Taharoto Rd eyed for new bike route... p6 Catamaran world champs coming to Milford... p5
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Soaring costs stall Takapuna Library project
Ambitious development plans for the Takapuna Library appear stymied due to the high cost of remodelling the building to include other community facilities.
The divisive project, backed unanimously by the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board, now looks unlikely to proceed in the fore-
seeable future.
The Observer can reveal council staff don’t believe funds raised by selling two other community buildings – as planned by the board – will raise enough to cover the cost of the library redevelopment.
Approached by the paper, frustrated board
chair Mel Powell said: “The question of costs has halted the project, basically. Where do we get the money from?”
The former library building at 2 The Strand has already sold for $3.2 million, but the intended sale of the Mary Thomas To page 3
Toddler has Matariki star power
Twinkle, twinkle... Two-year-old Wren Hargraves stargazing with Castor Bay brothers Freddy (2) and Billy Francis (3) at a Matariki holiday gathering at Lake House Arts in Takapuna (more photos, page 3). Earlier in the week, a kapa haka evening at Westlake Girls High School drew participants from Sunnynook, Milford and Forrest Hill primary schools, Takapuna Normal and Westlake intermediates and both Westlake high schools.
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Watercare installs sensors to get the jump on wastewater spills
Sensors will be installed across Watercare’s wastewater network, including the floodprone Wairau catchment, to better monitor overflows in real time.
The rollout of 5000 sensors beneath manhole covers began this month and is expected to take a year. They will record wastewater levels every 15 minutes and provide daily data reports to a monitoring system, allowing proactive management and intervention.
When a spill is detected, sampling frequency will be automatically increased. The sensors will also identify pipe blockages and can detect any stormwater or groundwater intrusion. In time, they will be linked into Safeswim, helping improve communications about water safety.
Flood sensitive... Installed beneath manhole covers, new equipment will provide more data on water levels
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. If you or your family require support, we are here for you and those who depend on you.
We help by:
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Watercare was unable to tell the Observer how many sensors were planned for Wairau or when they would be installed.
Smart systems manager Dave Moore said they were part of a $12 million investment to gain insights into the performance of the network of almost 9000km of pipes.
Watercare was also investing in a wastewater analytics package that would analyse the data from the sensors and other sources, employing artificial intelligence tools.
The Devonport-Takapuna Local Board is eager to know when the sensors are coming locally, given Wairau was particularly hardhit during the floods of early 2023.
But council department Healthy Waters, like Watercare, was last week unable to provide a local timeline.
Healthy Waters, which manages stormwater, is also investing in more technology.
During storms at Easter, it used a flood intelligence camera in Milford to monitor fast-rising water. The camera surveyed upstream from East Coast Rd to a trash grille in the lower Wairau Creek which was quickly swamped overnight on 19 April. This helped identify a blockage in the grille that was removed the following day. Three more cameras are in the wider Waiaru area.
Albany Heat Pumps
“It’s a really powerful tool that should give reassurance to the public we are monitoring issues,” said Healthy Waters principal for strategic programmes, Elizabeth Johnson.
Views
The Easter downpour was as intense for two hours as that which caused the Auckland Anniversary Day floods of 27 January, 2023, she said. Luckily the rain stopped more quickly.
The trash rack is checked and cleared before and after storms.
Healthy Waters gave other examples of work it was doing locally to mitigate flood risk, including more catchpit checks and flushing. Water channels were inspected every three months and the 2500 catchpits in Wairau checked at least twice yearly, it said.
Since the 2023 floods, upgrades had also been done on Kitchener Rd, East Coast Rd and Shakespeare Rd in Milford; on Altona Rd in Forrest Hill; and Arrow Rd in Castor Bay.
Board members welcomed the monitoring and maintenance work, but were frustrated at the slow progress towards any substantial infrastructure improvements locally
Healthy Waters said these would only come after Stage 1 work on the proposed AF Thomas Park-Takapuna Golf Course water detention scheme.
“The benefits of Stage 2 can only be realised when we can detain this water,” said Tom Mansell, head of strategic partnerships for flood resilience. With physical work not forecast to start on Stage 1 until 2027 and take several years, Milford will have to wait for the focus of works to shift there.
sought on uses for buyout land
Nineteen storyboards were erected in Milford this week as part of a community engagement programme encouraging locals to contribute ideas for use of land bought out due to flood risk.
