Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale has bought a house in Pāpāmoa, but won’t move with his family from Cambridge until the end of the school year.

Drysdale told Local Democracy Reporting he and his wife Juliette decided not to “uproot” their primary school-aged children mid-year to avoid disruption.

Juliette was also doing a teacher training course and had a lot of family support in Cambridge, Drysdale said.

“It’s a little bit challenging from a family perspective, but we’re all looking forward to being together again at the end of the year.”

After being elected in July, Drysdale said he would move to Tauranga by the end of last year.

“The plan was to be here this year, but not having a base and finding a home made that challenging.”

Drysdale came under fire in February for not living in the city he was elected to lead, despite his election comments.

He said this week Tauranga’s housing shortage and schools that were “very hard to get into” had made finding a home difficult.

“You’ve got to be in zone of the schools that you want to go to.”

The city’s housing situation was an eye-opener, Drysdale said.

Tauranga was one of the most unaffordable cities in the country to rent or buy a home, he said.

They had hoped for a house in the Avenues area so the children could go to the same schools he did.

Drysdale attended Tauranga Primary, Tauranga Intermediate and Tauranga Boys’ College.

Mahé Drysdale bought a home in Pāpāmoa but won't live in it until the end of the year. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

They had to pivot and settled on a home in Pāpāmoa, he said.

“Finding the right place was hard, but we’re very happy with what we’ve got.”

Despite buying a property, Drysdale said he would continue to stay with his mum when in Tauranga until the family moved.

“Once we made the decision not to uproot our children until the end of this year, and with the limited amount of time I spend at home when working, we made the decision to rent the house out on a short-term basis until we move in.”

It also meant he could spend more time with his mum, who had some health challenges.

Tauranga mayor Mahé Drysdale and his wife Juliette at the swearing-in ceremony in August 2024. Photo / David Hall

He was in Tauranga from Monday to Friday, and if he had events at the weekend, the family would come to stay.

It was hard being away from the family, but not too dissimilar to when he was rowing and would be overseas for three months. Drysdale retired from rowing in 2021 as a two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion in the single sculls.

“We make it work. They [the children] love it here, being with grandma and the beach so they’re really excited about coming over”, he said.

“I promised to move here, and we will absolutely fulfil that promise. It’s just a year later than we hoped.”

According to his financial interests declaration, Drysdale was already the beneficiary of a trust that owns seven rental properties - two each in Auckland, Hamilton, and Cambridge, and one in Mount Maunganui.

The trust also owned family residences in Cambridge and Mount Maunganui and two commercial properties.

Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale, interviewed at the council's new offices, said he and the council were building a city for future generations. Photo / Brydie Thompson

Drysdale, who was a financial adviser between his rowing and local government careers, said he was enjoying being Mayor but it was a “very challenging position”.

“This is a business managing around $8 billion of assets. With the Annual Plan we’re looking at spending and investing over $1b in the next financial year.”

Tauranga had an infrastructure deficit and the council needed to fill that while balancing affordability for ratepayers, he said.

The draft 12% rates rise for 2025/26 has attracted criticism and claims it will be unaffordable for ratepayers. Drysdale has said the council was working to get it down to 10%.

“Some people are struggling and we acknowledge that. On the flip side, there’s a lot of people that are very encouraging about what’s happening in the city and they want to see more things delivered.

“We’re trying to deliver is a city that people want to live in. It’s for future generations. We’re looking out to 30 years and what do we need in that time.”

He said the city’s potential was “pretty exciting”.

His favourite part of the job was the monthly citizenship ceremonies.

“It’s such a fantastic occasion. Seeing the joy of people that have moved from around the world to choose Tauranga as the place they want to be.

“Overall, I’m really enjoying the role and all that comes with it.”

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.