Bayswater project in limbo as firm focus turns east
The development of housing on the Bayswater reclamation seems to have been put on the back burner by owners Empire Capital.
The company gained consent in late 2022 for a development of 78 dwellings, with 20 car and boat-trailer parks, public open space of 8081sqm and the retention of an area of
4981sqm in a central precinct for marina and marine-related activities.
It then started the process of fine-tuning plans to meet council criteria on matters including transport movements and building design.
The Flagstaff has inquired regularly about the status of the project and last week
Empire Capital Group CEO Sean Joyce said: “There are no material developments to report regarding our plans to develop the Bayswater property at this time.
“Our energies are currently focused on commencing an exciting absolute-waterfront residential property development at our property at Pine Harbour.”
Retail mainstay Yarntons racks up 80 years
Narrow Neck skatepark scaled down to meet budget
A downsized skatepark for Woodall Park looks set to go ahead next year, taking up less of the park’s open space than in draft plans.
Skating advocate and Devonport Rotary director of youth and recreation Dave Casey said the facility – made smaller to keep the controversial project within its council budget of $945,000 – would still meet recreational needs.
The new design, over 641sqm rather than 850sqm, had a more separated bowl area, which offered safety advantages.
By zoning activity areas, skaters of mixed abilities would have less overlap, he told the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board at its August meeting.
The new design retained plans for built-up sides and planting to lessen noise, which has been one of the concerns raised by nearby residents, he said.
Board chair Mel Powell noted strong community desire for the project to proceed.
An expected sign-off was delayed in July, when council staff reported estimates had reached $1.1 million, $165,000 over budget. Board members asked for a rethink, leading to the new design.
They were also concerned at the location, which took up more open space to stand clear of a Watercare pipe in the area.
Watercare had since indicated that moving the skatepark closer to the park’s trees and pump track was acceptable, deputy board chair Terence Harpur told the August meeting. Member George Wood asked why the design had initially been sited so far out if the pipe was not a problem.
Casey, who was accompanied to the meeting by Rotary president Bob McGuigan, said the skatepark, like the pump track backed by Rotary, would be an asset to the area.
Downsized... the latest Woodall Park skatepark design, which was presented to the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board this month
It was in a more suitable location than the Ngataringa Skatepark, which has subsidence issues and was visually isolated. If anyone was injured, it was 170m from the road.
Delays had already seen construction prices rise, he said, urging board members to deliver on the project.
As with playgrounds, such as those upgraded in Allenby Reserve, Achilles Cres and Kawerau Ave, renewal funding had been set aside for the skatepark in council’s work programmes, he said.
Along with downsizing, he explained savings could be made in planting plans by working with environmental group Restoring Takarunga Hauraki and by having one shade sail rather than two over seating at the northern raised side of the skatepark.
He suggested dog walkers would enjoy
using the seating at sunrise, widening community enjoyment of the facility.
Casey said the distance from the proposed site to the nearest home on Wairoa Rd was 90m.
Other North Shore skate facilities were much closer to housing; in Forrest Hill, the gap was 40m.
He acknowledged residents’ concerns last year at the siting of temporary skate obstacles on the community courts nearer homes.
But he disputed claims by one resident that the location of Watercare services could prove a $1 million problem.
The skatepark took up only a small portion of the park, he said, leaving room for kilikiti and other informal recreation.
Council staff are continuing work on the proposal before seeking final board approval next month.
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Take a bow! Company Theatre wins slew of awards
Dressing up and taking to the stage came naturally to troupers from Company Theatre when their endeavours were recognised at the recent Northern Area Performance Theatre Awards (the Naptas).
Company – based at the Rose Centre in Belmont – was repeatedly in the spotlight on the night, with its sell-out production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time being named Outstanding Play of the Year and being further recognised with three other major awards. Hauraki resident Suzy Sampson, who helmed the production, won the Outstanding Direction award and actor Ben Wickers the Outstanding Performance in a Leading Male Role in a Play category, while the Outstanding Supporting Ensemble award, recognised the performances of local Devonport actors Trudy Thumath, James Carrick, Marissa Willson and Frannie Johnson, along with Trudy Price and Duncan Preston. Curious Incident, based on the novel by Mark Haddon and written for the stage by Simon Stephens, was performed in May last year, winning many plaudits. Company’s staging of Home Land by Gary Henderson was also a winner, with the Outstanding Props Award collected by Vettinia Ross, Sherry Ede and Sarah Dettwiler.
Pictured above at the event, held at the North Shore Golf Club, are: (back row, from left); Caroline Chapman Smith, Stephen Hood, Wickers and Price. Front row: Ede, Ross, Sampson, Kathy Gent, Willson and Thumath.
New supermarket owners expand online services
Changes are already being instigated at Devonport New World by new owners James and Claire Varcoe, aimed at making the shopping experience easier for customers.
The number of click-and-collect slots at the store is being increased from 250 to 420 and its online team is expanding from five to nine.
A new truck to deliver online orders as far afield as Takapuna is due to arrive in October.
James Varcoe said the in-store operation was business as usual, with only minor tweaks.
“There are no changes to the range – if anything it will get bigger.”
Some customers had said they wanted to be able to move around the store more easily, so some of the turning spaces were being “fine tuned”, he said.
The Flagstaff caught up with the couple last week on the fifth day of their ownership, having taken from John Ashton, who owned Devonport New World for 25 years, on 17 August.
“The store closed early, we were shaking hands at 10 past eight, John passed over his keys and that was it.”
James Varcoe always seemed destined for a career in the grocery business after he began packing meat at Eastridge New World, Mission Bay, as a 15-year-old. “I told Mum and Dad I was going to own a supermarket one day.”
