Thank you to the volunteers in 2019

Onehunga thrives on the support of volunteers. Whether they are members of a board, support a community group or just give up their time to lend a hand, I wanted to acknowledge their effort because the Onehunga Business Association (OBA) relies on volunteers to keep our community ticking.

Each year members of our local business community donate their time to the OBA board. This helps us to guide our strategy and make the big decisions. The board has been led for the past 13 years by Parkinson & Bouskill’s Peter Gibson. He has donated large chunks of time to help us as well as The Onehunga Enhancement Society and Manukau Harbour Restoration Society. Peter has been instrumental in the work of the OBA and a lot of it unseen by the community. His support, alongside Dress-Smart’s Gaylene Powell and Onehunga Family Pharmacy’s Ross Mudafar, has been vital to the thriving town centre. Collectively they have represented Onehunga for almost 30 years.

Another stalwart Onehunga volunteer is Peter Grainger. Coordinator of the Onehunga Community Patrol (OCP), Peter helps with events such as the Onehunga Festival, the Onehunga Christmas Parade and has participated at several heritage events as well. He does at least one patrol a week for the OCP and knows a lot about what is going on in Onehunga despite a recent move to Ellerslie!

Another long-term volunteer is Bridget Graham, Chair of Friends of Onehunga Community House. A long serving member of the Maungakiekie Community Board and Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board, Bridget continues to represent her community selflessly and has been instrumental in the success of the community house. She coordinates the Onehunga Heritage Festival amongst many things.

A new kid on the block is the team at The 312 Hub led by Amiria Puia-Taylor. Set up in 2018, the hub has made a real impact in the wider Onehunga community with their commitment to rangitahi, the arts and being unapologetically devoted to tikanga Māori. The venue is a safe space where youth gather to learn and thrive and it’s generally all done on a tūao basis.

Onehunga has a lot more volunteers, far too many to outline. Whether they are involved in our local Citizens Advice Bureau, Onehunga Kindergarten or many other groups, we want to acknowledge their support in 2019 and helping our community thrive!