The council signs put up across the suburb, including at Milford Reserve and around the shops, carry a QR code people can scan on their phones to make comments.
A stall and sausage sizzle is also being
set up in conjunction with the Milford Residents Association on Tuesday 1 July outside the New World supermarket from 11am to 2pm, where people can discuss flood recovery ideas.
Further events are planned next month at the MSC hall, the Milford Cruising Club and the mall.
An awareness raising children’s treasure hunt is planned, too, with prizes for locating the storyboards on a map.
Authorised by Hon Simon Watts, Parliament Buildings, Wgtn.
Crowd lines up for Matariki craft and kai at Lake House
Zoe Hopkins guides Theo Pacheco (6) in using the chisel to carve a wood pattern during a Matariki community event at Lake House Arts, and (right) Karma (4) enjoys her outing with father Khaled Youseff. They were among hundreds of people who gathered at the arts centre in Takapuna on the public holiday last Friday for a mellow evening of waiata and kai. Kid’s activities, food stalls and the chance to look round the art studios and galleries or try a traditional Maori massage were on offer. Centre manager Grae Burton introduced te reo song meanings with Shakespearean flourish. Other staff, including master carver Natanahira Pona, joined in, encouraging audience singalongs. Pona has an exhibition on until 17 July, with weaving also on show. This Friday evening, 27 June, the Lake House is hosting Maoriland, a selection of indigenous film.
Project information lacking as local elections loom
From page 1
Centre was recently put on hold by Auckland Council property arm Eke Panuku due to unfavourable market conditions.
“A key assumption of the project was that the development of a community hub would be funded from the sale of 2 The Strand and the Mary Thomas Centre site,” council’s service and asset planning specialist Sophie Bell said in a memo to community groups obtained by the Observer.
“The local board also has the option to sell the Takapuna Community Services Building to fund the project,” she added in the memo written in mid-April.
“We have received costings for the two concept design options and they have come in higher than the estimated proceeds from the sales.” Alternative design scenarios for the library were now being looked at, Bell said.
A number of service groups were moved out of the rundown Mary Thomas Centre (MTC) into the Community Services Buildings (CSB) last year to prepare the MTC for
sale. The groups have varied views about being incorporated into a hub at the library. Grey Power is against the move.
One community group manager who did not want to be identified said the group was now happily housed at the CSB. “It doesn’t seem like anything can be done.”
The board was briefed about the project at a confidential workshop in early April, after which Powell said more information had been requested from staff and she hoped to be in position to update the community within weeks.
Another confidential workshop was held in early May, but there have been no public updates since. “It’s so frustrating,” Powell said this week.
The issue is likely to remain unresolved when local body elections are held in September and October. “We’re getting an update in August, which is unsatisfactory with the election,” Powell said.
The main problem was the rising estimated project costs. “It’s a difference of millions – a significant amount.”
The board needed to be assured it was get-
ting the right information for decision-making but timelines were problematic.
The board was facing future budget reductions as council moved to introduce a new funding model for local boards which would hit Devonport-Takapuna harder than many other areas.
Under the new model the board was having to look at its portfolio of assets, while asking what the community appetite was for asset sales. “That’s pretty low,” said Powell.
Asked if selling the CSB building was being looked at, she said everything was up in the air. “We agreed as a board it was a really great project.”
Board member George Wood told the Observer he was concerned the issue would roll over to yet a third local board to deal with, having previously been considered by the divided board of 2019-22. “We’ve got to get the agony about it over and get it settled.”
Groups had spent money on their new CSB offices and needed certainty. “We don’t want to see a half-hearted rebuild and not have room to house these important community services,” he said.
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National yachting headquarters moves to Milford
Yachting New Zealand is relocating its Auckland headquarters from Takapuna to Milford.
Based at 4 Fred Thomas Drive, Takapuna, for the past seven years, it will move to 11 Omana Road in Milford in July.
The organisation’s chief executive, David Abercrombie, said the move would provide more space, a prime location in a marine environment, and “greater cost-effectiveness... by consolidating external storage
into a single site.”
