In recent years, since Lorraine Sampson became president of the Silverdale Commercial Residents & Ratepayers Association, her name has become synonymous with Silverdale. Lorraine is passionate about the place where she has lived for nearly 40 years and she has appeared countless times before successive Councils to express her organisation’s views on everything from traffic issues to beautification of the shopping precinct. However, as editor Terry Moore discovered, she is also an accomplished pianist and a teacher with a special interest in children with learning difficulties.
I feel passionate about what happens in Silverdale. My husband Murray and I have looked around and even considered moving from time to time, but in the end, we always decide that Silverdale suits us. To me what gives this region its special character is that there are still a lot of families living here that have been here for decades and have a strong history in the area. That comes from its days as a rural community, and it means people’s connections go deep. That’s one reason why locals care so passionately about the place. When I was growing up, I knew Silverdale as the rest stop where my family took a break on the way from Warkworth to visit my grandparents, who lived in Mt Albert in Auckland. It was the family’s “official stop” for refreshments.
I moved to Silverdale with Murray in 1974, so that he could run the local vet clinic. In those days Wednesday was half day shopping only in Orewa so that the businesses could also open on Saturday mornings – it was a different pace of life. I got a job teaching at Orewa Primary and later at Dairy Flat Primary. I also worked at Kaipara College in their music department. Meanwhile, we built a new vet clinic. In those days vets, like doctors, weren’t allowed to advertise their services, so we wanted a distinctive building that would stand out. The clinic was designed by Simon Carnachan and it’s still a unique little building today with its strong, geometric shapes, turret and round windows. Murray and I got to know a lot of people in the community. The vet practice changed as the community grew – from the days when Murray saw mainly large farm animals to more and more domestic pets. I remember Murray saying that when we first moved here there was only one family in Waitoki who were not farmers – now it’s probably the other way around and there’s only one farming family.
I did my teacher training at North Shore Teachers’ College, which is now AUT – the first year I was there they were still building it. My first year as a probationary teacher was in 1967 in Warkworth, which is where I grew up. I always wanted to teach, and went straight from Mahurangi College to teachers’ college. I majored in music, because I have always loved playing the piano. I had piano lessons as a child and was always able to play songs by ear. I took up formal lessons again after teacher training and started to teach piano. Due to the fact that I have legal blindness in my right eye, it is difficult for me to read small print music so these days I play lots of songs that I remember from the 60s through to the 90s. At Holy Trinity church in Silverdale, I’m known as “Mrs Music”, because I play the organ there. When I was at Dairy Flat School in 1979 I got a phone call from Cath Brabbins saying she understood I played the piano, and could I fill in on the organ at church; I’ve been playing there ever since.
I “retired” from teaching at one stage, but was still working at Orewa with their ESOL students and ended up relieving as head of music there. I enjoyed tutoring ESOL students so much that I started my own business, Hibiscus Education, working mainly with young people from New Caledonia, Tahiti and Wallis & Futuna, which is north of Fiji. Murray and I have also had a number of overseas students live with us over the years, and they’ve become like family. It’s satisfying that I now find myself tutoring the children of children I used to teach.
When we built our house, it was a relatively peaceful spot but now there are huge problems with road noise, especially from people speeding up as they exit Whangaparaoa Rd onto the highway. I generally wake up around 5am each morning as the commuter traffic down there begins. One reason Murray retired was because it was too hard for customers to get in and out to the clinic from the highway. I was teaching piano to around 40 students in rooms under the vet clinic and had to give that up because people were afraid of the turn in and out into the speeding traffic. Under the Resource Management Act, you wouldn’t be able to build that highway that has split Silverdale in two. It has stifled the economy and, as far as Silverdale business is concerned, one way out is the Penlink Road. We think Penlink should happen yesterday, because it will relieve all that speeding traffic. When I first came to Silverdale there was a Four Square grocery, where the liquor store is now, a haberdashery that had all kinds of things, a fruit and vegetable shop and a butcher – it was a real town centre. It was very easy to walk across the road to the shops, but now you take your life in your hands. There is no sealed way across to the town for the houses along the highway – unless you count the median barrier, which is how many pedestrians get down the highway. Auckland Transport and Council are working with us on some of these issues now.
Because Murray was involved with the Silverdale Business Association, I started to go along to meetings to support him and, about three years ago, when the NZ Transport Agency and the former Rodney District Council were having meetings about traffic and changing the road access to Silverdale Street, I got more and more frustrated and keen to have my say. One thing led to another and I ended up being elected as president of the Commercial Ratepayers Association, and I’ve been re-elected twice since. It’s a lot of work, especially as I’m still tutoring students and also working with children with learning problems. There are a lot of issues for Silverdale as development is happening so fast and access remains a real concern. However, more of the committee is stepping up to help, so I can share the workload now. Murray is very involved in Rotary and various Trusts. Both of us are great believers in community work, as our families were before us. It’s just something you do and it certainly keeps you going. What’s really heart warming is to have people say ‘thanks’ for what you’re doing. We’re all volunteers, so it’s the odd thank you that gives you a buzz and makes all that work seem worthwhile. One reason I enjoy community work is because I like to get things done, and I don’t give up easily.
I’ve often have people express to me their concern about what will happen to the old Silverdale town centre, with all the residential development, shops and mega stores, but I truly believe that it has a bright future. They said the same about Albany when all that growth happened there, yet Albany Village has survived. I think people enjoy shopping somewhere a bit different, with more character than a shopping mall. That’s what the existing retail part of Silverdale must focus on to survive. Yes, times have changed and people have to realise that to make Silverdale a destination, more work is needed, but the basics are already there. You go down the street and people are friendly, ready to chat and smile at you. It’s got a small town, friendly feel. It’s probably because I grew up in small town Warkworth that I like small towns, small schools and that local feel – and there’s still that atmosphere in Silverdale. People care about each other; if you’re not around one day, they’ll ask after you and see if they can help. In a big city, you’re on your own.
A bright future for Silverdale means making connections – such as the Park ‘n’ Ride. It also means store owners paying attention to service, because if you give good service, people come back. We are also hoping to have a heritage walk created, including cycle way connections, perhaps starting with the Wade Hotel, through to the Holy Trinity church and the Pioneer Village and on to Stoney Homestead. There are great places to ride a bike and go for walks in the Millwater subdivision too. We are hoping to have more of the riverbank reserve opened up and the underpass all connected so people can use it as a picnic area. Kayaking on the river is another possibility – there are so many options.
