Commando One Paintball

Commando One Paintball (also known as Commando One or C1) was a New Zealand paintball operator associated with Rob Tapper. Originally based in Penrose, Auckland, the business subsequently operated an outdoor paintball facility on Hayward Road in Whangārata, near Tuakau, south of Auckland.

Commando One was part of New Zealand's early commercial paintball industry, providing recreational games, rental equipment and facilities for players using their own equipment. The business operated during the 1990s and was documented at its Whangārata location in April 2000.[1]

The field was also associated with several members of New Zealand's early paintball community, including Grant Fraser and Michael Earley. Surviving examples of equipment produced by New Zealand manufacturer Pursuit Supplies International (PSI) were retained at the Whangārata facility during the late 1990s.[2]

History

Establishment

Commando One was established as a commercial paintball operation in the Auckland region under Rob Tapper.

The business was active before the late 1990s, although its original opening date has not been established from surviving contemporary records.

Its early operations took place in Penrose, an industrial suburb of Auckland.

According to former employee Michael Earley, the original venue was an outdoor paintball field located within an industrial area.[2]

The Penrose operation provided recreational paintball at a time when commercial paintball in New Zealand was still developing and equipment was predominantly based on mechanical semi-automatic and pump-action markers.

Earley also recalls an early speedball playing area at the Penrose venue. The exact configuration and date of this field have not been independently documented.

Rob Tapper remained associated with the business during its subsequent relocation to Whangārata.

Penrose facility

The original Commando One playing field was located in Penrose, Auckland.

The venue provided organised paintball games and was used by recreational players during the development of commercial paintball in New Zealand.

New Zealand paintball player and equipment historian Grant Fraser worked at the Penrose facility before its relocation, according to Earley's recollections.[2]

Fraser was also involved in the wider Auckland paintball community, including employment at Dave Pellet's Tactics paintball operation.

His later contributions to paintball historian Daniel Bacci included photographs and information about early New Zealand-manufactured paintball markers.[3]

The precise street address of the original Penrose field and its opening and closing dates have not been established.

Relocation to Whangārata

Commando One subsequently relocated from Penrose to a rural site in Whangārata, near Tuakau and Pukekohe, in the northern Waikato region.

The new facility was located on Hayward Road.

Earley recalls working at the Whangārata venue during approximately 1997–1999, establishing that the relocation had taken place by the late 1990s.[2]

The rural location provided wooded terrain suitable for recreational paintball.

The new facility continued operating under the Commando One name and remained associated with Rob Tapper.

Contemporary field listing

On 12 April 2000, Commando One was added to the international WARPIG Field Finder.[1]

The directory listed the business at:

Hayward Road, Whangārata, approximately ten minutes from Pukekohe.

The business's website was listed as:

www.commando.co.nz

The directory identified Rob Tapper as the field's contact.

It also recorded the availability of wooded playing fields, rental equipment, carbon dioxide filling facilities and walk-on participation.

The WARPIG entry provides contemporary evidence that Commando One was operating at Whangārata in 2000.

Playing facilities

Whangārata fields

The Whangārata venue operated on rural land with wooded playing areas.

The WARPIG directory classified Commando One as a facility with wooded fields rather than an indoor paintball centre.[1]

The natural terrain was used for recreational paintball games, with vegetation and other features providing cover for participating players.

The site was accessible from the Pukekohe and Tuakau areas and attracted players from the wider Auckland region.

Rental equipment

Commando One supplied paintball equipment for recreational customers.

The April 2000 WARPIG listing recorded both:

Pump-action rental markers
Semi-automatic rental markers

The availability of both systems reflected the continued use of pump-action equipment alongside the growing popularity of semi-automatic markers during the 1990s.

The directory also identified carbon dioxide filling facilities.[1]

Players using their own equipment

The Whangārata facility allowed experienced players to bring their own paintball equipment.

The WARPIG listing specifically identified the venue as accepting players bringing their own paintballs, distinguishing it from fields operating under compulsory field-paint-only policies.[1]

The directory also confirmed that walk-on players were welcome.

