Plan strips ‘character’ status from 250 local homes... p6-7
July 3, 2026
Midwinter Dip, Matariki Festival spreads... p10-14
Interview: Property journalist Anne Gibson.. p26-27
Eight storeys: Development plans for Devonport revealed
The Devonport village skyline would be radically altered under plans for buildings up to eight storeys high in Peninsula Capital’s proposed $400-million-plus “Devonport Lanes” development.
The project comprises four new residential buildings and one hotel, delivering around 80–90 apartments and 46-50 hotel rooms, according to a master plan obtained by the
Devonport Flagstaff.
The development, spreading across various sites in the village owned by Peninsula Capital, includes 5386sqm of commercial and retail floor area, and 2319sqm “of “adaptively reused and refurbished heritage buildings on Victoria Rd”.
“Each building is envisaged to have its own identity, supporting a diverse range of
New skyline rising
residential typologies,” says the master plan dated 25 May 2026.
Basement parking ranges from around 80 to 200 spaces, subject to geotechnical conditions and final basement and car-parking design.
The residential component includes one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with
To pages 2-4
From the water... One of the images provided in a master plan understood to have been submitted to council for comment and evaluation
Peninsula Capital plan has five multi-level
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
ADVERTISING: Candice Izzard
DESIGN: Brendon De Suza
NEXT ISSUE: July 17
ADVERTISING DEADLINE: July 10
Hon Simon Watts
By the numbers... An image in the Devonport Lanes master plan gives details about each of the five proposed buildings
buildings rising behind heritage streetscape
varying layouts, as well as penthouses, to suit different lifestyles and household types.
Lanes and a courtyard will link Victoria Rd to the new buildings and Wynyard St.
Shallow groundwater is anticipated, with basement excavation requiring temporary dewatering and permanent “tanked” basement design, the plan said.
“Only one building (building 3) has limited exposure to future flooding under extreme climate change scenarios, all other buildings are outside identified flood hazard areas.”
Existing water and wastewater networks are considered capable of servicing the development, subject to confirmation at detailed design stage.
The development aims to connect Windsor Reserve with Wynyard St through a series of pedestrian laneways and courtyards running
The master plan has been submitted to Auckland Council for comment and evaluation as part of a fast-track application.
Peninsula Capital director Mark Hiddleston said the plan was stage one of the process and expected to take three months. If the fast tracking was accepted the whole process would take 18 months.
Works could start in three or four years and would be done in stages.
Peninsula Capital was proud of the master plan and the way it integrated and protected heritage alongside transforming Devonport into “something world class, worthy of its location,” Hiddleston said.
Maunga views had been protected and from the Victoria Rd footpath the new buildings would not dominate, he said.
Top architects, planners, engineers and heritage experts had worked on the plan, he said.
Economic impact
The project’s construction is expected to take five years, injecting $398 million into the economy and generating:
• 1200 direct construction jobs and 3700 jobs over multiple sectors.
• Up to 130,000 domestic and an extra 17,600-35,000 international visitors per year, producing $8.3m-$16.6m in annual day-visitor spending.
• Estimated hotel guest spending on accommodation and retail put at between $7.5m and $8.6m annually.
• $1.3m to $1.5 million a year contributed to the local economy in retail spending from residents of the new apartments.
off Victoria Rd.
New face... A view of the new development looking north along Victoria Rd
From page 1
More pictures, Peninsula’s pitch, p4
Strollable... A lanes concept links Victoria Rd with three of the new buildings and Wynyard St.
Left: The old ASB site will provide a new entry building. The master plan says the covered, open-air “threshold” into Devonport Lanes will help complete the line of heritage frontages on Victoria Rd.
Clarence corner... Looking south from the corner of Clarence St and Victoria Rd. Below: A street elevation showing the new hotel and apartment buildings, which are to be set back between 12 and 17 metres from the Victoria Rd heritage building frontages. The aim is for the heritage buildings to have prominence at street level, with the new buildings stepping up behind.
Peninsula aims to ‘breathe new life’ into Devonport
Peninsula Capital’s principal shareholders live in Devonport, the master plan notes.
“This local connection brings a strong sense of responsibility, Devonport is not viewed simply as a development opportunity, but as a place of heritage, community, and everyday life that deserves thoughtful care.
“Our vision is to breathe new life into Devonport as a vibrant, thriving village, a place to live, work, gather, and visit, while preserving the qualities that make it unique.
“The master plan seeks to strengthen the town centre by encouraging daily activity, supporting local businesses, improving connections and public spaces, and ensuring the village remains resilient for future generations.
“Heritage is central to this approach.”
Existing buildings are seen as an asset, cultural and architectural value that can be strengthened and given new life through adaptive reuse.
“New development is designed to sit comfortably alongside this historic fabric, respecting scale, grain, and identity.”
• Comment: See Flagstaff notes page 23.
Felling of large pōhutukawa spawns tree action group
The felling of a 100-year-old pōhutukawa in Bayswater has sparked the formation of a new tree protection action group.
The tree at 27 Bayswater Ave was cut down on 22 June, with stump grinding work continuing on subsequent days.
Local environmental restoration group Restoring Takarunga Hauraki (RTH) has discussed the tree’s removal and decided to convene a new action group.
“The group will be a subgroup of RTH and is forming to address the growing loss of large trees on the peninsula,” says Lance Cablk, the group’s senior restoration and community engagement lead.
The group intends to explore actions including policy advocacy, monitoring and documenting tree removals, building public awareness, education and outreach to local schools and working alongside the Tree Council.
“If anyone shares this concern, we would love them to join us,” says Cablk.
The group is looking at asking people to nominate their favourite local trees, with photos posted online, and to stay engaged
Latest plan strips heritage status from tenth of homes
Around 10 per cent of properties in the Devonport heritage zone will lose Special Character Area (SCA) protections in the latest proposed changes to Auckland’s planning regulations.
South of the Waitemata Golf Course – an area of around 2700 houses with one of the country’s highest concentrations of Victorian villas and Edwardian bungalows – 256 sites will lose their SCA status.
Of those, around 78 will be zoned Mixed Housing Suburban – allowing three houses on each site, up to two storeys.
The most common reason why the 178 other sites removed from the SHA were not zoned Mixed Housing Suburban is that council has applied its coastal inundation/flooding overlay to many low-lying areas around Wairoa Rd, lower King Edward Pde and Vauxhall Rd. The risk of flooding rules them out for new intensive development.
Under the Special Character Area overlay even houses that are not heritage homes have to meet design standards in keeping with the area. The 256 sites would have no design parameters if the proposals go ahead.
Four members of the Devonport-Takapuna local Board – Scott Macarthur, Terence Harpur, George Wood, and Gavin Busch – last week voted against supporting the retention of the homes within Devonport’s Special Character Area.
Board chair Trish Deans, who voted for the retention, was stunned at the lack of support for heritage. “What sort of message does this send out to the community?” she asked.
Deans told the board that in resident surveys, protection of Devonport’s heritage always rated highly.
Board members were largely silent of their reasons for voting against the retention, although they were also debating submissions on Plan Change 120, which recommended increases in intensification in Milford, Takapuna, Sunnynook and parts of Hauraki.
Member Gavin Busch said while he didn’t want inappropriate development in Devonport, the special character zone still existed to protect its heritage homes.
Member Macarthur pointed out to Devonport Heritage chair Margot McRae that compared to the massive changes to zoning proposed in Takapuna, Milford and Sunnynook, Devonport’s were comparatively minor.
McRae replied that “two wrongs don’t make a right”. She told the board the unexpected removal of the sites from the special character zone “will have a major impact on the character of Devonport. There would no requirement for new buildings to be in sympathy to the surrounding heritage area.
