Thirteen years of an iconic Tauranga car boot sale is drawing to a close.

Originally based at Greerton Village School and now at Tauranga Racecourse, the Tauranga South Community Patrol – TSCP - has made the decision to end their monthly fundraising event.

'We are very grateful for the support of our vendors that have turned up to sell their goods each month for many years,” says TSCP chair Maureen Kathan.

'Two months ago we made the hard decision that all good things must come to an end and so the May 20 car boot sale will be our final one.”

She says as a fundraiser for the patrol, the sale has been very successful.

'Not only as a money maker but also to meet the public and raise awareness of our work with the Police and in the community.”

Tauranga South Community Patrol are dependent on raising funds in order to provide a patrol service each day and most nights.

Tauranga South Community Patrol with their new vehicle at Greerton Police Station in 2021. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford.

Although their office and patrol car are based at the Greerton Police Station, they are not funded by Police; the patrol is run by volunteers who fundraise to cover the operating costs.

They also have received funding in the past from local businesses, individuals and organisations.

The last day of the Tauranga South Community Patrol Car Boot Sale will be Saturday May 20 at Tauranga Racecourse. Photo: Supplied.

The monthly market has been their main regular source of funds.

'Our patrollers have done a sterling job arriving, sometimes on cold, dark and damp mornings at 6.30am and staying until the last vendor has packed up five hours later.

'We would like to recognise the work of each and every one of our team members who supported our fund raising initiative. This was volunteerism at its best.”

Keith and Shirley Carter, along with Maureen and her husband Fridolin Kathan, have been organising and running this car boot sale from the very beginning.

'We were based at the Greerton School and this became a favourite place for many vendors to bring their goodies along and make some money.

"Locals and visitors alike made it a regular place to come to on a Saturday morning to browse, chat with locals, buy a sausage and perhaps even a coffee from the patrollers who managed the stand.

'While at the school it was a great opportunity for any foot traffic to pop in on the spur of the moment hoping to find some treasure be it a plant, book, toy, fresh veges or fruit etc.”

Tauranga South Community Patrol and Car Boot Sale volunteers Keith and Shirley Carter. Photo: John Borren.

Maureen says two years ago the school informed them that they would need to find a new location for the car boot sale, as the school planned to do some work on their grounds.

'We were fortunate and grateful to be offered a new ‘home' at the Tauranga Racecourse and so we moved up there and tried to attract buyers with a lot of signage and local advertising. The racecourse were wonderful giving us power and the use of their toilets.”

Unfortunately, along came Covid and then a spate of bad weather.

'These two combined really set us back. We were not as visible to the public even though the venue was somewhat better as far as parking and shelter was concerned.”

Tauranga South Community Patrol

The role of the community patrol is to assist police with crime prevention by being 'the eyes and ears” for both the police and community.

They do this by patrolling the streets in a designated patrol vehicle covering residential, business and industrial areas from Gate Pa to Greerton, Tauriko business park, Ohauiti and Windermere.

This is done during the day and late at night. They also are out doing foot patrols at local shopping centres at Gate Pa, Greerton Village and Tauriko, often interacting with local business owners.

Tauranga South Community Patrol chair Maureen Kathan. Photo: John Borren.

Suspicious or potentially criminal activity is reported directly to Police Comms by radio or phone.

Patrol members undertake surveillance and observation, intelligence gathering and recording information, watch out for stolen vehicles, and assist police in other ways such as traffic control at vehicle crashes and manning police cordons.

By participating at local community events and fundraising to keep operational, the patrol is able to raise awareness around crime prevention and community safety. They also run safer plates screw days, providing a unique, anti-theft plate fixing system for cars, supported by police.

Wrapping up the car boot sale

Patrol stalwarts Shirley and Keith Carter, now in their 80s, have been at the helm of the monthly sale, using Keith's van which Fridolin repurposed for the car boot sale. They are soon shifting house to live at Carmel Country in Ohauiti.

'A local church that had their van stolen are going to buy the van,” says Maureen.

'It's a big ask for patrollers to run the sale from 6.30am to noon. Our patrollers have been absolutely wonderful and new patrollers have come in and stepped up to the mark. It's been a really good team effort.

'We have met many wonderful people through this regular event and found new members as well.”

Future fundraising efforts for the patrol may include sausage sizzles and helping with parking at the Tauranga Farmers Market.

'We may go for local funding, get this behind us and move onto different avenues of funding.”

Tauranga South Community Patrol would like to thank the general public and vendors for their support over the past 13 years as well as express thanks to Greerton Village School and the Tauranga Race Course.

The very last Tauranga South Community Patrol Car Boot Sale is being held on Saturday May 20 at Tauranga Racecourse with set up time 6.30am. A single site is $10 and a double site $20.

Anyone interested in joining the Tauranga South Community Patrol please email Maureen Kathan on taurangasouth@cpnz.org.nz