Muriwai Community Association
Restore Muriwai Project
Restore Muriwai Project
For over 50 years, the Muriwai Community Association has enhanced local amenities. After Cyclone Gabrielle, we launched the community-led Restore Muriwai Project to build resilience.
Run by passionate locals, these initiatives are supported—but not run—by the council. Stay updated and get involved.
Run by passionate locals, these initiatives are supported—but not run—by the council. Stay updated and get involved.
Tennis court and Skate park (Council Project)
The redevelopment of the Skate Park area was a community project that Craig Stevens was involved in – so we are delighted that this project received Council funding. Many of you will know that Craig was a professional freestyle BMX rider and he used this experience to design a new layout for the Skate and BMX park that will be constructed. Following community consultation and feedback the Council’s plans for a full redevelopment of the tennis courts and skate area has been signed off by the Council and Local Board. The Council team are now progressing through the planning process, which includes resource and building consent, and the appointment of a contractor to conduct the work. The development will be completed in 2025 – and we will let you know more about the exact timing when we have new information.
If you would like to know more about this project please contact Simon Leitch
View plan here
Sculpture
Jeff Thomson deconstructed homes' public artwork
Since the cyclone, Muriwai has been a focus for support and recovery. 68 properties so far are earmarked for removal. Many households have had to leave places they loved. Some of the houses can be relocated, but most will be deconstructed for salvage.
We’re creating a place for shared memories.
This is a community-led project. Our idea is to create a public sculpture using materials from the deconstructed homes. To create a shared space where locals, visitors and everyone who has a connection to Muriwai can come to reflect on the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle and remember the empathy and generosity of the community, the wider public, aid organisations and officials in the weeks and months that followed.
Working with Muriwai’s community and local Muriwai artists, Jeff Thomson will transform material from Muriwai’s Category 3 homes into public art. Imagine benches and columns, up to 4m high, made from recovered roofing, concrete, domestic fittings, tiles, bricks, and post-Cyclone messages from the local community to the place they love.
The Artist – Jeff Thomson
Jeff Thomson is a well-known New Zealand artist best known for his sculptural works fabricated from corrugated iron and salvaged materials. His artistic and sculptural pieces can be found in public and private collections throughout Australasia and globally. His corrugated Holden Kingswood calls Te Papa home, his public toilet is the pride of his local community in Helensville while his life-size giraffe strides the Gibbs sculpture park on the shores of the Kaipara Harbour. Jeff’s proximity to Muriwai, his long-time involvement with the Muriwai art community and his experience in making Public Sculpture make Jeff the obvious choice for this project.
Sculpture Location
A landowner approval application has been submitted to place the sculpture in the grassy area next to the Muriwai Ranger’s station, at the corner of Motutara and Waitea Rd. This location is close to the heart of the community, and it is also a secluded spot ideal for reflection, with picnic tables already in place, and plenty of parking and amenities nearby.
The Sculpture Concept
The physical sculpture is envisaged as a series of seven free standing columns, or Pou. People will be able to walk through and around the sculpture. One or two pieces will be low to the ground, for people to use as seating. Viewers can walk between and around the uprights, touch and photograph them. Given the scale of the space, the tallest column would stand between 3 to 5 metres tall and remain outside the drip line and beneath the height of the surrounding trees.
The final sculpture design will be a product largely of the materials that are made available by the Trow Group from the deconstruction of the Category 3 Muriwai homes during the next 3 months. The final work will incorporate community art initiatives from the weeks following the Cyclone, such as the Muriwai ‘Love letters’ and Mette Hay’s ‘Muriwai Voices’.
Opportunities for Community Involvement
Mosaic Workshops
Every Saturday in November mosaic workshops will run at the surf club led by Joss Hong and Erin Griffin. Participants will create mosaic panels using tiles recovered from deconstructed Category 3 homes to clad two of the structures in the public artwork. If you would like to sign up for the workshop, please complete this form. Places will be limited so get in early if you’re keen.
Donated Items Gabion
One of the pillars in the artwork will be comprised of a gabion containing items donated by the community. Donated items can be dropped off into the containers provided during the November mosaic workshops, or at the next MCA community meeting at the surf club on 17th November.
Gabion items for the sculpture must be:
- smaller than a dinner plate
- made of timber, metal, ceramics or stone (no plastics, rubber, fabric, paper or glass items please
Project team / credits:
Jeff Thomson – Artist
Clare Bradley - MCA Co-chair, coordinator
Maria Koppens & Abe Dew - ex-Motutara Rd, project leads
Joss Hong & Erin Griffin – Mosaics workshops leads, fundraising projects
Mette Hay – Fundraising projects, contributing artist
Dom Hay – Video production, fundraising projects
Kat Corbett – Fundraising projects
Mandy Jakich – Fundraising, podcast making, coordinator
The Trow Group – Deconstruction materials supply
Ron Hanley – Engineering
Peter Haven – Sculpture Installation Project Manager
Ian McCarroll – Drone photography
Claire Bodmin – Council Advisor
Thanks to the Rodney Local Board for their support
And many thanks to Muriwai Arts for their generous donation – this has been and will be a massive help
Muriwai Commemorative Sculpture Fundraising Dinner
This project is funded 100% through the support of generous businesses and individuals. Please see below for details of our current fundraising initiatives.
Muriwai Commemorative Sculpture Fundraising Dinner and Auction
Please join us at Good From Scratch for a fundraising dinner and auction to raise funds for the Muriwai commemorative sculpture; a public artwork in the heart of Muriwai by renowned Aotearoa artist Jeff Thomson using materials from the 68 deconstructed homes in Muriwai. The aim of this community-led project is to create a shared space where locals, visitors and everyone who has a connection to Muriwai can come to reflect on the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle, and remember the empathy and generosity of the community, the wider public, aid organisations and officials in the weeks and months that followed..
Auction items include 3 beautiful works by artist Jeff Thomson, a Muriwai Lodge accommodation package, a Muriwai clay vase by Lily Weeds, a term of art classes for children from Creative Matters and much more. There will also be additional exciting giveaways throughout the evening.
Be part of a night of fun, with delicious food prepared and cooked by celebrity chef Mike van de Elzen and his team, whilst helping this sculpture project come to life.
Tuesday 10th December 2024
Doors open at 5pm with a welcome drink
Dinner at 6.00pm
3 course meal
Auction and giveaways throughout the evening
$125 pp
Spaces are strictly limited, so book now to avoid disappointment.
You can learn more about the Muriwai Commemorative Sculpture project, and make a donation, via our Arts Foundation fundraising page.
Authorised forest access
The aim is to find a way that creates some greater legitimate public access to the forest land in Muriwai is owned by Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara in a controlled way that they are fully aware of. Specifically, the southern end of Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Ngahere Ltd land i.e. Grass Track Road and the area south of the mast (cell tower).
What’s been happening?
A small group of Muriwai residents have met with members of Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Ngahere Ltd to explore this. Our first meeting was in November 2023. There is no concrete agreement in place. Our conversations to date have been insightful, positive, and constructive. We hope to work together with Iwi to make this a collaborative initiative.
For decades, the forest and bush in Muriwai have been widely accessed by the local community and the general public for recreational purposes. The extensive area now known as Woodhill Forest is an important part of the cultural landscape of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. Many ancestral names (like Te Kēti, Kuwakatai, Waionui, Korekore and Ōkiritoto) were used for different areas and features, but the land became generally known as Woodhill when it passed into
Crown ownership to be developed as forest. Today, the land under the forest is privately owned and managed by Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara after the 2013 Treaty of Waitangi settlement.
Many continue to access the pathways and tracks, and they are however trespassing on private land owned and managed by Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara. A marginal strip is on either side of Ōkiritoto Stream (20m). Marginal strips provide public walking access and access to the water.
What can I do?
1. Join the Muriwai Community Association ($30 annual subscription). Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Ngahere Ltd have made it clear they provide authorised access to groups or organisations and not individuals.
2. Be respectful when you meet staff from Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Ngahere Ltd e.g. forest custodian or wardens.
3. Avoid trespassing on Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Ngahere Ltd land as this may jeopardise our efforts as a community to gain authorised access.
4. Spread the word about this project. Please share this link to Muriwai friends and family so they can have their say, sign up to be kept up to date, and learn about this project.
We are interested to hear your thoughts on this project. Please click here to be kept up to date on this project and to let us know what you think.
Who are Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Ngahere Ltd?
Who is the working group on this project?
Historic cottage
Formerly Edwin Mitchelson Farm cottage C.1900-1909
The historic home at 34 Domain Crescent, Muriwai Beach, will be relocated to Auckland Council land within the Muriwai Regional Park, to keep it within the local area, preserve its historical significance and provide an intergenerational community space.
Currently, 34 Domain Crescent is owned by the Auckland Council due to the fact it was given Category 3 status following the cyclone and slips of February 2023 - then subsequently bought out by the Council. The cottage structure is not damaged in any way. Removal from the site is pending. Should this happen, it would mean the loss of a significant taonga from Muriwai.
