A DEAR JOHN LETTER

Dear John


I have a number of regrets concerning the present situation. The first is that I have been here before! Thirty years on and once again I have had to fix a COROMANDEL NO MINING STICKER ON MY CAR!

The original Act which gave Schedule 4 protection to the Conservancy estate had broad cross party support. It was hugely popular on the Coromandel.


The second regret relates to the very short time available in which to research and make a submission. It is much exceeded by the length of time the Govt. spent preparing it's proposal!

Thirdly I regret that I am only able to make comment on less than 15% of the Schedule 4 that the Govt. is intending to open up for mineral prospecting.

The Public has already spoken on this matter. Attempting to re legislate in this manner is tantamount to an attack on participatory democracy.

The Coromandel is no stranger to the booms and busts that are an integral part of overseas funded exploitative industries. We still live with the environmental consequences of timber and mineral exploitation that occurred in the Victorian era. Little of the wealth generated by these activities remained in the Coromandel. When the resource was fully exploited the industries moved on, leaving high unemployment and a degraded environment behind them.

The thirty year "sticker interval" has been well used by those who live and work in the Upper Coromandel. They have found another way to go forward and built a local economy on sustainable aspects of the environment. The landscape is superb as are the opportunities for recreation. The toxic wastes from earlier mining ventures did find their way onto the harbour floor but are now sealed off by subsequent natural sedimentation. The seas are pure and clean again. While there might not be a conservationist behind every tree you wouldn't need to examine too many to find one! Environmental groups have sprung up all over the Peninsula during that thirty year period. Working for love only they have made big inroads into undoing some of the depredations of the past. In truth it is a multigenerational task, but these are people who want to leave the place better than they found it. A new generation is taking up the task with enthusiasm.

There has been an economic and environmental Renaissance on the Upper Coromandel. Tourist related and diverse marine aquaculture ventures have developed. These are largely, locally funded and, unlike mining ventures, will be here tomorrow and well into the foreseeable future. They rely on a resource that cannot be exhausted! It can however be compromised if the Coromandel is forced to return to an economy based on 19th century principles rather than those of the 21st which it has so successfully embraced.

The tourist hub for the Northern Coromandel is the township of Coromandel. It is also a traffic nexus. You must move through it to access Colville on the west coast. You must drive through it to access the east coast settlements of Kennedy Bay and Tuateawa, often a fairly problematic road. It also happens to traverse the major Tokatea/Kapanga prospective field. In fact there is no way of avoiding the main street. Trucks carrying ore will not be excepted, they must drive through it!

So, why would they? Well, there are three prospective areas around the township. One, Hauraki Hill is coastal and in proximity to residential properties. It is within the township! The Tokatea/Kapanga field looms over the township. Both are within view. Any activity of an opencast nature in either site is unthinkable. Underground mining is an outside possibility as there are big conservation issues in both locations. Assuming that, despite these factors, it did occur, on site extraction is also impossible on the grounds of visual and other pollution. Ore would need to be treated off site and ore trucks would roll through the main street of Coromandel. Coromandel would be transformed from a tourist hub with a plethora of pavement cafes to a mining town.

There are many issues relating to previous mining activities. Reworking these could have serious repercussions for the aquaculture industry. Many extend below sea level. They are full of sea water, probably acidic and tainted by heavy metals. Only continual pumping of these mines will permit them to be exploited, but where does the contaminated sea water go?

Coromandel has set its sights on a long term and sustainable future. Why should this and the future of the Northern Coromandel be put in jeopardy? The region has had enough of the long term pain resulting from the short term gains that are associated with the exploitative industries. Tourists are not going to flock to a region that advertises itself as "WELCOME TO COROMANDEL, ITS JUST THE SAME AS EVERY WHERE ELSE! Well it isn't. It is unique and precious and deserves to remain so.

WATCHDOG: SUBMISSIONS AND NOTIFICATION OF MARCH

Details of the submission process and a guide are now available should you wish to have a say, pro or anti, with regard to goldmining in the Coromandel. There is a pro forma online submission and you can add or delete material to this. There is also notification of a protest march in Auckland on the day prior to the submissions closing date. Click on http://www.watchdog.org.nz/

Autumn Birds.

Colville is home to much more than oystercatchers. The NZ Dotterel accumulates here after the breeding season. This flock comprised 43 individuals and only a few were in breeding plumage. Assuming the rest were young birds it must have been a good breeding season. There are also good numbers remaining where they breed.

Also on the mudflats, a couple of dozen Bar Tailed Godwits. These usually start their long journey to Alaska toward the end of March. None of these birds are in breeding plumage and they were showing none of the nervous behaviour of birds about to depart. Maybe they will overwinter here.

The Brown Teal is one of the many gems of the Northern Coromandel. M.E.G. has paid a major part in the recovery of this species. This image is from Carey Rd with a female Mallard in the background.

Much prized on Gt. Barrier they even have their own road signs.

No Bush Robins seen but they must surely find their way down to Tuateawa from Port Charles in the next few years. This from Bushy Park W(h)anganui.

This last image from Kennedy Bay. The White Heron is back.
P.S. If you are really fascinated by Godwits a comprehensive and well illustrated book was released just before Xmas. GODWITS Long haul champions. Keith Woodley. Printed by Raupo ISBN 978-0-14-301193-4.

WHITE OYSTERCATCHER IN COLVILLE BAY.

White birds of any species are quite a rarity. It was a real thrill to see this individual on the mudflats at Colville.
In the summer the only oystercatchers you are likely to see on Coromandel beaches are the Variable Oystercatcher.

 Variable because they range from pure black, to having differing amounts of white on their bodies. They breed with us and can be extremely aggressive when protecting their eggs or offspring.
As the season moves toward autumn they are joined by flocks of the Southern Pied Oystercatcher.

These breed down south but many of them winter in the north in areas like Colville and the Firth of Thames. Unlike the Variable Oystercatcher they are definitely pied, with the white on their chest extending onto the shoulder above the wing.
The species of the white bird is a bit of a mystery as it cannot be identified by its colouration. In Colville it was keeping company with S.I.Pied Oystercatchers. That seems to be a fair indication. Strangely though. another, or perhaps the same white bird,was seen, in mid March, on an Auckland mudflat. This time with a number of black Variable Oystercatchers.