Ryman Village first residents
The first residents in Cambridge’s Patrick Hogan Village were from left, Ruth Kerr, Mike and Sue Dye, Barbara Evans, Joan Leversedge and Bob Dobson. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Whangārei researcher Joan Leversedge put her skills to the test when she and partner Bob Dobson went looking for somewhere to retire.
And they found it in the newly named Patrick Hogan Retirement Village midway between Cambridge and the Velodrome in the new Bridleways Estate.
Operators Ryman unveiled the name for its 41st retirement village in New Zealand today (Thursday) on Breakfast Live television, something that came as no surprise to The News as Sir Patrick was a clear favourite among our readers.
Ryman villages are named after significant people from the community. Other names include Sir Edmund Hillary, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Dame Malvina Major, Possum Bourne, Hilda Ross and Linda Jones.
Sir Patrick’s widow Justine, Lady Hogan and Ryman chief executive Cheyne Chalmers were to unveil the new village sign after The News went to press.
“Thank you to Ryman Healthcare for ensuring his memory lives on in such a meaningful way and in a town he was so proud to call home,” Lady Hogan said
The first to move into the Cambridge village were Carmel and Peter Barton from Paraparaumu who moved in on July 11, the day before Barbara Evans, who moved from elsewhere in Cambridge to her new home.
Sir Patrick Hogan
Sue and Mike Dye have left the hustle and bustle of Auckland’s Mt Albert where construction sites abound to the Ryman village where construction is planned for the next two years.
The irony is not lost on them.
Their daughter already lives in Cambridge while their sons have remained in Auckland.
“They (the boys) think we’re crazy moving here but we wanted to be somewhere quieter and this feels more gentle,” said Sue.
Barbara said she did not want to move away from Cambridge and wanted to be somewhere where her partner, recently diagnosed with dementia, could settle.
Joan and Bob, who moved from their lifestyle property near Whangārei to Cambridge, say they love being part of the village’s development.
“The amazing thing is how kind everyone in Cambridge has been to us,” she said.
Ryman sales’ advisor David de Veth said 18 houses had already been sold in the first stage and eight villas were occupied. More would come on stream as workers completed landscaping.
The village will boast 185 two or three-bedroom townhouses, 60 one-bedroom assisted-living apartments and a care centre offering 80 resthome, hospital, and dementia care rooms. It will also have an all-weather bowling green, heated indoor swimming pool, café, hair and beauty salons and a theatre. A village green is already set up as is a temporary village centre.
First residents in Cambridge’s Ryman Village, from left: Neena Truscott – Ryman’s Activity and Lifestyle coordinator, Ruth Kerr, Mike and Sue Dye, Joan Leversedge, Barbara Evans, Ryman sales advisor David de Veth and Bob Dobson. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
