Mangere Bridge
Ngāti Tamaoho Statement of Association
Prepared For: NZTA
Gareth Mills
Project Manager
This Report is the property of Ngati Tamaoho Trust and is not to be copied or shared
without fist engaging with Ngati Tamaoho.
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CONTENTS
1. Origins……………………………………………………………………..3
2. Cultural Landscape…………………………………………………..5
3. Settlement Patterns…………………………………………………6
4. The Fairburn Purchase……………………………………………..6
5. Land sales & War……………………………………………………..7
6. Environmental ….Backdrop………………………………………9
7. Water / Wai……………………………………………………………..10
8. Treatment of Contaminants…………………………………….11
9. Earthworks………………………………………………………………12
10.
Te Aranga Design Principals…………………………….13
11.
Mangroves……………………………………………………..14
12.
Managing Effects…………………………………………….14
13.
The Proposal………………………………………………..…15
14.
Mangere Inlet………………………………………………….16
15.
Bridge Design…………………………………………………..18
16.
Conclusions……………………………………………………..18
17.
Recommendations…………………………………………..18
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1. ORIGINS
1.1 For Ngati Tamaoho, no place exists in isolation. Each maunga, each awa, and each motu exist as
part of a wider cultural landscape that makes up Ngati Tamaoho’s rohe. Each place is connected by
its use, by its history, by the physical environment that it is a part of, and by the whakapapa which
unites it with the tangata whenua. Ngati Tamaoho believe that no one site can be examined in
isolation. Each place must be understood as part of a interconnected whole.
1.2 The Mangere area is one of the most historically and culturally significant in Ngati Tamaoho’s
rohe. The landscape tells the stories of Ngati Tamaoho’s origins from their tupuna’s arrival in
Aotearoa through centuries of occupation, migration, growth and war. It speaks of the forces that
created Tamaki Makaurau and those tupuna who came before the great ocean going waka arrived in
Aotearoa. It also speaks of the arrival of Pakeha and the effects of colonisation that Ngati Tamaoho
still suffer today. In the contours and scars of this land are the stories and identities of the tangata
whenua stretching back for generations.
1.3 The dominant physical feature of this landscape is Te Pane o Mataaho, or Mangere Mountain as
it is known. This maunga is a wahi tapu for Ngati Tamaoho and the Tainui and Wai O Hua
confederations they are part of. It has been occupied since the earliest settlement of Tamaki and
been a home and sanctuary to generations of tangata whenua, including Ngati Tamaoho.
1.4 Its name recalls Nga huringa o Mataaho, or the writhing of the Mataaho, which created many of
the maunga of Tamaki Makaurau’s volcanic fields. His movements can be traced in the features of
the land and sea including his head at Te Pane Mataaho (Mangere Mountain), his nose at Te Ihu
Mataaho (Ihumatao), and his food bowl at Te Ipu a Mataaho (Maungawhau Crater). The entire
volcanic field is sometimes known as Nga Tapuwae a Mataaho or the footprints of Mataaho.
1.5 The great voyager and tupuna, Toi Te Huatahi visited the area during his pass through Tamaki
and is reported to have stopped at Te Motu o Hiaroa (Puketutu). Toi’s descendants became known
as Te Tini O Toi, with many living in the Te Puaha ki Manuka (Manukau/Franklin) area. They were a
numerous people and important tupuna of Ngati Tamaoho.
1.6 Undoubtedly, one of the most influential migrations of this early period was that of the Tainui
waka from the ancestral homeland of Hawaiiki. After arriving in the Tikapa Moana (Hauraki Gulf), the
Tainui stopped at Wharekawa on the western shoreline where Marama (also known as Maramakiko-hura) disembarked to go overland and meet up with the Tainui at Otahuhu. i Tainui then
embarked North toward the Wai-te-mata harbour.ii After traveling up the Tamaki estuary, the Tainui
was portaged at Te To Waka (Otahuhu Portage).
