Otaua Update

A short note to let you know that it appears that the Tavern is still for sale.... there could be a few offers on the table but as far as the rumours go..... it's still anyone's who wants to pay enough - or possibly to whoever makes an acceptable offer.

It doesn't appear to be too actively promoted apart from a sign on the fence.

Should you want to start a village-friendly business or enterprise, or just turn it into a home, you know you will be well supported by the friendly villagers.

You may also like to check out other properties for sale in Otaua and these Otaua properties listed on Trade Me:


http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-me-property/Rural-property/auction-247247898.htm
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-me-property/Lifestyle-property/auction-237796027.htm
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-me-property/Residential-property/Sections-for-sale/auction-243742243.htm
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-me-property/Lifestyle-property/auction-249685840.htm

And if you are reading this from overseas or outside of Waiuku, follow the link below to find an update on most things Waiuku, including the annual round of local primary school "Calf Club" days.

http://www.deedprint.co.nz/frontpages_page/this_weeks_post.pdf

Where to now for Otaua?

Now that the new Auckland Super City boundaries have been defined, it seems Otaua and Aka Aka will now join part of Waiuku, Tuakau and Buckland and everywhere in between to become part of the Waikato Region. The rest of Franklin District including the other side of Waiuku.... goes to Auckland Super City.

Otaua will definitely stay in the Waikato because of the river's catchment area - and also because of the messy ramifications of trying to separate the north side of the Waikato River when Environment Waikato and Tainui already have a good working relationship.The government do not want a third party like Auckland City involved.

Regardless of opinions for or against or even if you are just plain bewildered with this situation, it is important that we demand adequate local body or regional representation so that we don't end up being rate-paying refugees. Where will our nearest representative for the Waikato administration be? Councillor Jenny Hayman was concerned enough to draw our attention to the question of representation at the recent Otaua Village Preservation Society AGM, and the meeting was very receptive to her concerns.

We currently have representation in Franklin District through the Waiuku Ward representatives. Community Board member, Jo Naysmith, helped with the Oil Plant fight from day one.


Have you seen the advertisement in the local paper about the AkaAka Otaua Land Drainage Area Annual Ratepayers Meeting? (What will the "Franklin County News" be called in the future?)

" The Annual Meeting of the ratepayers for the District will be held in the Aka Aka School Hall on Monday 21st September commencing 7.30pm

IMPORTANT: Mr Peter Buckley, Chairman of Environment Waikato, will be in attendance to discuss the proposed southern boundary for the Auckland Super City

AND: a comparison of rates (where available) between Franklin District Council and Waikato District Council will be tabled.

This could be a good opportunity to find out more about the whole situation. It will be interesting to finally meet Mr Buckley as he had previously declined all invitations to attend or support, in his capacity as Environment Waikato representative, any of the proceedings to do with this area's fight against WPC.

If you feel strongly enough about the lack of information or reassurance of adequate representation for this area, you may like to contact the Local Government Commission in Wellington and express your concerns about how our community of interest will be represented under Auckland local government changes. Feel free to use any of the following ideas or add your own concerns.

".....We have concerns about our community of interest and how that will be represented. under the Auckland local government changes. It seems we are to be dislocated from or logical, and closest service centre, 5 minutes away in Waiuku, and administratively aligned with Waikato to which we have no direct or logical access. We would like the Local Government Commission to meet with representatives of the Otaua Community to discuss our community of interest and representation arrangements for Otaua and environs...."

It is important to do this urgently (I think... before the end of September but could be corrected on this).

Horsing Around - in Otaua on Auckland Anniversary Weekend 2010

In this and the following post, find out about an exciting event happening in Otaua on Auckland Anniversary Weekend, 2010.

Also - be in to win $2000, $1000 or $500 in a raffle which is a joint [50/50] fund raiser for OVPS and CDRC [Counties Distance Riding Club]. There are 100 only tickets and they are selling for $100 each.

There are 5 prize draws: one of $2000, two of $1000 and 2 of $500. Ticket holders therefore have a 1 in 20 chance of a prize. Not bad odds actually! The proceeds [$5,000] will go $2500 to each group.

