Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock is an island at the mouth of the Manukau Harbour, at

Whatipu Whatipu is a remote beach on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The Whatipu area has been managed as a scientific reserve by the Auckland Regional Council since 2002. The road to it is unsealed. To the sout ...

in the Waitākere Ranges area.

Geology

The island is a

volcanic plug A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if rising volatile-charged mag ...

of the

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 ...

era

Waitākere Volcano Waitākere is a locality name in West Auckland, New Zealand. It most commonly refers to: *Waitākere, Auckland, a rural town north-west of Auckland *Waitakere City, a former territorial authority which existed from 1989 to 2010 *Waitākere Ranges, ...

, composed of stratified rudite and intrusive

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 ...

. The rock is what remains of one of the volcano's funnel-shaped vents on the eastern side of the mountain, which was uplifted from the sea between 3 and 5 million years ago. The island is a

of the

era

, composed of stratified rudite and intrusive

. The rock is what remains of one of the volcano's funnel-shaped vents on the eastern side of the mountain, which was uplifted from the sea 17 million years ago. As the volcano aged and eroded, the vent filled with collapsed lava, scoria and volcanic bombs, until it formed into its modern-day shape.

History

The traditional name for the rock, Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe, refers to the Polynesian navigator Kupe. According to Te Kawerau ā Maki oral history, Kupe chanted a

karakia Karakia are Māori incantations and prayers, used to invoke spiritual guidance and protection. With the nineteenth-century introduction of Christianity to New Zealand, Māori adopted (or wrote new) karakia to acknowledge the new faith. Moder ...

(ritual song) and cast his marowhara (traditional clothing) into the sea, causing the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...

to become too rough for his pursuers to catch up to him. The island was referred to by various variations of the name Ninepin Rock by European settlers, including Ninepins Rock and The Nine Pins. In the mid-19th century, Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock was an island at high tide, however over time joined the mainland, due to the changing sand dunes of Whatipu. In the 1860s, a signal mast was constructed on Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock, to aid the logging communities of the area, and ships that navigated the mouth of the Manukau Harbour. The island is now the location of a trig station.

References

{{Waitākere Ranges Local Board Area Islands of the Auckland Region Manukau Harbour Uninhabited islands of New Zealand Rock formations of New Zealand Volcanic plugs of New Zealand Volcanic islands of New Zealand