Katikati News

5 June, 2026

By youth, for youth!

Katikati 10-year-old Pewee Tewhakaara spends a bit of time with mates at his town ’ s skatepark on Fairview Rd.

This month he’ll swap his skateboard for spray-paint cans as he helps bring his vision of transforming the skatepark to life, thanks to Katikati Open Air Art (KOAA).

It was a conversation that Pewee had with KOAA arts coordinator Peri St John-Ives a few years back that sparked the idea to revitalise the community facility

On June 19-22 a four-day event will see Tauranga-based street artist Kalib Wallace work with local youth to paint the curves,

jumps and bowl of Katikati’s skatepark.

“The Friday [June 19] and the Monday [June 22] will mainly be for Katikati College students chosen by teachers to participate in the project,” St John-Ives said.

“But on the Saturday [June 20] and Sunday [June 21], youth aged 7 to 17 are welcome to

just turn up to get involved!” St John-Ives said all paint and art equipment will be provided. “All those who want to participate need to do is get there and bring their own food and water No art experience is needed.” Find out more on page 5.

WESTERN BAY HEATING, AIR CONDITIONING AND VENTILATION SPECIALISTS

Enjoy reliable heating in winter and efﬁcient cooling in summer, all while lowering your energy bills Experience optimal efﬁciency and improved air quality with a sustainable solution that ensures a cozy and healthy living environment

Proud sponsors of the junior teams at Katikati Football Club

Locally owned and operated since 2016

Photo / Merle Cave

PIES IL BLE FROM:

Barfoot & ompson aihi Beach

Beach rocers

Beach aven

Beachhaven Caravan Park

Flat hite Cafe

G S aihi Beach

iSite aihi

Seaforth Park

Seaside Store

aihi Beach 4 Square

aihi Beach Superette

aihi Town Cats

BP Service Station

oolworths Katikati

E ES - Katikati

atikati 4 Square

atikati Information Centre

Katikati Paper Plus

Katikati Primary School

Katikopy Print

Park Road Dairy

Raine & Horne

Spate of vehicle thefts

Apart from the spate of vehicle thefts and attempted vehicle thefts overnight on May 23 in Katikati, it’s been a quieter week than usual

Please remember – if you see something, say something! Look out for your neighbours – and if you don’t lock it, you could lose it Call 111 if an incident is happening now, or call 105 after the event

Theft

May 14: Several hundred dollars’ worth of clothes were stolen from a Te Puna retail store

May 21: A number of plants were stolen from Te Puna Quarry Park Police are following a positive line of enquiry

Wilful damage

May 18: A car window smashed in Carisbrooke St in Katikati (see apprehensions)

Unlawfully taken motor vehicles

Katikati policereport

Sergeant Steve Hindmarsh

v vehicle from a Park Rd address in Katikati

Other

Youths were warned for smoking cannabis at Lindemann Rd lookout

Arrests and apprehensions

May 15: A 43-year-old Katikati woman was charged with driving with excess breath alcohol on Waterford Rd, and three other drivers were fined for alcohol limits between 250mg and 40mg of alcohol per litre of breath

May 18: A 17-year-old youth was referred to Youth Aid in relation to smashing a vehicle window

Viewing platform re-opens

Sightseers can once again enjoy sweeping views across the Western Bay and beyond, with a new viewing platform officially opened at the Minden Lookout.

The structure was blessed with a karakia by Pirirākau’s Heta Gardiner before Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James Denyer cut the ribbon, marking the reopening of the popular site

Representatives from Pirirākau and Ngāti Taka hapū joined members of the Bethlehem Te Puna Lions Club, alongside Western Bay of Plenty District councillors, community board members, council staff and contractors for the May 19 opening

Denyer said the lookout remained one of the district’s most iconic attractions, valued by both visitors and locals. “This is an awesome spot with beautiful panoramic views. It’s not only for tourists – it also gives us a real sense of place.

“Looking out from Te Kura a Maia in Bowentown to Mauao, Whakaari and beyond, it shows the geography of where we live and reminds us that the Western Bay of Plenty is one of the loveliest places in New Zealand.”

Located near the corner of Minden and Junction Rds, the lookout sits 286m above sea level and offers expansive views across Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Matakana Island and the surrounding coastline.

