History of the Whangateau HarbourCare Group (Inc.)
The
need for an organisation to protect the Whangateau harbour from
damaging actions, central and local government excesses was recognised
when Whangateau Resident Rex Collings Snr took up the fight against
sand-mining on the Mangatawhiri Spit and in the Omaha Bay.
Protests from the 1930s had been ignored. In 1955, with a
group
of locals, he set up the Sandspit Erosion Committee which petitioned
the Government. This had no effect and mining
accelerated.
In 1963 an Omaha property owner and member of the Erosion
Committee,
Bill Fraser, took legal action against the Marine Dept and the mining
ceased. Illegal mining continued at night for a time but by
then
considerable damage had already been done.
Some years later a
proposal to pump raw sewage into the harbour from the Omaha North
development caused concern to residents from Ti Point, Whangateau,
Point Wells and Omaha. The protest group formed at
this
time had dye dropped into the harbour to demonstrate tidal flow and the
probable routes of sewage. This proved effective,
but
several subsequent decisions by local government, without local
consultation. An attempt to pump raw sewage from the Omaha North
development into the Harbour was narrowly averted and a series of
further actions attempted by the Rodney District Council (RDC) without
consultation led Whangateau resident, Elizabeth Foster, to call a
public meeting in the Point Wells Hall on the 12th March, 1995 to
consider ways in which the local community could protect the Harbour
and its catchment.
Twenty seven people signed up to membership
of the Whangateau Harbour Protection Society. This group was
quite informal and met irregularly to discuss topical issues and in
July 1998 a meeting agreed to the formation of a Landcare Group under
the auspices of the N.Z. Landcare Trust with the assistance of Helen
Moodie from Whangarei and Trevor Sampson who had set up the first
Rodney Landcare Group in Puhoi. This group met informally in the
homes of local residents until the first proper Committee meeting was
held on the 12th Oct, 1998 in the Point Wells Hall with Elizabeth
Foster in the Chair. Margaret Earle, was elected as Convenor
and Floor Anthoni as the Minutes Secretary. The Group gave itself the
title
the Whangateau HarbourCare Group and was incorporated in May, 2000.
In its early days the Group was well supported by the Auckland
Regional
Council (ARC) and RDC but this support has gradually
drifted away but RCD is currently backing our exhibition of harbour
photographs.
However the group remains strong with some 60 people on its
mailing list from areas all around the Harbour. Convenors
following Margaret Earle have been Tony Enderby, Roger Grace, Elise
MacDonald and Les Thompson. Secretaries have been Floor,
Elizabeth, Jenni Reynolds and Jo Richards. Margaret edited an
excellent Newsletter and was followed by Janette Thompson. Roger
instigated regular cockle counting and weeding on Horseshoe Island. In
between we have had many educational activities including seed
collecting and planting, planting natives on the harbour's edge,
educational talks and discussions and walks around the Harbour fringes.
The Group has involved itself in all local issues of planning
with the
RDC and ARC and the Resource Management Act (RMA) related to the
Harbour
and its catchment and remains dedicated to preventing the excesses
which can destroy this unique environment.
The aims in its Constitution:
· To help local people to work together in
planning and
implementing sustainable management and protection of the harbour, land
and other resources in the Whangateau Harbour and Catchment area
· To seek funding for such land and
resource based projects
· To invite assistance with activities,
to commission research and to share information.
Whangateau Harbour Catchment
The Whangateau Harbour is an estuary situated behind Omaha Bay
in the Hauraki Gulf. It is on the North East coast of Rodney about one
hour's drive North of Auckland. The area shaded green on the map is the
catchment of the Harbour and is the area covered by the Whangateau
HarbourCare Group.