the bridge for its annual outing in Roading milestone lornt research by the March, 2008. Thirty-eight people The project to extend the River Maori Trust made a jetboat trip to the site. Ac_ Board and the seal on the Fisheries companying them was Ministry. Wanganui Rd reached another milestone in historian Norm Hubbard, Scenes of village Iife who March, 2008, when the first 700m talked about Scenes of life in1921at Korin_ sites along the way. length was chip Waka ama rivalry sealed from Ma- Waka ama were prominent on tahiwi. The 32km the Whanganui River on Waitangi seal extension, Day, 2008. The Wanganui Chronl_ a joint roading cle reported that Whanganui River project for the Maori Trust Board,s Nancy Tuaine Wanganui and called the race progress in a way not quite heard before: "Watch out councils, witl be Waihine Toa, Koroheke is up your carried out over bum..." six years. Work in progress on the Whanganui River Rd near the Kawana Mill.

Bridgestrength- iti, Jerusalem and , includ_ ened ing weaving, fishing and garden_ Earthquake ing, unfolded in He pito Whakaatu strengthening Te i Noho a Te Maori i Te Awa O was applied to Whanganui the (Scenes of Maori Lifu Cobham on the Whanganui River), a film Bridge over by James McDonald, shown in Whanganui the Wanganui in October, 200g. River in Wan- Artist Ioves river ganui fromApril, An artist with an ongoing love Paddles fly during a waka ama race 2008. Transit NZ affair with the Whanganui River, on Waitangi Day, 200g. said the upgrade Doug Simpson, opened an exhibi_ i was part of a tion Lower river of Whanganui River Scenes at experience programme of seismic retrofitting the W H Milbank Gallery Combining fun with a seri_ in Wan_ on strategically important bridges ganuui ous intent is the in October,200g. He is the aim of Life to the throughout the country. nephew of well-known jetboater Max, a programme which works Development canned Dave Russell, with families at risk. Six boys who introduced him in A contentious tourist devel_ two to the river at an early age. canoes, acompanied by three opment in Pipiriki was canned af_ Boating Education Life to the Max staff and and river ter Award evidence emerged linking the Former guide Ned Tapa, spent port captain/harbour_ five days land to an urupa. A river opeiator on master Trevor Gibson, who be_ the lower river in February, wanted to build a boatshed and of_ gan Sea 2008. Ned said the experier." Cadets in Wanganui and rru, fice near the pipiriki Bridge but "cool. " still regularly pilots the Waimarie, the local opposed this and Ati_ was honoured at the Coastguard hau Whanganui Corporation national conference in Ociober, confirmed the urupa. 2008, with the Coastguard Boating Concern over eels Education Award for Excellence. Whanganui Maori ex_ Waterfront a winner pressed concern about the Wanganui's boardwalk and disappearance of eels from waterfront development was the river and the fear that ffi a winner in the 200g Western this could end a customary Architecture Awards. fishing right Judges A Lrfe to the they have en_ praised the way Max canoe joyed in which it for centuries. The de_ creation " completes its trip from pipiriki. of a waterside interaction cline of eels emerged from zone had provided the opportunity

WHANGANUT Rr!.ERANNUAT _ page 1l KIEKIE Bv Psn Frrurnr

We travelled from Wanganui, up the River Road The transit straining and labouring under quite a load We were going after kiekie up to Ruapirau To use on tuku tuku panels As our reserves were running low

Turned off at the woolshed, drove up past the yards The roads uneven and bumpy, steering was rnighty hard The track was narrow and rubble strewn The gradient was steep Bulldozed by the local farmer To make it easy mustering sheep

The hillside was steep to overhanging A11 foliage brown and tinder dry The stones and bare papa Were hot enough to fry

Driving over it was a nightmare, with not a place to turn Anyone touching bare metal, Got themselves quite a burn

The creek way down below us Looked so inviting and so cool No one would go down and sample it No one but a fool

We finally reached edge Just above the falls Right among the kiekie Growing long, straight and tall

The boys are up the hill cutting it IJp among the supplejacks Gathering it up in bundles Then throwing it down upon the track

If you've ever gone after kiekie You will know just what I mean When I say how hard the work is Getting those leaves tender and green

The girls are grading and stripping It's time consuming work Taking a leaf one at a time And tearing them off with a jerk Then with a broken shearing comb They strip them down to size Ready for boiling and dying Then put out to dry

We have finally got all we need Time to start heading back All the way to Wanganui Back along that stinking track.

