Factions fall short in race for local board control
Veteran local-body politician and top-polling candidate George Wood has been quick to put up his hand for the role of Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair after last weekend’s elections, despite his Communities & Residents (C&R) ticket failing to win control of the board.
C&R and rival ticket A Fresh Approach (AFA) both stood full slates of candidates for the board but each won only two seats.
Their members have been joined on the new board by two non-aligned candidates.
Attempting to reach a pragmatic arrangement over chair and deputy chair roles would
seem likely, with some members telling the Observer they know the public’s appetite for in-fighting is low.
Seventy-nine-year-old former North Shore mayor Wood made it clear on Monday he was in the running for the chair’s role for what he
Slurpalicious! Local foodie showcases Takapuna treats
Diverse dining... Forrest Hill’s Lincoln Tan tucks into a scallop and noodle dish at St Marée seafood bistro in Takapuna. He has been hosting Taste of Takapuna dining events for the business association’s annual hospitality month. Don’t miss your chance to vote in the People’s Choice Awards. Story, page 5.
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Devonport over-represented in
From page 1
says will be his last term in office. He was “chuffed” at the mix voters delivered.
Most of the new board members have been in contact with each other since the chasteningly low turnout in the area’s poll: just 34.4 per cent of registered voters had their say, compared with 43.4 per cent in 2022. City-wide, the figure was 28.8 per cent, well down on the national average of 32.6 per cent.
Wood and his fellow C&R incumbent Gavin Busch topped the DTLB poll, but two of the ticket’s other candidates, Mike Single and Neil Zent, fell just short, in seventh and eighth place respectively.
Auckland councillors for North Shore ward
ielle Grant to the second ward seat. Mayor Wayne Brown, who had a resounding win himself, was quick to reappoint Hills to chair the council planning committee.
The AFA pair, incumbent member Terence Harpur and newcomer Scott Macarthur, placed fifth and sixth. Last term, the group’s four members gave it control of the board, but former chair Toni van Tonder resigned in February, moving to Australia, while neither Mel Powell (who replaced van Tonder as chair) or Peter Allen sought to continue.
Returning to the board after defeat in 2022 is independent Trish Deans, who polled in third place, having maintained a profile though heritage and seniors advocacy. In fourth is newcomer Garth Ellingham (38).
The board’s geographical composition is a swing away from the even split of last term. Four of those elected hail from the Devonport peninsula. Busch, Deans and Ellingham are all from Devonport and Macarthur from Belmont. Harpur works in Takapuna, but lives out of area, making Forrest Hill’s Wood the sole northern representative. Powell (Sunnynook) and Allen (Milford), were both from the north.
Richard Hills, who was re-elected to Auckland Council in the North Shore ward, with the most votes of any councillor across the city, was joined by John Gillon, who beat
Local board members met on Tuesday for an induction day, with more sessions this month, before more formal business gets underway next month.
Deans, who was on a bitterly divided board in 2019-2022, said: “There needs to be a consensus and we need to agree on one team and be consistent.” She was not keen on teams taking turns in the chair’s seat as occurred in her previous term.
Harpur said he hoped the two leadership roles would be decided on who had the capacity to do them best for the community. When asked about AFA’s dropping of controversial pro-Israel candidate Karin Horen, Harpur said he didn’t think it helped voting turnout or A Fresh Approach. “We should have been focusing on our local area issues like roading, parks, playgrounds and community support.”
Horin collected 3097 votes, putting her in 14th of 20 places, ahead of two AFA candidates, having continued to campaign as an independent after being dropped by the ticket two weeks from final voting day.
Authorised by Hon Simon Watts, Parliament Buildings, Wgtn.
fellow Kaipa-tiki Local Board member Dan-
Richard Hills
John Gillon
board mix
Only one in three local people chose to have their say on who represents their community on the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board.
The dismal turnout of 34.4 per cent of registered voters was down on the 43.4 per cent who voted in 2022, but the 2025 local vote was better than the 28.8 per cent across Auckland.
It is surely past time to reconsider how voting is done. Options that have been canvassed include online voting – rejected as holding too many security risks, but now in use for the Census – or making people vote in person, rather than with a mail option. Compulsory voting, as in Australia, is another idea.
Now, more than ever, engagement is necessary for democratic representation.
