By RNZ
A bach on Nelson’s Boulder Bank has been destroyed by a fire.
Several people reported the blaze just before 3pm on Monday, Fire and Emergency said, as columns of dark smoke rising from the flames were visible across Nelson Haven estuary.
Four firefighters and a portable water pump were taken to the site by the Nelson Harbourmaster, as there is no road access to the site.
On arrival, they found a small, single-level bach was fully alight and had partially collapsed.
Just before 5pm on Monday, firefighters were still at work combating the blaze, using the water pump as well as hand tools to ensure the fire was fully extinguished, Fire and Emergency said.
The cause was not known yet, but a fire investigator would visit the site on Tuesday.
There are several baches on the Boulder Bank – a naturally formed 13km rocky spit which protects Nelson City from Tasman Bay.
Six baches on the bank were recognised by Heritage New Zealand/ Pouhere Taonga in 2013 as being part of a historic area that includes the Boulder Bank lighthouse, lighthouse station remains and several middens.
Most of them were built in the late 19th century.
A bach on the bank was set on fire in 2021 and burned to the ground. Open Justice – Te Pātiti reported in 2022 that the man accused of burning the bach down was found not guilty, by reason of insanity.
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