Jim Duckworth (1941 – 2024)

As a lad Jim and his brother’s playground was the Mangemangeroa creek. Jim told of eeling in this creek and how he and friends thought an old wirewove base would make an excellent net to trap fish! Little did they realize just how many fish they would trap in it. They couldn’t lift it out! He recalled how one of the local garages disposed of their used tyres by dumping them over the bridge into the creek. These tyres made excellent homes for the resident eels and in each tyre could be found a curled up eel maintaining its territory.

Jim was always adamant that the spelling of the area as Maungamaungaroa (as it is on old maps) was a better interpretation than the spelling today (Mangemangeroa). He rightly pointed out that anyone carrying a load of pipis up to the present trig site would certainly have called it a “bloody big, big hill”!

As a boy, Jims Mum encouraged him to grow nikau from seed from the nikau on their property. This was the start of Jims love of restoration. The grove of nikau at the start of the track below the barn are from Jims collection of nurtured nikau seed. He collected, germinated and then transplanted these plants. Over the years the protective netting was home for many quail families.

The news that the Somerville farm had been purchased by Manukau City council to become a reserve was told to Jim by Barry Ross, a Manukau city Councilor and a member of Howick Rotary. Realising that there was no easy entry for the public to this reserve Jim built the first of the kissing gates. This allowed direct access from the road.

Now, with public access, there was interest in how this reserve was managed. In Jim’s lounge, three keen Rotarians, Jim, Jack McKenzie and Austen Gate met to discuss how best to achieve this. It was at this meeting that the idea of a “Friends of Mangemangeroa” group was tabled. Jack was knowledgeable as to why this was necessary, Austen, after 50 years of weed control had this area covered and Jim was extremely knowledgeable about the plants and how to grow and restore this area. None were keen to chair this group and Allan Riley, also from rotary, was approached and agreed to take on this role.

In 2000 Jim sourced seed from the reserve and propagated these in his modified cow yard. The 350 plants including puriri, kahikatea, totara, mahoe, nikau and titree and were planted by students from Somerville Intermediate: the first school to plant in the reserve. David Ellery, Principal of Somerville Intermediate was an active member of this undertaking.

When the number of plants was more than his small nursery could handle he helped to salvage the “Trees for Survival” propagation unit from Howick College and relocate it to Somerville Intermediate. This unit has contributed up to 1900 plants a season depending on the species grown and is now situated on the reserve.

Jim’s input as a committee member has been huge.  He has instigated by organizing, in conjunction with Rotary, the procurement, production, and installation of the three seats within the reserve as well as the macrocarpa slab seat at the Trig, and the redwood group seating toward Hayley Lane. These two projects were made from trees grown and milled, by Jim, on his property. The trig seat has a plaque dedicated to Allan Riley (Jims friend) and was placed during a special ceremony organized by Jim. 

Jim and his tractor were heavily involved with restoration work; on planting days to shift plants, working bee days shifting gear, and then when drought threatened newly planted species Jim carried water with his tractor to water these. Nothing was too much and Jim tackled the task with pleasure.

As a Rotarian Jim, each year, offered the Young Leadership Rotarians the opportunity to volunteer within the reserve. These young people were then invited back to Jim and Judy’s home for sour dough bread, scones with jam and cream, and freshly squeezed lemon cordial.

Over the 25 years of involvement in the Reserve with Friends of Mangemangeroa Jim was involved in all of the following:

  • The proposal and application with Howick Community Board for the first walkway to the Maritime Recreation Fund for funding for Stage one walkway which was successful and opened on 25 November 2000.
  • Contributed to the framing of the Council Management Plan for the reserve in 2002
  • The Second stage walkway which extended the initial walkway south of the lower end of Chisbury Reserve and from there to Pohutukawa Ave in Shelly Park.  Again, after application for funding from the Maritime Recreation Fund with Howick Community Board.  This was opened on 1 November 2003.
  • The third stage known as the Rotary Loop was opened on 29 October 2005 which continued the track southward nearly to the bridge and from there up to Somerville to the swing gate adjacent to the cattle yards.
  • In 2009 Manukau City Council toll funds from its cash in lieu of reserves funds to buy a strip of privately owned land which extended the walkway up the valley past Whitford Bridge to link with Hayley Lane.  This was opened on 17 March 2012 and brought in about half of the Mangemangeroa Valley to public access and the overall length of the Mangemangeroa Walkway to approximately 5 kms.
  • In 2013 with the carpark at Hayley’s Lane completed.   Seating was provided by the Friends of Mangemangeroa and a separate table and seat was funded by Howick Rotary.
  • On 15 December 2018 the Friends Lookout a Friends of Mangemangeroa project was completed.
  • In 2019 The Friends of Mangemangeroa were involved in the development of the Mangemangeroa Restoration Plan which was put together in conjunction with Auckland Council.
  • Jim was made a life member of the Friends of Mangemangeroa in 2023
  • Involved with annual community and school planting days that commenced in 2000 until his passing in 2024.
  • Propagation of thousands of trees since the restoration project started.
  • Seating at the Trig, below barn and start of the Rotary Loop and Hayleys Lane.
  • Annual RYLA planting days when he would provide a lovely lunch after the morning’s work by this group.
  • Morning tea of his famous Eccles cakes each week for our Wednesday Weeding team.  This was sadly missed when Jim passed and no one can match his Eccles cakes.
  • Committee member of the Friends of Mangemangeroa until his passing in 2024

Jim dedicated 25 years to the restoration of the Mangemangeroa Reserve and his spirit lives on in the Reserve.  In his words “This is a place of beauty and a place of memories and contemplation”.