Teaching Whangarei's at-risk young people skills that will offer them hope and opportunities is one of the main aims of those behind Whangarei's new Hihiaua cultural centre.
It's taken decades of work, patience, fundraising and planning to build the centre in the town basin. Stage one of the Cultural Centre has been open for just over a week now. It houses space for workshops, a gallery for exhibitions and shops. The paint's hardly dry and already there are plans to expand.
Lynn Freeman spoke to two of the driving forces behind Hihiaua: Janet and Te Warihi Hetaraka.
