Gisborne’s new $46 million Kiwa Pools was officially opened under overcast skies yesterday morning at a special event featuring hundreds of students from local schools.
While the doors won’t officially open to the public until September 2, yesterday was an opportunity for mana whenua, council staff and contractors to share what the journey had looked like so far.
A pōwhiri welcomed a large crowd on to Ngāi Tāwhiri whenua, where hundreds of Tairāwhiti students performed haka and filled the air with waiata in a stirring ceremony.
Speaking as mana whenua to the land, Māori artist and researcher Tā Derek Lardelli told Local Democracy Reporting the project was something the whole community could be proud of.
“I think it’s great. I think you’ve seen Tūranganui-a-Kiwa people working as one, knowing that we live in this little bit of paradise and we’re looking to move forward from some pretty bad situations over a long period of time, with (Cyclone) Gabrielle and a whole set of other things including Covid,” Tā Derek said.
“We’ve managed to build something that we can be proud of; that shows the resilience of our community and our ability to work together for the benefit of our kids and for our future.”
The title Kiwa Pools has a strong connection to Tairāwhiti, bearing the name of the ancestor Kiwa, a navigator who came to Aotearoa on canoe.
Tūranganui-a-Kiwa (the wider Gisborne area) can be translated as “the great standing place of Kiwa”.
“We’ve allowed opportunity for everyone to be part of the Kiwa journey, really, and that’s the secret behind the Pools. It belongs to everybody,” Tā Derek said.
Pointing to the fact Kiwa Pools was built on Ngāi Tāwhiri land, he said it was important to ensure negotiations and conversations were clear and open about land ownership.
That included making sure iwi were listened to in their fight to return whenua which was taken, he said.
Addressing the crowd, Gisborne District Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann described the occasion as one of joy and excitement.
“It’s a truly momentous occasion that has been achieved through countless hours of hard work.
“It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get where we are.”
Ms Thatcher Swann also thanked Ngāi Tāwhiri, acknowledging it was their land which had been made available for the project.
“We acknowledge and respect the rich, deep cultural heritage and enduring connection that you have to this whenua.
“Thank you for sharing it with our community.”
Mayor Rehette Stoltz also thanked mana whenua, plus the Government for providing significant investment in the project — $40 million of a total $46 million.
“It has been a long and sometimes very tough journey, but we got there,” she said.
“To our community, we deserve a complex like this.”
Funding for the project was announced by then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during a July 2020 visit, with construction company Apollo Projects making the first pour of concrete in February 2022.
The pool was scheduled to open in March 2023, but that date was pushed back five months due to supply chain, Covid and cyclone-related disruptions.
