Waihinga Centre

The steel truss will brace the north side of the Town Hall.

A Very Generous Gift

The Martinborough Lions have always been very active supporters of our community. Now they’re making their biggest ever public grant.   Over the next 3 years they will be donating a total of $50,000 towards the development of the adventure playground next to the new Waihinga Centre.  

Club President Lee Quayle said members saw the redeveloped playground as an exciting addition to village life.  “It will be fantastic not only for the local kids but also for visiting families.  It will tie in really well with the Library, Plunket and the Toy Library, which will be right next door.”

This generous gift is defined as a ‘Legacy Project’, in this instance commemorating the Lions International Centennial.  Legacy projects are initiated to create a substantial, lasting gift and also raise the visibility of Lions and their work.   “The new playground is a perfect fit for our criteria.”   

Growing Strong from all Angles

So how does the recent earthquake strengthening support the Waihinga Centre?  And just what has been going on behind the scenes to ensure the buildings meet the new earthquake standards?

A 16 x 1 metre wide truss weighing 2.5 tonne is to be installed above the balcony to brace the North side of the Town Hall. The triangular framework of the steel truss increases strength and stability. 

In the extended supper-room the brickwork has been covered with reinforcing steel in readiness for concrete to be sprayed on, yet another solid structure which will form part of the bracing to the front of the Town Hall.

With concrete foundations 700mm thick, a sturdy beam poured below the stage, the proscenium arch and perimeter of the ceiling of the Town Hall strengthened with a structural steel frame, and plywood bracing on the ceilings the buildings will be ready to stand the test of time.

A corridor between the Town Hall and the Waihinga Centre forms a buffer to allow the two buildings to move in isolation providing further protection.

The main timber beams for the Waihinga Centre, some up to 12m long were manufactured off site, cut to length and drilled for fixing.

Peter Thompson from Loader Construction Engineering Ltd has been involved since construction began, initially creating the computer drawings used to manufacture the structural steelwork and timber beams and then supervising their fabrication. 

“The whole process has been slightly more demanding than the usual structures we build”, says Peter “because of the precision required to meet the very exacting seismic design specifications.” 

For example, the column tops which have multiple timber beams connected to them at various angles had to be welded in specially made jigs to ensure we met the tight tolerances and could control the distortion due to the welding process (as the weld metal cools it shrinks and tries to distort the structure).

Cutting and drilling the components on site to allow for error in manufacture was not permitted so all the components (over 80 major parts) had to fit correctly first time.

It was very satisfying to see the columns and beams come together like a jigsaw.”

Over the next month the contractors will work on closing in the exterior with services installation already underway so that work can start on the interior of the buildings.

Work will also start soon on reinstating the floors to the extended supper room and foyer so that the town hall can start to be reinstated.

The construction team is still projecting a July deadline for completion.

Thank You to our Waihinga Park and Playground Supporters

Stage 2 fundraising is in full swing, thank you to all of our supporters so far. 

N Bomann, L & F Cornelissen, H & B Cox, C & M De Groot, Down to Earth Gardening Group, Eastern and Central Trust, Foley Family Wines – TK Farmers’ Market, 4WD Fundraiser, R & L Griffiths, B & B Hancox, D Kershaw, H Kershaw, J & P Kirkup, D & J Maloney, Margrain / Thom Family, J Martin, L Martin, Martinborough Community Board, Martinborough Lionesses & Martinborough Community Board Bike Stand Project, Martinborough Lions, Pain Estate, Palliser Estate, B Pearce, W Pearce, Powerco, Milly, George & Buster Richards, A Sears & D Woodham, S Stephen, M & N Thomas, Wairarapa Building Society, J Wilkie.

We have many other smaller and anonymous donors too who we would also like to thank