a kid and his first experience of Devonport. This was while out on the waters of the Hauraki Gulf in the 1970s, when he was
six or seven.
“My grandfather had an old bridgedecker, a near-100-year-old kauri boat, and the weather closed in. We anchored off Devonport and got in the dinghy and it was really choppy weather. He rowed me in.”
“I have a vision of the village and the cloud wrapping in around it.” To this day, he says he thinks of that when he visits from his family home in Beach Haven.
The memories have led to some of the moody works having a particular sense of place that he thinks will chime with locals. “The way light hits my subject matter is similar to how the light of the gods comes through the clouds and hits the water.”
Melville is also a keen musician with a weekly residency at SkyCity as vocalist for the band Chances.
The group has its own funky, jazzier take on classic numbers. A recent gig included appearing at a promotional event with Richie McCaw.
As well as his art photography created at home, Melville likes to take photos of fellow musicians, some of which have been published. He describes former Devonport muso and sound engineer and old friend Rikki Morris as “a guiding light for me”.
With three children now 23, 19 and 16, Melville and his wife Melissa are finally enjoying having more time to themselves. After years of family life and focusing on paying the mortgage, Chris is now looking forward to time extending his experimental
approach to photography. Playing around with cameras began as a hobby in his childhood in Hamilton.
Following family advice, Melville’s creative interests focused on finding ways of making it pay, so he studied product design. This led to design work for superyachts and mobile phones and being part of creating an early version of a four-wheeled mobility scooter for the elderly while working for Fisher & Paykel.
In his job these days as a graphic designer, he creates national campaigns for the real estate company he works for. Wearing his musician’s hat, he also enlivens their national conferences.
Art-wise, Melville has long admired the works of Colin McCahon, with the New Zealand great’s minimal abstraction and use of text being particular influences. His photographic colour palette is very different, however, with a preponderance of blue tones, which Melville says people respond well to. Calming aquamarine images sell well. He has art fairs booked ahead, but is also thinking of turning his hand to painting.
But the subject matter won’t be as abstract as his art photos, he says. The idea of exploring portraiture appeals.
“I think I’m always going to be exploring the arts.”
• Chris Melville’s Material World exhibition, 1-31 May at the Depot, 3 Victoria Rd, Devonport.
PHOTO: NEVE MELVILLE
Interior view... Artist Chris Melville at Windsor Reserve with one of the works created in his studio at home
Music and art collide in quartet’s Depot 3 show
The New Zealand String Quartet is returning to the Depot in Devonport next week to provide the soundscape for a special night combining art, music and heritage.
In celebration of NZ Music Month, the quartet will play at Depot 3 Victoria Rd, with a backdrop of photographs by artist Chris Melville from his newly opened exhibition inside the old borough council building.
A vibrant music selection will trace how composers transform stories, landscapes and emotion into sound, in an evocative match with how Melville explores similar themes.
To add to the evening’s atmosphere, wine and nibbles from Cheltenham cafe Chateaubriant will be served. Guests will also have the opportunity to explore the building’s artist studios upstairs and meet some of the artists.
This is the second collaboration between the quartet and the Depot, which last played host to a sold-out show at its Clarence St venue in August 2024.
Returning to Devonport was a further opportunity to explore new ways to reach audiences, the quartet said, promising a mix of contemporary works, classical favourites and folk melodies.
Universal Veil , an ethereal work commissioned for the quartet last year from Auckland-born composer Mika Cornelius, will open the concert.
The programme includes well-known pieces by Schubert and Dvořák, distinctive sounds of Aotearoa by Gareth Farr and nostalgic Scandinavian folk songs from a selection performed by the Danish String Quartet.
The ensemble says its aim is to present experiences that share stories, spark curiosity and demonstrate the power of live music. “Whether you’re a long-time chamber music lover or simply looking for a meaningful night out, the NZSQ warmly welcomes you to join them.”
• Music, Art & Wine is on Saturday 2 May from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Tickets, $85. Bookings and programme details at nzsq.org.nz
With feeling... Violinist Peter Clark, a member of the New Zealand String Quartet, which plays in Devonport on 2 May
WHAT’S ON @ Devonport Library
Tēnā Koutou Katoa
Tamariki mā. All your favourite sessions start again with the school term.
BESTIE JUNIORS
Now in Devonport. Borrow kids’ favourites for two weeks! No holds, no waiting – take one from our bright yellow Bestie Juniors display, issue, read and enjoy.
HOLD NUMBERS
It is now possible for you to see the holdshelf your item is on at the selfcheckout terminals in the library. Just click Account on the machine to see and print a list of your holds and the numbers. Just the ticket!
LIBRARY BUS
Places available on this gold coin service for elderly - every Thursday. Free cuppa and a chat too. Enrol now.
AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL 12th -17th May
The last few programmes are available. Now’s the time to put holds on the books and e-books you will want to read after meeting the authors. PS See you there!
ANZAC CLOSING DATES
We close Saturday 25th of April and Monday 27th of April. But we are open on Sunday 26th April for you and Riemke’s event.
LIBRARY EVENTS
Sunday 26th April 2pm-4pm
Riemke Ensing
This acclaimed NZ poet will read from her latest book of poetry, Blue is a Cracked Vase in Memory. Afternoon tea to follow.
Wednesday 6th May 6:30pm-8:30pm Deadly in Devonport
Our Ngaio Marsh Crime Writers event returns. Featuring Charity Norman, Gavin Strawhan, Bryan Walpert, Hannah Tunnicliffe and Lauren Middleton chaired by Stephanie Jones. Criminally good discussion of crime writing, characters and creativity.
