Whinge Away!

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Andrew Frame

I have noticed a disturbing trend emerging in Hawke’s Bay recently – no-one is allowed to complain. About anything.

If you do, you are a “Hater”, or a “Knocker”. Basically, it’s devolved into George W. Bush-esque “You’re either with us or against us” bullshit.

You don’t like the fact a giant container park has grown skywards, right next to Napier’s picturesque Estuary nature reserve? Then you don’t support new jobs being created!

Or If you think Lawrence Yule’s roles as Hastings mayor, amalgamation advocate and head of Local Government New Zealand might all conflict in some way? Or that using ratepayer money pay for promoting Hastings District Council’s pro-amalgamation (and inevitably Napier City Council’s anti-amalgamation) viewpoints could be considered as some level of graft or misappropriation of public funds, then you don’t support democracy, or making Hawke’s Bay a better place!

What a croc….

Sadly, the sentiment has been around for a while – it has even been ingrained in HB local body policy.

A Massey University researcher found Napier City Council’s code of conduct “stifles the free speech of councillors”.

Massey University’s Dr Catherine Strong analysed codes of conduct of all New Zealand’s city and district councils and found:

“Napier City Council was the only Hawke’s Bay council to include what she called “disturbing” wording preventing elected representatives’ talking to the media about anything negative within their council.

According to Napier City Council’s code of conduct, statements from councillors should not “make personal criticism of the proper conduct of the council or of other elected members, officers of the council or members of the public”.

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton said his council’s code of conduct was “”toughened up” over 10 years ago during a period when the council “almost became dysfunctional” due to infighting between councillors”.

“There were councillors on the council at that stage who spent more time attacking each other than they did working for the city. The whole idea was to be able to deal with that and in fact the voters of Napier dealt with it in the 2004 elections.” Following the elections “the problem went away”.

The councillors he is referring to were Dave Bosely and current “A Better Hawke’s Bay” / pro-amalgamation spokesperson, John Harrison.

I remember that time and the ongoing feud that carried on throughout local papers and around the city. At times it was very petty and not a particularly good look for the council, or either councillor, but it at least showed there was debate and differing opinions going on between our civic leaders.

“It certainly hasn’t been necessary since and in my eight years on council there has been absolutely no need for the code of conduct to even be looked at.” says Mayor Dalton.

That’s because Dalton’s predecessor Barbara Arnott and her CEO Neil Taylor appeared to have their feet firmly down on the throat of any form of dissent. As a result you heard virtually nothing from anyone except the mayor and CEO for years.

But the policy is still there and could very well have been part of one of the things NCC’s former economic development manager Ron Massey was dismissed for after he allegedly poo-pooed NCC’s failed Art Deco buses at a HB Tourism meeting.

But let’s be perfectly honest, WHO COULD BLAME HIM?? Pretty much every Napier ratepayer who had to pay for that sorry mess was critical of it, so why couldn’t some NCC staff be too?

By comparison, all of last term’s councillors voted for the cursed things (as far as I can tell), and were able to laugh off the large ratepayer-funded loss. Nobody criticised anyone else (keeping within code of conduct guidelines) and NO-ONE WAS MADE ACCOUNTABLE! What a win-win situation!

As Doctor Strong said of her results: “Most people elect their local councillors because they want some changes or they want them to look over what’s going on at the council and make sure it’s on the right path.”

If you see something is wrong it’s your right, your duty, to point it out – to make people aware of it and to fix it. Or, if you can’t, get it fixed.

There was a quote I read recently:

“This is your world – Shape it, or someone else will”

I say “Vox Populi”– Whinge away!

Napier and Hawke’s Bay deserve better!

I Heart the Heart of Hastings

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Andrew Frame

The heart of “The Heart of Hawke’s Bay”

I originally wrote this for a local page called “Fruitbowl” back in 2012.

Unfortunately, like a lot of things in Hawke’s Bay, it can take a while for action to happen. So I wasn’t surprised to read an article in the latest (November-December 2014) Baybuzz magazine decrying the neglect central Hastings is still facing TWO YEARS after I wrote my piece

What I want to know is how come Little old me can pick up on and write about things like this two years before other local media (closer to 5-10 years for our local government) and STILL NOTHING IS DONE ABOUT IT??!!

Maybe if more people read it something might actually eventuate, so here we go:

“I Heart the Heart of Hastings”

Hastings – The Heart of Hawke’s Bay has a problem. It’s a recurring problem and it could prove fatal, because the problem is with the heart of Hastings.

