New Entrance Goes From Hazardous to Fabulous

The entrance to The Kauri Museum, Matakohe at the corner of Matakohe East Road and Church Road, has gone from hazardous to fabulous thanks to upgrades by Kaipara District Council and the whole community is buzzing.

“The upgrade is just wonderful,” says Museum Curator Mrs Betty Nelley, “the intersection was a real danger spot before with terrible visibility, so the improvements are much appreciated. They have created a professional, safe entrance to our museum, allowing us to welcome tourists in the best way possible.”

The upgrade, which has significantly widened the end of Church Road, improving visibility and safety aspects is nearing completion and should be sealed by Tuesday 1 December 2009, just in time for the Museum’s peak visitor season. Museum staff have nothing but praise for the way the upgrade has gone, saying that the men and women working onsite, for contractors United Civil, have been clean, tidy, friendly, and totally professional, going out of their way to ensure that the construction has no negative side effects. “We are very particular about looking good to tourists with tour buses and visitors coming and going each day, and the team at United Civil have been amazing, keeping the site in great shape” says Mrs Nelley.

The intersection upgrade has preserved the old Matakohe race track fence which sits along side the road, and the crew has worked around Matakohe’s War Memorial, which has stood on the grassy triangle between Matakohe East Road and Church Road. This memorial was erected after the First World War.

Church Road not only hosts the museum, which attracts more than 85,000 visitors a year, but also the historic Coates Memorial Church, built in honor of Matakohe born Prime Minister Joseph Gordon Coates. The Gumdigger café sits across the road from the Museum, and Matakohe House Cafe and B&B is situated 100 metres down Church Road from the Museum with the Top 10 Holiday Park at the end of the road. Matakohe East Road itself leads into the township of Matakohe.

“The upgrade is giving the whole area a lift, and gives us at the museum a bright new face with which to greet our visitors,” says Mrs Nelley. The museum’s own Kauri tree, planted outside the entrance doors in 1965, has also been given a makeover. The Whangarei Native Forest and Bird Protection Society, donated the original sapling when the Museum was first opened. This year a donation from the same society has allowed the surrounding concrete to be lifted with a new garden around the Kauri to be built allowing much needed space for the tree’s roots.

“All the people involved in the projects, from Council to the United Civil Construction Crew to Shane Powell Contracting Limited have just been a pleasure to work with,” says Mrs Nelley. “We couldn’t be happier with how things have gone with the fabulous new entrance.”