13 April, 2025

Tenant must leave Devonport ‘good life’ behind

Dismayed… LEFT: Olga Danilova, pictured outside the Kerr St house she has lived in for 16 years. RIGHT: The property includes valuable vacant land.

When Olga Danilova first saw her state house in Kerr St 16 years ago, “I thought I had been given a present from God.”
She had been given notice from a home in Victoria Rd. “I was so happy – they said we have got a good house for you. I said, this is super good… I cried.”
Danilova (75) moved to New Zealand from Ukraine 28 years ago and settled in Devonport, where her eldest daughter, actress Elena Stejko, was living.
An engineer for 25 years in Ukraine, when Danilova first arrived in New Zealand she got a job at the Esplanade Hotel as a housekeeper and set about improving her English. She also delivered newspapers and then worked as a housekeeper and supervisor at the Stamford Plaza Hotel.
She lived in Kiev but was keen to leave behind the pain caused by the Chernobyl disaster, 100km to the north. Her parents both died young, her mother at 51 and her father at 57.
Danilova has come to love Devonport village: the friendly people, sense of community, the closeness to the beach and shops.
Three weeks ago her world was shattered with the news that Kāinga Ora was selling her home and those around it. She and the other tenants were given three months to find somewhere else.
Danilova has had health issues recently, including kidney and foot operations and heart problems.
The end of her tenancy has been a huge shock. “I’ve been stressed and not sleeping.
“I’m 75. I have no car… and now I must change for a different place.
“When people think about old people they want them to have a good life. I am living a good life here.”
She’s five minutes from the sea, has trees next to her small tidy house, a small balcony to sit outside with guests, a bus stop nearby, friends and a sense of purpose in the community: she bakes and knits socks she donates to other people in need. “I am happy here.”
Kāinga Ora ’s decision to sell was “change for money”.
Other nearby tenants were equally shocked and stressed, Danilova said.
Ideally, she would like to stay in Devonport but knows this is unlikely. She’s been offered a Kāinga Ora home in Milford near Shakespeare Rd but it did not feel like home for her. “It was very busy with traffic.”
Danilova wanted to meet local MP Simon Watts or Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to tell her story, so they could see the human face of a government agency decision.