Heritage benefits from board backing

Two significant celebrations of local heritage got the nod from the Far North community boards at their meetings in August.

The Ōkaihau College and district schools’ 150^th reunion three-day event will include a pōwhiri, a mix and mingle evening, and a street party with a band, held between Friday 24 to Sunday 26 October. Visits to area schools, that once numbered 23 kura, are also part of the Labour Weekend celebrations and will encompass Ōkaihau Primary, Mangamuka, Umawera and Hōreke schools.

The reunion for past students of Ōkaihau College and surrounding schools received $5000 from the Kaikohe-Hokianga Community Board, while the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Board granted organisers $2500. Bay of Islands accommodation providers and businesses are expected to benefit from the influx of hundreds of visitors to this event. Funding will go towards security, traffic management, rubbish disposal and the hire of toilets and tables.

Another significant project with a heritage focus is the Broadwood Mosaic Project. It has taken a community approach to plans to relocate mosaics from the Kaitāia town centre to a reserve in the Hokianga town of Broadwood. The mosaics, which celebrate Te Hiku culture and heritage, were removed from the Kaitāia town centre when it was redeveloped. They will now be moved to a new home in the Hokianga. The mosaics are planned to be attached to planter boxes installed with fruit trees at a popular rest stop for motorists. Community workshops in Broadwood will then enable locals to create their own mosaics, based on their heritage, to add a Hokianga flavour to the mosaic display.

The project received backing from two community boards. Te Hiku Community Board granted the project $6500 for the relocation and installation of the Kaitāia mosaics, and the Kaikohe-Hokianga board supported this by granting a further $4727. The Broadwood community has agreed to carry out any ongoing maintenance or repairs for this project, which has wide community support.

For the full rundown of Far North community board decisions from August please visit our website.

The next community board meetings are:

• Tuesday 2 September – Te Hiku Community Board
• Thursday 4 September – Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board
• Friday 6 September – Kaikohe-Hokianga Community Board.