Taupō social services hub Waiora House holds open day

Waiora House, Taupō's community services hub, opened its new building in 2023.

Taupō's new social services hub will throw open its doors to the public in an attempt to remove some of the “mystery” around its role.

Waiora House manager Simone Gibson said the community was curious about the new building, but didn’t necessarily know what services it could offer.

In addition to the new, $7.7 million purpose-built building, which was opened last year, two older buildings housed a large range of socially-focused organisations including Manaaki Ora, Age Concern, Bluelight and Taupō Council of Social Services.

Two community service providers, Progress to Health and Healthcare New Zealand, were both permanent occupants of the new building, with other organisations coming and going.

That included businesses and charities hosting meetings there, and social service providers and therapists meeting with clients.

The space is flexible, with moving partition walls and smaller office spaces, making it suitable for a variety of uses, Gibson said.

Waiora House manager Simone Gibson hoped people would come to the open day to see the new building and what it has to offer.

“Waiora has always been a community hub ... It’s a place for socially-focused organisations to work from.”

“It’s a really good space for people to come and meet and feel like they belong.”

However, members of the public may have not yet had the chance to set foot in the new building, Gibson said.

“What we’ve particularly found with Waiora is that it seems to be shrouded in some mystery; people don’t know what we do.

“We want people to come in and see that this can be the one-stop shop for their needs.

“The open day is about bringing [the community] in to get a sense of what it’s about.”

The open day, from 11am to 1pm on February 8, will include all three buildings for anyone to drop in.

The Waiora House building features artwork by master carver Delani Brown.

It will also offer a first glimpse at the new water feature in front of the reception area, which has been created by local master carver Delani Brown.

The open day marks the latest chapter of the historic site, which has a long track record of serving the community.

The original building officially opened in 1944 as Taupō Maternity Hospital, although the first birth on-site occurred in 1943, when a laundry worker went into labour there.

In 1989, it transitioned to a social services hub, before being closed and demolished in 2019 due to the presence of asbestos.

The new building was opened in 2023, featuring exterior carvings and internal artwork by Brown, as well as the new water feature.

With such a history, it’s not surprising that people are curious about the new development.

“We get a lot of people drop in because they were born at Waiora.”

The modern building looked drastically different from the 1940s maternity hospital, but the reception has been positive, she said.

“It’s had really good feedback.”

Gibson said she hoped the open day would be the first of many, allowing the public to see what was on offer at Waiora House.

The Details

What: Waiora House open day

Where: 129 Spa Rd, Taupō

When: 11am-1pm, Thursday, February 8

Who: All welcome to drop in

Milly Fullick is a journalist based in Taupō. She joined the Taupō and Tūrangi Herald team in 2022.

Stay up to date with the Waikato Herald

Get the latest Waikato headlines straight to your inbox Monday to Saturday. Register for free today - click here and choose Local News.