Checking in... James and Claire Varcoe are new to Devonport New World but arrive as seasoned supermarket operators.
2016, and progressed to a store manager’s job at New World Mt Roskill before buying New World Onerahi in Whangārei sevenand-a-half years ago.
After leaving school, he studied law at the University of Auckland but still worked part-time at Eastridge.
Three years in commercial law followed. “But I always felt like I was a grocer moonlighting as a lawyer.”
By 2012 he was back at Eastridge, in the produce department, before a move to Pack’nSave Glen Innes. He was recruited for Foodstuffs’ trainee managers’ course in
Varcoe was asked a number of times over the years if he would move on from Northland. “I always said if John Ashton ever leaves Devonport I’d be keen.”
And so it transpired. “It’s a really nice community store in a really nice community which was really important to us – and it’s only two hours from Whangārei, where most of Claire’s family come from.”
Business-wise it’s a step up in scale: De-
Infrastructure: speed up investment in flood protection and safe drinking water.
Sport and recreation: greater investment focusing on youth wellbeing, improved facilities.
Economic development: grow our town centres and increase local employment.
vonport New World is three times the size of Onerahi, which had 70 staff compared to Devonport’s 125.
The couple have two sons, Henry (3 and a half) and Flynn (7 months), and have bought a house in Stanley Point.
Running a supermarket and raising young children makes for a busy life, and the couple’s downtime has a strong family focus.
But they are also keen to integrate into their new home patch.
“We really like being part of the community and supporting the community,” Varcoe said.
Support Mayor Wayne Brown’s priorities to ‘Fix Auckland’: Stop Wasting Money, Make the Most of our Environment and Manage AT.
Upgrades finally coming for run-down soccer stadium
Upgrades at North Shore United Football Club’s home ground at Dacre Park are planned to start in 2026, tapping into $800,000 of Auckland Council funding budgeted for the project.
The poor condition of the park included the pitch-side perimeter fence and pathways, which needed replacement, a dilapidated retaining wall behind the changing rooms and an unsafe grandstand, a council parks staff report on the project said.
Council work on Dacre Park was supposed to start around five years ago but was pushed back due to funding shortfalls caused by the Covid pandemic.
While council is now pushing ahead with the project, total cost estimates – excluding replacement of the Allen Hill Stadium grandstand – come to $1.125 million, leaving a shortfall of more than $325,000. It’s likely the club will fund some of the extra work itself.
Parks staff presented options to the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board this month and have been asked to hold further talks with the club. Senior project manager Ravi Chandrappa told a recent board workshop that the club had indicated it was happy to fund the grandstand work.
Club members and their contractors did an extensive clubrooms upgrade last year.
The work recommended by council includes a new pedestrian park entrance, with concrete stairs down from the shared cycle and footpath on the western boundary of the park and some safety fencing.
Board members asked if $200,000 of concrete-block retaining wall work could be delayed, but were told it needed shoring up as early as possible. A cheaper timber version was an option.
The $518,000 cost of the renewal of perimeter fencing and walkways was queried.
“You could build a skatepark for that,” said member Gavin Busch.
Officers will review the cost breakdown, liaise with the club and return soon for project sign-off. This would allow for detailed design and consenting to be done this year.
North Shore United club president Phil McGivern said the club was pleased council was moving on the project. But it was very hard to understand the costings for the pitch-side pathway and railing replacement.
He said the club was in discussions with a sponsor over doing work on the stands and it would continue to liaise with council to see other work get underway.
McGivern said the proposed western entrance to the park from the bottom of Victoria Rd was an idea driven by council, not the club. While the access would add a bit of convenience for some members, he noted some neighbours had opposed it when the club went through a resource consent process for lighting.
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Work needed... North Shore United’s Allen Hill Stadium is in line for major improvements
By Rob Drent
Another car vs power pole accident on Lake Rd created traffic chaos for hours on 16 August and it seemed everyone I spoke to on the following Monday was furious at the congestion it caused.
I was on the way out of Devonport to cover the Westlake Boys vs Whangārei Boys rugby match at North Harbour Stadium. I left at 9.30am for a midday match and arrived at the ground around 11.15am.
Traffic was backed up to Hanlon Cres when I left but the queue later reached past the golf course.
Road cones were put up around Takapuna Grammar to help traffic flow. But the lights were out at the Bardia Rd intersection, creating a potential hazard, with no traffic management.
At the Belmont shops I was behind the 814 bus from Devonport to Takapuna –caught in traffic like everyone else, leaving the meet-the-ferry timetables in disarray that day.
I again urge Auckland Transport and
Auckland Council to look at trams for Lake Rd. Thousands of cars would be taken off the road and it is the only real change to the thoroughfare that can guarantee reliable public transport. Anyone who has travelled on the numerous city trams proliferating around the world knows what is possible.
Below is a map from 1885, showing a planned tramline from Takapuna to Devonport. Another drawing in similar style was produced in 1904. It’s never too late for a good idea.
Harking back to my last column on TGS school uniforms (Flagstaff, 15 August), it’s interesting how standards change over the years. Covering the North Harbour rugby final, I noticed a few players from Whangārei Boys took to the field with dirty boots. In the 1970s, playing club football at Silverdale,
we weren’t allowed to play if we turned up with dirty boots. Practice was on Thursday nights, so Friday night was boot cleaning and polishing for the match the next day. We also wore garters to keep our socks up. After a match, laces and shorts were washed and then bleached in a bucket of diluted Janola to ensure pristine whiteness. Compulsory tennis whites got the same treatment.
