Brooklyn Water Ski Club’s clubhouse as it was on its last day
A club which was left homeless after its lease expired is surviving on the water.
Iwi renamed the clubrooms Ahikāroa (the long-burning fires) and it is now used by Karāpiro Waka Ama
Brooklyn Water Ski Club, which had built clubrooms on leased land at Taumatawiiwii Reserve, on the banks of Lake Karāpiro, and celebrated a “last hurrah” there in late June, has been using Keeley’s Reserve over the summer.
Club committee member Glenn Harrop said the club had continued to meet monthly at Keeley’s Reserve on Tīrau Road and members brought barbecues and gazebos.
The club has responded to the fact it now lacked facilities by slashing membership fees, and “we have had between 35 and 40 rejoin”.
“The core membership and the committee is still very much active. We are still getting together and going boating, doing a lot of cool stuff without a home,” Harrop said.
Sunset falls on the former Brooklyn Water Ski Club on its final day.
Club president Tom Pickford said the club had been in discussions with Waipā District Council and had asked it for land to build a new club house.
Iwi renamed the Taumatawiiwii site Ahikāroa – the long-burning fires – in a dawn ceremony recently.
It is now being used by Karāpiro Waka Ama.
Ironically, fire was a feature of the ski club’s last hurrah at the side in June. The clubroom’s deck was removed and burnt in the evening.
Brooklyn Water Ski Club’s clubhouse and deck. Photo: Supplied
“We did that when we were moving out,” said Harrop. “The decking was removed for health and safety reasons. It was due for replacement and needed a lot of work. It was 28 years old.”
The club had occupied the site since 1964 and developed it from a hill covered in blackberry bushes and gorse.
Initially it leased the land from the Department of Conservation, then Ngāti Koroki Kahukura after the land was returned to mana whenua in a Treaty of Waitangi Settlement in 2014.
Brooklyn Water Ski Club in its heyday. Photo: Supplied.
The club was asked to vacate the space in June after discussions on sharing it with other tenants failed.
The club also retained assets it had put into the clubrooms where members had installed a full kitchen, dining room, showers, and barbecue facilities.
“We had just put in a new stove,” said Tom Pickford. “We have hung on to that.”
The club also disconnected its electricity connection and removed electrical wiring which Pickford said was not up to standard.
Waipa District Council property services manager David Varcoe said the council and Sport Waikato had been working closely with the Brooklyn Water Ski Club to explore its options.
“These options could include taking on a community lease on a council-owned parcel of land elsewhere on Lake Karāpiro,” he said.
The News has sought comment from mana whenua.
Iwi renamed the clubrooms Ahikāroa (the long-burning fires) and it is now used by Karāpiro Waka Ama
Brooklyn Water Ski Club’s clubhouse as it was on its last day before the deck was taken down later.
