This was a walk that focussed on the history of the Howick area. Peter, the new Club president, and Barbara, who was the president up to the AGM two weeks before, led a group of 27 people following Walk 14 in the book Walking Historic Auckland by David Palmer. We set out from Howick Beach at 2:20pm to walk up Selwyn Rd and pause at Shamrock Cottage. This was the second permanent building constructed in Howick, dating back to 1847. It was originally the Royal Hotel and is built of kauri. We continued to the top of the road to view the All Saints Church that had its firsst service in 1847. It was a wet Sunday morning and as the Fencible congregation stood to sing a hymn, down came the rain through the uncompleted roof. From there we carried on along Cook St and into Sale St and Tanglewood Place to visit a small reserve, a remnant of pre-European Owairoa, or gully thick with fern. Each of these gullies in Howick were a "tangled wood" hence the name Tanglewood Place. We returned up Tanglewood Place and went down Abercrombie St, stopping at the Cherry Howe Cottage. This was the last Fencible cottage that still remains in its original state on its original site. It was originally built in 1848 as a 2-unit house, with the dividing wall being only one inch thick, giving little privacy and much disharmony to the two families living there. It was almost 3:30pm when we arrived at Stockade Hill.  As we walked to the trig on the summit we could see the ditch that surrounded the original fort. This ditch was the sleeping quarters for local women and children for several weeks in 1863 for fear of attack from hostile Maori tribes. Later that year mercenaries from Bavaria erected one of New Zealand’s first Christmas trees and sang carols around it all lit up. Because there was a bit of a cold wind, Peter kept our devotions very brief. He told of how a flock of geese flies - there is a point goose that leads the flock, and when they need a break a second goose takes over the lead.  In the flock there is a goose at the back that honks "Hey" otherwise they would separate from the group and get lost. Likewise, on our trips, we are welcome to "honk" to ensure the leader keeps the group together. This is how the Club operates, we have different people lead our trips and activities, and each person has different gifts. Peter concluded by quoting 1 Corinthians 10:31 Whatever you do, do to the glory of God. We went on to Howick Village for coffee in one of the cafes before returning to the carpark at Howick Beach about 4:45pm. On the way to the coffee shop we passed a shop displaying vintage sewing gear in the window.