Golf course fence to ensure more birdies

BY MIKE WATSON

A publicity-shy rich lister has chipped in $2 million to build a predator-proof fence and establish a bird sanctuary on his private golf course near Taupo.

Kereru, tui and possibly kiwi could become as commonplace for golfers as other kinds of birdies.

Wairakei International Golf Course owner Gary Lane, an Auckland millionaire, said he wanted to provide a haven for bird and plant life while adding to the visual experience of the course. "It will give golf at Wairakei another dimension without impacting on the course."

The 18-hole golf course encompasses 60 hectares of the total 150-hectare land area.

Former All Blacks Andy Haden and Sean Fitzpatrick and US Amateur champion Danny Lee play at the course, which has a $3000 initial membership fee.

It is the first time a fence has been built around a golf course to keep out pests. There is a pest-proof fence at Cape Kidnappers, but it does not enclose the whole perimeter.

Construction of the five-kilometre two- metre-high stainless steel mesh and iron fence at Wairakei began in April and is due for completion in October.

A section of the angular curving structure is visible from State Highway 1. It is designed to be unobtrusive and far away from out-of-bounds areas.

Tim Day, of Rotorua's Xcluder Pest Proof Fence, said the target was to eradicate 99 per cent of all pests - including possums, feral cats, hedgehogs, mice, weasels, stoats, rabbits and rats - by next winter.

Ongoing management would ensure the area was 100 per cent pest-free within 12 months, he said.

He expected birds such as kereru, tui, bellbird, pheasant and quail to thrive in the pest-free environment as more trees were planted and wetland areas established.

An ecology report is due out soon, outlining what bird and plant species would be suitable. It is possible that kiwi could be introduced, as well as fallow deer.

Xcluder has helped to build 30 pest- proof fences including a 50-kilometre one at Mangatautari bird sanctuary, near Cambridge.

Dr Day said the company used an old rabbiters' trick of digging the mesh 50 millimetres deep and 400mm horizontally out from the bottom edge to confuse pests.

"They start digging and when they realise they can't go deeper, or find the edge, they go somewhere else along the fenceline."

A sloping 300mm steel cover extending over the outer boundary stopped pests from scaling the fence.

HIS COURSE OF ACTION

*  Auckland-based  businessman Gary Lane  has owned Wairakei  Golf Course since 2008,  when he bought out his  two Auckland-based  partners, Peter Francis  and Trevor Farmer.

* He's ranked 46th equal on the 2008 NBR Rich List with an estimated personal wealth of $180 million.

* Sold Healtheries and Hansell's for $139 million in 2006.

* Owned property in Paratai Drive and Herne Bay, including "Waimanu", once owned by the Sultan of Brunei.

* Currently a director in 21 companies, with shareholdings in 16.

* Has interest in Alloy Yachts, which built his superyacht Ab Lib in 2005.

* Wairakei Golf Course was originally owned by the Tourist Hotel Corporation, which developed the 18-hole course in 1970 before selling it to Japanese interests in 1989.

* In 1997, Mr Lane and his two business partners bought the course and spent $4 million upgrading it.

* It is a privately owned course but allows public access. Green fees are $100-$200. It has a membership base of 250.

- © Fairfax NZ News