TE NUPEPA O TE TAIRAWHITI SATURDAY-SUNDAY, MARCH 20-21, 2021 HOME-DELIVERED $1.90, RETAIL $2.70 INSIDE TODAY CHANGE YOUR MIND PBL PAGE 3 FAMILY LOSE EVERYTHING IN HOUSE FIRE TOUR DE ORMOND: Chaice Cumming, right) PAGE 3 and Kieran McCarthy (above) took to their bikes for the cycle section of the Ormond School triathlon, held at the school on Thursday. For almost three hours the PAGE 8 students got busy running, cycling and swimming their way to the finish line. Below, Luke Wright looks to have the swim leg in the bag. Pictures by Liam Clayton TEENS’ BRAVE ACTIONS REWARDED Kiwifruit ‘land grab’ Investor interest prompts fears about water running out by Andrew Ashton Gisborne because most everything comes “At the end of the day, it all comes back Mr Hawea said the finalisation of the out of the Waipaoa. to greed. Mangatuna Resumption Claim was still MILLIONS of dollars are being “Now, I just happen to be on the ‘They just come in here and plant huge pending. pumped into a new horticultural gold- freshwater committee at the council and areas of kiwifruit with no consideration “That’s worth about $200m to us. rush here from out of town but a furious over these last few years, this (water of where they are going to get the water Now, when we get that, we’d like to Gisborne District Council iwi adviser allocation) has been a big concern for us. from. People who have lived here all grow kiwifruit on our land and we can’t says it’s just a “land grab”. And since then we have a couple of huge their lives can’t get it because they are because there is too much here.” After hearing news that two large out- conglomerates coming from ‘the other coming in here with the money. That’s On the other side of the coin, Mr of-town investment groups had bought side’ and Tauranga looking for investors.” our concern, as an iwi.” Hawea said the Waituhi village water around four properties for SunGold Wherever kiwifruit farms were Mr Hawea has been telling the scheme, which takes water from the kiwifruit expansion, and years of telling established, they would all need water council’s advisory committee about the river and runs through a filtration the council there was “not enough” water from the same source Mr Hawea said. problem. plant to 42 houses, receives notification to go around already, GDC freshwater “And there has not been enough to go “But at the end of the day it is the from GDC that it could not take water advisory committee iwi representative around since this started about 10 years responsibility of the councillors — but from its allocated section, sometimes and Te Whanau A Kai Iwi Trust ago. There’s the problem with the aquifer the councillors don’t know what’s going for two weeks at a time, when water is chairman David Hawea has had enough. emptying out and here’s people coming on. It seems to me to be a waste of time being taken for irrigation from other “I think it’s a land grab, I think that’s in, and there’s only one reason why they us being on there. allocations. all it is. It’s all governed by greed. come — the land. The reason why they “It’s like it’s open slather — anyone can “I’m taking that water for human “I personally don’t think it’s wonderful come here to grow kiwifruit is because come. We haven’t got the labour here, so consumption . just because someone because we have two main problems. the kiwifruit from Gisborne is the first they are bringing labour in. wants to water their kiwifruit, they want “Number one is when you plant on the market in the eastern countries, “The other thing that worries us is to take the water out of our children’s kiwifruit, you make sure you have got particularly Japan. So they get the good we are losing the opportunity to get mouths.” water. We only have one water source in money. into this.” See also page 3 GISBORNE RUATORIA WAIROA Local News ...... 1-5 Business ...... 11-12 Classifieds ... 22-27 Farming ........ 16-18 Births & Deaths ...4 Opinion ..............13 Television ....W9-11 Sport ............ 28-32 TOMORROW National ..6-10,20-21 World....... 