Full steam ahead as funding secured for entire Tupua Horo Nuku path
Eighty Million dollars of funding has been confirmed for Tupua Horo Nuku. Hutt City Mayor Campbell Barry made the announcement at last week's Eastbourne Community Board meeting. The plan to build the Eastern Bays shared path – Tupua Horo Nuku – was in doubt following an increase in the cost of the project, which ballooned from $30m to $79m once construction of the path began last year. Hutt City Council agreed to increase its contribution from $7.5m to $25.5m, Central Government committed $15m, with Waka Kotahi contributing $7.5m. There was still a gap of $31m needed.
The council initially costed the project at $30 million with funding coming from the council, Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency) and Crown Infrastructure Partners.
After work began, however, it became clear that it would be more difficult to build than first estimated. With construction costs rising rapidly, the bill is now estimated at $79m.
"We've secured the money from Waka Kotahi and partners for the entirety of the Bays. If we hadn't been able to secure that, with the change of Government there could Continues Page 2
Santa and his helper took time out on Sunday, as preparations for Christmas ramp up.
A question of equity
Local swimmers are rallying against the city council’s decision to trim the season for the Eastbourne Summer Pool, saying it is unfair and inequitable.
Representing the Pool Action Group, John McKinnon told the Eastbourne Community Board a petition calling for the pool season to match that of the city’s other outdoor pools had been signed by 400 people without even trying. Emphasising the historical significance of the pool, he said it was a vital asset used by many in the community.
The council’s decision for the upcoming 2023/24 season had already been made, but Mr McKinnon called for a reconsideration of ongoing season lengths. Mayor Campbell Barry mentioned that the idea of community involvement in operating the pool had been raised.
“There are a lot of very capable people in Eastbourne and Bays who could get involved in the operation of the pool. We’re quite open to that and it’s something we should explore, but I understood there was no desire for that by the community; they wanted council to operate it fully.”
Mr McKinnon says the group’s stance is not a rigid ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to community operation but a call for a broader conversation around fairness and equity.
The battle for a longer pool season became a symbol of a larger struggle – a community standing up for its rights, challenging the status quo, and seeking a more democratic and equitable relationship with the council.
“We have a lot to thank the council for, but I don’t agree with the principle of who they are going to cut.”
Addressing the meeting, Mayor Barry said the council’s decisions for its Long Term Plan were going to be tough.
“ It’s the most challenging Long Term Plan I’ve ever had to personally grapple with. There are pressures on infrastructure, uncertainty around water reform, and rising costs. The message is that we are going to have to make some really tough calls around what we do and what we don't do.
“It’s a fair point around equity but ... we are staring down the barrel of whether we have to cut services to stop raising rates.”
New venue for Christmas carols
From Page 1
The event will be in St Ronan’s Church, 234 Muritai Rd, on Sunday, December 10. The usual venue, Muritai School Hall, is currently a construction site. The event will include many of the successful elements from last year’s gathering – a telling of the nativity story, a live band to accompany the singing of favourite carols, a collection of non-perishable food for the Lower Hutt Foodbank and Santa arriving by fire engine bringing ice blocks for the children.
Sunshine
From Page 1
Children are welcome to come dressed as their favourite nativity character – a shepherd, an angel, a wise person, a stable animal – or anything else they fancy! The local children’s drama group Speak Again will tell the Christmas story, and children and others young at heart will be invited to take part in a simple yet dramatic activity.
It is hoped other local groups, including Sing Eastbourne and the Muritai School Kapa Haka rōpū, will be part of the event.
Bay work ramps up
have been some uncertainty," the Mayor said.
Project manager Michael Siazon said work continues in Sunshine Bay on breaking existing seawalls. Trenching for the new section of wastewater main was to happen
mid-November, but revetment, or construction of the new foundations for the Sunshine Bay seawall, will have to wait until 2024 to protect nesting penguins. Penguins will be relocated in March.
The official opening of Mā-Koromiko section is on November 19. (See Pg 11)
What's Happening Hair!?
Anne Mackris-Berdebes
November 'round hair!
When I think of 'effortless hair' I think of Meg Ryan and her iconic shaggy bob It gives a feel like she's run her hands through her hair and here she is type look, a look that really can just be that! This is what I love about this style, with the right cut, you really can just run your hands through your hair, pop some hair spray in and away you go!
Started as the 'Bedhead Bob' this trend has moved further than just the girls with short hair, and now the likes of Margot Robbie are bringing this look into her day-to-day The Bedhead Bob brings tousled to chic chop, and shaggy to layered, introducing a sexy new twist on the blunt bob
So who does this look suit best? Of course I suggest you come to see me with your ideas and thoughts which we can chat trough prior to getting the chop It suits many hair types, but most naturally will work best on hair with a natural wave or some texture so the layers can be strategically added in, in order to make your hair look choppy and fashionably rumpled without actually having to rumple! Similarly, thicker hair will be the easiest to rock this look because I will be removing weight from the under layers of your hair, while adding texture to the surface layers For finer hair, we will only be adding surface layer texture, keeping layers longer and maximising the weight in the hair For medium hair, we have to strike a fine balance between the two, building invisible layers throughout the under side of the hair and keeping the theme of adding texture to the surface layers of the hair
Now that we've created the look, what do you need at home to maintain it? This messy choppy look needs one product most importantly, after you've washed your hair, all you need is a texturising cream A cream which gives you a bit of grit and creates a 'piecey' look that separates strands and gives your hair a healthy shine!
