Bay Harbour: June 26, 2024

<strong>Bay</strong> <strong>Harbour</strong> News Wednesday <strong>June</strong> <strong>26</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />

10<br />

NEWS<br />

THE ANNUAL Star Media<br />

Home & Leisure Show is back<br />

and bursting with inspiration,<br />

hints, tips and tricks to improve<br />

your home.<br />

The free three-day event is<br />

celebrating its 25th anniversary<br />

and has some special surprises<br />

in store, including the chance<br />

to win a $10,000 shopping<br />

spree from Smiths City, and six<br />

awesome prize packs from Destination<br />

Hokitika. There’s also a<br />

live auction from Genius Homes<br />

on Sunday.<br />

As well as showcasing innovative<br />

products and services,<br />

the show will be packed with<br />

experts sharing their insider-knowledge<br />

in free<br />

seminars sponsored<br />

by Resene on painting<br />

and colour trends, the<br />

latest technology, home<br />

renovation and sustainability.<br />

Start the day with a<br />

10.30am seminar from<br />

a Resene colour specialist on<br />

the art of painting with whites<br />

and neutrals, followed by an<br />

11.30am talk from the Kitchen<br />

Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />

Home & Leisure Show experts share top tips<br />

Studio’s Paul Collins.<br />

At noon, Sunshine Solar<br />

will share how solar can<br />

improve both your<br />

home and business,<br />

before Design Theory<br />

take to the stage to talk<br />

all things electrical –<br />

from lighting to home<br />

security.<br />

At 1pm, experts from<br />

Butterfield Bathrooms<br />

will be giving their top tips to<br />

create your dream bathroom,<br />

while Pzazz building will be<br />

rounding off the seminars<br />

at 1.30pm by revealing the<br />

essential ingredients to ensure<br />

your home renovation project<br />

goes off without a hitch.<br />

Whether you’re thinking<br />

of renovating your home, are<br />

planning your next project or<br />

simply love all things DIY –<br />

there’s a seminar for you.<br />

• The Home & Leisure<br />

Show runs from 10am<br />

to 4pm on Friday, July<br />

5 to Sunday, July 7, at<br />

Wolfbrook Arena. Visit<br />

www.starhomeshow.kiwi<br />

to find out more<br />

Custom bat maker decides<br />

to pull stumps on business<br />

• By Dylan Smits<br />

WHEN CRICKET star Peter<br />

Fulton scored a triple century for<br />

Canterbury in 2003, he used a<br />

Governor bat.<br />

Now, it’s the end of the innings<br />

for the bat’s maker and Governor<br />

founder, Graham Sercombe, as he<br />

retires after 32 years of producing<br />

custom cricket bats.<br />

Fulton’s score of 301 not out,<br />

from 445 balls, against Auckland<br />

was the sixth triple century by a<br />

New Zealander and the first in 50<br />

years at the time.<br />

“It’s cool to see on TV and<br />

that, but I don’t know how much<br />

attention you really get from it,”<br />

Sercombe said.<br />

He crafts bats and other<br />

cricket gear out of his Governors<br />

<strong>Bay</strong> workshop aiming for a<br />

personalised, quality product<br />

rather than quantity.<br />

The 62-year-old is an aircraft<br />

engineer at Air New Zealand<br />

and has also worked in coaching<br />

and administration at various<br />

Christchurch sports clubs.<br />

Now looking to purchase a<br />

home in the city and a caravan in<br />

the North Island, he is closing up<br />

shop.<br />

“It felt like the right time and<br />

I’m keeping the netting side<br />

of the business so I’ll still have<br />

connections with people in that<br />

sense.”<br />

Governor bats are made from<br />

high-grade English willow<br />

sourced from J.S. Wright and<br />

Sons, the oldest bat willow<br />

supplier in the world.<br />

“It’s always been a part-time<br />

hobby-business. It’s hard for<br />

me to make a lower level bat<br />

because then you have to produce<br />

numbers. So I’ve mainly hit the<br />

custom-made side of the market.”<br />

He is selling his equipment to<br />

Gavin Cox Furniture which will<br />

start crafting the bats.<br />

Sercombe has made about 300<br />

bats since starting Governor,<br />

selling mostly in New Zealand but<br />

with some going to American and<br />

European customers.<br />

CRAFTY: Graham Sercombe has been making cricket bats<br />

out of his Governors <strong>Bay</strong> workshop for the past 32 years,<br />

including the bat used by Peter Fulton, right, when scoring<br />

a triple century for Canterbury. Now he is retiring his brand<br />

and looking to travel.<br />

PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN<br />

“It’s just people who love cricket<br />

and love having something a bit<br />

special about their bat.”<br />

Sercombe has enjoyed showing<br />

his bat-making process to<br />

customers and several school<br />

groups over the years.<br />

“That’s always been good. Some<br />

people have even just come and<br />

had look without any intentions<br />

of buying, but I knew they were<br />

interested in the process.”<br />

To craft a Governor bat,<br />

Sercombe presses the willow so it<br />

bounces balls rather than denting<br />

the bat.<br />

“The pressing process is one of<br />

the biggest things about getting<br />

really great quality out of a bat.”<br />

Sercombe’s two sporting<br />

passions are cricket and<br />

badminton.<br />

In his early 20s, he played<br />

for Old Boys Collegians and<br />

for a season in England in the<br />

Middlesex County League.<br />

His favourite part of the process<br />

is when he seals the sticker on a<br />

finished product.<br />

“You can see what you’ve done<br />

when it’s finished and it looks<br />

great. It’s very satisfying.”<br />

He hopes any cricketer who has<br />

used a Governor will celebrate<br />

a legacy of a high-quality,<br />

personalised bats.<br />

PHOTOGENIC: The SPCA<br />

wants pet owners to<br />

contribute their photos for<br />

the organisation’s Pets of the<br />

Year calendar competition<br />

fundraiser.<br />

Furry models<br />

wanted for<br />

fundraising<br />

calendar<br />

• By Shelley Topp<br />

THE SPCA is calling on dog and<br />

cat lovers to enter their animals<br />

in the organisation’s Pets of the<br />

Year 2025 calendar competition<br />

fundraiser.<br />

This year New Zealand’s<br />

largest animal charity has<br />

two calendar categories, cat and<br />

dog, says the SPCA’s chief executive<br />

Todd Westwood.<br />

‘‘This is a chance to put<br />

your pet photography skills to use,<br />

and capture your furry friend’s<br />

fabulous side. Or maybe you have<br />

a gem already on your camera,’’ he<br />

says.<br />

‘‘While the top 12 fundraisers<br />

will be our monthly stars,<br />

any pet profile which raises more<br />

than $150 will be guaranteed a spot<br />

inside the calendar.’’<br />

Every dollar raised as part of<br />

the Pets of the Year competition<br />

goes directly into funding the<br />

SPCA’s work.<br />

‘‘As your pet’s photo generates<br />

donations, sick, injured and<br />

vulnerable animals around New<br />

Zealand will get the help they need<br />

because of it,’’ Todd says.<br />

• To enter go to<br />

petsoftheyear.spca.<br />

nz. Choose a favourite photo<br />

of your cat or dog and create<br />

a profile that captures their<br />

essence, then share their<br />

profile with family, friends<br />

and colleagues to help you<br />

fundraise. Entries close on<br />

Sunday, July 28, at 10pm.