The Mountain Green Archery Club will move after 70 years.
An archery club based on one of Auckland’s maunga will lose its home of 70 years after members were given four days’ notice of a meeting on the outdoor venue’s future.
The Mountain Green Archery Club (MGAC) on Ōwairaka (Mt Albert) has been told by Auckland Council’s Tūpuna Maunga Authority (TMA) that its lease will be terminated.
The authority had asked if the club would consider amalgamating with the Auckland Archery Club, but that option was not taken up.
“The Tūpuna Maunga Authority considered five expired leases on the maunga, including the lease for the Mountain Green Archery Club at Ōwairaka/Mt Albert,” a TMA spokesperson told the Herald.
“This lease expired on November 30, 2023, and has been on a month-to-month basis ever since.
“There are presently two archery clubs operating on two maunga, and each requires significant space for exclusive use on most days of the week. Based upon the independent advice from a parks specialist consultant and in terms of the governing Integrated Management Plan, the management team recommended that the Mountain Green Archery Club expired lease not be continued.
“At today’s hui, the authority terminated the lease while delegating to the chair and deputy chair agreeing the final terms for ending this lease. This approach gives the club some time to plan for relocation. The authority also requested management to work closely with the club to support finding and transitioning to a new site.”
A deadline for this to happen has not been set.
The outdoor range on the Ōwairaka maunga has been a fixture since the early 1950s. The club also has an indoor range at the Badminton Hall in Massey, West Auckland.
In 2014, the tūpuna maunga (ancestral mountains) were given to a combination of mana whenua (Māori) and the Auckland Council to co-govern. Since that time, the club has worked closely with the Tūpuna Maunga Authority.
Kelly Atkinson, past president and current committee member of the club and current president of the Auckland District Archery Association, said that while club members are disappointed at the outcome, they are trying to stay positive.
“MGAC supports the vision of the Tūpuna Maunga Authority to govern the maunga,” Atkinson told the Herald.
“It’s really unfortunate for us that their vision will cause significant disruption to our club as we now have to find a new home, and fast.”
Atkinson said while moving the club does not come as a surprise, the speed at which it may have to vacate has.
“This was a surprise. We only had four days’ notice that the TMA were voting to terminate our lease. In meetings with TMA staff even as recently as late July, they talked in general terms about transition options but never said that we wouldn’t, or weren’t likely to, get a new lease at all – we only found this out when we saw the published agenda for the hui, by which time there was no way for us or others to advocate for the club to stay.”
“The timing has caused massive stress on our volunteers. We’ve worked very hard during our entire time on Ōwairaka/Mt Albert to use the range space with care and respect, but we’ve also been unable to make improvements like refurbishing or replacing our aged clubroom, built in 1957.
“Our beginner courses to learn about archery and our huge youth coaching programmes will continue, and we hope our new home will be in central/West Auckland so we can keep serving the local community.
“We’re looking toward the future now and getting excited about what we could make happen in a fresh new space. If readers have any suggestions for public or private land anywhere for our new home, we’d love to hear them at info@mgac.org.nz.”
Clarification: An earlier version of the story said the club had used the outdoor range on Ōwairaka/Mt Albert for 50 years.