The Eastbourne Herald May 2018

HCC vows to work with residents over private land classification

by Carl McRae

Hutt City Council says there is no good way of telling people there may be restrictions coming on what they can and can’t do with their land.

“Receiving this news is at best naturally disconcerting and worrying,” Andrew Cumming, HCC divisional manager, says, in response to a letter received from a group of Eastbourne landowners affected by HCC's Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) policy. "Even when the primary aim is saving at least some of our threatened native species."

“The work council is doing in Eastbourne and across Lower Hutt is aimed at protecting the city’s natural heritage for future generations. It is a legal obligation under the Resource Management Act (RMA) and its related regional and national policy statements. It affects, or will affect, landowners in all territorial authorities across New Zealand.”

Celebrating a milestone

The RMA identifies the protection of New Zealand’s significant native flora and fauna habitats

as a "matter of national importance".

Around 83 percent of New Zealand’s native birds, bats, reptiles and frogs are classified as threatened or at risk of extinction, according to a recent report by the Ministry for the Environment.

The context and primary reason for this work is the continuing decline of native plants and animal habitats. Council’s District Plan currently has limited provisions to protect these valuable sites on private land.

The group of affected residents, now incorporated and operating as the Lower Hutt Land Owners, initially sent the letter to Mr Cumming requesting an indicative timeframe for the whole process, including when they could expect formal notification of the District Plan review and any proposed amendments or additions relating to the SNAs.

Since the letter was sent, the group says it has been partially appeased by "positive and sensible" dialogue with Mayor, Ray Wallace and Deputy Mayor, David Bassett, the former assuring all

1,200 landowners who received the initial letter from HCC in January that they will receive a new letter referencing a rescope being undertaken. As a result of this work, fifty to sixty percent of the private land originally impacted will no longer be included in the proposal.

For those whose land remains impacted, discussions about a more pragmatic approach - both the way in which landowners are being engaged, and the proposal itself - will take place in Mr Wallace’s office in June.

Continues Page 6

Long-time Eastbourne resident, Ken Longmore, enjoyed the celebration of his 100th birthday at the Eastbourne Sports and Services Club on Sunday afternoon. Now residing in the Woburn Retirement Apartments, Ken returned to spend the afternoon with friends and family, pictured here enjoying his centennial cake with Colin Rushton, President of Eastbourne RSA and fellow WWII veteran, Roy Beeby (93).

Mr Longmore was a Captain in the Royal New Zealand Army 6th Field Artillery and served in the Western Desert in 1942. He was captured by Italian troops and was sent to a German Prisoner of War camp until the conflict concluded in 1945. Photo: Phil Benge.

Resource consent to be lodged

by Carl McRae

Eastbourne Community Board chair, Virginia Horrocks says ‘frantic’ is the word, as final technical details are sorted before a resource consent application is finalised regarding the next stage of the Eastern Bays Shared Pathway.

Hutt City Council’s senior project engineer, Simon Cager, says that the consent will be dictated by the completion of an assessment of environmental effects, which sees the HCC working closely alongside the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), ecologists, structural engineers, urban designers and architects.

“The resource consent is due to be lodged on May 28,” says Simon. “Once notified consent goes in, the general public and various organisations have an opportunity to make a submission on the scheme.

"The HCC statutory process period is twenty days, but regional council has the ability to extend this period if deemed necessary.”

Once the scheme has been given the green light, which Simon says should be somewhere within an approximate three month timeframe, the procurement of contractors and a more detailed look into design options will make up the next stage of development.

Preliminary cost estimates for the completion of the project of between $10m-$15m will be

largely met by the HCC, with subsidies from both the NZ Transport Agency and the Urban Cycleway Fund.

Construction of the full project will be staged over a number of years, although the venture is set to commence within the next few months. Exactly where construction will begin is based largely on the finalisation of design plans, the destination as yet undetermined.

The completion of the Eastern Bays Shared Path is a key project in HCC’s strategy in providing a safe and integrated network, for commuting and recreational purposes, one that isn’t dependent on the continuous replacement of existing seawalls, of which recent structural assessments have indicated that complete replacements are not economically justifiable.

Next ECB Meeting

Tuesday 12 June 2018 - 7.15pm

East Harbour Women’s Club, Muritai Road

Previous agendas and papers available

Council meetings - Home - Hutt City Council

Board members are: Virginia Horrocks (Chair) virginia.horrocks@huttcity.govt.nz

Robert Ashe (Deputy chair) robert.ashe@huttcity.govt.nz

Murray Gibbons murray.gibbons@huttcity.govt.nz

Liz Knight liz.knight@huttcity.govt.nz

Anna Sutherland anna.sutherland@huttcity.govt.nz

Cr Tui Lewis tui.lewis@huttcity.govt.nz

Cr Michael Lulich michael.lulich@huttcity.govt.nz

We try to get things right at The Eastbourne Herald but it seems we mucked up this month - apologies to those incorrectly named in our Anzac piece. The 'Tribute to the Fallen' (The Ode) was read by Pat Millar, certainly one of our most senior Veterans. The EMRSA Wreath was laid by Ken Longmore, who is our oldest Veteran, along with former President Rae Walsh. Apologies to our wonderful returned servicemen and their families.

SAT, SUN & PUBLIC HOLIDAYS:

Sailings may be cancelled at short notice due to weather. To check today’s sailings, tel. 494 3339

May Eastbourne Community Board

Come and talk to us

You can now come and talk to us at the start of the formal meeting at 7.15pm about anything that concerns you whether or not it’s on the agenda. You are welcome to make suggestions, give praise, criticise or just come for a chat.

Eastern Shared Path

• Target date for lodging a Resource Consent with the Regional Council is the end of May

• Plans will be shared with Bays’ Residents’ Associations for distribution and will also be available on the HCC website

• The design team appreciates some people may still want to comment on the design after looking at the updated plans, but to avoid any further delays on lodgement residents are asked to make these during the formal submission process.

Significant Natural Areas

Discussion and negotiation between residents and Council in on-going. The ECB believes Eastbourne residents value our environment and hope landowners’ concerns can be resolved.

So long Richard, and thanks for the journey

by Carl McRae

The first major infrastructural changes in more than twenty years will see an overhaul of Greater Wellington’s public transport network over the next couple of months, with $1.3 billion to be invested in operating and improving transport services over the next five years.

The changes will mean the end of the line for popular bus driver, Richard Potts, who has driven the Hutt Valley High School bus in the mornings on most occasions since 2005, after successfully tendering for the Wainuiomata and Eastbourne school bus runs, initially on a two year contract.

As it turned out, he ended up travelling in and out of Eastbourne with the school trips for 13 and a half years, proving immensely popular with students and quickly earning their respect.

“I trained as a school teacher, and enjoy talking to people,” he says. “I treat the students as people, not children and no different from adults. I never speak down to people, just basic communication. I tend to look at the positive side of life and greet the student and wish them a good day. The tone of the trips is quickly set, and I’ve had no trouble with graffiti or vandalism in the buses.”

“So many bus drivers do not like school trips, but I love people and driving, having been driving buses on and off over the years since twenty years of age.”

The owner/operator of the Classic Coaches says that after taking everything into consideration, he decided not to re-tender for the run, which unchallenged, will now be handed back to NZ Bus, who has been contracted by Metlink.

NZ Bus (formerly known as Stagecoach, who acquired Eastbourne Buses in 1993) is New Zealand’s largest urban public transport business

and last year was contracted by the Greater Wellington Regional Council to provide the capital city with urban bus route services.

