{"id":300607,"date":"2026-02-25T00:48:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T00:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/300607\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T00:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T00:48:18","slug":"on-the-up-former-otane-petrol-station-transforming-into-maori-art-gallery-and-workshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/300607\/","title":{"rendered":"On The Up: Former \u014ct\u0101ne petrol station transforming into M\u0101ori art gallery and workshop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now he and his wife, Cindy Te Pou are renovating a former service station on State Highway 2, near \u014ct\u0101ne in Central Hawke\u2019s Bay, into an art gallery and workshop for their business TP Illustration and Design. <\/p>\n

In 2005, Hawke\u2019s Bay Today reported BP was not renewing its contract to supply fuel <\/a>to the \u014ct\u0101ne Service Station, with a decision to focus on larger sites. <\/p>\n

Pumps were removed in June that year, and the business closed. <\/p>\n

Te Pou has now converted the double shed area into his carving area, while the shed where car maintenance was carried out will be the painting and teaching area. <\/p>\n

The pair decided on the location as Cindy has taken on the role of principal at Takapau Primary School.<\/p>\n

Te Pou also said the location was perfect for his artistic space and life vision. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just a gallery, it\u2019s a working creative environment where people can see art being made.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the business had outgrown their Mahora home, where he worked from sheds and rooms.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u014ct\u0101ne itself really drew us in; we\u2019ve always dreamed of having a place where our mokos can come visit and have adventures.\u201d <\/p>\n

He said they had considered renting a shop, but prices were too high.<\/p>\n

Te Pou said his artistic style incorporated 1980s cartoons, graffiti, and M\u0101ori flair for clothing, prints, and murals. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy work is bold, cultural, and story-driven art that carries whakaaro, whakapapa, and wairua. <\/p>\n

\"NetanaNetana Te Pou said he would sell clothing with his artwork on it out of the Gallery on State Highway 2. <\/p>\n

\u201cI draw a lot of inspiration from anime, 80s cartoons, and graffiti art, and I blend those styles with M\u0101ori elements to create something distinctive. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s not just about how a piece looks, it\u2019s about the meaning, intention, and connection it holds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Te Pou said he planned to offer lessons in M\u0101ori art for individuals and groups. <\/p>\n

\u201cTeaching is something I\u2019ve always wanted to do because creativity brings a sense of calm. <\/p>\n

\u201cArt can be healing, grounding, and empowering, and I want to share that experience with others.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wanted to use his space as an opportunity for rangatahi to display their work to the public as well. <\/p>\n

\u201cEach month we will do a big spiel on them.\u201d <\/p>\n

Michaela Gower joined Hawke\u2019s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke\u2019s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Now he and his wife, Cindy Te Pou are renovating a former service station on State Highway 2,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300608,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[95,1228,2046,6097,7643,2740,1229,1976,27705,296,103051,2720,165084,111,43,139,69,90,165085,22126,53478,13655,223,106822,6382,50898,83061,810,1316,33561],"class_list":{"0":"post-300607","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-and","9":"tag-art","10":"tag-career","11":"tag-down","12":"tag-faith","13":"tag-former","14":"tag-gallery","15":"tag-hawkes","16":"tag-instead","17":"tag-into","18":"tag-leap","19":"tag-mori","20":"tag-netana","21":"tag-new-zealand","22":"tag-news","23":"tag-newzealand","24":"tag-nz","25":"tag-on","26":"tag-paintbrush","27":"tag-petrol","28":"tag-picked","29":"tag-station","30":"tag-the","31":"tag-tne","32":"tag-took","33":"tag-tools","34":"tag-transforming","35":"tag-up","36":"tag-when","37":"tag-workshop"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}