These arrangements enabled recreational customers and existing paintball enthusiasts to participate at the same venue.

Staging and visitor facilities

The 2000 directory recorded sheltered staging areas and paved parking or access.

These facilities supported group bookings and organised recreational games.

The WARPIG entry did not identify compressed-air filling beyond carbon dioxide, nor did it record dedicated tournament facilities at Whangārata.

People

Rob Tapper

Rob Tapper was the operator associated with Commando One during both its Penrose and Whangārata periods.

He was identified as the business's contact in its April 2000 WARPIG listing.[1]

Tapper oversaw the operation of the recreational paintball facility and was involved in the business during its relocation from Auckland to the rural Whangārata site.

His involvement is also documented through recollections of former employees.

Grant Fraser

Grant Fraser was involved in New Zealand paintball during the 1980s and 1990s.

According to Michael Earley, Fraser worked at Commando One during its earlier Penrose period.[2]

Fraser was subsequently associated with Dave Pellet's Tactics paintball field.

He maintained an interest in early New Zealand paintball equipment, including markers manufactured by Steve Constable's Pursuit Supplies International.

In 2007, Fraser supplied photographs and information about his PSI M-16 Stinger to paintball historian Daniel Bacci.[3]

This correspondence contributed to later research into the history of New Zealand paintball manufacturing.

Michael Earley

Michael Earley began playing paintball at Commando One during the late 1990s.

He subsequently worked at the Whangārata venue as a teenager, beginning at approximately 13 or 14 years of age.[2]

His responsibilities included refereeing recreational games, assisting with field operations and working on the business's website.

Commando One was Earley's first employment in the paintball industry.

He later became involved in tournament paintball, including playing for Team Insane, working at Auckland paintball fields and participating in international competitions.

In 2000, the Mercenaries Star tournament calendar identified him as Mike Early, an operator at Commando One, in connection with proposals for a recreational paintball event.[4]

The contemporary spelling in the calendar differs from his surname, Earley.

Recreational paintball and events

Walk-on games

Commando One provided recreational paintball for individuals and groups.

The Whangārata facility accepted walk-on participants and customers using their own equipment and paintballs.[1]

The wooded playing environment supported recreational games rather than exclusively organised tournament competition.

The venue formed part of Auckland's recreational paintball community during a period when field operators also provided meeting places for existing paintball enthusiasts.

Proposed large-scale scenario game

In 2000, Commando One was associated with a proposal to organise a recurring large-scale recreational paintball game.

The proposal appeared in a historical tournament and recreational-events calendar maintained by Mercenaries Star.[4]

The calendar described plans for a twice-yearly game at Commando One and identified Michael Earley as a contact seeking suggestions from players about the event's format and content.

At the time, organised large-scale recreational paintball events had become less common in New Zealand.

Mercenaries Star's calendar referred to earlier events such as VADER in Christchurch, Bethells Revolution in Auckland and Fantasyland in Hawke's Bay.

The proposed Commando One event was intended to contribute to the continuation of larger recreational paintball gatherings.

WARPIG announcement

On 17 July 2000, the international paintball publication WARPIG recorded the addition of a Commando One big-game announcement to its recreational section.[5]

This provides an independent contemporary record of the proposal being publicised internationally.

However, the publication of an announcement does not establish that the event subsequently took place.

Earley recalls that the proposed recurring event did not proceed.[2]

No completed event results or contemporary participation report have been identified.

Early New Zealand paintball equipment

Pursuit Supplies International

Commando One's Whangārata facility retained examples of early paintball equipment produced by Pursuit Supplies International (PSI), a New Zealand manufacturer associated with designer Steve Constable.

PSI manufactured paintball markers during the 1980s and early 1990s, including pump-action and semi-automatic models.

Its products included the M-16 Stinger, PSI 1200, Scorpion and Scorpion Elite.

The company supplied equipment to New Zealand paintball operators and exported markers to Australia and North America.[3]

Equipment at Whangārata

Earley recalls encountering surviving PSI equipment while working at Commando One during the late 1990s.[2]

The equipment included examples of the M-16 Stinger and Scorpion Elite, together with other early markers and components.