Summer is forecast to be dry and windy. Check fire conditions and bans before lighting a fire. Fires are prohibited south of Burdan’s Gate. Photo: 1985. Thanks to the Historical Society of Eastbourne.
Eastbourne Awards
Congratulations to Ginny Horrocks, Allison Gandy, Sue Fields and Daisy Yan, who were awarded “Eastbournes” for service by Mayor Campbell Barry at the October Community Board meeting. You can read the citations and information about previous recipients at Eastbourne.nz.
Community Engagement Fund
The successful applicants for the 2023/24 round of funding were:
• Days Bay Residents’ Assn (swimming raft)
• Historical Society of Eastbourne (framing)
• Nourish (hampers)
• MIRO (shelving).
The next funding round will be in October 2024.
Have your say on the District Plan
You can give feedback on Council’s draft District Plan until 15 December by completing a survey or sending a submission. More at huttcity.govt.nz.
Tupua Horo Nuku
Like many residents, we look forward to the opening of the Mā-Koromiko Windy Point section of the shared path on Sunday 19 November.
Eastbourne drivers will have to put up with two sets of traffic lights/stop-go signs for the foreseeable future, as the Tupua Horo Nuku shared path project rolls forward.
Michael Siazon, Tupua Horo Nuku project manager told the Eastbourne Community Board meeting that a “soft opening” of Mā Koromiko/Windy Point section on 19 November would mark the completion of main works, with finishing touches still taking place.
Lizards found on the grassy verge at the southern end of the section were to be moved to Camp Bay, once DOC granted a wildlife permit. This had been delayed.
Mr Siazon was pleased that the ripples carved into the bottom, curved part of the seawall were doing their job and attracting micro-algae.
Existing Sunshine Bay seawalls were being broken in anticipation of trenching for a new watermain, but the area in front of Sunshine Bay Service Station would wait until penguin nesting season was over and relocation of the birds could take place in March next year.
A lane closure was likely, as a precaution against the risk of road collapse due to the edge being so close to the water.
Once Mā-Koromiko/Windy Point work was packed up, path construction will continue through York Bay. Management plans were nearly completed, and precast concrete foundations were nearly ready.
Plans for most complicated part of the project, through Lowry Bay, were under peer review in consultation with Eastbourne EHEA, mana whenua, the residents’ association and the penguin group.
Future proofing the seawall against sea level rise - by adding another wall on top to prevent waves overtopping the road - was also under consideration.
Discussions with CentrePort about the Point Howard Wharf works are ongoing, with coordination needed in programming of works in Point Howard.
A final decision on the path’s direction through Whiorau Reserve had been made, following concerns the existing design took path users close to nesting penguins.
As part of bird protection, there would be changes to the dog control bylaw for HW Shortt and Bishop Parks. In Bishop Park, this would see the fenced bird protection area span the length of Bishop Park, as originally indicated. This has proved to be contentious, and Natasha Garcia, Transport Project Manager, said the council was working hard on an engagement plan to allow enough time for community views and consultations. This was going to council's Policy, Finance and Strategy Committee on November 21, with consultation taking place in February 2024. A further bird protection zone off Port Road was being investigated, in consultation with Mana Whenua.
Lower Hutt’s District Plan has received its first top-to-bottom overhaul in almost 20 years and Hutt City Council wants to hear from the community about whether it’s on track.
The District Plan is a rulebook for land use and development that sets the direction for future growth.
Feedback on the draft is open until 15 December and will be incorporated into a Proposed District Plan to be released for statutory consultation next year.
It's legally mandated for councils to routinely review their district plans, ensuring alignment with national directives on a spectrum of issues, including environmental hazards and urban intensification.
District Plan Review Committee Chair
Brady Dyer said the District Plan was a key document for everything from managing the risks of natural hazards and protecting the environment, through to making room for population and business growth.
"Regular updates including the recent Plan Change 56 have kept parts of the District Plan current, but this consultation on the full review is our proactive effort to engage the community extensively. This will shape the plan before the structured RMA consultation dictates the process next year," he said.
Factsheets are available at hutt.city/ DPreview explaining the key topics and changes. A survey at hutt.city/DPsurvey lets you select topics to comment on, with questions about specific proposed changes and
Kidztalk
Many of you will be aware of the slip in Point Howard significantly impacting residents as well as Playcentre Access. We are taking it week by week at the moment, coming up with lots of creative ideas for our sessions.
We have been walking up the bush track to get to our centre, visiting Days Bay Playcentre, doing park trips, going to Te Papa and playing in the Eastbourne Community Hall.
If you want to join us on our adventures, contact Donna on 0272806735. We get together from 9:15-11:45 on Mon, Wed and Fri.
Our normal location is 1A Ngaumatau Rd, but for now just contact Donna to be added to the WhatsApp group.
the option to comment in detail.
You can also see the full Draft District Plan at https://huttcity.isoplan.co.nz/review and submit more detailed feedback via email at district.plan@huttcity.govt.nz
*We'll be diving into the District Plan to see what it will mean for the Eastern Bays in next month's Herald
Eastbourne Goju-Kai Dojo has been teaching martial arts to local families for 25 years. In that time we’ve trained more than 200 teens, men, women and children. Come check our training for parents and children (over 9 years old) Mondays and Thursdays from 6 to 7pm
Phone Lindsay Johnson 021 844 873
News from our local playcentres PROUDLY
NEWS FROM POINT HOWARD PLAYCENTRE
Above: Point Howard Playcentre children exploring the spinning ball in Te Papa's main entrance. Right: enjoying the large play space at Point Howard Playcentre.
Providing essential service wins Eastbourne award
by Ann Packer
Daisy Yan finds it hard to believe she has been part of this community for 25 years.
One of this year’s four recipients of an Eastbourne Award, the Lower Hutt-resident pharmacist, who bought Sheila Tait’s business in 1998, was surprised to be the recipient of an award she thinks more appropriate for “people who do great things for the community, like firefighters or people who rescue kiwi in the hills”.
However, if there was any doubt about the essential nature of Daisy’s business and her value to the community, Covid confirmed the importance of what the pharmacy offers. The suddenness of lockdown, when even the definition of who could stay open was up in the air, saw Rimu St go so quiet she was the only one there.
wave, and wait for her wave in return.
As the disease spread, and deaths and hospitalisations increased, she worried about the possibility of burglary, with so few people out and about. She contacted police, who stepped up patrols.
“I was reassured,” she smiles, recalling the way a patrol car would drive past, slowing to
Born in Hong Kong, Daisy came here with her parents and brother in the seventies, as a seven-year-old, with no English. The memory of hiding in the cloakroom at Clyde Quay School, crying, still brings tears to her eyes – but she found a friend who also spoke Cantonese and that friendship carried her through.
After Wellington East Girls’ College, she
How should we manage natural hazard risks in the Eastern Bays?
The Eastern Bays are vulnerable to the risks of tsunami, storms and rising sea levels. In our draft District Plan, we’re proposing stronger requirements for new housing and commercial developments in these areas to show their design and location is suited to the hazard risks, and we want to hear your thoughts.
Feedback is open until 15 December and will feed into a proposed plan for further consultation in 2024.
Check out hutt.city/dpreview or visit any Council neighbourhood hub.
entered one of the last pharmacy intakes at CIT in Upper Hutt, under former Eastbourne man Don Griffin. She interned in Upper Hutt then worked in Island Bay before heading overseas. On her return, she worked in Naenae before coming to Eastbourne.
When the premises she inherited needed earthquake strengthening, possibly for an indefinite period, she took up the lease of premises on the other side of Rimu St, left vacant by Bayleys Real Estate.
Daisy says there’s currently a huge shortage of pharmacists. Otago and Auckland universities are the only two with pharmacy schools now operating, and the situation was made worse by the fact that AU did not even fill its available quota this year.
She hopes the incoming government will not reverse the decision to waiver prescription fees – there are certainly Eastbourne residents who need multiple prescriptions, though she says some locals did not even know the fees had been removed.
When it comes to returning unused medication, collected by a DHB service before being incinerated – “yes, such a waste but we can’t guarantee storage once they leave our premises” – there are a few funny stories associated with boxes returned to the pharmacy, including a set of dentures and jewellery, safely stored, fortunately, with the owner’s meds in a named box, so successfully returned.
Daisy’s choice to always wear a mask is a personal one – and a measure of her commitment to this community.
“If I were to get Covid it would be very difficult to get backup”, as it has to be a registered pharmacist.
The mother of Alexander, who has just finished his degree in biomedical engineering, says
“I love being in this community, and I’m humbled to receive this award. I’m very grateful to the community for their support.”
This year's Eastbourne Awards recipients: Ginny Horrocks, Daisy Yan, Allison Gandy and Sue Fieldes., with Mayor Campbell Barry. Photo: Phil Benge.
The point of no return for 85 bus Park plan now more modest
Despite commuters calling for it, Metlink will not reinstate the popular 85 express bus, describing it as an “unwise use of limited funds and resources”, Greater Wellington Regional Councillor Quentin Duthie told the Eastbourne Community Board meeting.
“I’m wearing a Metlink tee shirt because I love Metlink and public transport and I will love it ‘til the day I die, but I don’t love every aspect of it,” he said.
“My feedback to Metlink is that they should be standing here saying this, not me. This should be a [regional] council decision.”
Metlink said the 81 service, which unlike the 85 goes through Petone rather than right along the Esplanade, only added five minutes to the shift, and resulted in drivers having to work split shifts, where they worked in the morning, had time off in the middle of the day, and then worked again in the afternoon/evening.
