Spectrum 124. An island apart

Rights Information
Year
1975
Reference
27201
Media type
Audio
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Rights Information
Year
1975
Reference
27201
Media type
Audio
Categories
Documentary radio programs
Nonfiction radio programs
Radio programs
Sound recordings
Duration
00:26:51
Credits
RNZ Collection
Perkins, Jack (b.1940), Producer
Noble, Reg, Interviewee

A look at the volcanic island of Rangitoto - its people and its history.

Jack Perkins lands by seaplane at Islington Bay and describes the landscape as he walks towards the baches located among pohutukawa trees.
Several unidentified elderly residents talk about why they love living on the island.

George Madison settled there in the 1920s. He is interviewed in his vegetable garden, talking about the wallabies which eat his cauliflower. Wallabies, possums and deer are introduced pests and are being eliminated, but George enjoys feeding the wallabies.

Reg Noble used to run a tea kiosk on the wharf, and trap possums and wallabies to supplement his income. He remembers the prisoners who used to work on the island, building various community amenities, such as the swimming pool, walls and roading. He tells a story about rowing daytrippers across to St Heliers if they missed the last ferry. There was no telephone contact with the mainland at the time and he used Morse code to send a message with his torch, when another group were stranded overnight.

George Madison talks about some of the shipwrecks on the island, including the "Rarawa" and "Ngapuhi" which were stripped for their teak timbers.

Dean Gregory runs the island's kiosk and talks about why he gave up city life. His daughter Laureen goes to school on nearby Motutapu Island and talks about why she will soon go to boarding school in the city.

Lauch Briggs and his neighbour Mrs Brady talk about the island's resident community being phased out, as they are only on lifetime leases, which expire when they die or move off the island. Park Ranger George Holms explains the process which will see the baches demolished and revert Rangitoto to its natural state.

George Madison recalls how they came to be on the island in the first place in the 1920s. Only a dozen or so now remain, down from 80 in the hey-day.

Fire is a frequent hazard on Rangitoto. Reg Noble recalls a bad fire at Tomcat Bay which burnt for 18 months as the fire was burning underground through tree roots in the porous rock. George Holmes calls his wife Peg on radio telephone after spotting smoke while out on patrol.