Fragile wetlands at Macetown, near Arrowtown, will take years to recover from recent vandalism, caused by negligent 4WD-ers and off-road motorcyclists. Photo / Jim Croawell
Fragile wetlands at Macetown, near Arrowtown, will take years to recover from recent vandalism, caused by negligent 4WD-ers and off-road motorcyclists. Photo / Jim Croawell
Wetlands have been torn up and new hill climbs and off-road tracks illegally created by negligent four-wheel-drive (4WD) and off-road motorcyclists at Macetown, near Arrowtown.
Department of Conservation (DoC) operations manager David Butt said a recent site inspection revealed the damage, which Joanna Booker, of landowner Soho Properties, said wouldtake years to repair due to the extreme fragility of the land.
“We have been extremely disappointed to see a small group of trail bikers blatantly ignoring barriers and signage and destroying scrub to access walking and cycling tracks,” she said.
“Soho Property Ltd would like to remind all track users that the land is private land.
“Access is a privilege which has been generously given by the landowner, and we ask that track users respect the landowners’ conditions of access.”
New illegal off-road tracks which have been formed on private, fragile land at Macetown. Photo / Jim Croawell
Macetown is about 15 kilometres from Arrowtown and was established in the early 1860s when gold was discovered in the Arrow River — which can be accessed via a 4WD track that crosses the river 23 times. By the 1930s, the township had become a ghost town.
Now an historic reserve, Macetown’s historic structures have been restored, including a gold-mining battery, cottage, bakehouse, and building remnants of the old schoolroom and stone fences.
Butt said this was not the first time the area had been damaged by visitors.
