Holiday shows to keep the kids entertained... p20-23 Issue
Forrest Hill playgrounds eyed for removal... p10
Motorway overbridge could be part of park revamp
A pedestrian overbridge across the Northern Motorway between Smales Farm bus station and AF Thomas Park and Eventfinda Stadium is being sought as part of the area’s recreational makeover.
Kaipātiki Local Board chair Danielle Grant told the Observer the board wanted
council to ask the New Zealand Transport Agency to look at the idea, which would also link public transport to the job-rich industrial area around Porana Rd in Wairau.
Grant said the idea was just one of the “excellent opportunities” thrown up by decisions on the park’s future made by the
board last month, which included retaining golf as a priority use of the park in the area not needed for flood-mediation wetlands, and spelling out other recreational aims.
She hoped the overbridge concept would catch the public’s imagination, helping
Cheers! Locals enjoy annual get-together
Top spot... Colleen and Fred Janssen had BYO seating and refreshment at Castor Bay during the annual community barbecue put on by the area’s residents group on Sunday. More pictures, pages 8-9.
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Hon Simon Watts
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Takapuna accommodation shortfall may rule out hosting big brass band event
The North Shore Brass Band is bidding to host the national championship in 2028, but a lack of accommodation means the event is unlikely to be held in Takapuna.
The last time the national championship was held in Takapuna was 2011, when the Spencer on Byron was a fully functioning hotel. Since then rooms have been sold off as private residences.
North Shore Brass Band president Owen Melhuish told the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board in an update last week that the Spencer on Byron probably has only enough rooms to accommodate one band now.
A national championship would attract around 1200 players and 1800 supporters.
Another impediment to Takapuna hosting
a significant event was the lack of a second venue to partner the 1100-seat Bruce Mason Theatre, Melhuish said.
A medium-sized venue of around 500 seats was needed on the Shore, “a convention centre facility”, Melhuish said.
The last time the national brass band championship was held in Auckland was in 2024 at Manukau. In addition to New Zealand musicians, bands came from Hong Kong, Japan, Tonga and Australia.
Takapuna Beach chief executive Terence Harpur said Takapuna had smaller hotels. “But we would love to see more tourist accommodation being built in the future.”
More accommodation brought “more tourist spending to support local businesses”.
Firth house owners meet with local board members and Shore councillor
A behind-closed-doors meeting was held last week between the beneficiaries of the Firth family, who own a property on the Takapuna-Milford coastal walkway, and local elected representatives.
The walkway was closed for around a year in 2023-24, as the owners attempted to lift the heritage designation on the property – formerly the home of the late Paul Firth.
Since then, walkers using the coastal
path have again been allowed to cross the property.
The meeting in central Auckland was to be attended by Devonport-Takapuna Local Board members and Auckland Councillor John Gillon.
It is understood one of the topics of discussion was potential changes that may be forthcoming with government revisions of the Resource Management Act.
Talks held on Amaia reserve handover
Negotiations over the final handover of an esplanade reserve next to the Amaia development in Esmonde Rd are taking place between Auckland Council and the new developer of the project. The builder, KBS Construction, went into liquidation last October.
Council advisor Tamara Zunic told the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board last week that the land had been transferred but final details were being finalised. Board member Scott Macarthur said the land was in a very scruffy state, covered in weeds, and he wanted it to be handed over in good condition.
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Bayswater dreaming: Plans for clubhouse take shape
The Takapuna Boating Club has begun the early stages of fundraising for an ambitious $5 million restoration of its landmark 150-year-old Bayswater clubhouse.
A Givealittle campaign has begun, its start timed for the official launch of a wider threephase plan, which includes attracting major donors and commercial sponsors.
The club’s plan to restore the historic building to its former glory for both boating and community use were outlined to an invited audience in Takapuna last week. A slick slide show contained historic images and a vision of the restored exterior.
Club commodore Wendy Baker said each phase played a pivotal role in realising the project, which was expected to stretch over several years.
Talks were already underway with groups who may be interested in space in the building, including the Takapuna Grammar Rowing Club, she said. Conversations with council were also being held about heritage grants and future plans around the marina area. The intention was to keep the community informed, with quarterly updates.
