The Sinclair Wetlands (''Te Nohoaka o Tukiauau'') are an internationally renowned wetlands located to the south west of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

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 ...

, at the southern edge of the Taieri Plains. They are on the western side of Lake Waipori and approximately equidistant between

Mosgiel Mosgiel () is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin City Council area. Mosgiel has a p ...

and Milton. The protected area covers a little over 315 Ha 3 km². The wetlands are home to many species of birds including scaup,

swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

s and many more

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

including the fernbird and rare bittern. A number of birds such as white herons and spoonbills occasionally frequent the area also. The wetlands are named for Horace "Horrie" Sinclair, a local farmer who donated land to the wetlands scheme in 1984. An education centre opened in the late 1980s is located at the wetlands. The wetlands contain a small island (Whakaraupuka / Ram Island), which was in ancient times the location of a Māori settlement, Tukiauau

Pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

. In the 1986 New Year Honours, Horace Sinclair was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services to conservation.

Gallery

File:Sinclair Wetlands 1 MRD.jpg File:Southern Bell Frog MRD Sinclair Wetlands.jpg, Southern bell frog (''Ranoidea raniformis'') File:Coprosma propinqua MRD.jpg, Miki ''(Coprosma propinqua)'' File:Fernbird (Mātātā) in Flax (Harakeke).jpg, Fernbird/Mātātā (''Bowdleria punctata'') File:Nursery Web Spider at Sinclair Wetlands.jpg, Nurseryweb spider (''Dolomedes'')

References

* Dann, C., & Peat, N. (1989). ''Dunedin, North and South Otago''. Wellington: GP Books.

External links

* https://www.tenohoaka.org.nz/ Te Nohoaka o Tukiauau/ Sinclair Wetlands Protected areas of Otago Wetlands of Otago Taieri River {{Otago-geo-stub