By Alan Gray Blockhouse Bay-Lynfield Lions Secretary Alan and Past President Janelle empty out the old dinghy which has done its time. The old landmark Pride of the Bay, a feature placed on the roundabout in Blockhouse Bay by the Blockhouse Bay-Lynfield Lions, was showing the signs of weathering many a storm and the ravages of time. So, a replacement was sought and Ton, one of our Lions with sailing connections managed to obtain an old plastic but durable dinghy donated by the Outboard Boating Club of Auckland. Suitably restored by Ton with new paint and graphics and signs from Gray’s Print, the new Pride is dedicated to the memory of the late Kevin Cooney, a former Lion and Treasurer, with 57 years of community service in Waitakere, Henderson, Mt Roskill, Northcote and back home to Blockhouse Bay-Lynfield, a club he helped start as Charter Chairman with Mt Roskill. Friends of his daughter Jennifer in Hawaii, who were impressed by his care for humanity and long service, donated an amount to commemorate his memory. This was used towards the expenses of restoration. The video link below records the fun hour or so spent in clearing the old dinghy and installing the new Pride of the Bay by President Janelle, Secretary Alan, and Lion Ton. www.bit.ly/PrideoftheBay
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 The Whau Local Board (WLB) approved the draft design of the $21M Avondale Library Community Hub at the June meeting. The centre is now on a timeline to the proposed opening in August 2024.
The recent public consultation resulted in 315 pieces of feedback, including from 12 organisations. While largely positive, four general themes emerged: Carparking was the biggest issue raised. The consultation at 16 carparks focused on the smallest parking option of the six explored. Other options ranged up to 28 parks, but these were not preferred. Now a separate carpark for 34 vehicles is being explored some distance away at the end of Racecourse Parade. WLB is very keen to have input on the final slipway parking design option chosen. The other themes raised were the lack of play-space, the size of the facility and the location of the kitchen. The inclusion of a commercial kitchen on the reserve level has been praised, but the distance from the main meeting space has been questioned. After consultation, no change has been put forward to this, except for the provision of a kitchenette beside the meeting room. This decision has been guided by Maori protocols of separation of eating and meeting spaces. The provision of a multi-use facility for Avondale that is designed with functionality, events/performances, powhiri, and markets in mind is a huge step forward for the town centre. Timeline: · June 2021 – Concept design approved by Whau Local Board · August 2021 – Detailed Business Case approved by the Project Steering Group and Panuku PCG · January 2022 – Developed Design · November 2022 – Detailed Design · March 2023 – Construction Commenced · August 2024 – Facility Handover. Note, the timeline above is subject to change.  Phillis Meti, 2018. Photo: I Love Avondale Avondale’s Phillis Meti was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sport, particularly golf, in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list. A professional long drive golfer, in 2006 she became the youngest winner of the women's world title at 19-years-old. Phillis has represented New Zealand at the World Championships of Long Drive Golf for seven years, winning three World Championships, and is currently the World Number One ranked female long driver. Born to parents of Cook Island heritage, Phillis grew up on Mead Street and then returned to the neighbourhood with her mum in 2015 after her dad sadly passed away. “My parents were always on the side-line growing up. If someone was to ask me one thing I appreciate the most it was my parents always being there. It doesn’t matter what you’re going through, I think it’s really important to be a good person first, and then a good athlete. Phillis’s sporting experience is across several codes. She has been Golf Coordinator of the Auckland Cook Islands Sports Association since 2015 and organises the annual golf event. She has been a strong advocate for involving youth in sport, particularly girls, and has organised free junior golf clinics. She previously represented New Zealand in discus and shot put at the 2003 Oceania Games, 2003 Youth Olympic Games and the 2004 Commonwealth Youth Games, and the Waka Ama World Championships in 2004 and 2006. She represented the Cook Islands in the annual Pacific Challenge Cup netball tournament for eight years. Thanks to I Love Avondale for some of the wording.
By Dianne McCarthy Can you help build a rat trap like this? Photo: DoC An imminent weather bomb meant we had to postpone our planting day in June, which of course did not eventuate once we had cancelled. However, we rescheduled and managed to get three hundred plants planted. Our Halo pest control is working really well with residents hosting traps in their backyards. We have caught 45 beasties so far: 20 rats, 15 possums, 7 hedgehogs, and a couple unidentified. Our bird survey is underway 26 June to 4 July and are hopeful of more numbers, but we expect an increase in 2022 if we continue our trapping. We are keen to hear of any residents who would like to join our Halo trapping project. We anticipate being able to extend the system to the whole of Lynfield, not just those properties attached to the reserves. We are keen to hear from anyone who might be able to make a rat trap box. Click here for the instructions. Dianne is the co-organiser of Friends of Wairaki Stream, a volunteer group dedicated to restoring and improving the Wairaki Stream catchment, with a focus at present on Lynfield Reserve.
Our People: Pep HartBy Kerrie Subritzky Pep with a few of her hats and blankets. Photo: VisionWest Pep Hart has been addicted to knitting hats ever since her Addi hat knitting machine arrived four months ago from Germany. She’s been knitting about two a day since then, 120 hats in total so far.
