North & South – June 2019

NORTH & SOUTH| JUNE 2019| 79

andborderingmountains.Eventrimming

thelodge’shedgescanbevaguelypleasur-

ablewhenthisisyouroutlook.

Ifthelakehadbeenraised,people

wouldhavenowbeenparkingtheir

boatsneartheMurrells’frontlawn.

“Itwouldhavebeendifferent,”says

Murrell,“butI thinkwecanquitehap-

pilysayit wouldnothavebeenbetter.

Itspristinenessiswhyourguestscome

here,notforsomethingthat’sbeen

modified.”

AlanMarkgetsbacktoManapōurias

muchashecan,havingbuilta kitset

bachoverlookingthelakein1980.He

lovestheview,thespectacularmoun-

tainscenery,thelake’smoodiness.“I

don’tthinkyou’devertireofit.AndI

can’timaginewhatit mighthavebeen

like,hadit beenraised.”

JohnMoore,theGPwholedtheTe

Ānaucampaigntosavethelakes,shifted

toNelsonin1976,butit’salwaysspecial

toreturnandseewhathehelpedsave.

“Ifeelblownupwithemotion.I don’t

thinkit’sself-congratulatory,butit’sa

powerfulfeeling.Alotofmysoulis

downthere.”

Moorehasremainedinvolvedincom-

munityaffairs,andenvironmentalis-

sueshaveneverbeenfaraway.Herails

againstthepollutionofCanterbury’s

riversandgroundwater,predictingit

willbecome“thegreatestenvironmen-

taldisasterinNewZealand’shistory”,

andpointstoWaikatolandpermanent-

lypoisonedbycadmium.

“We’vegotclimatechangerampant,

andeveryonepretendingthey’redoing

somethingaboutit,andnooneis.But

I’m 77 now,andI thinkit’stimeforthe

kidstotakeover.I hopetheydo– be-

causewe’vemadea hellofa mess.”

Mooresaysmanyofthelessonsfrom

theManapōuricampaignhavebeen

drownedoutbythecontinuallyreprised

mantrathattheeconomymustgrow,

“withoutanysortofinklingthatthe

economydependsona healthyenviron-

ment.Weneedtoremember[Man-

apōuri],wereallydo,andit’shardfor

people– they’remuchmoreinterested

inwatchingTV.”

AsMoore’sManapōuricolleague,Ron

McLean,remarked,witha mixofreflec-

tionandforesightaftertheircampaign

wasover:“Thesituationis suchthatthe

publicmustcontinuetohavea watch-

dogroleandbeverycarefultoseethat

thingsdon’tgotoofar,before they make

their opinions known.” +

weactuallyreallybloodyleaveallthose

[dead]treeshere?’”

ConservationMinisterEugenieSage

sayswhilethereis greaterawarenessof

theenvironment’simportancecom-

paredto 50 yearsago,thethreatstoit

areconstant.Theseincludedtourism

proposals,suchasa successionofappli-

cationsinFiordlandfora monorail,a

gondola,a railway,a newroadtunnel,

andmorehelicopterflightsandland-

ingswithinthenationalpark.

However,Sage,whospentyearscam-

paigningfortheenvironmentwithgroups

likeForest& Bird,believesit’seasiernow

forthepublictofightback,andpointsto

theEnvironmentalLegalAssistance

Fund,whichhelpsnon-profitgroupsget

lawyersorexpertwitnessesincourt

hearings.

“Buttherestillneedstobereally

strongcommunitysupportforprotec-

tionofnature’scathedrals,ournational

parks,ourreservesandpublicconser-

vationland.Thepriceofdemocracyis

eternalvigilance,andit’sthesamewith

protectionofconservationvalues.”

R

obertMurrelladmitshespends

fartoolonggazingoutover

LakeManapōuri.Fromthe

guesthousehisfamilyhasrun

since 1889, he gets a 180º view of the lake

neverbeover.We’renevergoingtohave
a societywhereeveryoneagreesthat
biodiversityandecologicalstabilityout-
weigheconomicdevelopment.It’sdif-
ferentvaluessystemsthatareinconflict
andit’s‘howmuchofthis,howmuchof
that’,tosomeextent.Peopledrawthe
linesinverydifferentplaces.
“Soyou’realwaysgoingtohavetohave
peoplestandingupforthenaturalworld.
Andthat’sallright– it’snota badwayof
life.Wedon’talwayswanttojustgohome
andmowthelawnsandwatchthetelly.”
LouSanson,theDepartmentofCon-
servation’sdirector-general,under-
standstherearesometimesnecessary
compromisesbetweendevelopment
andtheenvironment– hesignedoff
buildingtheManapōuripowerstation’s
secondtailracetoDoubtfulSound
(whichincreaseditsoutput)whenhe
wasSouthlandconservator,andsup-
porteda landswapthatwouldhaveal-
lowedtheRuataniwhadamtobebuilt
onconservationlandfora Hawke’sBay
irrigationscheme.Buthedoesn’tbe-
lievewhathappenedatLakeManapōuri
50 yearsagocouldoccuragain.
“Thatamountofdisregardforenvi-
ronmentaleffects– I justcan’tseethat
wouldeverhappennow.Thatwasbasi-
callythegovernmentofthedaysaying,
‘We’regoingtoraisethisthingbyx me-
tresandwe’rebloodygoingtodestroy
theseislands,’andallthatsortofstuff.”
Notonlyhavegovernmentapproach-
eschanged,withgreaterunderstanding
ofnature’svalue,Sansonsays,butthe
conservationmovementisnowmuch
strongerandmorewidespread.
However,Sansonsaystherewillbe
alwaysbetensionsbetweenbusiness
andconservation,andpointstothelo-
cationofwindfarms,aquaculture,and
hydroschemesaslikelyflashpoints.It’s
inevitablesomeofthesebattlefieldswill
beonDoCland,andplanstodamthe
MōkihinuiRiverbarelya decadeagoare
a reminderofthat.“Butagain,thecon-
servationmovementroseupandinthe
end,theCEOofMeridiansawthelight.”
Sansonfrequentlyreferstowhathap-
penedatManapōuriinhisspeeches,
becauseofitscruciallessons,andbecause
ofhispersonalconnection.“Iknowevery
inchofit.I’vespentmanyweekendsjust
inlovewiththeplace,boatingit,hunting,
fishing,climbingitsmountains.Justthe
spiritualityoftheplace,thepeaceofit.
AndyougotoMōnowainextdoorand
say, ‘Shit, how did we do this – how did

Above:JohnMoorehasstayed

involved with environmental issues.