John Fensham's Memorial Sanctuary

Forest and Bird, Issue 298, 1 November 2000, Page 43

John Fensham's Memorial Sanctuary

hen John Fensham died in 1943 at age 91, he left behind him an important legacy for the future of New Zealand’s indigenous flora and fauna. His will made provision for a nine hectare block of native forest to be preserved for all time as the ‘John Fensham Sanctuary for Native Trees and Birds. The surrounding 41 hectares of flat pastureland and scrub-covered hill was to be leased and the income paid to his four sisters during their lifetime. When Nina, last of the Fensham sisters, died in 1978 the property passed into Forest and Bird ownership. Since 1962 the grazing land has been leased to a local farmer who is also a Forest and Bird member. With his cooperation the forest and shrublands on the hill above the original reserve area have been allowed to regenerate. Situated outside of Carterton at the upper end of Cobden Road, Fensham Reserve is now one of very few protected areas on the low-lying Wairarapa Plains. Today the reserve contains approximately nine hectares of primary forest, three hectares of wetland, 19 hectares of regenerating forest and shrublands, and 18 hectares of pastureland. The primary forest, situated on mainly flat land that includes occasional wetland areas, is in good condition with a well-established canopy and rich understorey. The forest is dominated by kahikatea, tarata, titoki and black beech with smaller amounts of

totara, matai, rimu, kowhai and hinau. Some of the podocarps here are 400-700 years old. The hill contains areas of black-beech forest with an understorey of advanced regeneration. Between these two forest types there are considerable areas of regenerating kanuka-manuka forest with significant amounts of rewarewa emerging in the canopy. On the alluvial plain there is a small kahikatea-totara-matai forest with kanuka, hinau, pokaka and black beech. This forest is associated with areas of manuka, rushes, sedges and toetoe growing in a wetland containing brown mudfish Neochana apoda. This is a Category B, nationally threatened species of ‘vulnerable’ status. Fensham Reserve is one of several areas in the Wairarapa where high numbers of brown mudfish exist. A study by Albert Rebergen (of DoC) in 1996 indicates that the reserve could well contain the highest numbers of brown mudfish of any Wairarapa site. Fensham Reserve also contains a regionally threatened fern species, parsley fern Botrychium biforme, and various tree species uncommon in the ecological district. Due to its proximity to Wairarapa towns, and the limited opportunities for bush walking in the district, Fensham Reserve enjoys a high level of public usage and is popular with school groups and groups of elderly people. In order to protect the interests of the lessee, public access is

restricted to the areas of primary forest and regenerating hill slopes. Two entry points on Cobden Rd give access to the Circuit Track, which circumnavigates the hill and primary forest area, taking in all the changing vegetation patterns in the reserve along the way. At the northern end of this track there is a picnic area. The reserve is managed by the ‘Fensham Group; a band of dedicated volunteers from the Wairarapa Branch who received an Old Blue Award this year for their efforts. Over the years the Fensham Group has developed tracks and

boardwalks, erected signs, controlled possums, eradicated willows and old man’s beard from the reserve, and ringbarked or felled hundreds of radiata pines. They have also done extensive revegetation round the edges of forest and wetland areas. It is planned to continue this work into the future as areas of grazing land are removed from the lease. With the Fensham Group’s dedicated enthusiasm, John Fensham’s legacy will live on. — Peter White, a member of Forest and Bird’s national executive, is reviewing the management plans of the Society’s reserves.