sign in sign up
<<
Home , Auckland Province, Kaimanawa Range, Nelson Province, Paraparaumu, Rangitaiki River, Ruahine Range

NEW ZEALAND FOREST SERVICE

Information Series No. 55 RED DEER LIBERATION POINTS

-----MOUNT CAMEL 1912

------·-··------PAIHIA 1903

TAURANGA 1912, 15, 16.

LAKE ROTO-ITI 1907, 14. 15.16.17. 18, 19, 21 ----->lr------LAKE OKATAINA 1916, 17. 19. 22 ----~~------·---\->> v LAKE OKAREKA 1905. 08.12,13.14. 15, 16, 17, 11! 21 ---1------

TE KUITI 1920, 21 ------

TAUMARANUI 1913. 14, 15, 16, 17. 18, 19, 22 TOKAANU 1911, 12, 14, 1s. 16, 17 -----"=""------·------TONGARIRO 1897, 1906 ---F---- RUAPEHU 1906 -----e 1885, 1912, 13, 14, 18, 19, 2\ 23 SOUTH KAIMANAWA 1918, 21-+------­ EREWHON STATION 1902, 04 -"'"-.------~ MATAPIRO STATION 1883, 1911 ___, ______MANGAWEKA -----e • APITI 192l!------~----~"<:----. §' .; 1 2 2 ~~~~G~~~- 2 t _~~~~~~~-----==~--r--.;p J ---- -MANGATAINOKA 1904 KAHUTERAWA 1901, 02, 03, 18------;---e r------PAHIATUA 1916, 18, 2:1 SHANNON 1912, 13, 14 ------+-. ----F---- EKETAHUNA 1904, 07. 09. 11· OHAU 1907, 11, 20------tG ,.;(:""_-=::=;t_======-=~~~~G~9111063, 98, 19Gq 10 PARAPARAUMU 1899, 1900. 07, oa, 11, 13, 17, 10, 19, 26 "l-'11!;;;------f-----TARARUA 1887, 9q 1907, 17 ~--iL------MANGATERERE 1906, 11 ~--1------WAIOHINE 1917, 18 ------TAUHERENIKAU 1906, 07, 11 ZOOLOGICAL GA.RDENS-~•ine' '"------+------RIMUTAKA 1895, 96, 1904, 13, 16 1895, 96, 1904, 13, 16 ___ ------TE AWHAITE 1914, 15 ------TORA 1916. 17 WAINUl-0-MATA 1897, 98, 1904, 11, 12,19

REFERENCE SCALE OF MILES • GAME PARKS 71 lO llljl .. tlBERATION POINTS 0 MAIN CENTRES Introduction and Establishment of Red Deer in New Zealand

By P. C. Logan, Field Inspector, and L. H. Harris, Private

Hunting Officer, New Zealand Forest Service

.-ral of Forests

'::LLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND NEW ZEALAND FOREST SERVICE INFORMATION SERIES NO. 55 O.D.C. 149.6 CervHs elaphus (931): 156.1

Inset 1 Preface The authors list some 220 separate and distinct liberations of red deer (Cervus elaphus), involving more than 820 animals. Even though all known references, including little-known early Government department files, were searched, many liberations, official and otherwise, have undoubtedly escaped recording and may never be traced. Because of inadequate documentation by authorities in the past, only fragmented reports and records now exist. However, the information contained in this booklet should serve as an authoritative basis for future research by others. It is planned to follow this publication with others dealing with the dispersal of red deer, the ecology of the animal, including its impact on the native flora, and a history of past and present control operations. It would help the authors greatly if anyone possessing information on the early red deer herds could get in touch with them. CONTENTS Page Protected to Problem Animal 7 Interest in Red Deer 7 Liberation of Red Deer and Establishment of Herds 8 Liberations 8 I. Nelson Herd 8 2. Langleydale Herd 10 3. Avondale Herd 10 4. Poulter Herd 11 5. Herd 11 6. North Canterbury 12 7. Buller Herd 12 8. Herd 13 9. Mt. Tuhua Herd 13 10. Lake Kaniere Herd 13 11. Hawea Flat Herd 14 12. Bushey Park Herd 15 13. Wakatipu Herd 15 14. Pomahaka Herd 15 15. Waikaia Herd 16 16. Upper Pomahaka Herd 16 17. Lake Herd 16 18. Lake Hauroko Herd 17 19. Lill burn Valley Herd 17 20. Stewart Island Herd 18 21. Fiordland Herd 18 22. Telford's Waiwera Enclosure 19 23. Dunedin Botanical Gardens 19 North Island Liberations 20 24. .. 20 25. Bay oflslands 20 26. Rangaunu Bay 20 27. Tauranga Acclimatisation Society 20 28. Herd 21 29. Herd 21 30. Tokaanu Herd 21 31. Tongariro Herd 22 32. Kaimanawa Herd 22

Inset 1* 33. Western Ruahine Herd 22 34. Eastern Ruahine Herd 23 35. Ruahine Reserve Herd 24 36. Galatea Herd 24 37. Herd .. 25 38. Lake Okareka Herd 25 39. Lake Okataina Herd 26 40. Whakatane Herd 26 41. Waimana Gorge Herd 27 42. Te Whaite Herd 27 43. Lake Waikaremoana Herd 27 44. Wairoa Herd 28 45. Mahia Herd 28 46. Wainuiomata Reserve 29 47. Paraparaumu Reserve 29 48. Paraparaumu Game Park 30 49. Herd 32 50. Rimutaka Herd 33 51. Tararua Herd 33 52. East Wairarapa Herd 35 Acknowledgments 36 References 36 Protected to Problem Animal

As one of New Zealand's major problem animals, and as the most numerous and widespread of the recognised trophy animals, the red deer holds some interest for virtually all New Zealanders. From our attempt to record the introduction, establishment, and spread of red deer it has become plain that an extremely versatile animal was introduced-one cap­ able of adapting to a wide range of habitat and one which has extended its range despite man's attempts at control. During the past century red deer have been fostered, protected, and persecuted. Early legislation encouraged their liberation, spread, and increase without thought of the consequences, but over the last 30 years they have been slaughtered in tens of thousands each year.

Interest in Deer

During the mid-nineteenth century the keeping of deer in private parks became very popular in England. Ecomonic and social conditions favoured this hobby and many a well-to-do Victorian "fortified his sense of social standing by possessing a deer park" (Whitehead, 1950). Quite naturally, therefore, the newly arrived landowner-pioneer in New Zealand set about emulating his kinsman at "Home". However, in the young, under popu­ lated colony of New Zealand there was abundant scope for doing things on a bigger scale and deer parks were rarely attempted, because it was much easier, and more impressive, to establish "deer forests". The first introductions of deer were gifts from the "Old Country" park owners to their kinsmen or friends in the new colony. This close relation­ ship between donor and receiver is well known and some instances, such as Lord Petre's gifts, are documented by Donne (1924)*. Donne writes: "When the historian delves amongst the correspondence concerning the infancy of New Zealand he may perhaps find the name of the man who prompted the introduction of red deer into Wellington and Canterbury districts". On the introduction of Scottish deer, Donne comments: "The fact that someone had exchanged correspondence with 'Lord Panmure's keeper' on the subject of deer for New Zealand several years before their shipment, indicates, I think, that the New Zealander had some knowledge oflnvermark. In all probability he was a Forfarshire man". *Donne, T. E. "The Game Animals of New Zealand".

7 In similar vein, Donne records that "Lord Petre, of Thorndon Hall, Essex, at the instance of the Hon W. E. Petre, who was then a settler in Nelson, presented a stag and a hind in 1850". (Lord Petre also sent deer to Nelson in 1861.) He mentions also that "H.R.H. The Prince Consort, in 1853, through Lord John Russell, the Royal Ranger, presented from the Royal Park at Richmond, a stag and hind"; that in 1862 " ... six red deer, two stags and four hinds, which were presented to the people of New Zealand by the late Prince Consort", were shipped to New Zealand; and further that: "In 1870 seventeen red deer calves were presented to the Acclimatisation Society of Dunedin from Invermark Forest, Forfarshire, Scotland, by the eleventh Earl of Dalhousie."

