ARC secures key parkland at Piha

Auckland Regional Council has secured the purchase of the 8.22 hectare Stedfast Park property at Piha, a strategic addition to the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park.

The property is contiguous with the park on all four boundaries and is within easy walking distance of Piha beach.

At its meeting this evening Council was informed that the Boys’ Brigade board of trustees had accepted the ARC’s offer.

ARC Parks and Heritage Committee Chair Cr Sandra Coney says the ARC’s acquisition of Stedfast Park is important not just because of its commitment to continuing outdoor and environmental education for school children but because the property is a primary entry point for visitors to the Ranges.

“It’s important that city children get the chance to learn about the rainforest on their doorstep and learn outdoor skills.

“With Stedfast Park added to the parkland, the future of this historic and beautiful area is guaranteed for the public for all time,” says Cr Coney.

“Existing visitor and ranger facilities at the Glen Esk road end are severely constrained for space so this purchase of neighbouring land protects the ARC’s ability to provide for the needs of visitors into the future,” she says.

Stedfast Park is the historic site of the Piha Saw Mill from which the famed Piha tramway began its route to Anawhata in the north and Whatipu in the south, heroically traversing rugged hills, shifting sands and wave-smashed cliffs. Remnants of the line can be seen all along the coast from Karekare. There is a timber-milling interpretation trail on the Kitekite Walk next to Stedfast Park.

The regionally significant coastal broadleaf forest on the northern slopes of the property rises into kauri forest on the ridges, while there is cabbage tree and nikau forest around the Piha Stream which flows through the property.

· Boys’ Brigade Northern Regional Trust purchased Stedfast Park from the Church of the Nazarene in 1984

· The 90-bed education facility is managed by the Adventure Camp Trust Board, based at Carey Park in the Henderson Valley

· At least two-thirds of the site is rich mature broadleaf forest which forms the stunning backdrop to the camp.