Patiti Point [44°25'S 171°16'E] is a small promontory immediately to the south of Timaru. A reef breaks the seas, and provides safe passage for boats which in the past landed about where the Timaru Creek outfall pipe is today. In the early days the Hine te Kura stream spilled out here, and it was a gathering place for Maori fishing parties and for shore whalers. By 1875 Peeress Town was established, a small community where settlers were housed temporarily on arrival, and which later fell into disrepute and was demolished. Today Patiti Point is a pleasant parking spot, and a place to walk the dog. The scrubby foreshore of South Beach provides coastal defence for the clay cliff atop which are the colourful cottages of South Street.
Archive for October, 2007
Patiti Point
Wednesday, October 17th, 2007Precluding the appropriate use
Friday, October 26th, 2007Appropriate use, I imagine, is a function of the nature of the locality and the long-established use by people in the community. Entrepreneurial activity has a tendency to promote change, to over-ride the status quo, to be disruptive. Where the status quo is bad these changes may be for the better, but what happens when the status quo is good, and doesn’t either need or want change? The Regional Coastal Environment Plan for the Canterbury Region (2005) addresses these issues in Chapter 6: “Principal areas for commercial and recreational activities such as those involving port operation, marine farming, swing and pile moorings, boat launching and storage facilities are to be identified. The activities associated with such areas are to be protected from the adverse effects of other activities that could preclude the appropriate use of the areas or make their use inefficient.”
Due process
Thursday, October 25th, 2007Scott Vincent, Keith Millington, and Sue Lowe met with TDC Regulatory Officer Peter Thompson today. Topics discussed included the regulatory process, limited and public notification, the timeline and other matters of process.
Sparc Kiwi Walk No 7
Saturday, October 20th, 2007The description of this walk states: “From the Patiti Point Reserve. Follow the road along the coast behind the Caledonian Grounds. This is a popular spot for surfers. Signs guide you onto the track through the sand dunes….”
TDC CE values R and R
Saturday, October 20th, 2007TDC’s Chief Executive Officer maintains a web page on which he sings the praises of a valuable asset to Timaru’s recreational facilities: “Patiti Point is a rest and recreation site, also offering BBQ and picnic facilities”. Actually the public bbq is a really nice facility, we’ve partied it up with students on a few occasions, sharing a big bottle of lemonade.
Orca on our doorstep
Friday, October 19th, 2007Although sightings of whales off Timaru are rare they are not unknown. We have seen Orca twice, really close in. According to an article on Te Ora there are three resident populations of Orca in New Zealand, one of them frequenting South Island waters. If you’re going to see them from anywhere near Timaru it’s from Patiti Point. This raised part of the cliff just south of the Port of Timaru is the site of a shore whaling station dating back to pre-settler times, and today it is a reserve with a pleasant outlook, a carpark and a public barbecue. Interestingly there’s a distribution map which shows humpback whales evenly distributed around our waters, so it seems patience could one day be rewarded!
Historic Site
Wednesday, October 17th, 2007Patiti Point is an historic site of national importance. “In a recent report for the Department of Conservation are listed 87 New Zealand shore whaling stations and sites for which there is good archaeological and/or historical evidence” (Pricket, 2002). Further down in the report is a warning: “A watch needs to be kept on whaling sites in areas of urban or seaside development to help protect surviving remains. Development earthworks should be monitored to learn more about the sites from sub–surface remains. Such sites include Bluff, Riverton, Moeraki, Otago, Tautuku, Molyneux, Waikouaiti, Patiti, Timaru, Waiopuka, South Bay, Tom Cane’s Bay and Mahia” (Pricket, 2002).
Pricket, N. (2002) The Archaeology of New Zealand Shore Whaling. [Online] Available from: here (Accessed: 17th October 2007).
Roading
Wednesday, October 17th, 2007
My, it’s so hot here! Rubber-neckers are our Sunday stock-in-trade! And really I don’t think we mind at all that people want to come and grockle the sea view and see us in our pyjamas. As one fridge magnet says: “I live in fantasy land… and I have oceanfront property!” The present roading is quite narrow, but that’s good because the local hunks transition from undies to togs in no time. Recently the road collapsed opposite No.15, but nice workmen came and fixed it all up in no time!
Coastal strategy
Wednesday, October 17th, 2007What really happened to the Timaru District Coastal Strategy? I see there are copies still floating around the council planning offices. I see too that $45,300 is assigned in the 2007-2008 Annual Plan for the implementation of the Timaru coastal strategy including plantings and education signs along the coast. One does see things happening and it is heartening, but do you really disguise a huge shed with a few grasses?