Heron colony

Press, 11 March 1988, Page 20

Heron colony

Sir, —In a recent issue of "The Press" was an article and photograph in the "Museum Pieces” column. Naturally, your writer praised the diorama on the white heron colony and, rightly, pointed out the error of the type of kowhai depicted. Why, oh why, does the old saying still persist: "The white heron colony at Okarito”? The nesting colony is on the Waitangi Roto River, which does not even drain into the Okarito Lagoon. My guess is that the Okarito Lagoon is seven miles long, measured from Okarito Township. The Waitangi Roto River is north of this lagoon, beyond the next ridge, in quite a different valley system from “Okarito.” If one is to be right, it is certainly quite wrong to describe the area of the white heron colony as being at Okarito. — Yours, etc., G. C. Wood. February 23, 1988. [The director of Canterbury Museum. Mr Michael M. Trotter, replies: "Your correspondent’s comments are appreciated and, of course, correct. The 'Museum Pieces’ article intended to feature the very skilled work of the late Ray) Jacobs and the problems in preserving the dioramas, and I have to plead guilty to using a place-name that I felt sure the readers would recognise. When the diorama is reinstated in the refurbished Bird Hall we will ensure that it is accurately labelled."]