Richard Treacy Henry (4 June 1845 – 13 November 1929) was a

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 ...

conservationist and reserve manager who became an expert on the

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

flightless bird Flightless birds are birds that cannot Bird flight, fly, as they have, through evolution, lost the ability to. There are over 60 extant species, including the well-known ratites (ostriches, emus, cassowary, cassowaries, Rhea (bird), rheas, an ...

s in New Zealand, especially the

kākāpō The kākāpō (; : ; ''Strigops habroptilus''), sometimes known as the owl parrot or owl-faced parrot, is a species of large, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the superfamily Strigopoidea. It is endemic to New Zealand. Kākāpō can be u ...

. Born in

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, his family migrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 1851 where he grew up. He moved to New Zealand in the 1870s, settling in the south-west at

Lake Te Anau Lake Te Anau () is in the southwestern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The lake covers an area of , making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand (after Lake Taupō) and the largest in the South Island. It is the ...

in 1883 where he worked as a handyman, rabbiter, shepherd, taxidermist, boat-builder, explorer and guide, while studying the birdlife. He also began to write articles on natural history for the ''

Otago Witness The ''Otago Witness'' was a prominent illustrated weekly newspaper in the early years of the European settlement of New Zealand, produced in Dunedin, the provincial capital of Otago. Published weekly, it existed from 1851 to 1932. The introduct ...

'' and other publications. By 1891 public and governmental concern that introduced

mustelid The Mustelidae (; from Latin , weasel) are a diverse family of carnivoran mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, polecats, martens, grisons, and wolverines. Otherwise known as mustelids (), they form the largest family in the suborde ...

s were having a devastating effect on New Zealand's birdlife led to the gazettal of Resolution Island in

Fiordland Fiordland (, "The Pit of Tattooing", and also translated as "the Shadowlands"), is a non-administrative geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western third of Southland. Most of F ...

as a reserve. In 1894 Henry was appointed curator and caretaker of Resolution Island, a position he held for the next 14 years. Over this period he transported numerous flightless birds, including kākāpō,

weka The weka, also known as the Māori hen or woodhen (''Gallirallus australis'') is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is endemic to New Zealand. Some authorities consider it as the only extant member of the genus '' Gallirallus''. ...

and

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), an informal name for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible hairy fruit with many seeds * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of curren ...

to Resolution Island, with the hope that they would be safe there. Unfortunately, the attempted translocation of kākāpō was in vain as

stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on th ...

s reached the island around 1900 and kākāpō did not survive there. During the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the New Zealand government came and took the iron off Henry's shed. In 1908 increasing concern about Henry's welfare, due to his age and his isolated position on Resolution, led to his being offered the caretakership of

Kapiti Island Kapiti Island (), sometimes written as Kāpiti Island, is an island nature reserve located off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand and within the Kāpiti Coast District. Parts of the island were previously farmed, but it is ...

, a post which he accepted and occupied for the next three years, eventually retiring from government service in 1911. In 1912 he moved to

Katikati Katikati is a town in New Zealand's North Island, located on the Uretara Stream near a tidal inlet towards the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, 28 kilometres south of Waihi and 40 kilometres northwest of Tauranga. State Highway 2 passes throug ...

in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

where he lived until 1922 before moving for the last time to

Helensville Helensville () is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is sited northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauku to the south, and Ka ...

, north of

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. He died in 1929 of senile decay and heart failure. Only the local postmaster attended the funeral. He was buried at the Hillsborough Cemetery. A male kākāpō, captured in Fiordland in 1975, and at that point the only remaining member of the species originating from the South Island, was named "Richard Henry" in his memory. This bird was found dead on 24 December 2010.William Stolzenburg. ''Rat Island'', 2011. See "Acknowledgements".

Publications

Richard Henry wrote many short articles on natural history for newspapers such as the ''Otago Witness'' and the ''Kaipara and Waitemata Echo'', and for scientific journals such as the ''Transactions of the New Zealand Institute'', as well as letters and reports to his employers when working for the Department of Lands and Survey and the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts. He also published a book: * Henry, R. (1903). ''The Habits of the Flightless Birds of New Zealand; With Notes on Other New Zealand Birds''. Government Printer: Wellington.

Publications

References

Further reading