There’s an old saying that goes “Those who choose to ignore the past are doomed to relive it”.
Call it history repeating (sorry, Split Enz, but you were wrong on this one) or déjà vu, but hasn’t Hastings’ CBD been through almost the exact same problems they are currently facing all too recently?

Growing up in Napier in the 80’s a trip to Hastings was always a treat and an adventure. When Fantasyland, Bunker’s Toyworld, Rush Munroe’s and McDonalds (Hastings had theirs for a number of years before the golden arches arrived in Napier) beckoned, how could you resist?

It may not have been as big, exotic, or distant as Wellington or Auckland, but it was different to Napier and that was fascinating enough to me. Even today, while it doesn’t seem as exotic or far away as it used to, there are businesses in central Hastings that I won’t hesitate to go to, as I know they specialise in what I am after.

For decades Hastings’ CBD revolved around Heretaunga Street, the clock tower and railway line.
The old ring-road system, while a bit of an annoyance, actually helped keep the central city busy by making traffic loop around continuously and inevitably made people walk a bit further from their parking space to their destination – making the town look busier through more pedestrians and increasing the chance of impulse-buying at the shops they passed.

In the 90’s the ring-road system was scrapped, Kmart and the The Warehouse opened their large-format outlets across the other side of Queen Street, a mere few hundred meters away from Heretaunga Street and it almost killed off business in central Hastings outright.

While doing my Diploma in Marketing at EIT in 1998, one of our tasks was to come up with a concept (that was to be passed onto the Hastings District Council presumably) to help draw people back into the CBD. My plan involved moving the Information Centre into the (then empty) Westerman’s building and the bus / train station across the road from there. I was a mixture of delighted and wondering where my consultant’s fee was when I saw that happen a few years later.

The central city had a brief renaissance recently with, for a time, less empty shops than Napier’s CBD. But then along came Charter Hall with big money and big plans for big stores even further out from the centre of central Hastings and off we went again!

Promises and plans are made and broken. The plans for the unsold big stores kept getting smaller and smaller. That was not HDC’s problem, rather Charter Hall biting off more than they can chew. So why should the council bend their plans and rules to suit? How readily do they do that for small, local businesses? Hastings’ central city retailers and their association cried foul and protested to the council. HDC looked concerned and scratched its head. How many times does this have to happen before they learn?

The Hastings District Council said they didn’t have enough money put aside to do up all of central Heretaunga Street in one go as was planned. Focusing instead on the area around another development – the new Farmers store (at least this project is set to bring some activity back to the city centre). Yet somehow money was found to vastly improve access to the Nelson Park development, including putting in traffic lights across St Aubyn Street and extending the old railway station access road through to it, drawing even more traffic away from the heart of the CBD. Now further expensive expansion is planned for the Regional Sports Park. Where is the money they “can’t afford” coming from for this?

If Hastings District Council can’t afford to look after Heretaunga St, what happens if things turn messy, expensive or legal with Charter Hall, or whoever else may come along with deep pockets and big promises for that matter? What other concessions will have to be made or who else will suffer?

In just these past few weeks, the Hastings City Business Association (has anyone else noticed the “Retail Strategy” page on their website is blank?) severely dented its credibility by suggesting that putting a road through the very centre of town may be the answer to the CBD’s prayers. An arterial route right through the very heart of the problem could only be another ghastly wound from which what little spirit remains in central Hastings would bleed out of.

Hastings has enough problems with roads. To head north or south you no longer need to go through Stortford Lodge or Karamu Road with the temptation of the CBD nearby. A brief glimpse while passing through the expressway’s roundabouts to destinations further afield is the most people would now regularly see of the city.

Now there is the added possibility of yet another bypass in the offering – to the more affluent and vibrant Havelock North village. Once again you wouldn’t have to go anywhere near Hastings’ CBD. So many options are given to avoid the heart of central Hastings. Where is the encouragement to lure people into it?

Roads will not cure Hastings’ CBD’s problem. Mascots, slogans and paying out of town marketing consultants thousands of dollars will not cure the problem. Further outward expansion will certainly not cure the problem and neither will ignoring the problem and hoping it goes away. I’m inclined to think the problem with the heart of Hastings can be cured with something much smaller, but far more powerful.