“This will allow a free for all on design, with any sort of modern house and materials to be built without any regard for the historic streetscape. For 30 years Devonport has had design requirements on new builds, so this is a major departure,” McRae said.
Changes afoot… the yellow areas are earmarked for zoning as Mixed Housing Suburban in the most recent Plan Change 120 discussions
Some villas losing protection after ‘Google Maps’ ratings
Devonport’s character depends on the whole being recognised as a coherent area, says Devonport Heritage chair Margot McRae.
“Cutting out bits of streets and small areas is a nonsensical way to treat a well-established heritage area that has been protected for 30 years,” she told the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board last week. “It will seriously erode the heritage identity of this precious historic area.”
The properties to be rezoned are around the fringes of Devonport – Ariho Tce and Empire Rd; part of Lake Rd extending into Abbotsford Tce; above Kings Parade; on Vauxhall Rd across from North Shore Rugby Club, and near the entrance to Devonport above Narrow Neck Beach.
Some of the homes covered clearly fall into the category of heritage houses, such as those
in Turnbull Rd, and some on Vauxhall Rd.
Some of the ratings were made superficially using Google Maps, McRae said.
The changes ignored two serious constraints on development on the Devonport peninsula – wastewater and the congested Lake Rd, she said. “Neither of these major infrastructure issues can be ignored,” McRae said. “Creeping intensification should not be just added onto the plan change.”
Auckland Council is considering two options for increased intensification. “Very simply, both these options are worse for Devonport than the first PC 120 that we submitted on last year.”
Apart from the coastal fringe, most of Belmont and Narrow Neck north of the golf course will be zoned Mixed Housing Suburban under the proposed changes.
Not heritage, says Auckland Council…
Examples of houses set to lose Special Character Area protections under proposed planning changes: 10 Turnbull Rd (above) and 59 Vauxhall Rd (left)
The ex-farmer who still bikes to the top
The ex-farmer who still bikes to the top
Every morning, Mike could see the hills from his kitchen window. The communication towers on top, 750 metres up. He’d bought this twenty-acre block specifically so he could ride his mountain bike up there.
But his knees had other ideas.
Eighteen and a half years of farming sheep had taken their toll. By the time he retired, those hills had started to feel less like a promise and more like a taunt.
He’d tried ice gel after rides. Synthetic creams too. Nothing made a real difference. Some of them weren’t even recommended for long-term use.
Then one evening, an ad popped up. A cream called Koru FX. Made in New Zealand with all natural ingredients.
He ordered a bottle, not expecting much. He’d been disappointed before.
The next morning, he rubbed it on and forgot about it. Later, working the sheep, he jumped down from a fence without thinking. That impact would usually cause no end of grief.
He straightened up, realising he wasn’t in trouble.
Within weeks, Mike was back on his
bike and heading for those hills.
“It’s given me more confidence to do things I want to do,” the 58-year-old says. “That’s everything to me.”
He’s up there once a week now. Fifty, sixty times and counting.
These days, Mike still looks out that kitchen window every morning. But now he’s checking the weather, not wondering what if.
The hills aren’t getting any smaller. Neither is his list of reasons to climb them.
A FRESH NEW NAME A FRESH LOCAL VIBE
Whether you shop in store, click and collect or for delivery to your door, you’ll find fresh food, friendly faces and a store owned by locals who are big on community.
FAIR PRESS COFFEE
Freshly made, baristastyle coffee is now just a few taps away. Grab a Fair Press coffee and enjoy café-quality flavour while you shop.
FRESH PRODUCE
From local growers to your trolley, we’re bringing fresh fruit and veg closer to home every day, for fresher meals and ready to eat snacks.
IN-STORE BUTCHERY
Quality cuts prepared fresh in-store by our butchery team. From weeknight dinners to weekend barbecues, we’ve got you covered.
HAURAKI CORNER OPEN 7 DAYS. 7 AM –10 PM 367 Lake Road, Hauraki, Auckland
Takapuna Grammar choir makes national Big Sing finals
In good voice… TGS choir Chorale, conducted by David Squire at the Big Sing regional finals
Takapuna Grammar’s Chorale has been named one of the 24 best secondary school choirs in New Zealand and will compete in the Big Sing Finale at Christchurch Town Hall from 27 to 29 August.
Chorale was one of 12 Auckland
school choirs selected for the Finale from 250 choirs which competed in regional finals.
At the Auckland Big Sing Regionals last week, TGS Chorale won the Excellent Performance of a Choral Art Music Composition award for its rendition of
Sure on This Shining Night, composed by Morten Lauridsen.
Takapuna Grammar’s Leona Ensemble has been named as one of the reserves for the second-tier Upper North Island Cadenza festival, after receiving a gold award at the regional competition.
S i n ce 1 937, t h e Wi l s o n H o m e h a s g i ve n ch i l d re n a n d yo u n g p e o p l e l i v i n g w i t h p hys i c a l d i s a b i l i t i e s s o m ew h e re to h ea l , re h a b i l i t a te , l ea rn a n d s i m p l y b e ki d s W h e t h e r yo u h ave
e n t r u s te d u s w i t h yo u r ch i l d o r s p e n t t i m e h e re yo u r s e l f, yo u ’ l l kn ow t h a t i t ’s a ve r y s p e c i a l p l a ce .
t h
To m a rk o u r 9 0 a n n i ve r s a r y n ex t yea r, we' ve c rea te d Fri e n d s
o f t h e Tr u s t – a co m m u n i ty o f p e o p l e w h o b e l i eve eve r y ch i l d d e s e r ve s th e ch a n ce to t h ri ve As a Fri e n d , yo u r d o n a t i o n s , re g u l a r co n t ri b u t i o n s o r l e g a cy g i f t s w i l l h e l p u s p rov i d e g ra n t s fo r e q u i p m e n t , a c t i v i t i e s a n d co u n s e l l i n g fo r ch i l d re n l i v i n g w i t h p hys i c a l
T h e Wi l s o n H o m e Tr u s t
B e c o m e a F r i e n d o f t h e T r u s t . 1 S t L e
Did someone say shark? Apex predator joins
opted to mix formality with
Keeping it chill... Violet Evetts-Perry looked relaxed waiting for her swim.
Several hundred people took part in the traditional Devonport Midwinter Dip off Windsor Reserve on 21 June, led into the water by Devonport Druid Chris Mullane. The Officers Mess provided the post-swim soup.
If the hat fits... Stephen Perry
fleece-lined warmth. Below: Helen Adams and Fiona Laird.
Right: Butterfly ladies (from left) Meena Jeram, Cathy Brown and Diane Dale
Uh-oh... Shark Elise Kandziora with Eva and Fleur Delaney
pirates, butterflies and more for icy plunge
Making a splash... Participants in the Devonport Midwinter Dip make their dash down the beach and into the water off Windsor Reserve.
Arrrr, etc... Seven pirates and a unicorn (from left): Mark Davies, Mike Spooner, Aaron Birley, Kate Fisher, Ben Parsons, Wade Baylis, Fi Riley and George Spooner. Right: Sisters Anita Stewart and Sarah Pardy. Below: A superhero takes flight (Druid Chris Mullane is at bottom right.)
Liam Furlong, Aorangi Hall, Soli Hibbert and Kauri Wasley. Below: Stanley Bay School’s Connor Hawkin, Oliver Ostergaard and Tristan Dhalliun.
Festival
Action stations... St Leo’s Primary’s Grace Egenes, Aria West and Dyna Panares. Top right: Bayswater School pupils... Marlon Catterall, Aryaan Bin Mohammed Johar, Necalli Brown, Lachlan Horrocks and Raymond Bentley Fisher. Bottom right: Lucia Harrison (left) and Philo Meredith of Hauraki School. Below: Devonport Primary performers in action.
