Tauranga South Garden Club president Joan Malcouronne at the Robbins Park Tropical Display House. Photo / George Novak
Tauranga South Garden Club president Joan Malcouronne at the Robbins Park Tropical Display House. Photo / George Novak
More than 500 people have signed a petition to save Tauranga's Tropical Display House from demolition by the city council.
The council has signalled that it wants to save $100,000 a year and close the display house - unless a community group steps up to take over the operation.
Itprovoked a strong community reaction, including from the Tauranga South Garden Club which organised a petition signed by 543 people.
"It is just lovely and so relaxing. It will be a shame if it goes - once it's gone we'll never get it back," club president Joan Malcouronne told the Bay of Plenty Times.
Club members will be waving placards at a meeting of the council on Friday where the fate of the 61-year-old display house will be decided.
The display house was high on the list of contentious issues in the council's draft 10-year plan that also included the controversial decision not to spend $500,000 to help fund the Tauranga leg of the walkway/cycleway from Omokoroa.
Councillors will be hearing submissions from 144 people and organisations on the Long Term Plan, starting today and ending on Friday. The council received 656 written submissions. Part of the rationale for closing the display house, also known as the Begonia House, was that the visitor book showed it was getting only two visitors a day.
However when Mrs Malcouronne took the petition to a recent meeting of the University of the Third Age, nearly all 95 people put up their hand to say they had enjoyed the display house. But only one hand went up when she asked who had signed the visitors book.
"A lot of them had happy memories of the display house but they did not feel they needed to sign the visitors' book because they lived locally."
Mrs Malcouronne said the council was missing the plot because the display house was in a wonderful spot near heritage attractions like the Monmouth Redoubt and The Elms. She believed the many elderly people holidaying on cruise ships would be interested in seeing the subtropical plants.
Club members were amazed at the support they received.
The petition said visitors needed to be made more aware of the "treasure" which produced colourful displays all year round.