Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

'Too early to tell': Tauranga-based Tongan vanilla company counts cost of Cyclone Gita

Samantha Motion
By Samantha Motion
Regional Content Leader·Bay of Plenty Times·
12 Feb, 2018 11:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Tropical cyclone hits Tonga. Roofs have been blown off houses, streets are flooding and trees have fallen.

It is too early to tell what damage Cyclone Gita has wrecked on a vanilla crop in Tonga owned by a Tauranga company.

Bethlehem-based Heilala Vanilla chief executive Jennifer Boggiss said staff in Tonga had suffered damage to their homes in the storm, which tore through the island nation overnight.

Read more: Cyclone Gita: Buildings destroyed in Tonga, people injured

The company's operations were spread across Vava'u and 'Eua. The latter island is southeast of Tonga's hard-hit main island, Tongatapu.

Boggiss spoken to the company's founder, her father John Ross, in Vava'u this morning and he said Vava'u had not been affected but those on 'Eua had not been so fortunate.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He had managed to speak to their manager in 'Eua, Sela Latu, early this morning, but had not been able to get through since.

Sela Latu, a manager for Tauranga-based Tongan vanilla company Heilala Vanilla, and her family rode out Cyclone Gita in a church on the island of 'Eua, Tonga. Photo / Supplied
Sela Latu, a manager for Tauranga-based Tongan vanilla company Heilala Vanilla, and her family rode out Cyclone Gita in a church on the island of 'Eua, Tonga. Photo / Supplied

"She mentioned that they hadn't yet assessed damage and looked around 'Eua, however iron had blown off her house roof," Boggiss said.

"Her family had spent the night in the church, which is made from concrete block.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Everyone who stayed at the church is safe and the full extent of damage to buildings and crops won't be known for a number of days or possibly weeks."

The company had three staff on 'Eua, as well as the wider community of workers that served the area's 40 or so vanilla farms.

"Over the following days we will be liaising with our team and farmer communities on 'Eua to see how we can best support them.

"We remain loyal to Tonga and will do whatever we need to support our staff there."

Discover more

New Zealand

Cyclone Gita: What it means for NZ - are we in for a direct hit?

12 Feb 05:05 PM

Company fundraises aid to cyclone-hit Tonga

18 Feb 08:56 PM

Happy 15th birthday Tauranga Farmers Market

23 Feb 05:00 AM

The family-owned business, which has collaborated with Lewis Road Creamery and Whitaker's chocolate in recent years, was born after Ross travelled to Tonga and helped with rebuild efforts after Cyclone Waka, which hit on New Year's Eve, 2001.

He formed a partnership with a local family to lease the land and provide jobs in the community. The first crop was harvested in 2005.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

11 Jul 05:30 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

11 Jul 03:29 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

11 Jul 05:30 AM

Emergency services are responding to a two-vehicle crash which has closed SH29.

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM
'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

11 Jul 03:29 AM
Substation fault cuts power to thousands in Tauranga

Substation fault cuts power to thousands in Tauranga

11 Jul 03:01 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP