HERITAGE PARK, MAUNU, WHANGAREI
(Picture above shows Tecomanthe speciosa the Three Kings Vine. A large specimen of this once rare plant grows over the foyer of the Bird Recovery Centre offices at Heritage Park.)
Heritage park is virtually a collection of old Whangarei, artefacts and buildings, manuscripts and wildlife that have been saved or rescued, to live out their future in a museum park so that the general public can look into our past… our heritage
The main building on the park is the Museum, with its collection of artefacts and manuscripts, kiwi and tuatara house. It is also home to a number of clubs, such as the Astronomical society, Native Bird Recovery Centre, Model Engineering Club, Steam and Model Railway Club, Riponui Pah School, Whangarei Women’s Jail, Blecksmiths, Oruaiti Chapel, Jane Mander Study, Northland Vintage Car Club, Stationary Engine Club, Medical Museum, Rocks And Mineral Club, Indoor Shearing Club, Amateur radio Club, Vintage Farm Machinery Club and Clark Graveyard. All these make Heritage Park their home.
The Miniature Railway operates every third Sunday of each month from 10am to 3pm.
KIWI NORTH - The Whangarei Museum.
Kiwi North is home of Whangarei’s Museum, Kiwi House & Heritage Park. It is situated on a 25-hectare historic farm in Maunu, Whangarei, overlooking the harbour and city. The complex is Governed by the Whangarei Museum & Heritage Park Trust, and operated with an annual grant from the Whangarei District Council and a three-year grant from the Ministry of Education. The Whangarei Museum was established in 1890 and its first exhibits were housed in the Municipal Buildings in 1916. In the early 1960s it moved from the Municipal Buildings to another building on Cafler Street. In 1973 the museum collection was packed down again and new premises
sought. In 1972 with the purchase of Glorat House and its surrounding farm and bush-clad land, the Whangarei Museum became a Heritage Park. Over time more historic buildings were added and railway lines, bush walks and a Kiwi House were built. In 1983 the Exhibition Centre was opened, this is now home of the Whangarei Museum and Glorat House became the Clarke Homestead, a L2 category Historic Place.
Whangarei Museum is responsible for several noteworthy collections. Four Live Days a year are held where Heritage Park Club Members open their doors to the public. In addition to the permanent displays, two exhibitions are held each year.
At Kiwi North you can learn about the kiwi’s personality and how they behave in their natural habitat as well as Tuatara, Ruru (Morepork), and our indigenous gecko. The museum houses a nationally significant collection of tainga Maori, natural history collections and special exhinitions.
The Kiwi House.
Day is transformed into night inside this state of the art Kiwi house. Inside the house you will see the Kiwi foraging for food as they would in the wild. The Kiwi is a nocturnal animal and the Kiwi House is kept dark so that visitors can see the bird in its natural environment. The aim of the Kiwi House is to protect and promote our endangered native species in partnership with the Department of Conservation,
Matakohe/Limestone Island and other conservation groups. The Kiwi House opened to the public in 2011, and is the organization’s second Kiwi House, the first opened in 1990 from funds raised by the Whangarei Native Bird & Protection Society. Other native species that can be seen are -
Ruru or Morepork
New Zealand’s native owl (Ruru), is also a resident of the Kiwi House. Ruru are recognisable in the bush by their distinctive night-time call – morepork morepork. Stealth is their hunting technique as they sit motionless, watching and listening. Food to the ruru is small insects, but they also enjoy eating lizards and small birds.
Tuatara
The tuatara is New Zealand’s most iconic reptile and last living relative of the dinosaurs. Tuatara is a Maori word meaning "spiny back". Tuatara habitat comprises
of coastal forest or scrub with a relatively open under-storey. Like other reptiles, tuatara are cold blooded, which means their temperatures change with the air temperature. Tuatara are nocturnal and prefer cool weather, however they will often bask in the sun to warm their bodies - but they are careful to not over-heat. On warm nights they come out to hunt for food - mainly insects, lizards and seabird eggs and chicks.