1.7 From Otahuhu, the Tainui travelled west on Te Manukanuka o Hoturoa (Manukau Harbour). The
waka stopped at the island they named Te Motu o Hiaroa, Hiaroa being a member of the crew.
Spiritual rites were preformed on the island, establishing it as a wahi tapu.
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1.8 It is said that Poutukeka, Haapopo, Te Uhenga and Hautai departed the Tainui canoe at Tamaki.iii
Others, including Rakataura/Hape/Riukiuta remained on the isthmus. Marama also remained in the
region with her descendants becoming known as Nga Marama.iv These people were important
ancestors of Ngati Tamaoho.
1.9 The descendants of these tupuna married with the local people including Ngati Tahuhu, Tini o Toi
and Nga Oho. From these marriages came many of the important tupuna of the Tamaki Isthmus and
the progenitors of many of the Tamaki and Manukau peoples which exist today.
1.10 The name ‘Mangere’ also reflects the Tainui origins of this area. It was reportedly named by
Tainui tohunga Taikehu who felt the zephyrs of the Manukau as he passed the maunga. Thus Nga
Hau Mangere (the lazy winds).
1.11 The small island to the north of Favona reflects this Tainui lineage with its name, Nga Rango O
Tainui, or the skids of the Tainui.
1.12 The maunga became a large pa and kainga lying at the centre of an even larger garden
landscape. The maunga once was covered by numerous housing terraces and food storage pits, as
well as several defensive pā. It is of particular importance to Ngati Tamaoho as the great tupuna
Pohatu lived there for a time.
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2. CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
2.1 The Mangere area has always been known for its agriculture. The area is dominated by rich,
friable, volcanic soils with a well drained scoria underlay and an abundant supply of water. Along
with the productive volcanic soils came larger volcanic rocks which became a valauble cultivation
resource. The rocks were formed into walls dividing separate plots while others were used to form
raised rock gardens for the cultivation of yams and gourds. It was also noted that Maori of the area
mixed the soil with a shell and gravel mix, together with wood ash, to make even richer gardens.
2.2 Mangere is also blessed with a frontage to Te Manukanuka O Hoturoa (Manukau Harbour). Not
only did this provide for an abundant supply of fish and kai moana but also allowed for easy travel
and trade through out the district. The proximity to Te To Waka (Otahuhu) portage, one of the most
important in the country, further aided these pursuits.
2.3 Since ancient times Ngati Tamaoho have continued to exercise their traditional fishing rights
over the Manukau Harbour and continue to treat each creek, inlet and stream of the harbour as an
essential part of that entity. The inherent quality of the water and its ability to heal is essential to the
spiritual sustenance Ngati Tamaoho derive from the Harbour.
2.4 According to Tamaoho history Papaka is an ancestor of the people of the waters, and also
tupuna of many people of the Manuka sub-tribes. Papaka a bailer on the Tainui waka and was let off
the waka in the middle of the harbour. Papaka swam to a sand-bar in the middle of the harbour on
the Karore bank whilst the tide was out. There, he was cared for, fed, loved and clothed by the
kaimoana of Manukau. In time, Papaka became half man and half crab. His children like many of the
Taniwha, left the waters, in the form of man and travelled overland and integrated with the people
of the Harbour. This Papaka is the center carved figure or koruru of the meeting house at Whatapaka
Marae.
2.5 Traditionally, the main foods of the Harbour and surrounds were kahawai, mullet and tuna. It
also provided the breeding ground for flounder eels and mullet. Other traditional foods of the area
are peharo (trough shellfish), pupu (mud snails) and wheke (octopus). Ngati Tamaoho gathered
scallops and karahu, and fished for stingray, shark and snapper in the Harbour.
2.6 Our tupuna left us this message:
“…leave the Manukau Harbour and it’s estuaries alone and it will heal itself. Stop reclaiming
the tidal foreshores and building motorways over the feeding grounds of our fisheries and
destroying our shellfish beds and elements of the spawning grounds.”