Candidates the Observer spoke to were saddened by the low turnout. Gavin Busch put it down partly to the state of the economy, with people focused on the cost of living and disillusioned with the authorities. George Wood said: “People don’t want to engage, they’ve had a gutsful of council and all its consultations and rate increases.”
Councillor Richard Hills said he wanted more national focus and action on effective ways to ensure people had their say.
That so many people cannot be bothered or feel disenfranchised is a sad state of affairs. With government signalling moves to curtail what councils can focus on, debate is needed about whether community-building should be part of their mandate. Residents who value support for facilities, groups and events in their area would do well to keep an eye on this.
– Janetta Mackay
Local Body Elections
Devonport-Takapuna Local Board members
What’s next?
The Devonport-Takapuna Local Board will be sworn in at the PumpHouse theatre in Takapuna on Tuesday 4 November, after a series of induction sessions and legal, finance and governance briefings. Board workshops will begin in November, with the first business meeting in December, ahead of a break over Christmas. The roles are considered part-time, except for the chair.
Terence Harpur Scott Macarthur
Trish Deans Garth Ellingham
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Progressive dinners offer real trip for food lovers
Lincoln Tan is on a mission to convince people to eat their way around the world without leaving home.
“Takapuna is my local,” says the Forrest Hill resident, who relishes showcasing the town centre’s more than 30 cuisines. “Even in the last five years, the dining scene has got really diverse.”
From tasty takeaways to slap-up spreads, he says Takapuna boasts some unique offerings that underline its potential to grow as a foodie destination. “There’s definitely a huge opportunity.”
Tan (pictured on front page) – a career journalist from foodie hotspot Singapore who finished a 20-year full-time stint at the New Zealand Herald last year – believes story-telling is central to helping people connect with food.
It’s what he does with wife Bee Koh through their Chow Luck Club, an online community for food fans, and what he brings to Taste of Takapuna, the hospitality month put on annually by the Takapuna Beach Business Association (TBBA), which is now in full swing.
This month, progressive dinners have been a new feature of Taste of Takapuna. Tan – who in previous years has run walking tours – wrangled different businesses to each host a course, as a fun way for diners to sample an array of different tastes. The final dinner is Thursday this week.
Taste of Takapuna has also identified 26 Must-Try Dishes to encourage further taste bud exploration at places including New Zealand’s only Colombian restaurant, El Humero; the new Takimi Mazesoba, Auckland’s first dedicated specialist in makesoba, which Tan says is a growing trend of presenting “dry” ramen; along with Chilean, Brazilian, Filipino and other Asian eateries.
Tan rates food in New Zealand highly for both quality and authenticity. “Even the McDonald’s, a Filet-o-Fish in Singapore is nothing like our hoki. We tend to get quite spoiled here.”
To make the most of trying unfamiliar cuisines, he recommends people seek help from their hosts, rather than muddling through menus.
Taste of Takapuna had its launch at St Marée, a rebranded bistro overlooking Hurstmere Green with a seafood focus steered by chef Oliver Hue, who has worked at Simon Gault’s establishments. Owner Robin Lee is eager to build it into a destination where people can grab a coffee or linger for drinks and dinner.
Tan was the launch MC and walked guests through a showcase menu, ranging from Cantonese dim sum from old-school takeaway Flying Horse, through an insight into makesoba made with buckwheat noodles, to St Marée’s grilled octopus and prawn agnolotti pasta, followed by desserts from
Briefs
Pick your tasty treats
Takapuna’s People’s Choice Awards are back, allowing locals to choose their favourite eats and drinks across seven categories. Voting closes at the end of this month, with winners to be announced on 5 November. To vote and to learn more about other Taste of Takapuna activities, go to ilovetakapuna. co.nz/taste-of-takapuna
Street Organics and Lapa Emporium. It was a variety of progressive dinner, without the need to walk from place to place. Toasts were courtesy of newly opened Strand Wine Bar.
TBBA manager Terence Harpur told the full restaurant that with 130 hospitality businesses in Takapuna, ranging from small cafes and bars to large new establishments, the buzz was building. In August, local hospitality returns were up 15 per cent compared with the same month in 2024, well ahead of wider Auckland figures.
