When January's severe weather left devastation across the Western Bay of Plenty, the region's community organisations were responding immediately on the ground. The Western Bay Emergency Response Fund (WBERF) was established to ensure those organisations had the financial support to keep working through the recovery. Through the generosity of businesses and individuals across the region, the fund raised $293,000 — and has now allocated close to $280,000 directly to the charitable organisations that carried the weight of the response and recovery. The remaining funding primarily received during the Bay Strong appeal campaign with The Breeze FM Tauranga will be allocated shortly.

The fund is a joint initiative of Acorn Foundation, BayTrust, TECT, Tauranga City Council, and Western Bay of Plenty District Council. Major contributions came from Zespri, Port of Tauranga, Star Hospitality, Craigs Investment Partners, One NZ Foundation, Tax Traders, DMS, and The Golf Classic fundraiser — alongside the remarkable generosity of community members across the region, the country, and even offshore.

The fund’s five partner organisations worked closely with community groups from the outset, identifying needs on the ground and moving quickly to allocate funding as the region shifted from emergency response into recovery.

"The impact of 22 January on our members has been harrowing and emotional. However, at the time of the largest magnitude impact on our organisation in its 97-year history, our members have stood tall and remained absolutely focused on continuing to deliver frontline lifeguard patrols, keeping our community safe in and around our beaches."

— Brent Warner, Chair of Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service.

Funding allocations

Rapid Relief Team — $41,600
$11,600 provided for expenses outside of food required to prepare more than 5600 meals to volunteers responding to the Mauao site, where six people tragically lost their lives — and $30,000 toward a dedicated Emergency BBQ Trailer for the Western Bay — modelled on the out-of-region appliance brought in to support food provisions at Mauao.

Mount Maunganui Surf Life Saving Club — $33,919
Used to help offset some of the significant costs associated with relocation and establishment of temporary facilities after their building was red-stickered.

Bay of Plenty Rural Support Trust — $33,500
Used to support on the ground recovery efforts in rural communities hit hard by weather damage.

Mount Mainstreet — $31,600
$6,600 provided to cover the additional operational load of supporting community members beyond their usual remit, and $25,000 toward a future programme of community events designed to tackle social isolation and restore vibrancy to Mount Maunganui during what has been a challenging few months.

Whareroa 2E 7B Trust — $16,000
To support restoration and repairs to community housing for kaumātua damaged by flooding.

Katikati Māori Wardens — $7,000
Providing support and assistance for groups of volunteers that responded to the Mauao tragedy site for several weeks, providing 24hour support at the Mauao site.

Salvation Army Tauranga — $4,839
Supporting replenishment of supplies from the provision of food, bedding, and essential supplies for displaced individuals and whānau affected by flooding and landslide damage.

Student Volunteer Army — $1,000
Providing funding to support their flood recovery response in Waihī Beach, helping those affected impacted by floodwater damage.

“This funding makes a real difference on the ground. While rural impacts are often less visible, the effects of land damage, infrastructure loss and crop damage are significant for farming families. Support from [The WBERF Fund] enables us to stay alongside these communities, identify whats needed, and ensure their voices are represented throughout the recovery process.”

— Jodie Craig, Regional Co-ordinator at Rural Support Trust Bay of Plenty

As the fund draws to a close for this response, attention is turning to what many hope will be the most visible sign of recovery in the region: the restoration of Mauao.

$110,000 has been ring-fenced for that purpose, with the Mauao Trust identified as the recipient to support the revitalisation of the maunga. The timing is significant. This week, a blessing was held at Mauao in partnership with Tauranga City Council, the Mauao Trust, and Ngā Poutiriao o Mauao, marking the formal beginning of restoration work on the mountain. Tauranga City Council has shared that summit track remediation to safeguard access is now underway and is expected to progress over the next few months, depending on weather conditions.

“Following January’s severe weather emergency, the pathway to recovery for Tauranga Moana and the Western Bay is ongoing, but the generosity and support our community has shown the organisations on the ground the best possible foundation from which to build” says Matty Nicholson, Team Lead of the Western Bay Emergency Response Fund. “The WBERF was proud to be the vehicle for that goodwill — connecting donors with the charitable organisations doing the work that other funding couldn’t reach. That spirit of community will carry us forward over the coming months as the mahi begins to restore the maunga.”

It is the first tangible step toward reopening a place that is — as Mayor Mahé Drysdale said at a community meeting last week — central to the identity of Tauranga Moana.

The WBERF’s contribution sits alongside that work: community funding, for a community taonga, with community recovery in mind.

About the Western Bay Emergency Response Fund

The Western Bay Emergency Response Fund is a joint initiative of Acorn Foundation, BayTrust, TECT, Tauranga City Council, and Western Bay of Plenty District Council. The fund supports charitable organisations to continue or modify services critical to community wellbeing following adverse weather events and other emergencies. Every donation stays local and is distributed where it is needed most.

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