Great Barrier Island
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Great Barrier Island ( Aotea Island ) |
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|---|---|---|
| Waters | South pacific | |
| Geographical location | 36 ° 10 ′ S , 175 ° 23 ′ E | |
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| length | 35 km | |
| width | 18 km | |
| surface | 285 km² | |
| Highest elevation |
Mount Hobson 621 m |
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| Residents | 939 3.3 inhabitants / km² |
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| main place | Tryphena | |
Great Barrier Island , also known as Aotea Island , is an inhabited island in northern New Zealand . In the Māori language, the island is called Aotea ( white cloud ), named after the Aotea Waka , the canoe with which, according to legend, the leader Turi and his crew came to New Zealandfrom Tahiti around 1350and on Great Barrier Island the first Had land contact with New Zealand.
geography
The 285 km² island is around 85 km northeast of Auckland and thus off the Hauraki Gulf . It protects Auckland and the Gulf from storms. The longest extension of the island is around 35 km in a north-south direction and measures 18 km at its widest point. The highest point is Mount Hobson with 621 m meters . The east coast of the island has three larger sandy beaches, while the west coast has rather rugged shores with the exception of three small bays.
The island is connected by ferry connections that connect the three small ports of Tryphena , Whangaparapara and Port Fitzroy with Auckland . A small airport near Claris on the east coast provides a further connection to the mainland.
At the census in 2013, the island had 939 inhabitants, 45 more than in 2006. In 2006 the proportion of the Maori population was just under 21%, but only 5% of the population spoke the Maori language . In 2013, 453 inhabited apartments were counted.
history
When Captain James Cook discovered the island on his South Seas expedition in 1769, he gave it the name Great Barrier Island because its size could protect the Hauraki Gulf from the open sea. At that time the island was inhabited by the Ngāti Rehua Hapū of the Ngāti Wai tribe.
From the 1840s the island became interesting for European immigrants. Copper was found on the island in 1841, as well as gold and silver in the 1890s. The island's kauri forest was exploited between the 1880s and the early 1930s. But before that, Europeans had set up a whaling station in Whangaparapara and, at the height of whaling in New Zealand in 1839, counted around 150 American whaling ships and 50 ships from other nations. The high frequency of shipping also leads to frequent shipping accidents. The most momentous accident occurred in 1894, when the SS Wairarapa ran onto a reef on the northwest coast of the island and 121 passengers were killed. In total, more than 50 ships wrecked on the island's coast.
The workers on the island lived somewhat isolated over the years, as the island could only receive mail every 16 days. Therefore, in 1896 Walter Fricker opened a pigeon post line to the mainland, which existed until a telegraph connection was opened in 1908. Letters from this pigeon post that have survived and specially produced postage stamps are in great demand among philatelists .
Nature and conservation
After the intensive exploitation of the natural landscape until the 1930s, nature was able to recover. Today the island has many natural vegetation again. The extermination of the free roaming goats and the keeping away of grazing mammals allowed the vegetation to recover quickly. Thirteen different species of skinks and geckos live on the island as well as the Hochstetter frog ( Leiopelma hochstetteri ). In addition to numerous birds living in the interior of the island, many sea birds also populate the rugged coastal landscape of the island.
With the re-establishment of the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park in 2000, the Great Barrier Island is part of the park and is therefore subject to special protection regulations.
literature
- Department of Conservation Mail Center (Ed.): Great Barrier Island - Aotea . Hauraki Gulf Marine Park . Great Barrier Island June 2013 ( online PDF 4.1 MB [accessed April 2, 2016]).
Web links
- Great Barrier Island . Department of Conservation,accessed April 2, 2016.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Nga Taunga May o Nga Waka - The coming of the canoes . (PDF 1.9 MB) Land Information New Zealand , accessed on April 2, 2016 (English).
- ↑ stats.govt.nz
- ↑ QuickStats About Great Barrier Island . Statistics New Zealand , 2013, accessed April 2, 2016 .
- ^ Department of Conservation (Ed.): Great Barrier Island - Aotea . 2013, p. 1-2 .
- ↑ a b Department of Conservation (Ed.): Great Barrier Island - Aotea . 2013, p. 5 .
- ^ Department of Conservation (Ed.): Great Barrier Island - Aotea . 2013, p. 4 .
- ^ Department of Conservation (Ed.): Great Barrier Island - Aotea . 2013, p. 6-8 .
- ^ Judy Gilbert : The Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park . (No longer available online.) Great Barrier Island Environmental Trust , archived from the original on April 2, 2016 ; accessed on April 2, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
