The Eastbourne Herald August 2021

Lockdown pulls plug on electric ferry launch

by Ann Packer

The Covid-19 Level Four lockdown has put on hold the expected launch of Wellington’s new electric ferry. Ika Rere was due to be launched September 9 but East by West Managing Director Jeremy Ward now says he expects an end of September launch date.

Mr Ward says the vessel – decked out in electricity supplier Meridian’s signature teal colour, with reflective splashes that glow in low light – is in the water at Seaview, but has yet to undergo sea trials, including safety and systems checks, before seats and other fittings are installed. Electrotechnology engineers based in Auckland had to return home to lock down just as sea trials were about to begin.

“It’s been very frustrating,” says Mr Ward, “especially when we were so close!”

The New Zealand-developed vessel, built by Wellington Electric Boat Building Company (WEBBCo) in Gracefield for local ferry company East By West, is the first fully electric, high-performance passenger ferry in the Southern Hemisphere. The carbon-fibre 19-metre, 135-passenger ferry will provide a round trip service from Wellington to Days Bay and Matiu/Somes Island.

Work on the ferry began in 2018, and was originally scheduled, pre-Covid, for completion in 2020.

Mr Ward says while the quiet hum of an electric boat will be a much more pleasurable experience for passengers, this project is driven by the company’s desire to take climate action.

“Our two other diesel ferries use about 250,000 litres of fuel a year between them; it’s not sustainable for the planet and I knew electrification was the answer. I was surprised

to discover we were the first in New Zealand to be doing it, but we didn’t let that hold us back,” he says.

The good news is the vessel looks like being about 100 kg underweight, which improves its speed and efficiency, Mr Ward says. The two motors, one on each side of the catamaran, are significantly smaller than the diesel engines in the existing ferries. Each has 36 batteries weighing 5.5 tonnes in total, and they will be recharged at stations outside Foxglove on Queens Wharf, with “futureproofing” at Days

Bay at some stage likely. The company would hope to eventually phase out the existing diesel vessels.

What if the vessel breaks down? Mr Ward says it’s no different from running out of diesel. The Ika Rere will set off from its Queens Wharf base with 100 percent charge and return with about 40% left – a safe level that increases battery life. Should the bridge computer show an unexpected drop in charge, the skipper can reduce speed to 10 knots to save power and get back to base.

by West will not be running during Alert levels 3 and 4

We hope everyone stays safe and well during this time and look forward to resuming services when possible

The ferry being put in the water at Seaview. Photo: Simon Hoyle.

85x Bus route scrapped Compost, anyone?

Commuter bus timetables are changing, but only as a temporary measure as driver shortages are dealt with, according to Metlink.

Last week, Metlink announced there would be changes to the 85x, 84 and 81 routes. The changes would see the 85x, the express bus that stops around the Bays and in Seaview and then goes non stop to Wellington in the early morning and early evening, cancelled altogether. The company is putting on double decker buses to cope with an expected increased demand from passengers who would have previously caught the 85x. They say the bus journey will only take an added 5 minutes as it goes along Jackson Street.

According to Metlink, an ongoing shortage of drivers combined with low patronage on the 85x route are to blame for the changes.

The company has been invited to speak at the upcoming Eastbourne Community Board meeting on August 31, which is being held over Zoom (see advertisement, Page 3)

Metlink did not respond to The Eastbourne Herald's request for more information, but said there would be an extra Route 84 service from Courtenay Place to Eastbourne at 6.30am and more Route 83 buses.

TIMETABLE

Depart Days Bay

Eastbourne Scouts are raising funds for urgent maintenance work on the local Scout Den, specifically a new roof and guttering.

Currently Keas, Cubs, Scouts and Venturers - around 60 young people. It is also used for karate, and recently, the Lions book sale.

Eastbourne Scouts' first compost fundraiser last Spring proved very popular.

This Spring the group will pre-sell 40-litre bags of certified organic compost around Eastbourne and the Bays community. From there, it's a mammoth effort from youth and supporters who spend a weekend bagging it (from bulk) into 40-litre bags and delivering it 'free to your gate' around Eastbourne and the Bays. Last year, 900 bags were sold and organisers are hoping to reach 1,000 this year.

The delivery weekend this year is 1st/2nd October, $11 per 40-litre bag, or buy 3 or more bags for $10 per 40-litre bag of certified organic weed-free compost.

To order:

• Visit the online shop at www.eastbournescouts.co.nz

• Order directly with any Kea, Cub, Scout or Venturer member; they will be circulating order forms during September.

• Email: eastbournescouts@gmail.com

• From 1st September, there will be compost order forms and a collection box located at the Eastbourne Library

SAT, SUN & PUBLIC HOLIDAYS: 10.40am (S)

12.45pm (S)

3.00pm (S)

4.25pm (S) 5.30pm

(S) = Sailing calls at Somes Island, subject to passengers.

FERRY FARES One way: adult $12, child $6. Family Days Bay $66 (Return). 10 trip: adult $91, student $68, child $46. Monthly pass: adult $273, child $138. Matiu Somes Island: adult $25, child $13, family $68 (Return).

Sailings may be cancelled at short notice due to weather. To check today’s sailings, call our daily status line on (04) 494 3339.

Next ECB meeting:

7.15pm Tuesday 31 August, via Zoom. View on the HCC website or HCC Facebook page.

Eastbourne Bus Services

After hearing about plans to reduce the Eastbourne bus service, the ECB has invited a representative from Regional Council to its public meeting on 31 August (details above). Residents can speak for up to three minutes at the start of the Zoom meeting about how import a reliable bus service is for Eastbourne or on any other topic. If you would like to speak, please email ECB (virginia.horrocks@ huttcity.govt.nz) before Tuesday.

Community Engagement Fund

The ECB allocates $2,366 in two tranches each year for local activities and events that benefit the Eastbourne community. In the last round, ECB granted $465 to the Days Bay Playcentre for equipment, $583 to the Point Howard Association for its community garden, $853 to the Historical Society of Eastbourne for archive materials and $165 to the Lowry Bay Residents Association towards a swing. The next funding round opens on 14 September and closes on 14 October. You can find more information at huttcity.govt.nz/Services/Funding

In Brief

The draft Williams Park Management Plan is available for feedback at the Eastbourne Library and at haveyoursay.huttcity.govt.nz/williamspark-management-plan. Feedback closes on 24 September 2021.

The Eastern Bays Shared Path Community Open Day scheduled for 21 August was postponed. We will advise the new date when confirmed.

Eastbourne Community Board

Residents are welcome to contact board members to sort minor issues or ask for a council officer report for the next ECB meeting. You can also contact us on the Eastbourne Community Board Facebook page.

