Where and who
Where and who
Matuku Link is 37 hectares of wetland and native bush located at 111 Bethells Road, Te Henga, West Auckland. It is located immediately upstream of the Te Henga Wetland, the largest wetland in the Auckland region. Just off Bethells Road are the nursery, the barn and the house. The volunteers from Waitakere Rivercare look after the eco-sourced plants in our nursery, which we use to revegetate our wetland. Two tenants who work on the property live in the house, and we are in the process of turning the barn into a Sustainable Wetland Education Centre.
The excellent lowland native forest will become a safe corridor for native fauna with quality predator control like neighbouring projects Ark in the Park, Matuku Reserve, Habitat te Henga and Forest Ridge.
Its unique wetland habitat is home to endangered native species like our namesake matuku (bittern), the re-introduced pateke (brown teal), matata (fernbird) and puweto (spotless crake). It also hosts several native fish species, tuna (eels) and koura (fresh water cray fish), as well as many native forest birds like kereru, tui and ruru (morepork).
But it is also a great habitat for people. Because it is flat, groups and individuals of all ages can join our working bees, Open Days and special group tours, without having to be very fit or needing special equipment. In the past years, this has been one of our unexpected successes, with thousands of people experiencing a wetland, sometimes for the first time, and learning of its benefits for humans and animals alike.
Matuku Reserve Trust owns Matuku Link and it is governed by four hardworking, unpaid trustees, assisted by the dedicated voluntary secretary. Matuku Reserve Trust is a charitable trust so any donation over $5 is tax deductible, or support us in other ways. More info here.
Have a look at the property from above with this video on the left, and hear the plans for our barn in the video on the right.

Chad Wilkie - trustee

John Sumich - trustee
A science degree at Auckland was followed with a medical degree from Otago University. Setting up his general medical practice in West Auckland where he had been brought up, he in later decades initiated and led the successful Ark in the Park project in 1999.
Having bird species previously seen only on off shore reserves in his beloved Waitakere Ranges was a thrill shared by the many others volunteering and working at the Ark in the Park.
Starting a second project, Habitat te Henga, adjacent to the Ark in the Park with an aim of protecting wetland species and re-introducing Pateke (brown teal) has also been successful.

John Staniland - trustee
He is a founder and honorary ranger of the Society’s 120 hectare Matuku Reserve adjacent to the “Matuku Link”, having organised the purchase of several blocks of forest to bring the reserve to its present size. He has a good knowledge of the vegetation of this area and its bird life and is particularly interested in New Zealand’s different forest types and in educating people about them. John is also active in the Ornithological Society and A Rocha NZ (Christians in Conservation).

Geoff Davidson - trustee
Conservation issues pushed me into a job and an all-consuming hobby which have shaped every day since then. The job, growing native plants, quickly morphed into a full-time nursery business which in time introduced many plants unknown to the New Zealand public. The hobby kicked in and it became addictive. A group of conservationists and I have spent the past 36 years amassing 7,000 hectares of land as nature reserves around the country. It is an ongoing pleasure seeing nature take control and proceed to reintroduce all those species that once flourished in abundance. It has been a life full of satisfaction and gives hope for the future.

Diane Brunton - advisor
In addition to my ongoing research on avian cultural evolution, I have published 100+ research publications in peer reviewed journals on other ecology and conservation focused projects.

Tim Livingstone - advisor

Cate Macinnis-Ng - advisor
Cate also holds a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship from the Royal Society of New Zealand. Cate is particularly interested in climate change impacts on native forest and her main research focus is The Kauri Drought Experiment where she is exploring the impacts of low water availability on our largest tree species.

Stephen Lethbridge - advisor

Annalily van den Broeke - secretary

Sir Bob and Lady Barbara Harvey - patrons
Harvey and his wife Barbara, a practicing midwife, have five adult children: Celia, Tessa, Claris, Rupert and Fraser.
Harvey was awarded the United Nations Mayors for Peace Award in 1998, the New Zealand Medal for Community Service in 1990, and a Queen’s Service Order for Services to the Community in 1991. He was knighted as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2013 New Years Honours list.
Contact us:
Secretary Annalily van den Broeke
021-2207136 or email us at matukulink@gmail.com..
Physical address:
111 Bethells Road, Te Henga, Auckland
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