2.7 Rivers such as these are the life-blood of Ngati Tamaoho’s rohe. They remain a source of great
mana for Ngati Tamaoho. Their use for travel, resources and kai was closely governed by complex
principle of tikanga. Sometimes their use was shared and at other times it was used by other tribes
on a reciprocal basis.
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2.8 The lives of the people were closely intertwined with the quantity and quality of the freshwater
that was available to them. It provide habitat and spawning grounds for native plants, bird and fish,
building and weaving materials such as raupo and flax, and precious medicines and dyes.
2.9 The New Zealand Archaeological Association has registered 6 sites on the Favona peninsula, all of
which are shell based middens. Some sites also contain evidence of ovens. Many of these have been
significantly modified since their original recording.
2.10 While midden sites are often overlooked, they are important indicators of traditional activity at
given sites. Ngati Tamaoho’s experience has consistently been that midden sites are the tips of the
iceberg for larger archaeological remains. This was well illustrated at nearby Papahinau kainga
where surface investigations only found small sites such as middens but a detailed sub-surface
examination revealed a complex kainga site.
3. SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
3.1 This settlement pattern was again interrupted when northern Nga Puhi taua began invading
Tamaki Makaurau from the early 1820s. This led to a 10-15 year period of depopulation for the area
as people stayed with whanaunga in the Waikato. The hapu returned from 1835 under the
protection of Ngati Mahuta rangatira Te Wherowhero who took up residence at Mangere for a time.
4. THE FAIRBURN PURCHASE
4.1 In 1836 Waikato and Hauraki chiefs agreed to transfer a large block of land to the Church
Missionary Society; this land a huge area to the east of Favona. After the purchase a third of the land
was to be made available to the tribes to settle upon. This transaction came to be known as the
Fairburn purchase. The purchase extended from Otahuhu eastward to the Hauraki Gulf, between the
eastern shore of the Tamaki estuary and the Wairoa River.
6
R. C. J. Stone, From Tamaki-Makau-Rau to Auckland. Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2001, p. 167.
4.2 In 1842 the Old Land Claims Commission affirmed the reservation of one third of the land for
Maori occupation, and recommended a grant of 3,695 acres to Fairburn, which was later revised
down to 2,560 acres. FitzRoy approved the granting of the land for Maori occupation, but it was
never actioned. Fairburn later received 5,500 acres, and the balance was acquired by the Crown as
‘surplus’ land. Much of this 'surplus' was soon alienated to settlers. v
4.3 This led to tangata whenua who had not participated in the Fairburn transaction mounting
protests. When the Crown tried to establish settlers on the land in 1851, strong Maori resistance
was encountered. In mid-1851, Mohi Te Ahi-o-te-Ngu of Ngati Tamaoho & Te Akitai claimed Fairburn
had promised him that he and his people would retain traditionally important areas within the
purchase block.vi Mohi and the Ngati Tamaoho chief Epiha Putini wrote to Lt. Governor Wynyard for
an explanation of why their lands at “Te Wharau, Aohutu, Mataninui and Pukekawa” were being
occupied by settlers, and they demanded a payment of £500 for the land.
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5. LAND SALES & WAR
5.1 The Mangere area appears to have been sold by Ngati Whatua/Te Taou & Mohi te Ahi a te Ngu
(of Te Akitai and Ngati Tamaoho) to two Pakeha settlers, Mr Imlay and Mr Jackson, in 1845. The
Crown had waived its pre-emption rights during this period and Maori were free to sell small chunks
of land directly to individuals. The land was then transferred to another Pakeha settler named Mr
Geddes, while a large portion of Mangere was reserved for the tangata whenua under the auspices
of Te Wherowhero.
5.2 The area was again depopulated in 1863 when Governor General George Grey issued a
proclamation that required all Maori living between Auckland and the Waikato to give up their arms
and make an oath of allegiance to the Queen. Those failing to do so were forcibly ejected from their
homes. Along with the other hapu of the region, Ngati Tamaoho were forced from their homes and
moved to the Waikato to join there whanaunga. The brutal invasion of the Waikato by Crown forces
followed. Many lives were lost.
