Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga has marked a year of significant legal milestones and steady financial growth, according to the 2026 Raukawa ki te Tonga Trust annual report. Trust chair Rachael Selby said that at the forefront in 2025 had been the long-running Marine and Coastal Area (Maca) claim. Heard in the High Court in 2024, the case... Keep Reading
The Ōtaki College old boy knighted in the New Year Honours, Sir Christopher Parkin, KNZM, has left his mark in the capital along with the scholarships that bear his name at his old school. Entrepreneur, philanthropist, collector, patron of the arts, former hotelier and three-term Wellington City councillor, Sir Christopher is believed to the... Keep Reading
Māoriland Charitable Trust is the supreme winner in the Kāpiti section of the Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards. The trust that runs the internationally famous Māoriland Film Festival won the arts and culture category before taking the top award. The popular Ōtaki Kids Market won the education and child/youth development... Keep Reading
A shift in demographics throughout the Kāpiti district is offering new opportunities for local businesses, says Chris Wilkinson of First Retail Group. Chris was speaking at the Southward Car Museum on February 12 for the first Electra Business Breakfast of 2025. The event was titled “What is Kāpiti’s sweet spot?”. Sharing his... Keep Reading
New Year honours often recognise people for service to their community. Community was certainly at the heart of an award this year for Te Horo woman Mary-Jane Rivers, who was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM). However, what sets her apart from many other award recipients is not so much her work on the ground, but as a... Keep Reading
Plans for development of a new village at Ōtaki-Māori Racing Club have been submitted to the Environmental Protection Authority for consent. The plans show a concept that includes a mix of more than 500 housing units, clustered in seven zones around the racecourse on what is mostly vacant land. There are six types of housing: single-unit,... Keep Reading
When NZ Natural moved its clothing store out of Ōtaki’s Railway shopping strip recently, some locals became concerned about a retail slide, but one expert says there are positive signs. Chris Wilkinson, whose First Retail Group drafted a retail strategy for Elevate Ōtaki earlier this year, says there’s still plenty of confidence in... Keep Reading
December 23, 2022, will be remembered as the day Ōtaki regained its roads. The Peka Peka to Ōtaki expressway opened fully on that date, with the traffic along the former highway and through the Railway shopping district suddenly dissipating to a sedate trickle. Passing traffic stuck to the expressway, and Ōtaki began attracting only the... Keep Reading
Retailers are “cautiously optimistic” about the expressway opening and there’s big potential for the Railway shopping area to redefine itself as a vibrant destination for visitors – and as a retail, service and hospitality hub for locals. These are some of the key findings from a just-released report by First Retail Group. The report... Keep Reading
A new retail and investment strategy focused on the Ōtaki highway shopping district is being developed by First Retail Group, a Wellington-based retail strategy firm.Engaged by Elevate Ōtaki, First Retail has just begun working with local businesses and commercial property owners to see how the shopping precinct can strengthen its... Keep Reading
The number of people living in Ōtaki could be up by at least 3000 within 10 years – and at least double within 30 years – as housing stock increases. The huge growth is spurred by a $29.2 million government investment in infrastructure announced at the Ōtaki-Māori Racing Club on July 21. The funding will be delivered over the next 10... Keep Reading
The Peka Peka to Ōtaki expressway is due to open by Christmas, but by August next year, enhancement work mainly at the Railway area of Ōtaki will begin in earnest. The revocation process (see explanation panel at right) will last about two years, taking works through until 2025. It’s designed to create a more appealing urban environment... Keep Reading
Elevate Ōtaki is renewing efforts to bring the Ōtaki identity to the forefront of the town’s marketing. New chair Adrian Gregory says the identity, when it was launched nearly two years ago, had a “soft landing” and didn’t succeed in gaining the buy-in from the community it deserved. “What we’d like to do is to get... Keep Reading
Dr Rose Namoori-Sinclair is the pride of her tiny Pacific nation, with a PhD covering the impact of policy on Pacific women’s health and the experiences of Kiribati migrants, and now receiving an MNZN in the New Year Honours. Rose was born in Kiribati, a small group of islands and atolls in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It’s home to... Keep Reading
Ōtaki Yard has been sold to a Wellington property development company. Settlement of the sale to The Wellington Company is in September next year. A statement from a representative of current owner and British investor Nigel Ross confirmed the sale and said the usual market days and tenants in the Collective on the site would continue... Keep Reading
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