The Informer had time to send Mike Rutherford’s letter to the communications team at TCDC and here is their response.
The coastal reserve containing Lovers’ Rock has had ongoing work to repair damage from cyclones Hale and Gabrielle in early 2023. Many large trees toppled over and were leaning on each other, with some completely uprooted. When this happens, surviving trees (especially those that are shallow-rooted) in the stand sometimes have to be felled, as their protective shelter is gone. We take professional arboricultural advice in this regard before commissioning such tree felling.
The area was sealed off and our Council notified Ngāti Hei because of the reserve’s cultural heritage status. The trees were initially cut to make the area safe, as there was too large a demand on contractors at the time to do anything more. The site’s been tidied up since, with iwi and other members of the public removing firewood. Since then our Council has been working to further improve the site, spraying weeds and removing saplings of exotic tree species with the aim to plant more appropriate native vegetation.
The picnic tables were removed several years ago. The site is considered tapu, of significant cultural interest, with the remains of many ancestors buried along the foreshore following a conflict approximately 200 years ago. Find out more about the reserve in our Council’s Reserve Management Plan: www.tcdc.govt.nz/rmps.
