Matiu/Somes Island
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Matiu/Somes Island, at 24.9 ha, is the largest of three islands in the northern half of Wellington Harbour, New Zealand. It lies three km south of the suburb of Petone and the mouth of the Hutt River.
It became part of Lower Hutt in 1989, and came under the full control of the Department of Conservation ("DoC") as a scientific and historic reserve in 1995. The island is largely free of introduced mammalian predators ( such as stoats), an unusual state for an island so close to an urban centre.
The island has had an extensive Maori history and a varied, and a sometimes colourful and tragic, European one. At various times, it has hosted a large pa, alien internees during wartime, and quarantine facilities for both human immigrants and animals. It was also fortified with heavy anti-aircraft guns and a degaussing station was built to provide protection for ships against magnetic mines. Many of the physical features of these sites are present on the island today.
The island is a stronghold for the little blue penguin, several species of shag, the spotted skink and several rare and endangered species of plants.
The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand has been revegetating the island since 1984 and successfully eradicated rats in 1989. Brothers Island tuatara was released in 1998. Eleven “male” red crowned kakariki (parakeets) were first introduced to the island in 2004 and immediately began breeding with a further 11 released in 2005. Wellington tree wetas and Cook Strait giant wetas have been successfully transferred from Mana Island. A number of endangered plant species have found a refuge on the island.
Forest geckos were transferred to the island in 2006 and North Island robins sourced from Kapiti Island will be released in April 2006. A solar-powered speaker system to attract fluttering shearwaters has been installed and will begin transmitting later that year.
Many of these projects have been supported by the community and the local iwi, Te Ati Awa. The Matiu/Somes Island Charitable Trust was established in 1998 as a partnership between Te Ati Awa and the general community to help protect, nurture and enhance the island by raising funds for projects that increased biodiversity and enhanced visitors’ enjoyment of the island. Through its active arm, “The Friends of Matiu/Somes”, it encourages community participation in work on the island. It also works closely with DoC and community groups such as Forest and Bird.
Matiu/Somes Island is an increasingly popular tourist attraction and educational resource for local schools, with about 15,000 visitors per year.
The island was known for over a century as Somes Island until it was renamed to restore its Maori name.
Just to the north lies a much smaller island, Mokopuna Island.
External links
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