- Location: Cromwell Presbyterian Church, 10 Elspeth Street, Cromwell
- Start Date: Wednesday 18th Nov, 2026.
- End Date: Wednesday 18th Nov, 2026.
- Time: 10.00am - 12.00pm.
- 1 Weeks.
- 2 hours per week.
U3A Cromwell - NZ Subantarctic Islands - Specks in the Southern Ocean
Speaker: Greg Lind
About Greg:
Born in the North Island city of Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty Greg shifted south to the West Coast of the South Island in 1976.
Greg was a foundation staff member when the Department of Conservation (DOC) was formed in 1987 having been in the public service with the NZ Forest Service for 13 years and National Parks and Reserves (Department of Lands and Survey) for three years.
During the 32 years with DOC Greg was based in various field locations from the Catlins, Rakiura/Stewart Island, Invercargill (which included managing the far-flung NZ subantarctic islands), Queenstown/Tahuna and finally Fiordland National Park.
Greg has been married to Sue for 52 years and they have two children and four grandchildren. His main recreational activities are tramping, mountain biking and repairing a Canadian (Okanagan) caravan and exploring NZ. Sue and Greg now live in Cromwell where they have retired.
Greg’s talk will cover:
The five island groups:
• Snares
• Bounties
• Antipodes
• Auckland
• Campbell
These islands, all Nature Reserves (the highest protection category) and World Heritage sites contain some of the most diverse and unique fauna and flora on this planet. Most are almost pristine.
They also have a fascinating human history from sealing, whaling, attempts at settlement, farming, weather stations and war time occupation.
His presentation will cover all the island groups but focus particularly on Campbell and the Auckland Islands, especially covering the rat eradication on Campbell (a world first in terms of size) and efforts to eradicate pests on the Auckland Islands.
