Transform Aotearoa went to Hawke's Bay to help clean a winery affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Supplied
Transform Aotearoa went to Hawke's Bay to help clean a winery affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Supplied
South Waikato residents and businesses went above and beyond to help victims of Cyclone Gabrielle as they donated and delivered essential items to Hawke’s Bay.
The support did not only include commonly requested items like nappies, baby formula, towels and blankets, but also farm goods, machinery, and people with muscles to help clean up the damage.
Tokoroa Ward councillor and owner of The Event Girl Company, Rebekah Garner says as soon as the cyclone happened, people were reaching out to her asking how they could help.
“No matter how little people have, this community will give the t-shirt they are wearing,” Garner says.
Garner says she had a friend from the event industry on the ground in Hawke’s Bay and she asked her what people needed most. Garner then rallied other businesses for donations and donation drop-off points.
Tīrau Earthmovers Limited was one of the companies that created a drop-off point for donations. The company’s administrator Casey Ensor says their “smoko room” was a “busy hive” for a couple of days.
Tokoroa Ward councillor and business owner Rebekah Garner. Photo / South Waikato District Council
“While we were gathering donations, a couple of our drivers transported a few loads of donated conventional hay bales and silage bales to farmers in need,” she says.
But the company didn’t stop there and was happy to also send some helping hands to Hawke’s Bay.
“Our team stayed for four days ... It was a real eye-opener for them all – you can’t quite comprehend the devastation until you witness it first-hand,” says Casey.
Putaruru-based charitable trust Transform Aotearoa also sent down a group of people who helped clean up a vineyard, and Forest & Farm Services also contributed time and gear to assist with the clean-up, making several trips to the East Coast.
Local courier driver Daniel Patterson dressed up as spiderman and delivered donations to Rotorua where they were flown out to the needy. Photo / Supplied
Local courier driver Daniel Patterson ensured that the donations made it safely from Tokoroa to Rotorua, where they were put on an aeroplane and flown to those in need.
Patterson, who dressed up as spiderman, had a connection with the team at Rotorua Whakaora who were already sending donations to the East Coast on every mode of transport.
“I started carting over local donations from Tokoroa to Rotorua with my friend Xanthe to get them on either a truck, a van, or in the air,” said Daniel.
The donations were sent to people who were missed and cut-off, or places helicopters hadn’t seen yet, Garner says.
Meanwhile, forestry company Waratah NZ donated US$50,000 (equivalent to about NZ$80,000) to the New Zealand Red Cross headquartered in Rotorua.
The South Waikato businesses helping with the cyclone relief are Gareth White Logging (Tokoroa), Transform Aotearoa (Putaruru), Waratah NZ Ltd (Tokoroa), Tīrau Earthmovers, Westpac Tokoroa, Forest & Farm Services (Putaruru), The Event Girl (Tokoroa), Ray White Tokoroa, Muscle & Curves Fitness Centre (Tokoroa), Post Haste, and Toi Ohomai (Tokoroa).
The South Waikato District Council also has organised a Relief Fund that is directly managed by the council. If you would like to make a donation to the fund, please provide the information below.
