The Hobson November 2019

november 2019

hello sunshine! welcome to the bach p our own writers fest local news, views & informed opinions

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52 3 PA R N E L L R D, N E W M A R K E T - C L I E N T PA R K I N G AT S TO R E O P E N W E E K DAYS 9 A M - 6 P M , S AT & S U N 1 0 A M - 5 P M W W W.WO R K I N G S T Y L E .CO. N Z

CELEBRATING COLIN MCCAHON An auction event Colin McCahon Elias will he come will he come to save him oil on canvas signed and dated 30.7.59 1760 x 1190mm Exhibited: Colin McCahon: Recent Paintings, Gallery 91, Christchurch, 6–18 October 1959.

A Question of Faith, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 30 August – 10 November 2002 (touring City Gallery, Wellington; Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki; National Gallery of Victoria, Australia; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia, during 2002–2004) Illustrated: Marja Bloem and Martin Browne, Colin McCahon: A Question of Faith (Craig Potton, Nelson, 2202) ,p. 87.

Peter Simpson, Colin McCahon: The Titirangi Years, 1953–1959 (Auckland University Press, 2007), plate 70, p. 146.

Literature: Peter Simpson, Colin McCahon: The Titirangi Years, 1953–1959 (Auckland University Press, 2007), pp. 64–65.

Reference: Colin McCahon Database (www.mccahon.co.nz) cm000142.

Provenance: Collection of the artist’s estate.

Private collection, Europe.

$1 000 000 – $1 500 000

ART + OBJECT 05.11.19

BEYOND THE LENS The Marti & Gerrard Friedlander Collection

Marti Friedlander Self Portrait, 1964 Courtesy the Gerrard and Marti Friedlander Charitable Trust, E.H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o TÄ maki

ART + OBJECT 05.11.19

The November Issue, No. 63 8

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the editor’s letter

the suburbanist

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Public safety or public nuisances? Tommy Honey casts a cool eye on the latest anti-crime ‘there’s-an-app-for-that’

the columnists

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the second act

the village So who’s in the chairs? The new local boards are revealed; plus, council moves to protect our urban forests from further reduction; the Masters family farewell the Vicky Ave Dairy; and more

Sandy Burgham follows up her October column with more insights about the early influences on your career choices

31 the journey Auditor Cynthia Forbes swaps her Parnell desk for one in Kiribati

24 the politicians Updates from local MPs David Seymour and Paul Goldsmith

34 the bookmark

25 She’s back! (Was there ever any doubt?) The councillor for the Ōrākei ward, Desley Simpson, shares her news

Enjoy two new works from local authors. Make yourself at home with a tour through Christine Fernyhough’s midcentury bach, then step back for some musical memories from Split Enz co-founder, Mike Chunn (page 38)

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the councillor

the plan When it comes to coastal development, you can’t hold back the tide, writes Hamish Firth

the magpie This month, our bird is one very chic bag lady

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the district diary

the investment

What’s going on in November

Be strong, says Warren Couillault, be bold, and take a firm view on those weeds cluttering your investment portfolio

46 the cryptic

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Our puzzle, by Māyā

the sound Andrew Dickens has his nose in a book, or several of them, this month

Yes, even Mahé needs a navigator.

J U S T N O T O N T H E W AT E R

GUIDING, GROWING, AND P R O T E C T I N G YO U R W E A LT H

H O B S O N W E A LT H .C O. N Z | 0 8 0 0 74 2 7 3 7 Hobson Wealth Partners Limited (FSP29782), is an NZX Advising Firm. The disclosure statement for Hobson Wealth Partners is available upon request, free of charge.

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Auckland Obstetric Centre is a unique practice in Parnell made up of six leading specialist obstetricians and support staff. Together we have many years of experience and feel privileged to be able to share in the care of women during their pregnancy. To find out more about how we can care for you and your baby call our team or visit our website.

09 367 1200 | obstetrics.co.nz

Lynda Batcheler Astrid Budden Eva Hochstein Katherine McKenzie Kirstie Peake Jason Waugh

issue 63, november 2019 Editor & Publisher Kirsty Cameron editor@thehobson.co.nz Art Direction & Production Stephen Penny design@thehobson.co.nz News Editor Mary Fitzgerald maryfitzgerald.thehobson@gmail.com Writers This Issue Kirsty Cameron, Cynthia Forbes, Mary Fitzgerald, Wayne Thompson, Justine Williams, Fiona Wilson Sub-editor Dawn Adams

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his month, we’re very happy to have the opportunity to give you a taste of two new books from local authors. Philanthropist Christine Fernyhough CNZM will be familiar to many as both a local, and also for her best-selling memoir of her high country station, The Road to Castle Hill. Now she’s authored the detailed and richly-illustrated Mid-Century Living: The Butterfly House Collection. It’s a colourful tour through both Fernyhough’s 1960s bach at Mangawhai, and her collection of the everyday and familiar items of mid-20th century Kiwi domestic life.

In Remuera, a short hop from Christine’s Parnell home, Mike Chunn has also been writing his memoir. A Sharp Left Turn: Notes on a life in music, from Split Enz to Play It Strange is lyrical, moving and witty, and like Christine’s book, it’s evocative in ways that will be familiar to many. Enjoy an extract from Mike’s book on page 38, and Christine’s on page 34.

Local writers recording our communities’ histories is having a golden moment. Also launched recently is the richly-detailed The Point: a history of Point Chevalier and its people, by author and publisher Debra Millar (Point Publishing). If you have any connection to that part of Auckland, grew up there or have happy memories of time spent at ‘the Point’, it’s highly recommended. And like the Butterfly House and A Sharp Left Turn, would make a perfect Christmas gift.

Columnists Sandy Burgham, Warren Couillault, Andrew Dickens, Hamish Firth, Paul Goldsmith, Tommy Honey, Māyā, David Seymour, Desley Simpson Photographers Mary Fitzgerald, Stephen Penny Cover Christine Fernyhough’s Mangawhai bach, as photographed for Mid-Century Living: The Butterfly House Collection (Penguin Random House) by Studio La Gonda.

See story page 34 THE HOBSON is published 10 times a year by The Hobson Limited, PO Box 37490 Parnell, Auckland 1151. www.thehobson.co.nz F: The Hobson Magazine I: @The Hobson Ideas, suggestions, advertising inquiries welcome. editor@thehobson.co.nz

THE HOBSON is Remuera, Parnell and Ōrākei’s community magazine. We deliver into letterboxes in these neighbourhoods, and copies are also at local libraries, cafes, and at businesses including the Vicky Ave and White Heron dairies, and Paper Plus Parnell. For more about us, see The Hobson Magazine on Facebook.

The content of THE HOBSON is copyright. Our words, our pictures.

Don’t steal, and don’t borrow without checking with us first.

We aim for accuracy but cannot be held liable for any inaccuracies that do occur. The views of our contributors are their own and not necessarily those of THE HOBSON. We don’t favour unsolicited contributions but do welcome you getting in touch via editor@thehobson.co.nz to discuss ideas.

The Hobson Ltd is a member of the Magazine Publishers Association This publication uses environmentally responsible papers.

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Kirsty Cameron editor@thehobson.co.nz 0275 326 424 Facebook: The Hobson Magazine Instagram: TheHobson

Duravit “A bowl filled with water on a simple table,” Danish designer Cecilie Manz describes her inspiration for Duravit’s Luv series. The result is Nordic purism combined with timeless elegance, created with gentle forms and sharp geometry. Luv is a brand new design that can be interpreted uniquely to suit your individual style.

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The Columnists

Left to right from top row: Sandy Burgham (The Second Act) is a brand strategist and an executive coach with a special interest in midlife change and transformational behaviours. She runs a central Auckland practice. www.playclc.com Remuera resident Warren Couillault (The Investment) is an executive director and the major shareholder of Hobson Wealth Partners, a private wealth advisory group. He is also a manager of a registered KiwiSaver scheme.

Andrew Dickens (The Sound) is the host of the afternoon show on Newstalk ZB. For 13 years he was the breakfast host on Classic Hits. He grew up in Remuera.

Hamish Firth (The Plan) lives and works in Parnell and is principal of the Mt Hobson Group, a specialist urban planning consultancy. www.mthobsonproperties.co.nz Mary Fitzgerald is The Hobson’s News Editor. A Mainlander who transplanted to Remuera 15 years ago, she is passionate about hearing and telling our stories.

Urban design critic Tommy Honey (The Suburbanist) is a former architect. The Remuera resident is a regular guest on RNZ National, discussing the built environment.

Judi Paape (The Teacher) is a parent, grandparent and highly-experienced teacher and junior school principal.

A Parnell resident, her column appears bi-monthly.

Contributing writer Wayne Thompson is a former The New Zealand Herald journalist, covering Auckland news. He has been a resident of Parnell for 34 years.

Contributing editor Justine Williams is an interiors stylist, writer and fashion editor. The Remuera resident has been the editor of Simply You and Simply You Living.

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Clear doors.

Clear mind.

It’s the little things in our Memory Loss Suites that give our residents with dementia the best chance to remain as independent as possible, for as long as possible.

Clear wardrobe doors allow clothing to be seen and that is exactly the sort of trigger that helps stimulate and retain active pathways in the brain.

That’s just one example of our care philosophy in action. We welcome you to come and meet our care team and see for yourself the many and varied aspects that create the Rawhiti Estate difference.

If you are looking for first-class dementia care in a home-like environment, discover our unique range of services, facilities and activities at our next Open Home or call Angus on 09 522 7001 to arrange a tour.

Join us at our

Open Home Thursday 14th November Starting at 1 PM for an information presentation at 1.15 PM

14 Rangitoto Avenue, Remuera

Enjoy estate tours and refreshments

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the village

Town & Around RE-GREENING THE SUBURBS Raising the sound of birdsong above the graunch of chainsaw and chipper is the aim of a new multi-year planting plan to more than make up for the thousands of trees felled in the central suburbs.

Streets and parks of Parnell and Newmarket and owners of large trees are in line for a green handshake from an Auckland Council hoping to score environmental benefits by bolstering the urban forest. Council is looking at giving financial sweeteners and friendly advice as a way to slow the chopping of mature trees until Parliament can be persuaded to restore the legal checks it removed in 2013.

Most urban trees have minimal, if any, protection. An average of three mature trees a day are lost from the Waitematā Local Board area, which has become the first board to adopt an action plan to arrest the problem, with the Ōrākei board likely to adopt a similar initiative.

Casualties within Waitematā were counted in surveys over the years 2006-15. In this time, some 12,879 trees were felled for the loss of 61 hectares of tree cover, Auckland Council senior urban forest advisor Howell Davies told the board’s September meeting.

Changes to the Resource Management Act’s tree protection rules were not the only threats to tree cover, Davies says. Concerns about housing development pressures, fatal tree diseases and climate change also led the council to adopt a regional Urban Ngahere (Forest) Strategy in February 2018.

