title: The Auckland smelting company

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: Mining in the Tui portion of the Te Aroha field was revived in 1948 by Benjamin John Dunsheath, a small businessman who had owned several private companies, none of them very successful, in a career marked by dubious business ethics. To develop the Tui mines he was assisted by others, only some of whom had mining skills. After defeating opposition from those concerned about possible pollution, prospecting, mostly for base metals, proceeded with reportedly encouraging results. In contrast to the success he anticipated from both mines and his planned smelting works, mining officials were much more cautious. 
To develop the ground, Dunsheath formed the Auckland Smelting Company, an under-capitalized company whose directors and shareholders lacked mining experience. Consequently, he obtained advice from outside experts and sought assistance, especially financial, from a mostly reluctant Mines Department, which considered the area worth prospecting but did not share his optimism. Most of the development was focused on driving a new level (no. 5) to strike the reefs, but because of inadequate preliminary surface and underground testing arguments arose about its correct direction, which would lead to the departure of their skilled mine manager, Bert McAra, especially after he was asked to provide misleading samples ‘for propaganda purposes’. Because by 1953 the results were disappointing and the reef had not been struck because the crosscut was being driven in the wrong direction, further government subsidies were refused, and in mid-year all work ceased after the company, despite several increases in its capital, ran out of money. Overseas capital was sought but was not interested. 
This company was an illustration of how not to mine an area lacking easily accessible high quality ore. With inadequate capital and inadequate prior prospecting, it struggled to develop its ground, and to attract investors and government assistance Dunsheath relied on providing incomplete and sometimes false information, causing ructions amongst the directors and disapproval from officials. Its collapse was inevitable from the start.

text: The Auckland smelting company Mining in the Tui portion of the Te Aroha field was revived in 1948 by Benjamin John Dunsheath, a small businessman who had owned several private companies, none of them very successful, in a career marked by dubious business ethics. To develop the Tui mines he was assisted by others, only some of whom had mining skills. After defeating opposition from those concerned about possible pollution, prospecting, mostly for base metals, proceeded with reportedly encouraging results. In contrast to the success he anticipated from both mines and his planned smelting works, mining officials were much more cautious. 
To develop the ground, Dunsheath formed the Auckland Smelting Company, an under-capitalized company whose directors and shareholders lacked mining experience. Consequently, he obtained advice from outside experts and sought assistance, especially financial, from a mostly reluctant Mines Department, which considered the area worth prospecting but did not share his optimism. Most of the development was focused on driving a new level (no. 5) to strike the reefs, but because of inadequate preliminary surface and underground testing arguments arose about its correct direction, which would lead to the departure of their skilled mine manager, Bert McAra, especially after he was asked to provide misleading samples ‘for propaganda purposes’. Because by 1953 the results were disappointing and the reef had not been struck because the crosscut was being driven in the wrong direction, further government subsidies were refused, and in mid-year all work ceased after the company, despite several increases in its capital, ran out of money. Overseas capital was sought but was not interested. 
This company was an illustration of how not to mine an area lacking easily accessible high quality ore. With inadequate capital and inadequate prior prospecting, it struggled to develop its ground, and to attract investors and government assistance Dunsheath relied on providing incomplete and sometimes false information, causing ructions amongst the directors and disapproval from officials. Its collapse was inevitable from the start.

year: 2016

title: Predator control improves nesting success in Waikato forest fragments

authors: Innes, John G.

subjects: artificial nests

abstract: Predation at nests contributes importantly to current declines of New Zealand forest birds. We monitored the survival of natural and artificial arboreal nests in small forest remnants south-west of Hamilton, where ship rat (Rattus rattus) and possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) abundances were also being measured in Summer 2008/09. Artificial cup nests (N = 77) were placed in replicated blocks with and without pest control, in both December and January. Natural nests (N = 11, five bird species) were observed from 13 October to 23 December 2008 in a forest with no pest control. Digital video cameras identified ship rats, brushtail possums and harrier hawks (Circus approximans) as predators of eggs and chicks. There was no difference between artificial and natural nests in daily survival rates monitored in December in a block with no pest control, suggesting that artificial nests are reasonable surrogates for natural nests. Bite marks on clay eggs, other diagnostic sign, and DNA swabbed from real and clay eggs confirmed ship rats and possums were the major introduced predators at artificial nests. Bite marks also confirmed that harriers contribute to nest failure. Removal of ship rats and possums in December improved the 14-day probability of survival of artificial nests, from P = 0.63 (95% CI 0.45–0.77) in the non-treatment block to P = 0.88 (0.74–0.95) in the treatment blocks. In January, the 14-day probability of survival in all three blocks was intermediate at 0.80 (0.69–0.87), and the variation between them could not be explained by including pest control in the model. The abundance of ship rats apparently declined even in the non-treatment block over this time, for unknown reasons. Our data from tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa) forest remnants confirm that control of ship rats and possums alone is sufficient to improve nesting success of small arboreal birds in North Island forests.

