Upper Hutt Women's Centre (Te Whakamana Wahine) is a community centre in Upper Hutt providing education, health and wellbeing support for women in a welcoming, supportive environment. Established following a public meeting at Orongomai Marae on 1 September 1994, the centre opened its doors a year later on 1 September 1995 in Brown Street, before eventually settling at its current Sinclair Street location, where it has been based for nearly 20 years.
The centre offers a team of women counsellors who support clients working through feelings of anxiety, depression, grief, self-harm, self-esteem, sexuality, or relationship difficulties, alongside a range of courses and workshops centred on fitness, crafts, personal development, health and wellbeing for both adults and children. Centre coordinators act as the first point of contact and are well connected within the Upper Hutt community, helping direct people to further support where needed.
Beyond courses and counselling, the centre keeps a small range of good-quality recycled clothing free to take, helps procure furniture and household items, provides free pregnancy tests, maintains a lending library of resources and books, and can refer people for budgeting advice, free legal advice, and Women's Refuge services. A free cervical smear clinic (Mana Wahine Smear Clinic) is held at the centre once a month. The centre also organises the annual Upper Hutt Spring Festival, held each September and sponsored by The Rimutaka Trust.
As a registered charity, the centre relies on grants, donations and fundraising, with funders including the NZ Lottery Grants Board, COGS, the EM Pharazyn Trust, FH Muter Trust, NZCT, Nikau Foundation, Pelorus Trust, TG McCarthy, Upper Hutt City Council and Creative Communities. Donations over $5 are tax deductible.
Upper Hutt Women's Centre, known as Te Whakamana Wahine, has served women in Upper Hutt for three decades, growing from a grassroots community push in the mid-1990s into a well-established centre offering counselling, education, and practical support.
The centre's origins trace back to a public meeting at Orongomai Marae on 1 September 1994, where around 80 women — individuals and representatives of local groups — gathered to register interest in establishing a Women's Centre in Upper Hutt. A Steering Committee formed, fundraising and lobbying the Upper Hutt City Council for support, and the centre opened its doors exactly a year later, on 1 September 1995, in Brown Street (now the site of an H2O carpark), marked by a Dawn Ceremony and a Formal Opening by Sonja Davies.
The centre later moved to Royal Street, opposite Pak 'n Save, until tragedy struck in the early hours of 5 December 2003, when a break-in and fire destroyed almost all of its resources through smoke damage, leaving the building uninhabitable. With no contents insurance, starting over was daunting — but with support from local tradespeople, businesses and community members offering time, money, skills and products, the centre reopened on International Women's Day, 8 March 2004, at its current home: 6 Sinclair Street.
The following years saw continued growth. A new self-contained building, "The Royal Room," used for workshops and courses, was completed in March 2005. As demand for counselling grew, an additional room was added and officially opened on International Women's Day, 8 March 2012.
At its core, the centre provides a team of women counsellors supporting clients through anxiety, depression, grief, self-harm, self-esteem, sexuality and relationship difficulties, helping people explore triggers and develop coping strategies. Alongside counselling, the centre runs adult and children's classes covering fitness, crafts, personal development, health and wellbeing, with course suggestions from the community welcomed.
Beyond formal programmes, the centre offers a range of practical, no-cost support: a small range of good-quality recycled clothing free to take, help procuring furniture and household items, free pregnancy tests, and a lending library of books and resources. It can also refer people for budgeting advice, free legal advice, and Hutt Valley Women's Refuge services, and hosts the Mana Wahine Smear Clinic — a free cervical smear clinic held once a month.
Day-to-day running of the centre is overseen by two staff, Tracy and Rachel, with broader decisions made by a non-hierarchical Collective — a group of women who meet regularly and make decisions by consensus. The centre's philosophy emphasises equity of access regardless of age, ethnicity, beliefs, sexual orientation, disability or health status, and commits to working in the spirit of Te Tiriti O Waitangi.
Each September, the centre runs its major annual fundraiser, the Upper Hutt Spring Festival, sponsored by The Rimutaka Trust. As a non-profit reliant on grants, donations and fundraising, the centre is supported by funders including the NZ Lottery Grants Board, COGS, the EM Pharazyn Trust, FH Muter Trust, NZCT, Nikau Foundation, Pelorus Trust, TG McCarthy, Upper Hutt City Council and Creative Communities — funding that helps keep costs down for the women who use its services.
Upper Hutt Women's Centre is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 2:00pm (except public holidays), at 6 Sinclair Street, Upper Hutt.