Liberation of Red Deer and Establishment of Herds

In assembling data on the liberation and establishment of red deer in New Zealand one is hampered by lack of continuity and both by repetition and omissions in the records. Knowledge of unauthorised liberations of captured calves is difficult to obtain. The section on liberations therefore cannot be considered complete; much remains to be done in tracking down the exact locations of official liberations, in checking acclimatisation societies' records to find the source of deer liberated, and in gathering local information on unrecorded or illegal liberations. Often we could find no record of the liberation or eventual fate of deer known to have been held by acclimatisation societies. This was probably often a deliberate omission to avoid poaching. Despite the limitations referred to, the record of liberations given here is the result of intensive research and is thought to provide a substantially accurate picture of the establishment of all the herds with which it deals. As liberations began in the South Island, liberations there will be listed first.

SOUTH ISLAND LIBERATIONS 1. Nelson Herd (Nelson Hills) Liberations-1851: One stag from Lord' Petre's herd, Thorndon Hall, Essex; a hind shipped at the same time died en route (Donne, 1924). 1854: One stag from Royal Richmond Park; again a hind died en route (Donne, 1924). 1861 : One stag and two hinds from Thorndon Hall (Donne, 1924). 1899: One stag (Donne, 1924). 1903: Two Wairarapa stags (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). 1910: Three Warnham Court (Sussex) stags (Donne, 1924). 1922: One two-year-old Warnham Court stag from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Nelson Acc. Soc. records). Establishment-There is some difference between Donne and Thomson* as *Thomson, Hon. G. M. "The Naturalisation of Plants and Animals in New Zealand".

8 New Zealand's Most Historic Red Deer Head

N.Z. Forest Service (J.H. Johns, A .R.P.S.)

This is the controversial "Petre head'', purported to be from one of the first three stags released in New Zealand (Nelso n) between l 851 and l 86 1. Whether or not the antlers are from the 185 1, 1854, or 186 1 stags wi ll probably never be completely confirmed. T . E. Donne records that the skeleton was fo und near the Dun Mountains, Nelson, about 1874. The head was subsequently mounted with a skin from a Wairarapa stag and displayed at many ex hibitions. Donne says: " ... it is generall y believed in Nelson that this was the stag received from [Lord Petrel Thorndon Hall, Essex, in 1851." Mr Newton McConochie, Nelson, in whose possession the head remained for several years, believes that it is the stag which arrived in 1861 and which was also a gift from Lord Petre. Regardless ol its uncertain ancestry, it remains an extremely historic and interesting head, particularly because of the bifurcated tines, wh ich some say are hereditary and relatively common among Nelson stags.

9 to the locations of the 1851and1854 stags at the time of the 1861 liberation. Donne says that the 1851 stag and the 1861 deer were liberated at Nelson Hills, but he does not mention the whereabouts of the 1854 stag in 1861. Thomson claims that the 1854 stag joined the 1861 deer. Whatever the facts, this herd consisted mainly of Thorndon Hall strain deer. The new blood introduced by the Scottish (Otago) stag 38 years later, by the Wairarapa stags 42 years later, and by the Warnham Court deer 49 and 61 years later could have had little effect in changing the strain. Locally these later introductions may have passed on their characteristics, but even at the time of the Otago introduction red deer were spread over much of and up to 100 licences to shoot were issued each year. By 1912 deer were increasing at Collingwood; by 1916 they had pene­ trated south to Hanmer Forest and were causing damage in the young plantation of exotic trees. This herd had a very rapid rate of extension of territory. During the 55 years from 1861 to 1916 the herd travelled about 90 air miles, but a much greater actual distance on the ground. Caughley (1963) gives the dispersal rate of the Nelson herd as 1.0 miles per year, but the writers consider this figure extremely conservative. There is no record of the location of the Otago-Scottish or Warnham Court liberations, except that they were in "secluded areas" (Nelson Acc. Soc. records). The Wairarapa stags were liberated in the Motupiko district. One stag and one doe* were secured in 1912 and placed in a park, and efforts were made (unsuccessfully) to obtain an Otago stag (Nelson Acc. Soc. records). Undoubtedly many liberations are not recorded; for example, it is known that in 1903 deer were interchanged between the Aniseed, Wakapuaka, and Motupiko districts (Nelson Acc. Soc. records).

2. Langleydale Herd (, North Bank) Liberation-1890s: One stag and three hinds caught in Nelson (Donne, 1924). Establishment-It is thought these deer increased and crossed the river to the more open tussock land of the south bank of the Wairau near the junction of the Waihopai and Wairau Rivers.

3. Avondale Herd (Birch Hill, Waihopai Valley) Liberation-1911: Three Otago-Scottish stags (Otago Acc. Soc. records). ? : Two stags imported by D. Lester, Malvern, Avon Valley (A. Hood, pers. comm.). Establishment-The three stags liberated in 1917 were removed from W. Telford's enclosure at Clifton, Waiwera, to make room for Warnham Court deer it was proposed to cross with Otago deer (Otago Acc. Soc. records). It is very likely that deer were established in the Waihopai Valley

*The term used in the Nelson Acc. Soc. records. It is not known if the female was a red deer; in New Zealand "doe" is used for female Virginian deer and fallow deer only, the females of all other species being referred to as "binds".

10 before the Marlborough Acclimatisation Society liberated the three stags. These deer would almost certainly have been of Thorndon Hall strain un­ less there was a liberation before 1917, as Langleydale is opposite the mouth of the Waihopai River where it joins the . Hood (pers. comm.) says that one of Lester's two stags was shot on Langleydale the year after it was liberated. It is thought that deer from this liberation colonised the Upper Awatere Valley country to the south and the western flanks of the Inward Kaikoura Range. However, it is probable that there were liberations in other than those recorded here.

4. Poulter Herd (Mt. White Station, Waimakariri Valley) Liberations-1908: Two stags and six hinds of Warnham Court strain (North Canterbury Acc. Soc. records). 1909: Two stags and six hinds of Warnham Court strain (North Canterbury Acc. Soc. records). Establishment-These deer were obtained from F.M. Lucas of Warnham Court, Horsham, Sussex. By 1917, eight to nine years after the liberation, it was suspected that deer had crossed the into Craigie­ burn Run. There were still a number of deer on Mt. White Station in 1919, but it was thought that the herd had moved eastwards to the ranges (Puketeraki Range) near . Several good heavy heads were shot in 1922, and at that time it seemed that the Rakaia and Poulter herds had intermixed at Castle Hill, Flock Hill, and Grassmere Stations (North Canterbury Acc. Soc. records). In 1923 many good heads having a wonder­ ful growth of horn were shot in the Esk Valley. A survey of the upper Waimakariri showed that there were deer as far up as the White tributary (North Canterbury Acc. Soc. records). By 1924 protection was removed from deer on the eastern side of the Puketeraki Range, and the Rakaia herd was heavily culled. There seems to be no mention of the Poulter herd after protection was removed from most of the area it ranged over. Deer from this herd probably reached the Hurunui River about the same time as the southward-moving Nelson deer and mixed with them somewhere about there.

5. Rakaia Herd (Manuka Point, , Canterbury) Liberations-1897: Three stags, five hinds, and one calf from Stoke Park Herd, Slough, Buckinghamshire (Donne, 1924). 1902: One stag from Nelson herd. Shot after one season (Donne, 1924; North Canterbury Acc. Soc. records). Establishment-The introduction of the Nelson stag can have had little effect on the herd, as he was with it for only a short time. The herd is therefore predominantly of Stoke Park strain, that of "one of the most renowned deer parks of England" (Donne, 1924). These deer were appar­ ently heavy animals that did not use the higher ground, as, for instance, did the Otago-Scottish deer. Harold Hodgkinson of Lake Hawea commented

11 on this and said the deer were well established and covered a wide range of country (Donne, 1924). Eventually they moved north, south, and west: north to the Craigieburn Range, where they met deer of the Poulter herd about 1917; south to Forest Creek at the head of the , where they were very numerous in 1922 (South Canterbury Acc. Soc. annual report, 1923); and west into Westland down the Hokitika and Whitcombe valleys, where this strain is firmly established. It is probable that the Rakaia herd met and mixed with the Hawea herd around the Godley Valley about 1922 or later.

6. North Canterbury Donne (1924) records that deer were liberated unsuccessfully round , Cheviot, and Little River (Akaroa) before they were liberated successfully in the Rakaia and Poulter areas. There is no mention of these earlier liberations in annual reports of the North Canterbury and Nelson Acclimatisation Societies, but this does not rule out the possibility that some were obtained from Otago, Wairarapa, or Nelson calf-catching expeditions. Donne may have confused early fallow deer liberations (which were unsuccessful in North Canterbury) with liberations of red deer.

7. Buller Herd Liberations-1905: One stag and five binds from W. Chirnside's Werribee Park, Victoria, Australia (Buller Acclimatisation Society; L. T. Pracy pers. comm.). 1905: One stag and five hinds from Werribee Park. (This is additional to the liberation above.) (Buller Acc. Soc.; L. T. Pracy pers. comm.). 1907: One stag (died) and one hind from Nelson (Buller Acc. Soc.; L. T. Pracy pers. comm.). 1907: One yearling from Nelson (Buller Acc. Soc.; L. T. Pracy pers. comm.). 1907: One hind and calf from Westport (Buller Acc. Soc.; L. T. Pracy pers. comm.). 1908: One hind from Nelson. (Buller Acc. Soc.; L. T. Pracy pers. comm.). 1909: Six deer from Werribee Park. (Buller Acc. Soc.; L. T. Pracy pers. comm.). 1913: Two stags and four hinds from Otago (Buller Acc. Soc.; L. T. Pracy pers. comm.). 1913: Two stags and one female calf (Buller Acc. Soc.; L. T. Pracy pers. comm.). 1913: Two stags and one yearling (Buller Acc. Soc.; L. T. Pracy pers. comm.). 1913: Two deer, sex unknown. (Buller Acc. Soc.; L. T. Pracy pers. comm.).

12 1923: Two stags and one hind of Warnham x Windsor strain were liberated on the (Wellington Acc. Soc.). (These deer were from the Paraparaumu Game Park.) Establishrnent-These deer were liberated round Addison's Flat, German Terrace, The Loopline, Shamrock Creek, and Mountain Creek on the Buller River below Inangahua Junction. The Paparoa Range was colonised by the progeny of this assemblage of red deer strains. M. Rosnowski of Reefton (pers. comm.) considers that the strains have not intermixed to the stage where no physical differences are discernible. He has shot very heavy, dark-coated deer near Inangahua which are different from other deer in the area. Today the Paparoa Range holds quite high numbers of deer, including fallow, which were also established there. Liberations at The Loopline, which is on the north side of the Buller River, would have led to colonisation of the Mt. Rochfort Range behind Westport and Denniston.

8. Greymouth Herd Liberation-1898: Three calves from J. Martin's property, Martinborough· Donated by the Tourist Department (Donne, 1924). M. Rosnowski, Reefton, has heard of a liberation in Strand Creek, Reefton (pers. comm.). Establishment-From what little is known it would appear that this was a minor liberation which did not produce a fast-growing herd. It is not known where the deer were liberated, but the Grey River, with its large tributaries, must be considered a logical site. These deer might also have spread into part of Taramakau County.

9. Mt. Tuhua Herd (North of Lake Kaniere, Hokitika) Liberations-1903: Seven calves of Werribee Park strain by the Tourist Department (Tourist Department records). 1906: Four deer of the same strain by the Tourist Depart­ ment (Tourist Department records). Establishment- See notes on the Lake Kaniere herd.

10. Lake Kaniere Herd (Lake Kaniere, Hokitika) Liberation-1906: Eight deer of Werribee Park strain by the Tourist Department (Tourist Department records). Establishment-As Mt. Tuhua is on the northern side of Lake Kaniere the 1906 liberations (9 and 10) were so close together that they must be considered as one and the same. Trophy hunting in the forests bordering the lake was a recognised sport in the early 1920s. This herd undoubtedly spread up the Hokitika catchment and other catchments north and south of Lake Kaniere.

13 Photo by courtesy of National Publicity Studios

T. E. Donne, C .M.G. (1860- 1945), who was General Manager of the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts during the period of greatest activity by the Government in deer introduction and liberation.

11. Hawea Flat Herd (Morven Hills, Lake Hawea, Otago) Liberations-1871: Two stags and six hinds of Invermark Forest strain at Timaru Creek, Lake Hawea, by the Otago Acclimatisation Society (Donne, 1924). 1895: Two stags from A. Blackwood, Victoria; one shot in 1901 , one died after liberation on the Lindis River (Otago Acc. Soc. records). 1896 : Timaru Creek. Number and sex unknown. 1900 : Two stags from the W airarapa at Timaru Creek (Otago Acc. Soc. records). 1900: One stag from Raby Park, England, at Longslip, Lindis (Otago Acc. Soc. records). 1913: Four stags from Scotland. Establishment-For 24 years the Hawea-Scottish deer increased and spread north-west up the Hunter Valley. As the surviving Blackwood stag stayed five seasons in the Timaru Creek - Dingle Creek area, his effect on the herd co uld only have been local. Nor could the introduction in 1900 of the Raby Park stag and the two Wairarapa stags have had any effect on the herd, which was living mainly in the Hunter Valley and spreading westward into the Makarora Valley. Major R. A. Wilson, in his book My Stalking Memories, says : " . .. no new blood was introduced into the Morven Hills herd for 25 years and in the meantime it had spread far and wide, and isolated strange stags on the outskirts would have !lo chance of influencing the main herd."

14 The 1910 annual report of the Otago Acclimatisation Society states: "The red deer herd originally liberated at Morven Hills is spreading as far as. the Makarora Valley, and into the Haast Valley towards the sea coast in the Westland Province". About 1922 this herd would probably have been as far north as Lake Tekapo, and in 1924 Major Wilson "found plenty of well worn tracks of deer" (in the Clarke Valley). Later he stalked the Burke and Macfarlane Valleys, where by the early 1930s deer were being culled.

12. Bushey Park Herd (Bushey Park, near Palmerston) Liberation-1871: Nine Invermark (Scottish) calves (Donne, 1924). Establishment-Evidently this herd increased slowly and spread to the Horse Range and thence to the Kakanui Mountains behind Hampden (Otago Acc. Soc. records). Later, deer moved north-west and linked up with the Hawea herd near the Lindis Pass (Donne, 1924). This herd probably colonised most of Central Otago, though strangely no damage by deer was ever reported from Naseby Plantation, which would lie just to the south of the line of movement of deer working from Bushey Park towards Lindis Pass. The Otago Acclimatisation Society reported in 1913: " ... we have other red deer herds coming on, viz, in the Otama district and at the head of the Dunstan, which next year will probably be able to carry a limited number of stalkers."

13. Herd (Glenorchy, Central Otago) Liberations-1902: Eight deer from Werribee Park (Donne, 1924). 1903: Eight deer from Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, England (Thomson 1922). Liberated by the Tourist Depart­ ment. 1905: Dart River. Number unknown. It is quite possible that there is some error in the recording ofliberations, as neither Donne nor the annual reports of the Tourist Department or of the Otago or Southland Acclimatisation Societies mention a liberation of Woburn Abbey deer. It is recorded only in Thomson's book The Naturalisation of Animals and Plants in New Zealand, though he gives no source for his information. Establishment-The Lake Wakatipu herd dispersed westward over the Barrier Mountains to Big Bay-it probably fused with the Hawea herd somewhere along the Arawhata River to the north-and moved south to the Ailsa Mountains near the Milford Tunnel.

14. Pomahaka Herd (Pomahaka Valley, Kelso, Southland) Liberations-1902: Two stags and four hinds of Werribee Park strain (Otago Acc. Soc. records). 1903: Upper Pomahaka, number unknown. 1904: Three stags and 10 hinds from Sir Rupert Clarke, Victoria (Southland Acc. Soc. records).

