The highest point of Mangatawa is at the northern point, known as Maungamana, and the eye of the whale.27 This was once a heavily fortified pa site, which is clearly evident in a photo taken in 1958 (see Figure One)28 Today, little remains of Maungamana (see Figure Nine), as the Ministry of Works developed an extensive quarrying operation for rhyolite rock at Mangatawa.
The first official interest obtained by the Ministry of Works was by a compulsory acquisition of land in 1946 under the Public Works Act 1928, and further quarrying rights (as opposed to acquiring the land) were negotiated in the 1950s and 1960s. Unfortunately, departmental records relating to the quarry are now missing, which means that only an outline of these transactions can be given in this report. It has also been claimed that the Public Works Department removed rock from the site, without any legal authority, in the 1920s for the construction of a section of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway.29 Again, lack of departmental records means that no documentary evidence of quarrying in the 1920s can be presented, and this question will need to be addressed by the claimants in their evidence to the Tribunal.
It will be shown that the supply of rock from Mangatawa contributed significantly to the development of Tauranga and Mount Maunganui. As well as the obvious damage caused to the maunga, local Maori were effected by the quarry in other ways. The quarry was located very close to Tamapahore Marae and was surrounded by the working farm of the Mangatawa-Papamoa Incorporation. Blasting could easily be felt by Maori at the marae, and rocks often landed in the adjacent paddock. Bones and other signs of Maori occupation were also exposed by the quarrying.
First Acquisition -1946
The correspondence files of the former Public Works Department are now held by Works Consultancy Services. Unfortunately, to date, neither head office, or the Hamilton branch of Works Consultancy have been able to supply the departmental files detailing the acquisition of the land on Mangatawa for the quarry.
A Notice of Intention to take land for the quarry was issued on 21 November 1945.31 The Proclamation declared that 5 acres 1 rood 11.6 perches, being part Mangatawa No 2, was to be taken for a quarry, and 3 roods 5.2 perches from part Mangatawa No 2, together with 13.3 perches from Part Papamoa No 2 Section 7A, were required for an easement to construct a right of way to the quarry (see Figure Five). A plan of the land affected was open for inspection at the Tauranga post office, and the notice instructed that:
27 Stokes, 1992, p 58
28 John A. W. Steedman, Nga Ohaaki o Nga Whanau o Tauranga Moana: Known Genealogies and History of the Maori Families of Tauranga and Surrounding Districts, p 38
29 See Bay of Plenty Times, 12 August 1961, Des Tatana Kahotea, ‘Tauranga Urban Growth Strategy: Cultural Resource Inventory’, Tauranga District Council, 1992, p 68, and Minutes of a Special Meeting, 19 November 1984, 8320-14 Tauranga District Council [pp 53-58].
30 Personal communication, Rangi McLeod and Kaupapa McLeod, 1 October 1996
