Mangawhare wharf removed on safety grounds

A roughly 40-year-old wharf that had fallen into disrepair in the Kaipara has been removed by the Northland Regional Council on safety grounds.

Councillor John Blackwell, who represents the NRC’s Kaipara constituency, says the Mangawhare wharf was built in the early 1980s and authorised under the then Harbours Act 1950.

However, in the years that followed it had eventually fallen into disrepair and was declared abandoned by the Northland Regional Council which was unable to locate an owner.

Councillor Blackwell says the NRC had consulted with Kaipara District Council and Heritage New Zealand about the potential historical significance of the wharf.

“The wharf was not identified through Heritage NZ as a place of significance.”

He says the regional council had fielded a number of calls relating to the state of the wharf and it being a Health and Safety concern and it had been sealed with locked gates and safety warnings some time ago.

The council had obtained quotes to remove the structure but due to the significant removal cost quoted had removed the structure itself recently in collaboration with a local contractor.

“Compliance Monitoring staff collaborated with officers from the Maritime Team and the Water Quality Field Operations Team to safely and sequentially remove the decking and foundations of the wharf, with the participation of the local contractor who
disposed of the timber appropriately.”

The structure was successfully removed earlier this month.