Richard has a month to run on his current contract, which includes three trips every morning and afternoon. Route 888 provides services to Hutt central schools (St Oran’s College, Chilton St James, St Bernard’s and Hutt Intermediate) and route 887 (two daily buses) connects Eastbourne students with Hutt Valley High School.

Hutt Valley commuters will be affected by alterations to their bus services from June 17 onwards, when adjustments are made to Metlink school bus routes and timetables including numbers, destinations, how you pay and ultimately even a change of bus colour, to lime and yellow. ( See advertisement, Page 20)

Richard says that Hutt Valley commuters shouldn’t be affected too much by route changes, but his understanding is that in Wellington city and suburbs, changes will be significant.

“There’s only one way in and out of Eastbourne,” he says, “so geographically the route can’t change much, if at all. The same with the Wainuiomata run I currently have.”

As he understands it, the 887 route will be tweaked slightly, but he is unable to be more specific as to the proposed changes as thus far, he has not been privy to that information. He believes that both Muritai and San Antonio Schools will not be affected by any changes to the 886 route.

Metlink will issue detailed information on how the changes will affect each area closer to that area’s changeover time and suggests that signing up to MyMetlink is the best way to keep up to date with all changes.

Snapper cards will replace all other bus payment cards or cash on the 400 buses which serve the Wellington regionnd more than 250 new, purpose-built, low emission buses will be on the road from the July 15. The new fleet will include seventy double decker buses, 10 of them fully electric. They too will come into service from mid-2018.

Continues Page 19

Classic Coaches' Richard Potts.

Scholarship winner is on a worldwide quest

Young scientist, Tom Swan, one of this year's Eastbourne Freemason’s Trust Scholarship winners, was back home in the Bays earlier this month, to receive his award and visit friends and family.

Currently taking time off from academic rigour, Tom says that the $4,000 scholarship will finance a "good chunk" of field work that he will be involved with while completing his PhD in Public Health and Tropical Medicine, at the Australian institute of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at James Cook University in Cairns.

Tom is majoring in the study of mosquito research and therefore spends the majority of his time in tropical regions. He is based on Thursday Island, located approximately 39 kilometres north of Cape York Peninsula in the Torres Strait, Queensland.

“Travel to and from the islands can be expensive,” says Tom, “and while Thursday Island is a research centre, getting samples to and from JCU can also be costly. The scholarship, therefore, will be of immense value.”

Tom completed his MSc in Water Resource Management at the University of Canterbury in 2015 and it was the work of a colleague that first peaked his interest in mosquito research.

He completed the Masters section of his degree in Tonga, where conditions were perfect for mosquito breeding, working with local residents in collecting mosquitos and larvae. Zika, Dengue and Chikunga viruses were omnipresent and communities became infested with a recent invader, the Asian Tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus).

With much of his work there educationbased, he developed a key to help with identification of this new culprit, which was published in the Tongan Government's Journal of Entomology, now used in health education and planning.

Of all disease-transmitting insects, the mosquito is the greatest menace, spreading malaria, dengue and yellow fever, which together are responsible for several million deaths and hundreds of millions of cases every year.

“Owing to globalisation trends over the past half century or so,” says Tom, “we are seeing the transmission of mosquito related illnessesthrough ports and airports - into areas that may

not normally be considered a problem.”

“In New Zealand, we have 16 species of mosquito,” he says. “And while environmental conditions [humidity, higher temperatures which push the mosquito more quickly through it’s natural life-cycle] are more favourable in the Auckland and Northland regions, it was Napier [between 2000-2010] which became a major bio-security risk, when cases of Yellow Fever were uncovered.”

Tom was awarded a 2015-2016 Fulbright Science and Innovation Graduate scholarship and spent one year at the University of Florida as a student researcher.

Further study will see him spend the next three months in South America and the Galapagos Islands. A week in Colombia will be followed by a quick jaunt into Equador, where he will spend time doing research in the capital,

Quito, constructed on the foundations of an ancient Incan city.

The majority of his time however, will be spent in the Peruvian city of Iquitos, gateway to the jungle lodges and tribal villages of the northern Amazon. Tom will spend two months as a volunteer teacher, studying climate change, holding courses and organising field surveys and collecting data on animal life.

His stay is in part funded by Operation Wallacea, an organisation that runs a series of biological and conservation management research programmes in remote locations across the world.

“The Peruvian Floating Forest will be a highlight,” says Tom. “One of the richest biodiverse locations on the planet and home to anacondas, the Amazonian dolphin, piranha and hummingbirds, to name but a few rare and wondrous species.”

Authorised by C. Bishop, 66 Bloomfield Tce, L. Hutt

Tom at work in the laboratory at Monash University.

Karearea track opens up to the public

by Carl McRae

Work on the new track between Muritai lookout and the Muritai/Mackenzie Track junction will be completed and usable to local bush walking enthusiasts as this issue of the Herald goes to print. The completion of the lower track metalling was partially stalled by inclement weather last week, but East Harbour Regional Park ranger Mark McAlpine hopes users will enjoy the easy-access new track, which also has a new name.

Karearea (New Zealand’s native falcon) is the new name for the track, and Owen Winter, from Greater Wellington Regional Council says he will be working closely with local councillor and Eastbourne Community Board member Murray Gibbons and the Historical Society of Eastbourne, regarding interpretative signage and heritage plaques to be placed at the lookout and the top of the track.

“The lookout will include historical information about the Village you can see below and the township at is stands now,” Owen says, “which will give visitors the opportunity to connect to the past and significant buildings in the area".

“At the top of the track, there will be a panoramic sign which focuses on the sights you can see from that vantage point, including Makaro-Ward and Matiu-Somes Islands, Mount Kaukau and the wind turbines.”

Part of the East Harbour Regional Park, the land is owned by Hutt City Council and managed by GWRC under its Long Term Plan.

The new track has been metalled in its entirety, with no significant structures or bridges, the existing Muritai lookout area enhanced and the original seat restored and repositioned. GWRC says the metal provides a durable and consistent surface for walkers which requires less digger and track maintenance work over time. Metalling work is usually preceded by reshaping to correct water damage and wear and tear.

Some regular local users of regional park tracks have expressed concerns regarding the need to upgrade in the first instance and would largely prefer to see the tracks left in their natural state. Mark McAlpine says that surfaces and drainage must be maintained, otherwise track formations wear and deep ruts form, or the surface erodes and gradually washes away.

He acknowledges and appreciates the support given GWRC by neighbourhood groups and says he works closely with them towards the mutual goal of ensuring that a walk in the bush is a pleasurable experience. “Tracks are built and maintained using well tested national standards,” Mark says. “Monthly vegetation cut backs along

the edges of tracks helps to maintain the width of the walking surface and allows sun onto the track to dry it out. Regular clearing of culverts and water tables avoids problems with erosion by enabling water to escape from the track. Weed control is important.”

“We encourage community input via these local groups and iwi’s,” Marks Says, “however the responsibility for maintaining tracks and associated structures rests with GWRC as the underlying owner or controller.”

GWRC Regional Councillor, Prue Lamason, says that after a lot of discussion and hard work it is terrific that the Karearea Track is now open, to be enjoyed by everyone.

“With the gravel surface and easier gradient,” she says, “not to mention the amazing views, I am sure that it will quickly become one of the most used tracks in the East Harbour Regional Park".

On the new Karearea Track are park ranger Mark McAlpine, GWRC Regional Councillor Prue Lamason, GWRC parks manager Amanda Cox, and GWRC communications manager Owen Winter.

Vountary protection of flora no guarantee for future

From Page 1

It is understood, however, that many landowners feel the proposal is still unclear and genuine concerns remain (which can be viewed in full on their website; www.lowerhuttlandowners. com); a negative impact regarding house sales and value, the coercive approach that has been applied to date to restrict use of private land and the lack of consideration that landowners already preserve bushland under the current DP rules.

