Te Puke Toy Library treasurer-secretary Ann Treadgold, artist Sarah Coates and Lisa Stowell from Te Puke Intermediate School with two of the cows and the stockman that will grace Te Puke’s stock route.
Te Puke Toy Library treasurer-secretary Ann Treadgold, artist Sarah Coates and Lisa Stowell from Te Puke Intermediate School with two of the cows and the stockman that will grace Te Puke’s stock route.
Cattle are to once again be a feature of Te Puke’s stock route.
Nine colourful beasts, plus a stockman astride his horse, are set to add to the section of the Te Ara Kahikatea Pathway between Jocelyn St and King St which was part of the old stock route through the town.
The project has been some time in the making, with delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic and an increase in the cost of plywood obstacles that had to be overcome.
The artwork, created by a number of local artists and youth groups, were unveiled at a ceremony last week.
Grant Dally of the Te Ara Kahikatea Pathway Society has been the driving force behind the project after it was first suggested by group member Caroline Boyle in 2018.
Caroline’s idea was for the installation of painted outlines of cows being herded along the route.
Initially, it had been hoped that 15 cows could be created, but an increase in the cost of materials saw that pared back to nine, plus the stockman.
Funding from Creative Bay of Plenty’s Creative Communities fund was successfully applied for, with Grant saying in the application the project would meet the criteria of the scheme.
Artists and groups were invited to create artwork on the plywood silhouettes.
Among those who have contributed are students from Te Puke Intermediate School’s Enrich Learning Centre, Project K students from the Graeme Dingle Foundation, students on Poutiri’s youth engagement programme Tātai Arorangi, children and parents from Te Puke Playcentre and Sasha Davison, who painted the Te Puke Toy Library cow.
Project K students with the two cows they painted as part of their community challenge.
Sarah Coates painted the stockman with a Hereford bull walking on the banks of the Waiari Stream, with Makahae Marae visible in the distance.
She says the stockman was based on and inspired by her grandfather George Cliff, who was a Hereford breeder.
She says the painting is a reminder of the origins of the stock route and the important part it played in the history of Te Puke.
The playcentre and toy library cows will be on the fences outside their respective buildings on Stock Rd.
Sasha says she wanted to represent what the toy library does for the community as well as the beautiful area in a reimagined way.
The left side of the cow is a landscape painting loosely inspired by the Pāpāmoa Hills with bright green hills and a waterfall.
The right side of the cow is a rainbow background with kids’ toys.
Children from Te Puke Playcentre contributed to their cow painting, supervised by Jessica Hawkey and Bronnie Gibbons, which has a theme of “learn, laugh, play”.
Areas were sectioned off and the children were invited to fill areas as they chose. Some chose to use one colour and a brush, while others chose multiple colours and some used their hands.
The stock route where some of the cows are to be placed.
Tātai Arorangi rangatahi painted two cows - one with the figure 573, which is seen as important in the place the rangatahi have grown up in as the area code for telephone numbers. They chose purple to represent the darkness they felt often came with their individual experiences and upbringings, but also used green and white to create a neon-like glow to represent their pride in being the thing that lights up the darkness and keeps it at bay so that they can grow and do the things they want to do.
Te Puke Intermediate School’s cow was a collaborative effort by students at the Enrich Learning Centre.
Blue and green were chosen for the background to represent the grass and the sky, with doodling showcasing their artistic abilities being at the forefront of the design.
The Project K students completed their cows as an integral part of their community challenge programme. The cows represent all that the programmes strive for: arming rangatahi with a belief in their own ability to achieve goals and complete tasks, while helping them find purpose and direction.
Grant says he is very pleased with the artwork that has resulted from the project.