Cancellations on bus routes had reduced
and punctuality increased, making public transport cost effective and reliable, Mr Duthie said, adding that “finally” bus drivers had received back pay for their wage increase.
Bus and ferry patronage were both higher than pre-Covid levels, with trains almost the same, although affected by people working from home.
Bike racks would be installed on buses performing train replacement services, and Mr Duthie had raised the issue of fast-moving buses on the motorway posing a danger to standing school students in the afternoons.
Echoing Hutt City Mayor Campbell Barry’s comment that this year’s Long Term Plan would be “tough”, Mr Duthie was questioned by Hutt City Councillor Tui Lewis over whether staff cuts would be considered at GWRC in order to save money.
“I can’t say, but everything is being looked at,” Mr Duthie said.
Emergency hubs change tack
The face of local civil defence has changed – and not in name only.
Wellington Regional Emergency Management Office (WREMO) resilience and recovery advisor reiterated the need for community’s to help themselves following a disaster at last month’s Eastbourne Community Board meeting.
Now called Community Emergency Hubs, the old civil defence sites no longer hold supplies of food, water and blankets. Mr North said when the stores were opened, often food was past its use-by date, water had gone off, and blankets were moth-eaten. Modern best practice means the hubs are a meeting point for local residents, once initial checks on their families and neighbours have been carried out. Decision on which resources are required, who has them, and how they will be delivered can be made there. Each will contain a VHF, used
to contact the Emergency Operations Centre above the Crooked Elm pub opposite the council building in Lower Hutt.
Community hubs are located at Point Howard Playcentre, Wellesley College and Muritai School.
A practice event is being planned for next year, with some discussion over reinstating the Eastbourne Games as a platform for it.
“We want to get a response practice at Point Howard, which had a brilliant response earlier this year when the road was cut off.”
With the possibility of being cut off both ways during an emergency, Lowry Bay has asked to have its own hub. Mr North said he is inviting the Lowry Bay community to see what they could achieve with this, and “what it is and what it isn’t”.
It’s been a case of back to the drawing board for HCC as the draft Williams Bay plan has been cut back to fit budget constraints.
HCC horticulture and cemeteries asset manager Justin Arthur told the ECB meeting the original concept plan was $1.3m but only $470,00 was available. The new plan was being peer reviewed and “double checked”. With rising costs, “we want to be confident we can lock in the maximum we will pay for the project”.
Pedestrian safety, storm water management and improving the grassed barbeque area were key focus areas of the new plan, with an option to apply for more funding in future years for improvements to adjacent park with grass tennis courts.
ECB member Emily Keddell questioned the decision to start work this summer, Days Bay’s busiest time. Mr Arthur said the physical works would start late January-early February when people would be back and work, and within the current financial year.
Meanwhile, a temporary barricade will be installed to stop cars parking in the barbeque area, before a permanent fence is built.
The one-way traffic system will be installed: Cars will enter Williams Park on Marine Drive and exit onto Kereru Road.
The bus shelter by Days Bay Wharf is to be upgraded to provide better protection from the weather.
Florence McFarlane – lucky to be alive
by Ann Packer
She could call her memoir “Lucky to be alive”.
Florence McFarlane’s 150-page book, to be launched at Eastbourne Library at 5.30pm on 1 December, is so laden with life-threatening incidents you’d wonder how the retired dance and drama teacher survived to her eighties.
She’s called her collection of stories: And Then I’ll Be Nine – by which age there had already been at least three attempts on her life, two by her father and one, not so deliberate but equally endangering, by her mother, Rachel. The mum had been beaten by her husband so often that by the time she hung her only child over the third-storey railings of their Lower Hutt flat by her wrists, she was past knowing what she was doing, her daughter thinks.
A series of “collections” of stories, Florence says she felt compelled to “slide in” some of the funnier incidents in her life for light relief, after realising how much tragedy it documents. “There’s a lot of comedy in here,” says the Butterfly Creek actor, who cannot resist hamming it up, even when it concerns her own childhood.
Growing up as a member of Lower Hutt’s Commonwealth Covenant Church – a local outpost of the British Israelites cult, which claims direct descent from the ten tribes of Israel – Florence says she was already speaking in tongues as a six-year-old when she accompanied her mother to the mission field in Karmala, inland from Pune in India, where they lived until she was nine. In spite of the bad times, she fell in love with India and has since been back many times.
Returning to the Hutt, aged nine, she fell in love with the local greengrocer – his was the only Indian face around.
An Eastbourne resident since she and John McFarlane, who died in 2018, moved here with their young family, Florence began
penning her memoir 18 months ago, deciding enough time had passed that anyone who might recognize themselves had probably passed on. Her friend James Brennan, who laid out the text, encouraged her to add more photos and edited the collection for length.
Blessed with total recall about her Indian years – “turn off the light and the movie starts playing, it’s the only part of my life that behaves this way” – memories of her earlier life are more intermittent.
She has suffered from spinal meningitis, double pneumonia and bronchitis, but jokes the prayer list was so long they didn’t often get to her name.
