And the new Hairy Maclary and Friends statues that Key had unveiled a few days earlier were being celebrated in a family fun day of festivities on the waterfront.
Something for everyone. Symbolic of the way our city is growing so rapidly, not just with hard infrastructure of a new road, but the statues being a celebration of Tauranga's arts and culture.
A day to be proud of our city.
The road, described as a game changer by Tauranga MP and Minister of Transport Simon Bridges, and "the best road in New Zealand". Something that really stamps our region on the map. More than just a road, it opens up the region to industry, jobs and economic growth and development. As Key said: "By improving links between centres of production and ports or airports, we can improve our international competitiveness and achieve the strong and growing economy that supports more jobs and higher incomes."
Who in Tauranga could not be proud of that?
On the arts scene, there are those who tirelessly strive to put our region on a similar road in culture. A city's cultural capital is not just measured in economic terms but in aesthetic value. A community's art cannot be valued in mere dollars but has a priceless and lasting impact.
So it is for the Hairy Maclary statues. As iconic as the silver fern and buzzy bee, the characters created by Tauranga's Dame Lynley Dodd now have a permanent home for generations to enjoy.
It was harder to bring these statues to Tauranga than a $455 million road. The Hairy Maclary project, which attracted a $150,000 government grant, and seed funding of $30,000 from TECT, was mainly funded by benefactors and it took Creative Tauranga's Tracey Rudduck-Gudsell four-and-a-half years to reach the goal of $660,000. As Bridges said at the project's unveiling, although Tauranga had some of the best hard infrastructure in New Zealand, "we have some way to go with the softer stuff like the arts".
Rudduck-Gudsell had earlier told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend of her struggle to enable arts in the city, with their greatest hurdle being funding and political support despite the arts being as vital to our well-being as sports.
At the opening, however wary you might have been about the project years ago (and even I when hearing about it for the first time four years ago voiced some doubts) - it was truly a landmark moment for Tauranga.
Tauranga's waterfront gleamed as the nine beautiful bronze statues were unveiled, complete with concrete areas, seating and magnolia trees.
Key mingled with the crowd of Tauranga faces in the heart of our city. He posed for selfies, chatted to locals. Children squealed with joy. Councillors smiled. Business people exchanged cards and ideas. Local cafe Dry Dock laid on divine coffee and cake. The waterfront buzzed.
Who in Tauranga could not be proud of that?
I was soon to find out. As I was enjoying my tea, the sunshine, and posting my selfies with JK, my news phone rang. It was only 8am. The statues' setting had been vandalised overnight. Someone had graffittied in paint "feed the kids" and "eat the rich" on the grass just hours before the family fun day of celebrations were to begin.
I wasn't upset about not finishing my tea. I wasn't sad about waking up a photographer to go to the scene. Our digital reporter wasn't annoyed when I disturbed her just as she was about to bike down the new Eastern Link with her husband.
But what did make me sad is that someone - or some people in the community - felt the need to be so destructive.
Spraying all over the hard work and energy of people such as Rudduck-Gudsell, who have dedicated so much to bettering our city.
Thankfully this mindless act didn't destroy the day. Tauranga turned out in thousands to the statues and the Eastern Link. The city shone.
But the vandals were not the only naysayers.
As artist Hayley Brown pointed out, on social media there were negative comments about the statues. Brown wrote on her Facebook page:
"I'm astounded that people continue to hark on about taxpayers' money when this project was not funded by council rates. It's of great concern to me that I continue to see negative comments and even bullying and abuse to the visionaries and private funders and who pushed this project forward."
Brown's comments were well received and supported by many in Tauranga. I wholeheartedly agree with Brown's words on this. It is not just mindless graffiti sprayers who can be negative about arts but unfortunately some of those who run our city and control the purse strings.
I couldn't put this better than Brown, who wrote, "Everyone in Tauranga should be proud of its own national icons like Lynley Dodd and the Hairy Maclary Legacy she has created. These sculptures help put Tauranga on the map and long after you and I have passed on preserve the magic of these wonderful stories for many, many generations to come. After a lifetime of celebrated work, that is part of the fabric of NZ's culture, Lynley Dodd deserves this tribute in her home town and Tauranga as a growing city and should to continue embrace arts and culture as much as it does sport. Would a new stadium or statue of a rugby hero cause so much negativity? Do you visit cities in Europe and walk by countless statues and sculptures wishing they didn't exist? Do you realise the importance of these monuments in a much larger context than just your life? The expense of this project is nothing in comparison, but we are so proud of our Kiwi-made films. Films wouldn't even get made without writers, let's support our writers and storytellers in all mediums.
"Short sighted and demand immediate value? I ask you to sit down by these sculptures on a sunny weekend day and watch the joy on young kids faces and their parents too when they see these wonderful characters leap from the pages of our storybooks. Children across the country still read these classic books every day and have done for generations. Shame on you tall poppy slashers who decide if it's not relevant to your life then it's not important. Well done to all those involved they look beautiful and can't wait to visit."
We can be thankful to Rudduck-Gudsell for believing even with the odds and voices against her. Sadly she is leaving Creative Tauranga which is a great loss to our region's art scene and to the city itself. Don't cut the poppies, Tauranga.
You can sit in the darkness on the old backroads with your graffiti can or anonymous negative posts on social media. Or you can get amongst it.
The Bay of Plenty is coming into its own. Together we will do great things.
Who in Tauranga could not be proud of that?
