Hundreds mourn loss of rare kiwi
A little white kiwi with a feisty personality was more than just a bird to those who met her and the institutions which served as her guardians.
Manukura was emblematic of iwi guardians who named her, and a tremendous boon to the Pu¯kaha National Wildlife Centre in Wairarapa which hatched her.
The extremely rare bird made the news across the world as the first white kiwi chick to be hatched in captivity back in 2011, and she died on December 27, after surgery to remove an infertile egg that had become stuck.
A memorial service held at Pu¯kaha, just south of Eketa¯huna, on Saturday afternoon was attended by hundreds.
Mike Kawana, of Rangita¯ne o Wairarapa, said iwi elders believed an unusual event, such as the arrival of the white kiwi almost 10 years ago, was a sign of significant events on the horizon.
‘‘The way that it was put to me by the old people ... was this was a sign of good things to come.’’
The iwi not longer after completed its Waitangi Tribunal process and was awarded the national wildlife centre and its land has part of its treaty settlement.
‘‘Our settlement went through and Pu¯kaha came back to us, all those things started to happen.’’
Kawana gave Manukura her name and said she was emblematic of the progress of iwi in recent years.
‘‘She surely in her time with us has been quite an awesome little taonga.’’
Department of Conservation Wairarapa area manager and former manager of the Mt Bruce facility, Kathy Houkamau, said as soon as the news of Manukura’s arrival was released, the demand to see her was enormous.
She was fielding hundreds of calls from media around the world and sometimes, she referred to herself as Manukura’s PA.
‘‘It was insane, but in a good way.’’
The centre was reeling from the loss of several kiwi after a ferret incursion in July 2010 and the birth of the white kiwi chick less than a year later was a positive development.
‘‘Manukura came to us exactly when we needed her magic.’’ Houkamau said the bird had a remarkable effect on people. ‘‘People were utterly spellbound and nobody was immune to her power.
‘‘I saw many people wiping away tears when they saw her.’’
Bob Francis, chair of the Pu¯kaha Board from 2006 to 2020, said she had a ‘‘stroppy’’ nature, which made her a character to observe in the newly upgraded Kiwi house.
‘‘It is with great sadness that we’ve lost her but her memory will carry on.’’
There have been two other white kiwi hatched at Pu¯kaha since Manukura and one of those may be on show later in the year.