The Historic Village

The Historic Village sits on around 13.5 acres at 159 Seventeenth Avenue, a short drive from Tauranga's city centre. It is a collection of original and replica heritage buildings from early Tauranga, set among gardens, lawns and native bush, and it operates as a working precinct rather than a static museum: alongside the heritage buildings are art galleries, designer boutiques and artisan shops, studios, cafes and a number of community and arts organisations. The grounds are open seven days a week and entry is free.

Event spaces

Several of the buildings are available for private hire, and the spaces cover a useful range of sizes for meetings, conferences and functions:

• Balcony Room — seats around 160 theatre-style or 120 for dinner. It has chandeliers, gold accents, wood panelling, a velvet bar and a wraparound deck, and is used for conferences, banquet dinners, hui, wedding receptions and parties.
• Village Hall — seats around 150 theatre-style or 100 for dinner. Along with the Balcony Room it is the most-used space for functions, conferences and receptions.
• Village Cinema — 60 tiered seats, suited to presentations, screenings and seminar sessions where sightlines matter.
• Village Chapel — up to 50 people.
• Schoolhouse — around 20 in a U-shape, suited to training and workshops.
• Durham Barracks — boardroom set-up for around 20.

Outdoor spaces within the grounds can also be hired.

Meeting and event capability

The combination of a large plenary room, a tiered cinema and several small training and boardroom spaces on one site makes the Village workable for a full conference day with breakouts — an unusual capability for a heritage precinct. Catering and A/V support are commonly arranged for functions in the Balcony Room and Village Hall. The Village has no accommodation, so residential conferences would need to be based at nearby hotels, though the Seventeenth Avenue location is only minutes from the CBD.

Heritage and character

Heritage displays can be seen in Faulkner House and the Village Chapel. The wider site is also a cultural hub, hosting festivals and markets through the year, with resident creative organisations giving the precinct year-round activity.

Suitability

The Historic Village suits organisers wanting character rather than a hotel ballroom: conferences and hui in the Balcony Room or Village Hall, training days in the Schoolhouse or Barracks, screenings and panel sessions in the Cinema, and outdoor space for barbecues, welcome functions or incentive activities. The mix of galleries, shops and cafes on site also gives delegates somewhere to go between sessions.