“Eastbourne has a tradition of conservationminded residents,” says Mr. Cumming, “many of whom actively protect and manage native habitats on their properties and champion conservation across the region. Some of these people have voiced support for council’s current work. Eastbourne residents have also been some of the most vocal in opposing protecting significant natural areas on private land through District Plan rules.”

An alternative that often comes up is voluntary protection. “Voluntary protection of native habitats on private land is nice in theory,” Mr Cumming says, “and if we all actively protected these habitats, or at least didn’t destroy them, the requirements of the RMA could be met. The trouble sometimes is that the conservation efforts of current owners are undone or destroyed by future owners. Voluntary protection is clearly part of the solution but it’s unlikely to be enough on its own.”

A piece of relevant Environment Court case law is the 2014 case taken by Forest and Bird against New Plymouth District Council (NZEnvC219). The Court found that reliance on community attitudes to protect significant natural areas was inadequate, because it did not take account of differences in community attitudes and the high vulnerability of some significant sites.

“The debate to date on protecting valuable natural sites has been sadly marred by misinformation and disinformation,” Mr. Cumming says. “The claims that this work is part of a council ‘land grab’ are wrong. Council has no desire or plans to acquire land through this process, nor does Greater Wellington Regional Council.”

“The claims that letters posted to affected landowners were addressed to only male owners, in the case of couples owning land, are also incorrect,” he says. “However, there was a mail merge error which, in the case of joint owners, selected the first name only. This omission affected both male and female ratepayers. There was no gender bias.”

Another criticism from the landowners' group was how HCC had communicated with affected property owners.

“The sheer number of landowners meant face-to-face meetings to inform them of the work would have take many months,” Mr Cumming

said. “The option of publicising the work before informing affected landowners was ruled out, as it would have left many people across the city needlessly wondering whether they had sites on their land. Opening a discussion with those directly affected was the first thing Council did, which we considered to be a reasonable first step.”

The indicative significant natural sites on private land are now being fine-tuned and adjusted in discussion with land owners, including site visits by owner request. As a result of these conversations, a number of significant natural area boundaries have already been adjusted and in a handful of cases, removed. As well as site specific boundary adjustments, council’s ecologist is reviewing all SNAs to exclude areas close to lawfully established buildings and areas that have regenerated or been planted since 1995. This work will be applied to all properties and, for some, could make a sizeable difference.

Discussion with landowners and the wider public is also ongoing, developing District Plan rules, plus incentives and supports that will be made available to landowners to help them protect significant natural sites on their land. Any changes to the District Plan would be made through a formal plan change process involving submissions, further submissions, a hearing and appeals.

How do you want to be represented at HCC?

by Louise Parry

Residents are being asked to think about who represents them around the council table.

Under Local Electoral Act 2001 rules, local bodies much undertake a review into representation at least every six years.

Hutt City Council is reviewing both first and second tier representation.

In relation to the election of councillors, the council is considering three options: the status quo - that is, two councillors per ward; or a mix of ward and "at large" councillors - one elected for each ward and six elected city wide; or councillors elected at large only, with no affiliation to a particular ward.

Also to be decided will be second tier representation - community panels and community boards.

The options are for a mix of community

boards (as currently, in Petone, Eastbourne and Wainuiomata) and community panels (Northern, Eastern, Western and Central wards); community panels only across the city, or no second tier representation at all.

Limited consultation with the public has already been undertaken in the form of a Citizen's Panel survey, which was publicised on Facebook. and the council will now hold a three week consultation period before a decision on the issue is made later this year.

In the survey, 51 percent of respondents stated they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the current representation. Of those who thought that all parts of the city were not equally represented, it was felt that those who were in lower/middle socio economics area were under represented, including the Northern and Western wards, Naenae and Taita.

Equally, 41 percent of people preferred election of councillors by ward, and 41 percent

wanted election by a mix of ward and at large.

The majority of respondents thought the council should stay the same size, between 1014 councillors. Twenty nine percent wanted to have community boards and panels across the city, with 18 percent wanting to scrap second tier representation.

As The Eastbourne Herald went to print, it looked likely that consultation on the representation review would be conducted through community boards, and panels between May 30 and June 20.

More information will be available on Hutt City Council's website, with a specific page devoted to the review.

Alternatively, council divisional manager strategy and Planning, Wendy Moore can be contacted via email: Wendy.Moore@huttcity. govt.nz

The next local government elections will be held in October 2019.

Eastbourne Library all set for the winter months

Eastbourne Library is starting a Tabletop Games Group for young people in Eastbourne. This is aimed at children aged 10 years and over, and the first session will be on Thursday, June 7 at 3:45 pm.

"We want to encourage young people to have a go at some of our awesome selection of tabletop games, including Pandemic, Fluxx, Incan Gold

and more. They can also bring their own if they wish," head librarian Jacquie Arnot says.

This group will meet regularly on the first Thursday of each month.

And as World Wide Knit in Public Day approaches, the library is planning on hosting an event on Saturday, June 9.

"Essentially everyone interested can meet at

the library for a natter and a knit or crochet," Jacquie says. "It'll be a chance with other people who enjoy these crafts and have a bit of fun, knowing that all around the world other people are doing the same."

The time for the event is 11:30-12:30, but the library is open between 10am and 2pm if anyone wants to go in and knit during the day.

Kids sick of dangerous driving outside their school

by Louise Parry

Muritai School students are fed up with speeding motorists, and have taken matters into their own hands, making a sign to remind drivers to slow down.

Hutt City Council is likely to soon install a 40km/h sign similar to that outside Wellesley College. In the meantime, crossing guard Tristan Bain has made his own sign, which he holds up when on duty. Tristan says he is sick of drivers going too fast past the crossing, with several sliding to a halt just in time for pedestrians to cross safely.

Double parking is also a problem outside the school, reducing visibility for drivers and pedestrians alike.

Fellow crossing guard Emma McRobbie says it can be scary being on patrol. "Sometimes it looks like cars are gong to crash into some of the kids. Maybe the drivers just want to get somewhere fast, but they need to slow down,” she says.

Parent Kevin McRobbie, who helps out with the crossing says most people drive sensibly, but some drivers need to be reminded the 40km/h speed limit outside schools is in the road code.

“I don’t want to go to a kid’s funeral,” he says Hutt City Council says The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has approved the installation of 40km/h variable speed limits in school zones that meet its conditions. Muritai Road, outside Muritai Primary School, meets the specified conditions and it is proposed to install a 40km/h variable speed limit.

The 40km/h variable speed limit will only operate on school days for a maximum period of 35 minutes before the start of school until the start of school, 20 minutes at the end of school, beginning no earlier than 5 minutes before the end of school, and 10 minutes at any other time when at least 50 children either cross the road or enter or leave vehicles at the roadside.

The speed limit will be signposted and controlled by electronic signage. The existing 50km/h speed limit will remain when the electronic signage is not operational.

HCC is currently consulting with the community on this, with a close-off date of June 4. A report and the results of the consultation will be presented to the Eastbourne Community Board on Tuesday, June 12 and then

a recommendation will go to the council's traffic subcommittee. If approved by council, the sign should be installed by the end of the year.

Tristan Bain and Emma McRobbie on patrol.

New St Alban's vicar to lead church rebuild

by Louise Parry

John and Janet Hughes have arrived in Eastbourne to take up ministry at St Alban’s Anglican Church.

Following previous vicar Ellie Sanderson’s installation as assistant Bishop Of Wellington, John was selected and left St Mary’s in Karori to take up the role this week.

