Thirty years ago on, 1 April 1987, DOC was born. It was a national declaration that our country valued its nature and wild places, and that we were committed to protecting it for future generations.
30 years of DOC. Photo: Rob Brown ©
30 years of DOC
On 1 April 1987 the Department of Conservation was launched by Prime Minister David Lange in Wellington.
Over 1800 staff were drawn together from the New Zealand Forest Service and Department of Lands and Survey, and the smaller Wildlife Service, Historic Places Trust and other government agencies.
New Zealand became one of the first Governments in the world to group all of its conservation functions into one organisation, with a clear mandate to protect and restore unique places, flora and fauna.
Over the last 30 years DOC has built on the successes of our predecessors and continued to grow conservation by working in partnership with New Zealanders.
Take a look at our past celebrations of 20 years and 25 years of DOC.
Trampers, West Matukituki Valley, December 1987
Sharing our stories
To mark this anniversary, we wanted to celebrate our history, our people and our nature on social media.
For every one of the 30 days in April we will celebrate a year of DOC’s existence by sharing photos and stories from that particular year, starting tomorrow with 1987 — the first year of DOC.
Join us as we take a step back in time to remember the history and achievements from 30 years of conservation. Follow along on the DOC website or on Twitter using the hashtag #DOCturns30.
Common dolphins. Photo: Terry Greene
