Green Island is a small, uninhabited island lying 2 km off the coast of the

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

region of New Zealand, some 13 km south-west of the city of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. The island's Māori name is Okaihe.

History

Green Island may be the 'Isle of Wight' where the Sydney sealer ''Brothers'', chartered by Robert Campbell and sailing under Robert Mason, dropped eight men of a gang of eleven in November 1809. William Tucker, who later settled at

Whareakeake Whareakeake (; formerly and colloquially Murdering Beach, also "Murderers Beach" or "Murdering Bay") is a beach northeast of Dunedin in the South Island of New Zealand, as well as the valley above and behind the beach. Located to the west of Ar ...

(Murdering Beach) near

Otago Heads The Otago Heads is the historic name given to the headlands and coastal settlements close to the mouth of the long drowned volcanic rift which forms the Otago Harbour, in the South Island of New Zealand. The name has traditionally referred prima ...

, was in the gang. Alternatively the 'Isle of Wight' may be

Taieri Island Moturata, also called Taieri Island, is an island in the mouth of the Taieri River in southern New Zealand. It is connected to the mainland by a sandy causeway at low tide. The island is a nature reserve, and is home to many protected seabirds, ...

, a few kilometres to the south. It has also been suggested that, alternatively, Green Island may be the 'Ragged Rock' where the other three men of the ''Brothers'' gang were landed. Some of the men claimed to have stayed on these two islands from 9 November 1809 until 20 December 1810. Green Island used to be called St Michael's Mount, suggesting it had been named after the island of that name off the Cornish coast. It is more likely it was so named after Tommy Chaseland's mother ship the ''St Michael'' when he was sealing there in the 1820s. He told Edward Shortland he lost a boat and all its hands when it was dashed on the island while trying to land. He stayed alone overnight and was picked up by another boat the following day. In the 1880s the island was mined for

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

, bird dung used as fertiliser.

Important Bird Area

The island has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

, by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because it is home to breeding colonies of

yellow-eyed penguin The yellow-eyed penguin (''Megadyptes antipodes''), known also as hoiho or tarakaka, is a species of penguin endemic to New Zealand. Previously thought closely related to the little penguin (''Eudyptula minor''), molecular research has shown it ...

s and bronze shags.BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Gree Island (Okaihe). Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-02-04.

Legacy

The uncleared native forest on the island lends its name to similar "Green Island" native forest on the nearby mainland, on the

Otago Peninsula The Otago Peninsula ( mi, Muaūpoko) is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies sou ...

. In turn, the name has been applied to Green Island, a community in the

territorial authority Territorial authorities are the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 city councils, 53 district councils and the Chatham Islands Council. District councils serve a c ...

called Dunedin City, on the peninsula.

References

Uninhabited islands of New Zealand Islands of Otago Important Bird Areas of New Zealand {{Otago-geo-stub

History

Important Bird Area

Legacy

See also

References