5.3 The Waikato invasion was swiftly followed up by the confiscation of the lands of the hapu
deemed to be ‘rebels’ by the colonial government. This included Ngati Tamaoho. As a result
Mangere was confiscated in full. Ngati Tamaoho were then fully excluded from any Compensation
Court hearings on the basis of this ‘rebel’ status.
5.4 The war and subsequent confiscation severed Ngati Tamaoho’s ability to connect with their
whenua and rendered the tribe effectively landless. The effects of these actions continue to affect
Ngati Tamaoho to this day.
i
Pei Te Huirinui Jones, Nga Iwi O Tainui: The Traditional History of the Tainui People, Auckland University Press,
40.
ii
Ibid.
iii
Ibid.
iv
Ibid.
v
Crown Congress Joint Working Party (CCJWP). Historical Report on South Auckland Lands. nd. 74: B. Stirling.
Ngati Whatua o Orakei and the Crown, 1840-1865. February 2002. 115.
vi
W. Gisborne to Colonial Secretary. July 1, 1851. Enclosing Statement of Mohi of the Akitai Tribe. OLC 1 590.
ANZ, Wellington. SADB. 1480.
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ENVIRONMENT
6. BACKDROP
6.1 Maori through their traditional tribal belief, link ancestral names and events to landscapes, often
associating these [names and events], with the gods themselves and the very body of our earth
parent- Papatuanuku
6.2 Maori shares strong believe, in God the Father [Ranginui] and Earth, the mother [Papatuanuku].
6.3 The mother is the nurturer, the giver of life. Therefore everything born of the mother is alive and
has its own life force [mauri]. All elements of the natural environment possess mauri and all life is
related. Mauri is a critical aspect of the spiritual relationship of Māori with their environment and
specific features (such as maunga and waterways) within it.
The condition of these reflects our ability as kaitiaki and predicts our own wellbeing.
6.4 We are all inter-connected, and therefore have a duty to protect and enhance our natural
surroundings, not only for ourselves, but our future generations.
6.5 The arrival of Europeans [Pakeha] has seen not only the loss of Maori land, but also the pollution
of our waterways [streams, lakes, rivers, estuaries, and harbours]. The Pakeha brought with them an
old system which had caused many diseases and illness regarding their waste. It was common
English practise to dispose of ‘waste’ into moats surrounding castles, and into streams, rivers and
harbours. These practises were continued in their ‘new land’. Unfortunately towns were built with
the mind set of disposing waste to water. Maori living on the Manukau despaired at the despoiling
of their harbour, long treasured for its fisheries.
6.6 Estuaries were favoured for food gathering and provided safe, sheltered waters with an
abundance of fish, shellfish, and birds for eating. Estuaries also gave access to the interior of the
country and its wealth of resources-tall timbered rain forests, abundant bird life, flax swamps and
rivers full of eels.
6.7 Because estuaries were viewed by many European settlers as unproductive wastelands,
estuarine land was reclaimed for harbours, and filled in for pasture, sewerage schemes and
stormwater discharge. Many are still under threat from;

excess silt

pollution from sewerage, industrial/ agricultural runoff and stormwater

invasion by introduced species [plant and animal]

reclamation

extraction of sand and gravel
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6.8 Public concern over this environment mess grew. But the Waitangi Tribunal’s report on the
Manukau Claim in 1985 was the catalyst for major change. It laid the basis for new relationships
between Maori living near the harbour, local government bodies, businesses and the wider
community.
6.9 The Waitangi Tribunal’s Manukau Report of 1985 found that the Crown had failed to recognise
Treaty rights to land and traditional seafood resources and had not provided the protection
promised.
6.10 Maori have been and continue to be part of the development of our towns and cities.
Developments of the landscape are a part of Maori history now also; roading, grazing, reserves,
buildings, reservoirs, construction, quarrying, wastewater/stormwater disposal. Some and such
developments have not always been supported by tangata whenua. In many cases these
developments have damaged or destroyed significant sites and failed to recognise the values held by
their kaitiaki. Mana whenua have never ceased visiting these places or appreciating their cultural
significance. Maori still share an interest in the on-going sustainable management.
