THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025
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The Rosetown Funerals team L to R: Jim Goddin, Teri Keir and Jordan Goss
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MAY 1, 2025
School’s dollar offer By Chris Gardner
An historic schoolhouse will be offered to Ōtorohanga Historical Society for removal and restoration. Ōtorohanga District Council made the decision after hearing from a delegation of three former Rewarewa School pupils in the public forum section of Tuesday’s council meeting. Evan Cowan, husband of Ōtorohanga Museum director Liz Cowan, said moving the schoolhouse to the museum would enable it to be used by the community. “The building is unique, and irreplicable,” he said. “It’s a perfect fit with the museum. The extra space would be welcomed by them. The building would be preserved and accessible to everyone.” Cowan said nearly $32,000 had already been pledged to assist in
the removal and restoration of the building without any public appeal. Ōtorohanga Lions Club had already pledged to pay the $18,200 removal costs quoted to the museum director. He was supported by Rosemary Davison and Peg Purdie, who were at Tuesday’s meeting, and his uncle Laurie Cowan, who did not attend. “I firmly believe that the school should be taken to the museum,” Purdie said. Davison said the council had a chance to fix a problem. “I am aware that the building has been a real pain in the neck to the council over the years,” she said. Mayor Max Baxter proposed the building be offered to the society for a $1 reserve after an 11th hour offer from Rewarewa resident Bruce Bolt to move it about 100 metres up the road on to private property.
The Rewarewa Schoolhouse.
“Regardless of what we go on, not everyone is going to be happy,” the mayor said. Bolt and Rachel Wiggins previously appeared before the council asking for the building to be kept on site. Ōtorohanga ward councillor Katrina Christison thought moving the building to the museum site could save the council spending more than $1 million extending the library. “Relocating to the museum would create valuable space for events,” she said. When it was previously in the
care of the Bolt Trust, she said, not everyone who wished to have access to the building could use it. The council agreed to give the society until July 31 to accept the offer, and a further year to remove the building from the site, Community projects lead Sahndra Cave said no further funding or staff time would be given to the building after two decades of community discussions. Built in 1917 and moved to Rewarewa Reserve before the Second World War, the schoolhouse served generations before its closure in 1973.
Newest Kiwi
Long-time New Zealand resident David Karrol became an official Kiwi this week. Karrol, the Three Waters manager at Waitomo District Council attended the citizenship ceremony at the Cambridge Town Hall with wife Sharon because the couple live in Te Awamutu. He has had more than 30 years’ experience in management, operations, maintenance in catchment, treatment and reticulation in water, wastewater, stormwater and trade waste systems, including swimming pool industries. He has worked with regional, city and district councils, consultancy services and contracting in his native Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia. David joined Waitomo in October 2022 for the second time; prior to that he was with the council for 21 months from August 2018.
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“Multiple council reports over the years have cited challenges managing the site due to community disagreements and lack of a unified plan,” Cave said in her report. “In recent years, the building has remained locked and underutilised. A 2024 assessment identified several maintenance issues including possible roof leaks, signs of rodent activity, and the need for both internal and external repainting to address weathering and general wear.” An estimate of the maintenance cost is $40,000.
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