27 March 2026 Devonport Flagstaff

Lions clubroom eyed for removal... p5

March 27, 2026

Scaled-back skatepark plan mooted for park courts... p7

Interview: Antarctic explorer Frank Graveson... p24-25

Fuel crisis fears spark talks on public transport

Auckland Transport has had discussion with ferrry and bus operators about the impact of an international fuel crisis on services to and from Devonport.

It is maintaining service levels and network reliability to give Aucklanders confidence in their ability to get to where

they need to be, said Stacey van der Putten, AT director of public transport and active modes. “We have had discussions with all operators, both ferry and bus, about any effects the current fuel situation might have on their businesses.”

Regarding ferry services, she said, “At

this stage we are working through what the different stages may entail, but we are not reducing any sailings at the moment.”

The Flagstaff has been told one option if fuel was cut short would be a “Covid” timetable, which brought a reduction of sailings around peak times.

Ayris on podium at world indoor champs

In the medals... Local product Imogen Ayris in action at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland, where she won bronze in the women’s pole vault. Story, page 7.

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Shore cricket premiers wrap up season with classy win

North Shore Cricket Club’s premier team added extra lustre to their promotion-winning season with an outright victory in their last match to complete seven wins from seven games in the Tom Hellaby two-day competition.

North Shore had already won the competition with a game to spare to gain promotion to the top division next season ahead of the final match over the last two Saturdays.

Playing at home, they demolished Eden Roskill in a classy all-round performance,

making 216 for four declared in their first innings, then skittling the visitors for 85 and 140.

Late on the second day, openers Sam Hinds and Max Clarke scored the 10 runs needed for the win; their brief spell at the crease including Hinds’ 300th four in premier cricket.

A Freddie Birch hat-trick was another match highlight.

Coach Ben Wall was delighted with the final game. “We wanted to finish with the

commitment and style of play we have worked at all season,” he said

Such was Shore’s dominance over the season, it finished 50 points ahead of its nearest rival – Eden Roskill. Next season, Shore will be back in the top Hedley Howarth grade.

The Shore players in the final match were: Max Clarke, Sam Hinds, Rory Bessell, Freddy Birch, Cooper Harrison-Tubb, Rustin Langford, Harrison Marner, Brandon Mavuta, Daniel Middleton, Krissie Mistry and Elliot Griffiths.

Council cost-cutters look at removing community buildings

Eighty-six local community buildings –ranging from toilets and sheds to sports clubrooms and sizeable public buildings, including the Devonport Community House and Devonport Library – have been rated by Auckland Council to help identify facilities that might be decommissioned.

The aim is to identify each asset’s condition, maintenance needs in the next 10 years and location risks to help guide the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board’s input on a council-wide drive to cut costs by removing buildings.

So far, the board has indicated possible interest in considering removing just one of the facilities, the old Lions building on Allenby Reserve (see story, page 5).

But it is yet to give formal feedback on the Delivering Differently Programme: Decommissioning Review, which council hopes will help consolidate its assets.

A local board workshop was presented

with an Asset Risk Profile last week.

A staff report said the aim was to give all boards a consistent, transparent way to see where assets may be placing the greatest pressure on the system – financially, physically or strategically.

The list of assets only shows scoring against risk criteria, and gives no indication of community value or benefit.

The ranking scores just 10 of the board’s 86 facilities as achieving more than half of the total score available.

Out of a possible 40 points, the Lions building scored eight.

It was one of 37 buildings in the range between 5 and 10 points. These include the Rose Centre in Belmont (9 points), the Devonport Community Creche (6) and the Allenby Ave Girl Guides Den (6).

The low ratings partly reflect an ongoing challenge to the board and its budgets in having ageing assets in the area that have

been built up over decades, and which are expensive to maintain.

Heritage constraints on some mean they cannot necessarily be decommissioned.

The report to board members said the decommissioning review recognised that not all assets could be reviewed indefinitely.

The gap between funding and forecast renewal costs was growing.

“We need to make smarter choices about where we invest,” it said.

The aim was to report back to the council on the process, and have some of the region’s decommissioning done next year.

A report on the preparation of the Asset Risk Profile acknowledged it did not include two further lenses – how well an asset is performing relative to its cost, and whether nearby facilities could meet the same need.

Information on this would be provided later, “where and when assets move into further exploration”.

Budget shuffle delivers funding reprieve for local groups

Large funding cuts for key local community groups look unlikely, after council budget shuffles saved the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board from a $640,000 shortfall. Its chair Trish Deans said this was good news after months of worry, but savings still had to be found.

Deans said there was still up to $300,000 of uncertainty in locally managed budgets, due to the implementation of Auckland Council’s “fairer funding” equation for local boards and around $200,000 in rising cost pressures.

Arts organisations – the Depot in Devonport and Lake House in Takapuna –

environmental groups Restoring Takarunga Hauraki and Pupuke Birdsong Project, and community houses can be more certain over funding.

But Deans said the community groups would need to manage next year without the increases some had sought.

Community grants will remain under the microscope.

Council officers last week told the board that the Takapuna Pool and Leisure Centre was bringing in more revenue than forecast, with money likely to be returned locally rather than going into the regional pot.

Deans said the seven local boards badly

impacted by fairer funding were continuing to lobby the Mayor and councillors to refine the equation so they were not penalised year on year for having more existing assets to maintain.

A better way forward was needed to sensibly smooth the fairer funding adoption, rather than some boards having to go cap in hand to council each year.

Deans said board members still had a lot of budget scrutiny and tough decisions ahead as council ramps up various value-for-money reviews. Final budgets for next year are still a few months away from being fixed.

Group in a spin as ‘Lions rooms’ eyed for removal

Devonport Spinners and Weavers Group members say they would be “devastated” if they had to leave their current home.

The council-owned building they use at Allenby Reserve is being considered for decommissioning as a cost-saving move.

Often referred to as the Lions Club room, it sits behind the 1st Devonport Scout Group den and is accessed from Empire Rd. Devonport-Takapuna Local Board (DTLB) chair Trish Deans confirmed that the building – first identified by the previous board as little-used and a candidate to go – was still a target in a council-wide community facilities property review. “We’re having to look at the possibility,” she said last week.

When the Flagstaff went to check out the building, it happened on some of the weavers finishing their weekly meeting.

The group were dismayed to hear the building’s future could be on the line. “Oh no,” said one, with others saying they were “horrified” and would be “devastated” if they had to find another home.

Other spaces may be available to hire, but weren’t affordable – “not at $50 an hour”.

The group has been going for 50 years and its meetings can attract 10 to 11 people, mostly seniors.

It began in a council building on Takarunga and was based at St Augustine’s Church in Stanley Bay for many years, until that building was sold. They then moved to the scout den, before shifting next door three years ago.

The women said they found the wooden Lions building much warmer than the bigger and older scout den. It had a kitchen for making tea and coffee and seemed in reasonable condition.

Lions club secretary Bruce Wetherall said the group was down to six members but still met twice a month.

The club still maintains the building and

would love to have other groups share it along with the Spinners and Weavers.

The Lions took over the building from the St Johns Ambulance in the 1980s.

Most of members were “getting old”, he said, and it struggled to recruit younger people.

Deans said no decisions had been made to decommission the building, but the board had to consider formal feedback.

At this stage, other facilities were not actively being looked at. (See story, page 4.)

War dents recovery

The Middle East conflict is certainly putting a dent in NZ’s economic recovery with rising oil prices spooking consumer and business confidence and of course there will be a wider inflationary impact. Seems absurd that Central Banks may look to raise interest rates to dampen this inflation (which is not demand driven but a supply constraint) - it reduces people’s disposable income and spending so why would they raise interest rates? Madness! Anyway the market is doing the job for them with wholesale bond and swap rates up 50+ basis points which flows through to fixed mortgage rates - these are now near 5% for 2 yr and above that for 3yr where most people focus these days.