15 1919: Four stags and 10 hinds by W. Telford, Waiwera (Otago Acc. Soc. records). 1920: Three stags and four hinds by W. Telford, Waiwera (Otago Acc. Soc. records). Establishment-The 1909 annual report of the Lands and Survey Depart­ ment stated: ". . . the presence of deer on the local plantations (Dusky Forest) made it necessary to obtain a permit to destroy same ...". In 1911, 1912, 1913, and even as late as 1920 damage by deer in this plant­ ation is recorded by the Lands and Survey Department. (See also 16, Upper Pomahaka Herd.)

15. Waikaia Herd (Argyle Station, Waikaia, Southland) Liberations-1919: Four stags and 10 hinds by W. Telford, Waiwera (Otago Acc. Soc. records). 1920: Two stags and four hinds by W. Telford, Waiwera (Otago Acc. Soc. records). 1921: Three young deer from Dunedin Botanical Gardens (Otago Acc. Soc. records). Establishment-All these deer were bred in Telford's enclosure, Clifton, Waiwera. In 1914 one stag and six hinds were received from Warnham Court. Two hinds were placed in the Botanical Gardens, and the stag and four hinds, with their progeny, in the care of Telford (Otago Acc. Soc. records). The Warnham Court deer were crossed with Hawea­ Scottish deer, and all liberations round Waikaia were of this mixed strain. However, so close were they to the earlier Pomahaka liberation that the Otago Acclimatisation Society called this one herd the Upper Pomahaka.

16. Upper Pomahaka Herd (Kelso, Southland) Liberations-1898: One stag and two hinds from Nelson (history of the Southland Acc. Soc., 1928). 1899: One stag from Lake Hawea Station (history of the Southland Acc. Soc., 1928). Establishment-Though some Waikaia deer may have spread west towards Lumsden and the Takitimu Range, the main herd probably spread to the Umbrella Mountains and north-west towards Kingston, at the southern end of Lake Wakatipu, and along the Carrick Range towards Cromwell.

17. Herd (The Monument, Lake Manapouri, Southland)

Liberations-1901: Number and sex unknown. 1904: Three stags and 10 hinds from Sir Rupert Clarke, Victoria (Southland Acc. Soc. records). 1905: Seven stags and 10 hinds from Sir Rupert Clarke (history of Southland Acc. Soc., 1928). 1910 (25 June): Hope Arm, Manapouri, number unknown (Tourist Department Records).

16 Establishment-These appear to have been the only Lake Manapouri liberations, from which grew the herds which colonised the Lake Mana­ pouri country and, further north, the Livingstone and Eyre Mountains. These deer may also have worked eastwards to the western flanks of the Takitimu Range. In a letter dated 25 June 1910 J. B. C. Dore of Manapouri told the Southland Acclimatisation Society: "I have visited the head of Hope Arm where the deer were liberated. On this occasion I sighted only 4 or 5 head, all young deer, which goes to prove that the deer are increasing. I have, on previous occasions, seen some fairly good heads. Deer tracks are numerous. At the same time, I am of the opinion that 100 head would more than cover the total number in this locality extending, say, 6 miles south. The deer appear to be spreading in a southerly direction from Manapouri, as I find no tracks or traces of them along the lakeside. There is very little open country where the deer are and I daresay this accounts for them making south. I do not think the number and class of heads sufficient to warrant the Government opening the park for deer­ stalking for some time."

18. Lake Hauroko Herd (The Hump, Lake Hauroko, Southland) Liberations-1901. One stag and five hinds from Victoria (history of the Southland Acc. Soc., 1928). 1904: 10 deer from Sir Rupert Clarke, Victoria (Southland Acc. Soc. records). (One stag and eight hinds according to Otago Acc. Soc. records.) Establishment-The Southland Acclimatisation Society's 1904 annual report states: " ... there are still 17 stags to come from Victoria, and we are trying to arrange to have them sent over next spring". Whether these arrived and were liberated is not kno~n. As the Hump is on the southern end of Lake Hauroko, these deer were probably the ancestors of the present Princess Range and Cameron Mountains herds of south-west Fiordland.

19. Lillburn Valley Herd (Davis Flat, Lillburn Valley, , Southland Liberations-1901: Two stags and five hinds: four deer from Nelson and three from A. Blackwood, Melbourne (Southland Acc. Soc. records). 1901: 10 deer of the Nelson herd by the Southland Acc. Soc. (Wodzicki, 1950). The Southland Acclimatisation Society's annual reports state: 1899: " ... it was understood that efforts would be persevered with" [to obtain deer]. 1900: Report not available. 1901: " ... to the four deer already in the deer enclosure as mentioned in our last report have been added three more, obtained from Melbourne through the kind offices of the Otago Society by favour of Mr A. Black­ wood." (It is thought the original four were Nelson deer.) .

17 Wodzicki* gives as his reference a booklet "Acclimatisation in South­ land". Generally, Southland liberations were also noted in Otago Acclimatis­ ation Society reports, as this society supplied most of the deer to Southland. There is no mention in the records of either society which we have been able to study of 10 deer being received from Nelson. Establishment-Thomson (1922) quotes E. Hardcastle, who wrote a report on the red deer herds of New Zealand in 1906, as follows: "In 1900 a herd, descended from Nelson deer, was started in the Lillburn Valley, west of the in Southland." This herd colonised the Lillburn Valley, and Rowallan Forest and no doubt worked north to .

20. Stewart Island Herd (Freshwater River, Paterson Inlet, Stewart Island) Liberations-1901: Six Wairarapa calves by Tourist Department (Thom­ son, 1922). 1902: 12 deer from Werribee Park, Victoria (Thomson, 1922; history of the Southland Acc. Soc., 1928). 1902: Four Wairarapa calves (Tourist Department records). 1902: Six deer of unknown strain (Tourist Department records). Donne (1924) records only three Wairarapa calves as being liberated in 1901 and makes no mention of any 1902 liberations. However, the 1902 annual report of the Tourist Department states " ... during last year (1901) six red deer were liberated at Lake Waikaremoana in the same locality as the previous lots and 10 on Stewart Island, six of the latter being obtained from Victoria." It appears, therefore, that this liberation was of six Victorian deer and four Wairarapa deer. Establishment-From all reports the red deer colonised the higher forest slopes and the limited amount of top country while Virginian deer, liberated in 1905, colonised the coastal forest. Density was highest in the northern and western parts of the island.

21. Fiordland Herd (Seaforth River, Dusky Sound, Fiordland) Liberation-1909: Three deer from Paraparaumu Deer Park by the Tourist Department (Donne 1924) (Tourist Department records). The history of Southland Acclimatisation Society (1928) records that the three deer liberated were Warnham Court deer. In 1908 Warnham Court deer were received at Paraparaumu, but owing to the change from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere, they did not breed regularly until 1910 (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). One calf was dropped by a Warnham hind in 1909, but it would probably have been retained, as it was hoped to build up a Warnham-strain breeding herd. It seems likely, therefore, that the three deer released at Dusky Sound in 1909 were all progeny ofWairarapa hinds held in the enclosure since 1907. *Wodzicki, K. A. "Introduced Mammals of New Zea:land".

18 Photo by courtesy of Alexander Turnbull Library G.S.S. Hinemoa, which was origina ll y intended as the Governor's yacht but was used as a lighthouse tender and for transporting deer to remote liberation sites until 1922.

Establishment- This herd worked up the Seaforth Valley and south to the headwaters of rivers draining to Long Sound and Lakes Hauroko and Poteriteri.

22. Telford's Waiwera Enclosure (Clifton, Waiwera, Southland) In.troductions-*1914: One stag and four hinds from Warnham Court (Otago Acc. Soc. records). 1914: Otago deer were also held in the enclosure (Otago Acc. Soc. records). Breeding- "It is our intention'', says the 1915 annual report of the Otago Acclimatisation Society, "to keep the Warnham Court deer in enclosure until the result of their cross with the Scottish deer in Mr Telford's Park is demonstrated . . . if the deer have to be liberated your Council have in view a suitable locality where they would be isolated from other herds in our district." The Otago Society also records the sending of Scottish strain deer to the Marlborough and Wellington societies in 1917.

