Piha News

Great curiosity followed the discovery on Sunday morning, 4 January, of a long white smelly fibrous mass just north of Lion Rock.
What was it?
Well in February 1993 a similar blob washed up at North Piha and was discovered by Shirley Atkinson. At that time DOC said the blob was probably part of a decomposing sperm whale. She said what appeared to be hair on the blubber was, in fact, dried intestine.

The meeting to discuss options of the future location of the Post Office was held on 16 November. A number of options were put up but the meeting asked for three to be brought back in more detail. These were:

There were some attempts to reopen the matter of whether the Ratepayers and Residents should be in the business of providing Post Office services, despite the fact that the July meeting had voted overwhelmingly to keep a full suite of post office service, including boxes and over-the-counter.
Some meeting attendees expressed surprise when the Library Manager stated that she was totally opposed to the Post Office locating in an extension to the Library building, that the Library was to become a Charitable Trust and that the Library owned the building.
Chair Tony Dunn pointed out that while the Committee of the R&R had given the okay for the Library group to explore establishing as a Trust, this had not been brought to and endorsed by an AGM. Currently the Library operates under the auspices of the R&R and reports to the AGM. It was also made clear that the R&R owns the Library building and has the land lease with the Council.
Several things need to be established before the next meeting, including:

During the recent Environment Court hearing on the proposed Piha cafe, an interesting report was put into the court.
Landscape architect Melean Aboslum had been asked by Waitakere City Council to carry out landscape assessments of the coastal villages of the West Coast and Manukau Harbour as part of the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area process.
It seems that no other assessments were carried out, but the one of Piha was completed and is can be read here.
The report divides Piha into a number of landscape units and describes their characteristics and identifies areas where the landscape could be degraded in the future.
It also highlights existing developments that have undermined or dominated the existing natural features of areas or are out of scale or inappropriate for a coastal village. It identifies the development potential of each area, and the restoration potential.
In particular, she draws attention to the benefits of the green forested bands that separate strips of housing on the hillsides at Piha, which help keep the natural areas dominant over development, noting that these areas are being subdivided.
Landscape report Part 1 (.pdf file), Landscape Report Part 2 (.pdf file), Landscape Report Map (.pdf file).

Diggers and workmen on the beachfront carparks at Piha are evidence of a Waitakere City Council project to direct stormwater into the Moana Stream channel from the carparks to south and north. Some residents are curious, and/or concerned about what is happening, and are not clear how this has come about.
The stormwater from the carpark in front of the surfclub previously ran into a cesspit on the property to the north of Blair’s and from there under the road to disgorge through the sandhills. The exit through the sandhills regularly clogged with sand, causing the water to back up and flood the property. The Auckland Regional Council also said that as the pipes were exposed through storms they had to be removed.
Waitakere City Council was able to carry out the remedial worked as a permitted activity.
The work includes:

As the total sealed space was under 1000 metres square it could be carried out by WCC as a permitted activity. A Certificate of Compliance to cover these works was issued by the Auckland Regional Council in June 2008.
The Waitakere City Council says that in mid-2007 and early 2008 it consulted with a number of stakeholders including:

The WCC took into account the as yet to be accepted Piha Integrated Catchment Plan. It seems to have bypassed the Piha Coastal Management Plan which has some things to say about the Moana Stream. The channelised Moana Stream was part of a retrospective Resource Consent application heard by Judge Arnold Turner under the RMA in 1992.
The Piha Coastal Management Plan 2000 says that as pieces of the Moana Stream break up they are to be removed but this has seldom happened, despite reports to WCC by residents.
The Plan says “The Moana Stream Channel will be modified to improve its aesthetic and ecological values, but the details of such modification will be subject to engineering design and public consultation through a resource consent process.” There was to be a weed control programme and three-yearly monitoring of stream life.
This has not happened. A few years ago the WCC did come to the community with a proposal for the stream that involved removing part of the rock and concrete armouring at the beach end. The response from the community was that people wanted more of the concrete and armouring removed.
The current works cement in the armouring of the stream, something that today is considered highly undesirable from an ecological and natural values perspective. It is also not clear why the WCC thought it necessary to add to the sealed surfaces at Piha by tarsealing the area from the carpark to the Domain walkway see map.
The outcome is that a stream running across the most highly used part of the beach, in which children play, will contain not only the harmful organisms that already exist in the stream, but now pollutants from stormwater.
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Launched by Sir Edmund Hillary in 2001, the West Coast Plan is a statement of the vision of local communities. Based on an ethic of stewardship and protecting the wild nature of the Waitakere Ranges, the Plan sets out objectives and actions for the area, which encompasses the West Coast beaches, Manukau Harbour villages and the forested ranges.
In her Annual Report, chair Jo Quatermass talked about the need to retain a focus on the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Act and implementation of actions in the Plan. For more on Jo's report go here.
Guest speaker was Morgan Williams former Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment whose prediction of "death by a thousand cuts" became the catch-cry in developing the Heritage Area legislation.
Recently asked by Waitakere City Council to look at the future of the Heritage Area he cautioned "patience". We are an "instant nation" he said, but the Heritage Area should "evolve and take time".
Recently returned from a visit to some of the most highly populated and busiest cities of Europare and the Middle East, he highlighted how they have a sharp demarkation line between the intensively developed urban areas and the rural and natural areas. The cities went up and in the countryside, buildings could hardly be seen.
He contrasted this with some the worst recent examples of development at Piha and made a plea for buildings that were of a scale and bulk that fitted in the landscape and nestled in trees.

