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October 9, 2026

Bayswater Halloween Trail canned for 2026... p2

TGS stage talent up for multiple awards... p5

Interview: True Cockney John Woodruffe p24-25

Conservation group sparks fisheries officer callout

Vigilant Devonport residents dobbed in a conservation group to fisheries police for suspected shellfish poaching at Cheltenham Beach. Around 20 Cheltenham Beach Caretakers were doing an annual survey of shellfish at the beach on 27 September when a fisheries officer turned up.

Caretakers spokesperson Georgina Greville said two complaints had been lodged by residents worried the group were gathering shellfish from the beach. On arrival, the fisheries officer soon realised no poaching was involved. The officer “knew what we were doing”, Greville said. However the complaints were a sign peo-

ple were “being vigilant” and cared about shellfish protection at the beach, Greville said. A rahui on collecting shellfish at Cheltenham is in place with a potential fine of $20,000 for breaches. The Flagstaff understands the latest survey To page 3

Glass cracks it on home course

Local hero... Cheltenham’s Charlie Glass won the Devonport Half Marathon on 27 September, following up on victory in the Taupo half in August. Story, page 3; venue change upset, page 16.

October 9, 2026

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 2

Neighbours voice fears over 14-home development plan An application for 14 dwellings at 55 Merani St, Belmont, is being opposed by nearby residents, with fears of flooding, concern about the safety of children due to increased traffic, and the loss of trees being primary concerns. A neighbour, Julia Crosfield, said some residents are “pretty concerned and hopeful it won’t go ahead as it is”. “The scale and intensity of the proposed development is too much,” she said. She believed the application should have been publicly notified when it was lodged. “The proposal for 14 units is significantly out of scale with the cul-de-sac, the rest of Merani St, Seacliffe [Ave] and the upper end of Williamson Ave which are predominantly larger homes suited to children and teens attending the three local schools.” She said if the proposal were to go ahead, residents were concerned the development would have “significant adverse effects” on several elements around the neighbourhood. At the end of a cul-de-sac with multiple driveways, visibility is worse than it might be on a straight road. “Adding 14 new houses, where there was only one, would result in a substantial increase in traffic from resident, visitor and service vehicles.” The street has already seen a couple of minor accidents since the development of six houses at 48 Merani St, replacing the one house that was there previously. “There are children on the street who walk and bike to school and sometimes play on the road. It would be dangerous to have lots of cars coming at them from all sides.” The street is already surrounded by ongoing and planned developments, including on Montgomery Ave and Alamein Ave. The site at 55 Merani St was on top of

Fourteen dwellings proposed... An image of the development planned for 55 Merani St, Belmont a hill, and covering it in concrete could increase stormwater runoff. “Experience from neighbours on adjoining streets suggest the current council requirements for stormwater management in new developments is insufficient, leading to problems for downhill neighbours,” she said. “Permeable land, ideally with some tree coverage, seems more desirable for retaining the land and preventing slips.” Neighbours were also concerned about the effects of the earthworks, including vibration, dust, noise, diesel pollution and heavy construction traffic. “People in this immediate area – including many children – have already been exposed to extensive demolition and earthworks due to recent nearby housing developments.” The proposed development site had many mature trees, including a puriri and a karaka. “These trees can’t be underestimated for

providing homes and food for local birdlife, pollinating insects, soaking up water, cooling, acting as a carbon and pollution sink, helping to retain land on the peninsula and providing enjoyment to residents.” The street had already lost 100 trees to build the six houses on 48 Merani St, and a number of trees on 42 Merani St to build three houses. A “massive” tree was cut down at 46 Merani St when the property was sold. “We object to the development proposal at number 55. Three houses, as permitted under the Unitary Plan, are enough.” North Shore Ward councillor John Gillon and Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Trish Deans met with residents to hear their concerns. The DTLB submitted a request that the application be publicly notified, and wants it declined if not supported by the Auckland Council planning team.

Boo hoo! Spookfest canned

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The popular Bayswater Halloween Trail has been shelved for 2026 after a big year of fundraising left the Bayswater School Parent Group “running on fumes”. The previously annual event is switching to two-yearly. “We just don’t have enough in the tank to pull off an event of this size this year,” the volunteer group said on social media. The group picked up the 10-year-old event after former organiser the Devonport Peninsula Trust was defunded by Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. It said the trail would be back on Saturday 30 October 2027. The group is seeking main-event sponsorship, a ride or attraction sponsor, food and activity partnerships, funding or in-kind support and business sponsorship.

October 9, 2026

Familar roads suit half marathon winner

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 3

Labour wants robust Fast Track system

A Labour-led government would fix the fast-tracking process to ensure robust decision-making for projects already in the system, Labour Spokesperson for Environment Cheltenham runner Charlie Glass used local Rachel Brooking told a public meeting in knowledge to the full to win the Devonport Devonport on Monday. Half Marathon on 27 September. Labour would not revoke consents already It was the first time Glass (23) had entered granted under Fast Track, she told the meetthe local event. ing at the Devonport Community House. “I live in Devonport and grew up in DevonBut “we may review conditions if the port so I was really keen to do well and I’m project could cause substantial environmental pretty stoked to win,” he said. harm”. The two-lap course, which started and The National-led government had been finished at Devonport Domain, passed the reckless in undoing environmental protecGlass family home on Vauxhall Rd. tions and leapfrogging community plans with It reached as far north as Seacliffe Ave, circled Maungauika and headed along the waterfront to the ferry terminal. Glass had run all the roads numerous times during training and had been “visualising the course”, he said. Glass won the Taupo half marathon in August with a personal best time of 1:14.08 and had hopes for a top finish at Devonport From page 1 unless someone exceptional turned up. His winning time of 1:16.34 was com- had found some evidence of beach health fortably ahead of second placegetter Jacob improvements. However final data had yet to be input and Crossley, who clocked 1:18:18. A “keen amateur”, Glass said he was con- analysed. The Cheltenham Beach shellfish survey sidering joining an athletics club to further had been conducted for more than 30 years his running career. The first female home was Ady McKenzie and the programme is now being transferred over to the Restoring Takarunga Hauraki in 1:29:01. environmental group, Geville said. Other results: 10km: female winner, Anneke Arliidge, 38.37; The collection data from the last three male, Samuel Wood, 39:59. 21km competitive decades was also being incorporporated into walk: female, Sandra Kashammer, 2:38:42; male, a scientific paper. Michael Johnson, 02:32:50. 10km competitive

Signs positive in Cheltenham Beach survey

walk: female, Rosie Rear, 1:08:20; male, Rodney Thorne, 1:11:13. 5km fun run and walk: female, Anglea Baird, 19.21; male Tyler Pound, 16.46. Kids’ 2km dash: seven and under girls, Amira Drench, 10.10; boys, Max Mulholland, 9.02. Eight and over girls, Romey Tigri-Brown, 9.36; boys, Bradley King, 8.32.

Valuable research... Georgina Greville (in red) was part of a formal shellfish survey when fisheries officers were alerted to supposed poachers gathering cockles

Fast Track and the RMA reforms, she said at the meeting at which she appeared alongside North Shore Labour candidate Sam Collins. Brooking said she was the opposite of Shane Jones and “therefore do not bestow my views on decision-makers about what projects should and should not go ahead”. Her focus was on having a robust process that did not override environmental protections and community plans. Heritage advocates are campaigning for Peninsula Capital’s proposed Devonport Lanes project of up to eight storeys to be subject to council planning regulations allowing only four storeys in Devonport village.

October 9, 2026

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 4

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Blonde has more fun, winning awards recognition Takapuna Grammar School’s May production of Legally Blonde has been nominated for 10 Auckland Live “Showdown” awards at the award ceremony for secondary school productions across Auckland. The show received a slew of nominations, with TGS music and drama teachers Campbell MacKenzie and Kate Stokes, who co-directed the show, nominees in the Best Director of a Musical category. The pair said they were “so stoked” with the nominations of young cast members in particular, including Joao Diaz Martin and Milla Rodrigues-Birch for Best Performance in a Lead Role in a Musical, and Sylvie Phillips-Smith and Anna Longley for Best Performer in a Supporting Role in a Musical. The entire production was also nominated for Outstanding Musical, which MacKenzie described as a “fantastic achievement” for the cast and crew. “Our tech crew were phenomenal as well, so it was great to see them get a nod,” he said. The tech team were nominated for Best Sound Design. “When the cast and kids are having fun, it makes so much difference to the audience. Our cast were having so much fun, and it seemed to have been infectious.” Some of the cast are reuniting for a medley performance at the Showdown Awards on 21 October. “The kids are so stoked to be stepping back into these roles.” Other nominations included: Best Performer in a Minor Role in a Musical – Abbie Thornell, Louis Tongue, William Kelly, Monty Henderson; Best Dance Performance – the Legally Blonde cast; Best Vocal Performance – Legally Blonde cast; Best Choreographer – Kate Stokes and TGS dance leaders; Best Musical Director – Campbell MacKenzie. Up next for the TGS Performing Arts Department are preparations for a centenary musical. “We’re working on an original show celebrating 100 years at TGS,” MacKenzie said. He said the new musical would have stories from the school’s history.