They say “Pride comes before a fall.” Well, confidence, business, income and value in central Hastings have all fallen, but I would like to think pride can come after a fall and help cure central Hastings’ problems.

A local government proud of their city would not continuously sell large chunks of it off to the whims of big business without looking after the needs of their current, local, rate-paying businesses first.

Authorities who take pride in their city would not let the latest generation of professional beneficiaries spend their long, idle hours occupying the main street of their CBD, where they can intimidate innocent passers-by, scare off potential customers and current businesses, or use inner city green-spaces as public bathrooms.

And I would hope that, like me, customers proud of their city would forgo the sprawling car parks and behemoth, hangar-sized big-box chain stores on the city’s periphery for the quality products, expertise and personal service of smaller, local retailers in the heart of the city.

I still “heart” the heart of “The Heart of Hawke’s Bay” (do you see what I mean about slogans?) and I’m from Napier.

The decline of central Hastings has been depressing enough, never mind the negative publicity and vibe it has generated. Some CPR (City Pride Restoration) is required. Let’s hear more from Hastings people who are proud of the heart of their city.

Let’s see Hastings District Council and local authorities prove how proud they are of their city and its people by looking after what they already have before developing further grandiose pipe-dreams (or maybe some ‘new blood’ is required in the places of civic power?).

The stronger the heart of the CBD beats, the more energy, pride and lifeblood will flow throughout the rest of the city. Letting the heart of Hastings fail is not an option if our region is to prosper.

Hastings and Hawke’s Bay deserve better!

Don’t Mention the Empty Shops!!

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Andrew Frame

Maybe it’s because I’ve grown up in an era filled with PR and spin that I’ve become immune to a lot of the ramblings that somehow qualify as “news” or “as rote” from some Napier “leaders”.

For example, take this article from a recent edition of the Hawke’s Bay Today on how Napier retailers need to adapt to survive:

“online retailers and bricks-and-mortar stores aren’t mutually exclusive, and savvy retailers need two “faces” to thrive”

REALLY?? You don’t say!

Retail, more than most businesses is very Darwinian, in that it is constantly a case of “adapt or die”, so when online sellers become a threat, you counter that threat with your own online sales options, or taking to the likes of social media to drum up attention and custom.

That being said, though, nothing beats good, old fashioned, personal service and that is something a lot of Napier “bricks and mortar” retailers do very well, hence why they are still in business!

But the line in the article that really annoyed me – saying “Napier’s city centre is bustling, with few empty stores” is more than just a little disingenuous.

Even on its quieter days, central Napier is busier than its Hastings counterpart, for example. But “few empty shops”?

Lower Emerson Street averages at least half a dozen empty shops at any one time.

Mid-City Plaza (oxymoronically the place that is “For Lease” in the items picture) has been an empty, boarded up disgrace for years.

There was a lot of fanfare when it was announced Napier’s post office building would be saved and redeveloped, unlike nearby pre-earthquake buildings that met the wrecking ball (because they apparently don’t matter).

NZ Post returned to it’s rightful place as an anchor tenant, Vodafone and a new children’s clothing store moved in to new retail shops created in the redeveloped building, but at least half of these new shops are still empty months after work finished.

It’s more than just “a few”, it’s a waste and it doesn’t look good.

I think a better barometer for success in Napier’s current retail climate could have been gauged by a deeper, broader level of investigative journalism than used in the article.

Especially when the business leader quoted’s business receives a substantial amount of ratepayer funding each year from the city council for operating and promotion and is staffed almost entirely by a voluntary workforce.

I’m sure there would be absolutely NO empty shops in Napier if all its retailers were graced with such subsidised luxuries.

Stamp-ede!!

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Andrew Frame

So the Mission Concert is a gonner – BIG DEAL!

I just found something just as cool, if not cooler, that’s about to hit Taradale:

“BAYPEX 2014” – the National Stamp Exhibition is coming to Taradale this weekend – from the 14th to the 16th of November!

Years ago I briefly dabbled a tiny bit in philately, or “Stamp collecting” to the lay-man, when I collected “first day covers” for special edition stamps around the turn of the millennium.

I still have them and a large number of Japanese stamps from when I made the mistake of signing up to a pen-pal programme in high school, so will be quite keen to take them along to get valued.

