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After 16 lengthy years, the previous web site of Ashburton’s Chinese language market backyard settlement lastly opens as a group heritage park on Sunday.
The official opening is an invite-only affair and the location will then be open to the general public from Monday.
Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown has described the location as an “outside museum” the place the group can study extra in regards to the historical past of Chinese language pioneers in Ashburton.
The market backyard settlement on Allens Street operated from the early Nineteen Twenties till 1964, and was the biggest Chinese language group within the South Island throughout that point.
The round 2.3-hectare web site stays residence to a bunch of historic buildings and amenities which have been stabilised to cease additional deterioration.
The challenge was born in 2008 when one of many group of homeowners, Yep Ng, labored with different members of the family to have the settlement come beneath council administration.
Representatives of the descendants of the Ng King settlers, the Ashburton District Council and Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga will likely be on the opening, with round 300 folks anticipated to attend.
Upoko o Te Rūnaka o Arowhenua Te Wera King will bless the location throughout the opening.
Landscaping has been accomplished and the fencing across the web site will likely be eliminated simply earlier than the formal opening.
To coincide with the opening, the Ashburton Museum is about to unveil a brand new exhibition on February 26.
The exhibition A New Period: Ng King Bros. Chinese language Market Backyard Settlement celebrates the historical past of the location and the restoration challenge that labored over 15 years in direction of the location re-opening as a public reserve this month.
By Jonathan Leask
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