“People are wanting to discover what is on their doorsteps,” says Tan. He loves that businesses are getting in “the vibe” of the month, both by working together and launching their own customer offers.
The need for such business-building efforts are what first led him to set up the Chow Luck Club four years ago to encourage both eating out and takeaway buying in the wash-up from Covid. It followed on from connections he had made in years of writing a summer feature series for the Herald called Lincoln’s Table. “This told the story of different cultures and cuisines through the people behind them.”
The transition online took off. “The com-
munity grew to more than 10,000 people quickly, now it has 25,000.”
Tan says he is the “connector”, the face of Chow Luck, while his wife “makes everything work”. The couple immigrated in 1997, immediately settling on the North Shore as their home, where their son and daughter were born. Now in their 20s, they were raised in Belmont, then Forrest Hill, after a move closer to the Westlake high schools.
Tan initially struggled to find work as a journalist, remembering “one of the first places I tried was the North Shore Times and they didn’t even see me”.
He started his own newspaper, iBall , which focused on the migrant community, and through that came to the attention of the New Zealand Herald, which at the time was keen to reach a more diverse audience. Initially he was offered contract work and a column there, before shutting his paper and taking up a full-time role, writing both news and special interest stories.
When that ended last December, it allowed him to fully focus on his passion. Having always been a foodie, he says: “My memories are defined by what I eat.”
On a quick walk in Takapuna he pops into restaurants, pointing out unusual dishes. At Vietnamese Eat Now it’s bun cha, a dish made famous when Barack Obama ate it with Anthony Bourdain. Next door, at Lucky Life, where food from Guangdong is the speciality, he highlights braised duck, popular honey peppered chicken and a tripe he says Chinese people cross town for. “That’s why I want to tap into the storytelling bit.”
When the reach of the Chow Luck Club first grew, Heart of the City and council promotions arm Tataki Auckland Limited wanted Tan to help them coax people back into the central city and to events such as the city’s Restaurant Month.
Some of the small, family-run ethnic eateries he was keen to draw attention to did not fit the higher-end expectations of the month, so he began his walking tours, which now regularly sell out before many other city food events. The TBBA took note and three years ago invited him to come up with Takapuna tours.
“People who come for our tours tend to come back and bring their friends – that’s why the restaurants like it,” he says.
“It’s about elevating the cheaper food and its status,” he says. Over time, Tan has also become something of a broker, helping restaurants connect with suppliers and encouraging them to widen their appeal.
Surprisingly, he says: “Food is more actually diverse here than in Singapore. It has authenticity. Over there, Middle Eastern food or Thai, is often cooked by locals. Thai, here, you can be 99 per cent sure it’s cooked by a Thai person.”
Eat up... Chef Oliver Hue with his seafood chowder and scallop and noodle dish at recently opened St Marée
Garden party
Grow Forrest Hill’s Spring Festival returns to Seine Reserve this weekend, with the annual community garden fundraiser again featuring a seedling sale and family activities. It runs from 2pm to 4pm on Sunday, 19 October.
Kindy callout
Milford Kindergarten hopes former students and teachers will join tamariki and their whanau for its 75th anniversary celebrations on Thursday 6 November between 1 and 3pm.
Cleaners up for award
Milford-based Clean for Good is a finalist in the Sustainable Business Network’s Who’s Next list. The awards, recognising innovators, are decided next month.
Pests, plants and nutrients behind Pupuke’s worsening water quality
Lake Pupuke’s water quality is likely to worsen, with climate change accelerating the nutrient build-up on the lake bed, a new report from Auckland Council says.
Mainly “degrading trends” were found in the region’s four lakes (Lake Pupuke, Lake Rototoa, Lake Tomarata and Lake Wainamu) analysed by Dr Jane Atoa in a report, “Lake Water Quality State and Trends in Tamaki Makaurau/Auckland 2014-2024”, published last month.
The report found the key drivers of declining water quality in Lake Pupuke included:
• The presence of pest fish including perch, rudd, tench, koi carp, goldfish, gambusia and brown bullhead catfish, along with red-eared slider turtles.
• The high biomass of invasive aquatic plants.
• Nutrient loadings in sediments in the lake.
“Recent in-lake surveys found the lake to be in poor ecological condition based on the submerged vegetation,” the report said.
