Ancient totara

I was interested to hear that a 51,000-year-old totara root buried under water in Tauranga harbour has delayed, by several years, the the construction of a pipeline through the harbour carrying human waste.

Tools used to remove this root have been badly damaged, and the cost in wasted time and council money has been enormous. It is surprising to note that the pipeline construction team had not researched the harbour bottom before starting work. The ancient roots appear to have been a surprise.

Pre-ice age ancient totara roots are quite common around the New Zealand coast. Titahi Bay beach has a wonderful beach front underground totara forest, which can be easily seen during periods of very low tide. The totara roots cross Cook Strait under water, and can often be seen at beaches in the Sounds.

Imagine what this pre-ice age 81,000-year-old forest must have looked like before it was drowned by climate change, when the ice began to melt.

This could easily happen again; we may not have to wait 81,000 years this time.

The residents of Titahi Bay and the Porirua City Council have worked hard to help preserve the roots, and cars are banned from the centre beach where the roots surface, reminding us at low tide that climate change is ancient history that could easily happen again, sooner than we think. ROSE HUDSON

Wellington