Tolaga Bay Wharf was built over a three-year period from 1926 to 1929 by the Tolaga Bay Harbour Board to provide an improved facility for the import and export of materials, produce and livestock for the district. A wharf had existed in the Uawa River at Tolaga Bay since the turn of the twentieth century, but as this was inaccessible to larger craft, freight haulage was dependent on lighters, which were in turn dependent on tides, weather conditions and the degree of silt deposition.
Tolaga Bay is a U-shaped bay 2.4 kilometres wide, open to the northeast and protected by high cliffs on the north and south. Storms come in from the east, making the southwest corner of the bay the most protected. The Uawa River flows into the bay approximately mid-way along the sandy shore.
From around the turn of the fifteenth century Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngati Porou, became the dominant iwi and was in occupation at the time of first European contact. Maori utilised the flat land as well as the slopes around the bay and the off-shore islands; archaeological sites recorded include pa, pits, terraces, midden, burials, wild taro and cultivated soils.
Tolaga Bay first became known to Europeans when it was visited by Captain James Cook between 23 and 29 October 1769 when the Endeavour anchored in Cook's Cove for cleaning, repairs, and fresh supplies of wood, water and food. In the early nineteenth century flax traders established posts in the bay. From the 1820s the paramountcy of Te Kani Takirau was established; his large defended pa at the mouth of the Uawa River was associated with extensive cultivations of traditional and introduced crops. A mission station was established by the pa in 1843, by which time there was a small settlement of Europeans. In March 1875 when the government bought 252 acres (102 hectares) as the site of a proposed township, Tolaga Bay had the largest European-style settlement on the East Coast with 52 European residents. Tolaga Bay was part of Cook County when it was formed in 1876.
The first roads into the district were inadequate for wheeled traffic and for several long stretches they utilised the beaches. The first coach service from Gisborne to Tolaga Bay started in 1887. The main access was by sea and wharves were built at Tokomaru Bay, Hick's Bay and Port Awaroa and a larger wharf with port facilities at Gisborne. At Tolaga Bay, the small jetties on the north side of the Uawa River were superseded by a wharf. the Hauiti wharf, on the south side. Materials and produce were brought in or shipped out by a lightering service, the Tolaga Bay Lightering Company. As the fertile country was opened up, pastoral farming developed, such that by 1900 wool was a major export. In 1912 the Tolaga Bay dairy factory opened. The town of Tolaga Bay continued to develop with a smaller settlement, Hauiti, on the south side of the Uawa River.
On 28 July 1908 the Governor in Council constituted the Tolaga Bay Harbour District and at the same time appointed the Cook County Council, which was based in Gisborne, to be the Harbour Board. While the Hauiti wharf allowed easier handling of freight, there was still a strong dependence on tides, the weather and the state of the river which was prone to silting up. A large shed for storing and dumping wool was built close to the wharf. Towards the end of 1913 residents began pushing for a better wharf situated outside the river. A drastic series of thirteen floods in the twelve months from May 1916 exacerbated the silting problem. After the First World War the government established returned soldiers on dairy farms of 50-80 acres (20-32 hectares). As whole milk could not be exported, pig farming also developed, using the skim milk as feed. Butter made from the cream was a growing export.
In 1919 a strong sense of parochialism drove the Tolaga Bay community to form its own harbour board. The Tolaga Bay Harbour Act 1919 established the Harbour District to be that of the Uawa County Council. The first general meeting of the Tolaga Bay Harbour Board was held on 17 March 1920. The Board was composed of five elected nominees and two Government nominees. Edward Brabazon Boland was elected to the chair. At this first meeting, it was decided to approach the Minister of Marine to recommend a suitable engineer to report on required harbour works.
Design and construction:
In April 1920 the Tolaga Bay Harbour Board appointed Cyrus J.R. Williams, the engineer to the Lyttelton Harbour Board, as consultant engineer for the purpose of investigating and designing a wharf for the bay, with 18 feet (5.5 metres) of water at low tide. In his design for the Tolaga Bay Wharf, Williams considered the direction of swell as well as the depth at low water, utilising a survey undertaken by Captain Martin and William Lockwood in June 1920. Williams's first design proposal, submitted in July 1920, was for a pier 1500 feet (457.2m) long with an additional wharf 400 feet (121.92m) long, however a special meeting of ratepayers and the Board on 21 August 1920 agreed to a smaller wharf.
Legislation was required to enable the Harbour Board to borrow in order to finance such an expensive project. The Tolaga Bay Harbour Board Empowering Act was passed on 22 December 1921 to authorize the Board to raise a loan of £100,000 with the proviso that a poll of ratepayers be taken to seek their approval. The Act allowed the Board to charge an additional levy on ratepayers.
On 17 October 1923 the Board approved the design for a 1400 feet (426.72m) long jetty with a 200 feet (60.96m) long 'pier head', extending out from the foot of the south cliff, access to it being via a road 900 (274.32m) feet long with tunnels cut into the cliff. At the same meeting the Board appointed Cyrus Williams Consulting Engineer for the purpose of harbour works proposed by the Board. After several changes the design was approved by the Governor-General by 21 June 1924. This design took the wharf into 18 foot 6 inches (5.66m) of water at low water spring tides. The Board advertised for tenders for its construction and on 13 November 1924 accepted Gisborne contractor Fred Goodman's tender of £60,331. The specification was for the construction of the road and the wharf.
Williams appointed Gordon White-Parsons as Resident Engineer and Inspector of Works at a salary of £400 per annum, this being approved by the Harbour Board to begin from 1 January 1925. Work began on the road but several instances of falling rock gave concern. After visits on 12 March 1925 and 11 August 1925 Williams admitted he had over-estimated the stability of the rock and agreed to make alterations to the location of the wharf and consequently its design. The amended designs were prepared by October. It appears the work began on the existing structure early in 1926, with Goodman requesting permission to begin the abutments at the shore end of the jetty in April 1926. Cyrus Williams visited the site in October 1926 and approved the slight deviations from the specification, which included a change in the rake of the piles, saying that he was 'perfectly satisfied' with the work.
Up to 26 men were employed on the construction; it is believed they were mostly brought in from elsewhere. Some locals assisted, including two local teenagers who cleaned the reinforcing steel with sugar bags. The men stayed in a camp set up near the wharf. The foreman was Tom Crombie. Temporary work sheds were also built near the end of the wharf. The project provided work during the beginning of the Great Depression.
The first twelve pairs of piles, where the jetty crossed the beach above the low tide mark, were cast in situ into pre-drilled holes and wooden boxing. The piles were octagonal in cross-section with steel reinforcing rods. The headstocks were then cast onto the tops of the piles utilising reinforcing rods extending out from the piles plus additional rods. The concrete deck was cast in situ. The shingle for the work was brought by ships from Napier, 'which in itself was no small undertaking'. Once this first section was completed it served as a work platform for the rest of the construction. The rest of the piles were cast horizontally on the deck or on the beach and were circular in cross-section, but flat on the underside; the pouring gap along the top also resulted in a flat surface. Once set, they were hauled into position by winches attached to the gantry built at the seaward end of the jetty. The holes for the piles were drilled by means of a jumper type drill operated by steam friction winches. The gear was adapted from a discarded set of oil-well drilling gear. The first 12 pairs of piles are splayed (raked) but because of difficulties of drilling into the mudstone substrate, the angle of the majority of piles is close to vertical.
Damage to piles resulted in delays and the £70,000 loan was spent well before completion of the project. Some damage was the result of three tidal waves that hit the end of the wharf in quick succession, shifting the gantry, washing away loose timber and fracturing five piles that had not been secured. Early in February 1927 two piles, at bays 55 and 62, were pushed out of position and fractured during a storm. Cyrus Williams visited in June 1927 and 21 December 1927 to inspect the damage then present amendments to the plan, including alterations to the alignment of the piles and for the introduction of an expansion joint at bay 55. On 5 May 1928 he gave a verbal report on the damage done to the piles and stated 'that there was no cause for alarm'. Further changes were requested by Goodman: for rapid setting cement, an additional cost of £300, and a change to the shape of the bollards.
