Our Community in 'Lockdown'
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April-May 2020 The Greenie This magazine is produced by the Waiau Pa & Clarks Beach Business Association Inc. www.theGreenie.co.nz Our community in ‘lockdown’ A huge vote of thanks to the Leckner family and their teams at WAIAU PA FOUR SQUARE and GAS WAIAU PA and to the CLARKS BEACH DAIRY for supporting this community through the Covid-19 Lockdown. Thanks also to the ESSENTIAL WORKERS of our district . You have all been amazing! 1 & CLAR PA KS U B Waiau Pa & Clarks Beach Business Association A EA I C A H W The Greenie B . U C S N IN I Keeping our community informed E N SS IO ASSOCIAT Become a member for $50 and enjoy the benefits Free monthly listing Discounted advertising rate One-off business profile Permanent profile on the website To join the Business Association go to the website: www.theGreenie.co.nz and fill out the online member application form. Submit this and you will be contacted by a committee member. Deadline for the April 2020 issue by 20th March Contact: [email protected] Free notices for “non-profit” community groups Personalised adverts 50 cents a word, maximum 20 words 2020 Business Association Committee Chairman: Graham Guy 027 477 1176 Secretary: Michele Mathieson 027 486 3738 Treasurer: Felicity Reber 022 089 6057 Greenie: Megan Allan 027 279 1128 Website: Kimberley Cameron 021 201 0001 Jim Jackson 027 473 0226 Kylie Eltham 027 201 6383 Bonnie Reid 021 222 0963 In this issue New member profile - Nest Zest - p3 Anzac day in Waiau Pa & Clarks Beach - p4 & 5 Congratulations to Kirsty Powell & Carol Sturm - p6 First AIS on Manukau Harbour - p 7 Electric ferries on our harbour - p8 Economic analysis of the impact of Covid-19 - p9 Memories of Clarks Beach [Part 2]- p12 & 13 Lockdown reminiscing - p19 Ann Andrews - a prolific writer of diverse topics - p20 & 21 One person’s discard, someone else’s treasure - p23 Girl guides go virtual in new normal - p 24 Play & Learn Clarks Beach - p25 Thanks as always to our regular contributors 2 New member profile NEST ZEST With a Zest for your Nest From household cleaning (carpet and upholstery), mattress sanitising, to waterblasting, lawn mulch mowing and more. Ask and we can assist you! We also have firewood available and can deliver. Contact Angela Burrill on 027 472 1706 or [email protected] The lighter moments of Lockdown There were so many beautiful teddies on display in Clarks Beach but the ultimate prize for originality goes to ‘Taihiki Teddy’. These are just a few of Taihiki Teddy’s poses during the weeks of Lockdown Level 4.. 3 LEST WE FORGET Anzac Day 2020 We made poppies at home, we baked Anzac biscuits, we polished our war hero’s medals and we Stood at Dawn . Anzac Day (25th April) is one of the most important national occasions for New Zealanders. In 2020, for the first time in history, Anzac Day services were cancelled in New Zealand, due to Covid-19. Even though public services did not go ahead the tradition of commemorating our veterans and service personnel went ahead, as people “Stood at Dawn” at their gateways and in their drive- ways, to commemorate our country’s military heros. Locally there were renditions of the Dawn Service broadcast in the streets; including the Last Post, an Ode of Remembrance in Te Reo and English, the national anthems of New Zealand and Australia, followed by an address by Hon. Ron Mark, Minister of Defence / Minister for Veterans. We even heard a recording of highland bagpipes being played. This was a time to respect and acknowledge the many thousands of military people who have served or are serving, to support New Zealand in times of war, conflict and disasters. As the commemoration ended and the sun came up we were treated to a brilliant sunrise - a fitting end to the 2020 Anzac Day Dawn Service. 4 Poppies galore in Waiau Pa-Clarks Beach 2020 will go down in history as the year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Equally it will be remembered that we were unable to commemorate Anzac Day as we traditionally have. In WPCB we got creative with poppies - the traditional symbol of Anzac. Even though the RSA poppy day was not allowed, donations could be, and were, made online. We acknowledged our fallen heroes as all around our district poppies sprung up on fences, on gates, and walls. They were added to Anzac biscuits as gifts - paint- ed poppies and knitted poppies appeared! There was even a giant poppy made from shells collect- ed on Clarks Beach which made its appearance at 6am on Anzac morning. What a wonderful opportunity we had to do something different for Anzac Day this year! 5 Congratulations Kirsty on your literary accolade! Author Kirsty Powell, who published her first novel in October 2019 - “The Strength of Eggshells” (story in Dec 2019 Greenie) achieved incredible success recently when she was presented with the prestigious NZ Book Lovers Award 2020. Congratulations Kirsty from the WPCB commu- nity. The Strength of Eggshells is in a bookshop near you now. It is also available directly from the publisher Cloud Ink Press Ltd. Star employee Carol Sturm at GAS Waiau Pa “Excellent customer service and would always give her extra mile.” Those words are how customers would describe Store Manager Carol Sturm over at GAS Waiau Pa. She always greets you with a smile on her beautiful face and offers the sort of help that makes your customer experience one of a kind. The locals call her Miss Sunshine because she has a way of making you feel happy after visiting GAS Waiau Pamela Molloy: “ Pa. No matter how stressful or how long her day Since Carol started working at GAS Waiau Pa, I have certainly noticed a is you can count on Carol to provide the same lot of changes in the shop. Beautiful morning positive, vibrant customer experience because greetings, always smiling. Carol is extremely that is just simply, how she is. Next time you go devoted to her job, constantly updating the on your way to deep South Auckland, make sure locals on any promotions, updates on local ac- you stop by and say hello to Carol. tivities while promoting GAS at the same time. Every person I know, local or not, comments on her cheerful nature. My husband and son Some testimonials from Carol’s customers: drop in every morning to say hi to Carol. I Tracey Majurey: “My early morning vists at would guarantee if you pulled in, Carol would Gasoline Alley Waiau Pa have recently be- be there with a smile asking what she could come a delight when met by a bubbly smiley, do to help and would go above and beyond delight of a woman who’s always ready to if you need more than fuel. Carol makes you help. Whether they are flowers, souvenirs feel so welcome sometimes she is making or fuel, not only does Carol fill your vehicle bouquets of flowers if you look stressed or but your soul with have a feel-good vibe that tired, she will always prop you up with a small lasts the whole day. Carol is a breath of fresh flower which in turn makes you smile. Carol air always ready to offer advice or a helping makes GAS feel warm and welcoming. So hand. “ thank you Carol, and congratulations for being noticed as you are amazing.” 6 The first AIS station on the Manukau Harbour By Robyn Pearce There are times in any boatie’s experience reational ones, is safety. This applies in a when it’s helpful for others to know where number of ways. you are, or for you to know what other boat traffic is nearby. By installing an Automatic 1. Any vessels equipped with transponders Identification System (AIS) on your vessel, can see each other, the size, the speed, the you will increase your boating safety. destination, and all manner of other infor- mation. At night, in bad weather or fog, this However, a vital element in the system is to is very helpful have reliable receiving stations, and until . very recently we had none around the Ma- 2. You can now get smaller devices to attach nukau Harbour, with the exception of around to life vests or life rafts. If you’ve ever tried Cornwallis and a small reach at the Port to pick up a Man Overboard in rough seas, of Onehunga. However, that has recently you’ll know how hard it is to see a person in changed. Thanks to a community-minded the water. family on Torkar Road, we now have a permanent AIS receiving station at Clarks 3. If you’re travelling in tandem with other Beach. Their transmitter has an average boats, you can keep in touch with each range of 32.2 nautical miles, ranging up to other, even when not in eye range. 79.3, and an amazing coverage area of up to 1107 km2. In the last month they’ve received You’re not required to have AIS gear on signals from 1602 vessel movements. your recreational boat, but its advantages are numerous. A good explanation of the So, what is an AIS? pros and cons of installing AIS on your craft Essentially, it’s a digital radio-based can be seen at https://www.boatus.com/ transponder system that uses GPS, VHF magazine/2017/june/do-you-need-ais.asp. radio and sophisticated digital processing to You can also get a range of AIS Apps on your automatically communicate between vessels smart phone or computer to track vessels, without any operator interaction.