Bushy Park Forest Reserve
Encyclopedia
Bushy Park Forest Reserve is located on the west coast of the North Island
of New Zealand
, at 791 Rangitatau East Road, 8 kilometres (5 mi) from Kai Iwi
, Whanganui
, Manawatu-Wanganui Region. It features an Edwardian-era homestead
Category One Heritage Building registered with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust
, a predator-free native bird sanctuary
, and a virgin rainforest
. It measures approximately 100 hectares (247.1 acre), and is characterized as a "lowland remnant of rata-podocarp taka-puketea rainforest". According to Forest & Bird
, Bushy Park is considered to be amongst the 25 best restoration ecology
projects in Australia and New Zealand.
, includes a 109 feet (33.2 m) long, 6 feet (1.8 m)-wide hall that runs the length of the residence, as well as wood panelling, carved mantels, and art deco
lights. Built by Russell and Bignell in 1906 at a cost of £4,566 for G. Frank Moore, a cattle and racehorse breeder, the residence and park were gifted by Moore in 1962 to the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand
.
The homestead, bird sanctuary, and rain forest have been managed by Bushy Park Homestead and Forest Trust since 1994. The Bushy Park Festival, an annual event on the Sunday of Wellington Anniversary weekend, is the major fundraising event for the trust.
During the period of 2004 to 2005, a 4.8 kilometres (3 mi) pest-exclusion fence
was built around the park and two aerial drops of rodent bait occurred later in 2005. The opening of Bushy Park’s kiwi
creche
, also in 2005, was marked by the arrival of a female kiwi chick from the Waimarino Forest.
, mamaku
, pukatea, rātā
, and rimu
along with colonies of fern
s and moss
es. Believed to be the largest rātā in the country, Ratanui ("Big Rata") is a Northern rātā
, estimated to be between 500 and 1000 years old. It is 11 metres (36.1 ft) in height while its girth exceeds 11 metres (36.1 ft), and has been severely damaged by possum
s.
Avifauna species include bellbirds
, kererus, North Island Robin
, saddlebacks, and tuis
, as well as the falcon
, fantail
, grey warbler
, mallard
, pukeko, silvereye
, and White-faced Heron
.
Giraffe weevil
s, glowworm
s, and huhu beetle
s also inhabit Bushy Park.
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, at 791 Rangitatau East Road, 8 kilometres (5 mi) from Kai Iwi
Iwi
In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
, Whanganui
Whanganui
Various places in New Zealand are called Whanganui:*Whanganui, a city at the mouth of the Whanganui River, also often spelled "Wanganui", Manawatu-Wanganui Region*Whanganui District, Manawatu-Wanganui Region*Whanganui Island, Waikato Region...
, Manawatu-Wanganui Region. It features an Edwardian-era homestead
Homestead (buildings)
A homestead is either a single building, or collection of buildings grouped together on a large agricultural holding, such as a ranch, station or a large agricultural operation of some other designation.-See also:* Farm house* Homestead Act...
Category One Heritage Building registered with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust
New Zealand Historic Places Trust
The New Zealand Historic Places Trust is a non-profit trust that advocates for the protection of ancestral sites and heritage buildings in New Zealand...
, a predator-free native bird sanctuary
Animal sanctuary
An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and be protected for the rest of their lives. Unlike animal shelters, sanctuaries do not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, instead maintaining each animal until his or her natural death...
, and a virgin rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
. It measures approximately 100 hectares (247.1 acre), and is characterized as a "lowland remnant of rata-podocarp taka-puketea rainforest". According to Forest & Bird
Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand
The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. is an environmental organisation specialising in conservation of indigenous plant and animal life in and around New Zealand....
, Bushy Park is considered to be amongst the 25 best restoration ecology
Restoration ecology
-Definition:Restoration ecology is the scientific study and practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human intervention and action, within a short time frame...
projects in Australia and New Zealand.
History
The 22-room Edwardian homestead, designed by Charles Tilleard NatuschCharles Tilleard Natusch
Lewis Tilleard Natusch, but always known as Charles, was a noted New Zealand architect and quantity surveyor, known particularly as a builder of fine houses for wealthy clients....
, includes a 109 feet (33.2 m) long, 6 feet (1.8 m)-wide hall that runs the length of the residence, as well as wood panelling, carved mantels, and art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
lights. Built by Russell and Bignell in 1906 at a cost of £4,566 for G. Frank Moore, a cattle and racehorse breeder, the residence and park were gifted by Moore in 1962 to the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand
Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand
The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. is an environmental organisation specialising in conservation of indigenous plant and animal life in and around New Zealand....
.
The homestead, bird sanctuary, and rain forest have been managed by Bushy Park Homestead and Forest Trust since 1994. The Bushy Park Festival, an annual event on the Sunday of Wellington Anniversary weekend, is the major fundraising event for the trust.
