Aotea Harbour | |
|---|---|
| Aotea Harbour and Taranaki (150km away faint towards right) from Houchens Rd, Te Mata | |
| Coordinates: 37°58′29″S174°50′23″E / 37.97463°S 174.83980°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Waikato region |
| Districts | Waikato District Ōtorohanga District |
| Population | |
| • Total | 1,896 (2,013) |
| River sources | Pakoka River |
| Ocean/sea sources | Tasman Sea |
| Basin countries | New Zealand |
| Max. length | 6 km (3.7 mi) |
| Max. width | 6 km (3.7 mi) |
| Surface area | 31.9 km2 (12.3 sq mi) |
Aotea Harbour (Māori : Aotea Moana) is a settlement and smallest of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. [1] It is located between Raglan Harbour to the north and Kawhia Harbour to the south, 30 kilometres southwest of Hamilton.
Aotea Harbour is a drowned valley system following the post glacial Aranuian sea level rise of over 100m in the last 14,000 years, but its level may also be influenced by the Makomako and Te Maari faults. [2] It has a high-tide area of 32 km2 (12 sq mi) and a low-tide area of 6 km2 (2.3 sq mi). [3]
Most higher ground around the harbour is formed from Jurassic era graywacke stone, while the Aotea Harbour north head were formed from Quaternary marine deposits, wind blown north-east from the Tasman Sea. [4]
54% of the area around the harbour is in sheep and beef grazing. Since 1850 native forest cover has declined from 98% to 28%, about 18% managed by the Department of Conservation. [1]
Waireinga/Bridal Veil Falls is located on Pakoka River, and Lake Disappear is on Pakihi Stream, both of which flow into Aotea Harbour.
Most of the land surrounding the Aotea Harbour is grassland with occasional pōhutukawa trees; however, archaeological charcoal evidence shows the presence of some tawa, rimu and kanuka trees, alongside Hebe and Coprosma shrubs. [4] In the present day, some common plants found around the harbour are Cotula coronopifolia , Sarcocornia quinqueflora , Avicennia marina , Apodasmia similis , Selliera radicans , Plagianthus divaricatus , Paspalum vaginatum , Samolus repens , Juncus kraussii , Zostera novazelandica, Austrostipa stipoides, Isolepis cernua, Spartina anglica, Schoenoplectus pungens, Baumea juncea, Cordyline australis, Olearia solandri, Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, Leptospermum scoparium , Bolboschoenus fluviatilis , Coprosma propinqua , Cortaderia selloana , Cortaderia jubata and Typha orientalis . [5]
Birds recorded in the harbour include white faced heron, South Island oyster catcher, godwit, pied stilt, black backed gull, red billed gull, swan, Canada goose, spur-winged plover, New Zealand dotterel, Royal spoonbill, kingfisher, pied shag, fernbird, paradise duck, [5] Caspian tern, white-fronted tern and gannet. [6]
The commonest fish species in the harbour are anchovy, flounder and yellow-eyed mullet. [6] Shellfish species found in the harbour include Pipi and cockles. [4]
Orca, bottlenose and common dolphin occasionally enter the harbour. [6]
According to traditional history, the harbour is the final landing place for the Aotea waka. [4] Migrants from the Aotea waka are said to have brought karaka trees to the area when they settled. [7] People aboard the ' Tainui waka settled around the Aotea Harbour, Kawhia Harbour and Whaingaroa Harbour (Raglan Harbour) in approximately 1350. [4] Over 100 Māori archaeological sites are found around the harbour, dating to the 15th and 16th centuries. [4] Many found on the Aotea Harbour north head, such as Koreromaiwaho Paa, were covered with Aeolian sand, blown due to the prevailing south-westerly wind. [4] The people who settled around Aotea Harbour traditionally cultivated kumara, while collecting tuatua from the Tasman Sea, and pipi and cockles from the harbour. [4] The harbour was the site of a seven generational war between Ngāti Māhanga and Ngāti Tū-irirangi. [8]
