New Sign in place

By Frank Neill

The new Welcome to Wainuiomata sign being lowered to it home beside the Wainuiomata hill Road.

The new Welcome to Wainuiomata sign is in place and will be unveiled on Saturday at a ceremony starting at 11am.

The new sign has been placed on the grass area beside the Wainuiomata hill road by SGB

Construction.

It is currently covered, awaiting Saturday’s unveiling.

The Wainuiomata Marae will conduct the karakia at the official opening of the sign, says Anaru Ryall, the Co-ordinator of Love Wainuiomata, which has managed the Welcome Sign project.

The sign’s designer Tamariki Fergusson will be present at the unveiling as will Tiaki Dahm who carved the Pou that holds the sign.

The Mayor, local Hutt City Councillors, members of the Wainuiomata Community Board and local Members of Parliament have been invited to the event.

A new Welcome to Wainuiomata sign was first mooted more than eight years ago.

In 2015 Harcourts Wainuiomata launched a competition to find a design for the new sign and

Tamariki won the contest.

His design was selected by an online vote, which attracted more than 14,000 voters. Tamariki was one of four finalists chosen by the judging panel of Trevor Mallard, Linda Olsen and Ruth O’Grady.

The inspiration for his winning design, Tamariki said “comes from our community itself.

“A diverse range of cultures that live in a vibrant and growing place that is unique to anywhere else in the Wellington region.

“The two carved posts on the sides [Pou] are like spiritual guardians welcoming people to and protecting our community.

“These will be adorned with carvings/symbols from each of the five continents (all cultures)

represented in Wainuiomata as well.

“The three green curved lines represent the rivers/creeks that run through our valley,

“The hill shaped top represents the hills that surround us and the brushed steel plate represents the contemporary way forward.

“The three shades of green represent the colour with which our community is most identifiable with/for out on the sports/recreational fields.

“Although modern in look, having traditionally carved posts pays homage to our tangata whenua and early settlers to the valley.”

The time taken to bring the project near to completion has been caused by a number of issues.

An early delay arose when Love Wainuiomata had a major struggle to find the large scale Totara logs needed for the Pou, which have been carved by Tiaki.

The wood needed to be seasoned and wide enough to be carved and still hold the sign’s weight.

Love Wainuiomata finally sourced logs that could be used for the Pou in November 2018 and the Pou then needed to be carved.

Nearly five years later, following a number of other unforeseen delays, the sign is finally in place.