The man at the forefront of ongoing tensions in the Whangaparāoa community is speaking out against what, he believes, is sensationalism from locals conspiring to get rid of him.

Police are looking into two reports of freedom campers at Gulf Harbour Country threatening members of the public with a weapon.

Members of the Facebook page Keep Whangaparāoa’s Green Spaces (KWGS) said they witnessed one camper throwing a machete at someone’s vehicle last month, while another said their husband was threatened by “one of the squatters with a machete” some weeks later.

Problems with squatters have surrounded the once prestigious property, on top of existing issues including two fires which ravaged its clubhouse and golf shop over three days, and an outstanding $244,000 bill to Auckland Council for demolition costs.

Timothy Stewart lived in his caravan at the course’s car park since it suddenly closed in July last year, and claims he’d been permitted to stay there by the now-banned company director Greg Olliver.

In regard to the first alleged incident, he said people had threatened him while he was asleep, which another camper “dealt with” before he could.

“The other one is when I’m there during the middle of the day,” Stewart said, “the driver turns up…gets out of the van, and approaches with verbal abuse.”

“Why did he drive down there right beside the caravans? You’ve come to intimidate, to start something, to throw it on Facebook to create the false flag.”

He said antagonistic and threatening behaviour from the public had evolved to people on social media even proposing to go to the property with “petrol and matches,” to deal with freedom campers.

Stewart said he was protecting the property “as much as [he] physically could” from turning into a “refugee camp” by stopping dozens of people from staying on the property long term.

He said residents were “absolutely” able to use the green space, and rejected any claims he was stopping people from doing so, despite it being considered trespassing.

However, one man, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he drove onto the property with a colleague to see what remained of the clubhouse at the start of the month, when someone yelled at them to “get off the effing property”. He said the camper then threatened to set his dog on the visitors.

“He went back to the caravan and opened the door and pulled out a fairly large machete and started coming towards me, so I just hopped in the vehicle and drove out.”

The owners of Long River Investments refused to comment on the legitimacy of Stewart’s stay.

Police said the investigation into the incident was ongoing but had no jurisdiction to forcibly remove the man on the property without permission from the owners, who they were.