Ngā Hua o Roto
He Kōrero nā te
Koromatua
Message from the Mayor
As the long days of summer roll in, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the season ahead—a time for rest, connection, and celebration. Whether you’re diving into the Christmas spirit, enjoying a barbecue with friends, or simply soaking up the sunshine with your loved ones, this season is all about making memories.
Here in Lower Hutt, we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to summer activities. From the rugged beauty of Pencarrow Coast to the vibrant cafés of Jackson Street, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
And of course, I’m thrilled to announce the much-anticipated opening of Te Ngaengae Pool + Fitness! This world-class facility, a testament to community spirit and innovation, will be a gamechanger for Naenae and the wider Hutt Valley. With its state-of-theart design, accessibility features, and eco-friendly focus, it’s a place where whānau can come together, stay active, and have fun. This season is also an opportunity to embrace the festive cheer of our community events—markets, Christmas celebrations, and holiday craft sessions are just
the start. And if you’re a bit of a foodie, don’t miss the Cool As Drink Challenge, where our talented local cafés create refreshing summer beverages.
Finally, as we welcome 2025, let’s celebrate all we’ve achieved together this year. Thank you for being part of what makes Lower Hutt such a special place to live, work, and play.
From my family to yours, Meri Kirihimete! Have a enjoyable and safe holiday season.
Campbell Barry Mayor of Lower Hutt
campbell.barry@huttcity.govt.nz
CampbellBarryMayor
CampbellBarry
Campbell_Barry
Ngā Kaupapa Whakahira
e Heke Mai Ana
Announcements
Report a Problem
If you spot any issues or problems with any of our services, you can log a job using our online portal by going to hutt.city/rap
For urgent noise, pollution, sewer, water, stormwater and animal issues call us 24/7 on 04 570 6666
Council Meetings
Want to keep up to date with what’s on at Council? Find out when the next Council meetings are, access meeting minutes and agendas or watch the live stream by heading to hutt.city/councilmeetings
Moerā Neighbourhood Hub progress update
Closing celebration
Friday 20 December, 10am
Come and celebrate the closing of our temporary site as we look forward to the opening of our new library in January!
Closure
24 December - 24 January
To ensure a smooth transition from the temporary library to the new Hub, the temporary library’s last day will be 24 December. After that, the library will remain closed until late January 2025.
Community Celebration
Wednesday 25 January 2025
We’re looking forward to welcoming you to the new Moerā Neighbourhood Hub in the new year!
Want
Head
We’re taking a break! Holiday hours
Admin Building, Laings Road, Central Hutt
Wednesday 11 December
Early close at 3pm
Tuesday 24 December to Thursday 2 January
Closed
Monday 20 January
Closed
Neighbourhood Hubs
Wednesday 11 December
All sites close at 3pm
War Memorial Library, Eastbourne and Kōraunui Neighbourhood Hubs, and Walter Nash Centre
Tuesday 24 December, from 3pm to Sunday 5 January, closed
Petone and Wainuiomata
Neighbourhood Hubs
24 December, from 3pm to 26 December, closed
27-31 December, 10am-5pm
1-2 January, closed
Naenae Neighbourhood Hub
24 December, from 3pm to 26 December, closed
27-28 December, 10am-5pm
29 December, closed
30-31 December, 10am-5pm
1-2 January, closed
Monday 20 January
All sites closed
The Dowse Art Museum and The Petone Settlers Museum
Wednesday 25 December to Thursday 26 December Both museums are closed
Wednesday 1 January
Both museums are closed
Pool + Fitness Centres
Eastbourne Summer Pool and McKenzie Summer Pool
Tuesday 24 December, 12pm-3pm
Wednesday 25 December, closed
Thursday 31 December, 11am-5pm
Wednesday 1 January, closed
Wainuiomata Summer Pool
Tuesday 24 December, 7am-3pm
Wednesday 25 December, closed
Thursday 31 December, 10am-5pm
Wednesday 1 January, closed
Stokes Valley Pool + Fitness
Tuesday 24 December, 10am-3pm
Wednesday 25 December, closed
Thursday 31 December, 10am-5pm
Wednesday 1 January, 11am-5pm
Te Ngaengae Pool + Fitness and Huia Pool + Fitness
Wednesday 25 December, closed
Thursday 26 December, 9am-6pm
Wednesday 1 January, closed
Thursday 2 January, 9am-6pm
Meri Kirihimete! Christmas events
Festive Crafternoons
War Memorial Library
16-20 December, 2pm-4pm
Maungaraki Community Library
11 & 13 December, 3pm-4:30pm
Come in for a different craft activity each day! All ages welcome.
