title: Potential Impacts of Wharf Extensions on the Hydrodynamics of Stella Passage and Upstream Regions of Tauranga Harbour, New Zealand

authors: Watson, Holly Margaret

subjects: Hydrodynamics

abstract: The Port of Tauranga have proposed extending the berthage of both the Sulphur Point and Maunganui wharves southward to provide a combined length of 1,303 m. The dredged channel (Stella Passage) will also be extended south into Town Reach, with the dredged sediment used to reclaim 4.7 ha behind the wharf extensions and along the Sulphur Point shoreline. In this thesis a hydrodynamic model of the southern basin was developed and used to predict the potential impacts of the wharf extensions on the hydrodynamics in Stella Passage and the upper harbour. 

Numerical modelling of the southern basin was undertaken with Deltares Delft3D FLOW modelling software, using a 2D model with a 20 x 20 m rectangular grid. Sensitivity analysis identified bottom roughness and bathymetry as having the largest influence on model outcomes. Successful calibration and verification of the southern basin model was carried out using field data collected from instruments deployed in Stella Passage and the upper harbour. Statistical analysis of the modelled water levels showed ‘excellent’ agreement with the field data. The modelled current velocities did not match quite as well, but the results were sufficiently good to provide confidence in the model predictions.

The modelled hydrodynamics in Stella Passage were similar to those predicted by previous studies. Compression of the tidal volume and acceleration over the steep boundary between the two areas meant current speeds within the shallower Town Reach were significantly higher than those in the dredged Stella Passage. A clockwise eddy of residual velocities indicated increased sediment transport on the ebb dominant western side of Town Reach. No previous models of the southern basin have modelled the hydrodynamics in the upper harbour beyond the Railway Bridge. Within the upper harbour the largest effects on the existing hydrodynamics were caused by the bridge causeways and the size and shape of the basins. Residual velocity eddies were created around the causeways from velocity gradients caused by shadow zones on the lee sides of the causeways. As the residual velocities and net sediment transport rates were low, the upper harbour was deemed to be in dynamic equilibrium.

Modelled existing hydrodynamics within Stella Passage, Town Reach and the upper harbour were compared to three modelling scenarios simulating the 2015 2016 capital dredging, and proposed wharf extensions, dredging and reclamation. The modelled harbour developments had no significant impact on the hydrodynamics in the upper harbour; changes to water levels and current speeds were less than 0.025 m and 0.05 m.s-1, which were smaller than model errors and the impacts of weather events. The largest impacts were localised within Stella Passage and Town Reach close to the proposed developments. The 2015-2016 dredging reinforced the existing patterns in residual velocity and potential sediment transport pathways. Differences in current speeds between models indicated that the largest impacts on the hydrodynamics within Stella Passage and Town Reach were from the extension of the dredged channel into Town Reach rather than the wharf extensions and reclamation. Current speeds decreased significantly within the newly dredged channel, but this effect was compensated for to a degree by the restrictions of the channel width when the wharves were constructed. In western Town Reach, current speeds increased due to the drop-off moving south and the asymmetrical shape of the dredging extension channelling the tidal flow. The potential for sediment transport and erosion increased in western Town Reach, however the actual sediment transport may be reduced following the formation of a shell lag facies which are common areas of high flow within the harbour.

text: Potential Impacts of Wharf Extensions on the Hydrodynamics of Stella Passage and Upstream Regions of Tauranga Harbour, New Zealand The Port of Tauranga have proposed extending the berthage of both the Sulphur Point and Maunganui wharves southward to provide a combined length of 1,303 m. The dredged channel (Stella Passage) will also be extended south into Town Reach, with the dredged sediment used to reclaim 4.7 ha behind the wharf extensions and along the Sulphur Point shoreline. In this thesis a hydrodynamic model of the southern basin was developed and used to predict the potential impacts of the wharf extensions on the hydrodynamics in Stella Passage and the upper harbour. 

Numerical modelling of the southern basin was undertaken with Deltares Delft3D FLOW modelling software, using a 2D model with a 20 x 20 m rectangular grid. Sensitivity analysis identified bottom roughness and bathymetry as having the largest influence on model outcomes. Successful calibration and verification of the southern basin model was carried out using field data collected from instruments deployed in Stella Passage and the upper harbour. Statistical analysis of the modelled water levels showed ‘excellent’ agreement with the field data. The modelled current velocities did not match quite as well, but the results were sufficiently good to provide confidence in the model predictions.

