Small conditions on final day of Rip Curl Pro
KASM prepares for second legal battle against seabed mining company K
iwis Against Seabed Mining (Kasm) is gearing up for a second, bigger fight against Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) to prevent seabed mining off the coast of Taranaki.
Billy Stairmand in action during the Rip Curl Pro presented by Galbraiths. Image thanks to Cory / NZ Surfing Magazine.
T surfing event, the Rip Curl Pro
he final day of New Zealand’s richest
presented by Galbraiths, was played out in small waves of less than 1.0m and offshore winds at Manu Bay, the ocean providing just enough swell for the event to be completed. Open Men’s winner Maz Quinn came up trumps in the final posting a 13.77 point total, the same as double-finalist Elliot Paerata – Reid (Piha). However, Quinn, by way of his highest scoring ride of a 6.93, took the win over Paerata – Reid. The win extends Quinn’s considerable lead on the New Zealand Pro Series after placing third at the National Championships and second at the South Island Championships so far this year. “They were not the ideal conditions for me today with waves being that small” said Quinn. “I was disheartened at the forecast but it goes to show that if you keep at your game, you can win anything” he added.
“It was Billy’s to win but any time you get to beat Billy on the Point is good, he was ripping hard all weekend but I got two mediocre scores and held on with the countback which is as close as it gets. I thought Elliot’s last one was going to be better or get him the win but yeah, I am happy to take it away.” Double finalist Paerata - Reid had to settle for second in the final, a career best result in the Open Men’s Division. However, the young Piha surfer was clearly dejected with coming so close to claiming a double, a feat not achieved at the event since 2009 by fellow finalist Billy Stairmand (Rag). Quinn thought the conditions had gifted Stairmand the win today but the ocean did not play its part for the local surfer. Stairmand got stuck with the highest scoring wave of the final and only a small back up ride to finish with a 12.83 point heat total and third place overall. Placing fourth in the final was another Raglan surfer in Chris Malone who finished on 11.33 points. SNZ
Kasm spokesperson Phil McCabe says the community-based action group will need to fundraise about $50,000 to ensure it can put up a good fight. “We have to stand up stronger than last time or they walk away with it. “We have got to stay vigilant with it. If we go half-arsed into another battle we will lose it.” TTR has a mining permit for approximately 65 square kilometres of the South Taranaki Bight and it intends to reapply to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for resource consent to extract iron sand from the area. In 2014, the Environment Protection Agency rejected TTR’s application for consent, a decision that Kasm fought hard for, and TTR subsequently withdrew its appeal. Mr McCabe says Kasm spent about $35,000 fighting the previous application, with “some very kind rates” from lawyers, experts and scientists. In June, Kasm will hold its first fundraising venture for the second round against TTR. A garage sale will be held at 16 Gilmour St, in Raglan, and members of the community have been asked to donate items for the sale. Mr McCabe says TTR has yet to lodge its application, and he had initially been told it would happen by mid-February, then by mid-March and then by mid-April, but “we have to be ready”.
