Lighting the way

The Tiritiri Matangi lighthouse is believed to be the first in New Zealand to undergo a full interior repaint. IMAGERY: JASON DORDAY

Lighting

THE WAY

WORDS: CAITLIN SYKES

While walking along a path dotted sunshine yellow with fallen kōwhai flowers, we hear the titter of hihi, which soon rises so loudly it interrupts conversation.

Carl Hayson and Ray Walter pause at a feeding station, where a throng of bellbirds gorges noisily on the sugar syrup that tops them up over cooler months on Tiritiri Matangi Island.

“In the 1960s there were just 26 bellbirds on the island; they were just hanging in there. But the population has since exploded because of the habitat that’s been created for them,” says Carl.

And in contrast to the hundreds that now bloom, a single kōwhai once stood on this Hauraki Gulf island, adds Ray. That was before a massive native replanting programme during the 1980s and 1990s reforested 220 hectares with more than 280,000 trees.

A scientific reserve and open wildlife sanctuary populated by rare native birds, Tiritiri Matangi is a jewel in New Zealand’s conservation crown. Managed by the Department of Conservation and iwi who have mana whenua over the land (including Te Kawerau ā Maki, Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Manuhiri and Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki), as well as the Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi community group, the island’s natural heritage has been restored thanks to one of the world’s most successful community-led conservation projects.

But the Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi haven’t stopped there. The volunteer group with around 1500 members has also been steadily preserving the island’s maritime heritage, led by passionate individuals like Carl and Ray. Ray was the last keeper of the light on Tiritiri Matangi before the station was fully automated in March 1984. A two-man station in close proximity to Auckland, it was a “plum” posting, says Ray, who is a veteran of seven lighthouse stations, including two stints at the famously remote and desolate Puysegur Point Lighthouse in Fiordland.

The pull of the island remained for Ray, who transitioned from a 30-year lighthouse service career to become the first DoC ranger on Tiritiri Matangi.

He and his wife Barbara established the nursery, growing plants from seeds gathered on and around the island that supplied the massive replanting programme, as well as the supporters group.

A symbol of a conservation triumph, New Zealand’s oldest continually running lighthouse has been restored alongside the natural heritage that surrounds it

“When I really looked into what we have here, I could see we had something special, so I thought, ‘Let’s see what we can do’”

Carl, who chairs the Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi and has been a member for more than 30 years, recalls a conversation with Ray around 20 years ago that sparked efforts to restore the island’s maritime precinct.

“He said, ‘Someone needs to do something about these buildings, or they’ll all fall down’. When I really looked into what we have here, I could see we had something special, so I thought, ‘Let’s see what we can do’.”

The 1864 Tiritiri Matangi Lighthouse is New Zealand’s oldest continually running lighthouse (it’s still in use today), and much of the island’s other lighthouse station infrastructure remains. This includes the 1918 first and second lighthouse keepers’ cottages, 1911 watchtower and 1935 foghorn station.

Carl explains that, fittingly, restoring the island’s natural heritage played a hand in helping to retain these historic buildings.

“In most cases, when the lighthouse service no longer required a building, it was pulled down, but after this station was automated, the first keeper’s cottage was used as a ranger station, the second housed volunteers for the replanting, and other buildings were used for storage. That ongoing use probably saved them from being destroyed.”

The foghorn station (the only one left in New Zealand) was the first to be restored. It’s home to three types of foghorn, illustrating technological changes through the decades, including one that’s still operational.

The watchtower, which served primarily as a weather and signal station, was the next project, and one in which Carl became more involved, particularly with fundraising.

“To do these little projects on the side in the early days was hard; we had to establish our credibility with this kind of work, particularly with funders, because we were mainly known for our conservation work.”

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The group’s latest built heritage project, however, is perhaps its most ambitious – the restoration of the lighthouse, a Category 1 historic place.

The lighthouse was the first established on the approaches to Auckland in the Waitematā Harbour, and at the time of its construction there were only two lighthouses in the country: Pencarrow (lit in 1859) and Boulder Bank (1862).

The cast-iron tower was designed by McLean and Stilman Civil Engineers, London, and built by Simpson and Company in London before its prefabricated parts were shipped to New Zealand and put together in situ. (The lighthouse has a ‘twin’, first erected on Mana Island in 1865 then moved to Cape Egmont in 1877, where it still stands and is a Category 2 historic place.)

While its original white light lasted 60 years, the light in the tower has changed several times, reflecting changing needs and technology.

In 1965, for example, an 11-million-candlepower xenon lamp – at the time reputedly one of the most powerful lights found in any lighthouse in the world – was installed in the tower. (Known as ‘the Davis light’, it was donated by a former Auckland mayor, Sir Ernest Davis.) The light was reduced to one million candlepower and automated in 1984, when the station was also de-staffed.

As well as continuing to be owned and maintained by Maritime New Zealand as an operational lighthouse, the tower is occasionally unlocked on open days run by the supporters. And it was on these occasions in more recent years that Ray and others noticed moisture accumulating and the structure deteriorating, including corrosion of the cast-iron panels and the bolts fixing them together.

