Hawke's Bay

Recent Support for Hawke's Bay Projects

Driving lessons for HB youngsters

More Hawke's Bay youngsters will be taught the importance of safety on the roads following donations from the Eastern and Central Community Trust.

Two donations, each of $4,000, are for separate programmes that aim to teach young drivers about accident prevention and the impact of poor driving decisions.Hastings Blue Light Ventures provides a range of educational initiatives for youth, including a driving programme involving a mock accident, emergency services, police, funeral directors, and real-life personal stories from accident survivors who have been injured by careless or drunk drivers. Coordinator Barbara Jenkinson says the course also makes the young students face up to the trauma of road accidents and the serious consequences of the misuse of alcohol and drugs, speed and peer pressure. She says Blue Light hopes to organise three sessions this year, providing training for at least 250 students.

A totally different approach, and also aimed at teaching sensible driving habits, is run by the Limit Hawke's Bay Trust. It is also receiving a $4,000 donation. What began as a pilot programme five years ago in response to a number of fatal road accidents involving Hawke's Bay teenagers, is now on track to provide a ‘Drivealive' programme to 240 students. The participants learn the pitfalls of fast driving, dangerous cornering and skidding on wet roads by driving karts at the Hawke's Bay Karting Club track. Students sign up through their schools, they are transported to and from the track, with little or no cost to them or their school. Chairperson and a founder of the programme, Dr Rhod Murray, says more than 1,200 drivers have taken part in the programme since it started. New, quieter karts have been purchased during the past year and Labour Department registration, to the same standard required for commercial operators, has been obtained. The 11 four-stroke karts are fitted with all the necessary safety equipment, including seat belts. The Community Trust has praised the work of Dr Murray and others involved in the programme, including V8 Supercar driver Greg Murphy's father Murray, who volunteer their time and knowledge to help the young drivers on the track. “We see the huge benefits the students get from learning to drive on a safe track in a safe environment. You know they've learned a lot when you compare their behaviour when they first start driving on the track and how they drive after they've completed the course,” says Dr Murray.

Community Trust gives $50,000 to HB digital archives

A $50,000 donation from the Eastern and Central Community Trust will speed up the conversion of the historic Stoneycroft homestead into a digital knowledge bank. The money is being used to restore the interior of the Omahu Road building, built in 1875. It is expected to open later this year as a digital archive where historic data, photographs and old film can be preserved and stored using modern technology. It will also be available to members of the public wanting to convert historic information into new technology formats for future reference.

Chairperson of the Hawke's Bay Digital Archives Trust, Dr David Barry, says teams of volunteers and qualified trades staff are on the job refurbishing the interior, stripping wallpaper from the scrim underneath and searching for wallpaper to match the era of the house. Rewiring and fibre optic cabling for computers, printers and other equipment is also being installed. The management of stored material will also be an important role of the archive to ensure long-term preservation of all materials held digitally. A sound proof room is being built where interviews can be carried out with elderly people or others who have historic knowledge or tales to record. Dr Barry believes the new Hawke's Bay facility will be one of the first of its type, with only the National Library providing a more extensive collection of this type of material.

Stoneycroft is a registered historic building owned by the Hastings District Council. The building has already been reroofed, a fire sprinkler system, alarming, earthquake strengthening has been carried out.

Community Trust helps fund history of Clive

Clive may not have turned into the bustling city that was originally planned but amateur historian Gary Baines has received a $4,000 donation from the Eastern and Central Community Trust to record the area's history. The Clive Historic Trust has been gathering information, including 1839 records that show the main city of the region was planned to be sited there and details of the devastating 1897 floods. The Community Trust says that with more than 170 years of European and Maori history centred on the Clive district, it is surprising a history has not already been written. Its donation will pay for professional help to correlate and publish the book.

Mr Baines says the most challenging aspect of the work has been collecting relevant records and photographs. He has been knocking on doors and searching out historic information from residents because Clive has not featured strongly in library references. Clive residents, Craig Macerlich and Jim Crook, along with other members of the Clive Historic Trust, have also contributed to the background work. “The donation has been a tremendous boost and motivator,” says Mr Baines, who hopes the first 500 copies of the book will be printed later this year.

Help continues for Aramoana in Central Hawke's Bay

Work is continuing to restore the Central Hawke's Bay coastline ravaged by floods and slips more than a year ago, with the latest help coming from the Eastern and Central Community Trust. Its $9,500 donation to the Aramoana Environmental and Education Trust is paying for work to reinstate the visitor access and facilities around the Ouepoto Reserve and the Te Angiangi Marine Reserve. The Community Trust is keen to help with the repair work to ensure the environmental and education programmes, for all age groups, continue. A huge amount of dirt, rubble and dislodged vegetation had to be cleared, including many fallen Kairakau trees which were among some of the last examples of Kairakau Forest along the East Coast. Substantial repairs have also been required on the Aramoana Woolshed, built in 1906 and with an Historic Places Trust category two classification. The historic woolshed, with an auditorium, is used as an educational and visitor base. “The place is now looking good, with access and reserve areas bulldozed and replanted,” says Aramoana Trust General Manager Rod Hansen. “There is still a lot of shrub replanting to be done and we are hoping to get schools involved in that. We are also hoping that seed stock lying dormant in the ground from the Kairakau trees eventually germinates,” he says.

The Environmental and Education Trust works in association with the Department of Conservation, the local Maori Ngati Kere rohe and other community groups. The University of Waikato and Victoria University of Wellington are both involved in research projects based on monitoring and managing the reserve.

Other Central Hawke's Bay community groups to receive Eastern and Central Community Trust donations this month are:

Takapau Memorial Park Sports Association, $2,500, to upgrade the flood lights, which are thought to be more than 30 years old. Other lighting around the facilities will also be upgraded.
Central Hawke's Bay Toy Library, $2,000, for shelving so that toys are not stored on the floor. The library has more than 160 families regularly borrowing toys and games.
Camp Wakarara, $1,500, for a purpose built cabin at its outdoor pursuits camp at the base of the Ruahine Ranges. The chalet is being built by Karamu High School year 13 students. It will have access for those with disabilities and for supervisors and campers with special needs requiring more privacy than the bunkrooms and tents used by other visiting community and school groups.
Norsewood War Memorial Community Centre, $1,500, to waterblast and paint the roof.