The flip side is that NZ growth is likely to be stymied and if the RBNZ looks through the oil prices then there could be an argument to cut interest rates! Property has been ticking up in activity and price but any loss of confidence will likely dampen demand - it just depends on how long the disruption lasts? Speak to us about financing, we can’t stop the war but we can usually help!

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Local wins squash title

Devonport squash player Rebecca Bailey won the Auckland women’s masters title in a tournament held at Devonport Squash club last week. She beat North Shore Squash Club’s Alessandra Ceriani in the final: 3-2 after saving a match point. In the men’s open division, Browns Bay’s Paul Mason beat clubmate Marc Bush 3-2.

Sculpture OnShore raises $400K for refuges

NZ Sculpture OnShore raised a record $400,000 for Women’s Refuge New Zealand from its outdoor exhibition at Fort Takapuna, Narrow Neck, last November.

The Friends of Women’s Refuges Trust announced the amount this week, at a function at Lake House Arts in Takapuna.

The 29th biennial exhibition attracted

more than 25,000 people and featured more than 130 sculptures in what is the largest event of its kind in the country. Over the years it has raised more than $3 million for refuges.

Trust chair Rachel Brebner said she was extremely grateful for the strong public turnout. The next event will be held in November 2027.

Skatepark plan would convert existing court area

A scaled-back skate facility at Woodall Park was being considered by the DevonportTakapuna Local Board as the Flagstaff went to press.

The new plan would site the skatepark on part of the concrete tennis courts next to Devonport Squash Club on Wairoa Rd, instead of on open green space next to the BMX pump track.

The change of location was investigated after it was discovered last December that placing a skatepark on green space at Woodall Park fell outside what was allowed under its 1997 Reserve Managment Plan.

“The existing concrete courts adjacent to Wairoa Rd have the potential to accommodate the development of a skate facility” measuring 850 sqm, an officers’ report to the board said.

The proposed area would take in one

Belmont fourth in Chelsea Cup

Belmont Park Racquets Club’s Chelsea Cup tennis team beat Milford five matches to one last Friday to finish the competition mid-table.

Belmont finished fourth of the eight men’s teams, but was unlucky not to finish higher after losing two close matches on set countbacks.

tennis court and the cricket nets on the boundary with the Waitematā Golf Course.

“The tennis court is no longer fit for purpose due to surface sloping” and the cricket nets were under-used, the report said.

Concerns about noise were previously raised by owners of homes over the road from the concrete courts.

Noise compliance would be evaluated as part of the new design and resource consent, the report said.

Some of the site was used as a landfill “before 1940 and through to the 1970s” and had contaminated soil, which would need to be removed before any construction.

If approved, site investigations and a new public consultation will take place from April to June 2026, with building over the summer of 2026-2027.

Courts option... The latest proposed location for a Woodall Park skatepark, shown in green, on an aerial view of the park courts

Ayris vaults to world champs medal

Former Takapuna Grammar student Imogen Ayris has claimed the bronze medal in the women’s pole vault at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland.

Ayris had a clean score card up to 4.70m, with first time clearances at all heights. The next progression of 4.80m unstuck most of the field as all but two athletes failed to clear the height, leaving Ayris in a three-way tie for bronze with Czech and Swiss vaulters.

The only two athletes over 4.80m were eventual winner Molly Caudrey, from the UK, and Slovenian Tina Sutej, who took silver. Caudrey cleared 4.85m to defend her title from 2025. Another TGS alumna, Eliza McCartney, also cleared 4.70m, with close attempts at 4.80m. McCartney couldn’t find her form of two weeks ago in Auckland ,where she cleared 4.81m at the NZ Track and Field Championships. She finished sixth.

Grandmother’s return to yes

Grandmother’s return to yes

Marion had always been the one organising things. Coffee catch-ups with the girls, Saturday markets with her daughter, the walking group she’d kept going for years. At 72, she was the glue that held her circle together.

Then her knees started making decisions for her. And those decisions were always “no”.

No to coffee with friends. No to the Saturday market. No to the walking group she loved.

“It wasn’t dramatic,” Marion explains. “My knees just wouldn’t cooperate. I’d wake up stiff every morning. By the time I got going, half the day was gone.”

But when you say no enough times, people stop asking.

“That’s when I realised my world had gotten smaller. I was slipping out of my own life without really noticing.”

Then a friend mentioned Koru FX. She’d been using the cream herself and suggested Marion try it.

“I was sceptical,” Marion recalls. “But I picked up a bottle that afternoon.”

Within a few weeks, Marion’s mornings had shifted. Small changes that added up to something bigger. Her world started

expanding again.

First came coffee with a friend she hadn’t seen in months. Then rejoining her walking group.

“The real change was saying yes again,” Marion explains.

“My son called about a beach walk. Six months ago, I would have made an excuse. But this time I said yes.”

Her advice? “Don’t let your knees make your decisions for you. Now when someone asks me to do something, I start from yes. That’s everything.”

Several hundred people of all ages attended Devonport Primary School’s Fair on the Hill

Plenty to enjoy... (clockwise from top left) Sophie Addy flies high; Cece Richardson and Isla Hill (both 9) wore matching outfits; “Sweet ladies” Nikki Burgess (left) and Gwen Norcliff; Liane Jerg, Jojo Neilson (3) and Jojo’s mum Eily Neilson; and ten-year-old friends Ella Buckle, Marli Howard, Elle Hanna and Olivia Lancaster.

Fun times make Fair on the Hill well worth the climb

Mates, music and much more... (clockwise from top left) Louis Diaz Martin and friend Angelo Vodanovich (both 11); dancer Mika Besler; twin brothers Tom and Jack Metcalfe (9); Molly Lewis, who played “Let it go” on the piano, was interviewed by MC Debbie Thompson; Samuel Vaudrey (8) helped raise money by saving goals; and Thea Hielkema (7) and brother Felix Hielkema (5) enjoyed their ride.

Disc golf course ready for take-off within three months

A disc golf course should be open for free use on Ngataringa Park by the end of June. It will be funded with up to $75,000 from the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board.

Auckland Council’s area operations manager Eloi Fonseca said final costs were still being confirmed, but the work was expected to come in below budget.

The course layout is yet to be finalised, but Fonseca said a resource consent process was underway and the target opening date set, although this depended on the weather.

Disc golf players start each “hole” from a tee-off area, with the aim of getting their disc into a hoop and net on a pole in the fewest throws.

The money for the project comes from $280,000 left unspent in the board’s 202526 works programme, after the formal cancellation last month of a long-desired

project to build an accessible pathway onto Takapuna Beach from the beach reserve. Building a suitable access for those with mobility issues or pushchairs was found to be unfeasible, partly due to shifting sands and consenting issues.

From a list of alternative projects on which council staff suggested the leftover money could be spent this financial year, board members decided to give the single largest amount to disc golf.

This followed earlier staff advice that a course was a relatively cheap project council could do itself. It needed only marked tees, possibly boxed-off artificial turf areas, and the erection of galvanised steel nets on poles. Installation did not need to be too invasive, which was important due to the park’s ground condition and history as a former landfill.

As a form of recreation, disc golf is growing in popularity, which is what first led enthusiasts to suggest a course at the park several years ago, mostly around its less boggy perimeter. They worked on the project with staff, but later advised they could not raise the funds to build it themselves.

The idea was that a clearly marked course would still enable walkers to use the park, but allow wider use of the public space.

Staff told the board that in picking up the project, they were talking to groups around the park, especially the Ngataringa Organic Garden Society, to ensure the course design did not impact them.

Asked by the Flasgstaff about likely maintenance costs for the course, Fonseca said these were expected to be minimal and would be managed as part of the park’s existing maintenance programme.

Moves to untangle waterfront villa conundrum

Investigating options for three old council-owned villas on the Devonport waterfront will be given a $20,000 boost.