He recalls personally handling and firing working examples of the equipment.

Some of the early PSI equipment used .62-calibre paintballs, a calibre associated with several paintball markers developed before .68 calibre became the dominant standard.

The presence of this equipment at Commando One demonstrates that examples of New Zealand's early paintball manufacturing history remained in use or available for demonstration at commercial fields during the late 1990s.

Historical equipment preservation

The early equipment associated with Commando One forms part of the wider history of paintball manufacturing in New Zealand.

Daniel Bacci's research into Steve Constable and PSI draws on photographs, contemporary paintball magazines, surviving markers and testimony from former players.[3][6]

Grant Fraser's contributions to this research include historical photographs and information about PSI equipment used in New Zealand.

The surviving examples document an early period of paintball technology, including pump-action markers, internal carbon dioxide reservoirs and the introduction of semi-automatic firing systems.

Commando One's role in this history is documented through Earley's firsthand recollections rather than surviving company equipment inventories.

Website and online presence

Commando One maintained a website at commando.co.nz during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The website address appeared in the 12 April 2000 WARPIG field listing.[1]

Michael Earley recalls assisting with the development and maintenance of the venue's website while working there as a teenager.[2]

The business was also listed in international paintball directories and appeared in the Mercenaries Star recreational-events calendar.

These records demonstrate Commando One's involvement in the early online paintball community in New Zealand.

At a time when many field operators relied on word of mouth and printed advertising, independent paintball websites and directories increasingly provided information about places to play, events and equipment.

Later history

Commando One's Whangārata operation continued into 2000, as established by the surviving WARPIG directory entry.

Earley recalls that the venue eventually ceased operating in connection with land requirements for water-supply infrastructure near the site.[2]

The Waikato Water Treatment Plant was subsequently developed on Hayward Road near Tuakau, although the precise relationship between that development and the former paintball property has not been independently established.[7]

The exact date on which Commando One closed has not been confirmed from surviving business records or contemporary announcements.

Historical significance

Commando One was part of the early development of commercial paintball in the Auckland and northern Waikato regions.

Its history reflects the transition from paintball operations in urban industrial areas to larger rural playing environments.

The business provided recreational paintball, rental equipment and facilities for established players during the 1990s.

Its association with Rob Tapper, Grant Fraser and Michael Earley also connects it with individuals involved in New Zealand paintball operations, tournament participation and historical equipment preservation.

The presence of early Pursuit Supplies International equipment at Whangārata provides a connection between the development of commercial playing fields and the early manufacture of paintball markers in New Zealand.

The surviving WARPIG and Mercenaries Star records document the business's activities around 2000, while participant recollections preserve information about its earlier Penrose location and subsequent operation at Whangārata.

References

Commando One – Field Finder Listing. WARPIG, entry dated 12 April 2000. Contemporary record of the Whangārata location, Rob Tapper, website, rental equipment, facilities and playing policies.
Michael Earley, oral-history recollections recorded for the New Zealand Paintball History project, October 2026. Firsthand account of Commando One's Penrose and Whangārata locations, employment, playing facilities, equipment, planned events and later history.
Steve Constable and Pursuit Supplies International c.1985–1988. Daniel Bacci, Paintball History, 9 January 2015. Includes Grant Fraser's contributions and early New Zealand paintball equipment history.
Mercenaries Star Tournament and Recreational Events Calendar. Mercenaries Star. Contemporary reference to a proposed Commando One big game and Michael Earley, printed as Mike Early.
WARPIG Updates and What's New – 2000. WARPIG. Entry dated 17 July 2000 recording the publication of a Commando One big-game announcement.
Pursuit Supplies International Scorpion from New Zealand. Daniel Bacci, Paintball History, 22 September 2013. Historical photographs and technical information about PSI Scorpion markers.
Waikato River Authority Visits Waikato Water Treatment Plant. Waikato River Authority, 31 August 2026. Identifies the water-treatment facilities on Hayward Road; does not establish the former paintball field's property boundaries or closure date.

External links