Auckland’s tree coverage averages 18 per cent, but the regional strategy aims to increase that to 30 per cent by 2050. The Waitematā board area has 19 per cent coverage and in September approved its own 10-year suburb-by-suburb plan to edge towards the target, using mostly native trees and shrubs. The plan relies on constant funding for annual programmes for new plantings and replacements. It also calls for council agencies, including Auckland Transport, to work together on opportunities to plant in streets, berms and footpath tree pits. Some car parking spaces could revert to trees and cycle lanes be edged with planter boxes. Fringes of sports fields, cemeteries, school grounds and grassy parks offer scope for new planting. Open reserves like Fraser Park, on Parnell Rise, could host further large specimen trees to add to the benefits of nature and shade they give in the Auckland Domain and Parnell Rose Gardens.

Davies says the canopy can be boosted if more trees are planted in the “right places and spaces” and council helps to keep more of what exists on private land. To this end, the plan calls for setting up a fund to help with maintenance of notable trees, and also an advisory service for tree care and selection of suitable species. Big landholders Housing New Zealand and the Ministry of Education could also be asked to pay for planting.

Retiring Waitematā board member Rob Thomas says mature trees are falling in the area at the rate of three a day, and more forest cover has been lost than the survey estimated. Over the last five years he worked with council to get a regional analysis of the forest canopy, starting with Waitematā, which is the first board to adopt an action plan.

He says, however, the newly elected local board has to agree on a planting programme after consulting the Parnell and Newmarket community.

“I feel the document is not strong enough,” says Thomas.

“Council staff recommendations for potential planting sites

increase our canopy cover by one per cent. It’s a good start but not ambitious.” He welcomes the plan’s wish to create nature corridors, with flowering trees for birds and insects, and to suggest an annual scheme where residents get to nominate the trees they think should be protected.

The Ōrākei Local Board, also with 19 per cent cover, is a step away from posting a coherent planting plan but has a draft analysis of its area’s stocks. Although most new planting is likely to go to parks and reserves closest to areas with the most children, the analysis report also considers the important role of private land in the canopy catch-up.

About 20 per cent of total cover is privately owned. Only a quarter of trees are 10 metres or taller and most of the survivors are in the old-established gardens of Remuera. They can’t be counted on to defy trends. Large parts of Remuera and Ōrākei suburbs are zoned for smaller sections or intensive housing in the Unitary Plan.

The board report suggests identifying trees over 15m tall that should be protected through either the Unitary Plan’s notable tree overlay, or a land covenant. It also wants the council to ‘streamline’ the costly and long-winded process for getting a tree on to the notable list.

This pleases board member Troy Churton. “Everything is against intergenerational preservation of mature biodiversity,” he says. “The Unitary Plan encourages infill development so it is less likely that private owners will plant larger specimen trees and not be tempted to sacrifice their big trees for infill. Everyone I talk to wants to see the leafy-green amenity value protected, but some people don’t want to feel that their private property rights are restricted to stop them maximising their personal gain. There’s a tension.”

In 2016, Churton pushed for the board to introduce limited grants which have helped 15 property owners with works to keep their mature trees healthy. The Waitematā board is looking at adopting the incentive too. — Wayne Thompson p

IN FOR THE COUNT The Auckland Council electoral wards of Ōrākei and Waitematā have one returning councillor and two local boards with many new faces following last month’s local body elections.

Following the Electoral Commission’s redrawing of boundaries to redress population balance, the suburbs Parnell, Grafton and Newmarket are now part of the Ōrākei council ward but remain under the Waitematā Local Board. Incumbent councillor Desley Simpson was returned to the seat for a second term by a large majority, some 15,600-plus votes ahead of her challengers, the Green Party’s Alan Barraclough and Better Auckland’s Mike Padfield, who ran a distant second and third respectively.

The Ōrākei Local Board The Communities & Residents candidates took out a clean sweep of the Ōrākei board, filling all seven positions. Returning for third terms to the board are Troy Churton, who topped the ballot with 14,288 votes, and Colin Davis, who took out the seventh place.

David Wong, returning for a second term, polled highly, coming in a number three in the vote count.

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spring has sprung!

Clockwise from top: New faces Scott Milne, Troy Elliot, Sarah Powrie and Margaret Voyce.

They are joined at the table by four new faces to the board, if not to local body politics. Well-known local resident and former Auckland City councillor Scott Milne, who polled second, and may well take up the chair’s role when the new board meets for the first time on November 4. Fellow C&R candidates Troy Elliot, Sarah Powrie and Margaret Voyce make up the seven seats.

The strength of the C&R ticket was too much for independents to best. The next-best result outside of the top seven went to independent campaigner for both the board and the Auckland DHB, Pete Williams. Carmel Claridge, who served on the board in the last term on the C&R team but who ran on the Better Auckland ticket this time came in ninth position, with Better Auckland’s Mike Padfield and youthful candidate Isaac Mercer rounding out the field.

The Waitematā Local Board

Spring has sprung and with it some great signs of renewed activity. We are experiencing brought forward auctions and multiple offers. Put this alongside a resurgence in overall retail spending, maybe we are on the mend.

Yes, call us optimistic, but we sense the tide may be turning in the residential property market. We are currently experiencing an increasing number of people who have decided to enter the market as purchasers. No doubt many are realising that with record low interest rates the likelihood of the market falling is now slim. In short, there’s no shortage of buyers, there’s an increase in listing activity, auction bidding is solid and prices are relatively stable. A bad market is where there are no buyers, that is not the case. Thinking of selling by Christmas? Give me a call.

If you’re wondering what a property is worth please give me a call at any time.

Clockwise from top: New faces Sarah Trotman, Kerrin Leoni, Graeme Gunthorp and Julie Sandilands.

With five serving members standing down, there were 20 candidates tussling for Waitematā’s seven seats at the table. Despite best efforts, a ‘Parnell champion’ candidate did not make the cut — both Parnell residents, C&R’s Roger Burton and independent Keith McConnell missed out. Like City Vision, C&R fielded a full line-up of seven candidates, with Sarah Trotman polling strongly to come in a third overall.

Philip Oldham M 021 921 031 philip.oldham@uprealestate.co.nz

LICENSED AGENT REA 2008

the village

The other six positions are filled by members of the City Vision ticket: first-termer Alexandra Bonham was the top candidate, followed by Adriana Christie, who returns for a second term. Next were Trotman, then Richard Northey, also back for a second term.

The other members are Kerrin Leoni, Julie Sandilands and Graeme Gunthorp. The new board will meet on October 30.

Falling short of the top seven was Glenda Fryer, in eighth place. A former Auckland City councillor, Fryer had served two terms on the Albert-Eden Local Board before standing as part of the City Vision ticket for Waitematā this time around.

As seen in Ōrākei, independents struggled against the might of the platform tickets. C&R candidates came in positions nine to 14 (Genevieve Brown, Roger Burton, Amy Calway, Josh Doubtfire, Denise L’estrange-Corbet and Greg Moyle respectively) with indepedent or minor party candidates trailing behind the lowestpolling platform candidate — heritage campaigner Allan Matson, Will Maxwell-Steele, Keith McConnell, the Hemp Foundation’s Tadhg Tim Stopford and Gael Baldock. — Kirsty Cameron p

UPDATE ON EREBUS MEMORIAL The siting of the National Erebus Memorial in Parnell’s DoveMyer Robinson Park continues to cause controversy in the neighbourhood, with locals launching a petition to ‘Save DoveMyer Robinson Lawn’. Residents and family members connected to the Erebus disaster have raised their concerns with increasing volume to the Waitematā Local Board, leading to an online public consultation.

Issues raised by critics include the size of the monument and the location in Dove-Myer Robinson Park. There are also concerns that there will be damage to the roots of a pōhutukawa close to the proposed site.

The $3 million memorial project is being led by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH). The substantial final concrete and stainless-steel design is named ‘Te Paerangi Ataata – Sky Song’comprising a high-walled walkway extending out from the slope towards Judges Bay and is eight metres at its highest point.

Parnell residents Anne Coney (Anne Tattersfield) and Jo Malcolm, who’s father-in-law died in the air disaster, have launched an

online petition, ‘Save the Dove Myer-Robinson Lawn’ (available via the Save Robbie’s Park page on Facebook). “This is a wonderful historic green open space, and it is about to be transformed into an environmentally unfriendly area of stainless steel and concrete,” says Coney. She says that the proposed monument is “nothing like the painted imagery the local board use in their fliers”.

MCH has requested landowner consent approval from the local board, that once granted, would allow the Ministry to build the memorial in the park. After public pushback, the board extended the consultation period and deferred any decision until after the election, effectively making it the new board’s issue to deal with.

The Waitematā councillor up until the election, Mike Lee has also taken a view, sending a letter to the Prime Minister’s electorate office, asking that the whole idea be reconsidered. “I am sure this memorial is meant to bring closure and peace 40 years after,” Lee wrote, “but instead, because of bureaucratic insensitivity and a lack of public consultation, it is creating disharmony, even anger among the community”.

Early last month council-hosted public drop-in session in the park was held at short notice and was not without controversy after the wrong set of plans for the monument were used. “This was a well-supported afternoon drop-in where the paths [leading to the memorial] and size were inked out,” says Coney, who attended the session. “Unfortunately it was not according to the thencurrent plans, and therefore not accurate. The structure is now larger, and encroaching well under the drip line of the large noted pōhutukawa, with additional concrete seating and lights, together with sounds of Antarctica.”

If landowner approval is granted by the incoming local board, the building of the memorial will start early next year and will take around six months to complete. — Mary Fitzgerald p

LIGHT MOVES The Ōrākei Basin’s shared pathway is finally complete, but its nighttime illumination is not going down well with all locals. While many users are commenting how useful the walking and cycleway is — its connection to the Ōrākei train station is particularly valued say locals — nearby resident, Roy Champtaloup is calling for lights

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the hobson 14

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Mary Fitzgerald

out, and he has the support of the Ōrākei Local Board.

The third stage of the four-section Glen Innes to Tamaki Dr shared path, the Auckland Transport (AT)/NZTA project has recently had lighting installed along its near-1km length.

The construction involved in widening of the existing boardwalk over the past two years experienced significant delays and setbacks, with Champtaloup actively involved in providing resident concerns on various design aspects, including petitioning AT and NZTA to have the ‘prison-like’ 1.4m metal bar balustrading changed to better suit the marine environment, and to look more like what was originally presented in the plans.

Night lighting along the basin’s shared path boardwalk is the last straw for Champtaloup, who has a clear view of the lights each evening from his home.

He has lodged a complaint to AT, arguing lights don’t need to be on throughout the entire night and that the lighting is too bright for purpose. “AT needs to get out of their glass tower and come and look at the lights debacle after-dark for themselves,” Champtaloup says. “They absolutely promised months ago to me that lighting would be dim, and only visible to users on the boardwalk but no, these lights are blazing all night and it’s ridiculous.”

Wally Thomas, AT executive general manager stakeholder, communities and communication, has responded in a letter to Champtaloup, indicating the lighting is necessary for night-time use. “As such it is important that the path is lit for security,” Thomas wrote. “In choosing the lighting system, whilst meeting safety standards and lighting level requirements to illuminate the path and path users, we have also sought to ensure that there is minimal light spill. We have installed low-wattage lights at maximum spacing, chosen warm colour temperature and have aimed the lighting downwards. The lights also work on an automatic trigger and dim themselves depending on light levels.”

