Waiheke Ecological History

An idea of the original forest patterns of Waiheke Island can be gleaned from the writings of Thomas Kirk, who visited Waiheke Island in 1878, and from modern observations of remnant patches of forest that survived the ravages of man.

Kauri, tanekaha and hard beech were present on upper valley walls, ridges and spurs; taraire, kohekohe and tawa occurred in sheltered coastal and inland valleys, with some rimu present also; pohutukawa and occasional karo occurred on coastal slopes and cliffs and the margins of forests by the sea. On less exposed coastal slopes kohekohe, puriri and karaka accompanied pohutukawa. In poorly drained areas pukatea, kahikatea and taraire were dominant. Phormium Tenax and species of Juncus, Carex, Gahnia and other sedges occurred mainly in marshy places or on the borders of forests. On the coast the forests would have given way to saltmarsh and mangrove forest in tidal inlets, and to pingao-spinifex communities on mobile sand dunes. According to Kirk hard beech was common at sea level.

The early Maori occupants of the island lived largely off native fauna such as shellfish, moa, fur seals and the abundant fisheries of the Hauraki Gulf. Later on they developed more extensive gardening practices on areas of flat land, burning forests for clearance and soil enrichment. This slash and burn type of agriculture occurred mainly in the western parts of the island, while in the east reliance was more on kaimoana, seafood gathering. By the time of the European arrival kanuka-manuka forest predominated in western Waiheke and climax forest, including impressive stands of kauri, was limited to the area from Awaawaroa eastwards to the Orapiu/Man O' War Bay coast. Only tiny remnants of climax forest remained west of this point, and the kauri forests of the western end of the island had disappeared.

In 1826 the European onslaught against kauri began when the barque St Patrick, with the assistance of Hauraki Maori, loaded kauri spars at Man O' War Bay. Up until the 1850's Maori willingly cut and dragged out kauri logs and Europeans carted them away. Soil erosion, so evident today in western parts of the island, was begun by Maori with their with their cultivation practices and massive earthworks for pa sites, but was greatly accelerated by the European with their extensive forest clearance. Since the European arrival many of the wetland areas on the southern side of the island have increased considerably due to siltation after bare ground was exposed after the trees holding the soil together were felled. By about 1880 the hills had been stripped bare for sheep farming with only the small remnants of forests restricted mainly to gullies, the forests having been consumed consecutively by the needs of sailing ship technology, housing construction and the fires of Auckland.

During this early settler period kauri was transported to Sydney and Valparaiso, Chile, and sent to Auckland for house and furniture timber for the growing settlement there. It was also used for the building of Waiheke's early homes and farm buildings. Small pockets of kauri were still being cut out as late as 1908. Puriri was used for house foundations, fence posts and battens. Tanekaha bark was stripped for use in the tanning trade and the wood used as walking sticks and fishing rods. Kauri gum was used in the manufacture of paint and polishes, as kindling and polished for gifts. Pohutukawa was used for the knees of vessels and for framing.

Manuka and kanuka was extensively cut down for firewood and was the chief source of Auckland's firewood. Kanuka was also used for fencing. Extensive areas of manuka and kanuka forest in and around the reserve bear witness to more recent disturbance, principally burn-offs. The steady decline in sheep farming on the island after 1945 has seen some areas slowly revert to kanuka/manuka regenerating forest and shrublands and has allowed forest remnants to revive.