Waiheke Island (;

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 ...

: ) is the second-largest island (after

Great Barrier Island Great Barrier Island ( mi, Aotea) lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, north-east of central Auckland. With an area of it is the sixth-largest island of New Zealand and fourth-largest in the main chain. Its highest point, Mount Hobson ...

) in the

Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,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 ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. It is the most populated island in the gulf, with permanent residents. Another estimated 3,400 have second homes or holiday homes on the island.Waiheke Demographic Report Card 2011
/ref> It is New Zealand's most densely populated island, and the third most populated after the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

s. It is the most accessible island in the gulf, with regular passenger and car-ferry services, a helicopter operator based on the island, and other air links. In November 2015,

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked ...

rated Waiheke Island the fifth-best region in the world to visit in 2016.

Geography

Overview

The island is off the coast of the North Island. It is in length from west to east, varies in width from , and has a surface area of . The coastline is , including of beaches. The port of

Matiatia Matiatia is a location at the western end of Waiheke Island, in New Zealand's Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Coromandel Coromandel may refer to: Places India *Coromandel Coast, India **Presidency of Coromandel and Bengal Settlements ** Dutch Coromandel *Coromandel, KGF, Karnataka, India New Zealand *Coromandel, New Zealand, a town on the Coromandel Peninsula *Coro ...

. The much smaller

Tarahiki Island Tarahiki Island, also known as Shag Island, is a island in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its highest point is ASL and it lies from the mainland and about east of Waiheke Island. It is well known for its breeding colony of up to 700 spott ...

lies to the east. The island is very hilly with few flat areas, the highest point being Maunganui at . The climate is slightly warmer than Auckland, with less humidity and rain, and more sunshine hours. Approximately 17,000 years ago during the

Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Late Glacial Maximum, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Eur ...

when sea levels were over 100 metres lower than present day levels, Waiheke Island was landlocked to the North Island, surrounded by a vast coastal plain where the

Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,

Geology

Much of eastern Waiheke island is the remains of a

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

volcano of the Kiwitahi Group, which erupted approximately 15 million years ago. There are locations of interest to geologists: an

argillite :''"Argillite" may also refer to Argillite, Kentucky.'' Argillite () is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominantly of indurated clay particles. Argillaceous rocks are basically lithified muds and oozes. They contain variable amounts ...

outcrop in

Ōmiha Ōmiha is a rural settlement on the southwest coast of Waiheke Island in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. The settlement began when the O'Brien brothers subdivided their farm in 1922, naming it "Omiha Beach Estate". The area is also known as ...

, and a

chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...

stack at the end of Pohutukawa Point, considered "one of the best exposures of folded chert in Auckland City".

Beaches

There are many scenic beaches, including: *Oneroa Beach – The main beach, on the northern side of the town of Oneroa. It has free BBQ facilities, public toilets and a swing for children. *Little Oneroa Beach – A small secluded beach at the east end of Oneroa Beach, separated by a protruding cliff wall. It has free BBQ facilities, public toilets and a children's playground. *Palm Beach – Similar in shape to Oneroa Beach (complete with protruding cliff wall at the east end that separates a small private beach in Boatshed Bay), it gets its name from the mature phoenix palms at the east end, where a public toilet and free BBQ facilities are also located. There is a children's playground in the middle section of the beach which also has a free BBQ area, public toilets and an outdoor public shower. *Little Palm Beach – A small clothes-optional beach (by custom) at the west end of Palm Beach. New Zealand has no official nude beaches, as public nudity is legal on any beach where it is "known to occur". *Blackpool Beach – The south-facing counterpart of Oneroa Beach, lining Blackpool and popular for kayaking and windsurfing. *Surfdale Beach – A zoned-in beach on the southern side of

Surfdale Surfdale is a settlement on Waiheke Island in northern New Zealand. The original name being Okahu, Surfdale beach on Huruhi Bay has tidal mudflats, and is often used for windsurfing or kitesurfing. Shelly beach on Pukiki Bay is sandy and shelly. ...

