A new, unmanned, information kiosk in Bluff was opened on Thursday (27 Oct) after a collaborative community effort worked tirelessly to bring the project to fruition.

“Stunning” was one description of the kiosk which is housed in a former shipping container in keeping with the maritime theme of the town.

Michele Rutherford of Bluff 2024 cut the ribbon to open the kiosk on Bluff’s green belt on SH1 after a karakia by Bubba Thompson of the Te Rau Aroha Marae. Project Working Group members Corey Bragg, Gloria Henderson, Tammi Topi and Shona Tomlins of ICC Parks were alongside as the kiosk was declared open. 

Tammi Topi then thanked those that contributed and praised the collaborative approach to the project, describing it as raising the bar for projects in Bluff.

The kiosk will provide information for visitors no matter what time they arrive in the town.

Groups such as the Bluff Community Board, Bluff 2024, Te Rūnaka o Awarua, Bluff Promotions and ICC Parks worked together on the project.

Earlier this year Dean Whaanga, Kawhakahaere, Te Rūnaka o Awarua performed a karakia at the site to bless the soil where the kiosk is sited and Gloria Henderson, a Bluff Community Board member at that time turned the first sod.

Contributors to the project included the Urwin Family, Lion Foundation, Invercargill City Council, Bluff Community Charitable Trust, South Port NZ Ltd, Elsie Powley, Bluff 2024, Bluff Promotions, Southern Generation, Firth, Te Rūnaka o Awarua, Southern Aggregates Ltd, Stabicraft, The New Zealand Abalone Company, CH4 Global, Manāki Whitebait, The Bluff Lodge, Land’s End Boutique Hotel, Oyster Cove Restaurant, Osborn Engineering, Bluff Engineering & Welding, Port Maintenance Group, Graham Laidlaw, Lloyd Esler, Bubba Thompson of the Te Rau Aroha Marae, the Southland Museum & Art Gallery and the Riverton Fisherman’s Co-Op.