Waipoua River 20130219.pdf - Northland Regional Council

The Waipoua Campground and Visitor Centre is located beside the River, downstream ofthe SH bridge. Since 2000, an average of 80,000 people per year has visited the Centre(DOC 2011). Near the Campground is a popular swimming spot in the River. It is possiblethat other locations on the River are also used for swimming, especially by the localcommunity, such as downstream in the Waipoua Settlement.Each year DOC issue a low number (eg, 8 in 2010) of hunting permits, mainly for pigs, forthe purpose of managing pests (DOC 2011). Fishing in relation to mahinga kai collection isdiscussed in section 2.2.4.Common recreational uses are shown in Figure 3 on the next page.2.2.4 Maori cultural valuesThe Waipoua River itself is one of the significant wāhi tapu sites in Te Roroa area, rich infish and seafood and the valley had fertile cultivated land. The Waipoua Forest has beeninhabited by Te Roroa ancestors for 27 generations or about 1,000 years (Harris undated).There is still customary use of the natural resources in the catchment today, including pighunting, and collection of eels and other freshwater fish from the River and its tributaries(DOC 2011).There are many wāhi tapu sites and wāhi taonga (treasured) sites of historical and culturalsignificance to Te Roroa in Waipoua Forest, which reflect their history of association andinterconnection with the landscape (DOC 2011). The proposal for a national park highlights:“there is extensive evidence of early Māori occupation in the lower Waipoua Valley withnumerous pā sites, middens, stone heaps, terraced garden systems and wāhi tapu. Theareas adjacent to the Waipoua River are particularly significant for the density ofarchaeological sites.” (DOC 2011, p. 22)There are about 170 Maori archaeological sites registered in the New ZealandArchaeological Association’s Database as being located in the Waipoua River catchment.They are all located downstream of the SH12 bridge and include pa, stone heaps, terraces,middens, urupu (burial sites) and pits.Today, Te Roroa still heavily use and treasure the Waipoua River and Forest. Te Roroaoffices, including administration, commercial development and environmental managementunits, are located in the centre of Waipoua Forest (DOC 2011). Te Roroa, as the recognisedkaitiaki of the Waipoua Forest and surrounding area, has been involved in a wide range ofenvironmental management and development issues and research with various governmentand private organisations over the years. The 2009 Te Roroa Iwi Environmental Policyspecifically notes that the whole of Waipoua Forest and the surrounding public conservationland is viewed by Te Roroa as “a record of the interaction of our tupuna with this place”.Te Roroa are currently involved in many aspects of DOCs work in the Waipoua area. TeRoroa people are established as service contractors who undertake:archaeological surveying and monitoringpest and weed controlbiosecurity monitoring of kauri dieback disease and Argentine ants.16