Oliver Shone died after an accident while playing among forestry slash on Waikanae Beach in Gisborne on January 25, 2023. He is pictured with grandfather Norman Gracie (left) and father Blair Gracie (right) in New Plymouth. Photo / Supplied
Oliver Shone was having so much fun.
He was an adventurer, a wannabe pirate, an animal lover.
The Wellington boy spent the day of January 25 playing and cycling with friends and spending precious time with a loved family member. They’d wound up at the beach.
Like many other 11-year-olds he wanted to run around and climb on the logs on the shore. It shouldn’t have cost him his life.
Oliver’s maternal grandfather was cooking dinner when he got an urgent phone call from his son.
He told him to pack everything up as Oliver had suffered an accident and they needed to go up to Gisborne from Wellington.
Multiple family members drove in convoy north on State Highway 1, rushing to get to Oliver’s side. But they hadn’t made it out of the region when another phone call came.
“It was then we heard the tragic news that Oliver had died in hospital about that time, after CPR efforts failed,” says his grandfather, who does not want to be named.
“That was an awful moment for all, as you can imagine.”
A Givealittle page to support Oliver’s family has raised nearly $13,000.
It’s not yet known exactly what happened as Oliver played on the beach.
One moment he was climbing on a log, the next he had fallen and suffered a fatal injury. A brief moment in a fun afternoon with incomprehensible consequences.
Oliver’s grandfather says he had some time over the following days to look into the state of Waikanae Beach in Gisborne, and was “appalled” at what he saw.
Photos from the beach show the shore littered with logs and branches, wood slash washed down from forestry sites that had been left covered in debris from harvesting.
“Both myself and my children are quite familiar with Waikanae Beach as much time was spent there . . . driftwood was generally present but not noticeable and certainly not a safety hazard as far as I was concerned,” the grandfather says.
The picture is now significantly different and has left locals and family questioning how such hazardous material can be allowed to contaminate the beaches.
Oliver’s uncle, who also does not want to be named, questions how the forestry industry could be allowed to “get away with creating such pollution”.
“I think if it was any other industry creating such pollution it simply wouldn’t be allowed.
“I think it’s disgusting and somebody needs to be held to account.”
Oliver’s paternal grandparents have spoken to a family member who was at the scene when Oliver was injured.
“She was as devastated, as we were; she said it was instantaneous,” grandfather Norman Gracie says.
“He had been there, jumping about the logs.
“Lots of people have been affected by that slash. Sadly, Oliver lost his life, just playing about.”
Gracie says he asked police whether the beach had been cordoned off prior to the accident, and was told it didn’t appear that it was. He says children aren’t going to read warning signs and there needs to be more done to prevent harm.
“Young boys don’t think.”
He also says people should just clean the beach up, rather than worry about whose responsibility it was.
“It’s not about politics, it’s just common sense . . . just do it.”
Two weeks before Oliver’s death, multiple rivers and streams in Tairāwhiti were overwhelmed by forestry waste products following Cyclone Hale.
It’s a particular issue in the district as much of Gisborne’s land is used for plantation forestry. There are 15 forestry companies operating in the area.
The waste product includes debris such as logs, branches and sticks which, when not disposed of, can be swept down rivers and streams during heavy rain - exacerbating flooding and in this case, clogging up Gisborne’s beaches with thick layers of wood. The waste can also end up being swept away due to landslides.
Slash made headlines in 2018 when Tolaga Bay and the Gisborne District was swamped with a million tonnes of the waste material following major rainfall, prompting a clean-up that cost tens of millions of dollars.
Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz won’t say whether the council knew which forestry company’s slash was at the beach the day Oliver died, only noting that the matter has been referred to the coroner.
Woody debris from last month’s cyclone was being analysed and if companies are in breach of environmental rules, the council will prosecute.
Council began increasing its monitoring, enforcement and resourcing around forestry slash from 2018, Stoltz says, as well as strengthening consent requirements and has successfully prosecuted five forestry companies.
She says Oliver’s death is “an unimaginable loss for his family”, and the council’s thoughts will always be with them.
The Natural and Built Environment Bill before Parliament would increase fines for environmental offences by companies from $600,000 to $10 million.
The powers of environmental enforcement agencies, such as regional councils, would also increase, as would the scope of orders courts could make against such offenders. There would be additional fines of up to $10,000 for each day or part-day that offending continued.
Environment Minister David Parker, who is behind the bill, says the debris situation is concerning.
“The source and content of the woody debris is being assessed. That said, forestry companies and landowners who plant and harvest wood products must comply with established rules around those activities and the relevant council is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the rules.
“The Government has implemented policies... and regulations designed to reduce the risk to the environment and the livelihoods of those in areas vulnerable to the outcomes of such weather events.”
Forestry Minister Stuart Nash sent his condolences to Oliver’s family but says he can’t comment because the matter is before the coroner.
A petition about the problem, started by organiser Hera Ngata-Gibson before Oliver’s death, calls to “stop the ongoing environmental disaster in Tairāwhiti” and has gained at least 9642 signatures.
“A review of acceptable land use in Tairāwhiti is seriously overdue, and we can’t afford to wait for the ten-year process currently proposed by Gisborne District Council,” the petition sates. “The region, the regulator and central government need encouragement to take stronger action faster.”
Philip Hope, chief executive of the Eastland Wood Council, which speaks collectively for the forestry industry in the Eastland region, says their hearts go out to Oliver’s family “as we cannot imagine what they are going through”.
Their primary concern is the safety of their teams and the public in impacted areas.
