April 22, 2013
Highway to destroy legendary spot
A member of a Te Arawa hapū fighting the construction of the Rotorua Eastern Arterial says the proposed highway will destroy sites of not just local but national significance.
The New Zealand Transport Agency hopes to start building the road from Te Ngae through to Rotorua airport from about 2020.
Tihini Grant says while the first to speak out are the hapū whose marae and lands are in the path of the lakeside route, other homeowners, environmentalists and affected businesses are also starting to get involved.
He says it has national significance.
“Ukaipo, the place where Hinemoa was nurtured is along this highway and some very sacred waahi tapu that is along this route. There are natural resources such as our ngawha and our baths which are used on a daily basis by people within the community. All of those will be lost should this highway go through,” he says.
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