Local Focus Archives - Rakino Island

Waiheke Local Board visit to Rakino, and Hall update.

Preamble by Lisa West

The following account by Kevin Wragge is a report on the perplexing behaviour of a small group of people who purport to represent the Rakino community, most especially with regard to Local Board, and council officials. It refers to a meeting we were all excluded from, despite it being a very rare opportunity to engage with our democratically elected representatives from the Waiheke Local Board. It is also important to note that permanent residents were excluded, bar one.

I was alerted to this meeting ahead of time by the Chair of the Local Board who wanted to ensure I had been invited as I had expressed strong interest in attending previously. Both of us believed it was a meet-up available for community members to attend, so after becoming concerned the community weren’t aware of the impending visit, I let you all know of the meet-up.

I was then publicly uninvited by an RRA spokesperson and accused of spreading ‘misinformation’. To his credit, Mr. Kevin Wragge attended and was not intimidated into leaving, despite attempts by RRA committee members to do exactly that. Mr, Wragge has made the report following for the rest of us to enjoy.

If there is one thing that makes me righteously angry about this wasted opportunity for us to meet our democratically elected representatives it is the knowledge that the meeting was held in our red-stickered Hall, the Hall we are told has cameras installed, to capture any ingress by miscreants.

In the last few years anyone trying to organise an event for the community has had to impose on the generosity of others in order to find suitable venues; the Freckers for a presentation on kororā, Dylan, and Garth and Kate for the Lez Ball, Holly for the septic tank workshop, Harriet for hosting market days, and Bert and Natalie for hosting gatherings at their house, most especially meet-ups with staff from the Waiheke Resources Trust.

The notion that the RRA committee thought a red-stickered hall was the best place to hold a meet-up with Local Board and council staff is extraordinary when they impose exclusion on the rest of us, to the extent of boarding up the stairs to the safely locked art rooms before giving us the opportunity to get personal possessions out. Who, if anyone, gave authority for that action?

I’d like to finish on a positive note, and in agreement with Kevin. We are all on the same page; we desperately need a neutral community space to gather in on occasion. The community hasn’t been given a complete picture of the complexities to date, and that needs to be remedied urgently. As part of my submission on the Waiheke Local Board plan I’ve asked if the Rakino community can be updated regularly on Hall progress, by the Chair. Anything will be an improvement on what we currently get.

Kevin Wragge’s account of the meeting is below.

My meeting with the Board on Rakino with regard to the Hall with an end message to the Rakino Rate Payers Association and its committee.

I thought there may be some interest in my interaction with the Rakino Rate Payers Association (RRA) and the Waiheke Board when it visited Rakino on Friday the 17 ^th July 2026 at 10am.

Kylee Matthews the Board Chair had indicated in writing to a couple of Rakino parties who had expressed interest in attending a meeting with Local Board that a delegation would attend Rakino at the Boards initiative to assist in the decision-making process with regard to the future of the hall.

Kylee had previously stated that she believed the meeting would be open to the community, so the assumption was made that my attendance would be accepted, if not welcome.

I emailed the RRA and asked for the visit to be publicised in order to ensure rate payers could attend and learn at first hand why little or no progress had been made to have the hall rebuilt after many decades of talk and stagnation.

The Friends of Rakino Face Book page reveals the interactions that subsequently took place.

The RRA via its spokesperson Jude MacLachlan (JM) maintained the meeting was closed despite written correspondence to the contrary and insisted that no one from the community should attend.

As the Board’s visit had been signalled in advance I resolved to attend and travelled to Rakino on the Wednesday prior to ensure I could attend the 10am meeting. As has been said, Friday was not the best of days for participation and timing seemed to overlook that the Belaire ferry arrives at 11.20am on a Friday.

I went to the wharf in good time and greeted the Chair (CC) and Mr. Inglis (RI.)

Both were ashen and initially refused to acknowledge my presence.

In good time RI stated that it was essential that the meeting was positive and that was the objective of the day.

I agreed full-heartedly and suggested we also needed to establish the RRA’s entitlement to represent me and the community and asked him the number of paid-up Association members.

RI grimaced and with significant emotion and volume said he did not know.

I asked why he would not know and suggested that it could be concluded from the minutes of the last AGM wherein it was stated that $600 had been collected by way of subscriptions that the number would be in the vicinity of eight, including committee members.

RI howled that he did not know and then screeched, did you hear me, I don’t know.

CC smirked and commented that I had no idea, implying my assumption was wrong.