• Phase 1 is a goal to secure $500,000 by the end of the year to enable other work to begin. Media and public engagement is planned and grants are being sought. An event at the boathouse is being considered mid-year, which may be an open day. This phase will take 10 per cent of the total budget and include a building assessment, needs and feasibility study and fundraising.
• Phase 2 is construction work, expected to cost around $3.5 million and take 70 per cent of the budget. (As reported in the Observer last month, the club has already obtained ballpark estimates. It says despite the building’s dilapidated exterior appearance, its kauri planks and foundations are sound, but repainting, weather-tightness and work on windows, a planned upper verandah and decking over the seaside frontage are needed.)
• Phase 3 will be work on the interior, estimated to cost $1 million, taking the remainder of the budget. The fitout would pave the way for a major hospitality tenant on the upper level and also include creating
spaces for community meetings and mixeduse activities on the mid level, with boating use and a possible ice-cream shop beneath.
Baker said being able to improve the “sad state” of the building was something the club was determined to push on with. This had been made possible by legislation passed last year, enabling more commercial use.
Ray Welson, a former long-standing boating club member and Hauraki resident, relayed a message from North Shore MP Simon Watts, who helped usher the law change through a five-year process.
Welson said his great-grandfather, who lived in Beresford St, was a member of the Bayswater Yachting Club (which became the Takapuna club). It first met in 1921 in the garage of his property which backed onto Shoal Bay.
His great-grandfather helped transport materials when the already 50-year-old
clubhouse building was barged to its current site in pieces, after an earlier life as a tannery.
Existing tenants, a sailmaker and a windsurfing operation, would remain in place for now. They “pretty much pay the power bills”, said Baker, helped with repairs and kept a valuable eye out for vandalism and any urgent repairs that needed attending to.
A Bayswater Project Governance Committee has been formed. Baker said project funding would be kept separate from the club’s running accounts.
“We’re going to be casting the net wide for commercial sponsorship,” she said. Naming rights opportunities might include the building to spaces within it. But supporters would also be able to contribute with such things as paying to restore a window and have their name on a plaque on the sill.
“From $100 to $100,000 to even $1million if they want to.”
The vision... In front of an image of what a restored clubhouse might look like, members of the Bayswater Restoration Governance Committee (from left) are: Takapuna Boating Club board member Mark Wooster, club vicecommodore Darren Moore, commodore Wendy Baker, president Barry Ward and volunteer Nicole DeSonier, who helped shape the fundraising video.
Imogen Ayris in action at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland, where she won bronze in the women’s pole vault.
The Takapuna Athletics Club product and 25-year-old former Takapuna Grammar student had a clean score card up to 4.70m, with first-time clearances at all heights. The next progression of 4.80 unstuck most of the filed 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 and Takapuna club vaulter, Eliza McCartney, also cleared 4.70m, with close attempts at 4.80m. But the Olympic bronze medallist couldn’t find her form of two weeks ago in Auckland, where she cleared 4.81m for gold at the NZ Track and Field Championships. She partly put finishing sixth down to competing with unfamiliar poles.
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Takapuna cricketers back on top after ‘nearly’ years
The Takapuna Cricket Club’s premier men’s side has shrugged off a “bridesmaid” legacy to capture the top Auckland two-day title, winning the Hedley Howarth trophy for the first time in a decade.
Takapuna (pictured with their trophy) took first-innings points to clinch the title at home against East Coast Bays on March 21. Chasing the visitors’ 175 all out, Takapuna reached 186/8 at the end of the second day.
The last time Takapuna won the title was in the 2016-17 season. Since then it has won several Auckland one-day and T20 trophies and the national club cricket championship in 2021.
But in the Hedley Howarth trophy it has
had four second-place finishes. “We’ve been the bridesmaid a few times,” captain Matt Jones said after finally securing the title.
In the 2024-2025 season Takapuna missed winning the trophy by half a point.
This season they finished 15 points ahead of second-placed University. “We’ve had two years of back-to-back consistency,” which was pleasing for the team and club, Jones said.
After an early loss to Parnell last season the team had won “13 games on the bounce,” he said.The side had developed great depth over recent seasons, incorporating players straight out of school alongside others with 60 or 70 senior games and those like Jones
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with more than 200 outings for Takapuna premiers.
