28 September, 2025

Flagstaff Notes

There’s no such thing as bad publicity they say. The spotlight fell on the Flagstaff a couple of times this month – my ugly mug appearing in the New Zealand Listener for a story on the survival of independent community newspapers and a fictional Flagstaff reporter appeared and was shot as part of a play staged at the Rose Centre by Devonport Drama students.
My grandmother – an irascible old soul who during the school holidays would take her mokopuna to the races instead of kids’ movies – used to say things come in threes.
I’m waiting for the next instalment.

Following the Listener article, figures emerged showing the number of journalists in New Zealand has dropped to around 1700, down from 4000 or so in 2000 – and less than the number of journalists on the New York Times, according to totals collated by Gavin Ellis, an academic and former editor of the New Zealand Herald. It seemed a shocking comparison, but New York City has a population greater than New Zealand, and the New York Times now has a global readership.
The decline in the number of journalists in New Zealand does seem unrelenting, however. Once again, thanks to all our donors and advertisers for keeping us going.

Great to see the spring clean up in the Devonport business area of the village well supported last weekend. Despite the wet spring, summer is indeed around the corner.

It’s almost an election tradition – candidates’ billboards go up and local wags deface a few with witty and sometimes not-so-humorous artistic additions. This year Garth Ellingham had one of his Devonport signs graffitied and responded that he was a great supporter of local art, and the Depot Artspace. Bo Burns, a newspaper owner who is standing for the Howick Local Board, has had a bit of fun after her billboards were attacked, launching a “Don’t be a cactus” t-shirt line.
I do draw a line at outright vandalism, however. Last week several candidates’ billboards were smashed up on the corner of Lake Rd and Seabreeze Rd.
These aren’t American presidential elections where a cast of thousands with multimillion-dollar budgets run around promoting candidates. Driving along Lake Rd as the election season began, I saw several of the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board hopefuls hammering in their own signs.
I was disappointed the vandals – likely locals (this type of damage often happens during the school holidays) – showed such a lack of respect for others, who have put their hands up to represent their community.

Not funny… There’s a big difference between witty graffiti and wanton vandalism