7. Water/wai
7.1 “Water is the life giver of all things
From the source to the mouth of the sea all things are joined as one”
“From sky father (Ranginui) To the earth mother (Papatuanuku)
From the earth mother to the oceans From the oceans back to sky father”
7.2 All water has mauri (a living energy). It is this mauri which provides for all living things and every
place with a unique disposition. It is therefore imperative that nothing adversely impacts upon its
integrity. Such an action detrimentally affects the mauri of the resource and consequently the mana,
wellbeing and health of the people. The key here is the importance of not altering the mauri to the
extent that it is no longer recognisable as a healthy component, waiora. The act of discharging
wastewater, including stormwater, into natural water [fresh or harbour], goes against this very
belief.
7.3 The quality of water determines the relationship that the tribe has with its waters.
Environmental degradation, at a national level, has occurred at a large cost and the physical,
chemical, and biological quality of water has deteriorated as a result of both point source pollution
(discharges into a body of water at a single location), and non-point source pollution (contamination
from diffuse sources).
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7.4 Ngati Tamaoho believe that water is pure when it leaves the heavens, and with today’s
technology and in the ever increasing pollution created by man that there should be natural
treatment train approach to retain the cleanliness of the wai [water] from the skies to the sea.
7.5 The waters of the Auckland region have been modified to support economic gains, and the
impacts of previous poor management practices are increasingly being seen. As a result, human
impacts from such uses as farming/agriculture, wastewater discharges, damming, horticulture,
urban development, alterations to the natural hydrology (straightening/piping) of rivers and
streams, and forestry conversions have modified natural water flows and increased the degree of
contaminants that a water body receives resulting in a decrease in water quality of rivers and
streams.
7.6 Water is a fundamental component for all dimensions of life. Water not only sustains life, but
also serves an economic, social, cultural, spiritual, and political purpose. Regardless of the
significance of water, the increase in water contamination by cities, industries, and
agriculture/horticulture has led to the deterioration of the mauri of water.
7.7 Ngati Tamaoho aspires to have waters that are drinkable, swimmable, and fishable. The ability to
have drinkable and fishable water is limited by a number of factors such as the concentrations of E.
coli, eutrophication, suspended sediments, arsenic and mercury and stormwater runoff
contaminants.
8 Treatment of contaminants
8.1 Water and water quality is such an important part of life for all, and as such new approaches to
treating contaminated road runoff and stormwater in general are constantly being looked into and
methods becoming more “natural”.
8.2 The mixing of clean roof water runoff and contaminated road water is now considered a wasted
resource, and often the cause of stormwater devices becoming “inundated” during heavy rainfall,
leading to further pollution and erosion of natural waterways.
8.3 Often in the common “stormwater pond” the sediments that have “dropped out” during the
“settlement” phase within the ponds; are “re-suspended’ during heavy rain fall and inundation, and
so all those contaminants become “mobile” again and are flushed out of the pond and into the
water ways, making the pond in-effective, and a source of contaminants.
8.4 The “treatment train” approach is promoted as current best practice as this promotes at source
retention, provides quality contaminant removal, less inundation at the final stage, ensures the cost
is more evenly spread, and easier to maintain.
8.5 The treatment train approach includes methods such as roof water detention on site via rain
tanks and or soakage pits, where clean rain water can be reused or used to recharge the
underground water systems.
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8.6 Rain gardens/swales for contaminated road water retention/detention, underground 360
devices can be used where a site is already developed if space is available and then a wetland or
attenuation device [large vegetated dry swale system] for a final “polish”.
8.7 This system is currently best International practice; it serves to reduce initial runoff by infiltrating
the first 10mm back into source, while containing contaminants, and adding to the recharge of the
ground water. This also lessens volumes to device which improves the function of the device.
8.8 Green roofs are also becoming popular mainly in overseas countries, and where pollution is a
problem, the green roof concept not only adds to more oxygen being produced but to the health
and well-being of people who can grow their own vegetables, fruit trees etc.
