Fundraising update
The total budget for the new Caroline Bay Playground remains at $2,982,000 excl GST.
Thanks to your support CPlay has raised $2,832,000.
CPlay volunteers are working to raise $150,000 to match scope with budget.
The elements of project currently under contract agreement (earthworks, surfacing, playground equipment) = 96.2% of the project's costs.
There are additional things that CPlay wish to commission for the playground. This will be determined by how our fundraising goes to match the budget to the scope. We intend to approach locals to help with metal fabrication, painting, signage and building.
We have been working on funding applications for grants. If you have been meaning to donate, we would love your help. You are more than welcome to contact us info@cplay.co.nz if you would like to purchase something from our wishlist for CPlay.
Every bit helps. https://cplay.co.nz/donate
Here's the progress on the Mōkihi Net Seesaw
This is a bespoke design for CPlay created by the Playground Centre team who tweaked their design, so the net seasaw could look and feel a bit like a mōkihi (a raft, fashioned from bulrushes and flax). These simple vessels were excellent for crossing lakes and rivers. This mōkihi seesaw play item, can help inspire imaginative play and help people learn how Māori traversed the area. (Note, what you see at the bottom of the mōkihi in the photo is mainly the ground support that you wont actually see).
Changes to the Timaru Coastline over 170 years. This map is based on digitized survey maps that were created in the mid 1800s and today's satellite imagery from 2022. They give an insight into traditional areas of mahika kai (sites of significance to Māori for resource gathering) such as wetlands, lagoons, and estuaries before they were modified.
Look how vast the wetlands/lagoons used to be. Here you can see the last 10% of the Waitarakao Washdyke lagoon that remains.
"Waimātaitai was a hāpua (lagoon) situated near the Tīmaru foreshore, renowned as an important source of mahinga kai. In 1880 Hoani Kāhu from Arowhenua described Waimātaitai as “e rauiri” (an eel weir) where tuna (eel) and inaka (whitebait) were gathered. This saltwater lagoon was eventually lost in 1933 due to changes in sediment drift caused by the creation of the Port of Tīmaru." - kahurumanu.co.nz/atlas