Last week I enjoyed meeting Claire and James Varcoe, who have taken over New World from John Ashton. They are already implementing some subtle but customer-focused changes. The couple have also bought a home in Stanley Point and with a young family (when we met at the supermarket, Claire had young son Flynn in tow) seem likely to be quickly integrated into the Devonport community.
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Maria Stevens 021 979 084 maria.stevens@harcourts.co.nz
As the new custodians of Torpedo Bay Café located at Navy Museum, we are thrilled to be involved with this wonderful initiative by Kim Pausina and Eden Thomson of The EK Group | Ray White.
We are Liz and Mylam Sloan, a third-generation local family breathing new life into the wonderful local café. With an incredible museum and stunning location, we are creating a homely welcoming feel to take advantage of the beautiful vista we have been blessed with.
With our new coffee brand Allpress on board complementing our existing menu all freshly prepared daily in-house, we look forward to welcoming all our locals both new and long standing to our café. Located at 64 King Edward Parade, you can take in stunning views across Auckland. Make a day of it with the playground, buy your kids an ice cream, take a visit to the wonderful Navy Museum located next door, or take a short stroll to Cheltenham Beach.
We are incredibly grateful for the support of Kim Pausina and Eden Thomson from Ray White | Megan Jaffe Real Estate Limited. As proud locals, they are fully backing this new chapter and have contributed five $100 vouchers for locals to gift to someone they appreciate, giving them a chance to experience Torpedo Bay Café firsthand.
How To Enter
Nominate yourself, or someone special in our community who deserves recognition for all they do. Simply contact Eden & Kim directly, or email your nomination.
Winners Drawn Wednesday, 10 September at 2.30pm at Torpedo Bay Café located at Torpedo Bay Navy Museum.
This is our way of showing care, connection, and community spiritsomething we live and breathe every day in Devonport.
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021 201 7488
kim.pausina@raywhite.com
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021 790 552
eden.thomson@raywhite.com Proudly Sponsored and Supported By The EK Group | MJRE | Ray White
Rising tennis star wins national indoor tournament
Ngataringa tennis player Neve Upston continued his national-title-winning run with victory in the 14-and-under Kiwi Indoor Championships this month.
The win follows titles last season at the national under-13 tennis champs and a junior invitational event at the ASB Classic.
Following his latest win, Neve won a wild card into the 16-and-under championship, where he was knocked out in the first round after a tight three set, three-and-a-half-hour battle.
He won his following three matches in straight sets to take out the consolation plate prize.
Neve, 14, has a big season planned in 2025-2026 and is training four and a half hours a day, Monday to Friday: three hours a day on court along with strength and conditioning and stretching. He catches the ferry before and after school to the Next Gen training facility next to Stanley St in Parnell.
“It’s pretty much 7am to 7pm,” he says. “It’s very long days, but it’s good.”
He “only” trains for an hour-and-half on Saturdays and has Sunday off.
Over the next couple of months Neve is playing a series of ITF under-18 junior tournaments at Albany, Auckland city and Christchurch.
How does he think he will go against the older players? “I always aim to win. There’s not much point going onto the court if you don’t have that goal.”
Pre-Christmas he will play for Karaka in the Caro Bowl, Auckland’s top men’s interclub competition.
Later in the season he hopes to travel to junior tournaments in Asia and Australia.
After Christmas he will play for his home club, Ngataringa, in North Harbour’s Chelsea Cup competition.
Local squash talent battles Aussies
Top Takapuna Grammar School squash player Justine Pausch is this week in the New Zealand secondary school team battling the Australians in Cairns.
Pausch (17) is third seed in the team which will play 10 matches in five days this week, with a series of matches against New South Wales and Queensland teams after which an Australian team is selected for a trans-Tasman test series against New Zealand.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Justine told the Flagstaff on the eve of her departure. “It will be a very fun environment with all of us staying together.”
The matches are likely to be hard – possibly played in 27-degree heat. “The Australians will be a bit more used to it than us.”
When she gets back, Pausch, who won the Auckland under-19 girls squash title in June, is setting her sights on the New Zealand junior nationals in October.
Next year she hopes to make the New Zealand junior squad for the World Championships in Canada.
In form… Justine Pausch in action during the Auckland under-19 tournament she won in June
The worm is turning
Things have been a bit dark over the winter and several business have done it tough or gone under and property has been pretty flat ...but as spring arrives and the RBNZ is likely to cut the OCR another once or twice to 2.5% we should see a boost to the economy (at last!) and the outlook should be more positive over the next 6-12mths... and we are seeing a bit more mortgage inquiry, first home buyers in particular, with lots of stock to choose from.
Mortgage rates are a bit lower with short term fixed rate @4.75% and possibly getting to 4.5% which should help the property market - speak to us if you need any help with property finance or Reverse Mortgages - a great product for those over 60yrs who are asset rich and cash flow poor - you can borrow your age (say 70yrs) less 40 as a % (say (30%) of the Registered Valuation or ivalue Valuation of your property... there is no need to suffer a cash flow shortage if you are asset rich!
Fresh challenges... Neve Upston has a busy summer season ahead
Te reo bilingual class going ahead at Bayswater in 2026
Bayswater School is on track to open a te reo Māori bilingual class next year, with 18 students already enrolled.
Principal Marianne Coldham told the Flagstaff that after scoping the idea with a supportive school community last year, the board’s decision to go ahead had been locked in.
Demand was such that the class, initially for Year 1 to 3 learners, was on track to open with up to 25 students, who will be taught in both te reo and English.
Kaiako (teacher) Sasha Gillies will transfer to the bilingual classroom, and a parent, Lennie Rei, appointed its teacher aide.