A particularly poignant chapter is “Oh No, Teddy”, about her only toy on the mission field, one that was especially important “in my
world of new rules every day”. A sick friend of the family fell in love with it and it was given to him, ignoring the child’s attachment to it. Unfortunately, when the person died, she was told “Teddy went to heaven too” and her last memory was of the toy going into the coffin with him.
Amazingly, Florence survived this arduous childhood and went on to Hutt Valley High School, though Teachers’ College proved a step too far – her mother, solo by then, was running a home full of foster children and the thought of kids all day at her workplace as well was too much to contemplate. Florence started work at the Post Office, where she met one John McFarlane…
Lucky To Be Alive is available for sale at Artisan Co-op, 8 Rimu St, Eastbourne.
Then and now: As a child in India and insert, now.
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.
• “Baby Bounce & Rhyme” at the library 10.00am.
• Toy Library - Two Monday Sessions at 1.302.30pm and 7.30-8.30pm.
EastbourneToyLibrary on Facebook. Kathy 0273551950
• DB Playcentre Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, from 9:15 to 12 noon, Drop in anytime to visit a session or call James on 022 043 7841 to arrange a visit.
• DB Playcentre Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, from 9:15 to 12 noon, Drop in anytime to visit a session or call James on 022 043 7841 to arrange a visit.
• 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.
• 9.30am Nia Dance Fitness Class (low impactteens to 70+) Music Movement Magic - Muritai Yacht Club - call Amanda 021 316692 www. niainwellington.com
• DB Playcentre Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, from 9:15 to 12 noon, Drop in anytime to visit a session or call James on 022 043 7841 to arrange a visit.
• “Steady as You Go” Age Concern sponsored Falls Prevention and Exercise Programme. Held 12 noon each Wednesday at Eastbourne
WHAT'S ON
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!
• 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, 9.15am-11.15am, during school terms. Contact Cathy 027 213 9342.
• SPACE at Days Bay Playcentre. Michelle 971 8598.
•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.
• AA Plunket Rooms 7.30pm. Mark 566 6444/ Pauline 562 7833
• DB Playcentre 9.15-12 noon Puddle Jumpers casual ‘drop-in’ session.$5 per child per session. Call James on 022 043 7841
Saturdays
• Justice of the Peace at the Eastbourne Community Library, first Saturday of each month 12pm-1pm.
• Croquet from 10am Muritai Croquet Club. Lyn 562 8722 or Val 562 8181.
• Lions' Bin - cost effective rubbish and e-waste disposal. Last Saturday of the month (except December) by Bus Barns. Gavin 027 488 5602.
Sundays
• AA Plunket Rooms 10am. Karen 021 440 705.
• Mindful Mummas group for Mums and preschool children. Childminder onsite. 1011.30. Text Emily 027 552 6119 to join or go to bemoreyou.co.nz for more info.
BRIEFS
A vegetation fire last Friday night appears to be the result of fireworks falling over, rather than arson. The call out came at 9.15pm and three trucks and three tankers attended the fire from the Eastbourne, Wainuiomata Bush and Seaview brigades, with the last truck leaving at 10.45pm. Police attended on request of FENZ, but because it was an accidental fire, no action was taken.
St Alban’s Parish has just announced the appointment of its new Priest-in-Charge. She is Sue Brown, currently Minister at Ngaio Union Church, which she has led for five years. Sue previously had a long career in corporate law and financial services regulation in New Zealand, Australia and the UK where she grew up. Sue and her husband Geoff are already Eastbourne residents. It is expected Sue will commence at St Alban’s in late February next year.
After years of waiting, it looks like the historic Eastbourne Police cells will finally be relocated from their “temporary” storage location at Williams Park, to adjacent to Rona Bay Wharf. Hutt City Councils Horticulture and Cemeteries manager Justin Arthur said previous heritage assessments had suggested it was “not the best idea to relocate to Rona Wharf, but the previous council said they would”. “They full endorsed it, full stop,” responded Eastbourne Community Board member Murray Gibbons, has been the driving force behind the cells’ refurbishment and relocation.
Locals are being urged to check their emergency water supplies and change any that are getting manky, with the looming El Niño weather patter approaching. El Niño is predicted to bring windy, hot and dry conditions to the Wellington region, and the Wellington Regional Emergency Management Office is urging people to be prepared for possible further water restrictions that may invoke the need for people to use water reserves.
Start saving up for next month’s Eastbourne Lions Market on Sunday, December 17, 10am3pm at Muritai School, wet or fine.
The Days Bay duck pond recently turned blue. An organic chemical that suppresses algae growth was applied to ponds at Williams Park, Avalon Park and Percy Scenic Reserve. The dye was safe to flora and fauna, and humans, and was administered by professionals.
St Alban's’ Knitwits meet monthly and knit for charity – including this cuddly lineup of dolls by Heather Molloy which have gone to the City Mission Toy Shop.
Beyond beach cleanups – collecting litter data
by Ann Packer
It’s one thing to clean up our beaches regularly. But far better, surely, to take a look at what’s in the collected waste, and work out how to prevent it going into our waterways and harbour in the first place.