-Page 13 EUToRIAL o a a Bv Devm Scounen

Another year and another fine crop of stories to The re-enactment of emerge for the Annual. I'm gob-smacked at how ma- the Billy Webb event in De- terial keeps appearing and of course it's just as well! cember, 2008, captured the Thanks to everyone who has helped fill our pages. public's imagination, with The year 2008 was signiflcant for several reasons. It hero Mahe marked our 20th birthday which was celebrated in Drysdale battling it out with December with a river cruise on the Wairua and din- Norway's Olympic single ner at . sculls champion Olaf Tufte. When the Friends started producing the Annual, Webb has received cover- we envisaged it as a in-house journal of river matters. age in previous Annuals It has developed over the years through successive and this time it it is Sylvia's Editors to the stage when we can view it as a valu- turn as we look at her life Sy lv ia As hton-Warne r.. able repository of river history. Like me, the previous and share some memories memories of her time Editors probably fretted that we would run out of ma- of her time up the river. at Pipiriki linger on. terial. This hasn't happened and I doubt it ever will. Colourful yarns con- In terms of river history, 2008 marked 100 years tinue to emerge about life since Billy Webb defended his world sculling title in the Mangapurua Valley. Jim Parnell and Maurice on the river and also the centennial of the birth of Cole have maintained their researches and they both prominent educationalist and writer Sylvia Ashton- have articles of interest. Everyone who has been Warner, who with husband Keith Henderson, taught down the river has a story to tell and we have some at Pipiriki in the 1940s. good accounts of journies on the Whanganui - both oldtime and modern. Once again it is our sad task to record the deaths of eight people with strong river connections - a record for any Annual. Over the summer of 2008-9 I was a warden at John Coull Hut for a week and later tramped through the Mangapurua Valley. These were precious times and a reminder of what a privilege we have to be able to experience the wonderful Whanganui River. As always I acknowledge the The age of chivilary is not dead ... Editor David Scoullar carries support of typist Dawn Bramley, Juliet Kojis to the jetboat after visiting lvan Rusling's old house site proof readers Judith Crawley and during the Friends' trip to Wakahoro in November 2008. Waiting Juliet Kojis, and the technical ex- at the boat are, from left, Fritz Bonk, Esther Williams, Richard Steele pertise of H & A Design and Print. and Jim Parnell. Photo by Heather Bonk. Friends' 2008 Executive Chairperson: Pauline Walton,49 Putiki Drive, Wanganui Vice Chairyerson: Ridgway Lythgoe, 3/18 Campbell Street, Wanganui Honorary Secretary: Dawn Bramley, 14 Ward Street, Wanganui Honorary Treasurer: Judith Crawley, 37a Brassey Road, Wanganui Editor: David Scoullar;7 Wairere Road, Wanganui Committee: Bob Mclntyre, Pam Kitson, Alan Donald, Robert Wills, Frank Papprill, Murray Ware, Jane Aitchison, Murray Laing Page 2 - wHeNclNUI RrvER ANNUAL &'rmwpwuds' Xkmps mww XS&& Wonderful Whangamomona wows'em yet again By Devro Scouuan We roll out the Whanga- ditional starting point for genera- for another leg stretch and ex- momona trip every three or four tions of river canoeists but less plore. years and it's always a winner. It popular these days. Lunch was By now we were a bit behind was this time again, on April 12- taken on the riverbank beyond the schedule and it was good to reach 13, 2008. Nearly 30 Friends en- Te Maire Bridge. Whangamomona and sort out our joyed a beautiful weekend which The spectacular Tangarakau sleeping arragments. Most people contrasted strongly with our last Gorge provided, as usual, a high stayed in the pub, with six at the foray here when we met torential point. This time the river was very camp ground. We all gathered m downpours and arrived back in low. We stopped to look at the the pub for a great dinner and so' Wanganui to discover flooding. Morgan grave and to chat with cial evening. With Ridgy at the wheel as some passing motorcyclists before After exploring the village always, the bus trundled up the moving on to view Mt Damper on Sunday morning we set off for ParaparaHighway. We had a com- Falls which at 85m is the highest Stratford where we lunched beside fort stop at and morning falls in the . With the the Patea River. Last stop before tea at the when dry spell prevailing at that time, it home was in Patea where the South Friend Mick Dillon explained its was less than spectacular. Taranaki District Museum and the construction and history. Then it was on to the former freezing works museum were vis- Onwards to where railways settlement of Tangarakau ited and thoroughly appreciated.' we visited the Cherry Grove, tra- where the opportunity was taken

