Te Pāti Māori protests, Taupō Starbucks and Hobbiton: the big stories of December 2023

As the year draws to a close, Waikato Herald is taking stock of 2023. What moved readers most? As part of a 12-day series, Waikato Herald reporter Danielle Zollickhofer looks at the top stories each month. Welcome to day 12: December.

Nationally, December 2023 headlines were mainly around the nationwide Te Pāti Māori protests which also happened at several locations in the Waikato.

The SH25A bridge opened three months ahead of schedule and the Government scrapped the ute tax.

In the Waikato, Taupō iwi Tūwharetoa banned public boating events due to fears about the spread of invasive gold clams and a new sculpture park featuring a giant dinosaur statue had people stunned.

Residents of a Hamilton street felt unsafe after an alleged home invasion, Kāinga Ora imported pre-built units from China for Hamilton development and a man revisits Raglan 50 years on from Dad’s disappearance.

Also, a $37 million Spa development planned for Te Aroha is not going ahead and a Waikato career firefighter brings his family’s years of service up to over 450 years.

Speaking of firefighting - several Waikato buildings went up in flames this month, including two commercial buildings in Hamilton’s Te Rapa, the Piarere Hall on State Highway 29 and a home in Cook’s Beach.

Other big stories in the region were:

Taupō to get Starbucks, Popeyes

A large new Bunnings store is planned for Taupō, in a development that includes a Starbucks, Burger King and new American fast food chain Popeyes.

The application and planning documents give the first look at the new retail zone, which included a large Bunnings Warehouse store of more than 9000m2 along with the fast food retailers and 271 parking spaces.

The site on Napier Road would place the Australian-owned DIY chain across the road from Taupō's Mitre 10 Mega on Crown Road.

This artist's impression shows the proposed Bunnings, Starbucks, Popeyes Chicken and Burger King site on Napier Road in Taupō.

Hobbiton opens up Hobbit homes to visitors

The star of the Waikato, Hobbiton Movie Set, is inviting visitors inside the Hobbit holes for the first time, bringing a potential tourism boost to the region.

The new addition to the movie set would not only wow new visitors and encourages them to stay in the mighty Waikato a bit longer but might also inspire previous visitors to come again.

The Matamata movie set has 44 Hobbit holes, but previously, visitors were only able to see their iconic front doors.

Hobbiton Movie Set invites visitors beyond closed doors. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer

Hamilton’s Melville High School closes

After almost six decades of education, the Melville High School and Melville Intermediate School closed to reopen as Mangakōtukutuku College, a Year 7-13 College.

Tributes from numerous alumni, including Devilskin drummer Nic Martin and 1999 Scotland Five Nations rugby champion Glenn Metcalfe have flown in.

More than 70 staff were farewelled and “many will never pass through the gates again”.

Melville High School has closed after almost six decades. Photo / Google Street View

Danielle Zollickhofer is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined NZME in 2021 and is writing for the Waikato Herald.

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