Originally published Bay Buzz Jan 2014
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| Cape Coast Te Awanga Hawkes Bay |
So what is it with the coast?
Why is it some people just end up ‘going coastal’? Some primeval urge to be
near the sea? The sound of waves bouncing around in our unconscious, echoes of
primeval origins.
The line between land and sea
remains tenuous at best. At times welcoming, at others plain frightening …
think Anzac Cove or media footage of the Japanese tsunami .
The foreshore is the place where
life emerged from a fermenting stew of primordial soup, where cultures collided,
where the Queen’s chain rattles. The horizon an omnipresent temptation to
travel further, to reach beyond, but also a reminder that the big one may be
not be so far away. It’s part of the Kiwi psyche. Aaah! Life at the coast …
salty, noisy, prehistoric.
When moving to Hawke’s Bay three
years ago it seemed so obvious. Post-global financial crisis urbanity didn’t
hold too much appeal measured against an option at the seaside. Why didn’t
everyone else do it? They do on the gold coast. Was there some hidden catch?
The specific sound of the Te Awanga
surf amplified by the rolling shingle stuck on rinse cycle tapping out an
endless rhythm, white noise of the most natural kind. It creates an amplified
sense of place.
Research shows that the sound of waves alters wave
patterns in the brain, lulling you into a deeply relaxed state. Relaxing in
this way can help rejuvenate the mind and body.
Additionally the sea air is
also full of negative hydrogen ions, charged particles that improve our ability
to absorb oxygen by neutralizing damaging free radicals (positive ions). These
negative ions can also balance levels of serotonin, the feel good hormone,
making us less prone to anxiety … hence the popularity of seaside holidays and
coastal occupation.
A feeling perhaps shared by
the venerable James Cook, who visiting what
he came to name as Cape Kidnappers on 15th October 1769 was moved to
write in his diary the following account:
“…the Indian Boy Tiata, Tupia’s servant, being over the
side, they seized hold of him, pulld him into the boat and endeavourd to carry
him off, this obliged us to fire upon them which gave the Boy an opportunity to
jump over board and we brought the Ship too, lower'd a boat into the Water and
took him up unhurt. Two or Three paid for this daring attempt with the loss of
their lives and many more would have suffered had it been for fear of killing
the boy—. This affair occation'd my giveing this point of Land the name of Cape
Kidnappers: it is remarkable on account of two white rocks in form of Hay
Stacks Standing very near it: on each side of the Cape are tollerable high
white steep clifts.
The southern most curve of Te Matau O Maui – The
hook of Maui – named Cape Kidnappers; but equally could have been named ‘Cape
Rescue’ depending on which side of the story you sit. Some how the pawl of that story remains over the
landscape. Was it a kidnap or rescue attempt ? Confusion and misunderstanding,
has come to be part of the cape coast story inherent in the very naming of the
place.Today, the Cape Coast refers to the
stretch of coastline extending from Haumoana to Clifton. A unique place,
resplendent with natural beauty, cemented in the history of Aotearoa not only
by the first European explorers, but by Maui himself, his hook now a permanent
feature defining the geography of the bay. The Cape Coast rich in heritage of
national significance no doubt.
Those first to occupy the land,
the fauna of prehistory, came from the sky, the birds that feature strongly in
the iconography of the place and the coast story. The infamous gannets continue
to journey here for a yearly stopover, attracting tourist dollars along with
them.
The second wave of occupants
human, settling in Te Awanga overlooking the sea and Maraetotara river, their safety also in elevation.
Occupation at Tiromoana pa has been carbon dated as far back as the 11th
century, one of the earliest identified settlements in the country.
The Cape Coast is now home to a
vibrant, diverse, creative community who for whatever reasons have chosen to
domicile on this thin strip of dirt. A strip of dirt much maligned and
misunderstood by bureaucrats, battered by the elements, loved by locals,
tourists, explorers and day-trippers alike.
In a certain sense there is a
great freedom in being a coast dweller … Black Bridge demarking the point of no
return. Freedom to unwind on a daily basis, to wander the shoreline, to collect
treasures, encouraging a child-like freedom to dream.
