For many visitors, Mr Blue was Tiritiri. No visit seemed complete without a sight of the ‘old man’ mischievously investigating visitors around the nursery. Somehow, he always seemed almost human in his fearlessness, his curiosity and his desire to have his chin scratched. It was difficult at times to remember that he in fact was a representative of one of the world’s rarest species. Yet he was…

Mr Blue’s story started as an egg collected from the Murchison Mountains in Fiordland and hatched at Te Anna on 12 December 1984. From there, he was transferred to Maud Island – where his inquisitive nature soon showed up, as the photos show. 

His fame, though, truly arrived when he was chosen in 1991 as one of the two takahēs to initiate DoC’s policy of enhancing the species’ survival by building a population of takahē on Tiritiri. The release would herald a number of firsts – the first onto an ‘open’ island, and the first outside its hitherto-accepted ancestral range. Would it work? And who would pay the cost?

Fortunately for Tiritiri, funding was made available through the generous sponsorship of Du Pong New Zealand. This, and subsequent donations by Du Post, made it possible to implement the programme. 

Many of us were privileged to watch the arrival of Mr Blue and Stormy on Saturday 1 May 1991. As the helicopter descended, we waited outside the specially constructed pens in the valley below the bunkhouse. Eventually, two boxes arrived, and with a great flourish DoC’s Dick Veitch and Auckland University’s John Craig opened the cages and extracted the birds.

Given that they had previously led a quiet life, they took the glare of publicity well. After all, who would enjoy being paraded around six hundred onlookers, all straining to have a look, and many armed with cameras? After the assembled multitude had satiated itself, Mr Blue and Stormy were released into their pens.

Their release into the ‘wild’ some weeks later was greeted with some trepidation by Ray and Barbara. After all, how would the birds be monitored? What would happen if they took off to other parts of the island?

Would they even stay together? With relief, we realised that the lighthouse area would remain their home for some time to come…

The ‘minor’ hiccup of having two males was not the complete tragedy it might have seemed. Because Mr Blue displayed many nesting signs, DoC decided in early 1992 to try using “the odd couple” as foster parents for a fertile egg – transferred from Maud Island, and itself another “first”. Much to everyone’s delight, the egg was well cared for and eventually hatched, producing a little chick which was named Matangi.

At first, Matangi prospered, and was given no shortage of attention by its human entourage. Mr Blue and Stormy carried on as if parenting was the most natural thing in the world for them.

Unfortunately, Matangi died of an infection at ten months.

Other takahē were progressively transferred to Tiritiri, including the island’s first female, JJ. JJ soon paired up with Stormy and produced a chick, Aroha. Mr Blue’s love life took a turn for the better when he teamed up with Aroha in 1993. 

While his attentions proved rather fickle over time, he was nevertheless an attentive father when Aroha was selected to foster and hatch another egg in spring 1994. (This chick, named Whetu, is still alive and well.)

In spring 1995 Mr Blue left the island for treatment of an infected foot at Auckland Zoo. Unfortunately, his recovery was very slow, and following further damage he was once again shipped to the zoo for a further operation in mid 1996.

Of all the takahē, Mr Blue was the one we most strongly associated with the lighthouse area – always inspecting visitors with his insatiable curiosity. Unfortunately, during 1996 Mr Blue faced territorial challenges from Stormy and JJ, and it became increasingly obvious that they were trying to usurp him. It was no surprise when he was seen fleeing from Stormy in Wattle Valley one afternoon in late November. What happened next will mostly likely forever remain a mystery, but the next day Mr Blue was found dead beside a stream. While the subsequent autopsy revealed a stomach full of black mud, we will never know for sure if this was the cause. 

The warmth Mr Blue generated in the hearts and minds of all who were privileged to meet him was matched by the grief at his loss. Children in particular miss this wonderful character – in fact, more children wrote to the NZ Herald after his death than on any other topic in the history of that paper. 

When you next visit Tiritiri, look out for the pūriri tree between the toilets and the bunkhouse. It marks when Mr Blue and buried. Barring accidents, this tree will endure for decades if not centuries – and will be an ongoing reminder that Mr Blue may have gone but he is not forgotten. With luck – and the assistance of many individuals – the takahē breeding programme initiated so successfully by Mr Blue will continue to be one of the brightest examples of conservation success.

We hope this pictorial tribute will bring back many happy memories.