Idle teens ‘kick back’ as New Year’s Eve to be rung in at Whangamatā

The mood among New Year’s Eve revellers in the Coromandel town of Whangamatā is ebullient. The crowd is mainly young, and it’s clear they are looking for a good time but have few organised options to choose from.

On the town’s main drag young people are steeling their stomachs for what might be a long night ahead.

Sitting outside Liquorland was Jacob Smith from Tauranga. His friends (Jordan Lane, Zack Brown, Jon Knowles and George Cornfield, all 16), had arrived from Auckland on Saturday and had a fairly simple list of activities to see in the new year to.

“Kick back and slay back… See a few babes, drink a few drinks, avoid cops and avoid thugs,” said Lane.

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On the drinks list for the group this evening was a sundry mix.

“I’ll be having apple juice,” said Brown, “A bit of wai” added Lane, “Speight’s Summit Ultra” said Smith, frankly.

Further down Port Rd, Renee Gillespie, Erika Piper and Anna Ly had just returned from the beach and were on the hunt for a bite to eat. They said that Whangamatā is the place to be when you’re young, and that “when you’re 18, you go to RnV”.

The trio from Morrinsville said that this was their end of year release after a big year at school.

“It’s what you work towards all year… Being at the beach under a couple of influences.”

While they did plan on having a drink, Gillespie was quick to add that it was with “parental consent” and that they were “law-abiding citizens”.

Vape clouds billowed from Jayden Mitchener’s friend’s ute on Saturday afternoon. In the drink holder was an open can of blackcurrant vodka cruiser, and on the stereo a drum and bass track courtesy of his DJ mate.

Mitchener, 19, said that most New Year’s he was celebrating at a music festival, but that this year he would be “having a few beers at the boys’ places”.

The schedule for the night ahead was pending, but he said there would be a few milestones on the countdown to 2023.

“Some people like it, some don’t, but there’ll be a few sing-a-longs at about 10pm to get everybody on the same buzz. A bit of DnB [drum and bass] to get to 12am, and you’re away.”

Choosing a spot from the dunes for a final swim of 2022, Jess and Daisy, who declined to provide their last names, had come to Whangamatā to ring in the new year for a second time in a row.

The duo said that the lack of an organised event for young people to attend was the reason for past chaos.

On Friday, the region’s top cop, Superintendent Bruce Bird, issued a stern warning to parents of young people not to ply their children with alcohol. The warning was spurred by a potential curtain raiser for Saturday night’s high jinks, in which bottles were hurdled at police vehicles, resulting in a broken window.

At the site of 2020’s New Year’s shennanigans, Blackies café in Williamson Park, the atmosphere was more subdued than it had been in the past. Owner Mike Fleming said that he had been impressed with the efforts of police and community to keep a lid on teenage antics this time around.

“I’ve been really impressed with the security this year. Glenn Matheson​ and his team have done a great job… Will and his team have done a great job too. Will’s the policeman who used to be the sergeant here, but he’s one of the big folks round the Coromandel now.”

Fleming planned on “chilling out” with his “great team” and said he would be back at his premises at 5.00am to “do it all again.”

The mood of the evening was perhaps best summed up by Fleming’s Chilean chef, Andres Arancibia​.

“Hopefully they don’t jump on the roof again this year.”