Coldham said as well as backing from local parents, the new classroom had been attracting out-of-zone interest. One family was planning a move into the area from the other side of the harbour bridge to take up the bilingual opportunity.
While the North Shore had several full te reo immersion classrooms, including at Birkdale Primary and an Albany kura, bilingual classes were harder to find.
Reading, writing and maths basics will be taught in English, while the bilingual class will follow the New Zealand curriculum, but with added focus on tikanga and te ao Māori.
“One of the most important things is the
class being part of the whole school,” she said.
It would be integrated with wider school activities and the school itself would continue its commitment to supporting use of te reo and inclusiveness in its other classes.
A survey of parents taken in August 2024 had shown 90 per cent supported the bilingual classroom.
A community hui was held in November. Coldham said the school had also contacted kindergartens and childcare centres to spread the word.
Students did not need any level of existing te reo ability to join the class.
Devonport heritage zone escapes relatively unscathed
Devonport’s status as a special character area remains intact under Auckland Council’s latest draft planning rule changes.
North Shore ward councillor Richard Hills told the Flagstaff the proposals passed last week by the Policy and Planning Committee he chairs meant the single-house zone was set to remain for much of Devonport.
“It is probably the area of Auckland facing the least change of anywhere, as it is not classed as a walkable catchment near rapid transit or a metro centre and has less available infrastructure,” he also reassured Devonport Heritage chair Margot McRae in an email.
Other special character areas of the city have not fared so well, with some facing zoning changes and greater building heights. That is a trade-off with the government for the council being able to downzone some areas due to natural hazard risks and to opt out of the nationally mandated Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS), often referred to as 3x3 housing.
An Auckland deal was permitted by Housing Minister Chris Bishop only in exchange for seeing more intensification around a
number of transport hubs and town centres.
North Shore zoning generally has changed much less than in some inner Auckland suburbs such as Mt Eden, Kingsland and Morningside, where proximity to rail stations has seen the government direct higher buildings.
The end of the MDRS means many areas will revert to a mixed suburban housing zone, capped at two-storey homes.
Downzoned hazard areas – where building will be restricted to single homes and with more ability for council to impose conditions or reject applications – include small sections of Milford and Sunnynook and parts of other suburbs hard hit in the January 2023 floods. A coastal character and inundation overlay means building anything more than a single home 100m from the coast is prevented, including in parts of Takapuna and Milford that otherwise allow terrace housing and apartments up to six storeys high.
Both the Flagstaff and Devonport Heritage had queried Hills on the maps for Devonport presented to the committee. Hills acknowledged some required updating to show single-house zoning. He put this down to the
amount of work being done rapidly to meet government deadlines.
McRae said: “While we might be protected from the worst of intensification here, I believe it is a bad result for Auckland.” Bishop was forcing changes on Auckland, throwing up more housing with no consideration for quality of living or community cohesion, she said, predicting 15-storey slums of the future.
Devonport Heritage went to a meeting of the Character Coalition this week, backing work to protect heritage across Auckland.
Hills said the council had to pivot after spending several years working on changes to accommodate the MDRS in the Auckland Unitary Plan. Bishop had given it the choice of locking into the MDRS, without allowing the downzoning it wanted in hazard zones, or developing the new scheme while providing greater density. Keeping the Auckland Unitary Plan as is, was not an option.
Ministerial pushback on the council’s scheme might still occur, Hills said.
Late next month the committee will decide on notifying the plan change for public submissions.
Kia ora, we’re your team of positive future-focused professionals seeking your vote for the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. Collectively we bring experience in governance, economic development, urban planning, financial management, environmentalism, community development, wellbeing and disability inclusivity. We are data and evidence based and know that with a collaborative approach to working with Council, we will achieve more for our community.
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Suppor t local spor ts and community clubs
Protect our unique area and environment
Advocate for better stor mwater solutions
Maintain and upgrade community facilities
Greater Funding Spent More W isely
Year 7 runner breaks BIS cross-country record
Tom Congdon broke a Belmont Intermediate School record in winning the Year 7 boys cross-country race.
He won in 11.17 minutes,bettering by five minutes the record set by Brodie Robinson in 2023.
Results from the school’s annual cross-country champs –Year 7 girls: 1. Jura Fletcher-McGrevy, 2. Bonnie Robinson, 3. Cass Thorne. Year 7 boys: 1. Tom Congdon, 2. Harry Cockayne, 3. Frank Cockayne. Year 8 girls: 1. Milla Holland, 2. Juliette McCaw, 3. Charlotte Avery. Year 8 boys: 1. Jake Tuck, 2. Phoenix McQuoid, 3. Erik Havranek.
• The top BIS netball team finished a strong season as runners-up in the Netball North Habour Year 8 competition this month. The Year 7 team placed fourth, also playing in the competition’s top grade for their year group.
• At a recent Totara Springs Sports Camp BIS students took part in 46 events, reaching 15 semi-finals and winning nine events.
New benchmark…Tom Congdon (right) set a school record winning the Year 7 boys cross-country, beating Frank (left) and Harry Cockayne, who finished third and second respectively. Principal Nick Hill is at rear.
10am-2pm 7 SEPT 2024
Top talent... Members of the Belmont Intermediate School team who attended a recent sports camp at Matamata
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Family firm’s personal touch bucks retail trends
Yarntons, one of the North Shore’s oldest businesses, is celebrating 80 years. Bruce Yarnton talks to Rob Drent about the secrets of its longevity through changes to the retail landscape.
Fashions come and go, but customer service is the staple of any business, as Yarntons Mens and Ladies Fashion has proved since its opening in 1945, by bucking the trends of shopping malls, pop-up shops and online stores.
