Stuart Park Restoration

Project
August 2014

Welcome everyone to the latest Stuart Park Restoration newsletter.

It has been another couple of months of positive action for the project,
everything from new members, meeting with the PCC reserve team and
successful planting days. This month we have uncovered everything from rare
plants out on the coast, information on who use to live in the area and old
archives letter from forest and bird reporting on their planting next to Stuart
Park!
Last month we met with the reserve team in the park. They are delighted with
our work so far and we where equally pleased with their offer of 1000 trees a
year from the council nursery! A memorandum of understanding will be
finalised with the council and until then the team are happy for us to proceed
with this years planting objectives.
Angus has sourced us four stoat traps from DOC and we will probably ask him
to advise on setting up a trap line and training some younger members of the
team on maintaining the line.

Track through gorse planted in Taupata

John completed his Growsafe Certificate and is certified in the use and storage
of any sprays we may use in the park. At this stage we have little use for
pesticides other then stump treating gorse but its good to know we are covered
all the same.
Planting continues with four of our five tracks planted in the gorse bank. The
plants look so much happier in the ground then kicking around in someone's
drive way!
Planting stocks are dwindling but we are hoping for a few extra trees from the
PCC nursery later this month. The only negative has been two trees being
nibbled by a rabbit. We have not sighted any rabbits in the park so fingers
crossed he was just visiting and we wish him well on his journey up to the farm!
Having no rabbits makes our planting so much easier.

Many caring hands plant a tree...

So thanks to everyone and see you at the next planting day...

Stuart Park Restoration Project
Contact:
John Hornblow
ph 236 8624 (evenings)
email stuartpark@titahi-bay.co.nz
website http://naturespace.org.nz/groups/stuart-park-restoration-project
Check out the website for planting days & events.
Fun had by all....

Gorse track planted in Ngaio

Smiles for the camera!

Stuart Park History from Kim Arnold

Stuart Park is named after the late Hector (Hec) Stuart, he was a Porirua city
councillor and deputy mayor. Most people from the bay would remember him
when he ran the fish and chip shop in Te Pene Avenue, I also think he ran one
in Jillett Street as well.
My own family connections go back to area around Stuart Park, through my
g-g-g-g-grandfather, Rawiri Te Motutere who came to the area with the
migration of Te ti Awa and Ngti Toa. He was from Taranaki and
Te ti Awa Iwi and lived at Titahi Bay for a number of years (documented in
the Mori Land Court minute books). His daughters married Whalers who
operated off both Mana and Kapiti Island in the late 1830s early 1840s.
Stuart Park was part of the Ellison Block , a beautiful map of this is held in the
Lands and deeds offices in Wellington with Titahi Bay named as Titae Bay.

Green Point Area/Komanga Rautawhiri Pa

The park itself has a colourful history and you can still see the remains of terraces, middens as well as the old whaling station site and
old Ngati Ira pa located at Korohiwa (coalheavers) as well as Komanga-Ruatawiri p located on green point opposite Mana Island.
It is a great place to walk and wander, and like most kids from the bay, we certainly explored it well . I congratulate you on the tasks
you have undertaken and welcome hearing and seeing the range of bird life that has started to return to the area, when I'm out
wandering.
Regards Kim Arnold
Rare Plant Discovered South of Stuart Park
Last Sunday John went for a walk in the park around
the cliffs south of Stuart Park. After going for a bit of a
slip of the edge of the cliff and landing in large
mingimingi he looked up and saw what he thought was
Thick Leaf Mahoe growing out of some dead bracken.
Choice! I've got 15 at home
from the Forest and Bird
nursery!
I have proof they belong
here, we can plant them!

But it turns out its a

rare variety Melicytus
obovatus classified in
2012 as At RiskDeclining.

Birds in the park

Did you know the native falcon has been
seen in Titahi bay? He was seen having a
tui for breakfast in View Road a few months
ago! That was a Tui bird, not a Tui beer!
Wouldn't it be the ultimate rabbit deterrent
to have Karearea patrolling Stuart Park and
for us to witness their deadly 100km dives!
You can understand why our bellbird,
silvereye and Fantail have similar colours
to the bush canopyso as not to become
falcon fodder!

Robyn's notes from Naturewatch:

Harrier Hawks can regularly

be seen surfing on the nor
west breeze in the park and
a pair of Red-crowned
parakeet (kkriki ) are
nesting in the pines at the
top of Pikarere Street.
So lets get a canopy of n
ative trees over that gorse
and sit back and watch the
birds!

These Cook Strait endemic Melicytus were named Melicytus

aff obovatus "Cook strait" by Tony Druce. This species is yet to
be botanically described. This tiny remnant is being
overtaken by montpellier broom, karo (not native to the
region), taupata and coastal flax. I predict with another 2 to 3
years, if nothing is done to stop the competition for light that
they will become locally extinct.

So the project may have its first rare plant to restore to

the park and our own eco seed source less then 800
metres south of the park!
Falcon on attack

Naturespace Website Launched...

We now have our official website on Naturespace.org.nz
You will be able to review all documents, GIS maps and any
information related to the project from this site. We will also set up
photo oints of the project along with progress updates on the
project.
Whats more you can check out all the other project around our
region.

Melicytus aff obovatus growing in bracken

If anyone wish's to contribute to this site or our Facebook page,

email: stuartpark@titahi-bay.co.nz
http://www.naturespace.org.nz/groups/stuart-park-restoration-project

This photo was not taken from the Porirua reserve but less then 40 meters from where we are currently planting! You can see numerous seedling
and ferns under a canopy of Mahoe. All the gorse has now dies and rotted
away. Everyone should take a look, just ask when out planting with us.

Suggestion from Dave

Why dont we all go out to Mana
Island this summer?
Check out the restoration of
Mana Island?
Say hi to the Takah?
Paua for breakfast?
Stay overnight in the woolshed?

SPECIES
Melicytus obovatus
ETYMOLOGY
Melicytus: From the Greek meli (honey) and kytos
(hollow container), referring to the staminal
nectaries of the flowers. Literally "honey-cave"
obovatus: Upside down or inverse, i.e. attached at
the narrow end (ob-) egg-shaped (-ovatus).
2012 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon
Yet to be confirmed, but we think we have found a
plant on the cliffs between Stuart Park and the Whaling Station.

Current Planting
Considering this winter has been a mixture of gale force winds followed by weeks
of dry, our current planting is looking to be in in good shape. We have one more
row cut in the gorse to plant and we are hoping to get some more Ngaio from the
council nursery to plant around the perimeter of the gorse bank. We will then
move onto the Northern Rata and planting a site out in the coastal zone.

The costal zone, home to thick leaf mahoe, taupata,

mingimingi etc. No forest canopy out here, tough costal
species only!