Updates
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Update March 2023
Most of the improvements at the Te Rauone Reserve have been completed – the new playground is open, featuring a basket swing, log scramble, log bridge, fort with monorail, climbing wall, slide, monkey bars, cubby house and swing bridge and a half basketball court and height adjustable net.
Next to the playground is a barbeque and picnic area with a pergola for shade. The three new groynes built by Port Otago are keeping newly deposited sand on the beach, which is sheltered and safe for swimming and kayaking.
We’re converting the historic toilets to changing rooms and there’s an accessible toilet near the road. The rock mounds among the native planting is providing skink-friendly habitat. The entrance sculpture will be put in around May and the dunes planted out over the winter.
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Update June 2022
Work has started on improvements at the Te Rauone Reserve on Otago Peninsula, including a new carpark, upgraded playground, basketball half court, artwork, barbecue and picnic area, better beach access and planting (see design below).
The Dunedin City Council Group Manager Parks and Recreation Scott Maclean says the DCC has been working with mana whenua, Port Otago and the local community on the project, sharing ideas and resources.
During the past century, the sea has eroded Te Rauone Beach, causing significant issues for the environment and the community. Port Otago is creating a new amenity beach for the wider community. This has involved building three large breakwater groynes, configured to sustain deposited sand on the new beach. Port Otago’s marine plant will carry out the sand renourishment phase this winter, depositing sand collected from the harbour during routine dredging and placing it onto the beach.
Chair of the Te Rauone Beach Coast Care Committee Graeme Burns says the committee members are pleased with progress being made on the beach and reserve development.
“Port Otago has completed constructing the three groynes, while the DCC has been proactive in upgrading the reserve. Planning for the playground is well advanced and the carpark is almost complete. A large area of the reserve has been cleared and this weekend (Queen’s Birthday weekend), the landscaping will begin with about 30 volunteers from the local community assisting with the planting programme. Feedback from the community has been extremely positive and we are indebted to Port Otago, the DCC and the many other groups who have supported this project which will result in a wonderful asset for the local and wider Dunedin community.”
The reserve project is expected to be completed at the end of this year at a cost of $900,000. Access to the reserve may be limited at times during the work.
Entrance art
A sculptural entrance-way designed by Aroha Novak (Ngāi te Rangi, Ngāti Kahungungu) and featuring a kōwhaiwhai pattern developed by Ōtākou local Kirsten Parkinson (Kāi Tahu) will welcome people to the reserve. The curved uprights reference the shape of a Tohorā (whale) ribcage and the native pīkao (golden sand sedge) and kōwhaiwhai emphasise the importance of tuaki in feeding generations of Te Rauone residents.
The working party acknowledge the continued generosity of Kirsten Parkinson and Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou who are providing cultural knowledge, guidance and support to Aroha and to the project.Lizard protection
Southern grass skinks have been captured from the Te Rauone Reserve and housed inside a fenced area at the edge of the reserve. They are being housed here to keep them safe during construction work.
The fence will be removed when the reserve work is finished and newly installed rock gardens and amenity plantings throughout the reserve will provide skink-friendly habitat.
Background
Upoko (head) of Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou, Edward Ellison says Te Rauone Reserve is an area of former long-term occupation. As it is associated with the largest and oldest settlement south of the Waitaki River, the reserve holds considerable significance to the Otakou Runanga and local hapū.
The reserve is the only public recreation area available to the Ōtākou and lower Otago Peninsula communities and is popular for recreation and viewing ships. It is a significant location for sea lions and migratory birds and is rich in Māori heritage and historical significance for Dunedin.
Background
This project is a joint project between Dunedin City Council and Port Otago Ltd, which has been initiated to address the ongoing erosion of the Te Rauone Beach. Port Otago is responsible for the beach replenishment project and BECA have been appointed by Port Otago to deliver that component of the works. Dunedin City Council is responsible for the reserve improvement project and this is governed by the Te Rauone Working Party, which includes DCC and Port Otago staff, as well as representatives from the local Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou, the Te Rauone Beach Coast Care Committee, and the Otago Peninsula Community Board.
Te Rauone Reserve is the only public area available to the Ōtākou and lower Peninsula communities, is popular for recreation, and provides access to the Otago Harbour. The proposed improvements to the beach also provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the reserve and increase people’s enjoyment of the park and the harbour. The creative elements should reflect the community they will be placed in and the creative narrative that accompanies is drawn directly from the community responses gathered during the 2018 engagement process.
The area is rich with mana whenua and settler histories and the replenishment and revitalisation of the reserve provides a wonderful opportunity to create physical reminders of Te Rauone’s ecological, social, and historical narratives. Re-presenting these stories in artworks allows current and future users of the reserve and beach to become part of its present and future whilst acknowledging and valuing its past.
Council’s strategies and decision-making are underpinned by two key principles: Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi) and sustainability. This project acknowledges the principles of partnership as embodied by Te Tiriti; it proceeds from a place of respect for the partnership with mana whenua as represented by Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou. The project will also be guided be guided by principles of sustainability (Think Local; Think Environmental; Think Social).