So what is the collective dream
for the coast? Is there one? Does it need one? Is the place fine just how it is,
or could there be improvements? If so, what needs to happen and who is steering
the waka?
The coast in a word: dynamic
In reality the Cape Coast is a
genuinely unique piece of NZ landscape and culture that deserves a genuine
commitment from those in positions of public trust bestowed with the
responsibility of kaitiakitanga. Commitment to creating solutions to some
endemic problems in order that confidence
and investment in the area can be reignited.
The coast in one word is dynamic. Not just the physical nature of the landscape and
ecology, but the people who have been attracted to life on the edge, sea level
rise be damned, a glass of blush in hand, a crayfish passed over a fence, just
don’t drop in on my wave and we’ll all get along.
The floating trailer is a unique
invention; its cultural value needs to be celebrated. It is representative of
the type of character who lives on the coast and the type of solutions that can
be found for unique problems. The old school Burt Munroe approach to getting
things done. Just do it, make it work and get on with it.
I don’t know how many reports
have been commissioned over the years to address coastal issues. The coast is a
dynamic living ecology. It is a natural system that is in perpetual state of
flux forever looking to achieve balance. As such, it is as much a part of the
rivers that feed the Bay as it is a part of the ocean ecology and its cycles of
tides and weather. It bridges the worlds of land and sea and as such supports
life in a thin precarious strip.
A report recently commissioned
by the regional council, addressing heightened expectations of sea level rise,
has highlighted the risks involved in not proactively managing the costal environment
in a holistic fashion.
One elephant in the room when it
comes to coastal erosion is the quarrying of shingle being done at Awatoto. The
report highlights the significant impact this activity has on the southern
coast. Winstone Aggregates has secured resource consents for gravel extraction
till 2017. This will help satisfy the annual demand of every New Zealander for
eight tonnes of aggregates. The issue of gravel extraction has been skirted
around in other reports over the years, but it seems only natural that if you
remove 30,000 cubic meters of shingle from Awatoto, maybe another 30,000 cubic
meters might want to fill that hole!
Perhaps what is needed for the
coast is a regional paradigm shift. Professor
Paul Komar, professor emeritus from the ocean sciences college of Oregon State
University, who as a HBRC consultant has studied our coast more than most,
offers one:
“Putting a stop to extraction
would mean the coast would stabilise the gravel beaches south of Napier as far
as Haumoana … The beach is the buffer. You want as strong a buffer as possible
between you and the rising sea levels. It just makes sense not to extract
gravel from the sand and beaches."
If the aggressive mining of the
coastal shingle is partly responsible for coastal erosion on the Cape Coast,
then what of the plans for the Ruataniwha dam? The rivers cannot be separated
from the ecology of the coast. They are one and the same.
The sooner the paradigm shifts
to embrace a whole system approach to environmental management, the sooner we
can start emptying those tourists’ pockets of their cash. It has to be an
easier way of milking foreign currency than connecting Betsy to the milking
machine every morning and evening.
Top down or bottom up ?
New Zealand has 14,000
kilometres of coastline, the tenth-longest in the world. Hawke’s Bay has 353
kilometres. There is no doubt that with sea level rise imminent, coastal
management is not only a regional issue, but a national imperative. With one
metre of sea level rise now forecast by 2100, we will need some significant
Burt Munroe-style innovation. There is no time like the present.
The New Zealand Coastal Policy
Statement (NZCPS) sits at the head of the table as directive for district and
regional councils on how to manage the coast in their jurisdiction. That policy,
as excerpted below, sets the stage for how local and regional government has historically
missed the mark when it comes to delivery of what these bodies are charged with
… guardianship.
NZCPS Policy 15: Natural features and natural landscapes
To protect the natural features and natural landscapes
(including seascapes) of the coastal environment from inappropriate
subdivision, use, and development:
Recognise that tangata whenua have traditional and
continuing cultural relationships with areas of the coastal environment,
including places where they have lived and fished for generations.
