A group of 20 people showed up to walk the Shoreline Heritage Walk, following the original foreshore
before the city of Auckland was established in the 19th century. We set out from the South Carpark at
Westhaven at 9:30am, going along Westhaven Drive then around Victoria Park. Along the whole of the heritage
walk from Westhaven to Parnell are frequent signboards detailing the history and displaying old photos,
and we took time to have a look at them all. We carried on along Fanshawe St and up Albert St, then down
Swanson St to cross Queen St and into Fort St.
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Our morning tea break was at Britomart Place, where we had time to visit a market and browse the
shops on Atrium on Takutai. From there we went on along Quay St and Beach Rd, then up Augustus Terrace
to go down a flight of steps to The Strand. Then up Gladstone Rd to go through Dove Meyer Robinson Park
to Judges Bay foreshore for our lunch stop.
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John gave the devotions, telling a story about The Deck of Cards, based on a song that was popular
in the 1940s-50s. A group of soldiers fighting in World War II in North Africa held a church service
on a Sunday. One soldier had no Bible or prayer book so brought out a pack of cards. He was brought before
the Major for playing cards in church, and he gave his explanation, what the various cards meant to him.
The Ace - there is one God, we are to worship Him instead of idols or money; 2 - the Bible is in two
Testaments, the Old Testament leads up to Jesus Christ, the New Testament focusses on Him; 3 – the Trinity:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who are with us everywhere and never leave us; 4 – the four Gospels describing
the life of Jesus and His plan for our salvation; 5 – the five unwise virgins who didn’t trip their lamps,
we need to come to Christ as nobody knows their time of death; 6 – God created the world in six days,
admiring His creation is an act of worship; 7 – God rested on the seventh day, we need to take a break
from work each week to enjoy our God-given leiaure interests, come together to worship, and recharge
ourselves to do a better job; 8 – there were only 8 people in Noah’s Ark, others had to opportunity to
board and be saved, today our Ark is Jesus Christ whom we need to come to to be saved; 9 – nine lepers
didn’t thank Jesus for healing them, we need to be thankful for everything; 10 – the Ten Commandments,
our benchmark, we have all broken them but saved by Christ’s grace, they are our guideline for living
well; the Jack – Satan the devil, like a prowling lion, he is cunning and very subtle, we need to resist
the devil and he will flee from us; the Queen – Mary mother of Jesus, who was conceived by God instead
of a man, therefore He was able to lead a sinless life; the King – Christ is our King of Kings, Wonderful
Counsellor, Lord of Lords, Eternal Father and Prince of Peace. Christian believers are already members
of His kingdom. 365 spots on a deck of cards, 12 picture-cards, 52 cards in a deck – a reminder we need
Jesus all the days, months and weeks of each year. 4 suits in a pack – we are to pray 4 others, such
as friends, family, non-believers, bosses, church leaders, and so on.
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We carried on having a look at St Stephen’s Chapel and graveyard, before going on over the bridge
to the beginning of Quay St. As we began to do the walkway along the edge of Ferguson Wharf, a helicopter
was about to take off from the heliport. As it lifted it blew a gale so fierce we had to hold on to our
hats. After we walked alongside the freight wharf we carried along the Red Fence of Quay St.
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At Queens Wharf we saw a display of Ans Westera photos on the fence, then walked past The Cloud to
have a look at The Lighthouse, a house-like artwork at the end of the wharf. We could peep through the
windows to a sculpture of a man sitting down. From there we carried along Quay St to Viaduct Harbour.
The former lifting bridge was being refurbished, and we went across a temporary footbridge. We went across
the lifting bridge to Wynyard Quarter, and on to Silo Park with its old silos and gantry. From there
we carried along Beaumont St and back to the Westhaven carpark, finishing at 2:50pm. 40 tired feet completed
14.6km of walking.
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