Paterson Inlet / Whaka a Te Wera | |
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Paterson Inlet | |
Te Whaka-a-te-Wera (Māori) | |
Location | Stewart Island / Rakiura |
Coordinates | 46°56′24″S168°05′27″E / 46.94000°S 168.09083°E |
Type | Harbour |
Etymology | Named after Te Wera, a local chief. Paterson Inlet has unclear origins. [1] |
River sources | Rakeahua River, Freshwater River, Tolson River |
Basin countries | New Zealand |
Max. length | 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) |
Max. width | 6.3 kilometres (3.9 mi) |
Surface area | 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi) |
Max. depth | 45 metres (148 ft) [2] |
Islands | Around 20 islands, including Ulva Island, Native Island, and Bravo Island |
Sections/sub-basins | Big Glory Bay, South West Arm, North Arm |
Paterson Inlet / Whaka a Te Wera [3] is a large natural harbour in the eastern coast of Stewart Island / Rakiura, New Zealand, much of which is unspoilt forest.
This region was first inhabited by the Māori, who settled at a locale known as The Neck, which is a long peninsula that extends across the mouth of the inlet from the southern coast. The only town on Stewart Island, Oban is located on the north coast of the inlet, close to its mouth. In earlier times, the inlet was used as a base for whaling. Southern right whales were the main target in this area and over exploited. However, their sightings around the island are increasing recently.[ citation needed ]
Paterson Inlet has three main arms; North Arm and South West Arm lie at the upper reaches of the inlet, 15 kilometres from its mouth. Big Glory Bay, the third arm of the inlet, lies behind The Neck in the southeast of the inlet. The inlet drains the Rakeahua and Freshwater Rivers, the latter of which drains a large swampy valley that covers much of the northern part of the island.
Several islands lie in the inlet, notably Ulva Island and Native Island.
In June 2004 the government announced that Paterson Inlet will become a mātaitai to be known as Te Whaka a Te Wera Mātaitai Reserve, a status which came into effect in December of that year. [4] [2]
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Rakiura National Park is a nature reserve park located on Stewart Island / Rakiura, New Zealand. It is the newest national park of New Zealand and opened in 2002. The protected area covers about 85% of the island.
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Lake Wakatipu is an inland lake in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. Lake Wakatipu comes from the original Māori name Whakatipu wai-māori.
Foveaux Strait is a strait that separates Stewart Island from the South Island of New Zealand. The width of the strait ranges from about 23 to 53 km, and the depth varies between 18 and 46 m. The strait was first charted by an American sealer, Owen Folger Smith. He charted the strait from a whaleboat of the sealing brig Union in 1804.
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Rakituma / Preservation Inlet is the southernmost fiord in Fiordland National Park and lies on the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. With an area of 93 square kilometres (36 sq mi), it is the fourth largest fiord in New Zealand, after Tamatea / Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound / Patea, and the neighbouring Taiari / Chalky Inlet to the north. Rakituma was briefly the site of an attempted fishing and gold mining settlement at Cromarty during the 19th century, however this was quickly abandoned once the level of gold declined in relation to more promising fields elsewhere.
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Southland is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists of the southwestern portion of the South Island and includes Stewart Island. Southland is bordered by the culturally similar Otago Region to the north and east, and the West Coast Region in the extreme northwest. The region covers over 3.1 million hectares and spans 3,613 km of coastline. As of June 2023, Southland has a population of 103,900, making it the eleventh-most-populous New Zealand region, and the second-most sparsely populated. Approximately half of the region's population lives in Invercargill, Southland's only city.
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Taiari / Chalky Inlet is one of the southernmost fiords in Fiordland, in the southwestern corner of New Zealand's South Island and part of Fiordland National Park. As with the neighbouring fiords of Tamatea / Dusky Sound to the north and Rakituma / Preservation Inlet to the south, Taiari / Chalky Inlet is a complex fiord with many channels and islands along its roughly 28 km (17 mi) length. Most notably, this includes the sections Moana-whenua-pōuri / Edwardson Sound and Te Korowhakaunu / Kanáris Sound, which split at Divide Head in the middle of Taiari and each extend for roughly 10 km (6.2 mi) inland in a V-shape.
Ulva Island-Te Wharawhara Marine Reserve is a marine reserve covering an area of 1,075 hectares south-west and north-east of Ulva Island, in the Paterson Inlet of New Zealand's Stewart Island. It was established in 2004 and is administered by the Department of Conservation.
Punakaiki Marine Reserve is a marine reserve administered by the Department of Conservation. The reserve includes the area of sea surrounding the pancake rocks and blowholes at Dolomite Point, at Punakaiki on the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. It also includes most of the coastline on the western edge of Paparoa National Park.
Tauparikākā Marine Reserve is a marine reserve located offshore about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Haast on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It covers the area immediately offshore from Ship Creek, which is also known as Tauparikākā in Māori.
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Te Wera may refer to:
Native Island is off the east coast of Halfmoon Bay, Stewart Island, New Zealand. It is north east of Ulva Island in the northern mouth of Paterson Inlet. It is separated from Stewart Island by a narrow channel 50 metres (160 ft) in width. There has been evidence of small and temporary past Māori settlements on the island. Multiple Māori relics have been found, including bone fish hooks, axes, and chisels. Native Island is part of the Ulva Island-Te Wharawhara Marine Reserve, which is on the south part of Native Island.