8.9 It is important to note that as time goes by technologies change and monitoring has time to
gather data and gain understandings of how stormwater is dealt with.
9. Earthworks
9.1 Earthworks involving cut to fill are a necessary part of most developments in order to create
roads and a sub-division that can accommodate building platforms. This has the potential to release
sediment and [in the case of contaminated soils] contaminants into the environment. Most
contaminants, while they can become inert over time become re activated when disturbed.
9.2 Under the current TP90 guidelines it is allowable to release up to 10% of sediment into the
receiving environment. That is 1 ton if 10 ton of earth moved, or 10 ton pre 100, and so on. When
there are 1000”s of ton of earthworks carried out, this amounts to many ton of sediment per
development entering the receiving environment, through pipes, into streams, waterways and
finally the estuaries / harbours.
9.3 When a site is confined due to available land space developers are required to use a variety of
methods of containing silt, by “silt fence”, hay bales, silt ponds and if / when it raids a flocculent.
These, [flocculent] is a product that binds the sediments together so that they “fall out” of the
muddy water and settle and are not released into the waters.
9.4 When undertaking earthworks applicants must use the TP90 guidelines as absolute “bottom
Lines”.
9.5 There are proven ways to reduce the amount of sediment entering the ecosystem

By creating a series of pools instead of just one forebay / silt pond

Using organic flocculent compounds when necessary.

Use silt fences in conjunction with silt ponds, a “treatment train” approach”.
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10 Te Aranga Design Principles.
10.1 Te Aranga Design Principals- The design principles referred to here have been developed during
a number of projects over recent times. These principals have been adopted by Auckland Council
and are being applied to all projects with iwi involvement within the Auckland Region.
10.2 Ngati Tamaoho seek that this project endorses the adoption of these principles as a way to
incorporate Ngati Tamaoho values and outcomes into the design of elements of the project and
during future consultation on this project we expect these principles to be fundamental to be
applied wherever possible to underpin Iwi connections to these significant areas.
10.3 The principals are as follows
· Mana – Treaty based relationships Iwi require high level Treaty based relationships with all key
stakeholders including local and regional Councils as well as Council Controlled Organisations which
recognise their Tangata Whenua status in order to fulfil their roles as kaitiaki. Such relationships can
then inform Iwi participation in collaborative design and development processes. Such relationships
are a precursor to actualising the other 6 principles:
· Whakapapa - Names / naming - Ancestral names provide entry points for exploring historical
narratives, tupuna and critical events relating to development sites.
· Tohu – the wider cultural landscape Acknowledge wider significant Iwi land marks and their ability
to inform the design of projects. Such Tohu can include wāhi tapu, maunga, awa, puna and ancestral
kainga.
· Taiao - Natural environments - Exploring opportunities to bring natural landscape elements back
into urban /modified areas – trees, water – insects, birds, aquatic life, Mahinga kai (food gathering
areas) allow for active kaitiakitanga.
· Mauri tū – environmental health Ensuring emphasis on maintaining or enhancing environmental
health / life essence of the wider site – in particular focussing on the quality of wai / water (puna /
springs), whenua /soil and air.
· Mahi toi – Creative endeavour Drawing on names, local tohu and appropriate plant species to
develop strategies to creatively re-inscribe iwi narratives into architecture, interior design,
landscape, urban design and public art. Iwi designers and artists are readily available to assist in
such collaborative projects.
· Ahi kā – Visibility / living presence Need to explore opportunities to facilitate living presences for
iwi / hapu to resume ahi-kā and kaitiaki roles.
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11. MANGROVES
11.1 Mangroves have been a part of the history of Aoteroa [New Zealand] for centuries, although
the increase of them started only around 50-60 years ago. This coincides with the land practice of
the day when land was clear felled of trees for timber and farming, and silt, nitrogen’s, sewerage and
stormwater pollutants from growing towns ran freely unchecked into our streams, waterways,
estuaries and harbours.
11.2 There are arguments both for and against the removal of mangroves, and there are two sides to
the argument.
