Hen and Chickens Islands
The Hen and Chickens Islands ("Hen and Chick Islands", often shortened to Hen and Chickens ) are a group of islands east of the Northland Peninsula off the coast of the North Island of New Zealand . They are located about 12 km east of Bream Head and 40 km southeast of Whangarei .
The islands got their English name from James Cook , who sighted them in 1769. The name was probably inspired by the name of the constellation of the Pleiades (called by the Māori Matariki ) at the time.
Originally they belonged to iwi Ngāpuhi , in 1883 it was sold to the New Zealand government. The Chicken Islands were declared a nature reserve in 1908 because of the rare flora and fauna, and in 1953 they became a nature reserve.
Hen Island was sold by the Māori to Thomas Outhwaite in 1872 . His daughter Isa Outhwaite bequeathed it to the state in 1927, and it too became a nature reserve.
The islands are important because of their bird life, especially the colonies of shearwaters and petrels . They are also home to extinct or rare forest birds on the mainland.
In June 1940, the New Zealand passenger and mail ship RMS Niagara ran east of the island on a mine and sank. Over 500 gold bars that were part of the cargo were recovered except for 5 bars later.
Hen Island
Hen Iceland or Taranga is several km southwest of the other islands on the coordinates 35 ° 58 ' S , 174 ° 43' O . With 4.7 km² it is by far the largest island in the archipelago. It is about 6 km long with an average width of less than 1 km. It is the remnant of a 4 million year old volcano. The island is dominated by a rocky ridge, The Pinnacles , rising over 400 m .
The Sail Rock pillar rises 3 km south of Hen Island at 36 ° 0 ′ S , 174 ° 42 ′ E and is a well-known navigation point for yachts.
The Chicken Islands
The Chicken Islands or Marotiri consist of a chain of 5 small islands that extend from northwest to southeast. It is north of Hen Island.
Mauitaha (Northwestern Chicken)
Mauitaha is a small rock island with a total of 30,000 m². The island is located at the coordinates 35 ° 53 ' S , 174 ° 42' O . It is divided into two sub-islands by a narrow channel, Wareware Island in the northwest and Muriwehnua Island in the southeast. The small island of Pupuha is located about 400 m to the southeast.
Lady Alice Island (Big Chicken or Motu Muka)
This island at 35 ° 53 ′ S , 174 ° 44 ′ E is named after Lady Alice Fergusson, wife of the Governor General of New Zealand , Sir Charles Fergusson . She is the biggest of the five "chickens". It is particularly significant because of its flora and fauna. It is 1.4 km² in size and surrounded by rocky reefs. It was inhabited by Māori until the 1820s . In the 1890s it served as a base for fishermen. Cattle were brought to the island around this time, but they were removed again in the 1920s.
Whatupuke (Middle Chicken)
The 1 km² island, formerly known as Whakahau , is located between Lady Alice Island in the west and Coppermine Island in the east. It consists of a large part in the east and a narrow peninsula in the west. The coast of this peninsula forms the 300 m wide Starfish Bay on its north side . The island rises steeply up to 250 m. Their coordinates are 35 ° 53 ′ S , 174 ° 45 ′ E
Coppermine Island (Eastern Chicken)
Coppermine Island is 0.75 km² and is located east of Whakahau. It consists of two parts separated by a short isthmus . Attempts to mine the island's copper deposits proved uneconomical in 1849 and 1898. This island is at 35 ° 53 ' S , 174 ° 46' O .
West Chicken Island
This 0.2 km² island overgrown with shrubbery is 1 km south of Mauitaha. The rugged island has a height of up to 100 m. It is located on 35 ° 54 ' S , 174 ° 42' O . The small island of Araara is located south of the eastern part of the island.
Web links
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Wise's New Zealand Guide (4th ed.) (1969). Dunedin: H. Wise & Co. (NZ) Ltd.