Tressed for success... Milla Rodrigues-Birch playing lead character Elle Woods in the TGS musical Legally Blonde in May

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Grand Designs presenter on board for homes fundraiser Architect Tom Webster, the frontman for TV1 Show Grand Designs, will be the guest speaker at the Homes of Devonport VIP event next month. Webster (pictured), host of the show for six years, lives at Narrow Neck with his wife Anna, who is also an architect. Their practice, Webster Harding Architects, is based at their home. Webster has lived in Devonport for 10 years, renting at first before settling in Narrow Neck. Webster Harding has completed numerous design projects on bungalows, villas and newer homes on the Devonport peninsula, including one that features in Homes of Devonport this year. He was happy to accept the invitation to take part in the Devonport event after meeting one of the organisers at another charity event at Waiheke Art Gallery. “I’m a Devonport local and it’s a great cause so I was delighted to take part.”

The projects featured on Grand Designs often take years, which means a rolling shooting schedule that takes Webster around

the country. Some of the filming he is doing now won’t be shown until 2029. “There’s a lot of juggling... but it’s a great way to see New Zealand that you don’t see as a tourist.” The show also offered him ongoing “professional development”, keeping up with the latest ideas on projects designed by New Zealand’s top architects. One gap in the Grand Designs portfolio is a Devonport property – something Webster “would love to do” for the show. Devonport was an established historic suburb but some new builds were “hidden away”, he said The closest Grand Designs home to Devonport was in Mairangi Bay. • Homes of Devonport, an opportunity to visit a curated collection of Devonport homes, Friday 13 November, 9.30am3.30pm; VIP drinks and nibbles event, 4-6pm.

Villas, cottages and apartment among the dwellings on show Eleven properties will feature in the 2026 Homes of Devonport day on 13 November, from villas to cottages – and even an apartment at the Ryman retirement village. Tickets are $85 for the day and $85 for the VIP event or $160 for both. Organisers hope to sell 1000 tickets for the day, with VIP event tickets limited to 100. VIP ticket buyers also receive a gift

worth $100. Tickets are on sale on Eventfinda, or through local schools and kindergartens, who receive $45 of each ticket sold. In 2024 the event sold out, with 800 tickets sold. The Devonport Rotary event is supported by sponsors including Bayleys, Ryman and Benefitz. One of the organisers, Lynda Betts of

Bayleys, said attendees had in the past been split roughly 50/50 between locals and visitors. Money raised from the event will go to a variety of charities including: • Dementia Auckland • Cure Kids • Motor Neurone Disease NZ • Devonport Rotary Charitable Trust.

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October 9, 2026

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 7

Self-taught TGS animator makes film contest finals Takapuna Grammar School student Alisa Guo (16) will represent Auckland at the national 48-hour filmmaking competition after her animated short film won the regional school teams contest. The self-taught animators’s film, Endless, will be in the running at the national finals in Wellington on 17 October, in both the teams and the solo/duo categories. Alisa made her entire three-minute film on her own, creating the story, putting together the animation and sound and editing the final product. During the 48 hours in which the competition took place, she even fitted in a three-hour dance exam. Alisa said she was surprised to win at the regional level. “The whole experience has reminded me how much I enjoy making things, especially when I can take an idea that has been living in my head and turn it into something real.” After deciding her original plan for a spy/action film might be too ambitious for the competition’s timeframe, she had settled on producing a “forest mystery”. “I started animating around 10pm on Friday and divided the three-minute film into four sections.” She worked until 4am, then tried to get as much sleep as she could while her work went through a computational process, then continued the next day. She submitted the completed film an hour before the Sunday deadline. “It was definitely intense, but I genuinely enjoyed the challenge. “Making hundreds of smaller projects beforehand had taught me how to work quickly and make decisions without Quick work... Alisa Guo after her win in the Auckland regional getting stuck over every little detail.” 48-hour filmmaking competition Advertisement ADVERTISEMENT

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October 9, 2026

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October 9, 2026

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 9

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The Devonport Flagstaff Page 10

October 9, 2026

Kids get crafty at Devonport Library’s holiday sessions The October holiday programme at Devonport Library was a sweeping success, with 137 children turning up in the first week, plus a sold-out bath-bomb making session of 12 teens. The younger children made ladybug bookmarks, popsicle stick wind chimes and seedling kits. The library team was gearing up for similar numbers in its second week, with activities including making monster masks, paper dragon puppets and an “escape the haunted mansion” event. Happy holidays... (clockwise from right) Bea (5) and Poppy (6) Heron; Manya and Charvik Khandelwal and Olivia Steyn; Holly Palfrey; and Leyla Stirling (9) and Romy Shilton (6)

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October 9, 2026

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 11

Local board funding remains unclear after council vote The community may have to wait until November for clarity on the amount of future local board funding, after a council vote rejected an amended “Fairer Funding” model. Devonport Takapuna Local Board (DTLB) was facing a loss of up to $1.5 million under the most recently proposed changes to the fairer funding model. Councillors voted against this proposal last week and will instead keep the current funding model. Although the local boards are essentially sticking to the fairer funding status quo, DTLB still faces a shortfall under this scheme of around $300,000. But board chairperson Trish Deans said this was being covered by other local boards choosing at the last minute to free up some of the overall local board budget to support the DTLB and other board areas left worse-off

under the funding formula. Deans said DTLB may continue to face a shortfall each year under the selected model, and have to wait for other boards to make decisions before knowing the year’s exact budget. “I’ve been told that this should be known by November each year, which will provide enough time for a response to be worked through.” She said council and its budget committee are advising boards to adopt a targeted rate. “Given we pay high rates already, often above the average, and those paying the average rate are struggling, I find this abhorrent. The DTLB is paying its share and yet can’t guarantee we can support our community groups.” North Shore Ward councillor John Gillon said the total amount funding all 21 local

boards was not dealt with at the council meeting. “The total amount of money being allocated to local boards is too small. Local boards are a key part of Auckland Council and should be funded as a priority,” he said. “It is assumed by staff that there will be no increase because the mayor doesn’t want to provide an increase.” Both Gillon and Deans are hoping for more clarity from staff on these developments in the coming weeks. DTLB has been told it will receive an update about its budget at a board workshop on 3 November. Gillon said the council also voted to move leisure centres from local boards to the governing body, but the timing is yet to be determined. “This should have a neutral effect on the local board as both costs and revenue are being removed from their budget.”

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Our crafty residents are having a fun-filled market day at the village to help fundraise for our Ryman charity partner! Browse from:

Also, there will be a Sausage Sizzle, Ice creams & The Luxury Raffle Drawn 1.00pm

Our crafty residents are having a fun-filled market day at the village to help fundraise for our Ryman charity partner! Browse from: Our crafty residents are having a fun-filled market Cakes Our crafty residents are having a fun-filled market Crafts day at the village to help fundraise for our Ryman day athaving the village to help fundraise for our Ryman Sweets Our crafty residents are a fun-filled market charity partner! Browse from: Cakes charity partner! Browse from: Preserves day at the village to help fundraise for our Ryman Crafts Sweets Plants Crafts charity partner! Browse from: Cakes Plus free activities for children! Preserves Our crafty residents are having a fun-filled market Cakes Sweets Our crafty residents are having a fun-filled market to see you Plants Crafts day at the villageWe tocan’t helpwait fundraise for there! our Ryman Sweets day at the village to help fundraise for our Ryman charity partner! Browse from: Preserves Plus free activities for children! Preserves charity partner! Browse from: Cakes Plants Crafts We can’t wait to see you there! Plants Crafts Sweets Plus free activities for children! Cakes Cakes Plus free activities for children! can’t wait to see youPreserves there! Sweets WeSweets We can’t wait to see you there! Preserves Preserves Crafts

Our residents are having a fun-filled market day at the village 7 Ngataringa Road, Devonport William Sanders Village 7 Ngataringa Road, Devonport 445help 0900 to fundraise for our Ryman Charity partner, Bowel Cancer. 445 0900

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We look forward to sharing our day with our local Devonport Community. Plants

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The Devonport Flagstaff Page 12

PUBLIC NOTICE Schnauer & Co Lawyers Takapuna

Schnauer & Co Lawyers of 1 Shea Terrace, Takapuna, closed its doors at lunchtime on Friday 11 September 2026, after many years looking after clients on the North Shore. Muir + Partners has taken over the firm’s client files, documents and deeds, including wills. This also covers documents held for clients of the former practices of Greg Dunning and Andrew Stokes, which were previously incorporated into Schnauer & Co. Jo-Anne Thomas has joined Muir + Partners and continues to act on many Schnauer & Co matters. The team at Muir + Partners look forward to meeting Schnauer & Co’s clients and looking after their legal affairs from here. Our Takapuna office is at road level and easy to get to, with secure underground parking and lift access from the car park up to us. If Schnauer & Co held files, documents or deeds for you, or you have a matter underway, please contact us: Muir + Partners 129 Hurstmere Road, Takapuna (09) 489-9029 | josh@muirpartners.co.nz www.muirpartners.co.nz The Schnauer & Co phone numbers and email addresses are being redirected to Muir + Partners.

