Mayoral Musings 14 March – Kāpiti Mayor Janet Holborow

First published in the Kāpiti News on Wednesday 14 March 2024

What a weekend it’s been in Kāpiti!

On Saturday morning the Paekākāriki Surf Lifesaving Club marked an important milestone in the development of their new building as they started the first stage of construction. 

See larger image.

The old clubrooms have already been demolished due to a combination of coastal inundation and structural issues, so the new build has become urgent. In the meantime, surf lifesavers have been operating from temporary containers on the waterfront.

Karl Farrell, Ngāti Haumia Kaumatua, and Taku Parai of Ngāti Toa blessed the site, and Joost Brinck, with support from young member Lexie Garton, turned the first sod. It’s great that Council has been able to provide seed funding for this project which will provide a facility for the whole community to use.

There’s still $1m to raise to complete the next stages of the project so please support in any way you can, and let others know!

From there, it was off to the opening of the Bond Street Distillery, who opened their new facility by putting on a “Block Party” around Te Roto Drive. This area hosts a variety of food and beverage businesses creating a fantastic atmosphere. The new distillery also operates as a hub for local start-up and small businesses. It’s great to see our Food and Beverage businesses thriving and growing, and to support them through our Economic Development work.

Also on Saturday, the Waikanae Boating Club held their annual children’s fishing event. Due to the weather the children enjoyed a morning at Ngā Manu Nature Reserve instead.

On Sunday Ngā Manu celebrated a significant milestone with an event marking the 50th anniversary of the start of the Trust. The event honoured the vision of Peter McKenzie, who at the age of twenty decided to use an inheritance to create the Trust, who then acquired the land and started the work to create what is now a treasured and important environmental reserve. 

David Mudge was acknowledged for his hugely significant contribution, working with McKenzie at the very early stages and continuing his involvement ever since. So many volunteers have worked over the years to realise this vision and create this ecological reserve, which also has such an important educational, economic and community benefit.  

On another note, it was great to be there last week as a cheque was handed over to the Kapiti Women’s Centre by the Kapiti Boating Club, raised at the Reel Women’s Fishing Competition in February. Our community organisations and businesses in Kāpiti sure do support each other!