Contact Jeanette Rea for more information.

email - madeinheaven@xtra.co.nz

phone - 2352884 or 027 2862314

Counties Distance Riding Club

FEI North Island Championship Competition

January 30/31 and February 1, 2010

Counties Distance Riding Club

Counties Distance Riding Club [CDRC] is your local [equestrian] Endurance club. We are a ‘not for profit’ organisation managed by a small committee of local Waiuku and Pukekohe residents and have hosted Endurance events throughout the Franklin District for the last 15 years,

As a club we are affiliated to Endurance NZ. Endurance NZ, along with Eventing, Showjumping and Dressage is a full discipline member of Equestrian Sport NZ. In turn Equestrian Sport NZ is aligned to FEI - Federation Equestre Internationale, the controlling body for equestrian sports worldwide.

Endurance

Endurance is essentially a marathon on horseback. It is exciting and challenging - testing the skill and horsemanship of the rider together with the stamina and speed of the horse, over long distances.

Classes cover distances from 40 km to 160 km and are controlled by strict veterinary examinations before the start, during the event and after the finish. It is a timed, ‘first past the post’ race, open to all breeds of the species equuis [horse].

The classes at Championship events are set by the FEI ‘Star System’ whereby the horse and rider must have qualified through the system to be eligible to enter... Qualifying criteria takes many years of hard work, long training hours and dedication to achieve. Many combinations do not ‘make the cut’.

At these top events 160 km’s can be completed at speeds of 20 km per hour and can have horses vying for top placings in a full gallop finish as if at the racetrack!

The Event

Over the weekend of January 30/31 and Feb 1 2010 [Auckland Anniversary Weekend] CDRC are to host the FEI North Island Championship Competition.

This prestigious event will run under FEI Rules and Regulations and will be complete with international officials and invitations to all other countries to attend.

The Races

There will be many classes over the two days of racing, involving up to 120 horses.

FEI 3* 160 km/FEI 2* 120 km/FEI 1* 100 km as well as 120 km, 80 km and 40 km National classes... Both Senior and Junior competitors are catered for.

In the highest ranked 160 km class some competitors will be happy to simply complete and thereby achieve their first ‘buckle’. Others will be hotly contesting the NI Championship title and in doing so will also be aiming for selection into the EnNZ team to compete at the World Equestrian Games to be held in Kentucky, USA in September 2010.

The Championship events of 2009 attracted large numbers of top quality entries, turning out an extremely high standard of competition. This included taking over 30 minutes off the New Zealand speed record for 160 kms at the Mitavite National Championships, which had a total riding time of 8 hours 24 minutes 37 seconds. This is an average speed of 19.02 kph over 160 kms. The calibre of the competition was highlighted with 5 horse/rider combinations finishing within 12 minutes of the winner and a further 10 combinations coming through the finish within the hour. For much of the race there was a large group vying for the lead and with no one wanting to relinquish their position it was very exciting running indeed.

Base Camp

CDRC have very kindly been given permission from Gwyneth and Barry Smith to base up in their paddock on Maioro Rd directly opposite the tavern site, for the week it will take to move everybody on and then off site again. The population of the village will more than double for that week and it will appear as though the circus has come to town!

Hopefully it will be as much fun.

The Course

Without a course we do not have an event and so therefore the course is the single most important feature of any plan we have or preparation we make.

Along with the use of land and facilities for base camp, in order to put a course together we rely very heavily on the generosity of the local landowners, businesses and territorial authorities.

As you can imagine, when you are looking to find 160 km of course this involves the willingness and co operation of a lot of people.

For this event we will need to be working alongside the Environment Waikato/Aka Aka Otaua Drainage Board, FDC/Waiuku Forest, the Minesite and many many local landowners.

Pam Maurice and myself, Jeanette Rea are the course designers.

In designing a course we find and mark a number of ‘loops’.

With a view to being able to put a course together we have ‘loops’ as follows tentatively mapped out.

1. Otaua - Aka Aka 30 km

2. Otaua - Aka Aka ‘cut off’ 20 - 25 km

3. Otaua - Waiuku Forest 25 - 30 km

4. Waiuku Forest internal 20 - 25 km

5. Waiuku Forest - Otaua 25 -30 km

Loop 1 Route - Otaua - Aka Aka following the Drainage Board stopbanks

From base onto the Otaua Creek and out to the Waikato River to the Otaua floodgate.

Up river all the way to Bregman/Eastern Drain/Liefting floodgate.

Inland following Bregman/Eastern Drain to Hill Road.

Along Hill Road to Aka Aka Stream Road.

Follow Hermitage Drain and Aka Aka Stream all the way back to the river at the Aka Aka Stream floodgate...

Down river to Awaroa floodgate .

Up Awaroa River to the junction of Summerville Drain.

