Huge slip kills river

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 15, 8 September 1987, Page 1

Huge slip kills river

"The Retaruke River is a dead river" said National Park's police constable and wildlife officer Jim Gosman last week. "No form of life could have withstood that onslaught and all the fish ar d vertebrates in the river are dead," said Jim Gosman about the massive slip west of Erua which has turned the Retaruke River into a slimy, glutinous grey ooze.* What was once arguably the best trout-fishing river in the area has become not only a graveyard for all life in the river but is posing a serious threat to life in the vicinity of the slip which is at the end of an airstrip runway next to the Erua Road. "It is positively dangerous to go anywhere near the slip and I have formally requested the Department of Conservation to signpost the area with 'Entry prohibited' notices, said Jim Gosman. "The ground is very unstable and no-one should go near the place". Mr Gosman describes the once-clear waters of the Retaruke River as being similar to the consistency of the paints used in

primary school 'fingerpainting' classes ... "if you put your hand in the water it comes out covered in this sticky grey sludge and it's not easy to remove." "And it's not only the Retaruke River that's been affected" he said. The entire length of the Retaruke is polluted and now even the Wanganui River below Whakahoro and Wade's Landing where it joins is becoming discoloured. "It is a very serious problem requiring urgcnt attention" he said. The 800m-long greywacke slip has been variously described as 'huge', 'massive', 'tremendous' and is estimated to be in the region of between 16,000 and 32,000 cubic metres. Mr Dave Harrison, soil conservation officer with the Rangitikei-Wanganui Catchment Board, said that it was bigger than any comparable 'on-farm' slip he had ever seen and, while no costing has yet been done to remedy the problem, it was likely to be "fairly fierce! ". "And it could even get worse before it gets better," he added. All the wildlife along the river has been affected as

have farm animals ... no longer can water from the river be used for stock and, even more serious, some stock have already been lost in the glutinous, swampy morass adjacent to the slip. One of the farmers through whose property the Retaruke River runs, Peter Taylor, told the Bulletin that he has already lost two cattle beasts. "I broke four ropes trying to pull them out from where they got stuck," he said. "And now I'm faced with the cost of a fencing programme as well as trying to find an alternative water supply for the animals." *Historical Note This must be a very different scene from the one that greeted tourists earlier this century. According to Elizabeth Allen's account in her book 'A Farm on the Wanganui River' there was a houseboat on the Retaruke River to which tourists used to travel up from Pipiriki via the Wanganui River, and stay to enjoy the scenery and fishing. It was a very popular tourist attraction until the houseboat burnt out in 1932.