Snapper Bonanza benefit
Today 1000 very keen anglers will be taking a well-earned breather. They have already spent two days knee, waist or even neck-deep in the surf along TeOneroa-a-To¯he¯, hoping to pull in the big one in the Nga¯i Takoto 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza. Another two days of very competitive surfcasting lies ahead before the winners are named on Saturday evening.
This is probably the biggest competition of its type in the world and is certainly one of the biggest events on Te Hiku calendar. It started as the Snapper Classic in 1982, and was taken on by John Stewart and Dave Collard in 2011. They renamed it the 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza and the event has gone from strength to strength since.
This year, the 1000-ticket limit sold out a full month before the competition started. Previously, tickets have been available right up to the weekend before competition.
So what brings surfcasters from around the country and from overseas to our corner of the world at Waipapakauri year after year? A pretty spectacular prize pool helps. Prizes for the heaviest fish range from $200 to $30,000. Team event cash prizes top $4000. And even those who fail to wrestle the big one from the surf can walk away with a substantial reward from the $100,000 of spot prize pool. That includes a brand new $50,000 Mitsubishi Triton ute.
This year a new sponsor has joined the event. A deal struck with local iwi, Nga¯i Takoto, has secured funding for the next three years and given Nga¯i Takoto naming rights to the competition. This means organisers have financial certainty, and Nga¯i Takoto can link their guardianship of Te-Oneroa-a-To¯he¯ to a nationally and globally recognised competition. It is a great partnership that will add a new dimension to the competition, and give visitors an appreciation of how significant this iconic coastline is to tangata whenua and to all New Zealanders.
Of course, it also helps ensure employment and financial benefits continue to flow to our communities from the event.
The Far North District Council has long supported the Bonanza with funding and logistics. We understand the value these events bring.
Like the Ocean Swim Series at Russell, and the Kerikeri Half Marathon, the Snapper Bonanza is so much more than the 1000 anglers that compete each year. Nearly all bring friends and whanau to Waipapakauri as supporters and to join the fun. That’s thousands of people needing accommodation, food and entertainment over five days.
And if each tells a friend about our hospitality, our coastline and the history of Te-Oneroa-a-To¯he¯, I am confident more visitors will, in turn, come to our district.
One thing we cannot control is the snapper. However, I’m told that a few personal records have recently fallen for local anglers. Whatever the outcome, Nga¯i Takoto 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza 2019 is already a recordbreaker, which is great news for the whole district.
" If each [visitor for Snapper Bonanza] tells a friend about our hospitality, our coastline and the history of TeOneroa-a-To¯ he¯ , I am confident more visitors will, in turn, come to our district."