Whangārei Heads left with colourful hand prints from Parua Bay school children

Parua Bay School students celebrate after leaving their colourful handprints on the bus shelter in the Tamaterau lay-by this week. Photos / Supplied

Sometimes if you want to see a change for the better, you have to take things into your own hands.

And that's what 20 students from Parua Bay School, together with art teacher Janette Steel and parent supporters, gathered at Tamaterau Domain on Thursday to add their individual painted handprints to the seaward wall of the all-too-familiar concrete block bus shelter in Tamaterau's lay-by area.

Now undergoing a facelift by Māori artist Isaiah Rameka and supported by creative lead Te Kaurinui Parata, the bus shelter's visual upgrade is a "final flourish" time marker signifying the completion of a near three-month-long Tamaterau Lay-by Upgrade Project undertaken by Whangārei District Council.

Another Parua Bay School student leaves her handprints on the bus shelter at the Tamaterau Domain, at Whangārei Heads.

The artwork was supervised by council project engineer Vanessa Martinovich and keenly watched over by members of the collective iwi/hapū working group He Manu Kōtuku o Tamaterau.

Local He Manu Kōtuku o Tamaterau working group project lead June Pitman said the idea behind involving Parua Bay School students in this project was in part to instil in our young people a deeper sense of awareness and connection, culturally and historically, to the community in which they live, and a visual sense of community pride for the children and their families.

"Their colourful handprints will be viewed from the sea as gestures of welcome and farewell (forevermore until the paint fades) to all who navigate up and down Te Terenga Paraoa, Whangārei Harbour. A modern-day continuum surrounding all the arrivals and departures by sea, as in bygone days.

Parua Bay School students leave their handprints on a bus shelter visual upgrade at Tamaterau.

"It would be wonderful if Parua Bay School embraced the idea of 'student-painted hands' becoming an ongoing annual school event. There's lots of room on the wall for this to happen."

As Parua Bay School prepares to celebrate 150 years, Tamaterau will be intrinsically linked to festivities as having been the location of Parua Bay No. 2 school.

Once situated at the top of the hill opposite the turn-off to Scott Rd, some of the school's original students are still living in the area. Wouldn't it be amazing if, in another 50 years, some of the students who placed their handprints on the wall today returned to watch mokopuna (grandchildren) add their own.

It was all hands to the wall as Parua Bay students helped with the visual upgrade of a bus shelter at the Tamaterau Domain.