Kawau Island carries a good deal of history for a place you reach by boat. Copper was mined here in the 1800s, Governor Sir George Grey built his grand Mansion House on its shores, and the bays have been drawing sailors and cruising folk ever since. It is one of the largest and best-known islands in the Hauraki Gulf, a place where the stories of the land and the sea run together, and where that tradition continues today.
Bon Accord Harbour sits at the island's heart. Deep, well-sheltered, and within easy reach of Auckland, it has attracted cruising sailors for generations. Arriving by water, the Mansion House announces itself at the harbour entrance with genuine presence.
*The Lidgard family and a new club*
The Lidgard family were woven into Kawau's boating story from an early stage. Operating a boatbuilding shed at Smelting House Bay in the late 1940s, they turned out yachts, work boats, and launches that have since earned their place in New Zealand boating history. In 1951 they offered a portion of their land for the establishment of what would become the Kawau Island Yacht Club, known as the KIYC.
A clubhouse and jetty followed, completed by 1954 with donated timber and a great deal of volunteer effort. The facility quickly became a centre of gravity for island life. Summer after summer, fleets of yachts and launches gathered there. The New Year's Day regatta grew into a fixture on the calendar, drawing dinghy racers, keelboats, and motorboats alike. Ashore, the clubhouse hummed with parties, dances, and the easy camaraderie of a community shaped by the sea.
*From yacht club to boating club*
The KIYC ran for more than six decades before closing in April 2014. Later that same year the Kawau Island Boating Club, the KBC, was incorporated and took on the same clubhouse and facilities. The new club reopened at Labour Weekend, carrying the island's traditions forward under a fresh name.
The membership response was strong. By winter 2015 nearly 800 members had joined, giving the club solid financial footing and a clear sense of purpose. Since then the committee has steadily worked to upgrade the clubhouse and facilities, keeping the place both welcoming and fit for purpose.
*2025/26 season opener*
Labour Weekend has always been a natural moment to mark the start of the season, and the 2025/26 season opener is no different. The long weekend runs from Saturday 25 to Monday 27 October 2025. Take the Friday off as well and the trip becomes a four-day spring escape to Bon Accord Harbour.
The centrepiece of the opening weekend is the Nautica Shipping and Logistics Three-Day Regatta Programme, with racing spread across the three days:
- Friday afternoon: Cruise/race from Ponsonby Cruising Club to Kawau - Saturday: Around-the-islands race - Sunday: Shorter around-the-islands race
For crews looking for something a little more relaxed than the PIC Coastal Classic, which falls on the same weekend, the regatta offers a family-friendly alternative without sacrificing the competitive spirit.
Bon Accord Harbour provides safe anchorages throughout the weekend. Ashore, the Mansion House and its gardens are well worth a visit, the swimming is good, and walking tracks push through native bush to Schoolhouse Bay, Coppermine Lookout, which comes highly recommended, and a handful of quieter coves beyond.
From the harbour, neighbouring islands are easily reached and the mainland is accessible for day trips. Sunday brings added colour with the Waitemata Woodys parade, a celebration of heritage boats that reinforces just how deeply traditional boating culture runs at Kawau.
History and community sit at the core of what the Kawau Island Boating Club is today. From the Lidgards' boatbuilding shed in the 1950s, through the long years of the KIYC, and into the KBC's current chapter, the spirit at the centre of it all has not shifted. Boaties come to Bon Accord to sail, to race, and to share good company, and that is as true now as it has ever been.
Entries for the Labour Weekend regatta are now open at . Whether the start line is the draw or simply the idea of a spring escape, Bon Accord Harbour is ready.
