From the Bridge Pa Sculpture Trail, to Cranford Hospice street fundraising success, to UPSTAGE for local musicians, to HB sports news, to Napier’s ‘musical garden’, to HBRC seeking focus group volunteers, to Hastings district economic resilience, to key progress at Devil’s Elbow, here are some notable items you might have missed.
Bridge Pa Sculpture Trail
The inaugural Bridge Pa Sculpture Trail has opened, bringing 25 stunning installations from some of New Zealand’s leading sculptors to the heart of Hawke’s Bay.
Set amidst Paritua Winery and running from 14 March – 11 April 2025, this unique event supports the work of Arts Inc. as a registered charity, delivering inspiring creative experiences to our communities.
Cranford Hospice Street Appeal raises $34k
Cranford’s annual Street Appeal held 6-8 March 2025, with the support of over 200 volunteers, raised a total of $33,932.40 to be precise.
Carol-Ann Stubbs, Cranford Hospice’s Development and Engagement Director, shared her thoughts on the outcome: “We are absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity of the Hawke’s Bay community. To raise over $33,000 in just three days is an incredible achievement, and it speaks volumes about the support for Cranford Hospice. We are so grateful to all our volunteers, and to everyone who donated. Your support means we can continue to provide compassionate care to those who need it most.”
In 2024 alone, Cranford Hospice cared for 696 patients and their families. To keep services running, the hospice relies on the generosity of the community, with approximately $4 million needing to be fundraised.
UPSTAGE: Elevating local musicians
UPSTAGE, a collaborative project between Backline Charitable Trust, Toitoi Hawke’s Bay Arts and Event Centre and Ideaschool@EIT with support from Creative New Zealand, is breaking down barriers by offering local artists high-quality video and audio recordings of their work.
The recordings are professionally produced and showcased on UPSTAGE’s YouTube channel, with all content shared with the artists for their own streaming platforms and promotional use.
Sarah Terry, Toitoi’s Producer – Community Outreach says: “Access to high-quality recording facilities can be a major hurdle for many emerging artists in our region,” Terry continues, “There are only a few studios available, and the high costs—especially factoring in travel outside Hawke’s Bay—make it a significant expense.”
“For us, investing in the next generation of musicians is vital,” says Kevin Murphy from Backline Charitable Trust. “Hawke’s Bay has incredible talent, and projects like UPSTAGE give our artists the skills, resources, and confidence to take their music further. When we invest in them, we invest in the future of our creative community.”
HB Sports news
A number of important sports announcements have been made lately.
Sport Hawke’s Bay has welcomed two new board members, Jussara Bierman and Jennifer Robson, along with Alex Nixon, who joins as a board observer for a one-year term.
Jussara is a brand strategist with extensive international experience, Jenny brings a legal background, and Alex, currently the Director of Sport at Woodford House, steps into the observer role as part of the organisation’s commitment to fostering future governance talent.
Sport Hawke’s Bay chair Graeme Taylor said the new additions bring valuable expertise to the board.
“Good governance relies on diverse skills and perspectives. Jussara’s strategic brand expertise and Jenny’s legal background significantly elevate our capability,” he said.
He also praised the introduction of Alex Nixon as a board observer. “The observer role helps us cultivate governance pathways for emerging talent. Alex’s background in school sport makes him an invaluable voice at the table, particularly in creating participation pathways for youth.”
Departing the Board are long-serving board member Naomi Fergusson, who has completed her nine-year term, and Hine Flood, who is stepping down to take on a new role with Sport Hawke’s Bay as Kaiwhakahaere He Oranga Poutama ki Te Wairoa.
Also, Due to lower than expected nominations, Sport Hawke’s Bay has made the decision to postpone the 2025 Forsyth Barr Hawke’s Bay Sport & Recreation Awards. “While we received some fantastic entries, the overall number of nominations was insufficient to uphold the high standard of competition and recognition these awards represent.”
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the nomination process, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]
Meantime, Hawke’s Bay Rugby announced that Craig Hickson has been appointed its new Patron.
Hickson who represented Manawatu in 1973 while studying at Massey University also went on to play for Wellington B. On returning to Hawke’s Bay Hickson represented Hawke’s Bay B and was named on the bench for the Magpies for two games in 1974 without ever taking the field.
