Riverbed gift for Hawke's Bay community

Regional Council Chair Rex Graham, (left), land manager Andy Colthart, Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule survey the 55.8ha of private riverbed returning to the public. Photo / Warren Buckland.

After being in the hands of one family, a rare piece of pristine private Tukituki riverbed has been given back to the Hawke's Bay community.

Yesterday the 55.8ha of Tukituki Riverbed land from Waimarama Rd at Red Bridge to Horseshoe Bend was formally returned to the public, through ownership under Hawke's Bay Regional Council.

Yesterday Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said the private ownership of this land went beck to settlement era, "but it is extremely rare for a riverbed of this size to be in private hands".

It is unusual for the land under rivers in New Zealand to be in private ownership, with this area an exception to the Queen's Chain.

It occurred at the time of settling the local area when the original owners who came from Australia wanted certainty to the water in the Tukituki river. This was stipulated in the land purchase and agreed to by the crown.

Regional Council Chair Rex Graham thanked land manager Andy Coltart working on behalf of the McHardy's, and congratulated Mr Yule for his "lengthy" negotiation to make this happen.

"Lawrence has been working with Andy for a long time on this," Mr Graham said.

"During their conversations about development occurring on the land, Lawrence suggested returning the riverbed area to the public for open use, and it just makes sense for the Regional Council to manage it."

Mr Coltart took a more pragmatic view with the gifting.

"We wanted to do this and it makes sense to give the riverbed back," he said.

"There is very little land like this around, and I can imagine families camping down here in years to come, in the great outdoors, by a beautiful river that is only minutes from home."