With stamps from across the world on display, postcards, a school stamp designing competition, postal memorabilia, other exhibits and the Australasian Challenge – dubbed “The Bledisloe Cup of Philately” (ooh!) it actually sounds really interesting – even more so when you consider how much standard “snail mail” and as a result, the trusty old postage stamp, is disappearing in this digital age.

BAYPEX opens from 10am each day and entry is free – get along!

Let’s Grow a Mo 6.0

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Andrew Frame

iMo 6.0

Things are about to get hairy once again, as Movember slowly grows upon us!

This will be my sixth year growing a moustache to help raise money and awareness of men’s health, particularly prostate cancer and depression. The cause is one very close to my heart (and face) as, like so many others, I’ve suffered from depression, am scared from cancer and if he had been more aware of his health, or more readily sought help, my dear Dad might still be here today.

A few years ago I put on a real push to raise money and ended up collecting over $230. I’d like to try and at least get close to that total again this year and I have a few ideas on how to drum up support and mo-ney for my Movember campaign.

I am a HUGE supporter of #BuyLocal and Hawke’s Bay businesses. Combine this with my hyperbolas talent with words and getting messages across in 140 characters or less and there are numerous opportunities, temporary rebrandings and partnerships that could help me get there.

Some are pretty straight forward – like:

Mo-ana Park Winery

and

Mo(re) FM

Others require a bit of creativity or editing:

Like Bay EspressMO – in particular, my usual cafe haunt in Napier: “Six Sisters”, or, for this case, “Six Mo Sistas”

An alpha-numeric swap-around makes Kent Baddeley’s fantastic restaurant, “10 Twenty Four” become “M0 Twenty Four”!

Similarly, turn the name of #Awesome local internet provider “NOW” upside down and you get “MO(N)”!

And this is only the beginning!

One of my favourite new food ventures in Napier is “Donut Robot” – a very cool little retro caravan in Carlyle Street, across the road from Countdown, who makes and sells fresh American donuts.

When cut in half, these tasty treats look remarkably like, you guessed it, moustaches! “Donut Robot” could become “Mo-nut Robot” – serving delicious sugared or iced “mo-nuts”! “Would you like sprinkles on your “Mo-nut”, sir?” (I will have to ask Steve the owner about that idea…).

There are even more fabulous ideas spinning around in my head, but I’d better keep them for later in case someone tries to flog them.

If you would like to donate to the Mo cause and help raise funding and awareness for NZ men’s health, you can do so HERE!

Mission: Impossible

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Andrew Frame

Well, it had to happen eventually, I guess. There will be NO Mission Concert in the foreseeable future next year.

As if recent years’ attempts to find “suitable” acts weren’t desperate enough, organisers COMPLETELY FAILED to find ANYONE this time!

As the saying goes: “You had ONE job to do…”

For all the usual hype and fluff that surrounds the build-up to what used to be one of Hawke’s Bay’s premiere summer events nothing has eventuated.

While I am not surprised – recent Mission Concerts seem to have slowly degenerated into a mass piss-up with a side order of tunes from some long-forgotten muso, I still appreciate what it did for local businesses like moteliers, cafés etc.. The failure of event organisers to actually organise ANYTHING will hurt local business badly and that’s not good enough!

There is an expression that something past its prime has “Jumped the Shark”, well, did the Mission Concert mistime its jump and fall into the shark tank, or was it pushed?

Either way Hawke’s Bay deserves better!

Ciao, Antonio!

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Andrew Frame

Antonios has been a landmark feature on the corner of Carlyle St since 1990

A Napier foodie era came to an end last night as Anthony Larrington-Lewer made, cooked and served his last pizzas.

“Who?” you may ask.

The name may not be too familiar, but his nom de plume ”Antonio” and the location of ‘Antonio’s Pizza and Pasta’ on the corner of Carlyle and Tennyson Streets has become a landmark ever since moving there in 1990.

Over the years thousands of people must have sat at the lights on that corner on their way home from town, wondering what’s for dinner and suddenly been struck by an urge to have pizza!

Originally opening in lower Emerson Street in 1979, Anthony never expected to be still making pasta and pizzas 35 years later, but “this is the way things happen” he tells me as we stop in to buy our last “authentico Antonio” pizza, pasta and garlic bread.

35 years is a very long time in any business, but even more so in the food industry – especially when you consider that same period saw such an immense increase in the number of and uptake of fast food outlets within close proximity of Antonio’s.

