For 25 years, young people in Ōtara have had something no other community in Aotearoa New Zealand has: Tupu Youth Library, the only library of its kind in the country.
It began with a simple idea — that young people in Ōtara needed a space of their own. The vision was to take the traditional idea of a library and make it work for Ōtara’s diverse, predominantly Māori and Pacific community.
That meant building relationships with local schools, churches and youth groups, and creating a place where they could study, connect, try new things and help shape what happens there.
Present at the celebration was Manukau Ward councillor Lotu Fuli, who reflected on Tupu Youth Library’s 25-year legacy and its continued role in supporting rangatahi.
Fuli says: “I am very proud of the groundbreaking kaupapa of the Tupu Youth Library in our Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board area.
“After 25 years, Tupu remains the only Youth Library in our city and in NZ. That shows the great foresight of the previous Manukau City Council, late Mayor Sir Barry Curtis and dedicated council officers such as Rosetta Fuimaono assisting the inaugural manager at Tupu. Over these 25 years, Tupu has continued to innovate and respond to the diverse needs of our youth and community.
“I commend the past and present staff and contributors to the amazing mahi at Tupu — and I look forward to seeing it continue to grow, innovate and develop into the future, living up to its name ‘Tupu’.”
Today, Tupu offers books, digital resources, computers, free Wi-Fi, printing and librarian support alongside music, spoken-word and creative programmes, author talks, after-school activities and workshops.
It also provides practical opportunities to build skills and confidence, including work-experience opportunities for local college students that support workplace and social skills, literacy and learning.
For Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board chair Apulu Reece Autagavaia, Tupu’s name captures what the library has meant to generations of local young people.
Autagavaia says, “The name Tupu means to grow in many Polynesian languages. So, for 25 years whole generations of our young people have grown up with the library, grown in a place of literacy, grown in a place to strengthen friendships, grown in a building that provided shelter.
“I want to thank the elected members of the former Manukau City Council, including the late Mayor Sir Barry Curtis, council staff, such as the first library manager, Rosetta Fuimaono, for their vision in establishing this important facility in Ōtara. The Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board is proud to continue the work started 25 years ago, supporting and funding this important institution for our rangatahi (youth) vof today, and those to come in the next 25 years and beyond.”
That commitment continues today, with the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board and Auckland Council investing in Tupu’s services, facilities, programmes and resources to keep the library open and accessible to the community.
The Local Board has also supported initiatives that connect Tupu to wider community priorities. Through the Green Thumb Crew (part of the board’s Eco-Neighbourhoods initiative), tamariki (children) can plant, compost and harvest kai (food) while learning about sustainability in a hands-on way.
That’s what makes Tupu’s 25-year story so special: it was created for young people, shaped by them and remains a space they can call their own.
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