The team was lucky to have Will O’Donnell in the side, who led the batting lineup, while Jones and Toby Stroobant were potent bowlers. Jones (30) will be back to help defend the title and will move past 250 games for the club in 2026-27. “You could not stop me if you tried... my aim is to play 300 matches and see how my body holds out.”
The winning side: Brad Cachopa, Matthew Ross, De Strydom, O’Donnell, Benjamin Beecroft, Cam Neal, Sam Collinson, Flynn Goodley-Hollister, Jones, Stroobant, Jordan Sussex, Michael Ross and Peter Ruffell.
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Direction set, park masterplan to come
From page 1
push the case for NZTA funding. It could be similar to that connecting the Akoranga station to AUT.
Auckland Council will now scope out a masterplan for the 46ha park, including the large portion to be managed by Healthy Waters, after the board – as local land leaseholder – determined its future recreational priorities.
In community consultation last year, 5359 submissions were made, favouring mostly golf use of the recreational area, closely followed by those wanting an even split.
“We want to use every metre of AF Thomas Park for the best possible results for sport and the environment,” Grant said.
January 2023 floods and repeat floods could make reinsurance prohibitive.
“The local board wants to see a resilient facility that has a long-term future,” Grant said. The board also told council it wanted Shore Archery and Sunnybrae Bowling Club to remain as park leaseholders, walking and cycling pathways provided, and the creation of at least two new playing fields.
The board, which also made a “fit for purpose” indoor sporting and events facility as another top priority for the park, had involved council’s events and stadium arm Tataki early to help with big picture input, she said. This might consider Eventfinda’s location and height on its flood-prone carpark site and possible expansion to cater for a shortage of indoor courts.
The stadium, home of Harbour Basketball and gymnastics, was put out of action by the
Older and younger children’s play, exercise and fitness equipment and dog walking and others sports should be looked at too.
“There’s a lot of work for staff to do, but we think we’ve struck a really good balance for what all the community wanted,” Grant said.
Feedback had been positive and compromises had been needed, she said.
The playing fields would be for bookable use, rather than tagged to one particular club, given the shortage of fields across the North Shore.
Grant said the idea was to dig once at the park, so resource consents, detailed design and the masterplan all needed to fit together.
“We’re trying to bring everyone to the table to start this detailed planning from day one.”
Variety of golf options still in play
Golfers will have to wait a while yet to find out what size course will remain on AF Thomas Park, but the Kaipātiki Local Board has told council it wants 18ha of land made available. Staff had proposed 15-17ha, to create more room for other recreational uses. Takapuna Golf Club, after lobbying to keep an 18-hole course, put up a 12-hole option shortly before the board made its decision last week. A rival golf operator, The Golf Warehouse, last year proposed a nine-hole course, plus extra par-three holes and other facilities. Both groups envisaged keeping a driving range.
Board chair Danielle Grant says the existing golf club has first right of refusal on a new commercial lease, but it has to decide how it can operate commercially and be able to provide a return to ratepayers. It would be up to the club or any other interested parties to come up with a suitable course configuration and to strike a deal with council’s leasing team. “Whether it’s six, nine, 12, 14 holes... it’s up to the golf experts.”
Smaller course favoured by DTLB
Mixed use of AF Thomas Park, including a nine-hole golf course, was broadly supported by the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board last week.
As a neighbouring board, the DTLB was asked to provide feedback ahead of Kaipātiki Local Board’s decision on the future of the golf course and park.
Changes at the course provided a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to influence the outcome of the 46ha of community land for future generations, it said.
Member Garth Ellingham said with a growing city, many sports groups needed extra facilities and the park’s land use had to be broader than just golf.
It backed giving golf 15ha, 3ha less than Kaipatiki then opted for. An amendment proposed by Gavin Busch and George Wood to support extending the golf land to up to 20ha, to allow for a 12-hole course, was lost.
Earlier, at the DTLB’s public forum, golf course advocate Nick Kearney said a ninehole course would leave a deficit of between 45,000 and 75,000 rounds per year.
He urged the board to reject supporting the nine-hole course, arguing that solving a “capacity problem” for other sports would create a capacity issue for golfers.
The DTLB backed Kaipatiki’s advocacy for a pedestrian connection from the busway to the park and on to Eventfinda stadium.
