Contract to progress Tairāwhiti Navigations Project is signed

The Tairāwhiti Navigations Project is making good progress after receiving a grant from New Zealand Trade & Enterprise in June this year. A contract was signed this week with APR Consultants Ltd and Te Puia - New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute - to come up with a sustainable business model for the project. The aim of the project is to deliver a quality visitor experience throughout Tairāwhiti.   

 

APR Consultants and Te Puia and will be developing a framework that takes into account the many themes linked to the Tairāwhiti Navigations Project so that local people and groups can tell their own stories in a coordinated way. This will include branding and communication strategies.

 

The themes include the voyaging and arrival of waka, overland trails and ara hikoi, Captain Cook’s voyage, landing sites, first meetings with Māori, the navigational methods used by the different cultures and  the importance of lighthouses and prominent navigational sites like Pilots Hill to ensure voyaging safety.

The framework or regional interpretation plan will enable Tairāwhiti’s stories to be shared in a way that guides, inspires and educates visitors through a living museum or natural and cultural heritage.   Creating a common identity will tie these stories together to make a memorable experience for visitors. The initial focus of the project is on Gisborne’s inner harbour area, Titirangi (Kaiti) Hill, Tairāwhiti Museum and Wairoa’s Rangihoua Pā and Pilot Hill. The framework and processes developed would be rolled out to other sites as the project is expanded.

 

The development of a sustainable business concept model geared to the tourist market is key to pulling the whole project together. It will include branding that focuses on this district’s unique points of difference.

 The contract was signed by Lindsay McKenzie from Gisborne District Council – representing the Tairāwhiti Development Partnership Management Trust, Deryck Shaw of APR Consultants and Karl Johnstone of Te Puia, New Zealand Māori Arts and Craft Institute. The contracted work is scheduled to be completed at the end of November 2010. Representatives from APR and Te Puia will be meeting with stakeholders over the next few weeks.

 

Once this stage of the project is complete the business model, framework and branding will be used to present the concept to funding organisations.

 

Background: The Tairāwhiti Traditions Project brings together the rich voyaging, arrival and settlement history from the meeting of the two cultures (Māori and Pakeha) to the settlement of Māori, European and other peoples in this district. The project supports economic development through connecting businesses, developing recreational facilities and interpretation of the district’s rich history. The project includes the wider Tairāwhiti area from Wairoa through Gisborne to the East Coast.