Well deserved

Congratulations to Dick Veitch, who was created an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2023 New Year Honours List for services to wildlife conservation.

Dick has had a long association with Tiritiri Matangi, dating back to before the Department of Conservation was formed. In 1973, as the NZ Wildlife Service’s protected fauna officer for Auckland, he got permission to release kākāriki/redcrowned parakeet on both Tiritiri Matangi and Cuvier Islands. The kākāriki was the first bird species to be reintroduced to Tiritiri Matangi, 10 years before the planting programme began in 1984.

– Anne Rimmer

Obituary

Robert “Bob” McHardy (86) became involved with Tiritiri Matangi initially as a guide when he retired, then with the watchtower. His wife, Carole, worked in the shop. Thanks to a small inheritance, Bob donated a video microscope to the Visitor Centre in 2014 to help with the education programme. He’s shown here watching a group of children playing with the new technology.