The Devonport-Takapuna Local Board made the allocation from unspent money in this year’s works programme, as it grapples with getting a clearer idea of what it can do with the tired-looking properties, one of which needs substantial repair and is unoccupied.

The properties at 52, 55 and 56 King Edward Pde are managed by Auckland Council as a regional rather than a local asset.

The North Shore Cricket Club has approached the board several time, saying it is keen to lease a house to accommodate its overseas coaches. It has offered to help with renovations.

What can happen with the homes on Devonport Domain is complicated by their

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underlying reserve classification, said to restrict accommodation to council officers, staff or rangers.

Two are leased out to residential tenants. The properties at numbers 55 and 56 have Category B heritage listing under the Auckland Unitary Plan; the other is not listed.

The previous board raised the possibility of selling the homes – if it could get the proceeds to reinvest the money locally – but was advised that trying to revoke the reserve status of the land they sit on may trigger the properties to revert to Crown ownership.

The Domain was vested in the council last century. As regional assets, there is no guarantee that the money would come back to the board.

The previous board also suggested longterm revenue-generating ground leases be looked at.

6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Tuesday 31 March 2026

Again, that approach is constrained by the Reserves Act to uses with a community purpose.

The board hopes to get more clarity, having allocated funds for further council reports. The cricket club remains keen to see if an arrangement can be made.

• Another project to benefit from a works programme funds reallocation was the disc golf course at Ngataringa Park (see story above). Others are in the north of the board area, including two projects at Kennedy Park in Castor Bay, where a car-park and drainage upgrade will get an extra $70,000, and $50,000 will go towards exploratory structural and safety monitoring of the park’s closed military tunnels, in the hope they may one day be reopened to the public. The Greville Park “learn to ride” facility in Forrest Hill also gains $50,000 for painting.

Shore stalwarts back in harness for new season

The senior rugby season kicks off at Vauxhall Rd this Saturday with the return of two of North Shore Rugby Club’s favourite sons, Josh Blucher and Leigh Thompson.

The duo are back as coaches rather than players, taking over the reins of the Premier 2 men’s team, which plays Marist in the first game of the season.

Blucher and Thompson have been mates since going to Hauraki Primary School together, then through the grades at North Shore and in various North Harbour sides before playing together for Takapuna Grammar, including in its first XV which jointly won the North Harbour schools championship in 2007.

The duo went on to play more than 100 games for North Shore prems and represent North Harbour at NPC level.

“I reckon we’ve played more than 200 games together... so it’s pretty cool we are coaching together,” Blucher says.

Blucher hit his 100-game milestone in 2014 and played his last game for the premiers in 2020 after reaching 150 matches. He captained the premiers, and both he and Thompson were in North Harbour championship-winning sides in 2011 and 2014.

Thompson had a stint overseas, but returned in recent years to notch up his 100 games – and nab a couple more North Harbour championships.

Will the pair play for the reserves? Blucher is a definite no, Thompson a maybe, but he’s unlikely to be needed given the player numbers.

“We are going to have an amazing depth of players to choose from,” Blucher said. “Five or six of the guys would be playing for the top premier side if they were at any other club.”

The idea of the coaching partnership was

Club men… Josh Blucher with son Cooper after North Shore Rugby Club’s grand final win over Takapuna last year; and Leigh Thompson in action during the match. The pair are coaching the Prem 2s this year.

hatched on New Year’s Eve.

“Leigh and [former prems coach] James Hinchco were around at my place and Hinchie said, why don’t you put your hands up? And I thought why not?” Blucher said.

“I feel I need to earn my beer at the clubrooms – I struggle to be a spectator and have to be involved in some way.”

After retiring from playing, Blucher continued his association with the club, coaching his son Cooper’s junior teams and now daughter Mia is playing Rippa rugby

as well. “It’s been part of my way of life in a rugby country, going down the club on a Saturday.”

• Shore’s Premier 1 side beat Ponsonby 6212 in a preseason curtainraiser to the Crusaders/Moana Pasifika Super Rugby match at North Harbour Stadium last Saturday, but have a bye this weekend. The Premier 2s, who beat Ponsonby 43-24 in their own warm-up match at Takapuna Grammar, play Marist at Vauxhall Rd in their season opener this Saturday.

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Concerns raised over village, but upgrades welcomed

Construction traffic, dust, parking and the intended scale of the new retirement village planned for the old Hillary block off Eversleigh Rd in Belmont were among residents’ concerns when operator Summerset ran two public information sessions last week.

But there was also enthusiasm about a new, more direct public pathway to be provided into Northboro Reserve from Lowe St and a new cyclist-friendly boardwalk that will be built to replace old stairs, improving the area’s “green way” connections.

Summerset’s development director for the Belmont project, Jon Harris, said the company had committed to ongoing communication with neighbours in what was expected to be a seven-year development.

He emphasised the benefits of the site being in the hands of one experienced corporate developer intending a predominantly low-rise village. This provided one point of contact for residents who might have otherwise faced the large prime site being developed piecemeal if owner Ngāti Whātua had sold it off in blocks.

“We look forward to being judged by our actions,” Harris said.

The Belmont village will have 301 units, mostly two-levels for independent living, with the main administration block at the same height on the street frontage, but rising to five levels behind, where care units and

apartments will be located.

Harris said architects Warren & Mahoney were using slope and building design, including underground carparking, to lessen the visual height impact. The vast majority of the site would be considerably lower than permitted heights, Harris said.

An outline of the initial stages of work was presented at the sessions held at the Rose Centre, which each drew around 20 people.

Harris said undergrounding of power lines on the site had a target start of September, along with car parking provision.

Consenting is progressing after earlier agreement between Auckland Council and Summerset for a land swap, which was partly brokered by the previous Devonport-Takapuna Local Board, to improve public access.

The deal sees Summerset give up land and build a path for the Lowe St entrance to the reserve, where it will also provide public toilets and landscaping.

In exchange, council gives up two public pathways that fall within the development site and run to the esplanade reserve path, which remains open. This allows Summerset to provide greater security for residents and have a more cohesive site plan.

The second stage of site development is set to occur in September 2027, when

earthworks will begin for building the first of 182 independent units. The initial units will be along the lower end of Eversleigh Rd, with main vehicle entries.

The main administration and facilities building will be built next in the middle of the Eversleigh Rd site. It includes a cafe that will be open to the public.

Site work will otherwise proceed in a roughly clockwise direction down and around the site back towards its inner parts.

Asked about trucks heading to the site worsening congestion, particularly at the top end of Eversleigh Rd and on Northboro Rd, Harris said traffic management plans would be part of consents and the company was aware of the issues and wanted to do what it could to not worsen them. “But we’re not here to solve existing problems,” he said of Lake Rd.

The Flagstaff understands that Auckland Transport has indicated that rather than having trucks head to the site from the tricky Lake Rd turn into Eversleigh Rd, it is looking at directing them to travel further down Lake Rd to turn right at the Bardia St lights and access the site via Creamer Ave.

Harris said that once the village was occupied, experience from other Summerset homes was that most occupants travelled during off-peak hours. The aim is to finish the village by 2034.

Oodles of poodles as mask takes village tour

Photographer Monica Sorrenson bought a poodle mask at the Anglican op shop in Wynyard St and took it on a trip around Devonport. She found plenty of locals ready to play ball.

Not buying it…Kim Snowball of stationer

attempts to introduce the poodle to her own unimpressed pooch

Left: A beachgoer

gets some company, while

tries a new look.

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Team Rugby eyes second ‘Shore Smash’

Former Black Cap cricketer Richard Jones will be back to captain Team Rugby in the second annual “Shore Smash” between North Shore Cricket and North Shore Rugby clubs starting at Devonport Domain tomorrow at 2pm.

Jones, a multi-talented sportsman who played senior rugby for Shore, aims to lead Team Rugby to retain the title it won in 2025.

Other members of the rugby side confirmed this week include former White Fern Anna Peterson, Cameron Howell, James Fiebig, Donald Coleman, Max Clarke, Sam Davies, Ben Stewart, Jono Hickey, Ofisa Tonu’u, Lockie McNair and Francesca Tonu’u.

Team Cricket is captained by Mike Olsen and includes Sam Hinds, Tendai Chitongo, Raiha Jeory-Reynolds, Ash Abraham, Ben Wall, Freddy Birch, Logan Clinch, Tim Duncraft, Kaitlyn Halliday and Zac Watson. All money from the fundraiser goes towards the new women’s facility for both clubs at the former Devonport Bowling Club.

In rugby colours… Former Black Cap Richard Jones in action for Team Rugby at last year’s inaugural Shore Smash fundraiser

Peninsula medical centres join forces

Devonport Family Medicine and Belmont Medical Centre are merging into a combined practice, permanently based at 2 Fleet St, Devonport.

Belmont Medical Centre has been closed since late last year after a staff member was threatened in a “non-clinical incident”. Patients have been seen at Devonport Family Medicine.

“While patient care was not affected and there is no ongoing risk, a comprehensive safety review was undertaken,” a letter to patients said.

“As part of that process, it was confirmed that operating together from one location is the best way to support safe, coordinated care for our community.

“Over recent months, many of you will have seen our teams working side by side. This collaboration has strengthened communication, improved clinical support and increased appointment flexibility.

“By joining fully, we are now a team of seven experienced doctors and nurses, supported by a strong administration team.”

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DEVONPORT

5/40 ROSLYN TERRACE

Devonport gem. Elevated to capture sun and leafy views, the home offers a relaxed coastal feel and is beautifully renovated.

barfoot.co.nz/930649

TENDER 2:00pm 1 Apr 2026 at (Devonport Branch Office) (unless sold prior)

VIEWING Sat/Sun 12.00-12.30pm

Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681

Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452

2/14 MONTGOMERY AVENUE

Modern family properties like this are rare in central Devonport. Low maintenance, easy living at its best!

barfoot.co.nz/929545

VIEWING

Sat/Sun 11.00-11.30am

Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452

Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681

Set within one of Cheltenham’s most exclusive and tightly held streets, this exceptional lifestyle opportunity offers a rare opportunity.

barfoot.co.nz/926410

2:00pm 25 Mar 2026 at 39 Victoria Rd (unless sold prior)

VIEWING

Sat/Sun 1.00-1.30pm

Trish Fitzgerald 021 952 452

Tracey Lawrence 021 1720 681

Entry-level Belmont — three bedrooms, large north-facing section, move-in ready and full of potential to add value and make it your own.

barfoot.co.nz/930442

AUCTION

10:00am 9 Apr 2026 at 8-12

The Promenade, Takapuna (unless sold prior)

VIEWING

Phone For Viewing Times

Kurt Piper 021 137 6450

This charming character home offers families an opportunity to live surrounded by other quality homes enjoying all day sun and water access.

barfoot.co.nz/925413

$2,799,000

VIEWING Sunday 12.00-12:30pm

Cathy Fiebig 021 383 149

Ron Sadler 021 613 546 FOR

By Rob Drent

Many locals were surprised to learn that the supposedly cash-strapped Navy had paid $4.2 million to buy the renovated St Augustine’s church and hall on Calliope Rd.

Neither the Ministry of Defence nor Defence Minister Judith Collins’ office has been ready to throw any further light on the purchase, revealed by the NZ Herald

We asked Defence: As this is now in the public domain, could we have any reports relating to the purchase? When did the transaction take place? Did it require approval of the Minister of Defence or Cabinet? What will the buildings – church and hall – be used for? Are there any further purchases in Devonport under investigation?

Defence responded: “For security and commercial reasons, the New Zealand Defence Force has no comment to make on this purchase.

“From time to time, the NZDF acquires land that adjoins or is proximate to Defence facilities to preserve future options and mitigate potential constraints on base operations.”

We went to Collins’ office, put similar questions and asked, given the government’s push to cut spending, whether the purchase was a good use of public money.

Collins’ office said it was an “operational matter” and referred us back to the Ministry

of Defence. Is this really good enough from either Defence or the minister’s office?

We have sought full reports related to the purchase under the Official Information Act.

One of the Flagstaff team had occasion to renew their New Zealand passport recently, and was delighted at how easily this was done and the speed with which an application was processed and the new passport despatched. Unfortunately, the turnaround within a few days meant nobody was at home when the courier tried to deliver it, so the warm glow of one system working well was soon enough lost in familiar frustrations over a clunky courier operation. Typically, the passport was taken to NZ Post’s Albany depot – hardly a convenient spot for collection by someone in Devonport. Attempts to have it redirected using the NZ Post app were unsuccessful. And NZ Post no longer offers the postal outlet in Devonport as a collection point. Only a long wait on the phone to speak to a human eventually led to a redirection to the post outlet at Hauraki. The passport was duly delivered and picked up by the recipient. That’s the good news. Less positive is the fact that the Hauraki shop is one of the 142 urban retail partners from which NZ Post is withdrawing its services.

Yes, Woolworths Hauraki Corner is offered as another collection point, but the loss of other post-related services for nearby residents must disappoint many.

Plans for a skatepark at Woodall Park are turning into a debacle.

The idea of moving the skatepark from its current location in Ngataringa Park has been mooted for the best part of a decade.

Various sites were considered before a grassy area of Woodall Park was chosen. Consultation was done and although neighbours objected, there was enough support for the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board to sign it off. However, complications emerged when it was found putting a skatepark on green space at the park fell outside what was allowed under its management plan.

Given the next incarnation is a new spot on the third tennis court and cricket nets near the Devonport Squash Club building, officers are recommending new designs and further consultation. As delays mount, so do the design and consenting costs, which are rapidly gobbling up the money set aside for the skatepark itself.

Residents are left wondering at the wastage of ratepayer’s money on what should be a relatively straightforward project.

Should the new location have been the first option in any case?

North Shore Rugby Club’s prems sent out a message to other title contenders with a 62-12 thumping of Ponsonby in a final preseason match last weekend. Ponsonby are the reigning Auckland club champs and it was only the second time in the club’s history of 2000-plus matches that a team has put 50 points on them. Shore are gunning for a fourth North Harbour championship in a row. They have a bye in the first round, play Mahurangi at home on 4 April, and have their first big test visiting Takapuna on 11 April.

Shouldn’t North Head walk be restored?

Recently the Tūpuna Maunga Authority transformed the Takarunga mountain into a pedestrian site.

Now another big undertaking is the tennis court on the same location. These are very expensive undertakings. The main use of these maunga is for the public, for walks and views.

One outstanding walk was around North Head, which was damaged and not repaired. It was a beautiful coastal walk with outstanding views of the city and harbour. Since then it has been cut off and the tunnel access shut. Should not this be a priority to save and restore?

Alec Hill

Let experts decide on playgrounds

I read with interest that we have a new playground for Bayswater Park. Fantastic, I thought, what a great use of our rates.

Then I noted that our elected local board members had selected the only two playground options that will go for community consultation. I then thought, with all due respect, what do they know about playgrounds?

Surely we already pay for council parks and recreation experts that suggest these things.

I would have thought factors such as

shade, wheelchair accessibility, age range of the children using the area, what other playgrounds are nearby and what they offer, sustainability of the materials and whether or not they are made locally would be what playground experts would consider and make a recommendation on, rather than leaving it to the whim of local board members to decide for us.

Let’s hope in these troubled times that we at least choose locally made and not more imported plastic destined for our landfills.

Paul Cane

Families need houses, not shoeboxes

To quote Councillor Richard Hills, “People want houses” .

Yet Plan Change 120 allows over 300 houses in family-oriented residential Hauraki to become 15-storey apartments.

Yes, families need houses, not 15-storey shoeboxes.

