The protest was organised by Save Te Tumu Kaituna.
Protestors erect signs at Te Tumu. Photo / George Novak
Some members of the group are also involved in a court battle with the trust over plans to develop the block of land where the quarry is located - known as the Te Tumu Kaituna 14 block - for housing.
Tauranga City Council has started planning for a new town with housing for 15,500 people at Te Tumu, on land that included Te Tumu Kaituna 14. That planning is on hold due to the court action.
The trust applied to the Māori Land Court in 2018 to convert 55 hectares of Māori freehold land to general land, a step that would enable development.
The court turned down the application but the trust has appealed to the Māori Appellate Court, which has not yet released its decision following a hearing earlier this year.
Land ownership in the Te Tumu area where a new town is being planned. Graphic / Tauranga City Council
Protest organiser Renee Kiriona said Save Te Tumu Kaituna group only started looking into sand mining at Te Tumu recently and became concerned when they saw the extent of the quarry in satellite photos.
She said they were worried about environmental and heritage impacts and monitoring of the site, as well as how the operations contributed towards feelings of alienation from the land for the more than 4000 landowners the trust represented.
They decided to protest after learning the trust had applied to Tauranga City Council to extend its resource consent for the sand mining operations for another 12 years.
Signs at the protest site. Photo / George Novak
"We are devastated our trustees haven't listened to us and we are devastated at the damage being done to the land."
She said there were similarities between Te Tumu Kaituna and Ihumātao but many more options would need to be exhausted before the group would consider an occupation like the one happening at Ihumātao, in Auckland.
An entrance at the Ihumatao land protest in Mangere, South Auckland in July. Photo / File
The group wants Tauranga City Council to turn down or delay considering the consent application until a judgement of the Māori Land Court relating to the fight over development plans is released.
Short, however, said the sand mining and court issues were different, and there was no reason for one to influence the other.
He said the trust had followed all the correct legal channels in seeking consent for the extension and there was no reason to delay the council's decision.
Sand mining had been happening at Te Tumu for around 20 years. It was the main form of income the trust drew for the land, which had proved unsuitable for farming.
Sand mining at Tumu Kaituna 14 on Bell Rd near Pāpāmoa. Photo / Supplied
Without the sand mining income, the trust would probably "go into voluntary receivership", he said - a claim Kiriona said was "scaremongering".
Sand from the mine was used for concrete, he said. The site operations were compliant.
Asked about an abatement notice issued by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council to the trust's contractors earlier this year, he said that was over minor issues.
The notice related to more earth being exposed than was allowed under the consent.
The resource consent managed by the regional council runs from 2013 to 2032 and set conditions on earthworks and sediment discharge.
Te Tumu Kaituna 14 Trust chairman Malcolm Short in 2009. Photo / File
Short said the mining sites would be filled, compacted and shaped in time, in preparation for planned developments.
In a written statement, mining contractor Stevenson Aggregates said the gates to the quarry were closed on the day of the protest for safety reasons.
"Bell Road Sand will be open for business and will resume its regular operating hours again tomorrow [Tuesday]."
A spokesman for Tauranga City Council said the council could not comment in time for deadline due to a key staff member being away.