Danielle Grant
Back behind the wheel
Back behind the wheel
Three weeks after handing in his keys, Terence was back behind the wheel of another Scania. His wife still won’t let him forget she was right, nor that he had the shortest retirement she’s ever heard of.
For 15 years, the 66-year-old had driven heavy haulage, commanding a 500hp Scania truck. It was the kind of career that became a lifestyle. But inside the cab, his body was telling him to stop.
Years ago, Terence had crashed a motorcycle high up in the Hakataramea Pass, blown off the road by high winds. He severely damaged his left knee. Even after a while, the joint never felt quite right.
Driving a truck isn’t like driving a car. The clutch is heavy. The gearbox demands constant work from your left leg, up, down, up, down, shift after shift, hour after hour. For Terence, every push sent a reminder through his knee and ankle.
“I was exhausted,” he admits. “Loss of mobility, loss of sleep. I just felt beaten.”
One stormy night, after a team meeting, Terence had finally had enough. He climbed out of his truck, handed in his keys, and walked away from the career he loved.
“I thought, ‘What do I do now?’”
At home, his wife had been reading about Koru FX, a natural cream made in Rangiora. She ordered him a bottle.
“I wasn’t interested,” Terence laughs. “I thought it would be like everything else I’d tried. But she insisted.”
The bottle sat unopened for days. Then one morning, with nothing to lose, Terence applied it to his knee. The cream absorbed quickly with a pleasant peppermint scent, not sticky, not stinking like a rugby locker room.
“I noticed it took the edge off,” he says. “But I wasn’t convinced.”
That afternoon, an old mate rang. Word had gotten around that Terence had hung up his keys. His friend needed someone to cover a shift and the truck had an 18-speed Road Ranger gearbox.
“For those not in trucking,” Terence explains, “a Road Ranger requires heavy, constant clutch work. The same thing that did me in.”
“I thought, ‘Perfect,’” Terence grins. “If this cream is useless, I’ll know by tonight. Then I can write to the company and tell them so.”
He climbed into the cab. Pushed the clutch. The knee responded.
“I did a full day’s work,” he says, still amazed. “Got out at the end of the shift and could move freely. No seizing. Nothing.”
Instead of a complaint, Terence sent Koru Nutrition his story.
What makes Koru FX different is its triple-action formula. The blend of 16 natural oils, including mānuka, arnica, and black pepper, work synergistically. Warming oils help the ingredients penetrate deep, while peppermint provides fast-acting support. Arnica and calendula then deliver long-lasting comfort.
The retirement he thought was forced upon him has been postponed. He’s back doing what he loves, commanding the Scania on the roads he knows best. These days, Koru FX is part of his morning routine before every shift.
“My wife won’t let me forget she was right,” he laughs. “But I don’t mind. I’m back in the truck.”
Bring on the bangers! Brass and barbecue on the menu
At your service... Board members and volunteers of the Castor Bay
the
at the group’s annual community
and
Ratepayers
Residents Association staffed
sausage sizzle
barbecue. Chair Hamish Anderson is fourth from left
Imogen Bosworth, daughter Maia, and dog Sam Minghua Zhao and Meihua Wei enjoyed the music
Mickey and Vesna Sporea and Tania Tany Edelinski with partner Mickey Edelinski
Roger Warner and childhood friend Peter Bartlett are both Castor Bay residents
Community band musical director George Taukava and North Shore Brass president Owen Melhuish with musicians
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Designer date... Abi Gardner holding dog Louis Vuitton and Amber Bruty with Coco Chanel
Sika Fonuafoou (10), the youngest member playing in the North Shore Brass Community Band
PICTURES: KATHRYN NOBBS
Forrest Hill playgrounds put up for possible removal
Two small playgrounds in Forrest Hill reserves are among four put up by council staff for removal.
They are in:
• Selwyn Reserve (off Selwyn Cres), which has poor visibility and access down a driveway to a swing and a seesaw. It does not meet council’s baseline minimum requirements. Knightsbridge Reserve, 1km away, is the nearest other playground.
• William Souter Reserve (near the top end of William Souter St, which runs off East Coast Rd) has one swing set for young
children and poor access, including steps that are hard for pushchairs to navigate. The nearest alternative is Linwood Reserve, 0.5km away.
The others that may go are on the Devonport peninsula: Plymouth Reserve in Bayswater and Kiwi Reserve in Stanley Bay.
