In between having overseas film crews on location in their garden, and preparing for the Heroic Gardens Festival, Christine and Tony Peek tell Catherine Smith what they love about Coatesville.
We've lived in the district for 20 years after moving out here from our section in Takapuna to a 4ha block. We are both city-born and bred, but were frustrated gardeners. When we came out to the country, we felt very accepted. It's developed since then, but it's still nice and friendly, and developments are not less than 2ha blocks so it's still rural. Yet only 10 minutes away are all the shops and restaurants of Albany.
Coatesville was originally called Fernielea and the story goes that Gordon Coates, when he was Prime Minister, was most annoyed he didn't have a town named after him. So he offered to put the Albany to Riverhead road through in the 1920s if they changed the name.
The Fernielea Cafe is from the original name, it's always packed and has good food. The dairy still does large hand-rolled icecreams, there're still fruit and vege shops and places to pick your own apples and pears.
The Coatesville market on the first Sunday of the month is down at the historic hall - lovely locally grown and made food, homemade artisan things, all sorts of goodies. The hall is the centre of the community, a village green really. It backs on to the reserve - there's a pony club, all sorts of clubs, scouts. Everyone has their birthday parties and weddings there. After the fire we hosted Music in the Garden to raise money to re-roof and restore it.
