POOR KNIGHTS ISLANDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18762, 16 July 1924, Page 9

POOR KNIGHTS ISLANDS.

THEIR FLORA AND FAUNA. PROTECTION FROM INJURY. PIG - DESTROYING EXPEDITION. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN COEEE3PONDENT.] WELLINGTON. Tne*,dftj | An interesting expedition to the Poor Knights Islands, which lie off the Whangarei coast, was recently undertaken by Mr. W. M. Fraser, engineer of the Wba- » ngarei Harbour Board, who is a keen lover of New Zealand flora and fauna. With a party of six Maoris and three good pig dogs, Mr. Fraser travelled in a .launch from the northern mainland to the islands and spent six days there. The visit, which was made under the auspices of the Government, was mainly to adopt measures to destroy wild pigs, which havo proved a menace to the flora and bird lifo of th-3 island sanctuaries, and to report generally on the present condition ot affairs existing.

Reporting on his trip to the Minister for Internal Affairs, the Hon. R, F. Bollard, Mr, Fraser stated that bad weather prevailed during the stay of the party on the islands, but the conditions did not deter a complete exploration or a systematic attack on the wild pigs—the enemy of the islands—being made. "We succeeded," he states, "in destroying 10 pigs. It is possible, however, that one or two pigs may have escaped during the hunt, but these will be secured about the «nd of the year, when I intend YJsiting the islands again with a couple of natives and their dogs.

Depredation of the Fig. "An interesting example of the depredations of the wild pig came to our notice. We caught an old boar in a small cave 'which was littered with the wings and bills of the young Bullers shearwater (thyellodroma bulleri), one of the rarest-known sea birds. Tho birds nest on a steep, rocky face and the pig evidently scaled along the rocky ledges rooting the birds out of their burrows and dragging them back to his lair. I "I am of opinion that, with the. removal of the wild pigs, the sea birds, will again make the island their breeding place and that the tuatara will increase in numbers." The Islands Described,

Mr. Fraser writes interestingly of the formation, historical value and bird life of the Poor Knights Islands. "The Poor Knights," ho says, " consists of two main islands having an area of roughly" 600 i acres and 400 acres respectively, together with several small islets and rocks, ail being of a volcanic formation. The larger island is covered principally with' scrubby bush, with heavier mixed forest it the basins. On this island; there does not appear to have been any settlement and the native flora and fauna is in a very healthy state. The latter includes tuataras, parakeets, tuis, etc., and the peculiar rock formation there provides a very secure resting place for certain sea birds. The smaller island; of the' two" isktow covered with fairly heavy*fcusfr and bears unmistakable evidence of; having once been thickly populated. . '■• '.' ■ • r " It might here be'noted that on November 25, 1769,' when Captain Cook dis- • covered and named; tho Poo* Knights h» recorded that there were cultivated lands and a few towns-;th*t /appeared tb\. be forti jied. According to the oldest Maoria on this coast it is over 100 years sine* the natives lived there and it is believed that the original 'inhabitants were massacred by Hongi Hika, the notorious murderer, who first used the J flintlock rifles in tribal warfare, about 1820. .. ;< EeUbsof Habitatioji:. _ "I have made a-fairly close 'exploration of this; island, .and saw "the remains of fortifications and many*: habitations, the sides of which were built of stone. In many instances the .stone walls are still intact, with weather-worn totara woodwork scattered about. The bush is just alivo with bell birds, that sing i»ntinuously from daybreak till dusk., f> "Pig's—the only ;Hvin% remnant of the old ; . , met. with,.....and strange ;to] say. they litMTeari>.;of man: TheV-island; - »being;.; very; '■■■ fertile produces a luxuriant growth of forest trees and shrubs, but in the absence of the karaka and taraire ; berry and; fern root, the pig must depend on grubs and worms, ' etc., for its living; with the re- '- suit that the surface is being continually turned over, and many delicate plants 'destroyed." . '-- , Mr. Bollard spoke appreciatively of the honorary services rendered by Fraser in assisting "m thei protection of the Crown's sanctuaries,^ and remarked that ' the Dominion fortunately" possessed several such "gentlemen whose work was invaluable. .