New community board member is ‘Maketu Proud’

Maketu Community Board’s newest member, Brett Waterhouse, is proud to be following in his poppa’s footsteps.

His grandfather, John Doggett, served on the community board from 2010 to 2019, and recently at Council chambers Brett was formally sworn into the same role.

John was also a community “caretaker”, for Maketu for 13 years, and Brett fondly remembers working alongside him.

“I helped him build the footpath from Little Waihi Road to Kiokio Place – 25 years later it’s still there,” says Brett.

A second-generation fisherman, Brett’s mother and father, Butch and Shirley Waterhouse, were also heavily involved in the community. Butch was chief of Maketu Fire Brigade for 14 years, while Shirley received a long service firefighter award from the brigade. Butch was also a key influence in establishing an emergency response vehicle for the area.

“I’m a born and bred Maketuian , and it’s my generation’s time to step up and get into it,” says Brett.

“Maketu’s always been home, I’ve had five generations in Maketu and I’ve got the support of the community behind me so that’s the main thing. I love the Maketu people, we’re all whānau.

“I love the rural style, we haven’t got that city function about us. We have our own aura, we’re ‘Maketu Proud’.”

Brett was elected to the Maketu Community Board after the board’s previous chairperson, Laura Rae, was elected to the Western Bay of Plenty District Council as a Maketu-Te Puke Ward Councillor.