The Chronicle Q&A: Power Up The Park’s Eden Waitai

Eden Waitai is sticking around to help his community. Photo / Bevan Conley

Eden Waitai is a budding entrepreneur, a member of Progress Castlecliff and one of the driving forces behind the Power Up The Park initiative at Castlecliff Domain.

Outside of Power Up The Park, what other projects have you got on the go?

I’m currently working on some clothing designs and a label called Locals. I’ve had the idea my whole life, but I always doubted myself. Now, I’m going to make sure it happens. There is also a food business I would love to get up and running. My cousins are passionate cooks and chefs, so I was thinking I could get the ingredients and they could promote it. It would be cheaper stuff - steak burgers, stews, cakes and banoffee pies. It would start small, and we can see how it goes. Outside of that, I’m trying to mentor troubled youth.

Do you think there is enough for youth to do in this city?

Things could improve a lot on that side of things. Youth start going astray when they don’t feel included. We’ve got the parks, but people grow out of that, eh? The best thing we could do, and something I’m going to work towards, is to somehow open up a space for them to come and chill out. They can play me at pool and have some biscuits and a cup of tea.

What is happening next with Power Up The Park?

A design competition has been put on for the basketball court (art painted on the court). Schools are involved - Aranui, Castlecliff, all the primaries. We’re giving them templates, and the kids are really interested in it. It’s got them going.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I’ll still be active in the community and, hopefully, I’ll be on my way to being an entrepreneur. The money side of things doesn’t really faze me. I feel it’s the changes you can make from the position you’ve been put in. I have had ideas of leaving [Whanganui], but I thought, ‘Nah, I’ll stick around and try to change my community’.

You can choose any musicians to put on a concert at the domain. Who would they be?

I grew up on the Wailers and The Beatles, so I would have them. I like their work. They’re legends, and we want legends there. And a Kiwi artist? That would probably be David Dallas.

What’s the best thing about living in a suburb like Castlecliff?

Staying in contact with like-minded people who grew up with the same lifestyle and faced the same problems.

What do you think are the major challenges facing youth at the moment?

I think it’s the same sort of things that have always been there - the upbringing, peer pressure, how it normally goes. Sometimes, trying to be a good person can be frowned upon by youth. We need to push that and change it. If someone can save you five years of going up and down and up and down, things will be better.

Do people still skateboard at the park, or has it been taken over by scooters?

I was actually one of the first people to skate that park. Scooters weren’t really around back in my day and no one really knew about them. A lot of people still skateboard there, though. Skateboarding is a little bit more difficult, though, so people go straight for the scooter. It’s kind of the new thing.

Who is one person you look up to?

I don’t think there’s any one person I look up to. Basically, anyone who is trying to change the community in a positive way, I would look up to them and their ideas.

What is one thing you would change about the city?

One thing I would change is the mindset - how some people live and think. They focus on negative things, and that derails them from getting them where they need to go. Around here, you’re not cool if you’re doing positive stuff, but I think that can change.

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.