TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 1
FRIDAY JANUARY 31, 2020
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JANUARY 31, 2020
Heritage walk unveiled By Sophie Iremonger
Te Awamutu historians have spent the past three years researching the stories behind the town’s heritage commercial buildings, and a walk and talk next week as part of Waipa Heritage month will reveal their findings. It’s the first time a heritage walk has been held in Te Awamutu, with about an hour and a half dedicated to exploring the history of the CBD on February 14. It was an important project for the Te Awamutu
Genealogy group, telling the story of Te Awamutu’s development, so when Waipa District Libraries contacted the group about conducting the walk for Waipa Heritage Month, it made perfect sense to finally share their findings. The information will also be shared at a talk in the Te Awamutu Library community room on February 5. “Learning about local history, when you walk around the place afterwards it’s a different place, it makes it a more interesting place,” said Alan Hall, an historic researcher who will conduct the walk.
“Our history around here is very rich, and we haven’t given it enough acknowledgement really,” said Sandra Metcalf, who has also spent extensive hours researching the project. “If you don’t preserve knowledge in some way then it just gets lost over time. That’s what we do as family historians, try to make sure that information is there for our future generations.” Many of Te Awamutu’s iconic buildings had become “sweethearts” during the research process, Metcalf said. “They’re all special, they’ve all got some story to tell. “I think it’s pretty impressive the work we’ve managed to put together. “It’s really just increasing the awareness of the history of Te Awamutu and how it’s developed.” Having trawled through council archives, museum documents, old newspapers and the likes to put the research together, they plan to make the body of work available to a museum, or turn it into a publication for future references. “It’s been very interesting, the bits we’ve picked up along the way,” said Hall. “Seeing how buildings evolved is fascinating... Over time the business had to change to survive, so that’s fascinating as well, seeing how buildings can continue to become relevant over time. … Like when you walk into the hairdressers, you can see where it used to be a garage. “Then when people go into these buildings they know part of the story, and it all makes a lot more sense. “They’ll take away a bit more about the town in which they live.” To find out more or to register for the free Te Awamutu Central Heritage Walk, email Dee Atkinson on Dee.Atkinson@waipadc.govt.nz or phone 07 823 3838.
Te Awamutu historians Sandra Metcalf and Alan Hall have researched the development of Te Awamutu, and a heritage walk by Hall will tell the story up close.
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