The sounds of fireworks exploding disturbed the quiet of Piha around midnight on Friday 26 September. An hour later flames were seen leaping from the direction of Tasman Lookout and they were spreading fast.
Five fire crews attended from Piha, Karekare, Waiatarua, Titirangi and Glen Eden. Water was taken from the Piha Lagoon and pumped up from the sea at Pakiti Rock.
Fighting the fire was difficult because it was pitch black and the only access was up the steep Tasman Lookout Track. Firefighters had to go perilously close to the cliff edge while fighting the fire. The crews started at the southern end to contain the fire and by 3 pm the last flames were out.
Fires started by fireworks are regular at Piha and the damage takes decades to repair. Seaspray and wind make reestablishing vegetation a challenge. A firework ban cannot arrive fast enough.

Te Kawerau a Maki kaumatua blessed the Tuna Bridge, WCC Deputy-Mayor Penny Hulse, artist Mandy Patmore and local children cut the ribbon and the community walked over en masse.
Local people expressed great appreciation for this iconic bridge, which recently won an award at the New Zealand Recreation Association conference.
The "walk-over" was followed by a morning tea at Piha Surf Club.
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The old Piha School and its surrounding land are destined to become an environmental education centre for children from west Auckland schools and students from further afield. The project will involve restoring the wetlands of the Ministry of Education land and the riparian areas of the Piha Stream which crosses the land.
The schools are working with Kuaka New Zealand to provide curriculum-based environmental field studies for students.
The project will work in with the Auckland Regional Council whose parkland adjoins the land.
Read more here: http://www.theaucklander.co.nz/news/story.cfm?storyID=3742583

At the last Piha Ratepayers and Residents Association AGM, members voted virtually unanimously (one abstention) to oppose Thundercats at Piha. Now they look set to return in February 2009, as Waitakere City Council and Auckland Regional Council seem to be prepared to give the event the green light.
In the latest Piha Community News Monique Olivier questions whether this noisy, fuel-guzzling event is appropriate for the newly created Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area. She also raises the ARC's campaign on vehicles on beaches and questions how it can counternance an event that involves fuel stations and vehicles on the beach. For more read here.

We’ve watched it being built, and now the wonderful eel bridge has opened over the Piha (correct name Waiokahu) Stream. Designed by local artist, Mandy Patmore, the bridge curves sinuously over the waterway and reeds of the lagoon, its mid-point a sunny spot to stop and gossip with passerby. Eels at all stages of growing are embedded into the concrete platform and golden eels hold up the railings. The official opening is imminent

Opponents of the continuation of full postal services at Piha (who roughly equate to the “Yes Group” in favour of the proposed Piha Café) found themselves in the distinct minority when the Piha Ratepayers and Residents held a public meeting on 27 July on the future of the Piha Post Office.
A motion for continuation of full postal services passed 42 in favour, 9 against with 4 abstentions.There were about 50 members present. For draft minutes of the meeting go here.
This result was consistent with all previous expressions of support for the Post Office which is highly valued by the local community. It is the only Post Office run by a ratepayers group in New Zealand and continues services begun nearly 100 years ago. For the full history of the Piha Post Office go here.
The meeting was precipitated by a demand for rent by Preserve Piha Ltd which brought the old Telecom site containing the Post Office, and a charge for purchase of the building. The building had been gifted to the R&R by Telecom in 1987, and its current ownership is uncertain, something the meeting voted to seek legal advice about.
At the meeting, representatives of Preserve Piha Ltd agreed that the building could stay on the site until the Environment Court decision regarding its application to open a café. They reassured the meeting they would not sell the building in the interim.
The R&R has looked high and low for another site for the Post Office, with no success. It has permission from the Waitakere Community Board to shift the building to the Piha Domain for a short period (a very costly option), but the Piha Reserves Management Plan precludes a permanent home on the Domain, reflecting concerns of locals that the open space of the Domain was becoming cluttered with buildings.

A newly identified soil and water-borne disease called Phytophthora taxon agathis (PTA) is killing large areas of the iconic kauri at Piha, Karekare, Anawhata, Huia and the Cascades. The disease can be spread by feral pigs, and by humans going through the Waitakere Regional Park. It causes large bleeding lesions on the trunks of affected trees that can effectively ring-bark the tree, hence its common name of Kauri collar rot disease.
Local communities and other visitors are being asked to adopt hygiene measures such as thoroughly washing their shoes before going into the park, and after leaving, to prevent spread of the disease.
For more information on PTA and what you can do go here.