A long conversation with Darkie (Mick) Huahie, 83 year-old kamatua
from Matahiwi marae, and Jacob Scott, both long-term residents of Haumoana with
whanau connections back generations brings alive the richness and complexity of
the history of the Haumoana/Te Awanga area. The lack of sympathy for local
knowledge regarding management of the environment over the years is astounding.
Who better to contribute to the understanding of the ecology than those who
have witnessed it over a lifetime, in conjunction with inherited stories
stretching generations.
“The river was our supermarket. We didn’t need to go into
the shops. The fish we caught fed pakeha families as well as Maori” Says
Darkie Huahi
NZCPS Policy 27: Strategies for protecting significant
existing development from coastal hazard risk
…recognizing that hard protection structures may be the
only practical means to protect existing infrastructure of national or regional
importance, to sustain the potential of built physical resources to meet the
reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations…
The Regional Council and the Hastings
District Council also have their own coastal policies – the Hawke’s Bay Regional
Coastal Environment Plan and the Coastal Environment Strategy, respectively.
“Hastings District has an
extensive coastline covering some 78 kilometres. The Coastal Environment
contains a complex mix of natural and built features, as well as significant
cultural, heritage and recreational values, which the Hastings community needs
to manage in a comprehensive and sustainable manner.”
We are lucky to have in Hawke’s Bay a beautiful, enchanting
landscape. The definition of landscape has come to include also culture. The sustainability of the culture of the coast is as
vital as the landscape itself; the two cannot be separated. We are also
lucky to have a district policy regarding “landscapes of significance;” the Cape
Coast is highlighted as one such landscape. Significant not just because of the
natural beauty, but for cultural reasons as well.
The imperative of any coastal protection policy is then one
of cultural protection as well as land. Land is more tangible and easier to put
a number on; culture is more difficult yet the culture that the coast supports
is readily evident on any day of the week when the weather and the tides are
cooperating. Surfing, fishing, kai gathering, beach fires, motorcycle riding or
just going for a walk
Sadly, the Haumoana to Clifton coast is used in a
university-level geography class as an illustration of how things can go
horribly wrong with process. If progress is to be made, there needs to be a
breakthrough in what seems to have become a stalemate. Meetings being
undertaken for the community planning process have not been well attended;
perhaps something tantamount to coast issue and consultation burnout is
occurring. Just as the sea cannot breach a well-engineered wall, the local
community has not over the years surmounted the formidablecouncil
decision-making processes.
The question is now how to reinvent the process as an
example of best practice. The value of intergenerational local knowledge about
a place cannot be underestimated. Stories, common sense and tested solutions
are where discussions need to start. A top heavy process has the potential to
morph into a shinning example of bottom up, community lead and solution focused
action. Just like the gravel moving northward its a matter of finding the line of
least resistance.
Perfect opportunity
The coastal management, planning
and policy space is very busy on the Cape Coast at the minute.
Community plans are being
authored, subdivision and development plans refined. There seems to be a
perfect storm of opportunity brewing that may provide the catalyst to put aside
any bad blood that has been generated over the years and deal once and for all
proactively and collaboratively with the key issues that need to be resolved on
the Cape Coast. Now is an opportunity for an integrated, inclusive push with a ‘Yes,
we can!’ approach to getting things done.
Much planning is in process,
with many inter-related issues and activities on the table:
·
The ongoing debate over the
groynes their design and cost.
·
Gravel extraction from
rivers and the foreshore and their affect on coastal erosion.
·
The Ruataniwha Dam and
potential effect on the bay of Tukituki River flows and health.
·
The Hastings District Plan
review proposing rubber-stamping areas for development both in Te Awanga and
Haumoana.
·
Master plans and design
controls required for proposed development areas.
·
The HDC community plan
currently being authored as a non-statutory guide to frame community lead
actions and projects.
·
Work to preserve road
access to Clifton Motor camp and the boat ramp.
·
The possibility of a
managed retreat or relocation of the Clifton camp to a nearby location.
·
Ongoing resilience of septic
tank systems as waste management for the area.
·
Continued work on the
National Cycleway running through the area.
·
Consistent spectacular
output from local vineyards and associated restaurants.
·
Ongoing coastal access to
Cape Kidnappers itself and the gannet colony.