Festive Origami
Wainuiomata Neighbourhood Hub
Mondays, Tuesdays & Saturdays in December, 3:30pm-4:30pm
Come in and make some festive origami pieces. For ages 5+
Maungaraki School
Christmas Carols
Maungaraki School
Thursday 5 December, 5:30pm-7:15pm
Head to the Maungaraki School field for Kapa Haka and Nick Tansley and his Carols Caravan.
Christmas in Bethlehem
Petone Baptist Church
6-7 December, 7pm-9pm 8 December, 10am-12pm
Come join us in Bethlehem village. Bake bread at the bakery, toast marshmallows with the shepherds and have a photo with Joseph and Mary in the stable.
Christmas Gala at Wainui High School
Wainuiomata High School
Friday 6 December, 5pm-8pm
Enjoy a Christmas gala with carols, activities, stalls, food and a visit from Hana Koko.
Stokes Valley Xmas Parade and Market
Speldhurst Park & Stokes Valley Rd
Saturday 7 December, 10am-1pm
Moerā Xmas in the Park
Moerā Reserve
Saturday 7 December
Celebrate Christmas with fun activities for kids, performances and a BBQ sausage sizzle.
Sunday Funday Festive Session
Petone Neighbourhood Hub
Sunday 8 December, 10am-4pm
Come and create gift bags and greeting cards. For ages 3+
Our Hutt Christmas Market
High Street, Hutt Central Sunday 8 December, 11am-3pm
Find that unique locally made gift, enjoy activities for the family, and live performances.
12 Days of Crafts-mas
Eastbourne Neighbourhood Hub 9-21 December, 3pm
A new and easy craft each day in the lead-up to the holidays.
Baby Bounce Christmas Special
Naenae Neighbourhood Hub
Monday 9 December, 10:30am
A half an hour of Christmas nursery rhymes and songs.
Muritai School Christmas Carols
Eastbourne Neighbourhood Hub
Tuesday 10 December, 9:30am-10:30am
Come and listen to students from Muritai School perform Christmas carols in the library.
Inklings: Paper Ornaments and Christmas Cards
Naenae Neighbourhood Hub
Tuesday 10 December, 3:30pm-4:30pm
Come and create your own paper ornaments and Christmas cards. For ages 8+
Christmas in Naenae
Naenae Neighbourhood Hub 11 & 4 December, 10:30am
Join us for a special Christmas Storytime!
Artspot: Gift Wrapping
Naenae Neighbourhood Hub
Thursday 12 & 19 December, 3:30pm-4:30pm
Let’s learn the art of gift wrapping together using reusable wrapping paper. For ages 5+
Christmas N Da Hood
Pōmare School, Taitā
Saturday 14 December, 10am-3pm
A laid-back, festive celebration with great food, music, and awesome vibes! Celebrate the diverse cultures in our community, with free kai, local performances, and even some handy health services.
Naenae Block Xmas party
Te Mako, Naenae
Saturday 14 December
Enjoy a Christmas themed party with performances, activities, stalls and food!
Xmas in the Dog Park
Les Dalton Dog Park,Wainuiomata
Sunday 15 December, 10am-12pm
Be sure to dress your four-legged friend up for one of the greatest events on your dog’s calendar!
Xmas at Light Switch
Silverstream Retreat
Sunday 15 December, Afternoon to evening
A free family festive Christmas experience offering live music, activities and food.
Christmas Picnic
Days Bay Park
Sunday 15 December, 2:30pm
Te Rito Hana Koko Taita
Walter Nash Centre
18-24 December
Visit a Christmas wonderland themed space with activities while we wait to see Hana Koko!
Want more?
For more events, head to hutt.city/whatsonevents
Get your whānau ready for a summer of reading!
Our summer reading challenge has got even bigger with the introduction of The Biggest Read; a challenge specially for adults!
Now the whole whānau can get involved, with The Little Read for under 5s, The Big Read for tamariki aged 5-12, The Even Bigger Read for rangatahi aged 12 to 18, and The Biggest Read for parents and caregivers.
This annual challenge encourages literacy and a love for reading among our tamariki and rangatahi.
Summer reading has been shown to help reduce the ‘summer slide’; a phenomena where the long summer break can result in a loss of reading gains that were made during the year.
This year will mark the third year that Hutt City Libraries will be collaborating with Upper Hutt Libraries on The Little Read, The Big Read, and The Even Bigger Read.
You can pick up a booklet for these levels by dropping into any of the eleven libraries and neighbourhood hubs in the Hutt Valley. Booklets for The Biggest Read are only available in Lower Hutt libraries.
The challenge starts on 1 December and ends on 31 January. When you have finished a booklet, drop it off at any library in the Hutt Valley to enter the prize draw. We’ll draw prize winners in February!
The Big Build
All Neighbourhood Hubs (except Moerā)
Saturday 7 December, 10am-12pm & 2pm-4pm* (*except Eastbourne)
Build your own story as we launch the Big Read with a Hutt-Valley wide LEGO challenge!
The Big Playday
Bishop Park, Eastbourne Saturday 14 December, 11am-3pm
A fun day out for the family with games, food, and fun in the sun (weather permitting).
The Big Bubble
Wa Memorial Library Tuesday 28 January, 10am
We’ll provide the bubbles, or bring your own for extra fun! Remember to slip, slop, slap and wrap!
Naenae to buzz with opening of pool
The opening of Te Ngaengae Pool + Fitness in early December marks five years of planning, thousands of hours of effort and $68 million of investment that will return the buzz to the heart of Naenae.
A community celebration day on Saturday 7 December will see the crowds return to this meeting spot in Naenae that for decades was alive with activity.
The facility, one of Lower Hutt’s most significant infrastructure projects, received $27 million in funding from central government under the Infrastructure Reference Group (IRG) fund. Local Government Funding Agency also granted the project a green, social and
sustainability loan – saving the council $20,500 annually in funding costs.
The 50m Olympic pool has 10 lanes and two moveable bulkheads so, for example, aqua jogging classes, learn to swim programmes and water polo events can all take place at the same time in different parts of the main pool.
Competition swimming can be short (25m) or long course (50m).
The Main Pool
Other sports include canoe polo, underwater hockey and flippa-ball. A moveable floor enables the end of the pool to be raised to shallow water depths for learn to swim classes.
A second leisure pool has a shallow section for family fun, and a deeper section with ramp access, seating and hydro jets for maximum accessibility with two zoom tubes (hydro slides) for double the fun.
A splash pad will keep the little ones entertained, along with a bookable poolside birthday party room.
A fitness centre and outdoor BBQ area round out a regional attraction.
The project has been strongly community-led and is using local suppliers and contractors to benefit our communities. It will be New Zealand’s first Green Star Five rated aquatic centre and will reduce emissions of the old pool by more than 50%.
Community input
The name Te Ngaengae, proposed by Te Rūnanganui o Te Āti Awa, reflects the original Māori name of the suburb and is a tribute to the rivers that shaped our land.
Te Rūnanganui o Te Āti Awa gifted the project a cultural history to inform design and is reflected in the architecture of Te Ngaengae.
The building’s roof is reimagined as an upturned waka, and the entrance features a roof canopy that appears as the bow of a waka supported by a 5.5 m “pou whenua”, standing like Tāne, God of the forest.
