The lights in Kaiwaka may have dimmed in recent years, but the community spirit is still very much alive and well. Located on one of the narrowest pieces of land between the east and west coast, Kaiwaka has been trying to get your attention for years.It all started in the 1990s when a local man, Mark Ottoway, decided to get the town lit up. The call to action went out and the locals responded. The church, the bookshop, the bakery, and the cafés plugged in and switched on. The little town of lights had officially been sparked to life. Two decades later, the bulbs have blown and replacements are no longer manufactured. The bright street lighting has also overshadowed the community’s efforts to provide their own unique glow. Reliability and cost effectiveness have been a problem but with new LED technology, the town plans to bring back the illuminations by Christmas.State Highway One runs right through the heart of the town, delivering revenue and visitors, but it’s a curse

LOCAL NEWS:

as much as a blessing. The bohemian artistic feel of the town is constantly punctuated by the incessant thunder of huge trucks and cars speeding past.The locals have recently started an action group called Kaiwaka Can. They have been liaising with NZTA to drop the 70 kilometres-per-hour zone down to 50kph and to police the 50kph zone. NZTA, along with Council, has

recognised 29 issues raised by the group and it is developing a comprehensive plan to meet those needs. Traffic calming measures that have proven successful in other areas are increased trees, more parking, pedestrian crossings, and narrower stretches of road. The town has always had a can-do attitude, having helped build its own sports complex and continues to finance

Slow down through our townit through fundraising initiatives. Locals also have a drop-in advice centre that is open three days a week with free internet and a Justice of the Peace. The town itself is an eclectic mix of shops and cafes, including antiques, arts and crafts, a bakery, and a specialist gourmet cheese shop that stocks over 50 different varieties. The general store has been in the same family since 1924 and continues to provide employment and serve the local community. Bianca’s Cafe is an interior designer’s delightful stop, the decor offers a glamorous cat-walk down memory lane – picture a Victorian boudoir with Ponsonby chic and you’re halfway to imagining the splendour. Bianca is also an unforgettably gregarious host.Many visitors to Kaiwaka will have noticed the ship-shaped Eutopia Cafe with its stunning array of glittering mosaics and nautical theme. The cafe is currently undergoing renovations, but will re-open true to form with its trademark styling, and a secluded courtyard area away from the main highway.

KAIWAKAour patch

20 Mahurangimatters June 15, 2016 KAIWAKAour patch

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• The resident population of Kaiwaka at the time of the 2013 census was 579, an increase of 42 people, or 7.8 per cent, since the 2006 census.

• There are exactly the same

number of females and males in Kaiwaka, and most are aged between 15 and 64 years. The median age is 36.8 years in Kaiwaka.

• The most common ethnic

groups are European (72.9 per cent), followed by Maori (34.6 per cent).

• There are 213 occupied dwellings and 33 unoccupied dwellings, and one-family households

make up 67.6 per cent of all households.

• Nearly 69 per cent of Kaiwaka households are owner-occupied.

Statistics NZ

TOWN STATS

Derek Christensen“It’s small, it’s relaxed, it’s got beautiful surroundings with beaches nearby and native bush. We have good people in Kaiwaka, people that have been here a long time and put a huge amount of work into the community. It is changing. We are getting more people from Auckland who are working from home or commute part time. We also have people buying investment properties to rent out.”

Lee-Ann Hamilton“It’s a perfect location. I run a business from home, I’m five minutes to the courier, 10 minutes to the medical centre, 20 minutes to the best surf beach, and 45 minutes to Whangarei. It’s got everything you need, but you feel like you’re 100 miles away in a beautiful rural area. We have a lifestyle block and our neighbour is a dairy farmer – we move cows around and he helps out when we don’t know what we are doing. People here help each other out.”

Mike Hay“I live just out of Kaiwaka in a rural area. I love the kauri forests and the nearness to the beaches. There is a very strong sense of community here. Everybody realises that if you don’t get involved, you become isolated. I moved here from Palmerston North four years ago to be closer to my grand-children who are in Auckland.”