As the business enters its ninth decade, current owners Bruce and Karen Yarnton are still very much hands-on.
Both are often behind the counters serving customers at their two Devonport stores – with Bruce putting in shifts at their Birkenhead shop as well.
“I’ve always enjoyed the people aspect,” he says. “I get to meet different people every day.”
His days at the retail frontline date back to the early 1980s, when he began working with his mum, Beth, at Yarntons Birkenhead.
Bruce had been a Woolworths’ management trainee but entered the family firm soon after the death of his father, Bob, aged 61.
Long before that, he had helped out at the shop after school, and has early memories of playing with the ticketing machines and being assigned to mark up stock.
“I suppose it was in my blood... stepping into something you understand.”
The firm was born after Bob Yarnton was invalided home from World War II and purchased an existing haberdashery store in Birkenhead.
Yarntons opened on 2 September, 1945, the day the war officially ended with the formal surrender of Japan.
The business was an immediate success, with women queueing down the street to buy hard-to-find skeins of wool which Bob had packed into his front window.
As the country recovered from the war years, the shop thrived, focusing first on women’s clothing, then expanding into the shop next door and stocking clothes for all the family.
His and hers... Bruce and Karen Yarnton are often to be found behind the counters at their Victoria Rd shops
Bruce Yarnton said one of the keys to his parents’ success was providing credit, which enabled customers to buy goods on account.
“The big promotion of the year would be interest-free terms,” he recalls.
“Money was tight in those early days and it was a huge benefit to customers to be able to pay off their items monthly or fortnightly.”
After 25 years, the business had grown into a busy three-store operation, with shops in Birkenhead, Glenfield Mall and Northcote.
From early on, school uniforms were a key part of Yarntons’ trade. Generations of Shore families have trooped into the stores to attire children for the school year ahead.
Bob Yarnton became a prominent North Shore retailer: president of the Birkenhead Business Association, a director of Rotary international, member of the hospital board, a JP and active in charitable initiatives including the founding of Cure Kids.
When he died, Yarntons had able managers in the stores, “so Mum was able to pick up the reins and the business continued,” Bruce says.
Good staff have been a mainstay of the business.
“We’ve tried to count the number of local people who worked for us over the years. Like myself, many of them starting in an
after-school job,” he says.
He reckons the total could number around 400.
In his early years, the business world –particularly retailing – was starkly different to what it is today. In the first decades, credit cards, eftpos, even Saturday trading, were unheard of.
But family commitment to the business has been vital throughout.
Beth, at 95 and living in the Northbridge retirement village, still takes an interest in what’s going on.
Bruce first met Karen at Wakatere Boating Club, where he is still a keen Sunburst sailor.
They married in 1989, opening her involvement in the firm, and settled in Devonport, where Bruce had strong family connections.
Beth was born in Duders Ave and her father, Alfred Wilson, was Devonport Borough Council town clerk for 40 years before he retired in 1958.
In 1999, an opportunity came up to open a Yarntons branch in Devonport.
Glenfield Mall was being refurbished, without a suitable spot for Yarntons. “It just so happened Colin Parry [who owned a menswear shop in Victoria Rd] was retiring – I came down and decided [to take the shop over and rebrand it] on a handshake
that day.”
“I remember the day we opened, the All Blacks had lost in the World Cup to France – everyone was so depressed we did nothing that day.”
Indeed, the prospects for the Devonport shop were so uncertain, “we only signed up for a year’s lease. We were not very confident it would work, but 25 years later we are still here.”
Bruce puts the store’s longevity down to its consistency. “We are still quite a traditional store – a one-stop shop for the older guy.”
And as similar shops have closed all around Auckland, Yarntons has attracted their shoppers.
“We have customers from all around the city – Meadowbank, St Heliers... they catch the train and ferry on their gold cards – many are repeat customers.”
Personal service is a drawcard.
“I’ve always been behind the counter. I’ve never had an office, always been front-facing,” Bruce says.
“I’m more of a shopkeeper – a bit like Arkwright [in BBC sitcom Open All Hours],” he laughs.
“I’m providing a service rather than being a business leader.”
Covid, during which Yarntons had to close for 84 days during lockdowns, “probably changed retailing forever, with customers being forced online”.
The business has had to move with the times but has “evolved rather than making A to Z changes”.
Yarntons has an online sales portal, and over the years has introduced big-name suppliers like RM Williams, Swanndri and Birkenstock, which continue to be among its top sellers.
A street presence remains key, however. Ten years ago, Yarntons bought Pellacci from Claire Amodeo and launched a womenswear store a few doors down Victoria Rd from the menswear store.
Strong bonds have been fostered in the community. Yarntons has sponsored North-
cote Rugby Club since its early days, along with many other clubs such as the North Shore rugby and cricket clubs.
Full sets of Shore junior cricket uniforms are folded and ready to head off the shelves for the 2025-26 season, and Bruce and Karen are regularly at Vauxhall Rd cheering on the North Shore Prems at home games.
“We’re pretty much rugby tragics,” Bruce says. “We go to all the Auckland and Blues matches.”
The couple’s elder son Josh is a video analyst for the Blues, while second son Luke is in Mexico City, working in marketing.
In his mid-60s, Bruce has no immediate plans to retire but does want more time to pursue cycling trips and other travel.
Asked what the future holds for Yarntons, he says, “There is no plan as such”, but that local support gives “lots of reasons to stay”. He interrupts our interview to serve a customer, who buys a $100 voucher for a birthday gift .
“Isn’t he wonderful?” she says.
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Early days... The first Yarntons site in Birkenhead, where Bruce Yarnton first worked in the family business. He remembers interest-free terms being “the big promotion of the year”.
