Ministry of Transport Files - Whangamata

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.

54/14/8/19: Sand removal Whangamata 1955. File starts with a letter asking MoT to help with the issue of boat crades on the beach. The problem was that boat cradles used by local boaties during winter to do maintenance on their boats, were being left on the beach over the summer, along with rubbish dumped while the boats were being worked on. The problem site was near the Moana Anu Anu estuary mouth. 54/17/29: Roads Wharekawa Harbour, Volume 1 1968. Proclaimed as road access 1969. This file includes Whangamata Harbour and the crossing of the Moana Anu Anu estuary. There were many delays here because of the debate about the size of the piece of land that was wanted for the road and bridge. The debate included various aspects of a proposed town by-pass. No environmental information. 54/27/197: Submarine cable Otahu estuary Whangamata 1981. Contains an aerial photograph scale 1:4000. Survey number SN3269 4402/20. Shows Otahu estuary to north end of Pipi Road. 54/1/33: Puriri: Whangamata Wharf sites. Originally the Wentworth Stream exited to the sea through the Otahu estuary. It was diverted as part of the town development. Nothing else in file. 54/1/671: Whangamata Wharf. File starts 1981 TCDC file V5/12. It appears that TCDC were a bit slap happy in their operation and attitude to licensing structures around the coast. MWD inspections revealed that departures from approved plans were not uncommon. Poor “as built” plans were supplied to MOT. There is a note that there has been an erosion problem in the vicinity of the wharf in the past. No further details. 54/1/776: Slipway Whangamata. Declined. No environmental information. 54/1/763: Groynes Whangamata. TCDC files V5/8 and V3/12. Groynes were built upstream of the wharf to try and stop apparent erosion of the channel margin. The groynes were built in 1981 and final approval given by MoT 1983 for a totally different layout of groynes. The recent structures appeared to be trapping material. This file is an example of the many times when what was built and what was licensed were quite different. Differences were picked up by occasional MoT inspections. 54/1/723: Mooring piles Whangamata Harbour. No environmental information. 54/2/587: Boat Ramp Whangamata Harbour, 1972. MWD file Paeroa 7/1. File starts by discussing a boat grid for washing vessels then moves on to boat ramp. TCDC took over control of the boat ramp by 1964. Boat ramp apparently built in the 1950s. Thames Council files J5, TCDC V3/12, R14/12/3. During the mid 1970s the boat club commenced dredging the channel from the ramp to the main channel and experienced some silting problems. This problem persists to the present. Note photographs of slipway and detail of construction taken in 1980s and mounted in file. No environmental information. 54/3/128: Wharf Whangamata 1955. Wharf required for commercial business of the coastal trade. The file contains discussion about the installation of fuel pumps for commercial and recreational users. In 1958 it was suggested that the land should be vested in the Thames County Council so that they could make by-laws to control the area. No environmental information. 54/4/423: Moana Point Subdivision, Whangamata. 1977. TCDC file S.P.73. No environmental information. 54/4/369: Agricultural reclamation, Whangamata 1974. Local farmer B. M. Julian wanted to reclaim 6 ha of mudflats for haymaking, which was approved. Lands and Survey file 3/2898. 54/11/190: Sewage pipeline crossing Moana Anu Anu estuary Whangamata 1983. TCDC file Q2/12 54/14/7/48: Sand and shingle Whangamata 1975. MWD file Hamilton 47/16. Application to take sand from the open coast from between Te Ananui and Patu Hamu points. Two coloured photographs in file, which do not show much detail. The Resident Engineer reluctant to recommend a license, as there were too many unknowns and also he could not see a barge operation confining itself to 250 m3 per load. The applicant suggested the nearest source of similar material was Bowentown. There is no record here of whether Bowentown was ever mined. Report by J. G. Gibb, MWD “Preliminary geologic and quantitative report on the coastline between Whangamata and Wharekawa, between Te Ananui and Potu Hamu points”. MWD typescript. Gibb suggests that offshore sources may be more appropriate. License declined. 54/14/24: Control of foreshore Thames County Council 1921. Commences with Thames County Council requesting control of Penny’s Bay and Cemetery Bay Tapu to control the amount of shingle being removed. Main reason was to protect the road. It was thought that too much extraction would lead to erosion of the road. Marine dept file M4/150. File leaps to 1964. Whangamata in 1964 consisted of 1,400 sections with 30% with houses between Williamson Park and the Otahu estuary. The sections were dune material, and clay was placed on this to stop erosion (presumably wind). The District Commissioner of Works (from MWD) noted that private removal of sand from the beaches was going occurring for concrete making. In 1965 there were complaints about siltation in the channel and weed growth restricting boat launching to above mid tide. Claimed that siltation was mainly from the Wentworth stream. In 1962 the Whangamata Ratepayers Association requested an investigation into diverting the Wentworth Stream into the Otahu estuary (i. e. return the stream to its original channel). Harbourmaster thought that the siltation of the entrance was caused by the construction of an outfall upstream of the wharf changing tidal flows, and suggested getting the Auckland sand barges to take the sand for free. MWD file 96/126000. A review by the Resident Engineer suggested that the outfall was a minor problem. Fine silt was coming from other sources including the open coast. Review also suggested the sand not suitable for commercial purposes. Volume 2. Mainly about the harbour boat ramp and slipway, including three photographs in black and white dated 1974. 54/1/97: Thames County Council Moana Anu Anu River MWD Paeroa ref. 72/25/20/7.Nothing of interest. A proposal for a marina was made in 1970s but later dropped.