ARC tackles new Kauri tree disease
The Auckland Regional Council is tackling a newly identified disease attacking kauri trees in the Waitakere Ranges.
The disease is a kauri collar rot, caused by a soil pathogen known as Phytophthora Taxon Agathis (PTA). It causes a progressive collar rot that can girdle the tree and eventually kill it. Affected trees show yellowing leaves, canopy thinning and dead branches and they can develop lesions that bleed resin across the lower part of the trunk.
Diseased kauri trees were first discovered along the Maungaroa Ridge near Piha in 2006, but it was not known what was causing the symptoms. Extensive research has been done since and it was confirmed in April this year as a kauri collar rot caused by PTA.
Until then it had not been identified as a new species, nor was it known that PTA caused kauri to die, but this was confirmed by research led by Dr Ross Beever from Landcare Research and assisted by Dr Nick Waipara from ARC.
“We are very concerned and will be doing everything we can to control the spread of the disease,” says Cr Sandra Coney, Chair of ARC’s Parks and Heritage Committee.
“The ARC owns the largest area of kauri forest in the Auckland region, most of it regenerating from milling 100 years ago. We are putting in place preventive measures to stop the spread of the disease and we need research to understand how widespread it is in the Ranges.”
“We need the public to help stop this disease from spreading within the Ranges and further afield, and to tell us if they notice sick trees.”
“PTA is a pathogen that attacks specifically kauri and it’s essential that we do more research into where it is, what its vectors are for spread and how to stop it,” says Dr Waipara of ARC Biosecurity.
“We do know that it is a threat to kauri at ecosystem level as well as individual trees and that it is soil-borne, which means we can act now to prevent further spread.”
“A likely vector for spread is feral pigs, and we will be making a concerted effort to reduce pig numbers significantly in the Ranges” says Dr Waipara.
“Pig control is something the ARC can action very quickly.”
The ARC is also rolling out standard operating procedures to their own staff and to contractors working in the Waitakere Ranges as well as communicating with all the relevant organisations and local communities that use the Ranges regularly and for one-off events.
Measures will be similar to those for biosecurity risks like didymo in the South Island and will include things like disinfectant footwear mats for events and information for the public who will be asked to clean their shoes before entering and after leaving the Ranges.
Councillors will consider allocating research funding at the next Parks and Heritage Committee meeting.
For more information go here

Six local male artists got together to interpret Matariki, the Maori New Year, for the West Coast Gallery. At the opening on Saturday the wine flowed and the red stickers were rapidly going up on works.
Karekare artist Dean Buchanan featured an unusual work – a long vertical representation of the coastline, as well as his better known works of highly coloured nikau forests. From Anawhata, Pardo Jackson had created a mysterious sculpture, and Piha graphic artist Jon Paul had painted canvases with silhouettes of key elements of the Piha environment, natural and human, as well as the symbols of the stars. Tui Eves highly decorated surf-boards would be a great feature in anyone’s home and Piha’s Zeke Wolf exhibited a large surreal canvas as well as some colourful ceramic fish. Piha photographer Tony Dunn had three lovely photos, including a magnificent time-lapse image of Lion Rock and the starry night sky.
Go down and take a look at this interesting and stylish show.
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Protect Piha Heritage's second talk on the Waitakere Volcano and the formation of the Piha coastline drew a huge crowd on a rainy mid-Winter night.
Hayward enthralled the crowd with his explanation of the building up of the high cliffs and distinctive rock formations of the Piha area, and the creation of sandy beaches by sand drawn down through the Waikato River. For more go here.
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Maui’s Dolphins protected
The Minister of Fisheries has announced new measures to protect Maui’s and Hector’s dolphins. In summary, for the North Island west coast (from Maunganui Bluff north of Kaipara Harbour to Pariokariwa Point north of New Plymouth) they are:

Swimmers get a better deal with new bylaws for the beach
The new Auckland Regional Council Navigation Safety Bylaw 2008 provides new rules as to what can happen in flagged areas on beaches.
It empowers Surf Life Savings New Zealand patrol captains, and other enforcement officers to set aside areas of beaches as flagged areas for swimming and body-boarding only.
The area extends 200 metres out to sea.
No other activities can be carried out in this area. This means swimmers and body surfers are separated from surfers using finned boards.
The bylaw also covers the speed of vessels. No person can use a vessel at a speed over 5 knots within 50 metres of a person or other vessel, or within 200 metres of the shore.
Exceptions are made for emergency response vessels in a rescue situation.
The whole bylaw can be found at here
Sandra Coney

The crowds just keep getting bigger at Piha for the annual Anzac Day ceremony. Hundreds marched down to the beach from the RSA, led by the Onehunga Pipe Band, where they joined crowds already gathered on the beach.
The Rev Jim Hunt led the service, and there was a poignant and high quality rendition of the Last Post from the heights of Lion Rock.
Local groups as well as groups from Karekare and Oratia School placed wreaths on the Lion Rock in front of the plaques commemorating soldiers from WW1 and WW2.
The women's group of the RSA provided a top quality afternoon tea back at the RSA where memories were shared and old friends caught up.

Waitakere Heritage Area Bill passes 3rd reading
After a process of 5 years, the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill passed its third reading on the evening of Wednesday 2 April by 61 votes to 60.
Sponsored by local Waitakere Labour MP Lynne Pillay, (see her speech in the House here), the Bill was developed jointly by Waitakere City Council and Auckland Regional Council and covers the publically-owned 17,000-hectare Waitakere Regional Park and another 10,000 hectares of privately owned land. Rodney District Council also came on board with the Bill, which includes a small amount of public land in Rodney.
It was originally intended that the process of consultation and development of the Bill would take 18 months, and that it would be presented to the last Labour Government. But eventually it survived two local body elections and a central government election. These delays resulted in the tight vote, as Labour's hold on Parliament diminished. Fortunately, the Maori Party and Tito Phillip Field agreed to support the Bill in exchange for some changes, allowing it to get through with the slimmest of slim majorities.
The Bill sets objectives for the management of the area, that must be taken account of in any Resource Consent applications and in the development of the District Plans, Regional Policy Statement and the Regional Parks Management Plan. It arose from concerns about subdivision and development that was incrementally urbanising the Ranges, and changing the balance from the natural environment being dominant to the built environment dominating.
The Bill comes into effect immediately but will not impact on any Resource Consent applications that are already in train.
For the Auckland Regional Council media statement go here
For New Lynn MP David Cunliffe's speech go here

