Community Centre Opened at Tauranga

Te Ao Hou, March 1968, Page 25

Community Centre Opened at Tauranga A new Communty Centre, ‘Tauranga Moana’, was opened by the Minister of Maori Affairs, Mr J. R. Hanan on Saturday, 21 October, 1967. Mr Hanan was welcomed by Mr Haare Piahana, and other speakers were Mr I. Tangitu, Mr D. Mitchell, Mayor of Tauranga, and Mr P. Reweti. M.P. for Eastern Maori. Canon Wi Huata conducted the dedication service. The new centre, which is available for use by all people in the district, Maori and Pakeha, was built to replace an old hostel which had been erected about 1886 to accommodate people from Motiti and Matakana Islands. Mr Hanan congratulated the people of the Bay of Plenty and Tauranga in particular on their progressive attitude and achievements, notably in the field of education, and said Mr Hanan entering the new community centre National Publicity Studios how thrilled he was to hear that Mr Cliff Matthews, father of eight children, two of whom are graduates of Otago University had passed his School Certificate. He said that the Tauranga people could take great pride in their promotion of pre-school centres, and in particular the people of Matakana Island who had achieved years of work in a few months. After the building was declared open everyone joined in a delicious buffet lunch prepared by the local ladies. The Akarana group provides the ‘relish’ after one of the speeches.