Te Rūnaka o Ōtākou has gifted the name Kapuka to the new $36 million trailing suction hopper dredge due to arrive in New Zealand in December. Owned by Napier Port and Port Otago, the dredge’s name meant “to scoop out with both hands together” and was derived from an ancient legend, Te Rūnaka o Ōtākou Upoko Edward Ellison said. “In our traditions, the Ōtākou Harbour was gouged out — or scooped out — by an amazing taniwha named Matamata — from the Taiaroa Head right up to Dunedin. “At a later stage, Matamata was looking for its master, a Ngāti Māmoe chief named Rakitauneke, who went inland. The taniwha lost sight of Rakitauneke, so he started slithering down the Taieri Plains looking for his master and that is how people describe the Lower Taieri — the winds and turns of the river. “Eventually Matamata reposed where Saddle Hill is now, hence those two peaks, in our tradition, are part of that taniwha,” Mr Ellison said. It was quite a descriptive korero, fitting to the Ōtākou Harbour, akin to the work Kapuka would do in the harbour to keep the channel open, he said. There was also a connection between the two ports — Napier and Otago — through the waka Tākitimu, captained by the great explorer Tamatea. It had taken nearly two years to build the dredge and commissioning would begin next month, followed by sea trials. The journey from Vietnam was expected to take between 32 and 38 days. TSHD-1000 specs: — Trailing suction hopper dredge (TSHD) — Capacity: 1000cu m — Length: 58.7m — Beam: 12.2m — Depth at mid length point: 4.5 metres — Deadweight: 1400 tonnes — Speed: about 10 knots — Pump performance: about 2000cu m/hour. — Allied Media