October 9, 2026

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 13

Rugby injury deprives cricket prems of top performer North Shore Cricket Club’s premier side is heading into the top Auckland grade’s new season without star batsman and captain Max Clarke. Clarke was one of Shore’s top performers last season, when the side made history by winning the second-tier Tom Hellaby Trophy and gaining promotion to the first division just a year after being relegated. A talented all-round sportsman, Clarke suffered an ACL knee injury while playing at lock for North Shore Rugby Club’s senior reserves. He underwent surgery eight weeks ago but premiers coach Ben Wall says he is likely to be out for 12 months, “which puts him for the season”. Jack Clough has been appointed as the new Shore captain. Wall said another major loss was bowler Krissie Mistry, who has moved back to the UK. “We have gained Aqueel Hardien from Papatoetoe to bolster our seamer ranks, and Harry Marner our wicketkeeper is returning from the UK.” Brandon Mavuta is back for a second season, and the club has picked up three players from England: Danny Longley, Sonny Owens and Dom Ortlepp-Atkins, who are all under 20 and having a year in New Zealand “to play cricket and see the country”. The new UK recruits attended their first premiers training last week and travelled to Napier last weekend for a T20 tournament, giving management a better appreciation of their abilities. In terms of strategy for the season, Wall said, “we are just looking to build on last season’s success, keeping everything nice and simple. “We are continuing building our culture and what it means to play for the Shore by connecting with past players.”

Gone for the season… Star batsman Max Clarke underwent surgery after suffering an ACL knee injury playing rugby In addition to coaching the premiers, The premiers’ first match, a one-day Wall has taken over from Mistry as Shore’s fixture away to Parnell, is on 17 October. director of cricket – in charge of the seniors • The North Shore Cricket Club Family Fun down to the under-15s: “It’s going to be a Day is on 10 October, 2-5pm, at Devonport busy year.” Domain.

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October 9, 2026

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 14

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October 9, 2026

From the Museum

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 15

When local timekeeping relied on masters and slaves Devonport Museum has two ex-council clocks. The clock in the photograph dates from the 1940s or 50s and originally stood in the public reception area on the ground floor of the Devonport Borough Council building at 3 Victoria Road in Devonport. It synchronised with “slave” clocks within the council building, and possibly the works depot in Church Street. It is a “gravity arm” type, with a one-second pendulum and an invar-steel pendulum rod. It sent an electric pulse to the “slaves” at 30-second intervals. The maker was Synchronome of England. Donated to Devonport Museum by Auckland Council in March 2023, it was restored by Dennis Dowie. A second and older master clock was also donated to the museum by Auckland Council. It stood in the council chamber on the first floor of 3 Victoria Rd. The maker was Temco, also known as “Telephone Rentals”. Dating from the 1930s, it worked in exactly the same way as the clock in the photograph, but is not operational and not on display. That second clock is thought to have driven both the slave clock dials for the Alison Memorial Tower clock at the bottom of Victoria Rd, near Victoria Wharf, and the Watson Memorial Tower clock at the intersection of King Edward Pde and Church St. The Alison Memorial clock was commissioned on 25 October 1928 to celebrate Ewen William Alison’s work. Alison was Devonport mayor from 1890-95 and 1902-07, and was also a Member of Parliament. He and his brother Alexander set up the Devonport Steam Ferry Company in 1881. The Watson Memorial clock was erected in March 1936 in remembrance of Alexander Richardson Dickey Watson. He was born in Devonport and his bequest enabled the seawall to be built along the foreshore. By David Verran

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October 9, 2026

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 16

Party time! Neighbourhood Support offers get-togethers Neighbourhood Support North Shore (NSNS) is upping its profile in the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area with a series of street parties across the peninsula. NSNS coordinator Selena Wong said the organisation’s Summer Party Series was already almost booked out. “Anybody who is interested can register their street, then we will organise a gazebo and a sausage sizzle or a pizza party, whatever the neighbours want,” she said. Neighbours on the street or nearby can bring a plate of food and a chair, and get to know others on their street. NSNS can bring along lawn games, and Neighbourhood Support signs will be placed in the

surrounding area following a street party. “It’s good to get people connecting. People have been busy and we’ve had a wet winter, so this is a great way to kick off summer.” She said people often have some interest in meeting their neighbours, but have social anxiety about knocking on their neighbour’s door. “This is a way for us to be the icebreaker.” Street parties can be held in someone’s driveway, near a park or reserve, or at a nearby community centre. If one person from the street registers interest, they will be contacted by Neighbourhood Support, and houses on the street will receive a flyer

in their mailboxes with the party details. “By connecting people we can create a safer, more resilient community.” Wong said those attending the party can learn about crime prevention tips, and how the neighbourhood could work together for emergency preparedness. “So far the community has really jumped up at this opportunity,” she said. Demand is so great that NSNS is considering a second round of Summer Street Parties in February. Wong encourages residents to contact her at nsnscoordinator.selena@gmail.com to check availability for either this round of parties or the later round in February.

Runners’ comfort stops and turf damage irk cricketers

Competitors urinating behind the North Shore Cricket Club during the Devonport Half Marathon and damage to Devonport have prompted the club to complain to Auckland Council and the Devonport -Takapuna Local Board. Club president Mark Davies said found out the 27 September event had been switched from its usual Windsor Reserve spot to the domain only a week beforehand. “We were able to raise some issues with the organisers, but on the day we had to deal with runners using the rear of the clubrooms as a toilet area, the Catch a Coffee cafe being disrupted, vehicles being driven onto the outfield damaging the playing surface and the grounds not being properly secured afterwards,” Davies said. Auckland Council community events head Glynn Leggat said event organiser Running Events decided to reconsider their location

following council advice on heritage-related conditions that apply to events at Windsor Reserve. “Devonport Domain was investigated as an alternative venue and the council subsequently issued an event permit.” Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member Gavin Busch said the local board gave its approval for the event to be held at Windsor Reserve. “We were disappointed the council didn’t come back to us for feedback and local guidance after the venue was changed. If we had known prior, we wouldn’t have supported Devonport Domain as a venue at this time of year, so close to the start of the cricket season.” Running Events made a general announcement about the new venue on social media five weeks before the event. More than 1300 people participated in the event’s various categories. Devonport 09 446 2030 Proud Sponsor Of North Shore Rugby Club

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The Flagstaff Notes

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 17

journalist Eric Beecher and Dirty Work by Nicky Hager). Staff said the shop – part reincarnation, part new – had been getting good support from locals in its first week. I once said of Paradox Books that an independent bookshop in a village was a sign of a civilised community. Fleet Street Books is a welcome arrival. Go visit.

Dobbing in your neighbour can be seem like poor form. But there are exceptions take the folk who called fisheries officers when a gang of apparent poachers were targeting Cheltenham Beach. It was actually the Chetenham Beach Caretakers doing a beach survey, but from a distance it was very difficult to differentiate them from illegal shellfisher gatherers. Good on the residents for being proactive in an era when shellfish stripping along the North Shore has left the coastline effectively barren. I used to collect cockles at Manly beach with my dad. I wonder if kids will ever be able to do the same at Cheltenham

October 9, 2026 By Rob Drent

Although the book pile beside my bed is ever-increasing, I couldn’t resist a lunch hour visit to Fleet Street Books – the off-themain-street replacement for Paradox Books. It was with some trepidation. What if it was... rubbish? Happily, it wasn’t – quite the opposite in fact. It’s probably a larger space than Paradox, and if not, the high ceiling and large windows make it seem so. Its wooden floors and exposed brick side wall – common to many of Devonport’s commercial heritage buildings – provide an ideal backdrop for browsing. The shop even has a reading desk. The atmosphere is warm and inviting – so warm, blinds are needed to block out the afternoon sun from the west-facing windows. The books have come from Paradox, so the selection remains excellent. I bought four (for the record, John of John by Shuggie Bain author Douglas Stuart, which has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize; thriller Children of Wolves by Lawrence Osborne; and two non-fiction works, The Men who Killed the News by Australian

The new playground at Bayswater looks like a fun and fairly cost-effective result for kids. The designers seemed to listen to Devonport-Takapuna Local Board members who essentially said, keep it simple and safe. Its budget came in at $275,000. By comparison, a planned Devonport Domain playground renewal has an estimated cost of $506,000. It is for a prominent site across from the harbour and has some difficult elements such as underground tanks. But almost double the price? One of the key criticisms of the Domain project is that it is heavy on the landscape design and light on children’s play elements. While no one wants every playground to be the same, surely some of the equipment could be duplicated with some unique touches added around the edges. Does every new playground have to be a fresh work of art? I’m sure others will argue the opposite.

