Dave Wakelin

Dave started as a Ranger in Fiordland National Park in 1969, taking on various management roles and with a special interest in interpretation. He ran the summer nature programme for a number of years as well as contributing to park newsletters, where Dave’s iconic cartoon figure Tark of the Park (in the collection below) was born. In 1987 Tark became the mascot for the Centennial of New Zealand’s national parks and appeared in publications and on TV. Dave was one of the initial presenters for the children’s natural history series Wildtrack. He moved to Tūrangi in 1986 to take charge of the Department‘s international training centre. Through the early ‘90s he worked on international park and conservation management projects in Indonesia, Fiji and Vanuatu. For 28 years he has designed and edited Tongariro, Project Tongariro’s annual publication on the National Park and Taupō area. He has presented papers on interpretation at conferences in New Zealand and Australia. Dave currently operates his own graphic design business, Tark Communications Limited (www.tark.co.nz)

In 1968 I had undertaken a Postgraduate Diploma in Wildlife Management at Otago University. During a field trip to Fiordland National Park, I met most of the Rangers and found them to be a very open enthusiastic bunch. The following year I started a postgraduate Diploma in Science at Otago University, but the research didn’t go well, and the money was running out! I saw a position for a Ranger in Fiordland National Park advertised and applied. Three weeks later I was at an interview in Invercargill held by members of the Fiordland National Park Board and shortly after that advised that I had the job. Three weeks later I was in Te Anau with my wife and started work on 21 April 1969. 

I was the last Ranger appointed by a Park Board in New Zealand and also the first to become a Ranger totally under Lands and Survey.