Love Mauao? Have your say

Mauao. File photo.

Tauranga City Council is calling for submissions on how it manages one of the city's most treasured places, Mauao.

Last year, the joint administration board Nga Poutiriao o Mauao - comprised of representatives from the reserve's owners, the Mauao Trust, and Tauranga City Council - asked local residents what they love about our maunga.

The board received some great feedback and has now released a draft Mauao Historic Reserve Management Plan for consultation.

'We know Tauranga residents and visitors love Mauao – that's why we had nearly one million people walk up or around it in 2016. The draft Historic Reserve Management Plan is designed to ensure we preserve and celebrate the natural, historic, cultural, and spiritual significance our maunga Mauao.” says Dean Flavell, chair of Nga Poutiriao o Mauao.

Some of the actions in the plan include:

  • Specific projects that enable and celebrate the cultural and historical significance of Mauao
  • Protection of wahi tapu sites and sites of historic significance
  • No burials or scattering of ashes will be permitted on Mauao, and no new memorials be placed on the maunga
  • Rock climbers will not be permitted to use Mauao for climbing, unless suitable climbing sites can be found. The current location has safety risks, is close to a tapu site and has a rare native fern, psilotum nudum, in the area that could be damaged
  • Drones will not be permitted on Mauao without permission.

The draft document is available online at www.tauranga.govt.nz/mauaormp as well as at libraries around the city and Tauranga City Council's customer service centre at 91 Willow Street.

Submission forms will also be available at these locations.

Formal submissions on the document are now open and will remain open until 27 September 2017.

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11 comments

Mount

Posted on 21-07-2017 14:26 | By peter pan

The continual costs to keep tracks open and safe should be paid for by the users.


Read the draft plan, NO more donation memorial seating....

Posted on 21-07-2017 15:16 | By Murray.Guy

Read and digest the draft Mauao Historic Reserve Management Plan as it has 'far reaching ramifications' on the ratepayers credit card. Note the emphasis on 'quality infrastructure' which I thought would already be 'a given' and explains in part the obscene $2 million track repair, but includes a potential new waka launching site (despite a boat launching ramp and park in place at the base. Be aware, no longer will they welcome anyone to donate a seat (with a small memorial plague attached) BUT they will allow, on permission being sought, the proliferation of commercially focused sporting events that deny public access to Mauao, yet elsewhere state that unrestricted public access is a priority. No mention of investigating the provision of 'donation options', a standard addition to many 'free to user' sites of significance with high overheads.


Question

Posted on 21-07-2017 16:59 | By BennyBenson

Just wondering what the problem would be with scattering someone's ashes from the top? Surely as this does no damage whatsoever it shouldn't be excluded.


mauao

Posted on 21-07-2017 17:13 | By dumbkof2

meet the cultural needs of tangta whena. in other words they want to be able to do as they please while stopping everybody else


WELL WELL WELL !!!!

Posted on 21-07-2017 23:57 | By The Caveman

It seems to me that by this Xmas, you will be paying a massive FEE just to walk around the thing and climbing to the top will be even more !! As for banning the climbers, they have been using a number of rock faces for 50 plus years. If they were going to obliterate the rare native fern, psilotum nudum, that would have happened 30 years ago. For what its worth, 99.9% of rock climbers actually go out of their way to ensure that they DON'T damage the local weeds etc. ME thinks that Murray G is right on the mark and in fact, what was for 100 yeasr, a free walk where you like hill, will very quickly become a PAY, PAY, PAY activity. Something that was NEVER suspossed to happen under the "joint ownership" arrangement.......................................


A waka launching ramp

Posted on 22-07-2017 07:51 | By Tgaboy

What the heck. Council: "Hey, we have all this rate payer money, what ridiculous concepts can we throw it away on...."


Murray

Posted on 22-07-2017 08:26 | By maildrop

No more memorial seating? Wow, so what. And how many times a year do they have sporting events denying public access? Big deal. I was interested in the waka thing and $2m repair bill but you lost credibility with the seating and sports events things. Stick to the big issues.


Umm

Posted on 22-07-2017 12:21 | By peecee09

Are there any historical sites where acts of cannibalism occurred ? There is no need to take up more beach for a canoe launching site, just use the perfectly adequate one that is there now.


Ashes

Posted on 22-07-2017 12:29 | By peecee09

If I wish my ashes be scattered on the Mount my Iwi just won't tell you. Ridiculous. What about all the slaughtered warriors ?


Time to grow up

Posted on 22-07-2017 12:45 | By peecee09

It's time to get over this "spirits" falicy , there is no such thing. Build a gondola and a restaurant on top of the Mount and it will earn millions of dollars that could be used for eduction and health etc. It is time to move into the 21 st century and get over this spiritual nonsense.


@Peecee09

Posted on 22-07-2017 18:07 | By Papamoaner

Your gondola idea makes good sense. The one in Queenstown is very popular indeed. However the capital cost would be high and to a lesser degree operating cost also. But it's often impressive how money gets found for popular projects like gondolas and, dare I say it out loud - interactive museums! I might get corrected, but I am not aware of any NZ tramping tracks up and down local hills that have a fee. The nearest thing to it would be when DOC took over back country huts previously built and operated by tramping clubs, and then implemented a fee for overnight stays


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