“They seem to be dragging their heels a bit,” he says, wary that TTR may be waiting for a change in legislation that would allow the Environment Minister to appoint decision-makers, rather than the EPA. Submissions on the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill, which proposes an appointment of boards of inquiry by the minister not the EPA, closed on March 14. “Obviously they can try and make it look unbiased,” he says regarding a governmentappointed board, “but invariably this government wants to see seabed mining; it is a bit scary, they can do it for sure.” Mr McCabe says TTR’s new application will be exactly the same as the old one but with some different computer modelling done and an outcome that will show more jobs and more money for people. “They have to balance out the negative environmental impacts with positive economic outcomes. “They will show that the impacts will be less and the benefits will be more, but it is inherently the same proposal.” Mr McCabe says once the application has been lodged “we will be campaigning pretty hard out” to raise awareness of the impacts of seabed mining, encouraging people to make submissions against TTR’s proposal, and continuing fundraising for the legal and scientific costs of the hearing. * The Kasm garage sale will be held on June 5 at 16 Gilmour St. Donated items for the sale can be dropped off in the week before the sale. If anyone is able to help Kasm with legal assistance or any other means in the fight against seabed mining, please email info@kasm.org.nz. Inger Vos
Tribe commemorates 150th anniversary of warrior chief’s death
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tribal commemoration will be held next week at Papahua Reserve, Raglan Domain, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the death of Māori chief Wiremu Neera Te Awaitaia, a warrior who became one of the best friends of the Europeans. Te Awaitaia, who was born about 1796 into the Waikato tribe of Ngāti Mahanga, at Waipa, died in Raglan on April 27, 1866, struck down by an influenza epidemic. He is buried at Papahua, near the boat ramp in Raglan Domain, where the commemoration will be held on Wednesday morning. His death notice in the Evening Post, dated May 7, 1866, said William Naylor (as Te Awaitaia was known to Pākehā) had been in Kawhia at the arrival of the governor, Sir George Grey, when he had “taken ill with the fever”. “He was brought to Raglan by men of his tribe, on a stretcher, and attended to by Dr Harsant and the surgeon of HMS Eclipse,” the death notice said. “But medical skill was unavailing and the poor old man died on the 27th of April.” The death notice described Te Awaitaia as one of the oldest and best friends of the Europeans.
“He was an illustrious man amongst the great warrior chiefs of old New Zealand, who have now nearly all passed away.” Te Awaitaia was a warrior in his youth. He was active in battle, many of them led by his kinsman, Potatau Te Wherowhero. In retaliation for the killing of a Waikato chief’s daughter, Te Awaitaia led a war party that drove out the Ngāti Koata from their lands near Whaingaroa (Raglan) Harbour, taking possession of their territory. He was very skilful with the taiaha (traditional Maori weapon), according to history accounts, and gained mana by the axeing to death of Ngāti Tama chief Te Raparapa, who was renowned for his great strength. According to the Evening Post death notice, Te Awaitaia was present at the storming of the Pukerangiora pā by the Waikatos. “It is related that, after saving the women and children, 340 prisoners were led out before Te Wherowhero, who killed two hundred of them with a hatchet. He was at length wearied with the labour of killing, and the skin came off his hand. Te Awaitaia then came forward and killed the rest.” However, Te Awaitaia’s warring ways ended with his conversion to Christianity. “A good many of his people went into the war, but he kept aloof and was several times
employed as ambassador,” said the death notice. In the Raglan museum, it is written: “Throughout the Waikato conflicts he remained loyal to the Queen giving protection to the settlers in his rohe. (No settlers were ever attacked within Ngāti Mahanga area.)” Te Awaitaia also spoke out against the creation of a Māori King. Baptised Wiremu Neera, or William Naylor, Te Awaitaia invited the missionaries to Whaingaroa, where he built the first church. It was said that Te Awaitaia had nine wives, of which he had to renounce eight in order to become a member of the church. “When the missionaries came, Te Awaitaia became a teacher, and made a preaching tour into Taranaki, and then to Taupo and the Waipa,” the death notice said. Te Awaitaia signed the Treaty of Waitangi at Port Waikato on April 11, 1840. He was eager to sell land to Pākehā to attract trade for the benefit of his people, but later regretted that the white man was not as hospitable, according to Ngāti Mahanga. The location of Te Awaitaia’s house in the Raglan redoubt is now the car park for the Waikato District Council Raglan office, in Wi Neera St. Governor Sir George Grey travelled overland for two days to attend the tangi of Te Awaitaia.
Image of Wiremu Neera taken in 1852 by Webster Hartley. Image thanks to Raglan & District Museum Inc. Collection ID 1969.15.4 An interpretive panel on Te Awaitaia, written in Māori and English, will be unveiled at the commemoration on Wednesday 27th April. Inger Vos
RAGLAN Chronicle 5