23. Botanical Gardens Enclosure (Dunedin Botanical Gardens) In.troductions- tl914: Two Warnham Court hinds (Otago Acc. Soc. records). Breeding- These binds were evidently crossed with Otago-Scottish stags, as in 1916 the Otago Acclimatisation Society reported: " . .. the number of deer (seven) at the Botanical Gardens having outgrown the accom­ modation afforded by the enclosure there, your Council have presented four of them to the zoo at Wellington, viz. a Scottish hind, her stag calf, *See Waikaia and Pomahaka liberations for the eventual disposal of these deer in 1919- 21. ·j·See Waikaia liberations.

19 and a stag and hind calf from the two Warnham Court hinds." The society in 1917 recorded: "Red deer at the Botanical Gardens ... one stag Scottish blood, two hinds Warnham Court strain, and two fawns from this cross." And in 1921: "During the year these deer were removed to a new enclosure across the road . . . ". Two fawns were evidently liberated somewhere in 1923: in 1924 one stag, two hinds, and two fawns were still in the enclosure (Otago Acc. Soc. records). There is no further mention in available references of these deer.

NORTH ISLAND LIBERATIONS 24. Auckland The following liberations are believed to have been made, but there is little information to verify them, as red deer in the northern part of the have never been as important economically, or other­ wise, as further south. Liberation-l870s: Motutapu Island, Hauraki Gulf (Donne, 1924). Establishment-Donne records that "Messrs Reid Bros. of Te Motu Tapu­ The Sacred Island-in the Waitemata [Hauraki] Gulf, had a fairly large herd of fallow deer and a few red deer in the eighties. I think it is likely they were first obtained in 1870 and it was in that year that Sir introduced fallow deer to Kawau Island." This statement is ambiguous, but Donne could have meant that red deer were also obtained in 1870. None are known to live on this island today.

25. Bay of Islands (Believed to be Paihia *) Liberation-1903: Two stags, two hinds (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). Establishment-All are thought to have been shot shortly after liberation. (An unrecorded number of deer were liberated illegally at Purerua Peninsula, Bay of Islands, in 1962. The offenders were convicted. Eight deer were destroyed by Forest Service hunters in 1964 and another was shot by an unknown person. Only one stag is believed to be still in the area.)

26. Rangaunu Bay (Mt. Camel, Hauhora Harbour*) Liberation-1912: Seven Wairarapa calves (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). Establishment-The liberation is thought to have failed.

27. Tauranga Acclimatisation Society (Te Aroha and Katikati Districts*) Liberations-l 912: Seven Wairarapa calves (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). 1915: Two males, two females (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). 1916: Two males, three females (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). 1916: One stag, two hinds (Tourist Department records). 1917: Five calves (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). Establishment-K. M. Purdon, New Zealand Forest Service, says an animal is still seen occasionally in the Te Aroha and Katikati districts. *K. M. Purdon in a personal communication.

20 28. Te Kuiti Herd (Puketutu, Upper Mokau River, Te Kuiti) Liberations-1920: Two stags and three hinds, donated by Tourist Depart­ ment, believed to have been liberated by the Auckland Acclimatisation Society. 1921: Five deer from the Paraparaumu Game Park given to the Auckland Society by the Tourist Department (Tourist Department records). It is thought there was only one liberation, in 1920; this was recorded in the Tourist Department's 1921 annual report. Establishment-Purdon* states: " ... the King Country herd can only be classed as a light population; all of the same breed as those at west Taupo. This is a large breed of deer, and some very good heads are still being shot each year. They are still extending their range northwards and west­ wards, and increasing in number. I do not know if they are in the Forest Service Wellington Conservancy between Ongarue and Puketutu, but I do know they have been on the conservancy boundary for the past four years." (Pers. comm. 1963.)

29. Taumarunui Herd (Mananui, King Country) Liberations-1913 : Three deer I 1914: One hind and one stag ~From the Paraparaumu 1915: Two hinds and two stags Game Park (Tourist 1916: One hind and one stag Department records). 1917: One hind and one stag J 1918: One stag from Werribee Park, Victoria (Tourist Department records). 1919: One stag from Wellington Zoo by Tourist Department (Donne, 1924). 1922: Two stags by Tourist Department (Auckland Acc. Soc. records). Establishment-It is thought that these animals were liberated east of Mananui and worked further east to the Hauhungaroa Range and down to the western bays of , where they have become established only during the last 10 to 15 years.

30. Tokaanu Herd (Mt. Pihanga, Tokaanu) Liberations-1911 : Three deer I 1912: Three deer I 1913: Four deer I From the Paraparaumu Game Park 1914: One stag I (Tourist Department records). 1915: Two hinds 1916: One stag 1917: One deer Establishment-The 1924 annual report of the Tourist Department states: "The Tokaanu herd was opened for the first time, with a limitation *K.M. Purdon in a personal communication.

21 of three licences only, allowing two stags per licence, with no less than ten points. This is a young herd which was established ten years ago, the animals being bred from the famous English deer of Warnham Court ..."Deer from this herd worked south to Lake Rotoaira and met the Tongariro herd, and undoubtedly crossed to the western flanks of the Kaimanawa Range and also worked up the eastern side of Lake Taupo.

31. Tongariro Herd (Mts. Tongariro and Ruapehu, National Park) Liberations~ 1897: Six Wairarapa calves by the Tourist Department (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). 1906: Two stags from the Wellington Acclimatisation Society by the Tourist Department (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). 1906: Two stags and three hinds from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Tourist Department records). The two stags mentioned in the separate listings are probably the same ones. The deer were liberated on the eastern side of Mt. Ruapehu. Establishment-Red deer colonised National Park and worked south to and east into the Kaimanawa Ranges across the Plains. Tongariro Park itself has not supported a considerable number of deer for many years and it is doubtful if they were ever very plentiful around the mountains.

32. Kaimanawa Herd (Kaimanawa Range, Central North Island) Liberations-1918: One stag and two hinds to from the Para­ paraumu Game Park (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). 1921: One stag and one hind to Taihape from the Parapara­ umu Game Park (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). Establishment-At this time deer had worked up the Ngaruroro River from Hawke's Bay to inland Patea and probably to the eastern flanks of the Kaimanawa Range. Deer from the Tokaanu and Ruapehu liberations would undoubtedly have colonised some of the country on the western flanks of the Kaimanawa Range. It is thought these deer were turned out on the southern end of the Kaimanawas from the Desert Road near Waiouru and worked up the River across Motumatai Station to the Rangitikei River.

33. Western Ruahine Herd (Ruahine Range, ) Liberations-1902: One stag and two hinds, Wairarapal calves 1904: One stag and one hind, Wairarapa I calves l (Wellington 1908: Two stags and three hinds, Wairarapa I Acc. Soc. calves records). 1922: Four stag calves and four hind calves from the Paraparaumu Game Park J

22 ,,,..,,..,...... ----.:'"i-----...... ,._....,.._..., ,...... -._,.....,__--:,,-.,.._...,...... ,."'llJ!lll... No.

Dated at ____ .,,.=-__,, , thi& ___

1 • ( ) Ka.aM ID tull. r.Yl\Mi,Jtn e&lllti1. (') Hd 116\.11 tb1 kiud1 of twn• .u\f1orlM.! ~ U. taken or kill l!E;;.:W.,Ul

The 1902 and 1904 liberations were on Mr Birch's Erewhon Station, described as both "north of Mangaonoko" (7 miles north of Hunterville) and "near National Park" (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). The present Erewhon Station is 21 miles north-east of Taibape, in the drainage, and this is thought to have been the liberation point, as in 1915 the country from Moawhango to the top of the Ruabine Range was opened for stalking. The 1908 liberation was " beyond , at the foot of the Ruahine Range", probably in the Kawhatau Valley (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). The 1922 deer are thought to have been divided into two pairs, one of each sex , and lib­ erated at Table Flat, Apiti, and in the Pohangina Valley respectively. Establishment-Only in the last 10 years have considerable numbers of deer colonised the extreme southern end of the Ruahine Range.

