Gateway to Papahenga
What Might Have Been - Matua Saltmarsh
The Matua Saltmarsh area has a long and varied history and could easily have been so different today. On very early maps the area was known to Maori as Papahenga after an abundant native shrub that was used for many purposes but no longer exists through the area. When Otumoetai land was confiscated after the battles of Gate Pa and Te Ranga in 1878 the land was sold to private ownership and in time became the farms of the Tollemache, Snodgrass and Matheson families.
The Saltmarsh originally covered a much larger area than it does today, extending beyond the railway line that was built in the mid 1920's, to the base of Otumoetai ridge. A stream and marshy land encircled the base of the higher land on which Otumoetai College, Intermediate and the Windsor Road subdivisions stand. Turning saltmarsh into dairy farm was considered easy with the installation of a one way flood gate system. Aerial views still show the many drainage ditches that crisscrossed the saltmarsh. Part of the land had been divided into smaller blocks for market gardens. Today very little remains after a storm in 1969 destroyed the floodgates and saltwater once more reclaimed the area.
In the same year the saltmarsh zoning was changed from rural to residential and Kingslea Marinas Limited began to dig canals and drains for a proposed 248 section residential housing development similar to what now exists in the Coromandel towns of Whitianga and Pauanui. Concerned by this proposal the Native Forest Action Council and the Tauranga branch of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society took a case to the Planning Tribunal and in 1970 the Council's reasoning was overturned. In an agreement between the city council, the Conservation Department and the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust 25 hectares was placed under a covenant to protect the future use of the land.
Sourced from:
http://www.matua.org.nz/index.php?page=history-photos
More details on the history of the Matua Salt Marsh can be found on the information boards near GZ, and here:
http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/tauranga_local_history/topics/show/1351-papahenga-matua-saltmarsh
The cache is a 400ml sistema with room for small swaps and TB's.
There are several other caches you might like to find while you're in the area. Please be stealthy as there are often cyclists and walkers using the track, including children going to and from school.
FIRST TO FIND: Philip.Perry. Congratulations!
