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 Actions responding to respect for the natural landscape.
38) Protect the natural character of the Hokianga harbour. This one sentence is all that the District Plan needs to say about landscape. The Environment Court then would only have one question to ask. “Does the proposal protect the natural character of the Hokianga Harbour, or does it not?” Lawyers can twist, squirm, and distort the truth but the lack of small print leaves little to argue about.
39) The context of Kohukohu is all important. It is the context which makes Kohukohu what it is. The primary relationship to the water, for example, should be strengthened. The powerful form of the wharf does this. In contrast the impact of the road, for example, should be softened. Any strong visual form of kerbing and channelling or any straight harsh line of a road, which is built for movement rather than enjoyment, is destructive of an essential understanding of Kohukohu. Those who do not see the Heritage Precinct can make choices which prevent others from seeing the Heritage Precinct. These choices are much more significant than the colour or form of any buildings.
40) In Kohukohu there is space between the buildings. Not only is the whole village to be seen within landscape, but individual buildings are also to be seen within landscape. The Masonic Lodge on the hillside, for example, the old school on the spur, or the houses of the newly wealthy overlooking the sawmill, all gave a primary recognition to landscape.
41) A distinction needs to be made between buildings which occupy landscape and buildings which are set apart from landscape and serve to define it. The marae is the space not the buildings. The wharenui or wharekai define the marae but they do not occupy it. A materialistic consumer society is concerned with objects which can be possessed, and objects which take possession. The Kohukohu Heritage Precinct speaks for a different set of values.
42) Some cultures live life out of doors. A farmer lives with mud and rain and retreats to shelter. The pohutukawa or the wind-break provide the clue as to where that shelter might be found. A person from Auckland begins their life inside and they look out at views. They talk about an indoor/outdoor relationship, but do not notice either the pohutukawa, except when it blocks their view, or the wind-break.The built-environment of the Kohukohu Heritage Precinct reflects the culture of those who live first and build later. Planning for these people is concerned first with landscape. They have difficulty understanding a culture which is obsessed with building.
43) Sustainability begins with re-establishing and strengthening our relationship with nature. Insulating our buildings can in contrast mean divorcing us from the wairua of the planet, which gives us life. The Kohukohu Heritage Precinct is ahead of its time. We have come through a time of easy environmental credit, and slowly people are beginning to realise that this is not sustainable. Kohukohu offers an alternative. Getting the landscape right means that we need less building.
Live first in the natural world, and only then in buildings.
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