A public workshop will be held from noon on Wednesday — before a Cromwell Community Board meeting. All Central Otago residents were urged to help come up with a name for the nearly completed building, which is due to open in July, at the Central Otago District Council meeting in December. The Cromwell Community Board had recommended the $45 million venue have dual names — one English and a gifted te reo Māori one, Central Otago district councillor Sarah Browne said at the December meeting. Deputy mayor Tracy Paterson said, at the time, the decision was for the whole district, "not just a decision for Cromwell". However, all Central Otago ratepayers would pay for operating expenses because of the council’s "districtisation" policy of spreading its outlay across the whole district.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 01, 2026 15:38 UTC