kookaburra - Kawau Island
Transcription
kookaburra - Kawau Island
AUTUMN 2016 KOOKABURRA Magazine of Kawau Island New Zealand Kawau Island Kookaburra “To publish the Kawau Island Kookaburra as a means of communication and as an outlet for news and articles written by interested persons” Kawau Island Residents & Ratepayers Association Rule 3(g) Correspondence and contributions to: Michael Marris [email protected] 021 739 973 Advertising managed by: Shelley Futcher [email protected] 422 3158 KIRRA membership is invited: Contact Helen Jeffery [email protected] 022 399 0075 Membership includes four issues of Kookaburra each year Check out our Kawau Island website: www.kawauisland.org.nz KIRRA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2016 - 2017 Chairman: Les Mellars 021 270 2223 Secretary: Helen Jeffery 422 8831 Treasurer: Ian Henderson 422 8944 Gael Archer 021 052 9002 Colin Bright 09 524 6189 Peter Buckton 422 3520 Pam Dallow 09 444 3378 Martine Fernandez 021 777 161 Shelley Futcher Andrew Fyfe Alan Marshall Lin Pardey 422 3159 021 622 231 021 0837 1266 422 8997 Simon Pirie 09 480 6044 Paul Strauss (Taz) 027 333 6676 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 1 Contents Editorial Michael Marris Letter To The Editor Stephen Hudson Granddaughters’ Concert Fay Richardson Vivian Bay News Fay Richardson Pembles Bay News Andrew Fyfe North Cove News Ross West South Cove News Andrew Stone Camp Bentzon Report Peter and Erin Hyde Afloat Around Kawau Lin Pardey A Kereru Story Alan Marshall We’re All Together Ross West Replacing Carpet at Kawau Kawau Girl Patria Hume A Kawau Achiever Poem: Fishing Off Kawau John Adams Review: “When We Were Old” Michael Marris Cask Shells Alison Fowler VB Fishing Competition Patria Hume 2 Editorial 3 4 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 20 22 24 26 29 30 32 34 Park Notes Sue Stoddart RIP Marjorie Rowe Chic Vercoe Fire Team Report Ruth MacClement Poem: Asian New Year lois e hunter Starboard Arm Observations Carmen Miranda ll Music in the Gardens Views And Reflections Pam’s Recipes Pam Dallow Kawau Real Estate Dave Jeffery Pohutukawa Trust Carl Weaver Coastguard Kawau Coastguard Media Harbourmaster Report Angela Bedford LegaSea Scott Macindoe Kawau Boating Club The Committee Argentine Ants Success Lyn Hume Guess Who’s Coming..... Anon anon KIRRA Minutes November Helen Jeffery KIRRA Minutes - February Helen Jeffery Michael Marris 36 Kawau.......families........ our community. 38 46 50 52 54 56 57 Our Kawau Island community is distinguished in the New Zealand environment in many ways. One way, notably, is our deep family orientation. Our little Island society is so unlike that of, say, suburban Auckland. We enjoy and value experiencing the close quarters of a wide demographic spectrum. We are not encumbered by trappings of mainland sophistication. We are not transfixed by social status. We require a fortitude and a sense of adventure to successfully take part in Kawau Island life. Here, multigenerational family groups are unmoored from any sense of class hierarchy. A snapshot: 58 60 62 64 66 70 72 76 78 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 The family bach started life over 60 years ago on a ti-tree riddled hillside looking out over the scintillating waters of Kawau Bay. A wellworn gravel path meanders from the wharf. The big RIB is the family conveyance and the collection of kayaks, paddle boards and sea biscuits are the other family playthings. The bach has encountered various additions and minor upgrades over the generations but is still the same modest, functional and homely place that it was always designed to be. New carpet this Christmas created excitement! A high fluttering flag signals occupation – the flag being a major source of competition with neighbours across the water: who can fly the most esoteric and unidentifiable flag on any one day! Google searches run hot! But it is the family unit that is most significant. Three generations now: grandparents, parents, grandchildren and the partners of the grandchildren - all totalling well over 30 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 people. Ages range from six months to over 80 years. At any one time there might be between 2 and 30 sharing and enjoying both the family warmth and the Kawau environment. Come the tide and most will gather down on the wharf for a major display of aquatic enthusiasm! The sound of laughter, of delight and of loud splashing echoes over the water. Everyone is relishing in the shared enjoyment of family togetherness and a benign and relaxed environment. Afternoon times see various spreadings of activity – often generationally determined. There are naps for some olders (and not so olders). There are bushwalks for the adventuresome. There is fishing out in the Bay for the huntergatherer clique and there are some thoughtful creations being designed by the artistic. Property maintenance is an ongoing need but also an ongoing pleasure. In this wide family grouping there are no generational boundaries, no hierarchies of authority. Rather, there is a warm and mutually appreciated awareness that invites everybody to contribute, everybody to participate and everybody to respect each other. This culture has created the successful situation that it so obviously is. And not everything is inward focused. Whilst family life is important and the family deeply integrated, and enhanced by these multigenerational threads, there is also an awareness of neighbours, of community, and of the need to ensure the well-being of everybody who is able to enjoy this wonderful Kawau environment. Evidence, a neighbour going by on her runabout heading for the Boating Club. Her motor stops. She is drifting and trying to get it started. Continued on page 5 3 Letter To The Editor Stephen Hudson Would you be able to help in some way to resolve a problem we seem to have at Kawau. beasts 2m or more in length close in to the shore at Swansea Bay. Over the last few years we have had rare sightings of the bronze whaler sharks in the Bon Accord Harbour but during this last Christmas period we have been having almost daily sightings and often see holiday makers and boaties feeding them as they fillet their fish. The sharks seem to have become established and are often seen around the boats and wharfs. So much so that we have photos from Christmas of the Can we/you possibly make mention of this as we need to stop this feeding of the sharks as the sightings and presence of the sharks is not good for the swimming and water sports for the families and the risks to our children. It might only be a matter of time before someone is bitten. Hope you can help. Thanks. Granddaughters’ Concert Fay Richardson My two granddaughters composed and sang this for me at our Xmas concert: She is observed to be in difficulty although not in danger. A quick family conversation and the race is on down to the wharf, the RIB is now in service to tow her, and the mechanically minded in the family are identifying and fixing her problem. On the twelfth day of Kawau Xmas my grandma gave to me, Twelve big snapper Eleven tuis chirping Ten pairs of jandals Nine kids a-swimming Eight trees a-growing Seven birthday parties Six baby wekas Five flipping dolphins Four blooming flowers Three paddle boards Two pot plants And a wood pigeon in a kauri tree. By Cleo and Celia, 9 and 7 years old 4 Editorial continued from page 3 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 Another neighbour suffers a dinghy mishap due to a rising tide, an easterly wind and a running line not properly secured! Farewell Aquapro! The permanently crumpled small inflatable will be no more. Family help again intervenes: a grandson holds an executive role in a marine company. He can source a new dinghy at a very reasonable cost. And delivery............ delivery is organised from the factory to the grandparents’ family home at Whangaparoa....... the new inflatable is loaded onto the back of the grandparents’ RIB and delivery made via the perils of the Tiri Passage to the surprise and gratitude of the neighbours. Family evenings revolve around the barbecue, around a few beers and wines and around a lot KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 of animated and convivial conversation. There are stories to be told, plans to be made and new adventures to be sourced. As evening draws down and darkness slinks in various family members make their way either inside or to bed. Another wonderful day, another fabulous family gathering, another shared companionship in a community that has no need for hierarchy or bigotry. This is but one snapshot. Every Bay, every Cove, every little grouping of houses on Kawau Island is a testimony to the grace and beauty of the New Zealand family in its every best sense. Ours is a family community and brings with it classic family values, a shared sense of togetherness and an ongoing awareness of being “other directed” – looking out for your neighbours. This is our Kawau. The Kawau that we know. The Kawau that we share. The Kawau that we create and nurture. 5 Vivian Bay News Summer hugs Fay Richardson New Year’s Eve is always about fishing in Vivian Bay. There is always a great turn out from nearly all the residents, young and old, and the prize giving on the Hume wharf at 4pm started the celebrations which continued until our family joined the Beach House staff and the Hume crowd, to count down midnight, while Emily pulled in two squid - not an easy accomplishment. Lucky for us we have solar power, as next morning everyone else woke to no power. Out came the generators but we had a very social morning drinking coffee with people coming to charge their cell phones and laptops as the solar power doesn’t surge and is much safer. nally came to and frantically started the motor and pulled anchor. Luckily, from our elevated position we notice things that everyone else is unaware off. I finally got a watermelon patch established this year after several failures, only to have the wekas find their way in after months of safety. They must sense when things are ripening as my first harvest of grapes also disappeared overnight. I would love to have seen them scaling the trellis to get my precious harvest. Terry Nuthall, Lyn& Alan Hume, Bea Nuthall The seaplanes have made many visits this season and the sight never fails to awe us with their graceful approach and landing, before taxiing up to the Beach House with their visitors. Party cocktails for Alan’s birthday The annual sandcastle competition was held on Sunday to suit the tide, and when the dolphins swam into the Bay everything was abandoned while all the children ran into the water. They were delighted when the dolphins stayed amongst them and played. Puri felling Thanks go to Kristin Brown for judging again. Early on another morning, Dave was making our morning tea around 6.30, when he yelled for us to come and look at a yacht which was dragging its anchor and heading out into the channel. Our kayak was quickly paddled out to our mooring, then our boat chased the yacht, the people on board still sound asleep. Dave had to circle their boat, revving the engine and yelling to wake them up, until they fi6 Alan Hume’s birthday lunch KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 7 Pembles Bay News Andrew Fyfe BARGE TO KAWAU Views to die for. People to live for. A You can witness part of this miracle at lunch time, on Friday 10th January 2017 at his place on top of Pohutukawau Point. All Kookaburra readers are invited. The only thing you need to bring is a love of this Island and a tolerance for long, emotional speeches from Bob’s friends and family and from the man himself. The Pembles Bay views from Max and Michal Templeton’s deck are to die for. Fortunately the prompt, preemptive actions of two close North Cove friends meant that this remained a metaphor rather than becoming a reality. Dean and Amanda Stuart’s son Connor, quickly recognising that I usually finish my sentences standing up, (rather than hunched over on all fours) calmly asked if I was okay. After 8 M E G A N Freight Building materials Rubbish removal with bins Septic tank cleaning Surveyed vessel [No Moorings] The bible allotted us three score and ten. With the significant advances made since then, most people feel a little robbed if they only make it to seventy. Indeed, the man who literally gave my brothers and I, Kawau, is now less than a year from celebrating his ninetieth birthday. Bob Fyfe plans to celebrate four score and ten, by turning wine into water. Dad’s recent eighty-ninth was a good dress rehearsal. However, one, which was nearly ruined by yours truly on the eve of his big day. His celebration could have nearly been anything but. Those who know me well, already know that I talk too much. Especially after a few drinks and good food. What I now know, is that expressing my opinion, drinking chilled Sauvignon Blanc and eating barbecued scotch fillet, should be done separately, rather than all at once. T N E Kawau Wharf & Moorings 2015 Ltd R E D UN W E N M Mark Phillips P:021 424 151 E: [email protected] P O Box 13 Warkworth shaking my head in the negative he wacked me on the back. This didn’t quite work, however I was extremely lucky as I was taking in some air, but certainly no where enough to guarantee a fifty-fourth summer. Another year at Kawau was secured when Connor’s uncle - Tim Giles calmly asked me if I’d like him to perform the Heimlich Manoeuver. After vigorously nodding in the affirmative, I lifted my arms in the air, while Tim literally picked me up like a rag doll and gave me a very welcome bear hug. His huge fists expertly compressing into my abdomen. A windpipe size of New Zealand’s finest grass fed beef went flying through the night sky and I took the greatest, most welcome breath since I was born. Amanda’s brother is Dean’s best friend. Tim Giles is even more than that to me. He’s my lifesaver. KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 9 North Cove News Ross West North Cove has three different physical areas all joined by the common element, water. Or at least at high tide. There are the properties with deep water on their boundary and with a couple of exceptions they rise sleepily from the water’s edge. The two tidal inlets, Moana Creek and Starboard Arm lead off the harbour more or less towards the east. Both these dry at low water so property owners have both boats and good gumboots. Recent purchasers of property fall neatly into each of these groups. The Beaumont Point property of the late Max Edkins has been bought by Steve and Paula Hausman. The Mount Albert couple own a steep west facing section around the corner and when Max’s property came up for sale they figured most of the hard work was done. The tranquillity and birdlife is something they both value about Kawau and their plans are long term. Steve’s in the ‘building game’ and Paula in the legal profession. It’s been Vaughan Nisbet and his partner Emily’s second summer in the upper reaches of Moana Creek. They’re on the western side of the inlet and back from the shore line which means up the hill. Vaughan was Auckland 10 raised but now lives in Melbourne where he works for the Department of Agriculture. It’s fair to say he and Emily don’t get to the Island every weekend. They enjoy clearing and planting the property and sailing Vaughan’s twelvefoot trimaran which he designed, built and shipped to the Island from Melbourne. That must be some sort of freight record for the Island. The boat has two laser rigs and anyone on the water