July 2023
Work has completed on the refurbishment of our flag pole. As with all such projects once we started digging deeper beneath the surface some additional work was required, thankfully nothing as gruesome as the rot that had destroyed the lower section. Peter Brooke, New Zealand’s leading traditional timber shipwright has been piecing the flag pole back
together at his Waimaku Boatyard.
With a new length of timber scarfed to the foot, refurbished all the metal work, reinforced all the high
load areas, and fabricated a new end cap out of aluminum he has focused on making sure the flagpole
will have maximum durability now its back in place. Coated in epoxy for weather proofing, and 4 coats of paint kindly supplied by Altex Paints to complete the renovation.
To the best of our knowledge, the flagpole has been in its current location since the hall was built in the
1950s so around 70 years. According to Peter the style of spar, and the fact that each of the 8.5 m
lengths are construction from a single piece of Kauri suggests that the spar is closer to 100 years. Lets hope this refurbishment will see us through to the year 2100! This year marks the 111th Year for our Scout Troop and it is wonderful to have it fully operational in time for the anniversary in September this year.
Special thanks to the Orakei Local Board for the generous Grant, and to Fulton Hogan for their
contributions to getting this project off the ground. Special thanks to Peter Brookes Boat Builders for the
expert advice and skills, and to Altex Paints, and Gurit Engineering for providing product.
