Expansion would bring almost the entire Wairarapa under a single internationally accredited night sky reserve.
Eight years after work began to protect Wairarapa’s internationally recognised night skies, plans to extend the Wairarapa Dark Sky Reserve into Masterton district are almost ready to be launched.
The move would expand the reserve from South Wairarapa and Carterton into Masterton, increasing the protected area from 3,665 sq km to 5,965 sq km and more than doubling the population covered by the reserve from 22,000 to 51,400 residents.
The reserve was formally accredited by Dark Sky International in 2023 following a campaign that began with an informal public gathering in Martinborough in 2018.
When the reserve was established, the founding committee deliberately created a pathway for future expansion, recognising that a region-wide reserve would strengthen the protection, preservation and promotion of Wairarapa’s widely recognised dark skies.
When the reserve was established, the founding committee deliberately created a pathway for future expansion, recognising that a region-wide reserve would strengthen the protection, preservation and promotion of Wairarapa’s widely recognised dark skies.
The committee also set three long-term strategic goals: to eventually include the whole Wairarapa within the reserve’s boundaries; to ensure public lighting and lighting regulations across the region met Dark Sky International standards; and to secure approval for expansion once the necessary work had been completed.
Including Masterton has presented new challenges. The district’s urban area and population of 28,900 make it one of the larger urban centres within any dark sky reserve internationally, bringing greater complexity around public and private lighting.
Yet Wairarapa also has a strong tradition of night-sky observation and astronomy.
The region’s connection with the stars stretches back to Kupe, who is said to have navigated using the night sky, winds, currents and the sea. Later came Captain James Cook and, in more recent history, figures such as Charles Rooking Carter, whose name lives on in both Carterton and the Carter Observatory, and Featherston farmer Stephen Carkeek, founder of the Carkeek Observatory.
More recently, at least eight private observatories have been established in South Wairarapa, including the Wellington Astronomical Society’s Cretney Observatory, named in honour of founding member Syd Cretney.
Supporters say the expanded reserve will strengthen the preservation, protection and promotion of the region’s night skies while reinforcing connections between environmental stewardship and cultural heritage.
It is also expected to encourage education in astronomy, science and environmental monitoring, creating opportunities for schools throughout the region to participate in dark sky and wider environmental projects.
The larger reserve would provide greater opportunities for collaboration between district councils, mana whenua, community groups, businesses and residents.
Its backers see the proposal as a shared commitment by communities, mana whenua and local authorities to preserving and promoting the region’s world-class nightscape.
Tararua District Council has also indicated its interest in joining the reserve in the future.
