Catherine Delahunty is walking the hills of her home area from October 4 until late November on a mission to highlight her view that Hauraki is too precious to mine.
“After 45 years of too many meetings, I want to walk the tracks from Te Aroha to Te Moehau and down the eastern side of the Peninsula to re-connect with the land we are protecting, and I am inviting people to join me along the way,” she said.
“We want people to know where all the exploration and mining permits are and show on social media the beautiful places at risk.”
Catherine, who is Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki chair, began her walk at the Wairongomai Loop Track just south of Te Aroha, where she said a 4000 hectare exploration permit had been granted to Minerals Exploration.
During the project, she planned to also share stories of the area’s mining history, and talking about the issues affecting both conservation forest and private land.
“These areas are very important for biodiversity, water, and future generations,” she said.
The project also holds a very personal connection for Catherine.
“My great-grandfather was an Irish gold miner in Thames and died of quartz dust lung disease. I want better for my descendants.”
By mid-November, Catherine said she planned to have also walked other relevant bush tracks across the Coromandel Peninsula.
These include the Wentworth Valley, the Wires track to the Rua Gold sites, Monowai Mine and the Kauri walk in Waiomu, and the Port Jackson road beside Te Moehau mountain.
“I am really excited about walking up the beautiful Port Jackson Rd beside Te Moehau mountain which, led by tangata whenua, we defended from copper and gold mining in the 1980s.
“There are so many stories I can share about the action to protect the area in the past and so much to defend right now.”
Catherine said the gold mining pressure on the southeastern Peninsula and beyond of Hauraki is huge right now.
“The price of gold is high and the government is determined to help foreign miners access it.”