34. Eastern Ruahine Herd (Matapiro Station, Hastings, Hawke's Bay) Liberations- 188 3: 11 deer from Bushey Park, Otago (Donne, 1924). 1911: Five Wairarapa stag calves (Wellin gton Acc. Soc. records). Establishment-William Shrimpton of Matapiro Station trapped a year­ ling stag and two hinds at Bushey Park about 1880 and shipped them to Napier (Donne, 1924), where they were kept in an enclosure 8 ft high. The next year Shrimpton obtained two more binds from Bushey Park. Accord­ ing to Donne (1924) the herd was kept enclosed until it numbered 11 , when the animals were released (about 1883). He says they wandered to the foothi ll s and along the gorge of the Ngaruroro River into inland Patea (Ngamatea) and past Kaiwaka, which is 22 miles north of Napier. Two of the five Wairarapa stags died and another went north by itself and was probably shot (Donne, 1924). The remaining two, liberated 28

23 years after the first liberation, could have had only a local influence on the herd round Matapiro and the northern Ruahine Range. The Scottish deer quickly colonised the northern Ruahines, the eastern flanks of the Kaimanawa Range, the Kaweka Range, and northern Hawke's Bay marginal land to the east of the Urewera forest.

35. Ruahine Reserve Herd Liberation-The 1899 annual report of the Lands and Survey Department states: "The Reserves, Endowments and Crown and Native Lands Exchange, Sale, Disposal and Enabling Act 1898, Section 26, authorises the handing over to trustees of 500 acres of wooded country on the slopes of the Ruahine Ranges as a sanctuary for native and imported game. This has been done, and the reserve is now in charge of the Wellington Acclima­ tisation Society, which body has expended this last year a sum of £311.12.3 in further improving the reserve as a game farm. The caretaker has now under his charge a herd of nine red deer, and a number of pheasants are retained for breeding purposes." Nothing further appears to have been recorded about this reserve, although deer enclosed would almost certainly have been calves from Wairarapa calf-catching operations about 1898-99.

36. Galatea Herd (Galatea, , Rotorua) Liberations~l897: Four calves (believed to be two of each sex) from the Wairarapa herd (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). 1912: Two deer from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Tourist Department records). 1915: One stag and one hind from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Tourist Department records). 1916: One stag from Werribee Park, Victoria; one hind from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Tourist Department records). 1917: 25 deer were received and liberated in the Rotorua district (Tourist Department records). 1919: One deer from Paraparaumu Game Park (Donne, 1924). 1919: Two stags from Wellington Zoo (Donne, 1924). 1919: One hind railed from Hastings and liberated at Galatea (Tourist Department records). 1921: Eight deer were received and liberated in the Rotorua district (Tourist Department records). 1921: One stag at Galatea (Tourist Department records). 1922: Two stags received from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Tourist Department records). The four deer liberated in 1918 we.re from the 1917 stocking and the stag liberated in 1921 at Galatea was one of the eight animals received at Rotorua that year. Apart from this the only available information about the 1917 and 1921 liberations is that they were "liberated with the various herds of the district" (Tourist Department records).

24 Establishment-By I 925 this herd was: " . . . spreading down the bush country between the Rangitaiki and Whakatane Rivers. Deer are also to be seen in the large basin which lies between the upper Rangitaiki and Whirinaki Rivers." (Tourist Department records.)

37. Lake Rotoiti Herd (Lake Rotoiti, Rotorua) Liberations-1907: Nine deer from Werribee Park, l Victoria I 1914: Four deer (possibly stags) from the Paraparaumu Game Park 1915: Three stags and two hinds from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Tourist 1916: One stag from the Paraparaumu Department Game Park records). 1917: One stag and one hind (source un­ known) 1918: One stag from Werribee Park, Victoria 1918: One stag from Wellington Zoo j 1919: Two stags from Wellington Zoo (Donne, 1924). 1919: One deer from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Donne, 1924) 1921: One stag from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Tourist Department records) Establishment-It is possible some of the deer liberated in the Rotorua District in 1914, 1916, 1917, 1919, and 1921 were freed at Lake Rotoiti. The herd spread north to Matata and east to the Rangitaiki River.

38. Lake Okareka Herd (Lake Okareka, Rotorua) Liberations-1905: 11 deer from W erribee Park by l H. R. Benn I 1908: Three deer from Werribee Park, I Victoria 1912: One deer from the Paraparaumu L (Tourist Game Park r Department 1913: One deer from the Paraparaumu j records). Game Park 1914: Possible liberation 1915 : One stag and one hind 1916: Possible liberation. 1917: Possible liberation. 1919: Possible liberation of seven calves from the Parapa­ raumu Game Farm (Tourist Department records). 1921: Possible liberation.

25 Some of the deer liberated in the Rotorua District are likely to have been liberated at Lake Okareka. (Eight deer were liberated at different points in Rotorua District in 1914, 11in1916, and 25 in 1917.) Establishment-The herd spread along the eastern shores of Lake Rotorua and also towards Mt. Tarawera and south-east towards the exotic planta­ tions. In 1923 the Forest Service thinned out the deer because of damage to plantations.

39. Lake Okataina Herd (Lake Okataina, Rotorua) Liberations-1916: "During the year 11 red deer from II the Paraparaumu Game Park were liber­ ated within or near the Rotorua Accli- matisation District". l (Tourist 1916: One stag and one hind from Werri- II Department records). bee Park, Victoria. 1917 : One stag and two hinds from the I Paraparaumu Game Park. j 1919: One deer from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Donne, 1924). 1922: One stag from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Tourist Department records). Establishment-It is presumed a liberation was made in 1916, but the first liberation could quite easily have been in 1914, 1917, or 1919. Lake Okataina is only a few miles from Lake Okareka, and deer from the 1905 liberation there are likely to have colonised Okataina's shores before any deer were liberated at Okataina.

40. Whakatane Herd (Mt. Edgecumbe, , Whakatane) Liberations-1916: One stag and two hinds from Werribee Park liberated at Mt. Edgecumbe (Tourist Department records). 1917: 21 deer (including five fawns and nine calves) from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Donne, 1924; Tourist Department records). 1921: Two stags and two hinds from the Paraparaumu Game Park liberated at Mt. Te Tawa (Tourist Department records). 1922: One stag from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Tourist Department records). It seems unlikely that the 21 deer of the 1917 liberation would have been set down in one place as an initial liberation. The 1921 annual report of the Tourist Department states: " ... the other herds being fostered by the department at Tokaanu, Kaimanawa Mountains, Mt Edgecumbe, and Waimana Gorge are increasing and doing well, amid good feed and shelter." As there is no earlier reference to a Waimana Gorge liberation, some of the 21 deer received in 1917 may have started a herd there.

26 EstablishPnent-Deer from these liberations worked up the Whakatane, Waimana, and Waioeka Rivers into the Urewera forest and east into the .

41. Waimana Gorge Herd (Waimana River, Opotiki) Liberation-1917: See reference in establishment of the Whakatane herd.

42. Te Whaiti Herd (Whirinaki Valley, Te Whaiti, Urewera) Liberations-1916: One stag and two hinds from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Tourist Department records). 1918: Two stags and two hinds from the Paraparaumu Game Park were liberated in the Whirinaki Valley (Tourist Depart­ ment records). 1919: Two males and two females from Werribee Park, Victoria, and the Paraparaumu Game Park (Donne, 1924). 1921: One stag from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Tourist Department records). Establishment-Without doubt deer from the Te Whaiti - Whirinaki libera­ tion worked south deep into the Urewera forest. Eventually they moved westwards to the Kaingaroa Plains, but were prevented from establishing eastwards by the density of deer from the earlier Lake Waikaremoana liberation (see below).

