Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom is a multi-cultural, multi-purpose visitor and community hub in Foxton, in the southern part of New Zealand'sNorth Island. The award-winning facility hosts some 150,000 users annually - to visit the Maori and Dutch museums, the library or the community rooms, the gallery or the heritage room. Locals take care of their affairs in the Council Service Centre, whereas visitors from out of town can make travel and accommodation bookings at the i-SITE desk. Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom was created through a partnership between Horowhenua District Council, Te Taitoa Māori o Te Awahou Trust and the Dutch Connection Museum Trust. Its signage features three languages, and its objective is to act as a centre for cultural wellbeing for the local community, mana whenua and alike. The Piriharakeke museum illustrates the history, reo and taonga of Ngati Raukawa ki te Tonga. The Oranjehof museum tells the story of the 'Invisible Immigrants' - the Dutch community in Aotearoa. The facility is located in , along with two cafes, a museum and other attractions.
The concept of a multi-cultural and multi-lingual community and visitor centre attracted funding of more than $1 million from the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage. In 2018, the facility won a number of architecture and cultural awards, including an Project Excellence Award Museums Aotearoa Award judges considered Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom: “a ground-breaking three-way cultural partnership. The result is a feeling of real community ownership for the centre.” The facility includes two museums, a gallery, a heritage room, library, cafe and i-SITE, plus a Council service centre. Some 150,000 locals, visitors from out of town and international tourists frequent the building every year. The community areas include a foyer that regularly hosts art classes and senior-net IT help sessions, a large reading area with armchairs and power outlets, and a children's play area with educational toys. Room hire is available for educational purposes, exercise classes, hui, and conventions and business meetings.
A Multi-cultural facility
Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom was created through a collaboration between three Partners: local Iwi, Horowhenua District Council and Dutch immigrant groups. The Hon Maggie Barry, Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage, commented: "As keepers and kaitiaki of our stories and our precious taonga, the local museums and galleries and whare taonga play an incredibly important role in our sense of identity as New Zealanders in a multi-cultural sense,... world-class facility". The Shared Gallery has featured exhibitions from Maori artists and weavers, the 'Nga Hau Ngakau' Māori art exhibition with paintings and taonga puoro, Dutch exhibitions featuring Abel Tasman, Anne Frank and Rembrandt, as well as more local ones.
Two Museums
The Piriharakeke Inspiration Generation Centre features:
Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom is located in the centre of Foxton, a small town in the Horowhenua region, an hour and a half drive north of Wellington, on State Highway 1. Te Awahou Riverside Cultural Park surrounds the building. Visitors of the Cultural Park can explore history and cultural heritage. The precinct also features a Māori Master Carver and traditional moko artist, the flour-grinding Dutch windmill De Molen, a Flax museum with pioneering days photographic displays and a century old Flax Stripper Machine, and a Clydesdale Horse Drawn Tram that offers Sunday rides.
Heritage
Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom and the Cultural Park are located in the centre of Foxton, which is a heritage town in its own right. Of note are the fully restored BNZ building on Main Street, and the oldest cottage in the region 'Nye Cottage' on Harbour Street. The 1918 Foxton Fizz factory can be visited, and the MAVTech Museum provides a fascinating overview of the development of audiovisual technology during the last century. The exhibition is part of an authentic, restored movie theatre that traces its origins back to 1911 when it first was built as a Coronation Hall. All are within a few minutes walk along Main Street with its many heritage buildings.
