An idle question that turned into a months-long search for answers.

The key to the city is one of the most random public honours that can be awarded in New Zealand. From council to council, even from mayor to mayor, there is very little consistency in how – and upon whom – the honour is bestowed. Recipients of this symbolic honour range from pillars of the local community and successful sports teams to celebrities that just happen to have been passing through and famously, one time, a cat.

Who else holds the keys to our cities? There must be a list somewhere, right? That’s what I thought when I idly googled earlier this year hoping to find a Wikipedia page to satisfy my fleeting curiosity. But no such entry exists.

Perhaps, I thought, this information is held by the councils who’ve given out the keys. Property managers have an obligation to keep track of who they give the keys to their rentals – surely councils do the same for the keys to their city?

So I lodged LGOIMA (Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act) requests with the councils of every city listed on Wikipedia’s “List of Cities in New Zealand”. They were asked to “Please provide a list of all people, animals, groups or teams who have ever been granted the ‘key(s) to the city’”. 

What I thought would be a simple administrative task ended up being anything but. I had unwittingly set in motion a hugely time-consuming wild goose chase, sending council staff up and down the country on fruitless searches through their city’s archives and beyond. 

Most councils in New Zealand, it turns out, have no formal record and little idea of who holds the keys to their city.

In some cases this was simply because no keys to the city (or the nominally different but largely interchangeable “freedom of the city” – see below) had ever been granted. In others it was because no one could remember – not even the mayors who may or may not have awarded the honour in the first place. 

Further searches revealed keys that councils were unaware of. One city that told me it had never granted a key to the city had actually given one to Paul Holmes.

After months of searching, here’s what we now know about who holds the keys to (or freedom of) New Zealand’s cities, from north to south.

A quick note on “key to the city” vs “freedom of the city”: Some cities hand out the freedom of the city instead of the keys to the city – and a few have haphazardly done both. Centuries ago these would have held different meanings, but these days, as an entirely symbolic honour, they are basically interchangeable. The main difference is that the freedom of the city is also a traditional military honour, conferred on units to allow them to march “with drums beating, colours flying and bayonets fixed”. New Zealand’s military freedoms are already listed on Wikipedia.

Whangārei

“The search process is by no means an exact science,” warned a member of Whangārei District Council’s official information requests team, who had forwarded the query to several different departments and searched the council’s computer systems “both new and old” to no avail. They were left to conclude that no keys to the city of Whangārei had ever been awarded.

Auckland

The Auckland Council media team – to whom the LGOIMA request was forwarded – were only able to supply information from the 2010 super city merger onwards. They found no record of keys to the city being awarded, however Richie McCaw was granted the freedom of the city after the All Blacks returned triumphant from the 2015 Rugby World Cup. “We think [this] is the only acknowledgement of its type during the short history of this council,” a spokesperson confirmed.

Any keys to or freedoms of the city granted by the old Auckland City, Waitākere City, Manukau City or North Shore City councils remained a mystery. A search of Papers Past revealed that the freedom of Auckland City was conferred upon the visiting Princess Alexandra in 1971. A photo on Getty Images also shows Auckland’s then mayor Les Mills holding a large wooden “key to the city” at a meeting in 1997 – but doesn’t mention to whom, if anyone, the key was given. 

My searches uncovered just one other lead: in 2005, Waitākere mayor Sir Bob Harvey granted Crown Lynn head Sir Tom Clark the key to the city. I asked Sir Bob if he remembered giving the key to Waitākere City to anyone else during his 18 years as mayor. He said he remembered giving keys (made by West Auckland sculptor Peter Sauerbier) to original Te Pāti Māori co-leader Pita Sharples, sculptor John Edgar and the champion Waitākere City Brass Band. He also started a “Walkway of Fame” in 2001 to honour the achievements of famous West Aucklanders.

Tauranga

“We have had multiple teams look into this for you, but unfortunately we are unable to locate a single specific register that lists recipients of Keys to the City or Key Awards over the years,” replied a member of the Tauranga City Council community relations team, failing to mention that rugby sevens coach Gordon Tietjens was awarded the key to the city in 2012.

Hamilton

The city of the future was the first to respond, on the very same day the request was sent. “Hamilton City Council has ‘City Honours’ rather than ‘Key to the city’,” the official information coordinator explained. The freedom of the city is the highest such honour, conferred on “people who have made a significant and sustained contribution to the city.” A record of all past recipients is available on the council’s website. 

Rotorua

A search of the Rotorua library records uncovered no keys, but three freedoms of the city. The first was a military one, granted to the Hauraki Regiment in 1963. The second was granted to kuia Ranginui Parewahawaha Leonard – at the time New Zealand’s oldest living person – on the occasion of her 112th birthday in 1984. And the following year, 21-year-old Susan Devoy was granted the freedom of the city after winning her first World Squash Open. 

Gisborne 

Gisborne City Council discovered three instances where the freedom of the city was given, all of them marine-based. One went to the company of the “Ghost of the Coast” HMNZS Monowai, another to the crew onboard the Spirit of Adventure on its maiden voyage. Finally, Alan Thompson and Grant Bramwell – members of New Zealand’s gold medal-winning K4 kayak team – were awarded the freedom of the city on their triumphant return from the 1984 Olympics. 

New Plymouth

“New Plymouth District Council does not have a formal “key(s) to the city” process,” read the reply from NPDC’s customer services department. However, there is evidence that the freedom of New Plymouth has been granted at least once. In 1972, library records show, it was awarded to artist Bernard Aris, who was “famous for his paintings of Mt Egmont”. 

Napier

There are no keys to the city of Napier. However, the freedom of the city “includes receiving a ‘key’ in the form of an ID Card, bearing the recipient’s name”, a council staffer explained. All past recipients are listed on the council’s website. Unlike most cities, where the honour is entirely symbolic, the freedom of Napier ID card entitles (or entitled) the holder to free entry to council facilities, “including swimming pools, Aquarium, Marineland, Lilliput and free use of the Library”.

Hastings

“Despite the completion of a number of searches, we have been unable to find any record(s) related to ‘Keys to the City of Hastings’.”

Whanganui

No keys here, but plenty of mostly-military freedoms of the city: the Fifth Wellington West Coast Taranaki Regiment (1961), HMNZS Taupo (1977), Queen Alexandra’s Mounted Rifles (1983) and the 75th Squadron RNZAF (1980) are all free to march the streets of Whanganui, as are the Wanganui City Brass Band (1986). The Meads Cup-winning Wanganui rugby team was also granted the freedom of the city in 2008.

Palmerston North

No response from Palmerston North, but records show the Māori Queen, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, was granted the freedom of the city in 1971.

Upper Hutt

“Unfortunately we need to decline your request,” a member of the Upper Hutt City Council official information team wrote, “as we have not been able to locate any information on anyone being granted the key(s) to the city as requested and do not believe the information exists.”

Hutt City

The Hutt City Council completed a thorough sweep of the archives and sent a two-page PDF comprehensively detailing all freedoms of the city. These included military honours conferred by the old Petone Borough Council and a temporary freedom of the city granted to visiting US Marines veterans for three days in 1992. There was just one other name on the end of the list: local All Blacks legend Tana Umaga was granted the freedom of Hutt City in 2007. “The honour was given to Mr Umaga in the form of a certificate.”

Wellington

The capital awarded New Zealand’s most famous key to the city in 2020, when then mayor Andy Foster held a ceremony to honour local cat Mittens, who subsequently moved to Auckland. “Previous recipients of the Key to the City include triple-centurion cricketer Brendon McCullum, Sir Peter Jackson and Sir Richard Taylor,” an efficient member of Wellington City Council’s media team copied and pasted from the Mittens press release. Curiously, in 2010 – in between the Jackson/Taylor and McCullum keys – Ricki Herbert and the All Whites were granted the freedom of the city, not the keys, for their unbeaten run at the Fifa World Cup.

