'Lone' ranger leaves
Pipiriki's senior ranger John Lythgoe farewelled the small river community last week. He was leaving the area to take up a senior position with the Department of Conservation in Wanganui. Mr Lythgoe was promoted to the position of senior ranger in January 1984 from Tongariro National Park. He held the position of ranger at Tongariro for five years. He has also worked at Marlborough Sounds Maritime Park, Mt Aspiring National Park and Otago goldfields and acquired an extensive background of National Parks. Pipiriki was not entirely new to Mr Lythgoe, who began his ranger service in the area in 1976 as a reliever over the summer. Those four months left him in good stead for his return eight years later. Mr Lythgoe was instrumental in the growth of the small station and implemented a number of improvements One of his 'petk interests was the summer nature programme offered by the Department of Conservation, which had small beginnings in the area but was given a tremendous boost by Mr Lythgoe who introduced new walks and points of interest. He also oversaw the construction of the immensely popular Aramoana Walkway earlier this year, which Mr Lythgoe considered was one of his major contributions to the area during his time in Pipiriki. He was responsible for the management of the
whole Whanganui National Park area, which included the maintenance of huts and tracks, animal control, the control of noxious plants, park recreation, the summer nature programme, and also the paper work associated with being a ranger. Mr Lythgoe said the job grew tremendously from the time he first started until it became "quite a handful", just before the area was gazetted as a National Park lat last year. The job has grown from a sole charge position to one overseeing three park assistants. Two new staff houses were recently constructed and major renovations to the office and workshop completed. Mr Lythgoe said he found the position quite a challenge after his time at Tongariro National Park. "Pipiriki is a completely different world", he said. Mr Lythgoe's new posi-
tion as senior conservation officer will involve responsibility for recreation, tourism and historic places in the Whanganui National Park and areas adjacent to it. He will also be in charge of the new ranger at Pipiriki. Mr Lythgoe said he enjoyed his time in the community and the close liaison he had with the Maori community. To move on was to meet new challenges, he said. He and his wife Fiona recently bought a house in Wanganui and will be spending the next few weeks working on renovations. Mrs Lundy took over the management of Pipiriki's Colonial House in 1984. She was well suited to the job having a good background knowledge of local history. Mrs Lundy holidayed and lived in Ohakune since 1969, after shifting from cont'd onp. 16
'Lone' ranger
cont'd from p. 9 Auckland. She majored in clothing and textiles at Otago University and spent some time designing and making exclusive ski wear. She also worked for a season in the ticket office at Turoa and at Karioi Pulp Mill. Mrs Lundy was relieving art teacher at Ruapehu College for some time. Another of her duties was to take daily readings for the Wellington Meteorological Station at Pipiriki's weather station. Both John and Fiona are keen gardeners and enjoyed Pipiriki's temperate climate for growing.They are keen skiers and intend to continue to visit the Waimarino. The ranger station will be manned by park assistants until a permanent ranger is appointed later this month. The Colonial House which has traditionally been run by the ranger's wife, will be closed until the position is filled.
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Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 12, 18 August 1987, Page 9
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614'Lone' ranger leaves Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 12, 18 August 1987, Page 9
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