Honouring the past, building the future: Waka Ama Club plans for new clubrooms by 2027

Architectural rendering of the proposed Portage Crossing Trust Clubhouse.

Over many decades, paddlers from the Portage Crossing Waka Ama Club have battled all manner of conditions as they have navigated their vessels along the windswept shores around Māngere Bridge. 

But with nothing more than a patch of grass to gather on after training, the dream of a clubhouse has always been in the back of members’ minds. 

As secretary Poutoa Papali’i explains, “The idea came about before I was born.”

His father, James Papali’i, was among the first to bring waka ama to South Auckland, co-founding the Manukau Outrigger Club in 1988 and training generations of paddlers in the process.

The significance of the site runs deep. The Portage Crossing takes its name from the historic route taken by Tainui centuries ago, who travelled from the Waitematā, down the Tāmaki River, before carrying their waka across the isthmus through Ōtāhuhu and then relaunching onto the Manukau Harbour and arriving in what is now Māngere. 

Some of the Portage Crossing Waka Ama Club crew at their current location, a fenced area near the Māngere Bridge Boat Ramp.

Now, after years of advocacy, the club is progressing an application to build a dedicated clubhouse: the first step in creating a comprehensive water sports and safety centre for the Manukau. The proposed facility will offer inclusive access to water activities, storage for equipment, and essential safety education at what has been identified as one of Aotearoa’s most dangerous harbours. It aims not only to reduce drowning risk but to strengthen community wellbeing through learning and stewardship of the harbour.

For Poutoa, the clubhouse would honour the many paddlers who carried this dream from the early 1990s until today. 

“It would be a special moment,” he says, as it will lift the sport, benefit the whole the community, and honour the legacy of those who began the club.

Fellow Portage Crossing Committee member Katherine Teaupa William says the initial plan is for the facility to be completed by the end of 2027 as long as the required funding can be sourced. 

“Ultimately, this project represents a long-term investment in saving lives, strengthening community resilience, preserving cultural knowledge, and creating safe, inclusive access to the Manukau Harbour for current and future generations.”

Poutoa Papali'i (right) with James Papali'i (Centre).