Hauraki Catchment Board Files – Mercury Bay/Whitianga

The Hauraki Catchment Board was established under the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941 (and amendments). This Act was labelled ‘An Act to make provision for the conservation of soil resources and for the prevention of damage by erosion, and to make better provision with respect to the protection of property from damage by floods’. The first Catchment Boards were set up in 1943 and the Hauraki Catchment Board was established in 1947. The Board consisted of a maximum of 16 members, several governmental representatives from the: Ministry of Works and Development, Department of Lands and Survey, N. Z. Forest Service (after 1961), Department of Agriculture, and the majority of whom were elected from the local community. After 1958 the Farm Advisory Officers of the Department of Agriculture were transferred to the Ministry of Works and Development. Under the 1941 Act, Catchment Authorities were made responsible for flood control, drainage, soil conservation and controlling erosion. The administrative boundaries were generally catchment boundaries so that the Catchment Board's boundaries usually did not coincide with the Local County boundaries. Counties could also opt out of a Board's control, as in Coromandel where north of the Tararu and Tairua River Catchments the Act was administered by the Ministry of Works. The Water and Soil Conservation Act 1967 (and amendments), gave Catchment Authorities the dual role of regional water boards. As a result they became responsible for administering the water resources of the region. This involved the issuing of water rights for the take and discharge of water and the drawing up of water allocation plans for various users. The reform of the LA’s led to the formation of Regional Councils and as a consequence of this reform many Catchment Boards were amalgamated into wider regions where the political boundaries as opposed to catchment boundaries were used to define regions. The Hauraki Catchment Board was thus amalgamated into the Waikato Region, as was the northern part of the Coromandel Peninsula. Early file records for the northern part of the Coromandel Peninsula are contained in the files of Coromandel County and Ministry of Works Auckland (files cover the early part of the period) and later Hamilton. The file records for the southern part of the Coromandel Peninsula, south of Tararu and Tairua south to Waihi, are to be found in the Thames County records and also the Hauraki Catchment Board files. The early coastal records often refer to wharf structures, construction and maintenance as there was initially little roading present. However, with the development of roads in this area the beaches became a ready source of roading aggregate, particularly the shingle beaches of the Coromandel west coast. In 1922, a survey of the condition of the beaches used for shingle extraction indicated that many were over exploited. This resulted in a recommendation that the Marine Department close all beaches for extraction, south of a line between Long Bay (Auckland) and the Colville Channel. This effectively closed the Coromandel west coast beaches to sand extraction. The removal of sand and shingle for local use, particularly roading, continued around the Peninsula into the 1980s. Some sand was taken from the mouth of Whangapoua Harbour by dredging the ebb tide bar. This material was sold in Auckland. Similarly, sand was removed from the Maori Land block at the South end of Whiritoa Beach with the consent of the Maori Trustee. This material was also sold in Auckland. The majority of the Hauraki Catchment Board file notes centre around the problems with coastal development. Levelling dunes to create building sites was one problem, but the more controversial aspect was the width of the building set back from the high water mark (HWM). In 1984 the Hauraki Board came up with some guidelines for future developments which were superseded in a report by Environment Waikato (2002). Purpose: See data abstract below.

1Full details of file contents given in attached document. Brief summary provided here. 1/22/0 Shingle from water courses. Volume 2. Report starts February 1957. Associated files: Lands and Survey file 3/686 Hamilton district Office. Shingle extraction in rivers – regulations and responsibilities. 1/22/0 Shingle from water courses. Volume 3. Report starts October 1971. NWASCO (file 72/2/1/11) produced draft guidelines for shingle extraction from New Zealand Rivers and coasts. 1/22/0 Shingle from water courses Volume 4. Report starts April 1978. Report on sand mining in the Coromandel Peninsula (Works file 47/16) stating that the HCB is to phase out mining in any area suspected of being a closed system or where there is insufficient information about the resource. There are a series of applications to mine sand from the entrance of Whangamata Harbour, Tairua Harbour, Whitianga Harbour and the Katikati entrance to Tauranga Harbour. 1/22/0 Shingle from water courses. Volume 6. Report starts July 1982. Sand and shingle extraction assessment. 2/3/115000-120000 (Vol 1) Whitianga Area Catchments 1976-1984 March 8: 1976: Taputaputea Stream bank erosion. (Mother Brown's Creek). April 26 1976: R.W. Harris Board Engineer wrote to the Chief Engineer Thames Coromandel District Council regarding a proposed building on the banks of the Whitianga estuary (river). Builder wanted to have building within 25 feet of low protection wall. Catchment Board did not have jurisdiction over the area at that point in time but agreed that the building could be built in this case. 7 June 1978: Whitianga Harbour and wharf study. Sediment build-up northern end of Buffalo Beach and Brophy's Beach. 2/11/0 Eastern Catchments–Parts of Ohinemuri and Thames Counties Volume 2. Report period 1971–1974. Buffalo Beach, Whitianga was not visited but reports indicate that there had been severe erosion threatening the state highway. November 1972: a report on Buffalo Beach, Whitianga by R. A. Simpson, analysed the processes moving sand along the beach. He recommended the construction of two groynes to prevent the longshore movement of material southwards. 19-22 June 1973: Report by J.G. Gibb on the condition of Buffalo Beach, Cooks Beach, Tairua, Whiritoa and Waihi beaches. 2/11/0 Eastern Catchments: Parts Thames and Ohinemuri Counties. Report period 1963–1971. The flood of 8th March 1962 was the second or third highest flood in the previous 26–30 years. Largest flood was that of Jan-Feb 1936. 2/11/0 Eastern Catchments–Parts of Ohinemuri and Thames Counties Volume 2. Report period 1971–1974. Buffalo Beach, Whitianga was not visited but reports indicate that there had been severe erosion threatening the state highway. Possible Action posed by the meeting. November 1972: a report on Buffalo Beach, Whitianga by R. A. Simpson, analysed the processes moving sand along the beach. He recommended the construction of two groynes to prevent the longshore movement of material southwards. 22 June 1973: Report by J.G. Gibb on the condition of Buffalo Beach, Cooks Beach, Tairua, Whiritoa and Waihi beaches together with comments on the condition of the Tairua, Wharekawa and Whangamata estuaries. The report summarises many comments from earlier work on the Coromandel Coast. However the descriptions of the beaches are important as they provide an “as is” description of the condition of the beaches at that time. 2/3/115000-120000 (Vol 1) Whitianga Area Catchments 1976-1984 March 8: 1976 Taputaputea Stream bank erosion. (Mother Brown's Creek). April 26 1976: R.W. Harris Board Engineer wrote to the Chief Engineer Thames Coromandel District Council regarding a proposed building on the banks of the Whitianga estuary (river). 7 June 1978: Whitianga Harbour and wharf study. This two page report outlines the problems being experienced at the wharf. Mr G. J. Collings then goes on to draw a plan of a proposed solution; 'Whitianga Harbour; concept plan A'.

Mercury Bay area, including Hahei, Cooks, Maramaratotara, Whitianga (Buffalo), Ohuka (Brophy’s) and Wharekaho (Simpson’s) beaches. Also includes Whitianga and Purangi estuaries.

1957 - 1982

Frequency of collection: Irregular

Quality variable. Many gaps in data collection as many files just summarise known information.

Hard copy written files.

This data is publicly available in EW archives. No confidentiality - public information

Files closed.

Contains report by J.G.Gibb Buffalo Beach Report by R.A. Simpson These files are related to Ministry of Works files and also to Ministry of Transport files.