Tairāwhiti news digest: Beach cleanup progress, Thursday fires, weather impacts grape harvest

Machinery went back on the city beachfront again on Thursday to conduct yet another cleanup of driftwood debris from the most recent heavy rain event. Photo / Murray Robertson

Gisborne’s beaches have begun to get back to their best thanks to rapid work by contractors Siteworx Civil in removing the latest driftwood buildup.

The beaches were looking sharp before Christmas thanks to Gisborne District Council contracted debris removal, but heavy rain on Boxing Day undid the good work.

Contractors moved back onto the beach on Thursday.

They have raked up the medium- to larger-sized debris, starting at The Cut and working their way west along the foreshore.

“We’ve made good progress with the work,” a company spokesman said on Friday.

Contractors have been raking up the medium to larger-sized debris and trucking it off the beach for disposal. Considerable progress has been made since they started on Thursday. Photo / Murray Robertson

They had moved past Roberts Rd by mid-morning and also began grooming the beach areas in front of Midway and Waikanae surf life-saving clubs, to pick up and remove the smaller pieces of driftwood.

“We should be up past Midway with medium and bigger stuff by sometime on Monday.”

Siteworx Civil also removed driftwood debris from around the mouth of the Okitu Stream (Hamanatua Stream) at Wainui.

The council had contractors open up the mouth of the Okitu (Hamanatua) Stream at Wainui, a move welcomed by the Wainui Surf Life Saving Club.

They also opened up the mouth of the stream to allow more direct flow into the sea, a move welcomed by Wainui surf lifeguards.

Gisborne District Council woody debris programme manager Rod Sheridan said the team targeted large logs around the mouth of the stream that posed a risk to people and the environment.

“The community may notice that smaller debris is left behind. We are taking this approach to maximise our funding and ensure that we can remove as much risk as possible from our beaches.”

Three Gisborne fires on Thursday

Firefighters in Gisborne city were called out three times on Thursday to fires that involved a gas pipe leak, overcooked food in a microwave and burning driftwood debris.

The first came in at about 11am and happened at a house in Kaiti.

“A contractor was doing some work on a gas pipe in the house with a grinder that started a small fire in the wall,” a senior firefighter said.

A fire crew had the fire out quickly.

“Everyone got out of the property alright, though the contractor suffered some minor injuries.”

Firefighters were called to a home in Whataupoko at 2pm where some food cooked in a microwave had overheated and started to burn.

“The incident illustrates the care people should take when setting the timer on their microwaved food,” the senior firefighter said.

The third call for the day, at 11pm, involved an investigation.

“We were called to the quarry in Matokitoki Valley, where a burn-off of debris was under way.”

“The fire was well-managed and controlled and it was left to burn.”

The firefighters took no action.

The first sheep sale of 2025 at the Matawhero yards on Friday was positive with good prices paid in the Ewe Fair and store lamb prices up from pre-Christmas.

‘Good demand’ at year-opening Ewe Fair sale

The first stock sale of 2025 at Gisborne’s Matawhero saleyards on Friday was the annual Ewe Fair and stock agents involved say it got the year off to a positive start.

Nearly 7300 ewes changed hands.

”It was met with good demand,” PGG Wrightson’s Hamish Holst said.

”We had buyers here from all over - locals and others from the likes of Te Kuiti, Whakatāne and down to Hawke’s’Bay.”

Holst said the best of the two-tooths ewes on offer made $210.

”They were Romneys from Kouka Station at Nūhaka.”

Five-year ewes from Waitangi Terraces at Te Karaka realised $180.

”The two-tooths and five-year-olds made up the bulk of the fair,” Holst said.

In the weekly sheep sale held in conjunction with the fair, the best of the prime sheep made $155.

”The store lambs presented was a good market after all the rain, and the top price paid for them was $167.

”It was a strong market for them compared to what we had prior to Christmas when it was quite dry.”

The unseasonal southerly weather pattern in the past fortnight has begun to increase disease pressure on the district's grape crop.

Weather impact on grape crop

The unseasonal southerly weather pattern in the past fortnight has started to increase disease pressure on the district’s grape crop.

Gisborne winegrowers chairman Mark Thompson said the weather had also been hampering work in the vineyards.

“It’s not great weather right now. We need some consistent summer warmth and sunshine.”

A start to harvest can be expected in late February.