A bridge not to far ... Friends on the rail bridge at Tangarakau. Photo by Ridgway Lythgoe.

Page 4 , wneNoeNul RIVER ANNUAL Dave demonstrates power of one By Devrn ScouI-r,qn

Twenty years of working in Whanganui National He said the Cave Creek tragedy in 1995 changed Park were outlined by Dave Brockway in a fascinating DoC for ever and set off a train of events. "Cave and often amusing talk to the Friends' annual meeting Creek changed the way we did things.,'All structures on May 4,2008. Dave, former programme Manager had to be checked and some were removed. Visitor Assets with the Department of Conservation Working with four district councils with four sets in Wanganui, outlined his part in developments on of rules was challenging but over the years he found the river and the Mangapurua and Matemateaonga he was spending less time in the hills and more at a tracks, starting with the restoration of Downes Hut desk. With the "bureacratic nonsense" this involved, in 1987. it got to him in the end. But "overall it had been a "Basically everything in the park I designed,,' good life" and despite his retirement, Dave is still he said. Projects included moving John Coull Hut employed by DoC to do fleld inspections. and later protecting it from erosion, revamping and At the annual meeting, attended by 25 people, expansion at Tieke Hut, water catchers, boardwalks, Pauline Walton took over as chairperson from Murray bridges, toilets and camping sites. Laing, who stepped down after two years in the post. variety aplenty on our latest weekend By Davro Scouuan

Many of us have very fond memories of our trip Baldwin. They had a tale to tell of an uncomfortable to Whakahoro in November of 2005 and wondered if night moored against a the bank after astone lodged it could be as good this time around. It was! Twenty_ in their engine unit. three people took the bus from Wanganui to Raetihi However, the Adventurer punters were cheerful for a pit stop and then on to the Makatoke viaduct for enough when they called into the landing for a visit morning tea. before proceeding on their trip to Wanganui. Inclu_ We weren't due to reach our destination, Reta_ ded in the party was Tom Mowat, a living link with ruke Station, owned by Richard and Rachel Steele, the Mangapurua Valley. until 3pm, so there I was plenty of time to visit the Richard offered to jetboat people down to Ivan delightful Ohinetonga Scene Reserve at Owhango I Rusling's old house site, now Whitianga marae. A where we had lunch and many people walked the number of people took advantage of this and found track alongside the . Onwards to some remains of the house, though none of the tearo- Whakahoro where joined we were by three from the oms which were also once on the property. north, Heather and Fritz Bonk and former upper river On our way home we looked at accommodation settler Bill Chappell. at Whakahoro - the Whio Lodge and Eco_Warrior The rest of the day was spent socialising, loo_ Lodge. The latter, the old Dempsey house, was sti_ king over DoC developments at the old Whakahoro 1l being transformed. Down the road we stopped at School site, touring the beautiful grounds at Retaruke the new bridge Richard has built over the Retaruke Station, admiring the former Lacy homestead and the River to the former Berryman property. He gave us a river and quoffing the odd ale or wine. The stayers - full rundown on the technicalities of the bridge and a joined in yarns and songs as the night went on. blow-by-blow account of its construction which left Sunday began in a very leisurely fashion. The us gobsmacked with admiration and convinced that rugby fans watched the All Blacks beat Wales in the the good old Kiwi bloke with the can-do attitude is comfort of the Steele's lounge. Later we wandered very much alive and well. down to Lacy's Landing where we met the Adven- It was a late lunch beside the Hall and turer on a trip from Taumarunui under skipper Bob then on to Raetihi for an ice cream before cruising

wHANGANUI RTvERANNUAL _page 5 down the Paraparas to Wanganui. A great weekend with marvellous H weather and hospitality. We look forward to another Whakahoro vi- sit in the not too distant future. Editor's footnote: The first of two parts of Bill Chappell's river memories begins on Page 40.