Devonport Heritage

Annual General Meeting Devonport Library Tuesday 22 October Harmony Hall at 7.30pm For an Update on our Legal Action

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October 9, 2026

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 18

New planter barrels rolled out in central village Devonport streets have had a spring refresh with the rollout of 25 new planter barrels. The Devonport Business Association managed the project and put $5000 towards it. But the installation was a business community effort: • Stephen Scott, Sam Kingsbeer and the team at Ventia were a huge part of the rollout and did a lot of the heavy lifting, literally... placing the barrels, providing the soil, delivering the plants. • Matt Senior and the team at Devonport Hammer Hardware donated the stain and brushes, and stained every barrel. • Richard Linthwaite and the team at Resource Recovery Devonport housed and helped transport the barrels. • Jenelle Chitty, a local landscaper, created the planting plan and guided the planting on the day. • DBA board members Michael Moughan, Bruce Grant and Rob Brough came down to help, alongside other local business volunteers, despite the rain. • James Varcoe from New World Devonport helped with logistics by allowing use of the New World car park so the Ventia trucks could park and offload gear. Devonport Business Improvement District manager Tabitha Coleman said: “We’re hoping to continue adding barrels around the village over time. “It was one of those very Devonport mornings where lots of people quietly mucked in and made something happen,” she said. Good to grow… Business Improvement District manager Tabitha Coleman with one of the new barrels in Queens Pde

Seedlings galore at annual Ngataringa garden sale Ngataringa Organic Garden is holding its annual seedling sale on Saturday 17 October, with “hundreds, maybe thousands” of seedlings available, as well as cuttings, flowers, tea, coffee, baking, plenty of pre-

serves and raffle tickets. Running from 9.30am until 2pm at 27 Lake Rd, the sale’s proceeds will go towards the community garden. It is the group’s main fundraiser for the year, and its fourth

year of operation. Funds from this year will go into improving the garden’s hothouse. Ngataringa garden members will be available to give advice on choosing the right seedlings. Cash only.

Tide Times

courtesy of Amanda Evans

m 4 am 3

Fri

Oct 9

9 noon 3

9 pm am 3

Sat Oct 10

9 noon 3

9 pm am 3

Sun Oct 11

9 noon 3

9 pm am 3

Mon Oct 12 6

9 noon 3

9 pm am 3

Tue Oct 13

9 noon 3

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Wed Oct 14 6

9 noon 3

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Thu Oct 15

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m 4 am 3

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9 pm am 3

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9 noon 3

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9 pm am 3

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9 noon 3

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H 10:41am 10:55pm L 4:15am 4:33pm

Tue Oct 20

Wed Oct 21

9 pm am 3

9 noon 3

9 pm am 3

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9 pm am 3

Thu Oct 22

9 noon 3

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3 2 1 0

H 12:01pm L 5:31am 5:56pm

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H 12:59am 1:31pm L 6:54am 7:33pm

H 1:45am 2:24pm L 7:43am 8:28pm

H 2:37am 3:21pm L 8:40am 9:24pm

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October 9, 2026

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 19

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The Devonport Flagstaff Page 22

Letters

October 9, 2026

Yes, facts need checking – so let’s do the maths Your correspondent Matt Arnold (Letters, 25 September) says “the facts are clear”, but “facts” need to be checked. Using the “Development Proposal by Use” Table 2-1 from the application itself, the Devonport Lanes proposal increases retail floor area by 109sqm – that’s just one more shop than already exists at ground level – so good design could achieve the same outcome. Hardly transformational, and consentable without Fast Track. Commercial space increases by just 622sqm – one corporate office with maybe 30 people occupying it. Hardly transformational, and consentable without Fast Track. Hotel increases by 2095sqm, but new, 50-room hotels are notoriously hard to make viable – surely investing in the existing, better located, empty Esplanade Hotel would

make more sense. And don’t be misled by the “80-90 apartments” – the application plans show just 79 apartments. Of these, 50 are below the 13m height limit, so could be built “as-of-right”, consentable without Fast Track. So the “significant regional benefit” is just 29 apartments above the 13m height limit – sub-penthouse and penthouse apartments that most certainly will not be “affordable”. Of course the applicant owns many other sites in Devonport, and along with sites owned by others, could easily accommodate these 29 apartments and many more below the 13m height limit. However, if a “baseline” is set by a Fast Track “non-complying activity” application at 8 storeys, that will upzone/benefit the

developer’s other sites and Devonport will be even more likely to lose its historic identity, becoming “me-too urban” not “unique heritage village”. And here are some other figures that Matt Arnold might like to check: The application table 2-1 says 19,997sqm of development area. If one adds basement car parking of 4865sqm, the total construction area is 24,862sqm. Publicly available industry figures for this type of complex mixed-use development suggest a total development cost of about $12,100/sqm – or $300 million. Does that mean the $398m that the application says will be injected into the construction sector includes $100m (33 per cent) developer profit? Lindsay Mackie

Dear Wayne... here’s why residents don’t agree An open letter to Wayne Brown. Residents would have read with interest your recently published comments when you stated your opposition to Fast Track developments on greenfield sites, but in which you advocated for Fast Track being used for “shovel ready” projects – apparently, “like Devonport”. You say developments that bring more housing to areas that aren’t properly serviced should not proceed, but that “Devonport is properly serviced”. You then carry on to say that “Devonport’s population is dropping” and, “I can’t understand why anyone in Devonport would oppose it.” Well firstly, Wayne, the 80/90 hugely expensive apartments that Peninsula Capital are proposing, are not exactly going to address the population decline you mention. More importantly, you’re totally (and I would suggest deliberately) missing the point.

The overwhelming local opposition to this Fast Track development is not to the development per se, but to the height and scale of it. “Four not eight” is on the signs that you will see all over Devonport – we invite you to come and have a look. What we are saying is: “Yes” to considered and sympathetic development; “No” to development over four storeys, which ignores your council’s very own agreed height restrictions for this heritage area, completely overpowers the village and blocks out the views of our maunga. Any development that Peninsula Capital undertake will have huge implications for our community and businesses, with years of disruption in and around the village and massively increased traffic on an already overstretched Lake Rd. Is Lake Rd “shovel ready” to deal with this, Wayne? The residents are also fully aware of the

Visitors are attracted by old buildings and laid-back feel It’s good to see the Flagstaff publishing both sides of the Fast Track proposal. However I think any defence for it claiming it will bring more people to Devonport is misconstrued. I travel New Zealand constantly. Even in Balclutha when asked where you’re from, Auckland gets a negative response (think Jafas). But as soon as you mention Devonport, it’s different. It’s amazing how all over the motu there is a Devonport connection I strike. The compliments, though, are always about the lovely old buildings, the laid-back vibe and the beaches and gardens.

The high-rise development will not enhance the impression of Devonport which is what brings people here. From a personal perspective, I also think the ugly appearance of the eight-storey proposed building does not help. The proposed hotel next to it looks a lot better from an architectural perspective. Too often they build a big rectangle then slap a little detail on it and call it architectural (the Sentinel in Takapuna is a good example). The eight-storey development resembles a hospital. Hamish Walsh

implications of a large-scale development – we only have to point to the effects of the CRL work. Before embarking on any development, the very least that we deserve and what our community expects is that Peninsula Capital goes through a legitimate planning process, which involves the council, elected representatives and the local residents/businesses – and not use a dubious and ill thought-out piece of legislation like Fast Track to try to sidetrack real and genuine local concerns. And, one final point if I may, Wayne: it is of course on public record that your friends from Peninsula Capital donated to your mayoral campaign and have lobbied for their development/tried to influence the narrative with you and the council. Really, Mr Brown, do you think that’s a good look among the folks of Devonport and the rest of Auckland? Richard Jones

Is MP Simon Watts paying attention to public response? As I walk around Devonport, I see more and more “4 not 8” signs. Is Simon Watts paying any attention to this? He says in the press that the people he talks to think the eight-storey project is alright. I wish he would make an appearance here and talk with the community who will have to live with the destruction of the place that they have lived in and cared for over many years. All because the developers want to make, not just profit which is fair enough, but a big profit. Max Thomson

Letters

October 9, 2026

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 23

Is Richard Hills’ targeted-rates idea really a fair solution?

