A tiny town that refused to die when times got tough is continuing to fight back and flourish.
Eketahuna has two building projects on its main street with a quilting shop and an art gallery to open and recently a new cafe opened.
The quilting shop is alongside the cafe and the
art gallery will take up part of the old A.H. Herbert Building in the centre of town.
Eketahuna suffered dreadfully in the downturn years and through the Rogernomics restructuring era with businesses in the town closing up shop and the population dwindling.
But the revival of Eketahuna is well under away.
Early on in the town's renewal the community clubbed together to save the community store and reopened the service station that had been forced out of business when it was devastated by fire.
Efforts then focused on getting the town an information centre that opened in mid-2006, complete with a gigantic artist-designed kiwi.
Since then several businesses have had repaints and a brightening- up, aided and abetted by the Eketahuna Main Street Committee.
Eketahuna Community Board chairman John Harman said it was pleasing to see the town's revival was ongoing despite the recession.
"It shows people have a willingness to chance their arm."
Helping the town along was the very obvious increase in traffic along State Highway 2.
Mr Harman said congestion along the Kapiti Coast meant many drivers were choosing to come through Wairarapa as an
alternative route from the north to reach the Hutt Valley and Wellington.
Improvements to the Rimutaka Hill Road helped them make that decision too.
"The increase in traffic flow is bringing more money into Eketahuna and our businesses need to capitalise on that."
Mr Harman said statistics gathered by volunteer staff at the information centre make interesting reading.
They show a surprising number of visitors called in during the centre's open hours that are spread over all seven days of the week.
"Many of them are from overseas as well.
"Given our population, we are right up there with the larger towns in Tararua as far as visitor numbers are concerned."
