Big Norm is getting a big hill — make that a mountain — named after him, thanks to two environmental campaign pioneers. Sir Alan Mark and Dr John Moore have campaigned for a Fiordland landmark to be named after former prime minister Norman Kirk. This week they got their wish — Land Information Minister Mike Butterick said a mountain in Fiordland National Park had been officially named Mt Kirk in honour of the former prime minister. Mt Kirk is the official name of a previously unnamed 1436m mountain near Lake Manapouri. Mr Kirk, the Labour prime minister from 1972 to 1974, was a very popular and energetic leader. A big man who hailed from Waimate, he oversaw some big changes and died in office. [Missing Credit]Mt Kirk, Manapouri. One of his most memorable decisions was to stick to an election promise and not raise the level of Lake Manapouri in Fiordland. There had been a high-profile campaign to stop the NZ Electricity Department raising the levels of Lake Manapouri and Lake Te Anau to produce more power, mainly for the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. The Save Manapouri campaign captured the nation. There was no Resource Management Act back then — the government of the day decided and there were no hearings or submissions. But a petition of more than 250,000 signatures — more than 10% of the population — showed there was real muscle behind the campaign and it became an election issue. The National government of the time stuck to its guns, while Labour, under Mr Kirk, sided with the environmentalists. Labour ended up winning and Mr Kirk remained true to his promise and stopped the raising of the lake. Mr Kirk formed the Guardians of Lake Manapouri and Te Anau to keep the lakes healthy into the future. [Missing Credit]Sir Alan Mark. File photo: supplied Sir Alan, who was the first chairman of the Guardians, said he was delighted with the naming of the mountain. Sir Alan and Dr Moore, the only two remaining men from the first Guardians board, had sought the advice of Aaron Nicolson, of Manapouri, to find the appropriate peak. Mt Kirk is located on the western side of Percy Saddle, south of the West Arm of Lake Manapouri in Fiordland National Park. It can be seen from Lake Manapouri. SuppliedThe original Guardians photographed in 1973 with NZ Electricity Department district manager Hector Jones (far left). Guardians were (from left) Ron McLean, Wilson Campbell, Alan Mark, Les Hutchins, John Moore and Jim McFarlane. In front is Fiordland National Park representative John Gardener. Photo: supplied Sir Alan, who is now 94, an emeritus professor of botany at the University of Otago, said the campaign to save the lake had taken a lot of work. ”The original proposal was to raise Manapouri to the level of Te Anau, 27m, but it was obvious that that was not going to be possible,” he said. “That amount of raising they were going to do was really contrary to good environmental practice, because the damage that would be done would be horrendous and the gain in electricity generation was about 4.6%.” Sir Alan said there was a sense of satisfaction in the naming and it had taken a while. ”It’s taken an age, we almost gave up, but it just shows, successes in conservation takes sustained effort — you don’t win them overnight. You’ve got to have a pretty good story and a determination to continue with it for as long as it takes to have it recognised.” [Missing Credit] John Moore, former Guardian of Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau. Photo: supplied Dr Moore, 84, who has lived in Nelson for the last 50 years, said he remembers being in his house with Mr Kirk, who asked him ‘if I thought we could come up with some science-backed protocol for operating the lakes within the natural level.” ”Me being ignorant and keen, I said yes. And we did, at almost no cost, come up with the guidelines and they’re in law now and that was in my house.” Dr Moore said they were lied to constantly by officials and the truth had to be told. “Norman knew more by far than any of the others I’ve shown around. He understood what we were talking about . . . The others just waffled and did nothing. Norman was really interested.” [Missing Credit]The location of Mt Kirk in Fiordland. Image: supplied He was delighted the mountain had been named after Mr Kirk. “He was pretty brave in the context of all the overcautious politicians. He needs to be remembered, but part of the whole thing to me was that all this is so easy to forget. ”You talk to half the people in Te Anau they don’t understand how a close thing this was. Those two lakes, the biggest part of our national park, our biggest national park, could have been completely buggered and look like Lake Monowai does now. COPYRIGHT - ALLIED MEDIAPrime Minister Norman Kirk in Alexandra in 1974. Photo: ODT files ”Monowai is horrible. Just brown trees that won’t decay, sticking up all around the area. Like it’s unusable. It’s not a recreational thing.” Dr Moore said part of his soul was still in Te Anau. “It was a big deal and we fought like hell and I think a little band of angry troops in Te Anau were the difference for the campaign in the end.”
