Covid 19 coronavirus: Ōrākei Marae temporarily closes walkway on private land to keep people safe

Some locals are annoyed fencing has been put up to stop members of the public walking through marae land during the lockdown. Photo / Alex Burton

Ōrākei Marae has erected fencing to keep the marae community and public safe from Covid-19, by preventing people from walking on the private land.

Iwi say the measures are only temporary and follow the restrictions required under the government's pandemic response plan.

Ōrākei Marae sits above Okahu Bay and incorporates the historic Bastion Pt within Michael Joseph Savage Memorial Park.

The park and Ōrākei Domain can usually be accessed from paths that run through the marae land and through some streets around the outskirts including Takitimu St and Kupe Rd. The marae land is private.

However in recent weeks those paths have been blocked, so as to prevent any risk associated with Covid-19.

At first signs were posted but they did not "look official" so they were ignored, said one Ōrākei resident.

Orakei Marae Ngati Whatua have put a checkpoint in place between Kupe and Kitemoana st. Photo / Alex Burton

Then fencing was put in place.

"It's usually very amicable, but shortly after lockdown people were being told 'this is marae land, you can't go through here'," she said.

"A man who lives near the pathway was coming out of his [house] and telling people they couldn't go down to the domain that way.

"Then he got a big six foot fence and put it across so no one could get through."

Ōrākei Marae is run by Ngāti Whātua.

Head of security Neil Maihi told the Herald the marae was completely closed because of the Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown and the fencing was a cordon for the entire site.

Fencing has been put up to stop members of the public walking through marae land during the lockdown. Photo / Alex Burton

It was put up to stop the public walking through marae land where people were still living and working.

The measure was to protect those on site and for health and safety reasons.

Maihi said that everyone who entered the marae went through a checkpoint.

No members of the public were allowed on site under the pandemic restrictions put in place by the government.

The Herald is seeking further comment from Ngāti Whātua, the marae and Auckland Council.

The Orakei Local Board appear to be aware of the situation.

On April 10 they posted on their Facebook page about the closure.

"Our friends at Ōrākei Marae have asked us to share this message," the post said.

"Please note that due the closure of Ōrākei Marae and efforts to keep the community safe, segments of Kitemoana Street have been closed to the public.

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"This road leads to the marae grounds and so should only affect whānau residents.

"Pedestrians and cyclists are being temporarily redirected."

Since then other access points have also been closed.

This comes as New Zealand comes to the end of level 4 lockdown.

The country moved into level 3 for at least two weeks at 11:59 on Monday night.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website