Daxton gets a cuddle from his mum Eden Anderton. Photo / George Novak
Daxton gets a cuddle from his mum Eden Anderton. Photo / George Novak
The Bay of Plenty Times is looking back at the stories of 2020. This is what made headlines in September.
September 1
The work of a Pāpāmoa photographer went global after she participated in a fundraiser during lockdown earlier this year.
The Front Steps Project, which started in America, sawphotographers all over the world head out during lockdown to get photos of families outside their front doors, raising $3.2 million globally for charities.
The Front Steps Project aimed to capture families in their natural environment during lockdown. Photo / Kelly O'Hara
Two Tauranga city councillors said the entire council should be replaced.
The comments came as Tauranga City Council unanimously approved a $350,000 budget for a review and observer team to monitor elected members' interactions, following months of clashes and tension.
September 7
Stained and mouldy mattresses, no insulation, a leaky roof, and no working toilet for four days were some of the conditions tourist workers claimed they endured in a kiwifruit orchard woolshed turned into an accommodation building.
The former workers on working visas believed the accommodation facilities near Te Puke were substandard, with one describing it as a "scam" and a "health hazard" — and the Western Bay of Plenty District Council investigated the matter.
One of two bunkrooms in the shed, with no insulation and walls which don't reach the ceiling. Photo / George Novak
September 8
Māori leaders in Tauranga praised Labour's promise to make Matariki a public holiday if re-elected as a sign of changing attitudes towards Māori culture.
Tauranga commercial landlord Bob Clarkson offloaded his extensive portfolio for $200 million in one of the biggest industrial and rural property transactions seen in the Bay of Plenty.
Heddell Raerino, the institute's associate dean - Te Kura Māori, student engagement, study and career progression, said across their campuses in Tauranga, Rotorua, Taupō, Tokoroa and Whakatāne, 1043 students were enrolled in te reo-based courses - 261 were studying at the Tauranga campus.
Riapo Panapa, founding member of Kiwi band Sons of Zion, is enrolled in te reo classes to fill a void he's always had from not knowing how to speak his native language. Photo / File
September 15
A reminder of the 2011 Rena maritime disaster popped up on Trade Me.
Kerry Bollen, Papamoa Tavern, now the Island, is re-branding and selling the Rena lifeboat. Photo / File
September 19
Tauranga was benefiting from a ''retirement village construction bonanza'' which would result in thousands of jobs and hundreds of new homes, a sector expert said.
Heart issues, anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide have all been linked to loneliness, and Tauranga's loneliest by a landslide are young people.
The findings came from the Tauranga City Council's Whakahou Taketake Vital Update report which found people aged 16 to 24 years old are Tauranga's loneliest people, with 22 per cent feeling lonely either all the time or often.
September 21
After five years in the making, New Zealand's first supermarket eatery is up and running and it's based in Tauranga.
New World Brookfield opened its much-anticipated eatery featuring three food outlets, and so far, customers love it, owner Brendan Good said.
Supermarket owner Brendan Good (left) and Chris McDonnell at the Brookfield New World's new eatery. Photo / File
September 23
Leaders of a Tauranga hapū at the centre of a $14 million cycleway controversy were looking forward to finding a cycleway solution that worked for all parties involved.
Ngāti Kahu representatives Des Kohotea, Mokohiti Brown, Ronda Tokona and Mark Nogaj said they were part of a mandated group elected by the hapū to represent it on matters relating to the Ōmokoroa to Tauranga Cycleway.