The couple have been in the vicarage for three weeks, with John and his son installing a new kitchen and doing other work to make the house into their home for the foreseeable future.

John hails originally from Port Elizabeth in South Africa, where he was ordained as an Anglican priest 33 years ago while serving in th army.

Having worked with his own congregation on addressing issues of earthquake strengthening, John says the period ahead will be one of working with the parish to come up with a plan for the parish.

An agreement has been made to retain the original church building, but the hall’s future is as yet undecided.

“In Karori we had five to six years of these issues. What emerged there was a clear sense that what we needed to build was something that connected with the community,” he says.

What happens in Eastbourne will be

determined by the church, and will take a lot of work and passion, which will be required to see the project through.

In the meantime, Janet continues to work in the childcare centre the church established, along with an after school programme. John says she loves working with children.

She is also a musician and singer.

John plans to visit his parishioners and ask them three questions that will help him plan for his work here.

“I really want to listen,” he says.

Church services are continuing at Wellesley College, with John’s first service this weekend.

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Janet and John Hughes.

Explaining God in a secular world

by Louise Parry

Traditional ways of worshipping God are not for Ian Harris. Ian, a Days Bay resident, and journalist for more than 40 years, has just released a book, New World New God, a compilation of some of his columns about religion in a secular world.

His "Honest to God" column ran in The Dominion and DomPost for eight years, and “Faith and Reason” is still running in the Otago Daily Times after 15 years.

Ian grew up in a Methodist household - his father was a minister, and the family moved around the country as he took up roles in various parishes.

Ian was a journalist on various newspapers, including the Auckland Star and The Dominion, and for a time headed the English department at the Satya Wacana Christian University in Salatiga, Central Java. He has also worked in Methodist and Presbyterian communications.

It was while working for the latter that Ian really began to explore alternative ways of looking at God, Jesus and the Bible, and formed a group with like minded people, called Ephesus, looking for ways to rethink Christianity for a secular age.

However, the Presbyterian Church wasn’t happy with his ideas.

“The Church decided it didn’t want that, and I thought, ‘bother you, I’ll just do it anyway’.”

The group was formed from people who wanted to explore questions of faith in an open way, and without predetermined answers. It was meant to run for just a few sessions, but 28 years down the track it’s still going strong.

Ephesus continues to meet fortnightly, with Sir Lloyd Geering, who wrote the foreword to Ian’s book, an active member. Ian says members come from various denominations and from

“The group doesn’t believe in the supernatural world…we have to experience religion in this world. This includes the totality of secular and scientific knowledge. This immediately, of course, sets us apart,” he says.

The Ephesus view of Jesus is that he was an historical, human figure; a teacher, healer and sage.

“He never called himself the Son of God, but the Son of Man,” Ian says. He interprets Jesus’ incarnation as God, as then conceived, becoming enfleshed in humanity.

Many of Ian’s views are controversial, and he is used to receiving correspondence on the issues he writes about.

But he says his is a rational belief, and a way of understanding God in a new way - “not as a being or spirit that is apart from or beyond this world, but as a symbol of our highest values and the interconnectedness of all life”.

Ian’s late wife Jill Harris, a successful children’s book author, shared his thoughts about God, and was instrumental in helping put together the group’s

Ian Harris.

liturgies and other written material. New World New God is published by Makaro Press.

Seventy years of women's club celebrated in style

The East Harbour Women's Club (EHWC) held a 70th Birthday party at its clubrooms on Muritai Road in April, celebrating a rich heritage with authenticity and style - a High Tea for members. Sixty eight members attended the celebrations, which was a great turnout according to club President, Cheri Davidson.

“Our Club is about uniting women,” she says, “the platform on which this club is firmly set and has not changed since we were established seventy years ago. We have women members from all walks of life which makes us colourful and interesting.”

The inaugural meeting of the EHWC was held in the RSA in Eastbourne on April 29, 1948, called by the club’s founder and life member, Mita Coard. The club’s activities, held initially in rented rooms, were unusually wide ranging and very well organised.

Mahjong, Bridge, guest speakers, a drama and poetry circle, a millinery circle, and an arts and crafts group were some of the activities held during the morning, afternoon and evening sessions. Exhibitions of work, as well as concerts were held during coffee mornings as a way of raising funds to cover running expenses and to support selected charities.

“In today’s fast changing times,” says club member, Lidia Hunter, “we are lucky to still have this facility available for the local community due to the dedication and foresight of a group of ladies who founded the club.”

Also popular at the time were the mother and daughter events, and husbands were invited to Christmas parties. The formality of the times can be seen by viewing the immaculate minute books, photos and specially printed invitations which were sent out to members.

Six years after the first meeting as membership grew (111 at the end of it’s first year), the need for the club’s own premises became evident. Until March 1954 the club had several homes - the RSA Hall, the Days Bay Pavilion and a vacant flat at No 8 Totara Street.

At a time when women had difficulty being taken seriously by bank managers, thanks to the management of Mrs Coard and a Miss M Magill, the club was able to purchase the premise from the Christian Science Church, responsible for the building's construction. It was sold to

the EHWC for 10 pounds, free of mortgage, on the understanding it was not to be sold in the future, but given to a charity, should the club ever fold.

Sixtyfour years on, housed in the very same building, the clubrooms represent a mid century ‘time capsule’. People walking into the clubrooms will be struck by the classic 1960s red and gold designed carpet, still in immaculate condition.

The carpet was kindly donated by Mr and Mrs Targett of Days Bay who owned a carpet business in Petone. This was excess carpet leftover from a refurbishment of the art deco Hotel St George in Willis Street, laid in preparation for the arrival of The Beatles during their 1964 tour to Australia and New Zealand.

Older Eastbourne residents have vivid memories of the Wahine inter-island ferry tragedy four years later. Many organisations in the Bays were involved in the rescue effort including the EHWC who opened its doors on Muritai Road to offer first aid, and hot food and drinks.

“We hold a wealth of experience and knowledge which we tap into from time to time, by having them as speakers on our Open Days and social evenings,” Mrs Davidson says. “For example we had a wonderful video showing Jean Sampson’s life, growing up in England, working for the war office as one of the Bletchley girls (very hush hush) and her eventual immigration to New Zealand. It was fascinating.”

Lidia Hunter says that the key to the

survival of the Women’s Club has been an ability to change its focus when necessary. In 1998, members got together to establish an evening group so that the club would survive into the millennium.

“The group was established for full time working women,” she says. “Evenings are organised with an interesting speaker for every third Thursday of each month and provides a chance to meet local ladies from the Bays and beyond.”

The Day Group ladies have various activities organised on Tuesdays at 10am. Lidia says new people are always welcome to come along for Craft and Chat with morning tea. On the first Thursday of each month the EHWC holds an open day with speaker, over an 11am morning tea. This is followed by two sessions of card games, Bolivia and Bridge.

“We as a community, must be very grateful and express thanks to members both past and present, who continue to help keep this unique club alive,” says Lidia. “New members are welcome any time to any event - the annual joining fee is just $50.”

Bus shelters upgraded for safety

by Carl McRae

Some locals were aghast recently to see one of Eastbourne’s unique old wooden bus shelters being removed from the district aboard the back of a truck. But Metlink's bus and ferry networks, infrastructure, and customer transition manager, Rhona Hewitt, says they need not be unduly alarmed.

“It’s great to see you take great pride in your local community,” she says.

“Over time, as assets come to the end of their useful life, we need to renew/replace them. We replace assets when they fail to meet the required level of service, where it is no longer cost-effective to continue repairing it or where the risk of failure and associated environmental, public health, financial or social impact justifies proactive action.”