The list was put to a Devonport-Takapuna Local Board budget workshop to provide a way to save money on maintenance and future upgrades.
It follows a “play audit” in that had board input dating back to two terms ago.
Cost-cutters eye community buildings
Eighty-six local community buildings –ranging from toilets and sheds to sports clubrooms and sizeable public buildings, including the Takapuna Library and War Memorial Hall – have been rated by Auckland Council to help identify facilities that might be decommissioned.
The aim is to rate 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 in Devonport.
But it is yet to give formal feedback on the Delivering Differently Programme: Decommissioning Review, which council hopes will help consolidate its assets, starting next year.
A local board workshop was presented with an Asset Risk Profile last month. A staff report said the aim was to give all boards a consistent 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, including Shoreside Theatre’s rehearsal room on Richards Reserve, Kennedy Park gun emplacements, the Barrys Pt golf driving range and several public toilet blocks.
The low ratings partly reflect an ongoing challenge to the board and its budgets in having ageing assets that have been built up over decades. Heritage constraints on some mean they cannot necessarily be decommissioned.
The report said the gap between funding and forecast renewal costs was growing. “We need to make smarter choices about where we invest,” it said.
In preparing the Asset Risk Profile, the report 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.
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Board chair Trish Deans said no decisions had yet been made on the playgrounds, and further information would be provided for a board meeting.
But members had told staff that they were against losing the playground at steep William Souter Reserve. Extensive development nearby in recent years would increase the need for a facility for local families.
Building included numerous terrace houses along William Souter St and two large apartment-style blocks under construction around the corner on Morton Ave.
Budget shuffle delivers funding reprieve
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. 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 costs.
Partner organisations, including Lake House Arts 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 remain tight.
Council officers last month told the board the Takapuna Pool and Leisure Centre was bringing in more revenue than forecast.
Deans said the seven local boards badly impacted by fairer funding were still lobbying the Mayor and councillors to refine the equation so they were not penalised for having more existing assets to maintain.
Bombs away: Pupuke makes a splash on discovery day
Ngakau O’Donnell took flight from a jetty during a community event at Lake Pupuke; more pictures, pages 12-13
Paddles and plants on agenda at Pupuke
Hundreds turned out to a Discover Pupukemoana day at Killarney Park on 21 March. Snorkelling and kayaking tuition, flax weaving, native species planting activities and traditional games were highlights of the day organised by environmental group Pupuke Birdsong Project.
New pontoons part of $580K upgrade around lake
Upgrades to public structures around Lake Pupuke are in the pipeline.
Auckland Council has lodged a resource consent to:
• Upgrade a jetty and rock wall at Henderson Park.
• Build floating pontoons and gangways, stairs, undertake erosion control and upgrade footpaths and seating at Quarry Lake.
The works are part of a wider project which includes Kilarney Park, which will have a rock wall built for erosion protection, along with a replacement jetty and a replacement eastern boat ramp.
The budget for the works is $580,000 across the 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 financial years.
However “detailed cost estimates are still being finalised as part of the design process”, said Eloi Fonseca, council area operations manager.
Subject to consent approvals, works are expected to begin in stages, with delivery spread across multiple financial years, Fonseca said.
Water access... An Auckland Council image of floating pontoons planned for Quarry Lake
Trowel power... Mary Yang with a native plant to take home
In the pink... Snorkelling sisters Liz and Uloaku Ogbonna from Milford
Kindy kids clean up at Milford Beach Reserve
Not fantastic... Otis Page (centre) with a pile of plastic found during Milford Kindergarten’s recent educational beach clean-up trip starting at Milford Beach Reserve. Looking on are Otis’s father Mike Page and fellow kindy attendee Spencer Buckland.
Sculpture OnShore exhibition raises record $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 last 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.
A sculpture from Westlake Girls High School was picked as the best contribution from schools.
Young Shore decathlete wins again
Takapuna Athletics Club member Connor Brady has defended his New Zealand under-18 men’s decathlon title in an ideal warm-up to competing in the gruelling discipline in Australia this month.
Connor won the title in 2025 and defended it last month at the New Zealand Combined Events Championships. Held at Mt Smart in hot conditions across two days, the decathlon comprises 10 track and field events, and doubled as the Auckland Championships, so Connor secured both national and regional titles in the one outing.
