Arrow Rock (also Fifeshire Rock or Urenui in te reo Māori) is a small island in

Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere Tasman Bay (; officially Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere), originally known in English as Blind Bay, is a large V-shaped bay at the north end of New Zealand's South Island. Located in the centre of the island's northern coast, it stretches along ...

, off the coast of

Nelson, New Zealand (Let him, who has earned it, bear the palm) , image_map = Nelson CC.PNG , mapsize = 200px , map_caption = , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = ...

. There is a narrow channel between the rock and

Haulashore Island Haulashore Island is a small island in Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, near Nelson, New Zealand. Formed in 1901, it was at one time a part of Boulder Bank. There is a narrow channel between the island and Arrow Rock. The island has had rabbits si ...

. Situated within Nelson Harbour, Arrow Rock was site of the ''Fifeshire'' wreck in 1842, which gave the rock is secondary name. There are a number of

spotted shag The spotted shag or pārekareka (''Phalacrocorax punctatus'') is a species of cormorant endemic to New Zealand. Though originally classified as ''Phalacrocorax punctatus'', it is sufficiently different in appearance from typical members of that ...

s who live on the rock. The rock is named after the first ship to sail into Nelson harbour, the ''Arrow''. She was a 212-ton brig chartered by the New Zealand Company and used as store ship on the companies expedition to set up a settlement in Tasman Bay. She sailed into Nelson harbour on 2 November 1841 and was followed the next day by the surveyors barques ''

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

'' and '' Will Watch''.

''Fifeshire'' wreck

The

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...

Fifeshire Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i.e ...

'' totally wrecked on Arrow Rock on Sunday, February 27, 1842. It had brought out for a party of settlers for Nelson. After discharging her cargo, she got under weigh with a pilot on board. When she reached the narrows opposite Arrow Rock, the wind suddenly died away, and the tide drifted her upon the rocks. Other ships to be wrecked after hitting the rock include the schooner ''Three Sisters'' on 15 September 1866.Ingram, C. W. N., and Wheatley, P. O., (1936) ''Shipwrecks: New Zealand disasters 1795–1936.'' Dunedin, NZ: Dunedin Book Publishing Association. p. 137.

References

Islands of the Nelson Region Geography of Nelson, New Zealand {{Nelson-geo-stub