I responded that was the very point and RI should be ashamed of supporting this committee given his professional and business background.

CC then mentioned I had sent him over two hundred emails and one day he would take me to task.

I stated that I welcomed the day as it was my democratic entitlement to ask questions, demand answers, voice concerns and hold this entity to account.

CC also brought up a private matter in the public domain which I will not record for these purposes.

JM arrived and questioned my attendance and again stated to her entourage that this was a closed meeting. Natasha arrived by way of boat. I greeted her. I also acknowledged Stephen Wong when I caught his eye.

The water taxi arrived and I stepped forward to greet our visitors who unlike our committee are democratically elected.

I spoke to Chairperson Kylee Matthews to begin with.

I had previously emailed Kylee and mentioned the conflict with regard to the meeting, the Association, compliance with its Constitution and communication with the community.

Kylee acknowledged the confusion and stated that she would address the issue a little later.

I met Board member Mr. Eric Hillman and Mr. Mike Lee and mingled with support staff whose names I can’t recall, which is my failing entirely.

We entered the hall and took up seats as JM continued to question my attendance with those who would listen.

I immediately drew the meetings attention to the fact that the hall had been red stickered yet the meeting was taking place in a structure that was not available to the community.

That was acknowledged by Kylee, as was signage.

Introductions took place and JM queried who should chair the meeting given that it had been arranged by Council.

JM also stated that a tour of the Island had been arranged with vehicles at the ready.

JM passed the control of the meeting to CC who began speaking but was then assisted by someone suggesting that it might be appropriate for introductions.

JM took notes and explained that she had returned to the Association to help the Chair as a consequence of his health issue. She also mentioned that she had earlier resigned as a consequence of my emails imploring the Association to do as it should. These are described as bullying.

Kylee explained the confusion with regard to attendance which revolved around catering. JM asked with whom the correspondence was with and was dismissive of Kylee’s answer.

Nothing of significance occurred other than JM’s ongoing hostility toward me.

RI seemed to think it important that he refer to his house fire and architect Pip Cheshire who had been commissioned to undertake drawings for the new Hall build.

Mr. Lee mentioned the tremendous ecological change to the Island which was acknowledged by all and to which I commented that no one on the committee had participated in those plantings or indeed had shown little or no interest in the cause.

JM strongly objected and stated that she and a Mr. Lockhart had planted 400 trees and that I was once again wrong. I chose not to respond as I was of course referring to the planting of the Wallis Reserve, the West Bay track, securing funding for two ten-acre block owners and instigating the establishment of the nursery.

When I attempted to correct exaggerated, wrong, or erroneous comments, JM stated that it was not my right to speak. She sat alongside Mr. Hillman and when I did speak directed derogatory remarks to him in an undertone.

As this was an informal meeting Robert’s Rules of Order and procedural niceties seemed not to apply. I had noticed this bias at prior RRA meetings where speaking rights seemed to be selectively applied.

JM in particular seemed to be entitled to contribute at any stage and lamented how the community simply did not appreciate how much effort had been expended by the committee to resolve the hall impasse and mentioned that there was always the next hurdle to encounter such as the historic trust review and indigenous claims.

CC mentioned the Fire Shed and AT’s attitude to approval of the use of AT land where significant costs were sought.

He spoke with pride of the hundred per cent approval of those attending the presentation by architect Pip Cheshire and doubted that would ever happen at Waiheke.

When questioned, he stated that the fire shed had cost 50k although I do not believe that expenditure has been disclosed in annual accounts. The secretary should do so now.

He also mentioned fire equipment had been sold to him for one dollar within here.

I do not believe Association accounts depict the hall or the fire equipment as assets and that should be remedied immediately.

CC commented on a number of occasions that he understood my frustrations with the lack of progress and I took that as being sincere.

At this point Shane Hogg took the floor and some semblance of purpose began.

I am now in no doubt that Shane is on top of this project and all its complexities which have never been disclosed by the RRA who have explained delays as being attributable to Council finding yet another hurdle to prevent progress.

I will ask Shane to provide a summary of his presentation to ensure all are aware of the issues he is contending with but would summarize the situation as being multi-faceted which include not only the obvious funding constraints but issues with regard to ongoing reform and restructuring within Council.

These factors come to mind and are not exhaustive as I did not take notes. Indeed, this summary may not necessarily be accurate but simply draws attention to the complexities.

The building straddles complex public boundaries abutting the wharf with AT and Council negotiating distinct and conflicting legal and operational mandates over this foot print.

