There are “20 balls in the air” set to land at once to create the completed Kiwifruit Capital of the World Te Puke Heritage Visitor Centre.

Project leader Sue Matthews said after about six months of leasing the bottom floor of the Capitol Theatre on Te Puke’s main street, the team had made extensive alterations.

The space was set to open in May as an immersive, walk-through celebration of the town’s kiwifruit history.

The experience would begin in a darkened hallway designed to replicate native bush, complete with digital imagery of tall trees, waterfalls and the sounds of the forest.

Visitors would then move in to a section focused on native wildlife, including displays on frogs, bats, kiwi and kākāriki, as well as predators and the community groups working to make areas predator-free.

Items that will be on display inside the Kiwifruit Capital of the World Te Puke Heritage Visitor Centre to open in May. Photo / Kelly O’Hara

From there, the journey would shift into the kiwifruit story itself, with large digital wall displays showing orchard scenes, pruning, packing and trucks loading fruit for export.

Another space would feature kiwifruit hanging from the ceiling and walls before leading into the former theatre area, which once seated about 200 people and had been completely gutted.

Matthews said this space would include a large ship installation showing kiwifruit being loaded for export, with male and female kiwifruit flowers - each about the size of a person - emerging from the walls, alongside a giant beehive and the growth cycle of the fruit.

Another area would focus on bees and pollination, including artificial pollination methods.

Matthews said the aim was to create a largely visual experience that was accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds, where people could walk through, “feeling the vibe”.

A mini theatre was also under development, which would take visitors through the history of kiwifruit, post-harvest processes and the technology behind the industry.

While the heritage hub was still under development, the building had already begun hosting regular community movie screenings, with children’s films shown on the second Sunday of each month and adult movies on the fourth.

Recognised Seasonal Employer workers from Baygold carry donated kitchen furniture by Eastpack upstairs at the Te Puke Kiwifruit Heritage Hub on a rainy day.

A recent screening of Downton Abbey attracted 42 people across two sessions, which Matthews said helped the project break even.

Community support has been a major driver of the project, with dozens of volunteers contributing their time and skills.

Everybody had been “really positive” and were coming up with “brilliant ideas”, Matthews said.

People walking past often called out asking, “what can we do?’, or ‘can I help you with that?’, it just blows you away”, Matthews said.

Helpers, Kahu and Bill on the job. Photo / Kelly O’Hara

Volunteers have ranged from an 82-year-old helping in the kitchen to seasonal kiwifruit workers carrying furniture up flights of stairs, after donations from local organisations provided key fittings for the space.

Matthews said the hub was designed to appeal to both locals and visitors, and to help people better understand the scale and complexity of the industry.

What she loved most about the project was that it was for the whole community, from kids through to older generations.

Annabel Reid is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, based in Rotorua. Originally from Hawke’s Bay, she has a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canterbury.