Helping Hawkes Bay
It’s no surprise that so many from the area rallied to help Hawke's Bay following the cyclone devastation. We wanted to mention a few who went the extra mile (literally, in some cases) to provide for those affected.
The Mortimer family and Mortimer Motorsport took 700 cases of 6x4 litre bottles of 1907 Artesian water to Napier as a donation for those affected by the cyclone in Napier, Hastings and outer areas. Other local Warkworth and Matakana residents donated horse feed, hay, and animal feeds for displaced animals in the area, plus clothing, food and other essentials.
“As there were no roads open to Northland at the time, we made a decision on Hastings and Napier. Our route went from Matakana to Paeroa (to uplift the water from our bottling plant) Taupo, Palmerston North, Woodville, Dannevirke and to Hastings – a 14-hour drive in the Mortimer Motorsport transporter. Our driver was my brother-in-law, Tony Gould, and his wife Tina from Matakana to Taupo, and I rode shotgun from there to Hastings with Tony,” says Warwick Mortimer.
“We want to thank all the Warkworth, Matakana contributors for their donations. We saw first-hand the damage and massive destruction in the area and saw the appreciation of the area’s residents when they received the donations from our area.”
The Sawmill Brewery held a fundraiser event at the Smoko Room to raise money, and there were many contributors. Tim and Meghan Eriksen from Neat Meat cooked sausages in the courtyard, along with Sophie and Michael Isbey from Matakana Smokehouse, with fish donated by Leigh Fish, which they smoked and served as smoked fish buns. The buns were donated by Ringawera and there were other donations from Monaghans and Warkworth New World. Emma Harding and Brenda Murchison picked flowers from their gardens to sell to raise money, Jess Davidson ran a number of raffles, including items donated by her company The Duo. Lots of people brought in baking to sell (special mention to Izzy Lupton who baked solidly for two days), and Charlies Gelato donated ice cream. There was Frolic Ceramics, chopping boards from WRW, amazing wine from Brick Bay, Te Kano and Nola Vineyards, and Steph and Dan. That along with all the takings from the Smoko Room bar for the afternoon meant a total donation of $14,000 was made to the Matai Research Tairawhiti Cyclone Relief Fund (so a focus on the Gisborne/East Coast region where both Tim from Neat Meat, and Kirsty Mckay, co-owner of Sawmill Brewery, come from).
“It was a brilliant afternoon, absolutely chocka in our courtyard, great music from Mark Lawrence, and a very strong feeling of community, and solidarity with communities who are struggling. Special mention to all the kids who got involved and gave time and energy to baking, selling flowers, and rolling ice creams,” says Kirsty.
A call went out via the Warkworth Community page for a local drop-off point for contributions for Hawke's Bay, and Citywide Kitchens answered. Located centrally in Warkworth meant easy access for all who wanted to donate clothes, essentials and food. The amount they received was staggering, according to Rachael Hill who coordinated the whole process.
“There was some amazing stuff dropped off, we even had people turn up with suitcases full of new clothes and some went to the supermarket and spent a fortune!” Eventually the carrier called to say they couldn’t take any more clothes or linen, they could only take children’s items and necessities like toilet rolls. But there was still so much left.
Tutill Carriers who deliver Citywide’s benchtops loaded a massive van to help out, as did Exaro. “It was next level stuff,” says Rachael. “A special shout out goes to Sue who rocked up on Saturday with some donations and said she was coming back to help me pack boxes, and she did. Also Ali and Pete who were also my saviours. ITSS deserve a mention as they donated a lot to the cause. It really was insane how generous the Warkworth community was, they are the true heroes in all this.”