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History of Tiritiri Matangi Island


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Human use

The first people to settle on Tiritiri Matangi were M?ori of the Kawerau iwi. Later, members of the Ngati Paoa moved to Tiritiri Matangi, like the Kawerau partly for shark fishing until about 1700, when the Kawerau regained control of the island and remained until forced to retreat to Waikato in 1821 when Hongi Hika attacked from the north. There were twop? on the island, Tiritiri Matangi P? and Papakura P?.

European (P?keh?) settlers arrived in the early 19th century. When the Kawerau returned, friction ensued as both peoples had a claim to the island. In 1867 the M?ori Land Court granted title to the government.

A lighthouse was constructed near the southern end of the island in 1864, and remains in operation. The island was farmed from 1894 to 1971, when the farm's lease expired. Management was then vested in the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park Board, which ceased farming operations.

Regeneration and sanctuary

It was hoped that native forest would regenerate naturally, making the island a suitable habitat for native bird life, as it lacked introduced predators such as mustelids, present on the mainland. However, afforestation seemed to be happening very slowly and a large number of volunteers was recruited to plant saplings and sow tree seeds. Nearly 300,000 native trees and shrubs were planted in the revegetation project from 1984 to 1994.



The next intervention was eradication in 1993 of the Polynesian rat, known to M?ori as kiore, which was destroying seedlings and competing with birds for food. The kiore were killed by an aerial drop of poisoned bait, which was controversial due to its lack of planning and the effect on other wildlife. For instance, 90% of pukeko on the island were killed.

Seventy-eight species of bird have been observed on or near the island. Endangered native species introduced or reintroduced as part of the ongoing island restoration project include the little
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