Thames Coromandel District Council Files – Thames Coast

Thames Coromandel District Council was formed from the amalgamation of Thames and Coromandel County Councils. Early file records are sparse for both areas and the best coverage of development is found in the Ministry of Works and Marine Department file records. Many of the county council’s efforts in the coastal zone centered around providing shipping services around the Peninsula due to the lack of adequate roading. The later file records indicate an influx of people to the district, with the development of recreational centres such as Pauanui and Hotwater Beach as distinct from the historical farming or timber milling areas of Whitianga and Tairua By the mid 1970s a lot of files were opened that refer to coastal erosion problems at many of the coastal settlements. Erosion varied between wave damage during storms to the more subtle erosion caused by rivers and streams changing course and eroding dunes and threatening new established housing areas. The mid to late 1970s also saw the development of the concept of coastal hazards and the development of the concept of set back distances between the front of the housing and the high water mark. Sand mining was another coastal activity. Sand was taken for industrial purposes the golf course bunkers while shell was used for poultry farms and also for laying power cables. The beaches of the Coromandel had a limited supply of sand available and after the mid 1980s the practice of removing sand from beaches was severely curtailed. Purpose: See data abstract below

• V5/2/2 Kopu Quay Report starts in 1969. Contains no coastal information. • V11/1 Coastal Erosion General This file discusses the introduction of hazard responsibility for Territorial Authorities under the Town and Country Planning Act. • V11 Coastal General Report starts in 1979. This file contains copies of letters of exoneration to the council by people wanting to build on their sections, within the 60m hazard zone. No further coastal information was given.

Western Coromandel Peninsula, from Thames to just south of Colville.

1969

Frequency of collection: Irregular

Quality variable Gaps in collection: Some gaps in data collection. Data quality: Quality variable

Hard copy written files

This data is publicly available in TCDC archives. Sensitivity/Confidentiality: No confidentiality – public information.

Files closed

Related information: These files are related to Ministry of Works, Ministry of Transport and Hauraki Catchment Board files.