Relocating Te Karaka needs 50 percent support: Te Aho

Community to consider moving town to higher ground

Plans to relocate one of Te Karaka’s cyclone-affected marae to higher ground could herald the way for the entire township to move with the addition of a purpose-built emergency evacuation centre.

Toitu Tairāwhiti Builtsmart Limited director Willie Te Aho, who has been leading an emergency house building programme to temporarily rehome whānau displaced by Cyclone Gabrielle, shared the plan with Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan this week.

The minister was invited to visit Rangatira Marae, just west of the township, on Wednesday and was shown the devastation caused when the Waipaoa River burst its banks at about 5am on February 14.

Work is still under way to remove the silt that engulfed the marae’s two buildings, albeit the wharekai (food hall) was condemned.

Ms Allan was told the trustees of the marae had decided to move it from its current location just west of the township to higher ground but still on Rangatira land title.

Mr Te Aho said the move would be “a key symbolic message for whānau” who were currently considering what “peace of mind housing” meant for them, including whether the entire Te Karaka township should be moved to higher ground.

However, “no whanau will ever contemplate moving to higher ground without their marae being moved first,” Mr Te Aho said.

Therefore moving the marae was the priority and while it was being re-established, work would be done to try to get a community consensus by next May as to whether to move the township too.

Moving it would need at least half the community to agree.

Mr Te Aho said the types of locations being considered as possible new sites included Cranswick Hill, where 400 people took refuge for more than 24 hours after floodwaters inundated the town; and Cookson’s Knoll on Kanakanaia Road, which was also a refuge point during the cyclone.

“But if there is the desire then the ideal land would be found, “ Mr Te Aho said.

The proposed new sites would put the town further from its current situation near State Highway 2 but that didn’t matter, Mr Te Aho said.

Shifting a town

The Te Karaka township was predominantly a hub for its local farming community and was not reliant on through traffic.

The possibility of relocating the entire township had been a live issue in the community ever since the 109 families worst hit by Cyclone Gabrielle first started meeting every Sunday from February 27, Mr Te Aho said.

Also included in the group were local business owners and service providers, the school and workers in local industries.

While a major focus of the meetings previously was on planning to get people into temporary housing or back into their homes that were affected, the focus would shift next month to what the future looked liked for residents.

“They have two real options — pay the cost for lifting their houses that were affected this time or look at an alternative place to be. “We’ve got to start answering the question ‘is the Te Karaka township a peace of mind township?’ and that answer at the moment is ‘no’,” Mr Te Aho said.

Whānau were mindful that houses previously raised after Cyclone Bola wreaked similar damage in 1988 weren’t immune to the destruction caused by Gabrielle, Mr Te Aho said.

If some residents chose to stay in their current properties that was “their absolute right but we want to see a solution that involves moving the bulk of the community facilities so moving the marae, the church, the garage, moving the pub, moving the school — we’d need more than 50 percent of the community to support such a bold move,” Mr Te Aho said.

Asked whether residents were perhaps being pressured to move by their insurance companies, Mr Te Aho said “no”. The decision was one purely for the community.

The community’s need for a purpose-built evacuation centre was also discussed with the minister during her visit.

Mr Te Aho said the envisioned Mahaki Tiaki/Civil Defence hub would be fully earthquake-proof with a full-sized gymnasium and spectator viewing, with separate bathrooms and cooking facilities.

It would ultimately be able to house 500 people in emergency situations in the same way big sports venues in the United States were designed to do.

A new emergency hub was crucial for the community, Mr Te Aho said. It was not a matter of “if” there would be another natural disaster, but “when”.

A proposal for $5 million funding to assist in the relocation and re-establishment costs of shifting the marae was put to Cyclone Taskforce leader Sir Brian Roche last month and it was hoped it would be reflected in May’s budget announcement.

If granted, the funds would cover the costs of securing the land; the establishment of a new Maori reservation with its own trustees — likely to be the marae’s existing trustees; the relocation and rebuilding of the wharenui whakahau; the establishment of appropriate infrastructure, and the building of a new ablution block and a new wharekai (food hall) to replace the one that was condemned.

Mr Te Aho said separate investment would be needed for the proposed Civil Defence hub Mahaki Tiaki and some kaumatua (senior citizen) flats at the new Rangatira marae location.