The Horokiokio Pā site will eventually be accessible to the public via the Ngāhinapōuri Walkway along the Mangahia Stream.
Video / NZ Herald
The Ngāhinapōuri Walkway aims to connect the community and restore the Mangahia Stream corridor.
The 4.3km walkway project involves local families and aims to promote walking and biodiversity.
Community members are engaged in planting and ecological restoration, with support from local iwi.
Community pride and learning stories of the area’s past are just two reasons that led to the idea of the Ngāhinapōuri Walkway along the Mangahia Stream.
The volunteers of the Ngāhinapōuri Walkway committee hope to create an asset for the community to bring a sense of connection and identity to the place they call home.
Planning started only two years ago in the small Waikato village but the history that has been unravelled pre-dates the New Zealand Wars.
The walkway was originally a dream of committee chairman Brian Marcroft, Reid Rd resident of 82 years, and now it is slowly coming to fruition.
Several long-serving community members and landowners are on the committee, including the Finlaysons, Vickers and Reids, whose families have been neighbours for more than 150 years.
The group hopes to promote the wellbeing of the community with a track to encourage walking, cycling and community engagement while also restoring the biodiversity of the Mangahia Stream corridor.
This links in with the work done by the Mangahia Catchment Group – exploring the connection to the Mangahia Peat Lake, protecting the kahikatea forest and corridor and improving the quality of the Waipā River.
The 4.3km walkway will take several years to complete, depending on volunteers and funding, with the hope it will lead from the Ngāhinapōuri School to the Waipā River.
Properties involved in this project belong to the Finlayson, Vickers, Coombes, Fullerton/Gore and Reid families as well as the Waipā District Council.
The Ngāhinapōuri Walkway plan - from Mangahia Lane to the Waipā River.
“The Ngāhinapōuri Walkway Project is the perfect example of a community-led project, which Waipā District Council fully supports,” Waipā District Mayor Susan O’Regan said.
“In June last year, alongside a few of intrepid councillors, I walked the planned trail with the landowners. Since that time, significant progress has been made and an open day was held in April this year.
“The project ticks all the boxes for us – it is grassroots-driven, it centres around ecological restoration, incorporates cultural and historical perspectives and aligns with everything we heard from our communities through developing Ahu Ake – Waipā Community Spatial Plan.
“On a personal level, it resonates with me as I see fellow farmers generously sharing the natural beauty of the environment we are fortunate to live in and it aims to protect that accessibility for future generations.
“It will be a valuable legacy to leave and I congratulate all involved.”
The Ngāhinapōuri Walkway committee and Mangahia Catchment Charitable Trust have been busy over the past months.
“Part of the vision of creating a walkway with enduring public access involves quite a bit of background work,” committee member Michelle Templer said in the monthly Ngāhinapōuri Community News.
“We also are committed to both protecting and restoring the stream corridor to create a fantastic natural environment for birds, bats and the many native fish species that will find refuge in the stream.
“This has involved ongoing weed and pest control readying the land for replanting. As part of this, we have undertaken a major fundraising application to cover plants, protective fencing, pest control traps and native trees including long-lived species such as tōtara, kōwhai, rewarewa, and kahikatea.
“We don’t know if we will be successful, but we learned a lot about the costs and also got rather excited about the new ethical traps that are available. We have also received a number of donations to the charitable trust, which we are very grateful for.”
It’s not just about providing locals with a scenic stroll.
The project will connect locals with the history of the area, dating back to pre-European times.
Access from Old School Rd will take visitors through native bush – with possible glow-worm viewing at night – to the Horokiokio Pā site, which overlooks the Waipā River across to Te Pahū.
Part of The Horokiokio Pā site will eventually be accessible to the public via the Ngāhinapōuri Walkway. Photo / Jesse Wood
Here, the land tells a visual story of what was once a home to local iwi.
Looking down from the pā site, visitors will see where the Mangahia Stream converges with the Waipā River, and they will be able to trek down to the stream mouth.
Part of recognising the history includes celebrating the Horokiokio Pā and ensuring mana whenua’s history is conveyed, but the committee assure that the pā site will not be touched.
Mana whenua have been fully engaged in the discussions and support this important work, with Dr Te Taka Keegan being an active founding member of the Mangahia Catchment Charitable Trust.
Keegan is a Māori language revivalist and is descended from the Waikato-Maniapoto and Ngāti Apakura iwi.
“Mana whenua are excited about this project as it provides an avenue to restore an important waterway to a more original state for the enjoyment and benefit of the whole community,” Keegan said.
“It further provides an impetus to research some of our histories for this waterway and area including the Māori pā that was located near the confluence of the Mangahia Stream and Waipā River.”
Last Sunday, a community planting day took place at the Ngāhinapōuri village end of the track.
Marcroft said it was a successful day with beautiful weather and nearly 500 natives were planted.
There is still much more pest and weed control to come as well as clearing a path through farmland with hopes for boardwalk construction to begin in the summer of 2025/2026.
If anyone is interested in helping create this community asset, there are many ways to be involved.
The group need your skills, support, community spirit, time and energy.
For more information, email the Mangahia Catchment Charitable Trust via mangahia@ngahinapouri.nz.
The site of the first school (1877-1912) will be accessible via the Ngāhinapōuri Walkway. Photo / Jesse Wood
Ric Balfour, Felicity Brough, Cameron Coombes, Daniel Finlayson, Ben Frost, David Fullerton, David Hallett, Mark Harrop, Te Taka Keegan, Brian Marcroft (chairman), Martin Reid, Michelle Templer, Pieter van Dongan, Martin Vickers.
Project progress to date
Charitable Trust established
Consultation and agreement from private landowners for public access
Mangahia Catchment Group formed
New Zealand Landcare Trust engaged for track building, and stream, waterways restoration
Working with NZ Outdoor Access Commission to create “legal trail” including funded survey of public access easement
Waipā District Council engaged and supportive
Ecological DNA report on the stream
Ecological report on the bush section, now restoration and planting plan
Ongoing engagement with mana whenua
GPS of walkway route, concept design of walkway and carparks
Jesse Wood is a multimedia journalist based in Te Awamutu. He joined NZME in 2020.