The hall consists of multiple parts (the hall, Kitchen/library and toilets) and is built on reclaimed land over two public land parcels.

Because the proposed facilities interface with transport infrastructure, AT to this time has exerted significant control over the land and its development and until now would not consent to the hall encroaching its land. Furthermore AT have refused to provide a terminus.

The rigid separation between AT and Council which has caused the developmental deadlock is being dismantled by way of the Local Government Amendment Act which seeks to dissolve AT’s independent authority.

The transition period is under way and once worked through will mean that land ownership and decision-making responsibilities will transfer to Auckland Council and the Waiheke Local Board.

I asked Shane if that meant everything is on hold until that happens and I think he agreed.

Shane spoke of inter-departmental participation which includes the Coastal Marine division as the hall sits on reclaimed land and is subject to severe tidal inundation and storm damage, Earthworks and sediment control, Structural Engineering and geo-technical input, Parks and Reserves, Heritage and Mana Whenua, Fire and Emergency, Hazardous materials, Vehicle manoeuvring, Health and Safety along with Civil defence, First Aid etc etc etc.

To remedy the crumbling bank would cost in excess of two million dollars which explains the set back that has been demanded.

This is as much as my little brain could take in and as such any negativity with my summary will fall on closed ears.

I then mentioned alternative sites which Shane was fully acquainted with and had considered in some depth.

The two alternative sites are road reserves with the right to occupy involved as construction is a non-complying activity. I believe that may change with the implementation of the Local Government Amendment Act.

JM seemed not to be aware of these complexities but did seek confirmation that the existing build would include a kitchen.

Mr. Lee was astonished with the inter-departmental mischievousness and questioned the veracity of many of the claims and requirements being sought and undertook to investigate further with material to be provided by Shane.

When I suggested that AT should provide a terminus and Council a hall on the other possible locations available RI claimed that was unacceptable as the community would lose its identity and soul or words to that effect.

I sincerely thanked Shane for his contribution and added that I had no recognition of all the issues that had been presented.

At one point a long-standing member of the community arrived and was offered seating.

I mentioned he was not a member of the Association to which JM responded he was welcome and was being invited to participate unlike myself.

I found that unnecessary and frankly nasty.

I spoke further with Shane and Mr. Lee outside and indeed apologized to Shane for my terse correspondence with him. I explained the disconnect between what the Association was saying and Waiheke Board minutes and was attempting to understand the process. He stated he understood my dilemma.

Mr. Lee and Board member Hillman invited me to come to the alternative sites and I decided to do exactly that.

I reluctantly agreed to participate in a few photo shots at the wharf and at the top of the Island.

Two groups formed around the fire house. One included Shane Hogg, Mr. Lee, Board Member Mr. Norm Robins and myself.

We discussed the site layout and its suitability as an emergency gathering point as opposed to the wharf which had limited access. I also suggested that although probably unnecessary the road could be re-routed to accommodate any structure.

The other group was entertained by the Rakino committee with CC starting the generator and sounding the siren.

Mr. Robins asked me what happens now to which I replied we don’t know and then adopted the Lance Corporal Jack Jones impersonation of “Don’t Panic” “Don’t Panic”.

The gathering wound up and my former detractor RI said with a smile, “You did well”.

I choked.

Mr. Lee stated that we need to get you on this committee to which I responded, not with this lot.

Shane had earlier provided me with a final draft of the build which is attached.

I suggest everyone carefully look beyond the pretty presentation at what is being offered for some millions of dollars. Notice a block wall which will not only obstruct views but will also make access to the ferry even more problematic.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on the Hall rebuild but a consensus must be reached.
I hold the view that the current site has too many restrictions and limitations to erect a structure that meets the Island needs and that value for money will not be achieved.

I believe AT or what ever that ends up as should construct a transport terminus and a hall is built elsewhere for a fraction of the money and which would be more fit for purpose.

At the end of the day, I don’t care what happens as long as something happens.

Now to the point of all of this.

The RRA and the committee overlooks one very important fact.

Everyone is actually on the same page.

Everyone wants the hall saga resolved.

It’s not a them and us situation.

It’s not a psychological division between an “in group” being the Association and its limited members and “the others” as happened to me yet again at this gathering.

The animosity is shameful and must end.

I believe this committee should resign on mass and let someone else have a go.

Pip Cheshire’s design for the proposed Hall.

Proposed Hall Download

Kororā and other cool things.

