Waihinga Centre

Open to Change

If you are just walking or driving past the Town Hall it is obvious change is the order of the day.
The supper room to the Town Hall may be open to the elements at one end, where the chimney and kitchen have been removed, but beside it robust foundations are gathering strength. Large exposed trenches house a network of reinforcing steel. Trusty old wheelbarrows stand to the side ready for the hard yards. The door from the supper room to the town hall hangs in limbo awaiting the new floor to come up to the right level. No longer will it be necessary to carefully negotiate the tricky steps which used to descend to the lower level.

An arched doorway, where the old toilets used to be, has been exposed but will eventually disappear again when the outside wall is resurfaced. The new ceiling bracing for the hall has been completed and strong steel supports are bracing the exterior walls during the renovation process. Excavation for all the internal foundations is well under way. … Continue Reading

865 Borrow & Bring Back bags boomeranging in our community

With the support of the Martinborough community and tireless efforts of our fantastic sewing groups and generous individuals Boomerang bags has enjoyed monthly sewing bees since Feb 2017.

Thanks to often anonymous or otherwise unending generosity of too many individuals to mention (you all know who you are! A heartfelt thank you) our community has been inspired to produce an astounding 865 bags in just five months.

Our very own Amanda Ritchie inspired and motivated the schoolchildren, parents and teachers of Martinborough School.  As a key part of their sustainability-themed school term the children learnt about the impact of plastic bags on the environment; made their own bags as well as a short film.  Hats off to the kids of Marty school who are making a difference in the world and to Amanda who cares enough to put all her time and money into this venture. … Continue Reading

The less you say the more you say

Father Don Morrison, our local Catholic Priest who has served the South Wairarapa for 32 years recently celebrated 60 years in the Priesthood. The combined community (Catholic and Non-Catholic) and local dignitaries honoured this occasion on Saturday, July 22nd with a Mass attended by His Eminence Cardinal John Dew and 14 other priests who had travelled far and wide to attend. About 200 people, family, friends and parishioners attended – many from Martinborough.

St Teresa’s Choir lead the singing at the Mass of Celebration. Mary Clark sang “The Rose” and Father Don was honoured to receive a Papal Blessing which was presented to him by the Cardinal who spoke about Fr Don’s uniqueness as a Priest. … Continue Reading

The Ref’s whistle

Initially rugby matches were controlled by the referee shouting at the players when there was an rule infringement which was pretty hard on the refs’ larynx. In 1884 William Atack was refereeing such a match in Canterbury and suffering an extremely strained voice thought that there must be a better way. Putting his hand in his pocket he discovered his shepherd’s whistle and the solution was born.

He sought and received the player’s permission to try the whistle at the next match and so the first game played ‘to the whistle’ was held in Canterbury that year. The ideas soon caught on and was quickly adopted into the world rugby rules. It’s just a sham e that Atack didn’t take shares in a whistle factory.