Print the above sections
At a Glance
Primary Services
- A multi purpose community facility including a local museum, public library, visitor information centre and / or gallery and art display areas.
Why We Do It
Provide, maintain, resource and manage a multi purpose community facility building located in Kaitaia and to house a local museum, public library, visitor information centre and / or gallery and art display areas, for the benefit, use and enjoyment of the Kaitaia and surrounding communities.Achievements
A year of milestones that stands taller than any others in Te Ahu Charitable Trust's 5 year history. TACT will remember 2012 as the year it completed Te Ahu centre. Like Sydney's opera house and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Te Ahu initially suffered from controversy and there were engineering challenges along the way. The $14 million civic centre we have today is therefore a triumph of vision, perseverance and ingenuity over inertia, adversity and the laws of physics. TACT completed construction of new build areas of Te Ahu in late January 2012 after receiving a code compliance certificate for the refurbished cinema and little theatre in December 2012. A soft opening of Te Ahu after a blessing by Iwi on 10th February 2012 allowed Far North District Council to begin offering library, i-SITE and customer services at the centre on 13th February 2012. Tiny tweaks were needed in a few places, but Te Ahu otherwise passed its first week in business with flying colours.Comments about Te Ahu by 114 visitors surveyed by a Massey University research team during the Te Ahu's first week of operation were overwhelmingly positive. People were generally very impressed with the facilities, commented on the beauty of the building's interior and expressed a great deal of pride in having this facility in the community. A report by researchers Dr Avril Bell (Massey University) and Professor Eva Mackey (visiting from Carleton University in Canada) made for gratifying reading, given the years of hard work many people had put into making Te Ahu a reality. TACT spent the next 11 weeks readying Te Ahu for an official opening on April 28 2012. This work mainly involved landscaping the site to a design by Kaeo landscape architect Paul Quinlan, finishing access paths and working with the Far North Regional Museum to complete exhibition space in Te Ahu.
TACT was privileged to have New Zealand's top official and distinguished entertainers at the opening which was attended by about 250 people. Council hosted a visit by Governor General, Sir Jerry Mateparae in February to open Te Ahu. Trustee Monty Knight, was able to use his connections in the music industry to persuade music legends Tina Cross ONZM and Ray Woolf to perform at a celebration dinner and cabaret after the opening ceremony which included a 3 cannon salute. Sir Jerry Mateparae praised TACT for underwriting a magnificent venture that had resulted in a remarkable building built without government support and funded by ratepayers across the district. Te Ahu represented quintessentially kiwi qualities: volunteering, hard work, ingenuity and a can do attitude, he said. The opening was not just a culmination of years of planning and hard work by TACT and others in the Kaitaia community. It was also a major milestone in race relations.
Most people are aware that Te Ahu is built on land owned by the Council and Te Rarawa, but many don't know that 61 chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi on the site in 1840. It seemed fitting therefore to hold the opening on the 172nd anniversary of the signing. Trustees also elected to fly the New Zealand and Maori Tino Rangatiratanga flags from Te Ahu's flagpole on opening day. The large numbers of Maori and pakeha who attended the opening showed that TACT had fulfilled its goal of creating a place where cultures intersect. Te Runanga o Te Rarawa chairman Haami Piripi said Te Ahu represented a dream of Maori, pakeha and dalmatian forebears who wanted to co exist peacefully and work together to achieve common goals.
It has taken a relatively short 5 years for TACT to raise funds for and build Te Ahu. The district can pride itself in a first class facility that was designed and built almost entirely by local firms, including Arcline Design, Beard Parsonson Architecture and KPH Construction. A national best use of glass award recently won by Kaitaia Glass and Aluminium, which created the joinery for the atrium's two storey pleated glass wall, shows how high we raised the bar. Trustees are pleased to have delivered a multi function centre as planned and within budget. They are now turning their attention to TACT's post construction role, its relationship with the community, stakeholders and the Far North District Council and how the centre should be run to best effect moving forward.
Future Issues / Challenges |
Implications |
|---|---|
| Maximise the opportunities that are presented to the community | Under utilised facilities |
Highlights of Performance
TPM = Total number of Performance Measures
Performance 2010/11 vs. 2011/12 - is neutral
Statement of Service Performance
For TE AHU CHARITABLE TRUST the following pages detail:- Service performance information provides levels of service comparative results for 2010/11 and 2011/12 including achievements and issues.
- Financial performance including comparisons against budget 2011/12.