It’s kororā breeding season on Rakino, and there is evidence of many burrows around the coastline. Some of them are in areas where people and dogs frequent also, so Waiheke Local Board have generously funded signage as a reminder to be aware of of little blue penguin presence. These can be found in 5 hotspots for penguin activity on Rakino, Woody Bay, Home Bay, and Māori Garden Bay. There are also many burrows uphill from the coast, on private property, so please ensure dogs are kept under control at all times, as per the Rakino dog rules.

Aside from all the kororā activity, there are some cool critters in the rock pools, which seem to be flourishing right now.

**Jewel anemones, increasing in number!**

King’s Birthday Weekend 2025

We set off to Rakino with a number of tasks to undertake; a rubbish audit, water testing with Bert, and penguin sign construction. We ended up achieving the first two tasks, making some progress on signage, and taking on a few extra jobs besides. All to the good; a roaring northerly extended our stay by a couple of days and we didn’t mind at all.

You can read about the rubbish audit here https://www.rakino.org.nz/2025/06/08/rakino-waste-audit/ and I’m confident Bert will report on the stream and pond testing in due course.
The penguin signs are a work in progress, so hopefully Matariki long weekend will see them installed, FINALLY.

The coolest thing that happened to me was sighting a live little blue penguin for the first time ever on Rakino. Usually I just document dead kororā, so I was really happy to finally see a young’un, hunkered down under a rock ledge in the vicinity of Maori Garden Bay. There are plentiful penguin tracks around the coast currently, with many double tracks heading out into the tide, indicating parents off fishing for the day. Please, dog owners, ensure your dogs are within sight and under control at all times.

I also got to photograph a kākā at John and Carolyn MacKenzies. Accounts over the weekend are of up to five of them skraarking around overhead, which is pretty exciting for a kākāphile like myself.

**A young female kākā with an admiring audience of tūī, and a solitary bellbird.**

A couple of weekend downers; the moth plant infestation has reached epic almost out of control proportions, and the pods are beginning to split. Land owners with moth plant are going to be removing seedlings for years to come, as will their neighbours. Here are the rules for moth plant on Rakino and Waiheke.. https://www.tiakitamakimakaurau.nz/protect-and-restore-our-environment/pests-in-auckland/pest-search/Araser

**Granddaddy vine which we collected a black sack of pods from.**

The second bummer was the burgeoning bloom of clay sediment out into Maori Garden Bay which exacerbated as the rain intensified. This was particularly heartbreaking for me, as it is in the same area as our little blue penguin sighting, and also the numerous penguin tracks we had seen the previous day. It’s unacceptable to cause this level of environmental damage on Rakino, and should have been anticipated and mitigated.

**Sediment in the stream prior to the bloom out into the bay.**

Generally an excellent week spent hanging out though, some tasty pizza dinners cooked by Kate as she refines her offerings in anticipation of the Bay Belle floating pizzeria, https://www.instagram.com/baybellenz/
and many sociable evenings spent with all our island friends. I can’t tell a lie though; the rubbish audit was way too much fun.

Rakino Waste Audit

Monday of King’s Birthday weekend 2025.

Following on from the inspiration of the Hauraki Gulf Islands Network Hui, Lyndsey and I got permission to conduct a waste audit at the end of the recent long weekend. The purpose of the audit was to establish how Rakino-ites are utilising our rubbish collection system, whether we are recycling correctly, and what we are consigning to household waste, in order to ascertain the viability of a community composting system, with an associated community garden.

**An unimpressive collection of recyclables and food scraps in the household waste bins.**

We were unprepared for just how bad the rubbish disposal practises of Rakino-ites are.
If we put the un-recyclables into the recycling bins in Auckland as we do on Rakino, our rubbish wouldn’t be collected. It’s only because Tom and Pat fossick through our filth in order to correctly assign it after they’ve collected it that we avoid sanction.

**Recyclable aluminium cans incorrectly placed in the household waste bin**.

Many people don’t even put their rubbish into bags to contain it. We found a lot of polystyrene which had just been shoved into the household waste bins. If you can’t take your polystyrene back to Auckland, please break it down and put it into rubbish bags with ties. This is because when the bins are emptied, the propensity for polystyrene beads and pieces to blow away is high. The same applies to moth plant pods; we hugely appreciate your efforts to remove moth plant, especially as it’s a scourge on Rakino with must be removed by landowners, according to council edict, but please put it in bags, and only the pods; not the vines or leaves.

