WHENUA HOU: A NEW LAND. THE STORY OF CODFISH ISLAND
Neville Peat
Department of Conservation
REVIEWED BY DAVID BARNES
If people have heard of Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, it is almost certainly as the front line of the Department of Conservation's battle to save the kakapo. And having heard of it is no guarantee they could place it on a map.
In this volume, well-known Dunedin writer Neville Peat firmly locates the island in time and place, and reveals that the kakapo programme is just the latest chapter in a fascinating history.
The island, 3km off Stewart Island's rugged northwestern coast, was settled by Maori from the 13th-15th century. In the early 19th century, it became a target for rapacious sealing gangs. Inevitably, some sealers partnered up with local women.
A local chief encouraged these families to reside on the island. They made an income from sealing and from selling provisions to sealing vessels. When sealing declined in the middle of the century, the settlers moved to Stewart Island or to Riverton, Bluff or the Taieri.
Today, a large number of Ngai Tahu, including Sir Tipene O'Regan and anthropologist Atholl Anderson, trace their ancestry back to the island.
An important part of the book focuses on the reconnection of those families with their turangawaewae since the Ngai Tahu settlement legislation was passed.
Naturally, the kakapo programme has its tale told. But the island is or has been home to other important rare species, including Campbell Island teal, Snares Island snipe and yellowhead.
Peat is always at home writing about our natural world, and this book is no exception. It strikes the balanced between being informative and readable and is rounded off with plenty of attractive photographs.
Few readers will get to visit the island - because of the kakapo programme, access is strictly controlled - but this may just be the next best thing.
David Barnes is a member of the New Zealand Conservation Authority and lives in Lower Hutt.