Whangamata and Otahu estuaries and Whangamata Ocean Beach

1960 to 1084 with information back to early 1950s.

Frequency of collection: Infrequent/irregular

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: Only includes information available on specific files. Important to note that Ministry of Works files contain further environmental information relating to these files.

Physical Files Digital Format: n/a

Historical information.

Freely available in EW archives Sensitivity/Confidentiality: 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.

Additional comments: By-law Development and the County Councils Control of the foreshore, lakeshore and riverbeds was vested in the Marine Department (MD) and then later in the Ministry of Transport (MOT). As roads improved access to the coast and lakes increased and the MOT vested its powers in the local County Councils to enable them to create by laws to control the use of these areas while the MOT retained overall control and was responsible for vetting any proposed by law. Jetties and Wharves There were two types of jetties and wharves; those built for catching Whitebait, and the fishing boat jetty. As the local fishing industry developed, there was a steady increase in requests for licenses for jetties to load and unload fishing boats. Records in the files indicate that there was either a shortage of hardwood for jetty piles or the locals preferred to rely on piles made from Manuka or Kanuka. This is especially noticeable of the piles used for fishing boat jetties. As the fishing fleet grew so did the demand for fish processing facilities on shore. The increased number of requests for jetties for commercial fishing probably reflects the increased government investment in the fishing industry in the 1960s and 1970s. 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 1960s and 1970s many clubs were wound up leaving the structure the responsibility of the local Council. Boat Clubs. There seems to have been an upsurge of boat clubs in the late 1960s early 1970s but by the end of the decade wanted to transfer their ramp assets to the local county. Falling membership could not sustain the costs of licenses and maintenance for buildings and ramps. Bridge Construction The notification of many new bridges built on the roads of the Coromandel indicates the slow but steady improvement of roading on the Coromandel Peninsula. There are a series of files that examine bridges as they might affect a waterway for navigation. This demonstrates the importance placed on sea compared to road transport. The second aspect of the bridge construction is the development of better roads and therefore the less importance of the coastal trade to the development of the country. Note that up to the 1970s, fertiliser was barged to Whitianga but after that time it was more common to truck the material in. Sand and Shingle Mining. The winning of aggregate from the foreshore is noticeable as an early occupation of coastal freighters, particularly scows. Beach sediments did not need crushing for the most part and were therefore in high demand as cheap roading material, especially for the growing Auckland market. Where shingle was not readily available, shell material was used for a road surfacing material. Most of the files stored at Environment Waikato start in the 1960s or later and refer to earlier files about the same beaches. Therefore in Archives in either Auckland or Wellington there are probably earlier files outlining activities prior to 1960. There is also a reference to a previous ban on sand mining along the west coast of the Coromandel prior to 1960. This may refer to changes that were enacted after the Rabone Report of 1950. The sand mining applications also highlight the importance of coastal traffic right up to the 1960s and 1970s. Fertiliser was shipped to Whitianga wharf from Auckland and Tauranga and scows took a back load of sand from Whangapoua Harbour entrance to Auckland to lower their costs. Mining licences were also pursued at other beaches such as Otama so that scows could load under differing wind and wave conditions. Related information: All these files are related to Ministry of Works and Development files as the MWD was the adviser to MOT.