Tēnā koutou, welcome to September!
This month we're excited to announce our new partnership with My ART, a new exhibition at DEPOT Artspace and Maker of the Month in the DEPOT Shop | Toi Toa. Read on to find out more!
Depot Artspace
‘Siah Finai: Vānimonimo’ opens 20 September, 2-4pm. This exhibition features a collection of sculptural and painted works that explore the Sāmoan concept of Vā, the sacred relational space that binds people, land, ocean and ancestry.
Stretching across vast waters, this space is not empty, but alive with memory, movement, and meaning. For Tangata Pasefika, the ocean is not a void; it is a connective tissue, a vast blue pathway through which histories flow and futures are imagined.
Depot 3 Vic Road
September is the busiest birthday month of the year, so pop down to our gorgeous shop and gallery at 3 Vic Road where you can find quality, unique and locally made gifts.
Perfect for Father’s Day is our September Maker of the Month Colin McKay, whose range of watercolour prints share a deep fascination with the beauty and variety of fish – in all their colours, shapes and sizes!
Visit depot.org.nz for more info and stay up to date by subscribing to our e-news!
Ngā mihi nui, Amy Saunders Director | Kaiwhakahaere, DEPOT amy.saunders@depot.org.nz
Amnesty takes on all rights abusers
In response to J Leighton’s letter of 15 August: I would have welcomed you engaging with me about Amnesty International’s position on Hamas during the recent march in Devonport.
Amnesty International has consistently condemned the brutal October 7 attacks by Hamas and other militia groups and called for the release of all hostages. Most recently, Amnesty International has condemned the appalling parading of hostages by Hamas.
We continue to campaign for a lasting
ceasefire in Gaza as the best way to ensure further egregious human rights abuses by all sides stop, and vital humanitarian aid gets in for Palestinians and Israeli hostages alike. We continue to document abuses and will work to ensure all human rights abusers have their day in court and are held accountable for their war crimes and other crimes against humanity.
Margaret Taylor
People Power Manager
Amnesty Aotearoa NZ
Intensified village would lose period scale
In response to Ken Davis and Julie Stout (Letters, 15 August), Devonport village is not a museum, but it is an attraction. Why? For the cohesion and scale of Victorian and Edwardian architecture.
A recent Substack post by The Culturist, “Why does everywhere look the same?”, laments the death of local architecture.
Your examples of intensification (Brit-
omart, Hobsonville Point, Melbourne’s Nightingale multi-level apartments) are happening on the peninsula, and will invigorate businesses and services in Devonport.
Rejuvenate yes, but don’t re-scale Devonport.
If you intensify the village, the compelling vernacular of Devonport dies.
Annemarie Thomas
Netflix saw the value in local heritage
Devonport is not at risk of being a “stagnant museum piece”.
But it is at risk of not being given the chance to become a prestigious Unesco World Heritage Site.
Devonport’s collection of Victorian and Edwardian timber houses is why Netflix came right round the world to find the perfect location to film its period [East of Eden] production here.
They expressed how delighted they were to be here and showed that by donating money to a variety of local causes.
It is the uniqueness of our village and its stunning marine setting that captures a nostalgia for Devonport’s history that draws visitors here.
Our Devonport Museum has more layers of history than any other museum in New Zealand, and goes right back to the landing of the first Māori canoe.
Devonport does not have a “stagnant future”!
Why intensify Devonport and make it look like anywhere else in the world?
Jean Pegler
O Canada! Flattery forwarded
A Canadian who visited Devonport wrote a tribute to the place and mailed it to the “Mayor of Devonport”. When this recently found its way through Auckland Council to the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Mel Powell, she shared the poem (by “F.Watt”) with the Flagstaff. Devonport New Zealand is a special little town.
Quaint homes, shopping and the Victoria Theatre abound.
The Esplanade is a great little hotel. It’s near the ferry boat and handy to Auckland city as well.
The Devonport Library is near sea and sand.
It’s handy to see the ships come in, all designed by a mighty hand.
They say New Zealand is God’s own country, that is true.
For peace, safety and beauty Devonport is the place to view.
20 years ago from the Flagstaff files
• Peter Chevin, a property developer, buys Devonport Wharf, but refuses to be drawn on speculation that a boutique hotel is planned for the site.
• Willy Williams sets up a one-man tagbusting initiative to clear graffiti from Devonport streets.
• Kelsey Buntain and Nick Turley take out the Year 8 titles at the Belmont Intermediate cross-country champs.
• The Electric Confectionaires from Takapuna Grammar make the Smokefreerockquest national finals.
• Karen Williamson and Karey Walker exhibit photos at the Depot.
• Cliff Heywood is the Flagstaff interview subject.
• Empire Public Relations takes over the running of the Devonport Food and Wine Festival.
Wilson School showcases valued education role
Students at the Wilson School in Hauraki and its satellite primary classrooms at Bayswater School joined in a national day to celebrate specialist schools last Friday.
Parents and guests gathered at the Wilson School, where students enjoyed messy play, music and morning tea.
Acting principal Anjuman Raza said the aim was to drive awareness of the role of the schools in caring for and educating high- and special-needs students.
North Shore mother Kristie Taurua told the Flagstaff that since her autistic son transferred from a mainstream classroom to the Wilson School two years ago he had made steady improvement. From being non-verbal, he was now able to put a sentence together and was much better able to sit and focus on tasks. Dentistry had once required surgery under anaesthetic, but he now tolerated dentist visits. “We couldn’t go to the mall – the change in family life has been incredible.”
Taurua, who is a member of the Parent Advocacy for Special Education group, said parents were often not told what support was available and had to fight for it. “We’re about promoting how special special schools are.”