More than 400 people attended the Matariki Festival held at Bayswater School last Saturday, during which each peninsula school performed three kapa haka items.
The event also included craft-making, a makers’ market, kai and a bonfire.
Bayswater School was recently commended at the national Education Excellence Awards, in recognition of its promotion of Māori language and culture.
Beautifully crafted cabinetry designed for comfort, style, and timeless appeal
Neo Design specialises in premium kitchens, bathrooms, and bespoke cabinetry, delivering expert craftsmanship, precision, and flawless finishes. Experience custom designs, superior workmanship, and a commitment to excellence—guaranteed. Call us for a free consultation
CUSTOM KITCHENS, BATHROOMS, AND CABINETRY TO FIT YOUR VISION
Piupiu and poi... Belmont Primary pupils (from left) Sienna Edmonds, Charlotte Willetts, Marley Gaite-Hafoka, Poppy Tallon and Harper Pope. Below left: Belmont Intermediate’s Merieti Nawaia, Karlia Dunne, Olive Catterall and Lynda Amosa. Below right: Vauxhall School’s Poppy Boyd, March Casey and Delilah Riggall.
Positioned on one of Narrow Neck's most sought after streets, this stylish 1960s brick apartment offers the perfect blend of character, convenience, and coastal living. Just an easy stroll from the beach, you can enjoy everything this beautiful seaside neighbourhood has to offer.
Start your day with a walk along the shoreline, meet friends at a local cafe, or take advantage of the nearby public transport, pickleball courts, squash club, and golf course - all within easy reach. Whether you're taking your first step onto the property ladder, downsizing, or embracing a fresh start, this is an opportunity not to be missed.
Vacant and ready for immediate possession, this appealing apartment is available now.
Act quickly and make your move today.
Ribbon cut at new Hauraki Corner supermarket
The first FreshChoice supermarket on the North Shore opened at Hauraki Corner last week, replacing the former Woolworths store.
The opening included a performance from the Hauraki School kapa haka group, a ribbon- and cake-cutting ceremony, giveaways and opening deals.
Owner-operator Sanjesh Chauhan, who lives on the North Shore, has spent 10 years running FreshChoice Titirangi, which will now be operated by his son, Vikram.
“We’ve spent 10 years at Titirangi learning how to tailor a store to its neighbourhood, knowing customers by name, understanding what they want on the shelves, and backing local where we can,” Chauhan said. “We’re bringing all of that to Hauraki Corner.”
The refurbished store has a wider grocery range than the store it replaced, seasonal lines, more organics, an in-house butchery, artisan bakery and a deli.
The national chain of locally owned and run FreshChoice supermarkets operates under a franchise model owned by Woolworths.
Happy at Hauraki… Sanjesh Chauhan and his wife
Ginal after cutting the ribbon at the new FreshChoice Hauraki Corner. Below: the Hauraki School kapa haka group performs in the car park.
Luxury Lifestyle Living Without the Price Tag
This beautifully renovated, high-spec apartment (100sqm) offers an exceptional opportunity for buyers seeking style, comfort, and location. Positioned between Narrow Neck and Cheltenham beaches - you'll enjoy a relaxed coastal lifestyle with cafes and public transport just moments from your door. Inside, the apartment features two generous bedrooms with fitted wardrobes and a light-filled open-plan living, dining, and kitchen area. Newly installed aluminium joinery with double glazing perfectly frames stunning city views. Timber flooring throughout, a bespoke designer kitchen, and a beautifully tiled bathroom create a sophisticated, contemporary feel. Additional features include undercover parking, a dedicated storage area, and a separate laundry. Residents also enjoy shared access to the landscaped garden, where grandstand views across to Rangitoto provide the perfect backdrop for relaxing or entertaining. For Sale
$1,095,000 Maria Stevens 021 979 084
Muirhead 021 337 222
North Shore juggernaut rolls on despite error rate
North Shore Rugby Club’s premiers beat lowly Silverdale 59-12 at Vauxhall Rd to book a North Harbour championship semifinal against Takapuna this Saturday, but it was a far from convincing performance against a weak team.
Shore was always going to win, but the defending champions would have been disappointed with their error rate and lack of dominance in scrums and lineouts. Late in the game Shore even conceded a tighthead.
Slick interplay between Shore’s backs and forwards led to some excellent tries, but execution was sloppy at times.
Two certain tries were bombed by forward passes; urgency to move the ball led to a Silverdale intercept try; and one dropped ball gave the visitors the chance to score a second try.
Shore started slowly, taking seven minutes to score, but then put on four more, with Oscar Koller slotting five sideline conversions for a 35-0 halftime lead.
Seven minutes into the second half and two further tries put Shore ahead 47-0 and it seemed an 80-point win was likely.
But Silverdale’s scrappy defence around the edges disrupted Shore’s rhythm, leading to some aimless kicking and loss of possession. Over the final 25 minutes the score was 12-all.
A slight reality check, then, for Shore as it continued its unbeaten run for the season, and a reminder to execute accurately, even against weaker sides.
Winger JD van der Westhuizen looked dangerous every time he touched the ball, scoring two tries and setting the platform for another with a searing run.
In the forwards, blindside flanker Gene Garea had one of his best games for Shore, solid in the tight, retaining the ball well on numerous breaks and even putting in an excellent attacking grubber kick.
Hooker James Fairbairn continues to impress with his speed around the field.
And Shore captain Donald Coleman led the team well, cooling tempers in the first half when Silverdale’s forwards appeared to be indulging in obvious off-the-ball play to frustrate their more skilful opponents.
• North Shore’s premier reserves thrashed Silverdale 95-7, and would have topped 100 points had the full 80 minutes been played. The match was called off 22 minutes into the second half when Silverdale ran out of reserves.
Shore’s under-21s beat Massey 43-15 to complete a three-match rout at Vauxhall Rd for Shore’s top senior teams.
The under-85kg side narrowly lost to Kumeu, 26-24, at Riverhead.
Takapuna Grammar lost 19-15 to Mahurangi College at TGS last Saturday to sit seventh in the North Harbour first XV competition.
Top performers…JD van der Westhuizen dives over to score his second try (above), Cam Howell slices through for a try (below left) and Gene Garea (below right) on the burst
DEVONPORT
DEVONPORT
1 WESLEY STREET AUCTION
7 4 5 1 2
7 4 5 1 2
1 WESLEY STREET AUCTION
Waterfront Home and Income Potential
Waterfront Home and Income Potential
On 991m² the chance to future proof Is here! Needing vision, this incredible two level home has the main house upstairs and 2 units downstairs, plus covered parking for three cars. With land and gardens leading all the way to gorgeous Ngataringa Bay, there is plenty of opportunity here for the Multi-generational Families, Builders Delight or those wanting Income Growth in this terrific Devonport location.