Based on the belief that we cannot improve what we do not measure, Litter Intelligence is a nationwide beach cleanup, education and litter data collection programme, led by the Sustainable Coastlines charity.
Funded by the Ministry for the Environment, they also work closely with DoC and Statistics
New Zealand.
Hutt City Council has contracted the organisation to collect data monthly –previously three-monthly – at a couple of sites in Eastbourne and two on Petone beach, among others in the region.
“We’ve upped the frequency to get more data,” says Olivia Rees, who works with classes throughout the Hutt – some one-off, some once a term but others more frequently.
Muritai School’s area is the beach off the RSA, at the end of Oroua St, while Wellesley College keeps an eye on Days Bay.
Adult community volunteers help with the collection at Hinds Point, near Pencarrow Light.
Upper Hutt-born and bred Olivia, who has a Masters in Conservation Biology and had previously worked in predator control,
says Hinds Point is a good site at which to measure litter flux – what’s circulating round the harbour, as well as what’s coming in through the channel into the harbour – because it’s far enough away from residential areas. A cleanup there, ideally with 15 – 20 volunteers, is planned for late November.
Responsible for Litter Intelligence accross the region and as far north as Gisborne, Olivia has a lot of coastline to look after.
“We could continue to clean up the beaches forever,” she says, “but data helps us to stop the litter at its source so we won’t have to in the long term.” Grateful that she just happened to stumble on this position, which involves community outreach as well as using her ecology and data skills, she says, “I’m trying to do myself out of a job.”
Have your say on council representation
Are you happy with The Eastbourne Community Board, what about Hutt City Council?
Now's the time make your views heard by te independent panel carrying out the review of current representation arrangements
Panel chair Paul Swain said community input into local body representation is critical .
"We want to make sure that Council representation is fair and effective for Lower Hutt residents and communities, so we are reviewing the arrangements that are currently in place to see if they should continue or if they need to be changed for the future."
The panel is looking at things such as how many councillors there should be, whether those councillors should be elected from local wards, from across the whole city, or a combination of both (as at present), and
whether there should be community boards.
In addition to a survey that is being released today, the panel is also meeting with a wide range of community groups and organisations over the coming months to hear first-hand how well they think they are currently represented on Council.
"We will carefully consider all the feedback we receive, along with other information about the city’s communities, before making recommendations to the Council next year about the representation arrangements that should be in place for the 2025 Council elections.
"Your input will help us with our recommendations to Council, so head to the website hutt.city/repreview to have your say now," Mr Swain said.
hutt.city/repreview
MURITAI HOME & SCHOOL FUNDRAISER
OXTED WAREHOUSE SALE
PRODUCTS AT WHOLESALE PRICES
HOMEWARES, GIFTLINES, STATIONERY
CHILDREN’S GAMES AND TOYS
GREAT GIFTS FOR CHRISTMAS (& TEACHERS!)
WED 22 NOVEMBER 2:30-7:00PM
THURS 23 NOVEMBER 2:30-7:00PM FRI 24 NOVEMBER 2:30–6:00PM
Garden Stuff with Sandy Lang SEAWEEDS
Nov/Dec: Late spring, early summer. Warming, drying. Dead seaweed off the beach makes good mulch. Weeds? Weeds are plants in the wrong place. Some seaweeds are weeds. Our native seaweeds are in danger from exotics brought from afar by ships.
Google Caulerpa NZ
Macroalgae: Seaweeds are not weeds but sea plants (macroalgae) that live somewhere along a line from the ‘spray zone’ (just above high tide, never immersed, contacted by saltwater spray and freshwater rain), through the ‘intertidal zone’ (saltwater emersed twice daily, sun-baked, contacted by freshwater rain) into the ‘subtidal zone’ (below low tide, always saltwater immersed). Each of the thousands of seaweed species is adapted to life in a narrow range of these contrasting conditions. Travel the short distance along this line from land to sea and the mix of seaweed species changes continually and abruptly.
Holdfast: So it stays in the right spot on this line, a seaweed anchors itself to a rock with its holdfast (anchor, not root). Held there it thrives, detached it dies. So, many seaweeds on a rocky beach, none except the dead/dying on a sand/gravel beach.
Thallus/bladders: A seaweed’s body (thallus) is tough and flexible, so it bends with the waves. Some have floats so they ‘hang’ upwards, reaching for the light.
Photosynthesis: Like land plants, seaweeds make their own food by photosynthesis – they capture light energy to make sugars. Seaweeds come in one of three colours - green, red or brown.
Chlorophyceae: The green seaweeds contain chlorophyll – this captures blue light (450 nm) and the longer wavelength red light (665 nm) that doesn’t penetrate far in water. So, greens are mostly shallow. Rhodophyceae: The red seaweeds contain phycocyanin and phycoerythrin – these capture the yellow/red light (610–620 nm) and the shorter wavelength green/yellow light (530-570 nm) that penetrates deeper. So, reds are mostly intertidal.
