Whangaroa Harbour

Location map
North Island
label=Whangaroa Harbour
lat_dir=S | lat_deg=35 | lat_min=3
lon_dir=E | lon_deg=173 | lon_min=44
position=right
width= 150
float=right
caption=

Whangaroa Harbour Pronunciation needed is an inlet on the northern coast of Northland, New Zealand. Whangaroa Bay and the Pacific Ocean are to the north. The small settlements of Totara North and Saies are on the west side of the harbour, Waitaruke on the south side, and Whangaroa on the east. State Highway 10 runs through Waitaruke. [cite book|title=Reed New Zealand Atlas|year=2004|id=ISBN 0-7900-0952-8|author=Peter Dowling (editor)|publisher=Reed Books|pages=map 3] [cite book|title=The Geographic Atlas of New Zealand|year=2005|id=ISBN 1-877333-20-4|author=Roger Smith, GeographX|publisher=Robbie Burton|pages=map 18] The name comes from the lament "Whaingaroa" or "What a long wait" of a woman whose warrior husband had left for a foray to the south. [cite book|title=Whangaroa|last=Sale|first=E. V.|id=ISBN 0-473-00387-2|year=1986|pages=pp 1-2] The harbour was formed when rising sea levels drowned a river valley, about 6,000 years ago. Steep outcrops remain from ancient volcanic rocks. [cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/Landscapes/LandscapesOverview/3/ENZ-Resources/Standard/2/en|title=Whangaroa Harbour|encyclopedia=Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand]

There are extensive mangrove swamps at the head of the harbour,cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/Places/Northland/NorthlandPlaces/4/en|title=Whangaroa and district|encyclopedia=Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand] and some of the oldest fossils in the North Island, dating to the early Permian about 270 million years ago, are found in the Whangaroa area. [cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/Geology/Fossils/2/en|title=Oldest fossils – Paleozoic|encyclopedia=Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand]

History

According to Māori traditions, the waka "Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi" explored the Whangaroa harbour during early Māori settlement of New Zealand. [cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/MaoriNewZealanders/NgatiWhatua/1/en|title=Ngāti Whātua - Origins|encyclopedia=Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand] The area was settled by descendants of "Te Māmaru" and "Mataatua" waka crews. [cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/MaoriNewZealanders/MuriwhenuaTribes/2/en|title=Ngāti Kurī, Ngāi Takoto, Te Pātū and Ngāti Kahu|encyclopedia=Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand]

Whaling and other ships visited Whangaroa from 1805 to 1809. Ships included "General Wellesley" and "Commerce" in 1806, and "Elizabeth" in 1809. 66 members of the crew of the "Boyd" were killed by local Māori in 1809 after the crew whipped the son of a chief. The visits ceased as a result, and didn't resume until the "Dromedary" arrived to load timber in 1819.cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/W/WhangaroaHarbourDistrict/WhangaroaHarbourDistrict/en|title=WHANGAROA HARBOUR DISTRICT|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of New Zealand (1966)]

A Wesleyan mission was founded in June 1823. Hongi Hika attacked local Māori to gain control of millable kauri on 10 January 1827. Although he did not attack the mission, its inhabitants took fright and it was abandoned. [cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/M/Missions/WesleyanMissionarySociety/en|title=Wesleyan Missionary Society|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of New Zealand (1966)] In 1828, Hongi Hika died at Whangaroa, from a wound suffered 14 months earlier in the Hokianga.

Europeans settled around the harbour in the 1840s, and a Catholic mission was established at Waitaruke. The harbour was a centre for timber milling and gum digging after the arrival of the immigrant ship "Lancashire Witch" in 1865. Shipyards were established in Totara North in 1872. Kauri logs were chained together to make rafts, and towed by steamer. It took three days for the logs to reach Auckland. [cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/UsesOfTheBush/BushTramsAndOtherLogTransport/6/en|title=Moving kauri: dams and rafting|encyclopedia=Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand] In the early 20th century, Sea Sick Bay near the south head was a whaling station, and by the 1920s the operation had moved to Ranfurly Bay, near the north head.

After the Mangamuka Gorge road was sealed in 1961, it became the main route from Whangarei to the Far North, bypassing Whangaroa.

Education

Te Kura o Hato Hohepa Te Kamura is a full primary (years 1-8) school in Waitaruke. It has a decile rating of 1 and a roll of 18. [cite web|url=http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/display_school_info.php?school_id=1100|title=Te Kete Ipurangi - Te Kura o Hato Hohepa Te Kamura|publisher=Ministry of Education]

Totara North School is a contributing primary (years 1-6) school with a decile rating of 3 and a roll of 39. [cite web|url=http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/display_school_info.php?school_id=1116|title=Te Kete Ipurangi - Totara North School|publisher=Ministry of Education]

Both schools are coeducational. Other schools in the area are at Oruaiti, Kaeo and Matauri Bay.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.fndc.govt.nz/InfoCentre/communities_whangaroa.asp Far North District Council]
* [http://www.whangaroa.co.nz/Our_County.cfm Whangaroa community website]
* [http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/PlaceProfile.aspx?id=34388 Department of Conservation]