Ask Phoebe: Plaque did escape 'scrappies'

The Mangatawhiri Reservoir in the Hunua Regional Park. Photo / Martin Sykes

Some time ago there was a bronze plaque on what was the scruffy triangle of scrubbery at the very end of the motorway exiting at the top of Nelson St/Union St intersection. I note the area is getting cleaned up but what happened to the Sir Robert Muldoon plaque commemorating the completion of the motorway in Nelson St? Maybe a few Dynabolts to the concrete sides of the motorway would deter the "scrappies". Richard Wallath, Epsom.

You'll be relieved to know the "scrappies" did not get their mitts on the plaque. Sarah Azam, media spokeswoman for the Transport Agency, says that the plaque hasn't been removed, just moved to a more visible spot. The old location was no longer viable because of the changes to the layout of the intersection for the new Nelson St Cycleway.

I am a member of Pukekohe Tramping Club and we regularly tramp Ernie's Track in the Hunua Regional Park, as it's a good five- to six-hour walk, close to home, and good for newer members with great view over Mangatawhiri Dam.

During our recent walk we sat alongside the remains of a hut/house for our lunch stop and people started wondering and talking about Ernie. Who was he? What did he do? And when?

I have tried online at Auckland Council parks website, rang the Hunua Ranger but to no avail. Can you please help? It would make a great article for our future newsletter. Barry Gibbon, President, Pukekohe Tramping Club.

Aaah. This is what Ask Phoebe is all about. Tony Oliver, southern principal ranger, says the late Ernie St Paul was born in Ardmore and was a member of the wider St Paul family. The St Paul homestead was at the top of the Hunua Range which is now part of the exotic forestry area. Ernie's actual house was at the tributary of the Mangatawhiri Valley and remnants of it are still there.

Ernie always referred to the track as the Hardridge Line. He was a real bushman, who smoked a pipe and was known for having a big beard. Ernie worked for the Water Department as a farm manager, as well as working in the manganese mine on St Pauls Rd. He retired at 65 and later died in Waikino in the Karangahake Gorge, but we do not know when. A former workmate, Peter Andrew, named the track after him as that's where Ernie had lived and worked before it was flooded when the dam was built.

If you do use this in your newsletter, please attribute it to the New Zealand Herald.

Tell us
Do you have a question for Phoebe? It can be about transport or any Auckland issue. Email askphoebe@nzherald.co.nz