“While beach clean-ups are mostly completed in Tairāwhiti now after ex-tropical Cyclone Hale, we would urge the public to stay away from other impact areas where clean-ups are still ongoing,” he says.
He says that following the 2018 issues, the industry changed its practices to mitigate the risks “including real efforts to improve resilience inside the forest gate”.
“We also reduced harvest residues left on sites, increased focus on improving the quality and robustness of the in-forest road infrastructure that has significantly reduced the risk of failure, increased streamside buffers and re-vegetation with native species to protect waterways. We also want to keep having conversations with central and local government about what more we can do in the future.”
Hope says they understand the community’s frustration, but everyone needs to recognise woody debris comes from a variety of sources.
“As an industry, we are committed to do better to restore the trust of the public. We are looking forward to being part of any discussions about our future in the community we call home. We want to be part of the solution, and for us that means a broad and rational discussion about future land use of Tairāwhiti that considers all land users and is based on science.”
Of the 163,000 hectares of production forestry in Tairawhiti, approximately 130,000 hectares are represented by 11 forestry companies that are members of the Eastland Wood Council.
There are 819,000 hectares in the Tairawhiti region and forestry represents just 20 per cent of land area, Hope says.
“For every hectare in production forestry, there is 1.5 hectares in native vegetation.”
Stoltz says the issue of forestry slash is a “complex situation” needing support from Tairāwhiti as well as central government to make “the kind of transformational change that’s needed.
“We support the community’s call for an independent inquiry... and have been in conversations with our community, ministers, Eastland Wood Council, mana whenua and Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti.”
“Council is committed to protecting our environment for the future of our iwi, hapu, whanau, tamariki, manuhiri and all our communities.
“The consequences and effects on our community from these extreme events are heartbreaking and we need to ensure that we are doing everything possible to mitigate this.
“We need to work alongside each other to leave a better legacy for our children and the community of Tairāwhiti.”
She says forestry companies have been cleaning up the city beaches and Tolaga Bay.
Since 2022, the council has been working on managing woody debris after being hit by six severe weather events in 18 months.
It will support any government initiatives to introduce preventative measures to stop forestry industry practices that negatively impacted the environment.
The council also made submissions on the National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry and will do so again this year.
Oliver loved running around on the beach.
“That’s what we did when we were kids,” Gracie says.
He describes Oliver as a “typical 11-year-old boy” and a “very loving kid”.
He was “inquisitive, sensitive” and loved animals, he says.
The last time he saw Oliver was in November. “Our first impressions were that he had suddenly grown up. He was turning into a young man.”
Oliver was “advanced beyond his years”.
He loved the outdoors and “was always out on his bike somewhere”. He had been planning on spending more time on the water after recently getting a kayak.
Oliver was unique and “had his own style”, a sentiment echoed by others who knew him.
He liked to collect jewellery, says Gracie, reminiscing on a day spent perusing the shops on the Wellington waterfront, looking at bracelets and pendants.
“We bought him a ring and a crystal pendant.”
Oliver was also enthusiastic about his gaming, fantasy books, and ships.
He was interested in learning how things worked and how to fix them, and Gracie thinks given the chance Oliver might have grown up to work in some type of trade.
“He touched a lot of people. People were taken with him because you could have a conversation with him about just about anything . . . he used to go on about Donald Trump something rotten.”
Gracie and his wife had been looking at photos and videos of Oliver, and says they are now “treasured memories”.
He will miss Oliver’s company and conversation, saying he and his wife are handling his death “badly”, but have good support around them.
The day he died, Oliver had been cycling with his friends and spent a great day with a relative.
“He was having so much fun.”
“We will remember him as he was. He just had so much life in him, and such a future. We could only have wished the best for him.”
Oliver’s “first best friend”, Bobby Chilton-Nixon has been asking his mother about reincarnation following his friend’s death.
The pair met at primary school at the age of 5 and have been best friends ever since, mum Jo Nixon says.
“My son is very attracted to the quirky kids and Oliver was a quirky kid. They took an instant liking to each other.”
The boys had not seen as much of each other since heading to different schools recently but had still been playing online games together over the summer.
She says they are doing “okay”, and Bobby and his friends have been working together to make sure the things Oliver had built in Minecraft don’t get knocked down.
“They’re talking about building a memorial for him [in the game].”
She describes Oliver as a “pirate”, saying he would often dress up as one, even coming to school in a pirate outfit.
“He would come to school dressed as a captain and just totally own it.”
Oliver was “very staunch on bullies” and would not allow himself to be bullied, she says.
He had many interests, including a fascination with the Titanic, which he “knew all about”.
“At his birthday party it was ‘pin the steam thing on the Titanic’,” she says.
“He was just an adventurer. He marched to the beat of his own drum and he lived life full-on.”
Oliver had “vibrant, bright red hair” to match his personality.
Nixon’s mother mentioned coming to school one day and seeing 5-year-old Oliver carrying a single sheet of paper to the art room. The teacher had told him to take a stack of artwork there and he had figured if he took the sheets one by one he could delay returning to class.
“He had this cheekiness about him . . . he was a really special little boy and I just know how much he meant to [his mother]. They were in it together,” Nixon says.
She had visited Oliver’s mother this week and though she has friends who had lost loved ones before, “this is a different level of devastation”.
Whatever changes that could come about with legislation, forestry operators will be under increasing pressure now Oliver’s death has become a symbol of the controversy around forestry slash.
The accident even has Oliver’s friend Bobby questioning policy - Nixon says he asked her “what is the government going to do about this?”
“I told him ‘you can write to the Prime Minister and tell him that your friend died, and ask what is he going to do about it?’”
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