It may be temporarily closed, but that couldn’t break the beat of 17 years celebrating Molley Green Reserve.
Since 2008, Molley Green Community Day has brought locals together to make the most of the popular park and connect the people who call it their own.
This year, the reserve had to be temporarily closed while it gets significant upgrades under the Roskill Development. Far from cancelling the community day, hundreds of people instead turned out to Waikōwhai Intermediate School on 21 September.
Kāinga Ora has been a part of the celebrations for about six years. This year the team kept in step with locals by breaking into some Bollywood dancing, before others led tours to the reserve alongside our civil construction partners at LEAD Alliance.
More than 140 people stopped by the Roskill Development stall for a free coffee and updates about both Molley Green Reserve and our work in the wider neighbourhood, where around 1,200 new homes are set to be built.
“The amount of positive feedback we got from the community was really encouraging,” says Lucy Smith, Senior Development Manager.
“It was also lovely and sunny, and I enjoyed the Bollywood dancing.”
Along with dancing and other performances, event-goers enjoyed balloon animals from Twisted Sisters, cycle chat with Bike Hub Mount Roskill and a variety of games and activities – including bouncy castles, giant Connect Four and more.
After working up an appetite with a game of Hungerball, attendees could then head for a sausage sizzle, apple pie or more including a range of Pasifika, Indian and Asian food choices. Crafts, candles and gifts were also on sale, and residents could get to know the teams from our local community services.
As well as Kāinga Ora, members of the Police, Community Patrol, Puketāpapa Local Board, the Auckland Kindergarten Association, Auckland Libraries and the Anglican Trust for Women and Children were among the stallholders on the day.
Next year, Molley Green Community Day will return to the newly-upgraded and opened reserve – we can’t wait to see you there!