Beautification contest transforms Manuaute Street

A shed full of ‘junk’ helped Lois Mills win first prize in Ruapehu Youth Council’s Manuaute St Beautification Contest with her entry ‘Off the Rails’ which imitated an old General Store.

The contest saw the Youth Council asking people to come up with ideas for replica store frontages that could be put together for under $400 with the overall winner pocketing $1,500 cash with $500 going to a local charity or community organization of their choice.

Mrs. Mills said that all the display material was sourced from ‘junk’ that she had in her shed.

My kids used to say, “Mum, what are you going to do with all that stuff?”

“I said, I’m going to put it all to good use one day!”

“I’m just thrilled that it’s been put to good use to help Taumarunui.”

“I was born in Ongarue and although I moved away for a while I’m back now and I just have a passion for the place,” she said.

“My entry was basically put together by myself with help from my son Rob although a lot of other people helped out in various ways.

“I’m planning to give everyone who helped me out in some way, even if it was just encouragement, a small financial reward,” said Mrs. Mills.

Second place and $300 went to Ruapehu Community Arts for their entry Dr Jekyll’s Emporium.

Third place and $200 went to the Lanusi sisters for their entry Retro Dress Makers.

Council Youth Liaison Samantha Arthur-Curtis said that the winners were voted on by a group consisting of Ruapehu Mayor Don Cameron, Council Chief Executive Clive Manley, Ruapehu Youth Councillors and the building owners.

“They had a totally unenviable job given how good all the entries were,” she said.

“It’s been a lot of hard work but it’s all been worth it.”

“The stores now look beautiful and now I can’t wait to get started on beautifying the rest of Taumarunui.”

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