“Anoxic conditions... could worsen with changing climate, fuelling further nutrient loading.”
Lake Pupuke’s bottom waters were degrading at the highest rate of the four lakes, suggesting its water quality is “vulnerable to decline”, the report said.
“Research into nutrient cycling in Lake Pupuke found that the lake sediments had “high phosphorus content, suggesting there is a very high potential for phosphorus release under certain conditions”.
On a positive note, Pupuke contained a variety of native fish, including shortfin eels and common bullies, and supported a variety of birds including black shags, pied shags, pukeko, pāpango (New Zealand scaup), black swans and Canada geese.
Lake Pupuke showed the greatest rates of improvement in surface water quality in the four lakes.
But this was counterbalanced by the threat posed by the sediment nutrients which can cause algal blooms and bottom-feeding fish disturbing the lake bed.
Buried dead shell beds provide evidence that the lake previously supported freshwater mussels, however they are now extinct.
Boat storage put under $30k of scrutiny
Boat storage and access issues are driving the development of a local Open Water Access Plan, with Lake Pupuke and Takapuna Beach key focuses of attention.
The plan will be developed by Auckland Council staff at the request of the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board to guide decision-making.
The aim is to produce a framework for vessel and equipment storage related to open-water sport and recreation on council land and to identify related infrastructure gaps. A budget of $30,000 has been allocated for the work.
Milford Beach Reserve, Bayswater and Narrow Neck Beach are among other areas being looked at.
At the board’s final meeting last term, members signed off on the scope of the plan, clearing the way for work to commence and be presented next year.
Board members had faced complaints about informal boat storage under trees on council reserves and noted a proliferation of containers being set up by clubs.
Another idea that may be advanced through the plan is for groups to work together to avoid event timetabling conflicts.
Amaia builders owe $9.5 million
The company that built the partially occupied Amaia apartments in Esmonde Rd, Takapuna, has gone into liquidation owing $9,581,312.
Twenty-three creditors – including Heartland Bank and a variety of mainly building supply companies – are listed as being owed money by KBS Construction, according to a first report by liquidators Khov Jones, which was published last Friday.
The Inland Revenue Department is owed $140,121 and $129,386 in penalties.
The status of the project and planned wider site development is somewhat murky.
The company was liquidated due to having “insufficient assets to satisfy its liabilities”. Shareholders and directors Wei Liu and Xu Xin applied to liquidate the company, the report said.
The Observer sent a series of questions to liquidator Steven Khov asking about the wider company structure and ownership relating to the development but had not received a reply by our deadline.
Auckland Council told the paper the first stage of the project had been completed. Its role was to monitor construction works and ensure consent conditions were met, said the manager of environmental monitoring, Robert Laulala. “Currently, stage 1 of the consent (apartments) is complete, with no outstanding compliance issues.
As it stands... The Amaia apartments development this week. The status of further proposed construction on site is unclear.
“Stage 2 (the hotel) has been passed to a new developer who is about to start works,” Laulala said last Friday.
Consent was granted to developer KBS Capital in 2021, to build the two stages. The company then sought a plan change, to allow it to intensify the site, with extra tower blocks up to 16-storeys high on its seaward rear. It won approval for this in 2023, after a contested hearing, with local residents opposed.
Laulala said the completed stage 1 work had included the building of a public pathway around the perimeter of the site. The developer had paid for the accessway and traffic lights at the site entrance, he said.
Nana’s secret to making long lasting memories
Nana’s secret to making long-lasting memories
For three long years, Christine watched other grandparents chase their grandchildren around the playground while she remained anchored to the same weathered park bench.
“I’d become an expert at making excuses,” the 64-year-old admits, her voice catching. “When my granddaughter would tug at my hand saying ‘Come on, Nana!’ I’d have to tell her Nana needed to rest. Her little face would fall, and she’d run off alone.”
The gradual changes in her knees had stolen Christine’s world, piece by piece. etres away, seemed impossible to reach.
Her knees had stolen her confidence. The playground, 400 metres away, seemed impossible to reach.
“I was becoming invisible in my granddaughter’s life,” she explains. “Missing everything that mattered.”
But two months ago, Christine discovered Koru FX, a New Zealand relief cream, at her pharmacy. Despite years of disappointments, she tried it.
