More than five years after the original 1950s ‘Welcome to Lake Hāwea’ sign was removed, the Hāwea Community Association (HCA) has begun consultation on new signs welcoming people to the district.

Industrial designer Coby Tucker, a Hāwea resident, has been charged by the HCA sign committee to “come up with some concepts” to inspire the community to respond, he told the Wānaka App.

“The process so far has been to present the community with concepts to inspire a conversation about how Hāwea sees itself,” he said.

Former HCA chair Dennis Hughes described the original sign as “old Wild West” style, but the new signs are striking a very different note.

The Hāwea Flat signs may reference the area’s agricultural heritage.

Cody’s designs include large boulders to reflect mountain ranges and the ruggedness of the environment.

He has suggested including the figure of a mountaineer in reference to Lake Hāwea resident Lydia Brady, who became the first woman to climb Mt Everest without supplemental oxygen in 1988.

There are five signs planned: two in Lake Hāwea (on the hill below the Lake Hāwea Hotel, visible to people driving across the dam; and on the corner of Muir and Cemetery Roads); and three in Hāwea Flat (on Camphill Road, Kane Road, and Gladstone Road). 

HCA sign committee chair Colleen Carr said the HCA did not plan a sign for SH6 as the process was too onerous.

The original sign was removed in 2016.

Feedback on the sign concepts via social media so far has shown it is very important to the community that he collaborates with local iwi Ngai Tahu over the design, Cody said.

Ngai Tahu is currently seeking a liaison person, he added. 

Once feedback (including from Ngai Tahu) is finalised, Cody will develop the design concepts to present once again before the final step of construction. 

“The timeframe is open ended, as long as we need to get it right,” he said.

Dennis Hughes said five years ago there was so much affection locally for the original sign that it would not be thrown out. Colleen told the Wānaka App the sign committee would look into a new home for the original sign.

PHOTOS: Supplied