The community has also contributed to the design in the form of individual woven stars captured on digital film, “Nga Whetu”. There is a weaving pattern to the changing room tiles and “Ara Moana” pattern to the pillars that support the main pool roof.
Continues on next page.
The Main Pool
Sustainability focus
In line with a commitment to being carbon zero by 2050, the build and design of the new pool has a strong sustainability focus.
The old Naenae Olympic Pool ran on natural gas and was a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The new pool will reduce emissions by nearly 50%.
The design team is working alongside Crown agency Callaghan Innovation to support being the first aquatic centre in Aotearoa New Zealand to have a Green Star Five rating, a sustainability
rating system for non-residential buildings, fit outs and communities.
Achieving this rating starts right at the start, recycling or reusing 80% of all building materials, saving more than 13,000 tonnes of scrap metal and concrete from going to landfill. For example, concrete from the pool and bleachers was crushed on site and re-used to fill the pool void.
Community salvage days provided an opportunity for people to take home a piece of the old pool, including tiles, wood and old fittings and furniture, which also diverted materials from the landfill.
The Leisure Pool
By the numbers:
• It’s taken more than 250,000 hours to build
• The main pool took 4.5 days to fill and holds 2.6 million litres
• The old Naenae pool averaged 460,000 visits a year so we’re expecting Te Ngaengae will exceed that number
• The main pool concourse and community room can seat more than 400 spectators, and up to 600 with temporary seats.
• Te Ngaengae will be New Zealand’s first Green Star Five pool, reducing energy use of the old pool by 53% and saving 56% in carbon emissions.
• Recycling and reusing 80% of all demolition material saved more than 13,000 tonnes of scrap metal and concrete from going to landfill
• Total carbon use was reduced by 56% by using timber (including some reclaimed from the old pool), stainless steel pool tanks and lightweight fabric ceilings
• There are more than 250 parking spaces (including 13 mobility spaces) within two minutes (150 metres) to the pool
Join the Community Celebration
Saturday 7 December
Celebrate the opening of Te Ngaengae Pool + Fitness in a day of fun!
For more information, head to hutt.city/tengaengae
Cool As Drink Challenge
Lower Hutt City Centre cafés are going head-to-head to create their own limited edition signature summer refresher drinks for people to enjoy in the Cool As Challenge between 17 January and 3 February.
Customers will be able to vote for their favourite drink by scanning the QR code located in each café or by posting a selfie with their drink on the Cool As Challenge Facebook and Instagram pages.
The challenge, founded by the Hutt City Council to inspire local cafes to be creative and attract people to the Lower Hutt CBD, has grown in popularity since it was launched in 2016. This year, the Lower Hutt City Centre will have its biggest participation ever with over 20 operators participating.
Find out more by visiting coolaschallenge.nz
Kei te whiti te rā
Summer holiday events
Summer Storytime
Bishop Park, Eastbourne
Saturday 14 December, 10:30am
Join us for our special summer storytime (weather permitting).
Design your marble run
Naenae Neighbourhood Hub
Saturday 14 December, 11am
Get creative and design your own marble run! For ages 5+
Smoosh Books
Petone Neighbourhood Hub
Sunday 15 December, 2pm-4pm
Use crafting materials to decorate your own fantastic notebook to journal booklists or ideas!
Summer Mural
Eastbourne Neighbourhood Hub 6-31 January, all day
Make your mark on our Summer Mural.
Summer Stories
War Memorial Library
Tuesdays to Saturdays in January, 11am
Outdoor art sessions
Wainuiomata Neighbourhood Hub
Tuesday 9, 16, 23 & 30 January, 11am-12pm
Painting outside (weather permitting). For ages 5+
Summer Birds
Petone Neighbourhood Hub
Tuesday 14 January, 11am-4pm
Fly into the Petone Library and turn our boxes into birds!
Make
a splash!
Petone Neighbourhood Hub
Thursday 16 January, 2pm-4pm
Turn your rubber duckie into the most fabulous duck on the pond with our crafting materials and lots of creativity.
