Te Toa Whenua predator control team assisting in the nursery. Franta Novak (left) and Mauriora Bristow. Photo/Liam Kiely
Te Toa Whenua predator control team assisting in the nursery. Franta Novak (left) and Mauriora Bristow. Photo/Liam Kiely
A project to restore the biodiversity of the Waipoua River catchment and support sustainable land use, has reached a significant milestone with 293 bait stations for possum control installed over 600 hectares.
It was completed by two staff employed through the Government's Jobs for Nature programme and one volunteer.
TheDepartment of Conservation is also supporting Te Toa Whenua through the Ngā Awa river restoration programme by working with Te Roroa on monitoring river biodiversity, researching fish movements and finding ways to improve fish passage.
Te Toa Whenua has also attracted funding from Foundation North, the Tindall Foundation, One Billion Trees and Northland Regional Council.
Matt Calder, DoC's Kauri Coast project manager for landscape predator control, said Te Toa Whenua Restoration Project has made impressive gains since staff started working on the ground around five years ago.
"The 900ha restoration of former plantation pine forest is one of the most ambitious in the north. The area is inundated with pest plants and menaced by pest animals but Te Roroa has done an outstanding job of securing funding."
Te Toa Whenua hosted a trapping workshop for the local community. Megan Topia in foreground. Photo/Courtney Davis
The project's nursery has been transformed from a small backyard operation to a large-scale provider of plants to restore the Waipoua River's margins and hillsides.
Courtney Davis, Te Toa Whenua project manager, says the project's name is a tribute to 19th century Tūohu, who was a warrior and gardener from the local area. The phrase te toa o te whenua (the warrior of the land) is from an oriori (lullaby) composed by his cousin Taoho as a testament to Tūohu's mana as an expert in land use and management of people.
Davis said the field supervisor was formerly a forester and now he's restoring the area and regenerating areas he was involved in felling. He says the project has plenty of challenges including kauri dieback and myrtle rust and an abundance of weeds.
"Many decades of plantation pine forestry operations have left a heavy weed burden, so two people manage weeds fulltime."
Friends and whanau gather at the flagstaff at Te Maiki in Russell to commemorate the Battle of Kororāreka, 11 March 1845.
Dawn blessing for Battle of Kororāreka
At dawn last Friday friends and whanau gathered at Te Maiki hill in Russell to commemorate the Battle of Kororāreka on March 11, 1845, also known as the Burning of Kororāreka.
Early that morning, several hundred Ngāpuhi fighters, led by the key figures Hone Heke and Te Ruki Kawiti, attacked Kororāreka. Heke wanted to safeguard Māori autonomy and chiefly authority in the face of what he saw as an increasing interference by the government.
One group, led by Te Ruki Kawiti, created a diversion at the southern end of town enabling Heke to seize the blockhouse defending the flagstaff, and the offending pole on Te Maiki Hill was cut down for a fourth time.
There was a subsequent desultory charge of gunfire until the powder magazine at Polack's Stockade was accidentally blown up by its defenders early in the afternoon. The troops abandoned the town as HMS Hazard began to bombard it and as Māori took the opportunity to plunder.
The British ships sailed the next day effectively surrendering Kororāreka to Heke and Kawiti. Around 20 men had been killed on each side.
At the commemoration last week was Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis and the ropu or entourage from Te Taua Moana, Ngāti Tumatauenga and Ngā Pirimihana o Te Tai Tokerau. Because of ongoing repairs to the flagpole the flag couldn't be raised on the hill so it was raised at Haratu Marae instead.
Born in Ireland but grew up in Lower Hutt. Gerry Paul is the recently appointed General Manager for the Turner Centre in Kerikeri. Photo/Johnny Hendrikus
Turner Centre appoints new general manager
Kerikeri's Turner Centre new general manager Gerry Paul brings impressive credentials to the role.
He has more than 20 years' experience in event management and as a musician. He arrives in the Far North direct from a role as festival director since 2019 for CubaDupa street festival in Wellington.
Under his management CubaDupa won the Wellington Gold Award in the Vibrant category and is a finalist in the New Zealand Event Association Awards for Best Cultural and Best Community events. In addition, Paul is a finalist in the Wellingtonian of the Year award for 2021 in the Arts category.
As a musician he has played at around 500 music festivals around the world and has toured in more than 40 countries. He won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in America in 2010 and has worked as a music producer on several award-winning albums.
He produced Mel Parsons' Dryland album, which won an award at the NZ Music Awards and is also a finalist in the Silver Scroll Awards. He was producer for Frank Burktt Band, which won the Best Folk Album at the Tui Awards.
Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Paul grew up in Lower Hutt. He has holidayed in the Far North, in Matauri Bay, and is a keen spearfisherman. He moved to Kerikeri late last year with his wife and daughter who attends Kerikeri Primary School.
Former venue manager Hadlee Wright has moved to a role as an adviser of community readiness and recovery at Fire and Emergency NZ.
Paul says the Turner Centre still has to adhere to the 100 people Covid restriction "but it's better that we keep on keeping on".
They're off! The start on the beachfront in Russell of the 2022 Wander Women event. Photo/Claire House
Wander Women descend on Russell
Around 400 women invaded Russell last Saturday to take part in the Wander Women running and walking event.
It was to have been held late last year but Covid-19 restrictions postponed it. Even now "red level" protocols were observed, including being double vaccinated to participate.
Event creator Fiona Cederman said they would normally have had a bar and a band at the end of the race but that's been cancelled. And normally each team member would receive a certificate at the end. Now one person from each team is designated to accept the certificate on behalf of the other team members.
The start and finish this year was on the Village Green next to the Russell Town Hall. The race consisted of running or trekking and mountain biking over a three- or a six-hour course. It's a navigational race in teams of four based on points, with the winning team getting the most points.
The three team categories are open, veterans where the combined team age must be over 160 and the masters category where the combined team age must be over 200. Teams depart in groups.
The wander Women event included the beach, the coastline and bush. Here one of the teams navigates part of the coastline. Photo/Claire House
Both courses in Russell were over private and public land, around the coast and over the walking trails of the Russell Peninsula, including the private golf course on Russell-Whakapāra Rd and the Te Wahāpu Peninsula.
There was a walking component at the end of the event where competitors wandered around the Russell village to learn some of the important moments in the town's Kororāreka history.
