Great Barrier Island Environmental Trust

On June 10 2014 the north of Aotea was hit by more than 330mm of rain in three hours. This was not forecast – it appears to have been the result of heavily moist northeast flow colliding with a severe gale strength southerly change. The rain fell on already saturated ground and as a result a number of catchments suffered catastrophic slip damage. The rainfall was highly localised - in particular streams at Okiwi, Motairehe, Karaka Bay, Glenfern, Wairahi and the Kaiaraara became logjams within hours, with all vegetation stripped from the creek beds as the slip debris literally avalanched down to the valley floors taking all and any infrastructure – bridges, culverts, tracks, fences and roads - with it. In other parts of the island there was little damage other than from the wind, but in the north the roading repair bill alone was more than $7 million.

The effect on DoC has been severe – not least the forced abandonment of the Port FitzRoy office due to an unstable slip above the road – which was also completely washed out. The lower kauri damn was obliterated. Many tracks were closed and some remain closed. At the same time DoC staffing fell to an all-time low of five on the island, with a core group of staff remaining, but with little funding for biodiversity protection and a split in the management of the island between DoC Auckland and DoC Whangarei. More than $2m in rebuilt infrastructure has been committed, but as a result the proposed eradication of rats from Rakitu stalled, as did work on a reintroducing kokako to Te Paparahi.