Phaeophyceae: The brown seaweeds contain fucoxanthin which captures the shorter wavelength blue/green light (450-540 nm) that penetrates deeper still. So, browns are mostly down into the subtidal.
PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN BAG
MERI MERI, BURGON & BALL, BORDALLO, ST EVALS CANDLES, HOUSE OF MARBLES TOYS
Ecology: Seaweeds are food for a myriad species including kina. Subtidal kelp forests offer safe refuge for many young fish. If an area is over-fished, the kina’s predators go, the kina proliferate and chomp all the kelp, so there’s no safe place for young fish. Wellington harbour is badly overfished, so its kelp forests are disappearing, so no safe place for young fish, so fewer fish...
slang@xtra.co.nz www.mulchpile.org
Tupua Horo Nuku Mā-koromiko opening
Be one of the first people to walk, cycle or scoot along the new shared path in Mā-koromiko (the bay between Eastbourne and Oruamatoro/Days Bay) on Sunday!
Mā-koromiko is the first bay in the Tupua Horo Nuku project to be completed with a new seawall and shared path.
To mark this achievement, we’re having an opening!
The path will:
• provide a safer route for those walking and cycling in the area
• encourage these active modes of transport which will help reduce traffic congestion and improve health and well-being
• better connect local communities between the bays, as well as join up with other trails in the Hutt City walking and cycling network.
The seawall will improve the resilience of Marine Drive by providing protection against storms and wave surges, as well as coastal erosion.
When: Sunday 19 November
Time: 10am - 12pm
Where: Mā-koromiko (starting with waiata from local school children at the north end of the bay)
For more information about the project, go to hutt.city/tupuahoronuku
LETTERS
Pool Action Group calls for equity
In a report on page two of your October edition you have a brief item entitled “HCC says no to longer swim season” in which Peter Attwell, a member of the Pool Action Group is quoted as asking the HCC to extend the season of the local Eastbourne Pool by a week.
This was never the case. Peter asked that Eastbourne be allocated the same length of season as the other HCC summer pools which, when he made the request amounted to two weeks more. The week after his request was submitted to the HCC by the Community Board the HCC aquatics manager announced that the Wainuiomata season had been extended by a further week. The situation now is that Petone has two weeks more than Eastbourne and Wainuiomata three.
The Eastbourne Pool Action Group is not opposed to these pools getting more time we just want a more equitable arrangement and believe the principle of equal treatment for all should be the rule. It is a political decision not an administrative one that can be decided on
by the HCC Head of Aquatics Iain Brown. We are currently writing to Eastbourne resident associations to ask for their help. Point Howard has already indicated their support.
On the 31 October we presented a nine-page paper to Campbell Barry at the Community Board meeting supporting this “give us a fair go” position and appended a list of the names of 169 supporters.
We hold to the position that the HCC must agree to a fair go position as a basis for further negotiations and are assembling an experienced negotiating team of four including Derek Wilshere, Peter Attwell and hopefully Kaye Wilmshurst and another person with administrative experience. We intend to remain on this case until we get a satisfactory outcome.
We hope the Eastbourne Herald is also willing to cover this campaign.
John McKinnon Days Bay
War: What is it good for?
It was thought provoking to read Julia Stuart’s “Our Forgotten hero of WW1”, The story of
Eastbourne’s” Dith” Evans and his part in the attack by New Zealand soldiers on Le Quesnoy on 4th November 1918. The action has always left me with questions.
The attack was a week before the Armistice, which commenced at 11am on 11th November, 1918.
My questions include: 1. Were Armistice talks taking place when the attack order was given? 2. Did the 2000 German garrison know there were talks of an armistice and did that influence their surrender? Was the attack that cost 90 New Zealand soldiers their lives necessary?
Perhaps Hawkes Bay military historian Herb Farrant can help.
My questions are prompted by the decisions
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by the French, British, and American Generals to launch attacks on Armistice Day before the 11am end of hostilities.
The French Generals wanted one last chance to have a go at the German invaders. The British Generals wanted the prestige of retaking Mons, having lost the town early in the war. The Americans, having arrived late in the war, wanted to gain glory and medals.
From all sides of the war there were more than 11,000 dead, wounded, or missing soldiers before 11am on Armistice Day. And for what? There was no honour and glory, only the needless sacrifice of soldier’s lives and grief for loved ones.
Gordon Parr
Eastbourne
Over 50% of NZ Businesses don’t have a website, of those who do, most websites are not responsive on mobile devices
We’re a fun and funky web studio right here in Petone. Drop in for a coffee and a Free Web consultation any time at 350 Jackson Street We’ll put the kettle on for you.
News from Point Howard
Nan Barker’s Spring Open Day:
Nan Barker is holding an open day showcasing the work of local potters and artists on Saturday, 25 November 2023 from 9:30am to 4pm at 88 Howard Road. There will also be jewellery, home produce, olive oil, photography & prints. If you’re after a unique Christmas gift, head up the hill to check out what’s on offer. The word on the street is that you need to get in early so as not to miss out!
