Coromind - Issue 34 - October25 - Coromandel's Collaborative Magazine - Flipbook - Page 9
Generations of Care & Curiosity
on Great Mercury Island
Ahuahu (named Great Mercury Island by Captain Cook) is
unique in that it represents a snapshot of time, a snapshot of
human interaction isolated from the in昀氀uences of the mainland
but a good representation of the human model. It represents
the moment of human arrival, the many hundreds of years of
communities gardening and 昀椀shing from the island, years of
peace, years of war and raiding, years of early farming practice
and mixed ownership. This includes homestead farming in
the years of the Mizzen family, who deserve great respect for
the long time they owned and cared for this island. Farming it
would have been a very di昀케cult undertaking – mustering on
horseback, the mainland unreachable, needing to ship supplies,
cattle and sheep from the mainland, breaking in land, and
protecting the beaches from 昀椀re risks created by boat owners
even back then.
It was a real frontier thing to do in itself, but Pat Mizzen also
made time for studying Ahuahu’s rich history. His is a wellrespected name; an amateur archaeologist, he wrote notes
that are still referred to today and there are two of his books in
the Whitianga Library you can read if you are interested. I am
sure many memories and stories of the island are still deeply
embedded in the hearts of the Mizzen family.
Huruhi Harbour itself, better known generally as ‘The Cove’,
features in almanacs and tide charts historically because
it is a deep sheltered cove, which was important for the old
sailing scows which traded goods up and down the coast (into
Kūaotunu and Whitianga from Auckland and elsewhere) as a
much-needed point of refuge in unworkable sailing weather.
Nowadays, many PhD study cases bene昀椀t from the opportunity
to access Ahuahu resources; the island is also closely linked to
Auckland Museum and the University of Auckland. Archaeology
and the study of Polynesian migration (when and from where
they came) are closely linked to gardening techniques studied
on Ahuahu – also focusing on things such as insect population
surveys (entomology) and how di昀昀erent plots on the island
have been a昀昀ected by weather, temperature, humidity, foliage,
human impact, dwellings, pasture, and so on. The study of
insects includes native and exotic species, including pests
like the Argentine Ant (they say getting rid of Argentine Ants
is like trying to remove every grain of sand in Egypt, yet still
Kiwi initiative says we can do it, and we try to 昀椀nd a way). Great
Mercury Island is one of the largest landscapes in the world to
try to eradicate this impressive ant; they now have a cuttingedge study case and are successfully winning the battle.
Another focus is the study of honeybees and wasps which are not
native to New Zealand, in a natural New Zealand environment.
Wasps are great pollinators of their native forested environments
but like most non-native species here, wasps in New Zealand
outcompete dozy native New Zealand species. Why? Because
New Zealand natives didn’t evolve with much competition; they
evolved in an easier environment. In New Zealand forests, it
was birdlife that did a lot of the pollinating, not bees; though
New Zealand does have native bees, they don’t produce honey
or behave much like the bees we are used to. They are not furry
and cute like honeybees, more like a small black hovering 昀氀y
which doesn’t pollinate the crops of human ambition. The New
Zealand native bee lives a solitary life in small holes
in the ground; they are placid, you can walk
among them, and you will not get stung.
Words by
Andy Hopping
Brought to you by...
- Sailing in Mercury Bay
- Trips to Great Mercury Island
- Sunset Cruises
- Private Charters
- Individual Bookings
www.windborne.co.nz
027 475 2411
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