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Moturemu Island

Native name: Moturemu
Aerial view of Moturemu Island in 1980
Geography
Location	Auckland
Coordinates	36°25′20″S 174°23′36″E / 36.42222°S 174.39333°E / -36.42222; 174.39333
Adjacent to	Kaipara Harbour
Area	54,000 m (580,000 sq ft)
Length	590 m (1940 ft)
Width	230 m (750 ft)
Highest elevation	46 m (151 ft)
Administration
New Zealand
Region	Auckland
Local government area	Rodney
Subdivision	Kumeū Subdivision

Moturemu Island is an island located in the Kaipara Harbour in the Auckland Region, New Zealand, southwest of Tauhoa and southeast of the Okahukura Peninsula. The island has a long history of occupation by Tāmaki Māori, and is an important site for Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, who since 2013 have owned the island.

Geography

Moturemu Island is located in the eastern Kaipara Harbour, west of the mouth of the Hōteo River. It reaches a height of 46 m (151 ft) above sea level. The Tauhoa River, a tidal channel of the harbour, flows to the northwest of the island, between Moturemu Island and the Okahukura Peninsula. The island is formed from Waitemata Sandstone.

Biodiversity

The island is primarily forested by pōhutukawa and karaka trees. Moturemu Island is the only known location where wild Clianthus puniceus (kōwhai ngutukākā or kakabeak) plants are known to grow.

History

Ngā Iwi (an early Tāmaki Māori group) constructed pā on Moturemu Island. The island was attacked by Kāwharu during Te Raupatu Tīhore (the stripping conquest). The island is an important site for Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, due to its extensive history of occupation.

In 1880, the island was sold to surveyor and ethnologist Stephenson Percy Smith, who used Moturemu island as a place for camping. In 1886, he gifted the island as wedding present for his daughter-in-law, Rachel Smith. Large fires in the early 20th century replaced much of the vegetation with mānuka scrub, and the island became a nesting site for introduced common starlings. By the 1950s, pōhutukawa trees had begun to emerge through the mānuka scrub.

In 1951, Rachel Smith gifted the island to the New Zealand Government, who created the Moturemu Island Scenic Reserve in 1978. In 2013 as a part of a Waitangi Tribunal settlement, the island was returned to Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara.

References

1. "Moturemu, Auckland". NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
2. ^ "Place name detail: Moturemu Island". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
3. ^ Cameron, E. K.; Beard, C. M. (1990). "Moturemu Island Kaipara Harbour" (PDF). Auckland Botanical Society Journal. 45 (1). Auckland Botanical Society: 5–8.
4. Wild kakabeak close to extinction, New Zealand Biodiversity, 23 December 2005. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
5. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei (2021). "From Maunganui to Tāmaki". Te Ara. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
6. ^ The Kaipara Report (PDF) (Report). Waitangi Tribunal. 2006. ISBN 1-86956-281-X. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
7. "Place name detail: Moturemu Island Scenic Reserve". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
8. Oliver, Shona (March 2020). 23 Brigham Creek Road and 44 Spedding Road, Whenuapai Oyster Capital (PDF) (Report). Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. Retrieved 24 June 2024.

• Islands of the Auckland Region
• Kaipara Harbour
• Rodney Local Board Area
• Uninhabited islands of New Zealand
• Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara