Ed Said - Wharf project dead in the water

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Being a seaside town, much of what goes on in Mangawhai revolves around the estuary and an expansive, sparkling shoreline, where often the fortunes of daily life rise and fall with the tides. The area is one big eco-system and requires constant observation, monitoring, and upkeep. Dredging keeps the harbour running freely, the Distal Spit requires regular planting against the ravages of erosion, water quality needs testing, mangroves need controlling, and wildlife needs a clean safe environment to live in. Without fail there’s a daily arm wrestle with nature. But that’s just the way the waves break in Mangawhai.

When the idea was first mooted a few years ago, it seemed only natural that locals would want to re-establish their historic link with the sea that first existed almost 140 years ago by building a new wharf. Before there was a decent roading network after World War II, from 1881 to its demolition in the mid-1950s, the original wharf was Mangawhai’s economic lifeline, allowing goods, and people, to be shipped in and out.

A decade after it was first built a public meeting resolved to form a harbour board to manage the wharf. Repairs were carried out over the years, but by 1942 the wharf had closed.

Still a popular watering hole, the historic Mangawhai Tavern is a reminder of that heyday. As it was back then, the idea of a new wharf where the old one once was seemed like the perfect complement to the tavern as it is today.

Said Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Northland Manager, Bill Edwards: “The community is not planning to recreate the historic wharf, but instead build a modern, functional wharf that will help regenerate the seaside atmosphere of the town.”

This makes good sense when we consider the growth of Mangawhai and its popularity both as a permanent home and holiday destination.
Made up of members from a cross section of community groups, including the Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society, the Mangawhai Historic Wharf Trust was conceived to drive the project, led by chair Colin Leach, who was instrumental in the drive for raising the thousands needed for a resource consent with Northland Regional Council. Those hearings took place in late September. Despite overwhelming public support for the project, it became apparent early on that NRC planners would not recommend a consent, citing adverse effects on the endangered fairy tern as the main reason.

Leach’s introduction to the Trust’s application for resource consent, I thought, was both comprehensive and common sense. It concluded, in part: There is a strong sense of history in our community. The wharf also has a very real and important role to play in the future of Mangawhai. It’s rapidly growing population is already using the foreshore and waters of the upper harbour, and future growth, including the development of Mangawhai Central, will only exacerbate this. The wharf has recreational and educational roles… It can also play a wider role through the positive effect it will have on the wider environment through the educational role it will play with respect to estuarine ecosystems, shorebird activity, and vulnerabilities.

In a disappointing decision made last week, the application for resource consent was refused by NRC hearing commissioners. 

What do you think?

Rich Pooley
Editor