Over 50 turned up on Easter Friday to hear about the history and workforce of the Piha State Sawmill, presented by Sandra Coney who has been researching the subject for over five years. This was the first event organised by Protect Piha Heritage Society which plans more such presentations and publications.
Accompanied by many photos, most not seen before at Piha, Sandra outlined the history of the Mill from 1910 when a way was found to build a hauler system over the hill from Karekare, sometimes reaching a gradient of 1 in 1 1⁄2. This enabled the machinery of the Karekare Mill to be transferred to Piha, and it provided a way to get the timber back out of Piha and along the coast to the wharf at Whatipu.
Sandra explained that he major interest is the individual histories and social networks of the men at the Mill, their family backgrounds and war service. The common stereotype of kauri bushmen is that they were loners, but Sandra has found that they were interconnected, moving around in groups, forming long-standing friends and intermarrying. Over two-thirds of Piha’s bushmen had a brother, father or uncle at the Mill.
Sandra plans to publish the results of her research one day, and in the meantime she has been able to provide photos of the men for Anzac Day.

A crowd of volunteers who work in the Waitakere Regional Park was thanked with a day of fun and games, and a delicious lunch by the Auckland Regional Council on 15 March. The event took place in a sheltered clearing beside the Kitekite Stream, once the site of some of the infrastructure for the boom that was part of the Piha Sawmill.
The guests were thanked by Sandra Coney, Chair of Parks and Heritage for the ARC, who told some of the history of the area. Such bushman’s delights as manuka tea were on the menu, and events included a guided walk to Kitekite Falls and a wood sawing contest.

Cafe decision appealed
Protect Piha Heritage has appealed the decisions of Auckland Regional Council and Waitakere City Council to give cosent to Preserve Piha Ltd for a cafe at 20 Seaview Rd. PPH has also been informed by the applicants for the cafe, that they are also appealing the consent.
Protect Piha Heritage has appealed both the whole consent and the conditions. The group is concerned at the change to the character of Piha by allowing a commercial cafe, and the precendent it might set for both Piha and the wider West Coast area. Other concerns were that the hearing commissioenr removed restrictions on hours, the application exceeded the noise limits on Sundays and Public Holidays and posed traffic and wastewater concerns. The reasons for the decision to appeal are set out here.
To see the actual Appeal document go here

Local Piha folk and Waitakere lovers from further afield gathered at a hitherto unnamed part of the Waitakere Regional Parklands in Glen Esk Rd Piha to celebrate the contribution of one of the initiators of the 17,000 hectare Parkland.
Sir Algernon Thomas was the first professor of biology and geology at Auckland University and a great lover of the natural environment.
In 1894 he led the first deputation of eminent Aucklanders to lobby the Auckland City Council to acquire land for a great forest park in the Waitakere Ranges.
In 1941, the collected land became the Auckland Centennial Memorial Park, Auckland’s chosen project to mark 100 years of the founding of Auckland.
In the 1930s, Sir Algernon acquired Lion Rock at Piha and also 3 acres of flat land in the Glen Esk Valley, backed by 100 acres of forested hills with rocky bluffs and marvellous views, which he intended to give to the parkland. He had not completed these gifts at the time of his death, but his sons Norman Withiel and Acland Thomas followed through on his promises.
Sir Algernon intended the flat land in the Piha Valley to be used for camping and for many years, the Boys’ Brigade used the site. It was to be connected to the forested land by a track.
For many years the valley land has been unmarked, and it was not even clear it was part of the parkland. Now it has been named to honour its benefactor and on Sunday 3 February, an opening was held on the site, followed by a guided tour of nearby Stedfast Park, recently acquired by the ARC, and a BBQ. The event was made more special by the presence of Fiona Thompson and her husband Peter, grand-daughter of Sir Algernon.

Zeke Wolf’s latest exhibition at the West Coast Gallery is full of colour, imagery and commentary on human beings exploitation of the natural world. These big, detailed, mysterious paintings provide food for thought on how we interact with our natural environment and the creatures that live in it. Zeke is better known for his large ceramic platters with their images of fish, nudes, fruit and lilies, that are to be found in high class galleries around New Zealand. But this latest show reveals that he is equally talented on canvas. Sales have been brisk and the show has been popular.

The Cafe Decision
A Waitakere City Council and Auckland Regional Council Hearing Panel has approved the application by Preserve Piha Ltd for a cafe at 20 Seaview Road, subject to conditions.
The Applicant and/or submitters can appeal the decision or conditions to the Environment Court within 15 working days of receiving it. If anyone appeals, other people who have submitted can join in within 6 weeks. For a summary go here. For the full decision go here.