She applied it morning and night. Gradually, her movements became more confident, more fluid.
The breakthrough came during her
granddaughter’s visit.
“She asked about the park. Instead of saying no, I heard myself say yes.”
At the playground, Christine didn’t just watch - she played. Pushing swings. Attempting chase. Not quite winning though.
“My granddaughter gasped ‘Nana, you’re playing!’ I stood there tearing up,” Christine recalls. “Three years of watching, and finally I felt present.”
“I’m making memories and that’s what’s key.”
Mairangi Bay 429 Beach Road, Mairangi Bay 09 442 1266 Browns Bay 13 Bute Road, Browns Bay 09 478 5050
Takapuna Q4
The Boulevard, Smales Farm 09 486
Crack WGHS sailors win big before selection for worlds
Westlake Girls High School sailors Bella Jenkins and Jess Handley have enjoyed a stellar couple of weeks on the water – winning trans-tasman and youth titles along with selection to compete at the world youth champs in December.
Jenkins (15) and Handley (16) won the girls 29er division at the national youth yachting champs at Manly in mid-September, placing eighth overall and well clear of the second girls team.
They were then straight onto the plane to Australia for the interdominion trans-tasman secondary schools regatta in Adelaide, where they were part of a Westlake Girls team that won the title for the third year in a row.
The icing on a very sweet yachting cake was the pair’s selection in the 11-strong Kiwi team to compete at the world youth yachting champs in Vilamoura, Portugal in December.
“It was super exciting to win the 29ers with Bella and have a win over the Aussies,” Jess said.
“It has been very cool to celebrate winning those two events with her.”
With exams looming, the pair are juggling training – mostly off the North Shore but occasionally “off Bean Rock” – with their studies ahead of the trip to Portugal.
WBHS on top at road champs
Westlake Boys High School cyclists claimed senior and junior team time-trial titles at the recent New Zealand Secondary Schools Road Championships in Palmerston North.
Along with nine individual podium finishes, the team titles helped Westlake’s squad claim the trophy as best overall boys high school.
This is the third year in a row Westlake has won the title, but the first year it has won both senior and junior time trials.
Individual national title standouts were road race gold medal winners Ashton Sinclair in the under-16 race and Arthur Bird in the under-20 race, in which his teammates placed second and third.
Netballers third at national tourney
The premier netball team from Westlake Girls High School placed third in the New Zealand Secondary Schools competition held in Wellington in the school holidays.
The team lost just one match in the tournament, to top seed and 2024 national champion Howick College.
Howick went on to lose the final, 32-34, to Mt Albert Grammar School, and in its final game Westlake defeated Whakatāne’s Trident High School, 33-30, making for an all-Auckland lineup of medallists from among the country’s top 16 schools.
Aussies conquered... Westlake Girls trans-Tasman winners (from left) Kiera Dimock, Julia Nguyen, Emily Turner, Bella Jenkins, Jess Handley, Gretel Satterthwaite, Charlotte Handley and Danielle Robertson
Cricketers aim high in birthday year
Takapuna Cricket Club celebrated its 75th anniversary this week with a golf day on Thursday and an anniversary dinner planned for Saturday night.
The club’s premier men’s side starts its season with the first match in the Hedley Howarth two-day championship, away to Auckland University on Saturday.
Takapuna came desperately close to winning the championship last season – missing out on the trophy by one point to Parnell. It came second in two competitions (two-day and T20) and made the semi-finals in the other (the Jeff Crowe one-day competition).
Captain Matt Jones, who set a club record of 77 wickets for the season and was named Auckland club cricketer of the year, is back to lead the side in 2025-26. “The aim is to
go one better this year,” said Jones, who says he was relaxed about any pressure to emulate the record haul. “The first step is making the 50-wicket threshold.”
The side was well balanced despite losing Auckland Aces players Mike Sclanders (to Northern Districts), Quinn Sunde and Danru Ferns (both with Otago). A powerful addition is bowler Matt Ross from East Coast Bays, while Toby Stroobent is looking to build on a strong 2025-26 season with both bat and ball.
Bowler Pete Ruffell (Netherlands) and batsman Campbell Brighouse (Sri Lanka) had strong overseas off seasons.