The Wilson School has 129 students, aged from 5 to 21, and a waiting list. It has 35 teachers and therapists and 65 teacher aides, who work at the base school and its five North Shore satellite sites.
Bayswater principal Marianne Coldham said hosting two satellite classes delivered on her school’s goals of inclusiveness and equity. It also taught the school’s other students valuable life lessons. Half a dozen of them helped out on the day, as the 17 satellite students rotated through activities with an ocean theme, from water play to making sushi.
Robin Taylor-Lyons, one of the school’s two specialist teachers, said unlocking student potential was her driver. “I would like people to know how brilliant our students are – they have their own way of looking at things.”
Wilson School is seeking Ministry of Education approval to take up vacant space at the neighbouring Wilson Home for two extra classrooms. This would boost the number of base-school classrooms from six to eight, catering for more families who opt for a specialist school rather than mainstreaming.
The school is separate from the Wilson Home but works collaboratively with it and shares the same site. It uses the home’s pool for therapy sessions and some students also have stints of respite care in the home.
The school’s own more modern building has been given the go-ahead for expensive weather-tightness work to be done, but otherwise securing funding remains an ongoing challenge. Raza says transport allowances are an area where some parents are currently facing cuts.
Raza, who has been at the school for 15 years, acknowledged Rotary for its long history of assistance.
True colours... Kimiko Tecson (top) was among the children who enjoyed a range of activities, including painting, in the courtyard at the Wilson School (above) while (at right) Austin Maano, with teacher aide Kamilla Halles, practises his food-prep skills making sushi
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Top sports teams compete at Winter Tournament Week
More than 120 TGS students across more than 10 premier teams competed in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Winter Tournament this week. Representing the school in cycling, table tennis, hockey, football, basketball, netball, and rippa rugby, our athletes are spread across the country for one of the biggest events on the school sports calendar.
The tournament offered a chance for students to showcase their skills, represent TGS with pride, and connect through sport. It’s also a key opportunity for talent identification, with regional and national selectors in attendance.
See all the results at www.facebook.com/TGSSports/
Students impress with original songs and KBB Music Festival success
TGS students have had a few weeks filled with music making and success.
At the KBB Music Festival, our Concert Band, conducted by Lauren MacMillan, earned silver, the String Orchestra, led by Mr Stephen Rowe, took bronze, and the Jazz Band received a Highly Commended - an impressive result for their first competition in years.
Meanwhile, our annual Rock Band Evening was a hit, with ten student bands - On Repeat, HOTLINE, Four Seasons, Unbound, Fusion Grooves, The Reusables, Icarus, The Lobsters, Pearl Honey, and The Nameless - delivering energetic sets of original and cover songs.
Junior Girls podium finish in College Sport Cycling Series
The TGS Junior Girls Team Time Trial wrapped up a strong season, placing 3rd overall in the College Sport TTT Series and 2nd on Finals Day. Charlee Somerville, Iris Davis, Imogen Child, and Nikita McDonald delivered consistent performances across challenging courses. On Finals Day, the trio raced brilliantly against top schools, securing a wellearned 2nd place. This marks TGS’s first podium finish in the series in several years - congrats to the team for their dedication and success.
Students support Harbour Hospice at Vintners’ Brunch
Members of the school’s Peer Support team helped with the set-up and service at the annual Harbour Hospice Vintners’ Brunch. The event raised more than $275,000.
The student volunteers helped serve food, set up and pack down the event. Harbour Hospice said the team “helped to create a unique and memorable experience in support of Harbour Hospice.”
The funds raised will help in providing compassionate care for patients and their whānau, including bereavement support and special moments in inpatient units.
Nikita McDonald, Charlee Somerville, Iris Davis
Young cyclists ‘scale Everest’ in Devonport
A group of Takapuna Grammar School and Westlake Boys High School cyclists rode “to the top of Mt Everest” in Devonport as part of training for the New Zealand cycling champs next month.
Thirty-five students (12 from TGS and 23 from Westlake) did 185 ascents of Maungauika (five or six each) to climb 8849m – the Everest height, based on the summit of Maungauika being 48m above a turn at Macky Ave.
The combined team managed to crack the height in under 40 mins. Both teams are nearly at the end of the season and peaking for nationals.
The teams train together at times to help get the best out of each other.
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Veteran Pollock is Shore’s Player of the Year
The North Shore Rugby Club has celebrated one of its most successful seasons – in which it won North Harbour’s premier and under-21 titles – with a prizegiving to honour the club’s top players, teams and administrators.
Winners –
Robert Todd Cup (Women’s Team Spirit), Christie Moncrieff; Hannah Porter Cup (Most Promising Women’s Player), Sophie Sykes; Altherm West Cup ( Premier women’s Players’ Player of the Year), Jessie Courtenay Malupo; Martin Cooper Cup (Premier Women’s Player of the Year), Armani Lam; Coughlin Cup (Under-85 Player of the Year), Harry Tankard; Tyrone Robertshaw Memorial Cup (U85 Players’ Player of the Year), Hideaki Tanaka; Alice Shaw Cup (for Most Outstanding Commitment to the Club), Ian McAlpine; James Evans Memorial Cup (Most Improved U21 Player – selected by the committee), James Fairbairn; John Boys Memorial Cup (Most Improved U21 player and Dedicated Trainer – selected by team management), Amalani Taiala; John Kibblewhite Memorial Cup (U21 Team Player of the Year), Eli Adlington; Spencer Buchanan Memorial Cup (Supporter of the Year), Glenn Whiting; Gary Dell’Isola Memorial Cup (Most Dedicated Premier 2 Player), George Masdin; Albion’s Trophy (Premier 2 Player of the Year), Max Clarke; Bill Laurie Memorial Cup (Team Manager of the Year), Mike Simpson; Murray Jones Memorial Cup (Premier 1 Player of the Year – selected by team management), Rex Pollock; Eprouvez Cup ( Players’ Player of the Year – selected by the Premier 1 team), Tyler Beary; Paul Thompson Memorial Cup (Coach of the Year), James Hinchco; D.D. Coleman Cup (Club’s Most Successful Goal Kicker), Oskar Koller; Chapman Cup (Best U21 Player), Hunter Rice; Doug Hopkins Memorial Cup (Front Rower with Greatest Potential), Brodie Savage; Pitcairn Rosebowl (Most Promising Player), Liam Sturm; Napier Shield (Team of the Year), Men’s Premier 1.
