Auckland floods: Transport museum volunteer killed in landslide at Remuera house

Sunday, 29 January 2023

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins speaks about the damage caused by flooding in Auckland.

One of the men killed during Friday’s extreme flooding was a much-loved volunteer at the Auckland transport museum Motat.

Dave Lennard is one of four people confirmed dead during the devastating flooding.

His body was found on Saturday after a landslide brought down his house on Shore Rd in Remuera. The house was knocked off its foundations, leaving it leaning on an angle.

Large parts of the cliff appeared to have come down into the back gardens of houses opposite Shore Rd Reserve.

* Flooded homes, streets awash, but hours until an emergency declaration

Dave Lennard, a volunteer at Motat was killed in the floods on Shore Rd, Remuera.

* Auckland floods: Death toll now 3 after landslide brings down Remuera house

Evan James, a friend of Lennard, said he knew Lennard – who was in his 80s – through volunteering at Motat.

Lennard was good at working with his hands and fixing things, his friend said.

“He was one of those guys who could make anything and teach himself how to use new equipment with ease,” James said.

“He was always very proud of anything he made and did which was usually perfect.”

Lennard was a man with “strong views on the matter of the day”, James said, and he could debate them at length with anyone who was within earshot.

“Rest in peace Dave, we’ll miss you,” James said.

Motat declined to comment on Lennard’s death.

Two men were killed in North Shore’s Wairau Valley during the flooding, one on Friday evening and the other in the early hours of Saturday morning.

On Sunday, police named one of them as 34-year-old Daniel Mark Miller.

Another man was reported missing in Franklin’s Onewhero after being swept away in floodwaters.

A body was found nearby by a drone operator on Sunday afternoon.