The new leased premises, which are being repainted and refitted, provide 450 square metres of space on two storeys.
Close to Milford Beach and the Milford Cruising Club, the site features plentiful storage and direct access to a boat ramp into Milford Marina.
The facility also has parking for up to nine coach boats and will house a dedicated gymnasium for athletes in the NZL Sailing
programme.
An athlete’s lounge will provide space for debriefs, recovery, and study for sailors at all levels.
Yachting New Zealand’s long-term goal is to establish a permanent and purpose-built national sailing centre, Abercrombie said.
“We are still actively working towards this, but for the next few years at least, 11 Omana Road will be the home of New Zealand sailing and for our yacht clubs.”
Big field expected for Catamaran World Championships
Around 75 boats are expected at the A-Class Catamaran World Championships off Milford Beach in November.
Organised by the New Zealand Multihull Yachting Club and the Milford Cruising Club, the championships run from 7 to 16 November, including a two-day pre-worlds event and opening and closing ceremonies.
Around 75 per cent of competitors will be men, and 25 per cent female. Most competitors in the single-handed multi-hull boats will be in the 35 to 55-year range.
Around two-third of the sailors are expected to come from overseas.
The Milford Cruising club was approached to host the event by the New Zealand A-Class Association, and as a trial run hosted the A-class and tornado national champs off Milford Beach in February.
Milford Cruising Club Commodore Andrew Robertson said A-class catamarans were a spectacular sight when racing and in the right conditions “effectively become airborne”.
The last time the A-class worlds were held in New Zealand was in 2014 at Takapuna Beach. “So it’s a nice bit of continuity with us holding it on the North Shore.”
A number of top New Zealand A-class racers had joined the Milford Cruising Club in the lead-up to the champs, Robertson said.
The event would hopefully hold wide appeal. “We are looking at it as an event for Milford and the local community,” he said.
The size and scale of the catamarans would be clearly visible to locals when they were parked on the beachside reserve between
Spectacular... A-class catamarans in action
Milford Business Improvement District manager Murray Hill was excited that such a prestigious event was coming to the Milford Cruising Club and the local area, with bars, cafes, restaurants and shops close to the racing for the yachties and their supporters. “It’s pretty cool – Milford helping Milford,” he said.
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AT eyes Taharoto Rd bike link to existing paths
Connecting and adding to existing cycle paths from Hauraki to Forrest Hill via Taharoto Rd is a key focus of Auckland Transport’s latest cycling plans for the wider Takapuna area.
AT wants to deliver at least 1km of new safe cycling route in Takapuna, as one of the city’s chosen areas for money collected from a Climate Action Transport Targeted Rate (CATTR). It has identified exploring a better northern connection from the top end of Francis St to join Forrest Hill Rd as the priority for its CATTR programme. This could link to key destinations from Esmonde Rd, including across to Takapuna town centre via the Patuone boardwalk and north to schools, bus stations at Akoranga and Smales Farm, and North Shore Hospital.
The project’s intent is to connect existing cycle paths in the area, including the boardwalk, and lanes on Fred Thomas Dr, Northcote Rd and Forrest Hill Rd.
If a long-time Devonport-Takapuna Local Board aspiration for a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists is built from Esmonde Rd across to Francis St this could also connect the network south to the Devonport peninsula greenway route.
Board members at their June business meeting last week, reiterated their view that the bridge at Hauraki should be the number one priority and a way of diverting recreational cyclists from Lake Rd.
They previously gave this message to AT at a workshop in May, when its staff presented four options. The board ranked connections from Hauraki top, followed by links for western Takapuna.
When AT returned last week with a combination of both favoured options, this covered the bridge area, however, the high cost would likely put it out of reach.
AT staff also cautioned that completing all
Bike friendly... The Auckland Transport plan for a better cycling connection from Esmonde Rd to Forrest Hill. Existing cycle paths are shown in black and the proposed new links in green.
the proposed combined connections might also be beyond budget, although Waka Kotahi co-funding will be sought.
Board members backed the combined programme proceeding to a more detailed investigation and called on AT to continue to work collaboratively.
