Coal Island is an island in
Fiordland
Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, ...
, in the southwest of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
's
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
.
Its
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
name is Te Puka-Hereka Island, which translated means The Tied Anchor, but the island is commonly known as Coal Island.
Situated at the southern end of Fiordland's west coast, Coal Island lies in the entrance to
Rakituma / Preservation Inlet
Rakituma / Preservation Inlet is the southernmost fiord in Fiordland National Park and lies on the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. With an area of , it is the fourth largest fiord in New Zealand, after Tamatea / Dusky Soun ...
, between
Puysegur Point
Puysegur Point is a headland located in the far southwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It lies within Fiordland National Park on the southern head of Preservation Inlet and is west-northwest of Invercargill.
The name 'Puysegur' was be ...
and
Gulches Head. This area contains the southernmost fiords of Fiordland, some south of
Milford Sound / Piopiotahi
Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top tr ...
.
The island is part of the
Fiordland National Park
Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is by far the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of , and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site. The park i ...
and is an important conservation site.
It was declared pest-free in 2005 and is one of only nine islands in the area that is completely free of introduced mammalian pests.
Since then, endangered endemic birds such as
tokoeka
The southern brown kiwi, tokoeka, or common kiwiDavies, S. J. J. F. (2003) (''Apteryx australis'') is a species of kiwi from South Island, New Zealand. Until 2000 it was considered conspecific with the North Island brown kiwi, and still is by ...
(Haast brown kiwi) and
mōhua (yellowhead) have been released on the island.
See also
*
Desert island
A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereot ...
*
List of islands
This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water
A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another plane ...
References
External links
Radio NZ interview about how Coal Island became predator free
Uninhabited islands of New Zealand
Islands of Fiordland
Fiordland National Park
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