10am 23 July 2026 at 8 The Promenade (unless sold
10am 23 July 2026 at 8 The Promenade (unless sold
10:00am 23 July 2026 at 8-12 The Promenade, Takapuna (unless sold prior)
On 991m² the chance to future proof Is here! Needing vision, this incredible two level home has the main house upstairs and 2 units downstairs, plus covered parking for three cars. With land and gardens leading all the way to gorgeous Ngataringa Bay, there is plenty of opportunity here for the Multi-generational Families, Builders Delight or those wanting Income Growth in this terrific Devonport location. barfoot.co.nz/936318
Perfect Bayswater living. Designed and built just 15 years ago by the current owners this 260m² home has been designed for effortless family living.
barfoot.co.nz/935441
TENDER
2:00pm 9 Jul 2026 at 39 Victoria Road, Devonport (unless sold prior) VIEWING Sat & Sun 1.00-1.30pm
Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681
Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452
HAURAKI
2/10 NORTHBORO ROAD
Hauraki,
Positioned in one of the North shore’s most sought-after suburbs, Hauarki, is this delightful solid 1960s character brick and tile unit
barfoot.co.nz/936192
TENDER 2:00pm 8 Jul 2026 at 39 Victoria Road, Devonport (unless sold prior)
VIEWING Sat & Sun 2.00-2.30pm
Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681
Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452
BELMONT
201A LAKE ROAD
Superbly positioned in one of Cheltenham's most coveted cul-de-sacs, this perfectly reinvented home has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Call today.
barfoot.co.nz/936037
9:30am 1 Jul 2026 at 8-12 The Promenade, Takapuna (unless sold prior) VIEWING Sat/Sun 12:00 - 12:30pm
Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681
Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452 AUCTION
Drive on down, there's plenty of room. 1980s, split-level, four-bedroom home with internal-access garaging, tucked well back from the road.
barfoot.co.nz/936016
TENDER 2:00pm 7 Jul 2026 at 39 Victoria Road, Devonport (unless sold prior)
VIEWING Sat/Sun 2.00-2.30pm
Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452
Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681
Devonport 09 445 2010
2/45 VAUXHALL ROAD
Minutes walk to Cheltenham Beach. Electric garage door plus car pad. Best buy in Devonport. Smart buying!
barfoot.co.nz/931782
$775,000
2/94 JUTLAND ROAD
VIEWING Sunday 1:00-1:30pm
Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452
Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681 FOR SALE
2/1 ARAMOANA AVENUE
Renovated from ‘head to toe’ and set over two levels, this 1980’s townhouse has plenty to shout about...
A must view! Call us now!
barfoot.co.nz/935523
AUCTION
PRICED TO SELL! Families, builders, come and view this large home built in 1991 with a block & insulclad exterior & great views. Call today.
barfoot.co.nz/935176
$1,395,000
VIEWING Sat/Sun 3:00-3:30pm
Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681
Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452 FOR SALE
3/16 QUEENS PARADE
10:00am 8 Jul 2026 at 34
Shortland Street, City (unless sold prior)
VIEWING Sat/Sun 1.30pm - 2.00pm
Toni Gregory 021 044 3663
Alexandra Corbin 021 643 673
One of Devonport's most sought-after pockets, this charming two-bedroom unit puts you right in the heart of everything.
barfoot.co.nz/935967
$850,000
VIEWING
Phone For Viewing Times
Kurt Piper 021 137 6450 FOR SALE
After four years developing my skills within highly competitive residential markets I am excited to make the move to Bayleys Devonport and begin offering my tailored sales strategy to the community I call home.
William Sanders Village is a thriving retirement community offering a lifestyle that makes it easy to stay active and connected with like-minded people.
We have two bedroom apartments available now, priced from $825,000. All apartments offer spacious open plan living, with contemporary kitchens and bathrooms, and your own patio or balcony.
Don’t miss out, call Scott on 445 0909 for more details.
7 Ngataringa Road, Devonport ryman.co.nz
By Rob Drent
Unlike the long-awaited second harbour crossing – we carried a story in the Flagstaff 25 years ago outlining a series of options –genuine progress is being made by Peninsula Capital towards redeveloping Devonport village.
Its master plan for the project has been submitted to Auckland Council as the next step in a move to create a revitalised commercial (and residential) district using the 20-plus properties it has acquired over recent years as a foundation.
The Flagstaff Notes
haven’t hiked rents, have been supportive of local businesses and provided the canvas for a new artistic hub in the old Devonport Borough Council building.
Peninsula Capital’s cautious long-term view in developing its portfolio in one quality project, rather than taking a quickfire knock-it-up and sell-it-off approach is a fortunate outcome for Devonport.
With Peninsula Capital shareholders Graham Turley and Berridge Spencer living locally, there’s a sense Devonport Lanes is a legacy project they will be proud of, not primarily a money-making venture.
Takarunga are another taonga of Devonport that locals will want to guard.
But what price progress? A compromise is no doubt possible – maybe with a reduction in heights – so the potential of Devonport as place to live and visit can be fulfilled.
As I look out the Flagstaff office window on a cold winter’s day, onto Wynyard St, with its scruffy carpark, hotpotch of rooflines, and patchy connections to Victoria Rd, the artistic impressions in the Devonport Lanes master plan look appealing.
Like many locals I’ve broadly endorsed Peninsula Capital’s buy-up and vision. They
The devil will be in the detail. Much like the Ryman village (where locals were at first shocked by the height and a floor was removed in the planning process), many will consider the Devonport Lanes buildings too high. The danger with Peninsula Capital’s plan is that the new structures dwarf the heritage buildings, which the owners are aiming to protect. I suspect views to
There’s more ways than one to become a cashless society, it seems. With no banks left, Devonport village is reduced to two ATMs – one outside New World and one at the entrance to the postal outlet across at Clarence House. The ATM machine at New World has been playing up recently and denying cash, frustrating locals who contacted the Flagstaff.
Write to the Devonport
Flagstaff
We welcome letters. Please limit to 300 words on local topics. Noms de plume or unnamed letters will not be printed. Email news@devonportflagstaff.co.nz or write to Letters, PO Box 32 275, Devonport.
ENROLMENTS
Enrolment for Out of Zone Students for 2019
FOR TERM 3 2026
Enrolment for Out of Zone Students for 2019
Devonport Primary School operates an enrolment scheme, details are available from the school office.
Devonport Primary School invites applications for out of zone enrolments in Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 for 2019
Devonport Primary School invites applications for out of zone enrolments in Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 for 2019
Applications close: 17th Oct Ballot Date (if required) - 24th Oct
Applicationforout-of-zoneplaces, acrossallages,areinvitedforadmission from20Julywithadeadlineof 19July.Ifrequired,aballotwillbeheld, and parents notified on 20 July. Multipleout-of-zoneenrolmentballots maybeheldthroughout2026. If planning to enrol later in 2026 please contact the school as soon as possible to assist our planning.
Applications close: 17th Oct Ballot Date (if required) - 24th Oct
Please contact the school for application forms, or an opportunity to visit 445 0183 office@devonport school nz www devonportschool nz
Please contact the school for application forms, or an opportunity to visit. 445 0183 office@devonport.school.nz www.devonportschool.nz
The kids are alright at long-running youth forum
Supporting Matariki events at the Rose Centre and Devonport Library Associates activities have been a recent focus for the Devonport Youth Forum.
The group, which gathers fortnightly to discuss community projects over pizza, is also planning an upcoming movie night for local youth.
The forum has become something of a Devonport Peninsula institution since its inception more than 20 years ago as a dedicated group of teens volunteering in the community, bringing their own project ideas to life and supporting others’ events.
Originally under the umbrella of the Devonport community coordinator, the group is now based at the Rose Centre.
Abby Jones, the centre’s community engagement lead, has been facilitating the group for the past three years.
“The Rose Centre board recognised the importance of continuing the Youth Forum programme and have actively invested in it,” she says.
The group has seven members who are all Takapuna Grammar School (TGS) students.
As well as planning and leading projects of their own, such as their movie night at the Rose Centre, they are also a resource for helping with others’ community activities.
Along with their Matariki and Library Associates involvement, they took tickets and served refreshments at a recent Rose Centre collaboration with South Seas Film School.
They have also given a voice for youth at local government events.
Past projects include a mural activation at the Rose Centre, where the group were supported and mentored by artist Component.
Jones says it isn’t easy to get word out about the group to potential new members, but participating in a recent community initiative with TGS International Baccalaureate students changed that.
