Community bands together as slip impacts Pt Hwd

by Ann Packer

The slip came down on Tuesday morning. Power to 75 affected houses was restored by 7pm that night. The community gathered for a street barbecue on Wednesday evening, attended by Mayor Campbell Barry and Harbour Ward councillor, Tui Lewis. And the water was back on by Thursday 2 pm, though they still have to boil it. A dozen portaloos and a water tanker at the site plus one down on the main road covered the community’s immediate needs.

Pt Howard Residents’ Association spokesperson Travis Ancelet says despite damage to property – but no houses, as he understands – their “near miss” event demonstrated the community’s resilience. Residents did a lot of door knocking and made sure everyone’s needs were met. From the wider bays, there were offers of support, with people willing to do laundry and help in whatever way was needed.

“It’s a story of the community banding together and everybody feeling well supported,” Dr Ancelet says. “Nobody had any dramas. And even the people who’d had the most grievance, for some time, down in that valley, were quite restrained [when interviewed on television].”

He says the location of the slip, which was not weather-related but set off by leaky water pipes, was the most unfortunate aspect. It occurred at the narrowest part of the road, where all services – water, gas and electricity – come together. Power was restored, via a replacement pole on the opposite side of the road, the same day.

The water has been hooked back up but it’s very makeshift, with a flexible hose, he says.

“It’s all very temporary, but ‘longterm temporary’, until engineers’ reports are in.”

The “100-sausage” community barbecue was more relaxed with no cars coming up the road – kids rode their scooters, around 70 residents had a good look at the damage as they came past, and people were able to sit on chairs in the road.

Dr Ancelet says the mayor and his deputy came prepared for questions and accepted what people had to say.

It confirmed for him that this is a community which will take care of each other.

As for what caused the slip, Dr Ancelet says the Point Howard community is looking forward, not back.

“It is what it is.” But he has seen “an awful lot” of Wellington Water trucks in the Bays since.