Complex mission ends ahead of target

The opening of the two-storeyed pavilion at the Trust House Wairarapa hockey complex at Clareville on Saturday is very much a case of mission accomplished.
Intentions always were to have the new building ready for the national under-15 boys tournament to be hosted by Hockey Wairarapa from July 12-17. To obtain that target with weeks to spare represents a huge effort on the part of the 180 people who have contributed towards the project, most of them as volunteers.
Hockey Wairarapa president Lindsay Annear admits to being ''absolutely overwhelmed'' at the support given his organisation by the hockey fraternity, as well as various organisations and business houses.
He said the pavilion had been a work in progress for the past 18 months and to have it completed less than 12 months after the opening of the water turf at Clareville was a huge achievement by everyone concerned.
''This pavilion will be a fantastic asset for Wairarapa hockey, it is really special,'' Annear said. ''It means the facilities at Clareville are now right up to the very top standards. We have something the whole district can be proud of.''
Annear said it was in January 2009 when the Hockey Wairarapa committee signed off to a sub-committee to oversee the planning, fundraising and construction of the pavilion as funds allowed.
Approaches were made to numerous people to seek their involvement and the $450,000 project was met with such enthusiasm it quickly snowballed to the stage where plans were finalised, a quantity survey was obtained and tenders and quotes sought within the first month. A grant of $172,00 from the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board was a huge assistance financially, as were other grants from the Pelorus Trust ($50,000), Prime Community Trust ($20,000), Eastern and Central Community Trust ($20,000) and the Trust House Charitable Trust ($11,000).
Then there were the donations of money or materials from many individuals and business houses, which allowed the pavilion to be completed not only in good time, but more or less within budget. For instance, JNL donated all the framing timber and much more, while most of the labour was provided free of charge by the hockey fraternity. Stage one of the building process _ managed by Andy Holmes of Holmes Construction _ started early last May. It involved laying the foundations and the ground floor blockwork and was completed by mid-October. Stage two was construction of the top floor and the enclosing of the pavilion, with a well-attended community working bee in early March ensuring it was finished over a three-day period. Stage three involved the linings and fit-out and, here too, a community working bee did the business, this time over two days in early April.
In addition to the two major working bees, eight other ''mini working bees'' were undertaken between December last year and last weekend, when the final clean-up occurred.
The pavilion includes four changing rooms, 16 showers, an umpire's room and sick bay, upstairs lounge complete with commercial kitchen amenities and bar, an office, two storage rooms and balconies which enable matches played on either of the two turfs at Clareville to be viewed. The opening ceremony will be at 1.15pm on Saturday and will be attended by various hockey dignitaries plus representatives of major funders and local authorities.