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Awhitu District School Annual Easter - A Bit Of History
The amazing annual Awhitu Peninsula Recycle day will happen as usual on Easter Saturday 2012. This is the day that Awhitu District School becomes a market place for the day. The first Auction was held on 27th February 1988. The Awhitu District School PTA committee at the time was very active, holding many fundraising events throughout the year and the Auction was a new idea to try. The first Auction raised $1600.00, and included morning tea, a Trading Table, Pumpkins and the Auction. In 1989, the Auction was held in the Matakawau Hall at Queen's Birthday weekend, with parents dropping off goods to be auctioned, a trading table and morning tea to be served from the kitchen.
In 1990 Easter Saturday was the day chosen for the Auction and this was to remain the day to the present. Many summer visitors return to the Peninsula at this time and it is a date that is remembered and does not clash with other events. 1990 was the first year that goods were collected on the Peninsula with two parents and one car and trailer. This was due to the small number of items that had been donated prior to the Auction. A cake stall was held, raffles sold and a Trading Table set up for produce and plants. It was noted that the personal touch worked well for the donation of goods. Today 20 years later the PTA have 8 teams of parents working for 4-6 hours collecting donated goods from designated areas. Gone is the car and trailer and trucks are the main transporter. This year the PTA aim to cover an area from the Manukau Heads to J. Renall Road.
In 1992 the Matakawau Hall was unavailable so it was suggested that the Auction be held on the school grounds. An offer from the ranger at the Awhitu ARC Park led to the Auction in 1992 being held in the woolshed at the Park. This was very successful with the main goods being displayed and auctioned in the sheep pens. The trading tables were set up inside the woolshed. Raffles, morning tea and sausages were sold – a rural auction atmosphere was created enhanced by the smell of sheep. The Auction continued at the Park until 1996. It was growing in size and reputation every year. Pick up areas were developed, families were allocated specific tasks and the community both local and further afield was getting behind the event.
In 1996 the Auction moved the Awhitu School Grounds at Matakawau Village. The Auction was set up using tents for the main Auction on the school field and classrooms for the other items such as clothing, Bric-a Brac and books. This Auction in 1996 raised $ 7000.00 and was declared the biggest so far.
In 1990, the Auctioneer asked for the lots to be reduced to 150. Today the PTA offers over 900 lots with the main Auction divided into inside and outside items. For the past eight years the amount raised each Easter has been in excess of $20,000 – an amazing amount of 'giving' from a very supportive community.
The weather can be fickle for the Auction and cover is provided by a series of tents. The PTA is generously supported by local community groups such as the Matakawau Hall Committee and the BHP NZ Steel Social Club. Local businesses in Waiuku and Pukekohe provide the rest of the tent cover and last year for the first time the new school Pavilion building was used.
Who knows what will be up for Auction? The local community is very generous and in recent years the PTA has been offered a round baler, a boat and trailer, a tractor, a truck, a car and a pop up camper for the rural outside goods auction. Bikes, barbeques, treadmills, garden gear, fish smokers, knapsack sprayers, sinks, trees and tiles are an example of what was on offer last year. Inside we have a gigantic selection of cutlery, dinnerware, glasses, furniture, beds, bedding and hundreds of box lots of assorted treasure. Have some fun bargaining with the guys in the Electrical tent. All electrical goods are tested before being priced and offered for sale. There is a classroom full of books and magazines. Home baking, sandwiches and tea and coffee are available from our Café as well as sustaining food from the barbecue. The White Elephant room always throws up an incredible treasure or two. An alligator handbag has appeared before and there has is always a piece of collectible china or two – Burleighware, Crown Lynn, Wedgwood, Poole for the discerning eye.
Raffles are always available too and there are several of these up for grabs on the day. The PTA has been offered a tour of the Control Tower of the Auckland International Airport, this is a very rare opportunity to go behind the scenes.
If you are not into recycling, then some incredible artwork donated by local artists is offered for auction. This particular part of the auction has proved very popular over more recent years and the PTA appreciates the support from these very talented, local people. There is something for everyone.
Where does the money go? The children of course!! The PTA has moved in a new direction in the past few years. Money for property and fixed assets is easy to allocate as people see concrete results for their fundraising efforts, however money spent on bus transport, school camps and consumable items is often not seen as being as important. Awhitu School provides a wide range of learning experiences for their students, on and off the Peninsula and aims to keep the cost of these experiences at an affordable level for families. This is achieved through the money raised by the PTA. The Annual Easter Auction provides most of our funds for the year. Last year, the PTA funded swimming instruction, classroom consumables, buses to Auckland, visits to the Science Road Show, Gymnastics instruction and subsidised the cost of Senior school camps to Totara Springs in Matamata, Chosen Valley, Motutapu Island and to the Whangaparoa Peninsula. Contributions to school resources made during the year included maintenance to the school pool, providing new Junior reading kits and Special Needs resources and funding new staging for the school production. This year the PTA is aiming to provide the same experiences for children, as well as funding for computer upgrades and to setting up the new teaching facility in the school. The PTA achieves this with the help of 60 families, 5 teachers, a supportive Principal and a strong local community.
