The Napier Lookout proposal
The idea of constructing a replica lighthouse at the Napier Lookout was discussed during a meeting on-site with the council. It quickly became evident that a replica lighthouse would not be historically accurate, especially since the destroyed Napier fortifications are now buried on the lookout. Despite the council’s willingness to discuss the option, I chose not to pursue applying for resource consent for a replica lighthouse at Napier Lookout after considering the feedback I received from the council. The chances of approval were low, given the council’s lack of enthusiasm for the idea. Ultimately, the option was abandoned, similar to what happened at the Bowling Club site.
In the 1980s, the council decided to destroy the fortifications and declare it an archaeological site. This means nothing else can be erected on the lookout except for a new 1.6 m upside-down swimming pool fence, which now obstructs the port views for shorter individuals mainly women, who now have to perch on the fence sidebar to see over it.
The irony lies in the fact that the council deemed a replica lighthouse unsuitable due to heritage and archaeological concerns at the Napier Lookout, yet they found a 1.6 m upside-down swimming pool fence surrounding the old fortifications ruins acceptable. This fence now resembles fortifications, serving its intended purpose. None of what has transpired on this lookout during the past 35 years makes any sense from a heritage protection standpoint. If nothing can be placed on the Lookout due to its historical significance and presence of memorials or ruins of fortifications, why not consider restoring the gun emplacements and cannons? Replicas of the concrete bunker structures could be easily recreated.
Using heritage protection as a viable argument to argue against a replica lighthouse on this lookout is rich considering how Napier lost these unique fortifications. This fence is a true testament to the Napier City Council's ignorance, insisting that they considered heritage protection on that hillside, with only the ugly fence and the fortification ruins left to show for it. The contrast of a $200,000 upside-down swimming pool fence to a $100,000 replica lighthouse can't be greater. My recent petition and conflict regarding this ugly fence did not help the Council to objectively look at the proposal either, but at least they considered it unlike what happened at the DOC reserve.
Napier Bluff Coastal Fortifications, the picture below shows Tom Sharplin in 1974 on the Bluff Hill Lookout.
Below, one can see the back of a gun emplacement on Bluff Hill. Youth were often hanging out in these gun emplacements around 1975. One of the main reasons the Council destroyed these gun emplacements was because people used to sleep and party there. The Council thought it was a good idea to demolish them. If they would have survived, these gun-emplacements could have been covered in glass and used as a cafe or something else.
I discovered that the bottom section of the outer walls is still buried beneath the memorial, and its positioning remains unchanged since it was built. However, the memorial replicates the roof’s general shape, so the outline matches. Unfortunately, all that remains under the memorial now is rubble. It’s disheartening to realise that these structures on the Lookout are permanently lost. If I had arrived in Napier just 10 years earlier, I would have attempted to prevent the destruction of these remarkable 1940s architectures.
Below is the picture I used for the petition. My theory is that the Council never anticipated or planned for people to climb on the sidebar. I noticed that they had to rush in and put extra brackets under the fence after it was put up because they realised that people were climbing on the sidebar to get a better view. Therefore that design completely defied logic. 1.6m is the average height of a woman, so why design the fence 1.6m tall and put a sidebar there for people to step on to regain the height of the previous fence? This clearly shows, in my view that the design was a mistake because the Council did not properly consult or plan for the upside-down swimming pool fence. The fence was probably never meant to be installed upside down. They came up with the design after the planning process and tried to cover up the mistake by claiming it was intentional, which was not true. I was up there that summer when they realised the design failure. I was handing out petition pamphlets all morning and noticed the rush to get these brackets fitted because the fence was bending when people hopped on it. I saw the chaos unfolding. I was taking photos for the petition and the people in the photo ended in the paper. Well, the fence lasted five years so far. That was my first introduction to heritage protection around this Ahuriri Bluff. The fence was a trigger and I became aware of the attachment I formed with this area for the first time. The new fence made me very angry because now Napier has ended up with an ugly fence, and demolished fortifications. There is not much else to stuff-up on the Napier Lookout now.