By the early 1800s, the Aotea Harbour area had been settled by Tainui iwi including Ngāti Māhanga, Ngāti Te Wehi, Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Koata and Ngāti Toa. [4] [8] Conflict between Tainui iwi led by Pōtatau Te Wherowhero and Ngāti Toa, led to Ngāti Toa settling Kapiti Island and the Kāpiti Coast in the 1820s, while their allies, the Ngāti Koata, settled around the northern shore of the South Island (in the Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough regions). [4] In the 1880s described as the north-western edge of the Te Rohe Pōtae (King Country lands). [9]
Several Waikato Tainui marae are located around Aotea Harbour. Te Tihi o Moerangi Marae and meeting house are affiliated with Ngāti Mahuta and Ngāti Te Weehi. Mōtakotako Marae and Te Ōhākī a Mahuta meeting house are affiliated with Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Te Weehi and Tainui Hapū. Te Papatapu or Te Wehi Marae and Pare Whakarukuruku meeting house are affiliated with Ngāti Mahuta and Ngāti Te Weehi. [10] [11]
The meshblocks around the edge of the harbour had these census results - [12]
| Year | Population | Households | Median age | Median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 992702 Lake Parangi | ||||
| 2001 | 45 | 15 | 22.2 | 11,700 |
| 2006 | 33 | 12 | 20 | 20,800 |
| 2013 | 33 | 15 | 49.7 | 17,500 |
| 0992701 Aotea village | ||||
| 2001 | 51 | 24 | 65.5 | 12,500 |
| 2006 | 36 | 15 | 56 | 16,300 |
| 2013 | 42 | 24 | 62.2 | 21,300 |
| 992900 Okapu | ||||
| 2001 | 51 | 24 | 46.2 | 15,800 |
| 2006 | 51 | 18 | 35 | 17,500 |
| 2013 | 51 | 18 | 49.2 | 15,300 |
| 0862100 Makomako | ||||
| 2001 | 36 | 12 | 13.7 | 12,500 |
| 2006 | 24 | 9 | 38 | 12,500 |
| 2013 | 24 | 9 | 45.2 | 20,800 |
| 862000 Te Papatapu | ||||
| 2001 | 57 | 21 | 30.2 | 13,800 |
| 2006 | 54 | 21 | 36 | 25,800 |
| 2013 | 48 | 18 | 42.8 | 23,300 |
| 861800 Makaka | ||||
| 2001 | 57 | 15 | 37.5 | 12,500 |
| 2006 | 69 | 21 | 34 | 15,400 |
| 2013 | 60 | 24 | 41.5 | 20,800 |
| Total harbour edge meshblocks | national median $ | |||
| 2001 | 297 | 111 | 18,500 | |
| 2006 | 267 | 96 | 24,100 | |
| 2013 | 258 | 108 | 27,900 | |
The population was once much larger. For example, about 200 lived at Makaka in 1880. [13]
The harbour has few roads giving access to it. Aotea village and Okapu have a road linked to SH31, near Kawhia. A gravel road links SH31 to Makomako. Just north of Makomako, at Maari Stream, two roads link to Te Mata; Te Papatapu Rd follows the edge of the harbour for over 2 km (1.2 mi). Kawhia Rd runs east via Lake Disappear and Waireinga/Bridal Veil Falls. Phillips Rd branches from Te Papatapu Rd, giving access to some areas north of the harbour. [14]
The beaches were initially a main route and were linked by boat across the harbour entrance. [15]
About 1880 Te Papatapu Rd was built from Te Mata, but from Te Papatapu the route was across the harbour at low tide. [16]
The bridges over the Maari and Makomako streams were built about 1918, though the road linking Kawhia and Te Mata was not usable until about 1926. They were replaced by concrete bridges in 1970. [17]
When Makomako School was built in 1925, timber and other supplies were taken by road to Pakoka landing, but then rafted across the harbour and up the stream to a point near the school. [17]
The roads were metalled in the 1930s. [18]
From 1938 to 1952 public buses linked Kawhia and Raglan.
Makomako School was just above the junction of Makomako Road and the Te Mata-Kawhia Road. [19] It was open from 26 October 1925 (with an initial roll of 31 girls and 16 boys) [17] to 1981, [20] or 1983. [21] Makomako and the area north of it are now in the catchment area for Te Mata School, [22] though the school buses only reach to Te Papatapu Road. [23]
From 1899 to 1904 there was a school at Raoraokauere mission station.
Raglan is a small beachside town located 48 km (30 mi) west of Hamilton, New Zealand on State Highway 23. It is known for its surfing, and volcanic black sand beaches.
KīngiTāwhiao, known initially as Matutaera, reigned as the Māori King from 1860 until his death. After his flight to the King Country, Tāwhiao was also Paramount Chief of Te Rohe Pōtae for 17 years, until 1881. A rangatira, and a religious figure – a tohunga ariki – Tāwhiao amassed power and authority during a time of momentous change, to become de facto leader of the Waikato tribes. He was a member of the Ngati Mahuta hapū and the kāhui ariki, the Kīngitanga royal family.
Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori iwi (tribe) based in the southern North Island and in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Its rohe extends from Whanganui in the north to Palmerston North in the east. Ngāti Toa remains a small iwi with a population of only about 9,000. The iwi is centred around Porirua, Plimmerton, Kāpiti, Blenheim and Arapaoa Island. It has four marae: Takapūwāhia and Hongoeka in Porirua City, and Whakatū and Wairau in the north of the South Island. Ngāti Toa's governing body has the name Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira.
Kawhia Harbour is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwest of Hamilton. Kawhia is part of the Ōtorohanga District and is in the King Country. It has a high-tide area of 68 km2 (26 sq mi) and a low-tide area of 18 km2 (6.9 sq mi). Te Motu Island is located in the harbour.
The King Country is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from Kawhia Harbour and the town of Ōtorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of the Whanganui River in the south, and from the Hauhungaroa and Rangitoto Ranges in the east to near the Tasman Sea in the west. It comprises hill country, large parts of which are forested.
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero was a Māori rangatira who reigned as the inaugural Māori King from 1858 until his death. A powerful nobleman and a leader of the Waikato iwi of the Tainui confederation, he was the founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty. His 1858 coronation followed years of efforts to create the Kīngitanga, a Māori monarchy intended as an equivalent of the British monarchy, and to foster Māori nationalism against settler encroachment.
Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori iwi based in Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zealand on the Tainui waka. The tribe is named after the Waikato River, which plays a large part in its history and culture.
Te Rauangaanga was the chief of the Ngāti Mahuta tribe of the Waikato tribal confederation and the principal war chief of the confederation in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His son Pōtatau Te Wherowhero became the first Maori king.
Ngāti Mahuta is a sub-tribe of the Waikato tribe of Māori in the North Island of New Zealand. The territory (rohe) of Ngāti Mahuta is the Kawhia and Huntly areas of the Waikato region.
Ngāti Hauā is a Māori iwi of the eastern Waikato of New Zealand. It is part of the Tainui confederation. Its traditional area includes Matamata, Cambridge, Maungakawa, the Horotiu district along the Waikato River and the Maungatautari district, and its eastern boundary is the Kaimai Range. Leaders of the tribe have included Te Waharoa, his son Wiremu Tamihana and Tamihana's son Tupu Taingakawa. The tribe has played a prominent role in the Māori King Movement, with Tamihana and descendants being known as the "Kingmakers".
Ngāti Koata or Ngāti Kōata is a Māori iwi of New Zealand, originating on the west coast of Waikato, but now mainly at the northern tip of South Island.
Ngāti Rārua are a Māori tribe of the Tainui tribal confederation.
Ngāti Te Wehi is a Māori iwi (tribe) based in Kawhia on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island.
Karioi or Mount Karioi is a 2.4 million year old extinct stratovolcano 8 km (5.0 mi) SW of Raglan in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It was the earliest of the line of 6 calcalkalic volcanoes, the largest of which is Mount Pirongia. Karioi forms a background to many parts of Raglan.
Te Mata is a small settlement 47 km (29 mi) from Hamilton and 15 km (9.3 mi) from Raglan.
Te Uku is a small, mainly farming, settlement on SH23 in the North Island of New Zealand, located 34 km (21 mi) from Hamilton and 11 km (6.8 mi) from Raglan. It has a 4-Square shop, church, coffee stall and art gallery, filling station, hall, school and Xtreme Zero Waste recycle bins.
Tāmaki Māori are Māori iwi and hapū who have a strong connection to Tāmaki Makaurau, and whose rohe was traditionally within the region. Among Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau, also known as the Tāmaki Collective, there are thirteen iwi and hapū, organised into three rōpū (collectives), however Tāmaki Māori can also refer to subtribes and historical iwi not included in this list.
Te Ākau is a small farming settlement in the North Island of New Zealand, located 62 km (39 mi) north west of Hamilton, 39 km (24 mi) south west of Huntly, 45 km (28 mi) south of Port Waikato and 47 km (29 mi), or 19 km (12 mi) by ferry and road, north of Raglan. It has a hall and a school.
Hauturu is a village near the eastern shores of the Kawhia Harbour, in the Otorohanga District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island.
Tūrongo was a Māori rangatira (chief) in the Tainui confederation of tribes, based at Rangiātea, near Waikeria, New Zealand. He quarrelled with his brother, Whatihua, and as a result Tainui was split between them, with Tūrongo receiving the southern Waikato region. His marriage to Māhina-a-rangi created a genealogical link between Tainui and Ngāti Kahungunu of the East Coast, which is still commemorated. He probably lived in the early sixteenth century.
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