Sir John Logan Campbell Lecture 2016: The Hauraki Gulf - past, present and future?

Auckland Conversations

Auckland Conversations presents the annual Mayoral Sir John Logan Campbell Lecture as part of the Auckland Heritage Festival. Join Mayor Len Brown to hear internationally acclaimed writer and academic, Kerry Howe discuss the history and future of one of the most iconic areas of Auckland. Both Maori and European settlers exploited the Gulf islands, introduced predators, caused species extinction, and depleted forests. Colonial economic activity was on an industrial scale - mining, quarrying, sand, shingle and timber extraction. Reflecting new global attitudes towards the environment in the 1970s, so began our local and now world-renowned process of Gulf island restoration - eradicating pests, replanting native vegetation, and introducing endangered birds, insects and reptiles. We have created a much loved recreational paradise on our Treasure Islands. Yet the waters of the Gulf are still at threat from pollution, overfishing, and economic and population pressures. How do we account for this contradiction, and what are the implications for the future?