Orokonui: Eco of the present

Orokonui Ecosanctuary has exceeded all expectations - a 307ha sanctuary for native flora and fauna, protected from exotic predators. Rebecca Fox looks at the history of the project initiated by the Otago Natural History Trust.

A lost world is flourishing in Orokonui.

Within a 9km predator-proof fence saddleback are nesting, kaka chicks are hatching, ferns are growing and seedlings taking root.

From today entry to that special world will be through a newly completed $2.2 million environmentally sustainable visitor and education centre.

It is an accomplishment which is hard to find words for, conservationist emeritus professor Sir Alan Mark, a member of the Otago Natural History Trust, says.

"It's an incredible achievement, against all odds. From whoa to go within a decade is quite incredible."

For trust chairman Dr Ralph Allen, last night's official opening meant everyone could "get back to their knitting", to creating a secure environment for native flora and fauna to thrive.

"The visitor centre is here to generate income so we can look after the wildlife."

It is "serendipity" that while doing that, they can educate people about natural history and the role they can play in conservation, Dr Allen says. An educator has been employed to do just that.

The education focus gives the Orokonui Ecosanctuary the opportunity to reach many people with its message, as about 120 people a day are expected to visit the ecosanctuary during peak summer season and about 25,000 annually.

Sir Alan says, as someone involved in the early discussions about the ecosanctuary, it was a thrill to be asked to open the ecosanctuary.

"It'll add a lot to Dunedin's promotion as the wildlife capital of New Zealand and complement the attractions of Otago Peninsula."

The opening was the culmination of more than 20 years of campaigning by a small group of people, including Dr Allen.

It all began in the early 1980s when cartoonist Burton Silver, visiting friends in Dunedin, remarked how difficult it was to see native birds in anything like their natural habitat, Dr Allen says.

"From that came this wild idea of having a huge aviary with forest growing inside it."

So in 1983 a group got together and set up the Otago Natural History Trust.

Ideas for sites included the recreation hall at a former psychiatric hospital but in the end finding an affordable site was difficult. Interest waned and the trust decided to disestablish, but "the lawyer forgot" the paperwork, he says.

Then in 1995 the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington got under way and the possibility of creating a place for wildlife safe from predators became a reality.

Dr Allen began looking for sites around Dunedin, came up with five and it was decided Orokonui was the best. While it did not have the best vegetation, it did have the best shape for a fenced sanctuary, he says.

In 1999 he put together a formal proposal and a year later put it to then Mayor Sukhi Turner, who referred it to the Waikouaiti Community Board. He also talked to Forest and Bird.