Te Puke to become 'Te Pukewood'

The tiny town of Te Puke could soon be transformed into 'Te Pukewood' as part of a new initiative announced today, in a nod to the movie-making land of Hollywood.

The Te Puke Economic Development Group announced this morning their plans to establish the Te Puke region as the preferred production location for New Zealand film.

Managing director Mark Boyle said the initiative was inspired by the recent filming in Te Puke of the community resourced movie 'The ZNail Gang'.

Mr Boyle said the project captivated the community and people from all walks of life contributed to it's production.

The Te Puke region was strategically located and well resourced and within a small geographic region there were mountains, native flora and fauna, forests, geothermal activity, marae, superb coastline, rivers and streams, pristine agricultural and horticultural land, industrial activity, townships, villages and multicultural communities all with superb infrastructure, Mr Boyle said.

Te Puke was also minutes away from international and domestic airports, New Zealand's premier sea port and two significant cities with Tauranga and Rotorua.

Te Puke was infinitely more cost competitive compared with larger centres, including accommodation, transport, communication and service providers, he said.

Mr Boyle said Te Puke has pioneered significant industry over the last 150 years and the kiwifruit industry was testament to that.

Over the coming weeks, Mr Boyle will be making representations to New Zealand film industry executives on the Te Puke value proposition.

First we had Hollywood, then Bollywood and Wellywood. It's time for Te Pukewood, Mr Boyle said.

Whilst this initial initiative was domestically focused there is undoubtedly an opportunity to promote Te Puke to the international film industry. The economic benefits for our region would be significant, Mr Boyle said.