The event was like “speed dating” for community groups and students wanting to volunteer. The students sat at tables, then representatives from five local community organisations spent a few minutes at each table explaining their organisation and how volunteers could get involved.
Pizza and plans... Youth Forum members Charlie Sorell (left) and Leo McLean (both Year 12 TGS students) with the Rose Centre’s Abby Jones (left) and youth facilitator Sydelle Langis. Right: A forum mural in a centre bathroom.
Teen flies the flag at 29er champs in Germany
Wakatere Boating Club’s Nelsen Meacham is in Kiel, Germany this week, representing New Zealand in the 29er World Championships.
The trip follows his win at the 29er New Zealand National Championship in May with sailing partner Oli Stone of Kohimarama Yacht Club.
The 16-year-old Nelsen began his sailing career eight years ago at Murrays Bay Sailing Club, completing their Learn to Sail programme. Working his way up through the ranks, he went on to club success in an Opti before switching over to Wakatere Boating Club.
His family have had a long association with Wakatere, which Meacham describes as a “people’s club”.
Meacham’s father Richard sailed in the America’s Cup with Matty Mason and it was the Masons who introduced the Meachams to Wakatere.
He credits his father with getting him into sailing. “I look up to him and he has helped me to strive to be better.” He also says he gets a lot of support from Wakatere.
“I’m very grateful to them.”
Nelsen Meacham at Wakatere Boating Club with his Waszp foiling yacht, which he looks forward to sailing again after the 29er Worlds
THE NAVY COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER
NAVY’S TWO-HIT DEPLOYMENT IN HAWAII
The double deployment of HMNZS Te Mana and sustainment vessel HMNZS Aotearoa to this year’s Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises in Hawaii underscores New Zealand’s commitment to Pacific cooperation and security.
It is the first time in 14 years that the Royal New Zealand Navy has deployed two ships to RIMPAC, the world’s largest maritime exercise, hosted by the US Navy’s Third Fleet. In 2012, it was also a frigate/sustainment vessel pairing – HMNZS Te Kaha and HMNZS Endeavour. The only other occasion was in 1980 (frigates HMNZS Canterbury and HMNZS Otago).
For our Navy, the biennial RIMPAC exercises fall within the annual Operation Crucible deployment, involving operations and exercises in the Western Pacific, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, typically over a five‑month period.
Aotearoa has not missed a RIMPAC exercise since commissioning in July 2020. The sustainment vessel called an “oiler” by the Americans has cemented itself as a valued logistical lifeline for partner forces during the exercise and throughout its subsequent Southeast Asia deployments.
New Zealand has participated in RIMPAC since the inaugural exercise in 1971, excluding a period between 1984 and 2012.
At that time, five nations participated Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States with little fanfare and a Cold War context. A deployment to Hawaii was unremarkable.
Today, the 30th iteration of RIMPAC involves 31 nations and a multinational force of approximately 40 ships, five submarines, 140 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel.
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.
HMNZS Te Mana arrives in Pearl Harbor for RIMPAC exercises.
Real estate still a hot property for long-time journo
Specialising in real estate news has given Narrow Neck’s Anne Gibson a ringside seat as major stories unfolded over the last 26 years. She tells Helen Vause about the job she loves.
Anne Gibson’s passion for Auckland’s skyline and all that rises and falls within it pre-dates the Sky Tower.
It’s more than 26 years since she took a desk at the New Zealand Herald and began writing mostly about commercial property, one of the few focusing on the subject in the ranks of business news reporters back then.
Now, after 41 years writing about property, she thinks she may be the longest serving specialised journalist in her field
in New Zealand.
The 67-year-old Herald property editor has no plans to stop writing daily about the property market, covering the booms and busts, big bucks projects, retirement villages, apartments and related finance and law stories – along with all the characters who have been the movers and shakers over the decades.
“It is just so interesting,” says Gibson. “As a nation we are always talking about
property. Residential property and what is happening with the market has always been a big thing to us.
“We have so much of our wealth tied up in housing, for example, and to help people understand it is key to what I do.”
For her, what could have been a grey blur of numbers offered rich pickings for thousands of stories about how we live and what’s happening with our built environment.
Newshound... Anne Gibson says she relies on her experience and contacts, a grasp of the law and the trust of key figures in the property sector
These days the picture is more complicated, with a more complex range of buildings, ways of working and ways of living to talk about.
The controls overseen by the assorted regulators are a moving thing, under constant scrutiny. The money involved is pretty heady stuff.
Gibson is very much a Devonport peninsula local, for 31 years the owner of a Narrow Neck bungalow with her husband, fellow business journalist Nevil Gibson.
She started writing about property because she was in the right place at the right time, partly because newspapers were beginning to allocate more space to the subject and partly because she was finding herself more interested in it. She found she could produce what the readers were eager to hear about.
It was the mid-1980s and her curiosity about property was boosted by what she remembers as the coming of the flashy times in the CBDs and smarter parts of the bigger cities. “Everyone seemed to have money and there were Mercedes everywhere. There were restaurants all over the city with flaming things outside them. They were different times.”
She wanted to know who was driving it, the new breed of developers and those among them who were tearing down heritage buildings.
With a politics degree from Canterbury University, she had started out in journalism at the Timaru Herald. After moving to Wellington, she soon found herself getting the chance to establish a property section in a business newspaper, the National Business Review – and on the way to making a name for herself in the field.
It was 1985, just a couple of years before the sharemarket crash hit. When it did, Gibson, like the rest of the media, found herself reporting on how the mighty had fallen, and taken many investors with them.
For her, these early career years were not just an opportunity but also a baptism by fire.
She has filed thousands of stories since then, some exposing the bad side of the property sector and the need for reform.
She’s proud of the work she has done on some subjects, and feels some laws have been changed due to the light she and others have shone on events.
The reform of the Overseas Investment Act, changes to the laws relating to real estate agents through the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 and the upcoming reform of the Retirement Villages Act 2003 are examples.
She said she had very positive feedback at ministerial level on the real estate agents legislation after writing about the old law which she says was not fit for purpose and had left the way open for some bad actors in the sector.
Then there was the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Act and the many woe-
ful tales of sodden apartment buildings and their hapless victims.
“As one of my contacts likes to say, with apartments you can be only one email away from financial disaster.”
Despite some new apartment buildings on the North Shore going unoccupied, she knows there is demand for the style of living they offer. Our views on real estate have expanded from the tradition of free-standing homes and back lawns.
Being able to connect with industry contacts at short notice has been invaluable in her pursuit of stories.
To function well in her work, she says she relies on the understanding that comes through experience, good contacts, a grasp of the law and the trust of key figures in property.
“I find it endlessly fascinating and I am never short of a story to write.”
She recalls a phone call she made to Mt Eden prison, to contact disgraced high flyer Allan Hawkins, once one of the country’s richest men but jailed in 1992 for fraud. A household name to many investors, Hawkins was working in the prison kitchen when he took her call.
Gibson says she is driven to highlight unfairness where she sees it and be part of battling for reforms. “With my work I’d ask myself, did I leave things better than I found them?”
She’s had many awards for her stories from the sector and a national award for a business feature story in 2016.
Gibson is the daughter of South Canterbury farmers and has a brother who is farming in the district. Another brother owns three radio stations in Ontario, Canada.
She says she knows the value of hard work and of community. The Gibsons have two adult sons, Campbell and Oliver. When they were very young she pulled back on her career and the family was immersed with others with young children as members of the Narrow Neck Playcentre.
She had a Catholic upbringing and has long been a very active member of St Francis de Sales and All Souls Catholic church in Devonport.