Across country following Otaua - Aka Aka Road back to Otaua Village.

Loop 2 Route - Otaua - Aka Aka with a ‘cut off’ following the Drainage Board stopbanks

As per loop 1 to the intersection of Eastern and Arrowville Drains [Arrowville Road] then left...

Onto Union Drain and then Aka Aka Stream to the Aka Aka Stream floodgate.

Down the river to the Awaroa floodgate.

As per loop 1 back to base.

Loop 3 - Otaua - Waiuku Forest

As per loop 1 out to the Otaua floodgate at the river.

Down the river as far as possible on the stopbanks to get as close as possible to the mine site [Contour Drain floodgate or Hills Drain floodgate].

Internal forestry and mine site.

Loop 4

All internal forestry and mine site.

Loop 5

Internal forest and mine site and then loop 3 in reverse back to base.

Vet Gates

Each race is broken into phases with a vet gate in between. The skill involved in presenting the horse to the veterinary commission in the shortest time is enormous and many a race has been won or lost at a vet gate - a scenario similar to formula one racing pit stops.

At these vet gates the horses are checked by the veterinary panel. Here the heart rate must be 64 beats per minute or lower within 20 minutes of arriving back at the start/finish line, and other criteria, including ‘soundness’ must be met.

A 4 - lane vet gate will be set up at base camp for the processing of horses throughout the duration of the weekend. Concurrently and necessitated by the character of the proposed course there will be a smaller ‘out’ vet gate operating in the forestry.

In summary Endurance is globally the fastest growing of the FEI Equestrian disciplines... It has a profile across much of the world and the level of performance and sophistication in the combinations and the events at which they compete has progressed dramatically over recent years.

Everyone loves a horse race and this is just another one!

Otaua - World Famous in Horse Circles

Counties Distance Riding Club
FEI North Island Championship Competition
January 30/31 February 1, 2010

Hello Otaua and Aka Aka,

Counties Distance Riding Club is the local [equestrian] Endurance riding club.
Over Auckland Anniversary Weekend next year we are hosting the North Island Championship Competition.

As a club we are committed to hosting this event – it is a big deal for all involved – organising committee and potential competitors alike.

We are looking to put on not just a great event but also a fast ride – necessary to help get some of our top athletes, horses and riders alike, qualified for the World Equestrian Games to be held in Kentucky, USA in September 2010.

For a course to be fast it needs to contain some ‘flat running’, contour that cannot be found in our traditional riding grounds closer to the coast. If we are able to access the stop banks/drains throughout the Otaua/Aka Aka areas then this will be possible.

To this end we seek the support of local landowners, along with a myriad of others (Drainage Board, Minesite, Crown Forestry etc).

In return for local backing and access through this system of waterways across privately owned land we are proposing to, in conjunction with the OVPS, raise funds and offer fundraising opportunities through the duration of the event, for the local community.
So that you can get a better idea of what we are trying to establish, I have attached for all to peruse a document detailing Counties Distance Riding Club, our sport, and the event we are planning to hold, including the proposed course.

As you will see this event does require the co operation of a lot of people – accordingly we look forward to your participation!

Over the course of the next few weeks and as planning progresses we will be endeavouring to introduce ourselves to everybody on an individual level but as the route we are proposing is largely out of the range of landowners we have historically dealt with, it is going to take us some time to find out who you all are.

In the meantime then, if you recognise your farm as being on our ‘wish list’ please feel free to be in touch with us to register your support!

With many thanks,

Jeanette Rea

Contact Details
Jeanette Rea
Phone [day] 027 2862314
Phone [evening] 2352884
Fax 2352384
Email madeinheaven@xtra.co.nz

Pam Maurice
Phone [day] 027 2760506
All other details as above.

Otaua Village News in the Waiuku Post 02.09.09

Below is a cut-and-paste of an article from this week's Waiuku Post.

Of particular interest is that Otaua will be the venue for a national endurance horse riding event early next year.

Wouldn't it be great if the tavern could be reopened in time to benefit from the many incoming visitors to this area over the next Auckland Anniversary weekend... so,if you were thinking of buying it.....

Otaua group sets sights on new projects for village

Franklin District councillor, Jenny Hayman, spoke at the Otaua Village Preservation Society’s AGM last week and said the society would still have a valuable role in influencing the future representation and identity of this area.

Referring to the forthcoming Super City changes, Jenny noted Otaua is at the very fringe of the city and is likely be easily overlooked.

