They’ll always be the Turtle Pools
They'll always be the Turtle Pools
25 November 2015
Long-time Turangi resident Chrissie Biddle was convinced she had the perfect name for her town's aquatic centre when Taupo District Council announced a competition to name it - and the Turangi Tongariro Community Board agreed.
The complex has officially been renamed the Turtle Pools after the November board meeting.
I've been here the whole 50 years of my life and that's all I've known it as, Ms Biddle said. It would change the history of it if it wasn't that.
Formerly known as the Genesis Energy Turangi Aquatic Centre, the complex was originally named the Turtle Pools when it was built in the early 1970s. The name came from a then-10-year-old school girl who suggested the name for her home town pools because they took a long time to build. The name was adopted for its dual meaning - the turtle also symbolised the helmets the workmen wore underground during the development of the first power station in the area.
Genesis Energy sponsored the pools in 2008, so the name was changed to reflect it. However this sponsorship ended in September, and a competition was held to find a new name.
Taupo District Council's district parks and recreation manager John Ridd said entries were submitted online and through a box at the aquatic centre, and an overwhelming number of people suggested the centre be named the Turtle Pools.
It was clear to us and the Turangi Tongariro Community Board that the community wanted its history to come alive again, he said. It's a name that means a lot to many people, so it's great we are able to name it something people really love.
Because more than one person suggested the name approved by the community board, the winner of the competition was drawn from a hat at the November board meeting. Ms Biddle was the winner of a year-long membership to the pools.
END
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lisa Nairne Communications Manager 07 376 0762 027 839 8410
Vicki Waterhouse Communications Advisor 07 376 0718 027 484 2549
Taupo District Council
www.taupo.govt.nz