after Music in the Gardens would have seen their two orange sails flapping in little or no wind as they paddled against the tide for North Cove. Fortunately, a generous soul in a power boat towed them back to Moana. Across the inlet Bill Simpson has bought a nice little dwelling more or less on the water. Bill’s an Auckland boat builder trying to extract himself from a long list of customers and focus on his own projects. He worked with Rodney Wilson, the driving force behind the Maritime Museum, in the very early days when the museum was based on Princess Wharf. As Bill’s mother was a Lidgard he has a long connection with Kawau and remembers many school holidays spent with his Uncle Fred Lidgard in Sunny Bay. Around on the southern slopes of Starboard Arm Phil and Suzanne Shaw have begun building a dwelling on a section they bought a year or so ago. Phil is an Architectual Designer so I’m enjoying watching the project take shape. The property runs up from the track along the water’s edge to a moderately sloping site where the sixty square metre building will sit enjoying a northerly aspect. Phil and Suzanne, who works in the legal profession, holidayed in Vivian Bay some twenty years ago and then for the last few years have rented a bach in Barkers Bay just around the corner of North KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 Cove’s western headland. They love the peace and quiet so easily accessible from Auckland and Suzanne is a keen plants person very much looking forward to planting once the building work is completed. When I returned to the Island last week Typhoon was breasted up to the tug Clearwater heading for Sandspit, restoration and a new life. She was built in Los Angeles in the 1940s, unfortunately with steel fastenings. Her Kawau owner Cliff Carter’s nose was put slightly out of joint when the late Des Townson asked Cliff if she was built from steel so prolific were the rust stains running down her topsides! Long-time Starboard Arm bach owner Wally Simpson has sold his Cavalier 32 after a thirty-nine-year love affair. In Wally’s words Sue swallowed the anchor when they bought their Island property twenty-six years ago. He’s still got his mullety, Avian, which he bought some twenty years ago after it ended up on rocks after a storm only to have the same thing happen a few years ago in the Mahurangi. Wally’s looking for a good home for Avian and has bought a sensible little centre console aluminium runabout. He still keeps his considerable sailing skills honed in a pretty little clinker dinghy which he replaced most of one side after rescuing from a chicken run a good number of years ago. With little power boat experience, well that’s according to his neighbour, Pete Ransom has bought a thirty-foot RIB with a couple of two hundred horsepower outboards strapped on the back. He and Wendy intend to commute from Auckland rather than drive/shuttle their way to the Island. Apparently the first trip at pretty much fully throttle the fuel bill was something like a king’s ransom so Pete has learnt to back off a bit! On a sober note I record the passing of Margery Rowe. She and husband Maurice have the lovely little blue bach, Ashram, on the right as you enter North Cove. It was built by her father Roley Bell. Chic and Brian Vercoe knew the couple well and Chic has written an obituary in this edition. NOT JUST HATS 10% discount for Kawau Island residents ! CHECK US OUT Winter is not far away: get in early for our new Winter hats, gloves and hosiery 17-19 Queen St, Warkworth Monday to Friday 9am-5pm Saturday 9am-2.30pm Phone/fax 4259516 Email: [email protected] Contact Rae 0274 787120 to arrange a time that will suit your Island time KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 11 South Cove News Andrew Stone Over Anniversary Weekend residents at South Cove held a successful community meeting. It’d been awhile since we last got together so a catch-up was timely and, as it proved, productive. We also got the benefit of a civil defence briefing from Chris, who is making South Cove his permanent home from the middle of March. Chris outlined emergency protocols for helicopter landings - measures we all hope we won’t have use anytime soon. The issues which occupy South Cove are a bit like Kawau problems writ small, bound up with the tensions which surface from time to time in any small settlement - roads, traffic (yes, on Kawau!), parking, noise, weeds, dogs and moorings. From the feedback, it was a constructive and valuable gathering. One of the problems with our limited road network, especially over summer, is people tend to forget that they shouldn’t speed. We all dread a serious accident. As a result of discussions at the meeting, we are making a concerted effort to remind everyone and particularly visitors to keep it slow. There are many blind corners and pedestrians sharing the roads - and tractors pulling boats coming the other way - so we want to make our tracks as safe as we can. We managed to sort out some other issues too. Once again we will encourage people who don’t get out for at least a couple of months to leave their vehicles at home rather than beside the road near the jetty. We’ve arranged that residents will deliver cars and 4WDs down to the wharf when homeowners decide to come out, so everyone hopes this will ease congestion. their boat down to the water or just heading down for a swim. Over autumn, locals keen to enhance the natural environment will plant natives near some the tracks we’ve made through the bush and our battle against weeds will be relentless. It’s a bit daunting though seeing how gorse is invading the place. I imagine it will be a struggle to hold the line against the seemingly indestructible pest plant. Another decision made at the meeting might be of interest to pétanque fans. A load of shells is being sourced for the pétanque court near the jetty, so anyone keen on a few boules before the warm weather disappears should sail down to our end of the Island. Finally, a query from one of our people - a Covian, as they’re known around these parts. She wondered whether there were fewer moreporks or ruru around. It is hard to know. Ruru, our last native owl, are nocturnal and shy, best seen near bright lights where they chase moths for dinner. It would be good to hear from other Kawau communities whether morepork numbers have changed over the last decade or so. Their nests are vulnerable to predation by rats so it is entirely possible they could have been hammered. It would be shame if these appealing birds were under threat - let’s hope they’ve just moved to a new neighbourhood. 7KUHHZD\'LJJHUVLVQRZRSHUDWLQJDV.DZDX(DUWKPRYHUV Kawau owned and operated....based in North Cove We have 16 years digger experience WRQQHGLJJHU WRQQHGLJJHU WRQQHGLJJHU %REFDW ZGWUDFWRUDQGWLSSLQJWUDLOHU .DZDX(DUWKPRYHUV QRWRQO\PRYHHDUWK we can move mountains! &RQWDFW3DXORU.HUU\-HOOLFN At busy times, parking is bumper-to-bumper, and makes it a headache for people bringing 12 .$:$8($57+029(56 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 13 Camp Bentzon Report Wedding Celebrations Peter and Erin Hyde We hope everyone has enjoyed their summer holidays here at Kawau. The year has definite chapters here for Peter and I at Camp Bentzon, each chapter with something special. Summer on the stairs to stop them being slippery? We currently have carpet. Book Club Carmel and Graeme Horsley held their wedding here at Camp Bentzon. Everyone was so helpful, the bride very relaxed despite the weather, we had periods of heavy ran throughout the day. Some of the guests were escorted on small boats with umbrellas from Horsley’s bach in North Cove to Camp Bentzon very Islandish! Here is a photo of the dining room which looked amazing! Those are hundreds of shells you can see hanging, all hand threaded, and drift wood off various beaches. We wish them well and hope they enjoyed their honeymoon. Our school group from Macleans College met Jill Hetherington last week whilst on a kayaking trip with me. Jill was off to Book Club and it was nice for the students to chat to a local. There were many questions afterwards: What is Book Club? Do they have coffee there? Do children go? Is it like a school for adults? It certainly created a lot of interest. At left is a photo Jill took. has the Xmas period which brings a holiday atmosphere in the Cove. We have our holiday groups which are a lot of fun arranging groups of new and regular people to come and enjoy the holidays - many of the group leaders have been coming for more than 20 years. We have been here so long some of the children who first came are now starting to have their own children. One thing we really enjoy during this period is that we usually find some time to catch up with people that stay in their baches. There is also a bit more time to get together with people in the Cove as despite what everyone thinks life is quite busy on Kawau Island. Term One is back to schools and routine. It is very, very busy but also rewarding - this reminds us what Camp Bentzon is here for, which is the chapter we are in now, never a dull moment and nice to see it through the eyes of young people. Climbing Net Ross Archer came over to help us with some ideas for our playground. He then kindly offered to look at our cargo net wall and most unexpectedly offered to donate two playground cargo nets. These usually cost around $5000. This was a most generous donation from you and your company Playco Equipment Ltd, thank you Ross. We would have had a thousand children already over the new nets so it is being well utilised. Below is a picture of a young boy enjoying the challenge of climbing our new net. Stairs Wharf stairs, they are silting up so quickly lately does anyone have a quick way to clean these? Or a successful product they have used 14 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 15 Afloat Around Kawau Lin Pardey Decide to do some repairs and upgrades to your home. Research, then hire some builders. On the mainland all it takes is a few phone calls; materials arrive, builders arrive, your place turns into a mess, and the work gets done. Your job is simple, clean it all up and pay the bills. Not here on Kawau, as today once again proved to me. The builders had been here for three days, working steadily through the pile of timber and cement that had arrived and been deposited right where it belonged, courtesy of Mark and the Kawau Wharf Company barge. The expected mess developed as Steve and Wayne dug in pilings for two retaining walls and then ripped up several hundred meters of rotted decking. Halfway through Wednesday Steve handed me the details of timber we needed to finish all the jobs on my list, along with a schedule that could save me several hundred dollars if I could get the timber over in one day. The folks at Timberworld came to the party. Rueben got the timber on the ferry. The ferry arrived with a heavy looking load of very wet long boards - 150 meters of it plus 25 16 bags of cement. It looked like an even bigger pile when it was all off-loaded onto my jetty. But now for the problem. Our jetty is 79 meters long. Half the timber and half the cement was needed at the eastern end of our property another 100 meters away, and half at the western end 150 meters in the other direction. A quick calculation showed it would take two men three or four hours to carry everything to where it belonged. They’d be exhausted after carrying each board since some weighed 30 or 40 kilos. But wait, I have a barge, a motor boat, the tide is in. So begins the fun. The barge is quickly untied, then brought along the end of the jetty. The timber and cement destined for the east end of the property is loaded. Jay Dee is fired up. She runs a bit reluctantly, but she runs. Steve and Wayne shove off. Jay Dee’s motor quits. Now boat and barge are drifting slowly toward the entrance of the Cove. I am running out along the jetty, climbing over timber trying to get to my small dinghy (named Cheeky) to row out and try to assist when I notice one of the oars for Cheeky KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 is missing. Then I spot the oar. Steve is using it on the barge, slowly making headway toward the big pontoon that services Moana Creek residents. Wayne is trying to get the motor to run. I am upset as I knew the motor was faulty. I’d called my mechanic after my last run on Jay Dee when she had idled very roughly at low speed He had me convinced she had water in the fuel, dirty sparkplugs or worse. I already had plans to nurse Jay Dee across to Sandspit on Friday to get the motor repaired. Now two tradesmen are stuck 60 meters from my place fiddling with my engine and no building is getting done. I think of the dollars flowing out. I rush into the house, call Helen Jeffery. “You are welcome to use my big inflatable. Motor’s small but might help.” Only problem – Helen’s place is 150 meters across the water. I only have one oar. But that can be overcome as I know how to scull Cheeky. I rush back down the jetty. But just when I begin to launch Cheeky, Wayne calls out, “It’s not the spark plugs, it’s the fuel connector. I can get this thing running if you have some wire.” Steve holds the fuel connector tightly in place as they motor back to my jetty. I run into the work shop. Wire, pliers and presto! the motor on Jay Dee is “sweet as”. meet boat and barge at the far end of the property and use my 3 ½ meter long barge pole/ boat hook to grab the tow line and help secure both boats. Back to my office while Steve and Wayne offload. Then, half hour later, I play line grabber at the eastern end of the property. Now the barge is back in play. I start to head back to my office. Then I see Steve and Wayne are having problems as they try to tow the loaded barge like most people would, securing it on a long tow line bridled to the two stern cleats on Jay Dee. I run to the end of the jetty and share a trick learned through working with Larry in boatyards around the world. “Turn Jay Dee around, secure the barge to her bow. Then tow with Jay Dee in reverse,” I yell. When everything is off-loaded within meters of where the work is in progress, when the barge is secured back in its storage spot, I climb into Jay Dee and take her for a spin. The motor now runs smoothly. Though getting the materials moved from the end of the jetty has cost me half my day and more than an hour’s worth of two workman’s wages, Wayne has saved me at least half a day and who knows how many dollars because now I can cancel my appointment with the mechanic. No questions asked, they do the switch over. The barge now follows sweetly, turning as the boat turns, not trying to sheer off or overtake. I But even better, the complications of building on a road-free Island have given me one more excuse to be afloat around Kawau. KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 17 18 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 19 A Kereru Story Alan Marshall In the meantime, on looking out my window I noticed that an adult kereru had come right down onto my deck right next to the injured bird and seemed to be comforting it, possibly feeding it. (The picture at left taken through my window shows the two birds together). I then packed the bird into an apple box and put it on the ferry. A couple of weeks ago I received a call from the Sanctuary in Warkworth to say that the kereru was restored to good health and that they would be returning it to me on Wednesday 10th February for release. I duly picked up the bird from the ferry and prepared to release it, hoping at the same time to get some photos of the event. Fay and Dave came up from Vivian Bay with their visitors from the USA and our bird was released - as the other photos show. It flew straight up to a tree about 50 metres away where it was immediately joined by two other adult kereru. One day in the middle of January I was on my way down to Vivian Bay when I spotted a kereru on the ground, unable to fly. I decided that if it was still there on my return I would try and catch it and see what could be done. As it turned out it was still in the vicinity, so I caught it and took it home where I placed it on my deck, and there it stayed. So, a happy ending. It was not clear what damage it was suffering. A call-back from the Warkworth depot of DOC suggested that if I could get the bird to Mansion House it would be taken by DOC to Warkworth for treatment. So I arranged for a pickup by Kawau Cruises. 