As you may have noticed, Port Fitzroy wharf and landings have been in need of some major repairs for a while now and we are stoked to say it’s finally happened!

Over the last two weeks mass amounts of mahi have been poured into the wharf to repair her back into shape. Total Marine was brought in to replace the eight poles supporting the boat ramp and the five poles supporting the floating pontoons which were damaged in a storm just over a year ago. The crew also reinstated the pontoons that were previously there after a bit of a glow up because upon closer inspection, it was realised the steel pontoon was in need of repairs itself.

Many thanks to Geoff Howie for his expertise in welding, Chris O’Dwyer, Rowan McGregor, Josh Scarlet and Brad Carde for their week of grinding, sanding, scraping and finally, painting.

We’d also like to thank Total Marine as they were absolutely fantastic to work with. They must be given extra credit for their patience and ultimate persistence! Obviously, it’s no easy task driving 8 metre long x 300mm round piles into the ground whilst being constantly challenged by nature.

Thank you to the community as well, for your extended patience. This has been a long time coming but we are very happy for all of our kuia and kaumatua, those living on the outer islands or by sea access only, recreational fishers, visitors and all who use our wharf that it is now safe, accessible and functioning.

There are still some final touches being completed to finish off and tidy the whole area, but last Wednesday, just a few hours after it was completed, Sealink docked the first ferry at the newly refinished wharf and everything was working perfectly.

Port Fitzroy Wharf is owned by the North Barrier Residents and Ratepayers and therefore relies on donations and a lot of volunteer help. NBRR committee would like to thank the Local Board for helping fund some of the repairs and for their patience in awaiting the mahi to get started!

And we, the community in the north, would like to extend a heartfelt ‘Thank You’ to the NBRR for knocking out this massive but critical job that so many of us rely on and utilise so frequently.

Words by North Barrier Residents and Rate Payers Committee