Trespassers blight family's land

By AINSLEY THOMSON

The wire fence juts down on to the rocks at Whale Bay. A sign warns trespassers not to enter whanau land.

But for many people the promise of the Raglan bay's perfect surf - it has one of the best left-hand breaks in the world - and seafood is just too tantalising. So they skirt the fence and walk straight on.

But Pablo Rickard, whose family own the land, is determined to keep control of access.

He has stopped them and explained why the land, overlooking the bay, is so significant to his family. Family members were baptised there and ashes scattered. Mr Rickard referred to the land as "the church". To walk across it was disrespectful, said Mr Rickard, a son of the late Maori activist Eva Rickard.

But that has not stopped repeat offenders. He had been in touch with police about issuing trespass notices against two people.

His late uncle, Sam Kereopa, used to greet trespassers with a shotgun. The shotgun did not work, but it scared people away. Mr Rickard feared Government plans to ensure public access to the foreshore would cause more tension. "People will say under the law they have the right to walk across the sacred land and destroy fishing grounds."

The fence enraged locals. One man, who did not wish to be named, said that the fence was a "sad but true" result of people claiming they owned the beach.

Mr Rickard said his family did not want to stop people from using the seafood or the surf. School and university groups regularly visited the bay, and surfers were not stopped from going to the beach.

"People can go there if they ask. They can ring us up and we will let them through the gate. But we are not going to open it up to the whole of Auckland."

Champion surfer Daniel Kereopa, a member of the family, said there was no problem as long as surfers were aware they did not have the right to walk across the land.