Dave Stewart

How sad it is reading about the loss of the fish and chip shop on the Whakatāne Wharf.

In 1980, my punk rock band did the New Year’s Eve concert at Mt Maunganui and we also had a gig a few nights later in Tauranga town. We met up with some Mount locals who put us up for a few days in between the gigs and introduced us to three things that were memorable.

• Buddha sticks
• Pink Floyd’s The Wall
• Fish and chips on the wharf in Whakatāne.

The best fish and chips ever in a truly idyllic setting.

Every time I thought of Whakatāne after that, that was my memory.

Now I’m a guy that likes a good feed of fish and chips (and I’ve got the physical credentials to prove it) and when I first met my new partner, one of the first places she took me to was the fish and chip shop on the wharf. We had a dozen mussels and chips for $10.

I never left.

One of our friends out here is Nicole Gibbons, who runs Gibbo’s, and she invited us to a special preview of the brand new Gibbos on Wheels food truck they’ve had built to replace the iconic fish and chip shop.

Out at a storage centre in Piripai last Thursday night we took our mokos for a feed and I am here to tell you the fish and chips is just as good as it ever was.

The whole story of what’s happening with the three businesses on the wharf is real sad I reckon, it’s a classic case of the past versus the future and how we have to adapt.

Kiwi ingenuity is what built this country and our ability to take the hand we are dealt with and use our determination to survive and prevail is what makes this place what it is.

We don’t always like it, but we will always keep moving forward.

That’s what so great about Gibbos on Wheels in my opinion.

Good luck to them.