Cliff Top to Beach Walk – Raglan

Whāingaroa existed long before a settler village was renamed Raglan in 1858. Some of the buildings in Bow St date from the 1900s. The walkway to the footbridge was cut out of the cliff in 1915/16. A footbridge replaced a ferry in 1929 and has since been replaced in 1963 and 2011. The 1942 Type 22 pillbox is gradually sinking into the sand. It and another box further along the beach, but now almost hidden by sand, were intended to protect gunners delaying a Japanese landing on the beach. A bit further along is the airfield, which was compulsorily purchased in 1941 and featured in Māori land rights protests from the 1970s until the return of part of it in 1990. Wainui Reserve was formerly a Pilot Reserve. In 1883 it was expected Raglan would become a major port. The marker boards near the pillbox were put up and the Reserve was set aside to house a Pilot Station, able to look out for ships approaching and guide them into the port. However, poor links to the rest of Waikato and a difficult sand bar stopped the port developing. As it was no longer needed for pilots, WDC sold the reserve for housing in 1990. A few months later local protest and assistance from Councillor Michael Hope (a lookout on the Reserve is named in his memory) caused 140 hectares of the Reserve to be repurchased as a recreation reserve. In 1996 road access across the Reserve opened the beach to many more visitors. The first tourists had drowned in the dangerous rips in 1922 and a Surf Lifeguard Patrol started in 1972 and moved to its current building in 2002. The sculptures at the top of the hill represent north, south, east and west. They were carved in 2002 to provide opportunities for unemployed people. Tai Meuli has since gone on to become a well known stone carver.