text: Predator control improves nesting success in Waikato forest fragments Predation at nests contributes importantly to current declines of New Zealand forest birds. We monitored the survival of natural and artificial arboreal nests in small forest remnants south-west of Hamilton, where ship rat (Rattus rattus) and possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) abundances were also being measured in Summer 2008/09. Artificial cup nests (N = 77) were placed in replicated blocks with and without pest control, in both December and January. Natural nests (N = 11, five bird species) were observed from 13 October to 23 December 2008 in a forest with no pest control. Digital video cameras identified ship rats, brushtail possums and harrier hawks (Circus approximans) as predators of eggs and chicks. There was no difference between artificial and natural nests in daily survival rates monitored in December in a block with no pest control, suggesting that artificial nests are reasonable surrogates for natural nests. Bite marks on clay eggs, other diagnostic sign, and DNA swabbed from real and clay eggs confirmed ship rats and possums were the major introduced predators at artificial nests. Bite marks also confirmed that harriers contribute to nest failure. Removal of ship rats and possums in December improved the 14-day probability of survival of artificial nests, from P = 0.63 (95% CI 0.45–0.77) in the non-treatment block to P = 0.88 (0.74–0.95) in the treatment blocks. In January, the 14-day probability of survival in all three blocks was intermediate at 0.80 (0.69–0.87), and the variation between them could not be explained by including pest control in the model. The abundance of ship rats apparently declined even in the non-treatment block over this time, for unknown reasons. Our data from tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa) forest remnants confirm that control of ship rats and possums alone is sufficient to improve nesting success of small arboreal birds in North Island forests.

year: 2015

title: Have you heard of Hinehau? A research journey of reclamation

authors: Wakefield, Sandy

subjects: Te Tai Tokerau

abstract: As the Māori political and cultural movement continues to grow, issues of representation, power, and control are critiqued by Māori minds.
After discovering a tribal myth about the mana of a woman known as Hinehau, a chain reaction of enquiry develops into the reclamation of tribal knowledge.
By investigating the historical context surrounding the narrative of Hinehau, her story transcends the fairy-tale myth she was confined to, and exposes the rendering down of her story.
Under the umbrella of Western science, European and Pākehā historical archives created an enduring legacy of “Māori myth” that is synonymous with falsehood. Through the assertation of tribal oral tradition and connecting our experiences to our missing histories, Hinehau is relocated. The Hinehau story renews through reconnecting to mātauranga Māori, Ngāpuhi kōrero tuku iho and the creativity of the researcher. In this process, her story renews.
With the guidance of hapū members, mentors, and a diversity of literature, the narrative of Hinehau becomes a part of a much larger inter-tribal narrative held within an ancestral landscape which is sometimes hard to recognise in whenua we no longer have tribal autonomy over. Our Indigenous identity is still under threat as we are still “othered” in our tribal lands. This work contributes to pushing the envelope of what it means to think, exist, and challenge as tangata whenua in Aotearoa, where traditional tribal roles have been minimalised in society, or disappeared through generations of the colonial project (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012).

text: Have you heard of Hinehau? A research journey of reclamation As the Māori political and cultural movement continues to grow, issues of representation, power, and control are critiqued by Māori minds.
After discovering a tribal myth about the mana of a woman known as Hinehau, a chain reaction of enquiry develops into the reclamation of tribal knowledge.
By investigating the historical context surrounding the narrative of Hinehau, her story transcends the fairy-tale myth she was confined to, and exposes the rendering down of her story.
Under the umbrella of Western science, European and Pākehā historical archives created an enduring legacy of “Māori myth” that is synonymous with falsehood. Through the assertation of tribal oral tradition and connecting our experiences to our missing histories, Hinehau is relocated. The Hinehau story renews through reconnecting to mātauranga Māori, Ngāpuhi kōrero tuku iho and the creativity of the researcher. In this process, her story renews.
With the guidance of hapū members, mentors, and a diversity of literature, the narrative of Hinehau becomes a part of a much larger inter-tribal narrative held within an ancestral landscape which is sometimes hard to recognise in whenua we no longer have tribal autonomy over. Our Indigenous identity is still under threat as we are still “othered” in our tribal lands. This work contributes to pushing the envelope of what it means to think, exist, and challenge as tangata whenua in Aotearoa, where traditional tribal roles have been minimalised in society, or disappeared through generations of the colonial project (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012).

year: 2021