Seven Miles of Beach

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 32, 14 December 1945, Page 14 (Supplement)

Seven Miles of Beach

Beautiful Ohope's Silver Strand

SUMMER VISITORS' PARADISE WHAKATANE'S ASSET AND HERITAGE "Throned in my heart is Ohope's strand Kissed by the sunlit Northern Sea No words are made that can command, A song" to paint her scenery." To the visitor Ohope represents all that comprises the ideal holir day resort : endless stretchcs ol' .shining silver sand, shady dill's of overhanging pohutukawa fringed with glowing red blossom whitecrested combers breaking in steady jjrocession on the hard level shelf which goes to make the beach the safest in the North Island for bathing. To, the hard headed Whakataniaii, the beach has become all too familiar. In many instances its subtle beauty and charm are completely overlooked in the search of excitement 5 pleasure and that 'something fresh' which haunts the modernist with unrelenting zeal. The beach, is however an asset beyond price to the town 'over the hill' and its seven miles of dazzling white sand backed by the green verdure of the cliffs which make up its are a source of neverending charm and attraction to the thousands of visitors from Rotorua Auckland and the who make the annual pilgrimage to the finest seaside resort of the Bay of Plenty.

Permanent Population The story of Ohope Beach is one of serried history. The hundreds of gleaming cottages and homes which cover its foreshore, are all of comparatively recent construction. Less than fifteen years ago it was possible to count the number of residences there on two hands. Today there are no less than four hundred permanent residents, and a summer population which ranges between 1500 and 2000. The transformation was brought about by the sudden awakening of the motor-conscious public that here was a of a

magnitude and beauty beyond compare, even in God's- own country. The ronstruction of the new access road through the zig-zag of the bush reserve completed the picture and Ohope as a reeogn'iscd heacb and summer holiday centre became an established fact. Rush for Sections The cutting up of the sections on the fertile levels at the foot of the tall cliffs commenced when the only means of access was still via the Wainui Road and the initial demand was 'slow.' The move however was sufficient to bring in the enthusiastic visitors who coming from far and near joined, in proclaiming the beach and announcing its unique attractions to the North Island generally . ! Ami so the rush set in. Ohope ■ sections were scrambled for. speculators turned over money again and again. Today there is not one of the original sections still offering and many of them have changed hands a dozen times. Ohope is a picture of progress and demanding full attention and administrative ability of the Whakatane County Council under which body it lias grown from a few scattered hutments to the thriving resort it now is.

A BRIEF HISTORY

INCIDENTS OF THE STORMY PAST THE MUSKET IN THE FERN - The peace of Ohopc is belied by the tales of its stormy past t and even since the ad.vent of the Pakefaa the Beach which served as the main highway between Wha'katane and Opotiki has been the scene of bloody murders and fiercely contested tribal battles. Thickly there arc still to be seen the pitted hills on the which tell of no loss than five substantial Maori Pas. All were peopled by members or hapus of the great Matatua section of the Maori race, and "the green silent trees and the warm yellow sand have witnessed many a fell deed mxl cold-blooded action of long ago. From the terraced banks the early Maoris gazed fearfully out through j the foliage as Captain Cook's gallant | little 'Endeavour' beat up the coast j towards Whale Island. But Cook] makes no mention of the long stretch of sand that was Ohope. Pakelia Settlers Later the Pakehas broke its stilland in 1850 the lirst group of: whites gazed upon its rare charm and foreshore and predicted for it a great and prosperous future. Settlers and later members of the militia from the Wliakatane Redoubts walked round the coast from the historic landing place at the AVha-

katane blull. The beach with its hard even surface made an. # excellent. highway to Opotiki f and the trip was made by horse to Ohiwa where horse and rider swam the channel at its narrowest point and. so went on to the .sister settlement.

Father of Ohope

Captain Gilbert Mair, described as the father of Ohope was the son of a trader who had established an early station at Whale Island. Selecting Ohope as his home he set up the first white habitation and commenced to farm in a practical way the rich sandy foreshore. He is known to have grown great quantities of maize the size axid quality of which were the wonder of all who saw them. With the Hau Hau insurrection. Captain Mair threw his weight into the conflict and raised a body of hardy pioneers and friendly Maoris who rendered invaluable assistance to the British cause during the anxious years that followed. He it was who accomplished the difficult task of taking the Te Teko Pa by running a sap close up to the defences. Ambush and Murder But Ohope became an ideal hunting ground for the nomadic native outlaws, and many incidents occurred, the worst being the murder of Mr- Bennett White, and his companion, , the Arawa mail carrier. Both were ambushed on their way through 1 to Opotiki and tomahawked. Travellers were often subjected to a blaze of bullets from the fern •f where an unseen enemy lay await-' ing an opportunity to fall upon the unsuspecting. But the Hau Hau scare passed and as an ironic sequel the instigator, Tc Ivooti, after his pardon settled at Ohiwa. For years the grizzled old warrior lived a lonely existence at Ohope's extreme a few faitlv

fu! followers still" remaining witli him in unbroken fealty. In the earlier days ol' he was in the habit of visiting the town, which lie and his savage band had at one time laid waste and razed to the ground. Ohope's days of terror were past ? and with the opening up of the new inland higlnvay, the trip to Opoti'ki was no longer made, bv the beach. For years it slept in the dreaming the dream of unbroken peace, until a decade or two its great charm captivated the fancj r of the modern holiday makers, and a new and flourishing resort was founded.