KFC, Pizza Hutt, McDonalds, Burger King, Dominoes, Burger Fuel and various other Chinese and Indian restaurants and takeaways have all sprung up nearby, yet Antonio’s just kept going.

His secret? Probably the natural, authentic way Anthony did things.

He hand-made and kneaded the pizza dough and made the bases for each pizza as they were created. People loved watching their pizza being made in front of them.

He used natural ingredients with no swathes of sauce smothering everything and made good, basic, Italian-style pizzas. Margherita (cheese, tomato sauce and basil or oregano – said to represent the red, white and green of the Italian flag), Marinara (seafood) and Napoletana (originating from Naples).

There were also personal touches – The restaurant was kept as low-key and natural as possible – Anthony intended it to be like going for dinner at your Italian grandmother’s house.

Anthony has great personality and wicked sense of humour as his answering machine message showed:

“So sorry, Antonio, he not here…. I think…. HEY, ANTONIO, ARE YOU HERE?!”

He even bought one of the original “Art Deco is SO Last Century” T-shirts I made years ago and wore it loudly and proudly every Art Deco Weekend.

Thursday was Anthony’s last “public” open day, he is having a private function tonight (Friday) to say goodbye to friends and loyal customers.

Antonio’s won’t be going away completely, though. Anthony has sold the business and plans to stick around and help out the new owners out a bit. He is looking forward to retirement, though and “doing all the things he’s wanted to do”.

So “Arrivederci, Antonio!” Getting a pizza in Napier won’t be quite the same without you!

“Antonio” (Anthony Larrington-Lewer) serves us up one of his last pizzas

NiMBY City Council

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Andrew Frame

Napier City council is scared development of the former Caltex site (far left) will be detremental on Napier’s CBD. But seem perfectly happy for it to clash with the Marewa Shopping Centre (far right)

Property developer, “Matvin Group” has bought the vacant former Caltex service station site on the corner of Georges Drive and Kennedy Road in Marewa, Napier. They plan to turn it into “a six-store retail complex”, but Napier City Council and its subsidiary, Napier Inner City Marketing is concerned these new shops could harm Napier’s CBD.

Oh, for goodness sake!

I can’t help but notice that just a few weeks ago, I read about Napier councillors welcoming with open arms a home décor store, not unlike those we already have in central Napier, into their new site in Ahuriri – even further away from the CBD.

But two councillors do own businesses in that area, so I guess that makes it perfectly fine…

Council staff recommended granting permission for the Marewa development, but suggested it only contain businesses that won’t compete with central city stores.

So, as councils do, NCC:

Passed the decision off to a hearings committee and employed an “independent commissioner” to oversee proceedings:

The committee was to be chaired by former deputy mayor Kathie Furlong and include current deputy mayor Faye White and long-term councillor Mark Herbert.

I’m a little concerned at the “independence” of the committee, though. Furlong was Napier City Council’s representative on the Napier Inner City Marketing board for many years until her retirement from council. She has since been replaced on the NICM board by none other than Faye White!

“Napier Deputy Mayor Faye White said the committee was still deliberating after the “lengthy” 6-hour hearing, and an outcome was expected “by the end of the week”.

And an “economic effects” consultant’s report was commissioned:

“The report, by Adam Thompson of Urbecon, concluded the new development would have either no effect or a very limited impact on existing retailers, and it was not necessary to limit the types of retail businesses at the proposed site.

However, council planners said in their report on the consent application, despite Mr Thompson’s assessment “there remains concern that the proposed development could contribute to what appears to be a trend of declining retail occupancy rates within the CBD”.”

Napier Inner City Marketing’s latest manager did something her predecessors never did – addressed this elephant in the room / CBD:

“We already have quite a significant amount of untenanted spaces in Napier.”

Is this is the fault of a few shops over a kilometre away in Marewa? No!

Outrageously high rents have taken business away from Napier’s CBD. Long-term empty shops, like the giant, boarded-up and half-abandoned Mid City Plaza have scared potential business away from Napier’s CBD.

NICM’s goals include promoting the central city and attracting diverse and vibrant businesses to the CBD. So why have they been so unsuccessful in filling the numerous empty shops in recent years?

The developers have at least shown some flexibility and agreed to alter their plans to suit the council.

“Matvin Group had offered to restrict the type of businesses at the site to “convenience” retailers – including food and beverage sellers, chemists, hair dressers, butchers, florists and dry cleaners – that were unlikely to be located in the CBD. That restriction has been included in a list of conditions council staff have recommended the hearings committee include in granting consent for the development.”