20 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 21 We’re All Together Ross West The Sunday before the week leading up to Christmas Day I returned to Sandspit with family aboard my eight metre Dory, John Harrison. It was a bright day with a good breeze from the south west so we had a bumpy and spray laden trip across much to the delight of my five-year-old grandson Vinnie. Alongside Sandspit wharf, with a good tide running, I engaged reverse to bring the stern in and to my great surprise the engine stopped dead! It restarted and then stopped. Thankfully I have long mooring lines on each corner so lobbed one to Johnny Costello who caught it and made us fast otherwise we would have been on our way to Matakana. With family packed up and off back to Auckland I turned my attention to the engine that didn’t look like it was going to get me back to the Island that afternoon. Johnny Houseboat put his mind to it and Reuben got on board and tried a number of things. I’ve got a reasonable amount of mechanical experience but it was very nice to have some support when caught out by the unexpected. We decided it wasn’t going anywhere fast so Reuben’s office organised a mooring for the night and later that evening Reuben towed it to the mooring on our way back to the Island. In the middle of the afternoon a mildly concerned John Pryor called to see if I was ok. John had seen me heading out into a whited capped sea and then not return. Later in the afternoon I called Dave Jefferies to cancel an arrangement made earlier. Dave was at home with his boat tied up for the day but immediate offered to come and tow me back to the Island. I caught the first shuttle back to Sandspit in the morning. Reuben towed us to the wharf and helped me tie up where we would be out of the way. Fortunately, Wayne from Mahurangi Marine had a job at the Yacht Club so gave me twenty minutes, found the problem and ordered the part. Later that evening Johnny H. towed me back to my mooring in North Cove. He’d been on the go since six that morning and still had two trips to take care of. I was most grateful for the support and it shows you’re not alone in Kawau waters. Lodge, licensed restaurant, wedding and function venue, conference room Come over for lunch served on our extensive terrace overlooking the white sand and crystal waters of Vivian Bay or sample each night, beautifully cooked meals served either under the stars or in our elegant and intimate licensed restaurant. Stay in one of our luxurious suites and experience the unspoiled charm of Vivian Bay and let Katie and Zehn make your stay a memorable treat. 22 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 23 Replacing Carpet at Kawau Kawau Girl lect him from Sandspit. Early Saturday morning the beds joined the other furniture out on the deck. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to do any heavier lifting. After 25 years we really needed to replace the carpet or replace what is left of it. Woollen carpet is on the diet for carpet beetle and our carpet had been well eaten with about a 6-inch border round the walls including the completely bare carpet under any heavy furniture. All furniture has to be shifted, our tiny bach has very little space to store anything. We started packing, the drinks cabinet had to be emptied, glasses wrapped in paper, all bottles of wine packed into boxes and bedroom dressers emptied. The Saturday weather was sunny and all ok for collection of both carpet and Warren at 8am from Sandspit. Warren had cut the carpet into room sizes for easier transport and for lugging up our hill. To accomplish anything on Kawau needs much discussion and planning so after several years of this discussion I had persuaded the Man of the House that it had to happen. Then where could we put it??? The Man Of the House had thought about it for a long time and he had come with every decent tarpaulin he could find. Warren is a great worker, he never stopped and by midday our new carpet was installed. MOH took Warren back to Sandspit and job completed! We had been advised by carpet companies you must not even consider wool as you can never get rid of carpet beetles and we had tried every product so checked out the nylon product and it looked really good. We have a large deck so the Man Of the House and I struggled and emptied the house of everything except the two queen-sized beds which were too heavy for us two to shift. We then covered it all well with the tarps. Next, everything in reverse and all furniture to be replaced. We are still looking for things - MOH lost his camera bag but we have found it now. Camera bag was in the hot water cupboard, just where you would think of looking! Next locate an obliging carpet layer who will fit in with a schedule and doesn’t mind a sea voyage. We were lucky we know a very helpful carpet layer, Warren. He suggested we select the carpet from Carpet Court in Takapuna and he would pick up and bring to Sandspit in his truck ready for our transport to the Island. Yes, of course then it rained. The carpet is lovely and really nice to walk on. Then a suitable day had to be arranged which was four weeks away due to his workload. The next drama is our transport to the Island .We have to travel in our 8 metre R.I.B. from Gulf Harbour, bit hard to predict the weather that far in advance. We never go out if the forecast is over 20 knots as it can get very rough and uncomfortable in the Gulf. Luckily we decided to come over earlier and so we came on the Thursday prior to the lay date on the Saturday. The weather was ok, not too much wind. Have you ever had carpet replaced???????? 24 All old carpet had to be lifted and M.O.H had cut the old carpet into sections that could be rolled and easily transported, so boat was loaded with old carpet, beetles and all ready for transfer on Saturday, to take to the mainland for dumping. Now what next can I find for the MOH to do? The underlay was retained, in exceptional condition: 25 years ago, they obviously made underlay to last forever. With only the beds to shift M.O.H. decided to paint ceilings: what about paint? I wanted white, so out to his man-cave and then back he comes “look” he says “it’s perfect, it’s pale grey”. With no choice, that’s what we got: pale grey ceilings. I guess they look better than pale apricot that was fashionable all those years ago. And who else looks at your ceilings? On the Friday, son number three phoned and said he was coming to help and could we colKOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 25 Patria Hume A Kawau Achiever Our Kawau community contains a large number of “quiet achievers” whose mainland life is far removed from the peaceful Island paradise that we so much love and enjoy. One such person comes with the surname that is legendary to all of us for both she and her family are huge contributors to our little society. Patria Hume will be recognisable to all Kookaburra readers as a regular and valuable commentator on Vivian Bay life and her photographs grace the pages of every issue. Less well-known is the fact that Patria is a professor of Human Performance, in the School of Sport and Recreation at AUT. She has recently been granted the internationally prestigious Geoffrey Dyson Award of the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports. This award is a recognition of excellence in her field and she will deliver the keynote address at the Society’s conference later this year in Tsukuba, Japan. Patria, in other times, was a world-class rhythmic gymnast. She represented New Zealand for six years including competing at the world Championships in 1981 in Munich. Patria then spent six years coaching gymnasts for the New Zealand Olympic squad. That set the scene for her to complete a BSc and then an MSc with honours and in Sports Physiology and Sports Psychology from the University of Auckland. Patria focuses her research on improving sports performance and on reducing sporting injuries. She is the lead researcher for the International Rugby Board long-term player health outcomes study that is focused on concussion, and player clothing and equipment. She also consults and researches for ACC projects. After completing a PhD in biomechanics at the University of Otago, Patria received 26 a three-year postdoctoral fellowship funded by ACC which took her to Canada, Switzerland and Australia. One of her many research successes was the development of a 10-point plan for injury prevention (now known as SportSmart) which has been utilised for rugby, netball, league and snow sports. Patria epitomises the grace, elegance and humility that characterises so many of the high achievement people who live amongst our Kawau community. Her warmth and vitality is continually evident and her contributions, particularly on Vivian Bay, to our Island life are many and varied. Patria is an important member of an important Kawau family. Whilst our community is enriched by her vibrance and her enthusiasm it is equally clear that the wider international community is enriched by her academic expertise and her research skills. KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 27 Fishing, off Kawau turns and spits: which part of no don’t you understand? N O is two islands, lumps of difference in a flat film like skin near some place I’m taken to fish, one of them, I’m not sure which, a sanctuary, landing not permitted. Someone must have landed once, there was a jetty. Whenever low tide curls back, jagged rotting piles raise a silent jeer as you float by. One snot-green molar sports a gulping shag; wet globlets flick; its neck snakes. There must be fish here somewhere The nearer part of N O is poorly charted, presence of rocks noted but locations uncertain. Not to mention the rip. The middle of a poem is as likely a place to find fish as anywhere else in my experience. Down here they dream past in schooling streams, eager for any morsel I care to place before them. Yes, these are my fish; they will know me well; dappled silver to scale; mouthing uncanny words ending shortly in O as I jerk awake. Now my slender thread drips down through the disappearance, baited with little hope John Adams John Adams is a retired judge who has an affinity for and affiliations with Kawau Island. He won the Jesse Mackay Award for best first poetry book in 2012, along with being a consultant editor of legal texts! He was most recently seen on the Island enjoying the Music and the Gardens event. 28 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 29 Review: “When We Were Old” Michael Marris situations that we have all encountered. Some with warm memories. Some not so. Perhaps the best sampling is from the very first poem “Introduction to “When We Were Old””: I look inside myself and I am forty two. I look in the mirror and I am forty two. I look at me in the holiday photograph? I’m left bemused to see I’m standing by my daughter, who I know in seven years, will be forty two. There’s a certain quiet magic come Sunday evenings in North Cove. Weekend visitors have gone, water taxis finish early and a general peace settles over the Island. This is exactly the time to sit on the deck outside, to pour a glass of wine and to sit in quiet contemplation with this sometimes sombre, often reflective and always thoughtful book of poems. More particularly, this is the latest collection from Kawau identity (and lovely lady) lois e hunter. Readers will know how much Kookaburra is enhanced every issue with a lois e hunter poem, mostly focused around our Island life. This gracious book however has 67 poems with a mostly different theme: a journey through some parts of life and examination of 30 These poems traverse those years of getting older. The scene is set with the first five - collectively in different ways presenting a reflective tapestry on lois and her background. Then come five further sections containing poems that travel through events - motherhood, weddings, death, hospital circumstances and retirement. Interspersed in each part are poems about the environment, about animals and, one that is extremely poignant, about faith. Kawau identity, Stephen Horsley. This design cleverly echoes the poetry contents and nicely contemplates what lies ahead for the reader. Published by Eden Productions, this is lois’s seventh book of poetry. The richness of her verse is eloquent testimony to the depth of her thinking and her willingness to explore personal areas of experience which are not always comfortable. For this reviewer, the delicacy of reading one poem equates to one glass of wine, followed by another two glasses of wine in pleasurable contemplation afterwards. By then darkness will have fallen over the Cove and another evening will be slowly drawn down with a sense of fulfilment. “When We Were Old” is a book to be savoured and contemplated. This is a book which requires each poem to be read one at a time. That leaves room for the reader to think around the author’s own thoughts and to allow her carefully chosen sentiments to be absorbed. Each poem demands its own reflection, every bit as much as it is a reflection of lois herself. This is very much an internally focused book of poems, but the musings of lois e. hunter are wrapped in a beautiful shawl of evocative language and external beauty. The grace and elegance of lois’s poetry is apparent right from the simple and stark graphic design of the book – the work of another talented KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 31 Cask Shells Alison Fowler It was close to Christmas when Sophie and Isabelle Fowler - from Banks Peninsula - found two giant shells on the shore in Shark Bay, near Mansion House. The girls are on an extended yachting holiday with their parents who are both ecologists. “When the girls showed them to us we did a search on the internet and they fitted the description of a Cask Shell,” said their dad Simon. “Their identity was confirmed when we visited the Marine Laboratory at Goat Island a few weeks later,” Simon added. “We showed them to some of the local residents on Kawau who hadn’t seen them before,” said the girls’ mum Alison. Davo from the Kawau Boating Club reckoned he could hear the sea all the way to Rarotonga when he held one of them against his ear! The Cask Shell (also known as Tona tankervillii) is more commonly found in the far North of New Zealand and in Queensland, Australia. The largest of the shells found by the girls measures just over 20 cm in length which is close in size to the largest recorded in New Zealand waters. The smaller one is about 16 cm. “It seems curious that there would be two washed up together, but apparently they are