The Sugar Loaf Islands (often Sugarloaf; mi, Ngā Motu, ) are a collection of five small uninhabited islands and several

sea stack A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. ...

s near

Port Taranaki Port Taranaki is a port complex located in New Plymouth, 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 ...

, New Zealand. The largest,

Moturoa Moturoa is a coastal suburb of New Plymouth, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located to the west of the city centre, bordering Port Taranaki and the Sugar Loaf Islands. One of the islands, Moturoa, the largest, shares it ...

Island, covers approximately . Motumahanga is the island furthest from shore, at approximately . Ngā Motu was one of the first areas inhabited by descendants of

Te Whiti o Rongomai Te Whiti o Rongomai III (–18 November 1907) was a Māori spiritual leader and founder of the village of Parihaka, in New Zealand's Taranaki region. Te Whiti established Parihaka community as a place of sanctuary and peace for Māori many of ...

, and the islands and reefs were all named by Ngāti Te Whiti. The island group was given its English name in 1770 by

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

because the reminded him of the way sugar was stored in heaps in Europe. The Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Protected Area (SLIMPA) was established in 1991 to protect the area from oil exploration. This strengthened the protection that had been in place since the formation of a marine park in 1986. In 2013 New Plymouth district councillors unanimously agreed to gift the protected area back to the government for treaty settlement negotiations with

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

and

Te Āti Awa Te Āti Awa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Taranaki and Wellington regions of New Zealand. Approximately 17,000 people registered their affiliation to Te Āti Awa in 2001, with around 10,000 in Taranaki, 2,000 in Wellington and arou ...

iwi.

Islands

The Sugar Loaf Islands can be divided into inner and outer island groups. The inner islands comprise Mataora (Round Rock), Pararaki (Seagull Rock) and Motuotamatea (Snapper Rock). Mataora connects to the mainland at low tides as a

tombolo A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. A tombolo, from the Italian ', meaning 'pillow' or 'cushion', and sometimes translated incorrectly as ''ayre'' (an ayre is a shingle beach of any kind), is a deposition landform by which an island become ...

, as does Motuotamatea on very low

spring tides Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ca ...

. Pararaki is separated from Mataora by a 20 meter wide channel. The outer islands comprise Motumahanga (Saddleback Island) and Moturoa. Several small rock outcrops are included in the island group. Waikaranga (Seal Rocks), and Tokatapu are several hundred meters offshore. Close to Moturoa lie Whareumu (Lion Rock), a vegetated stack and two barren rocks, and Tokomapuna (Barrett Reef).

Mikotahi

Mikotahi was formerly a half tide island, with a historic pā. In 1865 the Alpha well was drilled near Mikotahi. This was the first oil well in what is now the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

and one of the first in the world. The earth works to reclaim land for the

New Plymouth Power Station The New Plymouth Power Station (NPPS) was a 600 MW thermal power station at New Plymouth, New Zealand. Located at Port Taranaki, it was dual fuelled on natural gas and fuel oil. Constructed at a time of major hydro and HV transmission developm ...

reduced the island's size and permanently connected it to the mainland. There is a trig site on what remains to this day
Mikotahi point
Mikotahi had a neighbouring stack that was connected to the mainland at the base of Paritutu. The people from Moturoa called it Fishing Rock. With caves, rockpools and surrounding beaches it was mostly destroyed from excavations for the power station cooling water inlet and land reclamation for the site.

Blasting Moturoa Island and Wharemu (Lion Rock) for rock.

In the early 20th century Moturoa and Whareumu (Lion rock) were blasted with explosives in the hope to connect the islands to Mikotahi and the growing port at Moturoa. After this was abandoned focus turned to mining Paritutu. The appearance of the two Islands was changed greatly as a result of this work.

Human Habitation

Mataora, Motu-o-Tamatea, Moturoa Island and Mikotahi were hunting, fishing and gathering grounds and places of refuge for local inhabitants and the

and

for hundreds of years.

Marine protected area

In 1986, an area encompassing the Sugar Loaf Islands was protected as a marine park. Concern over oil exploration led to strengthening of the protection, through the enacting of the Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Park Act in 1991. An area of , including of land, encompassing the islands and surrounding seabed and ocean spanning from

in the north to Herekawe Stream in the south, was protected from commercial, recreational fishing and mining. The act deemed

Moturoa Island Moturoa is a steeply sloped island off the coast of Taranaki, New Zealand. It is the easternmost and largest of the Sugar Loaf Islands, hence its name, which is Māori for "long island". Moturoa is 120 metres long at its longest point, and around ...

, Motumahanga, Waikaranga, and Whareumu as sanctuary areas (requiring a permit for entry), with the remaining area a conservation park.

Reef heron Reef heron could refer to: * Western reef heron (''Egretta gularis'') * Pacific reef heron The Pacific reef heron (''Egretta sacra''), also known as the eastern reef heron or eastern reef egret, is a species of heron found throughout southern ...

Little blue penguin The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian lit ...

New Zealand Fur Seal ''Arctocephalus forsteri'' (common names include the Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly around southern Australia and New Z ...

, and

Orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only Extant taxon, extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black ...

are monitored species. The islands are on migration routes for oceanic birds and

cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...

s (whales and dolphins). In 2008, the 1404 ha Tapuae Marine Reserve was established adjacent to the Sugar Loaf Island Marine Protected Area (SLIMPA).

Geology

The Sugar Loaf Islands, along with onshore pinnacles such as Paritutu (), represent the oldest volcanic activity on the Taranaki peninsula. Dating between 1.7 and 1.74 million years of age, the islands are believed to be the remains of a ring fracture or feeders to eroded

volcanic vent A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

s, and are composed of a

porphyritic Porphyritic is an adjective used in geology to describe igneous rocks with a distinct difference in the size of mineral crystals, with the larger crystals known as phenocrysts. Both extrusive and intrusive rocks can be porphyritic, meaning all ...

hornblende Hornblende is a complex inosilicate series of minerals. It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole. Hornblende minerals are common in igneous and metamorphic rocks ...

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomi ...

. Volcanic activity in Taranaki subsequently shifted to Kaitake (580,000 years ago), then migrated southeast to Pouakai (230,000 years ago) and the current centre of activity,

(last erupted in 1755). The Sugar Loaf Islands are the type locality of taranakite, a phosphate mineral that forms from the reaction of bird

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 ...

with the aluminous rocks comprising the islands. This was the first new mineral species to be discovered in New Zealand.

References

External links

Map of the Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Protected Area and Tapuae Marine Reserve

DOC DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode * ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...

{{Authority control Islands of Taranaki Volcanoes of Taranaki Marine reserves of New Zealand Stacks of New Zealand Uninhabited islands of New Zealand Volcanic islands of New Zealand Volcanic plugs of New Zealand Pleistocene volcanoes New Plymouth