Housing development completed at Whenuapai

[Dave Homewood]

Housing development completed at Whenuapai
AMY BAKER

Last updated 15:22, June 22 2018


Whenuapai Housing Partnership chairman Paul Majurey, Mayor Phil Goff, RNZAF Base Commander Auckland, Group Captain Daniel Hunt cut the ribbon to the 49-house development for RNZAF personnel.

A new housing development to be used by the New Zealand Defence Force personnel is now open in Whenuapai.

The 49-home development was opened by Mayor Phil Goff, Whenuapai Housing Development Partnership chairman Paul Majurey and Royal New Zealand Air Force Base Commander Auckland, Group Captain Daniel Hunt.

Construction on the 6400 square-metre site started last March.


Whenuapai Housing Partnership chairman Paul Majurey with RNZAF Base Commander Auckland, Group Captain Daniel Hunt.

The Whenuapai Housing Partnership - which is made up of Pare Hauraki Iwi and Te Tumu Kāinga, administered by Te Tumu Paeroa - will retain ownership of the houses that will be leased to New Zealand Defense Force families.

Goff congratulated Majurey on completing the project on time.

"What Auckland needs at the moment with a major housing shortage, is good quality homes delivered at scale and at pace, and the Partnership has done that."

The mayor said his father and uncles all served in the Air Force, and said the new housing had moved the staff accommodation into the "21st century".

The project was a "win-win-win" situation and a cause for celebration, Goff said, noting the opening also happened to be taking place on his birthday.


Goff said the day was cause for celebration - not least as it was also his birthday.

RNZAF Base Commander Auckland, Group Captain Daniel Hunt said having houses so close to the base would allow staff to respond more quickly to emergencies and disaster relief.

Majurey said the project also demonstrated the growing role of iwi in the local community.

It will be several weeks before families begin to move in.


Amy Baker

Families will be moving into the new houses in a few weeks.

www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-harbour-news/104924500/housing-development-completed-at-whenuapai

[skyhawkdon]

I wonder how much per week rent they will be charging for them? I doubt it will be what we used to pay for MQ back in the 80s/90s!

[camtech]

Jun 24, 2018 15:22:25 GMT 12 skyhawkdon said:

I wonder how much per week rent they will be charging for them? I doubt it will be what we used to pay for MQ back in the 80s/90s!

The first Married Quarter I shifted into in 1973 cost $1.50 per week!

[Dave Homewood]

What would market rental have been for a house the same time? Any idea?

[camtech]

Off hand I think we were paying $35-45 outside.
Mind you we shifted again shortly after into a house outside the Whenuapai gates and the rent was about $18 a week.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Jun 24, 2018 17:15:44 GMT 12 camtech said:

Off hand I think we were paying $35-45 outside.
Mind you we shifted again shortly after into a house outside the Whenuapai gates and the rent was about $18 a week.

It used to be the same for railway workers, ministry of works workers, NZED workers, teachers in out-of-the-way areas, police, and many other government departments which provided cheap houses for their staff....and the military. Most of those houses came from a New Zealand Government Railways house factory at Frankton Junction in Hamilton. The building is still there (click on the link) and it is now registered as a category one historic place. The factory dated from the 1920s and built kitset houses right up until the early 1960s (many of the later government homes came from Beazley Homes at Taupo under contract to NZ Railways and other government departments, but railways handled the contracts). They used to rail them around the country to where they were needed, then carpenters from the recipient government department (or military service) would prepare the foundations and assemble the houses on those foundations.

Those days of cheap, subsidised staff houses are long gone. The railway houses were flogged off 25 years or so ago. I imagine the other government departments started flogging their's off around the same time.

[vansvilla]

The introduction of Fringe Benefit Tax removed a lot of those cheaper rentals.