Two fires three days apart at an abandoned golf club in Auckland's Gulf Harbour were likely caused by an "incendiary" of some sort, a fire investigator says.
The Whangaparāoa Peninsula course, which hosted the New Zealand Golf Open in 2005 and 2006, was closed "with immediate effect" in July last year.
Firefighters from across the city were called to the first fire at the Gulf Harbour Country Club just before 3am on May 18.
Crews found the golf shop "in a state of collapse" from the fire — two walls had collapsed outwards, while a third was in danger of collapse. The roof had fallen into the building.
The second fire, just three days later, engulfed the country club in flames, leaving the community heartbroken.
The fire, just before midnight on May 20, caused most of the club's first floor and above to collapse into the building. The paint had been burnt off in some parts and long strips of concrete had come loose from the roof and were hanging. Concrete beams supporting the first floor had also "spalled" or broke.
Due to concerns about the structural stability of the club's buildings, fire investigator Megan Tait was forced to carry out her investigations from the outside. It is thought the fire started on the ground floor at the northern end of the main building, home to a swimming pool and squash courts at basement level.
Structural concerns hindered the investigation, meaning the fire was ultimately classified as "undetermined", but Tait concluded: "Given recent events at the site there is a high probability the fire was incendiary."
Her comments in an incident report on the May 18 fire noted: "There is a very high likelihood this fire was incendiary. This determination has been made due to the high level of vandalism on the site, and the second fire that occurred at the same address in the main building three days later."
People had been seen with torches on the club's grounds around 10.30pm on May 20, Tait's report said. A witness didn't pay much attention as that was a "regular occurrence". They were woken up a couple of hours later by a fire truck going past.
A police spokesperson said inquiries were continuing into the fires.
"Our inquiries are ongoing to understand the full circumstances of what has occurred, however at this stage we can advise the fires are being treated as an arson incident."
The Gulf Harbour Country Club in Auckland has been caught in another blaze overnight. (Source: Breakfast)
They said no arrests have been made at this stage.
The country club was demolished last month after Auckland Council issued two Dangerous Building notices. The notices said: "… in the ordinary course of events (excluding the occurrence of an earthquake) [it] is likely to cause injury or death to any persons in it or to persons on other property, or damage to other property."
Arson concerns raised month before
In her report, Tait described the country club as "well known to Fire and Emergency".
The site had been abandoned; buildings were not secure; there had been significant vandalism at the site; and the fire alarm panel had been defective for months — since October 25, last year.
"Attempts were made to reinstate the fire alarm system and maintain servicing schedules; however, this was unsuccessful."
In April, a call to the club led to an on-duty senior station officer raising further concerns about the abandoned site.
"The manual fire alarm call points were broken; the privately owned fire hydrants on site were inoperable; and the potential for a malicious fire appeared to be highly likely," Tait's report noted.
With "free access" into all of the "unsecure" buildings at the club, Auckland Council was called in.
The pool was drained and Vector was asked to isolate the power. This was done on May 18 when the first fire occurred.
Auckland Council told 1News last month the owner's lack of maintenance at the club "has been disappointing".
"Council's regulatory powers to intervene on a private property, prior to it becoming dangerous, are limited. Compliance officers have visited the property on several occasions and considered whether the building had become dangerous as defined in the [ Building] Act, however it was only once the fire had occurred that the powers of the act were able to be enforced."
Section 124 of the Building Act prohibited access to structures in instances where local authorities believed it to be unsafe.
Fires 'somewhat inevitable'
The country club was owned by property developer Greg Olliver, who bought it in 2021. The golf club's director was Wayne Bailey.
There were fears the land could be developed for housing. Long River Investments Corporation Limited, which was directed by Bailey, submitted a resource consent last year to undertake a "boundary adjustment" which would separate the land into two titles and reduce the size of the land. Long River said it would like to sell part of the land to fund the golf course's redevelopment.
As there would not be enough room on the remaining land to accommodate an 18-hole course, Long River said it planned to purchase further coastal land near the existing golf course.
The land had majority zoning as Public Open Space – Sport and Active Recreation Zone. There was also an encumbrance on the land that required it to be used as a golf course and country club.
Long River wanted its application to proceed without public notification but Auckland Council Duty Commissioner Vanessa Wilkinson ruled in March the application should proceed on a publicly notified basis.
She said the "unusual circumstance" of the land's zoning and encumbrance, coupled with a high level of public interest — which she said was out of the common run of interest for a boundary adjustment application — "results in special circumstances and these circumstances warrant and/or make public notification desirable".
Auckland Council told 1News: "The applicant has not informed council of whether it would like to proceed with public notification."
A spokesperson for the group Keep Whangaparāoa's Green Spaces (KWGS), which was formed amid development fears, said the fires were "somewhat inevitable".
Secretary Owen Paterson said this was because the owner had taken no steps to protect the buildings.
He said the community iwas saddened by the "whole episode" and KWGS was "in this for the long haul" in terms of its opposition to any development.
"[The fires] have certainly hardened the resolve of the community to see [the owner] out of here."
KWGS was in the process of seeking a formal declaration from the council that the encumbrance should remain, Paterson said.
Anyone with information on the fires was asked to contact police on 105, quoting file number 240521/3517.
Information can also anonymously be provided to Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
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