Meeting Is Convinced that Raising Levels of Manapouri and Te Anau Is a Dreadful Mistake

Forest and Bird, Issue 175, 1 February 1970, Page 15

Meeting Is Convinced that Raising Levels of Manapouri and Te Anau Is a Dreadful Mistake

AT the end of October I attended a packed meeting in the new Wool Centre at Invercargill which had been called to hear reasons why the levels of Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau should be raised. Mr Taiboys represented the Minister of Electricity, who was ill, and Mr Bambery the Electricity Department. The result of the meeting was that the large audience remained more than ever convinced that raising the level of the lakes to produce a comparatively small amount of extra power could not be justified and would be a dreadful mistake. This was evident in no uncertain manner from speakers and the applause which greeted them. Mr Taiboys promised to convey the strong feeling of the meeting to the Government.

As reported elsewhere, the Society’s Council decided at its meeting at Bushy Park that if an absolute assurance could not be obtained that the lake levels would not be raised, a public petition to the Government should be organised praying that it should take all steps necessary to avoid mutilating the lakes as proposed in the Department’s plans. Legal Opinion Since the October meeting at Invercargill the Society has secured a legal opinion on the obligations of the Crown to the aluminium

industry to raise the lake levels. In a long dissertation the opinion indicates that the Crown must put across the rock weir at the confluence of the Waiau and Mararoa Rivers, which would have little effect on the lake levels; it is also obliged to supply certain quantities of power to the company, but there is no direct obligation to raise the lake levels as planned. In any case there is provision in the agreements between the company and the Crown for any adjustment which might seem desirable to be made by mutual agreement. Of course, Manapouri is capable of producing great quantities of power without the lake levels being raised. Lifting the levels would add a small percentage to the power already produced by the seven generators; to interfere with the lake levels for so small a gain is unthinkable.

Before this article is published in “Forest and Bird” a decision whether or not to organise a petition will have been made. If it is organised, we will be in need of all members to secure signatures. I trust that all will lend a hand and recruit others from the public so that everybody interested may have the opportunity of signing.

—R. C. NELSON,

President

Historic Pa Sites Given to Crown

T'WO historic Maori pa sites on the Paparoa A headland in Ohiwa Harbour have been given to the Crown by a Whakatane resident, Mr R. A. Bell.

“Both areas will be preserved for the nation under the Reserves and Domains Act,” the Minister of Lands, Mr D. Maclntyre, said recently.

“The larger of the two areas will be called the Paparoa Pa Historic Reserve,” he said.

“Here in the early nineteenth century the Kareke tribe, which occupied much of the Whakatane valley, took refuge when they fled under attack from the Ngati-Awa and NgatiPukeko. Their attackers made two unsuccessful assaults on Paparoa, but about 1822 a third tribe, the Tuhoe, drove them out.

“The Kareke then moved further around Ohiwa Harbour to Oheu, where they built a a fort on the hill above the Kutarere wharf. However, the Ngati-Awa forced them to move again and take refuge with the Whakatohea people of the Opotiki district.

“The second pa site was 25 chains to the south of Paparoa Pa and overlooks the channel which leads up to the Wainui School. It was probably an auxiliary or lookout.

“At both sites the outlines of the fortifications are still apparent,” said Mr Maclntyre. “At present there is no legal access by land, but Mr Bell has added to his generous gesture by offering right of way over his land.”

A Pat on the Back from Overseas

THE July “President’s Letter” of the International Council for Bird Preservation contains the following passage: “One of the signal attributes of the International Council for Bird Preservation has been its ability to develop strong national sections and on this the whole movement must depend. In this connection work undertaken in New Zealand and in Czechoslovakia and in Austria deserves special commendation.” The July issue also records the Council’s relief that mining on Coppermine Island will not be proceeded with, and it appreciates the generosity of the Maoris who gifted the Red Mercury and adjacent islands to the Crown. It also describes the Report of the Commission on Wildlife. The address of the Central Secretariat of the Council is c/o British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London 5.W.7. The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society is, of course, its national section in New Zealand.

Retirements and Appointments in Forest Service

MR A. D. McKINNON, Director, Forest Management Division in the New Zealand Forest Service, retired at the end of last year after spending his entire working life with the Service. He is succeeded by Mr M. J. Conway, formerly Conservator of Forests, Christchurch. Mr J. W. Levy, Principal Forester and Assistant Conservator of Forests, Auckland, has been appointed Conservator of Forests, Christchurch. After 41 years with the Forest Service Mr A. N. (Mick) Sexton, Conservator of Forests, Auckland, retired at the end of last year. Mr G. M. O’Neill, Conservator of Forests, Invercargill, has been appointed Conservator of Forests, Auckland to succeed him. Mr G. J. Molloy, Principal Forester, Hokitika, has been appointed Conservator of Forests, Invercargill.

Willing Workers at Reserve in Governors Bay

/CANTERBURY Branch chairman, Mr T. M. C. Hay (left), who is indefatigable in his efforts for the branch, is shown here working a winch with Mr B. Calder to remove a hawthorn hedge at the proposed reserve owned by the Society in Governors Bay, Lyttelton Harbour. The area has been donated by Professor W. H. Rhodes to be developed with native subjects. It is hoped that many plants usually . too tender to be grown in Canterbury will thrive in this sheltered spot.