Bubbles and a blessing for Kumi Rd

Myra Berghan cutting the ribbon to 'open' newly sealed Kumi Rd on Sunday. Photo / Peter Jackson

Some of those who gathered on Kumi Rd, just outside Awanui, on Sunday for bubbles, lunch, speeches and the cutting of a ribbon were not born when residents began appealing to the Mangonui County Council to seal the road.

Many were not only born, however, but were actively involved in the campaign that began with the County Council in 1979 and ended with the Far North District Council in 2020.

Cr Mate Radich said he remembered the phone call he received from the late Ross Foy the day after he was elected to the council. He had demanded that the road, which he described as a disgrace, be sealed. A couple of weeks later he received similar call, using less colourful language, from Myra Berghan, who as of Sunday had lived on Kumi Rd for more than 60 of her 90 years.

Radich paid tribute to the efforts of local roading firm Fulton Hogan to maintain the unsealed road, only to see the first rain reduce it to its original state.

"It's been a battle, and sadly Ross isn't here to see it, but look at it now. It's a beauty. We got it done," he said.

Sealing the entire 3.9km had cost $1.8 million, he added, more than most such projects because the surface, which was below sea level, had had to be built up before it was sealed. It had been a cost-effective solution, however, for a road that had been dusty in summer, mud in winter, and very expensive to maintain.

The project had not been part of the council's sealing matrix, and had not been subsidised, the bill going to the Far North's ratepayers.

Myra Berghan's daughter Carol also acknowledged the work done by Fulton Hogan, and the council. Crs Radich and Felicity Foy had "gone really hard for us over the last couple of years," she said.

Her mother and Ross Foy had got the "whole shemozzle" going in 1979, collecting petition signatures, from one each end of the road and meeting in the middle.

Resident Will Tye was as pleased as anyone to see the road sealed, an improvement that he said would lift the whole community.

"We are a long way behind the rest of New Zealand," he said, and Cr Foy agreed.

"We can't stop here," she said.

"We need the government to step up and recognise that sealed roads should be a minimum."

Myra Berghan, who said she was happy to see the road sealed "before I fly away," completed the small ceremony with a blessing and leading the singing of Whakariamai.