Welcome to Pa¯tea wha¯nau
He walked to raise awareness, money and protect our coast.
Hemi Ngarewa prays every day that seabed mining will not go ahead off the Taranaki coast.
That’s why when Athol Steward and his family made their way into Mana Bay in Pa¯ tea on their journey from Raglan, Ngarewa welcomed them.
‘‘From all of us here in Pa¯ tea, friends, and organisations, we thank you very much.’’
Steward had been walking 400 kilometres of the west coast since October 28 in an attempt to raise money for the high court appeal Kiwis against Seabed Mining (Kasm) has put through to overturn the Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) decision to approve seabed mining off the South Taranaki coast. He was also attempting to raise awareness around the negative effects of seabed mining itself.
Ngarewa gave hongi, sang waiata, said karakia, and wished the Stewards the best on the rest of journey, which finished in Whanganui on Sunday.
He also acknowledged the importance of what they were doing.
‘‘I’m staunch against the people coming in and destroying the seabed,’’ Ngarewa said.
‘‘My main concern is our grandchildren and the young ones of tomorrow. If it goes ahead then they will not see it [the beauty of the coast].’’
Steward said before he arrived in Pa¯tea he had not received a welcome like Ngarewa, and other members of the community had given.
‘‘I’m honoured and humbled that everybody has come out here today to greet me and thank you for your lovely words and thoughts along our way.’’
The walk was an attempt to take action in a different way.
‘‘The time for talking was over, nobody was listening. The Environmental Protection Authority approved seabed mining so we had to get out there and do something rather than just talking,’’ Steward said.
‘‘We want New Zealanders, everybody, the local community, to realise this is a very special and precious environment that we need to care for.’’
He had a goal of raising $10,000 for Kasm’s high court appeal. They had almost raised $4000.
Jacq Dwyer, a Save our Seas campaigner and member of the Pa¯ tea Community Board, joined the walk from Mokoia to Pa¯ tea.
Dwyer decided to join the walk as a representative of the town who opposed seabed mining.
‘‘We won’t benefit from it,’’ she said. ‘‘There will be nothing for us but a dead ocean.’’
Steward is an emergency doctor in Whanganui and despite the 16-day journey, he didn’t regret a thing.
‘‘There will be nothing for us but a dead ocean.’’
Jacq Dwyer