Editorial: Domain a great buy for region

Day trips to the beach at Waimarama are a rite of passage for anyone wanting to boast they have experienced a true Hawke's Bay summer.

Waimarama is one of the touchstones of the region and this was never more evident than in the response of a volunteer Magpie Army from around Hawke's Bay who descended on the coastal village to help clean the place up after the devastating storm event this year.

Waimarama is a place we go to play, to swim, to fish, to picnic and to dine at Jarks. It has sun, a warm, relaxed atmosphere and it has culture - Waimarama Maori Tours at Hakikino showcases a fascinating 15th century Maori heritage and archaeological site.

It also has Miss Waimarama, one of the most entertaining events of the Hawke's Bay summer. Now that the nation has, for the most part, got over its po-faced political correctness of recent decades, we are again allowed to have a bit of fun at beach beauty carnivals and other once frowned-upon high jinks.

And where would the Miss Waimarama carnival be without Waimarama Domain? It would be a party without a venue.

In fact, were would Waimarama be without the domain? It would be a village without a heart. For just as villages in Europe have their town squares as focal points, seaside Waimarama has its welcoming swathe of green space leading to the surf club and the sea.

So it is welcome news that after years of negotiation, the Hastings District Council has finally reached agreement to buy the 5.9ha domain from owners the Society of Mary.

Because the fact is that while Waimarama Domain may look and feel like a cherished public space, it is actually private land, once used as a holiday site for Marist priests.

The $1.17 million price tag will be split between three parties with the district council paying $500,000, Hawke's Bay Regional Council $300,000 and residents $370,000.

Mayor Lawrence Yule points out that in the three years it has taken to hammer out a deal on the price, the market moved substantially in favour of the buyers.

To put the purchase price into some perspective, consider that the annual cost of leasing the land had risen to $63,200.

At $1.17 million, Waimarama Domain is a great buy for the region. Besides, you can't put a price on memories.