BY PAM FERLA
Sunday, 9 February at 3.00pm is the official opening of the Tairua Heritage Centre on 223 Main Road, Tairua (next to Heaven and Earth Crystals).
Thames-Coromandel District Council Mayor Len Salt, Deputy Mayor Terry Walker and chairman of Tairua-Pauanui Community Board, Warwick Brooks, will attend the event.
Chairman of the society, David Rushforth, is delighted with the outcome, which follows a challenging year for the society.
“After having all our funding for a heritage centre taken away in the district council’s latest Long-Term Plan, we urgently needed a place to store and display material. Our collection of photographs, documents and old maps was growing and library space was becoming tighter.
“So, when a prime spot became available for rent on Main Road, the committee decided to take the plunge.”
David points out that the society’s lease is until February 2026 and the move is a “work in progress”.
Visitors at Tairua Heritage Centre checking out the photographs and displays prior to opening day. From left, Klaas and Marjan Kasper and Melissa Kasper.
Initially the Centre will open Friday to Sunday, 10.00am-2.00pm and may extend these hours if more volunteers come forward.
“Our committee is full of enthusiasm and our next step is aiming to raise sufficient funds to buy, rather than rent, the building, so it becomes a permanent place to celebrate and share Tairua’s rich heritage.”
David says that Tairua has one of the longest histories of any place in New Zealand.
“This is because of the pearl shell fishing lure, found at the foot of Mount Paku by archaeologists in 1964. Scientists agree that it is about 700 years old and certainly came from Polynesia – possibly the Marquesas Islands – which makes it very special.”
The lure is on display at Auckland War Memorial Museum.
FUNDRAISING
The society’s fundraising includes the sale of books on Tairua and its history, with latest book “Baches of Tairua – memories of bygone days”, launched on Auckland Anniversary Weekend. About 70 people were present to hear about how the project started, some amusing memories associated with the baches, and how they are gradually becoming an endangered species.
Other books for sale at the heritage centre are “A Ship, a Bay, a Drowning”, “Buried but Not Forgotten”, “Tairua Locked Down”, “Tairua in the News, 1960 – 2022” and “Tales of Tairua”.
Tairua’s Heritage Players’ annual productions also raise funds for the Society and work is already underway for this year’s show.
