Baring Head ( mi, Ōrua-pouanui, officially gazetted as Baring Head / Ōrua-pouanui) is a headland, located between Wellington Harbour and

Palliser Bay Palliser Bay is at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand, to the southeast of Wellington. It runs for 40 kilometres along the Cook Strait coast from Turakirae Head at the southern end of the Remutaka Ranges to Cape Palliser, the Nor ...

at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand. It marks the southern end of Fitzroy Bay. The

Baring Head Lighthouse Baring Head Lighthouse is a concrete lighthouse at Baring Head in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, with an LED beacon powered by mains electricity. It is owned and operated by Maritime New Zealand, and can be accessed ...

, built in 1935, was the first light in New Zealand to start operating immediately on electricity. The Baring Head Atmospheric Research Station, administered by

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA ( mi, Taihoro Nukurangi), is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental scien ...

, provides the longest continuous record of

atmospheric carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere is a trace gas that plays an integral part in the greenhouse effect, carbon cycle, photosynthesis and oceanic carbon cycle. It is one of several greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere that are contributin ...

in the Southern Hemisphere. The headland is administered by

Wellington Regional Council Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council, is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for public transport under the brand Metlink, environm ...

as part of East Harbour Regional Park.

Geography

The reserve includes the lower reaches and mouth of

Wainuiomata River The Wainuiomata River runs southwest through the Wainuiomata Valley located in the southern Remutaka Range in the North Island, New Zealand. Origin of name The word ''Wainui-o-Mata'' is a Māori name made up of the elements ''wai'' (water), ...

and the coastal encampment around Baring Head. The rugged hills are visible from parts of

Wellington City Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and ...

. Baring Head is one of the Wellington Region's “coastal habitats of significance for indigenous birds”. There are at least nine at-risk bird species: the black shag,

Caspian tern The Caspian tern (''Hydroprogne caspia'') is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no accepted subspecies. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ' ...

New Zealand pipit The New Zealand pipit (''Anthus novaeseelandiae'') is a fairly small passerine bird of open country in New Zealand and outlying islands. It belongs to the pipit genus ''Anthus'' in the family Motacillidae. It was formerly lumped together with th ...

, pied shag,

pied stilt The pied stilt (''Himantopus leucocephalus''), also known as the white-headed stilt, is a shorebird in the family Recurvirostridae. It is widely distributed with a large total population size and apparently stable population trend, occurring in ...

red-billed gull The red-billed gull (''Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae scopulinus''), also known as tarāpunga and once also known as the mackerel gull, is a native of New Zealand, being found throughout the country and on outlying islands including the Chatham ...

variable oystercatcher The variable oystercatcher (''Haematopus unicolor'') is a species of wader in the family Haematopodidae. It is endemic to New Zealand. The Maori name is torea-pango. They are also known as 'red bills'. Description "Variable" refers to the fron ...

white-fronted tern The white-fronted tern (''Sterna striata''), also known as tara, sea swallow, black-billed tern, kahawai bird, southern tern, or swallow tail, was first described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789. A medium-sized tern with an all-white body inclu ...

and the

banded dotterel The double-banded plover (''Charadrius bicinctus''), known as the banded dotterel or pohowera in New Zealand, is a species of bird in the plover family. Two subspecies are recognised: the nominate ''Charadrius bicinctus bicinctus'', which breed ...

. The banded dotterel has a breeding site at Baring Head. Within the beach and coastal encampment there are also many lizard species, rare spider, moth and cicada species. and cushion plants, spinifex and sand tussock. The river has species of dwarf inanga and other fish, and tororaro (Muehlenbeckia astonii) grows nearby.

History

Baring Head was once an important place for traditional food gathering by local Māori. The

was constructed in 1935. Its launch marked the start of electrification of light houses in New Zealand. It was initially supplied by diesel generators before being connected to mains electricity in 1950. Several lookout posts were established on the headland during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

The Baring Head Atmospheric Research Station was established on the headland in 1972, under the leadership of Dave Lowe. It has been operating ever since, with extensive research being published based on its records. The

Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) was an organization within the United States Department of Energy that had the primary responsibility for providing the US government and research community with global warming data and analysi ...

in the United States has a record of measurements from 1970 to 1993, and from 1977 to December 2007.Keeling, R.F., S.C. Piper, A.F. Bollenbacher and J.S. Walker. 2008
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Record from Baring Head New Zealand
Atmospheric CO2 records from sites in the SIO air sampling network. In Trends: A Compendium of Data on Global Change. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tenn., U.S.A. The lighthouse was fully automated in 1989. In the 1990s, Energy Direct (formerly the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board) applied for resource consents to build a what would have been the first wind farm in New Zealand. The Wellington Regional Council rejected the application and the applicant did not appeal. The site at that time was in private ownership. In June 2010, a consortium including

purchased a property near the Baring Head lighthouse for addition to the East Harbour Regional Park. The purchase was made with financial contributions from the New Zealand Government's

Nature Heritage Fund The Nature Heritage Fund is a funding body of the New Zealand Government set up in 1990 for the purchase of land which has significant ecological or landscape value. It is administered by the Department of Conservation, but controlled by the Min ...

, the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

Hutt City Council The Hutt City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the city of Lower Hutt. Lower Hutt is the country's seventh largest city. The city borders Porirua to the north, Upper Hutt to the northeast, South Wairarapa Distric ...

and a private benefactor. The purchase will protect a wide range of landscape, scientific, historical, ecological, cultural and recreational values. The area was opened to the general public on 13 February 2011. Since 2011, the Friends of Baring Head has worked alongside the regional and city councils,

Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika is a Māori collective that was formed to lodge claims with the Waitangi Tribunal relating to the New Zealand Company's purchase of land in the vicinity of Wellington in 1839 and 1844. Following on from th ...

, Birds New Zealand, and other groups in a range of activities, including pest control,

rāhui __NOTOC__ In Māori culture, a rāhui is a form of tapu restricting access to, or use of, an area or resource by the '' kaitiakitanga'' of the area. With the passing of the 1996 Fisheries Act, a rāhui was able to be imposed by the New Zealand M ...

, signage and fencing, and community education. It has also worked with the regional council to redevelop and enhance the lighthouse cottages and garden.

Recreation

The park can be accessed by foot during most of the year from the mouth of the

, but people are advised not to cross the river when it's discoloured or in flood. Dogs, fires, fireworks, and trail and quad bikes are not permitted at any time. Recreational vehicles are not permitted beyond the carparks. Visitors must take rubbish, and must not remove plants, animals or rocks. There is a marked walking and cycling route from the main entrance, passing the Old Pump Shed, the Baring Head Lighthouse, and the Para Trig and World War II Bunkers. A return walk to the Para Trig takes about three hours. Horse riding is permitted on the track by permit only. Along the route is a set of natural rock formations, used by

bouldering Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers use climbing shoes to help se ...

. Rock climbing website ClimbNZ describes the rea as "the birthplace of bouldering in New Zealand" and list over 200 climbing routes on the rocks. Visitors are advised to carry warm and waterproof clothing, sufficient food and drink, wear strong lace-up footwear, inform others of their plans, and watch out for vehicles along parts of the track.

External links

Friends of Baring Head

Baring Head/Ōrua-pouanui on Greater Wellington's website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baring Head Lower Hutt Headlands of the Wellington Region Cook Strait Wellington Harbour Regional parks of New Zealand

Geography

History

Recreation

See also

External links

References