Tauranga school mates become Google Street View stars

Tauranga’s Fergusson Park may be known for its scenic views and peaceful atmosphere but, for a group of Ōtūmoetai College mates, the park will forever be linked with a moment of spontaneous fun that found its way online in a most memorable way.

It all started when Tauranga Astronomical Society president Dave Greig was recently browsing Google Street View - a feature that lets users explore street-level panoramas from around the world.

The five Tauranga friends pose for the Google Street View car at Fergusson Park. Photo / Google Street View

Greig was revisiting familiar haunts, including the Ōtūmoetai Sports & Recreation Club building, which houses the Tauranga Observatory.

“I just about spat my coffee when I discovered this little gem in Fergusson Park,” he said.

He noticed four young men standing on the roof of an Isuzu Bighorn, with a fifth person leaning from the back door, all striking a pose for the Google Street View car as it passed by.

The image, taken in September 2024, is a perfect example of “right place, right time” and has since become an internet sensation in the local Matua and Ōtūmoetai Facebook groups after Grieg uploaded a screenshot.

“These lads were just driving out of the park when they saw the Google car coming in. So, they followed it, parked up and jumped on the roof.”

But how did this unplanned photo-op happen?

The Tauranga group noticed the Google Street View car entering Fergusson Park just as they were exiting. Photo / Google Street View

As it turns out, the five friends, led by Jack Crook – the Isuzu’s driver – had just finished a lunchtime trip from Ōtūmoetai College to Fergusson Park for ice creams.

The hangout turned into an impromptu stunt when they saw the Google Street View car approaching.

“After we finished our ice creams, Jack was going to drop us all off back at college,” Year 13 Kayden Shanks said.

The Street View images show the group’s vehicle leaving the park as the Google Street View car arrives. One of the five is captured leaning and waving out of the window. The camera then captures the group following the car back into Fergusson Park.

“We saw the car and thought, ‘Why not?’” Crook said. “We figured, ‘Let’s jump on the roof, pose and see what happens!’”

The Tauranga group followed the Google Street View car back into Fergusson Park before parking and posing. Photo/Google Street View.

They turned around and stopped, striking their poses when the Street View car returned.

“It was perfect timing,” Shanks said.

He said the Google Street View driver saw them and appeared to laugh.

Four months passed, and the crew forgot about their antics – until this month, when their photo surfaced on Facebook, sparking a flood of comments from amused locals.

Shanks’ mother first alerted him to the photo’s viral rise.

“She saw it on Facebook and told me about it,” he said, still in disbelief. “We didn’t know it was going to be this big.”

Friends started tagging him, with his bleached hair and school uniform identifying him despite Google blurring their faces.

Kayden Shanks, Jack Crook and their three mates posed quickly, ready for the Google Street View car as it came past. Photo/Google Street View.

“Everyone knew it was me,” he said.

“It’s a snapshot of us just before leaving school,” Shanks said. “Now we’ll always have that moment.”

For Crook, an apprentice at Construction One who had finished work early that day, the photo was a reminder of his school days with his mates.

“It’s pretty funny.”

As for the future, the friends are moving in different directions. Shanks will study fashion design at AUT in Auckland, while Crook plans to continue working in construction. others would join the army, study mechanical engineering and go farming.

Greig, too, is enjoying the light-hearted moment.

“Thanks for the laugh, guys,” he said.

Google Maps turns 20 on February 8, marking two decades since its desktop debut in 2005. Street View followed in 2007.

“We’ve had an active Street View photography operation in New Zealand for several years, and we’re committed to keeping our imagery up to date,” a Google New Zealand spokesperson said.

“This helps ensure our Street View imagery provides the most accurate and useful representation of New Zealand’s roads and landscapes.

The last imagery captured for Tauranga was in September 2024.

The Street View car often captured interesting images as it passed people.

The spokesperson said it was all part of the magic of capturing a snapshot of the world.

“That said, we take privacy seriously and blur identifiable faces and licence plates in Street View imagery.”

Other Street View images that have hit the headlines included an Australian teenager who pretended to be dead on the driveway of his home in 2022, and in 2012, a Scottish business owner staged a fake murder and had to apologise for wasting police time.

An Australian teen’s prank has been called "legendary" by online commenters. Photo/ TikTok/ heathy_piip

A business owner in Edinburgh staged a fake murder in 2012. Photo / Google Street View

Caught on the camera on Knightstone Rd, Weston-super-Mare, England in May 2012. Photo/Google Street View.

This person in a horse mask and cozy bathrobe enjoying a banana created this scene for the Street View vehicle in Victoria, British Columbia. Photo/Google Street View.

A flock of pigeon-masked people on a sidewalk in Tokyo. Photo/Google Street View.

A pedestrian in gumboots made a crude gesture in front of Google Street View’s camera in Oban, Stewart Island, in April 2015. Photo / Google Street View

These two men in Bergen, Norway, were dressed in scuba gear just as the Google Street View car drove by. Photo / Google Street View