Southland's Strength

Posted by on 10 April 2010 | 0 Comments

I spent some time on the Tuatapere Hump Ridge track recently and once again am amazed at the level of work the largely volunteer trust does and has done.

The track along the boardwalk across the top of the ridge is just magnificent and the boardwalk protects so many precious flora. The gentians were in flower when I was there and I often stopped and just gazed in awe at the view, both close to the walk and then out over the Fiordland bush and the sea.

It's not just the nature side of things either; the history of the area, and in particular Port Craig, is immense. The links are still there too, as it is interesting just how many people in Southland can say their ancestors worked in there and there are so many stories to be told. The story which is very relevant to today's world is how the Tuatapere community built the track.

As the track's website says, "The very existence of the track is something quite special, a reflection of Kiwi's love for tramping and the 'can do' attitude of a small rural community. This track was conceived by the local community of Tuatapere and then built with the same pioneering spirit and hard work that built the timber town of Tuatapere itself."

The track began as an idea floated at a meeting in the town after the forest service was taken away in 1984. By 1994, public meetings were being held to discuss the possibility of such a track and to elect a trust. The trustees met in late 1995 to look at costs and while they were shell-shocked at the projected costs of between $2.275 million and $4.239 million, they took it back to the town residents who gave the go ahead.

Fundraising began in earnest, along with negotiations with the Department of Conservation for the concession and with private landowners. This took two years and then the actual decisions began - where to build the up-market accommodation and what it should look like, along with track alignment and applications for resource consents.

By December 2000 all consents were granted, funding of just over $3 million was in place and work began in January, with trustees and volunteers clearing the actual trackline - just one example of the work done by volunteers to ensure the track was opened within a budget on November 2, 2001, by the then Prime Minister Helen Clark. I remember an earlier car-ride with the Prime Minister from Bluff to Invercargill when I told her all about the track and the community. She was so impressed with the story that a few months later, the Tuatapere trust received about $1.7 million from the Government.

However, the trustees continued their good work and more boardwalk, at least 3km, has been built and flown in.

The track climbs upwards on the first day to the Hump Ridge, and then the next day descents along the ridge to the South Coast track, along old tramlines and across wooden viaducts to Port Craig. It then follows Te Waewae Bay out back to the beginning.

"The track is now run and maintained by the Tuatapere Hump Track Charitable Trust, whose members are all volunteers from the community with a passion for the Hump Ridge Track and the future well being of the Tuatapere community," the website says.

If people don't feel up to the three-day walk the overnighter into the historic Port Craig alon Te Waewae Bay is also brilliant, and once again the links to times past and Southlander's forefathers are there to find out about.

The Tuatapere Hump Ridge track is one of the good news stories in our District - one created and worked on by the community itself and I am very proud to be their patron.

On the other side, disappointly, are the statistics about unemployment which I have just received through the Mayor's Taskforce for Jobs.

Since December 2009, the number of people in employment fell and unemployment is at a 10-year high of 7.3%. My big concern, however, is the statistics for youth benefits that show that there are 82,844 young people on benefits throughout the country.

We have to work harder to ensure these young people have the opportunities needed to make sure they don't become long-term beneficiaries - it's about No Waste of Youth.