1 August, 2025
Town’s ‘portrait’ on display There’s no better way to travel back in time and get a sense of what a place and time was like than with black-and-white photographs. The ‘Katikati: Portrait of a Town’ exhibition – which opens Monday, August 4, and runs until September 30 inside the town’s library – is going to do just that. There will be lots and lots of photographs,
plus books, maps, and paintings by local artists to transport people back in time to the district’s early days, then journey them through more modern times to about the 1970s. The free exhibition is the brainchild of Western Bay of Plenty District Council community heritage services co-ordinator
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Sandra Haigh, pictured, who has dug deep inside the Western Bay Community Archives to put together the event – which marks Family History Month in August, and the 150th anniversary since the Ulster Irish settlers arrived in Katikati this September. Haigh said the exhibition would ultimately
show how the town had grown and evolved – using the precious taonga (treasures) items from the on-site community archives she cares for. “What’s on display will be entirely visual… So it’s a portrait of the town over time.” Find out more on page 4. Photo / Merle Cave