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‘Heart of community’ set to open

Liz McDonald

It has been years in the making, but Rolleston’s new cultural facility Te Ara A¯ tea is about to open.

Te Ara A¯ tea combines a library, community spaces, a museum, a gallery, and a sensory garden, built at a cost of $22.2 million.

It will open tomorrow, 12 years after a cultural centre was proposed, and seven years after it was written into the district plan as part of a proposed new town centre.

The new facility on Tennyson St has a floor space of 2000 square metres. It will be eventually be joined by a new shopping and hospitality centre to be built alongside.

Selwyn deputy mayor Malcolm Lyall said that since the district council had decided to build the facility, the concept had evolved in line with international trends.

‘‘This is a modern learning environment – it’s not a ‘shush’ library.’’

Lyall said the spread-out nature of the fast-growing district made it important to have central facilities.

‘‘We are 23 communities in Selwyn, we have a huge geographical area and a lot of little townships. This is the new manawa, the heart of the community.’’

The two-storey building uses technology to display treasures on loan from Canterbury Museum and private owners, and has a large video wall showing footage taken around the region.

One taonga exhibited is a pounamu pendant, unearthed near Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere and believed to have been carved between 1500 and 1800.

Outside, a sensory space is designed to engage the senses with plants and children’s artworks, fruit trees and vegetable patches, outdoor musical instruments, seating and water features.

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2021-12-01T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-01T08:00:00.0000000Z

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