During the period of 2004 to 2005, a 4.8 kilometres (3 mi) pest-exclusion fence
Pest-exclusion fence
thumb|280px|Xcluder pest-exclusion fence around perimeter of [[Maungatautari Restoration Project|Maungatautari]]A pest-exclusion fence is built to exclude certain types of animal pests from an enclosure...
was built around the park and two aerial drops of rodent bait occurred later in 2005. The opening of Bushy Park’s kiwi
Kiwi
Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae.At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world...
creche
Crèche (zoology)
The Crèche in zoology refers to care of another's offspring, for instance in a colony. This term is used in the study of bird colonies...
, also in 2005, was marked by the arrival of a female kiwi chick from the Waimarino Forest.
Flora and fauna
A network of ten forest paths traverse the forest reserve that includes mahoeMelicytus ramiflorus
Melicytus ramiflorus is a small tree of the family Violaceae endemic to New Zealand.It grows up to 10 metres high with a trunk up to 60 cm in diameter, it has smooth, whitish bark and brittle twigs...
, mamaku
Mamaku
Mamaku is a small town in the Bay of Plenty Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Mamaku Plateau at an elevation of above sea level. Situated at the highest point of the now-mothballed Rotorua Branch railway line, the town is south of State Highway 5...
, pukatea, rātā
Metrosideros
Metrosideros is a genus of approximately 50 trees, shrubs, and vines native to the islands of the Pacific Ocean, from the Philippines to New Zealand and including the Bonin Islands, Polynesia, and Melanesia, with an anomalous outlier in South Africa. Most of the tree forms are small, but some are...
, and rimu
Rimu
Rimu can mean the following:*Dacrydium cupressinum, also rimu, a tree endemic to New Zealand*Rimu, Southland, a locality in Southland, New Zealand*Rimu, West Coast, a locality in the West Coast region of New Zealand...
along with colonies of fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s and moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
es. Believed to be the largest rātā in the country, Ratanui ("Big Rata") is a Northern rātā
Metrosideros robusta
Northern rātā , is a huge forest tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to 25 m or taller, and usually begins its life as a hemiepiphyte high in the branches of a mature forest tree; over centuries the young tree sends descending and girdling roots down and around the trunk of its host,...
, estimated to be between 500 and 1000 years old. It is 11 metres (36.1 ft) in height while its girth exceeds 11 metres (36.1 ft), and has been severely damaged by possum
Possum
A possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails...
s.
Avifauna species include bellbirds
New Zealand Bellbird
The New Zealand Bellbird , also known by its Māori names Korimako or Makomako, is a passerine bird endemic to New Zealand. It has greenish colouration and is the only living member of the genus Anthornis. The bellbird forms a significant component of the famed New Zealand dawn chorus of bird song...
, kererus, North Island Robin
North Island Robin
The North Island Robin is a species of Australasian robin endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. It was once considered a subspecies of the New Zealand Robin of South and Stewart Islands, but mitochondrial DNA sequences have shown that the two lineages split prior to the Pleistocene and...
, saddlebacks, and tuis
Tui (bird)
The tui is an endemic passerine bird of New Zealand. It is one of the largest members of the diverse honeyeater family....
, as well as the falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
, fantail
Fantail
Fantails are small insectivorous birds of southern Asia and Australasia belonging to the genus Rhipidura in the family Rhipiduridae...
, grey warbler
Grey Warbler
The Grey Gerygone , more commonly known in New Zealand as the Grey Warbler or Riroriro, is a species of insectivorous bird in the Acanthizidae family endemic to New Zealand.Its natural habitat is temperate forests....
, mallard
Mallard
The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....
, pukeko, silvereye
Silvereye
The Silvereye or Wax-eye is a very small passerine bird native to Australia, New Zealand and the south-west Pacific islands of Lord Howe, New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji...
, and White-faced Heron
White-faced Heron
The White-faced Heron, Egretta novaehollandiae, also known as the White-fronted Heron, and incorrectly as the Grey Heron, or Blue Crane, is a common bird throughout most of Australasia, including New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indonesia, New Zealand, the islands of the Subantarctic, and...
.
Giraffe weevil
Giraffe weevil
The giraffe weevil is a weevil endemic to Madagascar. It derives its name from an extended neck much like that of the common giraffe. The giraffe weevil is sexually dimorphic, with the neck of the male typically being 2 to 3 times the length of that of the female. Most of the body is black with...
s, glowworm
Glowworm
Glowworm, or glow worm, is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They may sometimes resemble worms, but all are insects .-Classification:Major families are:* Lampyridae , found around the world...
s, and huhu beetle
Huhu beetle
The huhu beetle, Prionoplus reticularis is the largest endemic beetle found in New Zealand, a member of the longhorn beetle family ....
s also inhabit Bushy Park.