Deputy chair Terence Harpur urged AT to talk to Watercare, which has a major project looming for water reticulation upgrades for the Devonport peninsula.
Where this would pass through Hauraki,
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he suggested a combined bridge and pipeline build might be looked at.
Member Gavin Busch repeated his desire for AT to look at keeping cycle lanes off busy Taharoto Rd and to use side streets such as Killarney St and Lake Pupuke Dr to funnel students more safely to Rosmini College and other schools.
George Wood said the Westlake high schools had few student cyclists and many bus users. He was against cycle lanes at the busy corner of Forrest Hill and Wairau Rds.
Local pillar served in many roles
The North Shore has farewelled a community champion in Marilyn Glover, whose service to many groups, notably those dealing with disability and education issues, spanned decades. Her contribution was remembered at her well-attended funeral last week.
Glover (pictured in 2023) was awarded a Queen’s Service Medal in 2019. She was active in Rotary for 28 years and Takapuna branch president in 2007.
The long-time Takapuna resident, who in later years moved to the Northbridge retirement village, was still on the board of Project Employ when she died this month, aged 80. She was Project Employ’s chair when it opened Flourish Cafe in Como St in 2022, as a training cafe for young people with disabilities.
as serving on the national committee for the Disabled Persons Assembly.
She pitched in as a volunteer for groups including Age Concern, Adults in Motion and the forerunner of Ancad (Auckland North Community and Development), of which she was a life member.
Glover featured in the Observer two years ago, having organised a knitting group among fellow Northbridge residents to make items for babies in hospitals and calming finger gloves for students at the Wilson School.
Many years earlier, she got Rotary involved with the school when members fundraised for a playground and tended gardens.
Tickets ready to rumble
A Fresh Choice and Citizens & Residents North Shore groupings both say they intend to field full tickets of six candidates for election to the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. Candidate registration opens on 4 July and closes on 1 August, after which the Observer will run profiles of candidates. Interest in places on the board is ramping up, with several wouldbe members attending recent meetings or commenting on public forums. What was the other main grouping, Heart of the Shore – whose three board members were not re-elected in 2022 – is not returning as a ticket, but former member Trish Deans is standing as an independent.
Glover’s lifelong interest in disability issues sprang from having a sister with an intellectual disability and a mother who was an advocate for improved support. Her family moved from Hamilton when she was a child and she was a foundation pupil at both Hauraki Primary and Belmont Intermediate. She was chair of the Wilson School board of trustees for 17 years, and served for 15 years as chair of the disability group advising the North Shore City Council, as well
She was described as the “Mother of Takapuna Rotary”, being its secretary for 12 years, treasurer for three years, fellowship director for seven years and an ardent supporter of member projects.
At various times she was on the boards and committees of Takapuna Kindergarten, Hauraki Primary, Belmont Intermediate and Takapuna Grammar. She was treasurer of the Friends of Takapuna Library and also involved in Plunket, Girls Brigade and youth groups.
Glover is survived by her two sons, Aaron and Miles. Husband Lew predeceased her.
Use your noodle
A new slurp-worthy culinary event will take place at Waiwharariki Anzac Square on Saturday 12 July. Stallholders at the Takapuna Noodle Festival will operate between 10am and 3pm. Organiser the Chow Luck Club Foodie Market is the brainchild of Forrest Hill’s Lincoln Tan.
MP honoured
North Shore MP Simon Watts has been made a fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
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Solstice swimmers brave the briny at Castor Bay
Around 80 people took to the sea off Castor Bay last Saturday at 7 am for a winter solstice sunrise swim.
Dawn hadn’t yet broken when swimmers plunged in, some having clustered around a beach bonfire before their chilly dip.
The sun rose behind Rangitoto as the brave bathers exited the water, with the fire again proving popular.
Dressed to impress... Michelle Rowe (left) and Angela Hjorring, and (below) hat-doffing Andrew Charlesworth and bewigged organiser Andy Parker were among the happy swimmers
Drawn to the flame... Swimmers were quick to seek warmth after the annual Castor Bay winter swim
Volleyball on a high as Harbour numbers skyrocket
Volleyball is the sleeping giant of New Zealand sport, says Harbour Volleyball’s game development manager Rob Tarr. Proof is in its rise in North Shore schools and in Harbour’s recent dominant showing at the national inter-provincial championships (IPC).