The shelter in question removed by Metlink was starting to show some concerning level of wood rot and while it is to be maintained, it won’t be long before larger areas of the wood also begins to rot, and it too will need to be replaced.

“In order to support us in our forward work programme each year,” says Rhona, “we undertake condition assessments where we rate each asset on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being ‘very good’ and 5 being ‘very poor’ (this is in line with international best practice asset management). Each year we then go about replacing the poorest performing assets first.”

Rhona says that Metlink is also working their way through the ‘concrete bunker’ bus shelters, which they believe in a large earthquake event, this design is at the most risk of failure. Another aspect taken into account is ensuring that Metlink passengers are safe when using these bus shelters.

“We call this CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design),” she says, “where we try to ensure there are no enclosed spaces where someone is able to be trapped. Many of these older shelters do not meet these design standards.”

In Eastbourne itself, there is one more shelter up for renewal during the current financial year. This is bus stop 8857, located on Muritai Road (near 446) at Tawa Street. Although there are no other localised shelters on the Metlink list to be replaced within this time frame, as assets continue to deteriorate, more

local shelters will need to be replaced.

“With regards to the bus shelters with murals,” Rhona adds “we totally agree that these look great - I especially love those birds in suits - unfortunately these will eventually need to be replaced too.”

However, in other areas around Wellington where Metlink have replaced similar shelters, they’ve been able to keep a little of the old with the new. Signage contractors have taken images of the murals and had them placed on the laminates put over the glass to reduce graffiti and vandalism.

“When we install a new shelter, the black skirting around the bottom of the shelters is the last step in the process of the fitting. The skirts are only measured up once the shelter has been installed to ensure that they are the perfect size/ shape to fill the gap. If there are any new shelters without the skirting in Eastbourne, these should be on the way very soon.”

Garden Stuff with Sandy Lang

June: Winter. Pruning time. Pruning is surgery so use clean, sharp tools. A pruning wound potentially allows access to disease organisms. Prune in dry weather (wet encourages disease) and seal large wounds (house paint). Recut broken shoots neatly (disease). Remove dead shoots (disease). Thin crowded shoots (disease). Remove crossing shoots - wind rubs off the bark (disease).

Always cut just past a node or branch point. Never cut through a node or a branch-point ‘collar’ (disease). Never leave a long stump (disease).

Strategy: Pruning depends on species. Look on the net. Common plants pruned badly are grapes (this issue) and roses (next issue).

Grapevine structure: After its winter prune (June/July) a grapevine should have a gnarly vertical trunk and a permanent skeleton of 1+ gnarly horizontal cordons. The cordons should each be tied to a support (wire, pergola etc). At intervals along each cordon are the spurs A spur is the bottom few cm of one of last season’s leafy shoots.

Maintenance: If your vine was well pruned last winter, all you do is cut off each of last season’s shoots. Make the pruning cut about 5 cm above where the shoot originated - i.e. remove just the top 95% of the shoot. The remaining stump of last season’s shoot should have 2 or 3 buds on it. This stump is the spur. Each bud sits just above the scar left by a recently fallen leaf. Next season, each bud, on each spur will give you a new green shoot, each with a cluster (or two) of grapes.

Young: If your vine is young, prune and train its new shoots to give it one vertical trunk and a number (1+) of well-spaced horizontal cordons. This will take 2 or 3 (+) years. Choose fat, fast-growing shoots over weak ones. It’s important to tie the fragile new shoots to the support structure often (every 30 cm) or they will break in the wind. Remove surplus shoots as they form.

Neglected: If your old vine is a mess - don’t despair. Make a diagram of which shoots to keep and which to remove to end up with a single vertical trunk and 1+ horizontal cordons. Prune it back to this. No crop next summer but when pruning next winter it will be easy to establish spurs. It should fruit better and better each subsequent year.

Sandy Lang slang@xtra.co.nz

EASTBOURNE 17 Kowhai Street

Exquisite Villa, Sun and Views

EASTBOURNE 759 Marine Drive Castle by the Sea

This utterly divine 100+ year old villa o ers spectacular sunshine, wonderful privacy and panoramic harbour views. Step inside and feel the magic of dreams come true! Charming features have been lovingly conserved, with thoughtful renovations blending to meet today’s busy lifestyles. With four double bedrooms upstairs and four living rooms downstairs, the internal layout is perfect. On each level, French doors lead from all rooms to a romantically inviting verandah which embraces three sides of the property. These, plus a lawn, trees and flower filled gardens provide a quality of outdoor living to match the interior. High studs, panelled ceilings, matai floors, open fireplaces and perfectly scaled rooms inspire awe in all who visit this home. An internal access garage and o -street parking are part of the convenience; the nearby beach, bush and Eastbourne’s amazing community part of the very great privilege of owning this truly special home.

EASTBOURNE xxxx address

CONTACT: Kim Slessor 027 230 3328

BY NEGOTIATION: Buyer Enquiry From $1,450,000

VIEW ONLINE: www.justpaterson.co.nz/JP1216

EASTBOURNE

6 Mahoe

Character & Charm on Mahoe Street

Street

The owners of this iconic Sir Ian Athfield designed house recently expanded their enviable portfolio of architectural gems. As a result they have relocated and now o er you the chance to experience the joy of their treasured home. Built in the 1970s it brims with distinctive design details and original character that have been meticulously maintained. The three bedrooms, two living rooms and spacious open plan kitchen/dining room are connected by a cylindrical staircase set in one of two reinforced double-brick and concrete towers. The interior layout nurtures both intimacy and sociability. Great sunshine and exhilarating, uninterrupted views throughout are just part of what makes this a compelling choice. Located between Eastbourne’s vibrant village and Days Bay, where a commuter ferry is a 20 minute ride to the CBD, the location doesn’t get much better. Call me to view soon - this is a one-o and our motivated vendors are seriously in the market to sell.

EASTBOURNE xxxx address

CONTACT: Kim Slessor 027 230 3328

BY NEGOTIATION: Rating Valuation of $790,000

VIEW ONLINE: www.justpaterson.co.nz/JP1221

EASTBOURNE

On one of Eastbourne’s most charming streets, this wonderful home is on the market for the first time in 60 years. Steeped in history, with extensive improvements over the years, it has a lovely blend of practical style and rich character. With three bedrooms and two bathrooms it has a beautiful street profile, with a roll top verandah and lovely front garden. A formal front living room flows to an open plan kitchen/family/dining room which in turn has direct access to a gorgeous, leafy dell. Many a happy family occasion, including a wedding, has been hosted here. The property is blessed with wonderful all year sun and the beach is just moments away. A single garage is available, together with plenty of street parking by the berm. This is a very special home, blessed with many happy memories. It is your turn to enjoy a new lifestyle on Mahoe Street, and to make many, many more of your own.

Our vendor, who has enjoyed life at Marina Court for 8 years has now left to follow her heart and is motivated to sell. There has never been a better time to buy at Marina Court, with a series of improvements almost complete - and all paid for! Steps from Bishop Park, the beach and Eastbourne’s vibrant village this one bedroom apartment enjoys brilliant year round sun and is fresh, bright and beautifully presented. The view is uninterrupted, ever changing and always a thrill. The recently remodelled shower room o ers sheer luxury with underfloor heating. The carpet is new and the front windows are double glazed. There is a covered carport and storage unit for your convenience, too. And all for this price - what are you waiting for? Call me today to view.

