Former Papakura Mayor John Robertson (2004-2007) returned to the area recently, leading a delegation of Waitomo councillors and the district’s chief librarian to check out facilities in the town.
Papakura Local Board chair Brent Catchpole says it was a case of back to the future when the group visited Sir Edmund Hillary Library, because Robertson played a role in redeveloping the floor now occupied by the library and museum.
Until the then Papakura District Council sold its stake in the building and used the proceeds to redevelop and bring the facilities together, the museum was on an upper level.
“He told us it was quite satisfying to see what had been achieved and congratulated us and library staff for leading such a dynamic facility,” Catchpole says.
“The library is about so much more than books, and the role it plays in our community because of that is invaluable.”
Robertson and his colleagues also toured Papakura Museum, Papakura Marae – where staff work with the board in a several areas, Central Park and Te Paataka Korero o Takaanini.
“Our council is very small and that means it doesn’t have a wide rating base. Looking at ways that might allow us to create facilities for our community, particularly ones that can be used in multiple ways, makes sense.
“What has been achieved in Papakura is a model we can draw on.
“It shows you don’t have to be thinking you need to build a museum, a library, meeting rooms and everything else. Instead, you can create something that might meet many of the community’s needs in a more affordable way.”
Like the Papakura Local Board, Waitomo Council is committed to working to promote the social, cultural, environmental and economic wellbeing of its community.
“We say ‘te hanga tahi o tātou Takiwa - shaping our district together,” says Robertson – who also served as Papakura MP from 1990 to 1996. “Members are working hard to enable a thriving economy to create greater benefits everyone can enjoy.”
Papakura Museum staff gifted Robertson a 1993 photo showing the then MP with Papakura Mayor David Hawkins, promotions officer Christine Laurenson, and franchisee Martha Hill, on the site where the town’s original McDonald’s was to be built.
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