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It has taken almost 30 years, but they’re finally getting it right.
That’s how Kapiti Island Nature Tours head John Barrett sees the proposed Kāpiti Gateway Building at Paraparaumu Beach.
Kapiti Coast District Council is asking the Provincial Growth Fund to help with the $4.5 million project, which includes an Athfield Architects-designed building with a large covered deck looking out at the island.
Mr Barrett says he has been trying for decades and the project has been gestating to make sure it acknowledges the area’s Māori connections.
The Tikotu stream site was the location of Te Urihi Pā, which was occupied by Muaupoko before the arrival of Ngāti Toa in the early 19th century.
"It was considered te tomokanga really because it was where our people landed first to exercise their mana over the Kāpiti district so it is a significant place for Ngāti Toa and Te Atiawa and Raukawa in that overall context," Mr Barrett says.
He says it will be a place to tell the stories of the various iwi of the lower North Island, not just Kapiti, as well as funnel visitors to the island and other spots in the region.
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