The new covered platform replaces the original structure, which was built and gifted by the former Ōmokoroa Te Puna Lions Club in 1977 It was removed in 2024 due to safety concerns

e Centre - Patuki anawa Library

Bower Real Estate atikati

Caltex Service Station

May 23: There was attempt made to steal a Mazda Atenza vehicle from Park Rd in Katikati

Fresh Choice Supermarket mokoroa

May 21: A 30-year-old Katikati woman was charged and arrested for failing to appear at court and breaching her bail conditions

Designed to meet modern building standards, the replacement featured steel roof beams, compared with the largely timber construction of its predecessor An accessible path had been added, improving access to the site

Omokoroa Superette

mokoroa inimart

Story Ideas:

May 23-24: A Nissan Tida was stolen from a Beach Rd in Katikati and recovered abandoned in Waihi on the morning of May 24

May 22: A 44-year-old Minden man was arrested and charged with offensive use of a telephone and speaking threateningly He was also charged with being the driver of a motor vehicle refused to provide a blood sample

Under the Kaimai Reserve Management Plan 2025, the council committed to working with mana whenua to incorporate heritage information at the lookout in future Bethlehem Te Puna Lions Club member Ron Stephens said the rebuild recognised both the site’s history and its enduring appeal. “It has always had recognition for the wonderful view, even before structures were built to encourage people to come and share it.”

news@katikatiadvertiserconz

dvertising Enquiries:

May 23-24: A Nissan Tida was stolen from Clive Rd in Katikati and found on Longmynd Drive on the morning of May 24

May 23: A 29-year-old Katikati woman arrested for breaching her bail conditions

advertise@nzme.co.nz

May 24: There was an attempt made to steal a Mazda Demio

May 26: A 47-year-old Aongatete woman was arrested for breaching her bail conditions

Stephens, who was involved when the original platform was constructed, said the club was grateful to see its legacy continued. “We’re thankful for this big step forward and look forward to people continuing to enjoy one of the most tremendous views anywhere.”

Callout for businesses to support patrol’s work

The eyes and ears for police – that patrol Katikati regularly – are asking the community and local businesses t to assist them with funding to keep their service out of the red.

Katikati Community Patrol – known i in town as the Night Owls – runs three r regular night patrols and spontaneous day

patrols to keep the community safe.

After volunteer numbers dipped to 13 a few months ago, the group is back to a healthy team of 20 but running costs mean their bank account needs more

support

Katikati Community Patrol chairman Ross Sutherland said the costs of the patrol were mainly running of the patrol vehicle, uniforms, cellphone and internet packages and personnel training Vehicle maintenance, tyres and registration all added up quickly, he said

To mitigate rising fuel costs the group had shortened the length of its patrols, Sutherland said.

“We need about $5000 to $5500 per year to run the p patrol,” he said

Katikati Commuunity Patrol volunteer Noeline Shaw said funding got “ pretty low” recently “Ross had since done great job of getting somme funds in but we now want to focus on fundraising ahead of time,” she said. “We want to keep ahead of our costs so we don’t have to do fundraising all the time,” Sutherland said

The work

The patrols are run with two volunteers per shift – their key task was to report signs of suspicious activity, assist in accident and crime scenes, watch out for stolen vehicles and other property reported as stolen. Sutherland said the patrol kept an eye on rural land with property stolen from the growers of kiwifruit and avocado orchards and commercial properties around Katikati “plus residential home owners that make up our community”. All information is

reported directly to the NZ Police. “The patrol car is fitted out with a police radio therefore we can report directly to Police Communications as needed,” Sutherland said “We also have an AED [Automated External Defibrillator] on-board too ”

The patrol travels about 70km per shift, with a coverage area from Tanners Point through to Morton Rd, and all adjacent roads off SH2. This included Ongare Point and Kauri Point villages, Fairview Estate and the Beach Road Boat Ramp, Sutherland said

The patrol is affiliated with Community Patrols New Zealand (CPNZ) but community patrols are organised and operated by their local community, Sutherland said, and raise their operating expenses through local sponsorship and donations.

The need

Sutherland said a few local businesses had been generous. “We really appreciate your support and hope to continue to provide you with top quality service for future years. “[However] If every business approached was able to give a monthly donation, something that is affordable for your business by way of automatic payment into our account for 12 months it would be of immense help and very much appreciated.”