The modelled hydrodynamics in Stella Passage were similar to those predicted by previous studies. Compression of the tidal volume and acceleration over the steep boundary between the two areas meant current speeds within the shallower Town Reach were significantly higher than those in the dredged Stella Passage. A clockwise eddy of residual velocities indicated increased sediment transport on the ebb dominant western side of Town Reach. No previous models of the southern basin have modelled the hydrodynamics in the upper harbour beyond the Railway Bridge. Within the upper harbour the largest effects on the existing hydrodynamics were caused by the bridge causeways and the size and shape of the basins. Residual velocity eddies were created around the causeways from velocity gradients caused by shadow zones on the lee sides of the causeways. As the residual velocities and net sediment transport rates were low, the upper harbour was deemed to be in dynamic equilibrium.

Modelled existing hydrodynamics within Stella Passage, Town Reach and the upper harbour were compared to three modelling scenarios simulating the 2015 2016 capital dredging, and proposed wharf extensions, dredging and reclamation. The modelled harbour developments had no significant impact on the hydrodynamics in the upper harbour; changes to water levels and current speeds were less than 0.025 m and 0.05 m.s-1, which were smaller than model errors and the impacts of weather events. The largest impacts were localised within Stella Passage and Town Reach close to the proposed developments. The 2015-2016 dredging reinforced the existing patterns in residual velocity and potential sediment transport pathways. Differences in current speeds between models indicated that the largest impacts on the hydrodynamics within Stella Passage and Town Reach were from the extension of the dredged channel into Town Reach rather than the wharf extensions and reclamation. Current speeds decreased significantly within the newly dredged channel, but this effect was compensated for to a degree by the restrictions of the channel width when the wharves were constructed. In western Town Reach, current speeds increased due to the drop-off moving south and the asymmetrical shape of the dredging extension channelling the tidal flow. The potential for sediment transport and erosion increased in western Town Reach, however the actual sediment transport may be reduced following the formation of a shell lag facies which are common areas of high flow within the harbour.

year: 2016

title: The gendering of sports news: An investigation into the production, content and reception of sports photographs of athletes in New Zealand newspapers.

authors: Scott-Chapman, Susan

subjects: gender

abstract: This study investigates the selection, content, meaning and reception of photographs of sportswomen featured in New Zealand newspapers, in order to establish the relationship between media representations and cultural understandings of sportswomen and women’s sport. The study adopts a feminist cultural studies perspective and questions how photographs of sportswomen are constructed and perceived through dominant discourses of gender, sport and nationalism by media decision-makers and audiences alike, within contexts that are shaped by gender power relations and hierarchies.

The first component of this tripartite study comprises two periods of participant observation and interviews conducted at a New Zealand media organization. The insights gained reveal how discourses of (sports) journalism impact on the choices media workers make about what constitutes sports news. Media practices, newsroom dynamics, organizational protocols, freedoms and constraints, and taken-for-granted work routines were all found to inform media workers’ decision making. Thus, journalistic discourses play a decisive role in constructing perceptions of newsworthiness that privilege a few professional men’s sports whilst marginalizing women’s sports and sportswomen, who are frequently stereotyped in representations where physical appearance and aesthetic beauty are emphasized rather than athleticism. 
The second component of this research comprises a systematic analysis of 2,787 sports photographs featured in four New Zealand newspapers during two distinct sample periods. The three main themes that emerged demonstrate that: 
◙	Sports media reinforce an articulation of sport and masculinity; 
◙	When sportswomen are featured, the media reinforce an articulation of sportswomen and femininity; and
◙	When major international sporting events occur, dominant discourses affirming an articulation of sports are momentarily disrupted, as the articulation of sport and nationalism creates space for greater coverage of sportswomen. 
However, despite the increased focus on sportswomen during the context of a major international sporting event, the content of photographs continues to reinforce discourses of femininity, emphasizing potential or actual medal winners and/or their physical attractiveness as sportswomen. A number of representative photographs of sportswomen are subjected to further in-depth evaluation using Peircean semiotic analysis, to establish how sports photographs convey gender differences. This analysis demonstrates how media draw attention to gender by using close-up photographs of sportswomen in tight fitting, body-hugging sportswear that is culturally defined as gender appropriate for women, which accentuates their physical attractiveness and femininity.
The third component of this study involves in-depth interviews with seven elite New Zealand sportswomen, who describe their engagement with sports photographs and the challenges faced in determining what it means to be an athlete and a woman. Participants’ comments highlight how they often perceive photographs of themselves negatively, and in relation to the powerful discursive messages media convey about athleticism and gender, which associate sport with men and masculinity. Moreover, these media messages further result in sportswomen featuring in ambivalent and ambiguous ways, due to perceived contradictions in the articulation of sports with women and femininity. 
Conclusions are drawn on the powerful role discourses of sport play in media workers’ and audiences’ perceptions of sports newsworthiness, which are predominantly gender-based and gender-biased. Although discourses of nationalism encourage greater attention to medal winning sportswomen during major international sporting events, this focus continues to be constrained within discourses of femininity, and thus highlights those sports deemed appropriate for women, with emphasis given to sportswomen who embody idealized modes of femininity. Moreover, the findings of this research highlight the necessity for sports media studies to incorporate the voices of media workers and audiences, as their actions, reactions and perceptions reveal the real issues that they experience and what is important to them in producing and consuming sports news. This study therefore takes a step forward in highlighting crucial questions about the role of gender in shaping sporting representations as they are constructed and consumed in New Zealand.

