Plans for a world-class golf course in Ōhau have been paused as areas of coastal land near Ōhau were identified by local iwi as wāhi tapu.
Both Ngati Tukorehe and Muaōpoko iwi opposed a consent application lodged by Grenadier Ltd at a two-day Horizons Regional Council resource consent hearing in Levin this week.
Representatives of Tukorehe described the significance of a historic pā site called Tirotirowhetu, and a lack of adequate consultation, as key reasons for opposing the application.
At the hearing, Ngati Tukorehe kaitiaki Pat Seymour said it was difficult to voice the knowledge as some things pertaining to wāhi tapu were sacrosanct within hapū, but he felt obliged to in this instance.
"It is in no way meant to frighten or scaremonger or hurt people, it is meant to actually help those wanting to do this understand. We would be failing as kaitiaki not to, and to have something go amiss," he said.
Seymour said the area of Tirotirowhetu, identified as being near the Ōhau River mouth, was wāhi tapu. He knew of people who had taken taonga from the area and fallen ill.
A Pākehā whānau who moved to the area in the 1870s had two children drown through not understanding tikanga, and breaking tapu.
"The area is so sacred and tapu, it cannot be disturbed ... I don't beg or plead or anything. I say it like it is," he said.
A plan showing the proposed layout of Douglas Links golf course.
The locations of historic pā site were passed down through oral tradition.
Tukorehe representative Lindsay Poutama said they were aggrieved by late engagement in the consultation process that meant they were unable to exercise kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga.
Poutama said what Tukorehe was able to prepare felt more like a victim impact statement and it was vital Tukorehe was included in aspects of the process.
"Nothing about us, without us," he said.
"If we are undercooked we apologise. We might have had the ability to make conditions had we been involved earlier."
Muaūpoko kaiwhakahaere taiao Dean Wilson said it had opposed the application, but was working with Grenadier on a Memorandum of Understanding.
Muaūpoko too recognised Tirotirowhetu as wāhi tapu, and the iwi had a tradition of using dune land along the coast for burial.
Grenadier Ltd engaged former New Zealand professional golfer Phillip Tataurangi to lead an iwi liaison team.
Phil Tataurangi in action as a professional golfer.
Initial iwi engagement saw Ngati Kikopiri identified as having manawhenua and the liaison team were observing tikanga by first engaging with that iwi, leading into consultation with both Ngati Tukorehe and Muaūpoko iwi.
There had been consultation with Tukorehe as early as August 2020, initiated by the applicant. Constraints due to Covid-19 had restricted some of the engagement process, which meant the concerns of Tukorehe weren't expressed until the hearing this week.
Kikopiri Marae committee members Dennis Paku and Robert Kuiti said the process offered an opportunity for all affected iwi and hapū to work together.
The applicant wasn't helped by the fact that the initial non-notified resource consent application lodged with Horowhenua District Council in 2020 identified that the proposed course design had "no more than minor effects on cultural values".
The site was not registered in HDC's District Plan as being a site of significance.
The proposal did have wider community support, with 17 of the 19 submissions tabled in favour of the development.
Meanwhile, at the end of the hearing legal counsel John Maassen, representing Grendier Ltd, requested an adjournment of proceedings to allow the applicant an opportunity to respond to fresh concerns raised at the hearing.
Maassen said a shift in leadership and a change of view from what was intimated during the initial consultation was concerning, although the applicant was committed to fostering relationships with iwi.
The area of land and course design left little wiggle room for major alteration.
In his original submission Grenadier principal Hamish Edwards had said he didn't want to play lip service to the cultural aspects of the development.
He said educating people about the history of the land would be part of the experience offered to guests of the course, and iwi would be involved in discussions on how best to represent that.
"Sense of place is another key ingredient of the guest experience. We will tell the story and history of the land," he said.
"I have been to a number of golf courses where this is done very well, such as Old Head in Ireland, and poorly like Wee-Ko-Pa in Arizona, an Indian Reservation, where it is done very badly."
A caddy programme was mooted to help educate visitors about the history of the whenua.
