Richard Treacy Henry (4 June 1845 – 13 November 1929) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

conservationist and reserve manager who became an expert on the natural history of

flightless bird Flightless birds are birds that through evolution lost the ability to fly. There are over 60 extant species, including the well known ratites (ostriches, emu, cassowaries, rheas, and kiwi) and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the In ...

s in New Zealand, especially the kakapo. Born in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, his family migrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1851 where he grew up. He moved to New Zealand in the 1870s, settling in the south-west at

Lake Te Anau Lake Te Anau is in the southwestern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The lake covers an area of , making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand (after Lake Taupō) and the largest in the South Island. It is the larg ...

in 1883 where he worked as a handyman, rabbiter, shepherd, taxidermist, boat-builder, explorer and guide, while studying the birdlife. He also began to write articles on natural history for the ''

Otago Witness The ''Otago Witness'' was a prominent illustrated weekly newspaper in the early years of the European settlement of New Zealand, produced in Dunedin, the provincial capital of Otago. Published weekly it existed from 1851 to 1932. The introduction ...

'' and other publications. By 1891 public and governmental concern that introduced

mustelid The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest family in ...

s were having a devastating effect on New Zealand's birdlife led to the gazettal of Resolution Island in

Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, ...

as a reserve. In 1894 Henry was appointed curator and caretaker of Resolution Island, a position he held for the next 14 years. Over this period he transported numerous flightless birds, including kakapo,

weka The weka, also known as the Māori hen or woodhen (''Gallirallus australis'') is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is endemic to New Zealand. It is the only extant member of the genus ''Gallirallus''. Four subspecies are recognize ...

and

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also refe ...

to Resolution Island, with the hope that they would be safe there. Unfortunately, the attempted translocation of kakapo was in vain as

stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine and ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Conc ...

s reached the island around 1900 and kakapo did not survive there. During the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the New Zealand government came and took the iron off Henry's shed. In 1908 increasing concern about Henry's welfare, due to his age and his isolated position on Resolution, led to his being offered the caretakership of

Kapiti Island Kapiti Island () is an island about off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand. It is long, running southwest/northeast, and roughly wide, being more or less rectangular in shape, and has an area of . Its name has been used s ...

, a post which he accepted and occupied for the next three years, eventually retiring from government service in 1911. In 1912 he moved to

Katikati Katikati is a town in New Zealand (North Island) located on the Uretara Stream near a tidal inlet towards the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, 28 kilometres south of Waihi and 40 kilometres northwest of Tauranga. State Highway 2 passes through ...

in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...

where he lived until 1922 before moving for the last time to

Helensville Helensville is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is sited northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. New Zealand State Highway 16, State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauk ...

, north of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. He died in 1929 of senile decay and heart failure. Only the local postmaster attended the funeral. He was buried at the

Hillsborough Cemetery Hillsborough Cemetery is a large cemetery located in the Auckland isthmus suburb of Hillsborough. Location The cemetery lies on a ridge at the south of the Auckland isthmus, overlooking the Manukau Harbour. The cemetery is split in two by a l ...

. A male kakapo, captured in Fiordland in 1975, and at that point the only remaining member of the species originating from the South Island, was named "Richard Henry" in his memory. This bird was found dead on 24 December 2010.William Stolzenburg. ''Rat Island'', 2011. See "Acknowledgements".

Publications

Richard Henry wrote many short articles on natural history for newspapers such as the ''Otago Witness'' and the ''Kaipara and Waitemata Echo'', and for scientific journals such as the ''Transactions of the New Zealand Institute'', as well as letters and reports to his employers when working for the Department of Lands and Survey and the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts. He also published a book: * Henry, R. (1903). ''The Habits of the Flightless Birds of New Zealand; With Notes on Other New Zealand Birds''. Government Printer: Wellington.

Publications

References

Further reading