Hugh Wilson | |
|---|---|
 Hugh Wilson in 2017 | |
| Born | 23 February 1945 Timaru, New Zealand |
| Citizenship | New Zealand |
| Alma mater | University of Canterbury |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | botanist |
Hugh Dale Wilson (born 1945) is a New Zealand botanist. He has written and illustrated a number of books about New Zealand plants, and manages Hinewai Reserve on Banks Peninsula.
Wilson was born in Timaru, and brought up in Christchurch by parents keen on the outdoors and camping; he attributes his love for birds to a family holiday to Stewart Island. [1] He went to Elmwood District (later Normal) School, where he began drawing birds at an early age. Planting New Zealand native plants in his backyard to attract birds sparked his interest in botany. [1] At St Andrews College he was Dux in 1962. He taught for Voluntary Service Overseas, the British scheme on which Volunteer Service Abroad was later to be based, in Sarawak on Borneo. After attending the University of Canterbury, he studied the botany of Stewart Island / Rakiura, and then the Aoraki / Mount Cook region, for several years. This was followed by a botanical survey of Banks Peninsula. [2] He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Lincoln University in 2019. [3]
The Department of Lands and Survey had a programme, known as the Protected Natural Areas Programme (PNAP), of identifying and protecting examples of plant life, animals, ecosystems and landscape features that make New Zealand unique. The PNAP was established in 1983, and the country was divided into 268 ecological districts, grouped into 85 ecological regions. Banks Peninsula was one of those regions, with Port Hills, Herbert and Akaroa making up its three districts. [4]
Wilson started fieldwork on Banks Peninsula and Kaitorete Spit in September 1983. He established a 1000-yard grid-point system and surveyed a 6 m x 6 m sample plot at each site. That way, 1331 plots were surveyed over a five-year period. While the work had been supported by the Koiata Botanical Trust, DOC realised that it was directly relevant to their aims, and asked Wilson to write the Banks Peninsula PNAP report. The report was the 21st in the series and published in 1992. [5]
Hinewai Reserve is a private nature reserve on Banks Peninsula. It started off as a 109 ha block of farmland bought by the Maurice White Native Forest Trust in September 1987 and is now 1230 ha of gorse and regenerating native bush. [6] Wilson identified the land as suitable for the trust's aims during his PNAP work. He has been managing the reserve since its purchase.
Wilson is featured in the film Earth Whisperers/Papatuanuku. [7]
In 2010, Wilson was interviewed for the feature-length documentary film Queen of the Sun . [8]
In 2019, Wilson was the subject for the short documentary film "Fools and Dreamers: Regenerating a Native Forest". [9] [10]
Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately 1,150 square kilometres (440 sq mi) and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest city, Christchurch, is immediately north of the peninsula.
Ulex is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are native to parts of western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia.
Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for "Long Harbour", which would be spelled Whangaroa in standard Māori. The area was also named Port Louis-Philippe by French settlers after the reigning French king Louis Philippe I.
Resolution Island or Tau Moana (Māori) is the largest island in the Fiordland region of southwest New Zealand, covering a total of 208 km2 (80 sq mi). It is the country's seventh largest island, and the second largest uninhabited island. Resolution Island is separated from the mainland of the South Island by Tamatea / Dusky Sound, Te Puaitaha / Breaksea Sound, and Acheron Passage. The island is part of the Fiordland National Park.
Ōtamahua / Quail Island is an 81 ha uninhabited island within Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō in the South Island of New Zealand, close to Christchurch. The island was given its European name by Captain William Mein Smith who saw native quail here in 1842; though they were already extinct by 1875. Ōtamahua means 'the place where children collect sea eggs'. Te Kawakawa refers to the pepper trees found on the island.
Leonard Cockayne is regarded as New Zealand's greatest botanist and a founder of modern science in New Zealand.
William John Alexander Montgomery was a New Zealand politician from Little River on Banks Peninsula, and a merchant. Born in London, he lived in a number of places and pursued a number of occupations before settling in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Henry George Ell, commonly known as Harry Ell, was a Christchurch City councillor and a New Zealand Member of Parliament. He is famous for his conservation work around Christchurch's Port Hills, his advocacy for the Summit Road, and his construction of the Sign of the Takahe and other road houses along the Summit Road.
The Banks Track is a 31 kilometre private walking track on the Banks Peninsula on the South Island of New Zealand in the Canterbury region. The track opened in 1989 as the first privately owned track in New Zealand.
Hinewai Reserve is a private nature reserve on Banks Peninsula in New Zealand.
Gorse was introduced to New Zealand in the early stages of European settlement. It is now a major invasive plant species with millions of dollars spent on its control.
Ellesmere was a parliamentary electorate in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. It existed for two periods between 1861 and 1928 and was represented by six Members of Parliament.
Biological control programs for gorse in New Zealand have existed since the introduction of the gorse seed weevil in 1928. Biological pest control is the use of natural mechanisms such as predation to limit the growth and prevalence of a pest. The early research into the biological control of common gorse in New Zealand was among the first of such programs worldwide.
Akaroa Harbour, is part of Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. The harbour enters from the southern coast of the peninsula, heading in a predominantly northerly direction. It is one of two major inlets in Banks Peninsula, on the coast of Canterbury, New Zealand; the other is Lyttelton Harbour on the northern coast.
The Akaroa Marine Reserve is a marine reserve covering an area of 512.15 hectares at the entrance to the Akaroa Harbour in New Zealand. It was approved in 2013 after a lengthy campaign, and established in 2014.
Takamatua, with an initial European name of German Bay, is a small town situated in Akaroa Harbour on Banks Peninsula in New Zealand. The main road to Akaroa passes through this locality. It is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of Akaroa township.
Veronica strictissima, the Banks Peninsula hebe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is only found on Banks Peninsula in New Zealand.
Asaphodes chlamydota is a moth in the family Geometridae. It is endemic to New Zealand, and can be found in the lower part of the North Island and in the South Island. It inhabits native forest and shrublands. The larvae of this species feeds on native Clematis plants including Clematis afoliata. Adults are on the wing from November to April and are regarded as having intermedia flight powers.
McHughs Forest Park is a 43 hectare public recreational reserve on the edge of Darfield town in the Selwyn District of the South Island of New Zealand. It was established in 1893 as a plantation forest for timber and shelter, dominated by Douglas fir but with a mix of other exotic conifers.
Takapūneke, with the location also known as Red House Bay, is a former kāinga—an unfortified Māori village—adjacent to present-day Akaroa, New Zealand. Takapūneke was a major trading post for the local iwi (tribe), Ngāi Tahu, as there was safe anchorage for European vessels. The site is of significance to Ngāi Tahu as their tribal chief, Tama-i-hara-nui, was captured here by North Island Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha, and then tortured and killed. The village itself was raided and subject of a massacre, with the events subsequently called the Elizabeth affair. There is a direct link from the massacre in 1830 to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, giving the site a status of national significance.
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