Kaitāia's first DOC employee, Alan Macrae, with the remains of the pulley system on Motuopao Island.
Kaitāia's first DOC employee, Alan Macrae, with the remains of the pulley system on Motuopao Island.
The death of prominent firefighting conservationist Alan Macrae has been described by his Northland counterparts as "the tōtara in the great forest of Tāne" falling.
Macrae, a conservation ranger with the Department of Conservation (DOC), passed away from a suspected heart attack on January 16.
The keen motorcyclist made history in Kaitāia – where he was born and bred – as the town's first DOC employee in 1987, at which he spent 30 years before retiring in 2018.
His duties included responding to whale strandings, firefighting, construction, track work and camps.
In the wake of his death a swell of praise for the "great fireman and person" has been shared by those who know him.
A Facebook post by Northland Fire and Emergency New Zealand spoke of the Northland stalwart's commitment to "protecting cultural and historical values" in the Far North.
Proof of this was the Mangonui courthouse, of which Macrae was extremely proud as it marked the first model of "community collaboration" in the area, he once told the Advocate.
The two-year restoration of the lighthouse on the Motuopao Island nature reserve, the site of the first Cape Reinga lighthouse, was another key highlight for Macrae.
"Today we acknowledge the passing of Alan Macrae, our firefighting colleague from the Department of Conservation. He trained many firefighters and always promoted the importance of safety on the fireground," FENZ's post read.
Kaitaia Operations Manager DJ Neho and conservation ranger Alan Macrae out in the field. Photo / Supplied
"Kua hinga te tōtara o Te Waonui a Tāne - the tōtara in the great forest of Tāne has fallen."
Kaitāia senior station officer Colin Kitchen described his childhood friend, whom he first met at Kaitāia Primary School, as a "people person" committed to his work around rural fires and conservation.
"I spent quite a lot of time with Alan over the years working on the rural fires. He was dedicated to the cause through and through...he always looked after people too."
Kitchen said the Kareponia local's "legacy will live on" with the rural firefighting tanker he designed that is currently housed in the brigade's station.
The tanker – Macrae's "baby" – was originally located in the DOC Fire Base in Kaitāia.
Many of the tributes to Macrae hoped he had been reunited with his younger brother William Macrae – who followed in his footsteps in the 1990s when he also became a DOC ranger.
William – "Willie" - died aged 54 in a helicopter crash alongside pilot John "Prickles" de Ridder, 68, as the duo helped fight a large scrub fire on the Karikari Peninsula in November 2011.
A service for Macrae will be held at the Waipapakauri Domain on Friday at 10am. Attendees are required to have a vaccine pass.
The loss of his brother motivated Alan to deepen his work as a firefighter trainer, of which he was proudest in his career, he told the Northern Advocate when he retired.
"Being able to give people the skills to keep themselves safe is my motivation," he said at the time.
He described his time with DoC as fulfilling, interesting and challenging, enabling him to go to places most New Zealanders never get to experience, like Motuopao and Manawatawhi, part of the Three Kings group, and to learn about the history and heritage of the Far North.
"Most of the work you do is unseen to a lot of people - it's not so much the structures, things we build, that matter. It's the people and the impression we make. That's the legacy."
