Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Management of Whanganui’s William Birch Reserve could be handed to community group

Mike Tweed
By Mike Tweed
Multimedia Journalist·Whanganui Chronicle·
10 Jul, 2025 06:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Staff from Comvita working to clear a track at the William Birch Reserve.

Staff from Comvita working to clear a track at the William Birch Reserve.

A community group is confident it will be granted custodianship of a historic reserve on the outskirts of Whanganui.

The William Birch Reserve, home to the long-unused William Birch Pool, near Pākaraka, is managed by the Whanganui District Council.

Richard White, spokesman for the Friends of the William Birch Pool, said the group presented its case to elected members this week and got a good response.

“Essentially, we are offering to take over what the council is doing, to take a reserve out of their portfolio.

“Give it to us, we’ll look after it, and you can look after the hundreds of others there are.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The group was committed to the reserve for the long term.

“When you look at most passionate groups, they are often a bunch of grey-haired buggers like me.

“We’ve got youth, people in their 20s and 30s, and we see longevity.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“A community will rally around a community group but, when it comes to rallying around council, it’s usually, ‘We pay our rates, you do it.’”

The pool was opened in the 1930s on the Ototoka Stream, with the Birch family donating the land and commissioning the work to construct it.

It has not been suitable for swimming for many years. White said he initiated the last clean-out in 2009, with Pākaraka Pā kaumatua Ray Hina.

While the pool would never again be used for swimming, the group had asked the council for funding to remove the silt buildup, he said.

Last year, the Whanganui West Catchment Group was refused funding for work at the reserve and pool through the council’s Long-Term Plan (2024-34).

It would have included $80,000 for track work and pool clean-out, and $15,000 for yearly maintenance work.

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said there was already an operational budget for reserve maintenance, but no decision had been made on funding for the pool.

The council was keen to support the group, he said.

“When we know the community is behind it, the council is keen to get behind it.

The group has asked for council funding to clear out silt from the pool, which has been left to fill since 2009.
The group has asked for council funding to clear out silt from the pool, which has been left to fill since 2009.

“Local government is looking for more trust from central Government to get on with it and, at a smaller scale, councils should be trusting communities to get on with things, own stuff and make things happen.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

White said the group had received ongoing offers of help from members of the public, but it needed a mandate from the council to accept them.

“As soon as we set ourselves up, we got a message from Comvita [Apiaries],” he said.

“They offered 13 staff and three vehicles for the day. That reinforces the point that a group like ours can bring the community in.

“We’ve already had a boundary fence done as a donation.”

While the pool would remain empty, other parts of the reserve could be retained and upgraded, he said.

It covers 6796sq m.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“You can actually do a round trip on a walkway path, which we tidied up with Comvita. It just needs edging and some product put down.

“Eliminating [tradescantia] is another project, and enhancing the native bush and birdlife."

He said a farmer had offered to take the silt once it was extracted from the pool.

“[The council] do have a bit of responsibility in that respect, and there is the environmental aspect to it as well.

“Cleaning up the stream is a 25 or 30-year project, but you’ve got to start somewhere.”

The grandson and great-granddaughter of William Birch had come to visit the reserve recently, he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“We’ve kept the family up to date and they are right behind us.

“It’s neat to have different generations still proud of it.”

Tripe said handing management of the reserve to the group would be considered at a council meeting, but he was unsure when.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. His current focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Why Ruapehu voted against bigger water model

11 Jul 05:02 AM
Whanganui Chronicle

Search for missing man continues after car pulled from river

10 Jul 11:09 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

Chaos as Ruapehu council rejects officials' advice on water

10 Jul 03:15 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Why Ruapehu voted against bigger water model

Why Ruapehu voted against bigger water model

11 Jul 05:02 AM

Officials say a multi-council body would save their community $40 million.

Search for missing man continues after car pulled from river

Search for missing man continues after car pulled from river

10 Jul 11:09 PM
Chaos as Ruapehu council rejects officials' advice on water

Chaos as Ruapehu council rejects officials' advice on water

10 Jul 03:15 AM
Strong winds bring weather warning and watches

Strong winds bring weather warning and watches

10 Jul 03:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP