31 August, 2025

Flagstaff Notes

Another car vs power pole accident on Lake Rd created traffic chaos for hours on 16 August and it seemed everyone I spoke to on the following Monday was furious at the congestion it caused.
I was on the way out of Devonport to cover the Westlake Boys vs Whangārei Boys rugby match at North Harbour Stadium. I left at 9.30am for a midday match and arrived at the ground around 11.15am.
Traffic was backed up to Hanlon Cres when I left but the queue later reached past the golf course.
Road cones were put up around Takapuna Grammar to help traffic flow. But the lights were out at the Bardia Rd intersection, creating a potential hazard, with no traffic management.
At the Belmont shops I was behind the 814 bus from Devonport to Takapuna – caught in traffic like everyone else, leaving the meet-the-ferry timetables in disarray that day.
I again urge Auckland Transport and Auckland Council to look at trams for Lake Rd. Thousands of cars would be taken off the road and it is the only real change to the thoroughfare that can guarantee reliable public transport. Anyone who has travelled on the numerous city trams proliferating around the world knows what is possible.
Below is a map from 1885, showing a planned tramline from Takapuna to Devonport. Another drawing in similar style was produced in 1904. It’s never too late for a good idea.

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Harking back to my last column on TGS school uniforms (Flagstaff, 15 August), it’s interesting how standards change over the years. Covering the North Harbour rugby final, I noticed a few players from Whangārei Boys took to the field with dirty boots. In the 1970s, playing club football at Silverdale, we weren’t allowed to play if we turned up with dirty boots. Practice was on Thursday nights, so Friday night was boot cleaning and polishing for the match the next day. We also wore garters to keep our socks up. After a match, laces and shorts were washed and then bleached in a bucket of diluted Janola to ensure pristine whiteness. Compulsory tennis whites got the same treatment.

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Last week I enjoyed meeting Claire and James Varcoe, who have taken over New World from John Ashton. They are already implementing some subtle but customer-focused changes. The couple have also bought a home in Stanley Point and with a young family (when we met at the supermarket, Claire had young son Flynn in tow) 
seem likely to be quickly integrated into the Devonport community.