EASTBOURNE xxxx address

CONTACT: Kim Slessor 027 230 3328

BY NEGOTIATION: Buyer Enquiry From $970,00

VIEW ONLINE: www.justpaterson.co.nz/JP1261

EASTBOURNE xxxx address

CONTACT: Kim Slessor 027 230 3328

FIXED PRICE: $338,000

VIEW ONLINE: www.justpaterson.co.nz/JP1241

Mondays

• Retired Persons’ Assn 4th Mon. Ph 5627365.

• “Baby Bounce & Rhyme” at the library 10.30am.

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

• DB Playcentre Mon, Wed, Fri 9-12. Andrea Jensen 02102797311.

• Pt Howard Playcentre. Mon 9.15 -11.45am. Caroline 021 072 1070.

• Historical Society of Eastbourne local studies room open above the library 2-4 pm every Monday. (Check Saturday).

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

• Rotary Pencarrow meets 6.30pm Lowry Bay Yacht Club, Seaview - phone Don 562 7409.

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

• 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.

Tuesdays

• Pt Howard Playcentre Tues 9.15 -11.45am. Caroline 021 072 1070.

• 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 5627096.

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

• Eastbourne Embroidery Group, St Ronan’s Church lounge 10am-12noon.

• Indoor Bowls Club 1.30pm, at the croquet club, Oroua Street. Jeanne 562 8555.

WHAT’S ON

• Menzshed 9 till 12 , Williams Park, Mike 562 8688.

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

• Toy Library 9.30am-10.30am. Kathryn 562 6271. www.eastbournemibase.com.

au

• 10:15am Nia - dance fitness (low impact - teens to 70+) Music Movement Magic - Muritai Yacht Club - call Amanda 021 316692 www.niainwellington.com

Wednesdays

• Library preschool story time 2–2.25pm.

• Pt Howard Playcentre Wed 9.15 -11.45am. Caroline 021 072 1070.

• Scottish Country Dance. Merryn 562 0236.

• Bridge Club 7-10pm. Shona 562 7073.

• DB Playcentre Mon, Wed, Fri 9-12. Andrea Jensen 02102797311.

• “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!

Thursdays

• St Ronan’s Mainly Music, 9.30am10.30am, contact Cathy 027 213 9342.

• SPACE at Days Bay Playcentre. Michelle 971 8598.

East Harbour Women’s Club

New Members Welcome Card Groups (weekly)

- Bolivia 12.45pm

Contact Glendyr ph: 562 7181 - Bridge

1.00pm

Contact Heather ph: 562 7995 Guest Speaker (3rd week of month)

7.00pm - Drinks and nibbles provided 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.

Fridays

• St Alban’s Pop in and Play, at St Ronan’s Church Hall, 9am-11.30am, contact Stefi 021 178 2099.

• Pt Howard Playcentre Fri 9.15 -11.45am. Caroline 021 072 1070.

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

• DB Playcentre Mon, Wed, Fri 9-12. Andrea Jensen 02102797311.

• Discovery Time for 4years+ at San Antonio School, 78 Oroua Street, 9.3010.30am. Office 562 7398.

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 10.00am Muritai Croquet Club. Lyn 562 8722 or Val 562 8181.

• Historical Society of Eastbourne local studies room open above the library 11am - Noon on Last Saturday every month. (Check Mondays).

• Eastbourne Dune Restoration Group Meets at the dunes area in front of the Eastbourne Recreation Ground, on the first Saturday of the month at 9am. Contact Keena for more details on 562 0992.

Sundays

• Church services - see page 28.

• AA Plunket Rooms 10am. Pauline 562 7833.

As our AGM approaches on 14 June, the Historical Society of Eastbourne is in good heart. The retirement of long-serving president Sue de Lange left big shoes to fill, but Acting President Dennis Davidson is settling in and doing a fine job. So, with Sue staying on the committee and continuing her invaluable work in the Local Studies Room, we feel doubly blessed.

It’s interesting to look back on major projects of the last 20 years: we’ve published two books on Eastbourne history (2001, 2006); organised a popular History Weekend (2006); revived the Oral History project, which started in 1979 and now includes nearly a hundred interviews; and catalogued much of our large Collection (documents, photographs, maps etc) onto our online database: https://library.huttcity.govt.nz/ cgi-bin/spydus.exe/MSGTRN/EHS/BSEARCH

We’ve also worked closely with other local organisations on projects such as the centenary of Eastbourne Borough (2006); the EMRSA’s publication Half a World Away: Eastbourne in Wartime 1899-1928, by Julia Stuart (2016); the Eastbourne Heritage Trail (2017/18); and the 50th anniversary of the Wahine disaster.

Equally important are our regular activities: every Monday afternoon, and the last Saturday of each month, our volunteers in the Local Studies Room (above the Library) help visitors seeking information about their forebears or their property, or for a book or school project. Others come bearing gifts, and their donated items are always welcome. We also keep the community informed via open days, library displays and Herald articles.

For many years our membership remained steady at around 200, in a population of only 4,700. That level of support may be due to having an educated population which values its past, and to the number of families who have lived here for generations. Geography may also play a role: with no through traffic, and little room for expansion, Eastbourne has always had a strong community spirit and sense of identity.

But with the exodus of older residents to Hutt Valley retirement villages, our membership has started to decline, and we’re keen to welcome new members, especially recent arrivals who’d like to know more about this special place. At $10 (individual) or $15 (family), the annual sub is excellent value: members’ evenings are held several times a year, with interesting guest speakers and an excellent supper; occasional

outings are organised; and there’s a regular newsletter.

We’re also looking for volunteers to help with regular tasks and special projects. Training is provided, and the work is always interesting. If you’d like to help, please contact Sue de Lange (568-4892) or Ali Carew (562-8880).

Please complete and return the membership form below.

- Ali Carew

For nearly 20 years, MIRO has operated a network of traps in the Northern Forest of East Harbour Regional Park (EHRP), located in the hills behind Eastbourne. Starting with 18 Timms traps in 1999, this network now comprises 400 possum traps (with associated rat poison feeders) and over 200 DOC200 stoat traps. This volunteer trapping effort, well-supported by Greater Wellington, has kept the possum population sufficiently low for our native trees to recover from the severe possum browsing that occurred prior to the start of trapping, and many people have noted the increase in bird life (e.g. kereru and tui).

The plot below shows the annual possum and rat catch over the past 7 years. The increasing number of possums caught over the 2011–2015 period is most likely due to possums invading from neighbouring forested areas, rather than breeding prolifically within the Park. The decrease in the catch in the past year is most likely due to OSPRI’s 1080 drop over part of the Northern Forest last winter. We expect the catch to be even lower in the coming year as OSPRI contractors undertake ground-based possum poisoning in areas of the forest (and on some private land) outside of where 1080 was dropped.

Our rat catch shows an opposite trend to the possums, with significantly increased catches in the last two years. This might seem strange given that 1080 drops have been shown to be very effective at knocking down rat populations for some months. However, there are a couple of possible reasons for this: a) we have tripled the number of DOC200 traps in the forest over the past two years; and b) rats breed far more quickly

than possums, so their numbers recover more quickly from the poisoning. A further operation to be aware of is Greater Wellington’s continued poisoning of rats in the Mainland Island, which consistently lowers the rat population there compared to untreated areas of the Northern Forest outside the Mainland Island.

The aim of deploying more of the DOC200 stoat traps was to control the weasel and stoat population in the Northern Forest. While weasels and stoats are voracious killers of our native birds, their numbers in the forest are generally low compared to rats, so as a result mainly rats are caught in these traps. However, to effectively control the rat population we would need to deploy about 4,000 traps, which is not currently feasible. That said, we did catch 17 weasels and stoats in the last year, as well as 33 hedgehogs.

