Te Ara Mātauranga - Waihī Beach Library and Community Hub
Kia ora, welcome to the Te Ara Mātauranga - Waihī Beach Library and Community Hub project page. Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about the project, including latest updates, concept designs, and a timeline of upcoming steps. Check out the information on the right-hand side of this page for all this and more.
About the project
We're building a new library, service centre and community hub at Waihī Beach, shaped by your valuable input.
Modern libraries extend far beyond book lending services. They serve as a centre for the entire community to connect, to learn, find inspiration and to share knowledge and experience.
We'll be transforming this space into a dynamic community hub, tailored to meet the evolving needs of your growing and diverse community.
The new building will have increased accessibility and feature a wide range of amenities and spaces - from multi-functional spaces to additional meeting rooms.
What's happening now? (2 July)
Te Ara Mātauranga is open!
Around 160 people gathered to mark this special occasion, with a blessing led by Reon Tuanau of Ōtāwhiwhi Marae, supported by tamariki from Waihī Beach Kura - with Mayor James Denyer cutting the ribbon to declare the building officially open.
"Libraries today are important community hubs - their role is so much more than just a repository for books. They're public spaces where communities come together to learn, connect and thrive," says Mayor James.
"This has been a collaborative process with involvement from elected members, Council staff, mana whenua, the school, and the community centre committee. I want to thank all those involved for achieving such a great result, and in particular our builder, Hawkins, for delivering ahead of time and on budget."
Read more about the Te Ara Mātauranga opening here.
13 June
Here's a throwback to earlier in the build when Student Leaders from Waihī Beach School were given a hard-hat tour of the construction site.
Things have progressed since then, and the students are looking forward to the opening on 1 July, and being able to use the new space.
You can read all about their special tour here.
4 June
Our team are busily preparing to move into the much larger, modern, purpose-built space. As part of these preparations, the current library will close temporarily from 2pm on Wednesday 18 June, until the opening of the new library - Te Ara Mātauranga - on Tuesday 1 July.
The closure will allow time to move everything across to the new building, which shares the same site as the existing library.
During this time, the loan system has been configured so that no books or other items will be due back until the new library opens – in the meantime, people are encouraged to hold onto them.
