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? (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.
What's happening now? (28 May)
Offcuts and leftover materials from the build are weaving their way into the community through a recycling effort that is giving them a second life in gardens, schools, farms and local projects.
Close to 170sqm of materials - mostly offcuts of timber, piles and plywood - have been utilised by individuals and community groups, including the Waihī Beach Menz Shed, Waihī Beach School and Habitat for Humanity.
Much of the timber was recycled via an on-site 'kiosk' run by Hawkins - from which people could collect materials for their home and community projects.
Garry Kirkbride, below, used cut-off timber piles to replace a garden retaining wall in his backyard, that was previously made from old tyres.
Hawkins says a site this size would normally generate up to 30 cubic metres of waste, and so far they have redirected half that amount from landfill!
You can read the full story here.