Two other club athletes also earned double titles. Melissa Karl, a Belmont resident, won the women’s masters 40-44 age group, showcasing her strength and consistency across all seven events.
Kate O’Connell had a standout debut in the U16 women’s pentathlon. In her first time contesting the event, she delivered confident performances across all five disciplines to secure gold, underlining her potential as a developing all-rounder.
Kate, like Connor, attends Takapuna Grammar School and has represented her school strongly this season, but both were competing for their club at the Combined Events champs.
Connor’s next outing is in the decathlon at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in Brisbane this month.
Clubmates... U16 pentathlon winner
Kate O’Connell and masters champ
Melissa Karl
Action man... Connor Brady (above) in long jump competition and warming up to race
In the medals... Sam Bird (left) and Donovan Pivac won gold in the under-18 coxless pair at Ruataniwha, while Charlotte Mawston (left) and Zara Bosch claimed silver in the girls’ event
Westlake Boys High School rowers Sam Bird and Donovan Pivac won gold in the boys’ under-18 coxless pair at the national Maadi Cup school championships at Lake Ruataniwha near Twizel.
Bird and Pivac dominated the event, getting faster with each race, from winning their heat in 7:12.49, their semifinal in 7:11.72 and the final in 7.08.20 – two seconds faster than King’s College in second.
Sam was delighted with the result. “They (King’s) are our key rivals – we’ve been racing them for a few years – so it was great to beat them in the final.”
Westlake Boys U18 coxed four (cox Harry Frankham, Noah Geelan de Kabath, Bird and Pivac and Quinn Oliver-Porter) won bronze.
Phone: 09 414 0022 albany@stihlshop.co.nz
Westlake Girls’ Charlotte Mawston and Zara Bosch won silver in the girls’ U18 coxless pair, while Annabel Webber and Zara Bosch took bronze in the U17 coxless pair.
• After the Maadi Cup, several North Shore rowers were picked for upcoming trials: Zara Bosch, Quinn Oliver-Porter and Lyla Carrancho (coxswain) were selected for North Island U18 trials to be held at Lake Karapiro on April 12 and 13. Charlotte Mawston, Donovan Pivac and Sam Bird were nominated for the national U19 trials to be held at Karapiro from April 12-18. From this, a New Zealand team will be picked for the World U19 Championships in Bulgaria in August.
Takapuna awaits rugby reinforcements for business end
The 2026 North Harbour rugby championship is likely to be a season of two halves for the Takapuna premier side.
Tight forwards Tristyn Cook and Jack Lee are with the Blues Super Rugby squad and unavailable for the first part of the season. Likewise, 2025 starting first five-eighth Tyler Pulini is with Moana Pasifika.
Evergreen 42-year-old Jon Elrick started in the first five jersey against Silverdale in Takapuna’s first game of the season – his 241st game for the premiers.
Takapuna premiers beat Silverdale 80-5 last Saturday.
The start of the season centred on developing players and patterns before “guys start coming back in”, Takapuna coach John Penberthy said.
The aim was to “get things right by the end of May, early June” before the Harbour finals in July.
A crunch early game is the third round on 11 April when Takapuna hosts a local derby against North Shore, which is gunning for a fourth consecutive championship.
“Shore has always been strong. It’s bound to be a doozy,” Penberthy said. “We hope to get a lot of supporters along for that one.”
Among players back from last season are hooker David Meki and flanker Brandon Payn.
“If everyone stays fit we should have a very robust pack by the end of the season,” Penberthy said.
Significant losses are Fine and Lotu Inisi, Moana Pasifika Super Rugby players, who have gone overseas.
Also missing is Jamie Winks, a powerhouse lock who played more than 120 games for Takapuna before his retirement. • Tomorrow, Takapuna hosts Helensville at Onewa Domain. Kick-off is at 1pm.
Wilson one of two Westlakers in NZ under-18 selection playing in China
Westlake Boys High School head boy Harper Wilson and school basketball teammate Nicholas Bamford are Chinabound this week, in a national U18 “Select” team.
Harper, son of All Black Jeff Wilson and Silver Ferns captain Adine Wilson (nee Harper), has also been signed by the Tuatara to play in the National Basketball League. Select sides play tournaments, rather than major FIBA events.