Champtaloup wants to know what research has been done by AT to show people are using the boardwalk throughout the night hours. He would like AT to consider installing a sensor system so that the lights only go on as needed for late night boardwalk users.

Returning Ōrākei Local Board member Troy Churton says he “totally supports Roy’s view. NZTA and AT have put up some roadblocks against the ideas for modifying the lights claiming various safety requirements. It's one of many issues to get the new

board across over the next month.”

“I do have to caveat that we may need some broader mandate about this than just Roy’s unique view, but generally I think he is right, the lighting completely changes the environment beyond anything anticipated. I am sure we can find better outcomes.”

Not everyone is unhappy. Long term Upland Rd resident Robert Rolls’ home overlooks the Basin and he says he likes the new look. “The lighting is quite soft so provides less of an impact than

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the village

the street lighting that is well spread over Upland Rd. I use the boardwalk on walks and I’ve started evening walks now the lighting is there. I don’t think people would use the boardwalk in the evening if it was sensor driven, because if the lights didn’t come on it would be unpleasant or unsafe to walk over. I’d much rather see the local board focus their efforts on supporting further local retail development at OBV and the Remuera Rd shopping area for the greater use of all of the community.” — Mary Fitzgerald p

was photographed by Mary Fitzgerald, and was one of the stars of a recent book, Keepers of History: New Zealand Centenarians Tell Their Stories, by Renee Hollis. A wartime VAD, a JP since 1949, keen yachtswoman, skier and golfer, Sunday is remembered by her four children, 14 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. p

LETTER TO THE EDITOR The Hobson welcomes letters to the editor for publication: email editor@thehobson.co.nz. Letters may be edited for clarity or length.

VALE SUNDAY MILLAR

Thank you for your support in my endeavours to win a seat on the Waitematā Local Board. Most disappointingly my bid was not successful. Unfortunately, once again Parnell does not have a local resident on the board. Throughout my campaign I expressed concerns over the weak governance, lack of transparency and inadequate consultation by the outgoing board. With City Vision again dominating the board with six of the seven seats, it is unlikely that we will see any significant improvement.

Early decisions that the board must make are appointment of the chairperson, allocation of portfolios and consideration of the landowner consent for the Erebus National Monument on Sir DoveMyer Robinson Park.

I am intending to maintain an active interest and commentary on the affairs of the incoming board. Watch this space.

— Keith McConnell, Parnell p

FAREWELL TO THE MASTERS

FREE FA M I LY FUN

Parnell Festival of

ROSES

Sunday 17 November, 10.30am to 4pm Parnell Rose Gardens Music

Find out more: parnellroses@aklc.govt.nz or Facebook.com/waitemata the hobson 16

Entertainment

Food Stalls

20-PRO-0418_THM

Sunday Millar, who featured in our May issue, has died, aged 103.

True to form, Mrs Millar was playing bridge until a few days before her death. Born on December 5, 1915, she passed away peacefully at her home on Friday October 4. A long-time Parnell resident, she was a regular at the Eastern Bridge Club in Remuera, where she

After 28-and-a-half years, the Masters family have left the Victoria Ave Superette, better known as ‘the Vicky Ave dairy’.

The seven-day-a-week business has been much of the working life of Jay Masters, his wife Jayna, and for a great part, Jay’s parents, Vinod and Laxmi. The trifecta of a superette — seven day trading, Lotto and liquor — Vicky Ave is the last-but-one such business for the Masters’ extended family: at one stage, relatives had nine dairies across Auckland and the Remuera branch also owned a second shop in Harris Rd, which they sold five months ago. q

the remuera village voice

PBB 2A Clonbern Rd Say hello to PBB (formerly Parnell Baby Boutique), a top shop for stylish little ones.

Cold Harbour Kitchen 341 Remuera Rd Watch this space . . . changes are afoot but the KĹ?kako organic coffee will keep pouring!

Bluejays 354 Remuera Rd Step outside to enjoy tapas dishes, drinks and coffee in a dog-friendly garden pavillion.

Seriously Addictive Maths 281 Remuera Rd Maths is fun with enrichment programmes for children aged 4 to 15 years.

Briarwood 401 Remuera Rd Famous for beautifully crafted bags, wallets, fashion and small leather goods.

Holy Bowl 367 Remuera Rd Fresh, nutritionally rich, food and beverages to support a healthy and active lifestyle.

Mercy Hospice Shop 320 Remuera Rd New and pre-loved clothes, bags, homewares and more sold to benefit Mercy Hospice.

Rags & Romance Shop 5 Remuera Mall, 319 Remuera Rd A boutique for stylish NZ-designed and internationally-sourced day and evening wear.

Bin Inn Remuera Tudor Mall, 333 Remuera Rd A new branch of this wholefoods and speciality grocer. Vegan, GF foods, beauty and more.

New Friends in the Neighbourhood!

Remuera's retail mix is more exciting than ever, with an influx of businesses bringing new offerings and energy to Remuera Village. Whether you're shopping for speciality wholefoods, sampling new cafe offerings, looking for a stylish wardrobe or education services, Remuera's a great place to visit. For more information, see remuera.org.nz

the village

Left, Jay and Laxmi on their last day instore, Jay and Jayna at home that evening. Below, the Masters children, Shree, Monish and Heetasha.

“We will definitely miss everyone that we have met over the years,” says Jayna. “We would really like to thank our loyal customers, who have become our close friends. We’ve really appreciated their generous support and love for us over the years — we couldn’t have done this without them. We’ve seen families and generations grow. And my three beautiful children have grown up in the shop. They say this is a bittersweet ending, but they’ve cherished every moment.”

Jay says he won’t miss the winter early morning starts, but he will miss the banter with customers and the “6 o’clock company in the back room”, when neighbourhood friends made over the years would join him for a drink at the end of the working day. “And I love how they have educated me to do better.”

For Vinod and Laxmi, it will be total retirement. Vinod recently had a second knee operation and Laxmi is looking forward to “putting my feet up and just relaxing”.

The sale of the business will allow Jayna to recuperate from her recent treatment for breast cancer — the couple are keen to acknowledge Dr Wayne Jones for his care of Jayna. Jay also plans some quality time with his fleet of cars.

It’s quite a collection: three Rolls Royces (1967, 69 and 71) and three Mercedes Benz (71, 72, 73) all popular as wedding cars, and another Mercedes coupe “for Sunday drives”. There’ll also be more opportunities to get his boat in the water, and a “bit of fishing at our beach place, at Glinks Gully, near Dargaville”.

The new Vicky Ave owners, Rajesh and Sital Soma, took over on October 9.

“They’re lovely people, they’ll do a great job and they’ve got some great plans,” says Jay. “I’m sure everyone will welcome them.” — Kirsty Cameron p

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the village

BOARD MEMBER WARNS ON CONSENTS Returning Ōrākei Local Board member Troy Churton is warning real estate agencies and developers about promoting proposed residential developments, without indicating that council consents are not in place. Churton cites a recent Bayleys’ ad for the proposed Teal apartment development on the edge of Ōrākei Basin as an example, where “the developer’s agents are advertising this proposed development without any mention of the fact that, at this stage, no consent has been granted for what is being advertised”.

Zoning changes under the Unitary Plan have seen an increase in the promoting of townhouse and apartment developments, which has triggered Churton’s concern. He has raised the matter with Auckland Council and the Real Estate Authority.

“What is apparent to my legal background is that to advertise in the manner Teal Apartments are, a clear impression is given that the apartments are available for investment and ownership before that formal grant is made. Therefore the advertisement needs to expressly say, ‘Subject to consent being granted’ or similar.” p

WIN GIN! CALL FOR GREENFINGERS The Auckland branch of Heritage Roses NZ Inc needs volunteers to help maintain the Nancy Steen Garden, that pretty, restful gardenwithin-a-garden at the Parnell Rose Gardens. As well as needing more willing hands to tend blooms like the 1892 ‘Archiduc Joseph’, above, Heritage Roses needs donations to pay for a specialist gardener who cares for the old roses and companion plants.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Gwenda Umbers on 021 146 6610 or gwendaumbers@me.com. For information about tax-deductible donations, please contact Kirsty Shiach on 021 271 5119 or kirsty.shiach@hobsonwealth.co.nz The Nancy Steen supporters will have their regular stall at the Parnell Festival of the Roses on Sunday November 17, selling cuttings and their ever-popular tussie-mussies. p

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the hobson 20

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the village

What you need to know about . . .

Tucked just inside the Remuera Mall at 319 Remuera Rd, Rags & Romance is the newly-opened second branch of owner Marianne Shirley’s destination boutiques, building on the popularity of her Onehunga shop. We asked her to tell us about her business.

How did you come up with the name Rags & Romance?

The name came about with a play on words — the ragtrade and what might be a romance, which is covered by the New Zealandmade Surmanti range of candles and diffusers we stock. My personal favourite fragrance in that collection is ‘Intimacy’.

Why did you decide to open a store in Remuera?

We chose to open our second store in Remuera as it offers a village-style feel amongst other quality stores. The locals have welcomed our new shop, and we look forward to serving them for many years to come. We also felt that Remuera, being a tightknit area, would shop close at home, which keeps the township vibrant.

Who is the Rags & Romance customer?

Rags & Romance caters to mature women, wanting comfortable styles and natural fabrics. That’s not to say our younger customers aren’t pleased to find beautiful linens that flatter a more generous body shape.

What else should we know about Rags & Romance Remuera?

Rags & Romance is affiliated with Women’s Refuge — we serve as a drop-off point for women and children’s clothing, toiletries, and other useful items. It’s our way of giving a little back and helping a worthy cause.

What's special about your selections at the Remuera boutique?

Rags & Romance Onehunga has now become our outlet and pre-loved store, while Rags & Romance in Remuera Mall has higher-end fashion with NZ designers like Rogue Linen and Koru possum merino knitwear. We also have European linens and silks, plus an Irish designer, Roisin Linnane, which is perfect for a more formal occasion. Those that enjoy a personalised, relaxed shopping experience should seek us out.

Outside of work, what will we find you doing?

I never imagined living in Auckland after living for many years in NSW. But I’ve been here three years and feel very much at home.

I like nothing better than a brisk walk around One Tree Hill of a morning with Frank, who has an active part to play in the business helping with repairs and the endless jobs I find for him! He’s also my best sounding board. I’m a lucky woman. ragsandromance.com

Caleb Probine, Alumni Cambridge Award Winner, 2018 > Top in NZ: A-Levels > Top in NZ: Chemistry > High Achievement: Mathematics

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Saunas. Showers.

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the politicians

Paul Goldsmith

O

David Seymour

F

ctober has been the 250th anniversary of the arrival of British people to these islands. The Dutch had sailed past more than a century earlier, but Captain James Cook’s Endeavour was the first to stay and to interact with the Māori residents who had, of course, discovered these islands 500 years or so earlier. Those encounters in 1769 started a process that led to the development of the nation of which we are rightly proud today.

