Pitt Island is the second largest island in the Chatham Archipelago, New Zealand. It is called ''Rangiauria'' 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 ...

and ''Rangiaotea'' in ''

Moriori The Moriori are the native Polynesian people of the Chatham Islands (''Rēkohu'' in Moriori; ' in Māori), New Zealand. Moriori originated from Māori settlers from the New Zealand mainland around 1500 CE. This was near the time of th ...

.Government of New Zealand, Dept. of Conservation (1999)
Chatham IslandsConservation Management Strategy
map 6. Retrieved 13 July 2012. Pitt Island has an area of . It lies about to the east of New Zealand's main islands, and about to the southeast of

Chatham Island Chatham Island ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) is by far the largest island of the Chatham Islands group, in the south Pacific Ocean off the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is said to be "halfway bet ...

, from which it is separated by Pitt Strait. The island is hilly; its highest point (Waihere Head) rises to above sea level. , Pitt Island had a population of about 38 people. KahuitaraPoint

Pitt Island's Kahuitara Point is the first populated location on earth to observe a sunrise in each new year, based on local time zone.

History

Pitt Island was originally inhabited by the

, the

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

of the Chatham Islands, who called it ''Rangiaotea'' or ''Rangihaute''. Their

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

remains are found almost everywhere on the island; large quantities of artefacts are constantly coming to light. No remains of

momori rakau Arborglyphs, dendroglyphs, silvaglyphs, or modified cultural trees are carvings of shapes and symbols into the bark of living trees. Although most often referring to ancient cultural practices, the term also refers to modern tree-carving. Love c ...

are visible on the island, but there are records of them once being present. The first Europeans to see and name Chatham Island were the crew of

William Robert Broughton William Robert Broughton (22 March 176214 March 1821) was a British naval officer in the late 18th century. As a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, he commanded HMS ''Chatham'' as part of the Vancouver Expedition, a voyage of exploration through th ...

's ship in November 1791. However, they did not see Pitt Island. The first to do so was Captain Charles Johnston on in May 1807. He named it 'Pitt's Island' after

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...

. In 1840, the name was simplified to "Pitt" Island. Taranaki Maori who invaded the Chatham Islands in 1835 called it ''Rangiauria'', a name which is still in use today. Over the years there have been many ships wrecked around both Pitt and Chatham Islands. One of these was the Australian sealing

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

''Glory'', which was wrecked on Pitt Island in what became known as Glory Bay in January 1827. European settlers arrived in the Flower Pot Bay in 1843.

Economy and facilities

The main sources of income for Pitt Islanders are farming, commercial fishing, and tourism. The

New Zealand Department of Conservation The Department of Conservation (DOC; Māori: ''Te Papa Atawhai'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the conservation of New Zealand's natural and historical heritage. An advisory body, the New Zealand Conservation Au ...

is active on Pitt Island and, in conjunction with several landowners, administers a number of covenanted areas and reserves. The island imports fuel and most manufactured goods, and exports live sheep and cattle to mainland New Zealand. The island has a school, a

wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...

, a church and a grass

landing strip According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete, o ...

for light planes. A gravel road runs from Flower Pot Bay to the airstrip. A supply ship visits Pitt Island about every three months. Each household generates its own electricity, by either

diesel generator A diesel generator (DG) (also known as a diesel Genset) is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of engine generator. A diesel compression- ...

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

. Most homes have satellite TV and

broadband internet In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...

connections. Transport on the island is mostly by means of

quad bike An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is strad ...

four wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

s and occasionally horses. In 2011, the Pitt Island School had eight children, aged between 6 and 12 years. https://www.cic.govt.nz/assets/CIC/Documents/Chatham-Islands-Economic-Profile-Report-2017.pdf

Air Chathams Air Chathams Limited is an airline based in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. It was established in 1984 and operates scheduled passenger services between the Chatham Islands and mainland New Zealand along with routes between Auckland a ...

operates from Pitt Island to Chatham Island with their

Cessna 206 The Cessna 205, 206, and 207, known primarily as the Stationair (and marketed variously as the Super Skywagon, Skywagon and Super Skylane) are a family of single-engined, general aviation aircraft with fixed landing gear, used in commercial air ...

Fauna and flora

On Pitt Island there are several flocks of

feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...

Saxon Merino sheep.

References

External links

Moriori Education Resources OnlineOfficial Moriori Website
With Information on Pitt Island Moriori {{Chatham Islands Islands of the Chatham Islands Islands of the Pacific Ocean

History

Economy and facilities

Fauna and flora

See also

References

External links