Upcycling art
Wainuiomata Neighbourhood Hub
Saturday 18 January, 2pm-4pm
Bring in your clean recycling (bottles, cans, lids, paper) and make them into works of art.
Want more?
For more events, head to hutt.city/summerevents
Ngā Kaupapa Hirahira
Highlights
Friday Drop-in Whānau
Art Activity at the Dowse Art Museum
Friday 20 December, 11am-2pm
Come to the Toi Hut and make your own art inspired by our exhibition
Hanna Shim: Pillow Garden.
Friday 27 December, 11am-2pm
Take inspiration from the art in Dowse Square and build your own Robot.
Friday 3 January, 11am-2pm
Take a closer look at the buildings all around us and make a hut!
Friday 10 January, 11am-2pm
Join our educators to create with clay inspired by the work in Whenua Whatu Māori Ceramics from The Dowse Collection.
Friday 17 January, 11am-2pm
Discover the House of Dowse and create your own make-up look inspired by the colours in our galleries.
Friday 24 January, 11am-2pm
Get creative with plants and painting inspired by our exhibition
Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days.
Friday 31 January, 11am-2pm
Explore print making inspired by Yhonnie Scarce: Night Blindness.
For more information about these events including booking details, go to dowse.org.nz
Ondra Sobíšek
War Memorial Library Saturday 7 December, 11am
Listen to Ondra Sobíšek play pieces by Rachmaninov, Chopin and Liszt on the piano.
Kirikiti Festival
Fraser Park, Taitā 26-28 December
Wellington Samoa Kirikiti Association (WSKA) and our kirikiti community welcome you all to our three day Filimalae Kirikiti competition featuring the best teams from the region.
Juicy Fest
Hutt Park, Moerā Friday 10 January, 12pm-10:30pm
The ultimate R&B and hip-hop festival, bringing some of the most influential R&B and hip-hop stars of the 90s, 2000s and 2010s. For more information, go to juicyfest.co
Want more?
For more events, head to hutt.city/whatsonevents
The artsy seaside village of Eastbourne is home to Days Bay beach where you’ll find people of all ages jumping off the wharf and kids covered in dripping ice-cream. Explore walking tracks winding their way up to views over the harbour, gorgeous boutiques and many tasty eating spots.
Cycle our rugged coast
Zoom along Pencarrow Coast Road on hired e-bikes past crashing waves, lakes and wetlands. Pedal over to two lighthouses built in 1859 and 1906.
Pencarrow Coast Road
Jaw-dropping views
Zig Zag up Kowhai Street Track to Butterfly Creek, catching views over the harbour.
Choose your level of adventure with walks ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours return. Kowhai Street Track
For style lovers
Design lovers rejoice, Goldie is a home and lifestyle cornerstore full of Danish and New Zealand labels. Browse the likes of Ferm Living, Audo Copenhagan, Citta, Nature
Baby and Yu Mei. 27 Rimu Street
The local brunch spot
Enjoy good food and locally roasted Karamu coffee at Hive. The cabinet is full of goodies that are baked from scratch daily, including ham baguettes and almond croissants. The menu offers a variety of fresh and flavoursome options.
16 Rimu Street
Post-swimming snacks
Nip across the road from Days Bay beach to the Days Bay Pavilion for woodfired pizza and an ice-cream.
611b Marine Drive
Find more inspo on @huttvalleynz for better weekends!
SCHRÖDINGER’S BOOKS
Schrödinger’s Books is an independent bookshop in the heart of Jackson Street. The bookshop itself is beautiful, with original art deco windows and hand-crafted wooden shelves stacked with a fantastic range of books. Featuring the best of fiction, science fiction, fantasy, Manga and children’s books. They also have an amazing range of modern gender positive and Te Reo books.
It’s no surprise that this haven for booklovers won ‘NZ’s Best Bookshop’ award in 2021!
Schrödinger’s Books have made a huge effort to foster their booklover community with regular author talks and events. The team are very friendly and always happy to make recommendations for your next great read.
137 Jackson Street, Petone
Follow @huttvalleynz for better weekends