Here we have a major problem. Marewa Shopping Centre, mere meters away from the site being developed, already has long-established businesses providing those exact same things! You can’t tell me that replicating these businesses in such close proximity would have an adverse effect on the existing Marewa businesses!

I live just down the road from this development and half expected the site to become a Carls Jr or Wendy’s Drive-thru / Fast Food Takeaway – something that would be quite well suited for the site and most people wouldn’t mind.

However, the amount of noise and disruption a drive thru would cause to the suburban houses and streets surrounding it and a lack of space for parking makes it reasonably impractical and kind of rude to the neighbours.

So we are left with the current development debate.

As usual, it doesn’t do a thing to address what is central Napier’s biggest problem in recent years, but rather continues a NCC trend of deflecting blame. Such posturing is typical and sickening.

Napier deserves better!

Here, Fishy, Fishy, Fishy!

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Andrew Frame

Fish stocks in Hawke Bay are getting so low local recreational fishers have had to resort to using some drastic measures:

As part of the tri-annual “Election Promise-fest”, New Zealand’s governing National Party said they would establish “Recreational Fishing Parks” in the inner Hauraki Gulf and the entire Marlborough Sounds – banning commercial fishing from operating in those areas.

I was in the car with talkback radio on an hour or so after the policy was announced and callers’ reactions, like a school of kingfish sensing a big pot of burly in the water, were fast and severe.

The most common bite the promised bait received was “It won’t make any difference as there isn’t really any commercial fishing in those places as it is!”

Sounds like their plan hit a bit of a snag.

The day before he announced this plan Prime Minister John Key was in Napier to attend the All Blacks vs. Argentina game at McLean Park. As part of his visit he spent some time schmoozing with party faithful at a bar in Napier’s party central-come commercial fishing port, Ahuriri.

In such an ideal location I think Mr Key missed out on a great opportunity for local votes by not announcing his “Recreational Fishing Park” plan here and including in the plan a body of water very close and dear to our hearts – Hawke Bay!

Fish stocks in Hawke Bay have been in decline for some time. Catching fish by surfcasting or kon-tiki from the shores around Napier is proving more and more fruitless. Many recreational boat fishermen I know don’t even bother going out on the bay much any more either, as the number of fish they catch has gone down almost as fast as the price of fuel for their boats has gone up, making it no longer worth the effort or cost.

Hawke’s Bay Sport Fishing Club, along with Advocacy group LegaSea, conducted a study into recreational catches in Hawke Bay over an eight year (fishing is best over the summer here, so the results covered December-February) period.

14,744 anglers recorded over 115 days of fishing competition how many fish (the survey included five species: snapper, gurnard, tarakihi, trevally and groper) they caught. The results were based on the number of fish per angler, per day and ranged from a high of 2.23 gurnard per angler, per day in 2011-12 to a low of 0.006 groper the same year. The average fish per angler, per day over that 8 year period works out as 0.654 – that’s just over half a fish per person, per trip. It’s hardly worth it!

The low fishing stocks hurt the local business as much as the anglers, as there is an estimated 2,000 recreational boats in the region at a total value of around $83 million. Add to that $28 million of fishing gear and over $10 million in fuel, maintenance, fuel etc. and recreational fishing has an estimated value of at least $121 MILLION to Hawke’s Bay’s economy!

Commercial fishing operations, by comparison, are actually expanding! While most big operators in the region fish outside of Hawke Bay – mainly out towards the Hikurangi Trench and beyond, it is not uncommon to see commercial boats operating within the limits of Mahia Peninsula and Cape Kidnappers. I have even seen commercial fishing boats regularly running a couple hundred meters offshore along by Hawke’s Bay Airport. You can guarantee they are catching more than 0.654 of a fish – That’s just not fair!

So, Mr Key. I understand you’re visiting Napier again today (Thursday 18 September). Your local MP’s have been rather ineffectual in the region despite claiming they are “Backing the Bay”, so let’s see if you can do any better. Add Hawke Bay to your list of “Recreational Fishing Parks”. Ensure the conservation of our region’s salt water fish stocks. Keep our recreational fishermen and fisherwomen happy with tight lines and bobbing rods. Make sure a pastime worth hundreds of millions of dollars to our region doesn’t end up floating belly-up in an empty Hawke Bay.

