Tauranga locals celebrate New Year’s Eve with music, food and entertainment

Kylie Stewart with Ada Stewart-Smith, 1, and Aston Stewart-Smith, 7, at Gordon Spratt Reserve's New Year's Eve celebrations. Photo / Carmen Hall

Tauranga locals celebrated the end of 2022 with live music, entertainment, food trucks and kids activities on Saturday night.

But emergency services did not get the night off, with a fire believed to be caused by fireworks, a runaway bouncy castle and people getting into trouble in the water and up Mauao/Mount Maunganui.

Thousands of people went to five free community New Year’s Eve celebrations put on by the Tauranga City Council at Gordon Spratt Reserve, the city waterfront, Blake Park, Tauranga Racecourse and Fergusson Park in Matua.

And at Mount Maunganui, a sold-out crowd were at Trustpower Baypark for the Famous Last Words music festival, which featured an international lineup including Hybrid Minds, Tempza, 1991 and Phantom.

Pāpāmoa locals gathered at Gordon Spratt Reserve, including Paul McCarthy and his son Rome. McCarthy said they attended it two years ago and were looking forward to another fantastic event.

“We came for the kids.”

Paul McCarthy and his son Rome at the New Year's Eve event at Gordon Spratt Reserve. Photo / Carmen Hall

Kylie Stewart said the Pāpāmoa event was a great time to celebrate.

“I like that it is really family- and community-focused.”

Police were also kept busy but in general, they were pleased with the behaviour of New Year’s Eve revellers. A large police presence ensured that any incidents were dealt with quickly, a police spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman said police received a report at 1.20am of someone requiring assistance in the water off The Mall in Mount Maunganui. Police attended and one person was treated by an ambulance.

A Hato Hone St John spokeswoman said one patient in a moderate condition was assessed and treated at the scene.

In Tauranga, four fire crews were called to deal with a fire in the roof of a house in Parkvale at about 12.20am, reportedly ignited by fireworks, a Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand’s Eastern Region lifesaving manager Chaz Gibbons-Campbell said Hahei Beach in Coromandel had “quite a bit of action” with two rescues and a few assists.

“And Mount Maunganui just had lots of [medical callouts] up the Mount.”

Lifeguards helped two people walking up the Mount who struggled with shortness of breath and also helped someone with a broken arm, he said.

“The guards at Whangamatā [on Saturday] ended up rescuing a girl who had been blown out to sea 300 metres offshore on her little boogie board, so she was very lucky as well.”

Gibbons-Campbell said there were a few minorly intoxicated people on the beaches on Saturday.

“Hopefully we should see a bit of a reduction in that now that the festivities are coming to an end. But it’s just important to know alcohol and water don’t mix and if you have had too many drinks, it’s best to just stay out of the water altogether.”

Jamie-Lee Bennett (left), 28, from Mount Maunganui, attended the L.A.B. concert with her aunt and uncle Jackie and Karl Pakau from Pukehina. Photo / Sandra Conchie

On Friday, L.A.B. kicked off their Summer Tour at Wharepai Domain in front of a sellout crowd.

Jackie Pakau from Pukehina attended the concert with her husband Karl and niece from Mount Maunganui, Jamie-Lee Bennett.

“We love going to music concerts as a family,” Pakau said.

“This one was right up there, a 10 out of 10 for sure.”

Pakau said the concert venue was great with a good selection of food stalls and the event was run “really professionally”.

As for the music, Pakau said L.A.B. were at their most “awesome” and the whole concert was “just fantastic”.

“L.A.B. know how to get the crowd totally involved. They had everybody singing.”

Pakau said she joined in wherever she could and sang along to her favourite, Can You Be The One.

“They played great and they had a good mix of songs.”