Virginia Horrocks (Chair) virginia.horrocks@huttcity.govt.nz

Ph 021 230 8210

Bruce Spedding (Deputy Chair) bruce.spedding@huttcity.govt.nz

Ph 021 029 74741

Murray Gibbons murray.gibbons@huttcity.govt.nz

Ph 04 562 8567

Tui Lewis (Ward Councillor) tui.lewis@huttcity.govt.nz

Ph 021 271 6249

Frank Vickers frank.vickers@huttcity.govt.nz

Ph 027 406 1419

Belinda Moss

belinda.moss@huttcity.govt.nz

Ph 029 494 1615

Days Bay to get ten new houses

All of the ten houses in a new development in Ferry Road, Days Bay, have been presold, .No resource consent application has yet been lodged with Hutt City Council.

The Novak + Middleton-designed development will be completed next year. It

SPENCER LOGAN Valuations Limited

consists of a mix of: 3 x 2 bedroom townhouses and 7 x 3 bedroom townhouses and is being built by Gibbons Development .

The houses are being built next to the Wellesley College school house. Principal Mike Bain says the school has no plans to sell any land to developers.

HCC said a pre-application meeting had been held - something offered to anyone proposing a development. Once the resource consent is lodged, whether people are “notified” and therefore able to formally be part of the process is a legal decision. The planner makes a decision about who the “affected parties” are, and if the application should be “notified”, or not. These are legal decisions, with particular RMA meanings - the general usage of the term ‘affected parties’ isn’t something you are able to request to be, it is determined under the relevant rules and legislation. If you are not considered to be affected by the proposal, there is no opportunity to formally have your view heard. "However, if you do wish to voice your concerns you are welcome to do so via email, and we will put this on the consent file (when a consent is lodged) which the planner processing the consent will view and consider," HCC said.

Health centre changes hands

by Louise Parry

A year long search for new owners has seen Muritai Health Centre bought out by Green Cross.

For doctors and owners Fiona Clendon and Kate Orange, this means they can take a break, after nearly 23 years as principal owners of a busy practice that serves more than 3,000 patients.

Selling a practice is not easy, especially with a shortage of GPs, in New Zealand and Dr Clendon says there was a chance the clinic would have to close - not a situation anyone wanted.

"All the practices in the Hutt are full. We have a waiting list, and I know others do, too," she says.

For now, it will be business as usual for local patients. They won't see much difference, with Dr Orange staying on until the end of the year, and Dr Clendon finishing up in June 2022.

Green Cross is currently looking for a new practice manager. Receptionist Ann McIlroy is staying on, as are the current nurses and doctors.

The clinic has come a long way since it opened in 1999. Originally working together with Chris Saville, Drs Clendon and Orange decided to establish their own practice, and set it up in its current site, which was zoned commercial.

Nowadays there are a lot more compliance

costs and regulations, and Dr Clendon says it's time to step away.

Forced to cut a trip to Germany short at the start of lockdown last year, she is determined to get back there to meet grandchild number two.

Dr Orange also wants to spend more time with family. Both will continue living locally, although Dr Clendon says the idea of travelling around in a campervan and doing locum work around the motu is appealing.

A new doctor is arriving from the UK later this year to join the Green Cross practice.

Dr Clendon says GPs are under growing pressures, and the difficulty in finding doctors to fill positions or even locum adds to the stress.

"We've heard of people having to close their doors and walk away, because it's so hard finding people to take over. We are both a bit burnt out and ready for a change."

One of the major changes in recent times has been the formation of Primary Health Organisations, through which the Government funds Primary Care. Some larger practices formed their own Primary Health Organisation Lower Hutt such as Ropata,and Karori. Muritai has been under the umbrella of Te Awakairangi PHO.

"We have a small practice and role of practice manager has grown over the years. We feel having the support of an organisation such as Green Cross, to provide policies and protocols and help with staffing, will greatly decrease the workload of management," Dr Orange says.

Faith in the Community

The Olympics

I’ve enjoyed watching the Olympics on TV and was inspired by some stories, such as the high jumpers who tied, and chose to share the gold medal. I was surprised to discover a country I never knew, San Marino. That got me thinking about other very small countries. It was then I realised the Vatican never enters a team. So, I thought, if they did, what would they be good at? With their ‘Swiss guards’ they might do well in the fencing and sharpshooting!

Following this train of thought, I wondered what events our various denominations might excel at. While I was pondering this, I had lunch with some of my colleagues from the other denominations in Eastbourne and we came up with the following… The Presbyterians were quick to claim a gold medal if ‘committees’ were a sporting event. We thought the Baptists might excel in the water sports, especially water polo where heads get pushed under the water. The Catholics would do well in artistic gymnastics, if swinging incense were a sport. The Salvation Army would be staffing the ‘water points’ for the marathon, and the Pentecostals would somehow be involved with the Olympic flame. The Anglicans claim to be middle of the road, so wouldn’t come first or last in anything, no medals for them. All denominations excel at laughing at themselves, so might get to share gold…

St Ronan’s: Services: Sundays 9.30am. Taizé, first Sundays 6.30pm. Ask if you’d like our weekly emailed e-Service or monthly printed magazine the Record E:office@stronans.org. nz W:www.stronans.org.nz

Community Fridge: Surplus garden produce is absent. The vulnerable come daily and sometimes find it bare. Spare a thought...

St Alban’s: Two Sunday services: 8:30am (traditional) Wellesley School and 10am (contemporary) Wellesley School, with Kids’ Club (primary) and Hot Chocolate Club (intermediate). Communion Thurs 10am, various venues. E:office@stalbanschurch.nz W:www.stalbanschurch.nz

San Antonio: Services: Vigil Mass, Sat 5.30pm, San Antonio. Mass, Sun 9.30am and 5.30pm, Sacred Heart, Petone. E:holyspiritparish41@ gmail.com W:www.holyspirit.nz

The moment of truth for any salvage operation is when you start to pump the water out, says Underwater Solutions’ managing director Matt Fabish, who set up the business with his brother Chris Fabish in 2011. “That’s the key moment, the most nervous one of the whole salvage,” he says. “You don’t see what’s going on down below so you hope you’ve stopped the water getting in.” The sunken vessel, submerged in Lowry Bay since November 14, was towed to Seaview on July 30 before being taken to the landfill.

A love of the outdoors – an Okiwi life story

Architect, watercolourist, tramper, mountaineer, skier, husband and father. John Gates (pictured) , now 94, has had a rich, fulfilling life, and is still pursuing many interests from his home on Muritai Road.

