It is not easy to obtain the rocks, known as rip-rap, which are big enough to hold back rivers. Stopbanks also need to be carefully designed so that the rocks are not eroded. Wellington lacks suitable rocks, which have to be imported from outside the region. These rocks laid out near the Pōmare railway station in Hutt Valley are from near Collingwood (Nelson) and Pongaroa (Wairarapa). Jeff Evans looks on while his father Bill spraypaints numbers on the rocks, which were used to build groynes (broad low walls) in the Hutt River.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PAColl-7327)
Reference:
EP/1990/1264/7A
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
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