Project Wharf: MHRS plans to rebuild harbour feature

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The early stages of a plan to rebuild the wharf that was formerly located at the end of Moir St adjacent to the Mangawhai Tavern, was outlined at a public meeting called by the Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society (MHRS) at Anniversary weekend to update the public on the future plans and activities of the Society.

Labelled Project Wharf, the concept is to rebuild the wharf that was constructed in the late 1880’s and demolished in 1957. With MHRS as project leader, the project team consists of representatives from the Mangawhai Museum and Historical Society, Mangawhai Beach School, Mangawhai Boating and Fishing Club, and the Mangawhai Business Development Association.

Speaking at the meeting, MHRS executive committee member Colin Leach said the thinking behind the project was:

* To restore a historical feature of the harbour. Restoration of the wharf was one of the Society’s constitutional objectives.

* To provide a valuable amenity for the growing Mangawhai community.

* To assist in the provision of water sports such as sailing, kayaking and canoeing.

* To open up the upper harbour for recreation.

* Link the Heads to the Village by water.

The wharf use would be non-commercial, unlike the previous 97.5 metre (320 ft) long structure that became a vital transport link for the district around Mangawhai, said Mr Leach.

“Alternative transport methods resulted in the wharf being little used after World War Two, so it fell into disrepair and was finally demolished,” he said.

Mr Leach said the rebuilding would be a long process which had begun with an application to the Mangawhai Endowment Fund (MELA) for a $20,000 grant to conduct a feasibility study on its construction. A decision on this was expected from the Kaipara District Council in March.

There would need to be a large degree of community consultation and evidence of community support before final design and costings were completed and a Coastal Resource Consent and building permit applied for.

“The project team has made no decision on how the project would be funded. However, we believe it is at least two to three years before any construction could begin,“ he said.

 

Progress on other projects

In other updates, Society executive members reiterated that the future removal of mangroves was a further step in the harbour restoration process; mangroves impacted the tidal prism and restricted the flow of water in the channel.

“Also, as mangroves spread, they displace and/or invade other valuable habitats such as rush marsh, bird wading and feeding areas, recreational areas and shellfish beds,“ Peter Nicholas, chairperson of the MHRS mangrove management sub-committee told the meeting.

“Only 10 hectares, or 15 per cent, of the original amount of saltmarsh in the outer harbour remains today because of various reasons including mangrove invasion,” he said.

Mr Nicholas said that it would be several years before MHRS was ready to apply for further mangrove removal. In the interim three major research projects were underway that would study various aspects of birdlife in the Mangawhai Harbour.

These studies are all being conducted by qualified ornithologists and would be peer reviewed on completion, he said.

One study, just completed, compared the birdlife at four sites pre- and post the recent mangrove removal project at Lincoln St, Insley St, the Moir Pt causeway and Sand Island.

“We can say that the results of this study are very encouraging,” he said.

The major project was a two-year research project studying what impact, if any, mangrove removal would have on the banded rail that lives in the salt-marsh in various parts of the harbour. This project commenced in late 2016 and the results would not be available until 2018. It would be the first major project ever conducted in New Zealand on the habits of the banded rail, one of New Zealands endangered birds.

Doug Lloyd, chairman of the Society, outlined the work that is currently being undertaken on the dredge and that it was planned to commence dredging early in March, once again adjacent to Bullet Point.

Dredging would again be led by Grant Stewart who had taken over as dredging manager from John Ganley who had passed away last year after many years in the role.

The Society’s coastal scientist consultant Andre La Bonte gave an historic perspective of the importance of continuing to plant the spit with pingao and spinifex. The Society hoped this year to increase plantings from 10,000 to 15,000 plants with a special emphasis on strengthening the inner harbour bund wall.

James Carnie, partner in the Auckland legal firm Clendons, told the meeting of the need to continue to object to and to prevent sand mining from being permitted in the Northland Regional Council area (the Mangawhai Spit).

He said that approval of sand mining by dredge south of Mangawhai in the Te Arai and Pakiri areas continued to have an impact on sand stability and erosion on the spit in Mangawhai.

He urged the community to be prepared to fight a further application to sand mine in the Mangawhai area in 2020.

“The project team has made no decision on how the project would be funded. However, we believe it is at least two to three years before any construction could begin.“

- Colin Leach, MHRS executive committee member

FEASiBILITY: Hardly used after WWII the Mangawhai wharf fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1957.