He and his late wife Edith brought up their four children in a house John designed at the top of Moana Rd, Days Bay. The original house on the property was so decrepit, it had to be demolished. John also cleared the valley in the south of Days Bay of possums – in one year alone he caught 300.

The whole family loved the outdoors and spent most Christmas holidays tramping in the South Island. They were also members of the Tararua Tramping Club, with John serving as president in 1985.

“I met Edith, a district nurse, at a tramping club in Auckland. It was a real strength that we shared such similar interests. My first girlfriend had been a district nurse too – and I can still remember her phone number!”

The couple married in London, following a skiing adventure John had had in Austria. “We were married 56 years and never argued. Edith had done her maternity training and seemed to have children so easily.”

John’s architectural skills were put to good use designing and helping rebuild many tramping huts in the Tararua Ranges –Cone Hut, Totara Flats, Alpha, Dobson’s and Tauherenikau. He also designed the club’s Tararua Lodge on Mt Ruapehu.

As well as running a very busy practice (Structon Group Architects) that specialised in commercial buildings, John found time to go climbing in the Vilcabamba mountain ranges in Cusco, Peru, and in the Tibetan Himalayas.

“Maybe my upbringing in Miramar, where we never owned a car and walked everywhere, helped make me so fit. I was also one of the maths ‘nuts’ at Wellington Technical College – we elected to have extra maths classes after school. One of these maths nuts ended up working in the maths unit at Oxford University.”

For his 50th birthday, Edith arranged to buy him a half-finished, privately-owned hut in the Ōrongorongo Valley. The family set about rebuilding it, then had to rebuild it again, following an arson attack. “Shalimar” was the last privately-owned hut that the Department of Conservation allowed in the area.

“We would spend every weekend and most of our holidays in the valley,” said John. “At the end of the year, we would hold a Christmas convention, when we would invite all the Tararua Tramping Club members to join us. Many would either camp or stay in the Waerenga Hut, which I also designed. Each group would be asked to bring with them a chicken, which Edith would cook in the camp oven. She would also make two or three Christmas puddings, which had to be carried

in, along with the custard powder and brandy.”

Edith died five years ago, and the family scattered her ashes around Shalimar. John’s last trip back there was two years ago – this time by 4-wheel drive up the Ōrongorongo River.

John took up watercolour painting when he retired 30 years ago. “As an architect, I had always been able to draw. Ian Grenfell had started a watercolour group that met weekly at St Ronan’s Church. As the 10 or so members slowly died off, I joined the Hutt Art Society and continue to attend the group weekly. I am grateful one of the volunteer Okiwi Trust drivers can get me there and back, as I no longer drive.”

His paintings range from colourful abstracts to mountains and landscapes he has explored over his long life. A tapestry rug in his living room, made by Edith, depicts the blue bends of the Ōrongorongo River, its stony banks and bush-clad hills – a daily reminder of a place forever dear to him.

“I can’t get there very easily now, but at least I can see it at my feet every day.”

By Anne Manchester, photo Pippa de Court

News from Point Howard

Point Howard Community Garden Update

After a successful winter garden, you may have noticed some of the beds looking a bit bare at the moment. The winter crops are on their way out, and before the gardeners commenced the planting of the spring / summer crops, they called in Composting NZ to take a look at the soil that they had originally supplied.

At the end of July soil samples were taken for testing by Composting NZ as it appeared the broad beans had been exposed to clopyralid in the soil, which is in line with the problems the gardeners had with the beans, peas, tomatoes and squash in the summer.

Composting NZ subsequently sent 12 cubic meters of soil to replace what was in the beds. The gardeners are working very hard to replace the soil and everyone looks forward to a bumper crop this summer! Peas, radish and lettuce seeds are already planted.

Thanks to the Eastbourne Community Board for providing the grant for a new berry bed. The berry bed is now built so look out for berries galore in the near future!

Making the right moves

by Ann Packer

Emily Keddell (pictured right) is a dancer at heart – she grew up dancing, but gave it up when she was 16 to go down “the theatre and film route” when she headed to university. She’s worked for places like Playmarket and devised theatre company Open Book, which used “found venues”. These days, however, a new way of approaching dance has the Rona Bay teacher back up and bopping.

Shut Up and Dance is a movement begun some five years ago by three friends who combined “a handful of cheesy dance moves and funny-ish jokes” with familiar pop music to give participants a good workout without worrying about fancy gear – no mirrors, no cameras, no inhibitions. What started as a six-week pop-up has become a business – and Emily Keddell is now an instructor.

She first went to a session at their Petone class, 18 months ago – “lots of people” had recommended it and she managed to fit in a session one school holidays. She loved it and started taking friends along. These days she runs a weekly 45-minute Eastbourne class on Tuesday evenings at the yacht club – definitely “the prettiest venue of all the SUAD classes!”. It’s R-18, mostly because some of the lyrics (think rap) are definitely R-18.

Ms Keddell says the sessions are

terminology-free, with moves described as “rowing a boat” and “make like a chicken” rather than the traditional terms, more like telling stories to go with the moves. There’s a playlist for each dance, reflecting the vibe of the session, everything from rap to pop and musicals like Mamma Mia and Grease. “So, if we’re doing Backstreet Boys then most of the songs will be from boy bands of a similar era.”

By the end of the session it all comes together with a sense of achievement – and a lot of sweat.

“There’s a range of people – it’s incredibly accessible. Everyone could do it,” she says. “As a dancer there’s enough to satisfy me – my brain is tingling at the end of class and I’m sweating too. The whole experience is incredibly satisfying and enjoyable.”

In her other life Ms Keddell is an itinerant teacher of performance development currently using her years of experience in theatre to work with small groups one day a week at Muritai School. Speak Again (a reference to Shakespeare’s King Lear) helps children “from born performers to those who can barely ask a question in class” to develop their confidence and creativity. She plans to run a three-day holiday programme in the village these holidays – Covid-willing.

“I encourage kids to tap into their creativity and enjoy developing their skills” she says. “It’s lots of fun.”

PARKSIDE

Here we go again!

The banded dotterels/tūturiwhatu arrived in Eastbourne’s Robinson Bay in mid-June this year, but we always wait until the birds show signs of nesting before the temporary signage and fencing is put in place. This way, people and their dogs can enjoy the area for as long as possible without causing any harm to these endangered birds. A big thanks to the Eastbourne scouts who again helped put up the temporary fence and signage in late July. We do leave access ways from the promenade to the foreshore so people can easily access the waterfront, but please do not enter the nesting fenced areas. Should a bird happen to nest in one of these walkways, we will simply move the fence a bit. Over the last 5 years MIRO has GPS’ed the nest locations so we can predict where they will nest each year. Interestingly the birds mostly pair up with the same partner from year-to-year and will nest within 5 to 10 metres of their previous year’s nests. You may remember in a Parkside article last year one of our female birds nested at Eastbourne, then nested at Pencarrow Lakes, only to return to Eastbourne to nest again with three different males—go figure! We call her the vixen.

