Fifteen acknowledged at Waipa Heritage Awards
29 August 2011
An extremely high standard of entries resulted in all 15 being acknowledged at the 2011 Waipa Heritage Awards last Thursday night (August 25).
Organiser Jan White said as the judges had a difficult task deciding on one winner for each category, the decision was made to present prizes and certificates to each entrant. Some entries were recognised as outstanding.
The awards were presented by Mayor Alan Livingston in the historic St Andrews Church Hall in Cambridge. Guests were welcomed by the sound of the traditional bells of St Andrews pealing out, as the bell ringers were one of the entrants in this year's awards. The church hall was enhanced with displays of heritage items including carvings by Master Carver Mac Bell.
Guest speaker was Dr Anne McEwan who spoke about the process of selecting heritage properties to be included in the council's District Plan.
Those acknowledged were:
Restoration/preservation of a heritage property
Te Awamutu Methodist Church for restoring the church worship centre and additions to match existing architectural style
Climax 1317 Trust/ Lions Club Te Awamutu for rescuing and restoring the historic Climax 1317 Steam Engine
Flintoft Roband Construction for restoring and refurbishing the National Hotel Cambridge - Waikato's first hotel
Adaptive Re-use and/or redesign of a heritage property or area.
Bernard & Wendy Hilhorst and Rob & Hannah Bradley for transforming the historic Te Awamutu Salvation Army Hall into Churchill's Caf
Murray Care and Dorothy Thresher for transforming the historic Waipa County Chambers from Church to Private Dwelling
Andrew Bydder Creative Design Ltd and Tainui Group Holdings Ltd for renovation of the Te Awamutu Post Office for use by local business
Promotion, protection or facilitation of access to a heritage site.
Sabina Owen for an outstanding contribution in promoting & protecting local heritage
Te Wananga o Aotearoa for design and gifting the Waharoa sculpture to the people of Te Awamutu
Heritage Education
Alan Hall for exceptional heritage research, publications and tours
Public Community Service
Te Awamutu Courier for printing the news for the local community for over 100 years
Pirongia Residents and Ratepayers Association for providing a community facility in an historic lodge
Heritage Tourism
Pirongia Heritage Information Centre for creating and maintaining an informative destination for visitors
Traditional Skills and Knowledge
Ray Officer for rebuilding a rare 1901 Locomobile Steam Buggy
St Andrew's Guild of Bellringers for ringing the bells of St Andrew's Anglican Church, Cambridge
Mac Bell Master Carver for giving his working life to presenting, promoting and teaching the art of Maori carving