Nelson

New Zealand’s gold standard for both granting and remembering keys to the city, Nelson City Council send back a complete list of recipients, which is as follows: the Harlem Globetrotters (2013); the Crusaders, a delegation from Huangshi (Nelson’s sister city), the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall (2015); the Silver Ferns, Nelson-born Paralympian Liam Malone (2016); kaumatua Andy Joseph (on his 80th birthday), the All Blacks (2018); ITM Cup champions the Tasman Mako (2019); and the Black Ferns (2020).

“The ‘Key to the City of Nelson’ is made of sterling silver and is designed with the Nelson City Council emblem as the bow, and the shape of the top of the South Island as the bit,” a council spokesperson wrote. “The key was commissioned by the Nelson City Council as a ‘special gift’ for visiting dignitaries as a unique representation of Nelson City.”

Christchurch

There’s a good chance that Christchurch has awarded more keys to the city than anywhere else in New Zealand – if only they could remember to whom. Here’s what we do know: in 1920, Christchurch granted New Zealand’s first ever freedom of the city to the visiting Prince of Wales (Edward, not Charles). Noted builder Charles Luney received the keys to the city in 2003. Teenage pop-classical singing sensation Yulia received the keys to the city in 2004. The Crusaders received the keys to the city after winning one of their many Super Rugby titles in 2005. A gaggle of other local musicians joined Yulia in 2007 – among them Ray Columbus, Dinah Lee and Dion and Cecile Murphy. That same year, speedway legends Ivan Mauger, Ronnie Moore and Barry Briggs were all granted the freedom of the city. 

An archivist at the Christchurch City Council admitted it was “surprisingly difficult” to find any information about these in the city’s records. “It appears we haven’t been regularly giving keys to the city as a civic award – or if we have it hasn’t been celebrated enough to make our indexes or press coverage.” Two former mayors told me they couldn’t remember if or to whom they had awarded any further keys to the city. 

Dunedin

“After searching our records, I wish to advise that there have been no ‘key(s) to the city’ granted”, read the LGOIMA request reply from Dunedin City Council. But a search of the National Library’s findNZarticles database told a different story.

The headline read, tantalisingly: “‘Pretty one’ gets key to the city”. The source: Dunedin Star Midweek, November 1, 1989. No other information was provided. Who on earth was “pretty one”?

I emailed the Dunedin Public Library heritage collections team and they replied the next day with a scan of the Dunedin Star Midweek’s front page. The “pretty one” was… Paul Holmes.

The star of TV One’s 7pm current affairs show was greeted by a red carpet and lone bagpiper when his private jet touched down in Dunedin on a Wednesday morning. “Stepping down to the ground he flipped his dark glasses off, revealing the cherubic face smiling like a cat in a milk factory,” reads the Star Midweek report. 

Later that day he was awarded the key to the city of Dunedin by mayor Richard Walls. It was Walls’ first day as mayor.

Invercargill

A reply from Invercargill came through within hours of the request being sent: “We don’t have a list unfortunately but we do know of the following people.” The Scotland rugby team were granted the keys to the city when they played in Invercargill during the 2011 Rugby World Cup; Southland Sharks basketball coach Paul Henare then got the key to Invercargill in 2015, followed by broadcaster Mark Richardson (2017) and Southern Steel netballer Wendy Frew (2018).

Richardson’s honour was the result of a joke with then mayor Tim Shadbolt, who he interviewed on Three’s AM Show earlier that year. On a subsequent AM Show visit to Invercargill, Shadbolt, who was riding a scooter, met the hosts at the airport to bestow upon Richardson a wooden key to the city. Also present were the town crier, a wizard and several bagpipers.

Have you been given the key to a New Zealand city? calum@thespinoff.co.nz

The potent drug nitazene is killing users overseas, and now testing shows that it’s turning up in other substances here.

In April, The Spinoff reported that one-third of drugs tested by the New Zealand Drug Foundation had traces of other substances. For example, bath salts are sold as cocaine and MDMA, ketamine is masquerading as LSD, and some “legit” ketamine is actually cough medicine. But ahead of the upcoming festival season – the first since the summer of 2019/2020 not to be affected by Covid-19 restrictions and, as such, the biggest in years – the NZ Drug Foundation has released a fresh warning.