Hickson through his company Progressive Meats Limited has been a long time sponsor of Hawke’s Bay Rugby and the Magpies including ten years as principal sponsor. He is a Wall of Honour Recipient at Hastings Boys High School and a long term supporter and sponsor of both Havelock Rugby Club and Hastings Boys High School.
Musical garden in Napier park
People of all ages and abilities can practice their best beats thanks to accessible musical equipment recently installed at Anderson Park.
The Rotary Musical Garden, comprising colourful xylophones, bells, and drums, is complemented by equally bright seating and located near the popular park’s destination playground.
Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise explains Napier City Council has a long-established relationship with the Rotary Club of Napier, dating back to the post-1931 earthquake reconstruction era.
“Council is interested in providing experiences and activities to support different sectors of the community in ways that are affordable for everyone. The club recently celebrated 100 years, and approached us with the wonderful idea of donating musical equipment to the city as part of its centennial celebrations.
The organisation is now known as the Rotary Club of Ahuriri Napier. Immediate Past President Gary Hemmings said the gift was inspired by what a club member saw on an overseas trip. The United States has 1000-plus similar musical installations.
HBRC seeks volunteers for coastal reference/focus groups
The proposed Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy 2120 recommends urgent physical works to respond to coastal hazards in Te Awanga, Haumoana, Westshore and Bayview.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council is embarking on an engagement programme to gather feedback on next steps for the Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy 2120.
Central to the engagement programme is a Community Reference Group (CRG) and four focus groups from the most impacted coastal locations. Council is seeking expressions of interest from people who live on or have an interest in the coastal environment to join these engagement forums.
In each community, a more focused discussion is required to ensure the proposed works, and the method of funding that works, is explored and tested. This is the role of the Focus Groups.
The Focus Groups will report their findings to the Community Reference Group (CRG) for consideration in context with the wider strategy issues. Individuals may be part of a Focus Group and the CRG.
Council will build the Community Reference Group and Focus Groups from the expression of interest responses received. The preference will be to include as many people as possible, but Council may need to select from the responses to ensure manageable group sizes and breadth of perspectives.
To submit your Expression of Interest for a Focus Group, please enter the
survey here. To submit your Expression of Interest for the Community Reference Group, please enter the survey here.
Even if you don’t have any particular experience with coastal hazards, please consider putting your name forward so we can gather a wide range of perspectives.
Deadline: Please send your expression of interest by 5pm, Wednesday 19th March.
More info on the Coastal Strategy here.
Hastings shows economic resilience
Hastings district is showing strong economic resilience as it continues to recover from Cyclone Gabrielle, according to the latest (Oct-Dec 2024) Quarterly Economic Monitor by Infometrics. The report highlights key indicators such as business growth, tourism, and employment levels, areas where Hastings is outperforming national trends.
Hastings unemployment rate is lower than many other districts – the 14th lowest out of 68 councils – at 3.4%, significantly better than the national average of 4.7%, with employment growing by 0.3%, while the national growth rate remained at 0%.
The number of business units grew by 2.2%, compared to the national rate of 1.3%.
Tourism continues to grow in Hastings district, with total expenditure increasing by 7.1%, nearly double the national growth rate of 3.7%. International visitor spending was up 26%.
Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst commented: “These figures give us confidence that we are on the right path, and together, we will keep building a thriving and prosperous district.”
Devil’s Elbow final project progresses
More than 500 truckloads of earth have been removed from the largest recovery site at Devil’s Elbow, as work onsite progresses.
This recovery site, known as Devil’s Corner, on State Highway 2 north of Napier, is the final project underway in the 5km Devil’s Elbow area, following extensive damage caused to the road during Cyclone Gabrielle.
A 40 metre long and 10 metre high slip closed the southbound lane and work is underway to repair this large and challenging underslip.
Crews have completed the 120m long temporary works which will support the state highway and hillside before permanent works are undertaken. This work involved drilling 633 nails through over 4km of drilling and excavating 500 truckloads of material.
The final stage, the permanent works, is underway. Construction involves piling and soil anchoring in readiness for a new 12 metre high retaining wall. There will be 32 nine metre long piles to support the wall and 57 fifteen metre long soil anchors to strengthen it. More than 5,500m3 of aggregate will be used to construct the retaining wall.
TREC project manager Richard Bayley says this is the largest, and last recovery project in the Devil’s Elbow section. Once this site is complete later this year, the whole 5km section of Devil’s Elbow will be restored back to two lanes.