**Garbage just tossed into the bins sans bags; tissues, assorted crap, and un-bagged polystyrene.**

The worst aspect was the volume of food waste. Food waste was mixed in with recyclables, and all tossed together into household waste bins. Come on, people; we have no rats on Rakino so you could simply bury it, though much of the food we found was still edible, which was quite confronting.

**We need to set up a system for food rescue, followed by community composting.**

Lyndsey and I are proposing setting up a system to improve the way we deal with waste on Rakino. At this point we can’t do much worse than we are currently; it’s disrespectful to Tom and Pat, and it’s disrespectful to our environment. Living ‘off-grid’ is much more than just collecting rainwater and making solar power. It’s also about treading lightly on the land, reducing, re-using, and recycling.

We intend to see all food waste, brown cardboard, and green waste diverted to community composting, apart from the modest amount that is currently diverted to Pat’s chooks, of course.

Initially we want to supply a few households with small plastic bins with handles, essentially the green compost collection bins we have in Auckland. Tom has generously offered to set aside some waste collection bins for food waste, which will be delivered to our compost site. We will also be removing cardboard (brown carbon waste) from the rubbish collection in order to compost this along with food waste, and we will be encouraging green waste to be donated to the compost scheme, rather than left lying around, or tossed down banks or onto neighbours’ properties. There is funding available, and we intend to go for it. This is Lyndsey’s baby, and it’s going to be a great success. Just watch this space.

Penguin Presentation Anzac Weekend

We have been trying to get Karen Saunders from Waiheke Native Bird Rescue to visit Rakino for a few years now, but despite the proximity to Waiheke, getting to Rakino can be difficult. Everything needs to align; the weather, Karen’s workload of avian patients, audience numbers on Rakino, a suitable venue, and availability of transport. Many thanks to Waiheke Local Board for providing the funding to cover transport costs!

After a few false starts and postponements we finally achieved a visit this Anzac Weekend. The Frecker’s generously allowed the Boatshed as a venue, Karen duly arrived via Sea Shuttle on a reasonably blustery Saturday, and the Rakino community came down to listen to and watch Karen’s engrossing audio visual presentation.

Rakino has a number of kororā burrows and installed nesting boxes, but we don’t really know what the population is. On an early morning low tide you can generally see their tracks in the sandy areas around the island. Woody Bay and Maori Garden Bay are regular spots to see evidence of their presence. They are also occasionally spotted on road, and as they are smelly little critters, their scent will give their occupancy away.

**Kororā tracks in the sand at Māori Garden Bay.**

**Smelly evidence of a penguin rocky roost/ burrowing area..**

We learned from Karen that the biggest threats to kororā are loss of and damage to habitat, threats to their food supply, and uncontrolled dogs. Karen and her team deal with the consequences of our neglect at Waiheke Native Bird Rescue, where they have the time & cash consuming task of nursing and rehabilitating injured and malnourished kororā back to health.
https://nativebirdrescue.nz/

The one thing we can do to protect kororā immediately is to keep our dogs indoors at night when little blue penguins are on island, and to be aware of where their burrows are. To that end, we have signage ready to be installed in the penguin zones that are easily accessible by dogs, (thank you Waiheke Local Board!) and a long term plan to have a penguin survey done on Rakino. Karen told us that on Waiheke, the areas with penguin burrows where dogs are excluded have more than 8 times as many penguins as areas where there are burrows, but dogs are not excluded. That’s an astonishing statistic.

We also learned about the times of year when they are particularly vulnerable to threats. This is over the summer months, which coincides with high population times on island. They are very vulnerable at nesting time, but also when they are moulting, and cannot go out to sea.

The presentation was followed up with a tuition on trail cam usage. Waiheke Local Board have also provided funding for a trail cam, which is to be set up on an occupied nesting box. We’re anticipating capturing some images of kororā which will be captivating for the Rakino community.

My anticipation is that the Rakino community now have tools and knowledge to protect our resident penguin population from the threats that imperil them, and the understanding that if we lose our little blue neighbours we’ve lost them forever. We are also hoping we can get Karen back again for another visit, and I expect a number of Rakino-ites will be visiting the Bird Rescue Center in the future.

