Tenth National Camp Held at Gisborne Showgrounds

Forest and Bird, Issue 192, 1 May 1974, Page 15

Tenth National Camp Held at Gisborne Showgrounds

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUR eager and expectant campers arrived in family parties and singly at the Gisborne showgrounds on 4 January for the Society's tenth annual national camp. They were accommodated in cabins, caravans, and tents or in nearby motels.

By

Elsie Jones,

Wellington Branch

A FTER a welcome from Mr A. Caccia Birch, chairman and founder of the Gisborne Section, Mr T. Way, a member of the Historic Places Trust, told us about places of interest round Gisborne, and Mrs Allen, education officer at the local museum, invited us to visit it. Saturday Two buses and private cars took members for a tour of Gisborne. The first stop was at the museum, which is situated in shady grounds. Mrs Allen told us a little about its history and how some of its fine exhibits of early Gisborne life were given or lent. It has some fine exhibits of Maori artefacts and some interesting pieces of early machinery which are housed in a Nissen hut in the grounds; there is also an old pioneer cottage filled with suitable exhibits. Next we went to Poho-o-Rawhiri meeting house at the foot of Kaiti Hill. Its panels were carved by tribes throughout New Zealand, and when a chief comes to visit he places his mat under his tribe’s panel.

At the summit of Kaiti Hill is the new Cook Memorial, from which an extensive view is obtained over Poverty Bay, with Young Nick’s Head standing out well. From the new memorial there is a good walking track down to the old Cook Memorial, at the landing site of Captain Cook. In the afternoon we visited Gray’s Bush, a small reserve of the residual forest which once covered the Gisborne district. Then we went on to Waihirere Domain, where some of the members walked up a pleasant track in a narrow valley in search of a waterfall, but on their return reported that it was nearly dry. In the evening Mr Archie Blackbum, an eminent ornithologist, talked to us about the birds of the district and birds generally and showed slides of the gannet colony on an island off Mahia Peninsula.

Sunday A special service had been arranged at the Matawhero Presbyterian Church, which was the only building left standing after Te Kooti’s massacre in 1868; its hall was used to house the survivors. With our members and the local congregation, the little church was filled to overflowing, extra seats being placed down the aisles. The minister, the Rev. Markley, conducted a topical and inspiring service. The hymns were well known and well sung, and there was a special organist, Mr David English. In the afternoon many small tours were undertaken in private cars to visit the beautiful beaches and other places. In the evening Mr Anderson of the Wildlife Service spoke on wekas and the problem they have become in the district. He said that in 1923 a virus disease had wiped out all the North Island wekas, except those in the Gisborne district, but they had become very plentiful again and were now a destructive element in many areas. They had no enemies, except man; so they continued to increase. Wildlife Service officers were trapping them, putting them in a holding-pen in the domain, and exporting them to any suitable North Island area to try to re-establish them in other districts. Trapping was not the answer, however, he said, as the birds had a big nuisance potential. Monday The day’s trip was to Cook’s Cove, which is over a steep little hill from Tolaga Bay. Though the road is a narrow dirt one, it should not be very difficult for private cars in dry weather. Before Cook’s Cove is Tupaea’s Cavern, a hole through the hill washed out by the waves. Cook’s Cove, where Cook watered his ship, is a pleasant shallow bay. It was a very hot day; so most of the party enjoyed swimming in its warm water. The energetic ones were taken by Mr Stan Jones over a hill to wade across to a little island which shelters the cove. After coming back over the steep narrow road, we went down to Tolaga Bay, which has a very long wharf of about i-mile long. Tuesday To travel to Morere we drove over the very steep Wharerata Hill, at the top of which is

