In the past two years the Ōhiwa community has lost two principal advocates and passionate volunteers who have worked persistently for the restoration of the harbour’s natural environment: Jacqui Hughes and Mike Collins.
Conservationist, teacher and community leader Jacqui Hughes from Wainui passed away in September 2022. Stuart Slade, of the Nukuhou Saltmarsh Care Group, then wrote: “Sunday morning, 4 September 2022, our group met as usual, but for one of the first times in the last 20 years Jacqui Hughes was not with us. This is a great and sad loss for her family, and the whole community. Jacqui was a founding member of our care group, and worked tirelessly for conservation throughout the years”.
Mike Collins equally spent much of his retirement looking after the fragile bird habitats in the harbour, including those on Whangakopikopiko, on a small shellbank near Uretara Island and in the Ōhiwa Domain. As a retired engineer, Mike was great at collecting and making sense of data and also creating inventive, technical solutions to tricky conservation problems. Together with his wife Meg he founded the Ōhiwa Reserves Care Group. Among his many activities he made sure rodents were kept in check. Mike passed away in May 2023. Both Jacqui and Mike will be remembered as inspirational leaders in the Ōhiwa community.
