Man about town Ricardo Simich brings you Society Insider. This week, the Northern Club’s former events manager shares some secrets of the exclusive Auckland club’s biggest events as she begins a new business venture; and there’s an abundance of celebrity babies on the way –
Society Insider: Baby boom for NZ’s rich, famous and influential; Cathy Horton shares Northern Club insider secrets and plans for new business
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Cathy Horton at the Northern Club.
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Horton, 59, was events manager for the prestigious Northern Club for eight years. She tells Society Insider that during her time there she transformed the club’s calendar for its 2500 members, staging more than 1000 events, including theatre, opera, live music, French markets, gin festivals and a raft of high-profile speakers.
Horton has been a businesswoman for 25 years. She first made her mark in publishing, founding and editing Style magazine, a luxury lifestyle title she ran for seven years.
It was there she began building her famous little black book of connections and connectors, a network she still draws on today.
“The Northern Club was the perfect training ground for my new business,” she says. “I had to deliver for a very discerning audience, which pushed me to keep raising the bar.”
She says she also became the go-to girl when the hottest acts hit town, securing near-impossible VIP tickets for concerts like Adele and Elton John. She turned them into full-scale occasions with pre-show parties at the ivy-clad club, which were so good, she says, guests had to be coaxed out the door to make it to the concerts in time.
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“Other highlights include staging a singles’ night that sparked two lasting relationships, and the now-legendary margarita masterclass where top KCs abandoned the bench for blenders,” Horton says.
Horton was also given a last-minute request to throw a surprise birthday party for pop star Robbie Williams.
“It was a very tame event,” she says. “I was most nervous about selecting the music for him; he ended up singing himself Happy Birthday.”
Asked for the scandal from the club filled with New Zealand’s wealthiest people, Horton says the rule has always been that what happens at the club, stays at the club.
“However, looking at my whole career, I can say that at some of the media and society parties that I have organised, they occasionally have been next level.”
The Northern Club was the place for her 2021 party to celebrate her engagement to her second husband, finance and mortgage broker Mike Hallwright.
The pair rescheduled their wedding three times because of Covid, eventually holding it at Tokoriki Island, Fiji, in December 2022 with their families.
“True to form, I didn’t make it simple – I flew in 17 suitcases of linen, crystal, candles and flowers, complete with stylists and florists,” says Horton.
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The Remuera-based couple have a blended family of five children. Horton has two daughters from her first marriage to Peter Horton: Charlotte, 27, who is a doctor in London, and Tiffany, 24, who runs a food artisan collective in Byron Bay, New South Wales.
Since leaving the Northern Club last year, Horton has been inundated with requests to put her Midas touch on events.
In May, she helped her good friend Louise Wallace throw what could be called an unapologetic rich-list fundraiser at Wallace’s home on Paritai Drive for her theatre company Tadpole Productions, which raised $40,000 in under an hour before the guests partied the night away.
Horton decided to formalise things and created The Wow Events.
“I make sure an event delivers real results, whether that’s raising funds, selling product, connecting people, or putting a brand firmly in the spotlight.”
Recent standout successes for The Wow Events include The Power of a Wish fashion lunch for the Make-A-Wish foundation at Mantell’s Tamaki Drive, and Artful Minds, an exclusive art fundraiser for Dementia New Zealand with Deloitte, which took place on the 20th floor of the finance company’s downtown offices.
Next on Horton’s calendar is racing season, with a Melbourne Cup lunch for a private wealth business.
“One hundred and fifty well-heeled Aucklanders will be treated to flowing bubbles, all-day grazing on gourmet dishes, Fashions in the Field, live entertainment and even a racing tips expert to get the betting started,” Horton says.
The Christmas party season will follow, and Horton says events have evolved from “the boozy blowouts of a decade ago” to curated, thoughtful parties where every element has a purpose – the cocktails, the styling, even the music – all telling the story of the host or the brand.
“Guests still want to see luxury, but they don’t want to see blatant wastage or single-use anything,” she says.
Next year, Horton is dipping into the lucrative wellness industry by launching Reset.Revive.Thrive. – a series of one-day women’s health and wellbeing retreats.
“It’s a passion project inspired by iconic retreats like Gwinganna and Aro Hā, but designed for women who can’t spare a week or a luxury price tag,” she says.
Through it all, Horton credits the late philanthropist Dame Rosie Horton, related through her former husband, as a close mentor, friend and guiding influence.
“Rosie taught me not to be afraid to ask,” Horton says.
“Not for myself, but for the good of others.”