What we aim to achieve here is to retain the historic cottage at 34 Domain Crescent within our whenua, to preserve our heritage and help build our community’s future. Importantly, this cottage links to the generous gifts from Sir Edwin Mitchelson of land that is Muriwai Regional Park.
Edwin Mitchelson Cottage Proposal and History
Edwin Mitchelson Cottage Presentation
Scars on the land
An opportunity for something amazing to come out of all the horror, sorrow and grief that was Cyclone Gabrielle. There will be a lot of empty spaces where homes once stood that are now owned by the council, we all know that these spaces will revert to every weed imaginable if we don’t act as the deconstruction process takes place on every section.
If you are interested in helping on this project please complete this form and the project lead will be in contact shortly.
Scars on the land project
There were a lot of suggestions for community gardens and communal orchards but the majority are keen for native trees to be planted, some of the sites will be reasonably flat and picnic areas could be created with tables for locals to meet, especially up on Domain Crescent.
We are a unique community situated in a very busy Regional Park and we don’t have too many spaces just for the locals only. This would be great for residents who have lost their homes but still have somewhere to meet, reflect and catch up with old neighbours, these areas could be grassed but surrounded by native plantings. Bush tracks to be created through the plantings and to be maintained by the council as trees grow up, these would be on the cliffside of Domain but on the flat and linking through to the existing steps and back down to the beach.
We think it is very important to get at least some planting done this season..to see some new progress and take advantage of the volunteer groups that are keen to help now and before the weed jungle takes hold.
If you are interested in helping on this project please complete this form and the project lead will be in contact shortly.
NeighbourNet
Awhi Muriwai: Embracing Our Community
The Muriwai Community Association (MCA) is excited to (re-)establish the Muriwai Neighbour
Net, a community initiative aimed at strengthening our local support network. This effort
continues the ‘residents supporting residents’ spirit that has been crucial in helping our
community begin to recover after Cyclone Gabrielle.
Neighbour Net
What is Neighbour Net?
Neighbour Net is a community-led movement that will be aligned and associated with the
National Neighbourhood Support organisation, which has as its objective the creation of safe,
resilient and connected communities.
Our Goal
Our primary aim is to create a comprehensive Muriwai Community Resilience Plan. This plan
will help ensure everyone knows how to respond effectively when the next natural event should
impact Muriwai. A well-connected community enhances safety and well-being.
Key Risks to Muriwai
- Catastrophic Weather Events
- Fire
- Flooding (Inundation)
- Isolation (No Vehicle Access)
- Utility Loss (Power, Communication, Water)
Neighbour Net will help us prepare and respond to emergencies by understanding these risks
and taking proactive measures.
How You Can Help: Become a Coordinator
We are looking for volunteers from across the village to take on the role of neighbourhood
coordinators. A lot of Muriwai villagers will already have an organic connection – others might
want to discover who lives nearby.
Being a coordinator would involve an initial catch-up; recruiting from around your patch,
and maybe later on organising small immediate neighbourhood events to gather neighbours
together. We aim to organise clusters of 6 to 10 houses, depending on location. If you’re
interested, please fill out this form, and we will contact you.
Get Connected | Be Prepared
A close-knit Neighbour Net will help with:
1. Emergency preparedness
- Emergency Contacts: We’ll provide fridge magnets with critical information.
- Know Your Coordinator: Stay informed about your neighbourhood coordinator.
- Communication: Use the designated Whatsapp group
- Evacuation Clusters: Learn your designated evacuation point.
- Grab Bags: Prepare essential supplies.
- Assist Vulnerable Neighbours: Ensure those who need help can evacuate safely.
2. Crime Prevention
- Recognise Unusual Activity: Knowing your neighbours helps you spot anything out of the
ordinary.
- Create a Safer Community: Work together to prevent crime.
- Stay Vigilant: Be aware of new tenants and long absences.
3. Community Care
- Welcome new residents and help them get to know Muriwai
- Support Vulnerable Neighbours: Assist with shopping, hospital visits, or other needs as
necessary.
Get Involved
Be part of Muriwai’s future and help build a safe, resilient, and connected community.
Email us at: admin@muriwai.org.nz or fill out this form to express your interest in getting
involved.
MCA
Join the Muriwai Community Association.
I want to get involved!
Please sign up here and our project leads will be in contact with you shortly
Restore Muriwai Survey