Smiths Ave community comes together to celebrate a new era

By Alex Medland

Plenty to do at CHILLAX

While the weather was dull, the spirits weren’t dampened on Saturday at the CHILLAX Community Event on Smiths Ave in Papakura.

The community turned out in big numbers; children, parents, whanau, community groups and businesses alike, enjoyed the orchestra’s impressive tunes, the hot rod show and the delicious hangi. CHILLAX was jam packed with activities to keep the tamariki entertained. The day included a huge tug of war, an exploding fire demonstration, a bouncy castle and the fantastic new facilities build on Smith Ave: a state-of-the-art playground, Parkitech skating ramp and basketball courts.

Behind CHILLAX, and the new playing areas on Smith’s Ave, are a group of hardworking volunteers collectively known as SAMOM; an acronym for Smiths Ave Mind Over Matter. The group is made up of residents from the surrounding neighbourhood, who are creating grassroots change on Smiths Ave. A lot of the preparation and event management for CHILLAX came from Mel Brown, a neighbour to the park who is committed to helping her community. A SAMOM volunteer described the day: “All the different cultures are here, different ages. It’s really good to see that, how everyone’s just blended together.” Indeed, it was a fantastic example of a community coming together.

---

Kids enjoying a game of Tug of war

Although you wouldn’t be able to guess it from the CHILLAX community day, Smiths Ave doesn’t have the most vibrant of histories.

​A SAMOM volunteer described the history of the park as “[Smiths Ave] wasn’t so good. But coming today you wouldn’t think that.” From the 1960’s to around 1994, Smiths Ave was the place to play netball. However, this changed once the Papakura Netball Centre was built in Bruce Pulman Park. With the addition of this world class centre, everything was relocated. Smiths Ave was abandoned and naturally became the target for vandalism. The community hall was wrecked over and over, alongside the neighbouring houses on the street, becoming one of the most vandalised spots in Auckland.

Eventually, the Papakura Local Board and Auckland Council decided that something needed to be done. They enlisted the help of local residents of Smiths Ave and from there, SAMOM was created with the idea that vandals wouldn’t destroy the handwork of their own community. It worked! This group of volunteers has turned Smiths Ave into a vibrant park for the whole whanau to enjoy, and their commitment to Smiths Ave is clear.

“We’ve heard a lot of stories about the history of this community, it's about doing something new for the community. So, we’re here to support and raise morale.” 
 
From the behind the scenes work to the seamless running of the day, CHILLAX would not have been possible without the work of SAMOM volunteers and Mel Brown; who did a fantastic job preparing the day to be a success. A volunteer said, “There was a lot of preparation from Mel. We just want to acknowledge Mel and all her hard work in coordinating all of the stakeholders here today. She’s done a lot of the groundwork to bring everyone here.”

As for the future of Smiths Ave, the volunteers have hopes: “There’s whispers about having Christmas in the Park here. We’re praying about it.” Whatever the future of Smiths Ave holds, the dedication and passion from those involved in the CHILLAX event prove that it is in good hands. ​