More than $240,000 was raised in Queenstown on Saturday night, to support the translocation of kiwi pukupuku (little spotted kiwi) to Fiordland.

The RealNZ Conservation Ball — dubbed ‘A Night for Nature’ — this year raised a total of $240,675 on the night, the highest amount of the company’s gala events in its decade-long history.

RealNZ announced the planned translocation, to Ao-ata-te-pō Cooper Island, in May — it’s due to take place in 2028, following a decade of predator trapping led by the company under a community agreement with the Department of Conservation (Doc).

While the island’s proximity to the mainland means it can never be completely predator-free, sustained suppression of predator numbers, alongside a commitment to future management, has given Doc the confidence to approve a wildlife permit for the return of kiwi pukupuku to Fiordland for the first time in generations.

MC’d by Tamati Rimene-Sproat, the event opened with a mihi whakatau from Paulette Tamati-Elliffe — speakers included RealNZ director Mark Malpass, Ngāi Tahu Holdings chief executive Todd Moyle and Doc director-general Peter Chrisp, while Conservation Minister Tama Potaka sent a video message.

A fundraising auction was hosted by comedian Te Radar, and the Les Hutchins Conservation Foundation raffled a once-in-a-lifetime expedition cruise to New Zealand’s remote Subantarctic Islands, thanks to Heritage Expeditions.

Chrisp says he is grateful to RealNZ for hosting the “fantastic event”, noting nature is a cause people want to be part of.

“This event shows what can happen when that energy is turned into action.”

RealNZ chief executive Dave Beeche says the fundraiser meant the company can start the next chapter for kiwi pukupuku “from a position of real strength”.

“And it sits on top of a decade of hard, unglamorous work on the ground at Cooper Island.
”Thank you to everyone who gave so generously, and to our partners, sponsors, staff and volunteers who make this night what it is.”

The fundraising for kiwi pukupuku is continuing — Beech says through RealNZ’s ‘Real Promise’, the company is donating 1% of all online booking revenue to the project until the end of September, alongside staff-led fundraising events.
The company is also backing kiwi pukupuku in this year’s Bird of the Year competition, voting for which opens tomorrow.

tracey.roxburgh@scene.co.nz