My Account
Fancy dress relays down Warkworth’s main street, social business house barbeques and the perennial challenge of trying to solve the town’s parking woes will be some of the memories businesswoman Rae Ward will take with her when she retires this month.
After a nearly 30-year association with the Warkworth business community – first as the owner of the Kowhai Dairy (now Savan’s) and then as the owner of Not Just Hats – Rae’s last day at the counter will be on Saturday, March 31, when the shop will close.
“I’m 75 years old and my lease is up so I feel it is the right time,” she says. “But I will miss meeting new people and hearing their stories. Customer service has been one of the things I’ve enjoyed most about this job.”
Rae and husband Owen moved from the Waikato to Warkworth in 1987, and ran the dairy from 1990 to 2004.
“Warkworth was quite a different little town then,” she says. “I was on the business association committee for many years, including a couple of years as president. It was a very social committee – networking was done at barbecues and dinners, and a good referral system was set-up as a consequence. We had a welfare committee to help one another in an emergency, and we made a point of welcoming new business owners and farewelling those who were leaving. We had some fun times and made some really good friends.”
Two contentious issues were a proposal by Rodney District Council to introduce pay and display parking, and a suggestion that Queen Street should be one-way.
Rae foresees big changes ahead for Warkworth when the new motorway opens, with more cafes and restaurants along the riverfront, apartments and different traffic arrangements.