Over five years, player participation in the Harbour region has surged 67 per cent across secondary schools, social and beach volleyball teams, says Tarr. Nationally it ranks as the number two secondary sport for girls and fourth for boys.
Yet it flies under the radar, which is something Tarr – a former United States international player of nine years standing – wants to change, given Harbour wins “the most medals, most years”.
As well as plenty of scope for talent to develop competitively, he says the sport offers an easygoing culture, making it a fun way to encourage kids to keep active.
“It’s a good cross-code summer sport for the likes of netball and basketball, with players having a similar athletic profile,” he says. It’s also an inclusive and social game which attracts a diverse player group. He partly puts this down to a popular anime character called Haikyu, saying he noticed kids showing up at camps wearing jerseys showing the character in the years leading into Covid.
After lockdowns were lifted, participation surged, with the appeal partly due to it being a non-contact sport.
A small but increasing number of New Zealand players are taking up US college scholarships. This includes standout former Westlaker Tamara Otene, a recent graduate turned pro player whose first contract was on a winning team in the Costa Rican league. She was back home to join the Harbour senior women’s team in winning IPC gold last month in Wellington and was named the top grade’s MVP. Harbour’s senior men’s team won as well, with its B team placing third.
The A team featured another MVP in Will Watson, who came through Takapuna Grammar School and grew up in Milford. TGS students Joe Ohlsson and Elliot Irving were in the second-placed U19s, coached by Tarr. The talented pair were in the TGS team that placed fourth at New Zealand Secondary School Championships held in March and second at the North Island Junior Championship last year.
Rangitoto College is particularly strong in the Harbour Schools Super League, which has around 700 players. It has collected multiple national secondary titles and the college even runs its own social league. The Harbour schools competition has 60-plus senior teams and a similar number in the junior ranks, making it of a size and strength that it sits outside the regional Auckland College Sport competition. A smaller but growing club competition runs over winter.
Alongside numerous Rangitoto players in the representative ranks at IPCs, others from North Shore schools in Harbour teams in the
Pro moves... Rob Tarr, a former US international volleyballer, is helping grow the sport locally. Right: Former Westlake Girls High student and US college graduate Tamara Otene in action for the champion North Harbour senior women’s side
medals included Aaliyah Sina’au from Westlake Girls, who was in the U19 girls’ team which placed third. The U17 boys’ team which won gold included Fletcher Gaylard from Rosmini College and Theo Andrade from TGS, while Rowena Tapling from Carmel College was in the similarly successfully U17 girls’ team.
Tarr says despite Harbour’s strength, the sport doesn’t have a true home. “Unfortunately we don’t have an indoor venue of our own.” Games are spread between school gyms, AUT’s Akoranga campus and Harbour basketball and netball centres. A few years ago the Carmel College gym was used to host tests against Australia.
The area does, however, boast a six-court beach volleyball centre in Mairangi Bay, where national team members practise on the sand. Tarr has his office there, along with two other staff members.
Tarr says internationally, New Zealand’s best chances are in the two-person beach volleyball game. The indoor game requires a bigger player pool and New Zealand is well down the world rankings.
But depth and coaching numbers have increased a lot in the sport since his arrival in New Zealand in 2015. Tarr, who has two sporty children and permanent residence here, is eager to see how much more growth he and North Shore players can contribute to.
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Podcast pick helps propel Westlake runner to NZ title
A podcast suggesting that Huw Robinson’s key rival would win the New Zealand Secondary Schools Cross Country Championship helped motivate the Westlake Boys High School athlete to take the Year 9 boys’ title.
Robinson (14) was listening to the preview podcast the night before his 3000m race when Matthew Meikeljohn of St Patrick’s College (Silverstream) in Wellington was pitched as the favourite. “It gave me the motivation to prove to people I could win,” Huw said.
Huw had placed second to Matthew in the 1500m at the North Island secondary school track champs in Tauranga in April.
