Moutohora (Whale Island) Wildlife Management Reserve

Introduction

The 143-hectare island is a remnant volcanic cone which has eroded, leaving two peaks. This is still an area of volcanic activity and there are hot springs on the island in Sulphur Valley and Sulphur and McEwans bays.

Public access to Moutohora is restricted to approved tour parties led by concessionaires only. Please contact the Department of Conservation Office in Opotiki for further information.

Te Tapatoru a Toi

Te Tapatoru a Toi is the joint management committee between Ngati Awa and the Crown (Department of Conservation) for the strategic management of Moutohora, Ohope and Tauwhare Pa Scenic Reserves.

The committee has been operating since February 2006 since the Ngati Awa Treaty of Waitangi Settlement Legislation and is working towards a combined Conservation Management Plan for the three parcels of land which it oversees the management for.

Under the Treaty Settlement Legislation a management plan is required for the committee's powers to be enacted. This is a public process under the Reserves Act 1977 and Te Tapatoru a Toi are hoping to consult the public about this document before Christmas 2007. The result will be a combined, strategic management plan for the three reserves for the next 10 years.

The term Te Tapatoru a Toi has been coined for the committee as a description of what their role is and what lands they have management responsibilities for.

Features

A view of Moutohora (Whale Island)
from Thornton

Maori sites

Numerous archaeological sites of both Maori and European origin have been recorded, including an extensive pa (fortified earthworks) site on Pa Hill and a number of house terraces and garden sites, middens (food refuse dumps), stone tool manufacture areas and stone walls. After permanent Maori occupation ceased in the early nineteenth century, Ngati Awa and Tuhoe continued to visit the island for sea food and mutton birds/petrel and to collect stones for hangi (underground ovens).

Early ventures

Seal on rocks at Moutohora
(Whale Island)

The first European occupation came in the 1830s with an unsuccessful attempt to establish a shore-based whaling station. The venture failed without a single whale being captured. Forty years later came attempts to make money from sulphur. It was extracted and sold to a refinery in Auckland over a number of years but was of poor quality, and the venture was abandoned in 1895. The next phase of industrial activity came in 1915, when quarrying provided rock for the construction of the Whakatane harbour wall. A total of 26,000 tonnes of rock was removed over five years.

In 1965 Moutohora was declared a wildlife refuge and the island was bought by the Crown in 1984.

Once the goats which had been introduced to the island were eradicated, a planting programme began and 12,000 plants covering 45 species are now established. Today Moutohora is covered with a mosaic of pohutukawa, mahoe, kanuka, bracken fern and grassland.

There are 190 native and 110 introduced plant species. The island is now completely free of the goats, rats, cats and rabbits which previously devastated native plants and animals.

The most significant feature of Moutohora's current fauna is the breeding colony of grey-faced petrels. Sooty shearwaters, little blue penguins, the threatened New Zealand dotterel and variable oystercatcher also breed on the island. Threatened species which are occasional visitors are the Caspian tern, the North Island kaka and New Zealand falcon. Other species present include common forest birds, captive-bred red crowned parakeets, three lizard species and fur seals.

In March 1999 local Ngati Awa and the Department of Conservation joined forces to see the fulfilment of a dream. Forty North Island saddleback (tieke) were transferred from Repanga (Cuvier Island), off the coast of Coromandel, to Moutohora.

A view of White Island from Moutohora
(Whale Island)

This relocation followed the traditional flight made centuries ago when the Mataatua waka (canoe) was accompanied by two tieke from Repanga to Whakatane. This flight followed the drowning of the twin sons of Muriwai, sister of Toroa, the captain of the waka. The two tieke settled briefly on Moutohora before returning to Repanga.

Public access to Moutohora is restricted to permit holders and approved tour parties led by concessionaires. Permits must be obtained from the Department of Conservation office in Opotiki. During periods of high fire danger all access may be declined.

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