The results are in and it’s official - Taupō is New Zealand’s most beautiful town.
The town took the Beautiful Awards Supreme Towns and Cities Award, marking it as the judges’ top pick of all this year’s finalists.
The winners were announced at the Keep New Zealand Beautiful Awards, which took place at Parliament House in Wellington on Thursday, November 9.
There was a second nod for Taupō in the form of the Kiwis’ Choice Award, won by the Te Ātea lakefront space.
Tūrangi was a finalist in the Most Beautiful Small Town Award but lost this time to Arrowtown.
Although Taupō missed out on the Most Beautiful Large Town category, it was still granted the Supreme title.
Judges praised the town’s environmental efforts, with Keep New Zealand Beautiful chief executive Heather Saunderson saying this made Taupō the standout winner.
“Out of all the towns and cities I visited, Taupō ranked amongst the highest for the many climate-conscious initiatives it undertakes, excelling across every other criteria, making it the clear winner of the Supreme Award.”
“This is always a very hard award to judge, and this year was no exception.
“The Towns & Cities Award submissions were of an extremely high standard, and after visiting each of them I was given great insight into the amazing environmental initiatives that have taken place over the last 12 months.”
One of the highlighted initiatives in Taupō was the Kai Rescue Programme, which takes excess food from local cafes and supermarkets to community members in need.
Judges also praised the regular community litter collections, the Downstream Defenders program which aims to reduce waste entering the lake and sustainable transport schemes including e-bikes and hybrid cars for Taupō District Council workers.
The Supreme Towns and Cities Award is sponsored by Resene and will see a mural painted by a local artist up to the value of $10,000.
The winner of the Kiwis’ Choice Award, Te Ātea is the centrepiece of the recently redeveloped lakefront area.
Keep New Zealand Beautiful said the award “celebrates Kiwis’ favourite public spot in New Zealand, whether that be a beach, a park, a lookout, a waterfall, a lake or a walking track.
“If it is a spot that is open to the public then it is eligible to be nominated to win this award.”
Meaning ‘space’ in te reo Māori, Te Ātea is a pedestrian-friendly gathering area.
At its heart is a carving named Pou Aio-nuku Aio-rangi made from a 2000-year-old totara, created by local artist Kingi Pitiroi and master carver Delani Brown.
The pou features significant ancestors of the area and is surrounded by 13 steel columns representing the streams and rivers that feed into Lake Taupō.
Winners: Most Beautiful Tiny Town (urban area 999 residents or less), Awanui; Most Beautiful Small Town (small urban area with 1000 to 9999 residents), Arrowtown; Most Beautiful Large Town (medium urban area 10,000-29,999 residents), Whakatāne; Most beautiful small city (30,000-99,999 residents), New Plymouth; Most Beautiful Large City (100,000 or more residents), Tauranga; and the Supreme Award, Taupo.
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