New facilities become community hubs
Waimate’s investment in two modern community facilities is proving its value to the community.
The Waimate Event Centre opened in 2016, while the extended and refurbished Waimate District Library opened its doors in December 2024.
Both represented significant investment, and as with most major public projects, not everyone agreed about the spending or what Waimate needed.
Today, both are well-used and the council teams running them, led by Community and Strategy Group Manager Nicole Timney, are finding new and innovative ways to bring people through the doors.
We sat down with “Library Liz” Rose and one of the Event Centre Supervisors, Rob De Paulo to find out more.
Event Centre Supervisor Rob De Paulo in front of the facilities well-used climbing wall.
A place to be social
Liz and Rob were both living in Sydney, where their families were friends.
When Liz’s family moved to Waimate nearly three years ago, “we brought another family with us,” she says - Rob’s.
Now they are both part of the Council teams developing and delivering new initiatives that bring people through the doors and strengthen community connection.
The Community Social is one of these initiatives. It’s held at the Event Centre every Tuesday from 10am to 12pm.
For just $2, people can meet others, chat over a cuppa, play cards or board games, or get moving. Table tennis, pickleball and badminton are set up on the courts, while the function room has tea, coffee, biscuits, games, books and magazines.
There’s also a mobility and movement circuit session that runs at the same time.
The Community Social began in March with six people attending. At the latest session there were 29. While many of those attending are retired, it is open to everyone. During the school holidays, grandparents have even brought their grandchildren along.
“We’d want to do it every morning because it’s so popular, but there are other users in the centre as well,” Rob says.
Those users include Waimate High School students, activity providers and sports clubs.
The popular Community Social on Tuesday mornings at the Event Centre
Getting more people moving
A chef by trade, Rob started at the Event Centre in October last year and since then, the five-person team has introduced four new weekly initiatives:
Community Social
Sporty Gold Cards
Circuit training
$2 drop-in sessions for school-aged children.
Sporty Gold Cards runs every Friday from 10am to 12pm and costs $2. The drop-in session is similar to the Community Social but the circuit option is self-led.
Circuit training classes started in May and run every Monday and Thursday from 9.15am to 10am and 5.15pm to 6pm, at a cost of $5 a session.
The full-body workout has 10 stations, with exercises including skipping, squats, lunges, weights and battling ropes. Participants spend 30 seconds at each station, followed by a 15-second rest before moving to the next.
School-aged children make use of the Event Centre’s $2 drop-in sessions and school holiday programmes. Photo supplied.
Creating opportunities for school kids
The centre dropped its hourly court-hire charge for school-aged children from $9 to $2. The sessions are available from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, whenever the courts are not otherwise booked.
Children can play football, basketball, badminton, pickleball or table tennis, or try indoor disc golf and skating. Some use the sessions as an after-school activity, while others come in to train and practise their sport with their coaches.
“It’s a much better after-school activity than being on a device.” Rob says..
The team is also creating opportunities for young Waimate athletes to develop without having to leave the district.
Nicole recently invited a New Zealand badminton coach from Dunedin to work with local high school players. The coach was impressed by the standard he found.
“We’ve got really good players here,” Rob says. “We want to see kids train here and represent Waimate on the national stage, rather than having to travel out of town and represent somewhere else.”
During the school holidays, the Event Centre also runs a packed programme of low-cost activities, including skating, climbing, football, disc golf and court sports.
Books, cameras, action - all in a day’s work for Library Liz Rose.
Much more than books
The Waimate Library team runs a popular school holiday programme featuring activities including Lego sessions and Reading with Wolfie.
Every Friday from 10.30am to 11.30am, Pauline becomes Super Gran and shares stories with preschoolers. She is joined at the Library by her much-loved sidekick – a former rescue dog who is now part of her family.
For Liz, the facility is about far more than borrowing books.
“It’s community and connection.”
Some people come in to read the newspapers and magazines. Others use the technology or simply call in to say hello.
Chromebooks are available, and a 3D printer is also in the works.
Nicole encourages the team’s new ideas, including activities for children as they grow out of the programmes aimed at younger age groups.
During the holidays students can volunteer to help out at the library.
The aim is always to give people another reason to come through the doors.
Nico and Arlan volunteering at the library in August - both love books and recommend volunteering to other students.
Library Assistant Kate Toomey-Smith, and Senior Librarian Tony Morton. A big part of Kate’s role is to help locals with technology.
Luna the unicorn
Liz acquired the name “Library Liz” after one of the children began calling her that.
She has another identity too - Liz is Luna the Unicorn, now something of a Waimate celebrity.
Luna was born after the library team began brainstorming another activity for children. Liz had previously appeared as Ruby the Rooster, but the costume was hot, a little drab and ready for retirement.
A large inflatable unicorn seemed a much better option.
Luna now receives invitations to schools and community events. On one outing, older children playing basketball spotted her and began yelling: “We love you, Luna!”
She will soon be joined by a naughty dinosaur who has a habit of running off and hiding.
During an early appearance, Liz made a quick costume change while children were inside the Library.
“Has anyone seen a dinosaur?” children’s librarian Karen Clements asked.
“There he is!” the children shouted as the dinosaur ran past the window.
More details about Luna’s naughty new friend will be revealed through the Council’s Facebook page.
An example of just some of the events that the library team put on to bring the community in.
Your place to use
The Event Centre has meeting rooms and a professional kitchen available for hire.
The team believes there is plenty more the centre could offer, including art, food and music alongside sport.
Rob’s message to the community is simple.
“The Event Centre is your place to use. If there’s anything you’d like to see us doing, come and talk to us.”
Waimate has invested in great community spaces. Now the people inside them are making sure the community benefits from them - and knows they belong to everyone.
Including a unicorn and a badly behaved dinosaur.