She’s often one of the “greeters” at the church door before Sunday morning mass. She is a former chair of the Auckland Diocese Pastoral Council. And locally she was one of those in the church community who worked to build a columbarium – a wall with niches for the ashes of deceased parishioners. So far there are 500 niches in the new structure.
Somewhere alongside her work and community commitments she managed to also spend two years learning te reo Māori, which she says she’s found “extremely useful in work and church life”.
Learning te reo Māori was something she had felt was overdue in her working and private life, though it needed to be squeezed into her schedule.
“It was busy, but I learned the value of hard work at a young age, watching my folks work all hours.”
To buy the farm where they raised their family, Gibson says her parents worked in the freezing works and a canning factory.
Some days she works at home in a cosy office with a pile of sewing alongside waiting for her attention. Other days she’s off to the Herald office in the city on an early shift before most commuters are out of bed.
She’s has no plans to retire anytime soon. “I find it endlessly fascinating and I am never short of a story to write.”
Back in February 2000, when she was offered a job at the Herald, she says she only intended to stay for a year to help pay for alterations to the family home.
“It’s not lost on me that it was Valentine’s Day when I got the job. And the love affair continues.”
NAKED AESTHETICS
Devonport local Claire Waterworth, Registered Cosmetic Nurse Injector, delivers natural, refined results in a boutique setting. She actively trains and educates fellow clinicians while creating personalised treatments that enhance what is naturally yours.
This puts you, your face and your results in very safe hands. Book your complimentary consultation today www.nakedaesthetics.co.nz
Silence is golden aboard new electric ferry
The Devonport-Auckland ferry run entered a new era last week with the first public electric ferry trip from the city. Rob Drent was on board.
It must have been the most low-key public launch of a ferry service in history.
I’d been badgering Fullers for weeks to get on the first electric-hybrid sailing, and only got notification just before 2pm of the first public sailing of Waitematā 1 from downtown Auckland to Devonport at 4.40pm.
After months of testing, AT had given Fullers the go-ahead ahead to push the start button, I was keen to record the occasion.
Having crossecd to the city on a diesel vessel, I walked onto the new boat and immediately bumped into an old university friend, Jill Shearer-Rowe.
We chatted about grandchildren, friendships from 45 years ago, jobs and future plans, at the same time enjoying the quietness, and smoothness of the journey.
It was a foul, cold and blustery early winter’s day – not one for enjoying the harbour views from the top deck.
Fullers captain Braedan Acarapi almost casually announced a welcome to Waitematā 1’s “first-ever sailing” then went into standard safety warnings and a weather update. The project team was also onboard.
The journey went uneventfully and quickly as Jill and I caught up while gazing out of the floor-to-ceiling windows, which are sure to be a hit with tourists.Other passengers also seemed to enjoy the experience.
The new ferry has some advantages, but is enough like the conventional vessels that nothing felt unfamiliar. It was like meeting up with an old friend – which I had.
• Ninety passengers travelled on the first sailing to Devonport and 39 on the return journey. It has capacity for 300.
New extended hours at Montessori Preschool Belmont
We’re excited to share our new opening hours: 8:00am - 5:30pm, offering more flexibility for busy families.
At Montessori Preschool - Belmont, we provide high-quality Montessori education for children aged 2-6 years, supporting independence, confidence, and a love of learning in a beautiful, nurturing environment.
• So much quieter than diesel ferries – more like being on a yacht than a launch.
• Is there enough space for Devonport’s ever-expanding population of cycle and scooter comuters?
• A prediction: the ability to see inside the captain’s bridge from the top deck will become an instant kids’ attraction.
Pole position… some of the first passengers on the new electric ferry disembarking in Devonport
Happy commuter… Dietmar Londer braves the top deck on his first ride aboard AT’s new electric-hybrid ferry
Day one... (clockwise from top left) the first electric-hybrid ferry at Devonport before its return journey; Fullers staff member Karen Hunt welcomes the first passengers on board; the cycle racks offered indoors, in the centre of the main deck.
Matariki celebrated with hāngī dinner in Te Poho
Matariki was celebrated this year with a special hāngī dinner in the school hall - Te Poho o te rāiona - the heart of the lion.
The Māori New Year is a way to remember those who have passed, celebrate the present, and plan for the future.
Our evening began with the powerful call of the pūtātara (conch shell), welcoming our manuhiri into Te Poho. A moving mihi whakatau was followed by a waiata tautoko from Tū Tangata.
In a special and deeply moving moment those who had lost loved ones since the last Matariki were invited to honour them - lighting candles and sharing their names.
Guests then enjoyed a delicious hāngī meal, prepared by Tū Tangata in our permanent school hāngī pit.
The meal, complete with fry bread and ika mata, was shared as performances continued throughout the evening.
Highlights included the Leona Ensemble performing Matariki, and powerful and uplifting performances from Tū Tangata, including Toia Mai, which had the crowd singing along.
There was also a special performance from some of our international students, guided by Tū Tangata.
We closed the evening with a final karakia.
TGS Chorale off to Big Sing Finale
TGS Chorale is heading to the Big Sing Finale after outstanding success at the recent Auckland Regional Big Sing Competition.
Mixed voices choir TGS Chorale, conducted by David Squire and accompanied by Year 12 student Elaine Zhang; Leona Ensemble, conducted by Elise Bradley and accompanied by Soomin Kim; and Nessamoré, conducted by Keani Taruia-Pora and accompanied by Year 11 student Lisa Murata Gutierrez represented TGS.
Chorale won Excellent Performance of a Choral Art Music Composition for Sure on This Shining Night by Morten Lauridsen, while Leona Ensemble was Runner-Up for Excellent Performance of a NZ or Pasifika Composition or Arrangement for Matariki by Takerei Komene.
Mathex 2026: High-Speed maths and music at TGS
Blasting music, loud cheers and runners circling Te Poho set the scene for this year’s Mathex -one of the most anticipated events on the TGS maths calendar.
Mathex is a fast-paced team competition where groups of four tackle 20 increasingly challenging problems in 30 minutes, with a runner delivering answers for marking. Strategy is key, as skipping questions can lower a team’s maximum score.
Student MCs Jun Hyeong Lee, Phoenix Chu and Bella Samuels kept the energy high with crowd engagement, humour and even a few dance moves.
After strong performances across both year groups, top teams now look ahead to the Auckland Regional Mathex in August.
A huge thank you to everyone who attended, performed, supported, and contributed koha towards the new kapa haka kākahu for Tū Tangata.
Mānawatia a Matariki - Happy Māori New Year!
Photo by Jonathan Christiansen
Local teen makes NZ tennis team
Ngataringa Tennis Club’s Neve Upston (right) is in the New Zealand 15-and-under tennis team playing at the Australian Teams Championships in Queensland this week. The team is made up of the top three players in New Zealand.
Since the start of the year Neve has based himself at the KDV Sport tennis academy on the Gold Coast with his new coach Glenn Hamilton.
Neve met Hamilton at the Orange Bowl tournament in Florida at the end of last year and has been training with him full-time since.
He stays with a homestay close to the academy and continues schooling through the Te Kura online system.
Firms combat winter lull with new tactics
A “Faces Behind the Places” business networking event launched in Devonport this week is among a raft of initiatives being deployed locally during the traditionally slow winter months.
The first of what will be a series of Devonport Business Association (DBA) events was scheduled to be hosted at Victoria Rd product strategy and design consultancy &Now on 2 July.
DBA general manager Tabitha Coleman says the one-hour format, offering a relaxed Q&A with a business owner, would allow people to connect informally.
“We’re opening it to the public initially and expect it to be a great way for businesses and the community alike to get to know each other.”
Belmont Park Racquets Club will open its three new tennis courts – built at a cost of more than $600,000 – on 2 August.