A large section of dune opposite the Piha Bowling Club has subsided in sections from top to bottom. The slip has occurred at the highest part of the dune, which is about 50 metres high, and is partly in private ownership while the lower section is part of the Waitakere City-owned Piha Domain.
The slip reveals that even at the top this land is entirely sand, and is the old backdune of Piha beach. Recently a pre-contact Maori burial was uncovered next to a pohutukawa near hear, showing that these backdunes are many hundreds of years old. Photos from 100 years ago show sparse growth on the dune faces but currently they are covered with kikuyu, agapanthus, with some growth of natives.
Unfortunately, despite local beliefs, kikuyu and agapanthus are not good sand-binding plants being shallow rooted. Agapanthus forms a dense mat, but the root system does not penetrate the sand deeply. Once the mat starts to sheer off, it tends to keep going. This also occurred in a slip on the cliff faces at the southern end of Piha Beach in the 1990s.
Dense agapanthus infestations exclude other more deep rooting plants such as coprosma repens, mahoe, flax and so on which would do a better job of holding the bank.
So what’s caused the slip. The immediate cause is not known, but is probably the result of a low-term trend arising from human interference in the stream and wetland system.
The Piha Domain in the lagoon area is an old wetland and soak plain. When large quantities of water came down the Piha Stream they were able to infiltrate and soak into this area, acting as a floodwater safety-net.
Over a period of some years, Waitakere City dumped sand removed from the beachfront carparks onto this area which had the effect of reducing soakage, raising the ground level, and hardening the edge. This only stopped when WCC was questioned about whether it had a resource consent for this activity. It turned out it did not.
Next, when the Piha Stream was in flood, as the water could not soak into the Domain land, it was pushed south undermining the bank on that side. Smaller slips have already occurred and the one land owner had been told he could not build on one of his sections because of the potential for slips.
The next question is – is this the end of the process, or will more slips occur?
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This fine young pohutukawa in front of Piha Store was one of three planted a number of years ago by nearby resident Brian Rainger.
Brian says the other two died, but this one survived thanks to care and attention from Brian and other locals. Brian put a sign beside is saying ‘Water me!’ and Hans Mueller, then owner of the Piha Store, took up the call, and gave it drinks when the bach owners had gone back to town.
The provenance of the tree arose because, during recent hearings on the proposed café next door, the Waitakere City Council traffic engineer proposed trimming back the bank outside the Store and vegetation to the east and west. This is because visibility is bad for any cars leaving the proposed site, as they attempt to move into the streams of traffic across multiple, unstructured traffic flows.
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Images of Piha abound in advertising, billboards, photo-shoots and so on. Here are a couple of images of the familiar Lion Rock and a couple of black-backed gulls decorating a utilities box on the roadside of Henderson Valley Road. It’s part of a Waitakere City scheme to brighten the city streets using local artists. There’s a very fine weta by the Henderson shops.
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Major sanding-up around Pakiti Rock has resulted in local fishing-boat owners being inventive about how to launch and retrieve boats at low tide. Instead of using the deep water around Pakiti, they’ve resorted to going past the rock, and launching on the seaward side.
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Major accident closes Piha Road
A head-on two-car crash closed Piha Road on Sunday 23 December, causing chaos as holiday-makers tried to reach the beach. The crash occurred near the Anawhata turn-off and the Westpac helicopter was called in to take two people to hospital. Another two were taken to hospital by ambulance. Traffic was banked up two kilometers on the Piha side of the accident, while would-be beachgoers went back to town. Police said it appeared the car heading towards Piha crossed the centre line.
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Summer has arrived and Piha lagoon is off-bounds for swimming. Recent testing showed that the E coli count was 2610 per 100 ml, ten times the suggested upper limit for safety. This compares with 260 at Bethells Lagoon and 10 at Lake Wainamu. Karekare Lagoon is exceeding guidelines at 360 per 100 ml.
At Piha, Waitakere City Council has erected signs warning against swimming.
A recent report on the Piha Lagoon to WCC could not pin-point a single cause, but the presence of human virus points to pollution through sewerage. Ducks are also another cause. To see the whole report go here.
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The Minister for Conservation has signed off a new plan for managing the Waitakere Regional Parkland following extensive submissions and hearings. The Auckland Regional Council wants to more actively manage the pressures the Ranges are under due to their proximity to a large and rapidly growing metropolitan area.
Parts of the parkland are showing signs and wear and tear, and in places the maintenance of tracks is not keeping pace with the level of use. There is also evidence of the development of informal tracks, especially around stream banks.
The ARC is trying to balance the ecological and scenic importance of the park, with the needs of visitors, those seeking active recreation, volunteers carrying out conservation work and communities who live alongside and within the park. It wants to prevent over-use of particular areas which are popular or which have very sensitive environments.
The people of Auckland primarily visit the Ranges for the peace and quiet afforded by the natural qualities of the park, and an escape from the pressures of urban life. The Plan gives priority to protection of this experience, while catering for other compatible activities.
The new aspect of the plan is to place limits on organized sporting activities at 6 specific locations which are particularly sensitive ecologically and/or under pressure from visitors – Anawhata, Pararaha, Glen Esk, North Piha, Whatipu and Karekare.
The numbers set in these limits allow for all existing organized sporting activities. The ARC will work with sports organisers to identify other locations in the Waitakeres and other parkland where further events can occur. The Waitakere parkland is 17000 ha and there are 278 kms of track so there is room for events to be spread through the park, rather than clustered at particular locations.
Report and more here

