Lighthouse at Taiaroa Head

Submissions closed: 4pm 21st October 2011

About Pukekura/Taiaroa Head

Pukekura is at the entrance to Otago Harbour at the tip of Otago Peninsula (approximately 25km NE of Dunedin). 

It has a unique mix of ecological, cultural, historic, landscape, tourism and commercial values. The jewel in the crown being the only mainland breeding colony of northern royal albatross in the southern hemisphere. Each spring the headland is home to over 10,000 sea birds, of at least 14 different species. The beaches and rocks are also haul-out sites for New Zealand sea lions and fur seals.

The draft management plan

Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou, the Karako Karetai Trust, the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Dunedin City Council (DCC) have worked together to develop a joint management plan to cover all the protected public land at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head. 

The purpose of the Pukekura Reserves Management Plan is to incorporate all land currently managed by the DCC and DOC at Taiaroa Head into one stand-alone management plan, to achieve one vision. 

The four reserves are:

• Pilots Beach Local Purpose Reserve (DCC)
• Lighthouse Local Purpose Reserve (DCC)
• Taiaroa Head Nature Reserve (DOC)
• Wildlife Sanctuary Taiaroa Head Foreshore (DOC)

View the plan 

Download the Draft Pukekura Management Plan (PDF, 1630K) or view a printed copy during office hours at:

• DOC Otago Conservancy Office, 77 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin
• DCC Customer Services Agency in the Civic Centre, The Octagon, Dunedin
• Any DCC library

Make a submission

Submissions closed at 4pm on Friday 21 October 2011. Key stakeholders will be contacted directly and encouraged to make a submission.

Hearings will be held for those submitters wishing to be heard. Hearing times and locations have not yet been finalised.

Contact

If you have any questions, please contact Bruce Hill, Otago Conservancy Office,
ph + 64 3 477 0677 or email fbhill@doc.govt.nz

Pukekura plan embodied in Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act (1998) 

In 1992, a joint attempt by DCC and DOC to produce a management plan for Pukekura was overtaken by two claims lodged with the Waitangi Tribunal (by Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou and Korako Karetai Trust). After legal representation by DCC, the Tribunal acknowledged it could not rule on the claims, but accepted DCC’s offer to work towards returning the land to the rūnanga and the trust. DCC’s offer was subject to ongoing joint management of the reserves and protection of the interests of the Otago Peninsula Trust. The offer was later embodied in the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998.

Since 1998 the parties have been negotiating to give effect to the Act. The four parties have been seeking to agree on a shared vision for the headland. This process brought many issues to the negotiating table and allowed for open discussions on broader issues.

By late 2008, there remained some unresolved issues. The trust and the rūnanga invited DCC to participate in a group to develop a comprehensive management plan for Pukekura addressing all issues previously raised.

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