There was perfect weather for the Steampunk the Thames festival. Last Saturday’s parade drew a great crowd, the Pollen Street market had a very busy day, cafes had lines out the door. Retailers were busy as well.
My wife Svargo and I attended the Victorian Masked Ball at the Thames War Memorial Civic Centre on Saturday evening where I acted as judge for the Best Dressed competition (pictured). It was a huge amount of fun and the creativity and ingenuity that people put into their costumes is truly impressive. We then danced the night away at the Gold Rush Rave at the Bella Street Pumphouse and on Sunday entered our dog Molly wearing her wings in the Punk My Pet competition at Victoria Park.
The Small Gauge Railway was running, airships and teapots were racing, there was live music, market stalls and lots of people out and about taking it all in. It was a well-run successful weekend that brought lots of visitors to Thames. Well done, Steampunk the Thames and the organising committee who worked so hard to make this happen: Caroline Thomas; Richard Hornell; Paula Munro; Lena Fisher; Robyn Pengelly; Ross Smith; Patti Wicksteed; Frazer Murdoch. The Steampunk Markets were co-ordinated by Mem Bourke. Thank you all so much.
The worst-kept secret was made official on Monday with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency announcing SH25A will reopen by Wednesday 20 December. This is about three months earlier than originally announced and will hopefully mean a successful trading summer for so many of our businesses around the district.
The timing fits in well with the reopening of our local Tapu-Coroglen Road by Friday 15 December. The staff and contractors of both Waka Kotahi and our Council deserve a big thank you from all of us for their hard work in demanding conditions.
Let’s be clear though, the mahi on our transport networks is not done and there will continue to be crews at work, sometimes with traffic management in place, on both local roads and state highways for many months to come, just to repair the cyclone damage. Let’s spare them a thought as we travel, follow the directions given, be patient and be kind.
We’re also looking longer term, to ensure our roading infrastructure can withstand future extreme weather events. Last Friday, Councillor John Morrissey and I attended the Regional Land Transport Committee workshop in Hamilton where we continue to work with our partners in the Waikato on funding and priorities for long-term investment to ensure this transport resilience. This week I met our re-elected Coromandel Member of Parliament Scott Simpson to brief him on this work, which we will be connecting up on more when the new government is formed.