·
The fabulous species
restoration work at the Cape Sanctuary project.
·
The Clifton County Cricket
Club planting of natives at their home turf in the hills behind Te Awanga.
Coastal dreaming
What is the collective dream for
the coast? Walk on Water (WOW) and the Cape Coast Community Group (CCCG), with
wide community support, in 2010 created a strategic vision for the coast. The
document was used as a submission to the Hastings Council’s Long Term Plan. It
included a rebranding of Haumoana, Te Awanga, Clifton and Cape
Kidnappers under the descriptive term
‘The Cape Coast – Giving Hawke’s Bay an Edge’.
WOW has worked tirelessly to
develop the profile for the community, as well as solutions to the biggest
elephant in the room – coastal erosion and hard engineering as an effective and
economic solution. The basic premise of the WOW group needs to be the basis of
further action:
The
Cape Coast is a regional recreational asset, used by people from all across
Hawke’s Bay and is a prime visitor location. It has a rich and colourful past
steeped in Maori and European history and an amazing future as a centre for
tourism, hospitality and the creative arts if it is given the chance to show
its true potential.
The key words are ‘regional’ and
‘potential’. The WOW document maintains its legitimacy and thankfully now can
be incorporated into the community planning process. For WOW spokesman Keith
Newman, the biggest issue still facing the coast is coastal protection via a
groyne field. The key to achieving this is recognition of the regional value
and importance of the coast.
Meanwhile, there has been no
real major storm event since Easter 2010 and thus no real media coverage of
life out here on the edge. Summer is upon us with long enjoyable days by, in or
on the sea. The boat ramp is open again and kai stocks have been
replenished. Increasing numbers of bikers roll past on a weekly basis. Properties continue to come on the market and sell.
Insurance companies are still dubious about some high-risk properties on the
wrong side of the invisible lines demarking the coastal hazard zones.
“One of the factors that can influence price is a perception
that a property is affected by a stigma, in the case of Hawke’s Bay coastal
property the influence of Coastal Hazard Zones potential effects on property
rights.” HBRC coastal value report
The tide comes in and goes out. The
gentle waves lull us into a sense of security. The inevitable consequences of
sea level rise and changing weather patterns parked out of mind for now. Let’s
hope that between now and the next ‘event’ a positive pathway for the coastal
community and the authorities to work through their differences is charted.
BOX
How do the politicians see it?
Regional Councillor Peter Beaven:
The coastline needs to be preserved; bottom line, it is too
important to take a ‘do nothing’ or ‘wait and see’ approach. We can’t get
fixated on the preservation of a
few houses only, but need to be looking at the big picture even beyond
Haumoana, Te Awanga, Clifton to include the whole Coastline of the Bay.
There is immediacy to this with new information coming in
through revision to the Komar report. Most importantly, we need to preserve the
road access that is the lifeline for the coastal community as well as the
tourism opportunities that the road opens up. There is an opportunity by being
proactive that we don’t want too miss.
We need to be taking a ‘whole of coast’ view and that means
understanding the effect of gravel extraction at Awatoto and other locations as
well as understanding the effect of the Dam proposal on gravel dispersal via
the Tukituki. It may mean quarrying of river stone is halted in order to stop
down stream affects.
The Regional Council and HDC need to be working
together with the community to
create that strategic plan for the area.
Hastings Councillor Rod Heaps
The issue most in need of resolution is coastal erosion. We
are investing in things like the place-based plan, but without nailing the
coastal erosion issue it might be for nought.
It really is a time to put a positive spin on this.
Processes have been caught in a negativity … I’m not sure from where.
With new blood in the regional council and new eyes
hopefully we can achieve positive outcomes.
The engineering of groynes has been shown to work; the
science says if we don’t do anything the risks associated with global warming
will be amplified. If the science says stop the gravel extraction that’s what
we need to do.
There has been a recent change of tide at the Hastings District Council regards dealing with the
coast in a more positive manner and I am happy about that.
I stand behind the Te Awanga Community when it comes to
development. There was an overwhelming outcry against it and that needs to be
listened to.
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