Letters to Editor 5 February
Visitors fall in love with Mohua Golden Bay
My mother, sons and I recently visited Golden Bay and stayed with friends Fiona Newey and Doug Ruha of Mackay Pass Rd. We fell in love with the area and enjoyed some of what the Tasman and Golden Bay areas have to offer. I have heard many people say what a beautiful area it is, and how the light is different there, and now I have experienced it for myself, I can't wait to visit again. Even the colours of flowers were brighter.
I can whakapapa back to iwi that settled in this whenua, and I felt blessed to walk on the pathways walked by my ancestors. I felt very much at home and part of the landscape.
Why would we aspire to visit other countries when this is what we have here at home? This is the first of many such adventures we will have exploring our beautiful country.
I dedicate this poem to our Golden Bay whanau, the Ruha-Newey whanau.
Memories of Golden Bay
The stones spin under the tyres
spitting dust out like a veil over the countryside,
The distant hills whisper of ancient journeys
both green and gold.
By day we walk upon this whenua
in the footsteps of our ancestors,
At night the call of ruru awakens a memory
of waiata sung across the ages.
Hinepukohurangi shrouds the mountain peaks in her mist
As if keeping secrets of the past,
Her beauty is one of mystery and majesty,
she is the crowning glory of the ranges.
Tangaroa shares his bountiful kai moana
as we visit the food gathering places of old.
Then under the watchful eyes of our Tupuna
we navigate our way home.
Tina Parata, 2009
Fire-fighting water supplies
The Golden Bay Community Board has been part of the Takaka fire-fighting water supplies working group from the outset.
Along with other members of the group, from the information provided, we accept that the proposed option is the best of those considered for meeting Fire Service Code requirements.
The option does come at a price and for this reason the board has stated throughout the process that "those who will be required to pay must have the say".
It is therefore vital that submissions are made before the closing date of Monday 16 February by all who have a point of view in order to fully inform and guide the hearing panel.
Joe Bell
Chairperson, Golden Bay Community Board
Congratulations to the people of Takaka. 370 of you out of a possible 460 objected strongly, by submission, to TDC's proposal for a reticulated potable water supply and gold-plated fire-fighting scheme we neither wanted, needed or could afford. It could have cost us up to $600 per property. There was not one submission in favour.
A working group has come up with an alternative scheme that has the approval of the NZ Fire Service and TDC. It will cost the ratepayers of the township, excluding the CBD, $96/year. This will replace the $88 we currently pay which, I believe, is a good result and will be widely supported by the townspeople.
Firewells of any sort did not conform to NZFS Code of Practice and were therefore never an option.
This is an example of the consultative process working as it should and deserves your submissions in support (at least 370 of them) before 16 February 2009.
Tony Sandall
Tukurua beach access
Regarding Tukurua beach access, it is acknowledged that playing this issue out in the letters to the editor columns is possibly inappropriate and/or counterproductive.
However, it is also important to correct misinformation in the public domain. Mr Perriam may be misinformed or duplicitous when he talks about solutions to the access impasse via other neighbours (interesting that he expects others to grant what he is not prepared to grant).
Other solutions involving walkways through adjacent neighbouring properties have been explored by local residents and have come to a dead end, either because the landowners are not open to granting walking rights across their land (especially those who are also enamoured of the "private beach" idea), or the proposed path would still need to cross Perriam's land at some point, or the access would be physically inaccessible.
Bob Perriam is on record as saying that access across his land is "not negotiable", that locals represent a "security risk" to his customers, and has preferred in the past to communicate through lawyer's letters. Building a relationship with someone with this attitude is "challenging", to put it politely.
Paul Winspear
