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Kepa Bush Reserve is an ecological reserve on the Auckland isthmus in
The Kepa Bush Reserve is the largest native bush remnant on the Auckland isthmus. The reserve is formed by the slopes of a sandstone ridge, between Kepa Road and the Pourewa Creek. The Pourewa Creek at the south of the reserve flows westwards towards the Ōrākei Basin. The forest ecosystem of the upper ridge transitions into the mangrove ecosystem of the Pourewa Creek, something very rarely seen in the reserves of the
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, south of Mission Bay. It is situated near the smaller St John's Bush and is also known as the Pourewa Valley.
Geology and biodiversity
The Kepa Bush Reserve is the largest native bush remnant on the Auckland isthmus. The reserve is formed by the slopes of a sandstone ridge, between Kepa Road and the Pourewa Creek. The Pourewa Creek at the south of the reserve flows westwards towards the Ōrākei Basin. The forest ecosystem of the upper ridge transitions into the mangrove ecosystem of the Pourewa Creek, something very rarely seen in the reserves of the Waitematā Harbour
The Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. The harbour forms the northern and eastern coasts of the Auckland isthmus and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It is matched on the southern side of the city ...
catchments.
The flora in Kepa Bush is diverse and the most common plants and trees include Totara, Rimu
''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a species of tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is a dioecious evergreen conifer, reaching heights of up to , and can have a stout trunk (botany), trunk up to in diameter. It is endemis ...
, Kanuka, and Manuka. '' Fuchsia excorticata'' can be found in the forest; often rare as it is often eaten by possums
Possum may refer to:
Animals
* Didelphimorphia, or (o)possums, an order of marsupials native to the Americas
** Didelphis, a genus of marsupials within Didelphimorphia
*** Common opossum, native to Central and South America
*** Virginia opossum, ...
. Fauna is very common, with Tūī
The tūī (''Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae'') is a medium-sized bird native to New Zealand. It is blue, green, and bronze coloured with a distinctive white throat tuft (poi). It is an endemism, endemic passerine bird of New Zealand, and the on ...
, Pigeon
Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...
, Grey warbler, Silvereye and Morepork being the most common. Tomtit and Kaka are occasional.
History
The reserve honours the memory of Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui, a Māori military commander and ally of the government forces during theNew Zealand Wars
The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...
. He is also known as Te Keepa, Major Keepa or Major Kemp. During the land wars of the 1860s he fought for government forces against Te Kooti
Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki ( 1832–1893) was a Māori leader and guerrilla fighter who was the founder of the Ringatū religion.
While fighting alongside government forces against the Hauhau in 1865, he was accused of spying. Exiled to ...
and Tītokowaru
Riwha Tītokowaru (born Riwha, 1823– 18 August 1888) was a Taranaki Māori rangatira, military commander, general and religious leader. He is considered to be one of the most capable and influential military strategists in New Zealand hist ...
. Besides that, Kepa Bush was used by Maori pre-colonisation as a place to find food and make weapons. It was probably a strategic location to take as it had a view out into the Orakei Basin.
The land was purchased by Bishop Selwyn
George Augustus Selwyn (5 April 1809 – 11 April 1878) was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand (which included Melanesia) from 1841 to 1869. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was metropolitan bishop ...
in 1844, as a part of the grounds of the St John's College. In 1962, the reserve was established after the Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1989 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elec ...
purchased the site.
References