**Engrossed audience, photo courtesy of Laura Mahon.**

Rakino Easter Treats 2024

Rakino Easter Round-up

Firstly, thank you to the hardy Rakino-ites that humoured me by turning up at the unreasonable hour of 10am for the first of the #ecofest2024 events organised for Easter. The icy south-west wind was howling into West Bay as our group hugged the cliff and hacked and poisoned rhamnus, but the views were spectacular.
Elsewhere, the moth plant removalists were hard at work ripping out the devil’s weed and plucking pods. Bert has an enviable and cunningly wrought device which is just the ticket for this tedious job. It’s a sort of hooky prongy thing on a long pole, and he should probably patent it.

Julianne killing rhamnus

The second event was a 4pm low-tide beach clean-up at the northern end of West Bay, and it was really cool to see how many kids were there. My expectations for buy-in of my fanciful ideas are usually quite low, so massive thanks to everyone who turned up. Unfortunately the beach rubbish at West Bay is mainly small pieces of plastic which are entwined in the leaf and feather middens of the high-tide mark. Common items were foil lolly wrappers, small indeterminate pieces of plastic bags, and jandals. It wouldn’t be a beach clean without finding clothing pegs and soft silicone baits, but my favourite find was a foil wrapper claiming to contain a ‘fart bomb’, and Steve Livesay dragged a sodden duvet inner and cover up the saddle track which impressed me mightily. The beach was also smothered in Lion’s Mane jellies, some of whom were clutching onto bits of plastic. I asked them nicely before removing it…

Lion’s Mane Jellies en masse

Buckets of beach rubbish

I didn’t attend the Sunday RRA meeting as planned because I was setting up for Market Day, but I hear that much gratitude was given to Lez in the form of many rounds of applause, there is progress on the Hall, and the progress on the Fire Shed is self-evident, so many thanks to Chris, the Stephen’s (Thomas and Wong), Henry, and John Beasley, plus everyone else who has worked on the shed. It’s looking great. Let’s hope it doesn’t need to be utilised in a hurry.

Harriet played a blinder in generously offering up her garden for a Market Day fundraiser for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Trust. The kids’ activities for humans of all ages went down a treat, and I reckon we should expand on those for future events. A huge thank you to everyone that helped out, provided materials, time, and participated in this event.

Pinch pots and painting

A colourful garden party!

Thanks to:
* Lez for jigsaw cut outs, and John for the test pots and treats,
*Lucy for teaching pinchpots,
*Reilly, Natalie, Carolyn, Dylan, Jo, Jim Wheeler, Lisa, and Harriet for their creations.
*Eleanor for her paintings and life drawings.
*Bert on sausage sizzle with William weeping over onions in the kitchen.
*Simon for the poster, Gary for helping set up, and me for the interminable spruiking..
*Lyndsey & Caroline for their vintage goodies.
*All the Rakino-ites who supported.

We raised $1350 for Westpac… which will be paid this week.

Bert on sausage sizzle duties.

It was also the last weekend ever of the Woody Bay Pizzeria as Alf hangs up his pizza paddle. We dropped in at Monday lunchtime and trade was roaring in the calm of the bay after a few days of a brutal westerly. Woody Bay was full of boats, and pizza eaters.

I hope everyone else had a relaxing Easter, but I had to go home for a rest. . .

Woody Bay on Easter Monday

Winner winner kina dinner

If there is one seafood Rakino is particularly abundant in, it’s spiky kina.

The un-charismatic sea urchin has managed to stealthily encroach on sub tidal rocky reef crevices all around our island. This would be bearable if there were vast schools of old granddaddy snapper with blubbery lips thick enough to crack their carapaces open, but the snapper inhabiting the reefs are in the main part juveniles. Likewise, crayfish are functionally extinct in the Hauraki Gulf, which means they exist in insufficient numbers to fulfil their role in the ecosystem as a predator of kina.

As a consequence kina are steadily munching their way through swathes of kelp beds creating kina ‘barrens’, which is pretty much what it says on the tin; areas barren of everything except kina. Healthy kelp beds are our most important and most diverse coastal ecosystems. They are nursery areas for many commercially fished species as well as a food larder of smaller rocky reef fishes for those species. They should teem with life, and in areas of high protection, they do.

They are also a larder for the seabird species we see around Rakino, the shags, little blue penguins, reef herons, gannets, shearwater, and petrels. The seabirds eat fish and their guano feeds nutrients back into the kelp beds so the cycle can continue.

This is the time of year to eat kina because they are supposedly sweeter and plumper. In some regions the collective wisdom is to harvest them when kowhai is in flower, in other areas when pohutukawa is in flower. Generally I would hazard the correct time to collect them is in Spring, at low-tide. If you were to adhere to Mātauranga Māori you would harvest them in the days immediately following a full moon.