1. The mangroves are the result of continuing bad land use from both rural and urban use. The silt
build up and contamination is a great fertile environment for mangroves to grow in and they are a
good filter of pollutants. They also provide breeding grounds for some fish and bird species
2. Mangroves spread very easily and as they continue to spread they continue to slow down the
natural tidal movement, producing more ideal circumstances I which to grow. They also cover over
traditional shell beds of pipi and cockles and reduce channels for boating access and recreation.
12. Managing Effects
12.1 In managing the effects of a resource use or activity, regardless of the magnitude, frequency, or
duration of the effect, Ngati Tamaoho considers that it is necessary to provide a net benefit when
considering social, economic, environmental, spiritual and cultural impacts – to strive for
environmental enhancement. Therefore it is necessary to suitably manage any effects so that effects
are avoided, remedied, minimized, mitigated, or balanced.
12.2 For Ngati Tamaoho, this is essentially a hierarchy where the first way to manage an effect is to
avoid the effect, the second way is to remedy the effect, and so on through to suitably balancing the
effect, what some may call offset mitigation. In managing effects consideration needs to be given to:
(a) Avoid: is there any way to manage the effects to a point where they can be avoided (i.e. no
effect occurs)?
(b) Remedy: can the effect be managed to the point that it is eliminated (e.g. cleaning discharges to
water so that the water discharge is of a suitable quality)?
(c) Minimize: is there a way to minimize the effect so that the effect is no longer of sufficient
frequency or magnitude to cause Ngati Tamaoho any concern?
(d) Mitigate: if the effects cannot be adequately avoided, remedied, or minimized, is there
something that can be done to mitigate or offset the effect to create a benefit not directly linked to
the proposed resource use or activity. (e.g. an effect of discharge to water being offset by additional
riparian planting or wetland restoration).
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(e) Balance: when taking all the effects into consideration, and considering the relative weight of the
effects to Ngati Tamaoho, do the positive effects adequately balance out the negative effects, and
provide environmental enhancement?
12.3 Only Ngati Tamaoho can determine what, from a Ngati Tamaoho perspective, constitutes a
suitable way to avoid, remedy, minimize, mitigate, or balance effects caused from a resource use or
activity.
12.4 The ‘highest target or measure’ could be a target or measure applied by Ngati Tamaoho, a
community, a local authority, the resource user or activity owner, or central government.
Regardless, Ngati Tamaoho is generally supportive of the highest target or measures being applied
to best achieve objectives. Ngati Tamaoho encourages the on-going use of the best practicable
option being applied when considering targets or measures.
12.5 Where consents are granted for a resource use or an activity that may continue to have an
adverse effect on the social, economic, cultural, spiritual or environmental wellbeing of Ngati
Tamaoho, a precautionary approach is encouraged.
12.6 Sites and activities of cultural significance define the history of Ngati Tamaoho. The Auckland
rohe has many areas of significance that are associated to the history of its people, its environment
and culture. After the confiscation of Ngati Tamaoho lands and the subsequent industry and urban
development, many known sites of significance were destroyed, and shifted to the ownership and
management of other persons and organisations. Once Ngati Tamaoho sites are altered or lost, they
cannot be replaced and there is no mitigation that can restore its original significance.
12.7 Therefore, Ngati Tamaoho must protect their waahi tapu and waahi tuupuna for the benefit of
future generations and to acknowledge the sacrifices of tuupuna.
13. The Proposal
13.1 The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Auckland Council are replacing the Old Mangere Bridge
within the next five years, to provide the community with a safe, high quality walking and cycling
connection between Onehunga and Mangere Bridge.
13.2 NZTA have engaged with Ngati Tamaoho on and off over the past few years and have invited a
CIA report to inform the project as to whether or not this project will impact on mana whenua
values.
13.3 Ngati Tamaoho supports the design principles from NZTA for the replacement bridge to form
part of the brief to the engineering consultants appointed to design the bridge. With particular
reference to the principle;
“Takes into account Maori history in the area i.e. through materials used and/or artworks.”