text: The gendering of sports news: An investigation into the production, content and reception of sports photographs of athletes in New Zealand newspapers. This study investigates the selection, content, meaning and reception of photographs of sportswomen featured in New Zealand newspapers, in order to establish the relationship between media representations and cultural understandings of sportswomen and women’s sport. The study adopts a feminist cultural studies perspective and questions how photographs of sportswomen are constructed and perceived through dominant discourses of gender, sport and nationalism by media decision-makers and audiences alike, within contexts that are shaped by gender power relations and hierarchies.

The first component of this tripartite study comprises two periods of participant observation and interviews conducted at a New Zealand media organization. The insights gained reveal how discourses of (sports) journalism impact on the choices media workers make about what constitutes sports news. Media practices, newsroom dynamics, organizational protocols, freedoms and constraints, and taken-for-granted work routines were all found to inform media workers’ decision making. Thus, journalistic discourses play a decisive role in constructing perceptions of newsworthiness that privilege a few professional men’s sports whilst marginalizing women’s sports and sportswomen, who are frequently stereotyped in representations where physical appearance and aesthetic beauty are emphasized rather than athleticism. 
The second component of this research comprises a systematic analysis of 2,787 sports photographs featured in four New Zealand newspapers during two distinct sample periods. The three main themes that emerged demonstrate that: 
◙	Sports media reinforce an articulation of sport and masculinity; 
◙	When sportswomen are featured, the media reinforce an articulation of sportswomen and femininity; and
◙	When major international sporting events occur, dominant discourses affirming an articulation of sports are momentarily disrupted, as the articulation of sport and nationalism creates space for greater coverage of sportswomen. 
However, despite the increased focus on sportswomen during the context of a major international sporting event, the content of photographs continues to reinforce discourses of femininity, emphasizing potential or actual medal winners and/or their physical attractiveness as sportswomen. A number of representative photographs of sportswomen are subjected to further in-depth evaluation using Peircean semiotic analysis, to establish how sports photographs convey gender differences. This analysis demonstrates how media draw attention to gender by using close-up photographs of sportswomen in tight fitting, body-hugging sportswear that is culturally defined as gender appropriate for women, which accentuates their physical attractiveness and femininity.
The third component of this study involves in-depth interviews with seven elite New Zealand sportswomen, who describe their engagement with sports photographs and the challenges faced in determining what it means to be an athlete and a woman. Participants’ comments highlight how they often perceive photographs of themselves negatively, and in relation to the powerful discursive messages media convey about athleticism and gender, which associate sport with men and masculinity. Moreover, these media messages further result in sportswomen featuring in ambivalent and ambiguous ways, due to perceived contradictions in the articulation of sports with women and femininity. 
Conclusions are drawn on the powerful role discourses of sport play in media workers’ and audiences’ perceptions of sports newsworthiness, which are predominantly gender-based and gender-biased. Although discourses of nationalism encourage greater attention to medal winning sportswomen during major international sporting events, this focus continues to be constrained within discourses of femininity, and thus highlights those sports deemed appropriate for women, with emphasis given to sportswomen who embody idealized modes of femininity. Moreover, the findings of this research highlight the necessity for sports media studies to incorporate the voices of media workers and audiences, as their actions, reactions and perceptions reveal the real issues that they experience and what is important to them in producing and consuming sports news. This study therefore takes a step forward in highlighting crucial questions about the role of gender in shaping sporting representations as they are constructed and consumed in New Zealand.

year: 2012

title: Tribal guns, tribal gunners : A study of acculturation by Maori of European military technology during the New Zealand inter-tribal musket wars

authors: Bentley, Trevor William

abstract: The Musket Wars were New Zealand’s longest and most costly war. Some 20,000 Maori perished in the raids, battles and sieges that convulsed the tribal societies during the 1820’s and 1830’s. The rise of powerful musket armies set in train forty major hekes or tribal migrations that emptied vast reaches of country by 1840, paving the way for European settlement that proceeded largely unopposed until the 1860’s.

There is little known about the nature of Maori warfare in this period for the Musket Wars have yet to receive the same kind of intense study currently being given by New Zealand historians to the Northern and New Zealand Wars. While other nations have conducted exhaustive research into the military history of their indigenous people, the Musket Wars remain New Zealand’s least known war.