Oldtime upper river settler Bill Chappell (centre) with Fritz and Heather Bonk who have taken over his farm. Richard steele (standing at rear) tells Friencls about the Photo by David Scoullar of his new bridge over the . photo bv .It ludith ambushed et anniversary

Bv Davrn Scour_r_aR

The Friends marked the 20tlt attention to this during her brief anniversary of their formation speech and made Judith a small with a cruise on the Wairua to Up- presentation, Laraine Sole's new okongaro and dinner at the hotel book on the Wanganui seaside there on December 5, 2008. The suburb of Castlecliff. weather was great and the boat Judith is usually pretty much full, with some members driving in tune with what is going on in to the venue. our group but this was one occa- The celebration was low key sion when she was well and truly but it did provide a surprise for one ambushed. member, treasurer Judith Crawley. She took up this position when the group began and has held it Lon g - s e rvin g tre asure r J udith Crawley (left) ever since - the only committee and chairperson member with continuous service. Pauline Walton. Chairperson Pauline Walton drew Photo bv Mike Bull.

Page 6 - wu,tlrceNut RtvER ANNUAL Public support our WSP trips By Devro ScounaR The Friends ran two trips in the2009 Whanganui The second trip was an old favourite - the day trip Summer Programme and both were successes. through the Kauarapaoa Valley, with former resident Just over 100 people joined the evening walk Esther Williams commentating for the full bus. The along the Whanganui River bank. This time we had weather was poor to start with but the skies cleared two commentators, potts maritime historian Geoff and everyone enjoyed themselves, particularly the and Richard Munneke of Horizons Regional Coun- barbecue luncheon in the garden of valley resident cil. While Geoffbackgrounded various structures, in- Jill Mayo. cluding old wharves, Richard talked about proposed Following such public support, it is highly likely flood control measures. that the Friends will want to continue to be involved with the Whanganui Summer Programme in future years. Yalley link with Horopito recalled Bv Davro Scounen A link between the Mangapurua Valley and Ho- ley, The Bridge to Nowhere, by the late Arthur Bates. ropito was recalled at the annual Day at This was not his fault, however, as he had never re- the Avondale RSA in on August 20, 2008. ceived it. Ivy Mossop (nee McDonald) told of how in 1935 Ivy said: "Muriel (Ivy's sister) and I had the her father, Hugh McDonald, bought a house in Horo- pleasure of meeting Arthur some months prior to his pito. He went to Horopito and dismantled the house, death. Arthur said that should the book ever be re- trucking the timber into the Mangapurua. He used printed, this story would be included. Sadly, he passed this timber to build alarge area onto the house he had away and in the reprint Hugh McDonald's story was built from pit-sawn totara. not included." Ivy said it was sad to think about the trouble her E dit o r' s fo o tnot e : We hav e b e en fo rt unate enou gh Dad went to adding to their Mangapurua house, and to be able to publish an extensive article in the Annu- that it would be ripped down when the valley closed al of 2001 about Hugh McDonald's life in the Man- only a few years later. Mr McDonald later took some gapurua Valley, and latterly a series of articles on the of the material to the Waitomo Valley, Waikato. remembrances of his daughters, Ivy and Muriel. Horopito came to the fore at the reunion through the presence of Mick Dillon and Frances Spence. Her family farmed at Horopito. She recalled her pet lambs. She had a few as the wee lambs at times had to be brought in from the intense cold. Some time later Mick bought the Spence farm. He had been connected with Pokaka. Ivy took to the reunion a copy of a feature from the Wanganui Chron- icle about the Mangapurua Valley, published on June 23,2003. She said she had been contacted after it was noticed Mangapurua was mentioned in the death notice of her late sister Beth. While talking to the reporter (Laurel Stowell), Ivy had mentioned Iry (McDonald) Mossop holds a copy of the newspaperfeature on that Hugh McDonald's story was not her childhood home, the Mangapuruavalley. Looking on are Mick in the book on the history of the val- Dillon and Frances Spence. Photo by B,f,p.gft?'k{!kJ*. _pase,, Ye&r*rg s$wcXr xw,-w#& &&tr Developments at whakahoro River-users have received a bonus at Whaka_ close to the Kohi Saddle end of the track. horo where the site has been upgraded. The hut has T[ack work carried out been designated as a bunkroom to complement the The Te Maire loop track received attention. newly-developed campsite which includes two water said most of the steps failed the service standard catching shelters and a hand washing/bathroom type work was needed to backfill the steps with shelter. Platform-type bunks in the hut have been re_ The department has had issues with stock inv placed by 10 bunks. The hut will later be subject to an this area but work to clear them out had occu historic upgrade. DoC says it aims to restore it back DoC says an open day in May, 2008, provided to as close to its original state when first built as a much-needed support and awareness of this f school in 1946. which is a great asset for the Taumarunui area. Guided walks at Atene Cyanide endangers public DoC and Sport Wanganui got together in 200g to Illegal placing of cyanide prompted DoC to c promote Push Play Nation by offering guided walks much of theAtene Skyline Track in November, the to Atene Skyline Track. The Atene viewpoint After a report from a member of the public, walk is a short but steady climb to the lookout of- found bait and about 100 possum carcases, fering spectacular views of the valley below and the skinned, on the track from the viewpoint onwards. vastness of the Whanganui park. National The walk spokesman slammed what he described as a travels through both farmland and native bush on a act which had endangered the public. The track to roadway built during hydo investigations 50 years viewpoint remained open. ago. Fires provide challenges Clearing, marking needed DoC faced challenges over a two week period i DoC has received complaints from people losing February, 2008, with multiple bush fires in the their way on part of the Matemateaonga Track. Work ganur conservancy. The largest burned in Aotuhui has now been carried out on the trackto MtHumphries Kohi Saddle, Tangarakau, pipiriki and Wai where vegetation clearance and more track mark- The total area burnt was about 250ha.In pipiriki, ing was undertaken. DoC also repofted a number of village and DoC field centre were twice windfalls and said a track diversion had been needed by fire.