Seasons 2018/19 and 2019/20 were disastrous at Eastbourne with all nests being predated, mostly by domestic cats, whereas at Pencarrow, we took the nest success from 3% to over 56%. We were told by our science advisor that if we had a third unsuccessful year, to abandon the Eastbourne site and concentrate our efforts at Pencarrow. We know that the domestic cat predation of the Eastbourne nests all occurred at night-time. As it is proven that cats can lead a happy life and live longer if kept inside, MIRO and Hutt City decided to mount a “Keep your cats safe” and “Keep the dotterel safe” campaign by using social media and having the Eastbourne Scouts deliver a brochure, giving information about how to keep a cat happy inside at night, to houses within 1km of the nesting area. It worked! In the 2020/21 season, we had 11 nests, of which 9 successfully hatched. One was abandoned and on December 21 2020 a domestic cat scared

the female off her nest and proceeded to eat the three eggs. It is sad to see the female bird return and remove her eggshells away from the nest. We posted this to social media to try to get the owner to keep their cat inside at night for the rest of the season.

MIRO has just renewed its high impact permit to continue to protect, monitor and band for another 5 years at Eastbourne and the Parangarahu Lakes and we have now extended the monitoring to include Baring Head. The three sites contain approximately 70 birds, which are considered to be one population group. We make weekly visits to each site to identify individuals, GPS any nest, monitor the success of the nest from hatching to fledgling, and catch and band any unflagged birds. We are told that our work is up to the level of Landcare Research’s best practice and our methodology is being used elsewhere to try to save ground nesting birds. If you would like to know more, or become one of our volunteers, please email info@miro.org.nz.

Parker Jones, MIRO

Garden Stuff with Sandy Lang FACILITATION

September: Early spring. Buy new shrubs asap, plant out by end September.

Forests: You might guess plants in a dense forest are engaged in a life/death struggle for a limited energy resource - sunlight. A struggle between plants of the same species and also between different species. But your guess is wrong…

Roots: Almost half of every green plant is belowground. In this mysterious nether world, you might guess the roots are engaged in a life/death struggle to be first to discover and exploit the soil’s scant resources of water and minerals. But this guess is wrong too…

Former York Bay illustrator Giselle Clarkson was co-winner of the Elsie Locke award for non-fiction at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults earlier this month. Her “visually delicious” pictures for Egg and Spoon: An Illustrated Cookbook with Alexandra Tylee, published by Gecko Press, were also described by the judges as “luscious and often humorous”. Ms Clarkson, a Fine Arts graduate from Canterbury who moved over the hill to a Wairarapa cottage last year, has another picture book due out in September – a standalone version of Joy Cowley’s The Tiny Woman’s Coat, which was the illustrator’s favourite tale in The Gobbledegook Book anthology of Joy Cowley’s writing last year.

Patchy: Soil is very patchy, with big differences in the availability of soil water and soil minerals from place to place. The patchiness is both horizontal and vertical, with waterrich and mineral-rich patches well spaced-out among a lot of rocks. You might guess it’s a matter of luck a seed should fall in a good spot and so survive. But this guess is wrong too… Facilitative: Instead, analysis of natural plant communities shows interactions between plants are more often ‘facilitative’ (they help one another) than ‘competitive’ (they hinder one another). How is this…?

Mycorrhiza: The roots of around 90% of all plants are symbiotically associated with soil fungi – mycorrhiza. These mycorrhizal fungi, source their energy molecules (sugars) from their host plants. Meanwhile, mycorrhizal fungi are much better than plants at accessing tightly locked-up soil minerals and tiny packets of water held between fine soil particles. The mycorrhizae discover and absorb these, and then share them with their host trees. Google mycorrhiza wiki

Interconnected: Each tree may be associated with up to 15 different mycorrhizal species. Also, most mycorrhizal species associate with multiple plant species. Hence, the mycorrhizae and plants of a forest are better thought of as one vast interconnected living organism, which shares its sugars, minerals and water among all participants.

Hydraulic lift: Most roots are quite shallow (5-40 cm) - even of large trees. But a few go down much deeper (2+ m). These pull up water from deep down and share it all around. Google hydraulic redistribution wiki

Community: A highly connected community of cooperating plants and fungi does much better than a whole lot of plants engaged in deadly competition. - www.gardenstuffnz.blogspot.com

“Visually delicious” illustrations win award

Seat a reminder of David's dedication to beach

During Lockdown level 4 and level 3 we will be trading from 8am to 3pm Monday to Friday.

It is a great pleasure to serve the Eastbourne Community during these difficult times.

On July 31, a beautiful Saturday morning, a seat was unveiled on the beach to commemorate the life of David McDougall.

Mr McDougall, along with wife Judith, worked assiduously for more than twenty years to restore beach dunes by the Rec.

The couple worked with other volunteers, planting native grasses to trap sand and build up the dunes.

Whanganui a Tara, its islands and the hills.

Mr McDougall's legacy is in the ecolandscape now shown to be resilient against the threat from the sea, Derek Wilshere says.

That legacy will be maintained by an ongoing Dunes Group coordinated by the Eastbourne Community Board.

The seat and the unveiling were funded by local donations, Hutt City Council and the Eastbourne Community Board.

At your local, friendly Butcher

The seat's location was chosen by Mrs McDougall at the northern dune at HW Shortt Memorial Park. It has a panoramic view of Te

The unveiling was celebrated by a small gathering of family and local enthusiasts. 7 Rimu Street, Eastbourne Ph 562 8049

1st Sept

Family and friends gathered for the seat's unveiling.

Photo: Simon Hoyle.

Mondays

• Retired Persons’ Assn meet 4th Mon, 10am St Ronan's Church hall for morning tea followed by a speaker - $2 entry.Transport can be arranged for these meetings on request, ph 562 7365 or 562 8387.

m-5.30pm. Contact Judy Bishop 562 8985

• “Baby Bounce & Rhyme” at the library 10.00am.

• Singalong 1st Mon, 2pm at St Ronan’s.

• DB Playcentre Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, from 9:15 to 11:45, phone Jeanne 021979177.

• Pt Howard Playcentre. Mon 9.15 -11.45am. Lucy 021 335 391.

