Gulf Harbour Country Club’s downfall: Graffiti, damage ‘disgusting’

Photos from inside the once-bustling Gulf Harbour Country Club show its now haunting state, with “oddly drawn” symbols, mannequins and debris scattered around the building.

Nestled in the heart of the Whangaparāoa Peninsula north of Auckland, the club suddenly shut last July, leaving members wondering about its future and fees.

The 18-hole course had a proud history and was regarded as a premier course with a championship record as it hosted Lydia Ko and some of the country’s best golfers.

Now, symbols in red spray paint line the walls and cover the floor, as the club is left deteriorating in a state of abandonment.

Crude language and the word “DIE” are also spelled out along with the symbols on the floor, which appear to resemble a pentagram, and walls.

Massey University religion and cult expert Professor Peter Lineham said the symbols were “not consistent”.

“The dots imply the inner world but here they are placed outside, but that happens sometimes,” Lineham said.

He said the symbols around the pentagram might be Uranus, Jupiter and the Moon, but if so they are “oddly drawn”.

Strange symbols can now be found at the country club. Photo / Jason Dorday

The derelict scene at the Gulf Harbour Country Club. Photo / Jason Dorday

Glass doors and windows have been shattered along with trophy cases, with old awards scattered around the building.

The once well-manicured fairways are now covered with an odd shade of brown and purple. The roughs are now almost completely impenetrable because of the tangle of thick vegetation.

‘Disgusting, terrible’, former club director says

Former club director Frazer Bond called the latest graffiti “disgusting” and “terrible”, and voiced more displeasure at the general state of the property.

“You’ve got 400 neighbours around the area. The amount of pests that will start coming like rats and mice, people are dumping rubbish around the place. It’s turning into an absolute war ground in the middle of what should be a really nice community,” Bond said.

“I’m just disappointed. The fact is that there are people out there that are supposed to stop things like this happening in our community.

“Everyone’s just sitting on their hands [regarding the state of the property and its future]. You’ve got vandalism like this going on, well, what’s next; they go and smash up the schools, the local shops? Then people will be scared to leave their houses, and what was supposed to be one of the friendliest, nicest places, it’s getting a bit like that.”

Residents are now planning to fight for the beloved grounds as the new owner seeks to develop the land for housing.

A spokesperson for “keep Whangaparāoa’s green spaces” Howard Baldwin told the Herald watching the vandals destroy the club was deeply upsetting.

“There are people who’ve been living in this area for a long period of time for whom the golf course really is their way of life,” Baldwin said.

“Some of them I think they’re suffering grief.

“It’s something that’s been so much part of your local environment, you know, and now it’s been left to go to wrack and ruin.”

The trophy case has been smashed and awards now lie around the club. Photo / Jason Dorday

Baldwin said the course’s status as an internationally renowned green was a major asset to the community alongside its marina.

“And unfortunately, although the marina has gone from strength to strength the golf course, in recent times, has ended up in the hands of people who are more interested in property development than actually running a golf course business,” Baldwin said.

Ko did a lot of her training at the course, Baldwin said, while the former world number one golfer has previously mentioned the course had some of her favourite holes to play on.

Vandals have taken to the Gulf Harbour Country Club. Photo / Jason Dorday

Baldwin and his organisation are preparing to fight to keep the course from being developed for housing.

In November, planner Tripp Andrews applied to Auckland Council for a boundary adjustment by golf course owner Long River Investment Corporation, associated with developer Greg Olliver, banned in 2021 from managing companies for four years.

The company plans to sell 51.3ha to fund the upgrade of a much-smaller 37.5ha course.

The planners want the council to agree to the change without notification and without limited notification, meaning no submissions would be allowed from anyone who might consider themselves affected.

Keep Whangaparāoa’s Green Spaces Incorporated Society said the application was “a cynical and disingenuous attempt to over-build Gulf Harbour by undermining the 999-year encumbrance that protects the Golf Course land as open space”.

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.