On 14 January 2021, it was announced that the Tiwai Smelter will close in 2024. The story of Tiwai is complex. For many years the Tiwai Smelter operated with little disruption, with the owners of the smelter seeming to ‘hold all the cards’ in making sure the smelter remained open and viable. The environmental and cultural impacts of the smelter drew little attention. In response, Murihiku Regeneration developed three reports that explored the importance of Tiwai Point. Read about them below:
Cultural Significance of Tiwai Point
Archaeological investigations of the peninsula show that Māori first inhabited Tiwai Point from around 1300, with peak occupation from 1400 to the mid 1600s. It is estimated that occupation ceased in the mid 1700s. Pre-colonisation, Māori occupation of Tiwai Point lasted approximately 450 years in total.
Tiwai Point was utilised by Ngāi Tahu Māori as a prime location for the production of stone tools. Southland argillite was used to manufacture a variety of adzes, which were highly prized and widely dispersed as tools of choice for Māori of southern Aotearoa. Adzes made from Southland argillite were used for moa hunting, sealing, the hunting of smaller birds, and fishing.
Key archaeological work relating to the removal of artefacts was undertaken during 1968 and 1969. There was a sense of urgency to remove artefacts and to learn as much as possible about the site before construction of the Tiwai Aluminium Smelter began. The smelter opened in 1971.
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Cultural Report - Tiwai Point - January 2021
(without appendices - download individually below)
- Appendix A: Southland Museum Annual Report 1967-68
- Appendix B: 1969 – Tiwai Point Maori Site by A. J. Mackenzie
- Appendix C: 1969 – Archeaology at Tiwai Point: A preliminary report to the Southland Museum Trust Board (Inc) by G. S. Park
- Appendix D: Southland Museum and Art Gallery holdings re Tiwai
- Appendix E: 1969 – Tiwai Point expedition by E. Freeborn
- Appendix F: 1969 – Tiwai Point – A Preliminary Report by G. S. Park
- Appendix G: 1969 – Ecological Method and Theory: Tiwai Peninsula by Gillian Hamel
- Appendix H: 1978 – Radiocarbon dates from Tiwai Point, Southland by G.S. Park
- Appendix I: Newspaper Clippings
- Appendix J: New Zealand Archaeological Association site records for Tiwai Point
Environmental significance of Tiwai Point and surrounds
The Tiwai Aluminium Smelter is located at Tiwai Point on the Tiwai Peninsula. Despite the location of a large industrial site, Tiwai Point lies adjacent to the internationally recognised Awarua wetland complex. In February 2008, New Zealand’s Department of Conservation was notified by the Ramsar Secretariat of its decision to approve an application to extend the Waituna Ramsar site from around 3,500 ha to around 20,000ha and to rename it the Awarua Wetland.
The Awarua Wetland Ramsar site is now the largest protected wetland complex in New Zealand. The extension includes not only Waituna but also the Awarua Plains, the New River Estuary, Toetoes Harbour and Spit and the northern edge of the Tiwai Peninsula. The 2000 hectares of land surrounding NZAS is part of New Zealand’s Conservation Estate managed by the Department of Conservation. NZAS leases the Tiwai Peninsula from the Department of Conservation, part of which falls into the Awarua Wetland Ramsar site. Find out more about the Awarua Wetland and the rare and threatened birds, fish, lizards, invertebrates and plant communities that call it home.
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Preliminary Environmental Report - Tiwai - January 2021
Tiwai Point - a contaminated site
The New Zealand Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) site on the Tiwai Peninsula has been identified by the Ministry for the Environment as a highly contaminated Hazardous Activities and Industries List (HAIL) site[1].
Industries listed as a HAIL site are those that are likely to cause land contamination resulting from hazardous substance use, storage, or disposal. The activities at Tiwai Smelter meet all three criteria: the use, storage, and disposal of a range of hazardous substances.
Understanding Tiwai as a contaminated site is urgent, irrespective of how long the smelter continues to operate. Many of the contaminants are persistent in the environment and will remain hazardous for generations to come if not mitigated in some way. The future of Tiwai Point as a geological feature is also uncertain. Tiwai Point is low-lying and sea level rise due to global warming is a very real threat. In addition, the peninsula is largely made up of gravel deposits, which are easily eroded. A further risk is the location of the peninsula in a known tsunami risk zone.
A preliminary report was put together in 2021 to explore the range of potential contaminants located at Tiwai Point, that are the direct result of Tiwai Aluminium Smelter activities. This report was based around information provided by Environment Southland’s Briefing Note (February 2021) and information gleaned from various news articles, reports, and newsletters. Information focused on contaminants that have the potential to infiltrate soils, groundwater, and pollute the ocean. Air-borne pollutants are not covered.
[1] https://www.mfe.govt.nz/land/hazardous-activities-and-industries-list-hail
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Tiwai Point - contaminated site: Report in response to ES briefing note