• The Historical Society’s Eastbourne History Room above the library is open 2-4 pm every Monday.

• Eastbourne Volunteer Fire Brigade training every Monday 7-9pm. Ph 562 7001 for more info.

• Toy Library 8-9pm. St Ronans Hall www. eastbournemibase.com.au Elizabeth 021 08224664.

• Eastbourne Karate Dojo junior and senior classes (children 8 year & older, plus parents) on Monday and senior classes on Thursday. Contact lindsaysensei@live.com, cell 021 844 873.

• Keas: Monday 5.15pm – 6.15pm. Kea Leader: Ed 021 738 699

• Venturers: 7.00pm - 9.00pm, Susan 0275 35 4962

Tuesdays

• Pt Howard Playcentre Tues 9.15 -11.45am. Lucy 021 335 391.

• Days Bay Playcentre Puddle Jumpers Tues 10:30 to 12 noon: Messy and Sensory play for children 2 years and under. Casual sessions, $3 donation.

• Muritai Tennis Club 9.30–noon. Merryn 562 0236.

• Eastbourne Homebirth Group 1st Tuesday of the month. Phone Kate 562-7096.

• East Harbour Women’s Club Morning Tea & Chat Group 10am. Contact Glendyr 562 7181.

• Indoor Bowls Club 1.30pm, at the croquet club, Oroua Street. Rosemary 562 7365

• Menzshed 9 till 12 , Williams Park, Barrie barrielittlefair@gmail.com 0204 1234511. Women welcome.

• Poetry group, every second Tuesday meet to read and enjoy poems old and new. Phone 562 8387.

• Toy Library 9.30-10.30am. St Ronans Hall. Facebook: Eastbourne Toy Library Elizabeth 021 08224664www.eastbournemibase.com. au

• 9.30am Nia Dance Fitness Class (low impact - teens to 70+) Music Movement MagicMuritai Yacht Club - call Amanda 021 316692 www.niainwellington.com

• Pump Dance preschool and junior hip hop. 4pm onwards St Ronans Hall. 0274373508 info@pumpdance.com

Wednesdays

Cubs: 5.30pm - 7.00pm, Erica 021 190 3900

• Retired Persons’ Assn meet 2nd Wed at Tartines for morning tea and socialising 11am. Occasional outings arranged. Ph 5627365 or 562 8387.

• Library preschool story time 10.00 am.

• Pt Howard Playcentre Wed 9.15 -11.45am. Lucy 021 335 391.

• Scottish Country Dance. Merryn 562 0236.

• Bridge Club 7-10pm. Shona 562 7073.

• DB Playcentre Mon, Wed, Fri 9-12. Siobhan siobhan_whelan@yahoo.ie

• “Steady as You Go” Age Concern sponsored Falls Prevention and Exercise Programme. Held 12 noon each Wednesday at Eastbourne Community Hall. Classes are held for 1 hour and costs only $2. Improve your strength and balance to reduce falls and injuries. Falls are preventable. Please join us!

• Intermediate/teen hip hop and contemporary. 5pm onwards St Ronans Hall. 0274373508 info@pumpdance.com

• EHock - Fun Stick and Ball game Girls and Boys 7- 13.Eastbourne Community Hall. Wednesdays 6.00 p.m. - 7.30 p.m. Derek Wilshere 0274303596

Thursdays

• Menzshed 9 till 12 , Williams Park, Barrie barrielittlefair@gmail.com 0204 1234511. Women welcome.

• St Ronan’s Mainly Music, 9.30am-10.30am, contact Cathy 027 213 9342.

• SPACE at Days Bay Playcentre. Michelle 971 8598.

• East Harbour Women’s Club

- Bolivia 12.45pm, Contact Glendyr ph: 562 7181. Guest Speaker (3rd week of month)7pm, drinks and nibbles provide, Contact Diane ph: 562 7555

•Lions meet 2nd Thursday of the month at the Eastbourne Sports and Services Club, Tuatoru St 6.30 pm. New members and visitors are welcome. Graham 562 8819.

• Eastbourne Karate Dojo junior and senior classes (children 8 year & older, plus parents) on Monday and senior classes on Thursday. Contact lindsaysensei@live.com, cell 021 844 873.

• Intermediate Contemporary Dance Thursdays 6:30pm - 7:30pm St Ronan's Hall info@pumpdance.com,0274373508

• Scouts: Thursday 6.00pm - 8.00pm, Damon 022 620 7116

Fridays

• Pop in and Play playgroup at St Ronan's Church Hall, 9am-11.30am during school terms. All preschoolers (0-4 years) welcome. Cath 027 213 9342.

• Pt Howard Playcentre Fri 9.15 -11.45am. Lucy 021 335 391.

• AA Plunket Rooms 7.30pm. Mark 566 6444/ Pauline 562 7833

• DB Playcentre Mon, Wed, Fri 9-12. Siobhan siobhan_whelan@yahoo.ie

• Discovery Time for 4years+ at San Antonio School, 78 Oroua Street, 9.30-10.30am. Office 562 7398.

• Eastbourne Bowling Club. Newly formed Ladies casual bowling group meets Fridays at 2.00pm. Experience is not required. Bowls & instruction available. Casual dress code. Contact Cheri - 021 0699 274.

Saturdays

• Justice of the Peace at the Eastbourne Community Library, first Saturday of each month 12pm-1pm.

• Lions’ rubbish bin last Saturday of each month.

• Croquet from 10am Muritai Croquet Club. Lyn 562 8722 or Val 562 8181.

Sundays

• AA Plunket Rooms 10am. Karen 021 440 705.

CLASSIFIEDS

SONNY'S YOGA - EASTBOURNE CLASSES - Enjoy a relaxing yoga class near the ocean. Every Wednesday 6.45pm at Muritai Yacht Club. Beginners welcome. First Wednesday of each month will be a gentle YIN yoga class. For more info visit www.sonnysyoga.nz

ECOGARDENER-restoration,restyling,maintenance. All sizes. All styles. txt 027 6939 323

Dan Reed lawn mowing, lawn and garden care. Contact 027 337 1360.

WATERBLASTING Services – For all exterior cleaning and maintenance – call Mike on 027 587 5871. Lawn mowing and gardening services. Contact Supreme mowing. Phone Grant 0212481771. STUDIO TORU - The Collaborate

Jewellery Exhibition will now run to September 18th. See www.studiotoru.co.nz Or Instagram @studiotoru3 for updates. Stay safe, look forward to seeing you when we can open again.