Hawke’s (and Hawke) Bay deserves better!

*In Breaking News*
There may be further reasoning to making Hawke Bay a “Recreational Fishing Park” as Ministry of Primary Industry agents swooped on a local fishing business after it appeared their in-shore catch records were substantially less than they had been recording as exporting.

Holy Crafted Willow, Bat-Man!

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Andrew Frame

The “A-Frame Special”! My own custom-made, hand-crafted bat from MG2

I love cricket. I’ve been playing and watching it for years. For me each new season generally starts when the latest cricket gear catalogues start appearing in the mail and online around September. For anywhere between a few hours to a few days I revert to my ten-year old self, pawing over the glossy pages, “ooh”-ing and “aah”-ing over the latest bats pads and gloves.

90% of cricket bats worldwide are mass machine produced – these are the ones you will see in these catalogues and big chain sports stores and come in enough sizes, shapes and weights to suit pretty much everyone.

Except me.

I’m 6’8” tall. Regular-sized bats tend to look like matchsticks in my hands and taking up a stance at the crease requires me to almost bend in half to touch the ground with the toe of a normal sized bat.

I’ve played like this for many years, but last season I decided to do something about it – I got my own personalised, “Andrew-sized” bat made!

In Hawke’s Bay we are very fortunate to have two highly regarded, highly skilled hand crafted cricket bat makers based in the region.

I have known one of those bat makers, Marty Graham – owner of MG2 Cricket, for years. He’s been a fantastic supporter of my cricket club, Napier Old Boys Marist and now plays for us too. Marty has made bats for some of the biggest stars in cricket, so when I asked him to make an XL-sized bat bat for me (one of the biggest stars in my own lunchtime), he happily obliged.

It was quite a fascinating process. Marty keeps you updated on your bat, checking to see if you prefer it this way or that way. Oval handle, or round? Big, thick edges to smash the ball around the park? Or a thinner, more precise bat for a longer, tactical innings?

Hand-crafting a cricket bat the way Marty does using traditional methods and tools (draw knives, spokeshaves and block planes etc.) is a very labour-intensive and time consuming process. Marty makes his bats in stages:

Stage One begins with a raw “Cleft” – literally a solid block of willow that Marty sources from overseas. While we have willow trees in New Zealand, they’re not the right type of willow for bat-making. Marty checks the cleft and selects which end will be best as the top “Shoulder” of the bat and which will be the bottom “Toe”. Then he starts planning the edges of the block, thicknesses the cleft down to bat width and planes the front “Face” of the bat. The bat is pressed to make it harder, the “Splice” is cut in the top where the handle will go and the bat’s “Shoulders” are formed.

My bat – Somewhere between Stages One and Two.

Stage Two involves the bat’s handle being fitted and the bat being cut to length and size.

Stage Three sees the finer part of hand-crafting coming into action. The bat is shaped with draw knives, spokeshaves and block planes. The handle is rasped to the preferred shape and size. It really looks like a cricket bat now

By Stage Four we are into the final stages as the bat is sanded and shaped into its final style / design.

Oooh, Pretty! My bat in its final stages of creation.

Stage Five is finishing – the bat is polished, the handle is bound with string and the handle’s rubber grip is put on. Labels are applied and the bat is oiled with linseed.

A hand-crafted bat can be made in as little as three hours – this is without glue drying time etc. factored in.

A further hour is usually added for “Knocking In” – preparing the bat for a lifetime of hitting hard, leather cricket balls by, well, repeatedly hitting it with hard leather cricket balls (or mallet) and oiling it with linseed oil. So, regardless of size or grade, it can take as little as four hours to make a bat!

The finished, custom-made, “A Frame Special” (Left) and trusty old, standard sized, “Pinky”

Hand-crafted cricket bats are generally not made one at a time. Usually a bat maker would have several bats in various stages to make the best and most efficient use of time and materials. Marty says it’s generally best to be working on anything from 10 – 15 bats at any one time!

Despite their old-fashioned bat making mehods, most of MG2’s custom is sourced from a very modern method – the internet. As well as operating a website where you can order bats, gloves, pads etc. MG2 also has a popular Facebook page attracting lots of customers, fans, ‘Likes” and pics of Marty’s products in action.

We’re very fortunate to have someone as highly regarded and skilled in the cricketing world as Marty is in Hawke’s Bay. So if you are intending to play cricket this season, please check him out!

Napier In Frame

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