The society’s AGM also saw some changes on the committee, as well as looking ahead to some new projects and initiatives in the area.

Janice Price takes over from Cathie Newton as secretary, while Bill Lee and Mark Vincent have now swapped places: Bill is now the president and Mark the vice-president.

Cathie Newton was one of the main instigators of the community meetings when it first heard about the possible waste oil plant on the Otaua Tavern site and Mark said she had put in a huge amount of work to get the group together and collate the required information to form an incorporated society.

“It is often the way that those with the least amount of time are the ones that give the most. Cathie is one of the busiest people I know and spends much of her spare time doing university studies. She will now have more time to study so we wish her well for the future and are grateful for her organisational skills which steered the society through a successful year,” Mark said.

Stuart Meyers is staying on as treasurer until the group can find a replacement.

Looking ahead to the future of Otaua and the surrounding area, the Otaua Village Preservation Society now has a subcommittee to consider the future of the Otaua Tavern site, and they are open to any ideas or suggestions from the community.

Janette Rae presented an exciting proposition for the Otaua/Aka Aka area at the AGM. Janette is helping organise a national and international endurance event for horse and rider to be held early next year (Auckland Anniversary Weekend January 30, 31, Feb 1).

The meeting endorsed its support for the event and Madonna Harris, a local New Zealand Olympian and High Performance manager, expanded Janette's presentation and spoke highly of the potential of this region for future events, not to mention the unique geography of the region, which is seen as ideal for additional walking/cycle and equestrian ways to the national network.

Below is the link to the latest Waiuku Post - although I think it only saves the current and previous week's issue

http://www.deedprint.co.nz/frontpages_page/this_weeks_post.pdf

OVPS President's Report from AGM

President's Report by Mark Vincent
for the Otaua Village Preservation Society AGM,
Wednesday 26th August 2009.

It has been an incredibly eventful year and the OVPS has been through a huge amount of work since the last General Meeting.

John Tinkler was co-opted onto the committee in place of Jack Pratt who resigned for family reasons. We appreciate John’s valuable input to meetings and society activities. Stuart Meyers has also taken over the role of treasurer from Lynda Meyers. Sarah Walworth resigned from the committee too, due to family commitments. A big thanks to Sarah, Lynda and Jack for their efforts over the last couple of years.

I would like to acknowledge all the committee members for their dedication and hard work over the last year.

There have been huge highs and lows this year. Notably, the Franklin District Council reneged on an earlier decision and have allowed a free range chicken farm to be established on Hoods Landing Road.

Those affected by this were quite bewildered and bitter; not so much by the decision itself but the rather backhanded way in which it came about. For me, it reinforced my dismay in the way that the Franklin District Council officers treat its citizens, although Councilor Peter Sands was particularly supportive and helpful throughout all of the proceedings.

During the Commissioner’s hearings in November and December of 2008 for the proposed waste oil treatment plant on the site of the Otaua Tavern, I was humbled and amazed by the eloquent and well-researched oral submissions presented to the commissioner. So many people were involved in presenting oral submissions and I have to mention Suzanne Day, not a resident of Otaua but Taurangaruru, who put in many hours of time researching her submission. Thanks also to all the people who sent in written submissions to the Franklin District Council and those who turned up to the council chambers. These all contributed to the Commissioner’s decision and overwhelmingly demonstrated the amenity of Otaua, which the Council planners had dismissed as insignificant.

I would also like to acknowledge Councillor Jenny Hayman who presented an oral submission for the Village Society. Although living in Pukekawa and representing a southern ward of Franklin, Jenny has roots in Otaua through the Denize family and has been supporting us from the beginning.

Commissioner Kit Littlejohn decided that Waste Petroleum Combustion Ltd would not be allowed to relocate their plant to the Otaua Tavern site. It is unlikely this decision would have come about if it were not for the written and oral submissions by Vance Hodgson. He became involved through his friendship with the Thornton family and used his expertise and experience in town planning to put forward an impressive case on our behalf, which contributed significantly towards the commissioner’s decision.

Greg Vincent (a former solvent and oil recycling plant manger) came over from Australia especially for the hearings, the village society sent gifts in gratitude to Greg, Suzanne Day and Vance Hodgson as a token of our appreciation for their efforts.

We also acknowledged Faith Thumath from the Franklin County News for providing considerable and balanced coverage of this issue.

Few were surprised when WPC Ltd lodged an appeal against the decision to the Environment Court.

