The finishing touches were done to the jetty in September 2023, in time for the grand opening on 30 September 2023. What a day! You can read more about it on the Opening the Jetty page.
The jetty was certified as code compliant in December 2023.
However, the work of Governors Bay Jetty Restoration Trust is not over. Our first priority is to repay the money that we borrowed from the Council to pay for the rebuild.
The final total project cost was a little over $3.8 million, up from the estimated cost of $3.5 million. So long as the Council contributes 50% of the final cost, the jetty trust will owe $300,000.
In 2024, the jetty trust will continue to fundraise by selling the salvaged jetty timbers and seeking plank sponsors (only 75 standard planks left) and premium "front plank" sponsors (includes a logo).
We are also:
selling the Red Herring board game and other jetty merchandise.
planning to hold events, like a jetty-to-jetty kayak challenge and a music, or fashion, or long dinner event... but we will need help with those.
Enhancements to the jetty
The jetty is already awesome, but we're going to make it even better.
In 2024, we will:
install a round of wood to go on the end of the jetty to be used as a fish chopping block.
add another 12 to 16 benches on the jetty, to join the four benches already on the jetty (two of these are one-off larger memorial benches - the standard benches are 1.6m long without a back-rest). Seven of the new benches already have sponsors (with a plaque recognising those who have contributed $10,000 or more to the rebuild) and the remaining 5 to 9 are available to be sponsored.
put a water depth gauge at the seaward end of the jetty so that you can see how deep the water is before jumping or swimming.
put up a small number of information signs, for example about the landscape and surrounding environment and about the history of the jetty.
talk to the Council about landscaping on the land adjacent to the jetty.
We would like to put public binoculars at the end of the jetty, but we would need a sponsor to fund this.
There is limited parking and turning near to the jetty, which is sometimes an issue at busy times (hot, sunny weekends). We are keeping an eye on it so we can report to the Council's traffic engineers.
The first official jetty jump was on 30 September 2023, by 16 members of the Canterbury Open Water Swimming Association