Zealand team to play at the U17 FIBA World Cup in Turkey this year.
Rounding out the newly signed young North Shore talent gaining a taste of professional basketball with the Tuatara is Rosmini College’s Cooper Lepou. He will join Rosmini graduate, Matthew Dalton, who is back for a second season.
A younger Rosmini talent, Hunter Johns, was named in a New Zealand U17 Select side, one of five players picked from the
The veteran... Jon “JL” Elrick, pictured on the burst against North Shore in 2025, played his 241st game for Takapuna last weekend
Difference celebrated in colourful ballet for children
When people think of ballet they usually visualise dancers twirling in white dresses, but the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Dazzlehands is a lively new spin on an old art form, staged especially for young audiences.
Six dancers create a farmyard riot on stage, performing as a bunch of noisy animals in a story celebrating difference.
The ballet will be performed in Takapuna on 10 and 11 April as part of a national tour. The 40-minute show is an adaptation of an award-winning picture book by Wellington author Sacha Cotter and illustrator Josh Morgan. It tells the story of a pig who refuses to follow the rules. Instead of going “oink”, this pig has other ideas, dazzling everyone with a series of elaborate “hands” – from train hands to disco groove hands, much to the farmer’s frustration. “As soon as I came across the book, I knew it was meant to be danced,” says the ballet’s education and community engagement manager, Lauren Bryne, who is also the show’s creative director. “There’s so much movement in the language and illustrations.”
The ballet’s principal dancer Joshua Guillemot-Rodgerson came up with the choreography. The adaptation expands the story’s world with a lively ensemble of animal characters.
Original music by William Phillipson and costumes by designer Victoria Gridley help bring the story to life.“We collaborated closely with the author and illustrator throughout the process to stay true to the heart of the story,” says Bryne. To keep the attention of a young audience, the show moves quickly and features interactive moments. “We want children to know that ballet is for them,” says Byrne. Guillemot-Rodgerson says the choreography reflects the story’s playful spirit. “One of the joys of creating Dazzlehands was being able to blend ballet with other dance styles.”
• Dazzlehands, Bruce Mason Centre, Friday 10 April at noon and 2.30pm (with a te reo narration) and again on Saturday 11 April at 10.30am and noon. Pre-show activities for children and a post-show meet-and-greet also available, along with a chance to make gloves and pig-ear headbands. Adult tickets from $25.49.
Milford / Takapuna Tides
Local friends back on stage together for Milligan classic
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 Pri-
mary, 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
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
Theatre fundraising to eke out useful life of 90s-era seats
The PumpHouse is appealing for support to help keep its “senior seats” in the Genevieve Becroft Auditorium in comfortable use. The long-term plan is replacement, with 69 new seats installed last year, but in the meantime it is fundraising to get more life out of the blue seats installed back in 1992. “They’ve been there ever since” says theatre business manager James Bell. “When one breaks, it needs to be welded back together. Sometimes a new part has to be fabricated from scratch”
With some work, the seats can remain in use, he says, ensuring productions can sell out shows, which makes all the difference to their viability. By cleaning, patching and repairing seats, the buzz of a full theatre can also be maintained. Donations ranging from $1 to $123 are sought, with interested parties able to pick a particular seat to support. In exchange donors will receive a a digital certificate, a donation receipt, and their names on a supporters’ list. Details at pumphouse.co.nz/support-our-senior-seats.
Double act... Violet Castle and Māui Hitchens became friends after connecting on stage at Takapuna Grammar School
Creepy-crawlies invade stage for tale of young
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
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 and a flower bulb, who grew up on the North Shore
The part of the title’s worm is taken by
Larva boy... Puka Moeau plays the titular character in The Worm
worm’s quest
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 pumphouseco.nz
www.takapunamovies.co.nz Facebook and Instagram @takapunabeachsidecinema 09 666 0714
SHOWING NOW
The Drama (R16) 106min
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (R16) 108min
Hoppers (2D & 3D) (PG) 104min
I Swear (RP13) 120min
The Magic Faraway Tree (G) 110min
They Will Kill You (R16) 95min
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2D & 3D) (PG) 120min
No Tears on the Field (E) 94min
Project Hail Mary (M) 156min
Sirât (M) 115min
Tenor: My Name is Pati (PG) 104min
Cold Storage (R16) 99min
Reminders of Him (M) 114min
SPECIAL EVENTS & NEW RELEASES
Hunt For The Wilderpeople (PG) 100min 10th Anniversary Select Screenings from Thu 2 Apr For more info on films & events go to thevic.co.nz
Thanks to our partners and supporters
Bulbous... Shore actor Brett O’Gorman
Ewen Street
Ewen Street
Seaward Side Opportunity
Seaward Side Opportunity
held Ewen Street, this charming 1920s bungalow offers opportunity on 615sqm (approx.) of north-facing freehold consent for up to three levels, dual road frontages, and the beach, village, and top schools, the options are renovation, investment, or redevelopment.