And the rivalry continued as expected at the cross country champs in Whangarei on 14 June, with Huw on the Wellingtonian’s shoulder for two-thirds of the race. “I was always to the front of the race but 800m before the finish I sped up.”
Huw finished five seconds ahead in 10 mins 1 sec.
“We are rivals, not enemies,” Huw says. “I’ve got a lot of respect for him – we push each other.”
Huw’s other main motivation has been his mother, Anwen Robinson, who won national cross country championships in Wales. “I wanted to follow in her footsteps.”
Huw enjoys both track (he won the 3000m at the North Island champs in April) and cross country, and will run his first road race next term.
He has his sights set on the World Secondary School cross country champs, which will be held in April 2026 in either China or Qatar. • Westlake posted excellent results in the Year 9 boys’ race, with three students finishing in the top 10. Liam Crooks came 5th and Brennan Wilson 9th. The top placings meant Westlake took out the boys’ three-person and six-person teams titles.
“ We found Marcus and his team to be
Pulling away... Huw Robinson in the lead of the Year 9 national cross country race, ahead of Matthew Meikeljohn of St Patrick’s College (No 408)
Top results... Westlake Boys High School runners at
cross country champs in Whangarei
Bird saga ‘shows need for facility’
A three-woman rescue effort to save a protected native seabird (pictured) found lying on a Takapuna 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.
“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 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.
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 protected species that only bred in New Zealand. They are not endangered, but their population is in decline, a spokesperson said.
Takapuna resident 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 keep it safe overnight for DOC to collect, as by then it was out of hours for the rescue centre.
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, which only takes in native birds, 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 local 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. 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.
Sports Briefs
Year 9 throws big
Takapuna Athletics Club junior SinaMaria Su’a has again edged older clubmate and national under-20 shot put champion Kate Hallie. Su’a, a worldranked Year 9 student, followed up a win at the first Winter Throws event at AUT Millennium Stadium last month with another at the second night, held on 14 June, using the senior 4kg weight.
Mixed results for Swish
The new Swish netball team featuring some former Silver Ferns was mid-table after the first round of the Netball North Harbour premier one competition. With a revolving lineup and the loss of defender Kayla Johnson, who was called into the Stars side as injury cover in the ANZ championship, it was unable to overcome some of the top teams. An unbeaten Shore Rovers 1 goes into round two as favourites. Swish’s second team and Shore Rovers 3 replace Westlake 2 and Rangitoto 2 in premier one for round two, after promotion-relegation playoffs.
Vaulter Ayris improves
Olympian Imogen Ayris has bettered her outdoor pole vault personal best at a meet in Finland. The Takapuna Athletics Club member jumped 4.61m to place second. Ayris has cleared 4.67m indoors, but needs to clear 3cm more as a World Championships qualifier.
TGS girls team up
Ella Blincoe combined with Takapuna Grammar schoolmates Fritha Matthews and Indi Holland to win the Year 9 national secondary cross country relay. Blincoe placed 6th as an individual. Asha Edwards, also from TGS, was in the second-placed Harbour senior team.
Dyeing for his craft? Decision needed for Ibsen classic
A contemporary version of the Ibsen classic A Doll’s House is another stepping stone for actor Max Pirotais-Wilton.
It’s the Devonport resident’s fourth community theatre role and the first in which he is playing a much older character. He is debating whether to colour his striking red beard an ageing grey.
In another first, North Shore group Foolish Wit Theatre, which is staging the production at the PumpHouse theatre in Takapuna this week, hopes bookings will allow it to meet a long-held aim to profit-share with its cast.
For Pirotais-Wilton, aged 26, any payment would be just a bonus. He finds acting brings rich rewards in itself. He likes being part of a diverse yet like-minded team.
He plays Dr Rank, a friend to both Nora and Torvald Helmer (played by Gabrielle Dally and Rama Buisson), the couple whose seemingly ideal marriage is at the heart of the play.
Playwright Henrik Ibsen is regarded as the father of modern theatre. A Doll’s House was first performed in 1879, shocking audiences with its ground-breaking exploration of marriage and morality.
The adaptation Foolish Wit has chosen is by playwright Amy Herzog. It is a faster-paced, more modern take on gender roles, and has been described overseas as “an electrifying revival”.