The paucity of information on inter-tribal; warfare in this period is sourced in the fact that native warfare was actively discouraged by the missionaries, judged barbaric by most early visitors and regarded as an inferior form of warfare by settlers and English military men. Later nineteenth century writers perpetuated a distorted view of the Musket Wars as chaotic inter-tribal conflicts in which Maori fought and destroyed Maori. This distorted view has its origins in the two widely divergent systems of values that operated in nineteenth century New Zealand and in the dominance of Victorian ideas about race and colonialism.

This thesis is revisionist only in its attempt to demolish the entrenched colonial view of Maori musket warfare as disordered and exclusively Maori. It endeavours to fill specific gaps that exist in the research on this period by examining the role and purpose of the European gun trading enterprise in New Zealand and the extent of European involvement in Maori warfare. The thesis explores the deployment and effectiveness of European guns during the three phases of Maori warfare that characterise the period; predatory raiding, the great rakau-musket battles and the musket to musket conflicts of the 1830’s. The thesis also develops the theme that while the Musket Wars were shaped by non-Maori influences they were distinctly Maori in style.
While the bulk of evidence is provided by contemporary European observers and nineteenth century historians, every attempt has been made to provide a more balanced picture of Maori warfare by reporting Maori experiences wherever possible. The thesis consequently draws on current Maori oral testimony, the evidence of contemporary Maori eyewitness and the substantial and well developed body of written tribal history currently available.

The Musket Wars represent a fascinating but largely forgotten military age in New Zealand where Maori armies of unprecedented size employed powerful armaments of flintlock guns and ships cannon on long distance campaigns against remote enemies. This period has provided a unique opportunity to research the ways an indigenous warrior society acculturated European firearms technology in established tribal rituals and in warfare, independent of European military influences and in a purely Maori context. Most importantly the Musket Wars have provided the opportunity to examine Maori tactical developments through the critical stage between classical Maori warfare and the clashes with British and Colonial forces during the Northern war of 1845 and New Zealand wars of the 1860’s.

text: Tribal guns, tribal gunners : A study of acculturation by Maori of European military technology during the New Zealand inter-tribal musket wars The Musket Wars were New Zealand’s longest and most costly war. Some 20,000 Maori perished in the raids, battles and sieges that convulsed the tribal societies during the 1820’s and 1830’s. The rise of powerful musket armies set in train forty major hekes or tribal migrations that emptied vast reaches of country by 1840, paving the way for European settlement that proceeded largely unopposed until the 1860’s.

There is little known about the nature of Maori warfare in this period for the Musket Wars have yet to receive the same kind of intense study currently being given by New Zealand historians to the Northern and New Zealand Wars. While other nations have conducted exhaustive research into the military history of their indigenous people, the Musket Wars remain New Zealand’s least known war.

The paucity of information on inter-tribal; warfare in this period is sourced in the fact that native warfare was actively discouraged by the missionaries, judged barbaric by most early visitors and regarded as an inferior form of warfare by settlers and English military men. Later nineteenth century writers perpetuated a distorted view of the Musket Wars as chaotic inter-tribal conflicts in which Maori fought and destroyed Maori. This distorted view has its origins in the two widely divergent systems of values that operated in nineteenth century New Zealand and in the dominance of Victorian ideas about race and colonialism.

This thesis is revisionist only in its attempt to demolish the entrenched colonial view of Maori musket warfare as disordered and exclusively Maori. It endeavours to fill specific gaps that exist in the research on this period by examining the role and purpose of the European gun trading enterprise in New Zealand and the extent of European involvement in Maori warfare. The thesis explores the deployment and effectiveness of European guns during the three phases of Maori warfare that characterise the period; predatory raiding, the great rakau-musket battles and the musket to musket conflicts of the 1830’s. The thesis also develops the theme that while the Musket Wars were shaped by non-Maori influences they were distinctly Maori in style.
While the bulk of evidence is provided by contemporary European observers and nineteenth century historians, every attempt has been made to provide a more balanced picture of Maori warfare by reporting Maori experiences wherever possible. The thesis consequently draws on current Maori oral testimony, the evidence of contemporary Maori eyewitness and the substantial and well developed body of written tribal history currently available.

The Musket Wars represent a fascinating but largely forgotten military age in New Zealand where Maori armies of unprecedented size employed powerful armaments of flintlock guns and ships cannon on long distance campaigns against remote enemies. This period has provided a unique opportunity to research the ways an indigenous warrior society acculturated European firearms technology in established tribal rituals and in warfare, independent of European military influences and in a purely Maori context. Most importantly the Musket Wars have provided the opportunity to examine Maori tactical developments through the critical stage between classical Maori warfare and the clashes with British and Colonial forces during the Northern war of 1845 and New Zealand wars of the 1860’s.

year: 1997