Jacinda Ardern and her government routinely encourage us to celebrate diversity – such as we’ve seen with the arrival of many different cultures to this country in recent decades. And we do.

There’s much to celebrate. But, strangely, she and her ministers pointedly refuse to use the word ‘celebrate’ in relation to the 250th anniversary of the connection between the two founding cultures of this country. They prefer the word ‘commemoration’ – a word which we use in relation to disasters like Gallipoli and Passchendaele.

I find that rather sad. The strong implication is that the arrival of the British to our country is not really something to celebrate. It’s not too far from there to conclude that the many Kiwis who have some British ancestry should feel vaguely ashamed of our history.

That’s a sad foundation for a country. We can do much better.

Of course, bad things have happened. James Cook’s first encounter didn’t pass peacefully. There has been trouble and strife since. The later process of colonisation was fraught for Māori, many of whom suffered great loss.

Māori had lived in isolation for centuries. Inevitably, when the rest of the world found these beautiful islands, rich in resources, they would be forced to reconnect with the rest of humanity. That would always be challenging – not least because diseases for which they had built up no immunity would ravage generations.

Humans, meantime, in all ages have fought over land and resources. After Cook came guns, which amped up traditional Māori fights dramatically. Against that, many things that came after Cook massively enriched the lives of the inhabitants – protein-rich food, the written word, metal, wheels, access to the rest of humanity’s literature, religion, music, science and stories, etc, etc.

Did the good outweigh the bad? Surely, we have to say, yes. Our self-belief and self-respect as a nation, which happens to enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world and which routinely sits near the top of broader measures of wellbeing – such as freedom and tolerance – demands it.

Anniversaries like this provide an opportunity for each of us to consider things from the other point of view, to try to understand other people’s experience of history, the impact of past events.

That’s challenging. We’d all benefit from reflecting on the highs and lows of our history. But, in my view, we shouldn’t hesitate to celebrate what we, together have created over the 250 years since Māori and British people met. And to celebrate the fact that they did meet. Sure, we’re not perfect and never have been. Who is?

But we should take pride in what we all have achieved, and what we’ve received from each other. It is the most natural instinct in the world to take pride in the place you call home. Many of us feel blessed to have been born in the ‘greatest little country in the world’. It would be a pity to have that pride drained from us because we’ve never come close to perfection.

irearm laws are not a major issue in the Epsom electorate, and no doubt my stance against the government’s April bans will have puzzled some locals. What follows is why you should care even if firearms play no direct role in your life.

Recently the National party joined ACT in opposing the government’s ‘second tranche’ of firearm laws. In April, however, I voted alone, 119-1, against the ban. It was a difficult thing to do in the climate following our nation’s tragedy.

Why not just ban them, and do it quick? I believed then that a rushed process would damage our democracy — the last thing needed when a terrorist attacked our values. Worse, a failed law would put us in greater danger. I hold those beliefs even more strongly today.

Former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer once called our democracy an elected dictatorship, but that was inaccurate. We benefit from a law-making system of policy development, legislative drafting, and ultimately five stages of parliamentary process including public consultation. Normally the whole process takes a year at minimum. Our fulsome process is why Parliament’s laws are widely respected. Most people follow each law voluntarily, even if we don’t agree with it. At least we know it was made fairly.

Conversely, passing a law in only nine days eroded the trust that makes our society work. Many of the several hundred thousand lawful firearm owners felt attacked. They almost universally support changes to the law, so were miffed that the Prime Minister of inclusion and kindness stripped their rights with an air of contempt. After all, they were as horrified as anyone by the events of March 15.

Every business and property owner should be concerned by any group’s normal rights to consultation being stripped. Many of the local issues we face originate in authorities failing to listen.

Abrupt governance is the main reason low business confidence is threatening the economy in spite of solid underlying numbers.

Besides this procedural breach, the April ban’s practical outcomes are that we’re less safe. At the time of writing, a little over 20,000 firearms have been handed in. Shockingly, nobody really knows how many have been sold. However, the government has been advised that there may be 240,000 firearms in the now-prohibited categories. Given the average collection event is taking in only 120, it is now mathematically impossible that even half of that total will be handed in by the December 20 deadline. We now face tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of high-powered firearms outside the regulatory cordon.

And here’s another problem. The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the tragedy has yet to report. There is every chance we’ll find we haven’t fixed the problem that led to the tragedy after all. How, for instance, was an Australian loner on the wrong side of the Tasman able to pass the ‘fit and proper person’ test that requires two bona fide acquaintances to be interviewed by police?

This is a(nother) mess that the next government will have to fix.

We will have to rebuild trust in firearm laws and find a way to bring those ‘missing’ firearms back inside a regulatory cordon. What’s more, a fix is now urgently needed for public safety and respect for the rule of law.

Paul Goldsmith is a National list MP based in Epsom

David Seymour is the MP for Epsom the hobson 24

the councillor

Desley Simpson

I

f you play sport, use the footpath, like hearing the birds sing, turn the tap on, flush the toilet, put rubbish in a bin, walk in the park, swim at the beach, drive a car, cycle or use public transport, chances are Auckland Council will have made a decision that affects your experience. Some of those decisions are made around the Town Hall table, some are made by council-controlled organisations (CCOs) such as Watercare or Auckland Transport, and some are made locally by local boards.

With the election signs now down and the final results in, you have contributed to the democratic process and have chosen a mayor, councillor and local board team to represent you for the next three years as the fourth term of Auckland Council. It’s a team tasked with making improvements at all levels of the council organisation, a team which needs to listen to you, and a team which needs to plan and deliver not just for today, but for the future.

THANK YOU to all those who have voted. It wasn’t easy (and I’m not talking about who to vote for). Being a postal ballot you had to first receive papers, with many people saying they were late or didn’t turn up at all. Then, because the post is so infrequent, you really had to post them back a week before they were due (in the last election just under 3000 voting papers arrived after the closeoff). To top it all off, voting was scheduled to happen in the middle of the school holidays.

Many ask ‘Why wasn’t it all online?’ Officials repeatedly say security cannot be guaranteed, however my message to government is that you have to choose a better time and a better way. NZ Post are closing locations — the Remuera post office shut three days before the elections closed — and are reducing the number of red post boxes on the street. The system needs to be easy for people to participate in. At time of writing, just under 35 per cent of people actually voted in Auckland. In our area, the provisional figures were a bit higher, 41.5 per cent of those in the Ōrākei Local Board area

voted, as did 36.1 per cent of those in the Waitematā area.

Mayor Goff has been re-elected and we have four new first-time councillors. I look forward to working positively with them all as we take this city forward. There are some obvious challenges. To name just a couple, more accountability and transparency from our council-controlled organisations — and a much stronger reinforcing of the ‘control’ too! There are financial challenges as we continue to deliver the biggest infrastructure spend this city has ever seen.

I’m also looking forward to working with my two new local board teams. You’ll remember that this election the Ōrākei ward changed its boundary to accommodate population changes in the central city. We now have parts of two local boards in the ward: the Waitematā Local Board looking after Parnell, Grafton and Newmarket, and Ōrākei Local Board looking after Remuera, Meadowbank, some of St Johns, Stonefields, Glendowie, St Heliers, Kohimarama, Mission Bay and Ōrākei.

The new local board teams are a mixture of new people and those who have served before. On the Waitematā board are five new members — Alexandra Bonham, Sarah Trotman, Julie Sandilands, Kerrin Leoni and Graeme Gunthorp, who join existing members Richard Northey and Adriana Christie. The Ōrākei board has four new members in Scott Milne, Sarah Powrie, Troy Elliot and Margaret Voyce, who join Troy Churton, David Wong and Colin Davis as returning members. These new teams will be vitally important to the local business and communities.

Finally to those who supported me for a second term, thank you.

I am humbled and honoured. My commitment remains steadfast in delivering for you, the communities and residents of the Ōrākei ward, and for Auckland.

Desley Simpson is the Councillor for Auckland representing the Ōrākei ward

582 Remuera Rd, Remuera Auckland 09 520 3119 | staff@sibuns.co.nz www.sibuns.co.nz

the hobson 25

the plan

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Time & Tide

I

f I mention climate change most of you will just turn the page.

It was first coined ‘global warming’, led by the hippies. And then came the United Nations and the Paris Agreement which aims to bring all nations together to ‘undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change’. We have either become immune or switched off because in reality the sun comes up, it rains, there are storms and life goes on without much change. That is, until by a slow creep, it directly affects us.

In my paper-shuffling universe, the rules on matters like coastal inundation and the risks of coastal erosion are now front and centre when we are looking at sites that border, or are close to, the coastal edge. Auckland Council does not want the risk of approving something now and in 10-20-30-years the sea has undermined the foundations or repeat storm surges have washed away infrastructure.

Of course, there are other geographic cycles at work – sand erosion, sun spots and the magnetic pull of Elle Macpherson. The Auckland region faces both the fairly benign Waitematā Harbour and the expanse of the exposed west coast, which is lashed by storms and most affected by dramatic sand erosion.

In some cases we will live with it. Locally, this might be excess stormwater ponding around the roundabout at Shore Rd and Ayr St, as it sits and waits for blocked pipes to clear and the tides to come and go. It may be Tamaki Dr around the mini golf area which is slowly sinking and being more regularly washed by the tide.

On an economic level we have been working on a small subdivision in Remuera that sits close to, but not directly abutting, the coastal edge. It has now been abandoned as the engineer was concerned council would not issue the consent or place a hazard notice on each title regarding the potential for inundation.

A hazard notice would scare most people off and would almost ensure no trading bank would provide a mortgage against an asset that could be underwater!

Over at Little Shoal Bay a 3.5m tide coupled with a significant storm saw the area flood, marooning the bowling club and contaminating the soil with salt, such that grass no longer grows.

NIWA now has a storm tide red-alert days calendar, which sets out for the year ahead when king tides will strike, an effect of the moon’s gravitational pull will have the greatest consequence. Right on schedule, Nelson recently experienced a red-alert day when a 4.6m king tide inundated low-lying roads and encroached onto houses. The tide was not exacerbated by a storm or wind but it gives us a taste of what may be to come on a more regular basis.

Short term the effects may only be a washdown of cars to reduce rust effects, but longer term, insurance companies will be watching. If you are flooded once by seawater they may pay out, but I suspect they would rather not insure you further as the events become more frequent and intense.

Maybe we should never have developed so close to the coastal edge. However, we have lived with king tides and storms and the effects have been fairly minor. If the changes predicted to sea levels are correct, then gradually over time we will have no real choice but to retreat or as live with the consequences as best we can.

Venice has been living with flooding forever. However, it’s getting worse and the land has been sinking. Recent floods saw a peak flood height of 1.5m of water sit on the famous Piazza San Marco, with the area flooded for over 16 hours. Tourists just buy higher waders and some even swim. However, there may come a time, like the fictional Atlantis or the more real examples of cities sunk by earthquakes, that the area is abandoned. How we manage the retreat or react to the issue is going to make for interesting times ahead and is some cases no amount of money will hold back the tide. — Hamish Firth

the investment

Pulling Out the Weeds

M

ost investment analysis centres on how to determine what security in which to invest and when is the right time to do it. I’m not going to discuss such a huge topic here but thought it might be useful to touch on the other side of the equation – when to sell an investment.