Pirotais-Wilton says he is looking forward
Going grey?... Max Pirotais-Wilton must choose whether to dye his red beard for upcoming performances
to the challenge – grey beard or not – of playing a man confronting his loyalties and mortality. Physically, he has been working on a slight stoop. Psychologically, he says, his character opens up during the play.
The acting bug first struck Pirotais-Wilton at Takapuna Grammar School more than
a decade ago. Newly arrived from France with his French mother, English father and younger brother, he soon got involved in school productions.
He enjoyed a less formal school environment than was usual in France.
“Unlike France, they [TGS] had drama classes; there you study drama as literature, you don’t act it.”
Teachers in France were prized as subjectmatter experts, he said, rather than necessarily being trained to teach well. Even at primary level, students were expected to do homework, such as conjugating verbs.
He remembers an early cultural clash coming home from school in New Zealand.
“I said to mum, ‘I’ve got no homework’, and she said: ‘What?’”
Pirotais-Wilton had a small part in the TGS production of Oliver in Year 11, going onto a bigger role in Grease in 2017, his last year at school. He also participated in the Sheila Winn Shakespeare competitions.
At university, he completed a BA in creative technologies, then went on to work in software development, creating interactive experiences.
Drama was on the backburner for a few years, but in 2023 his mother noticed Company Theatre advertising for an extra in its performance of Death of a Salesman so she suggested he might want to ease back into it.
Enjoying the experience, Pirotais-Wilton then auditioned for Shoreside Theatre’s Summer Shakespeare season of Measure for Measure, playing the comic sidekick Lucio. Then he was a detective in the company’s Agatha Christie season last year.
Through the connections he made from performing for Shoreside at the PumpHouse, he heard about Foolish Wit’s A Doll’s House coming up there, becoming one of the play’s six-member cast. He had time for rehearsals, because after an ownership change at the company he worked for, he was also left looking for a new job.
Getting back into acting brought a renewed sense of connection.
“If you’re thinking about giving [community theatre] a go – absolutely. The community of it, is very strong.”
• A Doll’s House, staged by Foolish Wit Theatre, from 25-29 July at the PumpHouse Theatre, Killarney Park, Takapuna. Tickets from the theatre box office or online.
Auckland Live presents CDP with Tall Stories’ production of
School choirs head south for Big Sing
The three premier choirs from the Westlake high schools – Cantare, Voicemale and Choralation– are all bound for the Big Sing national finale after being awarded distinction at the Choral Foundation’s regional final for secondary schools held this month.
Takapuna Grammar School’s Leonessa choir has also made the cut to compete as one of the nation’s top 24 school choirs in Dunedin in late August.
Voicemale, from Westlake Boys High School, won the Best Programme for Lower Voices at regionals, with the combined Westlake choir Choralation winning the Best Programme for Mixed Voices.
Westlake Girls’ junior choir, Nota Bella, won the Best Programme for Junior Choir for the fourth year running.
Choralation director and Westlake Girls head of music Fiona Wilson said a feature of the regional competition was the record number of Pasifika pieces performed this year – 26 – which she thought likely to have been inspired by the film Tinā, for which she had a hand in the vocal staging.
Choralation performed a commission by Elisha Fa’i-Soialo, featuring solos from Constantine Mataafa, the head boy at WBHS and Melesini Teulilo, a prefect at WGHS. A previous Westlake Girls performance in Samoan more than a decade ago was inspiration for the director of Tinā , for his fictional story of a school choir led by a Samoan teacher.
Big Sing is the largest choral festival in the Southern Hemisphere.
Local composer up for music award
Takapuna composer and sound recordist Chris Sanders is a finalist in the Aotearoa Children’s Music Awards. Sanders, who recently featured in an Observer article about his career and work on children’s production Hana the Glowworm, is in contention for recording a Hana album. He is vying for the Recorded Music NZ Tui Award for Best Children’s Artist, with the winner to be announced at the Aotearoa Children’s Music Awards this Saturday, 29 June.
Hall racks up new show
New Zealand’s most successful playwright and Takapuna resident Sir Roger Hall has his 47th play on stage. A season of comedy End of Summer Time is on at the Auckland Theatre Company until 5 July.
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