Baby boom for NZ’s rich, famous and influential
There’s something in the water in Kiwi society and celebrity circles, with an influx of new babies for everyone from Shortland Street stars and fashion designers to high-profile real estate agents, property developers and foodies.
Rich Listers Simon and Paula Herbert of Empire Capital welcomed a baby girl to their family last month. After reporting on their Monaco baby shower in a recent column, Society Insider is told the pair have named their daughter Sienna, and they are over the moon with her arrival. It’s their first child together; Simon Herbert has four adult children from a previous marriage.
In the same week, racing fashionista Carena West and her husband, businessman and polo player Rob Worker, welcomed their second child, Henry, a little brother to their 5-year-old daughter, Emily.
West, who has previously won awards and placed at the World of Wearable Art awards, says she gave birth two days after competing in this year’s competition.
“We are very tired and also very happy,” West tells Society Insider.
Ollie Wall, a real estate agent to the uber wealthy and his wife, Someday Studios founder Milly Hewat-Wall, recently welcomed their second child.
Ollie’s father, Graham Wall, tells Society Insider the couple are thrilled to have given their 4-year-old daughter Coco a little sister, whom they have named Zahria.
In two weeks, high-flying Christchurch-based property developer Matthew Horncastle of Williams Corporation will welcome his first child with Hannah Bungay, a boy they will name Alexander.
And while their on screen workplace is dealing with the threat of an airborne virus, off-screen three Shortland Street stars have been supporting each other through their pregnancies.
Ngahuia Piripi (who plays Esther Samuels), Rebekah Randell (Dawn Robinson) and Courtenay Louise (Monique Srutter) all have impending arrivals.
Louise, 31, and her husband Chris Read are expecting their first child, and she soaked up all she could from Piripi, 35, and Randell, 32, who are already parents.
“It was funny having so many of us pregnant at work at the same time,” Piripiri tells Society Insider.
“We had a club going where we could celebrate the highs and moan about the lows together.”
Filming for Shortland Street for 2025 finished in July, and resumed this week to begin shooting the 2026 storylines.
Randell announced last week that she and husband Bevan, a builder, are expecting a child this summer. Randell has been off Shorty the past couple of years to be a full-time mum to the couple’s first daughter, Isla, who was born in late 2023. She will be back on screens in the coming weeks.
In 2022, the couple suffered a devastating miscarriage, finding out at eight weeks that they had lost their already much-loved baby.
When she announced her news, Randell said she will never take for granted how precious the time is, and for those still waiting for their little miracle, the couple know the road is not linear.
Randell’s co-star Piripi is due to have her fourth child – her third with her partner and actor Teone Kahu – this month.
Piripi says the couple’s son, Niau, 4, and daughter, Aewa, 3, are looking forward to welcoming their baby sister soon.
Her daughter, Owairea, 16, and Kahu’s daughter Neila, 13, are also excited to have another addition to the family.
“The youngest two get along so well, it’s going to be interesting seeing what throwing a third little one in the mix will be like,” Piripiri says.
She has spent the past few weeks nesting at home, rearranging, organising and setting up.
“Hopefully, I get it done before I pop,” she says.
It will be a busy time for the family. Kahu, who previously starred on Shorty, has started Te Agency, a Māori-owned and operated talent agency.
Courtney Louise is the third Shorty star preparing for her new arrival, with her baby also due this spring.
It’s been a busy time for Louise since she married Chris Read last year at Mahurangi’s Tu Nguta Villa, north of Auckland.
The couple enjoyed a three-week European honeymoon and started trying for a baby last Christmas.
In August, the couple moved into a new home, where they held their baby shower a few weeks later.
After juggling filming with heavy morning sickness in her first trimester, Louise says she has been lucky to have Read, who is the CFO of nutrition company The Pure Food Co, cook all of their meals.
Like her friend and co-star Randell, Louise is opting not to find out the sex of her baby until delivery.
Other recent baby arrivals include Charlie, the first son for fashion designer Caitlin Crisp and her husband, construction development manager Andrew Vincent.
Crisp, 29, tells Society Insider that two months into parenting, the couple are absolutely loving it.
“Charlie is the coolest wee guy. At least once a day, we say to each other, ‘Can you believe we made him?’” Crisp says.
She says they have been inundated with love, messages of support and care packages since Charlie was born in July.
“Andrew and I have continued to work, which does make it quite the juggle.
“Luckily, my parents have been around a lot to help out, and my staff at work often come over to our house, which works better for us than having to pack up the car and drive in.”
Crisp explains she is not working every day, just enough to stay in touch, and her team have been doing an incredible job.