Much has been said about Auckland Council’s “Fairer Funding” project, which redistributes funding across the region’s 21 local boards. Unfortunately, Devonport-Takapuna is one of only six local boards facing a reduction in funding. The latest figure we have been given is a reduction of around $250,000, although earlier discussions with council financial officials included cuts of up to $800,000. While the eventual reduction may be smaller than first proposed, it remains a significant loss for our community. Earlier this week the governing body of council again debated Fairer Funding. Councillor Greg Sayers, who had been tasked with working with the affected boards, proposed an alternative approach. His amendment would have established a

joint working party, allowing local boards to help develop a fairer funding formula and examine whether savings could be achieved through more efficient management of community assets. Importantly, it would have given local boards a genuine co-governance role, rather than simply responding to options presented by staff. It was disappointing that Councillor Richard Hills did not support the amendment, which was lost on the vote, although Councillor John Gillon did. Councillor Hills questioned whether local boards facing budget shortfalls could consider targeted rates. Many residents are already grappling with rising household costs, insurance premiums and rates increases. At a time when households are already struggling with rising costs, is asking residents

to pay additional targeted rates really a fair solution to a problem created by Auckland Council itself? The six affected local boards were not seeking to overturn the Fairer Funding review. Rather, they were asking for a collaborative process that recognised the significant impact these funding reductions will have on their communities. Local boards play an important role in delivering local facilities, services and community initiatives. Auckland Council should continue working with the affected boards to ensure local communities are not unfairly disadvantaged. George Wood Member, Devonport-Takapuna Local Board

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THE BALLOONS TELL THE STORY 4 NOT 8 The views and connection to our maunga Takarunga/Mt Vic will be lost if Peninsula Capital’s proposal for eight storey buildings is approved. Devonport Heritage is taking legal action against the Government’s decision to Fast Track the proposal. We want it to go through the normal consent process so locals can have a say in how their town centre is developed. PLEASE HELP US FUND THE LEGAL BATTLE

Donate To Givealittle a-future-worth-building Or donate to our bank account at: www.devonportheritage.net Thoughtful development. Valued heritage. A strong Devonport.

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 24

Interview

October 9, 2026

How an arty Cockney got creative in Auckland Surviving illness and wartime London as a child set 94-year-old John Woodruffe on a life course of making the most of good fortune when it came his way. He spoke to Maria Teape about living a creative life, with family firmly at its heart. John Woodruffe was born in Plaistow, East London in 1932, something he’s very proud of. “I’m a real Cockney, born within the sound of Bow Bells. Londoners are renowned for their sense of humour and that’s what has maintained me through a lot of my life.” At four years old, Woodruffe contracted scarlet fever and had a two-week stay in hospital. “[Scarlet fever] is something you never hear of nowadays,” he says. During World War II, a V2 rocket struck the park directly behind the houses facing the Woodruffe home. “We lost windows in our house but it was fortunate it landed on parkland so the explosion went up – if it had landed on the road, the explosion would have gone sideways and the effects on the houses and people in them would have been much more devastating.” A self-confessed maths dud at secondary school, Woodruffe said he was so terrible at the subject he was banned from it. He subsequently left school and started work at the age of 15. What he lacked in mathematical ability, Woodruffe made up for in his creative talents, a skill passed down through his father’s side of the family. “My great-uncle Charlie was a painter. He used to sail on the clippers from Australia to the UK and once the sails were set, they had time for leisure pursuits. As well as painting, Charlie made toys for me too.” After he left school, Woodruffe’s older sister made out a list of art studios and agencies for him to contact. He ended up at a studio in Chelsea on a three-month assignment. “It was a junior position and my job each morning was to wash out all the paint pots, tidy the artists’ desks and make sure they had the right size board or

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paper they needed.” He also got sent to clients to take a brief and return to the boss, describing what the client wanted. If the completed work wasn’t right, Woodruffe was responsible. “It was the first work discipline that I encountered.” Woodruffe stayed in the job until he turned 18, when he had to complete compulsory national service. “I went into the Air Force for two years, then [the studio was] obliged to take me back afterwards, and I returned there and

stayed another couple of years.” Around the time he left the Air Force Woodruffe met the woman who would become his wife, Vivienne (Viv) Evans. “Saturday nights were ‘dance nights’ in London in those days, and there was a dancehall we’d all go to. The women would be on one side, the men on the other. “Viv and I were making eye contact and I said to my mate, ‘see that girl over there? I’m going to take her home’. It meant the chance of a kiss if you escorted a girl home.”

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October 9, 2026 Woodruffe had the last dance with Viv, giving him the opportunity to offer to escort her home. She told him her home was a 45-minute train ride away, meaning he wouldn’t get home until very late. So they said goodnight and made their separate ways home. But Woodruffe had found out that Viv worked near him in the city centre, so on Monday, he phoned her workplace and asked to speak to her. They met for lunch then continued dating for the next four years. Woodruffe found out that Viv hadn’t been truthful about her age when they first met at the dancehall; she had said she was 18 years old when she was only 16. He was 24 and she 20 when they married in 1956. After leaving his first job, Woodruffe got into newspapers, starting at Kemsley Newspapers in the promotion department. A year later he went to Hobson Advertising, and during his time there, they were bought out by “big American agency” Grey Advertising. “We became Hobson and Grey and got extremely good creative guys coming out from New York. It broadened your mind working with those guys.” The change in perspective brought a weariness of the British class system, where people got jobs not because of their personal abilities, but “who their father was”. Woodruffe was also commuting an hour each way to work, from the home he and Viv had built in Billericay, Essex. He suggested to Viv a move to New Zealand, taking advantage of the 10-pound trips available then. She was willing, but a trip to New Zealand House to find out more nearly derailed the plan. Woodruffe was told he didn’t have the right skills – New Zealand needed plumbers and carpenters, not creatives. Refusing to let that dampen their plans,

Interview

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 25

they decided to go anyway, with their two young sons, Paul, then aged five, and Garnham, three. Woodruffe reflects that he was very lucky Viv was happy to go along with his plans, especially as they both had big families they would be leaving behind. They sailed into Auckland Harbour in January 1964, on the Orcades. Before leaving the UK, Woodruffe had applied for and was offered a job as creative art director at an advertising agency in Shortland St. Arriving on a Monday morning, with his sandals, long hair, bandana and beard, he wasn’t prepared for the walk shorts and socks that were in vogue in New Zealand. Work at a big American agency in Auckland followed a year later. Woodruffe stayed for a year. “It had a really good studio and nice guys but unfortunately the manager ‘had it in for me’, and I got the sack.” It was 1965 and Viv was expecting their third child, son Evan, who was born later that year. Feeling desperate about being out of work with a baby on the way, Woodruffe heard that a former client, UEB, was talking about starting up a studio for their packaging division. He approached them for work and they gave him a job, which ultimately led to going into partnership with lettering company Letraset. “We used Letraset a lot for the UEB packaging. I got to know the company and the management well.” In 1967 daughter Kate was born, followed by twins Emil and Lars in 1969. Over lunch one day, the Letraset New Zealand manager said they wanted to start an art-supplies shop in Auckland and asked Woodruffe if he would like to go into it with them in a fifty-fifty share. “Viv was on board so that’s how Studio Art Supplies started in 1973. It was the first of its kind in New Zealand, selling fine and

commercial art supplies.” The Woodruffes were living in Campbells Bay at the time and opened the first Studio Art Supplies shop in Takapuna. With all the advertising agencies city-based, though, it made sense to have the shop closer to clients. Woodruffe leased a space in Parnell Village. “It wasn’t very big but I thought, it’s a start, and an advertising agency was next door.” The introduction of a motorbike courier for speedy client deliveries meant the business “ramped up” and the shop expanded. Studio Art Supplies went on to gain the New Zealand agency for Schmincke art supplies, da Vinci brushes and three German paper brands. By then, Viv, Garnham and Evan had joined the company. In 1989, Woodruffe bought out Letraset’s share of Studio Art Supplies and in the same year moved to live in Devonport, where he and Viv built a French-style house in Church St. At the age of 75, Woodruffe retired, selling Studio Art Supplies to Graham Harris, the son of an old competitor, Gordon Harris. Harris kept the same Studio Art Supplies staff, and in 2023 celebrated the shop’s 50th anniversary. Viv died in 2022, but Woodruffe says they were very lucky. “We had 66 years together and many kindred interests like arts and travel, which is so important once the kids have grown.” Of Woodruffe’s six children, Paul and Evan are professional artists, with Evan still working for Studio Art Supplies, Garnham is a landscaper and skilled musician, Kate is a writer, Emil is a “computer graphics guy” and Lars lives in Hawaii and is a film editor. Woodruffe has 10 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

