Kawakawa tourism hub funding boost

Trustees involved with the development of a new tourism hub in Kawakawa are celebrating with the announcement of a $2.3million funding boost.

Te Hononga - ‘‘The Joining of Cultures’’, will include a rammedearth building which will house an interactive space, gallery, workshop, library and service centre.

The $2.3m allocated from the Government’s Provincial Growth Fund will add to the $2.2m secured from the project’s partners: the Kawakawa Hundertwasser Park Charitable Trust, Te Runanga o Ngati Hine, Far North Holdings, FNDC, Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board and the local business association.

Resource consent has already been granted for the project. Hundertwasser Park Charitable Trust chair Noma Shepherd says she is thrilled with the funding announcement.

‘‘We are very much looking forward to start building this September and aim to open in December 2019, marking 20 years since the opening of the Hundertwasser Toilets on December 13, 1999. It’s been a vision for over eight years and I am so thankful for the support of our project partners who have helped shape the final proposal which works for both visitors and locals.’’

The new hub will form part of the Hundertwasser Park, directly behind the iconic toilets, which was his last completed architectural work. Pita Tipene, chair of Te Runanga o Ngati Hine, says Te Hononga will be central to integrated stories of our wider district and our Ma¯ ori heritage.

‘‘By working alongside the Kawakawa Hundertwasser Park Trust, Ngati Hine is committed to the project and thereby generating much stronger economic and social growth for the community.’’

Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says there is strong iwi, local business and community support for the project, which is a key criteria of the fund.

‘‘A feasibility study forecast an indirect spend of $1.75m per annum in increased spend in Kawakawa - a huge boost to the local economy,’’ Jones says.