Jade River: A History of the Mahurangi

Pages 365–368in printed edition

Mahurangi reserves beyond the regional parkland

Great McElroy Gift: Without the advent of the Tāmaki Makaurau regional parks, the, presumably 151-hectare, scenic-reserve gift of McElroy siblings Arthur and William would be the only substantial Mahurangi Harbour indigenous forest reserve. Not that it escaped logging, but kauri extraction occurred when every trunk was hard-won, and a worthy forest survives, including very lofty kahikatea. The legacy of Arthur McElroy and William McElroy would have been much greater, had the then Rodney County Council accepted their offer of the greater part of the sublime Mahurangi Harbour peninsular immediately to the south, as an ‘island reserve’. aerial photography Andrew Macdonald, Biospatial

I have begun with an account of the Mahurangi Regional Park, far and away the most important of the reserves. Others upstream are also important. Some account of their history and qualities is given here.

When Charles Heaphy began the survey of Mahurangi at the eastern heads, the headland itself, Sadler Point, was set aside as a lighthouse reserve. No lighthouse was built, but the designation endured, securing a notable viewpoint and pā site—Waiaro—for the public.

A letter of John Darrach survives, written in 1887 on behalf of the East Mahurangi Highway Board, asking D A Tole, chairman of the Waste Lands Board, why there has been no response to his earlier letter, asking that:

…the Island or Peninsula of Manganui, south of and immediately adjoining the Township of Mahurangi should be made a Recreation Reserve.

The wheels turned slowly but surely; MangōnuiLiterally, big shark. As published 2001: Casnell Island. Recorded by Cudlip as Manga Noui became a reserve. Scotts are said to have tried to buy it, as a natural extension to their property. This appears to be the first creation of a Mahurangi Harbour reserve in response to public pressure. Today, visitors to Scotts Landingas published 2001: Scotts, tide willing, may enjoy a delightful scenic walk over an ancient pā site.

Most of the Mahurangi reserves lie in the mangrove reaches. There is an outstanding one in the freshwater reaches: the Falls Road River Esplanade Reserveas published 2001: Falls Reserve on Falls Road. The stream and falls are picturesque but the kauri grove on the left bank is superb. The trees are not as large as the splendid pair in Parry Park, but collectively are as impressive. This beautiful reserve is at peril from a massive invasion of periwinkle and Tradescantia. The mill pool itself is packed with water weed.

The two, great kauri of Parry Park were saved from milling by the efforts of the Kauri Bushmen’s Association. Together with the small forestas published 2001: bush behind them, they provide an impressive setting for the Warkworth Museum. Kōwhai Park was opened in 1934 by Lord Bledisloe, the culmination of efforts by a town committee, set up in 1932. Wilsons were persuaded to give up the mineral rights (limestone). The neglected lime kilns of the 1880s are a reminder of an industry of great significance to the Mahurangi. The kilns are a rare survival that deserve to be seen as an important industrial monument.

The forestas published 2001: bush backdrop to the town basin is rich in kōwhai, inspiring the annual Kōwhai Festival. Of the left bank reserves, the most important is the large Puhinui Reserve, which begins opposite the Masonic hall and extends for a kilometre downstream, taking in the whole bank to the skyline. Puhinui is the Māori name for the Warkworth area. It was the generous gift of Henry and Helen Phibbs. The large kauri went many years ago, probably to feed J. A. Brown’s water-powered sawmill of 1843. At the upstream end, an area was cleared and pastured in 1920. Now regeneration is vigorous. The gift will appreciate in quality with time and preserve the character of the upper reaches. Below this reserve is about a kilometre of private land. Then, opposite Wilson Road, is the small Rowes Reserve. Adjoining it, and extending to Duck Creek, is the 27-acre reserve given by James Dunning in 1912. These reserves, and the private riverbank were also stripped of millable timber more than a century ago, but today have a good forestas published 2001: bush cover and a resurgent growth of young kauri, the oldest of which were too small to be millable at the time. The only other reserve on the upper left bank is a small one at Hamiltons Landing, given by the late Dr Max and Mrs Hamilton. MotukauriGrants Island, and Burton Wells Reserve, on the fringe of Mahurangi Village are the next reserves downstream.

The easier nature of land on the upper right bank has seen its committal to agriculture, and there are no reserves, other than the agreeable recent extension of town park—Lucy Moore Memorial Park. There is a provisional designation of esplanade reserve on land down to the cement works, offering future possibilities of extending riverside paths.

The lower Mahurangi Harbour has only one reserve on the right bank, the McElroy Scenic Reserveas published 2001: McElroy Reserve, but this is the most significant of all local reserves. The brothers Arthur McElroy and William McElroyas published 2001: Billy and Paddy McElroy gifted 151 hectaresas published 2001: “some 300 acres”—about 30 hectares shy of the present reserve, which may have been added to, rising from the midsection of Dyers Creek to the high ridge traversed by Cowans Bay Road, its access. This great forestas published 2001: bush is a prominent feature of the landscape. It seems that in the 1830s, Gordon Browne, and the spar seekers from hmss Buffalo drew on the kauri of this area, as well as the first shipbuilders, who worked in Dyers Creek. There are no large kauri left, but there is a good sprinkling of kauri in early mature form among the broadleaf species. Each tree is of good form, well-spaced and with ample room for growth. In a few centuries, some very fine kauri will be present. The reserve also contains a patch of hard beech. The association of kauri and hard beech was once common in the north, but no longer. It can still be seen, par excellence, on Little Barrier.

McElroy Scenic Reserveas published 2001: This reserve is of special value as the only extensive area of indigenous birdas published 2001: bird habitat in the area. Its management plan is the do-nothing option. It remains trackless and the goats take their toll.

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