Northland’s Hihiaua Cultural Centre begins work on stage two of development

Hihiaua Cultural Centre’s team, including (from left) chairman Ryan Welsh, architect Craig Moller, builder Rua Kapa from Kapa Building & Roofing, and resident carver Poutama Hetaraka, are looking forward to stage two coming to life, starting with a complete revamp of the former A’Fare building. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Creating a space everyone wants to use and community groups can afford has been key to success for Whangārei’s riverfront cultural centre, Hihiaua.

Since opening in a renovated boat shed in 2019, the first stage of the Hihiaua Cultural Centre has hosted conferences, events and exhibitions, including more than 40 wananga and workshops in the last year alone.

Now, work has begun on the first part of stage two, with a renovation of the former restaurant and venue A’Fare set to open in the middle of this year.

Detailed design work is also being done on the final part of stage two including a new two-storey building with exhibition space, conference centre, 470sq m indoor performance space and a stage which can be opened to a large, fully landscaped, outdoor amphitheatre.

Trust chairman Ryan Welsh said the outdoor space will be reminiscent of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park, which includes the Bowl of Brooklands, host to Womad and other popular music events.

The vision is for a multi-use cultural performance space which can host everything like kapa haka festivals, popular music concerts, Pasifika performances and food festivals, he said.

“Although the primary purpose is the advancement of Māori culture, it’s also for many other cultures to express themselves in whatever form they choose,” he said.

“What’s important to us is the frequency of use - we want anybody to be able to come here and find it both affordable and practical to use,” Welsh said.

“We’re taking the approach of inclusiveness, and with that comes a huge amount of support from the community; there’s been no one in opposition.”

Welsh said the vision for Hihiaua Cultural Centre has been around for a long time, which meant the community has had plenty of time to get involved.

“It’s grown organically and with that has been bringing along on the journey all the different groups in the community, including theatre, arts, the schools, sculpture and carving groups.”

Stage one has already been enormously successful, shown by the number of groups and artists using the space, Welsh said.

That success helps with fundraising, with about $8 million in funding already secured from the Whangārei District Council and the Provincial Growth Fund, but another $8m-$10m is needed to complete the project.

The costs are still being finalised, Welsh said, but the trust has already proven itself good with budgets, completing the $2m stage one under budget by several hundred thousand.

Meanwhile, building work is under way on the former A’Fare building, set to be renamed Manaaki to showcase how it will be the centre of hospitality for Hihiaua.

The building will include a cafe or restaurant, which will be run by a third party, Welsh said.

Renovation work includes replacing the roof, adding new windows and more doors to open up the building, a new commercial kitchen and new toilets.

Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.