It all started with socks. Years ago, Pep’s grandmother used to knit beautiful socks, but Pep never mastered the technique. Then ten years ago she came across a YouTube video tutorial, and never looked back. But socks took so long to make, and you have to make two. So, she looked online for a machine to do the job. Instead, she happened upon a machine that made hats. Pep has six great-grandchildren and has made hats for them all. But she had made so many that she needed to find an outlet for them. But where? During last year’s big lockdown Pep received a food parcel from VisionWest which contained chocolate. It was a small luxury, but had made a big impression on her, so she decided to contact them to see if they had a use for the hats. They sure did, and were super excited to be able to pass them on to the homeless community. Pep initially had concerns about some of the hats being too brightly coloured, assuming they were going to men. It was an eye opener to her that many in the homeless community are women. Pep cheerfully purchases most of the wool herself. She enjoys being able to choose colours and create designs. However, a neighbour learned about Pep’s new hat-making career and recently donated a large black sack of wool. Pep’s hats are beautiful. The machine process means that they are double skinned, so are incredibly warm. Pep has a great eye for colour and design, and also has made gorgeous blankets, which are works of art. “I learn a lot and keep up with the trends by watching YouTube videos”, she says modestly. “You can learn just about anything there”.
Dozens of care residents and team members at Murray Halberg Retirement Village received their first Covid vaccination on Friday (4th June) with a temporary clinic set up in the village centre. The clinic was organised by the DHB who dispensed the vaccinations while Ryman Healthcare staff members assisted with the set-up and organisation. Priority was given to residents in rest home, hospital, and special care, plus those in serviced apartments - who loved the fact that they didn’t have to leave the village to receive it. “We’re very fortunate that we can get it done here,” said Judy Merriott, who moved into a serviced apartment last July and was very keen to get her vaccine as soon as possible. “It can really save your life.” Fellow resident Douglas Warren agreed: “I’m fine about it all. I’ve always had my flu vaccinations, so I feel confident about this too.” Muriel Feasey said everybody in the village was looking forward to getting it done. “It’s for the best – for ourselves, for our families, for the whole country. We have got to help one another and protect one another.” After getting the jab, she said: “I didn’t feel a thing!” Each resident posed next to a special poster produced by Ryman Healthcare to prove they are all ‘Covid angels’.  Avondale's first tower crane dominates the town centre. Photo: Beacon Aroha Apartments underwayAvondale has scored its first tower crane which could be a sign of things to come as more projects get started. The question is whether we will see multiple cranes at one time or if this is ‘peak crane’ for the area? Krispy Kreme comes to town
Alto Apartments to undergo remedial work Alto apartment block up for $16M repairs. Photo: Beacon Apartment owners are devastated by the projected costs of an estimated $16M to repair the 16-year-old Alto Apartment building on St Jude St, Avondale. This is not the first time the building has fallen on hard times, after the developers had financial difficulties in 2005 and called in the receivers.
The main issue is concrete components above the carparks that is only rated at 20% of new building standards. Overall, the whole building is rated at 34% of the minimum benchmark for earthquake strength. There is also recladding for leaks, improvements for fire separation between units and fire sprinkler systems required. The owners will need to find alternative accommodation for 15 months while the work is under way. This could be the last straw for some owners, faced with up to $400,000 per unit remediation costs. Units cannot be sold without the issues being fully disclosed. Even insurance could be problematic. Like thousands of leaky building victims before them, the only hope for owners is to try and get through this incredibly difficult period and come out the other side with a liveable and saleable home.  Buses at New Lynn transport hub. Photo: Beacon  The loss of the express bus routes 152x, 171x and 172x from New Lynn and the west into the city has made many commuters travel times significantly longer.
Waitakere Local Board member Ken Turner has gone into bat for the hapless public transport users. But it is an uphill battle, as he feels that communications from AT are less than transparent. His personal view is that “I doubt that we were ever going to get the shuttle buses in the first place.” “AT did engage with the local board over the past couple of years about the removal of the New Lynn to City express bus, offering to use the savings to fund shuttle buses right out to our coastal communities thus extending the public transport ‘reach’. I apologise for voting for this, without informing myself of the full consequences. I was won over by the prospect of extending our bus coverage. AT is now not able to deliver on its shuttle bus promise because the savings are needed to offset reduced revenue, maybe I should have foreseen this possibility. Also never needing to use public transport myself I had no understanding of the impact the removal of the 152x, 171x and 172x would have on people using this bus service to the city. I was quickly put straight by the irate commuters who wrote to me,” Says Ken. Former express bus user, Sandra Moorhead, said “I used to be a user of the 151X from Glen Eden. It used to go via Kelston straight to the city, then they changed all the express buses to go via New Lynn which added a lot of time to the journey. Now they’ve scrapped them completely. Public transport takes me almost two hours to get to work on Fanshawe Street. I’ve given up and am leaving Auckland permanently on Friday.”  $45k was granted to local organisations and projects
 WLB ranks 17 out of 21 for Local Board Member meeting attendance for the first quarter of 2021  The Lynfield Community Day team, L-R: Gillian, Ashwin, Terry, Gargi, Lisa, Kathy and Ella. Nothing good ever gets done without a lot of planning, and of course, many hands make the work light. The Lynfield Community Day team are hard at it again planning a fun Spring event for locals.
Themed “Blast from the Past”, this year’s event is set for the afternoon of 25 September and it promises to be a real winner. The team are now taking expressions of interest for stalls and entertainment. They are also looking for anyone interested in being part of the event, such as:
You can also book your team of 6 to 8 for activities like the 3 legged race, egg and spoon races, cartwheel races and tug o’ war. For more information contact Ella Kumar on 021-047-7642 or Terry Connor on 021-056-7161. |
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