Kiwi Blog: Hubs, the heavens
and hotcakes
Jan Farr, editor of the Carterton Crier, New Zealand writes the second in a
series of updates from overseas.
Hubs are the 'in' things in Carterton, New Zealand. Heart of Arts is a creative
hub which exhibits local art and provides a meeting place for artists and
community groups. Local artists act as volunteers and mentors there, and
local artworks cover the walls.
The Carterton District Council recently opened a different kind of hub:
Haumanu House, a gathering place for social services. Now, locals won't have
to use our infrequent and expensive public transport to get to the nearest
large town. The hub includes the Courts' registrar and JP service, community
law, budgeting, drug, alcohol and mental health services, Probation, a mental
health work broker, Inland Revenue and the food bank.
Also in the pipe-line are optimistic plans for a sporting hub that will bring
together in one place most sporting codes in town.
A little way out of town, unpolluted by town light, we have a faithful Southern
Hemisphere replica of Stonehenge, run by astronomers. In May they spent a
fascinating weekend investigating the universe with a large group of people
and taking glorious photos of the night sky.
There's been good news for Wairarapa Māori this month. Our largest
tribe, Ngati Kahungunu, has won a Treaty of Waitangi settlement from the
Government, which returns the beautiful Wairarapa lakes to them (although
in shocking condition) and gives them $93m, which won't compensate them
for the 2.5 million hectares of land lost, but will allow them to start improving
the lives of their people.
Our Farmers' Market is moving indoors for the winter and dishing out free
blueberry hotcakes to customers. If you're over this way please get in touch.
We'd love to meet you over coffee and hotcakes!
Jan Farr
cartertonnz.com/crier
Facebook: The Carterton Crier
News
The night sky taken at an astronomer’s
conference at Stonehenge in rural
Carterton. © Ian Cooper.
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