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The Devonport Flagstaff Page 27

Former children’s book author might just do one more In an occasional column, we catch up with someone who featured in the Flagstaff’s 20 years ago column. This issue: Ewen MacKenzie-Bowie talks to Maria Teape. When writer Ewen MacKenzie-Bowie wrote his first children’s book Superpuffin in 2006, he’d been living in New Zealand five and a half years after arriving from the UK, and was settled in Devonport. The Flagstaff interviewed him about Superpuffin at the time. Twenty years on, despite regular trips back to Europe and the UK, MacKenzie-Bowie says moving to New Zealand was the best decision he ever made. “I was working for a large education company in the UK which had a group of language schools around the world. We had two in New Zealand which I visited every year and I always really enjoyed spending time here.” When a job offer with Academic College Group (ACG) came along a couple of years later, it wasn’t hard for MacKenzie-Bowie to accept. “I had recently married and we were planning to have kids, and I knew New Zealand was a better place to raise a family than the UK.” MacKenzie-Bowie says he based Superpuffin characters on himself and his wife. The story is set partly in New Zealand, partly in the Shetland Islands, where he grew up. “My wife was Rain Goose, which is a beautiful elegant bird found in Scotland, and I thought I’d be something more stupid. Puffins are such funny jokey birds and the idea you could have a superpuffin is ridiculous.” MacKenzie-Bowie says he has a fascination with the birds and wanted to write a story for his young sons. Superpuffin had two print runs of 1000,

Still writing... Ewen MacKenzie-Bowie is these days retired and working on a novel of which MacKenzie-Bowie says he sold 1800. Most of the sales were in the Shetlands. “I’m proud to say that over half the Shetland children of the target age of five to 14 years read Superpuffin.” A sequel Superpuffin and the Dinosaurs followed, with all sales in the Shetlands. “The logistics of self-publishing were a bit of a nightmare and in New Zealand, you generally have to use a wholesaler... In the Shetlands it was easier as there is only one outlet,” he says. “My brother who lived there could deliver 50 books every few months.” In 2006, MacKenzie-Bowie’s young

sons, Thomas, then aged five, and Maxim aged three, hadn’t seen a puffin in real life, and he told the Flagstaff then he hoped they would get that chance on a planned trip to the Shetlands the following year. Did the trip and puffin sighting happen? “Oh yes. Maxim shouted, ‘Look there’s a superpuffin! There’s another superpuffin!’’’ After a career in educational institutions, MacKenzie-Bowie is retired, living in Mt Eden and is half-way through writing a novel. He is a co-owner of Webb’s auction house. He says it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that he might consider picking up the Superpuffin story again in retirement – he had a third book planned back then that didn’t get past the drawing board. MacKenzie-Bowie left the Devonport peninsula due to his children’s educational needs – and Lake Rd congestion. “My wife is French and we sent the boys to Richmond Rd School where they had a bilingual unit. After years of Lake Rd and the bridge four times a day it just became too much. And by then we were thinking of St Peter’s College, so it made sense to move.” While life in the past 20 years has mostly been filled with work and travel for MacKenzie-Bowie, he said his other big adventure was getting a dog. “She’s a 10-year-old Brittany spaniel called Molly who has added a lot to our lives. “I was reading a few years ago about how to cope with teenage kids. Some of the key recommendations were to have dinner together around the dining table, which already happened, and another was to get a dog, so we did. She still acts like a puppy.”

20 years ago from the Flagstaff files • A community policing patrol pilot will be launched in Devonport. • TVNZ reporter and former TGS head girl Pippa Wetzell meets current incumbents Rob Fenton and Dana Avram at an achievers breakfast. • Fashion designer Carolyn Whyte holds a fashion shoot at locations around Devonport to launch her Urban Princess range. • Art by the Sea gallery is hit by vandals for the fourth time in two years. • Bryan Jackson removes the controversial red telephone boxes from his museum in the former Post Office building on Victoria Rd. The museum had not been open for two years. • Work on a seawall at Torpedo Bay

progresses despite vocal opposition. • Sports clubs and swim schools are being surveyed to gauge support for a proposed pool and sports centre on Takapuna Grammar School grounds. • Bayswater teacher and artist Linda Gair is the Flagstaff interview subject. • The historic Powley house in Kerr St is profiled by Rod Cornelius, chair of the Devonport Historical and Museum Society. • Belmont residents want more cafes and a shopping area which reflects the suburb’s name (which means beautiful mountain), according to a survey by Belmont Primary students presented to the Devonport Community Board. • The annual Black and White Ball – a

highlight of the Devonport social calendar – was cancelled due to a lack of support. • A rat plague hits the Devonport duck pond, with rodents feeding on young ducklings, bread and duck eggs. • Trevor Prentice – known as Old Joe – dies, aged 91. He was a Devonport character who owned a grand house in Church St which was sold to developer Xeno Captain. It burnt down after a heritage campaign to save it from demolition. • St Pauls church holds a spring fling to raise money for restoring gravestones in its churchyard. • Devonport squash club players Lauren Cornish and Fletcher Gilbert take out the E1 and E2 titles at the Auckland Champs.

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 28

October 9, 2026

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The Devonport Flagstaff Page 29

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The Devonport Flagstaff Page 30

Trades & Services

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The Devonport Flagstaff Page 31

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The Devonport Flagstaff Page 32

Work starts soon on new Bayswater Park playground

More options… A depiction of the new Bayswater Park playground Tube and dual-racer slides, a net platform, swing set and treehouse structure are among equipment included in a new playground design for Bayswater Park that has been approved by the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. A basket swing, sensory play experiences and a refuge hut for quieter play will provide more accessible options for children.

The estimated cost of the project is $275,700, and construction is expected to start next month. Public consultation on the initial designs was incorporated into the final layout, with additions including fencing, a retained and improved swing set, shade sails and fitness equipment. Board chair Trish Deans said she was Derm osc op ic

impressed with the “very comprehensive design”. Board members Gavin Busch and Terence Harpur suggested donation options for current equipment be explored. The old playground at Windsor Reserve – replaced with the Bean Rock design – was sent to Vanuatu in a project coordinated by Devonport Rotary. It is still in use there.

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October 9, 2026

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 33

North Shore United 2026 prizewinners North Shore United football club held its prizegivings for senior teams and junior and youth grades on 19 and 20 September. Award winners: Hudson Cockayne, Sportsmanship Trophy; Claudia Macdonald, Most Promising Junior Female; Finlay Robertson, Most Promising Junior male; Isabelle Crawford, Most Promising Youth female; Phoenix McQuoid, Most Promising Youth male; Lucy Hamilton, Outstanding Junior female GK; George Kennedy, Outstanding Junior male GK; Adabelle Rowe, Outstanding Youth female GK; Marcus Dozzi, Outstanding Youth male GK; George Digby, Young Coaches Cup; Samantha Heimer, Coaches Cup; Emilia Dykes, Spirit and Attitude Cup; Jack Collinson, Presidents Cup. Mens 1st team: Player of the year and Players’ player of the year, Cole Werthmuller; Young Player, Charlie Meredith; Golden Boot, Cole Werthmuller U23s: Player of the year, Kody Power; Players’ player, Tyler Turner; Golden Boot, Kody Power. Womens 1st Team: Player of the year, Madeline Hill; Players player, Samantha Heimer; Young Player, Bridget Janes; Golden Boot, Samantha Heimer. Womens Reserves: Player of the year, Georgiana Cook; Players’ player, Montana Hartley; Golden Boot, Montana Hartley.

Top performers... (clockwise from above) United’s director of football Mauricio Rojas with Sportsmanship Trophy winner Hudson Cockayne; Presidents Cup recipient Jack Collinson with Club Treasurer Peter Richardson; women’s head coach Joe Hughes, women’s 1st team players’ player of the year Sammi Heimer and assistant coach Michael Kwok; Mauricio Rojas and men’s 1st team player of the year and players’ player of the year Cole Werthmuller; Emilia Dykes, inaugural winner of the Emma Lynskey Spirit and Attitude Cup, with Emma Lynskey.