Feral cats are also a threat to our birds, skinks and geckos, but on average we catch fewer than one each year. In the coming year we will be deploying more effective feral cat traps in the Northern Forest, with the traps sited at a safe distance from urban areas, in order to achieve a higher catch rate and thus provide more protection to native species. Other plans include ‘fortifying’ the northern and eastern boundaries of the forest to reduce future possum invasion, and extending the DOC200 coverage further east towards Rimutaka Forest Park, thus providing protection for kiwi, should they eventually venture in our direction.

Shake up for public transport

From Page 3 between now and 2024.

“I’m aware that some drivers on the Eastbourne run have had to re-hash their shifts,” Richard says, “and my understanding is that there will be more buses parked up in Eastbourne overnight. I can only conclude from that information, that there is intent to have buses to and from Eastbourne run more frequently. Perhaps every twenty minutes.”

When central Hutt school students have been returned to Eastbourne on Friday afternoon of June 15, it will be an end of an era for Richard and the service he has provided through both his Classic Coaches fleet and with his personal approach.

“I have been looking at where a bus service may be available for me,” he says, “preferably another school trip or commuter trip in the morning, as it leaves me free during the day for charter work and other aspects with running the business.”

“I suspect there may be a shortage of bus drivers for the start of July in Wellington,” he says, “a month after the Hutt contracts start.

"I may look at that, or increasing the availability of my short tours, generally geared up for the 60s up age group that have a bit of time to travel, see new places of interest and do not want to drive.”

- Gail Abel and Terry Webb, MIRO

Hey Hutt Valley, a better bus network is on its way.

From Sunday 17 June 2018, we’ve got some changes coming for your school and public bus services, including timetables and routes.

If you have a Snapper card, you’ll be able to transfer between all Metlink buses anywhere in the Hutt Valley within 30 minutes at no extra cost.

Metlink lime and yellow buses are also on their way, but not all at once, so it’s important that you check the number and destination of the bus – rather than the colour.

To find out what these changes mean for you, visit metlink.org.nz/huttvalley or call us on 0800 801 700

As we get busy improving our region’s public transport network, please keep an eye out for further important changes that are coming your way from Sunday 15 July 2018.

Local bowlers in team of the year double

The Eastbourne men’s interclub bowls team been crowned Team of the Year at the Hutt Valley Sports Awards for the second consecutive year.

Eastbourne won the award last year for claiming the National Interclub Championship two years in a row and also winning the Wellington premier interclub title in back-toback seasons.

In March Eastbourne became the first club to win the National title three years in a row and was again honoured for the best performance by a Hutt Valley team in the year covered by the awards.

The Eastbourne team of Scott Roddick, Jim Madden, Jamie Hill, Justin Goodwin, Phil Skoglund Jnr., Gary Lawson, Mark Solomon and Mike Carroll is also nominated again for the Wellington Team of the Year award, to be presented on June 20.

Roddick and Madden recently reached the final of the Wellington Champion of Champion pairs but finished runners up for the second consecutive year.

The Eastbourne pair, hardened by competition in the National Interclub Championship, easily qualified from section play and made their way to the final with post-section wins over Upper Hutt, Naenae, Island Bay and Hutt.

Kidztalk

Welcome back in term 2

Their run was ended in the final by the Victoria pair Tim Toomey and Bradley Down. Roddick and Madden jumped to an early

and were still ahead, 8-7, after 12 ends. But a series of bad ends in which they conceded five, four and six shots, gave Victoria a handy lead and they went on to win 24-9.

WELCOME TO DAYS BAY PLAYCENTRE

We are pleased to announce that due to popular demand we have continued with our Tuesday sessions in term 2, but extended it to our regular session times. All welcome to visit for some or all of the session, have a cuppa while the children play.

At Days Bay Playcentre your children's needs come first, some people arrive late, some leave early, we all understand that young children need naps and sometimes have bad days. We work together to support each other during these times.

We're looking forward to Matariki next month, with the children helping us plan our new planting in the garden and celebration of changing seasons. Of course the autumn weather hasn't cramped our style, we've still been busy in the sandpit and riding bikes on the courts.

Sessions are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 9am to 12noon. Feel free to pop in for a free visit.

Phone Andrea 02102797311 for more information.

Aurelia Neal at the painting easel.

The team is awarded the team of the year cup by All Blacks coach, Steve Hansen. lead

Eastbourneites

feature in Futsal rep team

Four Eastbourne players have been named in the Capital Under-16 Futsal team which will compete at the Youth National Futsal Championships in July.

Macey Caughley, Eleanor Humphrey and Ariana Gray have all been selected from Hutt Valley High School while Nea Blackham, who attends Wa Ora Montessori school, plays with those players in the Hutt Valley High girls’ first XI.

The team was selected after recent trials to compete at the National Championships at Palmerston North from July 13 to 15.

Precious win for 7th graders

Jac Hayes scored with two minutes left in the final to lift the Eastbourne seventh grade football team to its first-ever win in a recent Hutt Valley mid-season tournament.

With the final against the Petone Settlers locked at 2-2 and time running out, Seb Bodden produced a shot which ricocheted from the crossbar. Jac Hayes was on hand to hammer the rebound home and to clinch Eastbourne’s ground-breaking win.

Hayes was also instrumental in a tense semifinal win over Karori, scoring with a powerful shot with time almost up on the clock. All seven members of the team are pupils at Muritai School.

Sam Cathie and Noah Delaney were superb in defence throughout the tournament, shutting down any attacking threat. The mid-field featured Charlie Halford, Hannah Park and Alfie Clench, who created scoring chances for Jac Hayes and Seb Bodden in all five games.

Rugby team on the brink of success

by Steve McMorran

The Eastbourne senior rugby team will go into this weekend’s Old Timers’ Day within touching distance of first place in the Wellington 85kg division, only two points behind league leaders Upper Hutt.

Eastbourne has lost only once in five games this season - narrowly, to third-placed Avalon - and will play Wellington at home on Old Timers’ Day, a chance to strut their stuff in front of their biggest and most supportive crowd of the season.

Coach Barry Luke is pleased with the way his team is progressing.

The 15-6 loss to Avalon was a minor blip on an otherwise unblemished record: Eastbourne led 6-0 early, Avalon drew level with two penalties then snatched the win with a late try.

Otherwise, Eastbourne has shown strength both in attack and defence in its matches, scoring 148 points and conceding only 49 for the best points differential in the competition.

“Generally, we’re going along pretty well,” Luke said. “At this stage we’re still sorting out combinations to some extent and we’re learning something from every game.

“The players are taking a lot of responsibility and self-managing themselves. There are quite a few experienced guys in the squad with different

ideas on how we should approach things. They have a lot to contribute.

“We have a core way of playing but we change the odd thing according to the opposition.”

Luke is particularly happy with Eastbourne’s defensive commitment this season. The 49 points they have conceded gives them the second-best defensive record in the division.

“The strengths are really coming through there,” Luke said. “The defensive line has been really good.

“To my mind, when Avalon beat us they were going near-on max-out.

They were playing as well as they could.

“We take confidence from that, that we can compete with anyone in the grade. On the whole the team is looking good and there’s a good feeling through the whole team and through the club. It’s very positive.

“We were away to Wests last weekend (for a 20-13 win) and the guys are all looking forward to being at home for Old Timers’ Day this weekend and playing in front of a big crowd.

“After that we’re got a long strip up to Paraparaumu and then we’re heading into the second half of the season in a good place.”

Faith in the Community

Saints Alive!

