Tumu Toka Curioscape - A true community effort
The official opening of the new visitor centre at Curio Bay on Thursday, July 19, will mark the culmination of a true community effort that has taken 16 years of hard work and tenacity to accomplish.
A significant Southland project, the Tumu Toka Curioscape Visitor Centre is the result of a collaboration between the South Catlins Charitable Trust, Southland District Council (SDC) and the Department of Conservation (DOC), supported by Venture Southland, the local Awarua ru¯nanga, and local volunteers.
The opening brings to fruition the vision of the South Catlins Charitable Trust, which was formed in 2002 with the aim of growing economic and employment opportunities in Southern Southland. At the same time, SDC was advertising the opportunity to lease the Council reserve at Curio Bay, which included the camping ground. The trust put forward a bid for the lease and was successful.
Aware that tourism had massive potential for growth in the area, the trust identified an urgent need to protect the unique environment at Curio Bay by educating visitors and managing the impact on the 170 million-year-old petrified forest, endangered Hector’s dolphins, yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho) and sea lions at Curio Bay and the surrounding Catlins area.
As the existing facilities at Curio Bay were inadequate for campers and day visitors, the trust’s priority was to build new toilets and a wastewater treatment system, as the septic tanks were failing during the busy summer season. A $300,000 grant from the Mataura Licensing Trust (MLT) kickstarted many years of local fundraising by the trust. The trust took the opportunity to buy the five hectare Smiths Bush block of native bush over the road from the Petrified Forest. This was renamed the Living Forest.
The purchase was funded by an interest-free loan from the Community Trust of Southland (CTOS) that has now been largely paid back.
With help from the Toitois Tokanui Lions Club and community, the forest has been fenced and now includes a loop walking track which will be extended in the future.
In the eight years since the trust took on this part of the project it has carried out a weed and pest control programme dealing with stoats, feral cats, rats and possums, and it is now seeing the benefits in both bird numbers and regeneration of the understory.
Under the trust’s watch there has been significant enhancement of the hoiho habitat in conjunction with DOC and many volunteers, with more than 6,000 native plants planted.
About seven years ago South Catlins Charitable Trust, SDC and DOC, supported by the Awarua ru¯nanga, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with each party taking on a role in the overall vision for Curio Bay.
In a co-ordinated project managed by Opus In- ternational Consultants, a new $1 million wastewater treatment system was installed and commissioned by Southland District Council, a new car park was developed, public toilets funded by DOC were installed in the visitor centre, and new walking tracks and signage were constructed.
As well, the trust bought a relocatable building in Invercargill and got it fitted out as an amenities block for the camping ground, including showers, toilets, a laundry and kitchen, at a cost of $300,000, all paid for by fundraising.
The seamless execution of the multi-faceted Tumu Toka Curioscape project was recognised in March this year when it won a national award for Best Practice Integrated Planning and Investigations at the New Zealand Planning Institute Awards.
South Catlins Charitable Trust chairman and Southland Deputy Mayor Paul Duffy said ‘‘that collaboration really made the difference to the project.
‘‘Each element depended on the other, and each aspect of the project relied on the other pieces of the puzzle falling into place. Without that level of collaboration the project simply would not have happened.’’
He acknowledges the crucial support of major funders CTOS, MLT, the Lottery Grants Board, Ministry of Business and Innovation, Southland Regional Heritage Committee and Toitois Tokanui Lions. Tumu Toka Curioscape will be officially opened by Southland District Mayor Gary Tong on Thursday, July 19.