Katikati kiwifruit orchard manager Daniel Kenna, pictured, will today welcome more than 120 students onto one of his family orchards in a bid to nurture the next generation of food and fibre leaders and workers.
Kenna has offered to host the inaugural Bay of Plenty Clash of the Colleges run by Agri
Futures as a member of Farmers NZ, which is focused on connecting, supporting and empowering individuals involved in Aotearoa’s rural sectors. Kenna believed the Western Bay of Plenty had a huge amount to offer in terms of opportunities for young people.
“I’m super excited that we can bring this great initiative to my backyard and help support the next generation of food and fibre leaders and workers ”
gumboot-throwing competition!
The inaugural clash will see Year 9-13 students from the BOP, Coromandel and Waikato test their practical skills, knowledge and teamwork in teams of four in a range of horticultural and agricultural skill modules – including a gumboot cleaning exercise and
“For this event, we will have an increased focus on horticulture, including kiwifruit, plant and seed ID, pest control and avocados, while providing students with the wider food and fibre experience,” Agri Futures general manager Daniel O’Regan said.
Workon sharedpathway begins
Western Bay of Plenty District Council is building a new shared pathway at Katikati’s MacMillan Reserve to make it easier to get around at all times of the year
Work began this week and was expected to take a month to complete – depending on the weather, the council said.
The 2.5m wide, aggregate pathway will be built between the eastern ends of Pukakura Rd and Beach Rd.
“This will provide a more reliable, allweather surface for people walking and cycling through the reserve. Council said.
During the work, the reserve area northwest of the carpark and boat ramp would be temporarily closed and fenced off Council said the carpark and boat ramp at the eastern end of Beach Rd would remain open during the works, with traffic management in place. Find out more about the project at: https://yourplace.westernbay govt.nz/macmillan-reserve-shared-pathway
COPIES AVAILABLE FROM:
Barfoot & Thompson Waihi Beach Beach Grocers
Beach Haven
Beachhaven Caravan Park Flat White Cafe
G A S Waihi Beach iSite Waihi Seaforth Park Seaside Store
Waihi Beach 4 Square
Waihi Beach Superette
Waihi Town Cats
BP Service Station
Woolworths Katikati
EVES - Katikati
Katikati 4 Square
Katikati Information Centre
Katikati Paper Plus
Katikati Primary School
Katikopy Print Park Road Dairy
Raine & Horne
The Centre - Patuki Manawa & Library
Bower Real Estate Katikati
Caltex Service Station
Fresh Choice Supermarket Omokoroa
Omokoroa Superette
Omokoroa Minimart
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Community Directory
organiser Cherie Pickin, of Katikati Lions Club, wants residents to send in their correct mobile phone numbers before the resource is reprinted.
Photo / Merle Cave
e club behind Katikati’s most handdy resource – thhe C Community Directory – is calling on residents to add their mobile phone numbers to the listings, to keep the book up to date
Directory organiser Cherie Pickin, of Katikati Lions Club, said her team of helpers were intent on making sure listed numbers were correct before the next directory is printed late-September
“We’ve noticed a lot of our local listings are becoming ‘ghost numbers’ as people ditch their landlines If you ’ ve moved to a mobile-only household, don’t leave your neighbours hanging!
