Tawa people - what is great about Tawa

	Barbara ADAMS: What I like - "I know it's old hat" - is the sense of community. When you go to do your shopping you need an extra half hour to talk to (or nod to) people. Everybody seems to know everybody. "Nobody needs to be lonely here. There's provision for all sorts of things happening."
	Robert ARMSTRONG: The geographic constraints create a defined sense of place and independence. Therefore there is strong community cohesion, based on conservative family values, which are reflected in the many strong voluntary organisations.
	Vera BALLANCE: It's a very compact, supportive sort of area. I enjoy being here, especially when the weather's good. "A lot of nice people."
	Mitchell BERNARD: I've grown up in Tawa. I feel safe here. It's home. I go running in Tawa and remember last year running up through the Mexted Reserve (where I used to play cops and robbers) to a clearing up in the pine trees. The sun was setting, and the view was just beautiful.
	Ngaire BEST: The sense of community - "I think that's probably Tawa's biggest asset" - from people caring for each other through to various school & church communities that exist. It (Tawa) has actually got everything here.
	Ron BICHAN: It's a great community. "It has a good shopping centre. Keeping the little shops like the butcher and greengrocer in business is vital. We support them." Good schooling here, the way the schools co-operate. "That concert thing they have is amazing." Good transport - the buses and trains ("when they work.")
	Judy BOCACAO: It's very accessible, with trains and buses. A strategic location handy to Dress-Smart and Trash Palace, and many op shops here. Nice people with a very good community spirit.
	Susan BUTTERWORTH: It is a very comfortable, easy place to live. It is much more sheltered than Titahi Bay where we were previously. Tawa is an easy place to get around. It's a pleasant community with an excellent library and community facilities.
	Murray CAMERON: A great sense of community spirit. Lots of people willing to do things for the kids/youth. So many opportunities for kids here - dancing, scouts, brownies, swimming club, etc. So much to do.
	Josie CONIJN: I've got to know lots of people at school - it's the sort of community and school where it's easy to do that.
	Thomas (Wayne) DEVINE: "I fit. It's a community I feel comfortable in. I like it being a halfway point between Wellington and Kapiti. We're well-placed to go north or south."
	Kieren GERA: When I think about Tawa I think about a small community that isn't too small that everybody knows everybody, but small enough that everyone has a connection with someone. There's not an exclusive feel to Tawa. It's such a good place to grow up in. I like the view. I like how the houses fit into the hills and don't overcrowd them.
	Tony HEYWARD: It's got a great community spirit and I think it has all the facilities here that we really need at the moment, especially for families.
	Jim HIGGINS: "I know I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, that's for sure." We looked all over Wellington when we first came here. The schools [in Tawa] looked good. And 20 minutes into town by car. It was far enough away [from the central city] not to be persuaded to go back into the office after work. The beaches are just up the coast. I think it's a great suburb, a nice little town.
	Dawn JAMIESON: I think it's a very nice town, like a village, and close to Wellington. A bit like being in the country, with the hills and the animals around. Also the amenities, because Tawa's got everything really, and transport's good.
	Daniel KLEINSMAN: It's a friendly place, easy to meet people. Quite nice and small, independent.
	Peter LOCKERY: I think it's a great little community to bring a family up in - it has all the amenities - church, schools, sports, community activities, hobbies and interest groups - something for everyone. We've been involved in church committees and school boards of trustees. Tawa provides the complete package of community facilities - covering the whole spectrum for families.
	Murray LUCAS: I think it's got the best of community and village life but close to a city. Community involvement and support for the schools, children and young people in Tawa is fantastic, e.g. the Schools' & Community Festival is unique to Tawa. Sports clubs are well supported by parents and other interested community-minded people, and there are good church youth groups, etc.
	Rosie MACLEOD: "I love Tawa because it has strengthened my character. It's made me become who I am today." Tawa is a family-oriented place and I'm very happy that my ex-husband and I were able to bring up our two awesome kids here. I love going anywhere in Tawa on my mobility scooter - just being able to say hello and talk to people is really nice.
	Margaret McLEOD: It's a small town with great community spirit. The weather's good [it was a lovely sunny day at the time.] "We seem to miss much of the rough weather - it seems to go around us. Well, I think it does." And growing up in a small town, I've always preferred small towns to cities.
	Bruce MURRAY: Its history, its community spirit, its village atmosphere, its schools - "... that, I think, is a major reason for people coming here still." They're all good, the college, the intermediate, the primary schools.
	Shona MURRAY: It's quite unique in that as a community it has a strong voluntary commitment to working together in the arts, in the schools, the churches, and in sports in a very collaborative way. A "village atmosphere" on the outskirts of a world-class city.
	Danny MUTHUMALA: It's a great place to live with a friendly community, relaxing atmosphere, less congestion, convenient for central townships, hospital, train service, etc.
	Metua PARR: Definitely the community feeling we have here and yet we are in a city, not a small rural town. It's also the really kind and welcoming people that make up Tawa. "I know this for a fact because I always ask new people to Tawa what they like best about our place - it's the same answer every time."
	David PARSONS: I like its position. It's handy to Wellington but far enough out to not be in the city. A 12-minute train ride or a 10-minute drive - that's nothing really. We live in a house that looks out in the distance to bush, farmland, hills, etc. And it's a nice community. It [Tawa] has good schools and facilities. And 10 minutes the other way you've got beaches.
	Marianne PEACOCKE: We chose Tawa after looking all over Wellington because it just felt right ... It is the community, without doubt. "The community is only what you are prepared to put into it, because what you put in you get back ten-fold."
	Karen PETTIGREW: It's got a very strong community spirit, and I think we're very fortunate in the amenities Tawa has. It's self-contained in a lot of ways and also central, close to Wellington.
	Beryl REYNOLDS: It has a great community spirit. It feels like a separate place, a complete little place. It's handy to town and handy to Porirua. There's a good variety of shops in Tawa. "I think it has a feeling about it - I've grown over the years to like it."
	Eddie ROBERTSON: Very handy to Wellington - very good rail service and only takes 12 minutes by car. Also has a relaxed, holiday-type of atmosphere. I prefer a place where you have a community spirit. In the big towns you don't have any."
	Julie ROKOTAKALA: "We love being here." Love the friendliness and the community aspect, the variety that being in a multicultural situation brings, also the nearness to Porirua.
	Sara SCOTT: I think the schools here are very good, and living in a community where people know each other is great (but sometimes it has its downsides too!). The community support when we lost a child at one stage was great, with the Salvation Army and the kindergarten, etc all helping out.
	Malcolm SPARROW: It's a great place to live, like a separate town in its own way. The schools work together well, the churches work together well, and the community as a whole does too. That's exemplified in the Tawa Schools & Community Music Festival involving 700-800 locals every two years. And Tawa has to be one of the best suburbs in New Zealand in which to bring up a family.
	Allan TODD: The local community as a family.
	Robert TREDGER: Primarily it's a community - a community defined by the hills and the one road in and the one road out. It's a multi-generational community, a family community where people still care for each other and can feel relatively safe.
	George UPU: The people - "I like the people here." We moved here for a good education for my kids, and for a change of scenery. It's a great place for opportunities.
	Will WARDEN: People here generally care about the place. It feels like there's a basic level of respect with most people. It feels like a relatively safe place to live.