# Rotoroa Island

Rotoroa Island is an island to the east of Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. It is just over an hour away by ferry from the Auckland ferry terminal. It covers 82 hectares (200 acres).

## History

Due to the natural springs, Māori only visited the island.
Record of land purchase by the New Zealand Company, arriving on the Rosanna, dates to 23 September 1826. Rotoroa Island along with neighbouring Pakatoa Island and Pakihi Island were sold for one double-barreled gun, eight muskets, and one barrel of gunpowder. The deed was translated and co-signed by Thomas Kendall, and witnessed by three company men and 15 Māori.
The Salvation Army purchased it for £400 in 1908 from the Ruthe family to expand their alcohol and drug rehabilitation facility at nearby Pakatoa Island. Men were treated at Home Bay at Rotoroa, while women were treated at Pakatoa. This treatment facility was closed in 2005.
In 2008, philanthropists Neal and Annette Plowman negotiated a 99-year lease from the Salvation Army, establishing the Rotoroa Island Trust, and created a program of restoration and redevelopment, designed to return island access to the people of New Zealand. Rotoroa Island opened to the public for the first time in over 100 years in February 2011.
The Rotoroa Island Museum opened in 2009.

## Conservation

The Rotoroa Island Trust partnered with Auckland Zoo to establish the island as a conservation sanctuary. Due to the island's status as pest free, natives birds such as takahē, pāteke (brown teal), tīeke (saddleback), Grey-faced petrel, Weka and North Island brown kiwi were identified as suitable species for translocation to the island. Species such as the takehē, tieke, kiwi, popokotea, shore skinks, moko skinks, and pateke have all been translocated to the island as part of a wider endangered species breeding programme.

### Kiwi

Rotoroa Island is a creche site for Coromandel brown kiwi. The chicks are released on Rotoroa Island when they are just a few weeks old, weighing 250-300g and are able to grow up in the safety of the island. Every two years, Rotoroa Island does a kiwi muster for adult birds. Weighing about 1 kg, the mature kiwi are better able to defend themselves against predators such as stoats and feral cats. Some are returned to the Coromandel, while others are taken to nearby Motutapu Island to establish a new population.

### Takahē

The Takahē Recovery Programme, managed by the Department of Conservation, iwi and Fulton Hogan aims to protect and promote population growth of takahē. Rotorua Island has been identified as a safe site for takahē and is one of the locations working toward establishing 125 breeding pairs.

### Restoration programme

* Removing 22,000 pine trees
* Planting over 400,000 native New Zealand trees – over 25 different species (including 30,000 pōhutukawa)
* After an extensive pest eradication program, Rotoroa Island was pronounced predator free in 2014. This is one of the most successful eradications in New Zealand, removing over 300,000 mice through aerial bait drops.
* Currently Rotoroa Island has over 50 traps (doC 200) and 50 tracking tunnels as part of biosecurity monitoring.
* Restoring 3 holiday homes and a shared hostel accommodation, enabling public to stay overnight.
* Developing a museum by architect Rick Pearson which includes an exhibition on the island’s history.
* Commissioning a significant sculpture by NZ artist, Chris Booth; located at the island’s southern point.

## Flora

Kauri seedlings were donated to the trust and have since been planted in the forest above Ladies Bay wetlands.
Rotoroa Island is a carbon neutral island — all the trees planted are calculated to remove twice the carbon emitted.

## Climate

Climate data for Rotoroa Island (1981-2010) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.6 (72.7) | 23.4 (74.1) | 21.9 (71.4) | 19.5 (67.1) | 17.1 (62.8) | 14.9 (58.8) | 14 (57) | 14.4 (57.9) | 15.7 (60.3) | 17 (63) | 18.8 (65.8) | 21.1 (70.0) | 18.4 (65.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 19.7 (67.5) | 20.4 (68.7) | 19 (66) | 17 (63) | 14.8 (58.6) | 12.5 (54.5) | 11.5 (52.7) | 11.9 (53.4) | 13.1 (55.6) | 14.3 (57.7) | 16 (61) | 18.2 (64.8) | 15.7 (60.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 16.7 (62.1) | 17.5 (63.5) | 16.1 (61.0) | 14.6 (58.3) | 12.5 (54.5) | 10.2 (50.4) | 9.1 (48.4) | 9.3 (48.7) | 10.6 (51.1) | 11.7 (53.1) | 13.2 (55.8) | 15.4 (59.7) | 13.1 (55.5) |
| Source: NIWA ||||||||||||||