Tawapou Costal Natives

Throughout the district we have noticed an increase of native wildlife e.g. pateke. kereru, kiwi and even kakareki have been spotted. The value of years of consistent pest control is important if we want to save what we have left of our wildlife. Everyone can play a part. Amazing footage above of our efforts. Last week not only did we have a paradise duck land on the high coastal cliffs to investigate the oi burrows (Grey-faced petrel) but an inquisitive kiwi wanders around h

https://vimeo.com/488325601 Watch this video and you will see that something very exciting has been happening out on the Taurawhata headland recently. The decoy gannet colony has been getting a friendly visitor for over a month now. This yet to be named fella seems to be very keen on a few of our lovely looking lady birds even if they keep giving him a cold wing. It is a hopeful ‘long shot’ to get an established gannet colony here on the mainland, but having a visitor hanging

After growing them for the best part of 5 years, we are delighted to see these beauties making their way to the rooftop of the Hundertwasser Art Centre. This is just the first stage of what will be the largest rooftop garden in the southern hemisphere. This is especially significant for one species, in particular, Pennantia baylissiana is one of the rarest NZ natives, with only one individual left in the wild - on the Three Kings Island. 7 Sharp came to see what all the fuss

As we are all thrown into another lockdown here in New Zealand, its’ given us some space to take a quick breath and be relieved that we finished our revegetation planting a week ago! We hope you have all had a chance to get outside through this lockdown, the bush around us has shown some spectacular flowers from clematis, manuka, karo and even a few kowhai! This year's planting on the family farm next to the nursery, is another step toward our goal of regenerating the whole f

After a three-year hiatus (due to the Covid restrictions), the Tawapou Conservation Trust with the support from QEII and the financial backing of Stevenson’s Trust and MPI, resumed the community involvement in the revegetation restoration work on Tawapou Farm. On Saturday, July the 30 th - after weeks of relentless rain - we were lucky enough to have a beautiful sunny morning. Between 120-150 volunteers turned up with their spades in hand to attack the hillside. Within a few

On the 29th of June 2024 - Matariki Weekend - a community planting day took place at Tawapou Farm. Approximately 94% (124 hectares) of Tawapou is protected by an Open Space QEII covenant, which ensures the perpetual preservation of its natural features. Tawapou features more than 3km of pristine coastline and is home to a number of rare and endangered plant and animal species. This year’s planting completed the last wetland protection that is connected to the stream which run

This developed from an idea Guy has had for some time, 'a net with balls bursting through'.When asked in 2016 to exhibit for a third time at NZ Sculpture on Shore, which is the main fund raising source for Women's Refuge he decided this work and name was appropriate. Some balls pushing against the net and some breaking through. Each joint of puriri sticks in Breaking Point is scarved, glued with epoxy resin and screwed with stainless steel screws and caped with dowl. There ar

As a Puriri tree grows the lower thin branches die shaded out by the canopy above. Eventually they drop to the ground and the main trunk grows over the hole, any trace of these branches disappears. The thin sticks are incredibly strong like the timber of the Puriri tree. The hanging gourd like shape of the basket made from these thin sticks shows this enormous strength by holding the solid totara rocks. A local commercial fisherman taught Guy how to bind which gives the stren

Sculpture Northland Results 3,500 people attended 30+ volunteers put in hundreds of hours 70% of exhibited works sold to admirers from near and far. 1,100 people voted for the 'Peoples Choice Award' This year's winner was ' Vitex Balls' (pictured) by craftsman Guy Bowden - they'll be happy out at Tawapou Coastal Natives ! A VERY close 2nd was the excellent 'Free Climbers' by Hannah Easton - I wish we could keep those little guys! The top 10 were (in catalogue order): 3a Pete

Exhibited NZ Sculpture on Shore, November 8th -18th 2012 (Voted in top five of "People's Choice Award") In early New Zealand many rural families would have had a Hinaki in the back yard. This would have been set regularly to catch tuna. Now that our waterways have been exploited and are heavily polluted, tuna survival is threatened and the Hinaki have become a thing of the past. This may be the last one you will see. The Hinaki Waharua (the eel pot) is made from thin Puriri b

Winner of People's Choice Award 2012 Quarry gardens Exhibition Every spring just as the days start getting longer and hotter, and the Tui arrive in the garden to stake their claim on trees in which to nest, so to do the school fish turn up. On some days from our deck you can see half a dozen or more schools stretching out over the horizon. Just as you are thinking this is nature at its best, the damn pursainer boats appear, planes buzz around spotting the schools for the boat

This is my fourth piece and quite a change from anything else I've carved before. This beautiful plant is found growing along the coastline of Kaikoura. The leaves and flowers are made from a recycled Kauri stud which came from one of Auckland's earliest homes, a Bishop Selwyn house built around 1857 in Parnell, Auckland. The branch is mounted on a piece of rustic Puriri collected from Tawapou Farm.

Pronounced Patu Pie/a/de/he When my parents were married in the 50's one of the wedding gifts they were given was an etching by Trevor Lloyd. As a child this etching hung in the hallway outside my bedroom. The etching was of a typical New Zealand bush scene with a large Mamaku and a small cave beneath, out of the cave came the "tiny people" or "Patu paiarehe". They are the fairy like beings that are seldom seen in the misty mountain tops or deep forests, said to have magical

This is my second wood sculpture, just completed. Although the idea almost certainly grew out of the first one, I really consider it to be a step up. It took many more hours to complete and has more happening and detail to it. As you would expect, I have always had a strong interest in nature and as a young child growing up on the farm I would spend hours playing and catching the creatures in the creeks. When we (Tawapou Coastal Natives) began sponsoring the Northland Farm En

A little while ago my wife was saying I was unhealthy and I needed to do more exercise. I decided to go walking around the farm. My first walk was along the drive of our property, which was a bit too boring. The next day I decided to take a more cross country route and check out some old twisted Puriri roots and trunks which I knew were lying at the bottom of a gully. I don't now if it was while looking at the Puriri or while crossing a swamp, or the fact that I had just rece

The Poor Knights have always featured in my life. In the early sixties my parents bought a farm on the Tutukaka Coast where I grew up with the rest of my family and where my wife and two children live today. It just so happens that our farm is the closest point of the main land to the Poor Knights. From wherever you are on the farm they lie right on the horizon dominating the view. My father who had a science degree and knew a lot about marine biology was good friends with ma

Tawapou was originally created as a three hundred acre farm for a returning World War One soldier. However poor soil, unreliable rainfall and Tawapou's small acreage have always made conventional farming difficult. For fifty of the one hundred years since it was created, Tawapou has been supported and protected by Dr. Katharine Bowden (and her late husband Dr. Bernard Bowden) and their family. Now, for many kilometres in either direction, farm land has been extensively subdiv