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13.4 The selection of Sunnah Thompson and Mathew Von Sturmer in their design work for the
bridge moving forward is supported.
13.5 Engagement with NZTA over the past few years has been sporadic and at times frustrating.
However as of last year, NZTA has changed the way it engages with Mana Whenua and much
progress has been made towards creating beneficial meaningful engagement.
14. Mangere Inlet
14.1 The Mangere Inlet is an arm of the Manukau Harbour. It is an environment highly modified by
land reclamation and human/land use practices, with the northern shoreline especially affected.
However, the inlet also acts as a natural sedimentation sink, thus being especially at risk of
contamination.
14.2 The Mangere inlet is highly man-modified, historic streams have been lost along the northern
shore, to a significant degree for use as landfills. The area is generally known for relatively muddy,
sediment waters, which seem to predate human occupation of the area. Mangrove swamp fringes
are present around most of the shoreline as a result of sediment and contamination built up over
the years.
14.3 NZTA has added to the degradation of the area through the roading network that has seen both
reclamation and road runoff contaminants discharge to the Inlet.
14.4 There is currently a proposal to enhance the roading network by the creation of a “East West
Link” project that if granted will see a “contamination containment bund” [in the form of
reclamation] that is envisioned to prevent further leachate from entering the Inlet.
14.5 The Mangere Inlet currently has an F health rating because of detrimental past land use and
stormwater / industrial and the occasional wastewater discharge into this body of water.
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14.6 Map showing closed landfills around the Manukau Harbour.
14.6 The Manukau Harbour continues to be under environmental threat and is not managed in
accordance with our preferences. The Manukau is at the heart of our natural and cultural heritage.
Wai 8 the Manukau Claim has not been settled and is the oldest unsettled Treaty Claim in New
Zealand. Our fisheries and our access to them are compromised. Our traditional practices and lore
are not observed.
14.7 Ngati Tamaoho emphasises the importance of healthy uncontaminated water throughout the
rohe. Water is like the blood in the veins. If the blood is not healthy, the body is not healthy.
14.8 It is vital that any and all projects, past and future avoid further degradation and seek to
enhance the health of the Manukau Harbour for our future generations to yet come.
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15. Bridge Design
15.1 Ngati Tamaoho recognise that design is well underway however we outline what our preferred
design conceptions are:
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People are more likely to occupy a space if seating and other furnishing are provided. There
should be a range of different seating types, which enhance specific areas and stories
associated.
Creative lighting should be considered as an integral part of the public space design, which
will provide the opportunity to create special night-time effects.
Functional lighting will also help to create and establish safe environment for evening
excursions, but specifically designed lighting is desirable.
Design should employ the natural elements of stone and timber and incorporate stainless
steel sheeting to lessen effects of corrosion
Design and materials need to be sustainable and eco-environmental
Interpretative signage to educate and enhance the experience of using the bridge
16. Conclusions
16.1 Ngati Tamaoho has a historic and spiritual association to the Mangere Inlet.
16.2 Water is a Taonga and the health of our waterways reflects the health of the people.
16.3 This CIA report outlines Ngati Tamaoho’s cultural association and environmental aspirations.
16.4 This report also outlines hopes and aspirations for the final bridge design
16.5 There is always a cultural impact when structures (especially coastal) are placed in the cultural
landscape.
16.6 The impact is, another coastal structure on an already overburden harbour that does nothing to
help contribute to its restoration and ecological wellbeing.
16.7 It would be our preference that there be more of an effort and funding toward the clean-up
and restoration of the Mangere Inlet.
17. Recommendations
17.1 That this CIA report be received.
17.2 In principle the project is supported that primarily being to provide the community with a safe,
high quality walking and cycling connection between Onehunga and Mangere Bridge.
17.3 The current Maori ‘input design’ process for the bridge is supported.
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17.4 That the design principles and matters raised in this report are considered in the design process
and overall project moving forward.
17.5 That Ngati Tamaoho are kept engaged and informed as this proposal progresses.
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