A bird's eye view shows Toitoi as a series of rectangles. At its heart is the Hawke's Bay Opera House – our "grand old dame" – built in 1915 and the site of every kind of cultural event from opera itself to big-time wrestling. To the left and right of the Opera House there are buildings that will help realise the full potential of Toitoi.
On the left, the Plaza has been closed in and is now a 500 seat multi-use space that can accommodate a huge range of events for our community or corporate customers. On the right, the Municipal Building has a collection of rooms in a range of sizes and while the details of tenancies are still being finalised once it's open it'll include hospitality, commercial, spaces for hire by community groups and potentially education providers.
All-in-all the precinct is made up of six buildings all of which have their own history, legacy, features and future uses. Each has its own identity but never has there been a name for the precinct as a whole.
To make full use of the individual parts we need to start thinking about how those parts can work together to provide opportunities and experiences for our community to be part of Toitoi regularly. Not once a year for the ballet but every week for a range of reasons from classes to concerts to coffee with friends.
As this need to bring all the parts together became clear the project team began thinking about what we would call the precinct. Putting labels on boxes is important, especially when we are selling spaces to tenants and to clients, many of whom are coming from across Australasia.
But we felt the precinct had more character than just being a series of boxes. It deserved a name, something that works as a brand in look and sound but also something that reflects our culture and history, that resonates with young people, our future users, and gives an identity to the whole block.
We knew we needed a name with two parts: an English element that gave that label and made clear the central focus of the precinct and a Māori name that brought in heritage value and storytelling.
We brought together a group of people who had a range of experiences in branding, the creative sector, large-scale arts venues, performing arts nationally and internationally, and local knowledge of our particular culture and history. We looked at our wishes for the centre, what we wanted people to experience while they were there and came up with areas potential names might reflect: Light, Play, Openness, Dance and Song.
From there we began to talk about ideas and then specific words that reflected those aspirations.
Suggested names were circulated to a wide variety of community members from the performing arts world, education sphere, mana whenua, venues and events industry professionals in Hawke's Bay and across New Zealand. Toitoi was the standout favourite across the breadth of those we spoke with and was unanimously adopted by council in July.
Although it speaks of achieving excellence, when Toitoi was first suggested it was for its connection to Paraire Tomoana's Pōkarekare Ana and had come from a conversation on the importance of our legacy waiata. When Pōkarekare Ana was first translated into English by Elsdon Best in 1923 he wrote at the top of the score that it was a "toitoi" or a love ditty. This precious document was found in a piano stool in Australia in 2007 and is now held in the National Library of New Zealand.
Personally, I come from a home where my mother's first language was Māori and she had her hands slapped at school for speaking it.
I feel proud, but also relieved, that future generations will see more of themselves in our civic buildings. Across New Zealand, large-scale, community builds are receiving names taken from te ao Māori and I feel that's appropriate and timely. We all have a responsibility to reflect the culture of our community. In Hastings we are catching up with something that's been seen more and more over the last decade.
Toitoi is a fun name, it's playful, it looks strong in graphic design and is a joy to say out loud. It has a number of meanings that link to the performing arts and to the important part they play in helping people achieve their full potential. But there's a serious message here too, culture isn't an add on, it's essential, it belongs in the heart of our community, and our city.
I am proud of what is happened in Hastings City,
I'm proud of Toitoi and what it will become for us, I believe it'll put Hastings on the map because it'll cement our place as a leading provincial centre for arts and culture. We have the legacy here, we have the talent, and soon we will have a home for the arts too.
* Alison Banks is group manager community programmes and facilities, Hastings District Council
