Beach Haven’s Uruamo Maranga Ake Marae project has taken another important step forward after receiving $142,000 in funding from Auckland Council’s Community Development and Safety Committee.
The funding from the council’s Māori Cultural Initiatives Fund will enable Uruamo Maranga Ake Charitable Trust to move from concept and into design for its new marae.
North Shore Councillor Richard Hills says the outcome deserves celebration.
"This funding will help progress the first stage of the build for a new marae in Beach Haven."
"The project has been a long time in the making and been long advocated for by both Māori and non-Māori members of the community," he says.
Kaipātiki Local Board provided funding for a Feasibility Study in June 2016, which assessed the location and the preliminary design of the proposed marae.
"I recall as a member of the local board at the time it was an extremely exciting proposal where we saw the largest turnout of community I had ever seen at a public meeting," says Hills.
The study concluded that there was strong support for marae facilities to be built in Beach Haven on an underutilised portion of Shepherds Park Reserve, and the local board approved the proposal for the next stage of development.
The proposed marae facilities will be accessible from the end of Cresta Avenue, next to the Beach Haven Bowling Club.
Kaipātiki Local Board Chair John Gillon says the project serves as an example of what can be achieved when the community come to the board with a great idea.
"Māori in Beach Haven have longed for a space like this for years now – somewhere they can come together and celebrate their identity, language and customs – especially tangihanga, or funerals," says Gillon.
"These facilities, when finished, will offer our whole community the opportunity to experience and learn more about Māori culture and customs."
The estimated cost for the entire new proposed complex is around $7 million.
The Auckland Council Māori Cultural Initiatives Fund has funded 28 separate applications from 10 marae groups in the past three years, totaling $3.255 million.
