Chatham Islands, New Zealand

The oldest wooden building on the Chatham Islands is close to being restored to its original state. Glory Cottage on Pitt Island (estimated to be built around the 1860s) was originally a shepherd's hut but was also known as a whaling cottage.

Four volunteers have just finished year three of the restoration plan which has included re-roofing, replacing weather boards, installing authentic windows and an old iron water tank as well as reinstating the internal staircase and constructing two porches that were originally a part of the building. The retired builders from Kapiti have stacked up an incredible 92 days work on the project and after spending four weeks on Pitt in February 2008, the same builders were very keen to return this February to complete the work.

Finishing tasks still to be done include rebuilding the chimney to the original specifications and moving the longboat within the fenced area of the cottage in order to protect from further damage.
DOC has appreciated the support and enthusiasm of the Pitt community for this project. Bernie Mallinson of Flowerpot Adventures advises that visitors are extremely impressed when visiting the Glory area of the island and in particular the history surrounding the cottage. It is hoped that the cottage will be cherished by all visitors for generations to come.

Over 30 years have passed since the remaining five black robins, including the last surviving fertile female "Old Blue", were translocated from Little Mangere to Mangere Island, in the beginning of a dramatic, 22-year long effort to rescue this endemic species from the brink of extinction. The conservation measures that were taken to save this species were successful and by 1998 two black robin populations had been restored including about 150 birds on Rangatira and 50 birds on Mangere Island. At this stage conservation managers decided that it was time to scale back the intense monitoring and management and to let the black robins recover unassisted.

While the descendents of "Old Blue" continued to lay eggs and raise their nestlings over the past 10 years, conservation biologists have become aware of another potential problem facing the remaining black robins. When populations decline to critical levels, individuals are forced to mate with close relatives and this can cause increased inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity. This has been the case with the black robin, which passed through a severe population bottleneck in the late 1970s, when numbers were reduced to five individuals (including only one fertile breeding pair). Of greatest concern is the loss of genetic variation, which in turn can lead to increased levels of reproductive failure, decreased resistance to diseases, and even a reduced ability to adapt to novel environmental changes.

The pair of Antipodean wandering albatross breeding on Hakepa, Pitt Island have fledged their second chick.  The nest was spotted in April 2008 and this resulted in a chick that has been patiently waiting since then to be old enough to fly out to sea - and on the 6th January it successfully did just that!

Pitt Island ranger, Kenny Dix, diligently visited the summit of Hakepa each week to check that all was well, as pigs and cattle pose some threat to the ground nesting chick. Kenny said that thankfully cattle did not seem to bother the chick at all.

In December, visiting DOC rangers were able to band the chick and the Pitt Island School children and parents took the opportunity to get up close on the action.

It is hoped that the parents will return to the same area to breed, which is likely to be in two years time, however the young chick that has just left is unlikely to return to breed for at least seven years.