Edition 01. 2014 / 2015 WAIPA 150 GREAT THINGS People and places make Waipa a desirable lifestyle and business location RRP: $4.95 INFO AT: LOVEWAIPA .CO.NZ AGRIBUSINESS | COMMUNITY | EDUCATION | EQUINE | AVIATION | SPORT&RECREATION | COMMERCIAL | TOURISM JET WATER AVANTI- CYCLING EQUIDAYS BOATS SKI DROME ROSE MINI FARMER GREAT ROWING GARDENS TRAINS MARKETS COFFEE KIHIKIHI GELATO SPEED- ICECREAM WAY FOOD FIELDAYS TRUCKS GREAT MUSEUMS FOOD HERITAGE LOVE BUILDINGS EXPLORE...Waipa WITH 150 GREAT THINGS ARMISTICE DAY CENTRAL PASSION RODEO THEATRES & CINEMA CAMBRIDGE Phone 07 823 3456 Corner Victoria & Queen Street www.cambridge.co.nz OPEN: Mon - Fri 9am to 5pm Weekends & Public Holidays TE AWAMUTU Phone 07 871 3259 1 Gorst Avenue | www.teawamutuinfo.co.nz PLAY LIBRARIES KAYAKS OPEN: Mon - Fri 9am to 5pm Weekends & Public Holidays GROUNDS * NO CREDIT CARD FEES A word on Waipa Welcome As a long-time resident and Mayor of the Waipa District it is my pleasure to thank our community for choosing to live and work in our vibrant district and to welcome visitors to one of the most scenic and fastest growing regions of New Zealand. Set in the heart of fertile farming country, Waipa District has an abundance of beautiful scenery, welcoming people, thriving enterprises and energetic Champions. Waipa is the Home of Champions, and with Love Waipa, I invite you to discover and enjoy our many champion businesses, services, places, activities, and events and most importantly our communities. Waipa has a strong sense of community and an equally strong economy firmly founded on agribusiness, aviation, commerce, education, equine, sports and recreation, and tourism. Whether you are already a member of our community and its prosperous economy or looking to be part of Waipa’s Champion environment, Love Waipa presents an amazing compilation of all our district has to offer. Ours is a beautiful district and a great place to live, work, play, and do business or just visit for “ a breather away from the big city Waipa District has ‘hustle and bustle’. I Love Waipa an abundance of and recommend 150 Great “beautiful scenery, Things about Waipa to you; it is welcoming people, JIM MYLCHREEST, MAYOR a wonderful celebration of our thriving enterises and district in its 150th year. energetic Champions. Contents Contact AGRIBUSINESS ............. 5 SPORTS & PUBLISHERS Cambridge and Te Awamutu i-SITES Our farmers are feeding the nation RECREATION ..............43 150 GREAT THINGS 150 GREAT and the world. We’re fast becoming one of New DESIGN | Zealand’s leading centres for high Kaz Graphic Dezign PO Box 968, Cambridge 3450 COMMUNITY ..............13 performance sport. People are what makes the difference PHOTOGRAPHY in Waipa. COMMERCIAL ............51 Josiah Clark, Michael Jeans, A central location makes Waipa an Getty Images, Steve Tritt, Katrina Duncan, Colin Thorsen EDUCATION ................21 ideal business for businesses. LOVEWAIPA Libby Law Photography Waipa nurtures champions in the classroom as well as in sport. TOURISM ......................59 OFFICE Lakes and mountains provide Cambridge i-SITE EQUINE .........................29 a natural backdrop to a host of Corner Victoria and Queen Street Waipa is world famous as the ‘Equine activities. CAMBRIDGE 3434 Capital of New Zealand’. Phone: 07 823 3456 Email: [email protected] AVIATION .....................37 www.cambridge.co.nz CAMBRIDGE Phone 07 823 3456 New Zealand’s third busiest airport EDITORIAL CONTENT Corner Victoria & Queen Street connects us to the rest of the world. Stephen Stratford www.cambridge.co.nz I-SITE TEAM Articles and photographs may not be reproduced in any form without the permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed OPEN: Mon - Fri 9am to 5pm Weekends & Public Holidays are not necessarily those of, nor endorsed by lovewaipa unless stated otherwise. While every effort has been made to ensure Ange Holt, Josh Easby, Steve Tritt, accuracy at the time of printing, the publisher shall not be held responsible for any action taken as a consequence of Stephen Williams and Karen May information contained within this publication. TE AWAMUTU Phone 07 871 3259 1 Gorst Avenue | www.teawamutuinfo.co.nz FOR MORE OPEN: Mon - Fri 9am to 5pm Weekends & Public Holidays 3 * NO CREDIT CARD FEES LOVEWAIPA.CO.NZ About Population Growth Waipa 20% The Waipa District lies BETWEEN 2001 AND 2013 in the heart of New Zealand’s Waikato From 2001 to today, region and has a Waipa’s population grew resident population at 20%, compared to of around 46,688 and 14% for New Zealand growing. Stretching over 1447 square kilometres, Waipa’s population the main urban populations are in the Jobs Growth towns of Te Awamutu, Cambridge, ranks 21st in size out Kihikihi, Pirongia, Ohaupo, and Leamington. of the 67 districts in % Because of the high proportion of New Zealand. elite soils, the district boasts a rich 3.5 agricultural base dominated by dairy farming, but also featuring sheep and COMPARED TO 0.7% beef, thoroughbred horse studs, deer NATIONALLY farming and fruit production. Waipa also hosts the largest annual agricultural exhibition of its kind in Our district has an New Zealand, the National excellent record for Agricultural Fieldays, which creating jobs. attracts visitors to the Mystery In the latest census Waipa Creek Events Centre from all employment grew from over world. 