be- 32 coming more commonly found further south which is perhaps an indication of warmer sea temperatures,” said Alison. “They have been found as far south as the Bay of Plenty and are sometimes washed up after big storms,” she added. The snails are eaten by stingrays. But the snails themselves feed on sea cucumbers, small snails and shell fish, particularly on sandy shore lines. “The girls are planning to take them back to show their class mates in Little River but in the meantime they bring a tropical look to the inside of our boat,” said Simon jokingly. KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 33 VB Fishing Competition Left: Children with fish entries Patria Hume Vivian Bay 2015 New Year’s Eve The numbers fishing were similar to last year for the 2015 News Years’ Eve Vivian Bay Fishing Competition with 31 adults and 10 children. Patria Hume was MC for the prize giving held on the end of the Hume’s wharf and started proceedings by blowing the conch shell and welcoming the attendees in Maori and English. Jarrod Hume and Trevor Tait weighed the fish while Stan West adjudicated the entries and weights. As the previous year’s winner of the Emily Award, Jarrod Hume was to give out the awards but was busy with weighing fish. Below: Emily Award winner 2016 The “Emily Award trophy for the heaviest snapper” went to Glynn Flowerday with a 44.5 cm, 1.7kg snapper. Second prize went to Sarah Morton with a 42.5cm, 1.65kg snapper. A very close third was Aldin Reeve with a 44.0cm, 1.6kg snapper. It was great to see so many people catching fish with David Morton, Adam Wilson, Steve Wilson, Silvio Calderlari, Trevor Tait, Jarrod Hume and Patria Hume also entering fish over 38.0cm. A lucky draw was held with another six people gaining fishing prizes. It was another successful event with the locals mixing and mingling with drinks and fishing stories while enjoying the sunshine. Trevor weighing fish Therefore the prizes were laid on a sulu on the wharf so people could select which item they wanted. Carissa Hawes was the chief photographer and Patria recorded names and fish weights. The first award - Kane Award trophy - for the under 12’s biggest fish (any species) went to Frida from Faye and David’s house with a 34.5cm snapper. The second prize went to Alexander Morton with a 34.0cm snapper. Dylan Flowerday (31.0cm) and Harvey Kitt (30.5cm) also entered fish. The “heaviest fish other than snapper prize” went to Ellie Gardner with a Trevally. Above: Snapper adult entries The new “Stan the Stone-man Wharf and Rock Award” was carved by Jarrod Hume from a piece of the Hume’s wharf pile. Four of Stan West’s rocks were added at the base of the carving. Stan explained the origins of the trophy and then presented the trophy to Sam Kingston who caught a 38.5cm snapper off Kawhiti Point rocks to win the award. 34 Centre Left: Inaugural Stan-TheStone-Man Award winner 2016 Left: Children in a queue to get their fish weighed on the wharf KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 35 Park Notes Sir Robert Peel/Sir George link and to learn that, as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time, Robert Peel was instrumental in George Grey’s first appointment to the Governorship of the New Zealand Colony. Sue Stoddart Hello All, Sue here, the most recent addition to the Reserve team. First, I’d like to say how much I am enjoying my role as caretaker for Mansion House and the gardens. I started at the end of October, expecting a busy time over summer, and have not been disappointed! It is great to see so many people enjoying the Reserve in the sunshine and also a pleasure to meet the adventuresome souls who make the most of a blustery wet day to explore the Valley. It has also been a treat to see so many boats in the Bay during the Christmas and school holiday period and of course over the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron weekend. And last month we had the pleasure of seven St Ayles skiffs pulling up in the Bay. Some exciting events thus far: In September the interior of the House was photographed by New Zealand photographer Jane Ussher (who received the Insignia of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to photography) as part of the “Islands Book” bring written and produced by her and journalist Bruce Ainsley. The photo shoot featured many authentic Grey era interior shots and furnishings. Some of the 36 images will be made available for limited edition post cards to raise funds for the House. We now have two brilliant murals in the Reserve toilets created for us by artist Sarah Matthew (https://sarahkmatthew.carbonmade. com/). Sarah has worked as a volunteer on the Reserve and recently returned from 18 months on Raoul Island. Sarah also did a great blackboard sign for the Gardens. We have had two lovely weddings in the garden. Both days dawned glorious following some wild weather which saw the grounds covered with debris and our mowing schedule blown to pieces. As it was, an early morning tidy-up and mow saw the gardens putting on a fine show enhanced by the beautiful scent of gardenia and heliotrope. A good number of loads of school children have visited the Big House this season, heralding their arrival in a joyfully raucous manner as they wander through Mansion House Valley. “Music in the Gardens” went very smoothly for us with many visitors to the House. Cheers to all the organisers. Pictured below is the “shot KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 The swan plant plantation behind the gazebo worked its magic this season. It has been a delight to watch the chrysalides develop and to now see troupes of monarch butterflies everywhere. of the day” taken by one of the Historic Heritage Team. Coatesville Garden Club is back in full swing following a Christmas break. Welcome back! We have missed your hard work and good humour. We had a full on day last week, particularly, amongst many other things, clearing old branches from the Giant Strelizia (you can now see the wonderful colour and texture of the trunks – thanks Don!) and pulling dead palm fronds from the water gardens. Now remains the task of removing all the stacked debris! I’m looking forward to 13th March when the historic tug the William C. Daldy – one of the last working coal fired tug boats in New Zealand – will visit Mansion House Wharf (http:// daldy.com/category/charters-excursions/ kawau/) as part of its bi-annual chartered visit to Kawau Island. Have a wonderful autumn everybody. Look forward to seeing you at the House sometime. Thanks to Peter the agapanthas have been tidied up and plant growth cleared from around the Sir Robert Peel rhododendrons. The rhododendrons have put on a lot of growth this season. It has been interesting to explore the KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 37 RIP Marjorie Rowe Chic Vercoe Monday 25 April MARGERY ROWE 1931-2015 There will be an ANZAC Day commemorative ceremony held at Kawau Boating Club on 25 April at 12.30pm (to fit with ferry times). All welcome to attend, and all are invited to join others at KBC for refreshments following the ceremony. Margery was farewelled in early December by family and friends after a short illness. The ceremony epitomised the qualities of this woman who I was proud to call my friend. It was warm, real and personal with humorous little vignettes relieving the feeling of overwhelming sorrow. Touches of elegance portrayed the lady that she was. Margery was born in Hamilton, the only child of Roley and Margery Bell and educated at Diocesan School for Girls. The Bells owned a succession of boats and sailed the Gulf in a ‘C’ class yacht called Miro. Margery thought that the first time they anchored in Kawau waters was about 1945. Part of her water initiation happened when she fell overboard from the family launch at 12 months of age and was unceremoniously fished out, to survive many more wet experiences. She thought that she probably was the first and certainly the youngest woman to sail the Balojkovic Cup while still a schoolgirl. I have sailed this race a few times and realise what an achievement that was. The first leg starts off Orakei Wharf then crosses the Tamaki Strait, through the Ruthe Passage at the bottom of Waiheke, heads across the Thames and rounds the Cow and Calf islands off Coromandel Harbour. From there it is a change of tack and a long haul usually on the wind to Flat Rock in time to catch a glimpse of Kawau at dusk. The last leg is usually a spinnaker run in dying wind, pushing the tide through the Tiri and Rangitoto Channels to finish where the 38 ANZAC DAY race started - hopefully by midnight. This is a challenging race for a crewed-up modern boat. Imagine the wet, wild, exciting ride it must have been for this 15 year-old in a small classic yacht with low freeboard and no life lines? . A wreath will be laid on behalf of the Kawau Island community, and any other wreaths would also be welcome. Any enquiries to Jill Hetherington 022 184 0299 The Bells built the little blue bach with the “Maori” chimney on land they purchased from Grace Mills in 1949. Margery meanwhile had met and married another sailor with a ‘C’ class yacht. His name was Maurice Rowe. The boat was called the Matua and they sailed her on weekends and summer holidays until 1965. Continued from previous page When Roley died they spent more time at Kawau as they often brought Mrs Bell up to enjoy the Cove. Our association with Maurice and Marjorie began when we dropped them off a couple of kahawai as they worked on the end of their jetty one day. An exchange of civilities and a few laughs over tea and scones cemented a relationship that has lasted since then. Margery was an accomplished musician, an expert on the Hawaiian slide guitar. Maurice KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 played the double bass and they had played together in dance bands in the late 40s and 50s. Brian and I spent many wonderful afternoons with them in the intimacy of that ‘blue bach’, thrashing the old songs and singing ourselves hoarse to the accompaniment of my basic ukulele skills and Brian’s piano accordion. In the spells between the music we put the world to rights, drank tea, ate chocolate biscuits and laughed until it was time to gather ‘Polly dog’ from under the bed and head home in the tinny. KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 Inevitably times change and the gatherings became fewer as old age and illness took their toll. Thank you for the good times Margie. Your sense of humour, your humility, your mad laughter, your unwavering hospitality, your reluctance to accept a dinner invitation in case you were ‘putting us out’ were just a few of your endearing qualities. I miss you. Thanks for being in my life. 39 ANOTHER MAGIC “MUSIC IN THE GARDENS” EVENT JOHNNY’S WATER TAXI Fares: Adult 5-15 Under-5 $25 each way Sandspit-Kawau-Sandspit $10 each way FREE Licensed for 25 passengers Comfortable safe transport MSA Surveyed Domestic baggage free (within reason) I also charter for private cruises and am now taking Christmas party bookings On demand service - 7 day operation - Freight service Call Johnny directly or by email 021 422 173 www.kawauferry.co.nz .........Environmentally friendly sewage treatment .........Aerated sewage treatment .........Installed in New Zealand for over 25 years .........Low power whisper blower $YDLODEOHZLWK¿EUHJODVVWDQNIRUGLI¿FXOWVLWHV [email protected] 40 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 45 Fire Team Report Ruth MacClement Summer fire team summary: The fire team has, as usual, been busy but, incident wise, it’s been a good end of summer with only two notable callouts. January pagers went off with a medical trauma, Schoolhouse Bay, 14-year-old male, bitten tongue? Actually, he was in a boat at Mansion House. It’s worth noting here that if you do need to call 111, you may be asked for a street address. Most of us don’t have a road anywhere relevant to us but if you can provide them with a name of the nearest road (usually Schoolhouse Bay Road for Bon Accord Harbour and north) and then describe the actual location when you report the incident, you’ll find this gets things moving. The second incident involved a 68-year-old male in Harris Bay with a head injury so he was promptly helicoptered out. We held a special team building training session at Poplar Bay involving rope and a treeto-tree crossing as well as creative ways to get water from one place to another using only what was on hand. There was a strategy session discussing the pros and cons of a new amphibious rapid response vehicle (RRV), that had been tested by more of the team in the early new year, concluding that, although response times might benefit, further figures were needed to establish costs and durability. Attendance at “Music in the Gardens” was good with active Fire Team and associate members all turning out in force to lend a hand with running the event and provide first aid as needed. Those oysters claimed a few young victims but thankfully only painful but superficial damage. Special thanks to the guys and 46 gal on the sausage sizzle whose endurance on an overly long hot shift was well proven. Fire retardant trees With ever warmer, drier summers on the way, our kanuka covered Kawau is at risk of fire. We all know, or should know, by now that the prospect of a fire getting at all out of control on Kawau would be devastating for everyone and everything living here or visiting the Island. So, looking around at our climate and vegetation, it makes sense to be prepared for the same sorts of issues people face in NSW, Australia: hot wildfires in bush clad settlements are a very real issue. In fact, at one of our training sessions on the mainland, my class of experienced firefighters was shown a picture of a typical Kawau bay as an example and we all immediately drew a sharp breath as we identified each and every fire hazard and accelerant factor present on site: slope, onshore breezes, trees that produce flame accelerant oils and gasses, dry litter and branches, sun-exposure and dry brown vegetation….... When planning for fire events, we usually think about the emergencies: how to survive the crisis by evacuation, gear, water and warning systems. These are all important and we will talk about them throughout the year, and remind you every summer just how close to the edge we are here in paradise. However, realising we do have the sort of conditions here that we’re more used to hearing about in California and Australia means we, unlike much of mainland NZ, need to make the much long-term preparations than residents do over there. Reading Bull Canyon by fellow resident and famous yachtie Lin Pardey struck me with just how much of the Californian landscape was shaped KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 by the past and future of fire. She mentions a very large fire break around all houses and the removal of trees like cypress from anywhere near the house and buildings. That’s an option, and part of a good personal bach fire plan, but I doubt many of us really want to come to Kawau only to perch in a desert of bare dirt, gravel or paving. Although, certainly, ensuring that no dry, accelerant shrubs such as tea-tree grow right under your eaves is a sensible plan. Retardant trees will have large, glossy, fleshy leaves that don’t burn easily and smooth bark. They are often deciduous and must grow well in the place you put them (irrigation might be needed if they fail to thrive as a drought stricken fire retardant species of tree can still be more fuel for the fire when too dry). These are good to grow around the house as they put out shade and shield the house from heat and sparks with their fleshy green leaves. There is a much softer end of preparation that could save your life and your bach. Planting and maintaining fire retardant parkland around your immediate bach area gives multiple benefits and looks and feels great on a hot summer day too. Accelerant plants are dry, even brown, in summer. They often have small leaves, aromatic resins that burn well and rough peeling bark: think tea-tree, eucalyptus, piles of brushwood, macrocarpa, pine etc. These fuel the flames and only increase the heat directed at your house. For those of you who have a fire permit for beach burns during the winter months, there’s an easy test: try throwing a few What does this mean? Start by identifying fire retardant trees and fire accelerant trees, shrubs and groundcover. KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 Continued overleaf 47 Continued from previous page fresh branches or prunings on your fire when it’s still quite small and not overly hot. If they catch and burn well, you don’t want that plant near your house. If they burn well only when dry then keep them well pruned and healthy near the bach. Small Tree Farm in Australia have a very handy pdf on the subject (written for Australians of course) which has:”Fire Services advise people who have built in or near bushland to clear or thin out a buffer zone around their house and to ensure that the crowns of any remaining trees do not touch each other, and that continuity between the crowns and ground vegetation is broken by pruning. This in ‘farm speak’ has been known as ‘parkland clearing’ and has its parallels in the English Park; the original meaning of the word ‘park’ being pastureland that is dotted with wide spaced, wide crowned trees. Early English colonists were pleasantly surprised to find many such open grassed Parks scattered on fertile river flats through the forest country (and quickly occupied them). These had been cleared and maintained by the indigenous Australians around their regular campsites through regular low intensity burning; creating a comfortable fire safe living space which also fostered grazing for kangaroo.” Obviously we’re not suggesting you start any little controlled burns on Kawau but the same can be achieved with basic garden planning and care. Try looking at your bach as the centre of a target - with zones in rings around it (make them wider where the slope heads up your house or in the direction of the prevailing wind and/or sun). In the ring closest to your building you want only fire retardant plants. Consider some of the following tested fire retardant natives in a new planting plan: Carpodetus serratus, putaputaweta Coprosma grandifolia, raurekau, kanon Coprosma repens, taupat Coprosma robusta, karamu Corynocarpus laevigatus, karaka Fuchsia excorticata, kotukutuku/fuchsia Geniostoma ligustrifolium, hangehange Griselinia littoralis, papauma/broadleaf Griselinia lucida, puka Macropiper excelsum, kawakawa/pepper tree Pseudopanax arboretum, five finger Pseudopanax crassifolius, lancewood Solanum aviculare, poroporo Fruit trees, deciduous trees and irrigated fleshy leafed trees are all good choices. As are flax, healthy hebes, renga renga lilies, cabbage trees, even matipou, and any large leafed natives. Look for Broadleaf species: Griselinia, Coprosma, Pseudopanex (fivefinger, lancewood), Pittosporum eugenioides (lemonwood), etc. Watch out for and avoid Australian natives: they evolved to encourage and thrive in fire environments. Eucalyptus is a positive pyromaniac - igniting and supercharging the flames across the continent til everything else was burnt out of its way. Fire retardant trees can be brought close together in this zone to better shield from heat, wind and ember. They can grow quite densely if they’re all lush and well cared for (with any dead wood pruned and taken away well before summer) providing lots of cool shade and continuous green canopy as shelter from sun, and the heat or sparks of any fire. No piles of dead leaves and branches nor long dry grass that can easily catch fire. Water and mulch everything well, and ensure that any mulch you do use is kept moist below the first 3mm. Wood chips can be used in autumn and wellwatered but in summer you want to keep that mulch to less carbon-rich stuff (like fresh grass clippings or rocks). Then, in the next ring, you can have some of the more flammable types of plants but they have to be spaced out - so they’re not touching each other and making easy paths for the fire to burn toward your dwelling. Think leaving mature tea tree 48 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 or pines growing as they do but with their crowns not touching and their trunks either clear of vegetation or surrounded by lush, fire-retardant growth. Here you can keep a wood pile but, don’t stack it by tree or power pole, try storing it in an old metal tank or in a shed or pile surrounded by a good buffer zone of irrigated grass or hard ground. Keep your kindling separate from your wood and your smaller branches apart from your big logs. As you know from lighting your fires at home, logs don’t catch fire on their own and so are relatively safe by themselves but in the presence of kindling and smaller branches pose a real risk. Leaf litter needs to be raked up into similarly isolated patches rather than continuous cover if it can’t be kept moist through summer. This is a long term plan, a goal to strive for, not something we’d expect many of us to achieve anytime soon. Start with clearing away all the flammables from around your dwelling and know you’re that much safer. Of course, the fire team are here as the first line of defence in case of fire. We aim to arrive at and contain every fire before it can grow large enough to threaten more than your brushwood. That’s why we still need everyone calling in any sign of smoke at the earliest opportunity: that way we can get on scene and assess risks before anything can get out of hand. That means calling 111 before you know why there’s smoke. We can sort it out from there. Websites to read more: http://www.smalltreefarm.com.au/about-retardants.pdf http://treelogic.com.au/facts/fire-retardanttrees/ Trees with the best fire-retardant properties are those which have soft leaves with a high moisture content, smooth and non-peeling barks, and low volatility oils in their foliage. In generContinued overleaf 49 Continued from previous page al, this includes the majority of deciduous trees and some evergreens from the sub-tropics and rain forests. Trees that create or hold on to lots of dry dead branches and debris, have loose flaky bark, have dense, fine foliage with a low moisture content should be avoided. Asian New Year of the Monkey Another hot summer’s day, and although the park will be crowded with tourists, I’m strolling toward Maree’s Café for a cold lemonade. Climate change research predicts that Canterbury and other rural areas in NZ will be hotter, drier places in the next few decades, and the tendency for vegetation to facilitate fire spread will become more and more important. I’ve left the sun-blinding stone of the sign-posted road and walk in the silent shade of a winding path- a soft carpet of needle-leaves, to enter an ancient fantasy-world; Shelterbelt trees are an important, long-term planting on most farms of all sizes, so what are the best ones to choose in a drier climate? Tim Curran is an ecologist and lecturer at Lincoln University who has been researching flammability of plants grown in NZ. His recommended low-flammability native species for shelter belts are: a landscaper’s botanical dream with its palette of varying greens: soft leafed punga, kanuka, the delicate ferns among gnarly old pines tagged with lichen graffiti that stand tall and at ease ankle-deep in dark green moss. Broadleaf species (griselinia) Pseudopanix (five-finger, lancewood) I pause mid-way to look at some scattered remains of an unknown cottager’s home – I’m imagining misty immigrant ghosts, white sprigged muslin, white bonnets, lavender… Copromsa Pittosporum eugenioides (lemonwood) Note: if the weather is hot and dry enough, even low flammability species are likely to burn. Trees that will tend to burn hard and fast: when into my revere, arms pumping, Eucalyptus, eg manna gum (E. viminalis), which is high in natural oils strides a white spandex apparition with bright lavender hair. I get a brisk nod as she passes, her elderly eyes fixed intently on the hill up ahead. Mens Cut/Boys Ladies Cut Ladies Cut and B/Wave Restyle Blow Wave from Cut & Set Children under 5 5 to 12 12 and over Girls Perms from: Colours: Retouch Tints from Semi-Permanent from Foils start from Half head foils Full head foils Individual Foil Toner Extra Senior Citizens Days: Wash cut blow wave Mens cut $26 $40 $50 $50 $28 $40 $20 $25 $30 $85 $55 $55 $50 $75 $95 $8/Foil $15 Tues & Wed $36 $15 Pines, eg Pinus radiata, especially when it retains dead material Gorse, especially old gorse hedges with high levels of dead material The year of the Monkey-Mind is underway. Kanuka, Kunzea ericoides Manuka, Leptospermum scoparium lois e hunter Source: Future Farming Centre, BHU 50 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 51 Starboard Arm Observations Carmen Miranda ll Well! The Kookaburras have incrementally moved further along the Cove to be amongst us. Delightfully they have been laughing their heads off. I can only speculate on the source of their mirth ... Ross taking his opti for a walk down the middle of the estuary, at high tide, was one for sure. The Whitehouses employing a new form of outboard motive power, a human, must surely be another. This slave labour was also deployed in the summer monsoon. From the darn right hilarious to the spectacular then ... Wendy has progressed on the SUP to rival the elegance of Lambergs’ SUP cruising club. We’ve witnessed the complete evolution of womankind, from crouching tiger to upright primate, through Wendy’s daily displays of mangrove Slalom. Mr Ranson on the other hand, appears to be hard pressed to keep up with the outstanding maritime progress of their son Cameron. No doubt he’s being trained up to take over as captain on the good ship Albatross. The Protector RIB arrived from Half Moon Bay via a comprehensive tour of the Hauraki Gulf. Fuel consumption, nor GPS use, are in any way to be discussed here. No comment either must be had on Kim’s mysterious leg injury nor Guido’s Christmas LED light spectacular. It was very thoughtful of Guido leaving his lights on for us to enjoy, shame he had to return in his James Bond boat just to turn them off. There have been new developments in Starboard Arm though. Rumour has it that Chris is developing a new team NZ with a squadron of children at the helm. He might find more recruits on the wharf as Mrs Goodhue’s grandContinued on next page 52 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 children have been having a great time there. The Sinclair’s have a few children to add too no doubt. Then there are the Harpers, who seem to be running a wildlife sanctuary. Wiremu Weka and his family enjoyed many a night dining alfresco under the highchair of Messy Max. KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 Word got around the Cove and it seems every ant, and bird has dropped by to check it out. Sadly, some serious health issues and a changing of the guard have hit the Cove. To those families we send kindest wishes and due respect at such a time. May the sanctuary of our special area of this world be a healing place. 53 Music in the Gardens Views And Reflections This year’s Music in the Gardens was a magnificently staged event on one of those glorious Kawau summer days. The intense heat we had been experiencing had mellowed and there was no wind. The Park was looking fantastic. The OPAK Committee who had spent literally hundreds of hours during the year in their organising role could not have hoped for a better day. • • • • • • “people love to see Mansion House come to life..... it reminds them of the old days and it becomes a living historic monument rather than a static museum” “our kids found that it went on for too long and although there were things for them to do there were slow pieces in the process and they became bored” • “loved the various stalls around the perimeter but thought they might have deserved more publicity from the stage” • “the auctioneer was good but sometimes hard to hear and it might help for him to be more vigorous” • “sound system could have done with some enlargement” “I love seeing so many people relaxed and enjoying the day and it’s all about lying back and enjoying” “we had a fabulous picnic, enjoyed a lovely day out with the music and the auction but also being able to mix with other Islanders” “the wine and beer and soft drink supplies were excellent and the food on offering was superb” “I came with my family and we all had such a splendid time in such a safe and pleasant environment” “we’ll certainly all be back – ready to buy our tickets now!” • “transport from Sandspit was extremely efficient and reasonably priced and added to the pleasure of the day” “weather is so important and I’m looking to another great day perhaps with some changes to the format” • “we are thinking about it – maybe, maybe not - would like to see a change in musicians and a speed up in how things are presented” • “count us all in but think about some fresh faces on the stage “` “the sponsors were wonderful for such good Kawau Island causes” • “loved the wine glasses – bought a dozen!” The Good • • “the weather gods really looked after us and created a great family atmosphere........... everyone was so happy” “a beekeeper came up, a helper from Orewa, who is going to come next year with his family and bring friends “ • “watching the children dancing right along with their parents was a real treat” “great to see the service organisations on display – Coast Guard, Fire Team, Camp Bentzon, Police launch DOC and the harbourmaster” • “superb to see and experience so many stalls with local products” • “what I really liked about it was it was a really good opportunity to meet new people and other Islanders” KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 The Prospects for Next Year • • “the ambience of the Gardens and the setting was just fantastic” • “it’s a great event to support because it helps a number of other organisations on the Island and it was such fun” “the music was not familiar enough to us – the performers were fabulous but we would have liked to hear more songs that we know” • • 54 • • “I had a lot of people who came up to me and commented that they were having a wonderful day – the best ever – and it was absolutely fantastic” And thus the scene was set. But how did it play itself out? Here are some comments sampled from around spectators, kids, organisers and local suppliers: • “I loved being able to climb the trees and to dance in front of the stage” • Tickets were sold out to the maximum 750 allowed and the various ferry and water taxi services provided efficient transport to and from Mansion House Bay. Indeed, some arrived by seaplane – being in a fizz boat and following an aircraft up the fairway which marks the Marine passage into the Bay is an interesting event! Others walked on foot from Schoolhouse Bay and many brought their own yachts, runabouts, kayaks, RIBs and there were two Sealegs driven up the beach to the Park. The auctioneer cleared his throat, the musicians limbered up around the stage, and people settled with their picnics and drinks in the shade of the wonderful Park trees. • “we came as a large extended family group so it was a fabulous opportunity for us all to get together in a beautiful outdoor venue” The “Could Have Been Better” • “our group had trouble hearing the auctioneer and we were only sitting in the middle of the crowd” KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 55 Pam’s Recipes Kawau Real Estate Pam Dallow Dave Jeffery Summer has done us a big favour this year with innumerable hot and sunny days, not too much wind and around the Island all sorts of exciting events. Now with autumn creeping down we are looking for a little more comfort food. Anticipating some cooler days, hopefully some rain and hopefully not too much wind, it’s time to review the world of winter recipes. Here are some. The days are starting to draw in and the bays are not quite as full over the weekends but overall it has been another very good summer around Kawau Island so far. Easy Sultana Cake 2 small bags Sultanas 225 g butter cuopped 3 eggs 1 ½ c sugar 1 tsp vanilla ess 1 tsp almond ess 2 c flour 1 tsp baking powder pinch of salt More boaties and boat clubs are making the Kawau Boating Club a destination now, which all generates interest in the Island as more new people are introduced to our very special place. In a pot, cover sultanas with water and boil for 10 mins Drain quickly and return to the pot and add the chopped butter and pot lid, till melted. Beat eggs, add sugar and beat again. Add to fruit along with the essences, stir Add the sifted flour, baking powder and salt mix well, pour into a lined pan Bake 180C for 1¼ hours for the first hour. Cover with foil or baking paper, but then remove for last ½ hour Salmon Pasta Mornay 400 g small pasta shells 30 g butter 6 spring onion sliced 2 cloves garlic crushed 1 tbsp plain flour 1 c milk 1 c sour cream (or another cup milk) 1 tbsp lemon juice optional 425 g can salmon drained and flaked ½ cup chopped parsley 56 Cook pasta in lightly salted boiling water till just tender Melt butter add spring onions and garlic stir over low heat for 3 minutes Add flour and stir 3 minutes Combine milk, sour cream and lemon juice in jug and gradually add to flour stirring constantly. Stir over medium heat for 3 minutes or until boils and thickens Add flaked salmon and parsley to pan, stir 1 minute or till heated, add drained pasta, stir to combine Season with salt and pepper before serving Once again the “Music in the Gardens” event at Mansion House estate in February was a huge success, and our display on the day in the Hooker’s tent attracted considerably more interest than last year, resulting in several new genuine enquiries and follow-up visits. Sales are up significantly this financial year but vendors are still having to meet the market, as buyers have a lot to choose from and will not pay a premium unless the property is outstanding in some way. As we go to print this month we hear that the KIRRA team representing us at the Unitary plan hearings have successfully negotiated largely retaining the “status quo” regarding our moorings, which is very important for many Kawau property owners, especially the permanent residents as the need for a mooring handy to their home is a necessity not a luxury, which fortunately the planners seem to agree with. As always I am available at most times to answer all your real estate enquiries, whether buying or selling or just for a chat if you are interested in what’s happening around Kawau. Herbed Potato pancakes 2 tbsp chopped chives 2 tbsp chopped parsley or tarragon 600 g potatoes, peeled 60 g unsalted butter 2 tbsp olive oil Mix chives, parsley and salt and pepper in bowl. Coarsely grate potatoes in to large bowl, add herb mix stir to combine. Heat 1/2 the butter and oil in large non stick fry pan, over a medium heat cook heaped tablespoons of mixture for 2 minutes. Turn and cook 2-3 minutes ro till golden. Drain on baking paper and keep warm. Repeat till all the mixture is cooked. KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 57 Pohutukawa Trust Carl Weaver things, the retention of wallaby as a declared pest. You may have seen recently in the media the issues elsewhere in NZ that the environment is facing from wallaby destruction. Hello supporters. Well Christmas has gone and we are into the New Year, I am constantly hearing that we will be finishing summer and into autumn soon. I can’t see much sign of it yet, it feels to me like we have shifted to the tropics with the temperatures and humidity that we are experiencing. There were some good snapper to be found at the head of the Bon Accord earlier in January. In August last year the Trust assisted in conducting hunts in specified areas using contract shooters, highly skilled in day and night hunting operations. Modern technology such as thermal devices play an important role in them safely and successfully operating. All hunts were conducted during the hours of darkness for a number of reasons. All animals were recorded and logged including gender, smd using global positioning sys- I hope that those of you I had an address for enjoy your calendars. If you should be on the list please contact me by email. David and Robyn are pleased to announce that Sky TV is back on at the KBC! Come along and enjoy selected sports events over a meal and cold drink! Morning scones and baking available daily Petrol, diesel, 2-stroke oil, ice, bait, bread and milk all available plus other general store items You are all very welcome! Every Thursday Curry Night (phone to book) Watch our Facebook page and check upcoming events on our website: www.kawauboatingclub.nz Robyn and Davo Lee Kawau Boating Club 09 422 8845 tems (GPS). This has provided some valuable information for us going forward. A total of 827 wallaby were encountered and dispatched. Other pests such as opossums were also culled when encountered. The trustees would like to take this opportunity to give you a brief update on where we are at, and where we envisage our efforts will go this coming year. We also wish to thank you for your assistance and enthusiasm in pursuing the Trust’s objectives, which we acknowledge is very important to achieving our goals. The hunters reported numerous encounters with kiwi and weka, with their calls able to be frequently heard. That is heartening and indications of our developing ecosystem. As you may be aware our licence for the use of Brodifacoum-based baits expired and we are in the process of working through an application for a new licence. Until this is finalised we are not able to supply this bait for wallaby control. We have a supply on stock and are happy to supply for opossum control. This year the Trust is planning on continuing supporting hunting as it has proven to be so effective; we hope to expand the area of the shoot where possible. If you would like to be included, please make contact via email with me so that we are able to plan to include you. Earlier this year the Trust and trustees made submissions to the Auckland Council on the revision of the Regional Pest Management Strategy. This was in support of, amongst other 58 Kawau Boating Club The Trust and its trustees wish to communicate in more depth and more frequently with you. The most efficient and effective way for us to do this is by email. KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 Please make contact with your email address to [email protected] so we can include you in our mail out. POHUTUKAWA TRUST NEW ZEALAND Registered New Zealand Charity CC23836 All donations are tax deductible, gratefully received, and needed Please support the Pohutukawa Trust [email protected] 59 Coastguard Kawau Coastguard Media Coastguard Kawau has had its usual busy summer season on and off the water – supporting the busy summer boating traffic and participating in the many fundraising activities that enable us to maintain our very vital service. At Christmastime, the local Lions’ ladies decided we would be the sole benefactor of proceeds raised from their annual Christmas tree display and raffle. It was a very worthwhile joint venture. We also enjoyed support from the Algies Bay Residents and Ratepayers committee whose generous donation went towards the purchase of ‘Henry’, the much needed, new tractor. Henry is a great asset to the unit: he comes with more power for a much heavier workload, an enclosed cab, and is much easier for all to operate confidently. It’s great to have the support of local community groups who sustain the efficiency and viability of our operation, and on that note, we are also very grateful to “Music in the Gardens”, organized by the Kawau Island community, for again making a donation to our unit. For the event, we used our crew and boat to transport equipment and supplies to the Island as well as supporting efficient and safe operations on yet another very successful day. All this while attending three callouts – life is never dull when you are a Coastguarder! Throughout December and January we were also fundraising by selling national lottery tickets at various locations from Orewa to Warkworth, and beyond. Kawau can take great pride in being the unit that sold the most tickets in the northern region and the second highest number for tickets in New Zealand. All thanks to our dedicated crew of volunteers and their supportive families who sometimes had 60 Coastguard Kawau looking resplendent in her new pontoons, courtesy of the very generous donation from Music in the Gardens 2105, attends the 2016 event before departing hastily for another callout to be roped in to fill spaces when a boat callout took priority. Dramatic rescue While we were out training on Kawau Rescue shortly before Christmas, a mayday was heard. We were able to be on scene near Little Barrier very quickly, even though details were very sketchy about the location in a large area of open water and in quite lumpy seas. However, by some miracle and careful observation the boat was found rapidly sinking with only the bow protruding and the sole occupant floating in the water. He was in a state of serious hyperthermia but, with the assistance of the Westpac rescue helicopter, a successful rescue was carried out and a very grateful survivor was returned to his family that evening. It is always very satisfying and rewarding to be part of a success story of a rescue at sea. It is times like these that make being a Coastguard volunteer so satisfying and rewarding, inspiring our crew members to maintain high levels of training to ensure confidence in any situation. Ongoing maintenance As the boat is now six years old, it is really important to keep up the on- going maintenance. Planning is now in progress for a major ‘midlife’ refit involving a major overhaul of the two diesel engines. Work will also be carried out on the electronic systems, the hull and exterior paintwork. The boat trailer, also starting to show its age, will also receive some attention. Luckily we have some new young recruits! As always, new volunteers are continually being recruited and supported through the induction and training phases to become fully fledged members of the unit. Consequently we have a great group of people from all walks of life who have a great deal to offer through their differing level of skills and experience … but all with a passion to save lives at sea. Coastguard Kawau does a great job finding a missing boat, sinking fast, in a big area of water near Little Barrier Island in no real reported position. The difficulty in spotting a boat in such a predicament in choppy seas is clearly shown by the photographs. KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 It has been a steep learning curve for our new president Peter Garman but he is well supported by a dedicated band of volunteers and the accumulated wisdom and experience of former president Roger Davies. Roger has remained with the unit and continued to be one of the very valuable skippers and a key member of the unit. KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 The story has a happy ending because the man who ended up in the water was found just in time, and he then received treatment for hypothermia aboard Kawau Rescue, and by a paramedic dropped in by the Westpac rescue helicopter. Coastguard are currently encouraging increased membership by developing different levels of membership which can suit everyone, so that everyone can be safe at sea. We repeat the old mantra … put on your life jacket and have an efficient reliable means of communication. Make a trip report and let someone know where you are intending to go. Further information about memberships can be found on www.coastguard.org.nz. For any potential volunteers or enquiries about Coastguard Kawau itself, call our president Peter Garman on 021 921 174. 61 Harbourmaster Report Angela Bedford We would like to highly commend on the growth of people wearing life jackets. This is great stuff and with drownings at 30 (37 this time last year!) so far this year, there is a big light on this topic. And they aren’t as ugly as they use to be ;) With winter slowly approaching it is a good time to be checking head ropes for any chaffing, wear and tear, putting covers or plastic tubes back over the fairleads and looking over how ropes are tied up, sails etc. needs any changes in vessels, or if you have any detail changes. What an unfortunate shame that the powerboats won’t be coming to Kawau Bay. But as more and more events come up these ways I’m sure we will be host to a lot of exciting things in the future. Moorings are getting slowly caught up on, with Kawau and Omaha areas still to go. When any mooring service providers are known to us to be going into these areas, we will be calling to make sure you a booked in. Please let us know at any stage if there are any problems i.e. another boat that is too close or if your mooring On a side note: if anyone can donate some small plants for the Sandspit Wharf planter box, can they please leave them at our Office so we can give it a little spruce up. The Harbourmaster team talking some “serious talk” with two errant jet skiers in the uusually peaceful but busy waters around Sandspit Wharf. 62 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 Yet another Beaumont Wharf catastrophe. Max Edkins held some sort of unfortunate record for the number of times he had to retrieve his boat from the sea bed......but his legacy seems to live on. Here Harry Verney’s is barge called in to do another lift. It is always a sad thing to see....always a sad reminder to be careful. MANSION HOUSE CAFE Open 7 Days to March 31 10am to 4 pm Now Stocking OOB Organic Icecream Private Functions Weddings by arrangement Phone Cafe 09 425 8006 or Maree 021 159 5596 Email: [email protected] KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 63 LegaSea For a fully comprehensive range of Building Supplies Contact.... Scott Macindoe boats were out in the Gulf carrying about 7700 fishers. It is this type of misinformation, the incoherent consultation document and vague answers from officials that leaves us wondering what to believe and questioning the real motive behind this process. A New Marine Protected Areas Act A marine protected area is coming to a place near you if you live in a coastal community or fish in the sea. New legislation has been proposed and is expected back in parliament in late 2016. The Government proposes four types of MPAs variously managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), Ministry for the Environment and Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). The proposed MPAs are marine reserves, species-specific sanctuaries, seabed reserves and recreational fishing parks (one in the Hauraki Gulf the other in the Marlborough Sounds) Recreational fishers need to be cautious in their support for recreational fishing parks because there will be trade-offs and strings attached. The proposal document it states that there is increasing tension between fishers and that on a good day in the Hauraki Gulf there are 6900 vessels carrying 21,000 fishers. However, MPI reports fishing participation is dropping and that recreational snapper catch in the Gulf has reduced by more than 50% since 2011-12. Bruce Hartill, NIWA’s Group Manager and fisheries scientist, has been researching recreational catch in the Gulf for decades. He reports that the most popular fishing day on record is when an estimated 3200 64 Another question is how will these parks be funded? We have already been told that DOC’s compliance budget can be blown in a matter of weeks so we can’t expect too much from that Department. And we already know from experience how stretched the fisheries budget is. There is no indication that any new money will be available after these parks are established. Maybe the public will be expected to volunteer their time and effort to manage and monitor fishing activity in both the Gulf and Marlborough Sounds. An advisory group will be established for each recreational fishing park. Group members will be drawn from commercial and recreational fishing, environmental, iwi, science, and community interests. They would be tasked with providing advice to the Minister on what is occurring in the park. Our concern is that this would create another barrier between the public and the Minister responsible for providing abundant fisheries and protecting our rights and fishing interests. Adding to these issues is the proposal that selfreporting will be mandatory. All recreational fishers in the parks will need to report their daily catch, electronically. We already know that self-reporting is not an effective way to gather reliable data to determine annual harvest estimates so there must be another agenda underpinning this whole process. What that agenda is, is anyone’s guess. KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 Suppliers of: Timber Mouldings Precuts/prenails Trusses Retaining timber Fencing Poles Trellis Home appliances General hardware Power & hand tools Generators Garden sheds Clotheslines Premixed concrete products 5RR¿QJ Steel Gib board Prehung doors & hardware Particle board Custom wood Insulation & building papers Plywood Hardie sheets Hardie weatherboards Plumbing Drainage Paint Friendly, knowledgeable staff Free quotes WE SPECIALISE IN KAWAU ISLAND NEEDS State Highway 1, 1km north of Warkworth Ph: (09) 425 1021 Fax: (09) 425 8787 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 65 Kawau Boating Club chines and a new drier. French doors have been added to the library area which not only makes access to the courtyard easier but also has brightened up the whole inside of the Club. The Committee We’ve had a long hot February and March to make up for the rainy start to the summer. Despite the weather it has been a good season for the KBC with many new faces joining the familiar ones. Word certainly has got out about this special part of the Hauraki Gulf! Many visitors joined on the spot, feeling that they would like to be a part of this unique coastal Boat Club. Discussions are taking place now on how to best use the $10,000 grant provided by the Rodney Local Board to upgrade the ablution block. We have also had a great rate of renewals. Don’t forget if you have joined up online then your new card (with your new unique number) is available for pick up at the Club. This card will be your annual card and will enable you to swipe for your diesel/petrol discounts and bar discounts so make sure you pick it up and bring it with you each visit. What’s been happening.... lights and decorations made the Club a cosy welcoming place. New Year’s Eve was again wet and windy. Still it turned out to be the best party ever with the ever popular Take Note Duo livening the evening. More than 150 guests were up and dancing until the wee small hours! Take Note Duo is already booked for next New Year’s Eve bash. Christmas week was rather wet but Christmas Bon Accord Bar Robyn and Davo have created the ‘Bon Accord Bar’ under the pohutukawa tree and around the far end of the courtyard area. Groups of up to 60 can be catered for in this area. Live music, cold tap beer and wine will be available here. Keep an eye on Facebook for dates and times. St Ayles Skiffs One of the highlights of the summer was the arrival of the St Ayles Skiffs (NZ Coastal Rowing) – what a magnificent sight! Seven beautiful skiffs pulled up on Lidgard lawn. Mike Mahoney of Sandspit, assisted with the creation of these boats and organised the first ”Raid” or traditional rowing skiff expedition of the Hauraki Gulf. KBC catered for the 27 participants – mostly from Tasmania –providing breakfasts, dinners and daily take out lunches. 66 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 Auckland Anniversary Weekend was yet another wet one but with the Sandspit Yacht Club regulars celebrating their Anniversary Weekend racing and Kawau Boating Club hosting one of only three Anniversary Day Passage Race starting lines it was a huge night at the Club. Anniversary Day the kitchen was open early with 8am breakfasts for the Auckland Anniversary Regatta starters. Eleven boats were on the starting line. Though KBC does not, at this time, own a set of signal flags, the starters didn’t seem to find any problem with the definitely oddball flags which were substituted. We are pleased the Auckland Anniversary Regatta Committee agreed to return this event to the KBC. Hopefully this will become a regular event. Robyn’s morning sales of baking products are proving popular with folks who come in to get newspapers or coffee. For those of you who would like to have a half or dozen cheese or date scones, savoury muffins, cookies or focaccias to take back to your boat, place an order the previous day. Robyn also has added a 730cm Paella Dish for use with big crowds. And Curry Nights which were popular last year, will commence on Thursday March 3. Call now - 09 422 8845 to book your table. Robyn says Goat Shank Curry will definitely be on the menu! The resource consents necessary to build a deck to improve the area in front of the library are being prepared and ideas as to how to improve the library area so it will continue to grow as a community library play, area for kids and memorabilia room are being explored. The RNZYS has built a children’s play area on the Lidgard Lawn which is available to KBC members. Changes to the Committee David Innes, one of the very important founding members of the KBC has stepped down due to his desire to enjoy the new-to-him boat he just purchased. David spent countless hours negotiating for the creation of the Club then working on membership and accounting. He is due a vote of thanks from everyone who enjoys being part of the KBC. The constitution of the Club allows for combining the role of Secretary and Treasurer. Thus it is not imperative that someone be appointed to fill David’s position. But, to future proof the KBC and insure it continues to thrive as others on the committee seek to retire, we hope a few among you will consider stepping up for a role within the Club. Physical changes to the Club Besides the improvements to the kitchen and bar area carried out last winter, your dues have been used to purchase two new washing maKOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 67 68 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 69 Argentine Ants Success Lyn Hume and it is tough going - we know how steep it is. Jeff talks about almost breaking people the first year. You will be encouraged to know that at the last Vivian Bay visit by two members of the “ANTS” team in January they checked out all the sites previously identified and no argentine ants were to be seen. e. And of course Jeff Cook, Brian Shields and Rhys Jones – this is what passion and commitment really looks like. It’s been a pleasure and an honour to have you guys in the Bay. There could be one of several reasons for this: 4. Lyn Hume – who could ask for more – total commitment, host, coordinator, accommodation and strong backbone to the relationship we have forged with Auckland Council Biosecurity – I could go on. * we have managed to wipe them all out * the weather was too hot when they were here * they missed new colonies which have spread out away from our poison. Our hope is that the first option is the correct one. Now however we need to enlist the further cooperation and involvement of every property owner in Vivian Bay to check your own properties, particularly your water pipelines and path log edges as these are the areas the ants favour for trailing/moving along, before the team make a visit just after Easter. As you know a huge amount of time, effort and money has been poured into this project to try and clean out our area. I can supply by email altogether three ants’ nests charts so you can see for yourselves how the ants have been eradicated in some places and sprung up in others. For the December 2015 map you can increase the size when you look at it and see if you had nests on your property in December - those property owners particularly please do a personal check by the end of Easter. Please all come back to me and let me know when you have done your check and also don’t forget to mark any sites found. Both David Kingston and I have product which you can use straight away to stop the ants trailing any further before the team arrive. 70 If you have any doubts about what we were close to experiencing and still could experience without total community involvement, PLEASE check out the following, note the dates of the articles, the need for total community involvement and know that they still haven’t got rid of them to date. Also you could go online and check out what is currently happening in Taranaki. 5. Ron Patrick – made the logistics possible. Has generously made available his shed for storage, vehicle to break the back of the heavy lifting and as much water as the project has needed. Nailed the weeds on the driveway making it possible for real access to control the Argies. 6. David Kingston – tireless enthusiasm and resident networker. Distributing the insecticide and pumps. This is a magnificent achievement for Vivian Bay and has also set up a model for other communities on mainland New Zealand. Credits list compiled by Scott Macindoe: 1. Key Industries – Frank and Peter Visser have given freely of their technical advice, heaps of staff time contribution and generous food and beverage support for the volunteers. 4 people x 9 visits x 8 hours x three days = 800 hours - WOW 2. UNITEC – Diane Fraser and her team who have made 9 three day visits over three years with three people per visit = 650 hours on the ground, doing the business – cheers UNITEC and students 3. Auckland Council for a. The bait. b. The transport and ferry fares for all the volunteers, staff and gear. c. Health and Safety equipment. d. 8 people x 9 visits x three days x 8 hours = 1500 hours of professional input – KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 71 Guess Who’s Coming To Stay... Yes, you’re right. The Two Jens. Beautiful features of the Island “smart set”, they have relinquished their mainland Ministry of Education roles and as of March 31 take up new roles as Schoolhouse Bay icons. Pictured here at “Music in the Gardens” a few weeks ago, The Two Jens will add their joy and vivacity full-time to our already-splendid Kawau community. ANZAC DAY There will be an ANZAC Day commemorative ceremony held at Kawau Boating Club on 25 April at 12.30pm (to fit with ferry times). All welcome to attend, and all are invited to join others at KBC for refreshments following the ceremony. 72 MOORINGS • Installed • Serviced • Lifted • Inspected • Repaired Based at Sandspit RDC registered RODNEY MOORING MAINTENANCE Phone Harry 423 0389 or 027 490 9299 Fax 422 9904 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 73 74 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 75 KIRRA Minutes November Helen Jeffery MINUTES OF THE KIRRA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING held Wednesday November 2015, Ponsonby Yacht Club, Westhaven PRESENT: Colin Bright, Helen Jeffery, Peter Buckton, Shelley Futcher, Pam Dallow, Cath Bryne, Simon Pirie, Michael Marris, Lin Pardey APOLOGIES: Les Mellars, Alan Marshall, Ian Henderson, Greg Sayers, Beth Houlbrooke MINUTES OF LAST MEETING: Minutes had been circulated it was moved by Peter Buckton and seconded by Pam Dallow that they are true and correct. CORRESPONDENCE: Inwards: Emails: Amanda Peart, Auckland Council re Pest Mgt discussion document, everyone needs to put in comments before 27th November 2015. They can help the Island especially with noxious weed control. Outgoing: nothing outgoing TREASURER’S REPORT: financials were presented. The financials were moved by Colin and seconded by Simon, carried by all present. ADVISORY COMMITTEE UPDATE: Lin P (KIAC) reported to the meeting: Precinct Plan – Lin has spoken with the Zakara Investments planner and they are interested in what our actions are regarding the Precinct Plan and happy to help to share information. Lin has been provided with a list of requirement, it’s good that they are happy to engage with KIAC. Question was asked – does our Precinct Plan 76 trump overlays? Michael to follow up with funding idea. With regards to the Mooring Zones, all evidence needs to be put in by December, we are waiting to see what Auckland Council puts forward before we do ours. MOU – meeting adjourned until late January 2016. Local Board meeting on the Island also put off until 2016. Lin has been informed that the Rodney Local Board has granted the Kawau Boat Club $10k to upgrade toilet and shower facilities and also OPAK have received $3k towards “Music in the Gardens” entertainment costs GENERAL BUSINESS: Kookaburra: Kookaburra cost per magazine is $2.20 per issue without bulk discount. Editor preparing for the summer issue, copy due end of November. David Faulls will courier completed copy of magazine to the Island and Alan and Helen to do labels and organise postage. Database & Membership – update complete until its time to send out subscriptions in the New Year. Helen to take over the membership role and work with Alan with invoicing. Sunny Bay – a programme was aired on “Story” about Sunny Bay and featured Piers Barney. Colin continues to do further research into the background of Sunny Bay, and he will talk with the Pinky bach owners. So far he has not found any conditions, there has been an Iwi notification on the title for the past two years. KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 Ray Weaver – memorial service and memorial bench to be discussed at next meeting, once woodworkers have been approached. Sandspit Carpark – after many phone calls and letters being sent both ways, Lin has received the latest draft from Auckland Transport. The wording Kawau Island Residents & Ratepayers needs to be put back into the draft, they also proposed an increase in yearly car park price to $320, discounted day rate during winter months, increase in daily rate to $12 during the busy months. Lin is determined that we keep fighting until they come up with a reasonable plan. Another meeting to take place next week between AT, Lin P, Lynne Hume and Michael Marris. We await the outcome. Meeting closed at 6.55pm. Next meeting will be our Xmas function at The Beach House on Saturday 12th December 11.00am. KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 77 KIRRA Minutes - February Helen Jeffery DRAFT MINUTES OF THE KIRRA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING Held Wednesday 17th February 2016 at the Ponsonby Yacht Club, Westhaven PRESENT: Gael Archer, Colin Bright, Helen Jeffery, Peter Buckton, Shelley Futcher, Pam Dallow, Cath Bryne, Simon Pirie, Les Mellars, Alan Marshall, Michael Marris, APOLOGIES: Lin Pardey Ian Henderson, Greg Sayer, Beth Houlbrooke MINUTES OF LAST MEETING: Minutes had been circulated it was moved by Shelley Futcher and seconded by Pam Dallow that they are true and correct. CORRESPONDENCE: Inwards: Emails: Company’s Office re-late return, asked for extension and all okay for end of March; letter re-KIRRA mooring. Outgoing: nothing outgoing. TREASURER’S REPORT: financials were presented. The financials were moved by Colin and seconded by Simon, carried by all present. Much appreciation from the committee to Ian Henderson for the great rates he has achieved over the year on our term deposits. Sinclair and the late Ray Weaver have put into this project over the past few years, Kawau Island will be forever in their debt. They made the Commissioners listen to them and for that we are forever grateful plus a few other people who don’t wish to be named, much thanks and appreciation from all KIRRA members. GENERAL BUSINESS: ADVISORY COMMITTEE UPDATE: Lin P (KIAC) was unable to attend but she reported to the meeting: Mooring Zones – Lin, Lyn H, Steve Hoyle and Michael M will attend the final hearing for mooring zones on the 23rd February, not sure how this will go, Auckland Yacht & Boating Association seem to have a lot of clout and they want the zones around Kawau changed. This will affect North Cove, Swansea, Schoolhouse Bay. MOU – Michael Marris has developed an MOU and presentation will be made to the Local Board in March 2016. PAUP – there is another hearing in March and feedback from Auckland Council is that it has been improved for Kawau Island, its sitting exactly how we wanted, just a few minor details to be sorted. All KIRRA members need to understand the value of the huge amount of work that the team, Lin P, Lin H, Michael M, John Kookaburra: next issue due out mid-March. Alan and team will get together to put in envelopes and post. KIRRA Website Upgrade: it was moved by Les and seconded by Gael that the committee supports an upgrade to the website and Helen to arrange with Design Solutionz who have kindly given us a super cheap rate. Sunny Bay – Colin continues to do further research into the background of Sunny Bay, and nothing has been found on the titles as to how the land was to be used by DOC. The Iwi notification has been on the title since 2013 subject to a compensation treaty claim – similar to a caveat. The committee authorized Colin to write to Maggi Barry, DOC minister and make an official information request on behalf of KIRRA that any decisions made to compensate for the use of Sunny Bay for compensation for treaty claims, for us to be kept informed. Colin to bill KIRRA for costs. Moved by Alan, seconded by Simon, carried. Meanwhile Pam to investigate the Lidgard connection and report to Colin. Kookaburra to remind people and also remind people that there are bait stations around for possums. Ray Weaver – memorial service and memorial bench – wood workers have been approached and they have a stock of pohutukawa available – this needs to be completed by Ray’s anniversary date. Michael to follow up. Sandspit Carpark – the carpark seems to have worked well over the busy summer period, but one huge negative is that it shuts at 4.30pm and there is nobody in the office or around when the machine breaks down, which is quite frequently. There is a possibility that someone could purchase the carpark but if this was to happen, KIRRA needs to manage it. Auckland Transport are still looking at several changes, so even though it was a great outcome the saga continues on into 2016. We have asked Ross Derecourt to attend the AGM on the 5th March 2016, Michael M to follow up and see if he is still available. AGM Preparation – apart from Cath Bryne who is standing down due to work commitments, the remainder of the committee are happy to stand again. We do need 2-3 new embers and discussion took place on who to approach, hopefully we will have some success. Meeting closed at 7.45pm. Next meeting will be the AGM on Saturday 5th March commencing 9.30am. Pest Management Strategy – no one on committee put in any comments but discussion took place about dogs running free around the Island, some residents just don’t care about keeping their dogs restrained within their properties. The law is that a dog should be kept within their owners’ property and on a lead outside the property. An article to go in 78 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 79 Kookaburra Advertisers Please support our Kookaburra advertisers as they support the Kookaburra. Have a look through our directory...you’ll be pleased with what you find! Note that businesses followed by a * have a larger space advertisement elsewhere in the magazine. Advertising prices for each issue of Kookaburra: full page $60; half page $40; quarter page $30; all include a listing in this index. A three-line listing in the advertisers’ index for a year (4 issues) is $40. ACCOMMODATION THE BEACH HOUSE* • Lodge • Licensed restaurant • Wedding and function venue • Conference room • Degustation menu • Katie & Zeyn • 422 8850 BARGE HIRE KAWAU WHARF & MOORINGS* • Freight • Moorings • Rubbish removal • New specialist barge for wharf & jetty maintenance • Ph Chris Garner 021 424 151 or 422 2657 BUILDING SUPPLIES & TIMBER FARM & LIFESTYLE CENTRE* • Extrensive range of Island essentials • Locally owned • Peter and his team • 2-4 Morrison Dr • Ph 09 425 7754 • www.farmandlifestylecentre.co.nz ALBANY TIMBER DISTRIBUTORS Ltd* • Timber • Precuts • Prenails • Trusses • Hardware • Free quotes • Bush Road Albany • Ph 09 415 6889 • Fax 09 415 6661 CARTERS BUILDING SUPPLIES* Main Road Warkworth • If you’re serious about saving! • Ph 425 7879 • Fax 425 7445 • www.carters.co.nz 80 TIMBERWORLD* Timber • Precut/Prenails • Trusses • Panel products • Hardware & fencing • Everything you need • Delivery to Sandspit Wharf • Ph 425 8511 • Fax 425 8787 DIGGER HIRE KAWAU EARTHMOVERS* • North Cove based • 16 years experience • Diggers (2) • Bobcat • Tractor & trailer • Paul or Kerry Jellick • 027 365 7002 • 027 333 3840 ELECTRCIANS ACI ELECTRICAL SERVICES* • House work • water pumps • boat wiring • break downs • emergency plumbing • “we will have a crack at anything” • Contact Bob 0274 968 799 or 09 424 3199 AUTEC AUTO ELECTRICAL* • Marine electrical parts & service • Lights • Switches • Starters • 27 Glenmore Dr • Ph 425 7969 • Mob 027 220 7006 • Open most Sats 9 - 12 WARKWORTH AUTOELECTRICAL* • 2 Gumfield Dr • Commercial • Marine • Air Con • Benny 09 422 2162 • 0275 720 457 • E: warkworthautoelectrical@gmail. com ENGINEERS, CONSULTING ASHBY ENGINEERS* • Building site inspections • Wharf calculations and designs • Sewage disposal systems • 3 Elizabeth St Warkworth • Ph 425 9422 • Fax 425 9431 • 029 94 96 949 FERRY SERVICES JOHNNY’S WATER TAXI* • Comfortable safe transport • Licensed for 27 pax • MSA KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 Surveryed • Personal luggage free (within reason) • Children uner 5 free • Charters available • Ph 021 422 173 KAWAU CRUISES* • Ferry and water taxis • Concession tickets • Generous domestic freight policy • Safe and comfortable • Free tea and coffee at Office • After hours service • Ph 0800 111 616 KAWAU ISLAND EXPERIENCE • Fast, efficient service on demand • Licensed for 16 passengers • Freight free • MSA Surveyed • Dave Jeffery • Ph 021 951038 FREIGHT & BARGE SERVICE KAWAU WHARF & MOORINGS LTD* 20 ton cap. • Nothing too large or small • MV Hokomai • Retaining & sea walls • Septic tank cleaning • Ph 422 2657 • 021 424 151 MOORINGS & MARINE* • Moorings • Barge Hire • Pontoons/Jetties • Freight • Wharf Repairs • Call on 027 414 6766 • 0508MOORINGS • www.mooringsandmarine.co.nz HANDYMAN SERVICES PROPERTY MAINTENANCE* • House cleaning • Windows • Lawns • Gutters • Firewood • General labouring • Reasonable rates • Paul 021 0269 2413 HELICOPTERS SKYWORK HELICOPTERS* • Lifting to heli-fishing • Specialist in local area • Ask about our sightseeing tours • Ph 422 7018 • Fax 422 7064 KITSET BUILDINGS IDEAL BUILDINGS* • Kitset sleepouts, cottages and garden sheds • Ideally configured for Kawau environment • Other building projects also available • Contact Rosemary Scofield 09 422 8963 or 027 210 3535 email: [email protected] MARINE BROKERS GARDENING SUPPLIES MAHURANGI MARINE* • Honda Marine, Yanmar, Briggs & Station • Batteries • Marine stereos & fish finders • Chainsaws • Sales and service • Ph 425 5806 • Fax 425 5817 MITRE 10 GARDEN CENTRE* • Landscaping supplies • Garden centre • Great selection of plants • Paving supplies • Compost • Trade Department • Cnr Woodcocks Road & Mansel Drive Warkworth • Ph 425 8119 WESTHAVEN MARINE BROKERS Ltd* • Catherine Wenzel • Top quality expertise • Full inventory of boats • Pier J Westhaven Marina • 09 376 0102 • [email protected] • www.westhavenmarinebrokers.co.nz GIFTS AND ACCESSORIES MOORINGS NOT JUST HATS* • 17-19 Queen St Warkworth • Great seasonal selection • New location • Large range of hats & accessories • Open 6 days • Contact Rae • Ph 025 9516 • times to suit Island residents MOORINGS & MARINE* • Moorings • Barge Hire • Pontoons and Jetties • Freight • Wharf Repairs • Ph: 027 414 6766 • 0508MOORINGS • www.mooringsandmarine.co.nz KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 81 RODNEY MOORING MAINTENANCE* Moorings lifted • Inspected • Serviced • Repaired • RDC Registered • Dedicated barge • Freight • Call Harry Verney • Ph 423 0389 • 0274 909 299 • Fax 422 9904 MOTORCYCLES, CHAINSAWS WARKWORTH MOTORCYCLES & MACHINERY* • Chainsaws • Mules • Brush cutters, Quads & trailers • Whittaker Rd Warkworth • Ph 425 8535 • Fax 425 9118 PETROL WILMOT MOTORS* • Shell petrol • Open 7 Days • Husqvarna chainsaws • NZ Courier agent • Toyota dealer • Top of Mill Lane Warkworth • Ph 425 8439 • Fax 425 7631 • www.wilmot.co.nz PLUMBING LASER PLUMBING* • Greg Jones • Warkworth • Drain layer • Plumbing • Gas fitting • Septic Tanks • Water pumps & Filter Systems • Ph 09 422 9051 REAL ESTATE DAVE JEFFERY* • LJ Hookers Warkworth • Kawau Island specialist • Best listing selection • Phone 021951038 • djeff[email protected] EQ HOMES* • Investment • Retirement • Holiday • Family • A new home to love • look at Moore’s Bay opportunities • 0800 4EQHOMES • www.eqgroup.co.nz KAT CARTER* • Tandem Realty Warkworth • Kawau property owner • Ph: 021 222 8781 • E: [email protected] • Excellent local knowledge • SEPTIC TANK CLEANING See ‘Freight’ listing - Kawau Wharf & Moorings* 82 SEPTIC TANK INSTALLATION BIOLYTIX Sewage System* • Local agent Greg Jones • Warkworth • Biolytix Wastewater & Sewage system • Built to last • No expensive aerators • Chemical Free • Ph 422 9051 JETHOME* • Sewage Treatment Plant* • Aerated sewage system • Environmwentally friendly • Installed in NZ for over 25 years • Fibreglass option available • Ph 09 415 1538 • www.jetwaste.co.nz SUPERMARKETS NEW WORLD WARKWORTH* • Great range of products for every occasion • Percy St • Undercover parking • Open 7 days • 8 am – 8pm • Ph 425 1040 TIMBER SEE BUILDING SUPPLIES & TIMBER UPHOLSTERY LAVERS UPHOLSTERY* • Snells Beach • Boat covers and canopies • Shade sails • Biminis • All types of furniture • Free Quotes • 331 Mahurangi East Rd • 09 425 5659 or 021 023 557 28 WATER SYSTEMS SPLASH WATER SPECIALISTS* • Sales & service - Filtration • Pumps • Hoses & fittings • Water tanks • Water blasters • Spas & pools •31 Woodcocks Rd Warkworth • Ph/Fax 425 9100 Fast efficient service • Ph 0800 111 616 • 425 8006 WHARF CONSTRUCTION HALLETT Enterprises Ltd* • Wharf construction, repairs, inspections & maintenance • Digger hire • Site works • Mark Hallett • Ph 021 957 019 • E: hallettent@ xtra.co.nz KAWAU WHARF & MOORINGS* • All wharf maintenance and construction • Mooring lifting, • Inspection and repairs • Pile driving • Freight • New operator • Mark Phillips • 021 424 151 WINERIES RANSOM WINES* • Call in or phone en route to the Island • We deliver to Sandspit 6+ bottles • Open Tuesday - Sunday 10am to 5pm • Valerie Close Warkworth (5km south of town) Ph 425 8862 • E: [email protected] Please support our Kookaburra advertisers as they support the Kookaburra. Have a look through our directory...these advertisers recognise and understand the unique characteristics of Kawau Island. KIRRA MEETINGS 2016 SATURDAY 5th MARCH 9.30AM KAWAU ISLAND AGM SATURDAY 23rd APRIL 9.30AM KAWAU ISLAND Shelley Futcher’s, Stockyard Bay WEDNESDAY 22nd JUNE 5.30PM PONSONBY YACHT CLUB, WESTHAVEN SATURDAY 20th AUGUST 9.30AM KAWAU ISLAND Shelley Futcher’s, Stockyard Bay WEDNESDAY 12th OCTOBER 5.30PM PONSONBY YACHT CLUB, WESTHAVEN *SATURDAY 10th DECEMBER 9.30AM *(set AGM at this meeting) KAWAU ISLAND TBA WATER TAXI SERVICE * KAWAU WATER TAXIS* • Sandspit – Kawau & beyond • Reasonable rates • Surveyed vessels • Qualified skippers • KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 KOOKABURRA Autumn 2016 83 Contributors to this Issue of Kookaburra Editor: Michael Marris Cover Design: Rosemary Scofield Photography: Patria Hume, Grant Whitehouse, Elise Harper, Lin Pardey, Peter & Erin Hyde, Gabrielle Wilson, David Faulls, Alan Marshall, Gabrielle Wilson, Alison Fowler, Sue Stoddart, Michael Marris, Gavin Brunton Our Contributors: Cynthia Archer, Alison Fowler, Sue Stoddart, Carmen Miranda II, John Adams, Chic Vercoe,Patria Hume, Alan Marshall, Angela Bedford, Andrew Fyfe, Ross West, Fay Richardson, Lyn Hume, Graeme Kearney, Andrew Stone, Helen Jeffery, Lin Pardey, Lois Broom, Scott Macindoe, Peter & Erin Hyde, Pam Dallow, Dave Jeffery, Gavin Brunton, Ruth MacClement, Stephen Hudson, Helen Jeffery, Michael Marris Printed by: ExPress Communications Ltd Next Issue: 15 June 2016 Emergency Numbers FIRE CIVIL DEFENCE Martin Duytshoff ST JOHN AMBULANCE Non-Urgent HEALTHLINE (24 hours) POLICE Warkworth COASTGUARD Auckland FAULTS MEDICAL AUCKLAND COUNCIL SANDSPIT WHARF SANDSPIT CAR PARK MANSION HOUSE KAWAU KAT BOOKINGS WARKWORTH TAXI WARKWORTH INFORMATION CENTRE RODNEY MOORINGS CAMP BENTZON 111 (Service will alert DOC & Rural Fire and will activate the siren) 021 041 7868 111 Kawau Island First Response 0800 4 AMBULANCE (0800 426 285) 0800 611 116 425 8109 09 303 1303 Power 0800 200 444 Telecom 120 Warkworth Medical Centre 425 1199 Kowhai Surgery 425 7358 Mahurangi Medical 425 5055 Kowhai Coast 425 6666 09 301 0101 425 7315 425 7039 422 8882 425 8006 425 0000 425 9081 0274 909 299 422 8807 $*(176)25 We know you don’t like talking about it .... but every household needs a wastewater solution Biolytix is Autralasia’s Most Awarded Sewage System Built to last .... No expensive aerators to UXQ¿[RUUHSODFH No regular pump-outs and RQO\RQHDQQXDOVHUYLFH User friendly .... 7UHDWVNLWFKHQZDVWH Is silent and odourless The most environmentally responsible .... 8VHVOHVVHOHFWULFLW\ &KHPLFDOIUHHRSHUDWLRQ 3URGXFHVDOPRVWQRPHWKDQHRU&22 And all this while watering your garden. Phone 09 422 9051