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Date posted: 30-Apr-2019

Our historic lighthouse, signal station and diaphonic foghorn will all be on dis..

Date posted: 08-Apr-2019

The Supporters need a new treasurer to take over in September when Kevin Vaughan..

Date posted: 05-Feb-2019

OrigiNZ, the tartan taonga are returning for the 2019 concert. Click..

Date posted: 01-Feb-2019

Our next social event will take place on Monday 18th March when Carl Hayson and ..

Young Conservation Superstars win awards!

Date posted: 27-Jan-2019

Gabriel Barbosa and teacher Kate Asher, a team leader who co..

Entries for the 2019 photo competition

Date posted: 19-Jan-2019

We are now taking entries for the 2019 photographic competition. You can enter u..

Date posted: 18-Oct-2018

Would you like to volunteer with the Island's hihi team and learn from them how ..

Date posted: 05-Sep-2018

The new 2019 calendars are now available and this year's is better than ever! Th..

Winners of kokako photo competition

Date posted: 02-Sep-2018

The stunning winning photographs from those submitted to the competition as part..

Date posted: 21-Jul-2018

(https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-great-kokako-story-celebrating-21-years-..

Island sanctuaries help to ensure the survival of many rare and endangered plant and animal species. They are especially valuable because they are easier to keep free of predators than mainland islands.

Tiritiri Matangi was gazetted as an open Scientific Reserve in 1980. The island was then under the control of the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park Board and the Lands and Survey Dept.

A proposal was put to the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Board by a number of interested people including the University of Auckland, planners within the Lands and Survey Dept. and various birding groups.

The idea was to re-vegetate Tiritiri Matangi with plants grown on the island from seed sourced from the island and to release rare and endangered species of birds on the island so that visitors could see them in their natural habitat. There were a number of reasons for this proposal. By establishing an open sanctuary as opposed to a closed sanctuary like Little Barrier, it would take the pressure of Little Barrier by visitors wanting to go there to see birds. As Tiritiri was easily accessible from Auckland by ferry larger numbers of people could visit. The island could be used to educate visitors on the ways to establish new forest, give volunteers an opportunity to participate in conservation programmes. By building an extensive network of tracks and asking visitors to keep to them it was in fact the reverse to seeing birds in a zoo or in an aviary situation, the visitors were in the aviary and the birds were allowed free run of the island to breed and interact with each other.

Photography by Kathryn Jones © (whitehead)

Lighthouse Open Day