a rest area; here we stopped to have a look at the view and to have places of interest pointed out to us. The energetic ones left the buses before we arrived at Morere to climb Moumoukai, a massive rocky hill that was a good vantage point to look out to sea over Mahia Peninsula. It was a cloudy day, but warm. At Morere are thermal baths set in an attractive bush reserve with well-kept lawns and paths, and some spent a very pleasant hour wandering along on a botanical ramble, and others sampled the swimming pool. After lunch most of us went into one of the different baths of mineral water, including one up a lovely bush path. In the evening Mr lan Falkner, a local farmer, told us the history of the Te Kooti wars in Gisborne. Mr Bernard Teague followed, giving us the history of Te Kooti’s campaign over a wider area and illustrating his talks with slides, some of which were by early painters and others showing how the places looked today. Wednesday Some campers visited Ngatapa to see the old Maori pa, and the rest went to Eastwood Hill, a farm with a large area planted in a wide variety of exotic trees. The property, which was recently on the market, was bought by the H. B. Williams Trust, the grounds now being open to the public. There are a number of well-kept tracks winding through the trees, but many trees need to be labelled with their names and country of origin. There are also several small lakes with water lilies of different colours. Next, we went up to Rere Falls, and on the way we came across a large tree that had fallen across the road and which had to be cleared away before we could proceed. There is a pleasant picnic ground at Rere Falls, but little water was flowing over the falls. As rain was threatening, we soon set off for home, calling in on the way to see an impressive Maori church at Manutuke. In the evening we had excellent slides and a talk about two trips Miss Chris Miller, of the Gisborne Camera Club, had made across Australia from Adelaide to Darwin, with a stop at Alice Springs. Thursday During the night the weather had become colder and the showers heavier; so a trip for a look at rock pools was cancelled. Instead we

put in the day looking round Gisborne and visiting Maori craft shops, the impressive new library, and a collectors’ exhibition. Some of us visited lagoons on a side road off the Morere road. We saw pied stilts, ducks, whitefaced herons, swans, and welcome swallows, which were flitting about over the water. That evening Mrs Beryl Rountree showed us slides and talked about O’Reilly’s Guest House at Lamington National Park, which she visited on a recent trip to Australia. Children's Sessions Every evening at about 7 o’clock there was a children’s session conducted by Mr Teague and several of the ladies. The children were encouraged to bring along specimens of plants or creatures they had found on the trips and either talk about them or find out more about them. Mr Teague also gave talks, illustrated by slides or live specimens, about lizards and fungi of New Zealand. On the last evening there was a quiz for the children in three classes on what had been talked about during the evening sessions. There were sufficient small prizes for all the children, but the winners of each class had first choice.

After each evening session supper of tea or coffee and biscuits was available in the camp kitchen. This was popular and enabled people to get to know each other better. Two members of the Wellington group were on duty each evening. We thank Mr Teague, who put in much time organising the camp, and the members of the Gisborne Section who gave him such willing and enthusiastic support. It is certain that the Gisborne Section has able and energetic members and has a very promising future.

Bird Bath Built Near Napier Reserve

A LONG-STANDING desire to get water to Sturm’s Gully was realised by Mr and Mrs O. G. Latham, of Napier, on 2 March, when members of the Napier Section spent a pleasant afternoon at the gully to admire the large bird bath and nesting box erected near by. Sturm’s Gully is a small reserve, quietly tucked away on Napier’s Bluff Hill. It was recently acquired by the Napier City Council, which administers it. Mr Latham had long pressed for water in this dry area and after a proposal that the section should finance the installation of a bird bath, progress was soon under way. The bird bath itself, a large shallow design, is on steep land on private property, on the fringe of the reserve. A section of the hill had to be dug out, a rock retaining wall built, and a firm foundation made before the bird bath itself could be built. Water was piped down from the owner’s property and is maintained at a steady drip to ensure a constant supply of fresh water; the overflow is carried away in a small cement channel. Birds have already been observed taking advantage of the bath. The work was done by Mr and Mrs Latham, Mr L. Lannie, and Mr R. Warr, other members assisting when required. Mr Latham appreciated the time and materials members gave and the materials donated by firms. It is hoped that Sturm’s Gully will be developed for the birds and not for people. —Betty Lamburn