upgradedfacilities at whakahoro include this water catcher. the construction is Aloise Laing' Photo by Murray Laing' page 8 wnmc.rNr,*rr.*::ecting ye XWwyeg'&v& &e r &x Nrwr&ww$ ffsre$rs I ws Slipwoy project making progress By Davn McDBnuro (WRC MaNlcEn)

In 2008 we made good progress with our project to construct our own slipway at the old Hatrick and Co site at Sedgebrook immediately downriver from Kowhai Park. We finally got agreement of all parties. The Environment Court has issued the trust with a consent to construct and operate a slipway back on the old site. Work has continued throughout the year to fi- nalise designs and costings. This should be flnished early in 2009. When this is completed fund-raising will begin. The slipway will be used for the two-year- ly maintenance of the Waimarie, Wairua and (when restored). Building a riverboat slipway at the foot of Kowhai MV Ongarue: Some progress was made on Park will turn a historic site into a working historic working towards restoring MV Ongarue. Harold site and revive scenes like this one of the Wairua Duncan of KTK Designs, assisted by members Grae- and Waiora on the original Sedgebrook slip in 1904. me O'Sullivan and Peter Johnston, measured up On- garue and produced a set of construction drawings for the vessel. by our volunteer curator John Gray. A display of vari- During the exercise we found that Ongarue's ous types of waka used on the river has been com- rear engine room bulkhead had been moved back to- pleted. wards the stern to make the engine room bigger to The Waimarie paddle display housing has also accommodate longer engines. We also discovered been completed and this looks very smart. This project that the bow section is incredibly bent and battered. was carried out by Geoff Lawson, Martin Emerson Avery big thank you to KTK Designs for sponsoring and our chairman, Richard Emmett. Another new this move. display coflrmemorates the history and work of pi- PS Waimarie: Waimarie reliably continued her oneer photographer Alfred Burton. His voyages on scheduled services throughout 2008 and completed the Whanganui were really the starting point of river her winter survey and overhaul with no major prob- tourism as people saw his images and then wanted to lems. A lot of refurbishment and painting jobs that visit the river and see more. had been put aside in other years got done and our Webb remembered: History repeated itself crew and volunteers made a special effort to have when Waimarie and Wairua followed the Prospace Waimarie looking very shipshape for the start of the William Webb Memorial Challenge single scull row- new season. The stopover at Upokongaro using the ing event to mark the centennial of Webb's defence new wharf has been very popular. of his world title. Most of the Hatrick fleet followed MY Wairua: Wairua has been well supported Webb's races in 1908 and it was amazingto have two also with summer trips to Hipango Park and spring- working vessels of that same fleet there in 2008 when time trips to Upokongaro for dinners. Summer 2008 Olympic champion Olaf Tufte of Norway headed was very dry and the river got very low. When Wairua New Zealand's world champion Mahe Drysdale. arrived at Hipango Park on one trip you could walk The weather was exceptional, the river very clean between the wharf and the water. This meant a whole and everyone involved had a great day. different method of disembarking passengers had to Rest in peace: It is with sadness that we record be devised. the passing during 2008 of long-time trustee and Museum: Our museum has continued to be up- Project Waimarie stalwart Mark Campbell and major graded with a huge amount of effort being expended supporter Noel Yarrow (see obituaries on Page 19).

