‘We’re in this together’
A once rowdy caravan park in West Auckland has become a thriving community for mainly Maori and Pasifika where residents get hot meals and a sense of belonging
Poor communities are not bad communities. That’s the view of businessman Brad Heaven, who receives thousands of dollars in rent from the Government every week to house around 200 whānau at the Rānui Caravan Park in West Auckland.
The park has attracted plenty of bad press sparked by daily police visits during its bad old days while the cost of living at the emergency housing park was labelled “outrageous” by Breakfast journalist John Campbell, who was then trespassed for his troubles.
But since Heaven took over the management of the park in 2017, locals say he has turned the park and the people who live in the grounds into a proud, thriving community.
Along the way Heaven has become a trusted friend and mentor to the residents, who call the caravan park their “whare”.
The three-hectare property, bought by his parents in 1997, sits across multiple street addresses. Nearby homes on less than a quarteracre are selling for around the $2 million mark.
On site are 33 cabins, 25 units, 51 vans, 12 trailer homes, one bus and 13 privately owned dwellings where owners pay ground rent. There are also 14 powered sites.
Heaven’s parents lived on site for 20 years, and had their fair share of run-ins with council officials and government bureaucrats, including West Auckland MP and at-the-time Housing Minister Phil Twyford.
But the couple retired five years ago, leaving Heaven and his brother Matthew to manage the facility. He has been slowly upgrading the units to make them comfortable and liveable.
New residents arrive with food in the cupboards and a welcome handshake.
“This is a passion project for our family, started by my mum and dad and carried on by me and Matthew,” Heaven told the Herald.
“The satisfaction I get is when I can actually help people and see them happy.”
The Western Park Village — commonly known as the Rānui Caravan Park — is big, and the majority of residents who call the park home are Māori or Pasifika. Heaven knows all of them by name.
“The first thing I did when I took over was to meet every resident and introduce myself. I wanted them to be able to come to me if there were issues. I wanted them to be the leaders of this community, and take pride and ownership of where they live.”
The park is also the last-chance saloon for many residents.
Te Wiki Marshall is one of them. He’s had two stints at the park — the first time for five years.
“I’ve been back here four years now and have noticed major changes in this place,” Te Wiki, 54, said.
“It was a different place then. Since Heaven took over there’s been massive changes. There was a lot of drinking and violence and a lot of bad people in here, just like me.
“But coming back, all the bad elements have been taken out. We are a community and look after each other.”
When the country went into lockdown in 2020, most residents had no access to food. Most don’t have vehicles, so they rely on the generosity of friends or neighbours.
Heaven recalls the March 2020 lockdown vividly.
“That’s the day I met Pete,” Heaven said. “He was one of the residents and was down the back digging. I asked him what he was doing. Pete said to me, ‘Fixing the pipe’.
“That’s what communities do. They all pitch in.”
The “Pete” he’s referring to is his go-to guy Pete Dehar, ex-army, exWaipareira man and current bottle washer, cook and gardener.
“When Covid came, Pete and I started distributing food parcels, which had been donated to all the residents,” Heaven said.
“The food was being supplied from Vision West and Pak’nSave. “We also restarted doing a daily breakfast, which my father had started a few years earlier.” Breakfast starts at 6.30am and is served Monday to Friday. Dinner is also free, and available Monday to Friday. They serve around 20-50 hot meals each sitting.
“By putting on food, there has been a real change in the culture of the place,” Heaven said.
Residents can go to the kitchen and grab a hot cooked meal or take food back to their units. Dehar and the team also pack lunches for the dozen workers who travel before breakfast.
For the latecomers, food packs are made and left outside the kitchen. They include sandwiches and fruit. “Nothing goes to waste here,” Dehar said.
Heaven and Dehar are firm believers that sharing food brings people together. “Coming together for kai brings us all together, and though we still have many of our whānau in here with mental health issues, we are there to support and awhi each other,” Dehar said.
Changing the image of the park has taken time and money, but Heaven is confident that it’s worth the effort.
“There were people bringing the place down so we had to clear them out, and everyone who is here has been vetted,” Heaven said.
The park now has strict rules — no consuming alcohol outside — as part of a code-of-conduct contract that all residents sign.
“We want residents to feel proud of our community and I think we are going in the right direction,” Heaven said.
He said in the not-too-distant past, police would be at the park up to five times a day.
“Now they may get one police visit a week for a bail check.
“I have pride in this community and I know they now have pride in themselves,” Heaven said.