Planting time at the Moana

Winter planting for Wairarapa Moana restoration is in full swing.

Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) has organised the planting of 28,400 more trees, shrubs, sedges and rushes in six areas of the moana this year – and community volunteers are

welcome to join this massive effort at another event on 25 September.

Launched back in 2008, the Wairarapa Moana Wetlands Project is committed to whakaora te repo, ka ora te taonga wai – restoring our wetland treasure. The project is a collaboration between GWRC, the Department of Conservation (DoC), South Wairarapa District Council, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, and Rangitāne o Wairarapa. 

Again this year, the plants come from eco-sourced seed – all from established indigenous species within the Wairarapa Valley Ecological District. More than half the plant have been germinated and grown by local nurseries, including He Kōtare near Featherston and the Kohunui Marae nursery at Pirinoa. … Continue Reading

South Wairarapa Rebus Club

Our Matariki lunch at Baloos in the SW Working Men’s Club on 28 June had Anne Firmin as guest speaker at the lunch on the work of the food bank service in the area south of Masterton. 

Anne, a long-time Martinborough personality, was well-known to several members and made sure we all left the lunch much better informed about this essential service, now known as The Social Crust, based in Martinborough’s Princess Street. After the meal she left with her car loaded with food items members had donated.

Earlier in May, 14 of our members were privileged to visit Greytown resident Ed Cooke to learn about the making of violins, violas and other stringed instruments. Ed, who took up the luthier’s trade as a hobby when he retired at 70, is well known to NZ professional musicians, having provided a number of them with instruments for public performance. His fascinating slide presentation of the manufacturing process was supplemented by visits to his workshop to view his special tools and procedures. … Continue Reading

Reversal? On Community Boards? Is that what happened? – August 2024

“Retain” was the word of the day on the Community Board issue at July 31’s Strategy Working Committee meeting of South Wairarapa District Council.

The committee spent real time tangled in procedure and process before it agreed it wanted to retain _ NOT “disestablish” _ the three district community boards which represent Martinborough, Greytown and Featherston.

Disestablish the three boards, a plan agreed last month, was the wording drafted into the “Consultation” document the council was about to launch as part of its six-yearly Representation Review. 

The council’s legal adviser told the meeting the document needed to have one proposal, to either retain or disestablish the bodies.

Councillor Martin Bosley said his community feedback was the boards “are not worth the money spent on them.”

Councillor Aidan Ellims said council would be “doing a disservice to the communities to say ‘no’ to the community boards. Councillors can’t represent (up to) 1,800 residents without community Boards.”

Councillor Colin Olds said his vote was for “retain, as it is the decent democratic thing to do.”

Councillor Pip Maynard said the committee needed to “replace ‘remove’ with ‘retain.’” … Continue Reading

Years of inaction on failing Waihenga Bridge

The too-narrow, flood-prone Waihenga Bridge on State Highway 53 _ the key access to Martinborough _ was designated for urgent replacement nearly two decades ago, but in 2024 no notified project planning or work has even begun.

AA (Automobile Association) Wairarapa tried to revive the “urgent” issue in 2017. 

“The Waihenga Bridge … between Martinborough and Featherston is so narrow that two trucks cannot pass,” it said in its 2017 newsletter.
“We believe safety and efficiency gains from widening the bridge outweigh the cost. We don’t think it is acceptable to have a 100km/h state highway … where large vehicles find it impossible to cross the bridge without crossing the centreline.”

AA Wairarapa has this month restated its seven-year-old case that the old, narrow, state highway bridge is not fit for purpose and needs urgent replacement.  … Continue Reading