Kaukapakapa Library

18/04/2024

POPPY day, TODAY, Outside the Kaukapakapa Store, 7am to 12:30. See you there!

18/04/2024

Support your local, Kaipara Memorial RSA, and donate for a POPPY Outside the Kaukapakapa store TODAY 19th 7am to 12.30. Thanks to the Kaukapakapa SCOUTS for their support. See you there and at the KAUKAPAKAPA ANZAC SERVICE, 10am, Thursday 25th, outside the Hall

04/04/2024

03/04/2024

ANZAC POPPY DAY. The Kaipara Memorial RSA needs a volunteer to sell poppies outside the Kaukapakapa Store on Friday 19th from 7.00am to 9.30am. I’ve put my hand up to do the 9.30 to 12pm shift, but need someone to take on the early shift please. Special tribute to the late Eddie Barwell who undertook this service for years.

The Kaukapakapa Anzac service will commence at 10am this year at the Kaukapakapa Hall. We Will Remember Them.

27/03/2024

KAUKAPAKAPA ANZAC SERVICE 10am THURSDAY 25th APRIL

Thanks to the two new volunteers from our community, Sharon Pipkin and Jim McGovern, the Kaukapakapa Anzac service will go ahead.

We are needing someone to come forward who is a descendant of those who served from the area (they’ll be named on the WW1 or WW11 memorials). Their job will be to read a prayer and lay a wreath on behalf of the descendants. It is likely to be a large service as the main Helensville service won’t go ahead this year, as the RSA Clubrooms are still being rebuilt. (Dawn service at Parakai, followed by the Helensville cemetery service will still take place). Look forward to hearing from someone 😁
EDIT - Thanks to the Osbaldiston whānau for stepping up, five generations in Kaukapakapa!

As an aside, I checked with the Auckland Council a few weeks back to make sure the Hall hadn’t been booked out for another event. They were on to it, Hall was booked from 24th to 26th. Last week I went to the Helensville Service Centre to find out about getting the electronic access card and was advised I would need to talk to Venue Hire, Auckland Council. Phoned them yesterday, explaining who I was and that I needed to get an access key. I was told they don’t hand those out, I would need to talk to the people in the Council who had put the booking in place. Said ok, who was it at Council who had placed the booking? “I’m sorry, we’re not able to give you that information.” 🤣😂🤣 (they had my contact details on file and I’ve been involved in organising the service for ten years). Next time you’re wondering why the Kaukapakapa Market operates from Helensville, it’s because of crap like this 😂

Megan

31/01/2024

KAUKAPAKAPA NEEDS YOU!
LEST WE FORGET - KAUKAPAKAPA ANZAC SERVICE
THURSDAY 25th APRIL 2024, 10am

To get our Anzac Service across the line this year, there needs to be two or three volunteers from the community to take it on. There will be support from the Kaipara RSA, but a lot of work goes on in the background to make the Kaukapakapa service ‘special’. Of the three original volunteers who organised this over the last ten years, I’m the last one standing. Huge thanks to John Tucker and Athol MacLachlan for their years of service.

I am already spending way too much of my time 🤣 volunteering at the Te Awaroa Helensville Museum and it looks like we will finally have the last round of repairs in the All Saints Kaukapakapa Cemetery underway in April/May. That’s taken about two years of pushing the proverbial uphill due to Covid, etc.

With the Kaipara RSA Clubrooms out of action and unlikely to be available in time for Anzac Day, their normal service and street parade won’t go ahead, although the Parakai Dawn Service and the Helensville Cemetery service will proceed. From past experience this will push a lot of people over to the Kaukapakapa Service - remember the year we proceeded in the face of terrorism threats?

So, hoping there are some people out there that feel passionate about respecting those who have and those who still serve from our community. I’ve got good lists about what needs to happen and the RSA will have our back, as they always have. To get this done, we need some people on board now - we have to plan this far out - so how about it?

Megan x

17/06/2023

Down at the Market at the Helensville Showgrounds and it’s not raining 😁 lots of stalls and food. Something for everyone!

04/05/2023

Where to from here? We’ve made huge progress in the All Saints Kaukapakapa cemetery restoring the headstones over the last few years, but we’ve stalled. We have one last round of restoration work to complete the project, but can’t get anyone to do it. Thompson Memorials did a great job getting it to the current state, but since Covid hit are too busy to take on this last part of the restoration. Contacted Parkinson and Bouskill, sent them all the photos and details. They said they would come and look at the job and despite follow up never did. Met the people from Jacobsens in the Helensville cemetery, sent them photos and followed up. Nothing. We’re not asking for them to come for one small job - one headstone is completely broken into pieces, one needs moving into line, one needs its concrete base remade and there are about eight which need to be pinned. It needs someone specialised with heritage memorials, but who? Open to suggestions, it’s a project I’d really like to cross off the list 😁

22/04/2023

Big thank you today to Dan Walters, NZ Remembrance Army, for helping out with the Kaipara RSA initiative placing white crosses for Kaukapakapa’s fallen from WW1 and WW11. Six from WW1 and five from WW11 are remembered in front of the Kaukapakapa Hall and Library, you can view their details at the rear of the display. Crosses in the Helensville cemetery also mark those who served. We will remember them at the Parakai Dawn Service, Tuesday 25th April, 6am. Later in the day the Te Awaroa Helensville Museum have a combined Kaipara RSA and Museum memorabilia display, from 1pm to 3pm. Lest we Forget.

15/04/2023

Here today at the Kaukapakapa Village Market, currently held at the A and P Showgrounds in Helensville 😁. Vintage photos of all your favourite places - Muriwai, Te Henga, Riverhead, Piha, Hobsonville…. Can’t make it? Find out more photospast.co.nz 😁

29/03/2023

Sadly the KAUKAPAKAPA ANZAC SERVICE will not take place this year due to the unprecedented flooding which twice saw the Kaukapakapa Hall under water. Discussions with Council have confirmed that the Hall will still be out of action on Tuesday 25th April, Anzac Day. This means that there will be no power, water, or sufficient toilet facilities available. The Kaipara RSA won’t be running their Helensville street parade and service as their Clubrooms are closed for renovations. From past experience this will result in a very large attendance at Kaukapakapa and we just don’t have the facilities to safely support it.

Ways in which to remember those who served;

- Support the RSA Poppy Day
- attend PARAKAI DAWN SERVICE at 6am
- place your own tribute at the Kaukapakapa WW1 and WW2 memorials
- visit the TE AWAROA HELENSVILLE MUSEUM between 1pm and 3pm Anzac Day to view the RSA and Museum’s war memorabilia collection, including information on those who served from the area.
- visit Auckland Museum’s Online Cenotaph, search person by name or number and lay a virtual poppy for those in your thoughts.

LEST WE FORGET