Being a registered charity, Katikati Community Patrol can provide an invoice at the end of the financial year for donations. To support Katikati Community Patrol, phone Ross Sutherland on 021 301 339 or email: katikati@cpnz.org.nz

Merle Cave

Katikati Community Patrol chairman Ross Sutherland and volunteer Noeline Shaw ask the community and local businesses to back their work. Photo / Merle Cave

Shipping container site leaving Katikati

A shipping container terminal at the northern entrance to Katikati, which the community called an “eyesore”, is moving to Hamilton.

Former site owner Ray Cobb said the whole situation had been “ a storm in a teacup ” and trucks would continue to travel through the town daily regardless of the container yard moving.

Only now, the income the business brought to the town would be gone

“There were a lot of businesses that benefited from it.”

Some residents, however, are welcoming the move.

The industrial site alongside State Highway 2/Waterford Rd is near Uretara Domain and accessed from Phillip Walter Drive, a residential street

A spokesperson from the shipping container company said the business faced a lot of backlash from the community for being an “eyesore”, as well as for noise and dust from the yard.

He said the move to Hamilton was not due to the backlash but to concerns following recent extreme weather events that closed key roads to Auckland and Tauranga.

The spokesperson said the business thought moving into the Katikati area would have been a good thing for employment and for a cash injection for local businesses, such as vehicle services

“We’ve invested at least half a million dollars into the Katikati community between service providers in the last nine months and that’s something they won ’ t gain next year ”

Several locals who were hired as truck drivers would no longer work for the company when it moved, he said He said after community members posted complaints about the operation on Facebook, the Western Bay of Plenty District Council checked the operations at the site

“ we were actually not stacking as high as we were allowed”

He said the company tried to work with the community and be a good neighbour, for example not operating during the A&P show at the Uretara Domain back in February, and taking steps to prevent dust blowing on to the fields

He said the company was moving to a purpose-built site in Hamilton

The business had stopped operating at the site, and its lease would end in July

The man spoke to Local Democracy Reporting on the condition the company was not named.

Current landowner, Thor Hein, said the site would be repurposed into selfstorage, including for boats, campervans and caravans

He said the site would be upgraded before reopening, including new fencing, painting and tidying up the appearance

Hein said the whole town had given the company “absolute reprimand” despite the operation being allowed under the District Plan

“They haven’t been treated fairly”

He said heaps of container trucks were coming through the town all day long anyway

Katch Katikati promotions manager

Jacqui Knight said the containers had sparked a lot of discussion

“While we support our local businesses and understand why the site is being used, we also care about the first impression our town gives ”

She said better maintenance of the grass and trees, and perhaps some screening, would have helped

“With some improvements to the look of the entrance, perhaps the containers wouldn’t stand out as much ”

families living close to the site.

He said the council checked that the company was following the District Plan.

“I know they really tried to make this work.”

He said the community was happy the company was moving.

Fellow ward councillor, Allan Sole, said the neighbours would be pleased to see it go It had employed locals, however, and would be an “economic loss” to the area.

“It was a great opportunity for Katikati to have another industry here, and it was putting money into the town. ”

He said it would have been better if the company were on a different site, though it had been compliant with the rules. He

Katikati resident Jennifer Slade said she understood the land was zoned industrial, but the container terminal created noise, traffic problems and brought more container trucks to town

In her view, the noise and inconvenience to local residents was “incomprehensible”

“Our footpaths are disgusting, and gutters are always dirty”

Katikati ward councillor Rodney Joyce said the noise of the operation carried a long distance

He said he could hear it outside his home near the end of Park Rd.

The biggest issues had been for the

said the council told him noise limits were not breached.

“It wasn ’ t the most wonderful thing to look at as you drove by “I wouldn’t have liked it next to me. ” Western Bay of Plenty District Council regulatory services general manager Alison Curtis said the council received 20 complaints about the site between November 2025 and the end of April 2026. Noise monitoring by council officers in March found no breaches.

– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air

Ayla Yeoman

First stage of Ōmokoroa Road works now complete

Major upgrades to a key stretch of Ōmokoroa Rd have been completed, marking the end of the first stage of works between State Highway 2 and Prole Rd

Traffic management was removed last week, with the speed limit on the upgraded section set at 60km/h once works were cleared, according to Western Bay of Plenty District Council.

