Board recommends new reserve lease for Hokianga Bowling Club
The local community board has recommended that Hokianga Bowling Club be granted a new 15-year ground lease over the Rāwene Recreation Reserve.
Kaikohe-Hokianga Community Board has recommended that Hokianga Bowling Club be given a new 15-year ground lease over the Rāwene Recreation Reserve it has occupied for many years.
The board’s unanimous recommendation followed a four-week public consultation undertaken late last year on the proposal to grant the lease. Under the Reserves Act, the council must notify the public of any proposal to lease a Recreation Reserve and seek feedback before it makes a decision. Of the eight submissions received, all were in favour of granting the lease to the club.
Hokianga Bowling Club initially leased the site at 61 Clendon Esplanade from the council in 1998. The lease expired in 2017, which was only discovered by the council in 2022 when the club sought funding to build a new shed. The club had continued to occupy and pay rent on the site over that time.
The club has a long history in the town. The historic building on the site was built 115 years ago when the land was vested as a Recreation Reserve. In 1925, the premises was transformed into a bowling club and has remained a focal point for Rāwene and the broader Hokianga community ever since.
The club hosts weekly twilight bowls games for five months each year and organises up to seven tournaments, attracting bowling clubs from across Northland. The club's premises also serve as a venue for team-building events organised by Hokianga Treks 4 Kids, Rāwene Primary School, and Rāwene Ambulance.
The board’s recommendation to grant the lease will be considered by the council at its next meeting due to be held on Thursday 8 February.
Photo below - Hokianga Bowling Club (photo credit to Bowls New Zealand Aotearoa)
