North & South – June 2019

78 | NORTH & SOUTH| JUNE 2019

plansforthelakes.Inmanyways,the

campaignmarkedthepointbetweenan

agewhentheenvironmentwasseenas

somethingtobeexploitedforprofit,and

onewhereit wasconsideredsomething

withintrinsicvalue.Andit foreshadowed

othersuccessfulenvironmentalprotests,

againstsuchthingsasloggingnativefor-

estsandnucleartestinginthePacific.

ButMarkacknowledgesthefightto

savetheenvironmentisstilltough

work.Therehavebeenwins:preventing

WaitutuForestinwesternSouthland

beinglogged;stoppingthedammingof

Buller’sMōkihinuiRiver;gettingSouth

Westlandclassifiedasa WorldHeritage

site.Therehavebeenlosses,though–

notablythepermissiongivenforcoal

mining on the Denniston Plateau.

“ButI’vealwayssaid,youwinsome,

youlosesome,andthere’snopointin

despairingoverthelosses– you keep

strivingforwhatyoucan.”

J

eanetteFitzsimonsremembers

visitingLakeManapōuriinthe

mid-1960s.

“Myuncle,blesshim,inhis

misguidedwaywasoneofthebigbusi-

nessproponentsforgettingthesmelter

tocometoNewZealand.Butmyaunt

wasa bitofanenvironmentalistandwe

werewalkingaroundManapōuriand

shewasgoing,‘It’ssucha shamethey

wanttofloodallthis.I supposeit’spro-

gress,butit’ssucha shame.’”

Theenvironmentalistandformer

Green Party co-leader says saving Man-

apōuriwasa victoryforthelake,but

equallyimportantwashowit showed

whatpublicprotestcouldachieve.The

experienceandknowledgegainedat

Manapōurihelpedpreventanother

smelterbeingbuiltatAramoana.In-

deed,it’sanironythatthemostlasting

effectoftheManapōuriproposal,which

soughttosubjugateandsuppressna-

ture,washowit actuallygaverisetothe

conservationmovement,whichisnow

politicallypowerful.

Butwhilepublicattitudestoconser-

vationhavematured,Fitzsimonssays

thepressuresontheenvironmenthave

alsogrowninthepast 50 years,with

significantpopulationincreaseand

enormouseconomicexpansion.

“The battle will never be won, it will

MIKE WHITE

THESHAWBROTHERS:

Protecting Paradise

LanceandHunterShawarrived

inManapōuriin1950.Theirfather

hadsoldvacuumcleanersdoor-to-

dooranddrivena taxi,butthrew

thatintoculldeerinFiordland.

“Alltherellieswerestillin

Auckland,wonderingwhythe

hellweweregoingdownthere,

tothefrozenwastelandofice

andsnowandcrevassesandgod

knowswhat,”saysHunter.

Hunterwaseight,Lanceseven,

andthebrothersfoundthemselves

inheaven,huntingpigsandrabbits

andtrout,androwingacrossthe

Waiau River to get to school.

“Itwasa great,free-range,

feralplace,”remembersLance.

“OnNewYear’sEveeveryone

wouldgooutwiththeirrifles

andfireshotsacrosstheriver.”

“Allsortofrelatively

safe,”addsHunter.

Talkaboutraisingthelakebegan

inthelate50s,butit tooka while

forlocalstoreallyunderstand

whatit wouldmean,andhow

somuchofthecountrythey

huntedinwouldbeflooded.

ForLance,theturningpoint

waswhenhetookLabourleader

NormanKirkbyjetboatupLake

Mōnowaitoseethedestruction

causedbyraisingit inthe1920s.

“That’swhatopenedmyeyes.”

After that, there was no doubt

whichwaytheyweregoingto

voteatthe 1972 election.“There

wasnooption.Ofcoursewe

votedLabour.Fornootherreason

thantheissueofthelake.”

Lance,75,andwifeRuth,who

formanyyearsrana touristboat

inFiordland,havecontinued

toprotecttheirenvironment.

They’vefoughtagainstthosewho

poisonedtreesonthelakeshore

togetbetterviews;theproposal

tobuilda monorailtoTeĀnau;

andthecouncilplantopumpTe

Ānau’ssewageclosetoManapōuri.

“Westillhavefightswhenwe

haveto,butwe’renotlooking

forthem.It’shardyakka,and

youlosea lotoffriends.”

Butwinningthebiggest

battle, 50 yearsago,tosaveLake

Manapōuri,hasmeantbothhe

andHunterhavebeenableto

livethelifethey’vewantedto.

“Ilookatthelakeandgo,‘You

cracker!’It’skindoflikean

innerglowthatstayswithyou

forever.Wherewouldyourun

toif youleftManapōuri?That’s

thequestionI askmyself.And

there’snowhereI’drather go.”

Hunter:“It’sjusta

beautiful area to live.”

Left: Hunter (left) and Lance Shaw.