A Wanganui marae badly damaged by floods in 2004 is being transformed by CPPS offenders on community work sentences.
Tiniwaitara marae, near the main highway connecting Wanganui and Palmerston North, enlisted CPPS assistance to return the complex to its former glory. Every week since February, work parties led by Community Work Supervisor Katrina Beamsley have contributed to the upgrading of the marae.
“We were approached by the marae to help with general clean up and maintenance, and we thought this would be a great opportunity to lend a helping hand to an important part of our community,” says Katrina.
Since the project began, the marae has been transformed with new gardens, seating in the car park, and fresh paint on buildings and fences. Repairs have recently been completed at the church and cemetery situated across the road.
As well as repairing the flood-ravaged buildings, the offenders have also been responsible for the general maintenance of the marae including lawns, cleaning and gardening. Wai
Murray from Tiniwaitara Marae has been in charge of the general upkeep for many years now and has found it hard to manage the workload.
“I’m getting old and tired and Katrina and the work groups have gone beyond the call of duty to help us with the day-to-day upkeep and also the big projects that we haven’t been able to tackle in years,” says Wai.
Contractors recently built stopbanks around the marae to protect it from further flooding and it was left up to Katrina and her teams to beautify them. They’ve transplanted native trees and shrubs to revamp the surrounding banks making them easier on the eye.
“We wouldn’t have been able to complete the amount of work that the community work groups have done since February this year,” says Wai. “We are very grateful to Katrina and the work parties for the hard work they have given us.”
There have been no problems with the many different offenders who’ve worked at the marae, who have impressed both Katrina and Wai with their work ethic and respect for the place and its people. “I sense a lot of pride from the workers because it’s the type of job where they can actually see a positive end result and they can also see other people enjoying what they have produced,” says Katrina.
Marae representatives, Wai Murray (left) and Maree Hiroti (right) enjoy the seating and the gardens that the community work offenders constructed under the watchful eye of Community Work Supervisor Katrina Beamsley (centre).