The decision to sell, or not to sell, a security pushes different mental buttons from the decision whether or not to buy a security.

Selling an investment is an equally important component of one’s investment strategy, as is the decision as to what to include in your investment portfolio — especially when it comes to losers or bad investments that can potentially undo all the positive contributions from favourable investments.

Selling losers is every bit as important to overall portfolio returns as holding or even increasing the winners. I have always followed these guidelines in assessing a sell decision (not to say that I get it right every time, and remember, if you change your mind or get it wrong, you can always buy it back later!).

Selling can be difficult, especially after you’ve undertaken a lot of analysis and determined to buy the security in the first place.

One aspect of selling losers that took me a long time to appreciate is more about mental bandwidth management than anything else.

Bad investments can get you down and have a way of sucking you into unproductive analysis and self-loathing: “How did I get that so wrong?” etc. That time is much better spent looking for the next good idea.

Have things changed? One of my favourite sayings here at Hobson Wealth is “things have changed”, which I use in referring to the ownership of the business and that we are no longer bound by, and restricted to, the previous owners’ rules, culture, risk approach, etc. When considering exiting a security, taking stock of whether things have changed is the question needing to be asked. The macro-environment including sector fundamentals and dynamics, as well as economic conditions, change. Take action if these changes affect your view of the outlook for the particular security in question.

The fundamentals of an investment change – unexpected outcomes and particularly negative surprises — drive changes in securities prices.

When a company’s strategy starts to falter — its fundamental outlook deteriorates — it’s usually a good time to sell. Something better comes along. It looks obvious but, selling less-attractive securities and holding more higher-conviction shares that have better prospects is likely to lead to overall way better portfolio returns: pull out the weeds and plant more flowers.

Don’t be a forced or desperate seller: it’s always better to sell when you can, rather than when you must. It is a reminder that the best time to sell is nearly always when everyone else disagrees with you, and wants to buy. That’s one feature that makes selling an investment sometimes so difficult, it’s essentially going against the tide.

One great saying which might usefully summarise the above is, ‘You won’t go poor by crystallising profits!’.

Don’t beat yourself up when selling an investment, even if it has historically performed well or generated decent returns.

Book your hitherto paper profit! And remember that if “things have changed” you do need to take another look at the investments you hold.

— Warren Couillault

the sound

Dear Reader

W

ell wouldn’t you know it. Much to my own disgust I’ve been reading pop star memoirs. When you read certain biographies of particular rock stars, you know that everyone else reading the same book, or seeing you read it, knows that you’re looking for the piece that will be exclaimed over in a tabloid.

Take Keith Richards’ bio, Life. The one he was paid a $7 million advance for, based on 10 pages. The one that topped the New York Times bestseller list for an age. Straightaway everyone’s skimming for the crazy drug stories, the sex stories, the fights with Mick stories. All of which are in there.

But there’s always that feeling that you’ve been had when reading a pop star’s memoir. Because for all their frankness, for all the sexual shenanigans they talk about, the nudity and the drugs and the booze, you just know that they’ve left the best bits out.

There’s also the fear that you’re about to enter a pity party.

Sir Elton John’s upcoming memoir, Me, talks at length about his alcoholism and also his near-death after prostate cancer surgery just before his 70th birthday. He also shockingly claims that the mourning for Princess Diana’s death got out of hand. You think?

There’s two types of pop star memoir — the autobiography and the biography. The biographies are the weirdest. They’re either written by obsessive fans full of excruciating detail about arcane events, or someone looking for a headline.

Albert Goldman is the king of the latter. His controversial

biographies of John Lennon, Elvis Presley and Lenny Bruce include some of the best interviews with a typewriter ever recorded.

But from time to time the genre delivers. In 2004 Anthony Kiedis, the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, released his memoir, Scar Tissue. It's an incredible read of just how low, banal and dirty so-called stars can be. He tells the story of his first drug experience at the age of 11. With his dad!

The real stories behind their great song ‘Under the Bridge’ which is all about scoring and hitting up in LA under freeway overpasses. There’s a weirdly charming passage about the variety of female pubic hair he has seen in his years on the road which is strangely reaffirming of the variety and diversity of the human race. My copy has been lent out so many times and it’s always come back, because the borrowers go and buy their own.

Now, two extraordinary music memoirs that have emerged this year and they’re both from New Zealanders. The first is Shayne Carter’s memoir. The man from Dunedin behind Straitjacket Fits and Dimmer. The book is called Dead People I Have Known. First up that title is brilliant in itself because he has known some amazing dead people. But the book itself is a wonder. Shayne took himself off to a friend’s crib in Aramoana for a year and lived on nothing and bashed out a masterpiece slowly but surely.

Steve Braunias called the first 100 pages some of the best writing of New Zealand childhood ever published. And it is.

It’s harrowing and uplifting and deadly grim. Its strength is that Shayne has a sense of self realisation that is impressive.

He knows he’s often been insufferable and a jerk. He knows he’s been brilliant. He knows he’s been unbelievably, pigheadedly, stupid. He knows he’s over and under achieved. He knows he’s a legend but he also knows he’s a pauper. It’s a riveting read.

The other memoir is Mike Chunn’s newly-released book called A Sharp Left Turn. He’s definitely got a story — from Split Enz to Citizen Band to record exec to protector of artists’ rights through his leadership of APRA. Then his third act, the trust Play It Strange, introducing kids to music and songwriting.

He has another underlying theme, and that’s his battle for mental health as he battled agoraphobia. But that also includes how he has since got involved in helping others with similar conditions and mental health issues, a scenario that is very common amongst creative musicians.

But I love the first 100 pages of this book as well. It’s the story of a Kiwi childhood, of Catholic schools, Sacred Heart, the cane, the bullying, and the finding of like-minded friends such as Tim Finn. It’s the story of family. It’s the story of a man coming to terms with his strengths and weaknesses.

The reason I like Shayne and Mike’s books so much is that they're not about fame and fortune and their trappings.

They’re about people and their ambitions and failures and successes. It’s human. It’s allegories for all of our lives writ large through the lens of fame even if it has been fleeting and relatively minor. It’s like so much of New Zealand's artistic output, quietly hitting the nail on its head. — Andrew Dickens Turn to page 38 to read more about A Sharp Left Turn

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the suburbanist

But Will it Make You Appy?

W

ith the increasing digitisation of everything, it was never going to be long before an app appeared that could help you monitor crime in your neighbourhood.

Not here, yet, but in America, where a crime-tracking app called Citizen has launched in three cities: New York (naturally), San Francisco and Baltimore. Designed as a public safety app, it gathers data from police reports, 911 calls and ambulance dispatches, aggregating it and displaying red dots of varying sizes on a map on your phone, highlighting danger spots. The dangers could be anything from a burglary underway to a house on fire. The app has assisted with the rescue of a kidnapped child, informed the public about an active shooting in a mall and helped to find a missing 103 year old.

All good and socially useful. However, some are concerned that rather than empowering people about their understanding of their city, it could feed paranoia and typecast certain areas as being dangerous unnecessarily. When it first launched in 2016 it was called Vigilante, until Apple removed it from the App Store amid concerns that identifying the location of a crime might encourage citizens to go down there and fight it. Vigilante was out, Citizen in.

The app receives data of about two million incidents a day, most of them minor. On average, Citizen sends out 74 alerts per day across all three cities, of what their analysts and algorithms consider to be ‘major incidents’. Too much data would be of no use; too little and it can end up looking like neighbourhood – or racial – profiling. This has occurred with another social app called Nextdoor which operates similarly to how Neighbourly works here – message boards about lost cats, babysitting opportunities, etc. However, it also includes a disproportionate number of posts about ‘sketchy characters’ – often black or Latino – walking down the street.

All of this seems very foreign to us. At one level, it is simply about the kind and amount of urban crime that occurs in cities of a scale that we don’t have here; at another level, it speaks of the role of fear in US communities that is also not such an issue for us.

This is, after all, the country where enough people drive around stealing courier packages from the front steps of houses that they have a name for them: porch pirates. This in turn spawns businesses and products to help you avoid or mitigate this theft.

Amazon offers lockers in high profile places where you can get your package delivered safely; they also will sell you Amazon Key, a special doorlock with cameras that allows one-time entry by the Amazon delivery person into your house to leave your package.

BoxLock is a smart padlock that opens a box once the courier has scanned your package, allowing you to receive packages from anyone, not just Amazon. It raises the question of whether these apps and products identify nefarious behaviour or create the environment for it and so, encourage it.

If you want a more benign view of the world, look no further than Urban World, an app produced by McKinsey that lets you turn a virtual globe and zoom in on population and GDP data of anywhere that interests you. Ok – still with me? – the globe looks like a dark pin cushion with white pins heading into the stratosphere with the height of each pin indicating its relative population; Asia is, as you would expect, very spiky. For the economic boffins, you can explore relative GDP on a map going back hundreds of years or the movement of the economic centre of gravity. It’s a long way from a real-time view of crime in your neighbourhood, possibly more educational and definitely more useful. — Tommy Honey

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the second act

Working on Ourselves

O

ver my last few columns, I have pondered the question of second act career fulfilment, and encouraged you to go back into childhood memories to consider what you loved to do when left to your own devices, away from the influences of the opinions of others. There are clues in this as to what kinds of activities and aspects to a working life will help you flourish. I’ve also explored the idea of narratives — the themes that we have told ourselves about the first act of our lives, and what we may have to let go of in order to flow into that fulfilling second act.

There is a third aspect to all of this, and that is how your career choices may have been inadvertently shaped through the limitations of how your background — your family in particular — framed work and careers. In our leadership development practice, we call these ‘family work narratives’.

For instance, my husband and I are grafters, working class kids who worked their butts off to survive and thrive. The difference is that he was raised mainly by his unusual mother, a creative and slightly kooky visual display artist who encouraged his artistic expression. As a result he has never done anything that he didn’t want to do, but is simply driven by being happy and self-expressed.

On the other hand, I lived in a more traditional household structure where Dad worked hard ‘for the man’ and Mum’s role was to look after the family. I pursued status, commonly known as ‘career’ and tried desperately to find actual purpose-driven meaning in the work in my early years, but got sidetracked by money and promotions. While my income has been greater than my husband’s over the years, I would admit that it is only in the last seven years or so that I too have been living as purposefully as he does.

Together, we’ve spawned an artist and a jazz musician, which shows my husband’s creatively purpose-driven life has been perhaps a lot more inspiring than mine. Certainly I have encouraged our kids to pursue self-expression and happiness, but I also can’t help but add the stern, fear-driven chaser of ‘financial independence’, which they are yet to fully get to. While I am thrilled that they are exploring who they are through creative pursuits, I’m simultaneously undeniably anxious that they are not working six days a weeks like I did at their ages.