Takapuna faces University, Parnell and Grafton in its two-day games before Christmas. The women’s premier season starts on 1 November.
Blue-and-golds recognise top junior rugby talent
Takapuna rugby star brought home by Blues
Rising midfield back James Cameron has been signed by the Blues for the 2026 season.
The 19-year-old came through Takapuna Rugby Club and was a schoolboy star and first XV captain at Westlake Boys High School before heading south for a stint in Canterbury.
Cameron represented New Zealand at the U20 World Cup in Italy this year.
New coaches for prems
Takapuna Rugby Club has announced a new premiers coaching line-up for 2026 as it attempts to break arch-rival North Shore’s three-year stranglehold on the North Harbour championship. The head coaches for 2026 are John Penberthy and Shane Neville, with Paul Feeney rejoining the coaching squad as defence and under-21 coach. Penberthy replaces Nick Elrick who was head coach for the past two seasons.
The Doctors Sunset – New Name, Same Care
From 22nd September, our trusted local medical centre Sunset Road
Family Doctors will be known as The Doctors Sunset. We’ve refreshed our look and updated our space, but our same friendly doctors, nurses, and staff are here to provide the high-quality care you know and trust.
As part of our commitment to making healthcare more accessible for our community, we’ve also recently reduced some of our GP consultation fees for registered patients:
Ages 14–17 years: Now $50.00
Ages 18+ years: Now $62.00
For appointments or more information, visit www.thedoctors.co.nz/the-doctors-sunset or call
Takapuna Rugby Club junior prizegiving results Key: (MI) - Most Improved, (TPY) - Team player of the year, (PY) - player of the year.
J8 Blue: William Livingston (MI), Carmella Jackson (TPY), Tanner Penberthy (PY); J8 Gold: Niran Wickramapathirana (MI), Margot Rodger (TPY), Levi Clark (PY); J8 Silver: Tessa Logi (MI), Hendrix Hyland (TPY), Riley Campbell (PY); J8 Black: Finlay Zhang (MI), Taratoa Teariki (TPY), Arlo Webb (PY); J7 Blue: Nathan Ongers (MI), Milan Dominic (TPY), Braxton Tui (PY); J7 Gold: Jack Benefield (MI), Dimitry Pooch (TPY), Oscar Bourke (PY); J7 Silver: Luca Chan-Ting (MI), Odin IrvingHenson (TPY), Moahi Phuykubye Johnson (PY); J6 Blue: Walt Ashley (MI), Te Kahui Durie (TPY), Archie Maloney (PY); J6 Gold: Jesse Chilcott (MI), Finn Nolan (TPY), Tucker Williams (PY); J6 Silver: Charlie Ferens (MI), Cooper McHardy (TPY), Jesse Ballot (PY); J5 Blue: Craig Dorfling (MI), Kiko Yoshimura (TPY), Tyros Logi (PY); J4 Blue: Jacob Dunham (MI), Jack Fisher-Skipper (TPY), Mosese Lea’aetoa (PY); J4 Gold: Sam Kendall (MI), Hudson Barlow (TPY), Josh Chiu (PY); J3 Blue: Amos Kolo (MI), Eddie Attwood (TPY), Otis Muller (PY); J3 Gold: Zach McCoy (MI), Mizuki Yoshimura (TPY), Ammon McIntyre (PY).
Girls Rip Rugby – U9 Blue: Madeleine Jackson (MI), Madelyn Hally (TPY), Indi Wigg (PY); U11 Blue: Sadie Cameron (MI), Ivy Burnett (TPY), Blake Bolton (PY); U11 Gold: Isla Coulter Mellor (MI), Willow Mackenzie (TPY), Neve Fa’avae (PY); U11 Silver: Kyra Kolo (MI), Izzy Boggs (TPY), Jordan Elrick (PY); U13 Blue: Olivia Palmer (MI), Georgia Roberts (TPY), Dallas Fulton (PY); U13 Gold: Anja Tra (MI), Savannah Bain (TPY), Talia Tohovaka (PY); U15 Blue: Maddy Allen (MI), Maisey Manolas (TPY), Violet O’Neill (PY); U15 Gold: Neave Sheehan (MI), Miller Ashley (TPY), Greta Hutton (PY); U18 Blue: Stevie Hobson (MI), Imogen Anderson (TPY), Matilda Way (PY); U18 Gold: Scarlet Hansen (MI), Lucy Henderson (TPY), Lily Way (PY).
