Cheltenham Beach rahui extended

Forest and Bird, Issue 282, 1 November 1996, Unnumbered Page

Cheltenham Beach rahui extended

THREE YEARS AGO, a ban was placed on the gathering of shellfish at Auckland’s Cheltenham Beach (see Forest & Bird

August 1993). The ban, both in Maori traditional law (rahui) and by regulation, was the result of a long campaign by local residents alarmed at the abuse of the coastline and the particular loss of the tuangi (cockle) beds at Cheltenham. Last April, the beach’s rejuvenating shellfish bed was given further protection as the rahui was extended for three more years. The ceremony that took place on the shore also commemorated four years of effort by the local community. In this time, they sampled the shellfish, argued with authorities and explained to a wider public so that here, on this beach, the conservation practice of restraint became a normal thing to do. At the ceremony, a set of tiles was unveiled and later set into place in a seawall facing the beach. They tell the story of the tuangi by depicting their increase in numbers since the imposition of the rahui. As the scientist responsible for the data collected by the community in their half-yearly sampling efforts, Mary Gardner developed the concept of the tiles so that the results would be

available as public information to local . 4

people in a meaningful and immediate way. The final product was a collaboration with potter Kindra Douglas who had also worked for a year as a coordinator with the Cheltenham Beach Caretakers. The tiles celebrate the hundreds of hours of sampling, in cold and wet; the effort in planning; the long consultations with iwi representatives, fisheries officials and politicians; and the continued support of the North Shore branch of Forest and Bird.