Port of Tauranga’s activities have wide-reaching benefits for the Bay of Plenty economy and beyond, including the direct and indirect employment of tens of thousands of New Zealanders.
On top of this, Port of Tauranga has an important role to play as an investor in community wellbeing. The company sponsors and donates to causes in the arts, sport, environment, education and business sectors.
Company profits are paid as dividends to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s investment arm, Quayside Holdings, which in turn pays a dividend to the council to subsidise regional rates.
Supporting community causes
Port of Tauranga is a long-time supporter of community organisations that assist the most vulnerable members of our community. We donate money every Christmas to the Tauranga Community Foodbank and other charities and our twice-yearly port tours raise money for Waipuna Hospice.
Port of Tauranga is the naming rights sponsor of the Port of Tauranga Rescue Centre, recently opened at Mount Maunganui. The rescue centre is the hub for surf life saving operations in the eastern region, covering 19 clubs from Hot Water Beach to Tairawhiti/Gisborne.
In 2024, Port of Tauranga entered a long-term partnership with the Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service to sponsor its facility on the main beach at Mount Maunganui.
Sponsoring local events
At Port of Tauranga, we believe events help create a vibrant community.
We are the naming rights sponsor of the Port of Tauranga National Jazz Festival, held in Tauranga every Easter. It is the longest-running event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.
We are also a founding gold sponsor of the biennial Tauranga Arts Festival, featuring local and guest performances in music, theatre and comedy, as well as a range of public talks and workshops.
Building infrastructure
Port of Tauranga’s sponsorship has also helped provide and protect valued community infrastructure and equipment. Past projects include the Pilot Bay boardwalk, the Bay of Plenty TECT rescue helicopter’s specialist winch, floodlighting at the Bay Oval cricket ground, patrol boats for the Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club, and enhancement of walking tracks on Mauao, the mountain at the entrance to Te Awanui Tauranga Harbour.
Recent projects include sponsorship of a “living sea wall” in the central city, which aims to attract marine life and enhance coastal protection. Port of Tauranga has also funded a natural playground on the newly-opened Marine Parade Coastal Pathway at Mount Maunganui, as well as a timber viewing platform at the northernmost point of the base walking track on Mauao. The platform overlooks Te Awaiti, the channel where the historic migratory waka Takitimu first sheltered on arrival at Tauranga Moana.
Working with iwi
Port of Tauranga works both formally and informally with the three iwi of mana whenua status in Tauranga Moana – Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pūkenga.
Our formal partnerships include the Ngā Mātarae Charitable Trust, established in 2015 to balance the impact on the cultural and spiritual values of local Maori from our harbour dredging project. The Trust has a scholarship programme administered by the Port and sponsors projects to improve the wellbeing of Te Awanui Tauranga Harbour, including wetlands restoration and biosecurity monitoring. Recent projects include a resilience plan for Whareroa Marae, which is located on a low-lying shore of Te Awanui Tauranga Harbour; a business case for harbour restoration led by a collective of hapū; a project to capture hapū perspectives of Tauranga Moana; and school science laboratory equipment to be shared by local kura kaupapa.
Port of Tauranga also provides scholarships under the Turirangi Te Kani Memorial scheme, which was established in honour of a late kaumatua who worked with the Port.