held Ewen Street, this charming 1920s bungalow offers opportunity on 615sqm (approx.) of north-facing freehold consent for up to three levels, dual road frontages, and the beach, village, and top schools, the
are renovation, investment, or redevelopment.
premium.co.nz/80870 for an appointment
Milford | 5/26 Otakau Road
One Of A Kind | Effortless Lakefront Living
Milford | 5/26 Otakau Road
One Of A Kind | Effortless Lakefront Living
Lakefront and architecturally reimagined by Malcolm Taylor, this refined residence captures uninterrupted water views throughout. Striking features include an exceptionally long stainless-steel kitchen bench and glass entry floor. Open-plan living flows to a louvre-covered deck above the lake. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms and internal garage complete the package.
Lakefront and architecturally reimagined by Malcolm Taylor, this refined residence captures uninterrupted water views throughout. Striking features include an exceptionally long stainless-steel kitchen bench and glass entry floor. Open-plan living flows to a louvre-covered deck above the lake. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms and internal garage complete the package.
premium.co.nz/80846
One Of A Kind | Effortless Lakefront Living
View | please call for an appointment
premium.co.nz/80870 for an appointment
premium.co.nz/80846
Interest | 6 May 2026 at 4pm unless sold prior
Interest | 6 May 2026 at 4pm unless sold prior
022 011 24 94
022 011 24 94 021 770 611 | Office 09 916 6000
Positioned on tightly held Ewen Street, this charming 1920s bungalow offers a rare Takapuna opportunity on 615sqm (approx.) of north-facing freehold land. With resource consent for up to three levels, dual road frontages, and walkable access to the beach, village, and top schools, the options are compelling for renovation, investment, or redevelopment.
021 770 611 | Office 09 916 6000
premium.co.nz/80870
Price | By Negotiation
View | please call for an appointment
Price | By Negotiation
Harry Richards 021 0814 4513 | Office 09 916 6000
Lakefront and architecturally reimagined by Malcolm Taylor, this refined residence captures uninterrupted water views throughout. Striking features include an exceptionally long stainless-steel kitchen bench and glass entry floor. Open-plan living flows to a louvre-covered deck above the lake. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms and internal garage complete the package.
Harry Richards 021 0814 4513 | Office 09 916 6000
View | please call for an appointment Expressions of Interest | 6 May 2026 at 4pm unless sold prior
Robert Milne 022 011 24 94
Richard Milne 021 770 611 | Office 09 916 6000
premium.co.nz/80846
View | please call for an appointment Price | By Negotiation
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Harry Richards 021 0814 4513 | Office 09 916 6000
Leigh Road
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harbour-front retreat on Tramcar Bay, 465 Leigh Road offers shoreline access, a private beach, boat ramp and jetty, (approx.). A substantial five-bedroom home, expansive effortless connection to the water complete this irreplaceable near Matakana.
harbour-front retreat on Tramcar Bay, 465 Leigh Road offers shoreline access, a private beach, boat ramp and jetty, (approx.). A substantial five-bedroom home, expansive effortless connection to the water complete this irreplaceable near Matakana.
Executive Rentals & Property Management
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An exceptional harbour-front retreat on Tramcar Bay, 465 Leigh Road offers rare privacy, direct shoreline access, a private beach, boat ramp and jetty, all on 4,456sqm (approx.). A substantial five-bedroom home, expansive grounds, and effortless connection to the water complete this irreplaceable lifestyle opportunity near Matakana.
premium.co.nz/90218 for an appointment
premium.co.nz/90218
Negotiation
premium.co.nz/90218 for an appointment
View | please call for an appointment Price | By Negotiation
