Story: Dune lands

Part of page 2 – The ‘problem’ of drifting sands

Windbreak (2nd of 3)

Workers build a fence from pine tree trimmings at Waitārere on the Manawatū coast, in September 1959. This was one of the first steps in stabilising dunes. The aim was to build a dune immediately behind the beach (known as a foredune). Fences had two main functions – some became dunes themselves as drifting sand piled up, while others served more as windbreaks. They sheltered plantings of marram grass and helped stop the sand from drifting inland.