The bag limit for kina is 50 per collector per day.

I’ve always been averse to kina; the descriptions of its flavour sounded frankly nasty, but I braved a mouthful after a recent snorkel and was pleasantly surprised. The orange roe is the part to eat, and its texture is quite firm. They were briny, lightly iodine flavoured, and mildly sweet. The immediate sensation was that I had eaten something tremendously healthy. Kina are tremendously healthy! Kina is a good source of Iodine, Selenium, Vitamin B6 and VitaminA; and a source of Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Riboflavin (vitamin B2) and Vitamin E.

I’ve noticed kina gradually creeping onto the menus of good restaurants around Auckland, in the same way they creep into every rock crevice available. I found this recent recipe from Al Brown on RNZ, so I’m sharing it in the hope you’ll all put some kina entrees on your Rakino summer menu this year. I advise a glove to protect your hand as you lever them off the rocks, and a bag to put your catch in. Don’t worry, they don’t move quickly…

https://www.rnz.co.nz/collections/recipes/fried-kina-on-toast

Labour Weekend Market Day

We haven’t had a market on Rakino for a few years, so a few enthusiastic people have decided to have a crack at reinstating it on the Rakino events calendar.
It’s going to happen this year on October 23rd, 1pm till 3-ish, down at the Hall, after the RRA meeting. There will be a $10 a market table koha to be donated to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Trust.

If you have bits and bobs to sell, come on down, and if you have some cash burning a hole in your pocket, definitely come on down. Come on down regardless.
There will be a sausage sizzle, so bring some gold coins for that, and Jennie Cruse will be busking, so bring some gold coins for her.
There will be t-shirts, tote-bags, cool pottery mugs, preserves, pearls, and much more. The art rooms will be open also, for painting ceramics, and jewels. Cash transfers are available.
If you need more info, email me, lisa@lisawest.co.nz

We look forward to seeing your lovely faces on Sunday. 🙂

Preventing Future Pest Incursions

The current Darwin’s ant invasion has got me thinking about risks and risk mitigation.

With regard to keeping our environment on Rakino free of undesirable fauna, the risks of pests getting to the island are high, and the consequences are severe. The costs of the rainbow skink incursion were in the tens of thousands, and we can only cross our fingers and hope that the Darwin’s ant incursion can be dealt with swiftly.

I don’t know how the ants got to Rakino, but there is one vector we can eliminate. I know from experience when I have brought plants from Auckland to Rakino that Belaire is assiduous in checking they have been dealt with according to protocol in order to stop spread of Rainbow Skinks and Argentine Ants. I’m so paranoid about being ‘that guy’, that I soak my plants in buckets for two days solid before taking them to our island. Often the bio-security staff are down at the pier with the sniffer dogs too, which is excellent. All commercial transport operators moving goods or people to or among Hauraki Gulf islands will need to have a Pest Free Warrant also, which is a further protection.

The weak link is people with private boats who may not be aware of the protocols around moving plants from the Mainland to pest-free islands.

I’m proposing that we utilise the already excellent existing Rakino Nursery further; talking with John MacKenzie about the native plants we’d like to be planting, seeing if the range can be expanded even further. John does his best to eco-source seed for propagation, and the nursery has expanded recently, which means more trees grown on island, so no risk of incursions.

Of course, people also want to plant exotics, annual flowers, vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees, so these are also possible vectors of pest transmission if they are being transported to Rakino.

What do the gardeners think about having a couple of plant/seed buy, sell or swaps a year? Cuttings are easily taken from many of the pretty exotics that birds love on the island. I’m particularly thinking of the callistemons (bottlebrush) which are a magnet for bellbird and tui. They also pose a risk because of myrtle rust, and along with pohutukawa should not be transported to Rakino. We have to protect our big old pohutukawa as best we can. I’ve also got my eye on a number of beaut hibiscus that I’m keen to get cuttings from.. Seed collection is very easy with regard to annual flowers, and commercial seed packets are completely safe, of course. It could be a great theme for a market day.

Next year Rakino is 20 years pest free, so it’s unfortunate timing for the ant incursion. We are incredibly privileged to inhabit an island that is free of predators. It’s actually very rare internationally, and we shouldn’t take that status for granted. I suggest we come up with a framework to stop further incursions, and take responsibility to stop the potential risks ourselves.

I’d love some feedback, and further thoughts about this. 🙂

RRA Election time?

Is it time to review the function and performance of the RRA (Rakino Rate Payers Association)?