In early November, High Alert – New Zealand’s drug early warning system – warned that nitazenes had been sold as other drugs. Nitazenes are identifiable by their orange-coloured powder (although they can come in different colours) and have been linked to a growing number of deaths overseas. They are a family of synthetic opioids that can be worse than fentanyl – in fact, the Drug Foundation said they are “thought to be 25 times more potent than fentanyl”. Effects of nitazenes can include seizures, lose of consciousness, fever, nausea and vomiting, among other things. 

The NZ Drug Foundation has also put out warnings about further dangerous synthetic opioids being sold as other substances of late, such as yellow oxycodone tablets turning out to be metonitazene. Metonitazene is a substance between 10 and 100 times more potent than morphine, depending on how it is administered, and its dangers are considered similar to fentanyl. 

NZDF executive director Sarah Helm is concerned about the growing prevalence of nitazenes being sold as other drugs. “These are very potent drugs that can cause overdose and death at very low doses, especially if people don’t know that they’re taking them,” she says. Helm is particularly worried about people who lack experience with drugs and the necessary preparation skills, since synthetic opioids can come in a variety of forms and substances are often misidentified. “We’ve seen them sold around the country in many different colours and forms, including pills, powders, gel caps and liquids,” she explains. But veteran opioid users are at risk too. “Even people who are used to taking opioids are finding themselves in trouble. Because these drugs are so potent, it is hard to measure an accurate dose.” 

Helm argues that improving the availability of naloxone, a medicine that quickly reverses an opioid overdose, is more crucial than ever. “Naloxone saves lives and can reverse a nitazene overdose. We’re urging people to get their hands on it if they can, but we need to make it easier to get,” she says. The NZ Drug Foundation is also “urging people, no matter what they have and how experienced they are, to get their drugs checked if they can.” 

Drug checking is a free and legal process that helps people find out what’s really in their drugs so they can make informed decisions about if, when and how they take those drugs. The Drug Foundation works with KnowYourStuffNZ, NZ Needle Exchange and the ESR lab on testing. Importantly, every test includes a complimentary harm reduction session. Those who participate in drug checking remain completely anonymous, as it is illegal for providers to record any identifying information about participants.

Last year, the Drug Foundation ran 73 drug check clinics across Auckland, Carterton, Christchurch, Gisborne, Lower Hutt, Masterton, New Plymouth, Wainuiomata and Wellington – testing 1,720 samples. Clinics are run in conjunction with festivals, student unions/associations and their parent universities, regional needle exchanges, retailers, non-profits, STI advocates, city missions, the Aotearoa Sex Workers’ Collective and Auckland Pride. 

“The most dangerous drug is the drug that you don’t know about,” says the Drug Foundation’s Emily Hughes. The purpose of testing is not to reprimand users or confiscate drugs. “Ultimately, for us, testing comes down to the power of knowledge and harm reduction. For many people, this is the first time they’ve had an open and honest conversation about their drug use with a health professional,” says Hughes. 

Hughes notes that although there are plans to expand drug checking, it currently can’t cover every corner of the motu, so she has some tips for people for whom testing initiatives aren’t accessible. Firstly, “if you can test your own drugs, do it!” Testing kits can be purchased online, for example, through Cosmic or the NZ Needle Exchange. Secondly, follow drug-checking schemes on social media and check their websites for up-to-date information on the latest dangerous drug trends. Thirdly, “start with a low dose to test it out – it may seem simple, but it is really important.” 

Information about harm reduction is always available. If you or someone you know needs help, you can find useful information on the following websites: Alcohol and Drug Helpline, Family Drug Support Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand Government, New Zealand Police and The Level. 

The Alcohol and Drug Helpline can be reached at 0800 787 797 (phone call) and 8681 (text), and if you would like to attend a drug-checking clinic, see the calendar here. 

This is Public Interest Journalism supported by NZ On Air.