Waipa discovery tours return
Free discovery bus tours of the Waipa district are returning due to popular demand.
This time, there will be tours starting from Cambridge as well as Te Awamutu.
Waipa District Council ran seven tours in November, which focused on the western side of the district, but the upcoming round of tours spread over March and April will cover both the west and the east.
Heritage manager Tony Roxburgh said when two tours were offered last year, free tickets were snapped up, leading to council putting on a further five tours. The demand was a poignant suggestion that there was a huge interest in the history of Waipa including the New Zealand Wars.
‘‘Our district is jam-packed with history, from early human settlement through to the period of the New Zealand Wars and the appetite to learn more about our history and understand our story is fantastic,’’ Roxburgh said.
‘‘These tours give our community an opportunity to visit and learn about some of our key sites and understand why council think it is time we put a greater investment into our heritage and sharing our stories.’’
The new eastern Waipa tours will start from Cambridge and track the history of the Town Hall, Lake Te Ko Utu, Rotoo-Rangi, Sanatorium Hill and Lake Karapiro.
Roxburgh said the western tour will include stops at Rangiaowhia, ra¯kau and Alex- andra Armed Redoubt.
‘‘Waipa really does have a fascinating history and we’re excited to share even more of our stories.‘‘
Waipa District Council’s bus tours are being conducted as part of the council consultation on the draft 10-Year Plan for 2018-28, which will be taking place from March 15 to April 20.
The plan will be open to the public in mid-March and proposes Constabulary a $3.6m investment in Waipa’s cultural and ecological sites, many of which will be visited by the discovery tour buses. It also includes a proposed council contribution of $4.4m to improve Cambridge Town Hall, as well as $7.2m to a Waipa Discovery Centre in Te Awamutu.
People who are interested in taking any of the tours can registered at waipadc.govt.nz/bustours or call council on 0800 924 723.