We had to have legal representation and Vance Hodgson recommended Lachlan Muldowney, a specialist Environmental Barrister from Tompkins Wake Lawyers in Hamilton. Lachlan is used to representing District and Regional Councils so we believed this would provide valuable knowledge from “the other side of the fence”.
The Village Society hired Lachlan and earlier this year he attended a specially organised meeting at the Otaua Hall to discuss and answer questions on the likely course of events.

I have had a lot of communication with Lachlan and his associate, Shaun Plant, over the last few months and I found them both easy to get on with and extremely professional. I was confident that, when the court proceedings started, we had a very good chance of winning.

At that time, we thought the Franklin District Council would be forced into defending Commissioner Littlejohn’s decision, and that they would hire lawyers and switch to our side against WPC Ltd in the Environment Court.

However, the Franklin District Council had yet to vote on whether they would in fact defend the decision. The OVPS committee was not only concerned about this but also the Council’s level of commitment due to the probable costs involved.

A committee meeting was organised with Mayor Mark Ball, Danny Lynch and Peter Sands attending. We came away from that meeting feeling they supported the commissioner’s decision, and of course, Jenny Hayman and Jo Naysmith were trying to do all they could to influence the council as well. Mark Ball also reassured us that he thought we had a pretty watertight case to present in the Environment Court

The committee has had to do a fair bit of research to find out about specialist consultants for things like noise, traffic, planning and landscaping who may be required to appear as witnesses at the Environment Court.

It was rapidly becoming clear that even mounting a low budget case in the court was going to be a tall order financially. I think this is when this community really came into its own and demonstrated what “amenity” really means.

The OVPS committee formed a fund raising sub committee utilising local experience.
These people have done some fantastic work over the last few months so congratulations and thanks to them and all the others involved.

The fundraising activities organised were an outstanding success. We all remember the garage sale and the trivial pursuits evenings, which seemed to run like clockwork.
There may well be other successful fundraising activities organized in the future.

Most of the money raised has already been used to pay for lawyers’ fees.

The Otaua Village Preservation Society has successfully applied for and received funding assistance from the Ministry for the Environment, this is only for proceedings to do with WPC Ltd.

Public interest in the issue is cited as a major reason for awarding the grant. Reports in the Franklin County News plus news items on both National TV networks undoubtedly influenced their decision.

We will be able to retrospectively apply for money paid to Tompkins Wake Lawyers from the 19th of May onwards. This means we will at least get some of our money back.

I’m sure you already know that Waste Petroleum Combustion Ltd. withdrew their appeal to the Environment Court. This means our two- year fight against the possibility of Otaua Tavern becoming a waste oil treatment plant is over.

There was a veiled implication that the withdrawal would be conditional on the Village Society not pursuing costs in the Environment Court. However, any costs awarded to us by the court would have had to be passed straight on to the lawyers for representing us to get the costs in the first place - pretty much nullifying the whole procedure.

So in the legal equivalent of biting our tongues, we decided not to pursue costs from WPC Ltd. This brought a swift end to the saga.

This leaves us wondering what will happen to the tavern site and how, as a community we could secure or influence the future of the site for the long-term benefit of Otaua Village.

Finally, as I promised nearly two years ago, I made a commitment to remain President of the Society until we won the fight against WPC Ltd., so I would like to step down from this position but will continue to support the Otaua Village Preservation Society in any way I am able. I would particularly like to encourage people to support and use the facilities we already have in Otaua, such as the bowling club, the church, school, play-centre, the Otaua Hall and the tennis courts so that we can maintain the “amenity” we all fought so hard to defend.

Thankyou.

OTAUA VILLAGE PRESERVATION SOCIETY

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

WEDNESDAY 26 AUGUST 2009

OTAUA HALL at 7.00PM

Despite all the rumours, the Tavern is not yet sold, and although Waste Petroleum Combustion’s application has been withdrawn there is no hard news about possible developments for the site, which the community may like to support, or others which the community would need to have a look at….

We cannot therefore just go to sleep on the issue.

We need you to show your continued support for the Society by coming along to the AGM, voicing your opinions and helping with the election of Officers.

The Society is assisting with the Counties Distance Riding Club FEI North Island Championship Competition which will be held in the Otaua and Aka Aka area on 30/31 Jan and 1 Feb next year.

A presentation about the event will be made at the AGM, so there is even more reason to come along and find out about this prestigious occasion, and how YOU can help to make it a success and put the area on the map.

DON’T FORGET – OTAUA HALL

7.00PM

ON THE 26TH AUGUST