Planning for the belated extension of the Waikato Expressway to the new Piarere roundabout is gaining pace. An animated flyover of the new road is now online. But it’s come at an emotional cost. The new road will sweep through Tunakawa Rd – and claim the only home Ricky Newcombe has ever known. Viv Posselt reports.
Ricky and Christine Newcombe have finally come to terms with leaving Ricky’s family home. Photo: Viv Posselt
Cambridge News 20 March 2025
Ricky Newcombe thought he would see out his days on the property that has been in his family for 116 years, but he has learned the hard way that history can’t stand in the way of progress.
Just weeks ago, Ricky and his wife Christine shifted from their 44ha Tunakawa Rd property, about 3km south of Mobil Karāpiro, to a new home in Maungakawa Rd.
The move wasn’t something they planned, or even wanted, but it had to be done to make way for the SH1 Cambridge to Piarere expressway that would otherwise pass directly through their lounge room.
Ricky and Christine Newcombe in the lounge room set to become part of the expressway. Photo: Viv Posselt
“We knew in 2017 about the highway coming through,” Ricky said, “but it was canned for various reasons… changes in government, RMA changes, valuation issues, you name it. It’s been a stop-start process that has dragged on for ages and we’ve been on tenterhooks throughout.
“At the beginning of last year, we were told we should start looking for somewhere else to live. Then we finally signed everything in September last year. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.”
In the end, the couple’s protestations stood for naught. The wrench from the only home Ricky has known all his life, and his struggle to stave it off, has left its mark. He is less than enthusiastic about the way the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi has communicated throughout and resents being left with little choice but to sell.
The move took dairy farmer Ricky out of milking five years ago. He sold his cows when the expressway issue came up, switched to leasing land for grazing and brought in some beef dry stock for themselves.
The blue dashes illustrate the route the New Zealand Transport Agency proposes for the expressway.
“We are taking those beefies with us,” he said.
Despite the upheaval, they are looking forward to settling into their 14.5ha property in Maungakawa. Ricky is particularly sad at leaving behind the history linked to possessions they spent 18 months packing up… Tunakawa Rd is the only home he has known since leaving the Cambridge Maternity Hospital 61 years ago.
His family ties in with Cambridge’s Newcombe Rd. His great-grandfather was English-born Henry Newcombe who arrived in New Zealand with his brother Richard in 1865. Henry spent time on the Thames gold mines before coming to Cambridge, and it was one of Henry’s sons, and Ricky’s grandfather Richard Newcombe, who was a JP and gave his name to Newcombe Rd. He had a hand in planting the trees in Victoria Square.
The then 500-acre (202.3ha) Tunakawa property was purchased in 1909 and when Henry died in 1921, Richard took over the block. It has been split several ways between family members since then but has, until now, had a Newcombe in residence.
“There have been five generations of Newcombes here,” Ricky said. “It’s full of memories for me … leaving here is very emotional.”
The Newcombes and their dog Bundi overlooking one of the viewpoints of the Tunakawa Rd property. Photo: Viv Posselt
