Ashburton’s library and civic centre making progress, on the inside, while Selwyn's new centre sparks controversy
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
There has been plenty of progress, just not visible progress.
Construction of the $56.75 million Ashburton Library and Civic Centre, Te Pātaka o kā Tuhituhi and Te Waharoa a Hine Paaka, is tracking along, Ashburton District Council chief executive Hamish Riach said.
“The tarpaulins and wrapping on the outside of the building is to enable work on the inside to proceed with relative protection from the weather prior to the facade of the building being attached,” Riach said.
“While this enables work to proceed, it does mean it is very hard to see building activity behind the tarpaulins.
“Once the facade is attached in the next few weeks and months, the building will look dramatically different.”
The project is still on track to be finished about mid-2023 while the budget remains under significant pressure because of “these difficult Covid times and skyrocketing construction prices".
“We are very grateful for the $20m grant given by the Government to the project as part of its Covid stimulus package.”
Ashburton’s new building will display the names gifted from Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua, Te Pātaka o kā Tuhituhi and Te Waharoa a Hine Paaka, alongside the words Ashburton Library and Civic Centre, Riach said.
Selwyn’s Te Ara Ātea, the multi-use community facility and library that opened in Rolleston in December last year, has been a topic of debate recently.
Rolleston Residents Association members want the Selwyn District Council to put the word “library” under the name of Te Ara Ātea on its signage because they feel people don’t know what the building is – despite it attracting over 100,000 visitors.
Before the building opening the Association had campaigned to have the words community centre removed from the project, as the Rolleston Community Centre, which had housed the old library, was being retained.
The Selwyn council decided to use the name Te Ara Ātea, which means the unobstructed trail to the world and beyond, rather than a by-line describing the building’s various functions.
Arowhenua gifted the names for the new Ashburton library and civic building, with the library known as Te Pātaka o kā Tuhituhi and the civic centre as Te Waharoa a Hine Paaka. Te Pātaka o kā Tuhituhi means the storehouse of written publications, while Te Waharoa a Hine Paaka derives from an ancient matai tree that once stood at Alford Forest. Known as Hine Paaka, the tree was a significant landmark to Māori travelling through the district.
*Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
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Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
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Hero
“I was born and raised in war. To be honest, those are not good memories.
I really like Iran, and I really miss it, but I couldn’t be myself there. Even though my family didn’t like my decision, I left Iran. I promised myself that I would do whatever I can for all communities, especially for the kids, so they do not have the same experience I had.
I studied software engineering in Iran and left in 2006. I went to Malaysia and stayed in Kuala Lumpur for seven years. I was admitted to Lincoln University to do my PhD here, but unfortunately, I couldn’t afford the expenses. I requested a scholarship, but they told me I had to be there for six months first. So, I stayed in Malaysia and did my PhD in network security. In December 2013, I came to New Zealand with a work visa.
It took me a while to connect with the Iranian community here. I volunteered with the Multicultural Council, SPCA, and community patrol, and I established the Christchurch Iranian Society in 2017. Before that, I started working on Radio Toranj, the only Farsi-language radio show in New Zealand.
One of the reasons I started organizing cultural events was to showcase Iranian culture. I wanted to show people that we have delicious food, colorful dresses, traditional customs, and our own instruments. My hope was to show people that we are not what you see in the media.
I am working to involve all the communities that celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in the Nowruz festival in March 2025. We want to share this celebration not only with our community but with the public as well. It’s better when it’s shared.
I remember the first time someone from Dunedin called me and asked, Hero, can you help? Something happened, and they keep declining Iranian visa applications. When I heard that, I felt insulted. We are still human, so how can they do that?
Through this journey, I’ve learned a lot. Every single day, people with different cases call me, and I try to share my knowledge and guide them as much as I can.
I have received several awards, including the Christchurch Civic Award and an Award of Recognition for my contributions to the community during the pandemic. In 2021, I established Canterbury Kia Ora Academy, a charitable trust. Through this charity, I can help other communities as well, not just the Iranian community.”
- Hero
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