The Waitakere Community Board received a report from a traffic design firm on these at its December meeting, in response to complaints about the vast number of signs, illogicality of some and glare at night.
Of the 17 speed curve signs on Piha Rd, 7 have a speed too high, and 3 too low. In other words, only 10 was correct.
Of the 36 on Huia Rd, 11 are too high and 1 too low.
Of the 106 on Scenic Drive, 12 are too high and 19 too low. Eight of these had a disparity of greater than 10 kph.
A grand total of 53 signs were wrong.
It was pointed out that signs posted with speeds too low can diminish the credibility of the signs so that accurate signs then catch drivers unawares.
Glare at night was acknowledged to be a problem because of the way some signs are aligned, and a less reflective material could have been used. But the engineers decided there was insufficient problem to create the need for a change. However, they only drove through once, and those of us who do the routes regularly can vouch for the glare factor.
It was also acknowledged that some bends had more chevrons than needed, and some will be removed. Six advance curve warnings (5 on Scenic Drive and 1 at Huia) will be removed as superfluous.
However, the engineers recommended more signs for vehicle bays on Piha Rd, so we may end up with more signs not less!
Another report claimed success for the signs in reducing crashes, but the figures didn’t really bear this out for Piha Rd.

So while non-injury went down in 2006, after the signs went in, injury were higher than the previous two years. Taken together, 2006 was at exactly the same point as 2004. So, a bit premature to claim success for the considerable investment and visual pollution of this highly scenic route.

Results have come in from Auckland Regional Council’s Visitor Survey for Glen Esk. These are done periodically to help the ARC plan visitor services and measure visitor satisfaction.
The results confirm Glen Esk as a prime destination for tourists. 21% of visitors to Glen Esk were from overseas, compared with 3% for the whole of Waitakeres and 1% for regional parks of the same class. Biggest local destination was Auckland City (34%), followed by Waitakere City at 30%. Non-Pakeha were higher than other places, with 10% Asian and 26% ‘other’.
Glen Esk visitors were predominantly young to mid-life adults, with 30% in the 25-34 year old age group.
Incomes were much higher with a third earning $50,000 to 75,000 and a third over $75,000. This may reflect the influence of tourists and possibly people taking part in canyonning.
Nearly half the visitors were families, which was higher than other areas, and 4% were in tour parties, also higher than other areas.
There were extreme reactions in terms of satisfaction with Glen Esk recording nearly 60% of extremely satisfied, and 6% very dissatisfied, both higher than elsewhere.
Most negative comments were about the need for maps and better maps. Only one person asked for a cappuccino in the parking area.

Protect Piha Heritage present submissions on café proposal
Comprehensive submissions were presented by Protect Piha Heritage at the hearing into the application by Preserve Piha Ltd on a café at 23 Seaview Road.
The group had commissioned reports by wastewater and traffic experts.
Wastewater expert Robert Docherty of Pattle Delamore Partners concluded that the allowance for wastewater in the proposal was likely to be a significant under-estimate so that the treatment and disposal systems would be too small for the flow.
No allowance had been made for takeaways. Judged on the patronage of a similar café at Muriwai, takeaway orders could be in the order of 200 per day which would generate 1600 l/day of wastewater, on top of the 3300 l/day allowed for sit down patrons. He also said that the estimate of patrons to the café seemed low, which would mean that wastewater from this activity alone could be 75% more than that allowed in the applicant’s report by Ormiston & Ass.
He also urged caution on the disposal system, because the deep trench system coupled with the soil types, would result in progressive failure over a period of months or years. Docherty also raised questions over the environmental effects, especially where the contaminants that will enter groundwater will end up. His opinion was that the application should be turned down.
Campground Manager Fiona Anderson challenged an idea raised by the Ormiston & Ass for the applicant that there should be no caps on patrons, but instead rely on remote telemetry for the café manager to be alerted when wastewater was nearing capacity. Anderson said that the campground system failed the week before, but she only knew because a passer-by reported raw sewerage running into Piha Stream. Cellphone coverage was not complete, said Ms Anderson, and was not reliable as a way of measuring the wastewater system.
Traffic expert Selwyn Green believed that traffic flows were under-estimated, and would probably be two-and-a-half times that suggested by the city’s Principal Engineer. Like Mr Docherty, he pointed out that no traffic generation allowance or parking allowance had been made for takeaway trade, and having visited the café at Muriwai, he thought that the traffic generation was likely to be more than double that estimated by the applicant.
He also challenged the assumption that a significant proportion of customers would walk to the café, and said that the parking demand was under-estimated.
Green also raised questions about the sight distances for people leaving the café and the gradient of the drive onto the café which he said was too steep. He was concerned about the safety of pedestrians in this informal intersection with no footpaths, especially children who would be attracted to takeaways.
His evidence was supported by videos and traffic counts carried out by Susan Davis and Gregor Nicholas for Protect Piha Heritage.
Sandra Coney gave evidence on landscape, neighbourhood character and heritage based on the history of the development of Piha and its social, cultural and natural values. The history of the development of the current District Plan was to discourage commercial activity in the West Coast Villages and keep urban growth away from the coast. She highlighted that there had been no heritage assessment of the site, by either the city or the applicant, but there were at least two known heritage sites near or on 20 Seaview Rd. In addition, she made a case for the need to assess the heritage values of the existing Post Office on the site as a building that contributed to the sense of place of Piha that was highly valued by local people.
The hearing continues on Wednesday 5 December when Protect Piha Heritage will finish its evidence, more submissions will be heard and the applicant will reply to the evidence that has been heard.
More here about Protect Piha Heritage Trust submissions
Submissions in .pdf pormat that can be dowloaded
Traffic evidence of Selwyn Green
Traffic evidence of Susan Davis
Wastewater evidence of Robert Docherty
Evidence of Sandra Coney
Evidence of Fiona Anderson

For the second year, the Huia Settlers Museum organised an Armistice Day commemoration for the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11 month, at the Spragg Memorial at Kaitarakihi on the Manukau Coast near Huia.
Keynote speaker was ARC Parks and Heritage Chair Sandra Coney who remembered Dan Mitchell and Jim Seal, two of the men from the Piha State Sawmill who had died at Passchendaele, the 90th anniversary of which was marked last month. continued..

