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Friday 9 August 2024
"Next level" Upper Tākaka Hunt
Perfect weather encouraged a large turn out of hunters of all ages, (and pigs and deer), at the 27th Upper Tākaka Pig Hunt. Photo: Rosa Volz. ROSA VOLZ
A stunning weekend yielded an army of hunters and supporters gathered to celebrate the Upper Tākaka Pig Hunt (UTPH). The 27th annual event was held at the Upper Tākaka Country Club last Sunday, 4 August. Competitors numbered 84 adults and 28 kids collectively entering an impressive haul of 191 carcasses. By mid-afternoon the weigh station opposite the country club was working at capacity, with weigh masters Geoff Trewavas and Duncan McKenzie deftly handling the flow of large game entries, complemented by Cindy Rosser and Jonny Harwood weighing and counting possums, hares, and goats. The hunt is organised by locals and keen hunters Jonny Harwood, Cindy Rosser and Amanda Brooks. Says Jonny of the turnout, “It's next level, we have never seen so many pigs and deer,” which he puts down to “the good weather and a lot more deer being about this year”. The prizegiving was a festive affair with
tables full of generously donated prizes, spot prizes, and raffles. “It’s all donated from the local community and from over the hill,” says Cindy. “Every child entered receives a prize.” Encouraging junior hunters is key to the growth of the sport, says Cindy. “There were three kids, (under 13), who hunted with parents and grandparents and entered in the adult class. Including my son, Benjamin who proudly weighed in a fallow deer he had helped hunt with his pop, Roger Rosser. There were also a large number of teenagers as team entries [in adult categories]”. UTPH junior hunters Ruby (7) and Felix (5) Tait caught five possums between them. “We went with Dad to spot and shoot possums until 10pm.” Next year Felix “might try for a deer”. Jonny kicked off the prizegiving with a speech and facilitated crowd control with his sheepdog whistle. Prizegiving was a joyful, lively affair with much banter. Heaviest Sow winners Grant Wyllie and Mark Soper, with a 53.5kg winning entry, were subjected to a
“life rules according to Jonny” speech. Starting with “1, Be nice to your mum” and building to “5, keep trying” reminding the winners of the requirement to work a bit harder to beat Jonny's “three-time winner” record. Winner of the Ian Foskett Memorial Trophy for heaviest boar, (79.5kg), Ryan Nalder tells The GB Weekly: “I have been hunting since I was a young fella. This is a pig [the winning entry] that I have been after for a while. The dogs got onto it, and it ended up in a hole, and I had to dig it out of there.” After prizegiving, the crowd stayed on for a BBQ dinner and to toast their successes, and near successes. “There were a lot of stories about hunting all weekend and wayward dogs with nothing to show for their efforts!" says Cindy. "It's great to see our little hunt up the valley is well supported by locals and also the 'Riwaka boys', good to see the enthusiasm and the younger hunters taking part and proudly bringing in their haul.” More photos and results on page 11
TDC development fees JO RICHARDS
Golden Bay has been hit with a major hike in fees charged to property developers. With effect from 1 July, Tasman District Council (TDC) increased development contribution fees for the Golden Bay catchment from $12,600 to $41,300, an increase of $28,700. Fees applied in the District’s two other catchments, Waimea and Motueka, increased to $54,150 and $38,200, respectively. It’s the second major regulatory-driven increase in building costs to hit developers in the past 12 months, following last year’s changes to the Building Code which introduced the new “H1” energy efficiency standards for new home builds. That change was estimated to have added around $20-30,000 to the cost of building a standard home. The development contribution is a charge levied on new developments eg, subdivision and buildings. They are used to ensure that those who create additional demand on Council’s infrastructure contribute to the extra cost that they impose on the community rather than the general ratepayers. The fees are related to the Council’s provision of services for three waters (water, storm-water, and wastewater) and transport. In Golden Bay’s case, the latest fee increase is primarily driven by the need to re-site and upgrade Tākaka’s ageing and inadequate wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). TDC ’s Draft Wastewater Activity Management Plan 2024-2054 published earlier this year, highlighted this issue: “The capacity of the Tākaka WWTP is currently limited and is only able to service land already zoned residential or rural residential serviced. There is no capacity to enable any future growth areas. The current consent expires in 2038 and future planning may need to consider the relocation of the WWTP away from the flood plain.” The construction of the new WWTP is budgeted to cost $70.5m. While the latest cost increase is not welcomed by Golden Bay’s construction sector, builders and suppliers, spoken to by The GB Weekly recently, appeared optimistic about the future. ITM Tākaka store manager Luke Brown said that regulatory-related cost pressures have been offset to some extent by the softening prices of building materials. Continued on page 2
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Inside: Springs planting Peace vigil Recipe Movie review Book giveaway THE GB WEEKLY, FRIDAY 9 AUGUST 2024
ISSN (PRINT) 2538-0923 ISSN (ONLINE) 2538-0931
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