Lighting was installed late last month and the surfacing of the courts was being completed as the Flagstaff went to press.
From beginning negotiations with the Belmont Bowling Club to take over an unused green to the opening of the new courts had taken nine years, club president
Graeme Norman told the club prizegiving last month.
The opening day on the new courts will start at 9.30am with a family tournament of father/son, father/daughter, mother/son, mother/daughter combinations.
A life member challenge will be held from 1pm to 4pm.
The new courts give Belmont 10 courts leading into the 2026-27 season.
Monthly “First Thursdays” evening events supported by Devonport-Takapuna Local Board funding have been another anchor for activity in the village, with businesses and community organisations hosting workshops, talks and gallery openings.
Examples included Hammer Hardware having a social event to which customers could bring tools for sharpening, and Vic Road Wine Bar collaborating with an antiques business to host a French Market Day on 18 July. The bar has previously held wine and painting nights.
Another example was the Stone Oven Cafe’s new weekly “Day One” run club, due to start at 6.15am on 1 July.
The cafe has also hosted a thrift market, a “pat and chat” event with greyhounds and regular jazz nights.
Community creche fundraiser boosts coffers by $10K
“Art and Song” at the Stone Oven on 20 June raised $10,000 for Devonport Community Creche.
The art auction showcased a collection of works from people in the creche community, including artists Rob Tucker, Sasha Alba, Richard Coldicutt, Anna Victoria and Emily Raftery.
Donations were received from artisans Julie Gannaway (woodturner), Jenny Matthews (ceramic artist) and Mackenzie Smith (creator of champagne towers).
The MC was Dan Webby and Jenn Shelton and the Singaholics performed.
Creche manager Tessa Dunleavy said money raised would go into the creche coffers to “continue providing exceptional early childhood education and care, ensuring our tamariki receive the very best start in life.
“ We are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed their time, talents, resources, and support to make this event such a success.
“Together, we have demonstrated the power of connection, generosity and collective commitment to our tamariki and their futures,” Dunleavy said.
Musical youth... Rex Tucker, who attends Devonport Community Creche, gets up close to a painting by his father Rob Tucker at the Stone Oven. Below: (from left) Creche board chair Stephanie Wright, parent Jess Cahan, treasurer Katherine McDonald, teacher Maddy Hill and deputy chair Skye Ross.
Jo Holsted’s background in community access radio has provided a great basis for developing her role as Auckland Council’s “Community Connector” for the Devonport peninsula.
Holsted spent 13 years at not-for-profit Auckland radio station Planet FM, first as a technical producer, then in community liaison. She also chaired the national Community Access Media Alliance.
Helping community groups and individuals make their own radio programmes was good preparation for the connector role she has held since 2024, aiming to help people in the community fulfil their aspirations.
She is based mainly at the Devonport Community House but works out of the Rose Centre on Wednesdays. The work is very community led.
“Where we fit in is helping build capability and capacity for the community,” she says. “It potentially covers a lot of ground.”
Attaching the roles established by council in early 2024 to community centres (another connector is based at Sunnynook Community Centre) was an acknowledgement of the community infrastructure already in place.
Holsted says it has also been important to build on existing relationships through the centres and then extend the outreach. “A level of trust needs to be established. You get to know people walking in the centre doors and what they do and vice-versa. Word spread and now people come looking for me at the Rose Centre or Devonport Community House.”
A good example of her work was the combined haka by hundreds of local school children from across the peninsula on Windsor Reserve to help launch Māori Language Week last year. When a local group wondered if such an event might be possible, Holsted jumped at the chance to make it happen. “That’s what is special about the role. It’s being able to lift those things from people to say, ‘here’s what I can do’. Haka-Up was a really beautiful example.”
This year Holsted approached all nine peninsula schools to design a star to be included in the Devonport Business Association’s Matariki Star Trail.
It isn’t all about new initiatives, though. Holsted is supporting perennial happenings in the community too, such as the recent Devonport Mid-Winter Dip and the Devonport Peninsula Senior Forum.
She is also enjoying providing one-to-one support to individuals in the community.
With so much online interaction these days, Holsted emphasises the positives of people meeting face-to-face rather than from behind
Catching up with Jo Holsted: Helping connect the Devonport community MAKE A PHOTO FRAME
the safety of a keyboard – even if “hot topics” can seem to create a charged atmosphere at times.
She says community engagement has been a recent topic under discussion among members of the Senior Forum. “It’s something we’re still in conversation about.”
CHILD AND ADULT WORKSHOP
To book: email info@navymuseum co nz or phone 446 1824
Well connected... Jo Holsted in the Devonport Community House hall
When a rescue prompted formal thanks – and a
I was interested in the article with information from the museum about ferry passengers who “made a splash” (Devonport Flagstaff, 19 June).
I thought this family taonga of ours (right) might be of interest. Under the name “Captain Matthew Scott, Devonport Steam Ferry Company”, it reads:
“We, the undersigned, on behalf of the passengers of the twenty-five to nine boat, desire to place on record our appreciation of your gallant action in swimming out fully dressed and rescuing the child Jones, on Friday, the 14th March, 1919, and we take the opportunity of presenting you with this address and purse of sovereigns as a
token of admiration and respect in which we hold you.
“With all good wishes for your prosperity and long life.” This is followed by a series of handwritten signatures, including names that appear to read F.L. Gribbin, J.W. Knight, W. Blackwood, and F.W. Jones.
Captain Scott was my husband Murray’s grandfather. Matthew was the father of Verdun Scott, my husband’s father.
I believe Matthew Scott and a couple of his brothers were foundation pupils at Devonport (Primary) School.
I’ve often wondered if the Jones child went on to stay in Devonport.
Gillian Scott
Staff shortages obvious during stay at North Shore Hospital
We recently spent three days in North Shore Hospital and were surprised and delighted by the support given by both nurses and doctors.
Surprised because there was an obvious shortage of both. Delighted that in this under-resourced setting these healthcare professionals gave so much of themselves. We are both volunteers at a Devonport op shop, were in hospital at the same time and found we shared the same concerns.
We realise our government has put more money into health, with an increase of 10 per cent in the 2026 Budget (for hospital upgrades, more beds and a new I.T. system) and that nurses are paid more, but nurses say they are also expected to do more.
Health NZ (Te Whatu Ora) has asked hospitals to save money and there are significant restrictions on hiring staff.
Sick nurses and healthcare assistants are
often not replaced when needed. If a healthcare assistant calls in sick, a nurse is expected to make beds, shower patients, clean up messes, feed patients and assist with walking as well as their other duties.
We know that we are not a rich country. We don’t have the population or the diversity of high-earning exports to be rich.
The nurses we talked to understand that we may never achieve a nurse to patient ratio of 1:1, which is the aim of health systems in Queensland, California and Canada. They just want a “safe staffing” ratio.
The nights we were in hospital certainly showed that this is not happening. We were in medical wards of 30 beds and every bed seemed occupied. There were two nurses on duty in one of our wards after 7pm and an empty nurse station during the night.
It was necessary to join others in the cho-
rus of bells and buzzers. Maybe financial planners think that we oldies are asleep by 6.30pm with no needs until 8am. One nurse to 15 patients at night seems very mean. Australia aims for a nurse/patient ratio of 1:7 at night and 1:4 during the day.
Our hospital system is not keeping up with an ageing population and people are living longer (just look at the death notices), and a freeze on hiring nurses has been in place for some months now.
As we both waited to be discharged – a wait of more than 3 hours – we wondered whether there was a shortage of doctors to sign us out or a shortage of backroom public servants or both?
Maybe AI will quicken clerical processes but a robot will never replace a doctor or a nurse.
Sarah Beck and Mike Leyden.