Jan O’Connor

United dons black to honour club man

North Shore United’s premier side wore their alternate all-black strip for the first time last weekend in honour of long-time club administrator Bill Lissington, who died last October.

A minute’s silence was also held for Lissington prior to Shore’s 2-1 win against Hibiscus Coast on Saturday in its first Northern Region Football League second-tier championship match for 2026.

Shore coach Dave Fahy said he and Lissington had been developing the alternate strip when the club stalwart died suddenly. “This

was the first time we had played since then and we were keen to wear it in his honour.”

Shore scored first after 10 minutes with a Cole Werthmuller goal, Hibiscus equalising after 35 minutes.

An own goal late in the game gave Shore the win.

Fahy said it was great to grab three points as Shore begins the push for promotion to the first division in the Northern League.

• Shore’s next home game at Allen Hill Stadium is against Manurewa at 3pm on Good Friday, 3 April.

Ice man: Retiree reflects on Antarctic days as

Frank Graveson, one of the last old-guard polar explorers, lives in Devonport. He spoke to Rob Drent about one of the final Antarctic missions before modern technology took over.

The 1963 Antarctic polar exploration party had run out of food; their sled dogs had not eaten for two days.

“We were starting to get a bit worried,” says Frank Graveson, a dog handler and assistant surveyor with the six-man team on a 100-day assignment mapping and logging the geology of the Northern Victoria Land region of Antarctica.

An aircraft dump of supplies had been left for the men, designed to be picked up 40 days into the journey.

By the time they found it, “we had no food left”, says Graveson (86), who has crystal-clear memories of the events of more than 60 years ago.

He traces his interest in the Antarctic back to his school days when he saw the 1948 film Scott of the Antarctic, with John Mills as Captain Scott.

“There was all sorts of suffering going on, it did not look like a very attractive place.”

Graveson grew up in Dunedin but recalls being in Christchurch as part of an Air Training Corps excursion at Wigram when a plane from the Antarctic landed.

“One guy climbed down the steps and kissed the ground; he was so glad he made it.”

He also remembers hearing planes travelling from Christchurch to the Antarctic flying over Dunedin, which had a prominent radio mast used for navigation.

Post-World War II was a time of great interest in the Antarctic, with nations staking claims and exploring, and American activity with Operation Deep Freeze.

Graveson attended Otago Boys’ High School and then Otago University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering from the School of Mines.

Graveson was deployed to the Antarctic by chance. After university, he was doing geological exploration in the Nevis Valley in Central Otago for the geophysics division of Nevis Shale Development Ltd.

One of the geophysics traditions was “to drink copiously”, so after the drilling finished in Central Otago, the team ended up in a pub in Dunedin.

Frank Ponder, the architect at Scott Base, walked into the bar and announced he needed some drillers for a base extension.

The Nevis team essentially said bugger off. But “a small voice said ‘I’ll go’. That was me, and that was the length of my job interview.”

Graveson was 23 and in October 1962 he was off to Antarctica for what would become two summers and a winter.

The buildings he was working on sat on foundations and Graveson had “a wonderful time” drilling holes to hold down the anchor lines which secured the structures. He also helped out on penguin counting. At the end of the first summer the base dog handler was injured and Graveson was asked to take over while a replacement was found.

It became his full-time job – the mining engineer looking after 65-70 sled dogs. They were fed seal meat, something which would not happen today.

Scott Base had its own breeding pro-

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Interview dogsledding explorer

gramme, with existing dogs supplemented by animals from Greenland. In early September 1963, Graveson and a team set out to restore Shackelton’s hut. “We travelled by dog sledge, battling a violent blizzard that forced us to shelter first under Arrival Heights and then at Scott’s hut at Cape Evans.

“What should have been a four-hour journey took two days.”

After three days of work, “another blizzard delayed our departure for several days... we made an exhilarating six-hour run to Scott Base.”

Graveson – as a dog handler and mining engineer – became the ideal candidate for what to was become one of the last dog sledge journeys in Antarctica, a survey of the remote and dangerous Transantarctic Mountains in Victoria Land.

He, five other men and six teams of nine dogs were dropped off at a glacier to begin their 100-day mission mapping and studying geology.

“The weather was awful when we got there – minus 40 degrees.” Temperatures sometimes rose up to around zero degrees but “the wind was the major problem”, Graveson says.

The men had state-of-the-art gear for the day, however.“Double sleeping bags made by Fairydown in Dunedin.”

Most of the clothing was “coarse wool” in the age before modern merino. The outer clothing was designed to be windproof, rather than waterproof.

They wore two pairs of gloves and had a pair of “nose wipers” they could put on to remove ice from their faces. Graveson still has his pair souvenired from the trip.

Graveson has photos of the men making plastic bags for the expedition. Another photo is of the team arriving at their start point. “I think it was taken in case it was needed for our obituaries.”

The men slept in tents. The dogs were tethered outside – carefully apart, to deter fighting.

They had a radio that allowed them to contact base three times a week. “It weighed 40 kgs and it wasn’t particularly reliable – you could do what it did today with a cellphone.”

At one resupply depot the men picked up mail and beer: Leopard Lager, nowadays not regarded as the greatest brew New Zealand ever made.

“But it tasted fine to us... it was the only canned beer available in New Zealand at the time.”

The team travelled over glaciers and climbed mountains. “It was quite dramatic scenery... but it was dangerous terrain: We were always on the lookout for crevasses,” Graveson says.

“It was unforgiving, with very little water.”

Cooking was done on kerosene primuses and food was carefully rationed.

The dogs got 1.5kg of pemmican, containing high amounts of fat and vitamins, which was produced by the Cadburys Chocolate Factory in Dunedin as the company’s contribution to the Antarctic effort.

When they returned to base they were met by Sir Walter Nash, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand – “with a bottle of whisky,” Graveson says.

Such was the import of the trip, Graveson and two others in the team were awarded Polar Medals for significant contribution to Antarctic research. (Expedition leader Bob Millar already had one.)

Below: The young engineer-turned-dog-handler, second from left, with his workmates in Antarctica

After the expedition, technology rendered such missions redundant. Snowmobiles became reliable enough to replace sled dogs (although it wasn’t until 1987 that the last dog left Scott Base) and satellite could be used to map landmasses with high accuracy.

“I would have loved to have gone back but the opportunity did not arise.”

Indeed, fate intervened. Old Antarctic hands such as Sir Edmund Hillary, Peter Mulgrew and Millar had been accompanying tour groups flying to the ice cap.

Graveson had made “approaches and it was thought that I might be an appropriate person.”

He’d written a letter to Air New Zealand but on the day in November 1979 when he was about to post it, the Erebus crash happened.

“There was no point sending it.”

In some respects Graveson’s memories are good enough. “I would find the conditions completely different there today – there would be no dogs, which wouldn’t seem right.

“And climate change – in summer now the water laps up to Scott Base.” In the 60s, the Scott Base surrounds were all ice. The base had no women personnel in the early

.sixties either.

Graveson became a NZ Antarctic Society life member in 2017 and used to be the organisation’s travelling speaker.

After his Antarctic sojourn, Graveson moved to Auckland, undertook a town planning degree, and worked as consulting engineer and in management jobs, including at the Zealandia house plant nursery and on Mitre 10’s gardening programme.

He is also a life member of the PumpHouse theatre, having helped restore the heritage building in the 1970s.

He retired in 2007 and moved from Takapuna to Devonport.

“Devonport is a great place to retire – if you do not have to face Lake Rd.”

He regularly swims at local beaches –with a choice of Cheltenham, Narrow Neck, Torpedo Bay or Duders Beach next to the Sea Scouts den on King Edward Pde.

He once swam every day of the year, including through winter. “I did it once and didn’t feel like I needed to do it again.”

• Frank Graveson will speak at The Antarctic Film Festival at the Devonport Community House, 32 Clarence St, at 6.30pm on 8 April. Entry $20.

