Woodville campsite closed for Christmas after Covid complainants cause staffing issue

The Woodville Campground will be closed for Christmas. Photo / Tararua i-Site

A North Island town is facing another Christmas without its central campsite after abuse from anti-mandate protestors saw a local business withdraw the staffing needed to keep it open.

Tararua District Council has announced that the Woodville campground will be closed over the Christmas period for the second year running, blaming staff annual leave for the decision which has been labelled as a “joke” and “beyond common sense”.

The site is usually managed by staff from the nearby i-Site after the local Caltex petrol station pulled out from taking bookings and day-to-day running, Tararua District Council’s Jessica McKenzie told the Herald.

McKenzie said Caltex made the decision late in 2021 after their staff suffered sustained “verbal abuse” from people trying to book spots at the campsite, particularly after council vaccine mandates restricted access to the site to those who had received a Covid-19 vaccination.

To try and ensure it was open for Christmas 2021 council tried to swiftly find a solution from other businesses but there were no takers.

“Word gets around quite quickly in that town,” McKenzie said.

She told the Herald that the Woodville campground had experienced issues with theft in the past, including one person who removed the entire set of keys for the site.

She said the campground was “hit particularly hard” when anti-mandate protesters passed through on their way to Parliament in February, with other campers leaving and telling council it was because of abuse directed to them by members of the convoy.

A group of 50 protesters had to be moved on from the site after refusing to leave when denied entry and police responded to reports of intimidating behaviour, with one man saying it was “bedlam”.

A group of protesters were denied entry into the Woodville Campground in February. Photo / Supplied

McKenzie said any travellers wanting to enjoy the Tararua District over the holiday period could find campsites across the region, including the picturesque Ferry Reserve just outside Woodville, noting the riverside spot lacked the amenities provided by the closed site.

She acknowledged that the decision may cause frustration, particularly for people forced to stay in campsites because of the growing problem of homelessness.

She said some may view the site as their home and take the decision to close as an eviction, but noted that rules do not permit anyone to live at the council sites.

Locals reacting to the news online were clearly frustrated by the news, with many taking aim at the Tararua District Council.

“How can you close a campground at the busiest time of the year?” one man asked.

Others said it was “ludicrous”, “a joke”, “beyond common sense” and “dumber than a screen door on a submarine”.

One local said the council was “dodging responsbility” and another asked where their rates were going - but McKenzie said closing the site was now their only option: “If there was a way, we would 100 per cent try to keep it open.”