• New builds and renovations
• Rewires
• Home network cabling
• Wall-mount TVs
• Home theatre
LocaL to Devonport
Call Peter Cairns for your free quotation
Phone 021 858 243 or 445 4675
email allsafe.electrical@xtra.co.nz
John Bisset LtD
Painting & Decorating Specialists
Serving Auckland for over 35 years Master Painter of the Year 2017
Interior and Exterior – New and existing, roofs, fences, decks and balustrading, wallpaper stripping, paint stripping, gib stopping, pressure cleaning. Accredited Lead-based Removal Specialists.
Certifying Plumber, Gasfitter and Drainlayer Call Matt
Landscaping Devonport
Garden design and construction
Whether you are planning a garden refresh or a full renovation, we can help with all the planning, construction and planting. Including decks, retaining, pergolas, paving and fencing. Everything outdoors! Call Steve on 021 345 694 www.naturalgardens.co.nz
CASH FOR STORAGE UNITS & ESTATES
Before
We Buy Complete Contents: Outright lump-sum payments.
Specialist Buyers: Vintage jewellery, sterling silver, antiques, and electronics.
Total Exit Solution:
100% cleared and swept clean within 48 hours. Local & Licensed: Respectful, professional service for Auckland families. Call for a free, confidential assessment. 021 08 77 48 59
20 years ago from the Flagstaff files
• A farmers’ market and other new initiatives are being investigated to move Devonport Wharf out of a “death zone” after North Shore City Council bought the wharf for $2.9 million.
• Flagstaff editor Rob Drent praises the council purchases of both the wharf and the Victoria Theatre, but says it needs to also provide a public pool and leisure centre for the peninsula.
• Devonport student Hannah Buchanan makes the finals of the Cadbury Dream model search after attending a photo shoot at St Lukes shopping centre.
• Tegan McKegg and Sophia Merkens exhibit at the Depot.
• North Shore City Council will continue using a chemical-free hot water method for weed control, trialling the use of hot foam.
• Belmont Intermediate’s Taylor Callaghan achieved the highest mark in New Zealand in his Grade 2 musical theatre exam run by Trinity College in London.
• Jin the escapee otter from Auckland Zoo moves on from the gardens of Stanley Bay to the shoreline of Rangitoto.
• Takapuna Grammar band Mechanical Mario and the Time Pirates make the North Shore finals of the Smokefreerockquest.
• A flurry of letters are received for and
against cycle lanes on Lake Rd.
• Leslie Carroll, who has run the Devonport Community House Creche for 15 years, is the Flagstaff interview subject.
• The Bunker celebrates 40 years with a Flagstaff picture spread featuring Roger Giles, Hilary Condon, Linda and Greg Whitcombe, Emily Giles and founder member Pat Bowley.
• Around 150 people attend the Holy Trinity Church 150th anniversary ball. Photographed were: Terrie Gray, Linda Ann Scholtz, Cathy Fraser, Mai Chen, Gustav Scholtz, Rob Hay, Iain Fraser, Julia and Paddy Cornfield, Brecon and Jessica Carter, Jean and Duncan McQueen, Jill Lucas, and Kate and Simon Forrest.
• Prominent letter writer and local character Christopher Dunne, often seen out and about on his bike, dies aged 77, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
• Takapuna Grammar’s first XV is having one of its most successful seasons with a 21-16 win over Westlake – its first against the all-boys school since 1990. Alyx Hodgson, Josh Blucher, Leigh Thompson, Henry Poor, Alex Chandler, David Hunter, Sam Cunningham and Jason O’Toole are noted as having outstanding games.
Devonport artist Tina Frantzen describes her upcoming exhibition as “conducting on canvas”.
Frantzen says she paints from feeling and the light within, not what she sees.
“It’s a very intuitive process and I don’t have ideas as such, but I always paint to music and that influences my work.”
Beethoven’s music is a favourite choice for the energy and vitality it evokes. She always begins with a meditation, to clear her mind and let the art flow.
A few times in her life Frantzen’s works were inspired by particular things she has seen and remembered.
One is a pilgrimage she made to Sfendami, Greece, to find and thank the family who sheltered a young World War II soldier who had fallen ill. The soldier survived to have a daughter – Frantzen – though sadly he passed away when she was just a baby.
It wasn’t until she read his journals as a teenager that she got to know him. She says her memories of her journey to Greece over 30 years ago are as strong as they were then.
Photography was Frantzen’s first medium – she didn’t take up painting until 2006. After completing a course at Art Station in Ponsonby (now Studio One Toi Tū), she approached the operators of Depot Artspace at the time, Linda Blincko and Lynn Lawton, about the possibility of having a group show.
Her timing turned out to be right and that show was the start of an association with the couple that has endured to this day.
Her new exhibition, Immanence, is on at the couple’s Satellite2 gallery in Victoria Rd from 4-21 July.
“Immanence is the 20th anniversary of my association and friendship with Lynn and Linda,” Frantzen says. That first show included some of Frantzen’s doorway paintings, which were based on a memory of the front doors of her homes.
From painting doorways, Frantzen moved on to painting people. Again it was an intuitive process. She would start with a random background colour, overlaid by a darker colour, and then use a rag to rub the overlay away to “reveal whoever turned up”. They weren’t people she knew or recognised; they would come unbidden. At the time she was listening to Middle Eastern music while she painted and said it meant “different people turned up”.
Frantzen hopes that when a viewer engages with her work they bring their own life experiences, memories and meanings.
Talking to the Flagstaff, she still hasn’t decided on the final line-up of her abstract works to include in her exhibition. Nor has she decided on a “hero” work to take pride of place, though it might be the larger of the works she is pictured with above. Its swathe of turquoise is something of a departure from previous work. “This is the bravest colour I’ve done.”
From the light within... Artist Tina Frantzen with a couple of the abstract works in her exhibition at Satellite2 gallery this month
Cat in the Hat stays cool for show at Rose Centre
David Westwood has a motto: stay cool, have fun, never give up.
The 13-year-old Belmont Intermediate School student is one of 20 Glass Ceiling Arts Collective North Shore actors performing in the musical Seussical Kids at the Rose Centre in Belmont. He plays the Cat in the Hat and is the show’s narrator.
The company presents a musical theatre production annually at The Rose Centre, which the stars of the show help choose.
Executive director Mike Eaglesome says Glass Ceiling’s point of difference is the way they approach inclusion. “Young people of all abilities are welcome at Glass Ceiling. It means that siblings and friends can all join our classes and be in our shows.” Actors range from 7 to 21 years old, but most are in the 12-16 bracket.
Following rehearsals, David is feeling confident about his lines.
Having a diverse group on stage requires a high level of support from tutors. “It’s really good for those kids who might have trouble but can really do it no matter what,” says David.
Plans are also being made for some Takapuna Grammar School singers to support the performance. “I hope that does happen because those Takapuna Grammar students, oh boy, can they sing!” he says.
David’s mum, Lucy Bennett, says Glass Ceiling’s classes and shows are a wonderful way for kids with physical disabilities to get moving in a creative space.
“It gives them a chance to physicalise, when they can’t participate in sports teams, and they get opportunities they couldn’t get elsewhere. It also provides them with a sense of empowerment and to be seen.”
Four performances take place from 30 July to 1 August. The show is presented with support from the community through the Holy Trinity Op Shop, Bobby Stafford-Bush Foundation and the Rose Centre.
• Seussical Kids at the Rose Centre, Thursday 30 July and Friday 31 July, 7pm; and Saturday 1 August, 1pm and 4pm. Tickets at glassceilingartscollective.com or humanitix.com/nz.
Hat-ready... David Westwood looks forward to performing in the Glass Ceiling Arts Collective production of Seussical Kids