Hills Hats busier than ever during lockdown

Every cloud has a silver lining, they say – and last week’s lockdown announcement saw the team at The Hatmosphere, aka Hills Hats, frantically making masks and sending them out round the country. It’s not the first time Simon Smuts-Kennedy has responded to a lockdown crisis. Before the country was three days into Level 4 last year, Hills Hats had already made 700 masks – and for two months produced nothing but the protective face coverings. “We were throwing packs of masks off the deck at home to courier drivers for essential workers,” he says.

The Lowry Bay businessman used to own a ski shop in Ohakune. All that changed after Ruapehu erupted in 1995. So when he got a ring from his dad Pieter at Eskay in Petone saying “I’ve just bought Hills Hats – you should come home and run it”, he answered the call.

It was another chapter in the family history that began with Eskay, a brand still sold by Hills Hats. Simon’s grandfather Bryan Smuts-Kennedy began that business in 1944, manufacturing ties for the American Marines, and his son Pieter joined the firm as a 16-year-old.

Hills Hats is much older – Englishman Charles Hill opened his store on Lambton Quay in 1875. Through various incarnations, it morphed into the business that Mr Smuts-Kennedy, with his wife Rosie, has made his own. But back in the late 90s, hat wearing had fallen out of fashion, and the Porirua-based company had gone into liquidation.

Today, the factory, which is nestled behind a museumlike frontage – featuring every era of New Zealand military headdress among many other kinds of headgear – employs 25 workers making hats, hankies and other reminders of the heyday of Eskay…and now masks.

Some of the impressive lineup of machinery dates back a century – a 1917 sewing machine still used every day, French gas presses, hydraulic machines and “a hatter’s dream collection” of wooden and aluminium blocks, as the New Zealand Fashion Museum describes it.

The Hatman, as he calls himself – seen sprinting down Fitzherbert St, Petone in his matching hat-motif suit, hat and mask, on the cover of Silver Linings, the Covid Kiwi business success story collection published last year – not only uncovered the huge demand for masks during the first lockdown last year. In fact, he says “we wouldn’t have survived without them, business-wise.”

No ordinary face-coverings, these are made to last – washable and recyclable, crafted of natural fibres such as cotton, linen and wool, with reusable bonded wool filters. Many have matching caps and hats and there’s even one with, literally, a silver anti-viral lining.

Simon Smuts-Kennedy with one of the original steam machines still in operation.

Westie's decades of service recognised

by Ann Garry

A lot of people volunteer to give back to their community and that was Dave West’s (pictured) motivation when he joined the Eastbourne Forest Rangers in 1985. The former Muritai School pupil’s passion for the outdoors, taking care of the environment, and being part of a team ultimately led him to the doors of the Eastbourne Volunteer Fire Brigade. Last month his commitment was acknowledged at a special awards night where he was presented not only with a 25 Year Gold Star long service medal and a commemorative plaque but, because of COVID-19 delays, an additional gold bar to acknowledge a total of 27 years’ service.

Westie is the first to admit that he never set out to be a firefighter but through his role as a ranger and then chief ranger he experienced first-hand the devastation caused by bush fires. “It was a conversation with DOC that spurred me to first join the Eastbourne Bush Fire Force in 1995 and then the volunteer fire brigade two years later.” For eight years he volunteered concurrently in all three organisations and, with a full-time job as an electrical engineer in Petone, he wryly admits that there “wasn’t much free time left over” .

The Bush Fire Force then covered the whole of Wellington and beyond. He remembers being called out to Makara, Silverstream and Taupo Swamp. “Some were big fires that would take days to get under control.” In 2003 the Bush brigade disbanded and at the same time Westie stepped down from his role with the rangers. With more free time, he was able to devote his attention to the training required to become a Senior Fire fighter and Senior Station Officer at the Volunteer Brigade.

He’s seen a lot of changes over almost three decades including a drop in the numbers of volunteers. “We had heydays of a fully-crewed brigade but that was also when work was 9-5, five days a week. Now it’s seven days a week, longer hours and people’s lives are busy.” Despite the drop in volunteers, the crew has maintained a gender mix. “In my time at both the bush fire force and the volunteer brigade we’ve always had females as part of the crew and I like that it’s not been an all male culture.”

The service has also had three changes of name. From Fire Service to Fire and Rescue and now Fire and Emergency which Westie says more accurately reflects the mandate of ‘saving life and property’. “We do everything from rescuing cats up trees to dealing with flooding, fires and medical emergencies.” Eastbourne is a medical First Responder brigade and all the fire-fighters hold first aid qualifications and receive regular training on how to administer CPR and how to use a defibrillator.

Communication over the years has also changed. The crew used to have basic pagers but now have message pagers and information sent on their cell phones which Westie says better prepares them mentally and emotionally for call outs. “In the past we had no idea what

we were being called out for or were going to face until you got to the station but now we know before we arrive.” He says there is more understanding now about the impact of dealing with medical emergencies and death. “Back then there was a bit of a culture of ‘take a teaspoon of cement and harden up’, but now there is more awareness and a lot more support.”

Volunteers attend weekly training sessions on Monday night to prepare them for the variety of call outs. Westie says a job is not considered over until the crew has returned to the station and prepared the truck and equipment for the next call out. Occasionally the crew attend simulation sessions which he says is excellent training. “Recently we were offered the opportunity to rescue a pretend body from a generator produced, smoke-filled house. You really can’t see anything and it’s a reminder of how disorientating and how quickly our senses are challenged in a fire.”

Talk of smoke and fires leads to the question of his other nickname –Toastie. He grins, blushes and fesses up. A number of years ago he was at home having a cuppa when the alarm went off. He dashed out the door, got to the station and found that they were attending a gas leak at the old Post Office at the top of Rimu Street which was, at that time, a restaurant. “It was a big call out, four trucks, and while we were dealing with it there was another call out…to my house!” Neighbours had noted smoke coming out of Dave’s window. “I’d left the manual toaster going when I dashed out and smoke was everywhere.” Station tradition is that if a firefighter has a call out to their house, they are up for a round of drinks and there was no way ‘Toastie’ was being let off the hook. “I was pretty red-faced and it cost me a fortune!”

At the awards night when the 8-pointed star medal was pinned to his uniform, the collected

guests, including Westie’s 93 year-old mum, Lorna, were told that the medal was “earned, not given”. It represented the, “commitment and service given and the time spent away from family”. Over 11,000 volunteer firefighters serve in brigades throughout the country and are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Mahina Bay News

1. 90 percent of Mahina Bay’s residents support the reduction of speed in the bay, both on Marine Drive and the connecting roads.

We await Hutt City Council’s clear and positive response to our request to have these speed limits reduced.