, separated from Blackpool Beach by a small protruding peninsula, which has a scenic unsealed route called The Esplanade linking the beaches. Popular for

kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

. Also has a free BBQ area and children's playground. *Onetangi Beach – A long, north-facing beach lining Onetangi, a Māori name meaning "weeping sands". For many years it has been the site of the Onetangi Beach Horse Races. Its western end, often inaccessible at high tide, is clothes-optional. It has sandcastle-building contests annually; participants have a few hours to build their creations in soft sand that is free of shells and suitable for digging. Free BBQ and public facilities. *Cactus Bay – Considered by many Waihekeans as the most perfect beach and, with nearby Garden Cove, a romantic place for picnicking. The beach is accessible only by boat or kayak, as its land access was blocked off by a private landowner. *Shelly Beach – A small and well sheltered shell and stone beach located between Oneroa and

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

. It has free BBQ facilities, a public toilet and a diving platform located just off shore. It is a popular choice with families as at high tide, it is often calm and flat – ideal for children (but not sandy).

Climate

Waiheke, like Auckland, experiences a subtropical climate according to the

Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC) or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC) is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köppen ...

, and an oceanic climate according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

. The region lies 13° of latitude south of the Tropic of Capricorn, so tropical plants which are protected for the winter months will flower and fruit in the summer, and cold climate vegetables planted in autumn will mature in early spring. Summers tend to be warm and humid, while winters are relatively mild with frost being a rare event on Waiheke. Rainfall is typically plentiful, though dry spells may occur during the summer months which can be problematic for many of the island residents, the vast majority of whom rely on

rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer, or a reservoir w ...

from residential roofs for drinking and household use. During such dry periods (typically 3–4 months between December and March), the island's water-delivery trucks can be seen replenishing residential water tanks that have run dry. It is often anecdotally said by locals that Waiheke has a different micro-climate from the

Auckland isthmus The Auckland isthmus, also known as the Tāmaki isthmus, is a narrow stretch of land on the North Island of New Zealand in the Auckland Region, and the location of the central suburbs of the city of Auckland, including the CBD. The isthmus ...

. Though little data supports this, the following data from a

NIWA The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA ( mi, Taihoro Nukurangi), is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental scienc ...

report suggests Waiheke receives over 100 hours more sunshine a year than other parts of Auckland.

History

The islands of the Hauraki Gulf have been settled since the archaic period of

Māori history The history of the Māori began with the arrival of Polynesian settlers in New Zealand (''Aotearoa'' in Māori), in a series of ocean migrations in canoes starting from the late 13th or early 14th centuries. Over several centuries of isolation, ...

, and were visited by many of the migratory canoes such as '' Aotea'', ''

Tākitimu ''Tākitimu'' was a ''waka'' (canoe) with ''whakapapa'' throughout the Pacific particularly with Samoa, the Cook Islands, and New Zealand in ancient times. In several Māori traditions, the ''Tākitimu'' was one of the great Māori migration ...

'', and ''

Mātaatua ''Mātaatua'' was one of the great voyaging canoes by which Polynesians migrated to New Zealand, according to Māori tradition. Māori traditions say that the ''Mātaatua'' was initially sent from Hawaiki to bring supplies of kūmara to Māori ...

''. Only the largest islands such as Aotea / Great Barrier Island and Waiheke sustained permanent settlements. The forests on the western side of Waiheke Island were likely heavily damaged in the 14th century eruptions of

Rangitoto Island Rangitoto Island is a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand. The wide island is a symmetrical shield volcano cone, reaching a height of . Rangitoto is the youngest and largest of the approximately 50 volcanoes of the Au ...

. During 18th and early 19th centuries, the eastern side of Waiheke was forested by ancient

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely res ...

trees, while

kānuka ''Kunzea ericoides'', commonly known as kānuka, kanuka, white tea-tree or burgan, is a tree or shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New Zealand. It has white or pink flowers similar to those of '' Leptospermum'' and from it ...

and mānuka bushes dominated the vegetation of the western side, suggesting relatively recent regeneration. The original Māori name for Waiheke was apparently , 'the long sheltering island',Waiheke Museum
/ref> but at the time the first European visitors arrived it was known as , 'island of trickling waters' — rendered as ''Motu Wy Hake'' by James Downie, master of the store ship HMS ''Coromandel'', in his 1820 chart of the Tamaki Strait and the Coromandel coast. Waiheke Island has historically been settled by various tribes, especially the

