Ministry of Transport Files - Kennedy Bay

These files from the Ministry of Transport deal mainly with the administrative aspects of structures, reclamations, power, telephone, and pipeline crossings of waterways around the marine foreshore and in navigable rivers and lakes. There is not a lot of environmental information in these files but occasionally there is a copy of a report that deals with the environmental aspects of a structure. In about 1964 the Ministry of Transport (MOT) took over the role of licensing structures on the foreshore from the Marine Department (MD) and employed the Ministry of Works and Development (MWD) as its environmental advisers. Reports from the MWD therefore contain much of the environmental information available in these files. Purpose: This dataset provides a brief discussion of coastal information contained within historical Ministry of Transport files, collected during a review commissioned by Environment Waikato as part of the Coastal Database project. The Ministry of Transport (MoT) was responsible for the administration of structures in the CMA and in navigable rivers and lakes from 1964 to 1997. These files are now held in Environment Waikato’s archives. These files contain useful information on the history and legal status of existing coastal structures.

54/2/553 Boat ramp Tuatewa Stream, Kennedy Bay 1977. North of Kennedy Bay. No environmental information. 54/13/2: Erosion at Coromandel. Harataunga Stream, Kennedy Bay. In April 1961 a petition was signed by the people of Kennedy Bay about the changes in the river channel. During the Chilean earthquake the tides breached the spit of the Harataunga Stream causing it to flow out to sea in the centre of the bay and leaving a silting estuary to the north, its former mouth. This produced a situation similar to that it Mangawhai, Northland. The original mouth became a backwater and was silting up but septic tank discharges from the houses together with effluent from a local cowshed made the water foul. There is a separate letter from the local school teacher explaining the problems for the school which was located beside the stream. Resident Engineer considered closing off the new outlet a small job not worthy of a subsidy. File finished without stating what happened. 54/44/473: Marine Farming, Dobbs Kennedy Bay 1980. MAF file 9/5/891, 7/6/17 and 7/6/20. TCDC file K8/6/10,9. Note MAF usually more sympathetic towards marine farming proposals than MOT. Main objection to this site was that it could interfere with yachts seeking shelter. However the Royal Akarana Yacht Club manual recommends other bays as being more suitable to shelter than Kennedy Bay. License granted five years after application lodged. 54/1/842: Boat ramp Kennedy Bay. TCDC file V8/65. No environmental information. 54/17/8: Roads Coromandel Peninsula, volume 1 1930. 1939, Kennedy Bay. Bridge the Harataunga Stream. Concern was for navigation. Works stated that very few boats came this far up the estuary. It was the limit of navigation. Main vessel servicing Kennedy Bay at the time was the Lady Jocelyn a 60 foot (18 m)vessel that anchored in the harbour and lightered gods to the estuary.1946, Sandy Bay Stony Bay crossing of the Okahutai Stream.

Kennedy Bay and adjacent coast.

1960 to 1984

Frequency of collection: Infrequent/irregular

These files have been continued where appropriate but have been amalgamated and given a new file number by DOC making sourcing more recent information difficult. Gaps in collection: Many files and pieces of information from the files are missing. Many engineer's reports are missing from the files held by Environment Waikato. Completeness: Many files and pieces of information from the files are missing. Many engineer's reports are missing from the files held by Environment Waikato.

Physical Files. Some files available as .pdf on request.

Historical information on previous conditions at these locations.

Data is freely available in EW archives. No confidentiality, public information.

Files closed. Include a note where this record continues after end date of file where possible – e.g. Dept of Conservation files. These files have been continued where appropriate but have been amalgamated and given a new file number by DOC making sourcing more recent information difficult.

Boat ramps These appear associated with two activities. Commercial fishing or the storage of a boat used occasionally. As roads improved and boat-building materials became lighter the trailed boat became more popular. This in turn put pressure on local County Councils to either build boat ramps or license boat ramps to be built by for fishing or Boat clubs to access the water. After a burst of activity in the 1960’s and 1970’s many clubs were wound up leaving the structure the responsibility of the local Council. Marine Farming The Marine Farming Act was passed in 1971 but it was only towards the end of the 1970s that marine farming began to be developed in the area around Coromandel Harbour. Early applications were met with strong resistance by Auckland boat users who thought that marine farms would interfere with their recreation along the Coromandel west coast, especially within Coromandel Harbour. As the development of marine farms became accepted there were fewer objections and the industry became well established. The Thames Coromandel District Council (TCDC) commissioned a study to determine sites suitable for marine farming. This report also indicated where marine farming should not take place and became the main planning document for further coastal development. Related information: All these files are related to Ministry of Works and Development files as the MWD was the adviser to MOT.