Onekaka ( mi, Onekakā) is a rural district on the coast of

Golden Bay Golden Bay may refer to: * Golden Bay / Mohua, a bay at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island * Golden Bay (Malta), a bay and beach on the coastline of Malta * Golden Bay High School, a high school in Takaka, New Zealand * Golden Bay, Wes ...

. The name ''Onekaka'' derives from the

Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...

''Onekakā'', meaning ''red-hot or burning sand''. Onekaka has a population of around 250. State Highway 60 runs through the district. Dairy farming is a major activity, occupying a large proportion of the land area. A significant number of artists and craftspeople live in the area. The Onekaka Hall Recreation Reserve is on the state highway opposite the Onekaka Iron Works Road and contains a community hall, stage and tennis court. The Mussel Inn, a popular Golden Bay pub and live music venue, is a short distance north from the main settlement along the highway. A large ironworks was in operation in Onekaka by 1924, with a tramline that connected it to a wharf. It produced

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silic ...

and pipes from

limonite Limonite () is an iron ore consisting of a mixture of hydrated iron(III) oxide-hydroxides in varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO(OH)·H2O, although this is not entirely accurate as the ratio of oxide to hydroxid ...

, which was mined there, and the operation employed up to 150 men. A small hydroelectric plant was built in 1929 to provide electricity for the pipe manufacturing. The works could not compete with iron produced overseas and closed in 1935. From 1937 to 1944, the hydroelectric plant produced power for Golden Bay. The plant was restarted by hydro enthusiasts in 2003 and produces annually for the national grid. A remnant of Onekaka Wharf and tramline remains on Washbourn Road and is a listed historic place. The wharf was a recurring theme in the art of prominent New Zealand painter Doris Lusk and one of these paintings has inspired

Charles Brasch Charles Orwell Brasch (27 July 1909 – 20 May 1973) was a New Zealand poet, literary editor and arts patron. He was the founding editor of the literary journal ''Landfall'', and through his 20 years of editing the journal, had a significant im ...

to write a poem. The wharf also features in a 1965 painting of Onekaka by

Leo Bensemann Leo Vernon Bensemann (1 May 1912 – 2 January 1986) was a New Zealand artist, printer, typographer, publisher and editor. Bensemenn was born in Tākaka, New Zealand, on 1 May 1912. He moved to Christchurch in 1931 with his friend Lawrence Bai ...

References

External links

* *: Poem written by Brasch in response to a Lusk painting of the wharf
Watercolour of Onekaka Wharf
by Lusk held in the

Hocken Collections Hocken Collections (, formerly the Hocken Library) is a research library, historical archive, and art gallery based in Dunedin, New Zealand. Its library collection, which is of national significance, is administered by the University of Otago. Th ...

{{Tasman District populated places around Golden Bay / Mohua