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20 years ago from the Flagstaff files

• North Shore councillors recommend introducing chemical spraying for roadside weed control.

• Students from Geoff Allen’s Devonport Drama class are photographed taking theatre to the streets.

• Devonport yachtswoman Bridget O’Loughlin receives a seamanship award for sailing her family’s boat back to New Zealand after her husband Glenn suffered a fatal heart attack two hours out from the Canary Islands.

• More buses, cheaper fares and more bus stops are wanted in Devonport according to a survey of local residents.

• Artist Rob Tucker is the Depot’s new youth arts coordinator.

• Ten bands and an opening performance by Gin Wigmore are lined up for A Small Day Out festival at Ngataringa Park.

• Residents who rescued a whale stranded at Narrow Neck beach are angered at a man who attempted to ride on its back.

Further plea for shellfish gathering ban

Renewed calls have been made to extend a shellfish and seaweed gathering ban to include the Devonport Peninsula and coastline up to East Coast Bays, after a ban was recently established around Whangaparāoa Peninsula.

The chairs of the Devonport-Takapuna and Hibiscus and Bays local boards urged the ban’s extension in a meeting with the Associate Minister of Conservation, Jenny Marcroft, last week. They want to avoid the problem of coastal stripping spreading south.

DTLB chair Trish Deans said Marcroft told them she was looking further at inter-tidal issues with the Fisheries Ministry. She hoped

to be in a position to put out a report for submission this year. The area being looked at included Auckland’s east and west coasts.

Deans said the board would continue to advocate to protect resources.

Late last year, supporting the original call for a ban made by the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust, the board asked for it to be extended south.

The request was acknowledged but prompted no further action by Fisheries Minister Shane Jones.

The two-year ban took effect on 12 March. It covers Whangaparāoa and coastline to the north, at Kawau Bay and Ōmaha.

• Marcus Coverdale and Bob Pope, nextdoor neighbours at Stanley Bay, make a point of attending Devonport Community Board meetings even though they are well into their 80s.

• Musician Gin Wigmore is the Devonport Flagstaff interview subject.

Enrolment for Out of Zone Students for 2019

ENROLMENTS FOR TERM 2 2026

Enrolment for Out of Zone Students for 2019

Devonport Primary School operates an enrolment scheme, details are available from the school office. Application for out-of-zone places, across all ages, are invited for admission from 20 April with a deadline of 19 April. If required, a ballot will be held, and parents notified on 20 April. Multiple out-of-zone enrolment ballots may be held throughout 2026. If planning to enrol later in 2026 please contact the school as soon as possible to assist our planning.

Devonport Primary School invites applications for out of zone enrolments in Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 for 2019

Devonport Primary School invites applications for out of zone enrolments in Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 for 2019

Applications close: 17th Oct

Ballot Date (if required) - 24th Oct

Please contact the school for application forms, or an opportunity to visit. 445 0183 office@devonport.school.nz www.devonportschool.nz

Applications close: 17th Oct Ballot Date (if required) - 24th Oct

THE NAVY COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER

Please contact the school for

NAVY SIKHS BALANCE MILITARY SERVICE AND FAITH

Two Sikhs have praised the Royal New Zealand Navy for their accommodation and flexibility as they embrace new careers alongside their religion.

Ordinary Medical Assistant Ajeet Singh and Sub Lieutenant Simar Choudhary are relatively new to the Navy, with OMA Singh graduating in 2023 and SLT Choudhary less than three months ago.

OMA Singh is the only baptised Sikh in the Royal New Zealand Navy. Articles of his faith include not cutting his hair, wearing a turban and carrying a kirpan, a small dagger.

“Honestly, they were really accommodating and open to everything. We had one instance where I was told my kara (wrist bangle) was jewellery and couldn’t be worn on parade. Once I explained it was part of my faith it was fine.”

He took advantage of his older brother going ahead of him, getting tips on adjusting the tie of the turban to sustain the rigors of training and working with helmets.

“You can do your job, be safe and have your faith.”

Sub Lieutenant Choudhary is a trainee psychologist with the Royal New Zealand Navy. Like OMA Singh she doesn’t cut her hair but chooses not to wear a turban.

She says she has never felt at any disadvantage in coming from a different culture.

“The Navy is a very inclusive, respectful and safe environment, where people value your personality and what you bring. They value your ‘superpowers’. It’s a close-knit organisation that cares about its people.”

SLT Choudhary will undertake an 18-month Supervision to Registration Programme through the NZDF Directorate of Psychology, culminating in her registration as a psychologist with the New Zealand Psychologists Board.

Devonport Naval Base security reminder – for the safety of the community, please take care and remain outside the 60-metre perimeter of the Naval Base at all times. This includes when swimming, diving, kayaking, fishing and sailing.

Climbing wall and sudsy slide

help draw crowds to Devonport Scouts open day

Hundreds of youngsters descended on Allenby Reserve for the 1st Devonport Scouts’ annual “Mudslide Day” – a free open day designed to bring the community together and show what Scouts has to offer.

Group Leader Stephen Rowe says this year’s event drew about 450 people.

The event featured a soapy slide – a centrepiece of the day, operated with the help of the Devonport fire station – as well as new attractions such as a mobile climbing wall, free bike checks and paracord bracelet making.

“Just from the point of view of how many people we had through the event, it was the best ever Mudslide Day our group can remember,” Rowe said.

“We had a never-ending queue for the climbing wall, the mudslide was busy all day, and we nearly ran out of sausages for the barbecue, which is always a good sign.”

Rowe says the turnout shows that the Devonport peninsula community values the scout group – one of just two in the country to have run continuously since the movement started in New Zealand in 1908.

Mudslide Day raised money to help local scouts with the cost of attending the national Jamboree at Mystery Creek later in the year.

Jamboree, held every three years, brings thousands of New Zealand and Australian scouts together for 10 days of community and adventure.

The 1st Devonport Scouts Group offers activities for girls and boys aged 5-18. To find out more, and sign up to join, visit devonportscouts.nz.

Slippery slope... Felix Hare (left) and Beth Cairney took a turn on the slide set up at Ist Devonport Scouts’ open day at Allenby Reserve

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• Rewires

• Home network cabling

• Wall-mount TVs

• Home theatre

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Top School

St. Leo’s Catholic School has won a local competition to collect the most bottle tops per capita, keeping valuable plastic and metal out of landfill. Vauxhall Primary, Belmont Primary, Bayswater School, and Devonport Primary also took part in the initiative, sponsored by Resource Recovery Devonport. Bottle tops can no longer be recycled in curbside bins, but they can still be recycled through a nation-wide ‘Caps and Lids Scheme.’

St Leo’s, who were awarded their $1000 prize at a recent school assembly, collected 330gms of plastic and metal bottle tops per student, more than double the amount collected by the next highest school! Belmont primary took out the award for most lids collected overall, coming in at 37.6 kgs. Total amount collected was a whopping 94.8kgs. The scheme will continue into this year and residents are encouraged to drop off their clean and dry lids to their local school, New World Devonport, Devonport Community House, or the Rose Centre in Belmont.

Matakana military mud run a winner for PE Camp

Physical Education students were put through their paces at two recent school camps designed to encourage teamwork and build confidence. Level 2 students attended Action Matakana, where a 3km military-grade obstacle course along with beach challenges at Omaha Beach were part of the group processes internal assessments. The muddy run was a highlight, testing endurance and cooperation as students worked together to complete the course. Students were fully selfreliant, sleeping in tents and cooking their own meals, before finishing the camp with a fun MasterChef-style challenge. Meanwhile, Level 1 PE students headed to Aotearoa Surf Camp at Mangawhai Heads, focusing on water skills and adventure. Activities

included surf lessons, a kayak and SUP expedition along the coastline, a coastal hike, and sand duning on

Outstanding season for volleyball programme

It has been an exceptional season for Premier Volleyball, with both the girls’ and boys’ teams recording the strongest results in school history.