43. Lake Waikaremoana Herd (Lake Waikaremoana, Eastern Urewera) Liberations-1899: Four Wairarapa calves on the western side of Lake Waikaremoana (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). 1901: Six deer, "same locality as previous lots" (Tourist Department records). (Donne, 1924, says these were Waira­ rapa calves). 1902: Four deer (Tourist Department records). 1913: Three deer from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Tourist Department records). 1915: Two stags from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Tourist Department records). 1918: Two stags and two hinds from the Paraparaumu Game Park (Donne, 1924). Establishment-The Waikaremoana herd established itself and appears to have extended its territory south-west into the Waiau catchment and north-east and south-east to the run country before there was movement to the north along the Raukumara highlands. Westwards it extended probably as far as the watershed of the upper Whirinaki before mixing with the more recently established Whirinaki deer. Sino? 1951 the herd has been extending its territory to the north.

27 44. Wairoa Herd (Tiniroto, Wairoa, Hawke's Bay) Liberations- 1913 Two deer from the Paraparaumu Game1 Park (Tourist 1915 : One stag, two hinds, source unrecorded Department 1916: Three hinds from the Paraparaumu I records). Game Park j Establishment-The herd spread westward, linking up with the Lake Waikaremoana herd.

45. Mahia Herd (Mahia Peninsula, Northern Hawke's Bay) Liberations- 1885: One stag and one hind from Nelson (Tourist Depart­ ment records). 1912 : Two deer (Tourist Department re-I cords). I 1913: One deer (Tourist Department re- I cords). 1914 : One stag (Tourist Department re­ cords). 191 8: One stag (Tourist Department re- Fromtl;e cords). Paraparaumu. 1918 : One stag and one hind (Donne, 1924). Game Park. 1919 : One stag and one hind (Donne, 1924). 1919 : One stag (Donne, 1924). 192 l : One stag (Tourist Department re­ cords). 1923 : One stag and one hind (Tourist De- I partment records). J

A 1910 acclimatisation society metal tag supplied with the hunting licence for attaching to the antlers of animals shot during the season to show that they were obtained legally. Usuall y, three stags of eight points or more per licence were allowed.

28 Establishment-The Tourist Department's 1924 report states: " ... the Mahia herd, the oldest established one in the Rotorua district, was closed last year and heavily culled by Messrs Ormond Bros." Control of the Rotorua, Whakatane, and Wairoa Acclimatisation Districts was taken over by the Tourist Department in 1907; efforts were made to cull weedy and malformed animals and to introduce new blood (several animals bred from a stag of the Warnham Court herd and some Otago hinds). (Tourist Department records.) It is suspected that deer from this herd worked towards Tiniroto and colonised the coastal land to the north of Mahia Peninsula, but the herd was confined mainly to the peninsula.

46. Wainuiomata Reserve (Wainuiomata Valley, Wellington) Liberations-1897: Six Wairarapa calves l 1898: One stag from A. Blackwood, Mel- bourne I 1898: Six Wairarapa calves I 1904: Two Werribee Park stags from South- (W Ir t land (not a definite Wainuiomata Reserve IA e i;g on liberation) cc. oc. records) 1911: One stag from the Paraparaumu Game · Park 1912: Two Wairarapa calves I 1919: One stag from the Paraparaumu Game PMk j Establishment-Although there was an enclosure of "some five or six acres" (Wellington Acc. Soc. records), there is no record of deer being liberated from this reserve. In 1910 the Wellington Acclimatisation Society reported: "The Wainui herd appears to be extending its range eastwards to the Orongorongo, where there is a large extent of suitable country for them". This herd probably colonised the southern and western sides of the Rimutaka Range.

47. Paraparaumu Reserve (near , Wellington) Liberations-1899: Four Wairarapa calves (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). 1900: One stag from Capt. Craddock, England. (Otago Acc. Soc. records.) (Not a definite Paraparaumu Reserve libera­ tion.) 1900: Possible further liberation of Wairarapa calves. 1907: Four Wairarapa calves I 1913: One stag and one hind from the Para- I paraumu Game Park ~ (Wellington 1917: One Warnham Park stag escaped into Acc. Soc, the reserve. records). 1926: Paraparaumu Game Park deer escaped I into the reserve. j

29 Establishment-Up to 1910 deer in the Paraparaumu Reserve were noted to keep well to the forest. The reserve was opened to stalkers in 1912 (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). Very likely deer from the reserve worked across the western flanks of the Tararua Range.

48. Paraparaumu Game Park (Paraparaumu Forest Reserve, Wellington) Liberations(into enclosure)- 1899: Four Wairarapa calves I (Wellington 1907: Six Wairarapa hinds I Acc. Soc. 1908: Two stags and four hinds records). from Warnham Court 1910: Nine calves from Werri­ bee Park, Victoria (Tourist Department records).

Photo by courtesy of the New Zealand Deerstalkers' Associatio11 Keepers feeding red deer calves at the Paraparaumu Game Park.

30 1911: Three stags from Warn-I ham Court 1911 : Six Wairarapa hinds 1917 : One stag from Otago (W 11 . t herd . IAcc. e rngSoc .on 1917 : Four calves retamed recor d s ) . 191 8: One stag from the Para- paraumu Forest Reserve 1918 : Two calves retained I 1919: Three calves retained J 1919 : One Scottish x Warnbam stag (Otago Acc. Soc. records). 1921 : Three calves retained (Wellington Acc. Soc. records).

Establishment- There was a small game park near Waikanae in 1898 (Lands Department records). In 1907 the enclosure was 15 acres, but

Photo by courtesy of the New Zealand Deers!Ltlkers' Association

Red deer calves at the Paraparaumu Game Park . Tt is suspected that the cal ves were liberated in their first year.

31 it was enlarged to 25 acres in 1909 and finally to 60 acres in 1910 (Welling­ ton Acc. Soc. records). Deer of Warnham strain crossed with Wairarapa deer were turned out in the Tararua Range. Under an agreement with the Tourist Department, half the calves of Warnham strain and half the calves of Warnham x Wairarapa strain were liberated by the Depart­ ment each year (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). Evidently the deer were kept in two herds according to this breeding until 1917, when they were reorganised and kept as Otago stag x W arnham hinds or W arnham stag x Wairarapa-Warnham hinds (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). In 1918 the remaining W arnham stag and the remaining Otago stag died from injuries and from then on Otago x Warnham and Warnham x Wairarapa stags held herds of mixed Warnham-Otago-Wairarapa blood hinds. How much Otago blood was introduced is not known precisely. In 1922 the Tourist Department cancelled its agreement with the Wellington Acclimatisation Society and in 1923 no calves could be liber­ ated without the consent of the Minister of Internal Affairs (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). Eighteen of the game park deer were shot in 1924 and 23 in 1925. In 1926 the rest were yarded and some shot, though some also managed to escape to the Paraparaumu Forest Reserve (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). Venison from slaughtered animals was exported to U.S.A. (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). Thus ended, after 27 years, a game park which supplied deer for most of the North Island liberations and several in the South Island. It is doubtful if so many herds could have been started in such a short time without this deer-breeding park. The presence of big-bodied deer of distinct Warnham Court antler type in the Kaikoura district suggests that some of these deer may have been liberated near the Kahautara River about 1923.

49. Wairarapa Herd (Ruamahanga River, Carterton, Wairarapa) Liberations-1863: One stag and two hinds from WindsorI Great Park on C. R. Carter's property, East I Taratahi (W ir t 1898: One stag from A. Blackwood, Mel- l ;_ mgS on bourne, on J. Martin's Ruratanga Run cc. d )oc. . h W . I recor s . 1906 : Eig t airarapa eaves1 1910: Small herd started on the Carterton foothills J Establishment-Windsor strain deer crossed the Ruamahanga River to the Maungaraki Range and quickly worked east. They were probably dissuaded from moving north and west by the prevalence of wild dogs in the Ruamahanga, Mangahao, Mangatainoka, and Makakahi Valleys in the 1880s (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). Later bush-clearing fires could have dispersed deer. Martin's Ruratanga Run was exempted from the stalking area in 1894 and used as a calf-catching area to promote further liberation (Wellington Acc. Soc. records). Liberations proceeded at such a pace that the whole

32 of the Wairarapa, eastern slopes of the Tararuas, the east coast runs. and the Haurangi Ranges were quickly colonised. Later the deer worked north and further into the Tararua Range.

