Leading from the front issuu

chapter seven
The Environment —
pat walks his talk
in his own hood
SAVING AHURIRI ESTUARY
– ECO ACTIVISTS BEFORE THEIR TIME
In 1975, the Napier branch of the Forest & Bird Protection
Society convened a meeting to discuss the future
of the Estuary, with 200 people attending. These
conservationists could see that the area was showing
the strain of close proximity to urban life and the consequences
that exposure to industry and demands from
the public revealed. The meeting came out strongly in
favour of protecting the Estuary in its natural state by
making it a reserve. Then in 1976 a seminar was held at
the Hawke’s Bay Community College on safeguarding
the future of the Estuary, convened by then college head
John Harré.
Environmentalism was a new thing in the 1980s. The
term ‘green’ or ‘greenies’ first appeared in 1980 and they
generally got a bad rap. The Ministry for the Environment
hadn’t yet been created, the Resource Management Act
hadn’t been thought of and it wasn’t until 1987 that the
Department of Conservation was formed. It was a lonely
space for conservationists but determination to protect
fragile, unique ecosystems was high.
In early 1981, one of Napier’s first conservationists, Isabel
Morgan helped form the Ahuriri Estuary Protection
Society to guard the Estuary from dredging and development.
Pat was chair of the Napier Forest & Bird Society
which fully supported the initiative.
From the city council to the harbour board and most
of the people of Napier, the value of the area wasn’t
widely recognised, despite it being an important breeding
ground for sea life and birds, as well as a recreational
asset for the city.
In June 1981, another seminar was held at the Hawke’s
Bay Community College, looking again at the future of
the Estuary, and in July 1981 a public meeting was held
at Colenso High School to discuss, among other topics,
Opposite page: Puketitiri bush walk, photo by Anne Johnston; Pat’s early Forest & Bird days with Father Callaghan and friends at
Ball’s Clearing, Puketitiri. Top: Astelia Fragrens flower. With thanks, details for this chapter are from the booklet Ahuriri Estuary
Napier — the story of the Ahuriri Protection Society from 1981 till 2010 published in 2011.
The Environment – Pat walks his talk in his own hood 57