A petition has been started to restore the cross which sat on top of Puketapapa/Mt Roskill for almost sixty years. The structure which was lit up at Christmas in the shape of a cross, and at Easter in the shape of a star, was erected by local churches and the Mt Roskill Borough Council around 1960.

It is considered by many locals to be part of the heritage and local identity of the area, and an enduring symbol of hope and goodwill to passers-by and visitors for generations.
​
Although now known for being one of the most ethnically-diverse areas in the country, Mt Roskill was once dubbed the ‘Bible belt’. In the late 1980s the borough had 26 churches for its 35,000 residents.

A recent addition to Blockhouse Bay’s café scene is Glen’s Café. However, this café is unlikely to be on most people’s café circuit given that it’s run entirely by students at Glenavon School.

Former café owner and past Glenavon teacher, Mr Grant O’Connor, launched the café project in October 2017 with the aim of providing the students with authentic learning experiences that would give them real-world skills. 

Glen’s Café is run with the support of Allpress Coffee who provided the coffee machine, supply the beans and trained the teachers who then pass on their skills to the students.

The intermediate-aged students apply for the year-long course by submitting a CV, and once selected they spend the first term in training, learning the art of making a good coffee, and the science behind it. Over the course of the year the students become very competent baristas, and are also trained in other aspects of café work such as serving, money handling, cleaning and food prep.

The café is open to school families and staff during lunchtimes to purchase coffees, and students are allowed to buy hot chocolates during their breaks.
​
Glenavon teacher Miss Libby Brown has taken on the job of training the new intake of barista students to join the Glen’s Café team, which this year plans to add healthy food to the menu, including cheese and baked bean toasties. ​

Ryman Healthcare construction workers at Lynfield’s Murray Halberg retirement village are excited to see the next stage to be completed slowly emerging from under the scaffolding.

The care centre block, which is nearest to Commodore Drive on the left of the village driveway, will soon house hospital, rest home and special care residents and should be scaffold-free by mid to late April, said Project Manager Dave McKearney.

“The façade is 75 per cent done and I expect it to be finished in about one and a half months,” he said. “It’s great to see the finished exterior starting to appear from behind the scaffolding.”

Meanwhile, work on the main village centre further up the hill is progressing well. The centre will be the social heart of the village, containing communal areas such as the reception, residents’ lounge and dining areas as well as the indoor pool, movie theatre and hair and beauty salons.

“The most complex part of that building should be completed by the end of March. After that it’s just two levels of simple concrete structure, so we’ll be on track to finish the structural part by around mid-April,” Dave said.