Horowhenua New Zealand Trust

The Horowhenua New Zealand Trust is a not-for-profit organisation, governed by volunteer trustees.

Its mission is to improve economic and social outcomes for the Horowhenua.

Economic and social outcomes are closely linked. More jobs, higher household incomes, and better access to housing and facilities all help to improve the outlook and quality of life for people in our district.

With the unanimous backing of the elected members of the Horowhenua District Council and key members of the business community, the Horowhenua NZ Trust was created in 2018 by members of the business community who saw the opportunity for an independent organisation to bridge the gap between community, Council, and businesses, working to help Horowhenua realise its potential.

Trustees focus resources on the areas they believe will make the biggest difference to Horowhenua. Within each of these areas, they work alongside others to find opportunities and support solutions by bringing together the right people, with the right resources, and partnering with the right enterprises.

The Trust invests in three areas:

community development initiatives that align with the mission
commercial projects that create income and are consistent with the mission
distributions to support projects and organisations that meet our social agenda

Our structure

All change requires agility - the ability to pivot and get things up and running with speed, scale, and sustainability. Our structure allows us to quickly create an impact by using the right solution for the problem.

We’re a not-for-profit organisation, governed by volunteer trustees who act in accordance with our Trust Deed. However, in order to make the difference Horowhenua needs, we need sustainable financial resources. As a solution, the Trust created The Horowhenua Company Limited (THCL). THCL is 100% owned by the Horowhenua NZ Trust, and operates commercially to generate reliable revenue for the Trust’s activities.

Its role is to:

provide economic development services to the district,
manage community and property development projects, and
act as the operating arm of the Horowhenua New Zealand Trust.

Over time, our structure will evolve. With the Trust as our core, we work collaboratively to find gaps, and create individual solutions by wrapping the right people and right resources around it. In some cases, this will mean we partner with enterprise, create new commercial companies, or establish a specific charitable trust.

Read our annual report

Read our strategy

2024 Distributions

$1.6m boost to Community Health Services in Horowhenua

The Horowhenua NZ Trust is contributing $1.6 million to the district’s health services, led by investment in Levin’s new health centre.

About $1.5m would be committed to the Horowhenua Health Wellbeing Hub project under construction on Durham St.

The project was being driven by Horowhenua Developments Ltd, a trust group subsidiary, and would provide a range of general practice, pharmacy, radiology and related healthcare services.

Three community grants have also been awarded, all focused on healthcare access and support.

Read the story on Stuff

$50,000 for the Horowhenua Community Health Shuttle

The Horowhenua Community Health Shuttle provides affordable, reliable transport for the residents of Horowhenua to attend all their medical appointments in Palmerston North. Day to day running is provided by a paid coordinator, and 50 volunteers, all retired, are responsible for the operation of the vehicles.

It takes 260 hours of volunteer time a week for the operation. The scheduled service operates five times a day, five days a week from Levin picking up in Shannon, Foxton and Tokomaru. Currently over 800 passengers a month travel by shuttle. The funding of $50,000 provided by the Trust, is to help fund the replacement of one of their ageing shuttles.

$17,500 Ngātokowaru Marae Restoration

Ngātokowaru Marae, located in the Horowhenua, is about to start the second phase of its restoration project of thirty historical photographs which hang on the front wall of their whare tupuna.

The Horowhenua NZ Trust is honoured to support the initiative by providing a grant to restore precious frames and photographs that preserve the rich history of the marae. The grant has provided a unique opportunity to work with photographic conservators on a significant project that is seldom undertaken by hapu and iwi.

This initiative plays a crucial role in maintaining connections to family heritage, the surrounding area, and the townships of Foxton and Levin. The historical photographs on the front wall of the whare tupuna include people who lived in the middle and later 19th century, all of whom played significant roles in the iwi and hapu of the region.

Read the story in The Horowhenua Star

$50,000 for Foxton Community Companion Car

Foxton Beach Community run a fleet of four health shuttles transporting people from their residential homes to Palmerston North hospital, Levin and Foxton Medical Centre. A team of volunteers runs everything. The service operates on a door to door service with their drivers waiting for their ride to complete their appointment before returning them back home. They operate six days a week. The demographics in the Foxton area show that residents average age is increasing year on year. A lot of these residents no longer have a car or cannot drive through bad sight, ill health or just the ageing process. The funding has allowed them to go purchase an additional vehicle. Foxton Beach Community president Lyal Brenton commented, “ the new companion car allows us to continue supporting our community in Foxton”.

Thanks to $50,000 in funding from the Horowhenua New Zealand Trust, the Companion Car service was officially launched in February 2025.

$10,000 for Horowhenua Search & Rescue

Horowhenua New Zealand Trust has enabled Horowhenua Search and Rescue (HoroSAR) to upgrade a vital piece of equipment — their radios — replacing six units that have come to their end of use enhancing the team’s ability to respond swiftly and safely in critical situations.

As Horowhenua’s population grows and outdoor recreation increases, the demand on local SAR services continues to rise. Support from the Horowhenua New Zealand Trust ensures that local volunteers remain well-equipped and ready to respond when every second counts.

$25,000 for Horowhenua Events Centre Trust

The Horowhenua Event Centre Trust is a local iconic, community owned venue, that a wide cross section of the community touch. Nearly 1,000 use the facility every week supporting gymnastics, basketball, netball, pickleball, volleyball, inline and roller hockey, alongside numerous community groups.

The First Aid Room is a necessary addition to the facility that will come to good use. “The room will be located where St Johns ambulance could easily access and would use for treatment or recovery, and storage of First Aid supplies,” says Mark Verran, Event Centre manager.

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2023 Distributions

Business Hall of Fame

The Horowhenua New Zealand Trust with the support of HDC, wanted to recognise the achievements of some true icons in the district.

The Trust arranged the installation of a permanent Horowhenua Business Hall of Fame board located in the main foyer of the Horowhenua District Council building.

It was unveiled at a ceremony on Thursday 31st August 2023 by Mayor Bernie Wanden and Trust chair Antony Young in front of many past recipients and their families at the Business Kāpiti Horowhenua mayoral event.

The Horowhenua Business Hall of Fame Laureate honour is bestowed once a year to a local business leader whose accomplishments and influence on our community are palpably felt. Each year, a panel of dedicated individuals, brought together in confidence, collaborates to aid Mayor Wanden and Business Kāpiti Horowhenua in identifying these outstanding individuals.

Past Horowhenua Business Hall of Fame recipients:

2008 Bill Crighton

2009 Roger Halliwell

2010 Jake Slykhuis, John Turk

2011 Collis Blake

2012 George Sue

2013 Graeme Bagrie

2014 Larry Ellison

2015 Johnston Mac Tatana

2016 Ross Crowe

2017 Stuart Irons

2018 Ron Turk