To kick this off, they are holding an event and have invited Briar Corbett of Far North District Council and Dr. Georgia Grant of GNS Science to a drop in session to discuss the recent release of sea-level projections and explore what it means for Kororāreka.
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This weekend sees the 40th Coastal Classic Race arrive in Kororāreka Russell, but the bay has hosted many regattas in the past. Early written records of the Bay of Islands describe waka and longboats racing, enjoying and testing each other’s abilities. The first formal Bay of Islands Regatta was held in 1842. Regattas were held off Kororāreka Russell into the 1950s. Nowadays there are many events which are based on the water, with this weekend seeing the annual Coastal Classic Yacht Race boats arriving in the Bay. Held annually on Labour weekend since its inception (with the exception of 2021 due to COVID), the boats sail from Devonport Wharf to Russell Wharf in the Bay of Islands.
The first race was held in 1982 and the original concept was the inspiration of Roger Dilley from the then Auckland Multihull Sailing Association (now the NZ Multihull Yacht Club) based loosely on the speed record attempts by power boats dating back to the 1920’s over the same course.
The original idea developed into being a full on drag race with the first boat into Russell being the overall winner. AMSA then put the challenge out to all multihull and keeler owners to join this non-stop race to the bar in Russell, push their boats and crews to the max and overall have an exhilarating fun weekend.
Twelve intrepid skippers and crews took up the challenge and when Roger put the final magic touch to the race by dreaming up the name – the “Coastal Classic” had arrived. The fleet was divided into one multihull division and several monohulls, by length but no handicap. Boats ranged in size from the Peter Williams’ 62 foot Fidelis down to Alex and Mathew Flynn’s 24-foot trimaran Gulf Chariot.
The first boat into Russell for the inaugural race was Krisis, skippered by Duncan (Cookie) Stuart and his record of 18 hours was not broken for 4 years.
This photo shows the Russell Regatta in 1926 with Kororāreka Bay full of boats of all shapes and sizes. When the Coastal Classic boats arrive, the Bay is crowded too, but technology has come a long way since then with hi-tech being the order of day and boats made of many composite and traditional materials, bristling with electronics. For more on the race, visit https://coastalclassic.co.nz
Photofile : 4045 Regatta Day 1926
Many people will be enjoying a tipple again after “Dry July”, an increasingly popular fundraising event organised to support people with Prostate Cancer. And with the growing popularity of non-alcoholic beer and cocktails, more and more people are reducing their alcohol consumption for health and wellbeing reasons, turning to increasingly palatable alternatives.
Back in the day, it was the Temperance Society encouraging people to quit the demon drink. People assume that the Temperance Society was another good work of the Paihia missionaries, but this is not entirely correct. The first move seems to have come from the masters of vessels that called at the Bay of Islands. They were seriously concerned for the well-being of their seamen who were suffering the effects of over-indulgence in over-proof liquor, in some cases even dying of alcoholic poisoning.
They appealed to Mr James Busby the British Resident at Waitangi and the Paihia missionaries and the “meeting to establish the Temperance Society” was the result. Unfortunately, this attempt to promote Peace, Order and Sobriety was not successful, however well-intentioned it may have been. There was, quite simply, no way of enforcing the excellent principles.
Nowhere is this more evident than at a Temperance meeting convened and presided over by Rev. Mr. Hawkes, at the Public Hall, Russell on the evening of Monday 20 August 1883. Those attending were given an account by Rev. Hawkes good work in Auckland of “reclaiming the fallen and winning in about 150 sailors to the Temperance cause and the Blue Ribbon Army”. Free entry was granted, and lectures and addresses were interspersed with songs, music, recitations and music while outside “…some little annoyance was caused by the throwing of stones on to the roof and the firing of a pistol by some larrikin or larrikins outside and opposite the hotel.”
Judging by the number of bottles and glass that have been recovered from the beach and waterfront over the years, no doubt the larrikins were enjoying a drink or two.
Photofile. no. 3527
Northern Luminary, Sat 25 August 1883. “Temperance Meeting at Russell.”
This winter has been notable for the rain, however floods have been a feature in our area for the past century particularly since urban development. Regular flooding is recorded throughout the 1930s on the Russell to Whangarei Road, with Russell being cut off on numerous occasions. In the 1940s the road was in such a bad state, that the Automobile Association recommended “travellers not make the trip unless absolutely necessary”. Eventually, the County Council invested in major stormwater works including replacing the Russell Road bridge “which had been wrecked completely”.
The Russell Township itself is very low lying and has also suffered from significant flooding in the past. In 2007 there was major flooding in the town and many will remember local resident Clive Arlidge taking to a his boat and joining other kayakers down York Street.
With all this recent rain we have escaped fairly lightly here in the Bay in terms of flooding. Much of this is down to past flooding and the remedial works done by respective councils over the last century or so. In Russell, we have Janet Planet to thank, as she has tirelessly championed the stormwater improvements with council to mitigate the risk of flooding in our town centre.
Unfortunately, due to the impact of climate change, we can expect more severe weather events in the future.
Russell Museum’s new exhibition, The Story of Managahāwea is a fascinating look at an extremely early site of first arrivals from Polynesia. Beneath the soil of its beautiful beachfront, archaeological evidence from a series of excavations under the leadership of Ngāti Kuta has shown that some of the earliest people to come to Aotearoa arrived and settled here.
This physical evidence is reinforced by oral histories passed down by descendants of Te Kemara who lived on the island of Moturua. Both the histories and the archaeological evidence agree. They tell the story of migration, survival, cultivation and trading – and how this country came to be settled by peoples from Polynesia and beyond.
