Latest news with #Tuhura
Otago Daily Times
03-07-2025
- Science
- Otago Daily Times
Survey set to shed light on wedge
Coastal residents may spot a regular visitor to Clutha waters this month. The Otago Regional Council is set to conduct a bathymetric coastal survey in Molyneux Bay using the University of Otago's RV Tūhura. The vessel will observe seafloor elevations of a 6500-year-old sand wedge, made up of sediment from the Clutha Mata-Au River. Council natural hazards analyst Julion Wright said the survey would determine the latest dimensions of the coastal Clutha sand wedge deposit, which spilled river sediment into the Southern Ocean. Mr Wright said the sand wedge deposits were an important part of the South Otago sediment system, containing a large volume of sediment that might possibly contribute to the stability of the coast. "The modern sediment of the wedge is formed by deposits of material from the Clutha River over the last 6500 years. "This survey will be compared to a similar ORC survey, from 2013, to map any changes in the sand wedge deposit. "The results of this will have future implications for coastal and river management in South Otago." One such implication could be a better understanding of sediment accumulation and movement, as well as river mouth and coastal erosion effects, he said. Molyneux Bay lies to the south of Balclutha and encompasses the mouth of the Clutha Mata-Au River, down to the Nugget Point lighthouse, south of Kākā Point township. The offshore survey would be conducted by Geomatics NZ and use a single-beam echo sounder mounted on the research vessel. The Tuhura, a 6.5 m aluminium powerboat for up to six people, can support restricted oceanographic work, limited bottom sampling, trawling and diving, as well as operate around coastal Otago and inland South Island waterways. The vessel would not be streaming any devices astern, Mr Wright said. Over a week, it was expected to travel about 180km within the bay. The survey was scheduled to run this month, but the timing was otherwise weather-dependent. He said the shallower part of the sand wedge was influenced by discharges from the Clutha as well as coastal processes. The offshore surveying would also be extended onshore, using land-surveying techniques to cover the coastal shape and structure. The gap between the onshore and offshore surveys had already been covered by an earlier, 2025 airborne bathymetric LiDAR survey (Light Detection and Ranging), he said. Once the survey was complete, it would take up to three weeks to process data to form 2D imagery, which would then be analysed to interpret what changes may, or may not, have occurred since the previous survey in 2013. The results will then be made publicly available.
NZ Herald
23-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
High praise for Gisborne-East Coast lawn bowls as Stewart heads south
Stewart, 40, was named Bowls Gisborne-East Coast men's player of the year at the centre prizegiving this month. Te Karaka Bowling Club, with whom he has won nine centre titles, is opening the club on Saturday for food, drink, bowls and laughs to mark 'Paddy's Day'. Stewart has been in Gisborne for the past four years and played three seasons of bowls. He worked in kiwifruit orchards for nearly three years and lately has been availability manager at The Warehouse, working nights to ensure the shelves are stocked for the next day. 'I was touring round New Zealand during Covid times, doing some fruit picking, and stopped up here because my grandfather, Harawira Ngata, lives at East Cape,' he said. 'I whakapapa back to Ngāti Porou on my mum's side. She was a Tuhura from Ruatōria. Apirana Ngata was her grandfather's grandfather. On my father's side, we're about eighth-generation colonists. 'I am into a nomadic life of getting to see and experience different parts of New Zealand, going from one extreme to another.' His next port of call will be Dunedin, where he hopes to catch up with Bowls New Zealand national coach Mike Kernaghan. 'I want to tinker with my delivery, and he is probably the best one I know of to help with that,' Stewart said. When he arrived in Gisborne, Stewart had played bowls – mainly in Christchurch – for 15 years. He started bowling as a schoolboy in Waikari, North Canterbury, in 1999, but then had eight years off. He was in his seventh season back on the greens when the 2016 national champs came round. Stewart combined with Kaiapoi clubmates Kerry Becks and Tony Andrews, and Papanui club member Darren Redway, to win the national fours title in Christchurch. Last year, Stewart travelled from Gisborne to Christchurch to team up with Becks in the Rawleigh's Stewart Buttar Invitation Burnside Pairs, and they won it. On the local scene this season, Stewart won the men's open pairs alongside David File, and the champion of champions senior men's triples with File and Steve Goldsbury. He also played in the national intercentre with Malcolm Trowell, Shaun Goldsbury, Steve Goldsbury, Ricky Miller, Andrew Ball, Arthur Hawes and Steve Berezowski. 'Gisborne-East Coast is the second smallest centre [for number of clubs] in New Zealand – Buller is the smallest – but it stretches from Wairoa to Tolaga Bay,' Stewart said. 'The best of the best here are as good as anywhere. The top few are New Zealand-class, but with the small membership, you'll have only one top team per club, whereas the big-city clubs' fourth-tier teams are still strong because they'll have a membership of 150 to 200.' During his time as a Te Karaka club member, being part of the teams that enabled Steve Goldsbury to win his 50th centre title and David File to win his 90th had been 'a joy'. 'Probably less than a dozen bowlers in New Zealand have 50 centre titles, and David is well out in front with his 90,' Stewart said. 'It would have been lovely to stay longer and help him reach the hundred.' A highlight of his time in Gisborne was being treated as 'a sort of mentor' in the representative team. At the national intercentre tournaments, the team had gone close to reaching the quarter-finals in all of the past three years. He also enjoyed helping the junior team at a mid-year tournament held on the Hastings indoor green. The team had grown in stature from the first day to the second, and if they had started the competition as well as they had finished it, they could have won it. Being a member of the Tairawhiti bowls community hosting the Aotearoa Māori Bowls (Fours) Tournament in February was an 'amazing experience', Stewart said. 'Being able to host nearly a hundred teams from around the country was a real joy, and I felt a lot of pride that we were able to look after our guests so well.'
