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| It will cost millions to protect Kerikeri's twin historical gems, the Stone Store (above) and Mission Station. |
Time is running out for New Zealand's oldest building as floodwaters threaten it again and again.
Thursday afternoon was the second time in four weeks that Historic Places Trust staff had been put on alert in case floods ravaged the 179-year-old Kerikeri Mission Station.
The trust's northern region manager, Sherry Reynolds, says it expects a flood to destroy the wooden building soon, unless changes are made to the bridge that crosses the Kerikeri River beside the building.
Supports of the one-lane bridge collect debris during floods, forming a dam that lifts the river's levels.
The mission house is New Zealand's oldest building. It stands on the remains of a 5260ha block bought by the Rev Samuel Marsden in 1819 for 48 axes.
Mission workers, safe under the protection of Ngapuhi chief Hongi Hika and the people of the nearby Kororipo Pa, completed the house in 1822.
The building bore witness to fiery elements of New Zealand's history as the nearby pa was a launching point for Ngapuhi in the Musket Wars that brought the death and enslavement of thousands of Maori throughout the North Island.
In 1981, the river flooded the old house and the first level of the nearby 169-year-old Stone Store. Both buildings were badly damaged.
The house's gardens were swept away and a log destroyed its front porch. The floodwaters also eroded the mortar holding the Stone Store together.
But flooding is not the only risk the buildings face.
Up to 7500 vehicles a day use the nearby road and the vibrations from them are threatening to shake the buildings to pieces.
Nearly $1 million has been spent on the Stone Store to stem and repair the damage from traffic and flooding.
"The bridge needs to go and we'd prefer not having through traffic in the basin," said Ms Reynolds.
The Far North District Council roading manager, Greg Ingham, said the council had put aside $100,000 to pay for a feasibility study on a bypass road.
The study would begin just after Christmas and a draft report was likely by March: "From there we will see where we can go."
A previous study on the issue put the cost of establishing a bypass at $4.7 million.
Mr Ingham said the council would not be able to carry the expense alone and hoped any work would be subsidised by the Government.
Even if the work was subsidised it was still a big task.
"The council would probably have to come up with not far short of $2 million, which is a big ask for the Far North.
"There are other projects and priorities in the district and it raises the question of how much Government involvement there should be in this, given that it is national heritage, not just Kerikeri's."
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