Now there’s a quaint old exclamation I came across the other day. And of course, there are three Saints names listed below – Alban, Ronan and Anthony. But they’re well and truly dead! In fact, the dictionary says, “A saint is someone who has died and has been officially recognised by the Christian church because his or her life was a perfect example of the way Christians should live.” And in a way that’s reflected in the common usage. If you say, “She’s a saint to put up with me” you probably mean she is extremely kind, patient and unselfish.

However, the word actually means “set apart”, and comes mainly from the letters of Paul in the New Testament. The strange thing is he never uses it to refer to a single person and he doesn’t use a capital “S”. For him “the saints” is his way of referring to those in any place, who have given their allegiance to Jesus. It certainly doesn’t mean they are ‘set apart’ because they are especially good but rather that they have a job to do. And the job is to testify, by the way they live, that the one they follow reveals not a wrathful, judgemental God but a God of justice and compassion. So look for the many ways the saints in these churches below are living up to their calling.

St Alban’s: Men’s group meets first Mondays at 6pm at Spices for a drink and/or a bite. Next is 4 June.

Women’s Group meets third Mondays at 10am at the Hive. Next is 18 June St Ronan’s: Taizé by candlelight on 3 June at 6.30pm (Taizé is 1st Sunday each winter month).

San Antonio: Family mass on 9 June, celebrant Monsignor Charles Cooper.

Things looking up for footballers

by Steve McMorran

It may not look it at first glance but Eastbourne’s senior football team has experienced a significant form upswing this season, just as the club’s 50th jubilee celebrations come into view. While Eastbourne is at the bottom of the Capital 3 division, recent results suggest it won’t stay there for long.

Eastbourne recently beat Kapiti Coast United 3-2 for its first win of the season and lost 2-1 to the Island Bay Seagulls, a team currently in fourth place in the division.Even a 6-2 loss to scondplaced Upper Hutt City had merit.

Eastbourne was only a goal behind going into the last 20 minutes before Upper Hutt put the game beyond its reach.

First-time coach James Cox is happy with the way the team is tracking. Cox became coach after suffering a serious injury in the first match of the season. He had previously been involved in tactical decision-making within the team and took on the coaching role while sidelined with injury.

Cox hopes to return as a player this weeked for Eastbourne’s crucial clash with top-to-thetable Brooklyn Northern United, the reserve team on one of Wellington football’s larger clubs. Brooklyn has won five of its seven matches so far this season and leads the league with 25 goals but Cox is confident Eastbourne will be competitive. If Eastbourne can get a good result against the first-placed team, it faces a series of matches against opponents closer to it on the table and has a chance of significantly improving its standing as the second half of the season approaches.

Cox says the young Eastbourne players are enjoying themselves despite their current standing on the table and “are just stoked to be playing football.”

“We came together quite late on in the season and we’re still just figuring things out, finding our feet and getting combinations together,” Cox said.

“We sort of have two lots of players - guys who have played together quite a bit and guys who are a bit new to the team so we’re just working on coming together as a team and that’s going really well.”

Cox said the players were motivated to join together this year to ensure Eastbourne has a senior team in its jubilee year. Now it hopes to be able to show its true form as the jubilee weekened of June 30 approaches.

He hopes this weekend’s match against Brooklyn will allow the team to show some of its real ability.

“I think we have a feeling that we can beat anyone on our day and even against a team like Brooklyn we don’t see it as being out of our reach.

“Of course, it could go really badly - that’s always a possibility. But we don’t look at it like that. We’re focused on playing our own style regardless of who we play. We’re quite a small team and we move the ball around a lot and that’s how we’ll try to play it.

“In many of our games we’ve either conceded a goal early or at crucial times, like just before halftime. If we can shore things up at the back we’re in with a chance.

“At the other end we’re creating a lot of chances and not taking them. But that will come with time. The team mentality is to take chances when they are there but also to look for a better option and to spot a player who might be in a better position. That takes time but it’s coming along.”

Eastbourne Herald June deadlines

Booking: Wed June 13

Copy: Thurs June 14

Deliveries: June 22/23

editor@eastbourneherald.co.nz

562 7500

We’re stocked up with our natural, effective home treatments for nits.

This column of church news and views is sponsored by St Alban’s Anglican, St Ronan’s Presbyterian and San Antonio Catholic Churches.

Cash for scrap - Copper, Brass, Aluminium, Stainless, Cars, Whiteware, Steel. Ingot Metals, 2 Port Road, Seaview. Ph 568 8300.

ORGANIC GARDENER: BSc (ecology) beautiful gardens…naturally ph 562 8726 or txt 027 6939 323.

GARDEN WORKER for all weeding, tidying and garden maintenance contact Hamish on 022 3748453.

Lawn Mowing and all Lawn Care phone Dan Reed 027 3371360.

SONNY’S YOGA - EASTBOURNE CLASSESEnjoy a relaxing yoga class near the ocean. Every Wednesday 6.30pm at Muritai Yacht Club. Beginners welcome. For more info call Sonny on 021 800 512.

Guthrie Cottage - beautiful self-contained beach-front accommodation. Perfect for excess visitors or enjoy all of the comforts of home while you renovate. www.guthriecottage. co.nz - email: gceastbourne@gmail.com

Eastbourne Toy Library 20th Birthday Celebrations. Save the Date: Saturday 7 July 2-4pm, St Ronan's Church Hall. https://www. facebook.com/EastbourneToyLibrary/ for details. Invitations extend to anyone who has been involved with Toy Library. Email kathyclaridge@yahoo.com or call 0273551950 with photos, stories or guest-list suggestions.

BOOMERANG BAGS: Remember, bring your bag back to the bins provided in Eastbourne Village. Each bag takes approximately 1hour's worth of work by a volunteer. The bags are for everyone's convenience, so use and return.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

Classified ads cost 40c per word. Email copy to: editor@eastbourneherald.co.nz or phone 562 7500

Editor: Louise Goble

Stories: Carl McRae

Sports: Steve McMorran

Advertising enquires: editor@eastbourneherald.co.nz

562 7500

Email: editor@eastbourneherald.co.nz

Phone:

562 7500

Website: www.eastbourneherald.co.nz

Church

Services In Eastbourne

St Alban’s Anglican:

Sunday Worship 10am at Wellesley College. Thursday

Worship 10am - check venue with Parish office, 11 Ngaio St, Eastbourne tel: 562 6269

Children and Families Ministry: see www.stalbanschurch.nz

St Ronan’s Presbyterian: Muritai Rd, Eastbourne

tel: Parish Clerk 562 8753

Sunday Morning Worship: 9.30am. Power Hour: 9.30am

San Antonio Roman Catholic: Oroua St, Eastbourne

tel: Fr Marlon Maylon Parish Priest 970 8405

Saturday Vigil Mass: 5.30pm

Sunday (Sacred Heart, Petone): 9.30am & 5.30pm

Weed Control - Mākaro/Ward Island

Rope Access Weed Control operations will be conducted on Mākaro/WardIsland during May (and possibly June) 2018. The main targets are boxthorn and boneseed. The island will remain open to the public. Herbicide in use. Danger of falling debris. Keep well clear of all cliffs and steep slopes. Keep away from all equipment. Supervise children at all times. Personnel will be staying on the island overnight.

BEST VALUE IN EASTBOURNE

If you are looking to downsize but still want a courtyard garden, and need single level, ground floor, there arent many options in Eastbourne for under $500k, & what a beauty this is, with sun streaming into the living room and garden, and the harbour and promenade walk at the end of the street, you can feel like you are on holiday, every day. Beautiful polished timber floors in the living spaces, and a smart kitchen.

14C Miro Street, Eastbourne Buyer Enquiry From $395,000

REF: THV02054