50. Rimutaka Herd (Matthews Estate, Lake Wairarapa) Liberations-1895: One Wairarapa hind l 1896: One stag 1896: Three Wairarapa hinds I (Wellington 1904: Two stags, Wairarapa calves ~ Acc. Soc. 1913: One stag and two hinds I records). 1916: One stag and one hind at Orongorongo I from the Paraparaumu Game Park J Establishment-This eastern Rimutaka herd, established on Wairongomai Station, probably worked north into the Tauherenikau Valley and west into the Rimutaka Range.

51. Tararua Herd (Tararua Range, Wellington) Liberations (All the information on liberations in the following list is from Wellington Acclimatisation Society records.) Holmes property-1887: One stag and two hinds (the stag later died). These were Wairarapa calves. 1887: One stag, Wairarapa strain. Tararua Range-1890: East coast deer of Wairarapa strain. 1917: Three stags of Wairarapa strain. Palmerston N.-1901: One stag and two hinds, Wairarapa strain. (Kahuterawa) 1902: Five deer, Wairarapa strain. 1902: Three deer, Wairarapa strain. 1903.: Two stags, Wairarapa strain. 1918: Two stags from the Paraparaumu Game Park. Tiritea-1920: ,Two stags and one hind from the Paraparaumu Game Park. 1921: One stag and two hinds from the Paraparaumu Game Park. Waingawa-1911: Two stags from the Paraparaumu Game Park. Tauherenikau-1906: Four deer from Werribee Park, Victoria. 1907: Four Wairarapa calves. 1911: Three hinds from the Paraparaumu Game Park. Ohau, Levin-1907: Four Wairarapa calves. 1911: Three stags and two hinds from the Paraparaumu Game Park. 1920: Two stags and one hind from the Paraparaumu Game Park.

33 Eketahuna-1904: Five Wairarapa calves. 1907: Four Wairarapa deer. 1909: 17 deer (Tararuas and Eketahuna). 19 l l: Two stags from the Paraparaumu Game Park. Mt. Holdsworth-1907: Four Wairarapa calves. Waiohine-19l7: One English stag from the Paraparaumu Game Park. 191 8: One stag from the Paraparaumu Game Park. Shannon- 1912: Six Wairnrapa calves. 19 l 3: Two stags and two hinds from the Paraparaumu Game Park. 19 14: LO calves from the Paraparaumu Game Park.

Photo by courtesy of th e New Z ealand Deerswlkers' Association Red deer stag, possibly of Wairarapa strain, photographed in the Paraparaumu Game Park before 1920. The park held stags from Warnham Court, Otago, Victoria, and Wairarapa for breeding. During the 27 years it operated as a deer farm, the park supplied deer for most of the North Island liberations and several in the South [stand.

34 Pahiatua-1916: One stag and two binds from the Paraparaumu Game Parle 1918: One stag and one hind from the Paraparaumu Game Park. 1923: Two stags and three hinds from the Paraparaumu Game Park. Mangatainoka-1904: Two stags and three binds from the Wairarapa. Establishment-There is no official record of deer liberations from 1863 to 1884. The Wellington Acclimatisation Society was formed in 1885 and the first attempt to stock the Tararua Range was by capturing calves in the Wairarapa and releasing them in the valleys flowing from the range. However, when the Paraparaumu Game Park secured Warnham Court deer the society turned out Warnham Court and Warnham x Windsor calves in the expectation of obtaining some exceptionally good heads after a few years. Stalkers did not penetrate far into the ranges; the society's 1916 report says that "owing to the amount of bush, sports­ men find it difficult to fill their licences". By 1921 the society considered that there were too many deer in its district and that country would have to be closed and large numbers shot. Before the liberation of calves on the Tararuas, deer had probably worked into the area from the Wairarapa. The Tararua herd is likely to have colonised more rapidly than any other because of the numerous liberations. It is obvious that many more liberations were carried out than are listed. For instance, though no liberations are listed for 1900, fawns were captured; in 1905 three calves were available for liberation, and in 1908 six deer; 25 calves were captured in 1910, but no liberations are mentioned; and six calves in 1912 and two in 1913 and 1916 are not accounted for by liberation.

52. East Wairarapa Herd (Tora, Te Awhaite, and White Rock Runs, Gladstone) Liberations (All the information in the following list is from Wellington Acclimatisa­ tion Society records.) Te Awhaite-1914: One stag from the Paraparaumu Game Park. 1915: One stag and one hind from the Paraparaumu Game Park. Tora-1916: Two stags, Wairarapa strain. 1917: One stag from the Paraparaumu Game Park. Establishment-In 1886 N. Grace of Gladstone told the Wellington Acclimatisation Society:" ... they [the Wairarapa deer] have not spread at all to the north, nor yet towards the coast on the east of the Wainuioru River, and are virtually confined between the Ruamahanga River from Huangarua on the west and the Wainuioru and Pahaoa on the east. There are considerable numbers on Te Awhaite and White Rock Runs."

35 The 1888 annual report of the society states: " ... [the deer] are steadily on the increase and spreading on to the country thay have not previously taken to, namely the high hills which lie between the Maungaraki Range and the coast . . . " This appears to indicate either that there was an early liberation on Te Awhaite or that very early some of the herd pushed right out to Te Awhaite.

Acknowledgments Compilation of red deer liberation information was first attempted about 1950 by T. A. Riney, P. Keesing, D. Joblin, A. F. Douglas, K. H. Miers, and P. C. Logan, all at that time officers of the Deer Control Section of the Wildlife Branch of the Department of Internal Affairs. Some of the data then gathered were available for study by the authors of this booklet, but most of the information presented has come from recent searches. Information on the establishment of the herds has been drawn from many sources: Acclimatisation societies' records, P. C. Logan's field experience during the period 1946 to 1966, and details supplied by Protection Forestry Rangers, notably F. Stratford and L. T. Pracy.

REFERENCES

Annual reports, 1907 to 1914, Department of Lands, State Nurseries, and Plantations. Annual report, 1918, Department of Lands and Survey, State Forestry. Annual report, 1920, Forestry Department. Annual reports, 1922 to 1949, State Forest Service. Annual reports, 1950 to 1963, New Zealand Forest Service. Caughley, G. 1963: Dispersal Rates of Several Ungulates Introduced into New Zealand. Nature. 200: 4903. Department of Tourist and Health Resorts: Official files 1896 to 1941, National Archives, Wellington. Donne, T. E. 1924: "The Game Animals+ofNew Zealand". John Murray, London. McKinnon, A. D., and Coughlan, Lanna: 1962-64< "Data on the Estab­ lishment of Some Introduced Animals in New ZeaJan:d. Forests." 1 to 8, New Zealand Forest Service. Thomson, G. M. 1922: "The Naturalisation of Animals and Plants in New Zealand". Cambridge University Press. Whitehead, G. Kenneth 1950: Deer and Their Management. Country Life, London. Wilson, R. A. 1963: "My Stalking Memories", Pegasus Press, Christ­ ch'urch. Wodzicki, K. A. 1950: "Introduced Mammals of New Zealand". N.Z. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Bulletin 98. ---1961: Ecology and Management of Introduced Ungulates in New Zealand. Extrait de La Terre et la Vie. 1.

R. E. OWEN, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND-1967

28677-A RED DEER LIBERATION POINTS SOUTH ISLAND NEW ZEALAND

NHSON DISTRICT 1851, 54, 61, 99, 1903, 10, 22------···-----·- ----J------e;:­ LANGLEYDALE STATION 1890's -----····--···-­

AVONDALE STATION 1917 ------······-·------+~------·----·------• INANGAHUA JUNCTION 1923---

GREY CATCHMENT 1898 ------HOKITIK MOUNT TUHUA 1903. 06------LAKE KANIERE 1906 ------

POULTER VALLEY 1908. 09------.. RAKAIA VALLEY 1897, 1902------•

~D

--HAwEA JrL _____ ---- FLAT 1671, 95, 1900

p------PATERSOM INLET 1901, 02

REFERENCE SCALE OF MILES • GAME PARKS __ 25 lO __ _ e LIBERATION POINTS () MAIN CENTRES R. E. OWEN, Government Printer, Wellington, New Zealand-1967