By 7 July 1928 the Gisborne Sheepfarmers Frozen Meat and Mercantile Company Limited had agreed to sell to the Harbour Board their dump plant and other equipment at the Uawa River wharf and over the next year the wharf shed was demolished and re-built by Goodman's team at the new wharf. The 'large and commodious' cargo shed was built so that on one side lorries could unload onto four-foot (1.2 metre) high platforms at the three wide doorways; on the other side a lower platform was provided for loading onto railway wagons. The rail tracks, which were at the base of the hill, i.e. the south side of the shed, led onto the jetty. The shed held equipment for 'dumping' of wool bales.
By 1 September 1928 the Board were planning on engaging staff. Captain J.M. Fraser, master mariner, was appointed harbourmaster.
Opening of the wharf:
On Friday, 22 November 1929 the Tolaga Bay Wharf and facilities were opened by the Minister of Marine the Hon. J.G. Cobbe, the ribbon-cutting being undertaken by elderly resident Mrs Margaret 'Granny' Lockwood. Speakers included the Minister, the Chairman of the Harbour Board and Sir Apirana Ngata. Other official visitors included Member of Parliament K.S. Williams, the Chairmen of the Gisborne and Tokomaru Bay Harbour Boards, the Gisborne manager of the Union Steam Ship Company, the manager of Napier shipping firm the Richardson Company, the engineers and contractor, members of the county council and other local bodies. A large crowd attended the festivities, for which the cargo shed and a temporary archway over the entrance to the jetty were decorated with flags and bunting and 'an occasion of considerable importance in the history of the coast was fittingly marked'. Two vessels berthed at the wharf, the Awahou and the Tiroa, also flew their flags. After the official ceremony the Tolaga Bay Harbour Board members hosted the official visitors to a luncheon. Mr F.J. Williams, the chairman of the Tokomaru Bay Harbour Board, said that the comparatively small community 'had shown commendable pluck and foresight in undertaking this work'.
The wharf provided employment to several local men, with at least three permanent staff who included a harbourmaster and a wharf hand, and several casual (and seasonal) 'seagulls', mostly Maori, who unloaded wool out from the dumping shed and unloaded the coastal ships and lighters at the wharf.
At its peak in 1936, 133 ships worked at the port. These were primarily motor vessels owned by the Gisborne Sheepfarmers' Frozen Meat and Mercantile Company and Richardson and Company Ltd, each of which was absorbed by the Union Steam Ship Company but continued to operate under their own names. The Gisborne Sheepfarmers' ships included the Margaret W and Turihaua. The Tiroa carried general cargo from Auckland to Tokomaru and Tolaga Bays. Richardsons' vessels included the Gunbar, the Kopara (specially built for the coastal service), the Koutunui, the Pukeko and the Pateke. On 22 August 1936 the Pukeko struck the wharf at Tolaga Bay.
During the Second World War some of the coastal traders, such as the Kopara, were requisitioned for war service and were therefore not servicing Tolaga Bay; the waterfront strike of 1951 also affected the viability of sea-based freight. Improvements to roads and the development of trucks capable of carrying heavier loads enabled larger carrying capacity on land and it became cheaper and easier to shift both goods and livestock by road, especially for the relatively short distance (56 kilometres) to Gisborne. The shingle for the roads was brought in over the Tolaga Bay Wharf. Other factors in the decline of the shipping service were the packaging of materials such as gasoline, diesel and cement in bulk containers or purpose-built vehicles. In 1957 only 15 ships worked the Tolaga Bay Wharf. Reports comparing freight costs to Gisborne or Napier from Tolaga Bay by sea versus by road showed it was cheaper and easier to shift to road transport.
