This project, including category prizes, is funded by the NZTA Waka Kotahi Transport Choices fund with paint kindly provided by Resene Paint. The project meets funding/sponsorship guidelines to create walkable neighbourhoods, encourage community involvement and attract people to visit and enjoy the town centre.

The wall will be painted black with the haiku professionally applied in white, as agreed with the business owner. The haiku wall will have a clear graffiti guard paint applied.

Council doesn’t own the laneway wall and is working with the business owner who is also interested in creating an interesting and vibrant space for pedestrians. We worked with the business owner to come up with a win-win design that would involve the community, draw pedestrians to the laneway and complement the aesthetic of the business.

Please visit Matamata Library, 11 Tainui St, Matamata inside the Matamata-Piako Civic and Memorial Centre or print an A4 copy here (680kb).

In order to celebrate Matamata’s rich cultural and heritage stories, the wall will be in English and te reo at the request of the business owner. We will endeavour to translate all English haiku into te reo and all te reo haiku into English. We understand any translation will unlikely also follow the haiku format.

Laneways can be transformed into safer, more inviting spaces. If you are looking to transform a public wall/laneway and you own the building or have the land/building owner’s written consent, contact Pride of Place at [email protected] to help get your initiative off the ground.  

Grants and funding opportunities
Pride of Place Community-led Initiatives Grant supports small-scale, community-led initiatives with grants up to $2,000. Applications open year round.
Creative Communities Scheme provides funding for arts and cultural projects in our district. There are two funding rounds annually, they open on the second Wednesday of February and the first Wednesday of August each year and are open for applications for a period of five weeks. The next funding round opens 7 August 2024.

To see the full list of grants we administer to support groups and individuals in our community, please visit mpdc.nz/grants

You may also like to check out Resene Sponsorships - Helping to colour your community

This haiku contest was open to anyone and everyone of all ages, particularly those associated with Matamata. Entries were to be in English or te reo. Haiku were instantly published on the website for public viewing. Entries may also be used in online or physical promotion of the haiku contest and laneway beautification project, including but not limited to, displays at Matamata-Piako District Libraries, printed and displayed along local storyboard walks and published on social media pages. Entries will have author's chosen name printed alongside it. All entries will need to be original and authored by the entrant. Entries closed 31 May 2024.

As written at time of competition entry period:

• Entry to the Matamata laneway haiku competition is free.
• Work must be original and authored by the entrant.
• Entries to be in NZ English or te reo Māori.
• Entries are open to anyone who lives, works, plays, visits or has a connection to Matamata.
• Entrants may enter more than one original haiku.
• All entries will be automatically published on the website with the author’s chosen name and age group. Entries may also be printed and used physically or online until 31 December 2024 for promotional purposes. The contact details of all submitters will be deleted at the completion of the project. 
• There are two parts to the competition, Judges' Choice and People's Choice:
  • Judges’ Choice is the main part of the competition where all entries will be submitted for a chance to feature on the laneway wall. Haiku chosen will be at the judges’ discretion and may or may not include the People’s Choice winners. Entrants agree if their haiku is chosen, it can be applied to the wall along with their name provided. There is no monetary or physical prize attached.
  • People’s Choice is a sub-competition created in order to encourage a variety of entries and attract people to the competition page. There are five age group categories. People are able to vote on their favourite haiku in each category. The haiku with the most votes in each category wins the prize. If entries in an age category receive equal votes, the People’s Choice winner will be determined by an independent online ‘spin the wheel’ app. The winners must be able to collect their prize from the Matamata Council office within two weeks of being notified, unless agreed otherwise with the organiser. Each category has a $50 Prezzy Card prize (or equivalent) attached.
• The organiser is the Pride of Place team, Matamata-Piako District Council.
• Competition closing dates are clearly marked on any competition materials and competition web page