When we visited our son at his uni hostel recently, he said some of his female friends wanted to meet me. When I questioned why, it was because I was a ‘high powered business woman’. Inwardly I roared with laughter and considered turning up with 80s shoulder pads and a briefcase and begin ordering people around. Until I realised that indeed in the 80s and 90s, I did wear a lot of shoulderpadded suits and even had a briefcase. And while clueless inside, I performed what I thought being a businesswoman (or as an elderly aunty called it, a manageress) looked like — getting promotions, climbing ladders, business trips and being on the phone a lot.

So if you have got to the place of realising that your first act choices won’t cut it for your second act (and are perhaps thinking like I did — what on earth was I doing for the first 25 years of my career?) it is worth looking at family-driven narratives and how they have shaped your working life.

Some of the questions we explore in leadership development with our clients include asking about what kinds of jobs were understood within your family, and what job types was there no connection to? For example, was your family all about blue-collar jobs or professional roles or service-oriented work? Was your family connected or disconnected to work that occurred in offices and high-rises? What kind of jobs created anxiety (e.g. my anxiety about doing jobs for pleasure like art and jazz music)? And then a great question is to ask yourself to complete the sentence, “I would be doing better than my family if I . . .”

Certainly for me, I would have been doing better than my family if I could work for myself rather than ‘the man’ and have financial independence. My husband would have been doing better than his mum if he were just a little more financially flush than her.

And for our kids, clearly they would be doing better than their parents if they had a lot more time to play — yes, they’re sure doing well on that! As I watched my son’s music gig, I received a text from my daughter saying that she had been at her studio all day. To settle the wave of anxiety that brings, I remind myself that at the end of a life well lived, it is often a legacy of art, music or literature that is valued. No-one will be wanting to reread that great board report I once wrote. — Sandy Burgham

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the journey

Intrepid Auditing Historically, the role of an auditor was ‘to hear’ recounts of trading by agents or ship captains. Parnell-based auditor Cynthia Forbes heard and saw much to amaze and distress on a recent auditing trip to the Micronesian island nation Republic of Kiribati, as she recounts

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the journey

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n occasion, my auditing career and travel have aligned to offer adventure in far-flung places. I seize these opportunities. Recently, I threw caution to the wind and accepted an engagement of a Kiribati trust. The trust’s aim is to protect the remaining pristine environments in Micronesia and promote awareness of ecological conservation.

But to achieve this, I must first journey to one of the least environmentally sustainable places on the planet, Tarawa Atoll, Kiribati, where the trust keeps offices.

Tarawa Atoll is a tiny strip of coral sand, lying three-and-a-half hours flying north of Fiji, sitting just north of the equator in Micronesia. It is one of the farthest flung islands in Oceania. Kiribati itself, of which Tarawa is the capital, is comprised of 33 atolls, 21 of which are inhabited.

Incredibly, the atolls are home to 103,500 Micronesians, baking under the equatorial sun. Fifty per cent of Kiribati’s total population live on South Tarawa Atoll, making it one of the most populous places in the world with a staggering 135 humans per square kilometre.

South Tarawa is confronting. It is in a state of total ecological collapse with its pristine lagoon now too polluted to swim,

but swim the locals do, regardless. This is the place where the rubber meets the road on global warming and plastics in the ocean. If you are a climate change denier or consider initiatives to reduce plastic to be mere virtue signalling, visit Tarawa for a jaw-dropping reality check.

Summiting the highest peak on Tarawa is not difficult, it rises a shade under two metres above mean high water, and the top 30cm of that is, by my reckoning, plastic waste. There is simply nowhere else for it to go.

Each morning, villagers sweep up the leaves that have fallen overnight, leaving the piles of rotting garbage where they lie. The futility of it is heart-breaking.

The villagers don’t live in Pacifika-style fales in the traditional sense, there is room enough only for coconut-trunked sleeping platforms with a thatched roof. Many of these are built in the tidal zone — the elevation of the platforms allows the sea and rain to drain away, but the rubbish is trapped, festering and stinking in the relentless heat.

South Tarawa wrote itself into history on the morning of November 20, 1943, when the United States launched Operation Galvanic, its first offensive in the Pacific War with the aim of taking Tarawa from the hobson 32

a 4000-strong Japanese force for its strategically critical airstrip at Betio.

According to historical information I found online, the dawn broke like every other on Tarawa, hot, sunny and beautiful but the sunrise signalled the unleashing of hellfire from the big guns of the US fleet.

The Marines watched on, naively gaining confidence as the bombardment of the heavily defended beachfront defences rolled on. Mid-morning, the order was given for the marines to board the 20-man amphibious landing craft for the land assault.

They were soon to discover that a terrible mistake had been made. The men were sent ashore at low tide when the surrounding reef was at its most exposed. The landing craft became hopelessly ensnared in the Japanese’s best device, the reef itself. This is when the Japanese hit back, blasting the men in the stationary craft with heavy artillery fire and dropping bombs from a light sea plane they could launch from the lagoon.

The Marines were forced to abandon their craft and wade for the beach over razorsharp coral, a distance of over 100m. Here they were sitting ducks for the Japanese machine guns in pillboxes along the shore. Despite utter carnage, the Marines

eventually established a small beachhead before nightfall but were pinned down.

During the night, the Japanese swam to the marooned landing craft and stationed snipers who picked off the second wave of US landings on day two. Sheer weight of numbers from the 18,000 US servicemen available eventually enabled the US forces to land tanks that were finally able to destroy the Japanese pillboxes at point blank range. Now the pendulum swung, as the US forces pushed inland, destroying everything in their path with grenades and flame throwers. At the end of day two, the Japanese mounted a final charge and were slaughtered. Of the 4000 Japanese fighters, only 17 men survived. Marine losses were 2800.

The battle of Tarawa was won but at enormous cost. The US lost more men on

Betio beach and in the lagoon over those two days than they lost in six months in the Guadalcanal campaign and the battle of Betio goes down as one of the bloodiest in WWII history.

Today, the war relics on Betio remain a legitimate tourist attraction, marking the sacrifice that young Americans made to roll the Japanese back out of the Pacific. Lest we forget.

Auditing today in a place like Kiribati has its own unique challenges. Charm, patience and resilience are all qualities that the budding intrepid auditor must deploy to impose modern financial standards — required for NZ-based trusts and internationally — on people that are not naturally accustomed to working in such a way. Audit trails often taper off to oral traditions, the island way of passing on information.

However, the trust’s work make possible protection and awareness initiatives about the remaining pristine reefs and uninhabited atolls of the Phoenix Is — part of the Kiribati atoll — and I am pleased to play a professional part in ensuring its success. Professionally, Kiribati is challenging. Such is the culture in Oceania.

Kiribati itself is attempting now to create a tourist trade, but it would be fair to say no-one is rushing to print ‘I love Kiribati’ tee-shirts yet.

The outer islands are undeniably beautiful and pristine but the island of Tarawa is nothing short of a human catastrophe. It is in a state of total ecological collapse and floating on a sea of rubbish as what little island remains is piece by piece, consumed by the rising sea levels.

It makes a visitor weep to see people eking out an existence amongst the rubbish and the rising tide, groaning under a sea of humanity, car wrecks, plastic and waste.

And the population is growing as the environment degrades. On Tarawa, nine people are born every day, two die and one soul departs by migration, for a net gain of six people per day. Where they will go?

What will become of them?

At the airport, eager to depart, I am approached by a smart young local boy with a sense of purpose. A rare thing here, I’ve decided. He asks me to complete a survey on my experience on Tarawa. I agree.

I choke back a tear as he asks me to tick what I think is Tarawa’s biggest barrier to tourism. Where do I start and stop? I opt for saying the rubbish. The last question is “would you recommend Tarawa as a tourist destination to friends and family?”

Can I lie? I am an auditor after all, such indiscretions do not sit easily with me. I must not lie.

I tick ‘No’. Holidays are so precious, yes, it is interesting, but would I spend my limited vacation time and money there? No. Then again, it does depend on what you are looking for in a holiday. Maybe the more intrepid traveller wanting to see the real issues facing the planet may be intrigued.

— Cynthia Forbes

For more information on travel to Kiribati, see kiribatitourism.gov.ki

All photos courtesy Cynthia Forbes, pictured in Kiribati, this page.

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the bookmark

There's No Place Like Home Parnell-based philanthropist-author-collector Christine Fernyhough shares and honours her love of mid-century ‘everyday’ in an encyclopaedic new book, while on page 38, another local author, Remuera’s Mike Chunn, turns the pages on a life in music photography by mark adams and haru sameshima, studio la gonda and kate tattersfield

O

pen any page of Mid-Century Living: The Butterfly House Collection and stand by to be enveloped in your own memories. Just about any reader will hear themselves mentally exclaiming, if not out loud, at the floral carpet images used as front and endpapers, along with the instantly recognisable household items and crafts gone the way of the rotary-dial telephone and TVs encased in their own woodgrain cabinets. Spice jars.

Three-in-one sound systems. Swan Lake prints in moody blues. Embroidered peg bags. The peanut butter jars that became drinking glasses . . . they’re all there, page after page, the everyday of mid-20th century New Zealand life, lovingly honoured by Christine Fernyhough. A long-time collector of Kiwiana, Fernyhough’s vast collection is amassed under the title ‘Museum of the Everyday’. But it’s her family bach at Mangawhai that’s the star of this book.

Awarded an ONZM in 2000 and a CNZM in 2011 for services to education and community, Fernyhough co-founded Books in Homes with author Alan Duff in 1994, and the Gifted Kids Programme for highachievers in low-decile schools. A broken heart led Fernyhough to quit Auckland for a sheep station in the Canterbury alps. That journey was documented in her best-selling memoir, The Road to Castle Hill: A High Country Love Story in 2007, and a follow-up book for children, Ben and Mark: Boys of the High Country, two years later. Five years ago, Fernyhough, Chrissie to her friends, sold the station and returned north to her house in Parnell and much, much closer to the Butterfly House. Initially bought

by Chrissie and her late husband, John, and her parents, the original little 1960s bach has grown over the years to accommodate the family, but a constant theme is the decorations and collections of the everyday, much of it still in purposeful use, rather than just for admiring.

On the following pages, in an edited extract, Chrissie introduces the Butterfly House’s living room.

Left, the living room, looking toward the kitchen. Other rooms have more evocative names — the Posh Room (a second lounge popular at cocktail hour) and bedrooms: Lady Di's Room (featuring ballet prints and ornaments), the Queen's Room, the Sheraton Room: the carpet was repurposed from a Sheraton hotel makeover. Flora's Room earned its name from the colour scheme — a hat tip to Famous Flora's, the colourful Auckland brothel.