In 1955 and 1958 shipments of hardwood power poles and cross-arm timber came in over the wharf, during electricity reticulation of the East Coast rural districts. The timber was brought by the Union Company's ship direct from New South Wales.
The Tolaga Bay Harbour Board was dissolved on 30 September 1961 and the functions of the Board were vested in the Uawa County Council. At the final meeting of the Board the then chairman, Arthur Donald, was hopeful that 'even allowing for the decline in tonnage of cargo handled, under careful supervision and prudent management the services hitherto provided should be able to be maintained'. At that stage the Gisborne Sheepfarmers' Company's lease of part of the shed for a binning room had been renewed for five years.
However just two years later, in 1963, the Uawa County Council decided to close the south side of the wharf as berthage, as the cost of repairs for the damage to the fender piles that had occurred earlier in July were considered prohibitive. Repairs to the northern side were to be carried out as these would cost much less and this was the side favoured by the larger coastal vessels. Concern was also expressed at the time regarding the condition of some of the piles and of the wharf shed.
In November 1963 MV Pukeko and MV Pateke loaded wool from the wharf, the Pukeko's load being destined for London via Wellington. However, by this time maize was being taken out by road in preference.
The £100,000 loan was completely repaid by September 1963. From 1st April 1964 the Uawa County Council was amalgamated with the Cook County Council, whereby the Cook County Council became the controlling authority for the Tolaga Bay Wharf. By the end of 1965 the situation for coastal shipping had deteriorated further and in 1966 Richardsons sold the Kopara, a decision that 'marked the end of the line for ... the ports of Hicks Bay, Tokomaru Bay and Tolaga Bay'. The wharf was closed to cargo in 1966 but the wharf shed continued to dump wool. However this service saw a downturn in the 1966-67 year, possibly due to Richardson and Co. discontinuing their coastal shipping service and farmers thinking the dumping service had also stopped. Tolaga Bay Wharf was closed to shipping in 1967.
In March 1968 one railway wagon was picked up by the New Zealand Locomotive Society as a museum item. By 1968 the wharf was used solely by a local commercial fisherman to offload his vessel; from 30 April 1968 he used the shed for storage, and in 1971 erected a gate across the end of the wharf. His lease was terminated in September 1973. In 1973 Council made an inventory of remaining equipment in the shed with a view to its disposal.
At a meeting on 8 November 1976 the council concluded that it saw no future for the use of the wharf, based on its finger type, its proximity to Gisborne, the exposed nature of the bay, its distance to the main state forestry areas and the apparent deteriorated condition of the existing structure. Although the county engineer considered that structurally the wharf would last for some time, the council closed the wharf to vehicular traffic for safety reasons.
The Buildings Classification Committee of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust visited the wharf between 9 and 12 March 1984 and the wharf was subsequently given a C Classification.
In the late 1980s the amalgamation of counties saw the formation of Gisborne District Council which inherited all assets from Cook County Council, including the Tolaga Bay Wharf.
Ladders, erected as a safety measure for people to get out of the water, were a maintenance problem, and were to be re-erected in late 1985. On 26 May 1989 a storm damaged the wharf, including the demolition and loss of the ladders and at mid-length 'a subsidence of approximately 50mm over the expansion joint... An underside inspection showed the pile cap and pile hinging.' The Council's Engineering Officer recommended warning signs for pedestrians and further restricting vehicular access by placing boulders at the entrance to the wharf.
In February 1991 the wharf shed and a small amount of surrounding land was sold and the remaining part of the Harbour Board's land was re-scheduled as road reserve. In c.1995 the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries asked the Gisborne District Council to issue a demolition order for the wharf. In May 1996 a public meeting resolved that the wharf was worth saving, and decided to support any efforts the council made for its restoration. A committee of local people was formed to further these aims. By May 1997 the committee had raised over $12,000 towards a feasibility study of restoring the wharf. In 1999 the Tolaga Bay Save The Wharf Charitable Trust was established. Fundraising efforts included flea markets, beach races and the Chef Quarter Marathon. As supportive measures the Hauiti Corporation re-opened the Cook's Cove walkway and planned the upgrade of the adjacent motor camp.
