Meola Reef, or in

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 ...

('toka'='rock', 'roa'='long'), is a

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

flow forming a reef peninsula across part of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

Waitemata Harbour Waitemata or Waitematā may refer to: * Waitematā Harbour, the primary harbour of Auckland, New Zealand * Waitematā (local board area), a local government area in Auckland, New Zealand ** Waitematā Local Board, a local board of Auckland Council, ...

, New Zealand. The reef extends for over 2 kilometres across the harbour, to within 500 metres of Kauri Point on the northern shore.

Geography and natural history

The reef was formed more than 28,000 years ago from the final portion of an 11 kilometre lava flow that originated from Mount Saint John volcano. Until 2008 it was believed the lava had flowed from Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta volcano, but geochemical analyses that year revealed that the lava matched that of Mount Saint John. The route of the lava flow had been disguised by

Maungawhau / Mount Eden Maungawhau / Mount Eden is a scoria cone and Tūpuna Maunga (ancestral mountain) in the Mount Eden suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. Geography The cone is a dormant volcano and its summit, at above sea level, is the highest natural point on the ...

, which had later erupted through it. Located between the

Point Chevalier Point Chevalier (; commonly known as Point Chev and an original colonial name of Point Bunbury after Thomas Bunbury) is a residential suburb and peninsula in the city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand. It is located five kilometres to ...

and Westmere suburbs and protecting the calm waters of

Coxs Bay Coxs Bay or Opoututeka is a bay located in the Waitematā Harbour in the Auckland region of New Zealand. The settlements of Westmere and Herne Bay are adjacent suburbs to the south and north respectively. To the east lies Ponsonby and the south ...

, the reef is easily seen in the west from the Auckland Harbour Bridge at low tide, when much of it lies exposed. The best viewpoint is at Kauri Point, the headland to the east of Kendall Bay. The portion of the reef close to shore is covered by

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

, and further out the rocks are covered by rock oysters, then bare. Strong footwear is needed to walk on the lava.

History

The reef had two traditional names to

Tāmaki Māori Tāmaki Māori are Māori '' iwi'' and ''hapū'' (tribes and sub-tribes) who have a strong connection to Tāmaki Makaurau (the Auckland Region), and whose rohe was traditionally within the region. Among Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau (the M ...

: Te Tokaroa ("The Long Reef") and Te Ara Whakapekapeka a Ruarangi ("The Perplexing Pathway of Ruarangi"). The reef was home to '' Spirobranchus'' fanworms until the 1960s, when

Pacific oyster The Pacific oyster, Japanese oyster, or Miyagi oyster (''Magallana gigas''), is an oyster native to the Pacific coast of Asia. It has become an introduced species in North America, Australia, Europe, and New Zealand. Etymology The genus ''Mag ...

s began displacing the fanworms. In the 1970s, plans for a Second Harbour Crossing from the reef to

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

were shelved after public outcry. Meola Reef was the site of the city's

tip Tip commonly refers to: * Tip (gambling) * Tip (gratuity) * Tip (law enforcement) * another term for Advice (opinion), Advice Tip or TIP may also refer to: Science and technology * Tank phone, a device allowing infantry to communicate with the oc ...

for many years. This has now been capped and replaced by a 15 ha public reserve, with mangrove swamps in the streams and tidal

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...

es either side. In the 1990s, a local community effort to plant native trees on the reserve began. Since its establishment as a reserve, much of the Meola Reef became a fully fenced off-leash dog park.

References

External links

Photographs of Meola Reef
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. {{Coord, -36.842930, 174.712616, region:NZ_type:landmark, display=title Auckland volcanic field Dog parks Waitematā Harbour