Rod Brown's book Wairoa Stream Kerikeri tells story behind track to hidden waterfall

Rod Brown's book Wairoa Stream Kerikeri: Restoration of a Hidden Treasure tells the story of how volunteers restored access to a long-lost waterfall. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A new book charts the history of a volunteer project which restored public access to a long-lost Kerikeri waterfall.

Wairere Falls, previously also known as the hidden waterfall, is a short distance from central Kerikeri yet was almost inaccessible for 60 years as land was subdivided then overgrown with weeds.

People had talked for decades about reopening the track — which was used by Māori in pre-European times and by British troops during the Northern War of 1845-46 — but made little headway until Rod Brown, founder of community group Vision Kerikeri, made it a personal mission in 2013.

The track, which is now heavily used, opened in 2017 and continues to be extended further up Wairoa Stream.

Rod Brown speaks during the opening of a track to the long-lost Wairere Falls in 2017. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Brown has now self-published a 60-page book to record the history of the track's restoration and pay homage to the volunteers behind it.

It follows the progress of the track-building project from the bottom of Pa Rd, where it links up with existing Department of Conservation tracks, then follows Wairoa Stream upstream to the waterfall and to Cobham Rd.

It then continues on the other side of the Cobham Rd bridge through what used to be a weed-infested, rubbish-strewn wasteland next to Kerikeri's industrial area, but has now been fully replanted and restored.

Volunteers are currently working on a section of track along a Wairoa Stream tributary which will eventually emerge opposite the VTNZ testing station at the top of Mill Lane.

The previously unnamed tributary was recently given the name Te Tahawai by local hapū Ngāti Rēhia.

''The objective is to create a near continuous forest — by planting, weed control, and linking forest remnants — to form a public walkway and wildlife corridor.''

Ultimately Brown said he would like to see the track go all the way to the source of Wairoa Stream, a spring at Cottle Hill near the top of Bulls Gorge, but he would likely have to leave that to another generation.

The book, called Wairoa Stream Kerikeri: Restoration of a Hidden Treasure, also touches on the history of Kerikeri, habitat restoration, weed and pest control, and the role played by local schools.

The book was designed by fellow Vision Kerikeri member Cliff Mail and printed in Auckland. It is available for $30 from summerhouse.kerikeri@gmail.com.