The objectives of the Association are set out in its Constitution.

At the Annual General Meeting candidates either volunteer or are persuaded to join the committee sometime later. There is no election process as is defined. Elected officers are those who volunteer for that role. Not much happens. There’s little or no communication with the membership. The Association doesn’t enjoy community support and more importantly respect. All fairly typical characteristics of any volunteer organization. Well-meaning. Volunteers doing their best, but is their best good enough?

In recent times things have been organized independent of the Association. We have enjoyed concerts at the Hall, the Nursery and at the Pizzeria. Yoga classes, art, weaving courses are all well received and supported. The community can make things happen if it has the will. Who needs the Association?

It does seem that decentralization will continue which questions the relevance of the Association and especially as it has seldom taken a lead or achieved much. The hall is but one example. Our emergency response capability is being withdrawn. The Association fiddles whilst Rakino potentially burns.

The Association is nevertheless essential as the body that represents us when dealing with say the Council. Council will only deal with the one voice. The problem with that one voice is that the committee is not democratically elected, doesn’t have a mandate on any position it takes, is seldom well informed and invariably reflects the opinion of the committee or some on it.

We have allowed this situation to occur. We don’t follow the prescribed process for the election of a committee and a Chair. We don’t give them a brief, a blue print for what we want for the Island, where we are going and how we want to get there. If we don’t manage change, it will happen regardless.

I believe the function of the Association should be three-fold;

To achieve representation on the Waiheke Community Board.
To represent the community with key stake holders and deploy expertise within the community for specific negotiations.
To develop a road map which reflects the communities needs and aspirations, coordinate a blue print and invite people to take on specific function, unhindered. Performance is measured by success.

The Hall is a prime example as to why there must be change.

After years of talk, Stephen Thomas came up with a scheme to move and redevelop the existing building which he costed and presented to the community both on and off the Island. His concept was well received and he was congratulated on his initiative. We were to be canvassed for our thoughts. A no brainer really. Unfortunately, covid aside, nothing has happened. More of the same and for the same reasons.

We were told at the last AGM that Council preferred a new build on which premise a vote was taken to do away with the old and bring in the new. A concept by the Association was presented with a few boxes and improved vehicular access. It has since transpired that Council did not express that preference yet a new design is being developed after Stephen Thomas presented his vision and the ink had almost dried. Stephen had broad approval for his concept and has the skill set, drive and contacts to make things happen. Local trades, professionals and merchants offered their support. Meetings brimmed with enthusiasm and suggestions as to how it could happen and how individuals could contribute.

Stephen should be given the job to resolve the hall fiasco once and for all. He has the qualifications to present a concept and costings to the Waiheke Board, get approval from the Board, facilitate funding and consents, negotiate with Auckland Transport as regards transportation issues and bring the community together to build with fund raising if necessary. No one else on the committee has those skills and frankly they have had decades to demonstrate their capabilities. A significant job for a lone individual but Stephen is a team player and can call upon expertise within the community to finally resolve something which has been on the drawing board for decades.

No more delays awaiting the formation of a committee, no more waffle and grandstanding. Responsibility delegated to someone who know what they’re doing. Job done.

What else does the community need? Here’s but a few thoughts to make my point.

Entertainment.

Lisa and Holly have shown to have the drive and passion to organize fantastic events with fantastic artists. They should be given carte blanche responsibility with an allocation of funds from the Association. The community should underwrite the associated costs and be willing to pay to participate rather than stand on the fringes and observe.

Sense of community

Why not our own flag, an Island logo, a letterhead, some merchandise that sets us apart. Let’s appoint someone with those skills, which may also include a programmer so that we can vote electronically on whatever design we prefer. The same program could be utilized at the AGM and at other significant decision times.

Other thoughts are; fruit trees along the berms, utilization of the land at the top of the Island for sporting events, a website which brings together all the other sites under the one umbrella, resolution of the mooring travesty, a welcoming committee for new owners, an information centre for visitors.

The possibilities are endless. Someone with a special interest or skill takes responsibility for a specific function after being provided with a broad outline of what the community wants.
Once again, answerable to us, not the committee which in time becomes largely redundant much as it is now but is no longer permitted to stymie innovative thinking or enthusiasm.

Thoughtful comment would be appreciated. The next AGM is over Labour weekend. Change is necessary now. I believe we need fresh blood on the Association. There are many talented impassioned people out there to make a real difference. I believe that needs to begin at the top.