TRIP REPORT : Hutt City rata walk

  Saturday 11 December 2004 :   Hutt City rata walk

This timing was as good as it gets for rata, with most of the significant trees in flower, and fine, mild conditions making it a perfect day.   Only 400 m from our start point Barbara’s sharp eyes gave us a “new” find at 4 Bellevue Road, while a few feet above, an unconcerned kereru fed on puriri berries.   Shortly after, a magnificent rata was seen in Penrose St, in optimum bloom, and Cyrienne, its “owner” gave us an interesting garden tour.

After this, Totara Crescent, Puriri Street and Ngaio Crescent revealed that they were true-to-name.   A small traffic island with uncommon natives was botanised en route to Woburn Railway overbridge, where binoculars saved our legs from walking to view the well known Whites Line East rata.   Eleven “new” naturally occurring rata were also noted in Haywards Reserve, where Rosie advised us they had been planting rata in a cleared area near the ridge crest.   The Waiwhetu Marae area revealed five more local trees and gave us a closer view of the Haywards Reserve sightings.

We then walked north beside the stream, to the Birdwood Street area.   Binoculars confirmed about another nine or so rata thriving on the lower, mid-eastern foothills, the highlight of the trip, auguring well for further natural rata proliferation.

At this juncture Michael Kopp from the Hutt News arrived.   After some discussion he drove us back to the magnificent rata (a protected tree) outside St Paul’s Church in Waiwhetu Road, where photos were taken.   After being dropped back to Waterloo we botanised several traffic island plantings with a wide range of uncommon native shrubs and ground-cover plants.   These included Hebe townsonii, H. topiaria, H. albicans, H. speciosa, H. macrocarpa var. latisepala, Olearia lineata, Muehlenbeckia astonii, Chionochloa flavicans, Libertia peregrinans, Brachyglottis huntii, Carmichaelia stevensonii, Carmichaelia sp., Sophora sp., Carex testacea, Pseudopanax ferox, Teucridium parvifolium, Fuchsia procumbens and Leptinella sp.

Occasionally, other uncommon natives and several juvenile rimu showed their face in private gardens.   Shortly we passed the historic, well-kept residence of the late Sir James Hector who is commemorated in the Hectorella genus and several hectorii species.   We then crossed the Hutt River to Jenness Grove where a lovely southern rata (the only one seen) will shortly be in flower.   As we returned we sadly witnessed the Daly Street CBD rata in poor health.   This has now been followed up by a BotSoc letter to Hutt City Council.

Participants :   Rosie Doole, Michael Kopp, Dave Holey (leader/scribe), Barbara Mitcalfe (deputy leader), and Joyce Stretton.   Apologies: Stan Butcher, Chris Horne.

Click here for subsequent Hutt News newspaper article about the trip.

Click here for subsequent Dominion Post newspaper article about rata.

For a description of the Lower Hutt rata trail described in a 2003 BotSoc article go here.

Northern rata at Daly St, Lower Hutt, in poor health. Photo: Barbara Mitcalfe.	Northern rata in flower outside St Paul’s Church, Waiwhetu Road, Lower Hutt. Photo: Barbara Mitcalfe.

PS : Damage to northern rata, Daly Street, Lower Hutt - update from newsletter of April 2005

Readers will remember Dave Holey’s trip report on our 11/12/04 Rata Walk, in the December Newsletter.   In it he mentioned the poor condition of this large, previously healthy northern rata.   At the time, we noticed that about half of the crown was dead.   Construction of the café so closely around the rata’s trunk must have damaged its root system, and mortality has spread to the crown.   In December, with the support of Stan Butcher, Chair of Lower Hutt Forest & Bird, BotSoc wrote to Hutt City Council to ask what could be done for the tree, but they replied that it was on private property, and therefore not their concern.   It is to be hoped that an arborist will have been consulted by the owners, to advise on restoring the tree to health.

Barbara Mitcalfe