“Eventually, I’m sure we’ll get a nanny to help during the week, but we’re doing our best with family help in these early days.”
At not quite 3 months old, Charlie is already the size of a 5- to 6-month-old and is growing out of his baby clothes very quickly.
“He’s a good sleeper and generally very chill and happy in nature with lots of smiling,” she says. “He comes everywhere with us. He loves Water Boy in St Heliers and Bianca in Ellerslie.”
The family have already been to Tutukākā, Christchurch and Queenstown, where Charlie even had his first flight in a helicopter.
Celebrity foodie Polly Markus and her long-term partner, Matt Gordon, associate director of sales and leasing at Bayley’s Real Estate, welcomed their first child, Dali Rose, at the end of August.
The pair, who spent a babymoon in Europe in May while Markus researched her next cookbook, say their world is complete and their love for Dali is like no other.
Also born in August was Mila, the daughter of fashion stylist to the rich and famous Sarah Stuart and her long-term partner, architectural designer Luiz Serrano.
Stuart has styled famous international names like Mick Jagger, Little Mix and Rove McManus, and local stars Temuera Morrison, Paul Henry, Samantha Hayes and Mike McRoberts.
“Mila’s amazing, such a healthy, happy little one,” Stuart tells Society Insider.
“She’s just started smiling and engaging with us and already knows exactly how to charm her parents.
“Being new parents is a learning curve, and we’ve enjoyed picking and choosing the advice that works for us.”
Serrano usually splits his time between his business in Auckland and Fiji, but Stuart says he has been a hands-on dad, working from home.
Stuart is gradually getting back into work mode herself, this week slowly putting together her next fashion shoot.
Mila has already been to Ponsonby’s long-time hospo hotspot Prego with her parents, which Stuart says “went surprisingly well”.
Serrano and Mila have been FaceTiming daily with his family in Brazil, and Stuart says they hope to travel over to his home country soon.
And in the sports arena, former Black Cap Adam Parore and partner Libby Price, a property manager, haven’t let the arrival of twins stop them travelling the world.
The couple told Society Insider at the end of last year that their new twins would quickly need passports.
Heidi and Elliott were born in January and have already holidayed at Parore and Price’s chateau in Bordeaux, France, and more recently, their investment property in Bali’s trendy beach town Canggu.
Party people of the week
Jillian Friedlander’s Endless Lunch
Billionaire philanthropist Jillian Friedlander hosted a women’s afternoon last week called Endless Lunch in the Princess Room at the Northern Club.
Billed as a toolbox for health, wealth and passion, MC Renee Wright led a dynamic Q&A session with Friedlander and speaking guests who included Kenneth Brummel from Auckland Art Gallery, Dr Ula Heywood, the co-founder of Autonomy Health, Pãua Wealth Management founder and CEO Donna Nicolof, and Orsini Jewellery’s Sarah Hutchings.
Guests enjoyed a bespoke three-course lunch, paired with an exclusive wine selection curated by Will Brunel-Morvan of Maison Vauron, focusing on female winemakers.
Throughout the event, guests indulged in a selection of luxury encounters, including the art of fragrance with the Christian Dior house and fashion with Georgette Pollock-Johnston, an international stylist and colour consultant.
Former Real Housewives Anne Batley Burton and Gilda Kirkpatrick were there, as were architect Kathryn Carter, media director Jane Hitchfield, Bayley’s Remuera Jo Johnstone and The Following Hair Co’s founder, Sandi Larkin.
Golf and Italian food combine
A stylish crowd gathered in Auckland’s Britomart last Thursday to toast the launch of Flush Urban Golf Range and Bar Ziti, two new additions to the city’s hospitality and entertainment scene from Savor Group.
The dual-concept venue, situated off Roukai Lane in Britomart, was unveiled at a launch event hosted by Savor Group CEO Lucien Law.
Designed by award-winning Izzard Design, the adjoining spaces combine cutting-edge indoor golf with contemporary Italian dining.
Guests sipped Peroni and margaritas and sampled canapes from both menus as they explored the new setup.
The Flush team say they have New Zealand’s most advanced indoor golf venue, which wowed attendees with its state-of-the-art Trackman golfing simulators.
Throughout the evening, guests took turns trying their hand at virtual holes from golf courses worldwide.
Attendees included Izzard Design founder Paul Izzard, Longform founder Des Rusk, Lumo Digital co-founders Kent Harrison and Phil Clemas, food stylist Fiona Hugues, Liquid Lightning owner Maddi Hill-Lovett and socialite Kham Phomsouvanh.
Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.
This column has been amended from its original published version to clarify some of Cathy Horton’s quotes.