2006 by 3.6% compared to Although landlocked, 0.7% for New Zealand the district has many lakes used extensively for Primary Industries Housing Growth watersports and recreation including Lake Karapiro, the home of New Zealand rowing. % There are two major rivers, The Waikato and Waipa, and many smaller peat lakes in 12.1 which are considered some of the best 1 5 IN 2013 THERE WERE examples of their type in the world. WAIPA EMPLOYEES WORK 18,966 DWELLINGS IN WAIPA, The Waipa District is also home to UP 12.1% SINCE 2006 IN AN PRIMARY INDUSTRY, Hamilton Airport and has a growing SUCH AS DAIRY OR AGRI reputation as the home of high performance sport with Rowing New Zealand, Bike New Zealand and Triathlon New Zealand making Cambridge their home. 20% BETWEEN 2001 AND 2013 Waipa’s population ranks 21st in size out of the 67 districts in New Zealand. Agribusiness feeding the world A helpful climate and central location has enabled Waipa to become a powerhouse of New Zealand agriculture and horticulture. Locally-grown crops help feed the nation while our dairy produce is exported worldwide. stay a step ahead stay a step ahead Stay a step ahead and maximise growth, productivity and profitability at Fieldays; your global agri-business event. Mystery Creek, Waipa eldays.co.nz 10-13 June 2015 STRATEGIC PARTNERS 15-18 June 2016 Agribusiness Fertile soils, ample rainfall and a temperate climate have long been the 002 The 113-hectare Mystery Creek Events Centre keys to the Waipa can cater for 25,000 visitors a day. District’s prosperity. Nature’s gifts have enabled Waipa to become a district that thrives on agriculture and 003 horticulture including dairy, beef, sheep, deer, Waipa’s biggest employer is Fonterra, which berries, fruits, vegetables and much more. About produces 30% of the world’s dairy products. one person in five in Waipa is employed in the primary sector, three times more than the rate for the country. And then there is the dairy industry, which alone is responsible for more than a tenth of local jobs: the district has 264,666 dairy The statistics tell the story. Waipa’s horticulture cattle, nearly six for every person. Waipa’s biggest single employer producers include 27 nurseries, 9 flower-growers, 24 is Fonterra, the country’s largest company, which produces 30 per vegetable growers, 24 kiwifruit orchards, 18 berry cent of the world’s exported dairy products and uses cutting-edge growers, 9 apple technologies to compete against other multinational producers of and pear orchards, powdered milk products, cheeses and other foods. 001 another 9 growing olives and 12 Hautapu’s dairy factory is the headquarters for Fonterra’s protein Waipa residents earn orchards growing and cheese technical teams. It specialises in high-value products 12% more than the stonefruit, citrus including casein, whey-protein concentrate, hydrolysate, lactoferrin, national median and other fruit, and milk protein concentrate and lactose – all bound for the domestic income. hectare upon hectare market, as well as Europe, the USA, China and other destinations in of maize. Asia. At peak, the site processes four million litres of milk per day – 150 GREAT THINGS 150 GREAT | LOVEWAIPA LOVEWAIPA FOR MORE 7 LOVEWAIPA.CO.NZ Agribusiness 004 In 2012 Waipa District’s farms grazed Four out of 10 people in Waipa 78,432 sheep and 63,995 lambs, and exercise daily for more than 30 minutes. there were 37,019 beef cattle – not to mention the 14,573 deer. about 150 tanker loads. It produces It’s not just about numbers, though up to 10 tonnes of cheese per – it’s about quality. Which is why, hour, and about 40,000 tonnes per after six years of being a finalist, year of Colby, Cheddar, Edam and Angus beef farmer Colin Brown, who Egmont cheeses. Next time you buy farms near Lake Karapiro, won the a one-kilo block of cheese, imagine Grand Champion title at the 2014 what 10 tonnes would look like. Beef + Lamb New Zealand Steak of Origin competition. Te Awamutu’s dairy factory is the buttermilk capital for the region. So agriculture is the star of During the peak of the milk- Waipa, and its main event every production season, it processes June is Fieldays, the national three million litres of milk, more agricultural showcase that is the than one million litres of cream and largest event of its kind in the 750,000 tonnes of buttermilk each Southern Hemisphere: it attracts day – equalling about 4.85 million more than 120,000 visitors and litres of liquid per day and 526 1,400 exhibitors every year.