Blessed with the first gloriously sunny weekend for ages, the onsite wastewater technology day in the Piha Domain drew crowds to learn just how sophisticated systems have got.
Advertised throughout the outer areas of Waitakere, folk came from all over the coast, from Huia, Karekare, and Bethells. There were sausage sizzles, espressos, face painting, music and information about weed control and the environment as well as the more prosaic matters people had come to learn about.
There was an impressive display of wares on display and plenty of chance to get your questions answered. The new wastewater systems could help address Piha’s rather grim water quality problems. Now the only thing is to find the dollars to install that smart new system.
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West Coast Gallery launched Tony Dunn’s career as a photographic exhibitor on Friday 9 November at an event attended by Piha’s glitterati.
Dunn is our local R&R president, but has an eye for the iconic and evocative tree, flax frond, and sand dune. A strong design sensibility is evident in his work, best conveyed in his black and white images, some of which are honed down to their essential graphic elements, though his close-up of glistening ferns was gorgeous.
The images are framed or mounted, very reasonably priced and in small editions. Get on down and admire.

The sand cliffs at North Piha have taken a terrible pounding in recent high seas. Instead of dunes falling gradually to the sea, there is a steep sand cliff. Spinifex is the major sand binding plant at North Piha and its seaward runners will repair the damage and form new dunes.
However, the dunes in this area, considered some of the most significant in the Waitakere Ecological District, have been recently invaded by lupins and another weed - a scrambling vine called vetch (vicia sativa), an annual with small purple pea-like flowers. This is currently covering hectares of backdunes at North Piha.

The colour photo of this old pohutukawa was taken last week, on 28 October 2007. Is it the same old tree as appears in the photo of Piha Stream taken by William Williams on his visit to the Piha Mill in about 1916?
Taking into account the slightly different angle, the growth of vegetation, and the passage of time, it looks likely.

Further analysis of Piha café submissions shows locals split down the middle
Further analysis of the nearly 200 submissions on the proposal for a commercial café at Piha shows numbers are evenly split for and against.
Protect Piha Heritage has analysed the origins of the submissions to Waitakere City Council and shown that of the submitters who live at or own property at Piha, they are evenly split, with 68 opposed to the cafe and 66 in favour. As well, three Waitakere Community groups opposed the café.
‘This clearly shows that the Piha community is split on the issue,’ says Peter Hosking, ‘rather than the Preserve Piha Ltd having a “mandate” from the community as it claimed in the Herald.’
Furthermore, most submitters in favour simply say they like the concept, rather than addressing effects within a resource management context. The café is non-complying with the district plan in terms of planning, noise, traffic and other effects.Piha Café Objectors criticise inaccuracies and lack of balance in Waitakere City
Protect Piha Heritage says a media release by the Waitakere City Council about submissions on the proposed Piha Café contained inaccurate numbers for and against the proposed café and lacked the balance required of a regulatory authority.
When Protect Piha Heritage itself scrutinised the figures and found they were wrong, it challenged the Council which has now issued revised figures.
“New figures supplied by the Council show that only 54% (106) of submissions support the café, with 44% (89) opposed,” said Peter Hosking for Protect Piha Heritage, a group opposing the café. The Council originally announced that 100 submissions (58%) supported the café with only 71 (41%) opposed, claiming this was a clear majority in favour of the café. “In fact,” said Peter Hosking, “there is a much closer balance of those for and against.”
Although there were some late submissions, the Council’s figures were still wrong when it issued the media release, and these wrong figures have been published in the media.
Also, the Council failed to mention that commercial development is not permitted in coastal villages by the district plan (the site is zoned residential). Nor did the Council mention the major concern of those opposed to the café – the effect of such commercial development on the special character of coastal villages like Piha. The Council’s media release devoted many sentences to the applicant’s case and just one to that of the objectors. As well as concerns about commercialisation, objectors say the café proposal, if it goes ahead, will compound water pollution, road and pedestrian safety, litter and noise problems already being experienced at Piha.
“When local bodies are making resource consent decisions they should be scrupulously neutral and unbiased,” said Peter Hosking. The objectors are entitled to a fair hearing from the Council.

