D'Urville Island block bought for public use

A large section of d'Urville Island, containing massive sand dunes and moa bones, has been bought for public use.

The Nature Heritage Fund paid $3.7 million for the 1797ha block of coastal land at Greville Harbour on the western side of the island.

It will open to the public from March.

"The block contains the nationally important Bottle Points Cliffs, a beautiful lowland forest, and a rare and dramatic duneland, by far the largest in the Marlborough Sounds," Conservation Minister Chris Carter said yesterday.

"This is a very exciting purchase for any New Zealander interested in natural history."

The new area will be added to conservation land on d'Urville Island and will form a corridor of reserve right across the island.

The sand dunes at Greville Harbour are up to 25m high and extend inland for 400m.

Mr Carter said they were archaeologically significant and contained the bones of early kakapo, moa, tuatara, kokako and various big petrels.

"Behind the dunes lies a lagoon, the largest freshwater body in the Sounds, and an important habitat for waterfowl and freshwater fish."

Ecologist Geoff Walls said the purchase was very significant ecologically.

"It's not often that private land on the island is sold to the Crown, and this particular property is such a special place.

"The natural values are tremendous. Physically it's stunning."

The purchase has been made as part of the Government's public wildlands programme, which is designed to protect a wider variety of significant nature areas by bringing them into public ownership.

Ownership will transfer in March next year.

- NZPA