Mā Te Wā
Ireland leaves its mark
Devonport artist Janet Mazenier’s textural paintings contain layers of meaning and place.
Central to their inspiration is exploring her own family origins and the geology of places that have helped her forge global artistic connections and strengthen her own sense of identity.
“I was conceived in Ireland and born in New Zealand,” she says.
Discovering more of her background as the daughter of immigrants who settled in Whanganui in the 1960s has formed a key part of Mazenier’s PhD research and art practice over the last three years, reflecting time spent researching in Aotearoa and Ireland.
This resulted in concurrent exhibitions in Auckland, including one on until the end of May at the Angela Morton Room at Takapuna Library called Deep Time Mapping: how painting can tell stories of the soul of Place This contains smaller works than the giant 22-metre canvas called Ephemeral Song that formed the culmination of her PhD project which was recently on show at AUT.
“The exhibitions talk to each other,” she says. And she is talking about the work that went into them at two PechaKucha nights of speakers in Devonport on 27 and 28 May. This follows a presentation to the Friends of Takapuna Library last week. At the Vic
theatre, she will show slides and give a brief overview of her four journeys to Ireland over the last three years and another to Iceland.
Delving deep into the mystique of her elderly parents’ home country has also helped them reconnect with family and the past. “They still called Ireland home and I wanted to know why.”
Seeing her father lapse into Irish when he connected with a cousin on the phone was one of the surprises. The 95-year-old surprised himself too. Her father is too physically frail to travel, but her mother has made a trip back. “He’s rediscoverd a lot of himself too.”
Between what has been a busy time of travel and study, Mazenier works from the Depot’s D3 upstairs artist studio space on Victoria Rd and at home. She has exhibited at the Depot previously, but welcomed the offer to take her work to Takapuna to the library’s specialist upstairs art room. There, she has set up a film for visitors that lends an insight into the wild landscapes she was immersed in.
In Ireland, she surprised colleagues at a women’s art residency in the Burren in County Clare by wanting to bathe the canvas they were working on in surf and sand. The idea was formed after she had pounamu she was taking to Ireland as gifts blessed at Narrow
on paintings with multiple tales to tell
Neck Beach by local Terehia Walker, whom she knows through the Depot. “I had brought my home here to them,” she explains. “The oceans connect us.”
The group in Ireland was filmed bathing the work before she and others took it on to an arts festival in Iceland, where the volcanic landscape struck a chord.
The landscape of Ireland had its own pull, connecting more with myth and mood. At one stage, Mazenier endured a lonely two-week stay in a chilly old cottage in Cill Rialaig in County Kerry, abandoned during famine times and restored as an artist’s residence. “There was nothing there, but a petrol station to get food. Luckily I had a car.”
Unexplained organ-like sounds from the sea and myth haunted the evenings at the cottage and led to the evocative naming of her major PhD work. The warmth of relatives also struck a lasting resonance.
Elemental aspects fascinate Mazenier. Using oils and a cold wax medium allows her to explore this. It is a method she teaches, including at workshops at Whare Toi on Kerr St.
“I used that material of place to express what I wanted to come through in the work,” she says. By layering wax and paint on canvas, she can then excavate back into the work, creating texture and opening up “infinite possibilities”.
Three lightboxes, shaped as columns, are on display at the Angela Morton Room, with their back-lit canvases reminding her of ancient Irish standing stones covered in lichen and mosses.
“You could paint the smell of the turf,” she says. Peat bogs in Ireland and volcanic soil and fault-lines in New Zealand and Iceland all add to colours, textures and influences ranging from sedimentary to illuminating.
“Ireland has a lot longer twilights that reflect off the stones there,” she says. But the golden light also reminds her of what she sees when looking out to Rangitoto.
Mazenier has lived in Devonport for more than 10 years. She was drawn north from a high-powered career in project management for Telecom based in Wellington, deciding to embark on art studies more than a decade ago.
The village appealed, partly because her bother David Downs lived here. The wellknown marketing man, who is CEO of the New Zealand Story and also involved with the Well Foundation, endured a long health battle, during which she was pleased to be on hand to help support him and his family.
Her two adult children, part of a blended family of five she shares with husband John, are yet to fully explore their Irish heritage, but Mazenier says her journey might pave the way. “It’s similar to me, my parents didn’t take me, so I didn’t connect with the culture. But now I’ve got a place to go back to.”
She says the extended PhD process, testing how painting can express the spirit of time and place, has been “mostly joyful”. It has its final stage next month with an oral presentation. But artistically, she will continue to explore its themes in future work, including another exhibition at the Sanderson Gallery in the city. “The knowledge gets immersed by storytelling and the painting tells a story.”
What others see in her paintings is up to them. “It’s very much the artist being a conduit for it,” she says.
“My thing is always grounded in place and people and how I see it is abstract. This brings in emotion.”
SHOWING NOW
Exit 8 (M) 94min
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk (E) 112min
Michael (M) 127min
Fuze (R16) 96min
Mr. Nobody Against Putin (E) 90min
You, Me & Tuscany (PG) 105min
The Drama (R16) 106min
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (R16) 108min
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2D & 3D) (PG) 120min
Hoppers (2D & 3D) (PG) 104min
The Magic Faraway Tree (G) 110min
SPECIAL EVENTS & NEW RELEASES
Hunt For The Wilderpeople (PG) 100min
Sgt. Haane (M) 88min ANZAC Screenings 25-27 Apr
The Devil Wears Prada 2 122min
Advance screening 29 Apr
For more info on films & events go to thevic.co.nz
Layers of meaning... Janet Mazenier in front of a painting in progress at her home studio
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