Two Decades of Inspiring Arts and Community Connections in Kerikeri – Gerry Paul
As I sit in the Turner Centre auditorium planning for our 20th anniversary celebration on 2 August, I’m reflecting on what this place has become to mean to our community. Twenty years ago, when Helen Clark officially opened these doors, we had high hopes but couldn’t have predicted the journey ahead.
The story of this place never gets old. Back in the 1980s, Doug Turner and John Dalton were volunteers at the old Kerikeri Memorial Hall, but they envisioned something more substantial. They saw the need for a purpose-built cultural facility that could serve our growing Far North community. What started as conversations between two committed locals became Operation Spotlight – a six-year fundraising campaign that raised $7.5 million through community effort.
The 200 local contractors and tradespeople who brought architect Martyn Evans’ design to life created something lasting. That distinctive roofline, the 400-plus seat auditorium – they built a facility that would cost over $100 million today. The $20 million investment our community and funders made was significant, but the returns have been substantial.
Since opening, we’ve hosted over 4,000 performances, workshops, exhibitions, meetings, and community events. We’re home to more than 35 community groups who access discounted venue hire subsidised by our commercial bookings. Last year, we were able to offer 10,000 free or pay-what-you-can tickets across 42 events – including 5,000 for tamariki and rangatahi throughout the Far North.
Our anniversary concert is really a celebration of the incredible creative talent we have right here in Kerikeri and the Far North. Troy Kingi brings his unmistakable songwriting and considerable mana to the evening. Kerikeri Theatre Company will present an entertaining and specially written radio play, as well as actor Willi Henley performing a piece by Rowan Atkinson.
The Bay of Islands Singers – our 60-strong mixed-voice community choir who rehearse here every Monday – will perform several pieces including Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Merv Pinny, who has built a global following while remaining thoroughly local, will perform. His songs have achieved over 30 million streams across platforms.
We’re also excited to showcase the talent of the future with Bandwidth Riot, the youth band who won the Smokefree Rockquest Far North finals. Their performance represents the emerging creative energy in our community and a group of rangatahi that have come through the ‘Be Free’ music mentoring programme that happens every Tuesday afternoon at the Turner Centre.
Ngāti Rēhia Community Kapa Haka Group will present work from their 8-week kapa haka programme, held at the Centre and led by Rawi Pere. Kerikeri songwriter Taylah Barker of Fly My Pretties will join these local acts on our stage and help us mark 20 years of the Turner Centre’s contribution to our community.
This programming approach reflects our strategic vision – developed in consultation with our community and guided by Ngāti Rēhia – “Te Ranga Toi Waka”: to be the waka that weaves together the arts for our community. Doug Turner and John Dalton’s vision of a purpose-built cultural facility has evolved into something more comprehensive – a hub for Far North creativity and community connection.
We’re celebrating two decades of supporting local talent, of programming that connects people across cultures and generations, of arts experiences that matter. This is what happens when a community invests in cultural infrastructure and programming. This venue continues to serve its purpose, adapting and growing with the community it represents.
I’ll be taking the stage myself alongside Dusty Burnell. We’re two-fifths of T-Bone, and there’s something fitting about Dusty being part of this celebration – he remembers fundraising as a teenager at Okaihau College in the early 2000s, back when this dream was still taking shape.