Strathmore family fun day
Strathmore family fun day follows big effort to get rid of tagging
Members of the Hurricanes and the Saints
basketball team are expected to join in a family fun day in
Strathmore, Wellington, tomorrow (Wednesday 19 November)
that will celebrate a big effort to clean up the Rangitatau
Reserve – and in particular a number of World War 2
defensive bunkers that had been heavily tagged and
vandalised.
Between 4pm and 7pm a sausage sizzle, bouncy castle and other attractions will be ready for the enjoyment of the local community and there’ll be basketball matches, dance crew action and other fun activities on the Rangitatau Reserve – which can be reached from Kekerenga Street.
Members of the local community have worked with Wellington City Council and the Department of Corrections – which has supplied labour in the form of young offenders on probation – to paint out tagging on the bunkers and clean up the reserve.
City Council Community and Neighbourhood Advisor Bessie Fepulea’i and Graffiti Programme Adviser Hine-Moana Sullivan say a “huge amount of effort” in recent weeks has got the reserve looking good again. “A lot of paint has been applied to the gun emplacements and a lot of rubbish has been removed”.
“The Rangitatau Reserve has some truly brilliant views over Cook Strait and the Lyall Bay area – so getting rid of the tagging, especially, has removed an ugly blot on the landscape.
“We know there are a lot of locals – and Corrections probation workers – who now have a strong sense of ownership of the reserve. They want it to keep looking good.”
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