Aramoana

Location map
New Zealand
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Aramoana, also known as "The Spit" to locals, is a small coastal settlement, 27 kilometres north of Dunedin city, in the South Island of New Zealand. The settlement's permanent population in 2001 Census was 261. Supplementing this are seasonal visitors from the city who occupy cribs. The name "Aramoana" is Maori for "pathway to the sea".

Originally founded by The Otago Harbour Board, established in the 1880s as an ideal pilot station for navigation around the mouth of the Otago Habour, this area grew into a small farming village. In the 1950s the town became popular as a beach resort and a rural life village due to the construction of a mole, to inhibit the spread of tidal sands into the mouth of the Otago Harbour and was surveyed and amalgamated as a suburb of Port Chalmers borough.

Location and natural environment

The settlement is located on a sand dune Spit at the mouth of the Otago Harbour, opposite the end of the Otago Peninsula. The main channel of the harbour is kept clear by the "Aramoana mole", an artificial breakwater which extends for 1200 metres from Aramoana. The mole was originally intended to extend another 600 meters into the ocean, however due to tidal patterns and the instability of the construction, no attempt to extend beyond the current length was thought to be possible.

To the southwestern side of the township extend expansive salty mudflats from the head of the Aramoana Spit around the habourside to the township of Te Naru. This area is now a protected Wildlife Sanctuary, which hosts a range of plant and animal life, both native and exotic. Several endemic and endengered species of fauna such as geckos, sea birds including the famous Royal Albatross, seals, sea lions, dolphins, or even large whales inhabit this area.

On the other side of the Spit is an expanse of pristine beach, truncated by the Aramoana Mole. The beach and sand dunes to the east are known as Shelly Beach. The beach to the west is known as Big Beach and, extends for over two kilometers. At points along this beach, steep rockfaces come down to the waterline. These are well used for practical training by local rock-climbers. Seals can be found sun bathing on the rocks of the spit.

Aluminium smelter

In the late 1970s Aramoana was proposed as the site of a major aluminium smelter by a consortium of New Zealand-based Fletcher-Challenge, Australia's CSR Limited and Swiss firm Alusuisse. This proposal engendered an enormous level of debate and protest, attracting the attention of artists such as Ralph Hotere, and prompting the declaration of the Independent State of Aramoana. The proposal was subsequently abandoned, but is still remembered as a divisive issue.

Aramoana massacre

Aramoana gained notoriety as the site of a mass murder that occurred on 13 November and 14 November 1990. Resident David Gray, an unemployed gun collector, went on a rampage in which 13 people were shot dead, before Gray himself was shot by police.

A monument to the 13 victims stands on the dunes near to the Aramoana Mole.

In 2006, New Zealand director Robert Sarkies released a film based on the events, "Out of the Blue", starring successful NZ actor Karl Urban.

References

*cite book | first=A. W. | last=Reed | title=The Reed Dictionary of New Zealand Place Names | publisher=Reed Books | location=Auckland | year=2002 | id=ISBN 0-7900-0761-4