Marutūāhu __NOTOC__ Marutūāhu, Marutūahu or Marutuahu is a collective of the Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of the Hauraki region of New Zealand. The confederation is made up of the tribes of Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Whanaunga and Ng� ...

collective tribes of Ngāti Maru and

Ngāti Pāoa Ngāti Pāoa is a Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) that has extensive links to the Hauraki and Waikato tribes of New Zealand. Its traditional lands stretch from the western side of the Hauraki Plains to Auckland. They also settled on Hauraki ...

. Waiheke Island was the site of many battles between Ngāti Pāoa and

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...

from the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for its ...

, up until the late 18th century. In the 1790s, sealing and whaling ships underwent repairs primarily on Waiheke Island. The island was briefly depopulated during the

Musket Wars The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori between 1807 and 1837, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an intertribal arms ra ...

, when Ngāti Pāoa and other

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 ...

sought refuge in areas such as the

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

. When Ngāti Pāoa returned to Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), they primarily settled on Waiheke. After the wars, the Ngāti Pāoa community of Waiheke were mostly based at Pūtiki Bay. In 1836, Thomas Maxwell established a

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

at Man o'War Bay in eastern Waiheke, using local timber to build and repair ships. Ngāti Pāoa quickly engaged with the emerging industries, helping to supply timber and food for European ships. Ngāti Pāoa established wheat and vegetable plantations on the eastern bays of the island. The shipbuilding industry remained on the island until the 1860s, after which the eastern farming plantations quickly became disused. Ngāti Pāoa at Te Huruhi continued to supply produce to Auckland until the early 20th century. Much of the firewood and building timber supplied to the growing city of

was supplied by Waiheke Island forests, while shingle and sand from Owhanake and Hooks Bay was used for concrete manufacturing, up until the 1920s. The island was also home to

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

mines between 1872 and 1900 (briefly first established in the 1840s). Large private land purchases occurred on Waiheke between 1836 and 1840s, followed by large crown land purchases in the 1850s. By the 1850s, the only Ngāti Pāoa land that remained on the island was a 2,100 acre section at Te Huruhi (near the modern suburb of Blackpool). Through a process of individualisation of land titled, the

Māori Land Court The Māori Land Court (Māori: Te Kōti Whenua Māori) is the specialist court of record in New Zealand that hears matters relating to Māori land. Māori Land Court history The Māori Land Court was established in 1865 as the Native Land Cou ...

split the Te Huruhi block between 65 individuals, and by 1914 most of the block had been sold to private interests. By the end of the 19th century, the island was increasingly deforested, and land was increasingly used for cattle pastures. When shipping companies began offering occasional trips to the island in the 1880s, Waiheke emerged as a seaside resort. Day trips to Waiheke and Motutapu by steamers became a common recreational excursion, and boarding houses began to flourish at the south-eastern bays of the island. In 1915, Aucklanders were offered the chance to buy affordable land at

, the first subdivision of Waiheke. The naming of these new subdivisions reveal the central role of beach life to the identity of the island. The winner of a competition naming the

subdivision was awarded a parcel of land near the beach. A section of land could be bought for a small deposit on top of a cost of 8 pence a day and was promoted as a sound investment, however, a level of self sufficiency was required for life on the island as electricity only arrived in 1954. These land offers were not open to Māori. Ostend and Surfdale were joined by additional subdivisions at Palm Beach, Rocky Bay and Oneroa in the 1920s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, three gun emplacements were built at

Stony Batter Stony Batter is a historic defence installation at the north-eastern end of Waiheke Island, Auckland, New Zealand. It is sited within a 50-acre (200,000 m2) scenic reserve of the same name, owned by the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC ...

on the eastern edge to protect Allied shipping in

Waitematā Harbour Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is one of two harbours adjoining the city. The harbour forms the northern and easter ...

, in the fear that Japanese ships might reach New Zealand. This mirrored developments at North Head and

. The guns were never

fired in anger {{Short pages monitor Wine regions of New Zealand Islands of the Auckland Region