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the bookmark

THE LIVING ROOM

T

he living room, the lounge, sitting room, main room — most families have their favourite name for the ‘big room’. Our is the living room because there is a lot of living that goes on in it. I love the way the living room at the Butterfly House lives ‘noisily’ on so many levels, with its wall colour, turquoise, and the furniture fabrics in bright orange, red, leopard print, yellow and turquoise. And I love how the objects live — alongside each other, alone or in groups, complementing each other with distinctive modernist shapes, examples of great craftsmanship or eccentrically homemade. My eye can float along the mantlepiece and hearth, over the shelves, on table tops, and I remember where and why I bought the piece or who gave it to me, and what memories it triggers. I must admit I spend quite a bit of time looking over the living room and rearranging it.

Top, a section of the mantelpiece in the living room, with a collection of mantel clocks and a framed map featuring native birds. Drinking glasses in the kitchen include tumblers that once contained Sanatarium peanut butter or Marmite. Above, a rimu bread board with a decorative edge of Maori designs, incised on the back by its maker: 'E W Reader 1978'.

the hobson 36

And of course people bring life to the living room — singing, talking, babies crying, oldies snoring, teenagers hummphing; cards, Housie and Scrabble being played, complex jigsaws giving grief, books being discussed, lessons on how to knit, jointly doing crosswords. There are rooms within rooms with the living room; each has a personality and yet they all work together.

Each ‘room’ comes into its best according to the time of the day and where the sun is. We start the day sitting or stretching out on the daybeds or armchairs in the morning sun and, as the day goes on, we follow the sun, ending up in the west-facing posh room. When anyone enters the living room — from outside, from the library, the kitchen, the laundry — it presents as a whole, a visual feast.

Every now and again members of the family who are not keen on clutter, like my daughter-in-law, Julie, suggest a simpler layout so we can all get to the fire and the television without weaving through a maze of chairs, tables and other objects. But I like the idea that you cannot arrive in one space without passing through other spaces. They may have a point though, and testament to this is the night when one of the grandchildren test their great-grandfather’s assertion that, even in his eighties, he could field a rugby ball come at him from any angle and at any speed. The ball sent a standard lamp flying which, in turn, upturned the jigsaw table along with a nearcomplete 1000-piece jigsaw — and of course it was the hardest jigsaw ever done. The glass bulb smashed and the vacuum cleaner had to come out of the cupboard, as trying to pick up shards of glass by hand from the pattern of Floral Bouquet is impossible.

The living room at the Butterfly House, as in so many houses of today, has become a space for really living in. It is nothing like the ‘best’ room, which, for generations, occupied the sunniest and most luxurious area in the house, often with a bay window and window seats, smart furniture, a mantelpiece, and a china cabinet where the family’s prized knick-knacks were displayed out of harm’s way.

the centre of the room is a dolls’ house, the card table with the ever-present jigsaw and, against the west wall, an upright piano that is kept tuned and ready for a family sing-along. My parents’ post-footie parties were always fun — Uncle Jim could play the piano by ear so every request was given a go, and in-tune and out-of-tune voices gave splendid renditions of old favourites such as ‘Tiptoe through the Tulips’ and ‘Lili Marlene’. Today I’d be asking Uncle Jim to play Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man’. Music is one of our family’s passions and the living room is always alive with it: singing, guitar playing and music streamed from phones through portable speakers. This latest technology is a far cry from our earlier PYE radiogram and, in the posh room, the Thorn three-in-one on which we still play a selection of rather scratchy records — because music on vinyl always sounds better.

Edited extract from Mid-Century Living: The Butterfly House Collection by Christine Fernyhough, reproduced with permission by Penguin Random House NZ. RRP $60, available at good booksellers now.

Above, some of Chrissie's recipe book collection, which sit among more recent authors. Her Museum of the Everyday catalogued collection of crafted and manufactured household items and decoraive arts can be found online at ehive.com/ collections/6051

The living room at the Butterfly House has daybeds for lounging and reading, armchairs for pontificating, a dining area alongside a large wall unit dividing it from the kitchen. In

the hobson 37

Mike Chunn in stage makeup for a performance during Split Enz's trip to England in 1976. The main purpose of the British visit was to record their second album, Second Thoughts, produced by Phil Manzanera, the Roxy Music guitarist. They had met when Enz supported Roxy Music in Sydney the year before. Photo Gijsbert Hankeroot, Getty Images

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the bookmark

Notes on a Musical Life Remuera's Mike Chunn has put down his bass and turned to the keyboard to share memories of music, family, New Zealand's pop and rock scene and his experiences of living with agoraphobia

W

M

ike Chunn has been, if not centre stage, the even more influential guy to the side for much of modern New Zealand music’s seminal phases. A founding member and the bass player of Split Enz, he went on to form Citizen Band with his brother, Geoff, before his crippling agoraphobia saw him leave performing.

Chunn segued into working for record companies, managing bands (The Crocodiles, Pop Mechanix, Dance Exponents) and spent 12 years as the NZ head of APRA, the Australasian Performing Right Association, which represents music copyright holders. In 2004 he co-founded the Play it Strange Trust, which fosters the art, and skill, of songwriting for young people. Thanks to Chunn’s efforts, songwriting is now a Level 3 subject for high school music students. Along the way he’s used his own experiences of agoraphobia to champion mental health, awarded a CNZM in 2012 for services to both men’s mental health and music.

The eldest of Jerry and Von Chunn’s five children, the family spent Chunn’s earlier years at Ōtāhuhu, where Jerry practised as a GP. When he decided to specialise in the new area of allergies, they moved to Parnell, Jerry’s practice and the family home setting up in the distinctive terraced houses at 469-473 Parnell Rd. Now, Chunn, who has five children, lives in Remuera with wife Brigid, to whom he’s dedicated his new autobiography, A Sharp Left Turn: Notes on a life in music, from Split Enz to Play It Strange.

In the following edited extract, Chunn writes of his secondary schooling as a boarder at Sacred Heart in the later 1960s. While boarding school food, enforced silence and the canings are memories not to be cherished, a new friendship made in the first days of Form 3 and a deepening love of music would point the way to the future.

hen the weekend turned up, we finally got to coagulate and start the social discourse. It was on the banks of the 1st XV field that I met this lad from Te Awamutu. His name was Tim Finn. (His Christian name is actually Brian, but he is now known around the world as Tim — his middle name — so I’ll stick with it.)

Tim’s short hair looked like it would explode if he let it grow. His eyes were the strongest feature of his face, and he fixed me with a stare. He spoke with clarity — each word counted. And his legs were very thin.

He wasn’t a complete stranger. At the end of the previous year, when I had gone to Sacred Heart to sit the scholarship exam to try for free boarding and education at the school, Tim had sat next to me. Not that we introduced ourselves, as talking wasn’t allowed. He won the scholarship. A bright lad. And now here we were again, except this time we were inmates. And we were allowed to talk here on the side of the 1st XV field.

He told me that he was a tennis player and a decent swimmer. And would be signing up for the rugby. I told him I was a mean opening bowler in cricket and was going to run hurdles in the school athletic team. As well, I played left wing in rugby, as I was left-footed.

Tim and I joined a group of lads who quickly came to grips with the lie of the land, conforming to a satisfactory standard in all matters of mid-’60s academia and discipline.

We sought escape as such. Escape that wouldn’t find us maligned by the orders of the day.

Towards the end of the year a huge change came over our lives. From living day-to-day in the often fruitless pursuit of catching the odd pop song on the radio, the first New Zealand pirate radio station arrived — Radio Hauraki — and from that day on we were immersed in a glut of outstanding music. From The Kinks to Unit 4 + 2, the Four Tops to Every Mother’s Son, Small Faces to The Rolling Stones, Dusty Springfield to The Mamas and the Papas, Strawberry Alarm Clock to Crispian St Peters, The La De Das to Larry’s Rebels and not forgetting Vanilla Fudge — all bowing in reverence to the extraordinary Beatles. It poured out of our tinny trannies and we were obsessed, lying awake at night with our heads under our pillows, one ear glued to the mono AM sound. The sound of the future. I found myself becoming more and more focused on New Zealand bands, and during the August holidays I bought my second record: ‘On Top of the World’ by The La De Das. I played it three or four hundred times and got inside it rather well.

At the end of the year, Tim’s conscientious dedication to success took him to the top of the class. My conscientious dedication placed me only fifth, and I resolved to give the country boy more of a run for his money the next year. As well, Tim scored the more notable achievement of receiving the most canings in our particular dormitory.

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the bookmark

The boys in the bands — top, the first Split Enz publicity shot, December 1972, from left, Mike Howard, Mike Chunn, Miles Golding, Phil Judd, Tim Finn.

Centre, on tour in NZ, 1975. From left, Tim Finn, Paul Crowther, Mike Chunn, Noel Crombie, Wally Wilkinson, Eddie Rayner, Phil Judd.

Bottom, Citizen Band, 1979. From left, Brent Eccles, Geoff Chunn, Mike, Greg Clark. Opposite page, the author today, photographed by Josef Scott.

the hobson 40

Visits home on weekend leave and the holidays were valued not only for Von’s beautiful cooking, but for catching up on records with Geoff. Back at school, Mike and Tim would discuss the music — the Beatles’ Revolver was one analysed in depth — and retreat to the school’s music rooms where they could play pianos and guitars. Halfway through Form 4, they asked to hold a concert for their classmates.

Brother Ivan was enigmatic and influential. We called him Guff — no one knew why.

Had we been aware of the term at the time, he would have been ‘cool’. He never caned anyone. He had a gentle sense of detachment, and unlike brothers such as Rat and Boof he seemed to know that the world was changing, poised to become a more exciting place.

Guff was a beatnik in disguise; we would hear him at nights, off in the distance, playing Dave Brubeck on the assembly hall piano.

He played guitar and would bring records to music class.

‘Morning, boys,’ he’d say. ‘We’re going to listen to Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde this morning.’ I’d pipe up. ‘Brother, I’ve got the new Cream album, Fresh Cream — how about that?’ Guff: ‘I’ll give you three Cream tracks for three Bob Dylans.’

And we would sit and listen to records and it was beautiful. But his crowning achievement came that year during school assembly. Brother Ivan led the school singing, and there had been signs of a willingness to stretch things a little by having the school sing Dylan’s ‘When the Ship Comes In’ as opposed to ‘The Lord is My Shepherd’. But this wintry day in 1967, as 650 teenage males of ascending sizes, assorted shapes and varying degrees of acne, skinniness and greasiness stood to attention in their navy-blue shorts and jerseys, Ivan presented them with his coup de grâce — The Beatles’ ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’. We sang it out. Tim was standing next to me. I watched him sing. It was all second nature to him. The psychedelic moment of a passing dream . . . steadfast. It wasn’t lost on our hungry imaginations. We saw the eccentricity. The surreal situation.

Brother Ivan was holding a torch for us all and a few of us took the opportunity to follow the beam.

Consequently, it was no surprise when Ivan okayed our request for a class concert and allowed us to haul the pump organ over from the chapel into the assembly hall so that we could faithfully reproduce our Beatles and Procol Harum numbers. We roped in a couple of classmates, Buck and Tank (Philip Buckelton and Gene Paul), on bongos and guitar, and on 28 September 1967 Tim and I walked onto a stage together for the first time. In rapid and nervous succession we played spirited renditions of ‘Homburg’, ‘Ticket to Ride’, ‘To Love Somebody’, ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ and ‘Homeward Bound’. Tim hid behind my piano in fright, but did his duty at the microphone and stunned the class. He sang like a bird and froze the lot of them.

