Planting the Chinaman bank

Later in 2006 Landcare had a request from the conservator Fred Howe for assistance in a project to plant the bank of the Chinaman at Kingston. This is a long and fairly high bank which backs onto the ocean at the rear and a grassed area at the front popular with picnickers. Further in front is beautiful Emily Bay, the most popular swimming beach. The bank is sandstone and the eroded soil on it a sandy loam.



We were asked to plant the bank in flax and a few Norfolk pines along the base. To our delight Fred arranged for a small excavator to dig the holes for us as the ground was hard and digging with a spade almost impossible. Luckily we had brought with us a load of topsoil against advice. It was just as well as there was no soil to speak of beneath where the flax was planted and tough an all as they are, we felt a bit of soil beneath would give them the best chance of survival in this harsh environment.


We hand carted buckets of soil up the slopes to fill the holes we planted the flax in. The pines were planted along the base of the bank in the ground. These were donated spindly tall pines and it was rather doubtful that they would survive but we thought we'd give them a chance.

It was quite a big job for the small group of people who assisted. Running up and down the slopes with buckets of soil was a bit of an endurance test but we got the job done and all of the flax & trees planted.