The project has widened the road from two lanes to four, delivering upgraded road layers, kerbs and channels, and a new roundabout connecting to a new industrial access road

The work also opens up access to zoned industrial land near SH2, supported by a temporary stormwater pond while a permanent solution is finalised

Additional improvements included undergrounding overhead power lines, upgrading fibre and telecommunications infrastructure, improving stormwater

systems, and ll islands, stre markings Council in delivery ma said the up continues t “Ōmokor and these u sure our inf improving everyone us Badenhor could expec intersection cycling faci

nd installing new centre eetlighting, signage and road

nfrastructure growth and anager Annelie Badenhorst grades were critical as the area to expand

roa continues to grow rapidly, upgrades are about making frastructure keeps pace while safety and accessibility for sing the road ” rst said motorists and residents ct improved traffic flow, safer ns, and better walking and ilities along the route owledged the impact of the he community, thanking or their patience during n a knowledged

She ackno work on th residents fo construction, and also acknowledged contractor Higgins and central government funding support

Stage one of the project cost $13 million and was supported through the Government’s Infrastructure Acceleration

Ōmokoroa Road, seen here a few months back, have now been completed

Photo / Kelly OHara

Fund, now administered by National Infrastructure Funding and Financing A formal opening was planned in coming months

Meanwhile, work continued on stage

two of the Ōmokoroa Rd urbanisation project, extending from Prole Rd to the railway line near the Ōmokoroa fire station, with completion expected about October

Roadworks

On Tuesday this week the container terminal looked empty from SH2

Free youth street art days to enhance skatepark

The curves, jumps and bowl of Katikati’s skatepark will be transformed with street art at the hands and imaginations of local youth this month.

Katikati Open Air Art (KOAA) has been working on a project to makeover the skatepark’s surfaces for more than a year

A design process was undertaken in March 2025 and KOAA arts coordinator

Peri St John-Ives had since been working hard in the background to turn the youthinitiated dream into reality

Now it’s time to get the spray-paint out – with Katikati youth encouraged to turn up at the Fairview Rd skate park on the weekend of June 20-21 between 9am and 5pm to take part.

St John-Ives said the street art project will be a four-day event – from June 19-22 – with Tauranga-based street artist Kalib Wallace commissioned to lead it. Wallace is known for his commissioned artworks around Western Bay of Plenty and for mentoring Te Puke youth via his 247 Health and Fitness gym in the township

Youth

go June 20-21

“The Friday [June 19] and the Monday [June 22] will mainly be for Katikati College students chosen by teachers to participate in the project,” St John-Ives said.

“But on the Saturday [June 20] and Sunday [June 21], youth aged 7 to 17 are welcome to just turn up to get involved. He [Kalib Wallace] has a capacity to take on 50 at the most.

“If more youth turn up, we will not turn them away – they can have a go at spraypainting and being part of it ”

St John-Ives said all paint and associated art equipment will be provided. “All those who want to participate need to do is get there and bring their own food and water No art experience is needed.”

St John-Ives said Wallace will teach local youth street art techniques using spray-paint – and together they would spray-paint the surface of the skate bowl to enhance the area for those who use it –

mainly rangatahi [youngsters] “The street art will be applied to curved parts of the skate bowl and jumps at the park.

“There will be some kick-back from the community about the art making the curved parts slippery but we have consulted with professional skaters and they have advised that we just use spray paint [to keep the surfaces safe to use] ”

Youth-initiated

St John-Ives said the idea for the street art tuition and work to the skate park came from local skaters

“The idea came from me visiting the skate park with my kids I was talking to local boy Pewee Tewhakaara, 10, who uses the skate park regularly,” she said. “He wanted to see the skatepark look more exciting and inviting ”

After taking on Pewee’s thoughts and comments, she went away with a plan to turn his vision into reality

The 10-year-old told Katikati News it was awesome the street art would happen and he planned to be there to take part.

“Yeah! It will be good,” he said.

Separate project

St John-Ives said once she started to work on the project she connected with Katikati Community Led Development (KCLD) group, which is working on a separate project for the area surrounding the skatepark. “We are two separate groups but we do talk to each other”

St John-Ives said the council was the main artwork sponsor at this month’s event.

“We’ve also had support from Skate Pro, the Acorn Foundation, Katch Katikati and Creative Bay of Plenty”

Western Bay of Plenty District Council reserves and facilities manager Peter Watson said weather permitting, the skatepark’s surface would be upgraded by Judea-Based concrete specialist Grind King before the event. “It includes diamond grinding of the concrete surface to remove weathered concrete, and repair holes and cracks – followed by the application of a two-coat sealer to preserve the concrete surface,” he said.