14-15,19 Racing ..................x Weather .............31 977 1175467004 2 NEWS The Gisborne Herald • Saturday, March 20, 2021 KEEPING HISTORY ALIVE HERE YA GO: Building materials for upgrade work to the historic Kahunui hut had to be helicoptered in to the remote site in the Waioeka Conservation Area. Upgraded Kahunui hut Picture supplied tribute to a bygone era UPGRADES made to Kahunui Hut, a half- a lobby area for storing firewood, raincoats and century-old historic gem on the East Coast, will boots,” Mr Quirk said. “Kahunui’s most special help preserve some of the area’s heritage. feature is an unusual three-tier bunk, with the Located in the deepest part of the Waioeka middle tier hinged so it can angle out of the ConservationAarea on the banks of a stream, the way and allow for seating or more space on the remote, 56-year-old hut has long been a popular bottom bunk if the hut isn’t fully occupied. spot for trampers and hunters. “The top bunk is close to the ceiling and quite The hut is available for public use but possibly would have been reserved for trainees. reaching it involves a multi-day tramp with “It has retained its original ‘safety orange’ several river crossings. colour and the number on the roof — 1878 — Department of Conservation East Coast that was used to identify the hut from the air. biodiversity ranger Jamie Quirk says the “Finally, it still has its open fireplace, also maintenance and repair work focused on known as ‘poor man’s television’.” retaining Kahunui’s historic features and The forest and streams around Kahunui allowing the hut to remain in perpetuity, rather feature spectacular towering podocarp forests, than having to replace it. with whio, morepork and kaka all making “These upgrades will ensure Kahunui will be themselves known to visitors. available to show future generations the beauty The track to the hut is a side track off the and simplicity of a bygone era,” Mr Quirk said. main Koranga Tawa loop, a two-to-three-day hike Items such as iron, timber and tools were for advanced trampers. dropped into the remote site by helicopter, along Kahunui Hut, and others like it, is an example with supplies to keep four DoC rangers going for of a range of places that DcC manages to tell five days. stories of a unique cultural heritage. Mr Quirk says the hut was built in 1965 by the Managed on behalf of all New Zealanders by New Zealand Forest Service for deer control. DOC and others such as the Back Country Trust, NEW DO: Scaffolding for upgrade work to the Kahunui hut had to helicoptered Built to the standard floorplan of the time, it New Zealand’s network of around 950 huts is in.The hut was built in 1965 and has a number of features the Department of has a number of features that are unique today. world class and a unique piece of heritage in Conservation was keen to retain, allowing the hut to remain in perpetuity rather than “It still has a built-in lockable food locker and itself. replacing it. Picture supplied LOOKING AHEAD Get your ALL THE LATEST NEWS, INCLUDING: Gisborne Herald • Perches available on six-day bird camp for young home-delivered ornithologists • Artist Janice Rogers hides her pieces around town for people to fi nd and keep, for free. • Tairawhiti Museum to launch new online platform showcasing its collections. • Coverage of DJ Barry Cup and Hope Cup fi nals as local cricket winds up for the season. MONDAY The Gisborne Herald, 64 Gladstone Road, P.O. Box 1143, Gisborne • Phone (06) 869 0600 • Fax (Editorial) (06) 869 0643 (Advertising) (06) 869 0644 Editor: Jeremy Muir • Chief Reporter: Andrew Ashton • Circulation: Cara Haines • Sports: Jack Malcolm/John Gillies To fi nd out more call 869 0620 e-mail: [email protected] • [email protected] • [email protected] • web site: www.gisborneherald.co.nz The Gisborne Herald • Saturday, March 20, 2021 NEWS 3 ‘The new frontier’ HOT PROPERTY: The Waingake Road land purchased by MyFarm to grow SunGold kiwifruit. Picture supplied by Andrew Ashton development would be carried out by Gisborne record for picking good land and access to MyFarm business partners, Apata, an also offered capital is so important. That is why the COMPARATIVELY cheap land prices orchard management and post-harvest significant partnership of MyFarm and Apata works here are combining with industry operator with packhouse and cool store larger growers so well.” incentives to turn Gisborne into the ‘new facilities in the Bay of Plenty. and post- Asked about the availability of water frontier’ for kiwifruit investment, as yet “Apata is the fourth largest supplier harvest for increased number of kiwifruit another investment group buys up land. of kiwifruit to Zespri Group Limited and operators operations here, Mr Payton said the Te Just weeks after Original Capital employs 170 permanent staff and several diversification Arai development already had consent for Partners announced they had bought times that number during the season.” benefits, water storage and the vendor was in the three Gisborne properties to grow Apata already manages more than 100 protecting them process of renewing it with the council.