East Aucklanders turned out in their droves to celebrate the launch of the Times’ new digital publication under the leadership of the company’s new owner and director Bo Burns.
The recent high-energy event staged at Pakuranga United Rugby Club in Lloyd Elsmore Park kicked off with a performance from the Howick Brass Band and Cockle Bay School’s talented kapa haka group.
The event was MC’d by East Auckland Tourism chairperson Andrew Laing while members of the Howick Photographic Society generously donated their time to photograph it.
The Times’ team of Junior Journalists, who will each write stories for the online publication working with an adult mentor, introduced themselves and received their official shirts, hats, and notepads and pens.
The launch night featured speeches from local community leaders from a range of sectors including Burns and her mother Pip Burns, Howick Local Board member and former chairperson Adele White, East Skate Club founder Aaron Martin, and Te Tuhi executive director Hiraani Himona.
Martin detailed his club’s efforts to renew the Lloyd Elsmore Skate Park and the support it received from the Times.
“I’m speaking today to share some of the ways our local paper has had our back and how stoked we are that the digital issue lives on.”
He said skating offers numerous positive benefits including being an outlet for stress relief, creativity, and self-expression.
“It teaches perseverance, resilience, and goal-setting.
“Our mission of renewing Lloyd Elsmore Skate Park and east Auckland’s skate assets began in 2021 and the Times supported us since the very beginning.”
Himona spoke about Te Tuhi’s promotion of the arts in the local community and said the gallery and the Times have worked together “with a shared aim of engaging our local communities with the opportunities provided by a vibrant arts eco system”.
“It was a loss to our sector to hear of the closure of the local news provider and a subsequent relief to hear that the online version of the Times would be back.
“Bo has talked about the need to connect the vibrant communities of east Auckland to the stories and events that matter and the Times have always been supportive of east Auckland artists.”
White’s speech focused on the history of the Times and the vital role it filled in informing the community.
“The Times kept me up to date with not only our local news, but the interests, needs and opinions of our residents, and introduced me to many likeminded groups and individuals, also with a heart for the community,” she said.
“The news and events we continue to read in today’s publications will of course be archived and become history for tomorrow’s generations.”
Bo Burns said the Times has held a special place in her heart and it was her second job when she was 18 years old.
When the opportunity arose to buy the company’s assets she wondered how locals were going to “connect and advocate and advertise and connect with each other”.
“I felt compelled to act quickly. With a deep passion for the community and connecting I couldn’t bear to see the brand fade away.
“I believe this needs to be run by and for locals and people who understand our community and our community’s needs.
“Times.co.nz is known as the trusted and respected local news and community source.
“While bidding farewell to the print, we and local residents of all ages are ready to embrace the digital shift and that has been obvious given what’s gone on the last four years.
“For older people, they don’t need to get news once a week.
“They can have it every single day and they can be looking up great stories by our team of community members all day every day.”
