Ministry of Transport Files - Port Waikato

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: 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.

54/16/339: Reclamations Cobourne Reserve, Port Waikato 1983. Report for development put forward but no outcome on file. Volume 1 is a duplicate of the above file. Comment here that the proposal was dropped as too costly. 54/2/253: Port Waikato Raglan County Starts 1966. Old wharf at river mouth. No environmental information. 54/2/383: Dinghy Locker Port Waikato 1968. Relates to a building built many years before. The adjacent building was constructed in the 1850s. This suggests the river channel had been stable over this period. No other environmental information. 54/3/138: Wharf Waikato Heads Raglan County. Port Waikato Harbour Board dissolution 1955. No environmental information. 54/11/19: Buildings Port Waikato 1955. Jetty and shed built about 1890, repaired 1930 and the area given some shoreline protection. No other details. Marine Department file M4/4381. Photographs mentioned but not in file. 54/9/315: Boat Shed Port Waikato 1969. No environmental information. 54/9/303: Dinghy Locker Port Waikato 1968. No environmental information. 54/9/302: Boat Shed Port Waikato 1968. No environmental information.

Port Waikato and the surrounding river and dune area.

1960 to 1984 with notes to the 1880s

Frequency of collection: Infrequent/irregular

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

Historical information about consented activities in the area.

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.

Outlines conditions at the mouth of the Waikato River when it was an important port for the Waikato region. Additional comments: 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 sheds Boat sheds that housed a launch or dinghy between uses were common up to the 1960s. In the 1970s and onwards there are few requests to license a boatshed. This is probably because of the increased use of light materials for boat construction such as fibreglass and aluminium and the development of the boat and trailer combination. Thus boaties did not have a boat at one location but were mobile and could go to a variety of destinations both fresh and salt water. This added mobility probably also reflects better roading and better vehicles. 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. Slipways Slipway installation commenced from the earliest of settlements because most of the early communities were serviced by boat and needed repair and maintenance facilities locally. There were also some slipways constructed by local boating and sailing clubs. 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. Related information: All these files are related to Ministry of Works and Development files as the MWD was the adviser to MOT.