Hokianga Harbour is the fourth largest in the country, and is home to a large number of indigenous species.
But the sprawling waterway needs attention to restore it to its former glory, and Northland Regional Council is putting up $300,000 to develop a business case for the remediation of the west coast harbour.
Māori call the harbour Te Hokianga-nui-a-Kupe - ‘’the place of Kupe’s great return’' - because it was here that their great voyaging ancestor, Kupe, made landfall from Hawaiki, and here that his descendants settled. Hokianga has been a nest for Europeans, too. Over the past two centuries, sawmillers, shipbuilders, missionaries, traders, farmers, fishers, hippies and artisans have found a home along its sheltering shores.
Council chairwoman Tui Shortland said the business case would estimate the cost and benefits of restoring the harbour, which the council acknowledges is of deep significance to mana whenua and the local community.
“This information could then be used to advocate for funding from central government alongside iwi and hapū,” Shortland said,