Boaties clog main street in protest at lakes ban

62 vehicles towed boats along Dargaville's main drag, in protest at a bylaw which could banish them from Kai Iwi Lakes.

A convoy of towed boats stretched 1.2km through Dargaville yesterday, in protest at a proposed bylaw that would see powerboats banned from Kai Iwi Lakes.

Protest organiser Colin Rowse said the aim was to raise awareness and encourage people to submit on Kaipara District Council's Draft Kai Iwi Lakes Bylaw 2015, currently out for public consultation.

Mr Rowse was bringing up the rear of the parade, which took about 20 minutes to pass along Victoria St, and described a "great turn out with no two boats alike".

"I had 50 down to take part and we had 62 turn up.

"The CBD in Dargaville is about 400m long so the front of the convoy had left town as the rest of us were just getting there. It created a lot of interest," he said.

Mr Rowse said he suspected most people in Dargaville did not know about the bylaw, which could abolish the use of powerboats in the Kai Iwi Lakes' Taharoa Domain catchment and rid the area of recreational watersports from as early as 2018.

Submissions on the bylaw can be made at kaipara.govt.nz.