Geckos
Kiwi North has a selection of several endemic species. The gecko’s colouring provides fantastic camouflage; it’s a real test to find them in their enclosures. The Northland and Auckland Green are bright green to blend with the leaves while the Forest Geckos blend with bark and lichen. Their diet consists of invertebrates, nectar and fruit.
HERITAGE PARK’S HISTORIC BUILDINGS
The Heritage Park has a collection of historic buildings demonstrating Northland’s early colonial architectural history between the late 1850s to the early 1900s.
“Glorat”, the Clarke Family Homestead, 1886
Dr Alexander Clarke arrived from England with his family, and built a kauri homestead with out- buildings including a barn, butchery, laundry, dairy and milking parlour. Three generations of the Clarke family owned the property and worked it as a farm for nearly 90 years. The Clarke Homestead was purchased by the museum in the 1972 and provides us with a unique insight into early settler life. There are very few original family homes -such as this - that exist as museums, together with associated buildings, in their original environment. The original interior contain the family treasures.
Oruaiti Chapel, 1859
Believed to be the smallest octagonal chapel in New Zealand, and possibly the world, is made from a single kauri log. It was originally situated in Doubtless Bay in the Far North. The Chapel was moved to the Heritage Park in the 1980s and is used for special occasions such as weddings, christenings and seasonal celebrations.
Riponui Pah School 1898
Originally a single teacher school, it was open for lessons three days a week, Riponui Pah School provided education for the local children in the Whangarei District. The school closed in 1945 and a year later moved to nearby Hukerenui where it was used as a library. The building is an excellent example of school design of the times and is now displayed as it may have looked in early Edwardian times.
Jane Mander Study, 1908
One of New Zealand’s most well-known authors Jane Mander wrote in this unusual turret which was originally located on the roof of her family home in Whangarei. The Study is used as a photographic backdrop for weddings and other special occasions.
Whangarei Women’s Jail 1900
Originally located between Clyde and Cameron Streets in Whangarei this basic two cell women’s jail demonstrates life on the other side of the law in the early 1900s. The Women’s Jail stood beside an eight-cell jail for men and the police sergeant’s house.
The Heritage Park has a collection of historic buildings demonstrating Northland’s early colonial architectural history between the late 1850s to the early 1900s.
“Glorat”, the Clarke Family Homestead, 1886
Dr Alexander Clarke arrived from England with his family, and built a kauri homestead with out- buildings including a barn, butchery, laundry, dairy and milking parlour. Three generations of the Clarke family owned the property and worked it as a farm for nearly 90 years. The Clarke Homestead was purchased by the museum in the 1972 and provides us with a unique insight into early settler life. There are very few original family homes -such as this - that exist as museums, together with associated buildings, in their original environment. The original interior contain the family treasures.
Oruaiti Chapel, 1859
Believed to be the smallest octagonal chapel in New Zealand, and possibly the world, is made from a single kauri log. It was originally situated in Doubtless Bay in the Far North. The Chapel was moved to the Heritage Park in the 1980s and is used for special occasions such as weddings, christenings and seasonal celebrations.
Riponui Pah School 1898
Originally a single teacher school, it was open for lessons three days a week, Riponui Pah School provided education for the local children in the Whangarei District. The school closed in 1945 and a year later moved to nearby Hukerenui where it was used as a library. The building is an excellent example of school design of the times and is now displayed as it may have looked in early Edwardian times.
Jane Mander Study, 1908
One of New Zealand’s most well-known authors Jane Mander wrote in this unusual turret which was originally located on the roof of her family home in Whangarei. The Study is used as a photographic backdrop for weddings and other special occasions.
Whangarei Women’s Jail 1900
Originally located between Clyde and Cameron Streets in Whangarei this basic two cell women’s jail demonstrates life on the other side of the law in the early 1900s. The Women’s Jail stood beside an eight-cell jail for men and the police sergeant’s house.
THE MUSEUM
THE CLUB BUILDINGS
HISTORIC BUILDINGS.