The idea of constructing a replica lighthouse at the Napier Lookout was discussed during a meeting on-site with the council. It quickly became evident that a replica lighthouse would not be historically accurate, especially since the destroyed Napier fortifications are now buried on the lookout. Despite the council’s willingness to discuss the option, I chose not to pursue applying for resource consent for a replica lighthouse at Napier Lookout after considering the feedback I received from the council. The chances of approval were low, given the council’s lack of enthusiasm for the idea. Ultimately, the option was abandoned, similar to what happened at the Bowling Club site.
In the 1980s, the council decided to destroy the fortifications and declare it an archaeological site. This means nothing else can be erected on the lookout except for a new 1.6 m upside-down swimming pool fence, which now obstructs the port views for shorter individuals mainly women, who now have to perch on the fence sidebar to see over it.
The irony lies in the fact that the council deemed a replica lighthouse unsuitable due to heritage and archaeological concerns at the Napier Lookout, yet they found a 1.6 m upside-down swimming pool fence surrounding the old fortifications ruins acceptable. This fence now resembles fortifications, serving its intended purpose. None of what has transpired on this lookout during the past 35 years makes any sense from a heritage protection standpoint. If nothing can be placed on the Lookout due to its historical significance and presence of memorials or ruins of fortifications, why not consider restoring the gun emplacements and cannons? Replicas of the concrete bunker structures could be easily recreated. Using heritage protection as a viable argument to argue against a replica lighthouse on this lookout is rich considering how Napier lost these unique fortifications. This fence is a true testament to the Napier City Council's ignorance, insisting that they considered heritage protection on that hillside, with only the ugly fence and the fortification ruins left to show for it. The contrast of a $200,000 upside-down swimming pool fence to a $100,000 replica lighthouse can't be greater. My recent petition and conflict regarding this ugly fence did not help the Council to objectively look at the proposal either, but at least they considered it unlike what happened at the DOC reserve.
Napier Bluff Coastal Fortifications, the picture below shows Tom Sharplin in 1974 on the Bluff Hill Lookout.
Below, one can see the back of a gun emplacement on Bluff Hill. Youth were often hanging out in these gun emplacements around 1975. One of the main reasons the Council destroyed these gun emplacements was because people used to sleep and party there. The Council thought it was a good idea to demolish them. If they would have survived, these gun-emplacements could have been covered in glass and used as a cafe or something else. I discovered that the bottom section of the outer walls is still buried beneath the memorial, and its positioning remains unchanged since it was built. However, the memorial replicates the roof’s general shape, so the outline matches. Unfortunately, all that remains under the memorial now is rubble. It’s disheartening to realise that these structures on the Lookout are permanently lost. If I had arrived in Napier just 10 years earlier, I would have attempted to prevent the destruction of these remarkable 1940s architectures.
Below is the picture I used for the petition. My theory is that the Council never anticipated or planned for people to climb on the sidebar. I noticed that they had to rush in and put extra brackets under the fence after it was put up because they realised that people were climbing on the sidebar to get a better view. Therefore that design completely defied logic. 1.6m is the average height of a woman, so why design the fence 1.6m tall and put a sidebar there for people to step on to regain the height of the previous fence? This clearly shows, in my view that the design was a mistake because the Council did not properly consult or plan for the upside-down swimming pool fence. The fence was probably never meant to be installed upside down. They came up with the design after the planning process and tried to cover up the mistake by claiming it was intentional, which was not true. I was up there that summer when they realised the design failure. I was handing out petition pamphlets all morning and noticed the rush to get these brackets fitted because the fence was bending when people hopped on it. I saw the chaos unfolding. I was taking photos for the petition and the people in the photo ended in the paper. Well, the fence lasted five years so far. That was my first introduction to heritage protection around this Ahuriri Bluff. The fence was a trigger and I became aware of the attachment I formed with this area for the first time. The new fence made me very angry because now Napier has ended up with an ugly fence, and demolished fortifications. There is not much else to stuff-up on the Napier Lookout now.