When Tim’s voice filled the assembly hall, it was a peak moment. For a few seconds we dared to think that it might be possible. That there might be something there that could break through the rigid goals others had put in our heads and the restrictions surrounding us. But as we shuffled off to maths, the spark of hope dulled. Brother Ivan in his wise way was careful to avoid inflating egos, and his reaction was more bemused than enthusiastic.

Edited extract and images from A Sharp Left Turn: Notes on a life in music, from Split Enz to Play It Strange by Mike Chunn reproduced with permission by Allen & Unwin NZ. RRP $45, available at good booksellers now. the hobson 41

the magpie

Bags that One

Saddle Crossbody Bag, $109, countryroad.co.nz

Bags are having a solid 80s moment and the Magpie is very happy about it. The clutch is the hero – look out for a zillion iterations of Bottega Veneta’s dreamy, creamy, pillowy clutch.

Ok, it’s a complete pain for a Magpie on the go – all that clutching and tucking under your wing — but just watch us dive in. Sexy shoppers and crossbody bags continue to reign for the busy, with retro notes in boxy flaps and closures.

There is also the mini-bag trend. Literally teeny, tiny, wheredoes-my-phone-go mini bags – but we’re not showing those.

They’re just silly.

Personalise this forest green textured leather Cross Body Bag with your initials. $189.95, thedailyedited.com

Kellie Bag in light khaki by Samsoe & Samsoe. $179, superette.co.nz

Deadly Ponies Pleated Bender Midi Python bag in golden chocolate. $899, dlypstudios.com/nz

Louis Vuitton Dauphine Bag, $3900, louisvuitton.com

The AB 96 Shopper

by PB0110, in citron and brown, retracts to a clutch. $319, thisisfabric.com

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Meika Beaded Bag, $109.90, witchery.co.nz

Bottega Veneta The Pouch in butter calf leather. $2785, matches.com

Ganni Leather Drawstring Bag, $779, workshop.co.nz

Gucci Vintage Canvas Belted iPhone case, $1090, gucci.com/nz

Burgundy Gene Mini Convertible Bag (belt bag and shoulder bag). $390, karenwalker.com

the hobson 43

the district diary

November 2019 2 There’s a slice of France in Auckland every weekend at La Cigale French Market. Fruit and veg, meats, breads, pasta, cheeses and more. Saturdays 8am-1.30pm, Sundays 9am1.30pm, 69 St Georges Bay Rd 2-3 The GABBS book fair is an annual fundraiser held until late; perfect for those who don’t like shopping in a crowd. Good quality books, CDs, DVDs, puzzles. Barfoot & Thompson Stadium, 203 Kohimarama Rd. Sat 9am-1am, Sun 7am-3pm, bring your own bag 5 Make sure your pets are safe inside as fireworks to mark a failed attack on the British parliament in 1605 take place 9-10 Skykiwi’s Happy Family Day is billed as a one-stop leisure destination. Kid (and adult) zones, interactive activities for the family, food, entertainment. ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane West, Sat 12-8pm, Sun 10am-6pm.

Tickets at gate $10, 14 & under tickets come with 2 complimentary adult passes Hola! The whole family will enjoy celebrating Quetzalcoatl at Mexfest 2019. Mexican food, mariachi, folk dance, pinata workshops and loads more. ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane West, Sat 12-8pm, Sun 10am-5pm. Tickets at gate or from mexfestival.com 11 Remember those who served and gave

their lives, reflect on the sacrifices made in the hope of securing peace. Armistice Day memorial service, WWI Sanctuary, Auckland War Memorial Museum. Free, 11am 14 The second Thursday of each month a group of friendly crafters meet at Parnell Library for Coffee and Craft. Bring your own project or share skills and learn something new. Free entry, all welcome, 545 Parnell Rd, 10-11am 15 Every Friday from 5-7.30pm enjoy live music sessions by Sasha Te Whare at Brothers Beer Orakei Bay Village. All welcome, free entry 16 You won’t want to miss StarJam’s end of year concert. A year’s worth of hard work and fun by young Kiwis with disabilities culminates in this — a dazzling night’s entertainment for all. Victory Convention Centre, 98 Beaumont St, Freemans Bay. Tickets at eventfinda.co.nz, 5-8pm 17 The Parnell Festival of Roses celebrates the magnificent Parnell Rose Gardens at Dove-Myer Robinson Park. Stalls, crafts, entertainment, food. Free, 10.30am-4pm 22 Basement Theatre’s annual Christmas show and fundraiser is back. A Frickin Dangerous Space-mas by the sketch comedy trio Frickin Dangerous Bro will also — in Christmas show tradition — guest-star famous faces.

At the Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, to Dec 20. Showtimes and tickets from basementtheatre.co.nz 23 The Auckland Highland Games promises a day of Scottish culture. Dancing, pipe bands, caber tossing, sheaf and haggis competitions, traditional Scottish food, kids activities and, the icing on the oatcake, Clydesdales and Shetland ponies. Ellerslie Event Centre, 100 Ascot Ave, free entry, 10am-4pm 24 It’s the 86th annual Farmers’ Christmas Parade! Pre-parade entertainment from midday, the procession starts at 1pm through the central city. Wrap it up with Santa’s Party in Aotea Square. Free, see santaparade.co.nz for route and info (rain date December 1) 25 Mark 100 years of Zonta International at a special celebratory dinner with guest of honour Dame Patsy Reddy. At the RNZ Yacht Squadron, Westhaven. Tickets $120, RSVPs and info, maureen@meton.co.nz 27 Teams from 40 countries are coming to the best little sailing nation on earth for the 2019 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 World Championships. With top sailors like Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, the welcome event at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club is your chance to chat and get autographs from some of the world’s best. Free entry, 11am-6pm, 8-10 Tamaki Dr, Ōrākei. Event runs till Dec 8

David Seymour MP for Epsom

For an appointment, please contact me on 09 522 7464 or mpepsom@parliament.govt.nz

Epsom Electorate Office Level 2, 27 Gillies Avenue, Newmarket the hobson 44

Promoted by David Seymour, MP for Epsom, 27 Gillies Avenue, Newmarket

the kiosk

An Inspired Education Moving on - Business Card.pdf

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4/02/19

11:10 AM

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Thinking of moving to a retirement village, or just downsizing?

Moving On can assist with all things moving, from decluttering, to sorting, organising and unpacking.

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CAREY CAREERS Career Consulting - comprehensive guidance, counselling and support for teens and tertiary students • Uncertain about school subjects • Disengaged, lacking in motivation • Overwhelmed about deciding on the next step to tertiary study or work • Wanting to change courses, drop-out of study, unsure of where to next?

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9/05/19 7:24 PM

Join Remuera Heritage and help us recognise, appreciate, preserve and share our local heritage.

Members enjoy opportunities to visit heritage sites and buildings, hear guest speakers and attend a variety of heritage related events.

remueraheritage.org.nz

Come and join the team — get fit, stay fit for life.

Adult (masters) morning swim squads, for ages 21-91 in mixed and women’s squads at the Olympic pool.

Whether you’re training for an event, want to get fit or stay fit, Rick and the team welcome you.

Come for the swimming, stay for the camaraderie! www.rickwells.co.nz @RickWellsSport

Affiliated training partner

the cryptic by mĀyĀ

Set by Māyā. Answers will appear in our next issue, December 2019.

Can’t wait, or need help? Visit https://thehobsoncrossword.wordpress.com

ACROSS 1 Rip off rude notice in empty ferry? Sweet! (13) 10 A US chopper Cockney man and woman get an astronomer (11) 11 Henry banned from Japanese theatre? (3) 12 Flimsy prison for a type of 1 (5,5) 13 The first monster with a necklace (4) 15 Start where actors are (5) 17 Morton had bread after dessert (5,4) 18 Dedicated follower never overturned a hill (9) 19 Religious education group going back to square one (5) 20 Yield back 13, losing shirt to pressure (4) 21 I’m put in two covers — as 6 saw, Rome wasn’t (10) 25 Bill has end turned upside-down for a small charge (3) 26 Tuscan misread sign pointing to refuges (11) 27 New row with Keys, say? These may change your mind (13)

DOWN 2 3 land ship on US mountains (5) 3 Just decays, back between the yards? Sounds like a grim tale (5,5) 4 Light-coloured cigar raised by mouth, note (5) 5 ‘old back about good denizen (9) 6 Emperor found in onerous surrounds (4) 7 Bitter headed fibre provider, I hear (9) 8 Construct quarry for dedicated follower? (7,6) 9 “Like water for . . .” - a type of 1? (9,4) 14 Hardly open to blend of aircraft or speedboat (10) 16 Heavenly thing, to recline in a room with large windows (3,6) 17 Items of 1 with extremely dark surfaces? (3,6) 22 Doctor to run generator (5) 23 Hunter getting nag’s head for rook? It could make you weep! (5) 24 Person appointed to oversee shifting pole of heavenly body (4)

OCTOBER CRYPTIC CROSSWORD ANSWERS Last month’s puzzle was a perimetric jigsaw. The answers are: Perimeter — That’s the way the cookie crumbles Other answers, as numbered: 1. Calico, 2. Mad cow, 3. Demi, 4. Slim, 5. Whiplash, 6. Into, 7. Asia, 8. Curt, 9. Moil, 10. Endocarp, 11. Tango, 12. Sheets, 13. Lyes, 14. Upwind, 15. Busman's holiday, 16. Scour, 17. In league, 18. Okra, 19. Thank you, 20. Orphic, 21. Tipping the wink, 22. Tandoori, 23. Acrostic, 24. Multiple, 25. Herons, 26. Techie, 27. Other, 28. Tongs, 29. Humour, 30. Rifleman.

the hobson 46

Everything at Design Warehouse is sourced from Italy, Belgium, France, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

SunbrellaÂŽ cushions are included with deep seating purchases as shown on our website

Before you purchase elsewhere, you owe it to yourself to compare. Prices. Design. Quality.

Manufacturing and our Instant Availability. Full Assembly. Like everybody else, you will be so pleased you did. www.designwarehouse.co.nz / sales@designwarehouse.co.nz / 0800 111 112 137 - 147 The Strand, Parnell, Auckland / Open Daily 9:30 - 5:30

Richard Lyne, Sales Associate at New Zealand Sotheby's International Realty in Auckland Central.

I don't really have a favourite physical place. What drives me is a moment - that instant where I've connected people and place, and guided someone to find their new home. That's my zone.

your place Find your favourite place with us

nzsothebysrealty.com AUCKLAND CENTRAL | TAKAPUNA | WAIHEKE ISLAND | BAY OF PLENTY | ROTORUA | TAUPO | NAPIER | HAVELOCK NORTH | WAIRARAPA | WELLINGTON NELSON | MARLBOROUGH | WANAKA | ARROWTOWN | QUEENSTOWN Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated. Browns Real Estate Limited (licensed under the REAA 2008) MREINZ.