Causeway Access Removed

The Castlepoint Ratepayers and Residents Association are among the most vocal citizens criticising the removal of the causeway that connected to the Castlepoint Lighthouse, in Wairapara, NZ. In a story published in the Wairapara Times Age, the residents are feeling the effects of not having an easy access to the lighthouse, especially when friends come to visit.Department of Conservation liaison Neville Zander and wife Jan have already felt the effects of the difficult ascent. “We had friends come out and not want to go up,” Mrs Zander said. “It is a bit difficult and the water adds to that.”

At least parts of the causeway are relatively recent, but environmental damage has caused the Department of Conservation to tear it down earlier this year. DOC area manager Chris Lester has said the DOC has applied for building permits for constructing a pathway to extend 32 meters (105 feet) along the rocks to the right, beginning where the old causeway met the land. But that doesn’t actually solve the problem of complete access.

Path May Be Impassable

The plans call for grouting concrete, leveling the path and building a retaining wall. According to Lester, there should be virtually no environmental effects above the mean high tide level. But that doesn’t mean the path will always be accessible. “In the long term there will be times when access will be virtually impossible,” he said. “Fortunately, that only happens rarely.”

Lester described the state of the old causeway as “beyond economic salvage”. He said, “To rebuild would have cost close to $500,000 AUD. The savings (building the pathway) in comparison with saving the causeway are huge.” There is currently no date set for the start of the construction, as the project is still awaiting approval. Estimates are it will take a week to construct once it gets the green light. But the easy access will still be gone. A path is not a nice walk like the causeway.

The Races At Castlepoint

Situated at what seems like the end of the world, the beach (shown in the above photo and at left) is home to one of the oldest horse races, the Castlepoint Beach Race (left). Nearly as old as the Kentucky Derby, it started as an informal, “My horse is better than your horse” type race back when the area was first settled. The first white settler in the area, Thomas Guthrie, loosely held races with his horses, with the sailors coming ashore to participate. As the years went on, the races became more organized, and beginning in 1872, became an annual event. Interrupted by various wars, though, it’s not been a continuously running event. After 1936, though, it became a regular event held at the end of March.

A Race Against the Tide

From the Wairarapa Times-Age archives, some tales of this unusual race:

During the 1950s John Morrison’s horse, Struth, decided beach racing was not his thing, and halfway through his race dumped his rider, and turned around for home at Blairlogie. He was not caught until the top of the large saddle between Tinui and Whakataki.

In the 1960s it was Feilding horsewoman Freda White who made the headlines. She had followed the well-trodden path of taking a short cut along the course by riding close to the breakers, but her seamanship did not match her horsemanship, and she found herself in the surf — and swept out of the saddle by a breaker.

Those who remember Miss White will not be surprised to read that the newspaper reported that it was “probably fortunate for the rest of the riders that they were out of earshot by the time Miss White recovered her breath.”

The Ligthhouse Itself

The lighthouse was commissioned in 1913, and holds the distinction of its cast iron tower being the last one shipped from England and assembled on site. It was automated in 1988. Its white light flashes three times every thirty seconds. And since none of the photos above have clearly shown this lighthouse, here’s a photo of this gorgeous lighthouse on the northeast coast of New Zealand.

Castlepoint Lighthouse, Wairarapa, New Zealand

Photo Credits:

• Castlepoint Beach and Lighthouse by Phillip C. Some rights reserved.
• Castlepoint Storm (causeway) by Arriba. Some rights reserved.
• Horse Races at Castlepoint Originally uploaded to Flickr by tengo gusto de sueños. All rights reserved.
• Castlepoint Lighthouse by KiwiKeith. Some rights reserved.

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