Waihinga Centre

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A White Square on a White Field
One of Mondrian’s most famous paintings, “A White Square on a White Field“, is almost replicated on the backstage wall of our present Town Hall. But the canvas is changing day by day.
Foundations for both sides of the Town Hall stage have been completed and the White Square will disappear under a concrete overlay, which will be sprayed over the brickwork, on the outside of the stage from ground to roof.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the building site, foundations for the new Waihinga Centre are complete, even though the recent floods delayed the concrete pour, and workers had to be sent home before the bridge closed.
Last month South Wairarapa District Elected Members made an on-site inspection to check on progress. Mike Arnopp, Project Director for Rigg Zschokke, explained to Councillors, that work is now starting on the remainder of the external wall foundations to the Waihinga Centre. And that, while this is taking shape, steel columns and laminated beams are being fabricated off site. These will be transported and erected over the next 2 months.
Viv Napier said that “The Councillors were very excited by progress and are looking forward to the next stage when the steel columns are erected”. It is estimated that if all goes according to plan the project may be completed by next April or May.

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Let’s play!
Climbing, sliding, swinging, jumping, splashing, running, crawling and yes, maybe even falling. You name it, our kids will be able to do this and more next year at the new Waihinga Centre Playground where old favourites will be joined by innovative new designs.
We have worked with Playground Centre, who are experts in the field, to find the best and most exciting equipment. The star of the show will be a big climbing tower with a giant slide for returning safely to earth.
The other new equipment will be selected from across five different sorts of activities.
Water Play
Swings
Carousels and Spinners
Seesaws
Tunnels, Trampolines or Outdoor Musical Equipment or Interactive Equipment.
To help us develop a shortlist we’ll be asking local children to tell us their preferences. This will be done via our four schools: Martinborough, Kahutara, Tuturamuri and Pirinoa and the kindy. A representative group from each will be shown pictures of the options and asked to identify their favourites. This will be one of the factors we use in making the final choices.
Another factor in the selection process will be making sure the playground is accessible to the widest possible range of abilities. We know physical challenges help children grow up to be confident and independent and our playground is one of the ways that we can help them do this. But that’s only how we adults see it. For the kids, it’s going to be all about having fun and that’s just the way it should be.

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Supporter Profile: PaperHands, Ben and Helen Masters
PaperHands makes wallpaper but not just any sort of wallpaper. In his workshop in the former library on Jellicoe Street Ben Masters designs and screenprints limited edition handmade papers. It all began in 2009 when he and his wife Helen (the Winemaker at Ata Rangi) couldn’t find designs they liked for their own home. Using Ben’s fine arts and interior design skills they began creating and then marketing their own wallpapers.
In 2015 they began a collaboration with Resene to bring back the iconic designs of William Mason, a leader in the field from the 1960s.
Ben and Helen see supporting the Waihinga Centre as a way to contribute to the community. “We feel an onus to make this commitment to future generations, just as earlier generations have done for us. It’s going to be exciting for the town and it will be great to have a new purpose-built library.”
Ben’s has generously offered to donate some of his wallpaper to the new centre so hopefully all of us will be able to enjoy his work.

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Find out more and get involved.
Visit our website: waihingacentre.nz for more information or contact Max Stevens on 3069095, e-mail info@waihingacentre.nz to volunteer, donate services or materials or make a financial contribution. We would love to hear from you.

Wharekaka benefits from delightful musical soirée


One reason Martinborough is such a great place to live is the amazing range of amenities we have, many of which are no longer available in other small New Zealand towns.
Wharekaka Rest Home, run by locals for locals, is one of those treasures. With the recent upgrade to hospital-level care, it can now provide a place for older members of the community to live in supported care for the rest of their lives. They no longer have to move out of town, away from family and friends, when their care needs increase.
But the survival of such a facility is never guaranteed and the government funding model is particularly challenging for a smaller operation like Wharekaka. To remain viable and provide more than just basic services to residents, it requires ongoing fundraising.
What better way to raise money than by organising a concert that brings some of Martinborough’s talented musicians together with its community of music lovers. So, on Sunday, 6 August, Trish Logan, Chair of the Wharekaka Trust Board, and her husband Robert hosted 80 people at their beautiful rural home to hear a musical programme ranging from Handel to Gershwin. … Continue Reading

Veronica McKee nominated.

Members of the Martinborough Women’s Institute have nominated Veronica McKee for an Institute Good Service Award. Veronica joined the Women’s Institute in May 1980 and has held the position of secretary and been a committee member for most of her time in the Institute.
Veronica turned ninety in 2016 and she is disadvantaged with a permanent stiff leg and now chronic arthritis and so needs a walking frame and two sticks to get about. She has had her car boot set up so that she can open it and still get her walker out by herself. She is a loyal and active member entering most competitions and contributing to meeting procedure.
Veronica is the Institute Phone Steward, a vital means of keeping our members informed. She contacts the President to find the procedure for the meeting ahead of time, then phones members to inform them.
Fellow members admire and are amazed at what she manages: a well kept garden and, with help and her effort, to come to each meeting.
The Martinborough members have strongly recommended Veronica to receive the Good Service Award she so richly deserves.
Nolene White

Star on line – and an offer.

The Martinborough Star team have always been confident that their Star on line was being well read. Figures provided by Google for the twelve months August 20016 to August 2017 prove this confidence to be well founded. In the period 5,145* people visited the Star on line website reading a total 12,249 pages.
79% of the readers were returning for a second time and spent considerably more time during the second visit .
It was no surprise that 77% of the visits were from within New Zealand – 4.939 during the period.
The largest number of overseas visits to the site were from the United States with 331. This interest ties in with Tourism NZ figures which show a 26% increase in tourists from America in the last twelve months. Australia was next greatest number at 262, then UK 151, Canada 68, Germany 50, Italy 40 and India 31.
A reasonable assumption is that if people go to the trouble of looking up information on a recognised tourist destination they are most likely considering a visit.
As a service to local businesses providing for tourists the Star team is offering advertising spots on the website for the princely sum of $25 a year! The advert can include photo and text.
The offer is open to accommodation providers, restaurants, vineyards, gift shops, cycle hire, indeed any business reliant on visitors.
At $25 a year why would you not be in? Interested? just contact David Kershaw : phone 021 625 327 or: david@pandk.co.nz

* Google filters ensure the figures are free of spam visits.