“The Lions Club of Katikati Community Directory is getting a refresh before it’s reprinted – and we need you – the residents – to make sure our town stays connected
“Whether it’s for a local business, a community group, or your personal residential listing, we want to make sure the information is current and reachable ”
People don’t realise they can have both their landline and cellphone numbers listed in the directory, Pickin said
“We caught most incorrect or ghost numbers when we did a ring around last year – but we ’ re going to ring every person listed again this year before we
print the first biennial directory” Forms are available at Katikati Community Centre and Katikati Information Centre for people to change or update their contact details
“If computer literate, they email their change to me at: katikatilionsdicretory@ gmail com, ” Pickin said Changes needed to be sent in by June 30
This year ’ s reprint would herald a major change, with the directory moving to a biennial product
“We were printing it annually but from now on it will be printed once every two years, ” said Pickin “It’s a sign of the times – things are fairly hard out there, and people just don’t have a lot of money [to advertise] ” However, nothing inside the directory would change, she said, because the book was still a much-used resource for the community and its residents
“The main advantage is if you know somebody locally but don’t know their phone number, there is no other way of getting hold of them on the phone ” Pickin said the directory also included local knowledge that was helpful to new residents, older people and young families
“We will list the local tide times for the first year; we include a district map and local streets maps of Athenree, Bowentown, Ongare Point, Tuapiro Point, Te Kauri Point and Katikati;
and we also list all local and national emergency contacts ”
Contact information for local clubs, social services, help agencies, support groups, churches, local Justices of the Peace are listed, as are locations of local AEDs (Autmotic External Defibrillators)
The work of the Lions club is also printed
“We put in as much information as we can to make it useful – and free copies of the directory all always available at Katikati Information Centre for those new to town
“The way the public can help us is to check the current directory – the one with the two Lions on the front – and if your contact details are incorrect, you can fill out a form or email us ”
Pickin said the directory is also on the lookout for advertisers to renew bookings or come on board “That’s what pays for the book It costs $40,000 to put out
“We print 5300 copies The Lions deliver to every business and house in our area – either rural delivery or by hand ”
Pickin said she wanted potential advertisers to know that despite the book now covering two years, advertising prices will not double “The price still hasn’t been set – but it will certainly not be a two-year price ”
Merle Cave
More than 120 college students from the Bay of Plenty and Waikato will converge on a Katikati orchard today, to compete in timed horticulture and agriculture tasks and glimpse the world of food and fibre
The inaugural Bay of Plenty Clash of the Colleges will see students from Tauranga, Katikati, Coromandel, Hauraki and eastern Waikato compete in teams of four to test their practical skills, knowledge and teamwork across a range of skill modules
Agri Futures general manager Daniel O’Regan said the event began in 2019 and had steadily grown to be hosted in Franklin near Auckland, Telford on the border of Otago and Southland, Ashburton in Canterbury, and Palmerston North in the Mid Central region “This is the first time we ’ ve brought the event to the Bay of Plenty – and this is also the first time we ’ ve had a horticultural focus to it, to mirror the area ’ s kiwifruit and avocado industries
“For this event, we will have an increased focus on horticulture, including kiwifruit, plant and seed ID, pest control and avocados, while providing students with the wider food and fibre experience,” O’Regan said
Today 31 teams of four from seven schools will clash at the Kenna family orchard on Matahui Rd, just south of Katikati “Schools registered include Tauranga Boy’s College, Katikati College, Hauraki Plains College, Putāruru College, Morrinsville College, Te Awamutu College and Pāpāmoa College ”
Two competitions will run – for juniors in Years 9-10, and for seniors in Year 11-13
Confirmed modules would include seed and plant identification; tree identification; kiwifruit grading; avocado facts and nutrition; biosecurity; drenching; resilient landscapes, an apiary challenge; break fencing; wool identification and handpiece with local sheep farmers; an arboriculture challenge; chainsaw starting; a fencing wire tie-off; garden layout planting; a sulky horse race and equipment identification; and a gumboot cleaning exercise followed by a gumbootthrowing competition
Teams of four will have six minutes at each station before moving to the next.
