The improvement works at the Ōpōtiki Cenotaph have been completed in time for ANZAC day services and have been given the thumbs up by Ōpōtiki RSA.
The upgrades to the Elliott Street / Potts Ave intersection (including the Cenotaph) are part of the Ōpōtiki Town Centre revitalisation project. The area has been closed to through traffic for most of February to upgrade the pavements and kerbs, resurfacing and landscaping as well as a spruce up for the Cenotaph itself.
Ōpōtiki District Council’s Planning and Regulatory Group Manager, Gerard McCormack said that the area was looking tidy for ANZAC day and more improvements were scheduled for the coming planting season.
“We’re really pleased with how the area now looks – it provides an attractive and useable link between the town centre and the popular community spaces we’ve invested in down at Whitikau Reserve.
“Sitting behind this is the acknowledgment that thriving town centres are essential for the wellbeing of communities. We don’t want to lose the vitality, busyness and the unique history of our CBD which is why we have been working on this town centre revitalisation project. Having great tenants like Te Wananga o Aotearoa and plenty of cafes and specialty shops make people want to come and spend time here – particularly now with this link to the reserve spaces. Really well done to the parks and reserves team and our contractors who have done a great job in time for ANZAC day,” Mr McCormack said.
More improvements will be underway (without the traffic disruption) during the winter planting months, particularly upgrading the gardens and surrounding areas.
District Support Advisor, Gavin Nicol said that it he had been working closely with council to make sure the works were complete in time for ANZAC commemorations and the area was looking better than it had for some time.
“It’s a really significant part of our town and its important that it looks its best, particularly at this time of year. I’m rapt to finally get that work done and have the money spent on the area to get it looking its best.
“Ōpōtiki has a long history of service and it is important to our veterans and their whānau to see their sacrifices marked respectfully and with pride.
“Some time ago I noted that our Cenotaph doesn’t have any te reo Māori on it anywhere and the new plaques are a chance to set that right – we have a local translation of the hymn ‘Mansions of the Lord’ now added. They look a little different to the existing plaques but that is intentional because it is important to note that times change and our monuments change with them,” Mr Nicol said.
The RSA and Ōpōtiki District Council encourage the community this Anzac day to remember and acknowledge our servicepeople, their families and the sacrifices that have been made for us to live our lives in peace.
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Notes: This upgrade work was externally funded by the Provincial Growth Fund and was the final project to go ahead on the Town Centre Revitalisation project unless external funding is found.