This initiative was gained from the local survey of residents and is supported by the majority of members of the Eastbourne Community Board and the local community Police.

Approaches are being made to other resident groupings in the other local bays to seek their support.

We hope it won’t be long before we see this judicious action happen.

2. Mahina Bay is to get a defibrillator soon. It is to be installed at a yet to be determined location in the Bay for use in an emergency.

Individuals are being found to be trained in its use. This has been funded by the Eastbourne First Response Trust. More on this when the decision for placement is made.

3. The stream planting took place on the 25th of July, finally, and with some success by a small group of residents and assistance from a team member from Hutt City Council.

mahinabay@gmail.com

Army meets Peace Corps

by Ann Packer.

Eastbourne’s newest citizens have come here by a very roundabout route.

Initially resident onboard a yacht at Seaview Marina but now living in the village, Steffen Merten and Christina Baldarelli, with children Olivia, 5, and Oscar, 3, were welcomed to Aotearoa last month as part of a group of around 65 new New Zealanders, by Hutt City Mayor Campbell Barry.

The couple first met in California in 2007, when Ms Baldarelli, a fluent Spanish speaker who comes from Lake Tahoe, and Mr Merten, born and raised in the agricultural state of Iowa, were at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, a graduate school offering everything from foreign language teaching to terrorism studies. He was studying counterterrorism and she was doing a Masters in Applied Linguistics.

Mr Merten had been living a Boy’s Own Adventure life for some years before the couple met. He first landed in Iraq with the National Guard in Balad, 40km from Baghdad, in 2003. A gunner/radio operator in the days before body armour, when jeeps had no doors and IEDs were just beginning to make their horror felt, the experience fed his craving for exhilaration – but also set off the PTSD that still plagues him. Later he was mapping social and tribal systems in places like Oman, on a Boren Fellowship, which led to working with marginalized groups-with-grievances that could be pulled into the influence of movements like ISIS. Along the way he was “learning a bit of tradecraft – the place was full of spooks, a real Casablanca-type environment!”

They dated for six months then went their separate ways – he to yet another period embedded with the American military somewhere in Arabia, in a controversial programme known as Human Terrain System, that used his social science skills; she to oilrich Kazakhstan with the Peace Corps and a genuine, “if naïve”, desire to change the world.

Being fluent in Spanish, Ms Baldarelli had assumed she’d be stationed somewhere like Nicaragua. “I did not expect to be transported back to the Soviet era and learn Russian!” she laughs. “But it was cool, as an American, to go somewhere post-Soviet. There was a huge need for skill sharing – their whole structure had got sucked out.”

She found a stark contrast in her classes between the haves and the have-nots, those

who got “a half-cup of water from the well for breakfast” and those who had cable TV; those who went barefoot in villages and those with Gucci outfits.

“I didn’t use a Western toilet for two years,” she says. “Peace Corps is all about living like a local – so Steffen was equally shocked when he arrived in Kazakhstan to join me for seven months in subzero temperatures and had to adapt to things like chaotic public transport, no aircon, handwashing all our laundry and squat toilets!”

While Ms Baldarelli was in Monterey finishing her Masters, the couple married then headed to Kathmandu for what became a yearlong working honeymoon – she was director of a non-profit organization and he worked remotely for a California tech company. The couple travelled around the world for some years in different service-oriented roles. At one stage they took time out for a holiday in New Zealand, joking they’d never be lucky enough to live here.

“Now we’ve settled down with our little family and shifted focus to serving closer to home,” Ms Baldarelli says.

In a return to his Iowan roots, Mr Merten now works for Amazon Web Services helping agricultural start-up companies compete on a global scale while Ms Baldarelli – who won a prize in the Wild Food Challenge – is serving in the community as a Kea leader. She just finished working for Mobi2Go, the Wellington-based startup that supported hundreds of hospitality businesses, including Hive and The Still Room, to keep afloat during the last lockdown and last week began a new job with CoGo, another Kiwi startup in the sustainability space.

Steffen, Christina, Olivia, and Oscar, with Hutt City Mayor Campbell Barry.

by Ann Packer

Hammers finish fourth in prestigious Masters

by Carl McRae

The Masters 1 Hammers, the EFC’s highest ranked representative side, have finished a very meritorious fourth in the league and that in their first season at the highest level of Masters competition. At the completion of two full rounds the team finished in fourth spot, having briefly attained third a few weeks prior.

EFC Chairman, Mike Andrews, says that everyone associated with the club is extremely proud of the efforts of this very fine side.

“I’ve said a few times throughout the season, “he said, “for such a small and largely under-resourced club, the Hammers - like many teams in all grades in the past - have performed outstandingly and really punched above their weight. We consider finishing fourth to be a major achievement.”

Having been promoted twice into Masters 1 (in successive seasons, the first time scuppered by Covid-19), team member and Eastbourne stalwart, Chris Houston, said that the team was pleased to have officially secured fourth in the table, with everything to play for as the league is split into two competing groups for the rest of the season.

Player/manager, Neil Drummond, points out that could be somewhat of a mixed

blessing, as they will now have the delight of playing Petone, Karori and Wests again.

“We played the first round robin game against Wests last week, '' Neil says, “and earned a 2-2 draw, but were really unlucky not to win the game, finishing the far stronger team.”

The Hammers were given a right old walloping by Karori on the penultimate Saturday of competition and were beaten again by the league winners, Petone, in the last round. The 0-3 loss in the latter match was a great bounce back and indeed praiseworthy, the competition winners only dropping one game all season.

The side has been a ‘work in progress’ for a few seasons and - according to Chris Houston - can be broadly separated into three categories, the first of these being the ageing backbone of the team; talented lifelong footballers, many of whom are international imports.

“Added to this are relative latecomers to the game,” he says, “but who have excelled in other sports, including rugby, cricket and rugby league.

"These players possess pace and endurance uncommon among our opponents but, the rugby lads in particular, have had to get used to the no-nonsense culture in soccer, where throwing oneself onto the ground at the

slightest hint of contact is frowned upon. As is having big cuddles on the field.”

Into this ‘rabble’ the lads introduced two former junior All-Whites, Jeremy Field and Jon Rowe. The pair provide an extra level of quality and edge to the team, even if, as Chris adds, they can be quite high maintenance.

A number of the team coach kids' teams within the club, or other sports.

“This is forming the basis of a great deal of inter-team rivalry for the new Hammers Coach of the Year Prize,” Chris says.

“By common consent, Dave Healy and Jon Rowe are the front-runners this year for CotY.”

