Let's think positive about our pretty city

Steve Baron suspects locals have a worse impression of our city than those who do not live here. Photo/Bevan Conley

It may be a big ask, but as well as the new Wanganui District Council grappling with important issues such as the sewage ponds, it needs to attempt what may be the impossible - improving the local economy.

While I have always believed that a council's job is to look after the basic requirements of a city - roading, sewerage, water etc - it also needs to attempt to attract visitors, new residents and employers. But where the hell would you start?

Having left Wanganui over 30 years ago to find fame and fortune in the big smoke of Auckland, I felt at the time Wanganui had little to offer me. Employment opportunities were dwindling and even my old job on the railways was soon to be axed as the new Labour government backtracked on its election campaign to "save rail".

There was certainly a time when I couldn't ever imagine returning to Wanganui. My perception was that it was a bit like Hamilton - what would you ever go there for unless it was to visit friends and family or for work purposes? Places like Auckland have the Sky Tower, Kelly Tarlton's, Rainbow's End etc.

What brought me back to Wanganui were family reasons, but I have to say that I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I now enjoy living here. There are indeed many great attractions, but we still need more and we also need to promote them better to the rest of New Zealand.

People simply do not know what Wanganui has to offer. We are not known for anything in particular and I also suspect locals have a worse impression of our city than those who do not live here.

On a recent trip to Australia, the first question most people asked me was where I was from? When I said Wanganui I was amazed at how most people knew of, or had heard of, it, and everyone I spoke to had a positive outlook on the place. It was remarkable how many of them had actually been here and thought it was lovely.

Having done a lot of travel over the years and having lived in a number of places, the conclusion I have come to is that a city needs to have attractions to tempt people to visit.

Attractions like the Waimarie paddle steamer, the Durie Hill tunnel and tower, Kowhai Park, Virginia Lake and the Whanganui National Park are featured on the information centre website but they are not displayed in depth or in an attractive format for tourists.

Conversely, a quick search for Christchurch attractions finds a very striking website that highlights a number of attractions in a very appealing format. Take a look at www.welcomeaboard.co.nz.

On my recent trip to Christchurch, the devastation was still prevalent but what impressed me was the new tramline that winds through the central city.

It's a real attraction for tourists and adds to the atmosphere. It is a little bit like Wellington's cable car, an icon, something everyone who visits there wants to do at some stage.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the new Wanganui tram wound its way through central downtown like it did back in 1908? What an amazing attraction compared to the 50 metres of track it currently has available.

It is attractions like this that tempt people here in the first place and - who knows? - maybe one day when they are looking for a change in lifestyle and much cheaper property prices, they could be tempted to settle here.

This, in turn, creates the need for more services and more jobs to supply those services. We have to start thinking about possibilities like this, unless we aim to vacillate in mediocrity.

As the motto of one school I knew said, "Aim high" - and the principal informed me that didn't mean in the urinal!

Certainly, the costs could be very high, but maybe there are other ways to fund ventures like this without having to increase rates.

Steve Baron is a Wanganui-based political scientist, co-editor of the book People Power and the Founder of Better Democracy NZ.