Pride of the Union… Shore Player of the Year Rex Pollock (above left); most promising player Liam Sturm (right) after receiving his championship winners medal and the premier team (below) after winning a third consecutive title
Owners ‘surprised’ to find trees on protected list
Property owners should have a strong say before trees on their property are scheduled as “notable” by Auckland Council, the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board says.
Owners are meant to be officially advised when listing is proposed, but board member Gavin Busch said he knew of two locals who had been surprised to find their trees on the list.
Deputy board chair Terence Harpur said the views of owners should be given an added weighting when scheduling was being considered.
“I’m worried that anyone can nominate,” said George Wood, suggesting a passerby or disgruntled neighbour might saddle someone with a listing.
The comments were at a board meeting when members were asked for feedback on proposed additions to the notable trees list, before they are added to the Auckland Council’s Unitary Plan.
No objections were raised by members to the trees newly proposed for scheduling from the board area, including three on the Devonport peninsula.
Scheduling gives a tree added protection, although owners can still apply to remove it.
Trees in the southern half of the board area to be added to the schedule under “Plan Change 113” are: pōhutukawa at 55 and 75 Norwood Rd and 29 Bayswater Ave and an English oak at 201b Lake Rd.
Belmont house up for national award
This sharply priced contemporary Belmont home has been named among the country’s top 100 builds.
It and a traditional-look Takapuna home, along with a multi-unit development in Sunnynook, were the local medal winners from the Auckland, Northland and Coromandel region chosen to advance for national judging in the Master Builders House of the Year competition.
The two-storey weatherboard Belmont home by Sentinel is in the New Home $750,000 to $1 million category. It features four bedrooms and extensive contemporary living space over 244sqm. Section winners and an overall victor will be revealed in November.
Two Milford builds won regional medals.
Artists put cultural lens on environmental concerns
Four local Māori artists are using their creative abilities to focus on the power, beauty and vulnerability of the environment, in the hope their work will also inspire the community to act as kaitiaki.
Their exhibition, Te Reo o Te Taiao – The Voice of the Natural World, is on at Satellite2 gallery in Devonport from Saturday 30 August. Both traditional carving and weaving techniques and more modern applications will be on show, including striking digital prints and 3D-printed masks.
“It’s the four of us coming together to celebrate our ecosystems and our environment,” says carver Ngahiwi Walker. The Narrow Neck resident and Māori Cultural Advisor to the Navy is a familiar leader in community kapa haka and Matariki celebrations, and he notes the show’s end in mid-September is nicely timed with the lead-in to Māori Language Week, another event he and wife Terehia Walker are passionate about promoting locally.
Joining him in the exhibition is a Navy colleague, Rawiri Barriball, a senior combat specialist of 29 years service who lives in Bayswater. From childhood doodling – “I was a kid that drew on everything, and I mean everything” – he has branched out in the past few years from drawing to making digital prints.
“Something new happens – you’ve got to move with the times,” he says, noting the prints appeal to younger audiences. Images inspired by nature and ancestral stories include Paikea riding a whale and a ruru gazing sharp-eyed at the viewer.
Current affairs are also a prompt for his work, with the men all wanting to ensure the environment is safe and respected. The likes of bird and fish motifs appear on carved pou.
Takapuna-based Natanahira Pona, carver in residence and tutor at Lake House Arts Centre, has also been using new technologies to extend the reach of his craft. Experimenting with 3-D printing of wooden carvings that have taken many hours to fashion has yielded a series of wall plaques.
By scanning the original, he can create around a dozen pieces overnight. He then airbrushes the wheku (masks) and what he calls koruru, which have round eyes like those of the native owl. Other animals, not all with particular meaning to Māori, are among subjects he has depicted.
Playing up the eyes is also seen in the more traditionally-made large wooden pou carved by Ngahiwi Walker. His columns are based on Tane to represent the land and Tangaroa the ocean. Perspex pieces are an addition, along with small images of lizards, birds and fish.
Weaver Tony Vecotic rounds out the North Shore group, but was not at the catch-up with the Flagstaff to talk about his work.
Nocturnal inspiration... A ruru features among Rawiri Barriball’s striking digital artworks.
Below: These small masks replicating original wooden carvings by Natanahira Pona were made on a 3D printer, then colour washed.
The men talk of satisfaction at seeing tūī and kererū in the local environment and the welcome efforts of Restoring Takarunga Hauraki and other groups to enhance it. They hope their exhibition celebrating nature through a Māori lens is another way to get the message across.
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Environmental focus... Maori artists who live locally (from left) Rawiri Barriball from Bayswater, Natanahira Pona from Takapuna and Ngahiwi Walker from Narrow Neck are three of four participants in a group show coming to Devonport’s Satellite2 gallery this week. Their varied environmentally-themed works take a te ao view of issues they want the whole community to engage with.
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