Community Building in Hampden

Back in October 2021 I moved from Auckland to North Otago for family reasons. It was literally the first week that we could travel but I still needed a permission slip (because of Covid controls) to be inspected by police upon the exit from Auckland. For the last 2 years I’ve been busy on community building pun absolutely intended.

For the record I’m not writing about covid but I was vaccinated and have had booster shots and nearly 5 years later I still haven’t had it. I was at high risk of serious consequences because of pre-existing medical conditions and my age. I’m just going to park that and only mention it because it was part of the context.

My mum was living in a small town just off the main Highway 1. This is Hampden. Silent p. A blip and you miss it – kind of place. It is 35k South of Oamaru and 78k North of Ōtepoti. There are very few services in a small place like this and the hidden costs of living a 70k round trip from the supermarket and healthcare is one reason that my mum ended up living out much of her last days* in Auckland with other members of my family. (* That story in another post one day. She died of melanoma.)

The town now has between 200 and 300 ratepayers but many are “cribbers” who live in Alexandra or somewhere else and they just come in to the weekends of the summer. So the all year round population is a fraction of that and these people are quite resilient, independent and sometimes a bit of a handful LOL.

We only just got fibre in 2022 despite being literally on Highway 1. This makes the isolation bearable. And having a dog is a bonus too.

The real treasure in a place like this are the handful of people who get things done. The community builders.

In Hampden that is a group called the Hampden Community Energy Trust. HCE runs much of the local recycling, upcycling of waste and at various times has had up to 600 members. They were ahead of their time on many energy related matters and here is a story from 2017.

“A North Otago town now boasts what is believed to be the first community-owned electric car in New Zealand.” …”Hampden Community Energy spent about $22,000, raised at its  recycling store the Top Tip Shop, and launched the one-year trial yesterday,  group spokesman Dugald MacTavish said.”

I joke that Hampden is Gods Waiting Room and it is a place where old people go to die but this actually describes quite a few country towns in New Zealand and I mean this only in jest. The truth is I am approaching the retirement phase of life and I might look like an old dude but when I’m on my bike I’m still in my 30’s at least.

My V02 max says that my actual age is definitely younger but  like many other aging people I am in denial about my age. If you are reading this and you are younger here is a pro tip. Take better care of yourself in your 40’s and from then on ( or better earlier) because when you get into your 60’s and older you can have a great time if your health including mobility is still good.

I’ve worked behind a bar and I have some stand up “bits” I’d like to try out on this one day. For example – Did you know there are 4 kind of Speights? ( True and I am not going to put the punch line here but one day I will do this live.)

Here is the thing. There is no safe dosage for alcohol (no joke.) Fullstop. The reality is that the amount of self inflicted health damage in our population is fudged and tolerated and it really shouldn’t be. Anyway; if you can step off the drinking wagon in your 40’s that is a good idea because alcohol causes inflammation and makes your medical conditions worse for the most part.

Am I teetotal? Nope. But It doesn’t make any kind of sense to cycle 200ks per week for fun and then poison my system with alcohol. I personally spend about 2 hours a day walking, cycling or swimming. I’m always trying to go faster or better when I do this because most of my exercise is logged for my own amusement and I want to be healthy. Those logs are useful for my doctors too.

The best thing about living in Hampden is community hub project.

I have been one of the core people helping to build the physical building. It is a 4 bay post barn that is around 240 square metres. One bay is open. The other 3 bays are inside and that gives 180 square metres for a maker space, tool workshop, pottery wheels and other all hours activity spaces.

To be fair when I first heard about the project I thought why build another shed in a ghost town that is full of blokes sheds. We don’t need another one. BTW there is a very good community hall plus a beautiful old church that gets used as a community space and another smaller hall next to that one. The difference to the new space is that while there will be spaces to book I expect that some of the local “makers” will use the hub as their main workspace.

Like all such projects the usage patterns will evolve over time.

I am very grateful for the chance to help build a large building like this. I haven’t had the chance to use a hammer or other building tools for a long time and it is very satisfying to see  the building take shape. The building process is part of the journey too. We have been meeting every Wednesday and Saturday mornings for about the past 2 years.

I have been putting up the occasional photo on my Instagram account. See here for an early photo of the poles, and concrete pad. The trusses came next and everything else I have been working on. More photos below.

Since May 2024 95% of what has been built on the site has been completed by volunteers like myself. We have had help from some skilled builders for the roofing and some skilled volunteers for the windows and so on.

It has been a slow process and I have referred to it more than once as the slowest barn raising in history. The Amish will build a barn in a few days but here we are two years along. Also the community fund raised for years to be able to buy materials. Bruce Parker is the designer. Walls are plywood – inside and out and it does look like a mid west barn.

I wasn’t sure about the red paint, yellow windows and blue accents but I do like it now. Shout out to Howard, Annette, Dugald, Alison, Matt, Roger, Murray, Neil and a few others who have been part of the core team. There are many others who have helped out and they are the real treasure in the countryside. Community builders who just keep turning up.

I drink too much coffee and especially those first couple of hours I am a handful LOL. But even though I’m impatient to see the project finished I keep turning up. I won’t be around to see that finished space as I am moving back closer to my family in Auckland and Melbourne but I will be a frequent visitor. Hope to see you all at the opening.

Not sure when that will be but pencilling in April 2026.