Southern View: September 03, 2020

10 Thursday September 3 2020
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
SOUTHERN VIEW
News
Trees pre-date human
arrival in New Zealand
• By Bea Gooding
A NEW site dedicated for
community use may be
a possibility for Halswell
residents.
Surplus land on Quaifes
Rd owned by the city council
was due to be sold, but
the Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton
Community Board,
the Halswell Residents Association
and the Halswell
Community Project were
against the proposal.
The land was purchased
by the city council for a
UNEARTHED: A subfossil matai tree forest has
been discovered on Quaifes Rd, it is said to
reveal more about Halswell’s history.
• From page 1
“We’re absolutely astonished,
we talked to a number
of people who thought they
were only a couple hundred
years old, but they were
amazed that they’re nearly
1000-years-old,” he said.
“People really value
understanding and finding
out more about the place we
live in.”
The trees were discovered
by Environment
Canterbury councillor
Craig Pauling, who noticed
similar stumps excavated at
the Longhurst subdivision
a few years ago which they
were unable to access.
Since the stumps on
Quaifes Rd were located on
city council property, they
granted the HRA $1800 to
get the trees radiocarbon
dated.
After discussions with
Canterbury University and
Lincoln University environmental
experts, Hawke
said it was likely that the
trees were killed after the
Waimakariri River flooded
the area before humans arrived
in NZ.
Hawke said the discovery
will add another dimension
to discussions of Halswell’s
heritage.
“We’re interested in
trying to broaden out the
narrative of heritage in
Halswell and extend that
discussion a bit,” he said.
“Most people think
of Halswell’s heritage of
the quarry and farming
activity, but people have
been living in this area for
hundreds of years.
“What this means is
stormwater retention and
detention basin which was
no longer required.
Community groups
believed there was now a
“rare” opportunity to use
the space for community
purposes.
Said HRA secretary
David Hawke: “We don’t
want the land to be sold,
we just want a good range
of opportunities for people
to use community spaces
in Halswell.”
Karen White, of the
Halswell Playcentre, told
that Halswell is built on
this amazing matai forest
literally under our feet. If
you think of a matai [tree],
the forest itself would have
hosted an enormous variety
of native animals.”
The city council is determining
how the surplus
land on Quaifes Rd should
be used where the matai
trees were located.
Hawke hoped the city
council did not sell the land
in the hope of turning the
space into a community
hub of activity.
New community space mooted
BIRDS OF THE ESTUARY
the board that the area’s
population continues
to increase and needed
new community spaces
because of this.
Said White: “There are
currently 12-plus subdivisions
under construction
in Halswell. There appears
to be no community
spaces allocated except for
playgrounds.’’
A workshop will be
held in coming months
to inform the community
board about potential
options for the space.
Tanya Jenkins is the manager of the Avon-Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust,
a non-profit organisation formed in 2002 to protect one of New Zealand’s
most important coastal wetlands. Each week she introduces a new bird
found in the estuary. Her column aims to raise the understanding of the
values and uniqueness of the area.
Vocal duck pairs for a lifetime
THE PARADISE duck,
or putangitangi, are a
colourful and very vocal
endemic waterfowl species
– and they are only found
in New Zealand.
Numbers of these birds
have drastically increased
since European settlement
as these ducks adapted well
to farmland and open areas
created by the colonists and
can now be found throughout
NZ.
The females are easily recognised
by their white heads
but also by the loud highpitched
shrieking noises they
make when constantly communicating
to the males.
Charming to know that
most paradise ducks pair
up for life; feeding, nesting,
flying together and protecting
their territory. It is only
during the moulting season
that they will team up with
other pairs as in larger
groups they feel safer from
predators.
Pairs build their nest
in long grass along our
streams, rivers and
estuary and the female
will incubate the some
nine eggs while the male
fiercely protects his family
from anyone or anything
coming near.