What are your family links with Whitianga?
My family moved to Whitianga in 1993 when I was nine years old. My mother Debbie Toia (Debbie Harkins) attended Mercury Bay Area school in her senior years of schooling between 1977 and 1979. My father Joseph Toia bought a panel beating business in the middle of town from my grandfather Reg Harkins in 1993. Which was the main reason our family made the move to Whitianga.
Where are you living now? Number of years?
I’ve been living in Perth since 2009. I bought a house here in the northern suburbs of Perth in 2015; in total, I’ve lived in Perth for the past 16 years.
When were you living in the Coromandel ?
I lived in Whitianga from 1993-2015 in a two-storey house directly across the road from MBAS.
Years at Mercury Bay Area School?
I attended Mercury Bay Area school between 1993 and 2000. Through the school sporting and academic opportunities at MBAS, I was able to achieve so much during my time at school. There were so many training clinics, leadership courses and sporting tournaments available to all of us – all of which gave me the skills and leadership qualities that I use in life and at work to this very day.
What have you been doing since school?
I left school to go to AUT on a rugby scholarship to play for Ponsonby Rugby Club. I then progressed to play for Auckland under 20s. I moved to Australia a few years later to find better and more consistent job opportunities. I worked FIFO (fly in, fly out) in the mines for the first ten years working in remote areas all over Western Australia. This can be a fantastic opportunity with very beneficial monetary gains, but working a fly in fly out roster is not ideal when having a family. Definitely a single person’s game!
After realising the strains FIFO caused my family, I decided to come back to Perth to work in the city to be home every night for my children. I currently work as a construction supervisor on a large project south of Perth.
What would be the achievement you are most proud of?
Being a father to my three beautiful children, giving them the same opportunities my parents gave me.
Have you been back to Whitianga recently?
Not since 2012. It’s been far too long and I’m currently planning a trip home with my daughters in late 2024.
What were your fondest memories of the region?
Running out onto the rugby grounds at the Mercury Bay Rugby Club and seeing all the cars driven up to the sidelines, utes with sofas on the back, plus all the supporters on the clubhouse balcony – Julie Pearson yelling at the top of her lungs, Craig Fussey screaming at all the players, Duncan Oliver losing sight of a kickoff in the sun only to have the ball land and bounce off the top of his head; the fun of watching the community come together in a town vs country game.
Who were some of your friends in those early years?
In my early years at Mercury Bay Area School, I was welcomed to school by Matthew Munro, I’ll never forget it – he warned me away from all the girls in our year as they were all his!
I grew up with Matthew Vause, Luke Neale, Scott O’Brien, Trent Morete, Nicholas Bainbridge, Milan Hitchcock, Shane Weston, Paora Hine, Lindsay Absolum, Kieran Ramage, Sam Wood, Maria Lockwood, Katrina McCullough, Sarah Piper, Natalie Jones, Tony Austin, Sam Bourne, Bradley Russell and so so many more.
I have fond memories of the friends I met in those younger years and through the wonders of social media I have been able to keep in touch with many of them.
What advice would you give younger you?
Don’t let fear of what other people think prevent you from achieving your goals, Don’t ever be afraid to try – trying is how you are going to learn things that make you smarter, wiser and stronger.
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