AUSTRALIAN HOOP PINE: A Threatened Species.
BOTANICAL NAME: Araucaria cunninghamii . Common Name - Australian Hoop Pine. Other
less commonly used names include colonial pine and Queensland pine. Named after the botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham, who collected the first specimens in the 1820s. The species is found in the dry rainforests of New South Wales and Queensland and also in New Guinea. The trees can live up to 450 years so this specimen has many good years ahead of it. Thank goodness the museum did not 'Remove' it as it is the only specimen I have seen in NZ. It grows to a height of 60 metres. The bark is rough, splits naturally, and peels easily. The cones take about 18 months to mature. They disintegrate at maturity to release the nut-like edible seeds. This tree is growing in the grounds of the Clarke Homestead at Heritage Park (sorry about the picture quality, the sun was in the wrong position).
less commonly used names include colonial pine and Queensland pine. Named after the botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham, who collected the first specimens in the 1820s. The species is found in the dry rainforests of New South Wales and Queensland and also in New Guinea. The trees can live up to 450 years so this specimen has many good years ahead of it. Thank goodness the museum did not 'Remove' it as it is the only specimen I have seen in NZ. It grows to a height of 60 metres. The bark is rough, splits naturally, and peels easily. The cones take about 18 months to mature. They disintegrate at maturity to release the nut-like edible seeds. This tree is growing in the grounds of the Clarke Homestead at Heritage Park (sorry about the picture quality, the sun was in the wrong position).
THE WHANGAREI BIRD RECOVERY CENTRE
The Whangarei Bird Recovery Centre was founded on the 1st of August 1992, by
Robert and Robyn Webb. With over thirty years of experience working with native birds, they manage and run the centre with a small committee of volunteers. The centre does not only take in native birds, however, but where possible also nurses non-native birds back to health for release into the wild. Their success rate is more than 60%. I was shown around the Bayer incubation unit and recovery pens by retired
vet Bruce Pickford whose dedicated work sees that the injured or sick birds get the best of treatment. Feral animals, especially dogs and cats are the biggest cause of injury to birds in the Whangarei area, followed by motor vehicle accidents. The centre’s diverse operations include – The rescue, care and rehabilitation for over1200 birds each year. Running educational programmes for children, over 6000 of who visit the centre each year. This work is also undertaken in country schools throughout the
north. Centre staff also talk to groups of adults about the work of the centre an educate local landowners on the care of wild birds and their habitat. Work in conjunction with the Department of Conservation as part of the kiwi recovery programme. Give on-going care to injured bird that cannot be released back into the wild. These are also used in educational programmes. Provide advice on the care of birds to vets and zoos. The Bayer incubation unit cares for recovered Kiwi eggs and rears the chicks until they are ready to be released into the wild. The centre provides free access to the recovery unit to the public.
I was very surprised to find that the centre has a talking Tui, It sounded like a recording, and the lady who was feeding the birds told me that many visitors do not think the Tui is talking, and that it is indeed a recording. There is a Pukeko that comes up and bows its head so that you can stroke its neck. This bird was wandering around the lawns like a pet. There are large pens for the injured birds to recover in, and for the permanent residents to live out their life. All the birds are well fed and live in the best of conditions, second only to freedom in the wild. I felt privileged to be shown around by Mr Pickford and his lady helper, who did not wish to have her picture taken. These dedicated volunteers deserve all the accolades that come their way, and the awards that the centre has won.
SOME FORMER PATIENTS
THE BARGE PARK WETLANDS
Barge park is better known as a showgrounds, or for its grand reception centre, or even as the home of Riding For The Disabled, Whangarei, but down the back of the rolling grassed hills lies a wetlands sanctuary for former patients of the Bird Recovery Centre, Muskovy Ducks and other non-native water fowl, and New Zealand water fowl like the Pukeko. I drove to the end of the road, and as I got out of the car an army of waterfowl descended on me, charging from all directions, but I had not come prepared, I had not a scrap to give them, all I had with me was my camera... but what a delightful setting for these birds to be released into.