The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Premium
Home / The Country

Covid 19 Delta variant: Kerikeri markets cancelled amid concerns protest may have spread virus

By Peter de Graaf
Reporter·Northern Advocate·
28 Oct, 2021 04:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Kerikeri's Old Packhouse Market has been cancelled this weekend amid concerns protesters travelling to Waitangi on Wednesday may have brought Covid to the Bay of Islands. Photo / Fotoworxx

Kerikeri's Old Packhouse Market has been cancelled this weekend amid concerns protesters travelling to Waitangi on Wednesday may have brought Covid to the Bay of Islands. Photo / Fotoworxx

Kerikeri's biggest weekend event has been cancelled amid concerns protesters who travelled to Waitangi could have brought Covid-19 to the Bay of Islands.

The Old Packhouse Market usually attracts thousands of people every Saturday and Sunday for a wide range of produce, crafts, collectables, kai and entertainment.

Co-owner Judy Hyland said until yesterday she had planned to go ahead with this weekend's markets but events at nearby Waitangi had made it too risky.

Large numbers of people from around Northland, and some who flew from elsewhere in the country, arrived at Te Tii Marae as part of a ''Sovereign Hīkoi of Truth'' (SHOT) protest against the Government's Covid measures.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Police estimated 2000 people attended, the majority of whom were there for the protest rather than the commemorations.

An estimated 100 more who left Rotorua and travelled through level 3 Waikato on Tuesday night were stopped at Auckland's southern border.

Their arrival coincided with Ngāpuhi's commemorations of the Declaration of Independence by northern chiefs on October 28, 1835.

Police estimated 2000 people travelled to Te Tii Marae in Waitangi on Wednesday with the majority there for the Sovereign Hīkoi of Truth protest rather than He Whakaputanga commemorations. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Police estimated 2000 people travelled to Te Tii Marae in Waitangi on Wednesday with the majority there for the Sovereign Hīkoi of Truth protest rather than He Whakaputanga commemorations. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Hyland said she was sorry and disappointed to have to cancel the markets.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

''With more than 1000 people at the protest, many of them without using masks or other safety protocols, it's too dangerous. The last thing we want is to be a location of interest.''

The closure would be a ''terrible'' financial hit for the market and stallholders who depended on the income.

However, Hyland said she had to protect the Packhouse cafe and the jobs of its full-time staff. The cafe would be open as usual with level 2 rules in place.

Even if the market opened for 100 customers at a time, six waves of 100 plus stallholders and staff was still a lot of people.

''I'm really sorry for the stallholders. I thought this weekend's market might have been one of the last as we know it, before the traffic light system comes in and the number of cases in Northland grows.''

Hyland said the segregation that could be enforced under the traffic light system was ''horrible'' and the market faced some tough choices to keep operating safely in future.

Labour Weekend's markets were also cancelled because of concerns people could try to travel from Auckland, and because of the positive cases in Northland.

However, with the Northland cases isolating well at home, she had been optimistic about the prospects for this weekend, until the protest.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Tai Tokerau Border Control founder Hone Harawira and Te Rūnanga-ā-iwi o Ngāpuhi earlier told the SHOT organisers they were not welcome.

Te Tii Marae said it had a long history of challenging government policies but urged those trying to come from south of Auckland to honour the anniversary of He Whakaputanga in their own areas.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from The Country

The Country

'We love you Jocko': Hundreds pay tribute to Stewart Island hunting accident victim

The Country

City to Farm - how leftovers are giving back to the land

The Country

The Country: Tasman farmer on flooding aftermath


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

'We love you Jocko': Hundreds pay tribute to Stewart Island hunting accident victim
The Country

'We love you Jocko': Hundreds pay tribute to Stewart Island hunting accident victim

Jock Davies was remembered for his infectious humour, caring nature and great strength.

14 Jul 04:21 AM
City to Farm - how leftovers are giving back to the land
The Country

City to Farm - how leftovers are giving back to the land

14 Jul 03:16 AM
The Country: Tasman farmer on flooding aftermath
The Country

The Country: Tasman farmer on flooding aftermath

14 Jul 02:16 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP