Rotoroa Island is an island to the east of

Waiheke Island Waiheke Island (; Māori: ) is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland. It is the most po ...

in the

Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,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 ...

. It covers .

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

purchased it for £400 in 1908 from the Ruthe family to expand their alcohol and

drug rehabilitation Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent i ...

facility at nearby

Pakatoa Island Pakatoa Island is one of many islands in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand, covering . Purchased in the early 1900s by the Salvation Army it was used as an alcohol treatment centre for women, isolated from the Army's male rehabilitation facility o ...

. Men were treated at Home Bay at Rotoroa, while women were treated at Pakatoa. This treatment facility was closed in 2005. In 2008, philanthropists Neal and Annette Plowman negotiated a 99-year lease from the Salvation Army, establishing the Rotoroa Island Trust, and created a programme of restoration and redevelopment, designed to return island access to the people of New Zealand. Rotoroa Island opened to the public for the first time in over 100 years in February 2011. The Rotoroa Island Museum opened in 2009.

Conservation

Rotoroa Island Wharf And Shelter Building

The Rotoroa island Trust’s vision is for the island to become a sanctuary where people can experience the wonder of New Zealand wildlife.

Auckland Zoo Auckland Zoo is a zoological garden in Auckland, New Zealand, situated next to Western Springs Park not far from Auckland's central business district. It is run by the Auckland Council with the Zoological Society of Auckland as a supporting ...

helped Rotoroa’s conservation team to identify species suitable for translocation to the island. These include

takahē The South Island takahē (''Porphyrio hochstetteri'') is a flightless swamphen indigenous to New Zealand and the largest living member of the rail family. It is often known by the abbreviated name takahē, which it shares with the recently ...

, pāteke (brown teal), tīeke (saddleback) and

North Island brown kiwi The North Island brown kiwi (''Apteryx mantelli''; ''Apteryx australis'' or ''Apteryx bulleri'' as before 2000, still used in some sources) is a species of kiwi that is widespread in the northern two-thirds of the North Island of New Zealand an ...

Kiwi

Rotoroa Island is a creche site for

Coromandel Coromandel may refer to: Places India *Coromandel Coast, India **Presidency of Coromandel and Bengal Settlements ** Dutch Coromandel *Coromandel, KGF, Karnataka, India New Zealand *Coromandel, New Zealand, a town on the Coromandel Peninsula *Coro ...

brown kiwi. Kiwi left in the wild have about a 5% survival rate, the process of taking kiwi chicks to creche sites is known as Operation Nest Egg run by Kiwis for kiwi and brings survival rates to 50-60%. The tiny chicks are released on Rotoroa Island when they are just a few weeks old, weighing 250-300g and are able to grow up in the safety of the island. Every two years, Rotoroa Island does a kiwi muster for adult birds. Weighing about 1kg, the mature kiwi are better able to defend themselves against predators such 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 and feral cats. Some are returned to the Coromandel, while others are taken to nearby

Motutapu Island Motutapu Island (otherwise known as ''Motutapu'') is a island in the Hauraki Gulf to the northeast of the city of Auckland, New Zealand. The island is part of the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park. Its full name, rarely used, is ''Te Motutapu a Taikeh ...

to establish a new population.

Takahē

Rotoroa is one of ten smaller sanctuary sites working with the Department of Conservation on takahē recovery. The island has operated as a “creche” for takahē chicks since 2015. The Takahē Recovery Programme is managed by the Department of Conservation (DoC) with the aim of protecting and promoting population growth for this endangered species of large, flightless bird – whose current official population is 418 (as of 2020). More than 70 years ago takahē were thought to be extinct.

Other endangered wildlife

More than 9 little pāteke chicks have hatched in the 2020 season. These small dabbling ducks were once found throughout New Zealand but are now considered to be the rarest waterfowl on the mainland with an estimated population of around 2,000-2,500. Tīeke/saddleback population has more than doubled between March 2015 - Oct 2019.

Restoration programme

* Removing 22,000 pine trees * Planting over 400,000 native New Zealand trees – over 25 different species (including 30,000

pōhutukawa ''Metrosideros excelsa'', commonly known as pōhutukawa ( mi, pōhutukawa), New Zealand Christmas tree, New Zealand Christmas bush, and iron tree, is a coastal evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that produces a brilliant display o ...

) * After an extensive pest eradication programme, Rotoroa Island was pronounced predator free in 2014. This is one of the most successful eradications in New Zealand, removing over 300,000 mice through aerial bait drops. * Currently Rotoroa Island has over 50 traps (doC 200) and 50 tracking tunnels as part of biosecurity monitoring. * Restoring 3 holiday homes and a shared hostel accommodation, enabling public to stay overnight. * Developing a museum by architect Rick Pearson which includes an exhibition on the island’s history. * Commissioning a significant sculpture by NZ artist, Chris Booth; located at the island’s southern point.

Flora

Kauri seedlings were donated to the trust and have since been planted in the forest above Ladies Bay wetlands. Rotoroa Island is a carbon neutral island — all the trees planted are calculated to remove twice the carbon emitted.

References

External links

{{coord, 36, 49, S, 175, 12, E, region:NZ_type:isle, display=title Islands of the Hauraki Gulf Islands of the Auckland Region Uninhabited islands of New Zealand Former populated places in New Zealand