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• Wesley Rātā Village – rehoming Naenae Pool salvage items

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  Wesley Rātā Village is already putting some of the items saved from Naenae Pool to good use within the recently opened Kererū House. This new shared space for community organisations including Mamaku Midwives, Trade School Industries, the Community Gardening Group, and local artists is an exciting place for groups and those with shared interests to gather, share ideas and learn new skills.

  Emily Innes, Community Innovation worker at Wesley Community Action said it is great the Council has gone to the trouble of finding new homes for the items from the old Naenae Pool before demolition started.

  “It has been wonderful to have been given so many items we would normally have had to go out and buy,” says Emily.

  “It means so much to us to be able to share these with our local community. The local connection to Naenae Pool, the fact they have been pre-loved, adds meaning to having them live on as part of the activities we deliver to local residents.”

  “We’ve already used things like the trestle tables, chairs and signs which were really helpful with our open day as part of the Kererū House community opening. We are really looking forward to being able to use the items in a variety of ways, like running movie nights, play groups and so much more.”

  Mayor Campbell Barry says this gives meaning to putting the community at the heart of the project. “With the Naenae pool rebuild we said we were going to do things differently. Keeping the community at the centre of this project has led to cool initiatives such as this one, where instead of letting pre-loved items go to waste, we’re able to find new uses for them in our community”, says Mayor Barry.

  Andrea Blackshaw, Director of Neighbourhoods and Communities says, “As we work toward building the new facility, we are focused on sustainability and conscious of reusing and recycling as much as possible. Our aim is to keep as much as 80% of the materials away from landfill. Seeing some of the items from the old pool go on to be reused and rehomed within the Naenae Community is a great outcome.”

  “We’re really happy to know some of those items will go on to have a new life within our community and want to thank Emily and the team at Wesley Rātā Village for enabling these items to continue to serve local residents.”

  Background on Wesley Rātā Village

  Wesley Rātā Village (formerly Wesleyhaven Village) was opened almost 70 years ago as a retirement village on 150 acres, donated to Methodist organisation, Wesley Church Trust (now Wesley Community Action) in 1949, by former mayor, Mr W.T. Strand.

  An innovative approach when first built in 1953 – it was one of the first retirement villages in New Zealand with a hospital, rest home and villas. In 2017 the Strand rest home and hospital wing were closed. Three years later 25 new homes, including a small number of family four-bedroom homes, were completed, adding to the 30 villas already onsite. This social housing is now full and offers homes for more than 80 people of all ages. Other buildings such as a small hall and the newly reopened Kereru House are available for community use.

  Interested locals and community groups can contact Emily einnes@wesleyca.org.nz