wHANGANtn RrvER ANNUAL - Page 9 PEOPLEAND PLACES. NEWS BRIE Waireka hits ton was shown on Maori Tv in Novem- The Waireka, now on the ber, 2008. The crew of Marae DIY , marks her cente- along with an army of locals and nary this summer. Built at Yar- volunteers, visited in row and Co's yard at Scotstoun April to give the marae a $60,000 on the River Clyde near Glasgow spruce-up. in 1908, Waireka began on the Name change bid Whanganui in FebruarY, 1909, Te Runanga o TuPoho is Pre- and was used extensivelY on the paring a submission to the New upper reaches in her earlY daYs of Zealand Geographic Board to river service. have Wanganui's name officiallY River in glass changed to Whanganui. The aPPli- Biddy Mareikura, at 75 the oldei River icons the riverboat cation will be the flrst case of an person on the 20th annual Tira. Waimarie, poet James K Bax- attempt to change the name of a Hoe Waka said: "We come bacl ter and St Joseph's Church at Je- city of large town. andfeel the spirit andwarmth f in Tattoos tell story rusalem have been PortraYed our ancestors from the awa." stained glass windows unveiled Henry Firmin's bodY carries l7-dl for the Wanganui District Council his story. Tattoos from ankle to the standing, which ended its top of his thighs journey at Putiki in JanuarY, 200 tell of his life was the largest tira to date. It co as a fisherman, sisted of 160 paddlers in cand the Whanganui and kayaks and75 to 120 "roadi River and his suppofters. whanau.Eachleg River doco featured cost $7000 and Screening of a documentfl took 31 hours. film about the Whanganui Riu Henry's body art and its people, Te Whiringa Ta gave artist Dean ra o Whanganui, was a feature t Archer a f,rst in Wanganui's Heritage Weekend i the tribal tattoo March, 2008. The film was throq Keatil The Waimarie window designed by Julie Greig and section at the tat- the eyes of Sacha UtuPoto crafted by Greg Hall. tooing nationals of Ngati Ruaka as he exPlored i in 2008. whakapapa. chamber in 2008. One observer Bravery award Rotarians visit bridge described the expression captured A Whanganui River rescue The iconic Bridge to Nowhe in Baxter's face as "brilliant." earned Constable David Hiroti of attracts a lot of visitors. The Rol Romance on Waimarie Wanganui a bravery award in JulY, ry Club of Wanganui North cho Former Wanganui boxer An- 2008. He received the thony Brownlie scored a knock- Royal Humane Soci- out on the Wanganui River in De- ety of New Zealand cember, 2008, when he ProPosed Bronze Medal for his to girlfriend Natalie Matz while role in rescuing four cruising on the Waimarie. She said people after a boating "yes" and an announcement over accident near the Ara- the boat's PA system brought con- moho rail bridge. gratulations from Passengers and Biggest tira so far crew. The 20th annual Marae makeover Tira Hoe Waka, a river The makeover of a rundown pilgrimage of spiritual Members of the Rotary Club of Wanganui marae on the Whanganui River connection and under- North take a break on the Bridge to Nowher

Page l0 - wuLNcANUl RIVER ANNUAT