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 34

October 9, 2026

New Defence homes opened with dawn ceremony A karakia last week marked the official opening of 61 new homes on Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei land in Bayswater for New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel and their whānau. The iwi’s general manager for property, Neil Donnelly, said it was pleased to have reached the milestone. “It’s been great working alongside the New Zealand Defence Force to bring these new, quality homes to the Bayswater neighbourhood.” Ngāti Whātua has built the homes and is leasing them to the NZDF. It worked closely with Defence on the design and layout. Although construction finished around late August, fencing around the sites – including across the public walkway between Bayswater Ave and Portsmouth St – remained in place until 30 September. The Flagstaff understands the public walkway reopened the same week as the houses opened. “As part of the development, the footpath through the walkway has been widened and enhanced, which we hope will be a welcome amenity for the wider community,” said Donnelly. NZDF spokesperson Andrew Bonallack said Defence personnel and their whānau will move into the homes in stages, with full Early start... Participants in a dawn karakia ceremony held last Thursday to occupation by the end of the year. open new Defence homes in Roberts Ave, Bayswater. PHOTO: NZDF

THE NAVY COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER

NAVY SCHOOL TO SEAS SHOWS CAREER POSSIBILITIES

Year 12 and 13 students from all corners of New Zealand got a first-hand look at life in the Royal New Zealand Navy last month. The Navy’s “School to Seas” programme involved two separate four-day camps, one for women and one for men, to showcase Navy life and career options across a multitude of marine disciplines. The students were able to meet sailors, explore career pathways and take part in experiences designed to challenge them and open their eyes to possibilities once they finished school. Activities included a powhiri at Te Taua Moana marae, ship and base tours, rides on Waitematā Harbour in a Navy rigid-hulled inflatable boat, seeing how recruits lived and worked and handson practical tasks at the Sea Safety Training Squadron. At the latter the students donned firefighting equipment to tackle a set fire, then entered the flood simulator to try and block leaks while the water rose around them. For more information on School to Seas see nzdf.mil.nz/school-to-seas

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.

Congratulations? Thanks? Problems? Complaints?

DEVONPORT NAVAL BASE TEL 445 5999

October 9, 2026

Arts / Entertainment Pages

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 35

Big village fundraiser targets $10K WHAT’S ON @

Devonport Library Tēnā Koutou Katoa Haere mai. All Welcome.

NEW EBOOK BOOK GROUP Each month an author will be chosen from the Auckland Libraries Libby app. The eBook/eAudio books are guaranteed available to download. See the poster in the library and link to “Ben’s book group” to join. DEATH CAFÉ

Friday 2nd Oct, 11:30am –1pm

A safe respectful space to talk about death while enjoying tea and a bikkie. A new initiative for us but an established helpful group in many Auckland libraries. Repeats on 1st Friday in the month.

Residents at William Sanders Retirement Village in Devonport hope to raise $10,000 for Bowel Cancer New Zealand at their upcoming Market Day. It will be the fifth year the group of residents has run the fundraising market. Maxilyn Tudman, who has been involved for most of that time, said the event’s luxury raffle is an “amazing drawcard”, with three hampers to be won. The first-prize hamper is displayed in a decorative wheelbarrow made in the village’s workshop. All the residents of a block at the village contribute $25 per person towards the hamper contents, with Karen Gouldthorpe and Gail Thwaites organising the contents. Twenty-eight Devonport businesses have donated products or vouchers and Gouldthorpe has acquired items from around Auckland. Tudman estimates the value of the raffle is $2000. Tickets are $5 for one or $10 for three. Stalls will offer vintage jewellery, plants, handmade wooden toys and decorations (made at the residents’ workshop), sweets, cakes and secondhand bargains. “We’re having a coffee cart, ice-creams and a sausage sizzle too,” Tudman said. The village cafe was overwhelmed with coffee orders at the last market day so the coffee cart was organised. A committee of two are the main organisers of the event: Tudman is responsible for promotion and oversees the event in general, while Helen Hayward convenes the stallholders. The market has doubled in size from its original format, but only had one block of apartments was open then. “The first market was held in the lounge and was basically a small craft market.

GROWING UP IN DEVONPORT

Saturday 26 Sept - Saturday 10 Oct A display of photographs by Francesca Brugnoli alongside images of childhood from earlier times. Auckland Heritage Festival event. A MUSICAL FEAST

Sunday 11th Oct, 6pm-8pm

Chris Priestley and Cameron Bennett perform witty original songs about characters from NZ’s past. Auckland Heritage Festival event. WATER SAFETY

Sunday 18th Oct pm

Get ready for summer with ways to stay safe if swimming at beaches and pools. Try out a life vest, play some games. 2pm-3pm in Mandarin, 3:30pm- 4:30pm in English. All ages and cultures welcome. ADVENTURES IN LETTERPRESS

Tuesday 13th Oct to Tuesday 27th Oct

An exhibition of witty letterpress prints by local artist Robert Phillips. Plus a book display on print-making techniques to try. OLIVIA SPOONER

Wednesday 4th Nov. 6:30pm- 8:00pm

Her latest historical novel about kiwi women in wartime will soon be here. Enjoy this much loved author’s book celebration. Save the date.

Mā Te Wā

Market forces... Maxilyn Tudman and George Lammie (top) with toys made by Lammie, and Helen Hayward (above) with the raffle prizes “Now we have the use of the quadrangle outside, which is great,” Tudman said. Both women are proud of the fundraising effort. “The residents here are very generous. We raised $54 a head for Ryman’s chosen charity last year, and of all the other Ryman villages, the next closest fundraising effort was $18 per head.” • The William Sanders Village Market Day, Sunday 18 October, 10am-1pm.

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

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October 9, 2026

The Devonport Flagstaff Page 36

School News 9 OCTOBER 2026

TGS students bring WOW factor to the runway Fans of Wellington's iconic World of WearableArt (WOW) show, would have felt right at home at TGS on the last day of term, when students unveiled their own spectacular wearable creations. Te Poho was filled with excitement for the inaugural TGS Wearable Arts Fashion Show, a house competition that had students transform everyday recycled materials into eye-catching works of wearable art. Representing Wehi, Mana, Maia, Kaha and Ihi Houses, students embraced themes including Ocean, Radiance, The Elements, Through the Times and Medieval, creating costumes from repurposed materials such as soft drink cans, cardboard packaging, newspapers and bottle lids. The event showcased artistic flair alongside sustainable design. From elaborate period-inspired costumes to contemporary creations, the standard of entries impressed fellow students and judges alike. Judges Deborah Woodward, Sarah Street and international student Alessandro Canino faced the difficult task of selecting winners from a highly creative field. Taking top honours was Mana House with its Through the Times theme. Their winning collection featured a beautifully crafted korowai made from packing boxes, a Roman gladiator costume fashioned from newspaper, and a modern pop princess outfit created entirely from soft drink cans.

Winning trio from Mana House with their "Through the Times" designs.

Judges Deborah Woodward, Sarah Street and Alessandro Canino

Te Manawanui Awards celebrate effort and contribution Close to 120 Year 10 students have earned the Te Manawanui Award, recognising their commitment to school life through service, cocurricular involvement, attendance and personal responsibility. A key component of the award is making a meaningful contribution beyond the classroom. To qualify, students must participate in at least two co-curricular activities and complete a minimum of 30 hours of service, either within the school or

the wider community. Recipients must also demonstrate the values of learning, being active and giving back. They must maintain at least 90% attendance and take responsibility for their learning by staying on track with missed work. Wearing the uniform with pride, being organised, punctual and ready to learn each day are also important aspects of the award criteria. At a special assembly, students heard from guest speaker and TGS alumnus

Luke Yarnton, who encouraged them to make the most of their school years by trying new things and discovering their passions. Deputy Principal Nick Kingston also congratulated those who had achieved the award while encouraging others to keep striving towards it. "Many of you are working toward this, and we encourage every Year 10 student to aim for this recognition before the year ends," he said.

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Photos capture Auckland birdlife

WHAT'S HAPPENING After a lovely term break, we are looking forward to welcoming you back to the House for the last term of 2026. We reopen on Monday 12th October. We have a wide range of activities, including free community events and workshops, so be sure to check out our Term Four timetable at devonportcomhouse.com.

OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS AT THE HOUSE

Devonport artist and photographer Sally Tagg, one of three selection panellists for a community photography exhibition at the Depot, says she’s been “blown away” by the variety and quality of photos submitted. The Birds of Tāmaki Makaurau exhibition celebrates Auckland’s birdlife. Photographers of all ages and experience levels were invited to submit images captured across the region. “We wanted to feature birds people are familiar with in the local area and local photographers, so that has been a focus,” Tagg said. The birds photographed and the photographic styles are varied, including shorebirds, seabirds, forest birds, and even a chicken. Along with close-ups, there are wide angle shots and colour and black-andwhite images. Teaming up with ecological restoration group Restoring Takarunga Hauraki (RTH), the Depot is hosting the exhibition in its lounge gallery from 10 October. Fifty images from 28 photographers will be displayed after more than 250 submissions were received. Other panellists include award-winning photographer Simon Runting, and Hazel Speed, an ornithologist with the Department of Conservation. Tagg is a mixed-media artist whose work includes photography and sculpture. She is also an enthusiastic volunteer with RTH. She said she had an immediate emotional response to some of the photos. “My perspective is more from an art-practice sense, whereas Simon takes more of a technical approach and Hazel is looking out for less commonly seen birds.” Some of the photos are quite comical, such as one of a takahē by Brendan Tucker. “The bird seems to be charging the photographer in the photo – it made me think

Cheep thrills... Entries in the Birds of Tāmaki Makaurau exhibition include these shots of a takahē by Brendan Tucker and a pīwakawaka by Ashley Young of the ‘Roadrunner’ and was a real laughout-loud moment,” Tagg said. She said a photo of a pīwakawaka (fantail) by Ashley Young, a high school student, is quite extraordinary. A tight close-up, it shows the pīwakawaka with its beak wide open and the tiny feathers around its beak standing out to help it catch prey. “People can really relate to bird photos. It’s something most of us have had a go at, and I guarantee people are going to laugh and smile when they look at these beautiful photos,” Tagg says. • Birds of Tāmaki Makaurau opens at Depot Arts Hub on Saturday 10 October, 10am – 12pm, and continues until Tuesday 27 October.

THE WITCHES FUNDRAISER Friday 30th October 5.30PM We are having a screening of the 1990’s The Witches at The Vic. So join us this Halloween with your spookiest witches costume as we fundraise for a new audio and visual system at the House. Spaces are limited, so head to our website www.devonportcomhouse.com/events RE:GENERATE MARKET Sunday 11th October A market is being held at the Devonport Community House! Accessories,clothes, vintage and so. much. more. KIDS + TEENS MARKET Sunday 18th October 10AM - 12PM A market for the kids + teens, run BY the kids + teens! With tables sold out, come on down to support our young entrepreneurs as they sell their wares, skills and other delightful products. With the stalls run entirely by the kids + teens, there are sure to be some treasures and treats to be discovered. BABYSITTING WORKSHOP Sunday 18th October Learn to be a competent, caring, and skilled babysitter in this practical and hands-on workshop with Plunket. A course where you will be given tools, techniques and skills will have parents begging you to babysit their children again. Tickets for this course can be found at our website www.devonportcomhouse.com/events

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Arts / Entertainment Pages

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North Shore connections abound in new local movie Most of new movie Where Beauty Hides was filmed in the Devonport-Takapuna area, at locations including So French Cafe in Devonport and a clifftop home which filmmaker Tremaine Leaso describes as a mansion – and a star in its own right. “[The house] was incredibly cinematic and gave the film a sense of scale and luxury that we simply couldn’t manufacture ourselves,” he says. Leaso says seeing his romantic feature film released in cinemas is his biggest personal triumph so far. Leaso has written more than 24 feature screenplays, but Where Beauty Hides is the first to be produced as a feature film. “I’ve been making films for over ten years, much of that alongside my producing partner, Dan Brown.” The film is about a former TV anchor (played by Adele Pascoe) who tracks down a reclusive romance novelist (played by Michael Hallows) hiding a facial deformity. As she uncovers his past, their growing closeness forces him to face the possibility of intimacy after years in isolation. Hallows - who has also starred in Tinā, Go Girls and Legend of the Seeker – grew up in Takapuna and recently appeared in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at The Rose Centre, Belmont. Leaso has drawn inspiration from movies made during the “Golden Age of Holly-

Shore thing… A scene from Where Beauty Hides set in in a clifftop home on the North Shore wood” and the style of filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, a master of suspense and visual storytelling. “With Where Beauty Hides, I wanted to take some of that classical filmmaking sensibility and put it into a contemporary story,” Leaso said. Through early test screenings of the film, a connection with older audiences, particularly women aged 65-plus, became apparent. “Once we realised this, we leaned right into it and engaged with retirement villages, community and social groups,” Leaso says. “We deliberately made some-

thing quite classical and romantic, and I think we’ve stumbled upon an audience that perhaps isn’t being catered to as much by mainstream cinema anymore.” Where Beauty Hides has been selected for the New Zealand Asia Pacific Film Festival this year, and is being submitted to other 2027 festivals. Leaso is proud of the audience reaction. “There is something incredibly rewarding about standing outside a cinema and watching people walk out feeling that they’ve had a genuine theatrical experience and got their money’s worth.”

Library hosts folkies for heritage festival

www.takapunamovies.co.nz Facebook and Instagram @takapunabeachsidecinema

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Folk musicians Chris Priestley and Cameron Bennett are reuniting for the Auckland Heritage Festival this year, giving a special performance at the Devonport Library this Sunday, 11 October, from 6pm until 8pm. A Musical Feast will feature tunes, tales and a slideshow about rogues, rebels, folk heroes and villains from Aotearoa’s past. Priestley will also have copies of his new book of New Zealand folk songs available to buy. He says the show is suitable for anyone interested in history. “Cameron and I write all the songs, and the odd one is written with a friend.” Priestley and former television journalist Bennett will be accompanied by Emily Roughton on fiddle, while Peter Elliot will introduce the songs and provide percussion. To fit into the heritage festival’s food theme, Priestley will also bring along a New Zealand colonial recipe book, and read out recipes for old dishes and beverages including rhubarb champagne, hot milk punch, possum pot pie, and even a recipe for a “cure for freckles”.

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Skilled makers combine for six-week Depot exhibition Seven craftspeople are exhibiting their porcelain, furniture, sculpture and contemporary craftworks at the Depot. Platform 26 – making matters opens on 10 October. The Devonport Flagstaff spoke with two of the makers with local connections: Susannah Bridges, who works mainly with ceramics and light, and furniture and objectmaker Ed Fuller. Both are graduates of Unitec’s 1990s 3D Object Design degree programme, which had a basis in furniture, which both agree provides a good vehicle for ideas. Devonport was Bridges’ first home after moving to New Zealand from the UK as a child. In later years her father returned to live in Devonport, creating a long association with the area for her. Working as a fulltime designer/maker, she was originally interested in jewellery design when she embarked on the Unitec programme. In her final year, she discovered ceramics could be used in a way she previously hadn’t considered. “I realised it could be translucent, modern and minimalist.” She has continued to work with ceramics On show... Ed Fuller and Susannah Bridges are throughout much of her career, with a focus among makers exhibitiing at the Depot. on porcelain lighting. Right: one of Bridges’ lighting creations. Fuller, a longtime Milford resident, said he isn’t trying to make a living from his object making. He has a day job creating fitouts for commercial tradeshows, which he said is ultimately someone else's object. Most of his own object designs are furniture-based and he said the design is determined first through a process of “doodling”. SHOWING NOW “I decide on the medium to work with Big Girls Don’t Cry (R16) 99min later and like the idea of commandeering an Other Mommy (R16) 93min object,” said Fuller. The Social Reckoning (M) 113min “I use lots of flat materials like timber and Tad and the Magic Lamp (PG) 94min enjoy the physics of working out the angles Coyote vs Acme (PG) 103min and style required to support the form I’m Digger (R13) 129min making.” An Evening with Victor Hugo (M) 90min Both Bridges and Fuller feel that 102min good furniture and object design is often Heart of the Beast (M) understated, and can go unnoticed, but when Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (G) 80min 109min objects are showcased in a gallery, they Forgotten Island (PG) Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie (G) 89min become the focus. 94min A group show also gives makers and Resident Evil (R16) 130min artists, who often work in isolation, the The Rivals of Amziah King (M) opportunity to gain greater perspective on SPECIAL EVENTS & NEW RELEASES 9-11 Oct their work through reciprocal discussion Show Me Shorts Film Festival 15-26 Oct and feedback from each other – and viewers. KinoFest 2026 - German Film Festival The other makers in the exhibition are: For more info on films & events go to thevic.co.nz Kennedy Brown, Leon Kipa, Rebecca Asquith, Roger Kelly and Rupert Herring. • Platform 26 – making matters, the Depot, to our partners 10 October-21 November. Exhibition and supporters Opening, 10 October, 2pm-4pm. Meet the Makers, 5 November. “Why we Make” talks, 21 November. www.thevic.co.nz | (09) 446 0100 | 48 Victoria Road

Thanks

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NEW LISTING

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Substantial, stylish and surprisingly serene

Set on a generous 695sqm sun-soaked section with space to add a pool, this once-character bungalow has been substantially extended and renovated to an exceptionally high standard, now offering circa 350sqm of stylish living space quietly cocooned from the outside world with double glazing and full insulation. The combination of Macfie Architects and Coast & Country builders has transformed this home into a contemporary residence of impressive scale and sophistication. Situated moments from excellent schools, transport links, Devonport peninsula’s popular beaches and vibrant village lifestyle.

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