In 1997 the Gisborne District Council commissioned a conservation plan for the wharf and wharf sheds. The structural report by Barry Potter of Worley Consultants noted that the concrete below the deck was in 'very poor condition with extensive spalling and general degradation' and found that this was 'so extensive that there is no economic or practical method of restoring the wharf to its original condition or structural capacity to support imposed loads'.
The telephone cables and poles on the wharf were casualties of theft and storm damage respectively, and had gone by c.2000.
On 5 April 2000 Gisborne District Council agreed in principle to endorse the option of preservation.
Reconstruction:
A phased restoration project was suggested, partly due to the cost. The first phase was to work on the first 13 bents (a bent comprising a pair of piles and the headstock between). These were in the worst condition because there was no circumferential reinforcing, and as the concrete and steel is not continually wet the salts forming around the steel have a chance to concentrate, expand and break the concrete. In Phase 1 of the restoration, all the concrete in the piles was removed and replaced. The contractors for this work were Conspec of Tauranga with sub-contractors Coastal Maintenance New Zealand Limited. Phase 1 began in early September 2001 and was completed in May 2002 at a cost of nearly $300,000. For Phase 2 of the restoration, consulting engineer John Reynolds of Opus, designed a concrete jacket to fit around each pile. Phase 2, to replace bents 15 to 56, began in March 2005. Concure Australia and Gisborne concreting contractors B.H. Ritchie and Sons were contracted to undertake the work.
The major earthquake that occurred in 20 December 2007 caused only a few cracks but no major damage.
In May 2008 tenders were called for the next stage of restoration, which will use a new technology.
Recognition of the wharf's importance as a heritage item, and of the affection with which it is held, has been evident in the financial support the restoration project has received. Donations have come from the Gisborne Branch Committee of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, local trusts, businesses and clubs and from public collection boxes. The New Zealand Lotteries Board has recognised the importance of the wharf with major contributions towards its restoration. Media support has been considerable.
The wharf has featured on New Zealand Tourism Board posters distributed around the world and is a major drawcard for tourists. It is touted as 'the most visited and photographed taonga (treasure) on the East Coast'. The New Zealand Lotteries Board has included it in advertising campaigns. The wharf is much-photographed because of its aesthetic qualities such as its strong visual presence in the landscape, its tremendous length (660m), its linear form, the raking piles and the symmetry of the underlying structure.
The wharf is a focal point for recreation, with local people and others from the wider area including Gisborne coming to the wharf for fishing from it, or for picnics. Local Maori value it as a mahinga kai for gathering kai moana, particularly mussels from the piers and crayfish which hide in the debris (including the fenders) at the base of the wharf end. The wharf contributes towards the well-being of the community, as reported by resident Kori Kirikiri in 1997: '... if we lose this, we are going to lose our pride'.
The wharf stands 'as a monument to the halcyon days of the great pastoral economy'. Architectural historian Geoffrey Thornton has said 'without doubt, it is the best such example in the history of our minor ports, especially one where 'lightering' took place for overseas vessels anchored in the roadstead'. Thornton believes it to be the longest finger-type wharf in New Zealand, irrespective of the material with which it is constructed. A 1944 description felt that Williams's 'rather daring project... deserves recognition as an outstanding harbour engineering achievement in the design of open-roadstead jetties'. This view is supported by engineer Graham Tayler:
'what makes the wharf unique in my mind is that it was built in the open sea. This not only increased the challenge and risk in building it, but was also a risk ... [with] ... the loading and offloading a ship that was in constant motion in a way that would not damage the ship or the wharf...'.
Tolaga Bay Wharf is regarded as one of the 'great East Coast icons'. Thornton has referred to the wharf as 'a striking monument with its tremendous length paralleling the nearby cliffs' and finds it 'visually a satisfying design with its raking piles and balustrades of concrete posts with rails of the same material'.
