Waikanae Boating Club officially opened its rebuilt clubhouse 12 July 2026.
The club's history traces the push for a larger clubhouse back to 2018, when stretched resources led the club to commission plans for a bigger, architect-designed building. The finalised designs came a few years later, the proposed larger building conceptually making the clubhouse fit-for-purpose for a growing population, with extra space freed up by removing an old council toilet block attached to the clubhouse and relocating the Coastguard shed out of the main building.
The club had put the construction price at $2.1 million. The timeline was extended by Covid-related disruption, design work, and separate delays in securing resource consent, building consent and environmental reports, including checks to establish whether blue penguins were nesting in the adjacent dunes.
The council installed a new five-bay automated toilet block beside the club, replacing the old block demolished to make room for the extension. Separately, a standalone $300,000 operations shed now houses the Coastguard rescue vessel, funded by the club and Coastguard New Zealand with a $100,000 grant from the New Zealand Community Trust. Coastguard's shed had already opened earlier in the year, ahead of the clubhouse's own July ceremony.
The rebuilt clubhouse has more floor space, an improved restaurant, larger social and entertainment areas, a meeting room and a separate entrance. The control tower layout has also been improved.
The club operates the only boat launching ramp, tractor launching service, watchtower and marine radio station along the Waikanae Beach coastline. The site also hosts the Waikanae Surf Club's youth training programme.
Club membership has grown from 47 when the original clubrooms opened around 1970 to more than 850.