The Premier Girls impressed throughout a highly competitive Super League, finishing a close fourth with several strong wins against top sides. They carried this momentum into Auckland Champs, achieving their bestever result with third place in Division 1. This qualifies the team for the Friday Premier League next year. Congratulations to Nadia Letica, who was named in the Tournament Team at both Super League and Auckland Champs.

The Premier Boys also delivered a historic season, highlighted by 1st place in the Auckland Premier League - a first for TGS - alongside second place finishes at the North Harbour Super League and Auckland Championships. At Auckland Champs, the team narrowly lost a thrilling final to Rangitoto College. Hosea Teasia, Caue Dornelas and Theo Andrade were recognised for their standout

boogie boards, rounding out an actionpacked programme full of challenges away from the classroom.

performances

Omigod you guys! Legally Blonde: The Musical is coming soon.

Rehearsals are buzzing as TGS brings 'Legally Blonde: The Musical' to life. With bold costumes, a great set and big laughs, this feel-good show follows Elle Woods as she heads to Harvard Law School (circa 2001) to prove she’s more than just a stereotype. Based on the novel by Amanda Brown and libretto by Heather Hach, the story is faithful to the original Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture.

The music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin inject new energy that will appeal to people of all ages. Catch the show at the Bruce

Tickets are available to purchase now at ticketmaster.co.nz

Perfectly Positioned for Superior Family Living

Discover this beautifully maintained and immaculately presented four-bedroom family sanctuary, enviably nestled within a highly sought-after neighbourhood. This address offers a rare and priceless advantage, being zoned for the North Shore’s most coveted educational institutions: both Hauraki and Belmont Primary, Belmont Intermediate, and Takapuna Grammar. Securing this home is a direct investment in your family’s future. As you enter through the grand double doors, you are immediately welcomed into the generous, open-plan living and dining areas; stunning spaces designed for seamless flow, family living and sophisticated entertaining. Glass doors invite you outside to the sun-dappled, private outdoor retreats, where easy-care gardens and mature hedging create the perfect haven for relaxed family living. The well-appointed entertainer’s kitchen is a culinary dream, featuring a premium SMEG 6-hob gas stove, Miele dishwasher, built-in microwave and the jewel in the crown, a wine fridge. As the evenings draw in, retreat to the family-sized lounge, where the warmth and ambiance of a gas fireplace promise truly cosy winters. Completing the downstairs living spaces are a guest powder room and an internal-access double garage. Head upstairs to find four north-facing, sun-filled, generous double bedrooms and two luxuriously renovated bathrooms. The primary suite is a true adult oasis, complete with an ensuite and a spacious wardrobe. Perfectly positioned between Belmont and Hauraki corner, this family home offers a lifestyle of absolute convenience.

View Sat & Sun 2:00pm - 2:30pm

Auction 1:30pm, Tue 7 April On site (unless sold prior)

Bruce Parkinson 021 416 750

Coastal Charm Meets Contemporary Living

Positioned in one of Devonport’s most tightly held streets, this beautifully presented villa offers an exceptional blend of timeless character and modern comfort, just moments from the shoreline. Less than 100 metres from the white sands of Cheltenham Beach, the home delivers an enviable lifestyle where morning swims, coastal walks, and relaxed seaside living are part of your everyday routine. Inside, the residence has been thoughtfully configured for contemporary living while retaining its classic Devonport villa charm. Polished wooden floors flow throughout, enhancing the warmth and elegance of the interiors. The open-plan kitchen and living area form the heart of the home, seamlessly connecting to a private, sun-drenched rear courtyard, perfect for entertaining or quiet relaxation. A second living room provides flexibility for families, guests, or a dedicated retreat. Accommodation comprises three well-proportioned bedrooms, including a generous master suite complete with walk-in wardrobe and ensuite. A second bathroom services the remainder of the home with ease. Additional features include a double lock-up garage and excellent proximity to Devonport village, where a vibrant selection of shops, cafes, and restaurants are all within easy reach. A rare opportunity to secure a refined coastal home in an outstanding location.

View Sat & Sun 11:30am - 12:30pm

Tender Closes 4:00pm, Thu 16 April (unless sold prior)

WHAT’S ON @ Devonport Library

Tēnā Koutou Katoa

What a month! From pickles to pom-poms, climate to crime writers. Check it out!

School holidays are imminent. Library activities for tamariki at 10am -11am are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. eg Foam clay, DIY fidget toys, sports playday, pop-up cards and pompom monsters. All first-in,first-served except for a kids microgreens session on 10th April. Register at compostcollective.org.nz

CULTURAL CONNECTIONS PLAY DAY

Saturday 28th March, 1:00pm-4:00pm

Celebrate the World of Cultures with Māori games, classic favourites like Mancala and Ludo or try something entirely new.

TAI CHI WORKSHOP FOR ADULT BEGINNERS

Sunday 29th March, 10am-11:30pm Pengde Cui will lead an introduction to Tai Chi showing the basic movements of Chen-Style. Book via Humanitix or at the Library Desk.

KIWIS IN CLIMATE

Tuesday 31st March, 7:00pm-9:00pm

DLA event A lively panel discussion highlighting solutions and perspectives from the book that offer agency and hope. Koha entry. Books available for purchase. Speakers at 7:30pm.

FRIDGE PICKLES WORKSHOP

Thursday 9th April, 1:00pm-2:30pm

Part of the Love Food / Hate Waste programme. Make and take home yummy fridge pickles. (Bring a clean jar) Register at compostcollective.org.nz

DEADLY IN DEVONPORT?

Wednesday 6th May, 6:30pm-8:30pm

Our Ngaio Marsh Crime Writers event returns. Featuring Charity Norman, Gavin Strawhan, Hannah Tunnicliffe and Lauren Middleton with Stephanie Jones discussing their writing, books and creative process. Don’t forget to ask about the free library bus service for seniors and pick up your free programme for the 2026 Auckland Writers Festival in May - See you there!

Mā Te Wā

Creepy-crawlies invade stage

Giant critters from the bug world will take a young audience on a journey of discovery when The Worm wriggles its way into the hearts of local audiences.

“It’s great fun and it’s got a great track record,” says co-director Ben Crowder of the original play by North Shore writer Carl Bland and his brother Peter.

The Worm was originally penned as a Covid arts recovery project for Nightsong Theatre.

The Auckland-based company later put on special community performances in Hawke’s Bay after the Cyclone Gabrielle floods in 2023.

Now, fresh from a northern tour that started in Kerikeri, The Worm turns to what is home territory for Torbay resident Peter Bland, who co-directs, and others in the cast and crew.

It will be staged at the PumpHouse theatre in Takapuna for the second week of the school holidays.

“It’s an all bells and whistles production,” says Crowder, a drama teacher who has his own North Shore connection, with a job tutoring at South Seas Film School in Glenfield.

“The show has got a lot of heart,” he says.

Crowder and Peter Bland are the mainstays of Nightsong, which has been running for 20 years, mostly producing dramas for adults or older teens, including festival successes Mr Red Light and Te Pō

Their pivot to cater for a younger audience was partly because they thought that having gone through lockdowns, children could do with something fun.

“The work we create is usually very visual,” says Crowder, so the age-group transition worked, but it still required a strong story. “They’re quite a discerning audience.”

What the recommended age six-plus audience and their whānau will see is a story of a young worm, who suffers a fright when his

for tale of a young worm’s quest to find mum

mother is kidnapped from their quiet home.

The mother is played by acclaimed character actor Alison Quigan, who pops up later in the show as a sneaky snail. Brett O’Gorman is another familiar face, disguised as a cockroach, who grew up on the North Shore

The part of the title’s worm is taken by Puka Moeau, a top graduate from Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School several years ago.

He sets off on a quest to find his mother and discovers a whole new world.

At once exciting and scary, it is populated with new critters, ranging from a villainous rapping rat who rules the underground, played by Shauntelle Jones, to other oddball creatures.