Save the Date:
The PHA warmly invites residents of Point Howard & Sorrento Bay to our preChristmas Wine & Cheese gathering at the Point Howard Community Garden on Sunday, 3 December from 4:30pm. We look forward to seeing you there!
If you’re new to the hill and would like to join the Pt Howard Association, or at the very least get on our email list for all the latest news on the hill, then please contact pthowardassn@gmail.com.
pthowardassn@gmail.com
News from Point Howard
Faith in the Community
Looking for treasure?..
Since the dawn of time, people have been looking for treasure. In bygone days they searched in the fields, in the hills, under the sea... If only they could find gold or diamonds or pearls, they would be happy.
Today people are still looking for treasure. However, now they look for it in the lottery, the casino, the stock market or on betting sites. If only they could hit the jackpot all their troubles would be over.
One way or another, all of us are treasurehunters. All of us are looking for something that will make us completely happy. All of us are searchers and treasure-hunters in the sense we are looking for happiness. The goal is legitimate but maybe we are looking in the wrong places. Jesus said, Where your treasure is, there will your heart be too. So, if we want to know what our treasure is, all we have to do is ask ourselves where our heart is.
What is it that we love, that we pursue with all our hearts? There lies our treasure...
Combined Community Carols: Sun 10 Dec, 5pm. Muritai School Hall. All-ages. Theme ‘Searching for the Prince of Peace’. Children tell the Christmas story. Live band. Santa arrives in a fire engine. Bring nonperishable food for the LH Food Bank. St Ronan’s: Services Sun 9.30am - informal 1st and 3rd, traditional 2nd and 4th. Advent studies - Four, one-hour, studies. 7.308.30pm at St Ronan’s. Thurs evenings: 30 Nov, 7 Dec, 14 Dec and 21 Dec. More? Drop us an email.
E:office@stronans.org.nz
W:www.stronans.org.nz
St Alban’s: At Wellesley College Sun 10am communion with guest vicar. Special activities for children during term time. 1st Thurs only, 10.30am communion at St Ronan’s church with guest vicar (note the time change).
E:office@stalbanschurch.nz
W:www.stalbanschurch.nz
San Antonio: Vigil Mass, Sat 5.30pm. Sacred Heart, Petone: Mass, Sun 9.30am and 5.30pm. E:holyspiritparish41@gmail.com
W:www.holyspirit.nz
Crush a car for Nourish
by Ann Packer
Anybody else wondering what that car is doing on top of a container outside Macaulay Metals on the Seaview straight? Well, what would you bid for the chance to emulate a former Minister of the Crown and crush that car?
Actually, it’s a shredder not a crusher, says Macaulay’s operations manager and Eastbourne resident Glen Jacobs, who approached food hamper charity Nourish with the novel fundraising idea. (Parts are removed for recycling, making shredding a more environmentally friendly solution.)
Macaulay's have been collecting metal scrap in a trailer in Days Bay for a few weeks now –everything from fridges to mopeds – and also accept scrap at their Seaview premises, where an account set up for Nourish has raised over $2000 so far.
It’s just one of the fundraising methods employed by Nourish, who ease pressure and bring a sparkle to families in the region with food hampers in the run up to Christmas. Because things are tight for everybody at the moment, Nourish@Christmas knew raising funds for this year’s target of $267,000 was going to be a big ask, says Claire Turner.
She and co-founder Gabrielle Ralph, who run a business together in their other life, say the registered charity has seen demand increase this year from 1415 to 1780.
Approaching the Christmas delivery date, Claire says it seemed like this might be the first year since they started – 10 years ago with 21 hampers – where there was a real chance they would not be able to provide the requested number of hampers to families from Hutt Valley, Porirua, Wellington and Kāpiti up to Ōtaki. Recipients are identified by schools in the region.
Nourish hampers contain two boxes of food – fresh fruit, vegies and eggs, plus pantry staples like Weetbix, rice, marmite and muesli bars – with some Christmas treats, costing about $150 all up.
Currently, they’re 265 hampers, worth $40,000, short of their target. That’s in spite of donations, sponsorship and fundraising, including their best movie night ever, on 30 October, organised by Sineád Diederich, when a record $2,780 was raised, helped by raffle prizes from 15 local firms and personal donors.
Local schools have been involved – Room 11 at Muritai School sold lemonade – and a bake sale in the village last Saturday raised $2358.
Raising the required money this year has been a huge challenge, Claire says. “Hamper requests are going up as families feel the squeeze from increased grocery prices, petrol costs, and rent and mortgage repayments.
On top of this, the year has been hard on the fundraising front – people and businesses are doing it tough everywhere, and we’re hearing that grant funds are being swamped by community organisations asking for support. I do not envy them!
“People in the Eastbourne community have already contributed to our cause through all our fundraisers throughout the year, and we really appreciate that support from those who are in a position to do so,” says Claire.
“But as always, more donations and offers of business sponsorships are very welcome.”
Connect with Claire at claire@nourishtrust. org, or 027 558 5641. Alternatively, you can donate through: www.givealittle.co.nz/org/ nourish-trust
The car-shredding auction will take place on Trade Me from 1 – 14 December.
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