“If you go back to the days of manned lighthouses, you were up there twice a day turning your light off and on and every Monday was ‘scrub down day’ where you’d wash all the steps, clean the brass and look after the light itself,” explains Ray. “But when they’re shut up, there’s no ventilation and they quickly deteriorate.”

In addition, original brass ventilators installed near the top of the tower were removed some time after 1997 and the openings welded shut, further reducing air flow.

Funding through Maritime New Zealand to address the deterioration was limited, but the organisation was open to the supporters seeking a solution.

1 The complex is among the three most complete historic lighthouse stations remaining in New Zealand.

2 Carl Hayson and Ray

Walter in the watchtower.

3 Many threatened species, such as takahē, call the island home.

4 The watchtower served primarily as a weather and signal station.

IMAGERY: JASON DORDAY

“The tower has always played an important role in the natural restoration of Tiritiri Matangi because it’s a symbol of the island”

“The tower has always played an important role in the natural restoration of Tiritiri Matangi because it’s a symbol of the island,” says Carl.

“We thought, it’s not a good look if we restore the rest of the island then this starts falling apart.”

The group began by commissioning DPA Architects in 2021 to produce a conservation plan, which noted the lighthouse was “experiencing both internal and external corrosion which will compromise the longevity of the structure if not urgently addressed”.

The supporters then obtained quotes to address the corrosion and paint the tower, while fundraising manager Juliet Hawkeswood, with the support of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, applied for funding to help pay the $400,000 restoration bill. When the Lottery Grants Board provided a substantial $261,000 grant from its Lottery Environment and Heritage Fund, and Auckland Council a further $40,000, the group was able to press on with the work.

The project, says Ray, includes the first full interior lighthouse repaint undertaken in New Zealand; working on an island and in a relatively confined space added to its complexity. For the interior work, for example, 500 litres of paint and a truck were barged to the island, and scarce, short lengths of scaffolding had to be sourced to fit inside the lighthouse.

Old lead paint was blasted off (and collected and disposed), corrosion addressed and a full repaint undertaken by NZ Coating Services, a Nelson-based firm appropriately experienced in working in the tight confines of ship hulls. Beginning in April, the work was carried out over three months, during which new insights into the lighthouse were uncovered.

On the interior of individual cast-iron panels, large circles, each bearing a unique letter and number, were revealed. These were used to guide those charged

hihi: stitchbird mana whenua: those with tribal authority over land or territory by virtue of possession and/or occupation

1 Ray has been a driving force behind the restoration of the island’s natural and built heritage.

2 The museum is home to treasures related to a number of New Zealand lighthouses.

3 A circle on each lighthouse panel bore a unique letter and number to help guide those who bolted it together.

4 The huge spanners discovered during the restoration project.

IMAGERY: JASON DORDAY with piecing the lighthouse together in 1864, and one of these circles has been left uncovered to share this aspect of the building’s heritage. Also discovered were the huge spanners used to bolt the structure together.

At the time of writing, an exterior repaint carried out by Wellington-based Abseil Access was about to begin, so visitors this summer will be greeted by a fully refreshed tower.

To help mitigate future moisture problems, the group will reinstate further original features: four brass ventilators and, hopefully, the lighthouse’s weathervane, which also facilitated ventilation.

Both features were rescued and restored by Ray, who has helped retain many items related to the heritage of the Tiritiri Matangi station – and others. Many of these are displayed in the precinct’s lighthouse museum, housed in the former generator shed/carpentry workshop.

Among the group’s future plans is to upgrade and extend the museum so it can house other treasures its members have saved. For example, the supporters rescued the original lens from the Cuvier Island Lighthouse, which stands 6.5 metres high and weighs nine tonnes (also restored by Ray) and is in possession of the lantern from the Pōnui Passage Lighthouse – the little-known sister to Auckland’s Category 1 Bean Rock Lighthouse – along with the Davis light.

Another major project, which will come to fruition by Christmas, involves reinstating the station’s signal mast. Standing taller than the lighthouse tower, the 23-metre mast was used to signal and pilot ships and will help further educate the public on aspects of maritime history.

“Tiritiri Matangi is among the three most complete historic lighthouse stations left in New Zealand, and the other two [on Cuvier and Stephens Islands] are very hard to get to,” says Carl.

“Tiri is unique in that it’s accessible; we have over 30,000 people visiting the island each year. That gives us a unique opportunity to showcase not only our natural heritage but also this important history of early navigation and lighthouses in New Zealand.”

TIPS FOR FUNDRAISING SUCCESS

Many of the projects and programmes undertaken by the Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi are supported by grants funding. Reinstating the signal mast, for example, was in development for many years but only recently made possible by donations from the Stout Trust and the Mace Charitable Foundation. Here are some of the group’s tips for grant application success:

Carefully research funders to match your project with those a funder typically supports.

Keep track of the time frames required by funders so you’re aware of when grants open and close, and what information is required when.

Tell the story of your project in a way that’s authentically tailored to the funder; a ‘one-sizefits-all’ approach doesn’t always work.

Once the project is funded, keep in touch with the funder to share thanks, media coverage and any other information that communicates the benefits of their funding.

Network to keep your projects on the radar in relevant funding communities and refresh your contacts.

tiritirimatangi.org.nz/ n