Thames Coromandel District Council Files – Whangapoua/Matarangi

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 to be 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 in 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 included wave damage during storms and more subtle erosion caused by rivers and streams changing course and eroding dunes 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

• V/1 Harbours, seas and foreshores • V3/6 Colville Harbour • V3/7 Whangapoua Harbour These three files are situated between one set of covers. No coastal information is given. • V4/7 Foreshores: Otama, Whangapoua, etc Report starts in 1989. It covers several applications to take sand from Otama Beach. This subject is more fully detailed in the Works Files. • 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.

Whangapoua and Matarangi Beaches and Whangapoua Harbour

1989

Frequency of collection: Infrequent

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.