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Before amalgamation in 2010, Rodney District Council completed a Reserve Management Plan for the Wilson cement works site, which included a comprehensive heritage and conservation plan. Meanwhile, as the plan gathers dust on Auckland Council shelves, John Tate has had little encouragement in his concerns over the site’s deterioration.
Warkworth man John Tate says night-time intruders are destroying one of Warkworth’s most historic sites and Auckland Council shows little interest in doing anything about it.
John spent months trying to get a Council officer to inspect the Wilson cement works ruins, but says when she arrived she professed more concern for those doing the damage.
John lives on his boat at the nearby Mahurangi Marina. He says the intruders, who seem to enjoy daredevil antics running along high parapets on most weekends, often keep him awake and their vandalism is doing enormous damage. He believes one of the tall towers is in imminent danger of collapse after vandals chipped away at the concrete with hammers.
“But the Council officer expressed more concern that the graffiti artists might fall,” John says. “It wasn’t really what I got her down here to discuss.”
He adds that even more damage is being done by vegetation, especially tree roots that are breaking up the concrete.
Currently, the site is fenced with danger notices warning people to keep out.
John would like to assemble a team of volunteers to do some maintenance work and cut back the overgrown vegetation, perhaps allowing sheep and goats to graze the grass.
He has fond memories of the site when his children were at Mahurangi College.
“In those days, the site was pretty much like you see historic sites in England with lawn areas and people wandering around and having picnics.”
He would also like to see more interpretative signs, explaining the history of the cement works.
“But Council doesn’t want people within the site for health and safety issues, and doesn’t want to end up with the responsibility for grazing animals.”
The cement works are listed as a Historic Places Category 1, recognising it as a place of outstanding historical or cultural significance.
Heritage NZ mid-northern manager Bev Parslow says that given the significance of the cement works, the site should be well maintained.
She says Heritage NZ has advocated for the development of a site management plan to guide future work, but it would be up to Council to decide how the work might be carried out and by whom.
Council head of operational management and maintenance Agnes McCormack says Council has not had contractors undertake routine maintenance because the site is dangerous, citing unstable structures, sink holes, falling objects and hidden and rusted machinery.
She says the same concerns would apply to volunteers attempting maintenance work, but Council will look at how to make the site safe for contractors, as well as working with police to address tagging and vandalism, and will contact the Rodney Local Board to see if they could fund works at the site.
However, Board chair Beth Houlbrooke says there would be no budget in its discretionary fund to tackle maintenance.
“Often historic sites like this end up with a group of interested people forming a trust and fundraising to restore or preserve them. I think this would require a large sum of money,” she says.
The Wilson cement works, located off Wilson Road, were founded by Nathanial Wilson in the 1880s. Wilson was a pioneer in the manufacture of Portland cement in New Zealand.
Anyone interested in supporting John’s campaign to maintain the historic works should contact him on 021 1756686 or email jonbouy70@gmail.com.
