Flaxmere is a large suburb to the north west of Hastings City. Flaxmere Avenue is the picturesque avenue through the centre of the suburb, with wide lanes either side of an attractive central median planted with mature trees. Flaxmere is a ‘young’ community, which was only established in 1967 and where almost half of the population is under 25 years old. Nearly one in five of the District’s young people grow up in Flaxmere. It has a vibrant cultural mix, with around 55 percent Māori and 19 percent Pacific people. Flaxmere is relatively new, with good quality infrastructure. It was planned as an idealistic garden suburb, and the original houses built along and around Flaxmere Ave were marketed in 1967 as a parade of homes boasting “a new concept in modern living”. There are areas of cheaper, higher-density housing built during a recession in the 1980s, with a shift back to building larger brick and tile homes in the central and northern areas since the early 2000s. Flaxmere provides opportunities for first home buyers to purchase a good home for their money. The village centre has a supermarket, small retailers, a petrol station, food outlets, FlaXrock recreation centre and community hall, Waterworld aquatic centre and the library. The main attractions for visitors and locals are WaterWorld, FlaXrock’s climbing wall, the Saturday Flaxmere Flea Market offering food, craft and second-hand goods, and annual events like the Matariki Festival, Flaxmere Family Fun, the Flaxmere Family Festival and the Flaxmere Duathlon. Flaxmere Park is also being revamped, with new outdoor exercise equipment already in place, cycle and walking paths going in, and by the end of 2012 the popular summer children’s attraction – a splash pad. Flaxmere has good facilities and a strong community spirit. Health and other service providers are located close to the village centre and Work and Income has a Community Link office that provides a range of government and non-government social support services in the local area. Flaxmere is handy to Omahu Road industrial area and the new Irongate Industrial area, wineries and orchards and is only six kilometres from the centre of Hastings City. There are good roads, bus services and cycle lanes connecting people to work and study around the district, and Flaxmere is easily accessed from the expressway, York Rd or various roads off Omahu Rd. For more information, please visit www.flax.org.nz
