Around 40 people turned out on Tuesday to protest against the removal of the mosaic murals on Commerce St in Kaitāia, earmarked to be demolished as part of the new Kaitāia town square redevelopment.
Around 40 people turned out on Tuesday to protest against the removal of the mosaic murals on Commerce St in Kaitāia, earmarked to be demolished as part of the new Kaitāia town square redevelopment.
Around 40 people have gathered in downtown Kaitāia to protest against the demolition of a nearly 30-year-old community art project.
The Save the Mosaic Mural campaign, led by Kaitāia artist Jen Gay, is fighting to save the mosaic murals at the front of the old Pak’nSave site on Commerce St.
The murals are earmarked to be removed as part of stage one of the Kaitāia town square redevelopment.
Since launching her campaign, Gay said she’d received around 50 text messages and 40 signatures of support.
Jen Gay (centre) is calling on the community to get behind her campaign to stop plans to demolish a near 30-year-old community art project.
She is proposing to leave the mosaic mural walls and transform the existing garden into a tropical garden.
She said she would even pay to tidy it up herself.
“It just needs a bit of love. I’m happy to pay for that and to organise a working bee to replant the garden,” she said.
Protesters put up their 'Save the Mosaics' sign on top of one of the mosaic murals on Commerce St.
“I know demolishing these walls is going to cost more than keeping them, so it makes no sense to get rid of them.”
Kathleen Russell was a seven-year-old Pāmāpuria Primary School student when she created her tile for the mural.
She said she walked past the mural once a week and took pride in showing her son Layne her artwork.
“I’d be really gutted to see it go, and as an adult, it’s been really neat to know I did something that contributed to the town,” Russell said.
“It could even be a community project where the next generation tile the other side of the mural so they can be involved too.”
Layne with his mum Kathleen Russell sit beside the tile she created in 1997 as a seven-year-old.
Russell said if it wasn’t possible for the murals to be saved, she hoped the tiles could be used at a separate facility or handed back to the community.
Rena Robson said her son Tu Moses had also made a tile for the project while attending Pukepoto Primary School.
Robson fronted up to the protest on Tuesday, unhappy with the plans to remove the murals.
“I remember when this project was being done with our schools,” Robson said.
The other side of the mural could be tiled by the next generation of young people says Kathleen Russell.
”It was really cool because it involved our kids and it just gave something to the town, a sense of pride.”
The Kaitāia town square upgrade is part of the Te Hiku Open Spaces Revitalisation Project, funded by a $7 million grant from the Government’s Provincial Growth Fund for “shovel-ready” projects.
Far North Holdings Ltd (FNH) obtained the old Pak’NSave site last year and has been working with the project working group, the community and Far North District Council on ways to reinvigorate the space.
The town square plans were first announced in March 2021 and are set to be delivered in three stages, with $375,000 allocated to the first two stages.
The remaining cost is pending funding from central government, with the outcome expected later this year.
Stage one of the town square will include a new fence line, bollards on the entrance to Commerce St, a large patch of artificial grass and large pots with trees.
Stage two will consist of more seating, bins and a pergola, with stage three looking to include a performance stage area, a water feature and an extension of the seating out towards Commerce St.
According to Te Hiku working group lead Andrea Panther, the group had carried out extensive community consultation on the town square plans.
She said this was done face-to-face at the Te Ahu Centre, via media articles, community newsletters and through social media.
Kaitaia Business Association chairwoman Andrea Panther. Photo/File
Panther said the whole idea was to improve the town and make it better for the community.
“We are a community group trying to do what benefits the community as a whole, so if the majority of the community doesn’t want a town square, we will listen,” Panther said.
“We’re trying to create a nice space in the middle of town that is attractive, so you can’t have block walls in the middle of it.
“This wasn’t about getting rid of the mosaics, it was more about removing the massive barrier the walls presents.”
FNH project manager Jason Cauvain said based on public feedback, the consensus showed support for the town square and the removal of the mosaic walls.
Cauvain said he understood the murals were important to some members of the community and hoped the tiles could be relocated somewhere else to be celebrated.
“The vast majority of the Kaitāia community wanted the area surrounding the town square to compliment the design of the new town square, so those walls would effectively be in the way of future growth and progression of those plans,” Cauvain said.
FNDC's first Mayor, the late Millie Srhoj in Kaitāia, seated on one of the seats attached to the mosaic mural.
“Ultimately, this is about Kaitāia stepping forward with its town development growth plan, but [if there’s] any possibility of saving the murals and relocating the project, we will absolutely do our best.
“That will be a matter for the Te Hiku working group and those opposed to the mural coming down to find a solution to.”
Far North District Councillor for the Te Hiku ward, Felicity Foy, explained the age of the garden boxes under the murals was already causing issues with the walls.
She acknowledged while change could be uncomfortable, change would need to happen and a town square for Kaitāia was important.
She did, however, hope the mosaics could be celebrated in another way.
“This town square and the changes coming with the old Pak’nSave site are going to transform the whole of Kaitāia,” Foy said.
Far North District Councillor for the Te Hiku ward, Felicity Foy.
Photo / Supplied
“The mural walls currently block the flow between the physical space between the town square and the main street, which we don’t want.
“The mosaics also have structural issues because the trees have gotten larger over time, so that’s affecting the integrity of the garden boxes, which means the mosaics will eventually fail with time.”
Stage one of the Kaitāia town square redevelopment was meant to be completed in March but is now likely to be completed in August.
Anyone wanting to send their thoughts about the mural can contact Panther at andrea@hoskincivil.co.nz or comment on the Te Hiku Open Spaces Revitalisation Project Facebook page.
