Ruapuke Island
| Ruapuke Island | ||
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| Waters | Foveaux Strait ( South Pacific ) | |
| Geographical location | 46 ° 47 ′ S , 168 ° 30 ′ E | |
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| length | 13 km | |
| width | 6 km | |
| surface | 16 km² | |
| Highest elevation | 64 m | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
The ruapuke island is one of the southernmost islands in the main chain of islands of New Zealand . The small island is 15 km south of Bluff on the South Island and 32 km northeast of Stewart Island on the eastern end of Foveaux Strait . The island measures 13 × 6 km and is around 16 km² in size. It is private property and is partly used for sheep breeding.
Ruapuke used to be home to 200 Māori , today it is uninhabited. At the beginning of the 19th century, this was the numerically strongest Māori settlement in southern New Zealand. They belonged to the Ngai Tahu under Chief Tuhawaiki (“Bloody Jack”).
A mission station was established on Ruapuke in May 1844 by two German reformed missionaries, including Johann Friedrich Heinrich Wohlers . The missionaries taught the Māori agriculture and sheep breeding, so that later even considerable surpluses could be sold on the main islands.
The center of the island is flat and reaches a height of 41 m. Some elevations are on the north, south, and west ends of the island. North Head , the north end of the island, is a protruding cliff that rises 62 m high. Near the western end, the island reaches its greatest height at 64 m. Ruapuke is partly overgrown with stunted trees, partly with bushes, other areas serve as sheep pasture.
The island was baptized Bench Island by James Cook on March 6, 1770 , but was later given back its Māori name. Bench Island is now an island further southwest just off Stewart Island.