My favourite place in Noumea

Coming into the Tjibaou centre is like taking a deep breath and then slowly breathing out.  It's quiet, calm and really does feel like a blessed little place.  The trees seem to lean over it and say  'yes you can walk through here around my ankles and my tall branches will keep anything bad at bay'.  

It's a cultural centre, a venue, a cafe, a picnic spot, a shop...it's lots of things,  and it's my favourite place.

The centre is named after, and built in remembrance of, Jean Marie Tjibaou who was instrumental in the development of Kanak identity during the 1970's and 80's.  He was killed by an independence fighter in 1989 while taking part in a ceremony to remember those killed in the 1988 Ouvea massacre.  I'm still learning about the history here.  Here's a very interesting article if you'd like to learn more about what happened.

But the Centre - Wow!  It was designed by Renzo Piano, who also designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris (You know the one - it's all pipes and inside on the outside).  It's beautiful, impossible and just about perfect. Sitting on a peninsula, the buildings almost seem like huge wings, rising up out of the mangroves.

The Centre was built as part of the Noumea Accords - the agreement between France and New Caledonia that secured a certain amount of peace in the late 1980s and lays the foundation for New Caledonian independence. It's a showpiece for Kanak culture - with a lovely Kanak path, beautiful Kanak cases from each of the provinces and it's full of stunning artifacts from throughout the Pacific.  There's even the Te Papa cow made out of corned beef tins!  You've got to love it.