Boys Rip Rugby – U9 Blue: Ethan Lee (MI), Sam Puckey (TPY), Theo How (PY).
JI and J2 Awards – J2 Blue: Austin McElwee (MI), Otis Joyce (TPY), Oscar Weaver (Back of the Year), Lukas Tully (Forward of the Year); J2 Gold: Swann Marshall (MI), Elliot Bennet (TPY), Jacob Nonu (Back of the Year), Jack Swanton (Forward of the Year); J1 Blue: Reuben Frith (MI), Josh Gordon (TPY), Torrin Cameron (Back of the Year), Marareia Tua (Forward of the Year).
Coach and committee awards: J5 to J8, Roydon Campbell and Geoff Nottage (J5 Blue); J1 to J4: Brett Cameron, Mike Lee and Doug Gordon (J1 Blue); Rip Rugby: Robbie Tindall, Kene Tohovaka (J13 Girls Gold). Committee Cup: Camille Coom. Next generations... Players and supporters packed into
Time and tide... The Lake House shown in 1910 overlooking Takapuna Beach and (right) on its opening day in 2000 as an arts centre, after a community campaign saw it saved and relocated to Fred Thomas Dr in pieces
Landmark’s history detailed 25 years on from big move
The Lake House’s 25 years as an arts centre will be celebrated next month, but its much longer legacy as a Takapuna building of note was marked last weekend with the launch of a book on its earlier history.
Among guests at the launch were some of those who campaigned from 1995 to save the building for relocation in pieces from its original site overlooking Takapuna Beach to be repurposed at Fred Thomas Dr.
Centre manager Grae Burton said the book captured the “legacy of an era”.
The centre is also creating a digital archive focusing on the arts and the 1000-plus exhibitions held there. “The story of the house is very different from the Lake House Arts story,” Burton said, but the centre’s 25th anniversary was a prompt to mark both.
Appropriately, the book’s cover is an intersection of both aspects, featuring a painted sea view from the wooden building by artist Tony Ogle, who lived in it after the former boarding house was let out in more than 20 flats, attracting artists and bohemians to its prime site, where the Sands apartments now stands. Its name comes from being a stroll from Lake Pupuke, then known as Lake Takapuna.
Author Pippa Mothersole emphasises the Lake House’s role in the social fabric of Takapuna. Purpose-built in 1896 by businessman John Gordon – whose name lives on in the Waikato town of Gordonton – the boarding house was one of the area’s
early accommodation options, attracting the middle class, including families. “It helped popularise Takapuna’s seaside culture by catering to day visitors also (offering afternoon tea at the house and hot water for picnics) and guests who needed the health benefits of ocean bathing and fresh air,” she said.
A local resident and librarian in Takapuna, Mothersole was a natural fit to write the book, said Burton, having previously volunteered at the Lake House helping with its archives. Over two years she interviewed people and tracked down more photographs to expand on the story. Families including the Scanlens, Sheppards, Winstones and Grays were owners and operators of the boarding house.
Mothersole’s research details how the
building transitioned from holiday stays to more permanent lets as the suburb grew after World War II.
When the house’s final owner on the site, Bob Green, wanted to develop the property, the local community rallied to save the building, with Ogle staging a fundraising exhibition in 1995. Local arts benefactor Genevieve Becroft was a key contributor to the project, with lawyer Alex Witten-Hannah, Takapuna librarian Helen Woodhouse and Fiona Downes from Flagstaff Gallery among others involved in setting up a trust and gaining grants to relocate and reconstruct it.
Representatives of the campaigners and descendants of some of the early families involved attended the launch, at which musician Stephen Bayliss performed a song he and Harry Lyon of Hello Sailor fame wrote about the place they both lived in for a time.
The Lake House is now one of Auckland’s busiest arts centres, running classes and exhibitions. To see out its silver anniversary year it has public events planned for Halloween and Christmas, the launch of its digital archive on 19 November and the return of its Sculpture Symposium from 24 November.
“She’s a survivor,” says Burton.