It is rumoured that the squad have plans to tour North Asia in 2023 and it is hoped that this year's major club fundraising effort will bankroll the trip.

“Players from the Hammers can be expected to feature prominently,” Chris says. “We’re planning a discreet, Calendar Girls style publication featuring EFC Masters players wearing little more than an odd sock.”

He adds that this was the brainchild of Club Secretary, Trysh.

Goal keeper, Ben Waitt, has expressed an interest in being ‘Mr. March’. “Late summer means I’ll have a glow on,” he says, “and will have had ample time to get rid of my motor.”

Lower Hutt – your river city

Gold medal marks EB sporting dynasty’s 100th

by Ann Packer

There have been some big sports centenaries in the last year, but an Eastbourne family takes the prize for the most family members who made their mark internationally. The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame calls them “an extraordinarily successful sporting family”; not only were there three All Blacks in Alan Nicholls’ family – a first for New Zealand rugby – but his aunt, Dulcie Nicholls, born after seven siblings, won numerous Dominion ladies’ tennis titles in the 1930s.

One hundred years ago, on 13 August 1921, when the Springboks ran on to the field at Carisbrook at the start of their first ever New Zealand tour, there were two Nichollses in the team. Mr Nicholls’ dad Harry, known as “Ginger”, was the halfback, and his uncle Mark (Marcus) played second five-eighth. The All Blacks won 13 – 5.

Mark would go on to play 51 matches for New Zealand. Two years later, Mr Nicholls’ Uncle Harold, known as “Doc”, played in the All Black series against NSW.

But it was Alan’s dad, Ginger Nicholls, who got the gold medal for “back of the match” (the best forward also got one) at that first test. The medal was brought out at a family luncheon to mark the centenary, at the Days Bay Pavilion, two weeks ago.

The Nicholls family arrived in New Zealand in 1873 when Alan’s greatgrandfather, Henry George Nicholls, came as a groom with the new Governor Sir James Fergusson’s household. Henry’s son Sidney, Alan’s grandfather, was just nine years old. Young Sid went on to play rugby for Wellington in 1889, founding what would become Poneke Rugby Club, for which he was captain and coach, and also training the legendary Billy Wallace – who later trained Sid’s boys. An excellent cricketer, Sid also played 15 first-class matches for Wellington.

The family’s skill with horses continued through several generations, as they moved to Greytown then back to Petone, complete with horses. Ginger married the girl next door, Gwen Wallis (whose family had built the

Feeling overwhelmed by the Climate Crisis?

As the grim reality of climate breakdown becomes daily more apparent, and the window of opportunity to avert it closes as governments dither, many people are experiencing a gamut of emotions - anxiety, depression, grief, despair, anger, helplessness. If that includes you, and you are interested in forming a local collective of like-minded people for conversation, mutual support and ideas for affirmative action, please contact me by text or email.

027

Phil Dashfield

359 6396, pdashfield@gmail.com

Nairn St Cottage) and the family continued to be involved with horses through the Wellington Trotting Club, where Ginger was president. On one occasion he shook hands with Sir Bernard Fergusson and they realized their grandfathers had been part of a vice-regal household together; they had also both attended the first Wellington Galloping Cup in 1874, when Castaway won.

Mr Nicholls remembers growing up as part

of a large extended family, with musical Sunday night gatherings – one cousin became an opera singer and another a ballet dancer. He moved to Eastbourne with his wife Mary and their sons in 1991, after her father Reg Ellingford, who owned Eastbourne’s shoe shop, died and left her his Oroua St house.

Sources: Alan Nicholls, Te Ara/The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame..

The six sons of Sid Nicholls, including All Blacks

Mark, Ginger and Doc, (second, third and fourth from left.).

We're super proud of local lad and Eastbourne Herald deliverer Rufus Rusholme Cobb, who's heading off to finish his last year of school at Coconino High School in Flagstaff, Arizona, on an exchange programme. Rufus is a talented basketball player, and we wish him well for the future. We're happy to report that younger brother will continue with the deliveries. Go well, Rufus.

Rugby club's future is in good hands

Following the success of their centenary celebrations earlier in the year, Willie Davis, Club Captain of the Eastbourne RFC, says the club is in very good shape moving forward.

“It was a great year all round,” Willie said. “Off the field, enough praise can’t be heaped on the organising committee for their work on the centenary and also the large supporter base that travelled the region in support of the U85 side, right throughout the season.”

Speaking of the worthiest of praise, Willie says enough cannot be said of team coach, Baz Luke.

“The senior team would be lost without Baz,” he says. “It’s not just what he’s seen to be doing, it’s all the hours and behind-the-scenes work that he puts in and has done for so many years.”

On field, the U85kg side had a very fine season, winning the first round JC Bowl for the first time in the club's history.

“That’s as good as it gets,” Willie says. “That was the intention. That is what we set out to do and to have achieved it was very special.”

The team lost some impetus during the second round of competition, not helped by a bye nor two victories by default. The disruption to playing every weekend was broken and the team failed to pick up from where they’d left off in the first round.

“It was disappointing,” Willie says,

Yacht Club sets date for opening day

Long time member of the Muritai Yacht Club, Garth Cheyne, says that the club's opening day this season will be held on Saturday, September 18th and is an opportunity for any local keen on learning to sail to come down and check it out.

Keeping abreast of the fast-changing world of aqua dynamics, the Muritai Yacht Club have invested in three RS Feva, the world’s leading double handed dinghy for youngsters and parent/child teams.

“Plus we have a new Commodore, James Sorenson, at the helm,” Garth says, “and we are looking at an exciting summer ahead.”

The preceding Saturday (September 11th) is the club members clean-up day, in preparation for the start of the season.

“Momentum came to a grinding halt and we struggled to find the groove. But the team enjoyed an outstanding season. They should be very proud of themselves, as we are.”

Willie says that once again, credit must be acknowledged regarding the leadership of Hami Love, an outstanding player and all-round club guy. Tom Gillett, Jacan McDonald and Matt

Jack, the loose forwards, also had particularly rewarding seasons.

The U85s once again entered the National Cup competition toward the end of the season. A first round victory over Hutt Old Boys was enjoyed, but their involvement in the 2021 competition was ended by Poneke the following week at the Hutt Rec.

We see the support of locals when times are tough - let’s continue to shop locally when we’re back to normal.

Thank you to our loyal advertisers, who made this issue of The Eastbourne Herald possible.

Remember to support these businesses - both those who are able to trade under Level 4 and Level 3 restrictions, and those who can’t, but will be up and running as soon as they are able.

Kia kaha

Action from Eastbourne's final game, against Poneke. Photo: Phil Benge.