O’Regan said Agri Futures was
encouraged to host the BOP event by its MC Tangaroa Walker – a Southland farmer and social media agri-educator –and Katikati kiwifruit orchard manager Daniel Kenna from Future Farmers
“Future Farmers NZ is pretty keen on getting people to learn about agriculture and food and fibre who wouldn’t usually get the chance,” Kenna said He first helped the event by building an immigration module When he heard that Agri Futures was looking to set up Clash of Colleges in the Bay of Plenty he offered his family’s orchard
“I think the Western Bay [of Plenty] has a huge amount to offer in terms of opportunities for young people – to not only get involved in horticulture but to sort of get a taste of what’s on offer
“So it’s awesome to see children coming from the Coromandel, the Waikato and abroad ”
Kenna said his family had been in Katikati for nearly 50 years, and the event would be held on one of their kiwifruit orchards on Matahui Rd “I’m super excited that we can bring this great initiative to my backyard and help support the next generation of food and fibre
leaders and workers ”
The day will be MC’d by Walker – a Tauranga College old boy, who today has more than 360,000 online followers. He was 2011’s Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer and 2023’s Agriculture Communicator of the Year “Bringing the Clash of the Colleges home is special for me, ” said Walker “I would’ve loved this at high school – competing, brings out the best in rangatahi [youth] and helps them showcase their skills, but also makes them eager and keen to learn I can ’ t wait to see the energy these students bring ” Katikati College teacher Kate Sutherland, who heads the school’s horticultural education centre GrowHub, said she was taking seven teams to Bay of Plenty Clash of the Colleges “It’s a fantastic way for them [students] to get exposed to agriculture and horticulture tasks and learn new skills and techniques and integrate with other people from other schools and meet industry figures – and have fun while doing it ” Sutherland said some of the modules at the clash would tie into some of the learning students do at GrowHub –for example, plant identification and
“We have standards the senior students work on that have those components to them Some of the more practical aspects such as fencing are more agricultural-based – but they all tie into the wider picture of the industry, so I think it’s really valuable for students to have that exposure ” Sutherland said many of her students who will compete came from lifestyle blocks, farms and orchards “So they’ve got a bit of the that knowledge anyway – and it’s something to be proud of and something to be involved with because we need young people getting into food production and management. ”
A Katikati resident fears locals will face “ a long drive to Tauranga” for healthcare if their medical centre loses its rural funding contract
Katikati Medical Centre, about 40 minutes’ drive north of Tauranga, receives government funding through a rural primary health care agreement
The centre ’ s co-owner and GP Dr Vicky Jones says it has received provisional notice of its rural contract ending on June 30
She feared it could then be reclassified as
“urban” because of potential changes to the definition of a rural practice
She understood this would mean losing several hundred thousand dollars in rural funding, and the practice no longer being able to afford to open on weekends or public holidays, or to offer some types of more complex or urgent care
She said she understood a “grandfather” clause meant affected practices would get “ some degree of funding” for one year, “and then it will be gone ”
Her online petition to “ save ” the centre ’ s rural funding
She started an online petition to “ save ” the centre ’ s rural funding had more than 2300 signatures as of Wednesday
Health NZ said no decisions had been made on its nationwide rural funding proposal and it could not comment on the specifics of possible funding or transition arrangements
The agency said it expected any transition would be managed so medical clinics did not see a reduction in funding
Robins Nest Early Childhood Centre
owner Zoe Farnath said she was concerned about the centre ’ s potential loss of its rural funding contract
“We just like to know that it’s there if we need it and if it’s not there it’s a long drive to Tauranga ”
Farnath said access to nearby healthcare was essential for families with young children
In her view: “If services are reduced and families have to travel to Tauranga, it will mean delays in care, added stress, and in some cases, children not being seen as quickly as they should be”
The mother-of-two said the cost of travel and lack of public transport could also be barriers for families
“Tauranga’s health services are already under significant pressure, and this would only add to that strain ”
She urged Health NZ to ensure rural communities continued to have “fair access
to essential care ”
“We rely on strong local health services to support our tamariki and their whānau. Reducing these services will have a real impact across the whole community”
Katikati Bowling Club president Bryn Gradwell said the club had an “aged demographic” with many “frequent visitors” to the medical centre
If the changes went ahead, “it would have a huge impact”
Gradwell said accessing medical appointments, treatment, and advice locally was “ more than a convenience”
“There’s an anxiousness about not being able to see your own GP or people you ’ re familiar with
“Our people just visiting the local medical centre is a comfort in itself rather than going somewhere strange and they’re unfamiliar with ”
He said Tauranga Hospital was up to 40 minutes away “ on a good run ”
“But many a time, our people have been there for one and a half hours in the traffic, or longer.”
