Bringing beauty back

Paula Walsh is proud of Te Awamutu and wants to keep the town beautiful.

However “taggers” have other ideas and aren’t painting the best picture of the Waipā town.

Walsh and other citizens are reigniting the Keep Te Awamutu Beautiful (Ktab) group.

“The main reason for re-starting the group was the graffiti or tagging on the side of the Postie (formerly Postie Plus) building on Arawata St,” new Ktab co-ordinator Walsh said.

“It’s one of the first sights visitors are greeted with as they enter Te Awamutu. “I’d been in touch with Postie last year – the headquarters and the people in the shop – but to no avail. It was very frustrating.

“It turns out there was a new landlord and she’s very happy for us to do something about the graffiti.”

Ktab have gathered to overcome the spray-painted chaos.

They want to keep Te Awamutu and Kihikihi inviting for visitors and residents alike.

“Over the summer, there was a spike in tagging. That started to make people more aware,” Walsh said.

“Māori ward councillor Dale-Maree Morgan contacted me, as my husband Shane had told her how passionate I was about the subject.”

Morgan organised a meeting in the Burchell Pavilion.

Walsh, Te Awamutu Business Chamber representative and iSite manager Harriet Clune, CommSafe community safety officer Mandy Merson, Aaron Karam from Team 7, Sandra-Lee Bryant from the Get Out Escape Rooms and several other people with Te Awamutu interests attended.

“We got a little bit of background on why the tagging is happening and what’s going on within a community and within people’s lives that makes them want to tag,” Walsh said.

“We decided we needed to create a tag-busters team. We found out where all the tagging was, the extent of it and how we could perhaps go about it.

“Property Brokers, Stone Real Estate and Chris Graham from Te Awamutu Boxing Academy were happy to get on board too, while Mitre 10 Te Awamutu will donate paint and painting tools for the cause.”

Te Awamutu News 26 March 2026

Walsh entered, and won, a competition run via Te Awamutu accountants Varntige.

The winner gets six staff members for eight hours of work within the community in mid-April.

“That gave us all a boost. After we’ve identified the main spots, we should get all the graffiti covered within those eight hours.

The Keep New Zealand Beautiful honorary chief executive Wayne Gazley has also been helpful to the cause, providing high-vis and marketing collateral for awareness.

“It’s always exciting to have new groups starting and even better to see previous groups rejuvenated with fresh committed volunteers,” Gazley said.

Te Awamutu Kihikihi Community Board will also help.

“When there’s graffiti, the community can message our Facebook page and we’ll get it painted out as soon as possible,” Walsh said.

Everybody can help with their eyes, ears and work with us when they can. Many hands make light work,” Clune said.

“We don’t want tagging in our town. It needs to stop.”

26 Mar 2026 • By Jesse Wood