Stretching your legs at the Rakaia Salmon Reserve on SH1? Follow a newly-laid path and learn about Rakaia’s special history.

Rakaia Lions Club took this on as their project to produce a series of historical signs, which tell the story of Rakaia township and its surrounding districts.

The signs were officially unveiled on Tuesday by Mayor Neil Brown, who grew up on the banks of the Rakaia River.

He said the signs added another level of interest to the reserve, which had had a major makeover with new public toilets and landscaping.

The idea for an historical walk had been on the minds of the Lions members since 2018 and co-incided with Council building new public toilet facilities at the reserve, which is a popular stop for travellers and locals alike. Rakaia’s giant fibreglass salmon is a feature of the site.

The panels cover a range of topics, from facts about the nearby Rakaia River to early inhabitants of the town and how the surrounding land is farmed. The first settlers had to navigate the tricky Rakaia River before rail and road bridges were built, and many drowned.

The first accommodation place was on the north side of the river, but Rakaia town eventually grew on the south bank. Its population today is about 1500 and local businesses mainly support the district’s productive farmers.

Council Community Services Group Manager Steve Fabish said Lions members identified the topics they wanted to cover and spent many hours sourcing the information.

“Our Council team provided support to help design the signs and also spent  time collating and refining the information.

“It is a fine line between providing too much information or not enough, but the intention of the panels is to capture people’s attention and hold their interest.”

For those wanting to know more, the signs have a QR code, which links to more information and is also able to be updated.

Mr Fabish said the Rakaia Lions had generously contributed time, labour and money to the project.

“Graham Pluck and the team at Plucks Engineering Ltd built the frames; the Lions club paid for all the materials and powder coating of the frames; and John McKimmie and his very able team of Lions volunteers installed the panels.”

Council's Open Spaces team had also improved the playground and added new landscaping.

“We are really pleased at how the reserve is looking and we hope Rakaia people will be proud of it too,” Mr Fabish said.