Katikati Community Board member John Clements said several, “quite
An elderly Katikati person was recently scammed over the phone by a person pretending to be from Spark, saying that their router was compromised. After some very smooth talking the victim was tricked into depositing thousands into another bank account.
This is a reminder to never engage with cold callers that ask you to carry out acts on your phone or computer while they are on the phone It is best to hang up and contact your bank on their official number to make sure your account has not been compromised after you think you have had a call from a scammer
Two Facebook scams were also reported where the buyers had been convinced to place deposits into a bank account for items before the sellers closed off all contact.
April 18: A red Honda 450 quad bike was stolen from a shipping container located on a rural property on Whakamārama Rd. Enquiries
are continuing. April 18: Sheets of flooring were stolen from a building site on Alexander St in Katikati. (See apprehensions)
April 20: Petrol was siphoned from a boat parked on a property on Prole Rd at Ōmokoroa about 5am.
April 22: A cafe on Main Rd in Katikati was broken into and a bottle of whiskey and a sum of money was taken. (See apprehensions)
April 28: A Katikati second-hand store was broken into
Two shoplifting events were reported at Katikati premises. Enquiries are continuing
April 18: A 34-year-old Katikati man was arrested and charged with the burglary at a Whakamārama property on Esdaile Rd that on April 4. He was also charged with the theft of petrol from a vehicle parked at the Challenge Station in Whakamārama where a drill was used to bore a hole in the vehicle’s petrol tank.
April 19: A 43-year-old Katikati man
was arrested for assaulting a person in a family relationship and resisting arrest.
horrified” people had approached him about the potential change
“There is general concern because it’s not convenient ”
Clements said a lot of elderly people lived in Katikati and it would be “virtually impossible” for them to travel to and from Tauranga
He was also concerned about the additional demand it would place on the hospital
Western Bay of Plenty District Council
Mayor James Denyer said he supported maintaining healthcare services in Katikati
No decision made
Health NZ living well acting director Astuti Balram said the agency was considering changes to rural funding proposed by a primary care sector rural working group and no decisions had been made
The proposal was aimed at strengthening funding for practices serving rural communities to better support rural communities’ access to primary health care, Balram said.
“If changes to rural funding allocation are agreed, then Health NZ would expect to ensure that the transition is managed so that medical clinics do not see a reduction in their funding ”
Katikati policereport
April 23: A 47-yearold woman of no fixed abode was arrested for trespassing a Katikkati adddress.
April 24: A 35-year-old Katikati man arrested for breaching his bail conditions.
April 28: A 34-year-old woman of no fixed abode was arrested at Te Puna after barricading herself in paid accommodation and refusing to leave. She was held in custody for breaching previous bail conditions.
April 30: A 58-year-old Ōmokoroa man was arrested for making a fictitious phone call, which resulted in an unnecessary armed response on the peninsula. He appeared in court on May 1.
April 30: A 24-year-old Auckland man who was staying in Katikati recently was arrested for the burglaries of a Katikati café and a Katikati second-hand store. He was also charged with unlawful possession of ammunition. He was held in custody to appear in Tauranga District Court on May 1.
Boundary lines are indicative only
This 5-hectare property comprises approximately 1 64 canopy hectares of licensed Sungold kiwifruit (G3) and 1 42 canopy hectares of well-established Hayward green kiwifruit all irrigated The full crop proceeds from the 2025/26 season are included in the sale, providing immediate income security from day one Adding further diversity, there is approximately 200 young Hass avocado trees already showing a promising crop for 2026/27 season Beyond production the property offers a 1000m² (approx ) prepared house site is ready for your dream home, with additional space for gardens, orchards, or landscaping to further enhance the setting The inclusion of a picturesque freshwater pond adds natural character and tranquility creating a truly special rural environment Being sold + GST if any
Auction Thurs 21 May from 1pm 247 Cameron Road Tauranga (un ess sold prior)
View 10 30-11 30am Sat 9 May & Sun 10 May or by appointment
Durrelle Green 027 949 3725
durrelle green@eves co nz