Giant puppets, a spider and birds ramp up the atmosphere.

Original live music is played on stage by multi-instrumentalist Finn Scholes, the composer behind ensemble Carnivorous

Plants Society.

Crowder says it’s exciting to be helping fill a huge gap in children’s theatre since the death of Tim Bray last year.

He is no stranger to the PumpHouse, having first brought a version of Badjelly the Witch there at the turn of the century.

He has also worked with Devoport’s arts hub, The Depot, on the set-up of some of its Wayfinder courses.

Nightsong is already working on another children’s production, in conjunction with the New Zealand Dance Company.

It hopes to bring the show to the PumpHouse.

Meanwhile, the Blands’ play is in the process of being turned into a book, with publication expected this year.

• The Worm, at the PumpHouse in Takapuna, 14-19 April, with a sensory relaxed performance on April 17. Tickets $37.50, with group and other discounts from pumphouse.co.nz

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WHAT'S HAPPENING

We’re almost at the end of Term 1 and we have loved seeing you in the House so far this term. Term 1 ends Thursday 2nd April and we return Monday 20th April. We have lots of new activities, additions, and a few day changes, alongside our staple regulars, so make sure you check out our latest timetable at devonportcomhouse.com.

UPCOMING NEW CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

APRIL SCHOOL

HOLIDAY PROGRAMME

Tues 7th April - Fri 17th April, 8am - 6pm

The Holiday Programme is back for April and is already filling up fast. Featuring trips to the movies, bouncy castle fun, skating and scootering, hut building, pyjama parties + so much more! $58 per child, 10% discount for siblings Book: devonportcomhouse.com/ holidayprogramme

COMMUNITY VAN RUNS

Tues - Shoppers Run / Thurs - Library Run

A service where we will pick you up from home, take you to either New World Devonport (Tuesdays 9am or 12pm) and assist you with your shopping or to Devonport Library (Thursdays 12pm) for an information session, cup of tea or coffee and access to general library services before dropping you back off at home. Koha appreciated Email: rixt@devonportcomhouse.co.nz or call (09) 445 3068

ANTARCTICA FILM FESTIVAL

Wednesday 8th April 6.30pm

Join us for an evening of remarkable history, adventure, and Antarctic insight. A selection of short films from the icy wilderness will be shown. Before the screening, Frank Graveson shares stories from his time at Scott Base in the early 1960s. Tickets - antarcticsociety.org.nz

Local friends back on stage together

Belmont besties and youth-theatre veterans Violet Castle and Māui Hitchens are back in action together on stage, in Badjelly the Witch at the PumpHouse in Takapuna in the first week of the school holidays.

The 19-year-olds went through local schools together and were both involved in school productions and theatre programmes run by the StageAntics company.

Now at university, they still live at home with their families, which has meant being conveniently close for extra rehearsals of their Badjelly scenes together.

The duo promise fun performances at the PumpHouse, in a StageAntics show aimed at “the kids, their parents and their grandparents”.

“It’s a quintessential show for New Zealanders,” says Castle.

She reckons the story’s nostalgia factor will connect with older audiences and for the littlies the lively drama is interspersed with a few catchy songs they can join in on.

Penned by British comedian Spike Milligan for his children and first published in 1973, the Badjelly story of two children facing a witch has always resonated in New Zealand.

The book and audio production have been popular and the stage version is among the country’s most licensed plays. The Kiwi connection was further underlined last year when a local company won rights to make it as an animated series, starring Miriam Margolyes.

Castle and Hitchens say acting in their first children’s show, after years of doing a lot of mostly musical theatre together, is

a fun change.

Castle plays Badjelly and Hitchens is her giant offsider Dulboot. He also has a cameo as Appletree, a policeman who was turned into a tree.

Hitchens says he thinks the duo’s acting styles are appropriate for kids. Castle explains: “Because both of us go really big.”

Same goes for the show’s bold costumes and the storybook sets.

As part of StageAntics’ approach to building expertise, the cast of six all help out backstage.

Hitchens is looking after costumes for the show, which has meant trawling local opshops. Castle did the graphics for its posters.

The pair both went through Vauxhall Primary, Belmont Intermediate and Takapuna Grammar schools – “the full classic” as Hitchens puts it – but it wasn’t until Year 9 that they got to know each other.

“We connected on stage first,” says Hitchens.

Since then they have become firm friends. Over the years they have been involved in school productions, including We Will Rock You at TGS, theatre sports and Shakespeare productions.

Through StageAntics they did youth programmes in Takapuna and shows at the Rose Centre in Belmont and the PumpHouse.

Evolving from its under-18 youth theatre programmes, Badjelly is the company’s first “Next Steps” show, explains producer-director Emma Bishop.

“Many of our performers are ageing out and moving on to tertiary studies so StageAntics wanted to give them a stepping

Temporary exhibition space sticks around

A pop-up art gallery in Devonport will remain for a little longer.

Local Peter Knowles, who took the space for his own exhibition in February, has extended his lease to accommodate more shows.

He says he isn’t setting up in competition with other galleries, but the response he got to his In Plein Sight show convinced him to make further use of the empty retail site at 83 Victoria Rd.

“It actually brings a lot of joy to people. They say it’s great to see the space used and really livens up the street,” he says.

After Knowles packed up his exhibition last month, he invited the family of former local resident Liz de King, now 90 and living in a retirement home at Campbells Bay, to display her accumulation of vibrant canvases. “It’s gone well for them,” he said.

Knowles, aged 73, said the response to his own first show, with its paintings of local scenes, was gratifying. More than 30 works sold. “Everyone had a real reason for buying what they bought,” he said. Many

people explained their personal connections to particular scenes.

Knowles says his lease runs to the end of April for now. The landlord is happy to have him as a temporary tenant enlivening the empty real estate office.

A third exhibition by another artist is in the offing from this week. “It’s gained its own momentum.”

He is happy to hear from artists, not connected to existing galleries, who might want to rent wall space next month.

He says the venue could host between one and three exhibitors.

“It’s not to set up in competition with the other galleries, but to make space for more local artists.”

Exhibiting had connected him more to the local artists’ community, he said, at a time when he is turning his painting hobby into the main focus of his retirement years. But he says any further show of his own work will be some time away.

• Peter Knowles can be contacted on 021630304.

for Milligan classic school-holiday season in Takapuna

stone into professional theatre.”

Performers and the tech team will be paid. The auditioned cast is drawn from across Auckland, with Castle and Hitchens the only North Shore representatives.

Castle is studying design and computer science, Hitchens drama, Māori studies and law.

Despite focussing on different pathways, they both retain aspirations to continue performing.

“We both get the same sort of rush,” says Castle.

And, adds Hitchens: “It means we get to see each other more.”

• Badjelly the Witch, at the PumpHouse from 8-11 April, daily at 10.30am, 1.30pm and 6.30pm (except the final Saturday evening), with some relaxed and sign-language sessions. Adults $32, children $22.50 and group deals available. Book at pumphouse.co.nz

Double act... Violet Castle and Māui Hitchens became friends after connecting on stage at Takapuna Grammar School. They appear together in Badjelly the Witch at the PumpHouse next month.

SHOWING NOW

Hoppers (2D & 3D) (PG) 104min

I Swear (RP13)  120min

The Magic Faraway Tree (G)  110min

No Tears on the Field (E) 94min

They Will Kill You (R16) 95min

Project Hail Mary (M) 156min

Sirât (M) 115min

Tenor: My Name is Pati (PG)  104min

Cold Storage (R16)  99min

Reminders of Him (M) 114min

Midwinter Break (M) 91min

SPECIAL EVENTS & NEW RELEASES

Hunt For The Wilderpeople (PG) 100min 10th Anniversary 31 Mar

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie 120min 1 Apr

The Drama  120min 2 Apr

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (R16) 108min 2 Apr For more info on films & events go to thevic.co.nz

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