Meet The Weed Boat Driver Keeping Hawke’s Bay Streams Flowing

Saturday, 22 March 2025, 8:28 pm
Article: Linda Hall - Local Democracy Reporter

Rodger Shaw reckons he’s got one of the best jobs going.

The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council catchment worker and weed boat driver says he loves being outdoors on the water, just going with the flow.

“I get to see parts of Hawke’s Bay that lots of other people never do and I love it,” he said.

“And don’t worry, the ducklings can swim faster than this thing.”

Shaw is talking about the weed boat he drives up and down Hawke’s Bay streams releasing vegetation to increase water flow.

Works Group Taradale overseer Kevin Cooper said the boat is paddle-driven, with a diesel motor and runs on hydraulics so it can spin.

“It’s like a bobcat on water,” Cooper said.

HBRC is one of only three councils in the country to own these unique machines, built in Hawke's Bay by HBRC Works Group workshop, with various components supplied and manufactured by local companies.

Its hull is 4m long with an operating length with cutter bar extended to approximately 4.4m.

He said HBRC used the boats in every stream six times a year and operated them for Wellington City Council at their (Wellington’s) expense.

“That’s if the water is deep enough for the boat,” Cooper said.

He said its biggest obstacle was decoy ducks, placed during the duck shooting season. “We recover about 200 a year.”

Shaw has been working for HBRC for almost 50 years and has worked, among other positions, in pest control, and spent time in the Wairoa district.

He said the boat made the weed move. “If we didn’t do it the waterways would become clogged with weeds and stagnant.”

The most unusual thing he had seen on his water runs was a huge bull seal.

“It was in the Karamu Stream up by Chrystal Rd asleep in the bullrushes.”

He’s also seen a white swan and a white heron on his travels and plenty of ducks, ducklings and pukeko.

“Because ducks are territorial, they have seen us a lot and are not bothered. They just swim to the other side of the waterway,” Shaw said.

But it’s the pūkeko that are the crafty birds, he said.

Both Shaw and Cooper have seen them swim across a stream to an orchard, get an apple and swim back to feed their babies.

Cooper said although Shaw worked alone, they were in constant contact and there was always a crew on standby.

“Sometimes if there’s a tree across the stream, or a drift of weed causing a blockage a crew will come in and clear it.

“We also put a lot of resources into eel recovery when things like that happen, returning them to their environment and doing our bit for nature.”

The weed boat is given a hot water blast before it enters another stream to prevent contamination.

Cooper said the biggest battle was with alligator and senegal tea weed.

The other thing that was a big problem for Shaw was rubbish.

“People dump their household rubbish on stream banks and in the water,” Shaw said.

“Don’t do it. You wouldn’t dump it on your own land.”

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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