St John-Ives said a reveal on June 28 will

celebrate the artwork that Wallace and local youth create. “We’ll have a DJ, some food music and giveaways. We’ve had a company in Denmark send us a whole heap of skateboards and merch[andise] that we will give away ”

Reveal with giveaways

St John-Ives said after she’d sent a heap of emails to NZ-based skateboard companies, she got a reply from SkatePro, which is linked to a Denmark skateboard e

skate gear arrived. “SkatePro have been incredible and have really been behind the project. I’m really excited to give out the skateboards, hoodies and other merchandise at the reveal,” St John-Ives said. “We’ll also have skateboarder and BMX-ers coming along to host demos.” She said if wet weather was forecast for the reveal date, it will be postponed to the following weekend

The community can check for updates on Katikati Open Air Art’s Facebook page.

Councilseeks community feedback

Western Bay of Plenty District Council is asking the community for feedback on the future of a public toilet at Precious Family Reserve in Ōmokoroa

The council is asking for residents’ views on three options: leave the toilet in its present location, relocate it within the reserve, or remove it and put it elsewhere in the district.

Two potential relocation sites have been identified within the reserve, both further along the shared pathway towards the waterfront. Site A is 44m along, while Site B is 64m along

Relocating the toilet is estimated to cost $145,000 at Site A and $185,000 at Site B, the latter being further from water, power and sewer services Proposed sites remain subject to detailed geotechnical assessment, planning consents and compliance with required finished floor levels

Removing the toilet would cost an estimated $50,000, assuming a site is available that does not require land use consent and is close to existing services, the council said The toilet was installed at its current consented location last July after being approved by the council’s projects and monitoring committee However, because of technical constraints, including underground infrastructure and flood risks, that site was not the one

originally intended Since then, community feedback had revealed mixed views about its location, the consultation process and whether it is needed at all

In response, the committee agreed in April to go back to the community before making a final decision

Council reserves and facilities manager

Peter Watson said original ideas were developed in the concept planning phase in 2018 “Since then, the reserve has evolved, community expectations have changed, and more people are using the pathway and open space in different ways e also acknowledge that the gap in time between the original adopted plan and delivery has created some frustration for some in the community That is why we are reopening this conversation now ”

Have your say by June 25

Consultation is open until 11.59pm on June 25. The projects and monitoring committee is expected to make a final decision at its August 25 meeting

Feedback can be provided online, by email, or via hardcopy forms at Ōmokoroa

Library and Service Centre Petitions will not be accepted as formal feedback

To date, $106,336 had been spent on design, consenting, site investigations, construction and installation

care facility providing resthome and hospital level care for con nuity of care

We have a fully renovated co age available now, so please contact us for more informa on or to book a viewing

We look forward to hearing from you

Katikati youngster Pewee Tewhakaara, 10, with KOAA arts coordinator Peri St John-Ives and her daughter Phoebe Leathem, 7, at the about-to-be-transformed skatepark. Photo / Merle Cave

LEVEL 2 COMPLETE

THANKS FOR YOUR FEEDBACK KATIKATI

LEVEL OF AGREEMENT WITH OUR KEY TOPIC SUMMARIES

Housing and growth

Environment and cultural heritage

Community

Infrastructure

Transport and connectivity

Agreed

TOWN CENTRES + STREETSCAPES

45%

Somewhat agreed 30 % 45%

Think easy movement and access for bikes, cars, and people should be the focus.

Disagreed

25 %

INFRASTRUCTURE

51%

Think we should invest in future infrastructure as needed to maintain current levels of service.

Compared with ‘keeping costs low and get the most out of existing assets’ (28%) or ‘spending more to increase what we deliver because more people need it’ (21%)

LETTING NATURE DO MORE OF THE WORK

Should we let some areas of our reserves grow more naturally, with less mowing?

Compared with ‘keeping streets simple and functional to keep costs down’ (30%) and ‘creating attractive streets with trees and planting, even if it costs more’ (25%)

TRANSPORT + CONNECTIVITY

What matters most to you when it comes to moving around?

Safety improvements (barriers, streetlights)

Road maintenance

Addressing congestion

Roadside aesthetics (mowing, street gardens/trees)

Road improvements (widening, drainage)

Walkways, footpaths and cycleways

Public transport/local shuttles

Resilience improvements (access/safety in emergencies)

Keeping costs low