Coastline Bush Spoilt By Fire

Northern Advocate, 20 March 1939, Page 6

Coastline Bush Spoilt By Fire

Indiscriminate burning has spoil several of the beauty spots on Whahgarei Harbour.

Pchutukawas and native bush have been affected, principally at the Nook, Parua Bay, and, to a lesser, extent, at Manganese Point. Nowhere else on tl'fc Northland coast line could varieties of native flora have been foiind in greater profusion, and the bushes on these areas jutting into the harbour have long been the delight of visitors and local people alike.

Matches, possibly thrown carelessly by campers, have destroyed in a few minutes what it took nature 50 years to accomplish. Blackened Slopes. Blackened slopes have deprived th) Nook, popular rendezvous for cruising craft, of its beauty. Running through the tinder-dry undergrowth, fire extended for the full length of the peninsula, which was a landmark to all who use the harbour.

Several large pohutukawa and purifi trees have fallen on the beach after being burnt, while many others have been so scorched that they may eventually die. Fortunately the fire stopped before reaching the fringe of pohutukawas on the seaward side. Pohutuikawas Ruined. Earlier this season, a splendid pohutukawa standing on the extremity of Manganese Point, further up the harbour, was burnt, and others were so affected by a gorse fire that they may eventually be lost.

Property owners on the shores of the Whangarei Harbour have long taken a pride in preserving the arboreal beauties of their lands.

Complimenting one farmer, a yachtsman said of him: “He is one of the best burners I have ever seen. Year after year large areas of his property have been cleared off without a green twig being destroyed.” Other beauty spots on the east coast have suffered by bushfelling or burning this season. Notable among them is Picnic Bay. Matapouri, where the slopes have beer denuded of bush; McKenzie’s Bay, Taurikura, where fire from a burn has penetrated some distance into standing shelter; and near the Wafpu Cove School, where a whole line of pohutukawas has been scorched.