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Piha not well represented on Waitakere ward of city council
The 2007 election returned members largely based on the eastern flanks of the Waitakere Ranges. Cr Penny Hulse is based in Swanson, and had run with Gary Stewart on the basis that he would concentrate on the Waitakere settlements, Hulse being tipped for Deputy-Mayor.
However, Stewart did not succeed. Instead, Paul Mitchell, running on the Auckland-city Citizens and Ratepayers ticket came in second. Mitchell is based in Oratia and was one of the main critics of the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill which was widely supported in the Piha and Karekare areas.
There were also upsets on the Waitakere Community Board, with Monique Davis who had worked hard for Piha, losing her place.
This means that community board member Kubi Witten-Hannah is the only elected representative to represent the West Coast.
The three new community board members seem to have been greatly helped by the boundary realignment which took in the numerically large Titirangi area.
Representation of the West Coast and outer areas was a major rallying point for outer communities during the 2006 Representation Review.
Waitakere City Council at first proposed to abolish the Waitakere ward altogether in favour of three horizontal wards stretching from east to west, incorporating an urban area and a disconnected outer area.
West Coast and Waitakere communities lobbied to get their ward reinstated, but even then the Council voted to reduce representation to a mere one councillor.

ARC representatives top the poll in local support
The Waitakere representatives on the ARC led the region in terms of local support. Sandra Coney, running for her third term, gained 27180 or 65% of votes cast in Waitakere, while Paul Walbran gained 22276, or 53%.
The next Waitakere ARC candidate, Mark Brickell, running on the Auckland city Citizens & Ratepayers ticket, gained 17146.
Across the 6 wards of the Auckland region, the next best polling candidate was Michael Barnett in Auckland City with 54% of the votes. Dianne Glenn in Franklin gained 50%, Christine Rankin in North Shore gained 52%, Bill Burrill in Manukau gained 37% and Christine Rose in Rodney gained 39%.

A new playground for the kids of Piha was opened on Saturday. Located on the Piha Domain in the campground area, the playground caters for children up to 13 years.
The cost of the playground was born by Waitakere City Council and it replaces an older, smaller playground. It includes picnic tables and BBQ for families to enjoy a gathering place and safe place for children to play.
The facility was welcomed by Tony Dunn, President of the Piha Ratepayers and Residents Association. Jackie Houtwipper, who was the driving force behind the new playground, also spoke at the event.

Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill passes Second Reading
The Bill passed its second reading just before 8-00 pm on the 19th of September. The Greens and Maori Party supported it and United Future and NZ First opposed it. The next stage is the House in Committee, where individual clauses are debated and voted on.
The Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill is a local member bill, sponsored by Waitakere MPO, Lynne Pillay, and the joint initiative of Waitakere City Council, Auckland Regional Council and Rodney District Council. It was widely consulted on, receiving resounding support from meetings at Piha.
The Bill covers public and private land and has heritage objectives that would need to taken into account in administering the RMA and in management of the area.

Led by 14-year-old Rose Thompson, surfers from Wildcoast Board Riders added their weight (and young legs) to a plant on the Auckland Regional Council Tasman Lookout Track at Piha on Sunday 17 June.
The club had its competition on the same day, and 6-16-year-olds in wetsuits carried young pohutukawa and other natives up the steep steps from the beach and dug them in overlooking their favourite surfing spot.
It was their contribution to International Surfing Day which this year had the theme of environmental protection. In years to come, they will be able to admire those same pohutukawa in flower as they surf the Piha Bar.
The planting was followed by a beach clean-up, with rubbish collected in bags which had been sent over for the occasion from The Surfrider Foundation (USA).

This venerable old puriri in Stedfast Park succumbed to floods and wind on the night of 16 August.
It is visible in photos of the Piha Mill nearly 100 years ago, leaning to the east its crown sheared flat by the ocean winds.
The toppled crown revealed huge healthy leaf growth and numerous epiphytic passengers, including astelias and a red matipo, which no doubt led to the unbalanced weight that brought the tree down.
Having discussed a number of alternatives with arborists, the tree will probably be left as it is and will no doubt continue to grow semi-prone position, a not uncommon fate for old puriri.

The Auckland Regional Council has reached an agreement with the Boys’ Brigade to purchase the 8.22 hectare Stedfast Park property at Piha, to add to the Waitakere Regional Parkland. Tens of thousands of Auckland’s school children have enjoyed outdoor education at the camp while it has been owned by the Boys’ Brigade, who purchased it from the Church of the Nazarene in 1984. The 90-bed education facility is managed by the Adventure Camp Trust Board, based at Carey Park in the Henderson Valley.
Parks and Heritage Chair Sandra Coney says the ARC will continue education programmes: ‘It’s important that city children get the chance to learn about the rainforest on their doorstep and learn outdoor skills.’
But Sandra is particularly gratified as the camp is the site of the historic Piha Saw Mill from which the famed Piha tramway began its route to Anawhata in the north and Whatipu in the south. Sandra recently spoke about Piha’s bushmen at the RSA, and plans one day to publish the results of her study.
‘The purchase protects this important site in perpetuity,’ she says, ‘and provides the opportunity for further interpretation of the Waitakere’s history of timber milling.’
Stedfast Park is also important as the primary entry point for visitors entering the Waitakere parkland on the West Coast flank of the Waitakere Ranges. Existing visitor and ranger facilities at the road end are severely constrained for space. The purchase protects ARC’s ability to provide for the needs of visitors into the future.
Stedfast Park is more than flat grassy paddocks and camp. Although few realized it, at least two-thirds of the site is rich mature broadleaf forest which forms the stunning backdrop to the camp. The regionally significant coastal broadleaf forest on the northern slopes rises into kauri forest on the ridges, while there is cabbage tree and nikau forest around the Piha Stream which flows through the property. The forest is contiguous with the park for most of the length on all four boundaries. Indeed the impending sale revealed that some major park tracks go through the property.