TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 1
THURSDAY MAY 13, 2021
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MAY 13, 2021
Council’s Brigade steps up big buy By Blair Voorend
Waipā District Council has confirmed it has purchased the former Bunnings building in Te Awamutu. The News revealed last week council had its eye on one of the two sites left vacant when Bunnings closed stores last year. Council confirmed yesterday it had purchased the building for $2.05 million and leased the land it sits on from the Parish of St John. It plans to use the Arawata St building to house Te Ara Wai, a museum to showcase Waipā and New Zealand history, with a focus on the New Zealand Land Wars. The purchase of the building went unconditional on Tuesday. “This was a fantastic opportunity to secure a building large enough to house an expanded museum and in a really high-profile location,” Waipā mayor Jim Mylchreest said. “It’s across the road from Selwyn Park, near the historic St John’s Church and is close to the Mangaohoi Steam. Plus, there is plenty of room on site for further development to develop the vision we have for Te Awamutu. It will give council huge scope to develop something fantastic on this site. I’m delighted.” The purchase will cause a “re-jig” of council’s long-term plan which has yet to be finalised. It has committed $7.2 million to Te Ara Wai in the 2018-2028 Long Term Plan but will now reconsider the timing of any expenditure. That will be done before the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan is signed off in June this year, and after discussions with iwi. The purchase means council will also rethink its plans for the Mahoe Street site originally earmarked for Te Ara Wai, and
The view from Selwyn Park towards Bunnings on the left, and St John’s Church on the right.
which Council also owns. Te Ara Wai is reliant on external funding and the project had stalled because of Covid-19. “But this purchase means we now have an opportunity to bring the whole project forward. This would be wonderful for Te Awamutu and Waipā, and frankly for New Zealand to finally hear its own stories, right where they happened,” the mayor said. Most of the design work already done for Te Ara Wai would still be used. “There’s no need to go back to the drawing board. The building was completed in 2010 and while it will need to be fitted out and obviously needs work, we have a very, very sound base to start from,” he said. “We have large, good quality building on a great, high-profile site. That gives us certainty and also provides evidence of council’s commitment to the project. That alone will help make fundraising a heck of a lot easier because that is two key things that philanthropists and sponsors look for.”
KING OF THE FARM
Te Awamutu has been a strong participant in the Firefighter Sky Tower Stair Challenge which takes place on May 22 over the years and this year will be no different with more than a dozen firefighters taking part from the town. The event is in its 17th year and brings together 1,000 firefighters from around New Zealand to fundraise and compete in this amazing event at Auckland’s Iconic Sky Tower. This year the Te Awamutu Volunteer Fire Brigade has 13 participants taking part in the event and have been hard at work training and fundraising since the start of the year says Station Officer Danny Smith. “Thanks to those kind shoppers who donated at the two bucket collections outside Pak ‘n Save Te Awamutu and a collection at a Kihikihi Speedway meeting,” he said. “The Brigade has been long supporters of this event and appreciate the kind ongoing support from friends, family, and the community.” Firefighters wearing full kit weighing up to 25kgs climb the 51 flights of stairs or 1103 steps to reach the Observation level of the Sky Tower standing 328 metres tall. The annual event is a fundraiser for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New
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Zealand and funds raised support patients and families throughout the country. The Te Awamutu crew has raised $8600 and aims to hit
the $10,000 mark. For more information go to https:// firefighterschallenge.org. nz/ and find ‘Te Awamutu Volunteer Fire Brigade’.
Te Awamutu Volunteer Fire Brigade has 13 participants taking part, including, from the top, Rob Willey, Glenn Anderson, Rachel Burkhart, Lochy Rollinson, Ngaia Henry and Danny Smith.