• The Lake House: Our History, Community & Art, $99.95, is available on site, at 37 Fred Thomas Dr, along with prints of Ogle’s painting featured on the cover.
Addiction show still powerful for actor in third stint
Sunnynook resident Fonofaaiu Mati is so passionate about the show Rehab, he is about to act in it for a third season.
The subject matter of addiction remains powerful and fresh for him, due to the show’s message and the way it is handled by an ensemble cast, who next week bring it to the PumpHouse in Takapuna.
“There’s a public stigma around addiction,” Mati (pictured) says. “Other mental health issues are treated as a condition, but we look more at addictions as a failure, a moral weakness.”
Having seen the impact of alcohol growing up in Samoa, where families sometimes hid problems, he was drawn to the show, set in a residential rehabilitation facility, because he thought it conveyed something worth saying: “It’s okay to talk about this stuff, to be vulnerable.”
He promises Rehab is more than a challenging watch. It includes laughs as well as tears, among its cast playing addicts and a counsellor. With many of its lines improvised, it puts them in a pressure cooker.
“It was challenging at first, I’ve mainly trained in screen acting, but I enjoyed it a lot more – living those moments, rather than running off a script.” Every night is different as the cast has to read the room.
“It might lean more to comedy one night and another night someone might be a lot
more vulnerable.”
Mati hopes the show will help people better understand addiction and support those on the journey through it. “Straight away it was a no-brainer to me.”
He first became involved through having taken acting classes with creator Elizabeth Cracroft, a lawyer who went through addiction and wrote the piece in 2021.
After being cast in the role of Fetu, an
alcoholic, Mati attended AA meetings “to get the feel of it”. By listening to the testimonies and backgrounds of those there, it underlined how addiction could strike anyone, be they a lawyer, a student or a receptionist. Drinking was normalised in society, he said, using the trades as an example, “where the boys are at the pub on Thursday or Friday”.
When the eldest of his three daughters saw him in the role last year, she was shocked by the transformation, saying: “That wasn’t you.”
Acting remains a sideline for now for Mati. The 44-year-old juggles it with work as a heat-pump installer and technician to pay the bills. He has lived in Sunnynook for about 12 years, after moving to New Zealand 20 years ago. “It’s a great place to raise a family,” he says.
Mati grew up as “a White Sunday kid” in Samoa, used to performing in church. Over the last six or seven years he has enjoyed getting back into acting. He has an agent and has clocked up small roles in film and television, including in Apple TV’s Jason Momoa vehicle, Chief of War
Rehab’s production company has plans to take it on tour to Christchurch and Wellington.
• Rehab , 22-25 October at the PumpHouse. Tickets, pay what you like from $12. Book at pumphouse.co.nz
Milford / Takapuna Tides
Comedy fans given new option in Takapuna
Seven Days comedian Liv McKenzie is among performers at a comedy night in Takapuna this week.
She is the headline act this Thursday 16 October at 8pm, in the third of a series of monthly shows produced by Forrest Hill resident Geoff Rissole. He came up with the idea for the Takapuna Comedy Club to give locals the chance to enjoy a fun night out close to home.
“I think there’s a lot of neat comedy that happens in Auckland, in the central city or Ponsonby, but it doesn’t often come to the North Shore,” he says.
Response to the club’s shows – staged at Takapuna Beachside Cinemas, using one of its smaller theatres – has been encouraging, drawing up to 30 people. Rissole, who acts as MC, intends to keep the laughs rolling on the third Thursday of each month.
He is mixing thing up, alternating between a themed night one month, then the next featuring a comedian with an existing profile, supported on the bill by around six others, rotated for variety. As well as McKenzie, he has other comedians from the popular television show 7 Days interested.
The theme of the next show on 20 November will be nerds, with a pre-Christmas production also planned.
Rissole has been doing stand-up comedy himself for six years. In May he produced and performed a show with Charlotte Hansen at the New Zealand Comedy Festival. Having discovered he enjoys the production side, he says it then made sense to try ways of extending comedy’s reach He says New Zealanders like a laugh, but are sometimes a bit uncertain about supporting local comedy. He hopes North Shore folk will be drawn to the intimate theatre-style venue and “a great night out”, with hospitality on offer, but without the noisy distractions of a pub setting. Tickets are $20.
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