Bianca Hartley“Kaiwaka is amazing for its cultural and lifestyle diversity. There is a very boutique feel about the whole township. I moved here from Auckland for those reasons. I liken our community to one large family – we may be spread out, but we are a close community. Kaiwaka is on one of the narrowest land strips in the country so we get to go to the east or west coast.”

LOCALS TALKING:

21MahurangimattersJune 15, 2016KAIWAKAour patch

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ACTIVITY WALKS

Just up the road from Kaiwaka lies the Brynderwyn Hills walk, which offers outstanding panoramic and coastal views.The Brynderwyn Hills stretch from Mangawhai Heads on the east coast towards the eastern arms of the Kaipara Harbour.The western entrance of the Brynderwyn Hills walkway is at the small car park at the summit of the Brynderwyn’s, opposite the old café on State Highway One.The track is 12 kilometres long and takes approximately six hours. From the western end it soon offers stunning views out to Whangarei Heads and Bream Bay. It follows an old logging

road, which can be slightly muddy under foot at this time of year, and runs around the top of a large quarry. You continue on past a basin of native bush before descending down the valley to a stream.The logging road widens and climbs through pines and onto the ridge, winding out to Cullen Road.At this point you can take a detour to the highest point, Marunui at 397 meters, and take in the panoramic 360-degree views.There is vehicle access where the walk intersects with Cullen Road for a lift home. Alternatively you can continue on down to Waipu Cove Road, a further 7km.

Origins• Kaiwaka, literally translated means, food, or to eat, and canoe. One

of the more popular theories on how the town got its name is that a large fire consumed a fleet of waka. Kaiwaka are also threatening cloud formations that predict misfortune and this is another plausible explanation as to the origins of the town’s name.

• Kaiwaka was the site of the final and most fierce battle of the Musket Wars in 1825, the battle of Te Ika-A-Ranganui. This provides another theory on the origins of the town’s name. Hongi Hika exacted his revenge on the Ngati Whatua, who had slain almost 1000 Ngapuhi including Hongi Hika’s two brothers. Hika ambushed the Ngati Whatua by the Kaiwaka River with his newly acquired arsenal of muskets. The bodies of the slain were placed in the waka, roasted and then eaten.

Sources: zealand.org.nz/whakapapa8, teara.govt.nz

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GETTING CREATIVE

Artist Tatjana Panyoczki moved to Kaiwaka from Titirangi in West Auckland 18 years ago. She first trained as a wig maker in Switzerland and then worked in special effects make-up artistry for film, theatre and television in London. But Tatjana decided to hang up the make-up brushes and go to art school in Auckland. “I was going to be a furniture designer but I was drawn to jewellery. It is to do with my relationship to the body as a make-up artist, and it was a natural progression for me,” Tatjana says.Her jewellery is hard to categorise. She wears a t-shirt that says, ‘I’m not that sort of jeweller!’ Tatjana works with any material that inspires her, often hoarding away things ready to be re-invented into her unique style.Whilst Tatjana works on a small scale, she is married to painter and sculptor Peter Panyoczki, who works mostly on very large-scale pieces.“We work well together and have just had a big collaborative show in

Tatjana Panyoczki

Tatjana Panyoczki: Kaiwaka artistYour one stop deli for a wide range of local and imported cheeses, meats, deli goods,

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Wellington, although obviously we are poles apart on scale,” she says.Tatjana believes living in rural Kaiwaka gives her the peace and tranquillity she needs to help her work. She loves the vibrant local community and says it was a surprise to find such an interesting eclectic mix of people in the area.Her work, as with her husband’s, has received international acclaim, and is displayed in five galleries nationwide, including Piece Gallery in Matakana.

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Opening Hours

Monday - Friday 8am - 6pmSaturday 8am - 7pmSunday & Public Holidays 9am - 5pm