No yo ho ho – or bottle of rum – for those attending Shipwreck concert
A popular festival north of Auckland taking place this weekend will be alcohol-free after organisers ran out of time to get a liquor licence.
The Shipwrecked music and arts festival held at Te Arai, which began yesterday and finishes tomorrow, will now be dry.
With tickets selling for up to $250, it’s unclear if festivalgoers will be offered any form of compensation.
The event’s website makes no mention that the event is now alcohol-free.
In a double blow, heavy rain forecast for yesterday was expected to further dampen festivalgoers’ spirits.
The special licence application for the event from The Greatest Show on Earth went in to Auckland Council in early December but received strong opposition from neighbours and lake advocates in the quiet rural Tomarata dune lake area. A hearing with the Auckland District Licensing committee had been set up for Friday.
But with a 10-day appeal period, even had the licence been granted, the organisers would still not have been able to sell alcohol at the event. Having run out of time they withdrew the application late this week.
Opposition included safety concerns at the site, which is home to a sand mining operation, with event organisers encouraging swimming at the deep sand quarry lake.
There are also alcohol bans in place at nearby Te Arai Pt and Tomarata Lake at night.
There have been two successful Shipwrecked festivals on the land owned by Arnim Pierau in the past, next to Spectacle Lake, but they nonetheless have raised tensions with neighbours.
Pierau also runs chalet accommodation on his property.
Last year he applied for resource consent to significantly increase the size and number of events at the lakes but was turned down by independent commissioners.
Pierau then appealed to the Environment Court, asking for five festivals of 3000 people, two for around 500 people and 20 for 200 people – a total of 160 festival days annually until 2031.
Much of the application was turned down by the Environment Court due to concern at the effects the noise might have on the rare wildlife at the lakes.
Previous festivals held at the lake have been controversial: the area has special significance for rare birds, including the rare Australasian bittern and the critically endangered fairy tern.