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Ōrewa Beach Kindergarten’s annual fundraiser, the Ducky Derby, returns on Saturday, March 21, promising a morning of family fun and friendly competition.
The event runs from 10am to 1pm at Western Reserve carpark, near the skatepark, with the duck race scheduled for 12pm.
The fair-style fundraiser culminates with 750 yellow ducks racing down the estuary. Spectators can attend for free, while entries in the race cost $10 per duck.
This year, Ōrewa Beach Kindergarten has worked with Ōrewa College students to design and build a new duck-wrangling net and finish line.
Ducky Derby coordinator Georgie Wallace says the previous net had reached the end of its life.
“The past couple of years the almost 20-year-old net has struggled to contain all 750 ducks, which has made the Ōrewa Surf Life Saving IRB crew’s job a touch more challenging as they have to collect a large number of the ducks,” Wallace says.
“Although we have never lost a duck, we knew it was time to find a more effective solution.”
Ōrewa College design technology teacher David Hansen says the project gave students the opportunity to apply their classroom learning to a real task.
“The Year 9 product development class helped with this project while finishing their own projects,” Hansen says.
“The class had lots of fun drilling holes in buckets, painting polystyrene to waterproof it, and learning knots to attach everything together. They were very happy to have a project with no paperwork and a real-life application to finish the 2025 year with.”
Alongside the duck race, the event will feature new duck-themed carnival games, including Hungry Duck and Quack-Quack-Splash.
There will also be raffles, a silent auction, second-hand toys and books, a bake sale, food and drink stalls, and activities for children.
