New Faces on the KRRA Committee
The Kuaotunu Residents & Ratepayers Association held its AGM as usual on Easter Sunday, at which a new committee was elected.
There are four new members as shown above: Nicci Kerr, Bella Pierce (left) with Marguerite Muellers, and Kim Crosland. You can find the full list of committee members here.
One of the committee’s first tasks each year is to decide where to concentrate its advocacy efforts, as it is vital that we concentrate on those matters that are most important to you, the residents and ratepayers of Kuaotunu.
We are therefore delighted to offer you the opportunity to win a $100 voucher from Luke’s Kitchen for completing the following 8 question survey, which should take no more than a few seconds. Complete the survey before 5pm July 23 to be in to win!
Remembering Lloyd Franklin
Recently we farewelled a long-term member of our community.
Lloyd played an iconic and unique part in the life of our village. He was recognised far and wide, not only for his skilful forge work, but also for his perceptive sense of humour.
We are missing him already.
The Dog Bylaw Review - a Positive Result
TCDC recently called for submissions on proposed changes to its dog bylaws around the district. These proposed changes would have dramatically reduced the area, and times, in which dogs could be walked on Kuaotunu beach.
Thanks to strong advocacy from locals Sheila Westley and Brent Page, among others, the council decided not to proceed with the proposed changes at Kuaotunu beach. Our community sincerely thanks our council for listening to our concerns.
Another positive step for dog walkers is that the restrictions on holiday weekends no longer apply to the winter period (i.e. the Matariki and Kings Birthday weekends).
Community Planting Event this Saturday
Our next community planting bee is Saturday 24th June 9am. Meet on the reserve across the bridge from the village. This area has been sprayed for exotic plants and we will be replanting with native dune plants. Kūaotunu Dune Care have used funds for this project which we obtained from WRC “Environmental Initiatives Fund.”
We will have a mechanical hole borer, but if you have a spade bring it along as it may be useful to dig some holes..
Restoration of our dunes is critical if we are to preserve the natural beauty of our Kūaotunu foreshore. With the exotics removed and funding received for plants, we are finally ready to roll with this dune regeneration project.
Please bring the family to join in with this community planting event. Morning tea to follow.
Looking forward to seeing you all for this event.
Jenny Crawford - Chair KDCG
Kiwis in the Matarangi Scenic Bluff Reserve
Two members of the Rings Beach Wetland Group recently spent several chilly nights traipsing through the reserve to spend two hours listening for kiwis, as part of an annual survey around the Coromandel being undertaken by the Predator Free Hauraki Coromandel Community Trust.
They were thrilled to hear 19 calls on the first night and 14 calls on the following night. Even more exciting was that on the second night, on their way back out of the bush, they heard a male and female call in duet very close by, adjacent to the wetland loop track.
This is a much higher number of calls than was heard during the previous survey, and confirms the anecdotal evidence of the trappers, who are seeing increasing amounts of kiwi droppings in the bush. The above photo was taken last year by one of the monitoring cameras, further proving that pairs of kiwis are indeed calling the reserve home.
If you would like to help the group with their trapping efforts which are undoubtedly playing a part in making the reserve a safer home for kiwis and other fauna, then please get in touch. Even if you can’t commit to a weekly trapping run, relief trappers and volunteers for working bees are always appreciated.
A New Look for the Hall Floor
The Kuaotunu Hall Committee recently closed the hall for two weeks so that the hall floor could be stripped and re-finished with a hard wax product instead of the previous polyurethane finish.
In addition to looking wonderful, the advantages of this finish include less need for sanding in the future, and the ability of the wax to absorb the impact of minor scratches through normal wear and tear.
The committee is thrilled with the result and we hope the community enjoys it.
Upcoming Events
Saturday 24 June
Kūaotunu Dune Care Community Planting Bee, 9am on the reserve across the bridge from the village.
Bring the family - many hands make light work!
Saturday 15 July (Matariki weekend)
Kūaotunu Dark Sky Event, to be held early in the morning (backup Sunday 16 July in the event of bad weather).
Keep a look out for updates on social media and in The Informer. You may also like to join the Kuaotunu Dark Sky community Facebook page to keep up-to-date with the progress of the Dark Sky project.
Thursday 10 August
Annual General Meeting of the Kuaotunu Hall Committee, 4:30pm at the Kuaotunu Hall. All welcome.
Saturday 16 September
Medieval Banquet at the Kuaotunu Hall. A fundraiser for the Te Rerenga pump track. Details to be confirmed closer to the event.
This newsletter is brought to you by the Kuaotunu Residents and Ratepayers Association Inc (KRRA).
Please note that the views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of KRRA.
We’d love your feedback on this issue - please email your thoughts and suggestions to info@kuaotunu.nz.
Like to contribute an article to this newsletter? We welcome contributions about events, happenings, projects etc that are relevant to the Kuaotunu community. Please note that the Newsletter Editor has the final say regarding content and may edit content if required.
To find out more about the Kuaotunu Residents and Ratepayers Association, such as the date of the next meeting, how to join, agendas and minutes of previous meetings, etc, please click here. You are welcome to attend any committee meetings, these are usually held every 6 weeks.