Ahuahu & Andy Series: My Experiences as a Ranger on Great Mercury Island by Andy Hopping – Coromind Issue 32, 2025

Great Mercury Island / Ahuahu – 1872 hectares, basically two islands, one rhyolitic and the other andesitic, joined by a tombolo (natural sand isthmus) in the centre on which once stood great native conifer and coastal trees. At the time of my employment in 2016, Great Mercury Island had only just been officially recognised as a pest-free island, after a major pest eradication in 2014 focused primarily on rats, but also feral cats. There were no goats, possums or mustelids on the island in 2014 and surprisingly,,,