Kevin Neal, Gordon Maxwell, and Warwick Wilson after the meeting exploring the possibility of a world heritage site in Mercury Bay.
The meeting or forum was organised by a small group who have actually been thinking and learning about the WHS process for a number of years. It has had some starts and stops over the years and has been principally initiated by Warwick Wilson, but the dream of a World Heritage Site being possible for wider Mercury Bay is still cradled by this group…Annie and Warwick Wilson, Ady Cole-Ewen, Helen Vivian, Kate James and of course, Professor Gordon Maxwell. Kevin Neal has been providing a Ngati Hei perspective. The principal organiser of the meeting was Ady Cole-Ewen, local Wharekaho resident and long time campaigner for the environment.
Those interested came to listen to Professor Gordon Maxwell and to learn more, ask questions, as well as offer their opinions. All of that happened. Key community leaders attended. Kevin Neal opened the meeting and a number of senior members of Ngati Hei who had received special invitations and were present including Acting Chair of the Charitable Trust, Shelley Balsom. TCDC Councillors -Deli Connell and John Grant, Waikato Regional Councillor – Warren Maher, as well as Caroline Hobman and Bess Kingi from the Mercury Bay Community Board.
In terms of understanding what World Heritage means for a site, Professor Gordon has had invaluable experience in the long process of how to apply World Heritage status and would be able to give the benefit of his expertise in this.
Many questions re MB heritage site
He is a farmer in Hikutaia when he is residing in New Zealand and was pleased to be available to speak at this special meeting.
At the outset, Host and MC, John Freer of CFM provided a framework for the meeting – not a talk fest but a gathering to determine the level of interest and if there can be a plan to go forward. He described the three WHS in New Zealand, each very distinctly different and alluded to how distinctively beautiful and different is Mercury Bay.
For some of the meeting, this bigger picture was confused with some of the participants thinking the meeting was about stopping a proposed local spat farm. While that issue is very close to the organiser’s heart and of course would not be something Professor Maxwell supported, that matter was not intended to be in the agenda. Agreeing to work on a WHS is a very long journey and a much bigger project than a particular spat or mussel farm. The point was made that we must consider larger threats such as seabed mining for valuable minerals like lithium which could bring the attention of huge and powerful international commercial interests. John Freer brought people back to the topic at hand, but there was no avoiding his having to direct questions about the effects of a spat farm to Professor Maxwell. Councillor, Deli Connell expressed her concern that this meeting was attempting to disguise the real agenda – the spat farm, though opponents of the spat farm have exhausted all legal avenues and accept the decision to grant resource consent for it.
The need to add a further layer of protection to the Bay was questioned, because Ngati Hei were already involved in projects which would preserve the bay and add to its mana. A number of questions were also raised about the level of control from outside organisations such as the United Nations that would take away the freedom of local people to manage their own conservation of the environment. Professor Maxwell assured the meeting that this was not the purpose of World Heritage and that local people’s culture, customs and important historical sites would be respected and preserved.
Shelley Balsom one of the Ngati Hei leaders, asked about the resulting huge tourist influxes that could destroy the very thing a World Heritage Site was supposed to achieve through sheer numbers. It was her opinion that this would not only destroy the physical beauty from constant visits by cruise ships and large vehicles, but also change residents’ lives forever. The Professor pointed out that tourism can be managed but harmful exploitation of the ocean is often irreversible.
Shelley spoke later in the meeting urging that if people wanted to protect the area, to please support Maori.
Professor Maxwell not in a position to answer the mechanical details of the WHS journey but he did address the need for a group to prepare a document that stated the case as to why this greater bay needed to be preserved. The document didn’t need to be long but it did need to be factual about the features that deserved to always be preserved and how unique they were and it also needed to be visionary as to the commitment of people and organisations that made up the Bay. Such a document must demonstrate a wide and deep level of support from the people of the bay. Professor Maxwell emphasised that this was not about the current climate of where we are at with various opinions. Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today and what we pass on to future generations.
John Grant addressed the value of more discussion and that he supported this as something to preserve the Bay’s legacy. Ady Cole-Ewen raised the fact that at this stage the thinking about the area for the WHS did not include land but the coastline, and ocean – about 7,000 hectares and that having World Heritage status would not impact on how people used and enjoyed this area unless their activities might cause it harm.
A request was made to provide a map of the proposed area a WHS application might cover.
Perhaps the most encouraging and uplifting moment was when Raukawa Balsom spoke. Earlier in the meeting she had asked what were the downsides of becoming a WHS. But this time she spoke as the oldest Ngat Hei tribe member present, and someone who had lived over 80 years in Whitianga and whose whanau dwelled here long before. She spoke of a spirit of coming together and working together and dismissed as unnecessary, any previous displays of anger by others. She then led a waiata to which the entire room responded standing and singing. Raukawa was not saying she agreed with the WHS but that her people wanted progress and were committed to preserving and caring for the bay and coming together for that purpose. They always had.
Goodwill prevailed and the variety of discussion concluded with a show of hands requested by John Freer as to the level of support for the idea. That clearly indicated that most present were interested in knowing more and progressing the idea, thus not rejecting the big picture proposed.
A significant number of people stayed back to talk more with one another.
Thanks to Mercury Bay Club for their use of their venue and to CFM for providing the sound equipment and personnel.
It was an important beginning for working more together. There will be more information in future issues of The Coromandel Informer.
