11 July, 2025
A place to share Inside Te Ara Mātauranga, Waihī Beach’s new library, service centre and community hub, Rhiannon Myers and Alex Cooper, pictured, are among four staff set to be run off their feet! The new $5m 400m2 facility is four times bigger than the old one, open for longer hours and has more books. But the building offers so much more
than books. Te Ara Mātauranga means ‘The pathway to knowledge’. The space includes meeting rooms, public computers and free wifi, ‘bring your own device’ work spaces, and a table for activities. WBOP District Council’s Julia Edgecombe believed it would be a place for the public to enjoy in many ways, facilitating social
interaction and community building. For Waihī Beach School next-door, the facility would offer resources and spaces so youngsters feel comfortable, want to use the services and return after they’ve left the kura. Tangata whenua wanted it to be more a whare (building). “We wanted the whole journey to involve the people, the whole
community, and I think we’ve achieved that,” said Ōtāwhiwhi Marae chair Reon Tuanau. Beyond the name, Te Whānau a Tauwhao gifted design elements to connect the building to the local marae, the taiao (environment), and coastal nature of Waihī Beach. Read more on pages 3 and 6. Photo / Merle Cave