Sir Peter Jackson and Dame Fran Walsh bought land at Shelly Bay last year to stop a $500 million housing development and restore its natural beauty. However, the couple’s vision for Miramar Peninsula doesn’t stop there. Since 2011, they’ve been keen to see the land above the bay become a long-promised reserve. Georgina Campbell investigates why it hasn’t happened and if it’s still on the cards.
In 2011, the Government announced a new 76ha reserve on Watts Peninsula - a prominent Wellington landmark at the northern tip of Miramar Peninsula.
However, more than a decade later, the long-promised reserve is yet to be realised.
The former New Zealand Defence Force land is home to historic military gun emplacements and former ammunition magazines.
There are several historical pā sites on Te Motu Kairangi (Miramar Peninsula) making the land culturally significant to iwi.
The site is also connected to early European settlement as it formed part of the New Zealand Company’s purchase and was eventually carved up. The first owner of Lot 3 was James Watt after whom the peninsula was named.
The area is already popular for recreation with well-used walking tracks, a community garden, and a small farm that hosts school visits.
Sir Peter Jackson’s long-held interest in the peninsula
In the months leading up to the announcement of the reserve in 2011, Jackson publicly voiced concern about protecting the “green belt” for future generations.
He did not intend to buy the land but supported it remaining in public ownership.
Jackson is mentioned by name in a 2017 Cabinet paper about the fate of Watts Peninsula.
“The Filmset area has previously been used for filming, notably by Sir Peter Jackson, and parties like him and other stakeholders are opposed to development on the site as this will likely prevent future filming work,” the paper said.
Tens of millions of dollars worth of commercial property in Miramar is tied to Jackson’s Weta group of film-making companies.
Jackson also has residential properties on the peninsula and can sometimes be spotted walking along the picturesque coastline.
More recently, he and Walsh purchased land at Shelly Bay to restore its “natural beauty” and stop a controversial $500m housing development planned there.
Jackson once looked at the possibility of creating a movie museum there, but the idea fell flat several years ago.
When the Herald inquired about the meeting and what was discussed, a spokesperson for Jackson and Walsh said landscaping plans were being worked on.
“Peter and Fran hope the remainder of the peninsula becomes the long-promised public reserve.”
Scenes for most of Jackson’s movies have been filmed in Shelly Bay, and the wider area provided the backdrop for his 2005 version of King Kong.
A large-scale version of Skull Island, including the giant wall that separated Kong from the rest of the island, was built above the Massey Memorial on Miramar Peninsula for the movie.
What was promised?
Chris Finlayson was the Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister in 2011 when the reserve was first announced and said it would be protected as a place of national significance for all New Zealanders.
“We now have the opportunity to preserve and regenerate it as a space for future generations to enjoy. The site will be protected as a distinctive national destination with cultural and recreational potential,” he said in a Beehive press release.
Reflecting on that announcement, Finlayson told the Herald he was very interested in the site because of its many layers of history.
“It’s got pre-Taranaki Whānui pā sites, it’s got Taranaki Whānui sites, First World War sites, there is even a fort up there.
“Fort Ballance was built when people thought Alexander III and the Russians were going to invade in the late 1880s.”
At this time, Wellington Prison, known as Mt Crawford prison, was still operating on land adjoining that earmarked for the reserve.
“I was very keen to see the prison closed and for a lot of those dreadful old pine trees to be ripped down,” Finlayson said.
Finlayson ceased being the Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister in 2014 and “unfortunately, I don’t think anything has happened since then”, he said.
Celia Wade-Brown was the mayor of Wellington at the time and is now a Green MP.
She shared Finalyson’s enthusiasm for the project and noted one thing that has changed between then and now is the effort to make Miramar predator-free.
“This can now also become a biodiversity hotspot, which was certainly not true in 2011.”
Wade-Brown said the site had some of the best views in the world.
In 2014, the Crown, Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust (PNBST), and Wellington City Council signed a memorandum of understanding to develop the future vision for the reserve.
The land has since been transferred from the Defence Force to Land Information New Zealand (Linz).
“So, there has been a small step in the right direction and I think the time is now, given I’m in Parliament, for me to start asking some questions about progress,” Wade-Brown said.
The other thing that has changed over the years is that Mt Crawford prison has closed, bringing the question of potential housing development into the fold.
PNBST was established to manage Taranaki Whānui’s Tiriti o Waitangi settlement and has the first right of refusal over both sites.
Arrangements for these areas are now being worked on in parallel by Linz.
Housing plans fail to get fast-tracked consent
In 2018, PNBST started working with the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development (MHUD) on a proposal to develop the former prison site.
A 2022 application for fast-tracked consent shows the Mātai Moana project included up to 700 new homes including multi-storey apartments, townhouses, and detached houses.
The development would be held in a perpetual leasehold model so the whenua would remain in the ownership of iwi.
There were plans for a commercial precinct including a cafe, early learning centre, superette, and a community or cultural centre.
A cable car would connect the Mātai Moana homes to the Shelly Bay housing development with which the iwi was also involved.
Construction was expected to start mid-this year if this special consent was granted but the then Environment Minister David Parker declined it.
Later, Parker said he felt the public had the right to have a full say on the plan considering the “gondola and commercial developments proposed” for the peninsula.
MHUD has since confirmed it is no longer progressing with the plan, leaving Taranaki Whānui to return to the drawing board.
Taranaki Whānui chief executive Kara Puketapu-Dentice declined to comment.
Minister wants resolution as soon as possible
Land Information Minister Chris Penk said he was expecting updated advice on the future of Watts Peninsula soon.
“I have made my expectations clear to Linz that they should make progress towards resolving this matter as soon as possible.
Linz is managing both the Watts Peninsula land and the Mt Crawford former prison land on behalf of the Crown.
“The future of Watts Peninsula is important for many locals and community organisations in the area. I hope and expect progress towards a resolution can be made shortly,” Penk said.
In the 2019 Budget, Linz received $4m to prepare the land for public access and site maintenance until the reserve was established.
“Wellington City Council, which will also be contributing to the project, will meet all operational costs once the reserve is established in 2022,” a Cabinet minute said.
Linz head of crown property Sonya Wikitera said $2.3m of that money had been spent on activities including removing dangerous trees, regular mowing and maintenance, and hazard, archaeological, and seismic assessments.
Other hazard management work yet to be completed includes removing asbestos from World War II-era magazine buildings, improvements to track access and stormwater, and building a retaining wall to manage the risk of slips.
A plan to manage pine and macrocarpa trees and replant clearings with species indigenous to Wellington’s coastline is on hold while the future of the land is decided.
Wellington City Council is also in a holding pattern until decisions are made.
However, it recently purchased 3207sq m of land on Massey Rd for $475,000.
The purpose listed on the Record of Title is: “Local purpose (car parking and access) reserve”.
Asked why the reserve had not happened yet and when it would happen, Wikitera said: “We know the land at Watts Peninsula is special for many people and we are absolutely committed to protecting it as a place of national significance.”
An iwi-Crown working group is considering options for the land, she said.
“Advice on options will be provided to ministers for consideration in the coming months. As the two areas of land are adjoining, it is important we work through future arrangements for both in parallel.”
The land is not on offer on the open market so Linz would not consider any expressions of interest from private individuals in buying it, Wikitera said.
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.