Hen and Chicken Islands

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The islands were named by Captain James Cook, who first sighted them in 1769. It has been suggested that the name was inspired by an old name for the star cluster usually known as the Pleiades (and called "Matariki" by the Māori).

Originally owned by the Māori Ngā Puhi iwi, they were sold to the New Zealand Government in 1883. The islands were made a scenic reserve in 1908 owing to the rarity of their flora and fauna, and became a wildlife refuge in 1953. Hen Island had actually passed from Māori hands a few years earlier, being bought by Thomas Outhwaite in 1872. It was bequeathed to the nation by his daughter Isa Outhwaite in 1927, and it too was named as a scenic reserve.

The islands are noted for their bird life, with colonies of shearwaters and petrel, and also forest birds which are now scarce or extinct on the mainland.

In June 1940, the Mail Liner "RMS Niagara" sank off the islands after hitting a mine. Most of the cargo, which included gold bullion, was later salvaged.

Hen Island

Hen Island, or "Taranga" lies separate from the rest of the chain, lying seven kilometres to the southwest. It is the largest island by some considerable margin, totalling 4.7 km². Long and thin, it has a length of six kilometres and an average width of under 1000 metres. A remnant of a 4 million year old volcano, the island is dominated by a rocky ridge reaching to over 400 metres at its highest point, called "The Pinnacles".

Sail rock, a stack, rises from the ocean three kilometres to the south of Hen Island. It is a prominent navigational point for yachts.

The Chicken Islands

The Chicken Islands, or Marotiri consists of a chain of five small islands running northwest to southeast to the north of Hen Island. The chain consists of Wareware and Muriwhenua Islands (together forming the North West Chicken), Mauitaha (also known as West Chicken), Lady Alice Island (also known as Big Chicken or Motu Muka), Whatupuke (also known as Middle Chicken), and Coppermine Island (also known as Eastern Chicken).

Muriwhenua and Wareware Islands (Northwestern Chickens)

These two are small rocky islands covering 30,000 m².

Lady Alice Island (Big Chicken or Motu Muka)

This island is named after Lady Alice Fergusson (wife of Sir Charles Fergusson, Governor General of New Zealand, 1924 – 1930), and is the largest of the five chickens. It is of particular significance because of its flora and fauna. The island covers 1.4 km² and is surrounded by rocky reefs. It was occupied by Māori until the 1820s, and was used as a base for fishermen in the 1890s. Cattle were introduced at about this time, but were removed in the 1920s.

Whatupuke (Middle Chicken)

Formerly known as "Whakahau", this island is composed of a large eastern section and a peninsula to the southwest. The coast of this peninsula forms one of the chain's main land features, a 300 metre wide bay (Starfish Bay). The island covers 1 km², and is steep, rising to 234 metres.

Coppermine Island (Eastern Chicken)

Coppermine island covers an area of 750,000 m². It is composed of two sections joined by a short isthmus. As the name suggests, there are copper deposits on the island, but attempts at mining them in 1849 and 1898 proved unprofitable.

West Chicken (Mauitaha)

This 200,000 m² scrub-covered rock lies one kilometre to the south of Muriwhenua. It is a rugged island, rising to 125 metres.

External links

* [http://www.charter.net.nz/Charter2000/infoHenChicken.htm Hen and Chickens chain]

References

* "Wise's New Zealand Guide" (4th ed.) (1969). Dunedin: H. Wise & Co. (N.Z.) Ltd.