Leon Tong

For Leon Tong, Waiheke isn’t somewhere he discovered. It’s home.

A third-generation Waiheke Islander, Leon was born and raised here, in a family whose connection with the island stretches back decades. Oneroa in particular has always been part of his world, the place where his parents ran businesses, where familiar faces became lifelong connections, and where knowing the island meant considerably more than knowing its roads.

After leaving Waiheke to attend King’s College and later the University of Otago, Leon returned to the sort of work that suited him: practical, hands-on and grounded in property. He spent more than a decade working in the building industry on Waiheke, giving him an understanding of houses that comes from having actually worked on them rather than simply walked through them.

An eight-year chapter in Australia followed, working across the building and mining sectors. It was there that he met Adelaide, and eventually the pull of Waiheke brought them both back, this time to build a life and raise a family of their own.

Back home, Leon established his own fishing charter business, combining two things that come naturally to him: an affinity with the Gulf and an ability to connect with people from all walks of life.

Real estate is the next chapter.

Leon brings to it a rare combination of local knowledge, practical building experience and genuine familiarity with the people and places that make Waiheke what it is. He knows the difference between simply selling an island property and understanding the life that goes with it.

Personable, straightforward and energetic, Leon approaches real estate in much the same way he has approached everything else, by getting stuck in, doing the work and treating people well.

For someone who has spent most of his life on Waiheke, helping others make their own move here, or helping locals move on to whatever comes next, feels very much like coming full circle.

And when you engage Leon, you get the benefit of not one, but two dedicated real estate professionals, with Leon and Adelaide Tong combining their individual strengths, experience and commitment to achieve the very best outcome for you and your property.

Their stories began on opposite sides of the world, but Leon and Adelaide Tong have built their life together on Waiheke.

Leon is a third-generation islander, born and raised on Waiheke and part of a family with deep roots in the local community. Adelaide was born in France, raised in Australia and spent more than a decade working in engineering and mining before Waiheke became home.

They met in Australia more than 15 years ago, during Leon’s eight-year stint working in the building and mining industries. After travelling the world together, there came a point when the question changed from where to go next, to where they wanted to build a life.

The answer was Waiheke.

They bought their home here, returned to the island to start their family and now have two children growing up in the same community Leon knows so well.

Along the way, they have also discovered that they work rather well together.

They established Leon’s fishing charter business as a team, Leon naturally gravitating towards people, relationships and being out on the water, while Adelaide brought the organisation, accounts and administration that kept everything working behind the scenes.

It is a partnership built around complementary strengths.

Leon brings a lifetime of Waiheke knowledge and more than a decade of experience in the local building industry. Adelaide brings a background in contract administration, engineering and project coordination, including practical exposure to geotechnical, wastewater and stormwater requirements. For nearly three years, she has also served the island as a volunteer qualified firefighter.

Together, they bring something else that is harder to put on a CV: they know this community, and this community knows them.

They may be new to real estate, but they are certainly not new to Waiheke.

For Leon and Adelaide, trust won’t be something manufactured for a marketing campaign. It comes from years of living here, working here, raising their children here and being accountable to the same people they see at the shops, on the beach, at school and around the village.

Now they are bringing that partnership to Ray White Waiheke Island.

And there is something particularly fitting about doing it from Oneroa, Leon’s home turf, where his parents operated businesses for many years and where another generation of the family is now beginning its own chapter.

Two different backgrounds. Two very different skill sets. One home, one family and one team.

Leon and Adelaide are ready to put all of it to work for Waiheke property owners.