Amid uncertainty, there is still joy. Racing Tauranga may be fighting to save their land, but their 150th birthday was festively celebrated by their community. Local store owners, clubs and community groups took part on the day to mark the occasion and honour the racing track’s history.
The Festivities
Crowds turned out for the Racing Tauranga 150-year celebrations on Saturday, November 4. There was free entry and entertainment galore for attendees. Along with racing all day, the area’s vintage car club was invited to park around the racecourse and a vintage photo booth was provided for attendees to enjoy. There were workshops for children, and entertainers performing amongst the crowd.
Various competitions engaged the local community prior to the day, including a shop window display competition and a vintage market. There was even a Fashions in the Field event encouraging attendees to dress up in costume from any decade of the last 150 years. The local Red Hat Society women graced the day with their presence, saying the event was perfect for their group’s aims of fun, friends and fellowship.
The History
The first horse races at Tauranga were 150 years ago, by mounted militia.
Racing Tauranga is on a Crown-managed recreation reserve. The land was taken from Ngai Tamarawaho in 1864 during battle. Almost a decade later, a racemeeting was put on. Eight races were held, the largest had eleven starters in the Tauranga Hack Plate. The programme included a hurdle and a trotting race. 1873 saw their first jockey club formed and the government created a reserve for the development of a racecourse. That racecourse is nowadays known as Racing Tauranga.
As modern use of the land is for community, a representative of the Ngai Tamarawaho says, the return of the land was not requested during the Waitangi Treaty Claims.
The Dish
The Crown-protected recreation reserve that Racing Tauranga is on has become disputed territory. The leases of both the racing and golf clubs expire in 2039. In 2019, Tauranga City Council began community consultation regarding the future of the reserve, eventually creating an official study in 2021. Surprise proposals earlier this year for land use change by Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) and Transpower created yet another delay in the finalisation of Council’s study.
Transpower put in their vote for taking up some of the land for upgrades of its neighbouring substation. Tauranga Hospital popped into the April meeting to let the council know that the hospital might want the whole of the area outright. The latter claim brought surprised and fearful reactions from current occupants who want to continue their clubs’ operations on the reserve.
Last year, nearby Tauranga Hospital was diagnosed with four earthquake-prone buildings. Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) began eyeing off the large tract of land as a potential relocation site for some or all of the Tauranga Hospital. Te Whatu Ora’s business case, regarding options for where the future site of the hospital could be, won’t be completed until mid-2024. Tauranga City Council can’t make a final decision on future use of the reserve until (and most likely after) then.
Transpower’s claim, to encroach further onto the Crown reserve land, also came as a surprise. Over the last two decades, the huge increase in the area’s population has put a strain on existing electricity infrastructure. Expanding the neighbouring Greerton substation onto the reserve would relieve some of the “critical issues”. An electricity development plan for the Western Bay of Plenty area is still being worked out, so the substation’s expansion may not be necessary.
Racing Tauranga hopes the recreation reserve will stay the course and remain fully for community use only.
