BACKGROUND

Hikurangi has a long standing business history from back in the days when it was independent from Whangarei and was a coal mining and logging based village as well as a dairy factory. As a fully self serving village it contained butcheries, dairies, service stations, and all sorts of other businesses that helped keep the village self functioning. When the bypass was put in around xxxx it saw a huge change in the traffic flow through Hikurangi and the business industry slowly started fading away. The Hikurangi Business Association was officially formed and in 2009 by a group of local business owners as a forum for local businesses to network and discuss their services and contributions to the local community in the hopes it would be a thriving community for the future generations. With a rich history in being supporters and donators for projects and events in the community, the HBA has a long standing commitment to the betterment of the village as a place to work, live, and visit. The HBA has been responsible for bringing many events and projects into the Hikurangi Community and was the primary group who defined the need for Hikurangi to work better with local council and other local groups, so after much pressure put on council a shared vision for the community was developed through a Placemaking Plan. This led HBA to engage it's first paid contractor to dedicate their time to ensuring the vision for the community is at the forefront of focus and is being consistently prioritized within the community. Alongside the dedication to supporting the village itself, the local business owners who meet monthly also take the opportunity to network and discuss what they have going on and support each other with any endeavours they have.