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The following is a reprint of an article by Bishop Gilberd that appeared in 'Anglican Taonga', Spring 2004, a publication of the Anglican Church.

Bay Watch & the Bishop

"The essence of our argument is that Paaku Bay is the quiet inspiring heart of Tairua – and the last thing the bay needs is a heart attack."

The Bay

On this quiet Saturday morning I look out onto the unique small bay at the foot of Paaku Mountain in Tairua, on the Coromandel Peninsula .

The water glistens as the fingers of incoming tide creep forward across the flats, bringing sprat, flatfish, kahawai, parore, trevally, white spotted gummy shark and an occasional john dory.

The new tide feeds many species of crustaceans, crabs and shellfish, including pipi and cockle – kai moana for us all. Birds are roosting or feeding in a slightly elevated area – there are bar-tailed godwits from Alaska , New Zealand and banded dotterels, a blue reef heron, a pair of caspian terns, pied stilts, and oystercatchers. The treasured white heron, the kotuku has visited occasionally.

This aesthetically pleasing and uninterrupted space, the heart of Tairua, is a delight to the eye, with its many moods and modes, with its arresting proportions and stunning reflections. This bay is appreciated and used by many people and creatures.

Maori have dwelt here from at least the 12 th century – a carbon dated 4.6cm mother of pearl polynesian fishing lure found in the tombolo joining Paaku mountain to the mainland confirms this.

Ngati Hei then Ngati Maru occupied the area, and suffered greatly from the muskets of Hongi Hika in the 1820’s. Up to that time about 5,000 Maori lived in the Tairua valley.

In the bay itself, now encircled by homes on three sides, there was a pa. Nearby there was gathering and drying of kai moana, and at one specific point a waahi tapu, a sacred place where the dead, nga mate, were brought to be buried in the volcanic caves of Paaku.

Today people of all ages and cultures appreciate and use the bay at all tides – for walking, photographing, walking dogs and riding horses, for netting and fossicking, windsurfing, sailing and kayaking, shellfish gathering, bathing, and learning water safety. For centuries both Maori and Pakeha have enjoyed, and been nurtured spiritually and physically by the by the beauty and life of this bay.

Attack!

For the last few years Paaku bay has been severely threatened. A joint “development” venture of Pacific Paradise Ltd. and Tairua Marine Ltd. have applied for consents to build a 150-berth marina, with the marina footprint taking over 44% of the bay. This application a great number of us oppose, and have formed the Paaku Bay Preservation Society to be the instrument of that opposition. We have c300 financial members, and have been able to raise c$150,000 to ensure we have the proper expertise and organisation to defeat the proposal. I find myself chairman of this organisation (which is a privilege and a weight), which considers this marina is in the wrong place, is of the wrong size and is wrongly constructed. We also contend that:

• The people will lose access to and appreciation of the whole bay.
• Pollution from extra large boats and increased traffic will create a hazard for human and sea life.
• Visual amenity and natural character will be severely diminished by 580 metres of rock containing wall bisecting the bay, and a carpark built in the bay.
• Sea life, shellfish and bird life would be severely and adversely affected, in a place where rare birds can easily and frequently be viewed close at hand.
• The disruption of the natural yet ever changing water dynamics could have severe and unknown effects on the coast, river and seabed, and the bar. Sedimentation, especially after necessary frequent dredging, will suffocate marine life and shellfish, and spoil a well-used beach.
• Greatly increased boat traffic would put swimmers and present small boat users at risk.
• There is fundamental lack of respect of this area as a taonga,, a treasure, and of Tangata Whenua with such a plan to irreversibly disfigure the bay. What is proposed is not sensitive to either the heritage of this place, or the natural character.
• People who come here now, as eco tourists or eco residents, come because it is as it is. This Tourism helps sustain the economy of the town.

Response

We are a coalition of Tangata Whenua, community and church people – and we undoubtedly have battle on our hands! A few local people support the marina, and we seek to live together as we honour the right of others to have different views.

So what do the committee and members of the Paku Bay Preservation Society do?

We encourage people to be well informed, we have bimonthly newsletters and frequent general meetings. We make submissions to the regional and district councils on matters relevant to the marina and long term planning in the area.

We seek to distil the key issues, and we encouraged our members to make submissions against the marina, speak at the hearing and give money to the cause. We relate to the councils, who are also at present opposed to the marina, and with DOC are defending the “no” decision, with us, at a February 2005 sitting of the Environment Court . 200 of our members registered to be heard in the Environment Court , and we are selecting 40 or so to give evidence. Currently we are refining and shaping our case for the Court hearing.

We have engaged legal and other experts to give evidence in the Environment Court , and we are learning a great deal about the RMA and Court processes.

As the “developer” counts on us running out of energy and money, as well as counting on the huge generosity of our members, we have dinners and fund raisers There is an Art Auction in the Monteith Centre of Auckland Anglican Cathedral 6pm Saturday 8 th October!

We are determined to preserve the taonga of Paaku Bay , an inter-generational resource of great and iconic beauty, for all the people for all time.

Vocation

There are, for me, theological (tending and mending a finite resource a piece of creation), environmental (if severe adverse effects for people, creatures, sea and land result from an intervention, it needs to be opposed), social (what most in the community want needs to be a determining factor, and agape must transcend difference of opinion) and personal (will my descendants be able to enjoy this unique bay more or less as it is?) reasons for my involvement in this issue.

My conviction is that in this particular Goliath and David struggle, the “care of creation” mission strand of the world wide Anglican definition of mission involves me in community action and legal processes. Yes, every day I ask God to “bless, reserve and keep this bay” – then it’s on to planning our case for the Environment Court . The two go together .

I marvel at how many in our Society are committed to the long haul, with their interest, energy and finance – and encouragement! Many new and lasting friendships have been forged, and have learnt a great deal together – about the environment and the resource management act process.

I was interviewed recently on how I see my vocation as a priest/bishop in retirement. In a two-hour interview I touched on:

• unhurried deeper time with Pat, family and friends – especially two grandsons.
• Being more embedded in the local community.
• The delicious spaces in my diary, and choice of how to spend my hours.
• Continuity of overt ministry – regular preaching and celebrating locally, officiating at baptisms, weddings and funerals in various places, pastoral and spiritual direction work, more focussed and thorough intercession, enjoyable and stretching reading and writing.
• Life outdoors: fishing, walking, golf, boating, swimming. We are also enjoying seeing more of this special land we live in.
• There being more balance in my life, and I am a little more prepared for my death!

I trust that the taproot of faith, multiple interests, sitting lighter to disappointments and successes, enables me to get into perspective the ever-present task of leading the campaign against the proposed marina in Paaku bay. In February 2005 we are off to the Environment Court , hopefully convened in Tairua, to defend the initial decision to refuse consents, so the top priority is preparation of our evidence for that. The essence of our argument is that Paaku Bay is the quiet inspiring heart of Tairua – and the last thing the bay needs is a heart attack.

Bruce Gilberd . 1/9/04